tentative dorama listing.
This isn't the intro post I mentioned earlier, more like trying to map out how all the doramas I've watched rate against each other. With pictures! So I suppose it could also work as something to make y'all curious about these.
Also includes tentative to-watch lists, so feel free to rec doramas you think I might enjoy. As the list obviously suggests, I'm more into the happy, light, funny romantic stuff.
Behind cut are also some thoughts on Mars up to episode 8.
1. Goong / My Girl
Trivia: this is the pic that made me want to watch Goong. I blame it for everything. <3
These two top kdramas, both aired in 2006 are forced to share the top spot. In technical qualities, My Girl is number one but Goong was my first and even in its draggy imperfection, I have enormous love for it. Chae-gyung is just the most lovable, goofy heroine ever and Shin perfect in his cold-exterior-woobie-interior mix (plus JJH is just the prettiest). The combination is amazing enough to make me forgive the occasional bad fashion and the incredibly hate-worthy villains/third wheels. Great soundtrack, too, and omg, the prettiest drama *ever*.
Left to right: Awesome Guy, Evil Hor Girl, Lovable Heroine, Swoon-worthy Hero.
If some Asian TV producer bigshot called me up and asked me describe the perfect drama (to my liking), I'd probably describe something very, very close to My Girl. Starting from the stunningly good-looking and otherwise perfect OTP (have you seen them?), the constant self-awareness and parody portions (so my thing), the really awesome third wheel (Jung-woo, marry me instead!), the adorable secondary pairings (Yoo-rin's cousin/Gong-chan's secretary 4-ever!), the bonus slashiness... It just pushes all the right buttons for me.
2. Hana Kimi
Get ready for a cute overdose.
Of course, if I did get that call from that producer bigshot, I'd try to make sure my perfect drama would include Jiro Wang. Hana Kimi or Hua Yang Shao Nian Shao Nu (I can't believe I know that romanization by heart) is just too precious. It's a great blend of exaggerated crack, deliciously sweet romance, side-splittingly hilarious comedy and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. The soundtrack got me into cpop, goddammit. I think it'll remain my favourite twdrama for a long, long time, despite its quite obvious flaws. I mean, Wu Chun is the cutest thing on this planet (after Ella & bunny babies) but his acting isn't anything amazing, plus the drama quite often includes some major logical errors. But I forgive them before I even notice these flaws.
3. My Lovely Sam-soon
The lesson here is: even you can hook up with Hyun Bin. No, seriously!
If Mars continues as awesome as it has been, this will be dropped to #4 but it doesn't make it any less great. Sam-soon is just simply a fantastic, unique drama heroine. Whereas all the other heroines have “cute” flaws that make them human but not quite imperfect in the way regular women are imperfect, Sam-soon is exactly that - a regular woman. Her good qualities, her bad ones, they're all there. It's without a doubt the most realistic drama I've seen thus far in terms of development, characters (for the most part) and resolution. Even some things I didn't absolutely love, I had to admit they made sense in context. Fabulous soundtrack and ace, hilarious secondary pairing. Simply a top drama all around.
4. Mars
Look, it's not all angst!
So technically this shouldn't be here, because I haven't finished it but I'm feeling confident about it and filled with Mars love right now. I was turned off by the art in the manga but I'm so glad I eventually agreed to give the drama a try. It's just an excellently developed story about two deeply traumatized people finding each other and what they need in each other. It's touching and sweet and just fascinating to follow. Vic Chou & Barbie Hsu have amazing chemistry and the secondary characters are wonderful, as well.
5. It Started With a Kiss
Taken from my English-Mandarin dictionary, under "cute".
Even though it seems like ISWAK is at the bottom of this list, it's actually quite the opposite. I absolutely adore certain things about this drama, mainly the comedy and the fluffy cuteness and certain little details (the kiss scenes! Yu Shu! the secondary pairing that reflects the first! the last episodes, the rain scene etc). I came out liking Ariel and Joe in a big way. But to my disappointment, I felt the drama dragged a lot at one point. To the point where I was almost ready to stop watching. I'm glad I didn't, though, and suffered through the few very draggy episodes and resisted the urge to smack the hero a bit. In the end, I really liked it and *really* look forward to the sequel, which will surely be awesome.
The rest (aka have begun watching but not finished)
Kurosagi - It's not love, it's not even particularly strong like, but I do like it. I just don't particularly care for the main character's tragic past, which sort of creates a severe lack-of-interest issue. I do however love the heroine, she's adorable. I'm currently at 5th or 6th episode.
Nodame Cantabile - Another jdrama. This one is very promising but I'm not in a huge hurry to get my hands on it. Adorably flaky heroine and cool hero and classical music and goofy comedy. Yes please. I've only seen ep 1 and half of ep 2.
Couple of Fantasy / Let's Go To School Sang-doo! - Two kdramas I watched first episodes of and mean to eventually watch in whole as they were both very promising. Couple of Fantasy is about a bitchy heiress who loses her memory and a plumber guy who she previously clashed with, who decides to take advantage of her condition and make her his housekeeper. The plot didn't even properly start with the first episode but it was hilarious, and in good kdrama style, there was much yelling. Let's Go To School Sang-doo was a bit confusing plotwise, but basically it's about childhood lovers who come together again in a peculiar situation; he's a student in a class in order to finish his schooling & she's the teacher. It was cute and promising and Rain is friggin' adorable. I'll watch all of it eventually.
KO One - I have seen the first episode unsubbed and if I don't come out loving or at least liking this drama, I'll question everything else I like. It's 120% over-the-top crack. It's just nuts! It might not be too good plotwise but the nutty comedy is pretty much guaranteed. Plus, hey, Jiro. Lots of Jiro.
Thanks but no thanks (begun but don't plan on ever finishing - I refuse to watch something that lasts 10+ hrs and doesn't seem worth the time)
The Vineyard Man - Yoon Eun-hye, you know I love you to pieces. I tried this drama. Nah. I can't bother searching for the episodes or downloading or any of that. Some funny comedy scenes in the first episodes but ehh. Skip.
Sweet 18 - It's like My Little Bride except not. I liked this drama for a while. But then I realized I wasn't really liking the heroine as I was supposed to. In fact, I was quite annoyed by her. Then I figured I couldn't stand seeing Lee Da-hae as an evil girl so I dropped this one. Oh well.
Prince's First Love - I randomly saw this and noticed it had Chae Tae-hyun, who I loved in My Sassy Girl. I thought “Why not?” and watched the first episode. Holy crap. It wasn't good at all. His character was frankly disgusting (and I'm one of those who actually finds his looks in general attractive), the heroine was sweet but her “goodness” was portrayed in an unbelievable manner, the couple scenes were sudden and didn't evoke any emotion in me, and the worst part? Ugly Western extras. Oh Christ. I suppose it had some promise but I wasn't preparing myself to suffer through another episode.
Smiling Pasta - It had its pro's; heroine's cute weird family, the adorable hero, the amusing(ly bad) soundtrack. But too much stuff that made me go “Argh!” so yeah, I stopped watching.
To watch (or at least check out) - definitely
The Devil - Give me anything with Joo Jin-hoon.
Snow Queen - Give me anything with Hyun Bin.
Summer x Summer or whatever it's called - Give me anything with Joe Cheng. Especially if it includes him playing a character who is afraid of summer omg.
Ultimate Family - Give me anything with Jiro Wang.
To watch (or at least check out) - maybe, perhaps, I-still-need-convincing
Meteor Garden - I feel I owe it to my one volume of Hana Yori Dango to watch at least some drama version of it and the Japanese version isn't too tempting even though the heroine is amazingly cute.
The Rose - Joe and Ella, could be good, could not be, I don't know but to think about those two gives me the cutest mental images. Because, duhh, Joe!! Ella!!
Something with Kim Rae-won - He's done a ton of dramas, I loved him in My Little Bride and would love to see him in something good again.
Full House - I suppose it's a kdrama must watch but I have my doubts. :/
Nobuta wo Produce - Even non-drama fanatics like sioniann keep throwing the name around. I don't know. Something about the whole JE thing kind of freaks me (no offense!) and I'm unsure if I want to see Yamapi in anything after I finish Kurosagi.
So, watched Mars up to episode 8 last night. Mmm. I love how it's 90% OTP goodness. The characters are wounded but share a really special connection I just find fascinating. I like how Qi Luo always sees through Ling's lies and pretension and how she's so traumatized but still with a sense of realism and a spine. And omg, how cute was it when they spent a day together? Those two just make each other's lives complete.
SPOILERS from hereon, I guess.
Hatehatehate the blast-from-past girl. Gah. She acts 8 years old and obvious emotional blackmail and gah. Plus I hate her stupid face. But thankfully it seems she'll go away soon. Phew.
I lovelovelove Qin Mei and Da Ye. It's so rare than characters who start out as third wheels would actually progress to becoming the biggest OTP cheerleaders but that's what they are. I actually want to fic them because of that - I find it interesting, that sort of giving up on what they want and deciding that in the end it's better if the people they want get each other. But in a way it's very rational, as the attempt to keep Ling and Qi Luo apart would be futile, and I think they both get it and that's incredibly ace.
The mother flashbacks are really well done. I desperately want to know more about that stuff but even more I want to know more about Qi Luo's past.
Also? I love it when she smiles.
And omg, so many episodes of this left. I sincerely hope it continues to be this good.
& Yes, I know this Jiro icon owns the universe. Made by josebud, btw. And I have a new default icon, Mizuki from Hana Kimi manga:
Also includes tentative to-watch lists, so feel free to rec doramas you think I might enjoy. As the list obviously suggests, I'm more into the happy, light, funny romantic stuff.
Behind cut are also some thoughts on Mars up to episode 8.
1. Goong / My Girl
Trivia: this is the pic that made me want to watch Goong. I blame it for everything. <3
These two top kdramas, both aired in 2006 are forced to share the top spot. In technical qualities, My Girl is number one but Goong was my first and even in its draggy imperfection, I have enormous love for it. Chae-gyung is just the most lovable, goofy heroine ever and Shin perfect in his cold-exterior-woobie-interior mix (plus JJH is just the prettiest). The combination is amazing enough to make me forgive the occasional bad fashion and the incredibly hate-worthy villains/third wheels. Great soundtrack, too, and omg, the prettiest drama *ever*.
Left to right: Awesome Guy, Evil Hor Girl, Lovable Heroine, Swoon-worthy Hero.
If some Asian TV producer bigshot called me up and asked me describe the perfect drama (to my liking), I'd probably describe something very, very close to My Girl. Starting from the stunningly good-looking and otherwise perfect OTP (have you seen them?), the constant self-awareness and parody portions (so my thing), the really awesome third wheel (Jung-woo, marry me instead!), the adorable secondary pairings (Yoo-rin's cousin/Gong-chan's secretary 4-ever!), the bonus slashiness... It just pushes all the right buttons for me.
2. Hana Kimi
Get ready for a cute overdose.
Of course, if I did get that call from that producer bigshot, I'd try to make sure my perfect drama would include Jiro Wang. Hana Kimi or Hua Yang Shao Nian Shao Nu (I can't believe I know that romanization by heart) is just too precious. It's a great blend of exaggerated crack, deliciously sweet romance, side-splittingly hilarious comedy and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. The soundtrack got me into cpop, goddammit. I think it'll remain my favourite twdrama for a long, long time, despite its quite obvious flaws. I mean, Wu Chun is the cutest thing on this planet (after Ella & bunny babies) but his acting isn't anything amazing, plus the drama quite often includes some major logical errors. But I forgive them before I even notice these flaws.
3. My Lovely Sam-soon
The lesson here is: even you can hook up with Hyun Bin. No, seriously!
If Mars continues as awesome as it has been, this will be dropped to #4 but it doesn't make it any less great. Sam-soon is just simply a fantastic, unique drama heroine. Whereas all the other heroines have “cute” flaws that make them human but not quite imperfect in the way regular women are imperfect, Sam-soon is exactly that - a regular woman. Her good qualities, her bad ones, they're all there. It's without a doubt the most realistic drama I've seen thus far in terms of development, characters (for the most part) and resolution. Even some things I didn't absolutely love, I had to admit they made sense in context. Fabulous soundtrack and ace, hilarious secondary pairing. Simply a top drama all around.
4. Mars
Look, it's not all angst!
So technically this shouldn't be here, because I haven't finished it but I'm feeling confident about it and filled with Mars love right now. I was turned off by the art in the manga but I'm so glad I eventually agreed to give the drama a try. It's just an excellently developed story about two deeply traumatized people finding each other and what they need in each other. It's touching and sweet and just fascinating to follow. Vic Chou & Barbie Hsu have amazing chemistry and the secondary characters are wonderful, as well.
5. It Started With a Kiss
Taken from my English-Mandarin dictionary, under "cute".
Even though it seems like ISWAK is at the bottom of this list, it's actually quite the opposite. I absolutely adore certain things about this drama, mainly the comedy and the fluffy cuteness and certain little details (the kiss scenes! Yu Shu! the secondary pairing that reflects the first! the last episodes, the rain scene etc). I came out liking Ariel and Joe in a big way. But to my disappointment, I felt the drama dragged a lot at one point. To the point where I was almost ready to stop watching. I'm glad I didn't, though, and suffered through the few very draggy episodes and resisted the urge to smack the hero a bit. In the end, I really liked it and *really* look forward to the sequel, which will surely be awesome.
The rest (aka have begun watching but not finished)
Kurosagi - It's not love, it's not even particularly strong like, but I do like it. I just don't particularly care for the main character's tragic past, which sort of creates a severe lack-of-interest issue. I do however love the heroine, she's adorable. I'm currently at 5th or 6th episode.
Nodame Cantabile - Another jdrama. This one is very promising but I'm not in a huge hurry to get my hands on it. Adorably flaky heroine and cool hero and classical music and goofy comedy. Yes please. I've only seen ep 1 and half of ep 2.
Couple of Fantasy / Let's Go To School Sang-doo! - Two kdramas I watched first episodes of and mean to eventually watch in whole as they were both very promising. Couple of Fantasy is about a bitchy heiress who loses her memory and a plumber guy who she previously clashed with, who decides to take advantage of her condition and make her his housekeeper. The plot didn't even properly start with the first episode but it was hilarious, and in good kdrama style, there was much yelling. Let's Go To School Sang-doo was a bit confusing plotwise, but basically it's about childhood lovers who come together again in a peculiar situation; he's a student in a class in order to finish his schooling & she's the teacher. It was cute and promising and Rain is friggin' adorable. I'll watch all of it eventually.
KO One - I have seen the first episode unsubbed and if I don't come out loving or at least liking this drama, I'll question everything else I like. It's 120% over-the-top crack. It's just nuts! It might not be too good plotwise but the nutty comedy is pretty much guaranteed. Plus, hey, Jiro. Lots of Jiro.
Thanks but no thanks (begun but don't plan on ever finishing - I refuse to watch something that lasts 10+ hrs and doesn't seem worth the time)
The Vineyard Man - Yoon Eun-hye, you know I love you to pieces. I tried this drama. Nah. I can't bother searching for the episodes or downloading or any of that. Some funny comedy scenes in the first episodes but ehh. Skip.
Sweet 18 - It's like My Little Bride except not. I liked this drama for a while. But then I realized I wasn't really liking the heroine as I was supposed to. In fact, I was quite annoyed by her. Then I figured I couldn't stand seeing Lee Da-hae as an evil girl so I dropped this one. Oh well.
Prince's First Love - I randomly saw this and noticed it had Chae Tae-hyun, who I loved in My Sassy Girl. I thought “Why not?” and watched the first episode. Holy crap. It wasn't good at all. His character was frankly disgusting (and I'm one of those who actually finds his looks in general attractive), the heroine was sweet but her “goodness” was portrayed in an unbelievable manner, the couple scenes were sudden and didn't evoke any emotion in me, and the worst part? Ugly Western extras. Oh Christ. I suppose it had some promise but I wasn't preparing myself to suffer through another episode.
Smiling Pasta - It had its pro's; heroine's cute weird family, the adorable hero, the amusing(ly bad) soundtrack. But too much stuff that made me go “Argh!” so yeah, I stopped watching.
To watch (or at least check out) - definitely
The Devil - Give me anything with Joo Jin-hoon.
Snow Queen - Give me anything with Hyun Bin.
Summer x Summer or whatever it's called - Give me anything with Joe Cheng. Especially if it includes him playing a character who is afraid of summer omg.
Ultimate Family - Give me anything with Jiro Wang.
To watch (or at least check out) - maybe, perhaps, I-still-need-convincing
Meteor Garden - I feel I owe it to my one volume of Hana Yori Dango to watch at least some drama version of it and the Japanese version isn't too tempting even though the heroine is amazingly cute.
The Rose - Joe and Ella, could be good, could not be, I don't know but to think about those two gives me the cutest mental images. Because, duhh, Joe!! Ella!!
Something with Kim Rae-won - He's done a ton of dramas, I loved him in My Little Bride and would love to see him in something good again.
Full House - I suppose it's a kdrama must watch but I have my doubts. :/
Nobuta wo Produce - Even non-drama fanatics like sioniann keep throwing the name around. I don't know. Something about the whole JE thing kind of freaks me (no offense!) and I'm unsure if I want to see Yamapi in anything after I finish Kurosagi.
So, watched Mars up to episode 8 last night. Mmm. I love how it's 90% OTP goodness. The characters are wounded but share a really special connection I just find fascinating. I like how Qi Luo always sees through Ling's lies and pretension and how she's so traumatized but still with a sense of realism and a spine. And omg, how cute was it when they spent a day together? Those two just make each other's lives complete.
SPOILERS from hereon, I guess.
Hatehatehate the blast-from-past girl. Gah. She acts 8 years old and obvious emotional blackmail and gah. Plus I hate her stupid face. But thankfully it seems she'll go away soon. Phew.
I lovelovelove Qin Mei and Da Ye. It's so rare than characters who start out as third wheels would actually progress to becoming the biggest OTP cheerleaders but that's what they are. I actually want to fic them because of that - I find it interesting, that sort of giving up on what they want and deciding that in the end it's better if the people they want get each other. But in a way it's very rational, as the attempt to keep Ling and Qi Luo apart would be futile, and I think they both get it and that's incredibly ace.
The mother flashbacks are really well done. I desperately want to know more about that stuff but even more I want to know more about Qi Luo's past.
Also? I love it when she smiles.
And omg, so many episodes of this left. I sincerely hope it continues to be this good.
& Yes, I know this Jiro icon owns the universe. Made by josebud, btw. And I have a new default icon, Mizuki from Hana Kimi manga: