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lightning-rod-of-doom · 3 months ago

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My favourite Kdramas (so far)

My favourite Cdramas (so far)

Currently watching: The Haunted Palace, Newtopia (5), Dear Hongrang, & To Get Her (reality TV Korean)

My to watch list, Venn Diagram of my favourite kdrama things, favourite male and female actors, my parent trauma tracking, my Truck of Doom tracking, and my Text Posts

I occasionally write k/cdrama fan fiction

My Main is about Jane Austen

For tracking purposes. But feel free to suggest me new Kdramas

When the Phone Rings: What a fun insane show! It was bonkers from beginning to end. The acting was great, the OST was awesome, the story was insane. Everything you want in a makjang drama.

Text Posts

Alchemy of Souls: Visually beautiful, wonderful soundtrack, casting is amazing, story is very well thought-out, world-building is on point, loved all of it.

Trope subversions, Love Maps, Plot driven by fear

Moon in the Day: The most angsty enemies to lovers you will ever find in your life. It's completely enthralling. The past scenes with Do-ha are amazing. There are some plot holes and the secondary characters aren't very well developed, but I don't care. It was so good!

Text Posts, On the ending, the emotional journey, Webtoon vs. Drama

Doom at Your Service: The world-building is really well done, as is the symbolism. Doom is so weirdly lovable. Also has a great soundtrack.

Extraordinary You: the story gets a little drawn out in the middle episodes, but the concept is so gripping that I forgive it. The main character is really spunky and fun and the villain is probably the most interesting character in the show.

Lovely Runner: This is one of the cutest dramas I've seen in a while. Top tier cuteness. The story was really fun and I laughed a lot.

Text post, Another, Google Searches

W: Two Worlds: So good! So unpredictable! So Male Lead who was smart and actually acted smart! This is the dark companion of Extraordinary You and I loved every minute.

Happiness: the whole point of zombie horror is that the humans are the real monsters and Happiness delivered on that 100000%. Turns out Park Hyung-sik can also be serious and very good at punching people! Han Hyo-joo was also amazing. The slow burn romance was so cute. Loved it so much. Also, more of a murder mystery than a zombie show.

Zombieland Rules, Webtoon vs. Drama

Sh**ting Stars: the voluntarism in an unnamed African country wasn't great, but the rest of the show was so heartwarming and cute! There were lots of lovable characters, mature relationships, very cute friendships, and hilarious antics.

The Forbidden Marriage: The plot had lots of fun twists and the resolution was satisfying. I wish we got more So Rang hijinks in the later episodes, the hunting episode was my favourite with her running around everywhere like a maniac.

It's Okay to Not be Okay: My only critique is I wish they did more of the animations for fairy tales, but it's so good. The female lead had the most amazing outfits. The story is so good and the way they portrayed the brother's autism.

Revenant: I'm not usually into horror, but this wasn't too scary. It was very well written, the threads in the mystery all came together well. The characters were interesting and the supernatural stuff was cool. Really great acting.

Flower of Evil: Everyone was right again, it was really good. So many twists and turns, such good romance, so many good reveals. Loved it. Loved it enough to forgive the amnesia part.

Kdramas I have liked:

Vincenzo - technically I'm at 19/20 but I don't want to watch the Himbo die so I might just stay here? Overall it was an enjoyable watch but the genre (Revenge comedy) didn't really click with me. There were often no consequences to anything anyone did and eventually it got a bit silly. The end of 19 was kind of a character assassination of Vincenzo.

Light Shop - it was pretty and creepy and well-acted, but I was left wanting more depth.

Family by Choice - this drama always felt so calm and happy, even when something terrible was happening, because Noodle Dad was always there to make everyone feel better. A great comfort watch.

The Judge from Hell - very interesting premise and solid execution, Justitia was believable as a demon and I like that she an Da-on met in the middle. The ending kind of dragged and it had some unexplained plot points (like the defeat of Satan)

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Penthouse War in Life (S1 - 3): This is an over-the-top rich people problems revenge drama and it delivers. The writing was surprisingly good, the acting was great, and the costumes were very fun. Seasons 1 & 2 were very cohesive, S3 jumped the shark right away and everything that followed was nonsense, especially the ending. But hey, what a ride!

Twinkling Watermelon: It's good, it just wasn't for me. I enjoyed the female characters more than the main male characters (especially young Yi-chan, he really annoyed me). Eun-gyeol was too unrealistically perfect at everything. But it had nice character development and I shipped all the couples.

Kingdom: Loved it! But I refuse to put it in my top kdramas since S2 ends on a huge cliff hanger and apparently they aren't making any more. Boo to Netflix. This was more gory than Happiness, but I loved having zombies in a historical setting. (This one doesn't go in my terrible ending category because it's just the last ten minutes that suck, not the last one or two episodes)

Ending fix, why the ending sucks

A Shop for Killers: an interesting action drama. I was surprised by one or two of the reveals but they were well written, I liked the non-linear storytelling and Jian as a character. The backstory about Bale got a bit too dark/gory for me but I should have expected that with this genre.

Haechi: Really strong beginning, lots of action, I enjoyed the court drama and the action bits. The only problem was that once the main character stopped being a scrappy underdog, it was just a lot of him winning which got slightly boring. The ending was very pro-monarchy, but from everything I've been able to read in English, this guy was a good king so good for him I guess? Also, the female lead went from interesting to doing nothing with heart eyes.

The Atypical Family: A very interesting superhero/time travel story with a fun ensemble cast. I didn't love any particular character (except I-Na), but the story was really fascinating and I was never bored.

Doctor Slump: Very cute and relaxing watch. The FL's family was really cute, especially her mom! The focus on mental health was nice, though there was a bit too much of an idea that a relationship can fix your depression/PTSD. But still good!

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Daily Dose of Sunshine: this made me cry multiple times. The visuals for how different disorders feel was fascinating. Good resolutions for the characters. I loved it all despite the unrealistic endings.

Extraordinary Attorney Woo: I'm blown away by their portrayal of autism. They don't shy away from making her ticks and mannerisms off-putting, awkward, and even somewhat annoying, but Young-woo has joy, she has imagination, she loves life. It's so much better than anything with an autistic character that I've seen in Western media. Not 10/10 because I did get a bit uninterested in the later cases when I wanted to know where the love story was going.

Choi Su-yeon

Oh My Ghost: I loved this one! Park Bo-young did an amazing job playing an oppressed shaman and possessed-by-a-ghost. It was very well written: there weren't any ridiculous sideplots and I was never bored. I did think the ending dragged a little bit, but overall I loved it.

The King's Affection: I think it probably could have been cut down to 16 episodes instead of 20, but very good. The female crown price is so scared all the time and I want to hug her, but also badass! It's a very hard line to walk but they do it well. Also, the bodyguard who is also an assassin is so hot and the costumes are great.

My Lovely Liar: very cute and occasionally very scary. Probably one of the most normal relationships I've seen in a Kdrama, no destiny or fate just two people who like each other. The murder mystery was well done, though I'm not sure how I feel about the final reveal.

Hospital Playlist: The epitome of slice of life. I enjoyed all the characters, especially Lee Ik-jun, The Ghost, and Long Winter (Jang Gyeo-ul) and the cute kid! I love the mom and the hospital director hanging out together. The band! I cannot stop listening to their songs!

What's Wrong with Secretary Kim: I liked that for once the big trauma didn't come from the parents, what a twist! I actually loved how ridiculously narcissistic the ML was and I loved the competent and mature FL. They didn't have any ridiculous misunderstandings and they never broke up. And the ML's friend was very funny.

King the Land: The show got better as it went on. The female lead was so competent and sure of herself. The parts about the friends' struggles was heartbreaking a lot of the time. I also loved how positive the female relationships were.

Kdramas with Great Beginnings and Terrible Endings (I don't mean sad, I mean they squandered their potential):

No Gain No Love: this drama barrelled through every sexually conservative expectation for Kdramas. They really defeated a bad guy with glow-in-the-dark dildos. Who would have ever imagined? I loved the leads, but the ending was lacking in that Hae-yeong never achieved her career ambitions. The love story was great though.

Text posts

Because This is My First Life: The ending was terrible and gross, but the female characters were so well written and fleshed out that I can almost forgive it. I related so much to all of them. Also, the best explanation ever for why a woman would choose a marriage without love.

Queen of Tears: I loved the set-up but for me it lost it's way at the end. Too many dramatic moments and the Magic Cancer surgery and Magic Amnesia Month were just too much of a strain on my ability to suspend my disbelief. But the performances were very good, from the leads and the secondary characters, and the premise was good. I enjoyed like 80% of the show.

Text posts

Captivating the King: I'm struggling to rate this one. The ML was amazing, but the FL seemed to just always be wide-eyed scared/worried. The writing was great for the first half, but the ending was ambiguous in a way I didn't enjoy. The intimate scene in Ep 8/9 was awesome, but then we didn't really get more. I wish they had stuck the landing. Smart character became dumb.

Marry My Husband: very fun drama, I especially enjoyed Su-min and Min-hwan, who were some of the most deep villains I've seen portrayed. However, I hated the Yu-ra storyline and I felt like the ML kept the secret of his death for way too long. Also, no happy ending for the secondary couples! I wanted more screen time with them.

Webtoon vs. Drama, Text Posts

The Story of Park's Marriage Contract: It was fluffy and fun, I loved Sa-wol the maid, we should have had more of her! I hated the ending though, so much. Just so bad.

Kdramas that are So Bad They Are Somehow Good:

Buried Hearts - the point of this drama was to watch Park Hyung-sik suffer beautifully, and suffer he did. Honestly not even sure what else happened, except him thinking at one point he had sex with his own sister. The ending was satisfying to me, now that I think of it.

Perfect Marriage Revenge - This show did exactly what it set out to do, be completely over-the-top dramatic. The male lead looks like a Ken doll dressed by an eight year old, the mothers have the most over the top outfits and hairstyles ever, someone eats DNA test results, it's a delight to watch.

Hwarang: really great acting despite a mediocre script, but man so many plot holes and unresolved plots. I never totally decided if the Queen Dowager was actually trying to help her son or just holding on to power and I feel like they should have made that clearer. Also, what was that love triangle??? But I did enjoy myself the whole time.

Dreaming of a Freaking Fairytale: the acting was good enough that except for the first episode, I enjoyed myself the whole time. Also so many good kissing scenes! Fun subversion of the Cinderella trope.

Other Kdramas I've watched:

Hyper Knife - what did I just watch? It made so little sense. They made blood very pretty though, somehow, and Park Eun-bin did a great job... at whatever it was she did

Cinderella at 2am: It was cute, but I ended up liking the second couple more and I wish they'd had more screen time. I don't think the male lead is a very good actor either.

Perfect Family: the story was engaging enough but it had such a weird ending. Like not dissatisfying, but just strange? Also, my favourite actor was dead basically the whole time, which I knew going in but it still made me sad.

The Red Sleeve: full review here and also here, but basically, I loved the Crown Prince's story, but the female lead fell flat. They never sufficiently explained the FL's emotional journey and they also kept ruining female characters. Justice for the Queen Dowager!

Soundtrack #1: I hate endless, hopeless pining and that's all this was. It had it's cute moments, but I always felt like the male lead was in pain and I didn't enjoy that.

Hospital Playlist 2: Somehow it wasn't as good as the first season, I found myself actually getting bored. But it was nice to see all the couples get together.

Goblin/Guardian the Great and Lonely God: The roommate stuff is hilarious! It did move slowly at times, I wanted the Grim Reaper/Sunny stuff to move faster. I got really annoyed at Kim Shin for not being honest with Eun-tak. Sometimes the product placement annoyed me. But it's very beautiful and I was very invested in everyone. Problem is, I don't think I ever want to watch it again.

Tale of the Nine Tailed + 1938 - It's fun, but the lore/world-building don't make a whole lot of sense. The Serpent is pretty over powered in S1 and really ought to have won. 1938 was better but the female mountain goddess made zero sense as a character. Lee Rang is probably the best part of the whole series, and his little murder fox girl in S1 or mermaid girl in S2.

Castaway Diva: I love the songs and the found family parts, but the story was lacking. Especially the older singer's story made very little sense and didn't come to a satisfying conclusion. And why not show us a little of the main couple being together?

Hotel del Luna - I enjoyed the ghost parts but the dynamic between the main couple was a mess. He is so unconditionally nice and she is such a jerk to him!

Strong Girl Bong-Soon - I loved all the parts with Bong-Soon and Min-hyuk, like he was the cutest, sweetest boy ever, but everything else was kind of annoying. And the kidnapper parts were really creepy! I just wanted Bong-Soon to smash more things. I also hated Guk-doo and I wanted all the women to dump his ass.

Business Proposal - It was cute, but it bothered me that Ha-ri wouldn't just talk to Tae-moo about her concerns about dating him. Ha-ri may be the only female lead ever with a healthy family dynamic, yay for her! The secondary couple was fun.

Death's Game - I enjoyed the genre and actor switches at first, but then it seemed to veer into being about the serial killer CEO and then back to being about suicide and the resolution left me unsatisfied.

Webtoon vs. Drama

My Demon - It was fun, but the world-building wasn't great and the ending was fine. I felt like it tried to be Doom at Your Service but failed (there were many, many references/thefts).

Destined with You - I really liked some parts of it, especially the leads and I actually liked the office romance with Hong-jo's boss (until the last episode), but they left so many things unanswered that I wish were revealed! It's like the writers forgot it was a fantasy drama halfway through and just went in a totally different direction. It makes me angry.

The Uncanny Counter - The concept was good, the actors were good, the chemistry between the actors was amazing, but the story went way off the rails. So Mun just became way too over-powered and the plot needed more balance. I wanted more demon catching and less mayor stuff. I did like the bully being saved and reformed.

100 Days My Prince - I hated the main couple, he was just too distant and she should have figured out who he was like 10 minutes in. It felt like they only got together because he was obsessed with her, I would have preferred the nice face-blind guy. I ended up liking the peasant friend couple and the murderous princess and her assassin boyfriend better.

Started but not finished:

Melo Movie - I finished Ep 2 and it frustrated me that The Trope Guy fell into a stupid trope. Maybe I'll pick it back up. Hometown Cha Cha Cha - I hated it. Dropped at 9/16. Review. Frustration. Moving - I started it, it seems really slow. I think I'm four or five episodes in. The Crowned Clown - First episode was way too dark! Live Up To Your Name - Acupuncture is magic? Moonlight Drawn by Clouds - the first episode seemed bonkers Strong Girl Nam-Soon - could not even force myself to watch it. Total mess The Impossible Heir - Even Lee Jae-wook couldn't save this messy plot. My Sweet Mobster - stopped watching at Ep 10, I couldn't handle the jealousy and I found the FL really boring. River Where the Moon Rises - the pacing is bad (always seems like they are running around) and for some reason I cannot with the ML's super white teeth in the year 500 A.D. Ep 11/20 Our Blooming Youth - it has it's moments, but it started out creepy and most of the time is just silly. I do want to know how the mystery unravels but not enough to care right now 12/20 Fated to Love You (You are My Destiny) - I really liked the first episodes but after the miscarriage, it just seems like unnecessary delay of getting them back together. 14/20

#to watch later

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