Dramas I watched this year... ops - Part One
It doesn't feel it, but we are getting close to the end of the year.
The Covid situation is still not under control here in Italy; we are currently in soft lockdown with curfew and limitations to people's mobility and gathering. Hoping for the best outcome...
In the meantime, I indulge in more drama bing-watching, like I’ve done in the past months.
I've watch quite a lot of c-dramas this year (and several Chinese variety shows as well).
I bought a shiny new Smart Tv to watch dramas in a more comfortable way. Best purchase ever! (Though I need a better casting device for the various Chinese apps).
I'm gonna scroll through my very long list of MyDramaList and Viki watching history and write a short comment about the dramas I watched.
I’m not posting synopsis, just trailers, but I’ll mention reason for picking them.
Which ones have you also watched?
JOY OF LIFE (2019)
Genre: fantasy/historical
Episode: 46
Trailer
I started watching it at the end of last year but, as it finished airing at the beginning of this year, I count it as the first drama I watched.
MY REASON FOR WATCHING
After the Untamed, I was curious about Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan’s filmography. This one, which at the time hadn’t started airing, caught my interest because of plot and high production quality.
SCORE:
Story ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Acting ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Production ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
THE GOOD:
There are a lot of good points about this drama, from the acting, to costumes, filmography. The story is very complex and there are lots of characters to keep track of. Fan Xian is not an easy character to understand but that’s what makes it really captivating.
THE BAD:
There are 2 very bad points about this drama, related to each other.
1- The story doesn’t end at episode 46… In fact, season 2 and 3 were announced not long after the last episode aired. They haven’t started filming Season 2 as of yet but there are at least 20 or so episodes already filmed \o/
2- I don’t know when it was decided to make more seasons of the drama but that the drama was supposed to be longer than 46 episodes is clear when watching the first episodes. They first part (except the episodes of when Fan Xian s a kid) is so SLOOOOOOOW; the introduction of the main leads takes forever. It could work if the story were in fact longer than it actually is: they introduced element of the plot that are not resolved at the end of drama.
THE WTF:
This is probably personal, but if (like me) you are expecting a second Nirvana in Fire, this is not the drama then. There are several comedic moment in it that are somewhat absurd to me. There are people who love them and other not so much. I’m in the second group.
Also, if you are watching this just for Xiao Zhao, he’s only in the last 9 episode (though is role is WOW). It’s probably not happening, but I’d love for him to take the role Yan Bingyun again.
FAIRYLAND LOVERS (2020)
Genre: Fantasy
Episodes: 35
Trailer:
MY REASON FOR WATCHING
Bai Yu. Do I need more reasons?
SCORE:
Story ⭐⭐
Acting ⭐⭐⭐
Production ⭐⭐⭐
Overall: I can’t rate as I didn’t finish it
THE GOOD:
Bai Yu is very pretty
THE BAD
I couldn’t finish it… And that’s really something unusual for me. Especially when Bai Yu and Zhu Yilong are concerned.
It just that the story was meh, the female lead was so cringing I couldn’t stand her. The romance was just not there… I felt no motivation to keep watching.
THE WTF:
Too many… too many…*eyerolls*
KOI WA TSUZUKU YO DOKO MADE MO (2020)
Genre: romance
Episodes: 10
MY REASON FOR WATCHING
There was this screencap of Sato Takeru going around my Twitter timeline…
SCORE:
Story ⭐⭐
Acting ⭐⭐
Production ⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐
THE GOOD:
Protagonists are cute. Extremely cute. And Takeru is hot.
THE BAD:
So many tropes, no one is watching this drama for originality. Also, Takeru here was trying a bit too much to be a grumpy doctor. A bit overacted.
THE WTF:
Too many to count. At a certain point it’s better not to dwell to much on the ridiculousness of situations.
THE STORY OF YANXI PALACE (2018)
Genre: Historical
Episodes: 72
Trailer:
MY REASON FOR WATCHING
I heard a lot about this drama and I visited the Forbidden City last year. I wanted to watch a drama set there.
Full explanation and review in this post
SCORE:
Story ⭐⭐⭐
Acting ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Production ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐
SERENADE OF PEACEFUL JOY
Genre: Historical
Episodes: 69
TRAILER:
MY REASON FOR WATCHING
Wang Kai in costume drama. Prince Jing!
SCORE:
Story ⭐⭐
Acting ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Production ⭐⭐⭐
Overall: I can’t rate as I didn’t finish it
THE GOOD:
Nothing outstanding. Costumes and set are very well curated.
THE BAD:
Another drama with my favorite actor that I couldn’t finish. Sigh. The pacing was very slow; lots of everyday details in it and not enough interesting events.
The most interesting part was the relationship between the emperor and the empress but it was turning for the worst… If I ever pick this drama up again is just to see how their relationship develops.
HUNTING (2020)
Genre: Crime
Episodes: 44
Trailer:
MY REASON FOR WATCHING
Wang Kai as a cop.
But if you are thinking about crime investigation team just curb your enthusiasm, the cops here are part of a team who deals with financial crimes. LOL
SCORE:
Story ⭐⭐
Acting ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Production ⭐⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐
THE GOOD:
What I liked most was Wang Kai and Hu Jun’s performance, especially Hu Jun! Sorry, Kaikai, he had the most complex role LOL
The first half of the story was really thrilling but..
THE BAD
The second half of the story wasn’t as strong and the ending was really weak and a bit of drag.
The female lead was a bit too much of a stereotype to be likable to me.
THE WTF
It’s very interesting to see how American cops are portrayed in this drama… Point of views, point of views.
Also, between the firs story arc and the second, 10 years elapses but the meeting room is exactly the same… copier included (which is a recent Konica Minolta that couldn’t exist in 2006. I used to sell printers, I know everything about them!)
SURGEONS (2017)
Genre: Medical
Episodes: 44
Trailer:
MY REASON FOR WATCHING
Hu Ge, Wang Kai, Jin Dong: the magic trio of Nirvana in Fire and The Disguisers LOL.
After so much Wang Kai and with no Hu Ge in sight, I wanted to check some other work with Jin Dong. Medical dramas were one of my favorite genre so I chose this one (not sure I’m gonna enjoy medical dramas much now).
SCORE:
Story ⭐⭐
Acting ⭐⭐⭐
Production ⭐⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐
THE GOOD:
Compelling enough characters and a mystery to solve that makes this drama less focused on patients and their tear jerking stories.
On the other hand, it’s more about power play rather than medicine. I like it but other may not.
THE BAD:
Credibility is certainly not the aim of this drama. Also, Drama Gods were a bit lazy so originality is also lacking.
THE WTF:
Nothing that I can recall.
These are the dramas I watched till mid May. >___>
Coming in next parts, in random order: The King’s Avatar, The Lost Tomb. Sand Sea, Whirlwind Girl. Love O2O, Cross Fire, The Bad Kids, The Long Night, Reunion: Sound of the Providence, Love is Sweet, Where Your Eyes Linger, With You, To Dear Myself, Novoland: Eagle Flag.
This entry was originally posted at https://powwie.dreamwidth.org/38230.html
The Covid situation is still not under control here in Italy; we are currently in soft lockdown with curfew and limitations to people's mobility and gathering. Hoping for the best outcome...
In the meantime, I indulge in more drama bing-watching, like I’ve done in the past months.
I've watch quite a lot of c-dramas this year (and several Chinese variety shows as well).
I bought a shiny new Smart Tv to watch dramas in a more comfortable way. Best purchase ever! (Though I need a better casting device for the various Chinese apps).
I'm gonna scroll through my very long list of MyDramaList and Viki watching history and write a short comment about the dramas I watched.
I’m not posting synopsis, just trailers, but I’ll mention reason for picking them.
Which ones have you also watched?
JOY OF LIFE (2019)
Genre: fantasy/historical
Episode: 46
Trailer
Click to viewI started watching it at the end of last year but, as it finished airing at the beginning of this year, I count it as the first drama I watched.
MY REASON FOR WATCHING
After the Untamed, I was curious about Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan’s filmography. This one, which at the time hadn’t started airing, caught my interest because of plot and high production quality.
SCORE:
Story ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Acting ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Production ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
THE GOOD:
There are a lot of good points about this drama, from the acting, to costumes, filmography. The story is very complex and there are lots of characters to keep track of. Fan Xian is not an easy character to understand but that’s what makes it really captivating.
THE BAD:
There are 2 very bad points about this drama, related to each other.
1- The story doesn’t end at episode 46… In fact, season 2 and 3 were announced not long after the last episode aired. They haven’t started filming Season 2 as of yet but there are at least 20 or so episodes already filmed \o/
2- I don’t know when it was decided to make more seasons of the drama but that the drama was supposed to be longer than 46 episodes is clear when watching the first episodes. They first part (except the episodes of when Fan Xian s a kid) is so SLOOOOOOOW; the introduction of the main leads takes forever. It could work if the story were in fact longer than it actually is: they introduced element of the plot that are not resolved at the end of drama.
THE WTF:
This is probably personal, but if (like me) you are expecting a second Nirvana in Fire, this is not the drama then. There are several comedic moment in it that are somewhat absurd to me. There are people who love them and other not so much. I’m in the second group.
Also, if you are watching this just for Xiao Zhao, he’s only in the last 9 episode (though is role is WOW). It’s probably not happening, but I’d love for him to take the role Yan Bingyun again.
FAIRYLAND LOVERS (2020)
Genre: Fantasy
Episodes: 35
Trailer:
MY REASON FOR WATCHING
Bai Yu. Do I need more reasons?
SCORE:
Story ⭐⭐
Acting ⭐⭐⭐
Production ⭐⭐⭐
Overall: I can’t rate as I didn’t finish it
THE GOOD:
Bai Yu is very pretty
THE BAD
I couldn’t finish it… And that’s really something unusual for me. Especially when Bai Yu and Zhu Yilong are concerned.
It just that the story was meh, the female lead was so cringing I couldn’t stand her. The romance was just not there… I felt no motivation to keep watching.
THE WTF:
Too many… too many…*eyerolls*
KOI WA TSUZUKU YO DOKO MADE MO (2020)
Genre: romance
Episodes: 10
MY REASON FOR WATCHING
There was this screencap of Sato Takeru going around my Twitter timeline…
SCORE:
Story ⭐⭐
Acting ⭐⭐
Production ⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐
THE GOOD:
Protagonists are cute. Extremely cute. And Takeru is hot.
THE BAD:
So many tropes, no one is watching this drama for originality. Also, Takeru here was trying a bit too much to be a grumpy doctor. A bit overacted.
THE WTF:
Too many to count. At a certain point it’s better not to dwell to much on the ridiculousness of situations.
THE STORY OF YANXI PALACE (2018)
Genre: Historical
Episodes: 72
Trailer:
MY REASON FOR WATCHING
I heard a lot about this drama and I visited the Forbidden City last year. I wanted to watch a drama set there.
Full explanation and review in this post
SCORE:
Story ⭐⭐⭐
Acting ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Production ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐
SERENADE OF PEACEFUL JOY
Genre: Historical
Episodes: 69
TRAILER:
MY REASON FOR WATCHING
Wang Kai in costume drama. Prince Jing!
SCORE:
Story ⭐⭐
Acting ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Production ⭐⭐⭐
Overall: I can’t rate as I didn’t finish it
THE GOOD:
Nothing outstanding. Costumes and set are very well curated.
THE BAD:
Another drama with my favorite actor that I couldn’t finish. Sigh. The pacing was very slow; lots of everyday details in it and not enough interesting events.
The most interesting part was the relationship between the emperor and the empress but it was turning for the worst… If I ever pick this drama up again is just to see how their relationship develops.
HUNTING (2020)
Genre: Crime
Episodes: 44
Trailer:
MY REASON FOR WATCHING
Wang Kai as a cop.
But if you are thinking about crime investigation team just curb your enthusiasm, the cops here are part of a team who deals with financial crimes. LOL
SCORE:
Story ⭐⭐
Acting ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Production ⭐⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐
THE GOOD:
What I liked most was Wang Kai and Hu Jun’s performance, especially Hu Jun! Sorry, Kaikai, he had the most complex role LOL
The first half of the story was really thrilling but..
THE BAD
The second half of the story wasn’t as strong and the ending was really weak and a bit of drag.
The female lead was a bit too much of a stereotype to be likable to me.
THE WTF
It’s very interesting to see how American cops are portrayed in this drama… Point of views, point of views.
Also, between the firs story arc and the second, 10 years elapses but the meeting room is exactly the same… copier included (which is a recent Konica Minolta that couldn’t exist in 2006. I used to sell printers, I know everything about them!)
SURGEONS (2017)
Genre: Medical
Episodes: 44
Trailer:
MY REASON FOR WATCHING
Hu Ge, Wang Kai, Jin Dong: the magic trio of Nirvana in Fire and The Disguisers LOL.
After so much Wang Kai and with no Hu Ge in sight, I wanted to check some other work with Jin Dong. Medical dramas were one of my favorite genre so I chose this one (not sure I’m gonna enjoy medical dramas much now).
SCORE:
Story ⭐⭐
Acting ⭐⭐⭐
Production ⭐⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐
THE GOOD:
Compelling enough characters and a mystery to solve that makes this drama less focused on patients and their tear jerking stories.
On the other hand, it’s more about power play rather than medicine. I like it but other may not.
THE BAD:
Credibility is certainly not the aim of this drama. Also, Drama Gods were a bit lazy so originality is also lacking.
THE WTF:
Nothing that I can recall.
These are the dramas I watched till mid May. >___>
Coming in next parts, in random order: The King’s Avatar, The Lost Tomb. Sand Sea, Whirlwind Girl. Love O2O, Cross Fire, The Bad Kids, The Long Night, Reunion: Sound of the Providence, Love is Sweet, Where Your Eyes Linger, With You, To Dear Myself, Novoland: Eagle Flag.
This entry was originally posted at https://powwie.dreamwidth.org/38230.html