It just doesn't sound like a realistic expectation for a reimagining of a show in another country. It would be like expecting an American Squid Game having a primarily Korean cast. Or each version of Money Heist to be based on Spanish cast.

Did you also expect it to be entirely in Mandarin?

[–] damnthefilibuster@lemmy.world 1 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Yeah, I guess my mistake was that at no point did I read anywhere that it’s a reimagining. If I had, I would have set expectations accordingly that it’ll be exactly what it is - a horribly mangled version of the original.

Also, have you seen the one season of the original that was made by a Chinese production house? It’s available freely on YouTube. Yes, it’s wholly in mandarin. But it is soooo good!

[–] warbond@lemmy.world 1 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

I thought it was amusing that they were being produced basically concurrently. I've enjoyed both the books and the one season of the show, but I feel like I've experienced it and I'm ready to move on.

Having read the books and (presumably) watched the Netflix show, do you think the Chinese version is done well enough that it's worth another journey through the same story?

[–] damnthefilibuster@lemmy.world 2 points 11 hours ago

So… the Netflix show is nothing compared to the original story. Sure, it’s got the plot points and a lot of graphics visualizing the game. But it also melds characters together and makes a poor show of the storytelling. Plus, knowing the showrunners, I wholly expect them to shit the bed even more somewhere down the line.

I read the books and watched the Chinese version and the tv show did a splendid job of visualizing the details, the ethos, the characters. Worth a watch, even if trudging through the subtitles was a drag.