I've definitely been to quite a few internet streaming sites to watch my favorite asian dramas before, not a surprise compared to seasoned drama fanatics right? Youtube, crunchyroll, dailymotion, veoh, mysoju, dramacrazy, dramafever... For specifically new mandarin videos or new korean dramas, the go-to places are tudou and youku correct? Well not anymore. Because guess what spending a couple minutes searching for good mainland dramas to watch helped me find? A sohu online video heaven! Haha, yes! It's the videos section of the site, which has an extensive collection of asian tv series (majority are korean, taiwanese, and mainland shows). The best part is that when you click open a video, the first things you notice are it's high quality big screen, Hulu-like features, and no commercial pausing in between!
Actually, I can best describe this site as a
Chinese version of Hulu! For instance, high quality, a movie theater function, and a big screen function. Personally, I'm a big fan of watching a video without commerical breaks, so this video site is perfect! Highly recommended for drama addicts. :)
Another reason why I love this site is that it offers full series (so that you don't have to go search up newer episodes)... and it ranges from the very popular dramas to the trickier-to-find-ones that aren't as popular, but ones that you really just about tried everywhere to find! For me, it was Dulala's Promotion, and a ton of other mainland dramas I've always seen listed on dramawiki, but ones I can never find on Youtube, like not even a trace of them sometimes.
I'm currently watching 媳妇的美好时代, translates to "A Beautiful Era of a Bride". At first the acting seemed stiff to me, but then I went back to the first episode, I immediately got hooked. The dialogue deserves praise, not on the same level as the witty Who Controls My Youth, but it's definitely realistic in terms of how Beijingese people would communicate. I guess it's more of a 'housewife' drama series, but the interactions were pretty hilarious, so I would keep a look out for this show. Also simutaneously buffering, are 《杜拉拉升职记》, 《爱在日月潭》, and 《北方有佳人》.
I'm watching a bit of the third one, and it looks very well-made. It stars Lin Miao Ke and Kou Zhun Hai (the famous actor who often plays emperors in dramas). Miao Ke might have a not-so-pleasant rep to people because of the Olympics controversy, but her acting is still decent, and really engaging to watch. Furthermore, the show is set in the 1940s and has a really nice tone to it. After skipping around and watching episode 13 right now, the show does drag on a little, not in the korean drama way, but more so becoming boring because the direction of the plot is getting too ambiquious. Also, the drama and suspense is getting toned down. Although I do want to mention that this drama is rather entertaining compared to the various other dramas set in this period. Now, let's talk about the other two I mentioned.
Du la la's Promotion starts off really light, yet has a distinct 'wang luo dan' drama flair - meaning authentic, mainland drama, with some quirky sides, lighthearted humor, distinctively different from just another idol drama. On the other hand, Love at Sun Moon Lake starring a charismatic pair, Ruby Lin and the cute guy from Struggle, is beginning to remind us of an early 2000s idol drama. Although it's cute and cheery and makes one wonder if Ruby Lin never ages, it's unlikely that I will pick that one up again any time soon. Reason? Cliche storyline. Also, did they really have to put in a theme tune that is 90 percent ripped off of a historical drama - namely Young Yang Warriors' "Farewell Poem"?
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