Drama fans were left wondering when the horror fantasy drama The Spirealm 致命游戏 abruptly ended in China, despite its premiere in February. Things are obviously looking good, thanks to the producers who finally realized that an international release could be the best course of action.
38 episodes, each lasting more than 40 minutes, have already been posted to the streaming service Viu as of the time of writing. This ought to be somewhat comparable to the first Chinese version, which ran as a “short drama format” on television as each of its 78 episodes lasted only 20 minutes or less.
“The Chinese Drama with the Shortest Lives in History”
The danmei online book Kaleidoscope of Death has a theatrical adaption called The Spirealm. At a time when there was rumored to be a restriction on BL adaptations in China, it shocked everyone with its abrupt drop, led by Huang Junjie and former R1SE member Xia Zhiguang. The Spirerealm was unexpectedly pulled off the air just two hours into its launch, despite the fact that the show swiftly gained popularity for the two performers and even attracted its fair number of fan shippers. Many believed that its removal was due to its BL roots. It also appears that the censors disagreed with iQiyi’s attempts to have it reclassified as a “short drama” by cutting each episode into 20 minutes.
However, now that The Spirealm’s 38 episodes are available globally (with English captions for viewers outside of the country), it appears that the show may indeed have the final say in this matter.
Hopes for International Airing of Chinese BL Adapted Dramas
The Spirealm, a VR game creator trapped in a survival game, is reportedly set to launch on iQIYI International’s platform soon. Considering the success of this series international broadcast, is it possible that other danmei novel-based Chinese dramas, such as Heaven Official’s Blessing and The Husky and His White Cat Shizun, would soon be able to screen as well?
