Deliciously campy uncensored Chinese BL drama
Updated review after watching all 12 episodes - I changed my evaluation to a full 10/10 because I rarely enjoyed something as much as I enjoyed Meet You at the Blossom. It’s a miracle that this drama even exists. I would have watched anything to support a proper Chinese bl drama and am beyond happy that Meet You at the Blossom was truly enjoyable.It’s EVERYTHING. It‘s hilarious, it‘s tragic. It‘s romantic, it‘s toxic. There’s fun and there’s angst, pain and suffering. There’s palace intrigue and there’s family drama. There are loving parents with dubious moral values and there are monstrous parents. There are related siblings that hate each other and there’s adoptive family that love each other. And everything is told in 12 EXCELLENTLY paced episodes. Meet You At the Blossom is too much and never enough. It’s glorious and wonderful and NEVER EVER boring.
The lead actors are SUPER well matched. Everything about this pairing is perfect - the height difference, their faces, their complementing energies. Lead actor Wang Yunkai is a newbie and gives an incredibly charming and enthusiastic performance. And I want to single out the performance of lead actor Li Le. Judging from his interviews and from BTS videos, he‘s one of the sweetest and kindest people on the planet. He said he was worried to accept the role of Huai‘en because it was his first time portraying a character that has a very different personality from his own but he wholeheartedly committed and gave the most eccentric performance.
And yes, I saw negative comments and reviews and am therefore giving an SA trigger warning for the next paragraph because I am referencing the novel Blooming Flowers, Silent Sorrow (source material for Meet You at the Blossom). Some reviewers are bashing Meet You at the Blossom because there are rape scenes in the novel Blooming Flowers, Silent Sorrow. Is it criticism just for the sake of criticizing or is it critical thinking? In any case, critical thinking should look into the context.
An example from the novel - if a 15 year old half orphan who was educated through torture instead of love and who would usually punish people by cutting their throats chooses to rape someone as punishment (instead of throat-cutting), he may be acting in a morally grey area judged by the standards of his time.
However, the creators of Meet You at the Blossom put some thoughts into how to make its source material work in a visual medium. They made deliberate and significant changes while transferring the novel into the drama Meet You at the Blossom. The most challenging thing we get to see are forced kisses (and I think the stories we consume SHOULD challenge us and make us feel uncomfortable because it helps us leave our comfort zone and broaden our horizons). In general, the erotic encounters of the lead couple are sensual and subtle. There are always little elements included that create a vibe of consent, even in scenes with dubious consent.
I truly loved Meet You at the Blossom and hope that many people will give it a chance.
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This review may contain spoilers
Pretty good, but doesn't hit the highs it could have
This Sino-Thai collaboration is the closest we would get to a BL from Mainland China. It is a bona fide BL series with a romance between the male leads that is overtly depicted. This probably already scores it some points in the eyes of many BL fans since we have not had an actual BL series from China for years due to the censorship laws.To be honest though, Meet You at the Blossom isn't as good as it could have been. Perhaps because of budgeting or other constraints, the story is lacking development in many ways. The main characters' back stories, particularly Huai En's, could have been more fully fleshed out. Although we are technically informed of Huai En's experiences as a child, there does not seem to be enough material to make us feel strongly for the character. To me, this is something important given the character's cold demeanor.
The supporting characters are also under-developed. I was personally a little confused by the behavior of the man Huai En called his father. He could have been a fascinating villain or an equally engaging ambiguous character, but he turns out to be neither here nor there. He is also defeated too easily and suddenly, indicating a rush to complete the story. After having watched a censored-BL period drama like The Untamed, I can't help but wonder how great it would be if the Untamed had taken the route of Meet You at the Blossom and circumvented censorship laws.
The unfortunate thing is that, because the massive China market is essentially taken out of the equation, we might not see better productions than Meet You at the Blossom simply because of financing issues. What we have is a commendable work that, to be fair, is as good as it can get given all the limitations.
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More entertaining than most other shows in 2024
The story was more interesting and complex compared to all the other crap we had to watch in 2024, even when not everything is perfect. Of course there is over-acting and sillyness but also very serious scenes and nice fighting scenes. The set and costumes are stunning which is a highlight of this series, just some hair-pieces could have been improved.I don't want to get in detail with the plot and acting and so on, because lot's of reviews already do that. I felt entertained even with some of the over-acting and sillyness, so for me it's a good show with stunning visuals.
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A good direction
Anyone that watches danmei adaptations is aware of the censorship this typically comes with; however, Meet You at the Blossom manages to get around this and delivers on the romance aspect of this wuxia. Unfortunately, I still found this show a bit lacking in the non-romance department, which was in part due to the characters themselves, and in part due to the 12 episode limit.Jin Xiao Bao is nearing marrying age, and is determined to find the most beautiful woman to make his wife. During an unexpected encounter, he watches Huai En face many men single handedly, and instantly falls in love with her. However "she" is actually a man. Huai En is perfectly fine with Xiao Bao being in love with him - but it seems he may be motivated to keep Xiao Bao close for other reasons than his own feelings. The two enter into a relationship claiming they will always forgive the other no matter what, but how far can this promise extend?
The relationship was fun to watch develop, with cold Huai En slowly warming up to Xiao Bao. In this style of drama, I was very used to a relationship being built purely on tension due to censorship issues, so to get an actual relationship in this show was very refreshing. One of my biggest complaints though is that Xiao Bao is utterly useless. Huai En is a great cultivator and very intelligent. Xiao Bao is.....neither of those things. I just wish that Xiao Bao could have stood up for himself once in awhile, instead of always relying on others. I actually really enjoyed the political issues in the show, and thought they were the perfect level of complex for the length of the show. I do think that we could have benefited from a bit more time with the characters to watch them grow, but there's only so much you can do.
In all, I just hope that this opens the door for more danmei adaptations produced by companies willing to keep the romance. This was a short watch with the perfect amounts of romance, heartache, and betrayal, but would have benefitted from a stronger lead character and slightly less toxic relationship.
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Meet me at the pride parades in China
(╭☞•́⍛•̀)╭☞ Disclaimer:This review is not meant to change your opinion nor discourage/encourage you to watch, it's simply my personal opinion and you're free to agree/disagree with it.
Damn it's been a hot minute since I typed this disclaimer but hey it's not about me here it's about the series.
Let me preface this review by saying I'm not going to actually review this series yet, mainly because my opinion of this drama is highly influenced by the social and political significance this series holds regarding the lgbtq+ community in china and the loopholes the company/creators had to go through in order to come out with this drama, so for now, this "review" isn't going to be my actual thoughts on this drama as a drama.
Now, some of you might be confused about my overall rating not matching the rating for the different sections in this review, and I can tell you there's a legitimate excuse for this, and that being that this is the first explicitly lgbtq+ chinese content we've had in years. I'm sure many will find my reasoning for this rating very superficial/illogical, but I've mentioned this in a comment before and I'll say it here again, this isn't about the series anymore, this is about the chinese lgbtq+ community finally getting something after years of being oppressed and deprived of representation in their own media. This series is by no means an Emmy worthy project, but it's hopefully the first of many future stepping stones for the chinese entertainment industry. Throughout the years, we've had some pretty dang good shows/movies coming out in this genre, but the number of chinese lgbtq+ series has dwindled down to almost 0 no thanks to the dreadful ban, and the magic of the wuxia/xianxia genre has sorely been missed in these productions, so to see a chinese gay costume drama after all these years (irregardless of the fact that this is co produced by multiple countries) has basically been the highlight of my media consumption this year, after all, we all need to start somewhere, the start most definitely isn't perfect, but at least it's a start and the writing and acting in future projects will definitely improve as more companies start taking up such projects (keeping my fingers crossed we'll get more in the future) so yeah, until more projects come out, my rating for this drama will remain high, I'll come back to edit this review to include my actual thoughts on this drama once more shows/movies come out (again, really clinging onto hope here).
Before I conclude my little rant, I would like to add something. As I had stated in my disclaimer above, this review is not meant to sway your opinion, you absolutely don't have to take it to face value, but if you encounter any reviewer overly praising this show, I would hope you would keep these points I've listed above in mind for the time being.
And with that, I rest my case, I hope my review doesn't come off as pressuring or nonsensical for any viewer who genuinely didn't or don't enjoy this series (I'm most certain your reasons are valid because quite frankly, this series has been walking on reeaally thin ice plot/acting wise, not to mention all the non con/dub con and thinly veiled toxicity it contains) and as for those who actually like this series, I hope your further endeavours in the genre continue to be joyful.
Enjoy your watch and have a lovely day/evening everyone <3
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This review may contain spoilers
One step forward, two steps back
It's nice to see Chinese bl, especially costume wuxia drama with a reasonable budget find it's way to being made uncensored through international cooperation and online distribution, but it's also going backwards to the time before the complete ban on Chinese bl that had a ton of romanticized domestic assault. I know that this story is already toned down from the original story, it would have been great if it was just removed entirely. Just Huai-en murdering innocent people and chopping hands off in a blind rage got the point that he's messed up just fine. There's already plenty of interesting psychology to explore with all the birth secrets and horrific way Huai-en was raised. The chaotic doctor guy was fun and I think it's good there wasn't too much of him and his childhood lover minion guy, but the scenes that they had could have been better expressed than they were.Was this review helpful to you?
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A Historical Saga that was a Good Attempt
“Why do you always want to go back to the past?” – Quote from “Meet You At the Blossom”This is a titanically fun series to watch. But I am biased. I love history-period pieces, especially Asian ones since I know so little about Asian cultures and customs in general. For me, I romanticize the story even more and thus, it becomes pure escapism.
I confess that I got completely lost in the complexities of the story and with the names and who is kindred to whom. I had a hard time following the lineage of who is related to whom and therefore the story for me got a shade complicated. However, I got the gist of the story and all I was interested in really were the main characters. They were not just entertaining. They were tantalizing. For some reason, decidedly handsome men in exotic period costumes add a greater dimension to the level of the portrayals of their characters they are playing.
Read the complete article here-
https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/09/07/meet-you-at-the-blossom-series-review-ep-1-to-12/
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goofy and tender
BL, 12 eps at 45mins ea. A great binge. Sweet Huai'en and Xiabao overcome personal and political problems, includes some redflag beginnings, NOT PG13. An adequate fantasy production with good depth in characterization, a little underbudgeted, but overall a good sign of hope for future productions in the newer forms of BL.Refreshing. I think the balance worked -- chinese plot and costumes, tenderness and moral elevation of Thai-style dialogue and acting (in Mandarin, so Taiwanese actors?) and a smodge of kdrama goofiness.
It started off with a note of midcentury camp (situational then and now to our currently absurd world politically)....then a tasteful moment of tenderness and we were in a 10Star swoon by ep 3!
Enough said, addiction gears engaged. And yes, the show is pretty funny in the charming way of romedies, watch Wang Yun Kai tripping over his long skirts! The swordfighting is really terrible, just skip it..
first posted sept 2024 on Viki
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The bar is in hell huh?
Pretty privilege is real. Can we all stop letting actors pass just because they're good looking. The biggest gripe i have about this series, is that the acting is atrocious. I was yelling at the screen most of the time for the main leads to go back to acting school. The little girl was actually better than most of the adult actors.The ML is an absolute psycho, but turns into a simp in the latter half (which was nice). Don't get me started on the R*pe, just played off as romance. Zero acknowledgement. The second couple is actually more healthy.
Story is a mess, don't ask for how anything works. Lots of uncles & cousins and brothers & idk who's who. The editing is sloppy, music just cuts off abruptly half way & the dubbing is waaaayyy off (i'm not Chinese but even i could see that)
Stop being non critical of things just because it's a BL. Will you watch this series if it was a hetero love story? Hell no. Only genuine criticism can make things better.
Despite it all, the leads do have good chemistry & the ending is cute. So much potential, but bad execution made this an one time watch.
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Dropped
My teenage son and I took this up together (yes we’re a open minded family)We both found the story line confusing in some areas and loosing track of what was happening and why.
It got to a point where he got up and went “f- this I’m not watching this one SA the dimples and then dimples to try SA the tall one; they really shouldn’t be together” and that was it for him (he’s 15)
I stopped a bit further and decided I couldn’t watch it anymore due to it being simply everywhere.
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A fun show that is a big step forward for LGBTA+ stories in China, but with a thin plot.
While recent past BL drama adaptions are often heavily censored to work around restrictions (The Untamed, Word of Honor) or never even see an airing date in China (Immortality, Winner is King), it is with the joint efforts of a Thai team joining the roster that made Meet You at the Blossom able to limbo its way past such restrictions. In such daring a move, Meet You at the Blossom manages to pass as a Thai drama -- even though it is very much Chinese at its heart and maintains a large involvment from its Chinese team. It is a big step forward for uncensored LGBTA+ stories being shared in China, and that point alone makes me respect this drama and all involved very highly.Meet You at the Blossom is a charming show. It's not perfect, and I would argue that the the 12 numbered episode run somewhat hinders the potential for what could be a great and more interesting plot. Yet while I personally would have liked to see and understand more of the political story that's going on in the dramas background -- especially as it seems to directly affect many of the characters we come to know in this show -- MYATB isn't a political drama. It very much focuses on the relationship between Zongzhen Huai'en and Jin Xiaobao; following them from their first meeting and story of falling of love, and how they have to face the struggles of betrayal and misunderstandings due to the circumstances surrounding them and the choices which are made (namely, Huai'en's choices). In terms of how much it works as an adaption from its original source material, MYATB follows the original story it's based from almost page for page.
I must warn however that the romance between Zongzhen Huai'en and Jin Xiabao may not be for everyone. Huai'en is possessive and jealous (he has his reasons), and in being so his actions at times toward Xiaobao can be seen as questionnable. For some this may be a trigger point, so do be prepared before going into this incase that's not for you. It doesn't help that the instances of when certain actions happen during this show are followed in ways that can be seen as dismissive or even taken as an aspect of comedy to laugh off the red flag behaviour. Again, the show has 12 episodes that average at 40 minutes an episode, and I feel like even just a few more shows could have helped flesh aspects of the story out better -- especially that of Huai'en's journey from never knowing love and affection from anyone in his life to finding and learning how to love someone through the way Xiaobao treats him.
Yet for the most part I enjoyed this show. It was nice to follow the episodes as they dropped and to have a less serious story to pick up and watch along with inbetween some of the bigger, more intricate dramas that have been releasing this year. I never felt that I wasn't enjoying the show at any point, and the critiques I have do not take away from what I did like. Again, for what this show is trying to achieve I respect it, and I do believe that if people are interested in seeing what Meet You at the Blossom has to offer, they should. The actors all did a great job, the costume and set designs are beautiful, and although the dubbing could be wacky at times, I didn't mind it. You can tell the show was on a smaller budget, but if anything it only added to its charm. Plus, it was a nice change to see a male and male couple that were allowed to show outward affection for a change and to kiss onscreen. I don't know if we'll see such a thing again soon from China, but perhaps the merging of two teams from two different countries is just the start of a work around on getting some of these stories to air.
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