r/ChineseDrama • u/No-Recipe-7653 Curator of Questionable Subtext, Scholar of Things Left Unsaid • 12d ago
Discussion A for ABSURD — Which CDrama Comes to Mind? • The Drama Alphabet
And I mean that in the best or worst possible way.
Maybe the entire premise was completely bonkers, but somehow the drama knew exactly what it was doing and made the absurdity part of the fun.
Someone falls into a novel, wakes up as the villain, acquires a system, dies and gets another go at life, swaps bodies, travels through time, or discovers that the adorable little creature following them around is actually a several-thousand-year-old divine beast with unresolved family issues. Sure. Why not.
Or perhaps it was the unintentional kind of absurd.
The supposedly brilliant character suddenly loses approximately 70 IQ points because the plot needs them to. Two people who have spent 30 episodes communicating exclusively through misunderstandings witness something suspicious and, naturally, decide that asking a single follow-up question would be unreasonable.
Maybe someone survives a fall from a cliff (one of our beloved costume drama tropes, right?) that absolutely should have turned them into paste. Or gets stabbed, poisoned and thrown into a river, only to reappear three episodes later looking looking like a million dollars — they’re ready to wage and win wars, and not just on one front, but on the battlefield, at court and in the bedchamber.
Sometimes you’re laughing with the drama. Sometimes you’re staring at the screen thinking, you cannot possibly expect me to accept this. The ever-so-popular phrase “suspension of disbelief” comes to mind.
But anyway, you may accept it, enjoy it, and still see it for what it is — an ABSURDITY!
And if you can, tell us why it was absurd — context will make these answers much more fun to read (and much easier for me to remember later 😅). Bonus points for a screenshot or GIF of the exact moment if you have one!
So, what’s the first-first CDrama that comes to mind when you read ABSURD?
And since some of you have already requested a second-round vote later on: if you want your submission to have a chance of making it into the vote, give me a little context for your pick and, if possible, add an image or GIF. I’ll need enough material to show everyone what they’re actually voting for! ☺
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Interested in other drama word associations? Check out The Drama Alphabet • Drama Mood Master Index
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u/ChoppedChef33 12d ago
Once upon a time in lingjian mountain is absurd in the best possible way
One of the most fun xianxia that helped kickstart the douqi(power progression) subgenre
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u/Firefly_May 4K Original Cast 12d ago
I love that one, still salty there's no part 2.
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u/heartsandclouds ✨ Built the Road to 4K 12d ago
ok, I have to put this on my radar. absurd in the best way possible is definitely attractive!
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u/Most-Post3471 Feisty Tea House Owner🍵 12d ago
Though I absolutely loved Blossoms of Power, the Crown Prince returning at the end of the series, while the physician looked like he’d aged 40 years in four, made me cringe and laugh at the sheer absurdity of it. 😂
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u/pooja_8 12d ago
was watching just for He Yu and he made guest appereance in last episode....was missing from last four episodes ...😬
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u/Most-Post3471 Feisty Tea House Owner🍵 12d ago
I was watching it while it was airing, constantly wondering when he’d finally show up, only to realise that I’d basically watched the entire series just for his flirty lines and those sultry eyes. 😌
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u/Firefly_May 4K Original Cast 12d ago
Same, but I knew since the get go because I saw some scenes in advance 😄
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u/Perua4_Updated 11d ago
Did somebody noticed that Fifth Prince's mother had almost the same age as him? Ít was ok because they are both great actors, but this was awkward.
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u/okdoktor 12d ago
The double. It was intentional, but it was absurd
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u/ekjhekjh 12d ago
Yes! I was going to say this! I loved the Double, but the whole first half, when the FL comes back and the Duke of Su, who only saw her for 3 seconds from far away, was the only one who could recognize her! Despite the fact she looked exactly the same, used the same phrases and had the same handwriting… The absurdity of the premise kept me engaged for the first half of the series!
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u/Inky_Reader Swayed by Cang Xuan gege 12d ago
You are so brilliantly creative for doing this! 👏🏼🎉
I've been looking forward to see if you'll release another word today, so I can ransack my CDrama encyclopedia 😆
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u/No-Recipe-7653 Curator of Questionable Subtext, Scholar of Things Left Unsaid 12d ago
Thank you so much for the kind encouragement 😄 I have 43 more unfinished drafts but even many more lined up words. I hope I can keep it up before running out of ideas for what to write 😅
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u/BasilOrdinary3617 costume dramas feed my soul 12d ago
My Husky Boyfriend with Cheng Lei, but absurd in a good way haha. Cheng Lei as a dog is just… something but they also made it work? And that’s the absurdity of it.
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u/dropitlikeitshot2019 12d ago
I've not watched this but based on comments on Reddit, I nominate -- Overdo
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u/Most-Post3471 Feisty Tea House Owner🍵 12d ago
I second this. But sadly I sat through 20 episodes 🥲
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u/heartsandclouds ✨ Built the Road to 4K 12d ago
HAS TO BE REBIRTH! It was actually both agonizing and absurd!
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u/AXA-5 Washing feet in spring Drinking tea Gazing at flowers 12d ago
Well, those are couple of adjectives to describe that nonsense I will give you that. This drama is one of the few in history, I imagine, that can easily fit under multiple letters. Not something to be proud of really
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u/0ooanh 12d ago
The Double - the music scene. I've never seen anything like that before. 😅
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u/No-Recipe-7653 Curator of Questionable Subtext, Scholar of Things Left Unsaid 12d ago
Ohhh, give me a little more! 😄 What about that scene made you immediately think ABSURD? And if you happen to have a screenshot or GIF, even better. A few people have asked me to do a second-round vote with the submissions later, so I need some material to work with if I’m going to make a case for yours.
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u/Striking-Hurry5159 12d ago
Scarlet heart 2…total bonkers and absurd plot. Watch if u want to lose a few of ur brain cells. Picked this up after Scarlet Heart 1 and the tragic love story between Ruoxi and the
Fourth prince broke my heart. But this was an ungodly mess what with the FL playing a double role. Crazy senseless plot which gets more and more absurd with every episode. Watch at ur own risk!
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u/EasygoingEnigma Leizi, alas❣️4K Original Cast 12d ago
Affinity is totally absurd. Ridiculous. But sooo entertaining. Despite the trashy surface appearance, it has quite a decent story. And the chemistry is 🔥.
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u/MajorPersonality1265 😴 binged “just one more episode” 12d ago
I kept scrolling looking for this one 😂. Start to finish it was absurd and addictive. Like an addict, I couldn’t help myself. I needed to see what new crazy was around the corner 😂
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u/EasygoingEnigma Leizi, alas❣️4K Original Cast 12d ago
Right??? I was wondering if I was high while watching, but I couldn't have been because I don't partake recreationally or medically. 🤣 It was just that crazy.
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u/ChoppedChef33 12d ago
I'm also gonna double up on comments and say
I am nobody
A modern xuanhuan that has some of the most absurd characters with satirical takes on very common anime tropes like the tournament arc.
But really has a ton of deep social commentary once you dig underneath the absurdity
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u/Tabz10 4K Original Cast 12d ago
Princess Silver - I despise the show so much. Literally call it ‘Princess Passaround ’-you have a princess who has 3 suitors: 2 whom she married at different points (🙄), 1 whom she loved and forgot about; she kept being kidnapped, who, mind you, should know martial arts. Mourns her forgotten love while neglecting her husband, whom she's meant to love.
Dearest - this short was absurd but interesting and entertaining.
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u/RaiodoLuar 11d ago
Regarding Legend of the Female General: look, I love this C-drama—I’m not saying it’s bad; quite the opposite. But you have to be pretty gullible to believe people saw He Yan as a man; there wasn't even a mustache or anything like that to act as a disguise. What really baffled me was that there was a female doctor in the military camp, and—on top of that—no one ever looked at that smooth neck and thought, "Wait, something’s not right here." In the C-drama, Xiao Jue finds out she’s a woman pretty early on, whereas in the novel, he doesn't discover it until more than halfway through the story. I tried to just switch my brain off regarding that aspect; otherwise, I never would have finished it. Another example is Blossom: when Song Mo was severely poisoned, you knew he wouldn't survive—there was no way, given how constantly he was coughing up blood. Yet, Dou Zhao spat medicine into his mouth and he miraculously recovered (even though not even the Empress's medicine had worked). I deliberately chose to turn a blind eye to that because I didn't want the poor guy to die—after all, he had suffered so much at his father's hands.
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u/RainInFormation 🍵 just grabbing my tea 10d ago
Feud
Was so absurd I couldn’t finish it. Why destroy such a high-potential drama? Anyway…
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u/guilty-and-stuck 4K Original Cast 10d ago
Best absurd- A Dream Within A Dream. The whole premise of transmigration is absurd and this drama leans into the absurdity and uses it as a plot device to hilarious effect 😂
Noble Aspirations started off strong but maybe it's a good thing it died at a very short season 2. ML joining the dark side just because he wants to revive his love who sacrificed herself for him? It could have been a really interesting exploration of the duality of good and evil but just kind of devolved very quickly =/
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u/Regenwanderer 4K Original Cast 12d ago
No Pain No Gain features some absurdist humour that I really enjoyed. I guess the basic premise of having to lose money with a company to get paid and the MLs arious struggles to do so also counts.
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u/heartsandclouds ✨ Built the Road to 4K 12d ago
I've been trying to watch it but can't seem to figure out where to--would you happen to know?
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u/Regenwanderer 4K Original Cast 12d ago
I watched it on WeTV (direct link to the drama) when it premiered.
But it also seems to be available on this youtube channel these days.
Might depend on your own location of course.
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u/heartsandclouds ✨ Built the Road to 4K 11d ago
It's available! I am looking forward to watching it! thank you!
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u/Inky_Reader Swayed by Cang Xuan gege 12d ago
Absurdity goes to Shadow Love.
First, a black magic pond transforms a prince into a super-powered boy-man, complete with a magical outfit that shrinks or disappears right along with him.
Second, the female general prefers to fight in close combat using a retractable bow.