I am a straight guy. I like danmei. The Wuxia and Xianxia ones at least. Swordfights and magic are cool, doesn't bother me at all if the boys kiss. Like, good for them. Wish I had anyone who looked at me the way Lan Weiwuji looks at Wei Wuxian. Also, Word of Honor rules, Coley. You will not be disappointed when you dig in! I've never been teased about this but I'm also in my 30s and booted anyone who would mock me for liking this kind of thing from my life a long time ago. As it has been said, hate is always foolish and love is always wise. Folks shouldn't tolerate someone who would denigrate them just for loving something.
@@paxtenebrae it has a 3d cgi donghua like svss if you're interested. Personally i think the donghua is a bit weaker than the novel (plus theres only 1 season rn) but it's great overall and might be the stepping stone you need 😁
Cool cool cool. If you like steampunk and politics and reading maybe keep an eye out for Stars of Chaos that was licensed by Seven Seas (the ones who translated the MXTX novels). Or wait for the drama though who knows if and when they'll release that.
As a Chinese American lesbian, reading danmei (specifically the wuxia/xianxia variety) makes me feel like a normal human being. Growing up, I was always told by my immigrant parents that being gay is a white people/American thing, and if I "choose" to be gay then I make them lose face. Seeing Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian love each other while having long hair and wearing hanfu reminds me that queer people have existed for eternity, even in China. I especially see myself in Lan Wangji, whose loyalty and sense of righteousness are things I resonate with, and seeing him end up with Wei Wuxian makes my hopeless romantic self so hopeful for my own future. For other sapphic people out there, I'll recommend you to get into danmei's sibling genre: baihe. Baihe is basically Chinese GL and there's a lot less of a market for them, but fan translations are still everywhere and yes, there are wuxia/xianxia stuff too!
this comment was so nice to read, im a lesbian (south asian though), who also got obsessed with MDZS and i also see myself in lan wangji because of how he pines for wei wuxian and endlessly supports and loves him i can also relate to the immigrant parents saying that being queer is a white/ american thing, it sucks
This stupidity of homophobic western beliefs ingraining itself into eastern minds to the point that they think this was the norm back then and that this was original culture or something is baffling so proud of culture yet to dim to actually realize alot of aspects of said culture have been bastardised it’s sad and depressing
@@hannahwilliams7026 there’s an authors called please don’t laugh (pdl) and she’s written two of my fav baihes, JWQS and FGEP. if u look them up on google you’ll find the translations easily, but look up trigger warnings! enjoy!!
"a good chunk of you are probably danmei fans yourselves" says the goddess who said wangxian so many times i was like "i'm sick and fucking tired of not knowing what she's talking about, lemme just go and-- oops, mxtx addiction."
@@diane5893 I think in a previous video she mentioned that she learned mandarin when she was younger and her interest in danmei has made her keen to relearn it. Her pronunciation is quite good! I speak mandarin at home and was really pleasantly surprised by her dedication when I first heard her speak
I'm a straight guy who likes mo dao zu shi/ untamed. I love the magic system and characters but I always hide it since some people around me might not be supportive of it
I have found that the anticipation of pain - in this case rejection - is often more sever than the pain, itself; much in the same way standing on the diving board is more scary than hitting the water after you jump. Let that freak flag fly, baby!
I think people can love a media differently it doesnt matter if you just like the writing of the story,the worldbuilding,magic system(or any concept/system a story has) or the romance aspects of it it doesnt matter as long as you enjoy that media theres no right way to enjoy something
I think what drew me into wuxia/xianxia danmei was how much dedication they put in the worldbuilding, plot, characters and romance. Most BL media only focuses on one or two of them but not all of those aspects. Sure, I like my pretty men falling in love, but I love seeing that there's so much more to their life than just romance and reacting to stuff happening to them. I love seeing that there is a whole world out there that they live in, with so many people around them. That's also why I love Wangxian in particular, especially LWJ. The fact that even when WWX died, LWJ lived his own life because he is his own person instead of simply being "the love interest". He's a man with his own set of morals that he stuck to even through his character growth, he has his own loved ones (instead of being the usual love interest who doesn't care about anyone except his partner), his own likes and dislikes, etc. He has his own flaws and mistakes, and he fully felt remorseful about any wrongdoings he did and punished himself for them, learning from his errors and growing better as a person. And he doesn't suddenly go 180 switch in his personality and morals the moment he's with WWX, only that he showed more sides of himself than usual. He's still the same LWJ we know and love.
Honestly, as a Chinese young woman who aspires to be a novelist, I am loving the rising popularity of Chinese media with Crazy Rich Asians, Shang Chi, Iron Widow and this whole genre of Danmei. It makes me feel so proud and more confident in writing stories from my own culture. We have progressed so much from 10 years ago where Asian writers wrote Western stories just because they were the only books on bookshelves.
I wouldn't really call Crazy Rich Asians Chinese media, considering how Singaporean culture and way of thinking is very different from mainstream China's
@siegeofmadrigal Singapore is still Asian. Its mostly a Chinese dominated country as well so I say it counts. Plus many of the characters come from mainland China too 🤷♀️
@@kristenphang8587 er, no. Chinese dominated is race based, yes there's obviously holdovers and crossovers but because of the former British colony status and because of modern day sensibilities, there's a massive Western influence on the culture that makes the culture highly distinct from Mainland Chinese culture. But absolutely do use it as an influence on your writing, I'd love to see various Chinese diaspora and cultures be represented in writing.
But Crazy Rich Asians and Shang Chi are god awful. 🤢 Live action Mulan was vomit inducing. 🤮 I hope that’s not your high standard. There’s better media coming out of mainland China, Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea and Japan. And why do you need western media to represent you and make you feel confident to write about your culture? Hollyweird produces wildly inferior content (these days anyway) and Asian countries are and were already putting out excellent high quality content. I’m just not understanding where your inferiority complex is coming from. Why does the west have to produce any Asian content at all with allllll of these superior outlets already present. And yes these countries did have rich entertainment industries 10 yrs ago. More like decades. You don’t need the west to represent you just so you can feel confident in your writing. … now I’m just imagining a nation like China trying to produce western stories for representation purposes. Lol It wouldn’t work. It’s better when people stick to what they know best. On average of course. I’m sure there are outliers.
My favorite has to be heavens official blessing. I loved how the relationship doesn't seem forced like a lot of Boys love mangas. The two main characters become closer because they remember time they spent together when they were mortal. Their relationship is so sweet.
I saw the anime literally yesterday, and I've loved it, every single part of it, I'll definitely check out more danmei now that I've seen how interesting the stories are, because I entered the story expecting to fall in love with the main couple (which I have) butI also fell in love with the lore of the world.
I live in a major Muslim country and when I saw all MXTX books in front of the bookstore with a big sign of "new York time best seller" my brain went blank. it's also important how tgcf book 4 was also there and my parents is also there. I pretend I don't know what those are 💀
"Why Do People Like Danmei?" She went from the tropes to the wholesome and then- Coley: "and shizunf*cking" Me: *Transmigrating due to spit-take gone wrong* (Tbh, my current fixation in svsss made me feel VERY called out lmfao)
I honestly really liked SVSSS almost wholly because of Shen qingqiu's personality being absolutely hilarious, but I love all of MXTX's novels. Love your channel, by the way!
Personally I got into danmei because I was tired of the "wholesome and unproblematic" expectations falling on queer media the past couple of years. And in danmei I found the darkness, grittiness and drama I was craving lol. But now with the surge of popularity, the fandom has been infected by the annoying purists too. Though, I am not worried about danmei itself. No one in China is going to give a f about what Mandy from Arkansas finds problematic.
Yeah, since danmei fandom expanded internationally, it was natural for some freaks and weirdos to come to the fandom and to start creating utter chaos. For example, Chinese government banned AO3 site in their country because some stupid ass danmei stan wrote fanfiction about actors of Untamed (yes, not Wangxian, but REAL. ASS. ACTORS). Or just danmei gatekeepers who openly BULLIED people online and told them to go away from the fandom for not being "true fans" (a.k.a. for being completely normal danmei fan). Or ship stans who harass anyone who doesn't like their ships *hualian stans, khem khem*. Or Twitter sickos who doxxed someone's private information because somebody didn't like their crazy headcanons. Or Twiter sickos again, who exist in their own twisted fantasy, and who will wish you to commit suicide because you DARED to critisize their faviourite character. Especially if it's antagonist or villain. Or Twitter sickos once again who harassed an actual Chinese person and spread nasty lies about them because they said that SVSSS is not a masterpiece of danmei novels (yes, this sounds crazy but it actually happened). Or yada yada yada yada yada A lot of crazy situations, and I was one of those who had seen all of this bullshit. Since Twitter suspended me for a simple joke and doesn't let me to get justice and take my account back, I stopped see all these dramas and I'm much happier right now for avoiding so much toxicity.
@@aquaabouttogetfunky this is so late but you definitely put it into words 😭 I was searching for good queer media but a lot of it is almost bland in its desperate bid to stay "unprpblematic" and "politically correct" that the story itself gets sidelined Danmei was a huge breath of fresh air in that regard for me.
That's really awesome!! For me it was my Mom who got me into the Untamed!! Hooray to parents enjoying their kids hobbies!! And yes we love WangXian as well!:)
TGCF will always have my heart for such a pure, well-written love story that has so many other interesting side stories and genres thrown in. I don't think anything else will take its place for me, but there are still so many good novels out there!
Part of why I love danmei (and tbh, I've found that there are a lot of non-danmei Chinese novels with the same traits) is that there's often a lot of plot, but it's still A Romance Novel, which is something I've had a hard time finding in western romance novels 🤷♀️
@@Meimoons they basically find everything problematic and just knowing that mxtx novels are written by a woman would make them pass out. Obviously, I am not referring to everyone but the amount of young people there really makes it hard for any mature and understanding discussions to take place.
Horror Danmei is my bread and butter. In fact the reason I got into it was because I was craving zombie apocalypse stories. Some stories I recommend are "Zombie University", "Paintings of Terror", "I rely on poverty to sweep through survival games", "BOSS's guide to seeking death", "Little Mushroom", and my favorite "Number One Zombie Wife". Enjoy and laugh through the horror
omg same!! theres just something about unlimited flow danmeis that i can't put down, i would also like to recommend kaleidoscope of death, it's really funny and interesting!
One thing we can't deny that "The untamed" played the biggest role in the whole danmei wave, I still remember like in lockdown it was all over internet and everyone was talking about it sharing clips and all. Not only did it established a very strong career for the two main actors but introduced many to mxtx and the whole danmei thing.
Man, I feel called out. Yeah, perhaps I did start taking Mandarin classes instead of Korean ones, like I was initially planning to, because I read all of the mxtx works 😂 but you don't gotta put me on blast like that, bestie
This was so interesting! I especially appreciated you talking about fans intentionally or unintentionally erasing Chinese aspects of the characters and their worlds. I’m American and currently writing a MDZS fanfiction, and so often I catch myself assuming that certain things are the same over in China as here without thinking about it first. Stuff as little as how old you have to be to drive, to things as big as the food they eat. It’s very eye opening.
the reason i love chinese BL dramas ( just the drama and manhua version not the novels) is because of the nature of their relationship, they are both strong, capable , independent and has their own self respect, they are not possessive and are not toxic, they do not need each others to be able to live, but they choose to be together, they choose to love each others because they want , and you can rarely see this type of relationships in straight dramas !
I like how with each new Mxtx book the pining time egst longer Svsss- Like 6 months I think-(edit:I've been corrected it was 5 years 😭) Mdzs- 13? Years Tgcf-800 Years
@@heretowatch2672 no I'm pretty sure it was 3 years for sqq I believe he says something along the lines of binghe coming back early because in the novel it was 5 yrs and in his timeline it took less
I stumbled into SVSSS head first after munching through a bunch of "yeeted into a book as the villain character" isekai manhwas and just... never left lol
Even when I don't understand what you're talking about, you still put a smile in my face after your hilarious yet accurate explanation. I love you Coley, as a fan.
As a Chinese, I am really happy the danmei fandom outside china looks nice, pure and good. Since it is really a mess and just pure drama sometimes(a lot of times) in china. But it is still very interesting to see how other countries people have no idea of author’s drama, their “problematic” statement, all the plagiarism controversies, and the danmei wars😂 It is also interesting so see all the “big controversy” authors’ name are in the video, I really thought English danmei fandom is just about mxtc’s three books.
Speaking of MXTX, are they really in trouble with the govt? 🥺 I have no access to weibo and can’t read Chinese 😞 so I’m very curious how chinese authorities are trying to crack down on danmei.
Yeah, but no, seriously. When are we getting Scum Villain season 2? I am in dire need of more screen time for the secondary couple, because as it stands, *people who haven't read the novels don't realize they exist* and this fact is killing me everytime they're excluded from the MXTX couple line-up! 😭
I don't have high hopes for season 2, since Scum Villain isn't as popular as later MXTX's works, and the fact that "Scumbag's System" received many negative reviews for their bad character designs, which are too different from characters in the novel (who da fuck decided that white hair for Mobei-jun is a good idea???), for their bad 3D models and for their unnecessary contradictions from the novel. I also like the secondary couple, Moshang, much more than any ship in SVSSS. And it's sad for me to see that people don't even consider Moshang as "real couple" because they didn't have as much appearance as Bingqiu in the novel. Some people even say they're not canon despite them being canon.
Mentioning flowery language (at 23:06) immediatly got me thinking of some of the dick jokes written into the stories. Examples in SVSSS: "Airplane shooting torwards the sky" and "Perleess cucumber" to mention some quick. But I otherwise agree with reading Danmei to learn about culture. I find myself loving the slang used by the authors, and that I mostly enjoy reading fan-translation due to them taking their time to explain stuff in translaters notes. To be fair, I started reading Wuxia/ Xianxia before Danmei due to my brothers telling me stories about cultivators creating crazy pills while trying to become immortal and about this one guy that is basicly immortal finally getting his body back and wanting to tear down the heavens to achieve what he wants. And I just fell in love with the culture and the writing, and how complex some of these stories get.
Thank you for talking about the tgcf purity issue It’s insane for someone like me who got into tgcf casually to see the discourse when i tried to join the fandom. In fact it’s put me and several of my friends off from tgcf as a whole. Instead I usually engage with mdzs fandom even though it does have its fair share of discourse, it’s not as overwhelming and not as full of minors (rip TikTok tgcf fans)
It was so nice watching the donghua of MDZS and loving every part of the story, especially the characters. Getting to know them, (WWX's especially, one of my favorite characters in fiction now) and knowing that the relationship between the two MCs was genuinely romantic, made me so happy. There was not toxic SA between them, just love, affection, and actual chemistry.
I got into MDZS and MXTX's novels around 2019 because of your fandom deepdive video on MDZS so it's great to see more videos surrounding this type of content! also I'd love to get more danmei reccs for me to read/watch lol
being Viet and growing up reading danmei (in Viet since our cultures and languages share a lot of similarities due to history and we get a lot of access and exposure to CN media) seeing danmei becoming popular in anglophonic fandom spaces is such a nice change ✨ the english names give me sm whiplash tho 🥲🥲
i was one of the ones who got hooked by the animated version of mdzs--- my life was altered irreversibly... i LOVE this series so freaking much. and it's made me fall inlove with Wuxia and Xianxia as a whole and i keep reading more and more. adding: I relate to the characters more in some ways than i do characters in most us series, I grew up in a house with a father who was obsessed with martial arts, and would watch chinese and japanese martial arts dramas in their original language with subtitles. i had forgotten or rather brushed it off and not really understood why my family dynamic at home was so different than friends i made in high school and later work colleagues, but having watched and read for three years now I'm realizing why i always felt like an odd bird. can I just add as well, I grew up christian, but the way my family believes definitely aligns more in someways with Daoism on one side and wicca on the other and it puts us sort of at odds with other christians... which is why we hold our church services at home /awkward/
danmei media came to me in the form of the MDZS donghua when I was basically having an identity and sexuality crisis during the pandemic. it was the stuff that made me realize I was trans and want someone who would wait 800 years for me (which is how I even got friends from it bc badabing badaboom all of us are queer 💀)
For me it came to me in the form of the live action ver The Untamed and i too had a sexuality crisis and one of the kickers was headcanoning my fav Untamed villian (Xue Yang) as bisexual beginning to make XY/Yi City fancontent and also happening to make an Untamed editor online friend who is also bisexual and lo and behold now I too realized I am bisexual (it was something I was going back and forth on for years tho for a plethora of other reasons too tho). Hooray to MDZS for helping us realize we are queer!!
@@peachesandcream22 Wow that's a pretty cool coincedence and your right i even know another Untamed fancreator that is bi and loves both characters!! Hooray to WWX & XY uniting the bis!
not into danmei personally but I swear, there's some secret sauce in it that just makes creators go bonkers. In the early plague years it revived some of my fav artists and authors on Ao3. They suddenly went active again after months long hiatus to post long haired men in hanfu content lol. Even my friend who's usually very much not into BL stuff (and romance in general tbf) reads TGCF at some point and starts drawing/posting content again. Haven't seen them so excited for being in a fandom for a long time. Kinda wish I could get into it but I've tried and it's just not my thing. Happy for those who like them tho; they're always having a feast
Never apologize for dragging people into Danmei. It is one of the best things that have happened to me in my life 🙌❤🔥❤🔥❤🔥 I will never forget that feeling when I found out that WangXian was canon 😳🤯
@@haitangweiyu I saw the donghua and even started reading the book before I knew what Danmei meant and that it was much more than some cheap queerbaiting...
I have read and/or watched so much Danmei, both complete and still in progress, that i need to get started on an Excel sheet to keep track of everything. I don't want to miss any new chapters/books in my ongoing series. 😄
svsss still has me and my heart in a chokehold and i'm so fucking sad that only a 3d donghua adaptation is all it has and a 2nd season that is announced but always delayed 😭😭 mdzs had been my gateway into danmei and im happy for mdzs and tgcf's success but please give some love to svsss. At least continue the manhua 😭😭
I’m 14, my sisters introduced me to the fandom after I came out at 12, told me to stay away from the 18+ stuff, but I had already been reading that sort of stuff since 11 (BAD IDEA, DON’T DO IT KIDS) and now I’m mildly scarred, but hey, I know I’m asexual 🤷 I’ve made sure to remember that it is over all an adult space, and I can’t get upset about that as I am the one intruding.
I looooooovveee your point about people liking gay escapism without the political and social side of it. Holy shit do we have a lack of that and on the Western side we do nooottt provide that in our historical fantasies. I loved BL before I knew I was gay, I never felt an anxiety or even need to come out (to family), and I kinda like that that experience is depicted in Danmei and a lot of BL. Like we have enough of that media and those struggles, just give me "normal" and supernatural romantic struggles pls. It's weird to relate my Sleep Token fandom and obsession with Danmei and that fandom. Especially the identity doxing issues. Lol on the switch/top/bottom issues. I uh...ironically switch through all three sides of these points all the time.
I watched MDZS's donghua first and also looked into the live action, The Untamed. I wouldn't say I didn't like it but it haven't really got me hooked. This time around I started TGCF's donghua and binged the first season. I got obsessed! I also started reading the manhua and I'm getting the novel for sure!! I plan on going back to MDZS eventually and finally watching that too. Danmei's are going to take over my life, I can already feel it! lmao
got into this genre via the Untamed, the MDZS anime, also the netlix Heaven Official blessing. So when you said that MXTX novels were translated to English and they were available at barnes and nobles i literally turned to my husband like "we are going to barnes and nobles!" I currently have the MDZS novels. i will be getting the other ones once im finished. So thank you so much coley i would have never found out about this on my own honestly.
I had a very bad first impression when i first saw photos of MDZS donghua on my twitter timeline back in 2018. I hated the artstyle and wondered why the hell it was getting so popular and they kept appearing on my tl. After a fave cartoon series of mine ended in major disappointment, by sheer curiosity i tried giving the MDZS donghua a chance. I told myself, i'll watch the first episode and see if i like it. BAM! The first 5 minutes automatically got me sucked into it. The horror theme? Exorcism using musical instruments? Murder mystery??? All those are fucking right up my alley. It took some episodes for me to get used to the donghua's art style, but after a few episodes i got over that issue bc the story was so damn good. After finishing season 1 at the time, i immediately started reading the novel from a fansite and waited for each chapter to get translated until the end. It was the most satisfying story i had ever get to experience in my 30yrs of life at the time. Moral of the story, as always, don't judge a book by its cover (or its artstyle or genre) until you've given it a chance. I was so wrong for thinking MDZS was probably gonna be some typical shallow BL pretty twink bois sappy love story with little substance. Anyway, no matter how many years have passed & how many danmei stories will pop up, MDZS will always have a special place in my heart.
my first danmei experience is when i got curious and pressed play on heaven official's blessing donghua on netflix.. since then, my life changed.. i finished the donghua and continue to read the novel WHILE started watching the untamed.. so, i was reading TGCF and watching TU AT THE SAME TIME.. you can imagine my days filled with screaming, squealing, pillow biting and punching.. it was a whole mental breakdown.. by the time i finished both, i became a full-fledged danmei fangirl.. since then, i have read lots of other novels and genres and fics.. getting into danmei universe is one thing i am thankful for cuz it gives me so much meaning and love and passion in my life. (P.S my most fav (all time fav) danmei novel is TGCF.. HUALIAN GOT ME IN A CHOKEHOLD FOR LIFE)
I'm a (seemingly) straight female. I've always been into gay stuff. When I was in high school, all I read was gay stories on wattpad. My brother always wanted me to get into anime with him. I never gave it a chance until I moved home and had nothing else to watch. In the midst of me watching anime on crunchyroll, I discovered tgcf. I was so in love with it, I rewatched it like four times and watched other bl anime. Through yt comments on bl recommendations and tgcf videos did I learn about the world of danmei and mdzs and here I am, reading yaoi manwhas and MXTX novels and watching danmei donghua, trying to find fujo and fudan fans to fangirl with over the cuteness. I watch for the gay factor, but the story is always intriguing to me. I just purchased all of the SVSSS novels for the gay, but it was page-turning even though the gay didn't happen until later on. That's good writing. I'm also a writer and plan on using an alias making a play on my middle names (was it a coincidence that my two middle names start with an L and a B?) My first novel is going to have a straight (non annoying female lead) couple and a gay couple (also lead), and afterwards, my next book is going to be straight gay (oxymoron, Ik) and I'm so excited. These donghua are inspiring me. I'm also a hopeless romantic so a lot of the scenarios I have that won't come true for me, I'll probably include those in my works😊
Just so you know Coley, you're actually to blame for my recent deep dive into danmei. It was from one of the mentions in your "crazy fandom moments" video. I'd seen stuff about The Untamed and have seen MXTX books in bookstores when I've gone, but I've just kind of shrugged it off as, I'll look into it someday but today is not that day. Well I've ventured in, and I'm now deep down the rabbit hole. I started with the donghua of Heaven Official's Blessing and OMG I absolutely fell in love with Hualian! I've info dumped on my partners about it in depth and then I watched SVSSS and MDZS donghua and fell even more in love with the genre. I'm currently in the middle of watching the Untamed, while interspersing with other various danmei donghuas that I have in queue(I've got 4 different ones opened in different tabs and another list saved as a bookmark of recommended ones.) The Untamed, in some ways moreso than the MDZS donghua, due to its live action nature and story additions, delves deep into aspects of power hungry tyrants and harsh war crimes, as well as the unfair nature of their black and white viewpoints in the cultivation "orthodoxy." It has been a bit heavy on my heart so I've had to go through slower than I normally would when binging a show. I'm usually quick to read fanfiction for pretty much any media that I consume, so I've already read many fics and will likely read many more. My favorite are time travel or AU fix-its because the characters deserve some fix-its or fluff tossed their direction. I made a list of all the danmeis you mentioned and will likely venture into them as I go so thanks for the recs! I haven't ventured too much in the the fandom discourse on tumblr or elsewhere so thanks for the heads up on what I might encounter and why. But I have found some amazing sources for fanart. Another thing I wanted to express my appreciation for was the section where you described enjoying smut as "some people just love spicy food" and how "some asexual folks enjoy reading smut despite not vibing with it irl." 1. I LOVE spicy food in a literal sense. ^_^ 2. I'm asexual and have had a weird relationship with the fact that I love reading smut. The kinkier the better. And it's weird to talk about it irl even with my partners because I greatly enjoy reading smut, but I hate gratuitous sex scenes in visual media because they seem like they're just sprinkled on but have no flavor or substance, and I'm also sex-repulsed with anything having to do with me involved in sex with other people. So just, thank you for how it was phrased because I felt so seen at that moment. So yeah, you are entirely to blame for my current hyperfixation and you have my eternal thanks for it.
I got into danmei after watching tgcf donghua on netflix, I didn't know what the story is about wasn't even expecting any romance and was honestly surprised when I found out about the novel, even tho it's not characters relationships that got me interested, but I quickly fell in love with hua cheng and xie lian's story. after that I started reading more and more novels. :p I think erha has to be my favourite one because if just how much pain it brought me and because of roubao's writing. tbh im glad I got into this fandom because it made me really interested in chinese culture, daoism and learning mandarin.
i live laugh love danmei novels sosoosososos much and have read tgcf, mdzs, svsss, 2ha and currently am reading thousand autumns! recently i tried reading red white and royal blue (english BL) and im sorry to disappoint any eng BL fans but it just didnt hit that spot for me 🙁🙁 i think its cuz ive grown too accustomed to the insane slowburn and building of the characters backstories and personalities that ultimately blooms into an amazing romance with great worldbuilding and side characters id die for in danmei novels.. imo eng BL just misses the depth and richness danmei has, but people have different tastes and some people just like a quick and sweet fluffy romance which i can appreciate as well
I do hope people find other genres in danmei rather than just the cultivation centric world. There are other really popular tropes as well and plot heavy ones under a different setting! I am a horror danmei enjoyer and really like “Unlimited Flow” danmeis. I’m glad you actually went in depth into such a topic
I am still watching, but I def saw the infighting immediately. My local B&N had a whole display with all of the Danmei books they had on display, and I saw Remnants of Filth and was intrigued. Almost all the things I saw online on my quick google search looking for where to start hinted at some kind of contempt to MXTX but claimed that they were the most prevalent one. I ended up picking up Heaven Offical's Blessing to start with (which is funny because I wanted a smaller book to start with and may have accidentally picked the largest one, lol), and so far I've thoroughly enjoyed it!
Thank you for addressing the weird homophobia from danmei fans. My wife and I have fallen in love with the genre, and it is really disconcerting how much some fans seem to absolutely hate anything... Gay in their gay fandom. I've had people argue with me about the evils of fetishization and sexualization of gay people when I am literally a 30-something married lesbian saying that not everyone is a switch and being gay is obviously about more than sex BUT SEX IS A REALLY IMPORTANT PART HELLO??? I spent most of my life not having media that depicted adult (not inherently explicit but mature, grown up) relatjonships between people of the same sex. Everything is about coming out, everything's about kids in high school or characters that are actually bi (which is great for those that want that but it's exhausting to read gay love stories that always include opposite sex attraction from at least one of the protagonists. Gay people fall in love with other gay people, too! In fact, many of us have a strong preference for it!), or they are completely pure relationships stripped of anything but chaste kisses followed by five chapters of self-hatred. Idk. I love that we live in a time that we can read real love stories between gay adults, and the fact that so many "fans" seem to think that is weird and fetishy is just... Homophobic! It just is!
I first learned about SVSSS when an AO3 author I followed started writing about it. I ignored it at first, but then they wrote a crossover with the fandom I followed them for so I read that. Got curious. Read their other SVSSS works. Fell into the SVSSS hole, and now I'm also in the TGCF hole reading the novel, and after that I'll watch MDZS donghua afterwards lol Your talk about danmei being a mix of things not just romance, made me remember my younger self who was very much not interested in romance and would only read if there are others plots going on too, so no wonder I'm loving these danmei! I get fluffy feelings and giggle about Hua Cheng taking the chance to hold Dianxia's hands with the excuse of "teaching the proper posture" while also being gripped by the lore and the worldbuilding and the "what the heck happened to Xie Lian these past 800 years damn" and etc etc and yess the xianxia/wuxia setting was a nice change of pace and it was interesting to learn about chinese culture (ancient or not) stuff. Grandfather is chinese but I never set foot in china and wasn't taught even one word of chinese, so this is a nice...sort of "taking a step" in chinese media when I mostly absorbed western media (I just keep adding into this as I watch and get thoughts I wanna share) 21:41 Sometimes I jokingly cry to myself: "I swear I'm not looking for gay stuff on purpose, I just stumble into them! And end up loving them! And getting into their fandom!" Like, if the world wants me to get into more het romance then they should make better het romance. Not my fault Hualian is so good and that a lot of girl/boy pairs in media end up together just cause theyre girl and boy despite lacking chemistry. Sitting here listening blankly to all the fandom drama and what people are apparently arguing about, telling myself that I will never get involved with all that .... thank you ancestors for moving out of China because things there do not sound good
if i remember correctly, i got into danmei bc i saw some people online making tgcf references and also i saw faline san's video about tgcf, so i decided, eh im bored so why not give it a shot? i found out there was a donghua, watched it, fell in love, read the entire novel IN 2 DAYS 💀💀 and the rest is history. ive been a danmei fangirl since late june 2023 and i will never forget how danmei quite literally changed my life. all my life ive been a homophobic christian until early 2023 when my mindset started to shift. after my danmei craze, i was fully non-homophobic LMAOOO and i couldnt understand for the life of me why i had hated people for LOVING each other like ?? theyre cute and in love and happy and i didnt know why i was so hypocritical, talking about showing love as a christian while condemning people in love just bc they were of the same gender?? i did research, watched LGBTQ+ pastors talk about their findings and stories, realised that HOLY SHIT I THINK IM BI OR AROACE💀 and now, im glad to say that im a proud christian ally as of nov 2023!!
I like reading Chinese Novels especially danmei. I have read a lot of them online but not every novel is worth to be read because the story is not well told, the English translation is bad or for other reasons which let me drop them. My favourite novels are The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation and Faraway Wanderers by Priest because I like the stories and the development of the characters and their relationship. In Germany actually four English novels are available in the book stores, the three of MXTX and Erha. These books are sold as bl light novels and can be found among Japanese manga and light novels. GDF is published in German translation as well as the manhua book. The first volume of the manhua was released in December 2022 and was completely sold out only after one week and has now to be reprinted. Last week I bought the second volume. Meanwhile Seven Seas has announced the publication of some other danmei novels in 2023 and I hope more will follow.
I just got into danmei last month through TGCF, more specifically seeing a reaction to the first two episodes of the donghua in Danny Motta's channel. I was absolutely IN LOVE with the animation and the character of Xie Lian and Ling Wen and really wanted to get into it more. I ended up watching the rest by myself and read the whole book online and falling into the rabbit hole that is TGCF. Just 3 days ago I finally read the manhua of MDZS and finished yesterday (my favourite character is Wen Ning!) and I'm getting into that rabbit hole as well. I'm thinking of cosplaying San Lang in my school's book week in about 6-7 months time (if I cosplay Hua Cheng I'll have to annoy the class with all the loud jewellery plus I'm short :( ). I love it so much and thinking of getting into more danmei, I've even tried getting my friends into it (to no avail currently :,) ) just so that I can finally have someone to gush over with. Fun fact, TGCF is the very first book that got me to cry (specifically in chapter 240-241, they got me sobbing)
danmei finally gave china soft power and as chinese diaspora i am here for it!! can’t wait for danmei to become the thing nerds are bullied for in school instead of kpop or anime LMAOOO
41:43 And a year later they allowed Justice in the Dark and give a first pass to HOB and 2erha (tho they can't simultaniusly be aired) and then the Private Media (Tencent, Youku and Mango) realese a whole list of pending BL adaptation...and THEN we just recently have the news of a OMAGEVERSE adaptation into LA. Is like media saying they can curb strict regulations with even more extreme ways. I think international fandom has also contribute to this and i'm glad for it.
24:55 you converted a your friend Mormon elementary teacher? Coley you’re clearly doing the lords job😂 it was clear fate, nothing could have been more perfect 🤣
Danmei was introduced to me by the untamed I watch it so much it’s a drama that I have no problem over and over again. Somehow I even got my boyfriend at the time obsessed with it as well. He was the one who introduced me to the fandom of MDZS. I am been a fan of all danmei I remember waiting for immortality to release and watching the time going by wonder when it was going on. Then when Word of Honor came I also can watch this drama over and over again.
Danmei is my fandom-in-law thank you for this!! I have been seeing so much Untamed and Heaven Official's Blessing stuff for a while with no context, it was so fun to learn about it!
I was aware of the frenzy around The Untamed in 2019 (was it really then? feels like ages ago). And from a cursory glance thought it was a random chinese drama where people enjoyed to ship the characters a lot. I wasn't interested in shipping. Never have been. I watch a fair number of kdramas and never root for the second leads, I want my couples to be canon and I want to see/read the chemistry spelled out nice and simple for me, thanks. :P But recently, only a few weeks ago, something changed. I don't actually remember what made me do it, but I decided to watch the TGCF donghua S1 (this was mere days before S2 started airing). I've not been ok since.......... It's been probably years since I've dissolved into a giggly, squealy mess on my couch this often.. I've been sucked into the vortex. So after TGCF S1 I needed more and watched MDZS s1. I then decided I wanted to read MDZS because I like my stories spicy and wanted to read the original with the actual romance (and also see if the spice levels were to my liking). It was only at this point I even realized that MDZS=the untamed btw.. I tried out a bit of the first episode and decided I couldn't handle watching that whole thing, knowing the relationship wouldn't actually fully develop on screen due to censorship... So I speedread through the MDZS fan translation. I definitely liked it a LOT. And simultaneously am now following along with TGCF s2. And bought all the TGCF novels (halfway through book 4, pray for me)... pre-ordered some merch... yada yada... It's been a few WEEKS. idk what happened but I'm a new woman. BL never interested me, and idk if I'll be as into danmei stories with a modern setting.. I'm a fantasy girlie and the wuxia/xianxia setting really speaks to that part of me. Somehow it all really hits a spot I didn't know I had. 😶 So thanks for being a space for my word vomit I guess. I've been ready book 4 on the train to work, desperately not trying to show the cover, lest my fellow commuters think I'm not a serious, working woman. I am many things and have many faces. You'll never see them all.
Last time I interacted with the danmei fandom, it was to read the first few chapters of an unofficial Mo Dao Zu Shi translation. It's amazing to see that MXTX's works are more accessible to the rest of the world, good on them.
The Uchiha example really made me laugh😂,because is quite true. One time I wanted to read a narutoXsasuke Bl ‘translation in Chinese,but have to know when did sasuke say this sentence in the animation to get the code to enter. Someone even invent a code system and there are some websites that only allow people to enter with their members’ invitations.❤
As for the hanfu and cosplay costume, personally I think there is no need to bother so much since the whole character style is not authentic ancient Chinese. Ancient Chinese always let their tied, they think only nuts and uncivilized people let their hair down .so it’s obvious the whole wuxia xianxia style is redesigned by modern Chinese. Why bother❤
I got it to Danmei bc my friends sent me two pictures of hc and xl, saying xl is a trash god and hc is a ghost king and they’re in love. Then we watched the donghua, I read the manhua, then the novel and weeks and many tears (book 4 obvi) I’m stuck in the danmei rabbit hole. I finished reading mdzs in just over a week, started reading 2ha and nearly finished scum villan’s. I love these stories so so much and am really glad they’re getting the recognition that they deserve
@@lupinajefferson6337 they’re Xie lian and Hua Cheng (Xie lian is the trash god and Hua Cheng is the ghost king) and they’re from heaven official’s blessing. I’m pretty sure coley has a whole video dedicated to it
I can remember the summer nights I spent in 2021, just falling in love with and absolutely blazing through almost every historical danmei I could get my hands on after reading/watching tgcf (still am). It has been the gateway for many good feelings and memories for me, and I can only hope the community expands towards the positive, commands more international attention, and doesn't breed many peerless cucumbers.
Homie, I have been into danmei for years now, and this beautifully in depth summary contextualised a lot of the knowledge I already had about the genre. Thank you so much - I feel I understand a genre I love so much more ❤️
My first expose to any danmei content whatsoever (that I know of) was back in, like, 2018 when I was browsing the daily deviations on DA. It was a WanXian fanart that I didn’t even know was one because my usual logic was to favorite anything I say, “OH PRETTY” to. What can I say? It was the gorgeous rendering and hair… (I also think the very brief and out-of-context title and description didn’t help either.) Fast forward to my peaked interest in MDZS (very recently, like two weeks ago) and looking at fanart on DA, browsing, finding that piece having a Favorite by me being like, “Why is this favorited because I don’t remember knowing of it.” I browse my favorites gallery, and boom! There it was with the stuff I saw in 2018. It was a daily deviation, so it made sense why I saw it in the first place. XD Hey, I would like to eventually get into more content because oh man! The fanart gets me inspired to draw. The gorgeous hair does it for me.
I recently fell into the danmei rabbithole. I started The Untamed back in 2021, but never got around to finishing it. I got reminded about it a few months ago and decided to read the MDZS novel and got hooked. I finished SVSSS a few days ago after buying it from Barnes and Nobles (very underrated omg) and started TGCF yesterday. It's already consumed my life, but I'm very happy about it :)
Coley, this is such a cool and comprehensive video!!! I loved every minute of it 💗 However, I have to point out that international danmei doesn't begin and end with 7Seas: if anyone is interested in more official danmei, there's In The Dark, Little Mushroom and now Golden Terrace/Stage, published by Peach Blossom Flower House. Thanks for the awesome video ❤️
The first danmei I came across was Scumbag System. I found the series on RUclips, and the fact it was a romance miraculously flew over my head. But thanks to Qingqiu's oblivious ass, I'm now stuck hyperfixating on danmei.
Not my brother (whom I've pulled into the danmei fandom right after me) showing me the authors notes of a wangxian fic where the author apologises for late update because they were busy getting married, right as Coley was talking about it :D Also, they met their now wife when she made art for their fic, so honestly, couples goals right there!
I remember a couple years back seeing a clip from Mo Dao Zu Shi on RUclips. The language was a shocker, but after a while I did a little research and MXTX became one of my favorite storytellers. I've got a good chunk of her novels on my shelf. I'm also reading The Husky and His White Cat Shizun. Danmei is so cool. Thank you for the video.
It's actually super cool to get a run down of the history of danmei. I got into it back in October 2021, right between it's initial boom and it's second wave with the mxtx releases, and I didn't actually know that the Untamed is kinda what pushed it into the spotlight (it's also technically what pushed me into getting into it, altho thru a series of misunderstandings I actually began with the Tgcf donghua). I still haven't seen the Untamed, but it makes a lot more sense now why everyone in my danmei friend group has lmao
I am a straight guy. I like danmei. The Wuxia and Xianxia ones at least. Swordfights and magic are cool, doesn't bother me at all if the boys kiss. Like, good for them. Wish I had anyone who looked at me the way Lan Weiwuji looks at Wei Wuxian. Also, Word of Honor rules, Coley. You will not be disappointed when you dig in! I've never been teased about this but I'm also in my 30s and booted anyone who would mock me for liking this kind of thing from my life a long time ago. As it has been said, hate is always foolish and love is always wise. Folks shouldn't tolerate someone who would denigrate them just for loving something.
Have you read a thousand autumns? The sword fights and qi/magic system is pretty elaborate in that one
lan weiwuji love it
@@kyriee2762 Not yet, I'll have to give it a shot. Mostly I watch dramas and Donghua. I should read more of them though.
@@paxtenebrae it has a 3d cgi donghua like svss if you're interested. Personally i think the donghua is a bit weaker than the novel (plus theres only 1 season rn) but it's great overall and might be the stepping stone you need 😁
Cool cool cool. If you like steampunk and politics and reading maybe keep an eye out for Stars of Chaos that was licensed by Seven Seas (the ones who translated the MXTX novels). Or wait for the drama though who knows if and when they'll release that.
As a Chinese American lesbian, reading danmei (specifically the wuxia/xianxia variety) makes me feel like a normal human being. Growing up, I was always told by my immigrant parents that being gay is a white people/American thing, and if I "choose" to be gay then I make them lose face. Seeing Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian love each other while having long hair and wearing hanfu reminds me that queer people have existed for eternity, even in China. I especially see myself in Lan Wangji, whose loyalty and sense of righteousness are things I resonate with, and seeing him end up with Wei Wuxian makes my hopeless romantic self so hopeful for my own future.
For other sapphic people out there, I'll recommend you to get into danmei's sibling genre: baihe. Baihe is basically Chinese GL and there's a lot less of a market for them, but fan translations are still everywhere and yes, there are wuxia/xianxia stuff too!
Please give Baihe recs, I am desperate for GL content. I love danmei but I need some lesbian books to read.
this comment was so nice to read, im a lesbian (south asian though), who also got obsessed with MDZS and i also see myself in lan wangji because of how he pines for wei wuxian and endlessly supports and loves him
i can also relate to the immigrant parents saying that being queer is a white/ american thing, it sucks
This stupidity of homophobic western beliefs ingraining itself into eastern minds to the point that they think this was the norm back then and that this was original culture or something is baffling so proud of culture yet to dim to actually realize alot of aspects of said culture have been bastardised it’s sad and depressing
What baihe recs do you have?
@@hannahwilliams7026 there’s an authors called please don’t laugh (pdl) and she’s written two of my fav baihes, JWQS and FGEP. if u look them up on google you’ll find the translations easily, but look up trigger warnings! enjoy!!
Why does Danmei feel like a fever dream that took over the internet?
Probably cause it is 😭
Prob bc all the localisations coming in the past couple years
"a good chunk of you are probably danmei fans yourselves" says the goddess who said wangxian so many times i was like "i'm sick and fucking tired of not knowing what she's talking about, lemme just go and-- oops, mxtx addiction."
Literally how I got obsessed.
yess, wangxian supremacy
@@lunarlove1444Same lol
most youtubers would flinch at having to pronounce Chinese and disclaim at the beginning "i am going to mispronounce these...."
Coley: hold my beer. 😎
Coley: *literally fluent in mandarin* this is easy sailing bois
@@Moonmoon-ws6jo i missed that data point at orientation 🤣
@@Moonmoon-ws6joSHE IS?? Mandarin speaking stem major queen holy
@@diane5893 I think in a previous video she mentioned that she learned mandarin when she was younger and her interest in danmei has made her keen to relearn it. Her pronunciation is quite good! I speak mandarin at home and was really pleasantly surprised by her dedication when I first heard her speak
“And pretty boys dance around each other with their swords out”
ーColey 2023
Me and my dirty mind went attractive boys with their "swords".....😉
Absolutely thriving seeing XiYao shown when you said "relationships" HAHA
KICTOR???? hi man i love your vids
HI KICTOR
Lmao same! Also Hiiii Kictor!
I'm a straight guy who likes mo dao zu shi/ untamed. I love the magic system and characters but I always hide it since some people around me might not be supportive of it
I have found that the anticipation of pain - in this case rejection - is often more sever than the pain, itself; much in the same way standing on the diving board is more scary than hitting the water after you jump. Let that freak flag fly, baby!
I think people can love a media differently it doesnt matter if you just like the writing of the story,the worldbuilding,magic system(or any concept/system a story has) or the romance aspects of it it doesnt matter as long as you enjoy that media theres no right way to enjoy something
My Dad wanted to let me pick a show for movie night. So I decided fuck-it, why not show him Untamed. He loves the world too.
@@zoguy6988 what were his thoughts on it?
@@silverdeer4876 He seemed to enjoy it. I know he watches a lot of action anime, so I figured he'd like it.
lets be honest...
the long flowing hair is the best part 🛐
😂😂 true
Why can't I be a pretty man with long flowing hair 😔
@@GHOSTYChoco fr fr
@@GHOSTYChoco all of us deserve to be pretty men with long flowy hair 😔
Damn right. I have a bunch of dummy thicc hair yet it droops like hell and if it had the flowy capabilities, then my life would be complete.
Everyone: Getting into danmei for the plot??? Lmao as if
Shen Qingqiu: . . .
🤭
getting INTO danmei indeed
@@ayuumorienjoyer5913 Yeah. I heard was really INTO the protagonist
@@Sp1derBedo Hey to be fair he was there for the monsters too
@@thirdwolf6439 That's what I was originally referencing lol. The mans read the hentai for the literal plot and world building. A true legend
I think what drew me into wuxia/xianxia danmei was how much dedication they put in the worldbuilding, plot, characters and romance. Most BL media only focuses on one or two of them but not all of those aspects. Sure, I like my pretty men falling in love, but I love seeing that there's so much more to their life than just romance and reacting to stuff happening to them. I love seeing that there is a whole world out there that they live in, with so many people around them. That's also why I love Wangxian in particular, especially LWJ.
The fact that even when WWX died, LWJ lived his own life because he is his own person instead of simply being "the love interest". He's a man with his own set of morals that he stuck to even through his character growth, he has his own loved ones (instead of being the usual love interest who doesn't care about anyone except his partner), his own likes and dislikes, etc. He has his own flaws and mistakes, and he fully felt remorseful about any wrongdoings he did and punished himself for them, learning from his errors and growing better as a person. And he doesn't suddenly go 180 switch in his personality and morals the moment he's with WWX, only that he showed more sides of himself than usual. He's still the same LWJ we know and love.
MDZS and its adaptation singlehandedly created the hardcore and biggest wave of now danmei fans, the power that novel holds will never be forgotten.
THISS
MDZS is absolute classic❤
Honestly, as a Chinese young woman who aspires to be a novelist, I am loving the rising popularity of Chinese media with Crazy Rich Asians, Shang Chi, Iron Widow and this whole genre of Danmei. It makes me feel so proud and more confident in writing stories from my own culture. We have progressed so much from 10 years ago where Asian writers wrote Western stories just because they were the only books on bookshelves.
Cool.
I wouldn't really call Crazy Rich Asians Chinese media, considering how Singaporean culture and way of thinking is very different from mainstream China's
@siegeofmadrigal Singapore is still Asian. Its mostly a Chinese dominated country as well so I say it counts. Plus many of the characters come from mainland China too 🤷♀️
@@kristenphang8587 er, no. Chinese dominated is race based, yes there's obviously holdovers and crossovers but because of the former British colony status and because of modern day sensibilities, there's a massive Western influence on the culture that makes the culture highly distinct from Mainland Chinese culture. But absolutely do use it as an influence on your writing, I'd love to see various Chinese diaspora and cultures be represented in writing.
But Crazy Rich Asians and Shang Chi are god awful. 🤢
Live action Mulan was vomit inducing. 🤮 I hope that’s not your high standard.
There’s better media coming out of mainland China, Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea and Japan.
And why do you need western media to represent you and make you feel confident to write about your culture?
Hollyweird produces wildly inferior content (these days anyway) and Asian countries are and were already putting out excellent high quality content. I’m just not understanding where your inferiority complex is coming from. Why does the west have to produce any Asian content at all with allllll of these superior outlets already present. And yes these countries did have rich entertainment industries 10 yrs ago. More like decades. You don’t need the west to represent you just so you can feel confident in your writing.
… now I’m just imagining a nation like China trying to produce western stories for representation purposes. Lol It wouldn’t work.
It’s better when people stick to what they know best. On average of course. I’m sure there are outliers.
My favorite has to be heavens official blessing. I loved how the relationship doesn't seem forced like a lot of Boys love mangas. The two main characters become closer because they remember time they spent together when they were mortal. Their relationship is so sweet.
Same!! I cant believe that if it werent for my curiosity at 10pm I wouldn't have watched a show that had me on a chokehold for years
Same!
Same!❤
I saw the anime literally yesterday, and I've loved it, every single part of it, I'll definitely check out more danmei now that I've seen how interesting the stories are, because I entered the story expecting to fall in love with the main couple (which I have) butI also fell in love with the lore of the world.
@@guillemmadrigalgallud6306 I would definitely recommend to you to read the novel, it has a lot more chapters and the story is god tier
I live in a major Muslim country and when I saw all MXTX books in front of the bookstore with a big sign of "new York time best seller" my brain went blank. it's also important how tgcf book 4 was also there and my parents is also there. I pretend I don't know what those are 💀
Which country? I'M BEGGGGINGGG, I LIVE IN A MUSLIM COUNTRY ALSO, WISH THEY WERE HERE.
@@はな-f6c2j I'm from Indonesia. The bookstore that sells them are periplus
in my country they don't translate gay stories but they started translating trans stories because they think it's a illnes every teen can have
I live in a mayit catholic country, but these books aren't sold here, at this point I believe is mostly due to people not liking reading tbh 😢
@@はな-f6c2j indonesia or malaysia me thinks
never thought i’d be getting a history lesson on danmei but here we are
"Why Do People Like Danmei?"
She went from the tropes to the wholesome and then-
Coley: "and shizunf*cking"
Me: *Transmigrating due to spit-take gone wrong*
(Tbh, my current fixation in svsss made me feel VERY called out lmfao)
Svsss is the best!
It also makes me so happy to see Chinese culture becoming more popular in western places, because it is so rich in history
I honestly really liked SVSSS almost wholly because of Shen qingqiu's personality being absolutely hilarious, but I love all of MXTX's novels. Love your channel, by the way!
Personally I got into danmei because I was tired of the "wholesome and unproblematic" expectations falling on queer media the past couple of years. And in danmei I found the darkness, grittiness and drama I was craving lol. But now with the surge of popularity, the fandom has been infected by the annoying purists too. Though, I am not worried about danmei itself. No one in China is going to give a f about what Mandy from Arkansas finds problematic.
Yeah, since danmei fandom expanded internationally, it was natural for some freaks and weirdos to come to the fandom and to start creating utter chaos.
For example, Chinese government banned AO3 site in their country because some stupid ass danmei stan wrote fanfiction about actors of Untamed (yes, not Wangxian, but REAL. ASS. ACTORS).
Or just danmei gatekeepers who openly BULLIED people online and told them to go away from the fandom for not being "true fans" (a.k.a. for being completely normal danmei fan).
Or ship stans who harass anyone who doesn't like their ships *hualian stans, khem khem*.
Or Twitter sickos who doxxed someone's private information because somebody didn't like their crazy headcanons.
Or Twiter sickos again, who exist in their own twisted fantasy, and who will wish you to commit suicide because you DARED to critisize their faviourite character. Especially if it's antagonist or villain.
Or Twitter sickos once again who harassed an actual Chinese person and spread nasty lies about them because they said that SVSSS is not a masterpiece of danmei novels (yes, this sounds crazy but it actually happened).
Or yada yada yada yada yada
A lot of crazy situations, and I was one of those who had seen all of this bullshit. Since Twitter suspended me for a simple joke and doesn't let me to get justice and take my account back, I stopped see all these dramas and I'm much happier right now for avoiding so much toxicity.
See someone said it. The whole thing of contemporary unproblematic expectoration many westerners want queer stories to be are so FUCKING BORING.
@@aquaabouttogetfunky this is so late but you definitely put it into words 😭 I was searching for good queer media but a lot of it is almost bland in its desperate bid to stay "unprpblematic" and "politically correct" that the story itself gets sidelined
Danmei was a huge breath of fresh air in that regard for me.
I somehow got my dad into watching MDZS, everytime we talk now we just talk about Wangxian(His fave character is Lan Wangji btw)
That's really awesome!! For me it was my Mom who got me into the Untamed!! Hooray to parents enjoying their kids hobbies!! And yes we love WangXian as well!:)
TGCF will always have my heart for such a pure, well-written love story that has so many other interesting side stories and genres thrown in. I don't think anything else will take its place for me, but there are still so many good novels out there!
Part of why I love danmei (and tbh, I've found that there are a lot of non-danmei Chinese novels with the same traits) is that there's often a lot of plot, but it's still A Romance Novel, which is something I've had a hard time finding in western romance novels 🤷♀️
dude exactly like a lot of Western romance novels are only romance and seem to completely forget about other characters and deep meaningful plots.
XANDER LOUIS AND HUGO CHARLESTON IM LITERALLY DYING. This video was so awesome thank you so much for making it!!
Danmei being discovered by Tiktokers is the worst curse that has ever happened to this world.
Yes 😖
Why? I don’t use TikTok, can someone explain this?
@@Meimoons they basically find everything problematic and just knowing that mxtx novels are written by a woman would make them pass out. Obviously, I am not referring to everyone but the amount of young people there really makes it hard for any mature and understanding discussions to take place.
@@hira4755 yeah they are horrible they keep spreading rumors about her 😖smh
It's everywhere on cn tiktok
DANG a whole 40 minutes about danmei?? Absolutely HERE for it
Also that big stack of books got me so jealous 😩 wish that were me, bestie
Horror Danmei is my bread and butter. In fact the reason I got into it was because I was craving zombie apocalypse stories. Some stories I recommend are "Zombie University", "Paintings of Terror", "I rely on poverty to sweep through survival games", "BOSS's guide to seeking death", "Little Mushroom", and my favorite "Number One Zombie Wife". Enjoy and laugh through the horror
omg same!! theres just something about unlimited flow danmeis that i can't put down, i would also like to recommend kaleidoscope of death, it's really funny and interesting!
Oh thanks for the recommendations!
Paintings of terror is my JAM. Absolutely love it
I'm so glad I can be of help, and I will certainly try out kaleidoscope of death
Paintings of Terror is THE BEST, I'm sorry but I'm living for it
One thing we can't deny that "The untamed" played the biggest role in the whole danmei wave, I still remember like in lockdown it was all over internet and everyone was talking about it sharing clips and all. Not only did it established a very strong career for the two main actors but introduced many to mxtx and the whole danmei thing.
Man, I feel called out. Yeah, perhaps I did start taking Mandarin classes instead of Korean ones, like I was initially planning to, because I read all of the mxtx works 😂 but you don't gotta put me on blast like that, bestie
This was so interesting! I especially appreciated you talking about fans intentionally or unintentionally erasing Chinese aspects of the characters and their worlds. I’m American and currently writing a MDZS fanfiction, and so often I catch myself assuming that certain things are the same over in China as here without thinking about it first. Stuff as little as how old you have to be to drive, to things as big as the food they eat. It’s very eye opening.
the reason i love chinese BL dramas ( just the drama and manhua version not the novels) is because of the nature of their relationship, they are both strong, capable , independent and has their own self respect, they are not possessive and are not toxic, they do not need each others to be able to live, but they choose to be together, they choose to love each others because they want , and you can rarely see this type of relationships in straight dramas !
I like how with each new Mxtx book the pining time egst longer
Svsss- Like 6 months I think-(edit:I've been corrected it was 5 years 😭)
Mdzs- 13? Years
Tgcf-800 Years
Mxtx made pining over years an art form
@@Princessranch wouldn't be it 8 total? 3 for BGH and 5 for SQQ?
@@Princessranch even worse 😭
@@heretowatch2672 no I'm pretty sure it was 3 years for sqq
I believe he says something along the lines of binghe coming back early because in the novel it was 5 yrs and in his timeline it took less
@@LifeLessSquip yes, binghe came back earlier than expected but SQQ was growing for 5 years, wasn't he? I was referring to binghe's wait.
I stumbled into SVSSS head first after munching through a bunch of "yeeted into a book as the villain character" isekai manhwas and just... never left lol
Even when I don't understand what you're talking about, you still put a smile in my face after your hilarious yet accurate explanation. I love you Coley, as a fan.
As a Chinese, I am really happy the danmei fandom outside china looks nice, pure and good. Since it is really a mess and just pure drama sometimes(a lot of times) in china.
But it is still very interesting to see how other countries people have no idea of author’s drama, their “problematic” statement, all the plagiarism controversies, and the danmei wars😂
It is also interesting so see all the “big controversy” authors’ name are in the video, I really thought English danmei fandom is just about mxtc’s three books.
Speaking of MXTX, are they really in trouble with the govt? 🥺 I have no access to weibo and can’t read Chinese 😞 so I’m very curious how chinese authorities are trying to crack down on danmei.
Lmao what's all the drama happening?
EN/Intl danmei fandom is a cesspool too 😭 Speaking as someone who actively engages in it.
@@dallyinghualian PLZ IM SO CURIOUS SOMEONE LET ME KNOW
@@ettaetta439 i don't know much about CN fandom drama. but as for EN, it's difficult to explain since there's always different fights everytime.
Yeah, but no, seriously. When are we getting Scum Villain season 2? I am in dire need of more screen time for the secondary couple, because as it stands, *people who haven't read the novels don't realize they exist* and this fact is killing me everytime they're excluded from the MXTX couple line-up! 😭
I don't have high hopes for season 2, since Scum Villain isn't as popular as later MXTX's works, and the fact that "Scumbag's System" received many negative reviews for their bad character designs, which are too different from characters in the novel (who da fuck decided that white hair for Mobei-jun is a good idea???), for their bad 3D models and for their unnecessary contradictions from the novel.
I also like the secondary couple, Moshang, much more than any ship in SVSSS. And it's sad for me to see that people don't even consider Moshang as "real couple" because they didn't have as much appearance as Bingqiu in the novel. Some people even say they're not canon despite them being canon.
Mentioning flowery language (at 23:06) immediatly got me thinking of some of the dick jokes written into the stories. Examples in SVSSS: "Airplane shooting torwards the sky" and "Perleess cucumber" to mention some quick. But I otherwise agree with reading Danmei to learn about culture. I find myself loving the slang used by the authors, and that I mostly enjoy reading fan-translation due to them taking their time to explain stuff in translaters notes.
To be fair, I started reading Wuxia/ Xianxia before Danmei due to my brothers telling me stories about cultivators creating crazy pills while trying to become immortal and about this one guy that is basicly immortal finally getting his body back and wanting to tear down the heavens to achieve what he wants. And I just fell in love with the culture and the writing, and how complex some of these stories get.
It's always such a treat whenever Coley covers danmei! 🥰🥰🥰
Thank you for talking about the tgcf purity issue
It’s insane for someone like me who got into tgcf casually to see the discourse when i tried to join the fandom. In fact it’s put me and several of my friends off from tgcf as a whole. Instead I usually engage with mdzs fandom even though it does have its fair share of discourse, it’s not as overwhelming and not as full of minors (rip TikTok tgcf fans)
It was so nice watching the donghua of MDZS and loving every part of the story, especially the characters. Getting to know them, (WWX's especially, one of my favorite characters in fiction now) and knowing that the relationship between the two MCs was genuinely romantic, made me so happy. There was not toxic SA between them, just love, affection, and actual chemistry.
the fact that u posted this as I was reading a danmei novel…
I think the biggest shock about entering the danmei fandom is figuring out I can actually read
I got into MDZS and MXTX's novels around 2019 because of your fandom deepdive video on MDZS so it's great to see more videos surrounding this type of content! also I'd love to get more danmei reccs for me to read/watch lol
being Viet and growing up reading danmei (in Viet since our cultures and languages share a lot of similarities due to history and we get a lot of access and exposure to CN media) seeing danmei becoming popular in anglophonic fandom spaces is such a nice change ✨ the english names give me sm whiplash tho 🥲🥲
i was one of the ones who got hooked by the animated version of mdzs--- my life was altered irreversibly... i LOVE this series so freaking much. and it's made me fall inlove with Wuxia and Xianxia as a whole and i keep reading more and more.
adding: I relate to the characters more in some ways than i do characters in most us series, I grew up in a house with a father who was obsessed with martial arts, and would watch chinese and japanese martial arts dramas in their original language with subtitles. i had forgotten or rather brushed it off and not really understood why my family dynamic at home was so different than friends i made in high school and later work colleagues, but having watched and read for three years now I'm realizing why i always felt like an odd bird.
can I just add as well, I grew up christian, but the way my family believes definitely aligns more in someways with Daoism on one side and wicca on the other and it puts us sort of at odds with other christians... which is why we hold our church services at home /awkward/
danmei media came to me in the form of the MDZS donghua when I was basically having an identity and sexuality crisis during the pandemic. it was the stuff that made me realize I was trans and want someone who would wait 800 years for me (which is how I even got friends from it bc badabing badaboom all of us are queer 💀)
For me it came to me in the form of the live action ver The Untamed and i too had a sexuality crisis and one of the kickers was headcanoning my fav Untamed villian (Xue Yang) as bisexual beginning to make XY/Yi City fancontent and also happening to make an Untamed editor online friend who is also bisexual and lo and behold now I too realized I am bisexual (it was something I was going back and forth on for years tho for a plethora of other reasons too tho). Hooray to MDZS for helping us realize we are queer!!
@@thewoesofyicity Idk why but all bisexual danmei readers I've met either liked Wei Wuxian or Xue Yang. Even me too😭 And I'm also bi😭😭
@@peachesandcream22 Wow that's a pretty cool coincedence and your right i even know another Untamed fancreator that is bi and loves both characters!! Hooray to WWX & XY uniting the bis!
not into danmei personally but I swear, there's some secret sauce in it that just makes creators go bonkers. In the early plague years it revived some of my fav artists and authors on Ao3. They suddenly went active again after months long hiatus to post long haired men in hanfu content lol. Even my friend who's usually very much not into BL stuff (and romance in general tbf) reads TGCF at some point and starts drawing/posting content again. Haven't seen them so excited for being in a fandom for a long time. Kinda wish I could get into it but I've tried and it's just not my thing. Happy for those who like them tho; they're always having a feast
Never apologize for dragging people into Danmei. It is one of the best things that have happened to me in my life 🙌❤🔥❤🔥❤🔥
I will never forget that feeling when I found out that WangXian was canon 😳🤯
Same! When Google had their relationship status as married I was shook
@@TurtleRabbitKimSooya MDZS is a BL, why would you people be that shocked??
@@haitangweiyu probably because the drama keeps their relationship platonic bc of censorship
@@haitangweiyu Yeah I didn't know it was bl at first
@@haitangweiyu I saw the donghua and even started reading the book before I knew what Danmei meant and that it was much more than some cheap queerbaiting...
I regret everything in life BUT watching/knowing abt danmei novels is an exception fr
I have read and/or watched so much Danmei, both complete and still in progress, that i need to get started on an Excel sheet to keep track of everything. I don't want to miss any new chapters/books in my ongoing series. 😄
svsss still has me and my heart in a chokehold and i'm so fucking sad that only a 3d donghua adaptation is all it has and a 2nd season that is announced but always delayed 😭😭 mdzs had been my gateway into danmei and im happy for mdzs and tgcf's success but please give some love to svsss. At least continue the manhua 😭😭
As a Chinese fan, I honestly love that many more people is getting into Danmei.
I’m 14, my sisters introduced me to the fandom after I came out at 12, told me to stay away from the 18+ stuff, but I had already been reading that sort of stuff since 11 (BAD IDEA, DON’T DO IT KIDS) and now I’m mildly scarred, but hey, I know I’m asexual 🤷
I’ve made sure to remember that it is over all an adult space, and I can’t get upset about that as I am the one intruding.
Don’t know what this is, but I’ll still watch the whole thing
I looooooovveee your point about people liking gay escapism without the political and social side of it. Holy shit do we have a lack of that and on the Western side we do nooottt provide that in our historical fantasies. I loved BL before I knew I was gay, I never felt an anxiety or even need to come out (to family), and I kinda like that that experience is depicted in Danmei and a lot of BL. Like we have enough of that media and those struggles, just give me "normal" and supernatural romantic struggles pls.
It's weird to relate my Sleep Token fandom and obsession with Danmei and that fandom. Especially the identity doxing issues.
Lol on the switch/top/bottom issues. I uh...ironically switch through all three sides of these points all the time.
I watched MDZS's donghua first and also looked into the live action, The Untamed. I wouldn't say I didn't like it but it haven't really got me hooked. This time around I started TGCF's donghua and binged the first season. I got obsessed! I also started reading the manhua and I'm getting the novel for sure!! I plan on going back to MDZS eventually and finally watching that too. Danmei's are going to take over my life, I can already feel it! lmao
got into this genre via the Untamed, the MDZS anime, also the netlix Heaven Official blessing. So when you said that MXTX novels were translated to English and they were available at barnes and nobles i literally turned to my husband like "we are going to barnes and nobles!" I currently have the MDZS novels. i will be getting the other ones once im finished. So thank you so much coley i would have never found out about this on my own honestly.
I had a very bad first impression when i first saw photos of MDZS donghua on my twitter timeline back in 2018. I hated the artstyle and wondered why the hell it was getting so popular and they kept appearing on my tl.
After a fave cartoon series of mine ended in major disappointment, by sheer curiosity i tried giving the MDZS donghua a chance. I told myself, i'll watch the first episode and see if i like it.
BAM! The first 5 minutes automatically got me sucked into it.
The horror theme? Exorcism using musical instruments? Murder mystery??? All those are fucking right up my alley. It took some episodes for me to get used to the donghua's art style, but after a few episodes i got over that issue bc the story was so damn good.
After finishing season 1 at the time, i immediately started reading the novel from a fansite and waited for each chapter to get translated until the end. It was the most satisfying story i had ever get to experience in my 30yrs of life at the time.
Moral of the story, as always, don't judge a book by its cover (or its artstyle or genre) until you've given it a chance. I was so wrong for thinking MDZS was probably gonna be some typical shallow BL pretty twink bois sappy love story with little substance.
Anyway, no matter how many years have passed & how many danmei stories will pop up, MDZS will always have a special place in my heart.
my first danmei experience is when i got curious and pressed play on heaven official's blessing donghua on netflix.. since then, my life changed.. i finished the donghua and continue to read the novel WHILE started watching the untamed.. so, i was reading TGCF and watching TU AT THE SAME TIME.. you can imagine my days filled with screaming, squealing, pillow biting and punching.. it was a whole mental breakdown.. by the time i finished both, i became a full-fledged danmei fangirl.. since then, i have read lots of other novels and genres and fics.. getting into danmei universe is one thing i am thankful for cuz it gives me so much meaning and love and passion in my life.
(P.S my most fav (all time fav) danmei novel is TGCF.. HUALIAN GOT ME IN A CHOKEHOLD FOR LIFE)
I'm a (seemingly) straight female. I've always been into gay stuff. When I was in high school, all I read was gay stories on wattpad. My brother always wanted me to get into anime with him. I never gave it a chance until I moved home and had nothing else to watch. In the midst of me watching anime on crunchyroll, I discovered tgcf. I was so in love with it, I rewatched it like four times and watched other bl anime. Through yt comments on bl recommendations and tgcf videos did I learn about the world of danmei and mdzs and here I am, reading yaoi manwhas and MXTX novels and watching danmei donghua, trying to find fujo and fudan fans to fangirl with over the cuteness. I watch for the gay factor, but the story is always intriguing to me. I just purchased all of the SVSSS novels for the gay, but it was page-turning even though the gay didn't happen until later on. That's good writing. I'm also a writer and plan on using an alias making a play on my middle names (was it a coincidence that my two middle names start with an L and a B?) My first novel is going to have a straight (non annoying female lead) couple and a gay couple (also lead), and afterwards, my next book is going to be straight gay (oxymoron, Ik) and I'm so excited. These donghua are inspiring me. I'm also a hopeless romantic so a lot of the scenarios I have that won't come true for me, I'll probably include those in my works😊
I tripped and fell so hard into the reincarnation danmei genre after watching reborn rich this last year.
Just so you know Coley, you're actually to blame for my recent deep dive into danmei. It was from one of the mentions in your "crazy fandom moments" video. I'd seen stuff about The Untamed and have seen MXTX books in bookstores when I've gone, but I've just kind of shrugged it off as, I'll look into it someday but today is not that day. Well I've ventured in, and I'm now deep down the rabbit hole. I started with the donghua of Heaven Official's Blessing and OMG I absolutely fell in love with Hualian! I've info dumped on my partners about it in depth and then I watched SVSSS and MDZS donghua and fell even more in love with the genre. I'm currently in the middle of watching the Untamed, while interspersing with other various danmei donghuas that I have in queue(I've got 4 different ones opened in different tabs and another list saved as a bookmark of recommended ones.) The Untamed, in some ways moreso than the MDZS donghua, due to its live action nature and story additions, delves deep into aspects of power hungry tyrants and harsh war crimes, as well as the unfair nature of their black and white viewpoints in the cultivation "orthodoxy." It has been a bit heavy on my heart so I've had to go through slower than I normally would when binging a show. I'm usually quick to read fanfiction for pretty much any media that I consume, so I've already read many fics and will likely read many more. My favorite are time travel or AU fix-its because the characters deserve some fix-its or fluff tossed their direction. I made a list of all the danmeis you mentioned and will likely venture into them as I go so thanks for the recs! I haven't ventured too much in the the fandom discourse on tumblr or elsewhere so thanks for the heads up on what I might encounter and why. But I have found some amazing sources for fanart.
Another thing I wanted to express my appreciation for was the section where you described enjoying smut as "some people just love spicy food" and how "some asexual folks enjoy reading smut despite not vibing with it irl."
1. I LOVE spicy food in a literal sense. ^_^
2. I'm asexual and have had a weird relationship with the fact that I love reading smut. The kinkier the better. And it's weird to talk about it irl even with my partners because I greatly enjoy reading smut, but I hate gratuitous sex scenes in visual media because they seem like they're just sprinkled on but have no flavor or substance, and I'm also sex-repulsed with anything having to do with me involved in sex with other people. So just, thank you for how it was phrased because I felt so seen at that moment.
So yeah, you are entirely to blame for my current hyperfixation and you have my eternal thanks for it.
I got into danmei after watching tgcf donghua on netflix, I didn't know what the story is about wasn't even expecting any romance and was honestly surprised when I found out about the novel, even tho it's not characters relationships that got me interested, but I quickly fell in love with hua cheng and xie lian's story. after that I started reading more and more novels. :p I think erha has to be my favourite one because if just how much pain it brought me and because of roubao's writing. tbh im glad I got into this fandom because it made me really interested in chinese culture, daoism and learning mandarin.
It is so great to see someone talking about danmei and BL in such a complete and rational way, all the questions was well done treated
i live laugh love danmei novels sosoosososos much and have read tgcf, mdzs, svsss, 2ha and currently am reading thousand autumns! recently i tried reading red white and royal blue (english BL) and im sorry to disappoint any eng BL fans but it just didnt hit that spot for me 🙁🙁 i think its cuz ive grown too accustomed to the insane slowburn and building of the characters backstories and personalities that ultimately blooms into an amazing romance with great worldbuilding and side characters id die for in danmei novels.. imo eng BL just misses the depth and richness danmei has, but people have different tastes and some people just like a quick and sweet fluffy romance which i can appreciate as well
I do hope people find other genres in danmei rather than just the cultivation centric world. There are other really popular tropes as well and plot heavy ones under a different setting! I am a horror danmei enjoyer and really like “Unlimited Flow” danmeis. I’m glad you actually went in depth into such a topic
I am still watching, but I def saw the infighting immediately. My local B&N had a whole display with all of the Danmei books they had on display, and I saw Remnants of Filth and was intrigued. Almost all the things I saw online on my quick google search looking for where to start hinted at some kind of contempt to MXTX but claimed that they were the most prevalent one. I ended up picking up Heaven Offical's Blessing to start with (which is funny because I wanted a smaller book to start with and may have accidentally picked the largest one, lol), and so far I've thoroughly enjoyed it!
Thank you for addressing the weird homophobia from danmei fans. My wife and I have fallen in love with the genre, and it is really disconcerting how much some fans seem to absolutely hate anything... Gay in their gay fandom.
I've had people argue with me about the evils of fetishization and sexualization of gay people when I am literally a 30-something married lesbian saying that not everyone is a switch and being gay is obviously about more than sex BUT SEX IS A REALLY IMPORTANT PART HELLO??? I spent most of my life not having media that depicted adult (not inherently explicit but mature, grown up) relatjonships between people of the same sex. Everything is about coming out, everything's about kids in high school or characters that are actually bi (which is great for those that want that but it's exhausting to read gay love stories that always include opposite sex attraction from at least one of the protagonists. Gay people fall in love with other gay people, too! In fact, many of us have a strong preference for it!), or they are completely pure relationships stripped of anything but chaste kisses followed by five chapters of self-hatred. Idk. I love that we live in a time that we can read real love stories between gay adults, and the fact that so many "fans" seem to think that is weird and fetishy is just... Homophobic! It just is!
I first learned about SVSSS when an AO3 author I followed started writing about it. I ignored it at first, but then they wrote a crossover with the fandom I followed them for so I read that. Got curious. Read their other SVSSS works. Fell into the SVSSS hole, and now I'm also in the TGCF hole reading the novel, and after that I'll watch MDZS donghua afterwards lol
Your talk about danmei being a mix of things not just romance, made me remember my younger self who was very much not interested in romance and would only read if there are others plots going on too, so no wonder I'm loving these danmei! I get fluffy feelings and giggle about Hua Cheng taking the chance to hold Dianxia's hands with the excuse of "teaching the proper posture" while also being gripped by the lore and the worldbuilding and the "what the heck happened to Xie Lian these past 800 years damn" and etc etc
and yess the xianxia/wuxia setting was a nice change of pace and it was interesting to learn about chinese culture (ancient or not) stuff. Grandfather is chinese but I never set foot in china and wasn't taught even one word of chinese, so this is a nice...sort of "taking a step" in chinese media when I mostly absorbed western media
(I just keep adding into this as I watch and get thoughts I wanna share)
21:41 Sometimes I jokingly cry to myself: "I swear I'm not looking for gay stuff on purpose, I just stumble into them! And end up loving them! And getting into their fandom!" Like, if the world wants me to get into more het romance then they should make better het romance. Not my fault Hualian is so good and that a lot of girl/boy pairs in media end up together just cause theyre girl and boy despite lacking chemistry.
Sitting here listening blankly to all the fandom drama and what people are apparently arguing about, telling myself that I will never get involved with all that
.... thank you ancestors for moving out of China because things there do not sound good
if i remember correctly, i got into danmei bc i saw some people online making tgcf references and also i saw faline san's video about tgcf, so i decided, eh im bored so why not give it a shot? i found out there was a donghua, watched it, fell in love, read the entire novel IN 2 DAYS 💀💀 and the rest is history. ive been a danmei fangirl since late june 2023 and i will never forget how danmei quite literally changed my life. all my life ive been a homophobic christian until early 2023 when my mindset started to shift. after my danmei craze, i was fully non-homophobic LMAOOO and i couldnt understand for the life of me why i had hated people for LOVING each other like ?? theyre cute and in love and happy and i didnt know why i was so hypocritical, talking about showing love as a christian while condemning people in love just bc they were of the same gender?? i did research, watched LGBTQ+ pastors talk about their findings and stories, realised that HOLY SHIT I THINK IM BI OR AROACE💀 and now, im glad to say that im a proud christian ally as of nov 2023!!
The fact I have been reading danmei, xianxia and wuxia, and xuanhuan since 2016 and it just started being popular is amazing
I like reading Chinese Novels especially danmei. I have read a lot of them online but not every novel is worth to be read because the story is not well told, the English translation is bad or for other reasons which let me drop them. My favourite novels are The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation and Faraway Wanderers by Priest because I like the stories
and the development of the characters and their relationship. In Germany actually four English novels are available in the book stores, the three of MXTX and Erha. These books are sold as bl light novels and can be found among Japanese manga and light novels. GDF is published in German translation as well as the manhua book. The first volume of the manhua was released in December 2022 and was completely sold out only after one week and has now to be reprinted. Last week I bought the second volume. Meanwhile Seven Seas has announced the publication of some other danmei novels in 2023 and I hope more will follow.
I just got into danmei last month through TGCF, more specifically seeing a reaction to the first two episodes of the donghua in Danny Motta's channel. I was absolutely IN LOVE with the animation and the character of Xie Lian and Ling Wen and really wanted to get into it more. I ended up watching the rest by myself and read the whole book online and falling into the rabbit hole that is TGCF. Just 3 days ago I finally read the manhua of MDZS and finished yesterday (my favourite character is Wen Ning!) and I'm getting into that rabbit hole as well. I'm thinking of cosplaying San Lang in my school's book week in about 6-7 months time (if I cosplay Hua Cheng I'll have to annoy the class with all the loud jewellery plus I'm short :( ). I love it so much and thinking of getting into more danmei, I've even tried getting my friends into it (to no avail currently :,) ) just so that I can finally have someone to gush over with.
Fun fact, TGCF is the very first book that got me to cry (specifically in chapter 240-241, they got me sobbing)
danmei finally gave china soft power and as chinese diaspora i am here for it!! can’t wait for danmei to become the thing nerds are bullied for in school instead of kpop or anime LMAOOO
Sadly CCP want to shot their own soft power potential LMAO
I loved learning about this fandom's story, it's very interesting, thank you!
41:43 And a year later they allowed Justice in the Dark and give a first pass to HOB and 2erha (tho they can't simultaniusly be aired) and then the Private Media (Tencent, Youku and Mango) realese a whole list of pending BL adaptation...and THEN we just recently have the news of a OMAGEVERSE adaptation into LA. Is like media saying they can curb strict regulations with even more extreme ways. I think international fandom has also contribute to this and i'm glad for it.
24:55 you converted a your friend Mormon elementary teacher? Coley you’re clearly doing the lords job😂 it was clear fate, nothing could have been more perfect 🤣
Danmei was introduced to me by the untamed I watch it so much it’s a drama that I have no problem over and over again. Somehow I even got my boyfriend at the time obsessed with it as well. He was the one who introduced me to the fandom of MDZS. I am been a fan of all danmei I remember waiting for immortality to release and watching the time going by wonder when it was going on. Then when Word of Honor came I also can watch this drama over and over again.
Danmei is my fandom-in-law thank you for this!! I have been seeing so much Untamed and Heaven Official's Blessing stuff for a while with no context, it was so fun to learn about it!
I was aware of the frenzy around The Untamed in 2019 (was it really then? feels like ages ago). And from a cursory glance thought it was a random chinese drama where people enjoyed to ship the characters a lot. I wasn't interested in shipping. Never have been. I watch a fair number of kdramas and never root for the second leads, I want my couples to be canon and I want to see/read the chemistry spelled out nice and simple for me, thanks. :P
But recently, only a few weeks ago, something changed. I don't actually remember what made me do it, but I decided to watch the TGCF donghua S1 (this was mere days before S2 started airing). I've not been ok since.......... It's been probably years since I've dissolved into a giggly, squealy mess on my couch this often.. I've been sucked into the vortex.
So after TGCF S1 I needed more and watched MDZS s1. I then decided I wanted to read MDZS because I like my stories spicy and wanted to read the original with the actual romance (and also see if the spice levels were to my liking). It was only at this point I even realized that MDZS=the untamed btw.. I tried out a bit of the first episode and decided I couldn't handle watching that whole thing, knowing the relationship wouldn't actually fully develop on screen due to censorship...
So I speedread through the MDZS fan translation. I definitely liked it a LOT. And simultaneously am now following along with TGCF s2. And bought all the TGCF novels (halfway through book 4, pray for me)... pre-ordered some merch... yada yada...
It's been a few WEEKS. idk what happened but I'm a new woman. BL never interested me, and idk if I'll be as into danmei stories with a modern setting.. I'm a fantasy girlie and the wuxia/xianxia setting really speaks to that part of me. Somehow it all really hits a spot I didn't know I had. 😶
So thanks for being a space for my word vomit I guess. I've been ready book 4 on the train to work, desperately not trying to show the cover, lest my fellow commuters think I'm not a serious, working woman. I am many things and have many faces. You'll never see them all.
Last time I interacted with the danmei fandom, it was to read the first few chapters of an unofficial Mo Dao Zu Shi translation. It's amazing to see that MXTX's works are more accessible to the rest of the world, good on them.
The Uchiha example really made me laugh😂,because is quite true. One time I wanted to read a narutoXsasuke Bl ‘translation in Chinese,but have to know when did sasuke say this sentence in the animation to get the code to enter. Someone even invent a code system and there are some websites that only allow people to enter with their members’ invitations.❤
As for the hanfu and cosplay costume, personally I think there is no need to bother so much since the whole character style is not authentic ancient Chinese. Ancient Chinese always let their tied, they think only nuts and uncivilized people let their hair down .so it’s obvious the whole wuxia xianxia style is redesigned by modern Chinese. Why bother❤
I got it to Danmei bc my friends sent me two pictures of hc and xl, saying xl is a trash god and hc is a ghost king and they’re in love. Then we watched the donghua, I read the manhua, then the novel and weeks and many tears (book 4 obvi) I’m stuck in the danmei rabbit hole. I finished reading mdzs in just over a week, started reading 2ha and nearly finished scum villan’s. I love these stories so so much and am really glad they’re getting the recognition that they deserve
What exactly is the name of this ghost king / trash god manhua you are talking about? You have caught my attention 😃
@@lupinajefferson6337 they’re Xie lian and Hua Cheng (Xie lian is the trash god and Hua Cheng is the ghost king) and they’re from heaven official’s blessing. I’m pretty sure coley has a whole video dedicated to it
I can remember the summer nights I spent in 2021, just falling in love with and absolutely blazing through almost every historical danmei I could get my hands on after reading/watching tgcf (still am). It has been the gateway for many good feelings and memories for me, and I can only hope the community expands towards the positive, commands more international attention, and doesn't breed many peerless cucumbers.
I've only read tgcf so far and ill start reading the schum villains self saving system next week
Homie, I have been into danmei for years now, and this beautifully in depth summary contextualised a lot of the knowledge I already had about the genre. Thank you so much - I feel I understand a genre I love so much more ❤️
My first expose to any danmei content whatsoever (that I know of) was back in, like, 2018 when I was browsing the daily deviations on DA. It was a WanXian fanart that I didn’t even know was one because my usual logic was to favorite anything I say, “OH PRETTY” to. What can I say? It was the gorgeous rendering and hair…
(I also think the very brief and out-of-context title and description didn’t help either.)
Fast forward to my peaked interest in MDZS (very recently, like two weeks ago) and looking at fanart on DA, browsing, finding that piece having a Favorite by me being like, “Why is this favorited because I don’t remember knowing of it.” I browse my favorites gallery, and boom! There it was with the stuff I saw in 2018. It was a daily deviation, so it made sense why I saw it in the first place. XD
Hey, I would like to eventually get into more content because oh man! The fanart gets me inspired to draw. The gorgeous hair does it for me.
Mo Dao Zu Shi was my first introduction to donghua. My favourites now are Swallowed Star, Soul Land and Record of a Mortal's journey to immortality.
You..... You are really encouraging me to read mdzs again during my exams....not fair😄😅😆😆
Thank you for this! I saw it all but never decided to get into it. It's nice to learn about it from the outside!
I recently fell into the danmei rabbithole. I started The Untamed back in 2021, but never got around to finishing it. I got reminded about it a few months ago and decided to read the MDZS novel and got hooked. I finished SVSSS a few days ago after buying it from Barnes and Nobles (very underrated omg) and started TGCF yesterday. It's already consumed my life, but I'm very happy about it :)
Coley, this is such a cool and comprehensive video!!! I loved every minute of it 💗 However, I have to point out that international danmei doesn't begin and end with 7Seas: if anyone is interested in more official danmei, there's In The Dark, Little Mushroom and now Golden Terrace/Stage, published by Peach Blossom Flower House.
Thanks for the awesome video ❤️
The first danmei I came across was Scumbag System. I found the series on RUclips, and the fact it was a romance miraculously flew over my head. But thanks to Qingqiu's oblivious ass, I'm now stuck hyperfixating on danmei.
41:53 China competing kdramas and them building their soft power in the next year-- yooo I’ve been consuming cdramas since 2017 about time
Me up here OBSESSED with Lan Xichen/Meng Yao... like very obsessed
Heavens Official Blessing has a chokehold on me because the art in the novel is so pretty 😭
Not my brother (whom I've pulled into the danmei fandom right after me) showing me the authors notes of a wangxian fic where the author apologises for late update because they were busy getting married, right as Coley was talking about it :D Also, they met their now wife when she made art for their fic, so honestly, couples goals right there!
I remember a couple years back seeing a clip from Mo Dao Zu Shi on RUclips. The language was a shocker, but after a while I did a little research and MXTX became one of my favorite storytellers. I've got a good chunk of her novels on my shelf. I'm also reading The Husky and His White Cat Shizun. Danmei is so cool. Thank you for the video.
Being fed today. Got danmei content from both Coley and Danny Motta, we love to see it 😌👏
heck yeah
It's actually super cool to get a run down of the history of danmei. I got into it back in October 2021, right between it's initial boom and it's second wave with the mxtx releases, and I didn't actually know that the Untamed is kinda what pushed it into the spotlight (it's also technically what pushed me into getting into it, altho thru a series of misunderstandings I actually began with the Tgcf donghua). I still haven't seen the Untamed, but it makes a lot more sense now why everyone in my danmei friend group has lmao