Attack it, Lightning!

[Drunk Monk]

whaaaaaaaat? A Chinese rom-com soap opera about ... fencing?

31 50 min eps. It’s ridiculous. Like a PRC CW show. It was one of the Amazon Prime recs after watching 
Stro.

Lots of beautiful Chinese actors in totally cheesy roles dressed in pastels. Star crossed romances. Goofy soundtrack.  Interesting vision of PRC fencing tho. 

Sword fights ... in knickers no less. I’m gonna DOOM recommend this even thought I’m only one Ep deep and it was mediocre at best.

[Drunk Monk]

I watched e2. I confess, I'm kinda hooked. It's so absurd. And the fight choreo ain't bad. Better than CW's Kung Fu, that's for sure. It's silly fencing but it's so rare to see sport fencing depicted with any accuracy. 

I should mention that in ep1, one of the protags was studying fencing in France so of course, those scenes were in English. But the English that the Frenchman was speaking was all messed up. I think he was Russian. That was funny.

It's a idealistic vision of PRC. The home interiors are magnificent, much larger than are had by average Chinese citizens. And the fencing salle is massive. 

Every once in a while, it drops a line that's a priceless fortune-cookie gem about swords. I should start documenting those. 

It struck me that if this is what PRC kids are watching, the fencing world needs to be watchful of China. That sleeping dragon is waking. 

I don't know if I'll make it through 31 eps. That's quite an investment. But I'll keep watching and if there's a standout ep, I'll let y'all know.

Here's a taste:



Recommended for all DOOM swordspeeps (which is an astonishing number, when you think about it).

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

The fencing salle in Beijing is massive: 3 huge rooms, each holding 50 pistes. Shanghai has a similar sized club.

[Drunk Monk]

I’m not sure where this is set. They may have said it but I missed it. I thought the airport looked like Beijing but one of the city scape shots reminded me of Shanghai. The Salle didn’t have 50 pistes, maybe half of that. If it’s a set, it’s an impressive one but I imagine they are shooting at some sports college. That being said, the Salle Ian impossibly clean, which I can’t imagine happens in any Salle in the world, especially not in PRC.

[Drunk Monk]

Watched ep 3. So dumb. But I can't stop watching it.

I wish sabers really lit up like they do on this show. 

Ed Kaihatsu informs me that this is filmed in the Absolute Fencing club in Wuxi.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

Oooooo! That is one of the newest large facilities. Also, well-connected, so having a TV show filmed there makes sense.

[Drunk Monk]

Aw damn.

This is no longer available via AP. 

I think I got to e5 or 6...