In comparison to the vast number of literary work adaptations, there are relatively few cdrama adaptations based on games or comics as the source. This is partly due to the scarcity of game works or comic works that are suitable for visual adaptation, as well as the undeniable challenges of adaptation.
However, this has not dampened the industry's enthusiasm for the development of game adaptations and comic adaptations, as the traffic effects and audience influence of these two special works far surpass those of ordinary literary works. Especially in the current wave of online literature work adaptations, game adaptations and comic adaptations are becoming increasingly lucrative.
Just from the end of last year to the beginning of this year, we have seen the release of game adaptations such as “Sword and Fairy” and “Sword and Fairy 4,” as well as comic adaptations like “The Hope” and “White Cat Legend,” among others. Additionally, there are highly anticworkated upcoming series such as “Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red-Moon Pact,” “Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Love in Pavilion,” and “Fox Spirit Matchmaker 3,” indicating the enormous commercial value of game adaptations and comic adaptations.
While there have not been many game adaptations and comic adaptations in the past few years that have both garnered critical acclaim and attracted audiences, the quality of these works may offer insights into the industry's approach to developing content for these special works.
Precision in selection, clear positioning
Choosing the right work is the first step in all work adaptations. Is the work theme outdated? Can the story style, values, and emotional perspectives resonate with contemporary audiences? If the tone of the work story does not align with the current aesthetic of the film and television market, significant adjustments to the content during adaptation may bring about development risks, making progress akin to rowing upstream.
For instance, the once popular comic adaptation “Meteor Garden” from the previous century, which featured a love story between a rich heir and a Cinderella-like character, was highly praised in the idol drama market of that time. However, placed in today's idol drama landscape, not only are the characterizations outdated, but the storyline of the male lead using his wealth to oppress the female lead is unlikely to appeal to modern female audiences.
In recent years, looking at the types of stories in game adaptations and comic adaptations, fantasy and martial arts genres with a fictional setting have become more favored subjects. For example, adaptations like the “Chinese Paladin” series, the “Xuan-Yuan Sword” series, the “Fox Spirit Matchmaker” series, and “The Long Ballad.” These works align well with the enduring popularity of ancient costume dramas, as the emotional and moral values conveyed in their content are built on fictional premises that are detached from reality and disconnected from the zeitgeist, thus reducing the risk of obsolescence.
Genres with minimal risk of emotional obsolescence also include Republican-era fantasy and urban fantasy, such as dramas like “The Love of Hypnosis” and “I Am Nobody,” where the realistic worldviews in the works are complemented by fantastical story settings that increase audience receptivity to the conveyed values.
On the other hand, contemporary game adaptations and comic adaptations, in order to avoid becoming outdated, tend to lean towards themes centered around professions, competitions, and genres with a strong male audience appeal. These works often feature stories with a focus on passionate and intense plots. Even if the details do not completely align with current professional characteristics, with sufficient depth, they may not be criticized.
For instance, the adaptation of the manga “Hikaru no Go,” which revolves around the game of Go, with its highly vertical attributes, not only breaks through temporal and spatial barriers but has also been well received locally despite being transplanted from Japan. Even for reality-based works that primarily focus on emotions, as long as the main theme is not centered on romance, the risk of becoming outdated is minimal, as seen in dramas like “Go Brother!,” which emphasizes familial relationshworks.
By accurately sourcing materials in the early stages, game adaptations and comic adaptations can find their place in suitable series categories, reducing the difficulty of adaptation and the risk of reputation damage caused by fragmented storytelling. Of course, while making significant adaptations to the original work may invite criticism from fans, there is still room for maneuvering, as demonstrated by last year's airing of the school-themed drama “The Hope,” which was adapted from a Japanese manga but underwent substantial adjustments in characterizations and plot to cater to the viewing habits of the Chinese audience, achieving positive results.
Narrative return to the logic of cdramas
Whether it is a game-adapted drama or a comic-adapted drama, the ultimate goal of the work is to cater to cdrama audiences. Therefore, the most challenging aspect of adaptation is to transform the fragmented narrative style of the game or comic work into a more widely accepted linear narrative, and to adjust it according to the aesthetic habits of the audience in the genre to which the adapted work belongs. For plot-driven stories, it is essential to ensure that the story has sufficient excitement and rhythm, while for emotional stories, it is necessary to enhance the rationality of emotional logic.
The recently aired comic-adapted drama “White Cat Legend” is currently a highly anticworkated ancient costume detective drama. However, the current audience feedback is not ideal, with most criticisms focused on the slow progression of the main storyline and lack of excitement.
In this subgenre of mystery-solving dramas, the audience's primary criteria for evaluating the series are rigorous story logic and pacing, followed by well-developed characters and reflections of human nature or societal issues behind the cases. Objectively speaking, this comic-adapted drama has many highlights, such as vivid portrayal of the young characters, a strong sense of humor, and a passionate growth trajectory. However, these highlights are not enough to compensate for the disappointment caused by the lack of excitement in the main storyline.
In fact, for comic-adapted dramas, audiences do not care whether there is an work endorsement or whether the content is hardcore enough. What matters most is whether the adaptation meets their standards for high-quality dramas in that genre. Fragmented storytelling and insufficient plot volume are common characteristics of most game works and comic works. Therefore, reshaping the main storyline of the story becomes one of the most challenging aspects of game-adapted and comic-adapted dramas. In this regard, the comic-adapted drama “Go Brother!” has made a good attempt. After adaptation, the drama not only retains the comic's comedic daily life style but also connects the fragmented details, incorporating more realistic and heartwarming scenes to make the depiction of family relationshworks more emotionally logical.
Of course, leveraging the work, it would be a waste of resources to adapt the work solely to meet the aesthetic standards of TV dramas without considering the unique style and classic scenes of the work. The drama “Sword and Fairy 4,” which sparked widespread discussions online during its premiere, was criticized for adhering too much to the traditional idol drama formula, failing to capture the essence of the work. The series faced continuous controversies during its airing, with criticisms not only about the excessive romantic scenes between the main characters but also about the insufficient fidelity to the classic scenes and characters. Changing the game plot forcibly to create romantic moments between the main characters, mismatching the characterizations, such as turning some supporting characters originally portrayed as career-oriented into romantic-minded, were all points of criticism by netizens.
Generally, characters in games and comics tend to be more exaggerated. If directly transferred to a drama, the character designs are likely to be too outlandish. However, if not exaggerated enough, the work may lose the unique flavor of the work. In terms of balancing the scale of character personalities, dramas like “I Am Nobody,” and “The Blood of Youth” have performed well. The characters in these dramas retain the comic's whimsical comedic style in details, while their emotional logic and values do not deviate from mainstream aesthetics, striking a balance between lightness and depth, ensuring coherence in both minor and major plot points.
The resurgence of game-adapted and comic-adapted dramas in the past two years is not a coincidence. After the proliferation of online literature work adaptations, film and television projects seeking to gain original traffic can only turn to scarcer resources for endorsement. Games or comics, which are considered precious due to their scarcity, are excellent choices. The same developmental logic applies to the remake of classic TV dramas that had sparked small-scale trends in previous years.
However, the process of visualizing game-adapted and comic-adapted dramas is inherently more challenging than adapting ordinary literary works. After all, game-adapted and comic-adapted dramas have already established a clear and deeply ingrained visual style, and the initial visual impression will subject the visualized content to more detailed scrutiny and increase the risk of negative reviews.
A recent example of this is “Eternal Brotherhood,” adapted from an online literary work, where the animated version had been released three years prior, deeply imprinting the character images in the audience's minds. Upon the drama's release, the characters in the series were unfavorably compared to the perfectly depicted characters in the comic, especially the character “Di Lin,” which sparked controversy due to the significant contrast in appearance.
