halfcactus

About:
Ya She (Silent House) is a series of books about a magical antique shop with a customer-of-the-week format. A donghua adaptation (free to watch on Youtube) came out last year. A full-cast audiobook came out this year on Missevan and is currently releasing 10-minute episodes of volume 1.

I haven't read the novel (or gotten past the Bronze Mirror episodes in the audiobook), but I saw the donghua some months ago and wasn't too enthused about it—I'm finding the novel/radio adaptation more my speed in terms of emotional resonance and atmosphere. I'm tempted to read the novel now that I'm finding out the writing style seems appropriate for my reading level (low)? But the next chapters might dip into lore, myth, and fantasy more, so idk, we'll see.



( Translation transcript )

( Translation notes )

I'm back to my regular hermit life but last month was... unexpectedly social. And most of the food I tried outside was mid, so I took pictures of cats instead:

Probably the most memorable convo I had was when I asked a visitor, a pharmacist in NYC Chinatown, if there had been a sudden uptick in vaccinations in light of recent political developments (something that daisydiversions had spoken to me about earlier in that day in our near-weekly groupwatch call). And he was like, “there was, but it was because of the news about that Taiwanese actress”… RIP Barbie Hsu, I didn't realize you were so popular in the west.

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Recently watched / currently watching:

Soulmate Adventure S1: Baihe(?) + wuxia donghua about a thief and her mysterious white-haired girlfriend... This is the truest experience of watching something for the ship because I have no head for wuxia or plot and just zoned out every time other characters were talking. It didn't help that we watched a Youtube compilation which cut out the opening and ending songs and didn't give us any breathing room.

Highly recommend the New Year extra AND the original concept MV (set to 髮如雪 / Hair Like Snow) (h/t douqi for both) for 10/10 watches. So cute! And romantic! And a little bit emotional!

I also liked that the animation had a paper texture overlay and artsy touches—it all really came alive in episode 3, which was one of the more beautiful episods.

哑舍 Ya She: Modern-day supernatural donghua about a magical antique shop that attracts customers with wishes and fatedness... which reminds me a bit of Yuuko's shop in xxxHolic. I'm not sure if the novel this is based on is gen or danmei, but the mysterious shopkeeper and the doctor are very shippy.

Only saw two eps before getting distracted with Bai Yao Pu. I wasn't particularly moved by the customers/artifacts of the week (probably because it was two romance-leaning cases in a row), but I do like the concept and format. The whole thing is free to watch on Youtube too so I might pick it up again when I'm in the mood.

CW for stylized visions of animal harm in ep 1 (the animal will be fine)

百妖谱 Bai Yao Pu (also known as Fairies Album): Fantasy donghua about a traveler who helps the spirits she meets along the way but is otherwise morally dubious. Yaoguai-of-the-week format with folk fantasy, nice storytelling, quiet emotional destruction, and found family potential. Seems pretty gen too! Well, so far. XD I've only finished three eps but this is shaping up to be my favorite donghua though I'm keeping my expectations nonexistent. It's a great winding-down watch; I turn off the lights and never skip the OP and ED.

童話故事下集 I Am Married... But!: Newly released Alice Ko/Ko Chia-yen drama about marriage conflicts + living in modern-day Taiwan. A lot of "relatable" details about living with a very traditional mother-in-law. Jasper Liu was a good casting choice for the husband because he really is so cute, but the cuteness is less effective the longer he and Alice Ko's character are married. Only two eps in and so far enjoying it as a show that feels like a movie. It's only around 30 mins / ep so it's kind of a chill lunchtime watch that doesn't need much attention...