LINK TO REACTION: https://share.vidyard.com/watch/j4HkAEjyX2k42UdR8cKLjN?
**SELF-HATING HEADPHONE WARNINGS**
The dirty laundry of the Golden Banquet gets aired and Lan QianQiu learns the truth of his parents’ murder and those involved…meanwhile, Xie Lian finally vents his frustrations to Hua Cheng, who seems more than empathetic to his cause…and Qi Rong seems to be disposed of? For how long?
This was a very sad episode, but still LOTS to talk about!
Thank you for watching with me and for all the support!
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/RomaniaBlack
My Anime: https://myanimelist.net/profile/RomaniaBlack
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/RomaniaBlack
You can mail me a letter or anything (except food, please) at this address:
Romania Black
PO Box 768
Harrisburg, IL 62946 USA
source
This is such a good episode, they censored a lot but the direction and the music made up for how bloody and tragic the banquet was
As for shipping JW and XL, I think that most people ship them as "this is an interesting dynamic and I want to explore it even if (or because) it's toxic and abusive" and not actually wanting them to end up in any way in the actual story (ofc there are people like that, but I don't see them very often). Shipping doesn't always entail wanting something to be canon, that's how it works for me at least
This was such a good episode, the expanded context of the political situation between Xian Le and Yong An is great especially for donghua onlies. The voice acting and the animation was top notch, I'm very impressed that they managed to show QR being cut in half and turned into soup w, it looked gruesome even without the blood. Speaking of our favorite green pest, he was just as fun to watch as always, but the animation somehow managed to make him look intimidating and also very human and vulnerable in the flashback of his childhood with XL. Amazing content 💋👌 (I think that shot of him when he was Guzi's age was from that time when other kids tricked him into wishing for death with a lantern and XL defended him🫠)
Speaking of THAT moment… 😬😬 yyyyyyeah, that was… something 💀 The show is confirmed to have 12 episodes, no break in between the broadcast of ep 11 and 12/ova like last time.
I am so happy that you were enjoying Qi rong…I honestly could not tolerate him at all. It was so satisfying when Lang Qianqiu slashed him.
Anle gives off so many Jin Guanyao vibes. He's being discriminated against and plotting against those who have wronged him. He plays the role of being a little too polite. He even wears yellow.
Spoilers for donghua only…..
In the original work, mxtx interestingly also told us about the end of XL's parents and his attempt (in form of a dream) at the start of Book 4, long before the actual scene, as well! (Chapter 181 if I'm not mistaken)…The scene with XL's parents was probably intended to be emotional because XL lost and experienced so much up to this point instead of being a suprising outcome. Seeing him then once again loose someone dear to him is absolutly heartbreaking!
It's still an interesting choice do give us this information that early, since we haven't really met them apart from one scene….
Fun fact :the big thing that you see on the banquet is an instrument and is called biānqìng .The big things are stones and its stone when you hit it produce different tone is an instrument that has a history over 3000 years and mostly used for ceremonies and religious purposes.
Spoilers for donghua only🎉
I think that donghua tries to please both donghua and not donghua only 😂 cause they make such an effort to explain with the flashback the hole situation and political issues in the novel we don't have such a detail about the incident and also hints from book 4 we see in the ed also when I see the scene with the hanging parents I was not upset I get goosebumps all over I said bravo donghua team 👏👏👏😱 they take the effort to make as feel even more terrible 😂 after this episode.I want to say congrats to Ch VA for the performance of XL the acting was superb I was afraid for this scene cause XL was so emotionally unstable but they made more than justice also for the animation the expression ahh perfect. And lastly I want to point out but I'm not sure about this that now that I see the ed the thing that stabs the mask maybe is the hairpin that LQQ was prepared for his mother.
Spoiler alert! May not be 100% donghua-only friendly!
THE HANGING FLASHBACK? THE MASSACRE? If the donghua team is willing to put this much effort into this flashback that was not explicitly detailed in the novels, then I will not be PREPARED for how they dig their teeth into the pre-ascension Xianle arcs.
I don't usually like it when shows deviate from the original sources and add original scenes, but I was impressed with the gilded banquet massacre and all the buildup for it. That split-second switch from Xie Lian trying to pursue Anle to rushing to aid LQQ's dying father was HEARTBREAKING, because that is precisely who Xie Lian was and is at his core: willing to help whoever's suffering over seeking out violence. And he had JUST decided to try to put his past behind him and attend the banquet to celebrate with his little trainee…honestly, I get why the description of what happened was so vague in the books, but there was so much guilt that Xie Lian still has from that incident that I didn't feel made as much of an impact until it was fleshed out and explored here. Him having to see the cycle of violence that's circled since his ascension potentially starting all over again must have been a triggering moment when he was still not okay emotionally at this point–ouch.
LQQ's little guy has been a soothing balm on this entire arc though. He's just! The guy! I need a name for him soon because they cannot just make a throw away character this important and not give him something to call him other than "LQQ's boyfriend." I was real worried at first because I looked at his delicate features and thought "oh no…they didn't make his little guy of xianle descent, did they?" In hindsight, I don't think he is, but wouldn't that be a fun little bone to make LQQ gnaw over for the rest of the show LOL
Ok hear me out that last scene actually made me cry a bit and what's funny is that while I felt sad reading it in the book I didn't cry, that should tell us how powerful animation and voice acting can be, and it makes me kinda nervious about those things that DID made bawl portray in the donghua (latest set of chapters you reacted on youtoube being a great example and obviously the entirety of book 4) like Oh boy, that banquet scene was hard to watch as well actually ><
Spoilery for Donhua only
Oh my God I sooooo agree with you about the scene with Xielian's parents hanging, I was so shocked and I truly wish they didn't show that yet I wonder why they decided to do that, a weird choice indeed I feel like the dongua team is assuming everyone watching has read the novel already and I mean yeah everyone should cuz it's amazing but come on now xD
hiii Romania, hope you’re doing great! This has nothing to do with the video, but I was wondering if you were planning on reacting to the new bl anime called “Cherry Magic”!
Love your videos. <3
My friend is donghua exclusive and one of the things she got upset about was why in God's name Lang Qianqiu still had something against Xie Lian, because although he has a right to be angry at him for lying to him, he seems to have forgotten that he NAILED HIM IN A COFFIN. And it's like, what score do you want to settle, haven't you put your teacher through enough shit? Jeez. There were also some people who pointed out how Hua Cheng kind of redirected Lang Qianqiu's ire to Qi Rong and a funny joke about how he sort of gets him to do his dirty work. The moment he chucks Qi Rong into the giant pot, Hua Cheng makes sure to remind him, hey he's not gone, go hunt for his ashes. Keeps Lang Qianqiu distracted and most of his anger focused back on Qi Rong, and we were told how much Hua Cheng thinks he's an annoying pest, so now he's gotten someone ELSE to get rid of him for him. It's kind of hilarious honestly.
I love how much this arc tells us about Xie Lian's character and how much depth it gives us, because he's no longer some innocent, buddha level of patience guy we figured he was in season one. Nah, he's literally just been completely physically, mentally and emotionally wringed out over hundreds of years. Dude no longer had the capacity to give a flying fuck over what could happen to him, and this story is literally about how after hundreds of years, now there's just this ONE ghost who looks at the mess that was Xie Lian's life and is like, man you need to PROCESS this and I'm dragging you there kicking and screaming.
How do I say this!?😅
The donghua team made me sees LQQ's paradigm shift in different light. The novel made me think of tragedy in history book, and in the manhua I see a god realizing his teenage/human year weren't perfect, but he'll be fine. However this! THIS!!! I see a man who found out his beliefs that made his idenity is a lie, and the voice acting!!! it's almost like years he have lived were erased till the day he was at that bloody party again😭