Quick Announcement on Swordsman

So good news. I will be joining forces with the guys and girls over at Jianghu to continuing subbing Swordsman. I will post the new episodes here when they come out, as well as upload them on my Youtube. Jianghu will be starting back from the beginning, but I'm going forward from the episodes which I already subbed. Jianghu is, as many of you probably already know, a wonderful and quality fansubbing team and I'm happy to be working with them. This also decrease a lot of the burden on me, so I'll be able to continue subbing without having it affect my other projects (Hua Xu Yin translation and Bu Bu Jing Xin fanfiction). Anyway, watch for a new update soon.

From the latest episodes, Swordsman no longer makes sense to me plotwise, but it is still very addicting. I'm watching it with two of my friends, one who is in love with the original novel and one who hasn't read it before, so I'm getting commentary from both sides. The only thing that annoys me is the characterization of Linghu Chong, who is supposed to be carefree and unbiased. Not really seeing that here. That is probably due to Yu Zheng's script rather than Wallace Huo's portrayal. At this point, I'm not even sure why I am watching since nothing about it appeals to me, not the story, the characters, the romance, or the fighting. Maybe it has to something to do with the reason below...

[English Subbed] Swordsman Episode 3

This might be the last episode I subbed, just because it's really not what I want to be focusing my time and energy on right now. I don't mind subbing; it's a relatively easy task, not to mention, it helps me brush up on my Chinese. But it is really tedious. If I'm able to find another subber to help out, then I might continue. Like always, you'll know when I post it here. As for the other fan group that is subbing the series, I'm not sure of their name, but you can find them on spcnet. In other 'blog' news, the next chapter to my Bu Bu Jing Xin fanfic will be out by this weekend and the rest of Hua Xu Yin Chapter 1 will soon follow. Be sure to check out Huier's blog for cute, upcoming scenes, as well as translated parts from other novels.

Right now, I'm just watching Swordsman with a sort of detached amusement. I treat it as a fanfic to the original novel, a light, fluffy fun. Not to mention, it is great to read the debates between the Dongfang Bubai camp and Ren Ying Ying camp, since I don't care either way. I might have a post on that later, after the series end, just to see what's the popular opinion is. Nothing much happens in this episode. Linghu Chong sneaks out with his Little Junior and, like the boy he is, ditches her. Dongfang Bubai pretends to be a prostitute, because that's just how she rolls. Little Junior pretends to be Dongfang Bubai, because that's just how she rolls. Pissy people get pissed. Not so apologetic people go apologize. Cranes can now carry people. Bad CGI are seen. Evil plans are made. And, the most important thing to take away from this whole episode, Wallace Huo is pretty.

Video is behind the cut

[English Subbed] Swordsman Episode 2

I'm still not committing to this project. It's just I had some free time and subbing is so much easier than translating as it only contains dialogues. I think I'm just going to take this one episode at a time. If I have time, I'll continue, but my main priority is still Hua Xu Yin. I don't really plan on joining any subbing team as I don't want to make a commitment unless I could stick to it. Also, I don't have the time or desire to learn how to use new softwares. For those who needs subtitles to watch this, I saw at least one other subbing team subbing this (besides Viki), so don't worry. Just a note, I'm using the TV version, which is cut/edit differently from the DVD version, but, from what I saw so far, there's really no other differences or additional scenes.

In this episode, we finally get a glimpse of our hero. I enjoyed the playful, carefree vibes as shown in the picture above. It's still too early to judge Wallace Huo right now, but I believe in him. I'm hoping for a great portrayal of Yue Lingshan, as other adaptations only showed her as a spoiled, annoying princess. I want to see the side which made Linghu Chong fell in love with her. I don't know much about Yang Rong as an actress, but I have faith in her. Chen Qiao En continues to impress me and I love the part where she "flirts" with Elder Xiang. I could see why he's freaked out. Overall, this episode was alright, though I think I like the first one better. Maybe it's because my expectations are higher now.

Episode is below the cut

[English Subbed] Swordsman Episode 1

This was done as a new year gift to a friend and I thought I might as well post it up. Despite all my misgivings, I actually enjoyed the first episode of Swordsman. Though our main character haven't even shown up yet, so we'll just see how things go. I was most impressive with Chen Qiao En. She definitely portray the aura of Dongfang Bai well, despite being a woman. Yuan Shan Shan's performance wasn't that bad either, but, in the episode, she was playing Ren Ying Ying's mother, which, in my opinion, is a simpler character. My biggest gripe would have to be the portrayal of Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze. He was showing his hypocritical side too obviously. How could his wife still thinks that he was "the gentleman of all gentlemen?" I mean, his actions just screamed, "I'm a two sided bastard!" Anyway, I find it more enjoyable to watch this drama without associating it with the novel. I have a feeling that I will be shipping Linghu Chong and Dongfang Bai, and I need to see the latter as Chen Qiao En instead of a creepy he-she. What does everyone think of the series so far?

Watch with English Subtitles below the cut

English Subbed Swordsman 9-minute Trailer

I'm kind of on the fence about the upcoming Swordsman starring Wallace Huo, Yuan Shan Shan, and Chen Qiao En. On the pro list, Wallace Huo is ridiculously pretty. Everything from his outfits to hairstyle fits him well. Also, I believe he could pull off playing Linghu Chong. On the con list, there's everything else. First and foremost, Qiao En as Dongfang Bubai. Seriously, Yu Zheng, seriously? The girl looks nothing like gender bender Dongfang Bubai. In fact, I think she
looks even better than Yuan Shan Shan. Also, from the trailers and stills she have amazing chemistry with Wallace Huo, and I refused to ship Linghu Chong and Dongfang Bubai together. Why isn't she playing Ren Ying Ying?! I have nothing against Yuan Shan Shan, but my favorite performance from her to date is still that brief appearance she did in Strange Hero. My biggest problem with her is that all her roles, from Gong 2 to In Love With Power felt the same to me. It's like she's playing the same character over and over again. Ren Ying Ying is a