Heaven Official's Blessing Volume 6 - Book Review

Hello

안녕하세요

(Annyeonghaseyo)

こんにちは

(Konnichiwa)

你好

(Ni Hao)

Heaven Official's Blessing is a Chinese BL novel written by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, it's also known by it's Chinese name Tian Guan Ci Fu.

Mo Xiang Tong Xiu is a globally renowned author whose works are often cited as the best-known in the modern danmei genre. Originally self-published via the novel serialization website, JJWXC, her current titles include The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System, Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, and Heaven Official's Blessing. All three series' received multiple adaptations and have been published in numerous languages around the world.

In China BL is known as Danmei, the novel was first published in 2017, on JinJiang Literature City, a popular Chinese website for publishing and serializing online fiction.

Though not chronologically, the novel and book series, follows Xie Lian, a once human crown prince of the kingdom of Xianle in the east who ascends to godhood at seventeen, after dedicating himself to cultivation and martial training. During the inaugural years of his divinity, his kingdom experiences upheavel and war, due in part to draught and a terrifying new disease. Going against the edicts of both the heavenly realm and of fate, Xie Lian involves himself in the affairs of the mortals who have always loved and supported him, hoping to achieve peace and relieve suffering in his kingdom. Unfortunately, his appearance in the mortal world only amplifies the conflicts between his people and their desperation leads to the dramatic and abrupt downfall of Xianle, as well as the downfall of Xie Lian. The people destroy his temples, statues and abandoning him as their most respected religious figure and earning him the reputation of a God of Misfortune.

The novel is being officially translated into English by Seven Seas Entertainment, with the 4th volume being published on the 30thof May 2023.

Body in Abyss, Heart in Paradise.

White No-Face, Xie Lian;s greatest fear and most hated enemy, has arrived... or so it seems. While the ghost with the half-crying, half-smiling mask is somewhere nearby, the creature is elusive as always, taunting Xie Lian from just out of reach and promising total destruction of everything he holds dear.

A Xie Lian confronts the trauma of his last encounter with the terrifying ghost, Hua Cheng will do anything in his power to protect him. But White No-Face's identity and purpose are not the only mysteries to unravel, as Hua Cheng also has a history in the labyrinthine tunnels beneath Mount Tonglu. Will Xie Lian finally discover the full connection they share - and learn the true depths of Hua Cheng's devotion?

I thought how Volume 4 ended broke my heart, but seeing how things went in Xie Lian's past really broke my heart, especially with how he felt abandoned by those closest to him, as well as the things he went through, for me really made Volume 5 a little hard to read. Thinking about this volume, you can't help but wonder how we have the positive Xie Lian as I would think anyone that went through what he did would ever come out of the other side.

That being said I think what we see in this volume really shapes characters like Feng Xin and Mu Qing as you see they still feel guilt towards how they left and treated Xie Lian, as well as how they still hold their roles as subordinates to Xie Lian close to their hearts as they still aim to protect him in the present.

We see more of how Hua Cheng believed in and adored Xie Lian and helped in keeping his spark alive and would follow him no matter the path he took.

This volume really gives a good look into past events, as well as getting us closer into everyone learning who Hua Cheng really is, and why he's so devoted to being around and helping Xie Lian.

I will never get over how stunning the artwork is for these novels, each volume is as stunning as the last and really adds to  each chapter.

I'm still in the process of reading Volume 7, but I'm ashamed to say that I started it last year and so far this year haven't read any physical books.

I really need to get mu butt in gear and started reading my books again, but a part of me doesn't want to finish this novel series, I love these characters too much.

Have you read volume 6 of Heaven Official's Blessing?

What were your thoughts?

Let me know in the comments below.

See you soon!

안녕

(Annyeong)

さようなら

(Sayonara)

再见

(ZaiJian)

Bye

Chinese Drama - Perfect and Casual

Hello

안녕하세요

(Annyeonghaseyo)

こんにちは

(Konnichiwa)

你好

(Ni Hao)

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Perfect and Casual is a 2020 Chinese romance drama, directed by Li Shuang.

The series aired between 28th September 2020 and 20th October 2020, it ran for 24 episodes.

The series is adapted from the web novel Mr. Perfect and Miss Almost by Wan Zhi.

Main Cast:

Wei Zhe Ming as Zhang Si Nian

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Xu Ruo Han as Yun Shu

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Supporting Cast:

Marguax as Yun Lan

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Zhao Luo Ran as Gao Zhi Yi

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Sheng Gang Shuai as Lin Nuo

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Dai Yun Fan as Lu Yu

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Cui Ke Fa as Si Nian's Grandfather

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Hank Qi as Lawyer Meng Ran

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Joy Sheng as Lin Chu Chu

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Chen Shuang as Professor Shen Lan

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Ran Qian as Gao Mei

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Li Jin Feng as Doctor Zhang

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Zhou Jing as Xia Lin

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Arthur Ma as Gu Xiao

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As expected their were songs in the OST that I loved, and as soon as I hear them it takes me back.

Hua Zhou - Night Asked

peyyy

Hua Zhou - Mr. Perfect and Miss Almost

peyyy

Hank Qi - In Situ

peyyy

Known as much for his intelligence and his looks, statistics professor Zhang Si Nian was considered by many to be perfect in every way. As a man who pursued perfection in every aspect of his life, Si Nian has always been happy to live up to the rumours surrounding him. But his perfect world is thrown into chaos after he meets Yun Shu, a statistics student enrolled in one of his classes.

An optimistic, albeit simple young lady, Yun Shu never meant to cause any problems; but when her cousin cheats her out of a large sum of money, she quickly finds herself homeless. Coincidently enough, Yun Shu crosses paths with Si Nian who, at an uncharacteristic moment of weakness, makes Yun Shu an offer she can't refuse. Pressured by his ailing grandfather to marry, Si Nian see's Yun Shu as a means to end and offers her a place to live, in exchange for pretending to be his girlfriend. Unfortunately, SI Nian's grandfather isn't willing to settle for anything other than marriage.

Agreeing to a contract marriage, Si Nian and Yun Shu find themselves in a place neither of them could have imagined. However, with time and understanding, feelings naturally grow between them.

Could this mismatched marriage of convenience turn into one of love?

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I feel like Chinese drama's tend to follow the same trope when it comes to their entertainment, whether it be drama's or books etc. But that being said these tend to be the dramas that pique an interest which makes me watch them.

This is the typical marriage contract story between strangers that in time feelings are formed and the relationship becomes real.

I love the cast in this drama I thought they did a really good job at portraying their characters and the storyline wasn't too boring or frustrating to the point I thought it was being dragged out.

I liked Wei Zhe Ming as Zhang Si Nian, he really brought his role to life and it was fun seeing his character change throughout the drama. He seemed to me a character that doesn't really care for emotions and that his work always came first in his life, something that changes as he gets used to living with Yun Shu. The more they get to know one another, the more he seems to open himself up.

I loved Xu Ruo Han as Yun Shu, her character is the typical naïve and positive young woman that tries to see the positive in any bad outcome. She tends to put her friends and family first and tries to help wherever she can. She definitely brings a brightness to people's lives which in turn makes them fall for her.

While we have the main couple of the drama, we also see feelings and love blossom between two other couples too, one with friends Gao Zhi Yi and Lin Nuo played amazingly by Zhao Luo Ran and Sheng Gang Shuai. They're Yun Shu's friends and Lin Nuo harbours a one sided love for Gao Zhi Yi and is often a shoulder for her to cry on when her relationships end badly. Our their couple is Yun Lan and Lu Yu played by Marguax and Dai Yun Fan. Yun Lan is Yun Shu's protective sister and Lu Yu is Si Nian's friend. Lu Yu stubbornly pursues Yun Lan, but eventually gets her to remove the walls she has around her heart for him, while still keeping him at an arms length. She's definitely the one that controls the relationship, which the saying is that she's the one that wears the trousers in their relationship.

Cui Ke Fa was adorable as Si Nian's Grandfather, in this typical drama genre it's the grandfather who wants the marriage to happen an I loved that he low-key knew that they were in a fake relationship but still tried to push them together. I loved his relationship with Yun Shu, from the get go he treats her like his granddaughter.

I feel like Hank Qi was meant to bring in the second male lead syndrome as Lawyer Meng Ran, he's protective of Yun Shu and seems to develop feelings for her, but for me I never saw him as a possible end game for our female lead.

Joy Sheng was brought in as Lin Chu Chu to be the spanner in the works in the possibility we would see conflict between Si Nian and Yun Shu, with a former love interest appearing. But for me in that instance it fell short.

I thought this drama was really cute and I loved the cast an storyline, I liked that it didn't just focus on the male and female leads and we also got side couples as well as friendships and families. I'd definitely recommend giving this show a watch.

Have you watched Perfect and Casual?

Were you a fan of the cast?

Did you enjoy the plot?

Let me know in the comments below.

See you soon!

안녕

(Annyeong)

さようなら

(Sayonara)

再见

(ZaiJian)

Bye

 

Given Volume 3 - Book Review

Hello

안녕하세요

(Annyeonghaseyo)

こんにちは

(Konnichiwa)

你好

(Ni Hao)

Given is a Japanese BL manga series written and illustrated by Natsuki Kizu.

It has been serialized in the bimonthly manga magazine Cheri+ since 2013 and has been collected into 9 tankobon volumes by Shinshokan.

Volume 3 was published March 1, 2017 in Japan and August 11, 2020 in English.

The series has been adapted multiple times, with an audio drama in 2016, an 11-episode anime series in 2019, an anime film in 2020, and a live-action drama in 2021.

The series follows a group of four students in an amateur rock band and the dual romantic relationships that form among them: between electric guitarist Ritsuka Uenoyama and vocalist Mafuyu Sato, and between bassist Haruki Nakayama and drummer Akihiko Kaji.

Love of music unites the four members of the band Given: hot-headed guitarist Uenoyama, playboy drummer Akihiko, gentle bassist Haruki, and Mafuyu, a singer gifted with great talent and burdened by past tragedy. Their struggles and conflicts may drive them apart, but their bond to the music - and to one another - always brings them back together again.

Uenoyama realizes he's in love with Mafuyu and steals a kiss from him backstage at their first live performance. But now he's even more confused - he hasn't shared his feelings with Mafuyu and has no idea how Mafuyu feels about him. In contrast to their naive romance, Haruki has been harbouring a secret desire for bandmate Akihiko, who's already entangled in an intense, conflicted relationship with someone else.

Like with Volume 2, Volume 3 continues to story perfectly. We see more into Uenoyama's feelings for Mafuyu and his dilemma in if Mafuyu returns his feelings at all, to which we do get a confession between them. Also while Mafuyu seems to struggle with his feelings about his past, we can see that a weight has been lifted after being able to to his emotions into words.

We delve a little more into Haruki's one-sided feelings towards Akihiko, as well as how this has swayed the way he looks, for example that Haruki grew out his hair.

We also get to see how Haruki, Akihiko and Uenoyama ended up in a band together, as well as how they come up with their band name after their first performance with Mafuyu.

We also delve more into Akihiko and his relationship with his roommate Ugetsu Murata, we get a more intense look into their relationship.

Akihiko also takes Mafuyu to Ugetsu's concert to introduce him to more classical music, which we also find out that Akihiko hides sides of himself from Haruki, which for me shows that he cares about what he thinks about him. and wants to be seen positively by him.

We see Mafayu starting to get series about music and wanting their band to succeed, we also get to see that he's reconnected with his friends from his childhood.

I always love the little short story panels we get at the end after the main story, they always show a different side and are often comedic and gives more insight into their daily lives.

The more I go back over these volumes the more my love for the series increases, the story, the art, the characters, it's all just perfect and I will always recommend this series to everyone.

See you soon!

안녕

(Annyeong)

さようなら

(Sayonara)

再见

(ZaiJian)

Bye