The Things I Watch
Okay, so a fair few of you know of my most recent guilty pleasure: Asian television dramas. I’ve been watching more than a few online. Okay, I became obsessed. With the exception of the Daily Show and a few others, that’s about all I was watching for a while there. Asian dramas are generally short (between 10 to 20 episodes) and have actual ends, which appeals to me. But as soon as I would finish one series, I would start up with another. In some ways, you could say that they became the equivalent of potato chips for me.
It seems my obsession to be tapering off somewhat to normal proportions, with shows like Dollhouse and Life now taking up a large percentage of my attention. There are still plenty of Asian shows I have yet to watch and, in the future, I’ll probably pick up a series here and there, but my television diet is now including more than just Asian fare. So in honor of the fact that I’m turning the page, I thought I would talk a little bit about this (almost) former obsession.
Now, don’t get me wrong. It’s not like every Asian show is perfect. You have to wade through a lot mediocre plots and acting just to get to the good stuff. In fact, I think my recent trigger happy behavior when it comes to ditching new shows can be blamed in part the habits I formed when picking and choosing which Asian shows to watch. I just didn’t see the point of investing 16 hours of my time if the end result would make my want to hurl my computer across the room. (The Old Girl can’t take that abuse!) But when you find a good series, it makes it all worth it.
But how did I get started on this kick in the first place? Well, over a year and a half ago, I found out that they had made a live action version of a manga (that’s a Japanese comic book for those of you who don’t speak geek) that I casually followed. I was curious, so I went on YouTube and down the proverbial rabbit hole I went.
The main site that I use to watch my dramas is called mysoju.com. Though there are many Asian countries, Mysoju mainly provides links to Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese dramas and movies. (They recently added some from Hong Kong, but I have yet to watch any.)
I tend to like Japanese shows the best… or, to be more accurate, most of my favorite shows have been Japanese. The shows that I like in general tend to have a wonderfully odd, irreverent humor. Over the top comedies generally leave me cold, but give me something that captures the absurdities of life and I’m happy. For some reason that sort of humor seems to be the most prevalent in the Japanese shows I’ve seen. I don’t know if it’s a cultural thing or that I’ve just been lucky in what I’ve chosen to watch.
Korean shows are more romantic. A lot of shows, especially the romantic dramas tend to be very angsty with lots of tears and suffering. If you’re lucky you get a very sweet happy ending. If you’re not… well, there’s a very common type of romantic drama that I’ve taken to call “Dead Girl/Boy Walking”. (And it doesn’t have to be Korean, though they do seem to have a corner market on it.) Basically, a very sweet, but heartbreakingly ansgty romance unfolds and just when it seems like the two lovers will finally be able to get together… one gets cancers and dies. Yeah. I’m not even exaggerating. You would not believe how many movies and shows fall under that category. Over here, all we’ve got is Love Story and Dying Young. Two movies, by the way, I’ve never bothered to watch. So, yeah, I generally give those series a miss. However, the sweet romantic comedies are funny, engaging and well-acted. It’s nice to be able to watch a classic boy-meets-girl story unfold, especially since Hollywood seems to have forgotten how to make movies like this!
In general, I found dramas from Taiwan to be the most cheesy, generally in a good way. I don’t think anyone would mistake them for quality dramas, but they are fun, which is all that matters really. The best of the lot generally were the ones that were adapted from Japanese manga, but look out when they decide to get creative on their own. Still, if you need a little brain candy, you can do a LOT worse.
I was going to list all my favorite shows, but I realize that this post has gone on long enough. If you’re still with me and still interested, let me know. I’d be glad to have the excuse to talk about what I love and why.
P.S. Yes, my icon is from one of my favorite dramas.
It seems my obsession to be tapering off somewhat to normal proportions, with shows like Dollhouse and Life now taking up a large percentage of my attention. There are still plenty of Asian shows I have yet to watch and, in the future, I’ll probably pick up a series here and there, but my television diet is now including more than just Asian fare. So in honor of the fact that I’m turning the page, I thought I would talk a little bit about this (almost) former obsession.
Now, don’t get me wrong. It’s not like every Asian show is perfect. You have to wade through a lot mediocre plots and acting just to get to the good stuff. In fact, I think my recent trigger happy behavior when it comes to ditching new shows can be blamed in part the habits I formed when picking and choosing which Asian shows to watch. I just didn’t see the point of investing 16 hours of my time if the end result would make my want to hurl my computer across the room. (The Old Girl can’t take that abuse!) But when you find a good series, it makes it all worth it.
But how did I get started on this kick in the first place? Well, over a year and a half ago, I found out that they had made a live action version of a manga (that’s a Japanese comic book for those of you who don’t speak geek) that I casually followed. I was curious, so I went on YouTube and down the proverbial rabbit hole I went.
The main site that I use to watch my dramas is called mysoju.com. Though there are many Asian countries, Mysoju mainly provides links to Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese dramas and movies. (They recently added some from Hong Kong, but I have yet to watch any.)
I tend to like Japanese shows the best… or, to be more accurate, most of my favorite shows have been Japanese. The shows that I like in general tend to have a wonderfully odd, irreverent humor. Over the top comedies generally leave me cold, but give me something that captures the absurdities of life and I’m happy. For some reason that sort of humor seems to be the most prevalent in the Japanese shows I’ve seen. I don’t know if it’s a cultural thing or that I’ve just been lucky in what I’ve chosen to watch.
Korean shows are more romantic. A lot of shows, especially the romantic dramas tend to be very angsty with lots of tears and suffering. If you’re lucky you get a very sweet happy ending. If you’re not… well, there’s a very common type of romantic drama that I’ve taken to call “Dead Girl/Boy Walking”. (And it doesn’t have to be Korean, though they do seem to have a corner market on it.) Basically, a very sweet, but heartbreakingly ansgty romance unfolds and just when it seems like the two lovers will finally be able to get together… one gets cancers and dies. Yeah. I’m not even exaggerating. You would not believe how many movies and shows fall under that category. Over here, all we’ve got is Love Story and Dying Young. Two movies, by the way, I’ve never bothered to watch. So, yeah, I generally give those series a miss. However, the sweet romantic comedies are funny, engaging and well-acted. It’s nice to be able to watch a classic boy-meets-girl story unfold, especially since Hollywood seems to have forgotten how to make movies like this!
In general, I found dramas from Taiwan to be the most cheesy, generally in a good way. I don’t think anyone would mistake them for quality dramas, but they are fun, which is all that matters really. The best of the lot generally were the ones that were adapted from Japanese manga, but look out when they decide to get creative on their own. Still, if you need a little brain candy, you can do a LOT worse.
I was going to list all my favorite shows, but I realize that this post has gone on long enough. If you’re still with me and still interested, let me know. I’d be glad to have the excuse to talk about what I love and why.
P.S. Yes, my icon is from one of my favorite dramas.