What to watch next?
Since I dropped 3310: The Pillow Book, I need to find another drama to fill the gap. So here are the dramas I would consider watching (no particular order):
The Handsome Siblings - 44 Episodes of around 40-ish minutes each.
The plot is about (handsome) twin siblings separated at birth. Their parents' nemesis deliberately brought one of them up to be "good" while the other one is sent to live with "bad" people. That way, they can be pit against one another when they grow up. Those are some very patient villains. Fighting asides, romance probably happens with some combination of these females:
I'll be pretty interested in seeing what a Gu Long story is like since I've always like Jin Yong more and had less exposure to Gu Long stories. But the downside is that I heard the "bad" sibling is more mischievous than actually being villainous. I'm not sure if I'm up to China's quirky, mischievous male character.
Barrack O'Karma - 20 Episodes of 40-ish minutes each (no English subtitles).
I mainly wanted to watch this because I don't watch enough dramas from Hong Kong. It's a comedy/horror about a security guard that works at a possibly haunted apartment building. I watched the first episode. So far, it's just average. Nothing was particularly too funny or too creepy. And I am able to get by with limited knowledge of simplified Chinese subtitles and limited knowledge of Cantonese words that sound similar to Mandarin. The videos also have a dubbed Mandarin track, but I would prefer not to use that.
Ancient Detective - 24 Episodes of 40-sh minutes each.
Detective shows are now making a comeback because there's this, Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty, and I feel like one other detective show out there. This one has two things going for it: it's short at 24 episodes and Rachel Wang - who plays the better half of the possibly lesbian couple from 3310: The Pillow Book - is one of the main female leads. She's attractive and she fights with an umbrella - which is neither positive or negative, but just different, I guess.
I know very little about the actual plot but I assume there are mysteries and the four leads solve them. For some reason or the other, My Drama List recommends The Untamed and Black and White for people that watch this drama. They seem like very different dramas, but what do I know?
Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty - 48 Episodes of 45 minutes each.
With so many detective shows, I get a little mixed up. I think this is the one that's produced by Jackie Chan so people think the fight choreography is extra good (for today's drama standards). This is also a gay source material story that was turned into regular bromance due to Chinese censorship. For me, the main draw would probably be the potentially okay fight choreography.
Amensalism - 13 Episodes of 1 1/2 hour each.
People sure stand close to each other when they talk (see also Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty photo above). No wonder social distancing is so important.
Anyways, this drama is about some guy that can see how people will die but can't prevent it...until he meets Lorene Jen's (The Crossing Hero, K.O. 3Guo) character. I would watch it for Lorene Jen and Taiwan. But have to put up with Prince Chiu's face.
That's also the face I'm making as I contemplate whether it's worth it.
I think half of this drama is out now so I would probably wait a month or two before watching.
Joy of Life - 46 Episodes of 40-ish minutes each.
I think this is possibly a time-traveling story that had to be changed in some way due to Chinese censorship. But I don't know enough about the plot to know details of what changes there were. Basically, a modern-day person's soul/consciousness is transported into olden times. And from there, stuff happens (including some sort of chicken leg-related romance, apparently. There's also some guy that's potentially a robot:
The internet keeps talking about how this is one of the best written (story and character) dramas of last year. I vaguely watched one episode awhile back and couldn't get into it. Although I'll be honest and say that I might have been doing something else at the same time (coloring or Sudoku). The downside to this drama is that there's a second season announced (but somehow the same main cast - something is amazing!). So it's likely it ends on a cliffhanger.
So there they are! The dramas I would consider watching next (by myself or otherwise). Since I would prefer to watch a period drama right now, I would rule out Barrack O'Karma and Amensalism for now.
The Handsome Siblings - 44 Episodes of around 40-ish minutes each.
The plot is about (handsome) twin siblings separated at birth. Their parents' nemesis deliberately brought one of them up to be "good" while the other one is sent to live with "bad" people. That way, they can be pit against one another when they grow up. Those are some very patient villains. Fighting asides, romance probably happens with some combination of these females:
I'll be pretty interested in seeing what a Gu Long story is like since I've always like Jin Yong more and had less exposure to Gu Long stories. But the downside is that I heard the "bad" sibling is more mischievous than actually being villainous. I'm not sure if I'm up to China's quirky, mischievous male character.
Barrack O'Karma - 20 Episodes of 40-ish minutes each (no English subtitles).
I mainly wanted to watch this because I don't watch enough dramas from Hong Kong. It's a comedy/horror about a security guard that works at a possibly haunted apartment building. I watched the first episode. So far, it's just average. Nothing was particularly too funny or too creepy. And I am able to get by with limited knowledge of simplified Chinese subtitles and limited knowledge of Cantonese words that sound similar to Mandarin. The videos also have a dubbed Mandarin track, but I would prefer not to use that.
Ancient Detective - 24 Episodes of 40-sh minutes each.
Detective shows are now making a comeback because there's this, Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty, and I feel like one other detective show out there. This one has two things going for it: it's short at 24 episodes and Rachel Wang - who plays the better half of the possibly lesbian couple from 3310: The Pillow Book - is one of the main female leads. She's attractive and she fights with an umbrella - which is neither positive or negative, but just different, I guess.
I know very little about the actual plot but I assume there are mysteries and the four leads solve them. For some reason or the other, My Drama List recommends The Untamed and Black and White for people that watch this drama. They seem like very different dramas, but what do I know?
Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty - 48 Episodes of 45 minutes each.
With so many detective shows, I get a little mixed up. I think this is the one that's produced by Jackie Chan so people think the fight choreography is extra good (for today's drama standards). This is also a gay source material story that was turned into regular bromance due to Chinese censorship. For me, the main draw would probably be the potentially okay fight choreography.
Amensalism - 13 Episodes of 1 1/2 hour each.
People sure stand close to each other when they talk (see also Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty photo above). No wonder social distancing is so important.
Anyways, this drama is about some guy that can see how people will die but can't prevent it...until he meets Lorene Jen's (The Crossing Hero, K.O. 3Guo) character. I would watch it for Lorene Jen and Taiwan. But have to put up with Prince Chiu's face.
That's also the face I'm making as I contemplate whether it's worth it.
I think half of this drama is out now so I would probably wait a month or two before watching.
Joy of Life - 46 Episodes of 40-ish minutes each.
I think this is possibly a time-traveling story that had to be changed in some way due to Chinese censorship. But I don't know enough about the plot to know details of what changes there were. Basically, a modern-day person's soul/consciousness is transported into olden times. And from there, stuff happens (including some sort of chicken leg-related romance, apparently. There's also some guy that's potentially a robot:
The internet keeps talking about how this is one of the best written (story and character) dramas of last year. I vaguely watched one episode awhile back and couldn't get into it. Although I'll be honest and say that I might have been doing something else at the same time (coloring or Sudoku). The downside to this drama is that there's a second season announced (but somehow the same main cast - something is amazing!). So it's likely it ends on a cliffhanger.
So there they are! The dramas I would consider watching next (by myself or otherwise). Since I would prefer to watch a period drama right now, I would rule out Barrack O'Karma and Amensalism for now.