I found some interesting genre in danmei novel which is pretty mainstream in chinese danmei novel world but kind of different in other form BL
One storyline that i find quite a lot in danmei chinese novel compared to regular bl manga or other platform was the reborn/rebirth genre where the main character will die and regain a new life and adventure. If you have read the manhwa “Geu Kkeute Issneun Geos” (What Lies in the End) or watch taiwan drama “HIStory 1 : Obsessed” it is either something like that or with a little twist
Let me start introducing this genre starting with some of the generic terms/tag introduced in this fandom
Transmigration:
This tag is used if the protagonist inhabits an existing person’s body after migrating across worlds. It differs from reincarnation in that the person is not literally born again. (novelupdates)
one of my most favorite Novel of this genre was FENG YU JIU TIAN (Phoenix of the Nine Heavens), which i still think its super epic and exciting super recommended for people to read. I already have a dedicated blog review for this novel
This is an example of my favourite story when the rebirth character not just get reborn in the same existing world (past or future or different person) but he experience Interdimensional travel where his soul transmigrate into other lives in different dimension. The other dimension can be a fantastical ancient china, a futuristic scify world, post apocalyptic world, a novel plot , or an otome-ish game
Reading some these novel i’m guessing that lot of fans are fond of the world of RPG games
THE SCUM VILLAIN SELF SAVING SYSTEM
人渣反派自救系统
english translation : https://cnoveluv.wordpress.com/projects/the-scum-villains-self-saving-system/
Summary:
Can’t I read stallion novels anymore?! [TN: genre with OP protag & harem]
Shen Yuan is reborn into a young man and scum villain destined to die, Shen Qingqiu.
But it must be known that the original Shen Qingqiu was sliced alive by his disciple, Luo Binghe, into a human stick! A human stick!
Shen Qingqiu’s heart is a full herd of grass mud horses running full tilt, yet:
“It’s not like I don’t want to hug this main character’s thighs, but who let this fucking man be so black. The revenge that needs to be taken is some thousands of deeds!
Why is all the romance that should be going to the women in the plot imposed on him?
Why as a scum villain, should he still have to block gun and knife for the protagonist and sacrifice himself?Shen Qingqiu: “…… _(:□)∠)_I think I can still save him one more time.”
He wants to prove – even scum villains can live, and live coolly at that!
It’s also the story of a small white flower who later became a black flower attacking a scholarly, scum villain type.
This is the story of a master and disciple’s everyday unknowing, very strange, dog-blood process of falling in love.
It’s also a scum villain’s firsthand account of the male protagonist turning from a small white sheep into an overbearing black king, sort of story……
if you are as confused as i was reading the summary this web gives better review >>http://bcnovels.com/the-scum-villains-self-saving-system-review/ and also translated 2 other novel with similar genre
why i say this story is similiar to RPG cause in this kind of story the MC usually is guided by a System which is sometime is like a voice inside their head who tells him what to do
and sometime they give them a mission that they must accomplish to gain higher level
System Administration:
Where the Main character gains access to an “admin” system that allows them to have more control/abilities than regular people and people that have the non-admin system.
Almost always together with the level system tag.Level System:
This tag is used when the characters of the novel improve their abilities/skills/power by leveling up.
Beside that this novel is also falls into category of Xianxia or Wuxia which is a ancient chinese martial art stories. something like : “Return of the Condor Heroes” which i enjoy watching as a kid
Xianxia:
Xianxia is a story with cultivation that can lead to a human becoming immortal through Taoist (in most cases) ways. If it doesn’t mention the dao, odds are that it isn’t a Xianxia.Cultivation is form of meditation or training to achieve new ability
(note Indonesian: kalau di indonesia kaya bertapa/semedi)Wuxia
This is a genre specific to Chinese novels. It literally means [Martial Hero], dealing with martial arts and chivalry. Main character can’t become an immortal, but rather stays human.
I think The Scum Villain Self Saving System is very very popular since they have so many pretty fanart, or was it the official art already very pretty.
The main character design:
The art:
This story is already very interesting with all these aspect the fandom discover another new sub genre which is multiple realms, where the MC travel form realms to realms usually to complete a mission
mutiple realms:
This tag is used if there exists different realms other than the one which protagonist rises from.
Now an example of these kind of story that i currently found which was very good was
HEROIC DEATH SYSTEM
英勇赴死系统
translation :http://snowycodex.com/translations/novels/hds/
Summary:
“I curse you to never die in peace!”Thus, Shang Ke started a never-ending (forced) cycle of constantly throwing away his miserable life.
He would always show himself as a martyr while letting others cry over his death.
It was because of a woman’s curse that Shang Ke was hit by a car and turned into a human vegetable. This led to him becoming bound by an unlucky system in which he was cursed to die. The most unfortunate part was that he never cheated on anyone’s feelings. The reason for why he was cursed by a woman was because of a guy named Qi Chen. Qi Chen was a ladies man, and he would always use Shang Ke as an excuse to break up with any woman that he was with. As a result, Shang Ke was always blamed for the breakups. Since then, the main character could only be forced to cross into different worlds. He would thus experience for himself, the hero’s “thrill”.
It’s HE
This story is GOOOOOD i’m very addicted to the plot, a good portion of angst and fluffyness for my taste. I really love this idea of multiple realms. While the MC kept dying for his sacrifice and the love between the MC and ML grow in each passing life i’m always looking forward for the next fresh plot.
Now i want to point out the good point of this stories which is even i you take out all the BL aspect from the storyline, the plot itself already very interesting. In comparison to if you take out much BL from a Chai Ji Dan popular novel it became very dull, like what happened to advance bravely live action version.
On the other hand in the fandom there more of the similar stories than what i could stomach, and it can be very boring especially if the author decide to complicate the story too much , too much system explanation , too much leveling, to much cultivation to gain better skill, and too much everything
i think in the end if its BL the reader would like more fluff and moe between the MC and ML rather than those mumbo jumbo
So balanced story between the two would be exactly my taste
Do you read this kind of novel? if you have some recommendation do let me know cause i’m still searching for a great story
