Mo Dao Zu Shi: Audio Drama, Manhua, & Novel Review - Part Five!
Added 2021-07-26 14:01:03 +0000 UTCThe man-eating castle is the forefront of this week's set of chapters from the MDZS novel, and there's quite a bit to talk about! Baby Ling, WuXian's fear of dogs, Wangji's perseverance in protecting WuXian, the mystery surrounding it all, and ol' Cheng is back!
These chapters, 20-23, went by SO fast in both the novel and the audio drama! In the Manhua, it covers Chapters 47-53 -- we're nearing the end of Season Two of the donghua already?! The timeline here is crazy! And there's just one more part to go before we're pausing to watch season 3 of the donghua!
Thank you for listening with me and for all the support!
Comments
That's a really good notion about Wangji -- it makes TOTAL sense that he's following a more sage path of speaking only when necessary; that fits his character. We do see him speak out in almost a panic when Daddy Jin announced back in season 2 of the donghua that they were going to kill the rest of the Wen's and WuXian, so clearly, he's capable of speaking out! :) The part about the Yin and Yang with the musical instruments is SO PERFECT. I absolutely love that, especially that WuXian's instrument is "male," but still fits the yin and yang motif -- I'll have to bring that up in the next reaction (I haven't read chapters 24-27 yet). While WuXian has more "actions" that could be ascribed as feminine, Wangji has the "looks" that ascribe moreso (or at least as WuXian describes) him that way -- so it's interesting that both characters could go either way in the relationship. I love it! "Be gay, do crimes" collection! XD Of course Wangji would have kept it! OMG! You're right, HuaiSang's "IDK" rant is literally perfect for avoiding any spoiler discussion...I need to carry that over to other series! Hahahaha! Oooohhhh, I cannot WAIT for the next set of chapters -- Wangji, both in the manhua and novel -- being so concerned about WuXian leaving with Ling. UGH. T_T Thank you for the comment -- I'm so ready for the next set of chapters and season 3!
Romaniablack
2021-07-26 18:18:48 +0000 UTCWangji is DEFINITELY a sugar daddy XD And subtly enjoys it as well. Being able to proivide as well as protect, to satisfy smallest fancies where previously he couldn't help even with bigger things... I can relate. As for Lan Zhan's talking skills, it's quite obvious in the novel that he can and will talk where it is needed, unless his emotions get the better of him. Obviously he can't talk much around Wei Ying and doesn't need to within Lan clan, but he is perfectly courteous and never rude with commoners or Nie Huaisang, for that matter, even if his words are rare and concise. His habit of "Mnn" has gotten him ill reputation amongst some fandom people, to the point of them calling Lan Zhan asocial or even autistic but that's simply not true. It is a well-known Confucian value, talking little and on point, and his sentences are perfectly aligned with the noble educated man mode of speaking, 4 words in a sentence and all. It is hard to translate, of course, you either need to omit certain parts of his sentences, or embellish other's speech for a contrast, or make a note each time. Thanks to translators choosing the first approach most times, Lan Zhan seems unwilling to talk or consciously obstructing others' understanding of his words which is really unfair. And other characters do "Mnn" or "Hmm" as well, it is a normal answer! That musical cultivation gets me every time as well. Did I forget to mention it last time? Lan clan are not the only ones who learn to play guqin ofc, but their use of musical cultivation is the most well-known, and many melodies are secret of the clan. In fact, every educated gentleman (again) was required in that time to play, mostly flute, guqin and some other things so Wei Ying is not a genius who just picked up a flute while in Burial Mounds, also Wangji would be perfectly fine playing his brother's flute as well. Still, the choice of instrument is highly symbolical: guqin is mainly a male, "yang" instrument for rich people, his "poor" and "womanly" analogue would be guzheng; xiao or vertical flute is also its "yin" rich counterpart, so Twin Jades are an ideal combi in music, and Wei Ying's dizi flute is more of a commoner's hobby, though still "male". So, WangXian are both male, clashing and still adding to each other in the end, with Wey Ying bringing much of "dark", "yin" energy in the pair with his cultivation despite his flute being "male" choice. Many people take offense in that Chinese BL almost always has fixed top-bottom division, btw. I'm not against it and I also enjoy some elements of Wei Ying playing into a "helpless poor woman" image even more often in postcanon or buying rouge at Qinghe - precisely because it is clearly a game for him and not a survival mode it mostly was for Chinese women (try googling sajiao, that thing that Wang Lingjiao does often, playing cute and asking for things and help - it's an expected behaviour for a girl fresh in relationship). And having fixed positions in canon makes fics with switching even more interesting! Ahah, it's so great you caught onto Mianmian's perfume bag! Wuxian, of course, forgot about it at the time and Lan Zhan kept it. Consider it a continuation of his Wuxian-related treasure horde, and also an exhibit of his hilarious "be gay, do crimes" collection! Huaisang's "IDK IDK I reaaly don't know!!!" is such a perfect answer for any potentially spoilery question XD I picked up that habit from Cuchallain streams (Donghua reviews channel, great to watch after entire donghua is done since he's also great at predictions and noticing details). I think donghua did well in arranging the episodes, even if it could be more clear with indicating "that's the past and Wei Ying looks different". The novel layout deals more with reminiscing, heavily coloring our perception of past with present Wuxian's thoughts. Of course, donghua had to aim for action, had to streamline the story and still hide all the main intrigues and that was done WELL. OMG that image where Wangji doesn't want to let go. The very moment they meet again in the next episode is so fleeting in the novel, shadowed by subsequent events, but SO TELLING!
Anastasia -
2021-07-26 15:02:31 +0000 UTC
