I’ve only ever enjoyed one Ao Rui Peng drama
Now, I am not an Ao Rui Peng fan. At all.
In fact, I would say I’m closer to an anti-fan (although not as toxic), as I have disliked and ultimately dropped almost every drama I have seen the Chinese actor in with the exception of The Blood of Youth, which I loved, and The Seven Relics of Ill Omen (which I watched to the end but, overall, detested).
All of that being said, I have to say in just the two episodes I have watched of Ao Rui Peng’s new drama Pull Strings so far, both the drama and his portrayal of cultivator Li Chang Shou are intriguingly done.
And his performance seems to have a level of maturity and solidness I haven’t seen in most of his other dramas.
The new C-drama, which is streaming on YOUKU, is based on the web novel “My Senior Brother Is Too Steady” (我师兄实在太稳健了), which is written by Yan Gui Zheng Zhuan, and also has a donghua out that I’ve watched a couple of episodes of in the past.
Now, the first few minutes of Episode 1 are confusing plot-wise, and I was already preparing myself for dumping it by its end.
But, after it became obvious this comedy cultivation series’ plot might actually be different than many of the other cardboard-cutout stories we usually get, and that Ao Rui Peng seems to be going for a more nuanced portrayal of its reincarnated protagonist, I was already signed on to watch more.
Throw in that, sure, it’s a bit slapstick in humor, but nowhere near as over-the-top slapstick as some of the Chinese dramas I’ve attempted and dropped, and I am fascinated to see where the rest of this story now goes.
Ao Rui Peng’s Pull Strings exceeds 7,500 on the heat index
So, no, after my initial reticence for watching Pull Strings turned to somewhat-admiration, I am also not surprised that Pull Strings has just exceeded 7,500 on YOUKU’s heat index with just three episodes out.
That 7,500 milestone was just celebrated by YOUKU with a cool poster of the male lead (see above), the two other leads (Sun Zhen Ni and A0 Zi Yi), alongside supporting actress Ai Mi, and the brilliant supporting actor (and superb singer) Yu Yi (Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty).
Well-deserved so far, I say, and let’s hope it climbs even higher from here.
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