Not trying to throw shade at the AO3 crowd lol. I'm honestly curious and hope you can explain, what about cultivation + bl makes it the winning formula? Specifically why is Untamed so popular? I tried asking various AO3 types if they could explain the appeal of their favorite ships but they just straight up refuse to tell me why. The only hints I get are from the YouTuber coleydoesthings.
I have tried watching untamed and I just couldn't figure out why it got so crazy popular.
I didnt watch the video but had it pop up in my recommended.
Japan and Korea I feel on some level create things with the knowledge that it will be exported and consumed by ally nations and propped up by weeaboos and koreaboos.
I don't think China really needs to export their media. They have a huge domestic market, they don't need western countries in order to succeed. I feel that most Chinese media is made for domestic audiences and therefore they don't need to create things with westerners in mind. For example square enix will make a video game set in basically medieval Europe (FFXVI) starring primarily westerners. China does not need to do that. It doesn't need international critical acclaim for media. So they can make films that focus on Chinese stories like "Better Days".
Also because the intended audience is domestic, a lot of the media created is pretty niche. For example something focused on a businesswoman that speaks Shanghai dialect at home.
Most media creators there just don't need that international market to succeed and so there is no push to export. The west is so rabid in their brainwashed anti China hate that they would reject anything from China except for small pockets of the population so there is no demand for Chinese media either.
Try pirating some smaller Chinese films, you'll see how difficult it is to get one with English subtitles.
Some media recommendations with easy to find English translations
films: Better Days
White Snake (3d animated movie)
Webnovel: Daoist Gu
Novel: Three Body Problem
Series: Link Click Three Body Problem Countless BL romances that American AO3 Tumblr types gush over
Games: most of the ones I would like have no English translations. But I've played a few like Gujian where it's fun but not my type of game.
Mobile/gacha games(I don't like mobile games) Genshin Honkai star rail
Also Chinese devs have been killing it with apps.
I'm not sure if I'm fit to answer this. I'm demisexual, which is considered to be on the asexual spectrum.
The answer for me is no. I smile awkwardly at everyone. I can tell when someone is traditionally attractive but I just feel nothing. I become nervous if it seems like they're up to something or are emotionally unstable or they have a lot of power over me or if I feel that other people are watching my interaction and judging me. Sometimes I get nervous cause I have those intrusive thoughts like "bite their nose, imagine biting their nose!" Similar to when your driving and you think "swerve into incoming traffic!"
I tend to mentally categorize people as cartoon caricatures in my head and there are certain caricatures I tend to like more because they match with caricatures from media. When I meet someone that matches a caricature architype I like, I think that's as close as I come to finding someone attractive without knowing them, but I don't act any differently when around them.
There was one time where I did feel instantly 'attracted' to someone. It was the strangest thing, I saw them and somehow got this intense and assured feeling that they would be an important part of my life. (She's my SO of 12 years now.) I didn't smile awkwardly (more than usual) at her or feel nervous. I just spoke to her as normal and then 2 years later I told her that I believe we would make a good couple due to several factors like political beliefs. It was not very romantic in hindsight. More like a scientific conjecture lol.
I hope that meandering ramble helps answer your question.