#100 days my prince

[fake-married-my-dead-fiance]

Kdramas be like: This is a RomCom, but first, THE HORRORS

[sombredancer]

Asian dramas and Love tropes

There are my favorite characters and their love stories as a list. Enemies to lovers

Drama: Her Royal Highness/长公主在上 Characters: Gu Xuanqing x Li Yunzhen Screentime: Main A boy is sent to be a servant in the unruly princess`s palace in order to find some dirt about her and to help his master to overthrown her, but something goes wrong... The HE is attached.

Drama: The Legends/招摇 Characters: Li Chenlan x Lu Zhaoyao Screentime: Main A leader of a demonic sect died trying to get demonic sword. Her soul returns to the world full of wish to get revenge on the current leader of her sect, who, as she thinks, killed her in the past. Found the way to be close to him, she learns that he wasn't the reason of her death and, moreover, desperately in love with her for many-many years. This is an adaptation of the novel "Ostentatious Zhaoyao", which I love more than a drama, but it's a good story in both variants. The HE is attached (although it`s a little bit obscure in the drama).

Drama: Till the End of the Moon/ 长月烬明 Characters: Tantai Jin x Li Susu Screentime: Main A boy who is destined to become a Demon God and to destroy the World tries to fight his doom. In a process, he falls in love with a transmigrator, who was sent 500 years back in the past to prevent his transformation into a Demon God. The irony is,making him falling in love is the only way to kill him for good... It`s an adaptation of the novel "Black Moonlight Holds the BE Script", which I like way-way-way more than the drama, not the least because the drama has BE and the novel has HE. I just watched it as a visually beautiful fanfic to the novel.

Drama: Love Between Fairy and Devil /苍兰诀 Characters: Dongfang Qingcang x Xiao Lanhua Screentime: Main My favorite drama of all times! Trying to save her love, a girl accidently falls into a secret prison for immortal criminals, revives the most fearsome demon of all times and heals his ability to feel. Later, forced to spend his time together with the girl from the enemy camp, the demon finds out that he actually likes her... The HE is attached. I wrote A LOT about them and made recap of the whole drama from the point of their relationship development in these posts: one, two, three, four, five and six.

Drama: My Journey to You /云之羽 Characters: Gong Shangjue x Shangguan Qian Screentime: Secondary In order to destroy the martial artist's clan, a female assassin was sent in there. While she is trying to seduce one of clan's young masters, he tries to expose her lies, but, eventually, falls in love with her. Unrequited. Maybe. This story has an open ending. My analysis of their relationship is here.

Drama: Butterflied lover /风月变 Characters: Ling Changjin x Bao Zhu Screentime: Secondary A wicked nobleman marries a princess because of her miraculous blood: it`s able to bring his zombie sister back to life. The princess allows him to treat her bad because she has been in love with him for a long time and believes he is a good person. Bit by bit he starts believe in it himself and begins to cherish his wife more... The ending is obscure (in a traditional Chinese way).

Drama: The Blue Whisper /与君初相识 Characters: Li Shu x Xue Sanyue Screentime: Minor A cat demon prince infiltrates the valley of demon hunters in order to set free the great demoness, but falls in love with one of demon hunters. Mutually. The ending is traditionally Chinese - they met again in another life. Т_Т

Drama: Immortal Samsara / 沉香如屑 Characters: Xuan Ye x Ran Qing Screentime: Minor An Asura king infiltrates the Heavenly Realm in order to steal the artifact that can help him conquering the world. The keeper of this artefact is a brave and honest goddess and he can't help but fall in love with her. After, he needs to choose: to be with his lover or to rule the world. He wants all at once, but there is no way to get it all. No HE for this pair. Pride and Prejudice

Drama: Lighter and Princess / 点燃我 Characters: Li Xun x Zhu Yun Screentime: Main A girl from a rich family with an anxious type of attachment falls in love with her classmate from a poor family with an avoidant type of attachment and tries to win his heart. It`s a problematic ship in a full meaning of these words and I like it this way. Yummy! The HE is attached.

Drama: Derailment /脱轨 Characters: Qi Lian x Jiang Xiaoyuan Screentime: Main A boy accidently meets his school sweetheart after many years of radio silence and understands that something is wrong with her. It turns out that her body is occupied by a transmigrator from a parallel world. At first he hates transmigrator for replacing his lover, but bit by bit he learns, that a transmigrator has not only the same appearance but the same habits and way of thinking, and falls in love with this new personality again... The story ends with HE but not in a way that you may think it would.

Drama: The Love by Hypnotic /明月照我心 Characters: Li Qian x Li Mingyue Screentime: Main In order to build relationship between two countries an emperor arranges marriage for his son. His fiancée is from a barbaric tribe: she is good at horse riding and archery, but knows nothing about palace etiquette and ladies stuff. It`s a light and sweet story about finding a path to each other's heart. The HE is attached.

Drama: The Long Ballad /长歌行 Characters: Hao Du x Li Leyan Screentime: Secondary A tsundere of a low background with a poker face does his ruthless job in a court, that's why a young princess thinks he is an awful man and is scared of him. But in reality he is a loyal servant and son and, moreover, secretly in love with the princess, who can't stand him... The HE is attached.

Drama: Miss the Dragon /遇龙 Characters: Xue Qianxun x Qingqing Screentime: Secondary A very naïve bird demon girl accidently meets a tsundere god of netherworld and turns his well ordered life into havoc. He starts liking it, though. The HE is attached. Forbidden love

Drama: A Frozen Flower /쌍화점 Characters: Hong Rim x No Guk Screentime: Main A gay king needs a heir, so he forces his lover to conceive a child with a queen. In a process, a boy, who was groomed as a king's lover from his childhood, finds out that he likes women much more than men. A traditional Korean tragedy. Very beautiful and full of feelings, though. (No GIFs because they all would be erotic ones).

Drama: 100 Days My Prince /백일의 낭군님 Characters: Moo-yeon x Kim So-hye Screentime: Secondary An assassin who is working for a wicked court official is secretly in love with a wife of a crown prince, who happens to be a daughter of the killer of his parents. Forbidden love doubles! But it's mutual, unfortunately for him. It's a very beautiful and full of desperation and feelings story. No HE, we die like Koreans. More detailed story of their relationship is available here, here and here.

Drama: The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity/晴雅集 Characters: He Shouye x Zhang Ping Screentime: Secondary A woman, who is destined to restrain the undying evil within her body for eternity in solitude, falls in love with Yin-Yang master. Her love is mutual, but her lover can't be with her forever, so he leaves with her his guardian demon to brighten her loneliness. Protecting her for ever starts being the only goal of demon's life... A tragedy, but a beautiful one.

Drama: The Legends/招摇 Characters: Gu Hanguang x Shen Qianjin Screentime: Minor "The Legends" once more! The main doctor of a demonic sect is in love with a leader of a righteous sect. A girl is not allowed to love anyone, otherwise she will suffer from the poison, so he anonymously sends her packages of medicinal herbs. She is curious about anonymous sender, too. But nothing can be kept in secret forever... Unfortunately, no HE for these two. In the novel he is safe and sound, but he has no love plotline at all. So is a price of love Т_Т.

I will talk about my other favorite characters and tropes in the next post.

[k-nonsense]

My updated rankings/reviews of all the k dramas I have seen so far (up to 54 now). I would recommend any show I gave a C grade or higher, which is most of them. I bolded recently added shows.

1. Hometown Cha Cha Cha: An absolute masterpiece. It’s a heartwarming fish out of water story about a big city girl who finds herself in the quirkiest little seaside town. I wanted to stay in Gongjin forever. Grade: A+(Netflix)

2. Extraordinary Attorney Woo (S1): Delightful! Never have I ever rooted for a lead harder. She is the most endearing lead you will ever find. And the male lead is so so swoony. Grade: A+(Netflix)

3. Alchemy of Souls: The wildest of rides and the perfect blend of fantasy, adventure, mystery, comedy, and romance. The characters are just so lovable, you’ll never want it to end. Season 2 just as good as Season 1. Grade: A+ (Netflix)

4. Love To Hate You: New fastest binge of my life. 10 episodes and I didn’t fast forward at all. There were no bad/slow parts. Also the funniest KDrama I’ve ever seen. Just watch it. You won’t regret it. Grade A+ (Netflix).

5. My Demon: This show had me utterly enthralled, it was so mysterious and suspenseful and yet incredibly goofy and romantic. My new favorite main couple in all KDrama land. Yes it wasn’t perfect but I enjoyed it so much, it really encapsulated everything I love in a tv show. Grade: A (Netflix)

6. Business Proposal: It’s got every trope you can think of and it does them all to perfection. Plus it’s hilarious. Grade: A (Netflix)

7. Healer: This super romantic action mystery drama will keep you on the edge of your seat. Ji Chang Wook is equal parts sexy and adorable which is a seriously winning combination. Grade A (Viki). One caveat: I was very disappointed by a certain wardrobe decision in episode 3.

8.Her Private Life: Super funny and charming. The romantic leads have incredible chemistry. The premise is so good! Might be the one of the most rewatchable kdramas. Grade: A (Netflix)

9. Castaway Diva: Just utterly heartwarming. An instant classic. Ultimate underdog, redemption, story that teaches us what real love and family is. Also Ki-Ho is the new standard by which all men will be judged. Grade: A (Netflix)

10. Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung: Great strong female lead. Very good messages. Couldn’t stop watching. The most adorable prince I’ve ever seen 💜Cha Eunwoo💜 Grade: A (Netflix)

11. Bad Prosecutor: Absolutely thrilling and hilarious. It’s like a heist, detective, lawyer, action comedy that will keep you wondering who is outsmarting who? Super shocking plot twists. Amazing OST. Stuck the landing with a truly satisfying finale. Grade A (Viki)

12. Sh**ting Stars: Probable the biggest turnaround of any show I’ve seen (The “Africa” part was so problematic). However it turned out to be one of the funniest and swooniest KDramas out there. There are 5 couples and you will cheer for all of them. Grade: A- (Viki)

13. Strong Woman Do Bong Soon: The main couple is absolutely everything! Just fast forward through pretty much every side plot (they are not important) and you’ll love it. Grade: A- (Viki)

14. So I Married the Anti-Fan: It’s campy, fluffy, goodness, with a fierce female lead and a K-pop star enemy/love interest. 2nd fastest binge of my life. Grade: A- (Viki)

15. 100 Days My Prince: An absolute classic period drama romcom. Who knew D.O. could kiss like that? Such a great strong female lead. I LOVE a show with adorable, quirky, townspeople. Grade: A- (Netflix)

16. Romance is a Bonus Book: Might be the most romantic K-Drama I’ve ever seen. Nothing about the trailer or setup intrigued me but I’m so glad I watched it anyway. It was a truly beautiful love story. Grade: A- (Netflix)

17. Because This Is My First Life: This drama really does everything right for me… A slow burn romance built on mutual love and respect. Supporting characters who I genuinely cared about and had incredible side stories of their own. A critique of the patriarchy. Women supporting women. An adorable cat. Maybe a bit melodramatic at times but not too much. Grade A- (Netflix)

18. Start-Up: Exceptional acting, compelling storylines, intriguing plot twists, great cinematography, intense love triangle. It’s just all around high quality. Grade: A- (Netflix)

19. Run On: Cute, fun, silly and pretty light. I especially loved the supporting cast. Strange storyline but it was a fun easy ride. Grade: A- (Netflix)

20. Forbidden Marriage: This is a weird show, but weird in the best way. It’s like a comedy, horror, romance, fictional-historical. I don’t know how to describe it but it’s really fun. B+(Viki)

21. Soundtrack #1: Short and beautiful. I just loved it. No one does heart eyes better than Park Hyung-Sik. Grade: B+(Disney+)

22. Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-Joo: A bad-ass yet vulnerable female lead. The main couple just had a lot of fun together. Refreshing. Grade: B+ (Viki)

23. Doctor Slump: This show was a really nice journey of both mental health and romance. Grade: B+ (Netflix)

24. Welcome to Samdalri: Very heartwarming and beautiful story about love, family, friendship, and going home. It has quirky townspeople and Ji Chang Wook 😍 what’s not to love? Grade: B+ (Netflix)

25. My Lovely Liar: Creative and engaging premise, intriguing mystery, and a swoon worthy romance. A very fun viewing experience. Grade: B+ (Viki)

26. King the Land: This drama pretty much has no stakes or conflict and the main couple has THE MOST chemistry I have ever seen in my entire life. So if you just want to turn your brain off and be happy, this is the drama for you. I absolutely loved it. Grade: B+ (Netflix)

27.Law Cafe: This drama has so much to love, a strong/fierce/brilliant and morally righteous female lead, lovable side characters, steamy romance. But what I loved most was how the show spotlighted important issues like consent and abuse in nuanced and progressive ways. Yes it’s a fun rom-com but it felt like the beginning of a new chapter of more egalitarian storytelling which made me really excited for the future of k-dramas. Grade: B+ (Viki)

28. Not Others: A lovely Gilmore Girls type show about the relationship between an immature mother and her very mature adult daughter. It was a pleasure seeing them grow in their relationships with each other, others, and themselves. I want more! Grade B+ (Viki)

29. Cheer Up: Sports, comedy, romance, mystery, suspense, coming of age, this show had everything. The female lead was the lovable, feisty, driven, and brave. The male lead was adorkable, considerate, and sweet. It’s all very enjoyable and wholesome. Grade: B+ (Viki)

30. I Am Not A Robot: Zany premise but it was surprisingly pretty grounded for how crazy the set up was. It’s funny, emotional, good story telling. Great character development. Grade: B+ (Viki)

31. See You in My 19th Life: The shared experience of watching this mystical mystery drama week to week made it a really enjoyable watch. Not sure if it was totally satisfying, or that any of the couples’ chemistry felt authentic, but it was a very interesting and creative storyline. Grade B (Netflix)

32. Summer Strike: This show made me cry a lot. It’s heartbreaking yet healing. I’m still not sure if I liked watching it or not but it was a beautiful story of found family. Grade B (Netflix).

33. Shopping King Louie: Adorable! So many light fluffy feels for this show but it does drag a bit in the second half. Grade B (Viki)

34, Fight For My Way: Such lovable leads. Love the fierce female lead and adorable himbo male lead. It’s like a coming of age story but for 30 year olds. Storyline was ok. Second couple was skippable. Grade: B (Viki)

35. What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim: More PSJ is always a good thing. This drama did all the tropes in ways that didn’t always feel fresh, but it was very romantic and hilarious. A true classic. Grade: B (Viki)

36. Touch Your Heart: If you can just stick it out through the first few very shaky episodes, you will enjoy this adorable, fluffy, series. Grade: B- (Netflix)

37. Doom at Your Service: It was sometimes real sad yet ultimately a heart warming mystical story. Grade: B- (Viki)

38. True Beauty: Fun, cute, teen drama however, it’s a little too “antsy teen” for me. Cha Eunwoo though💜 Grade: C+ (Viki)

39. Destined With You: The chemistry between the main couple was absolutely sizzling. Rowoon was both hilarious and next level adorable. However, the plot and the characterization of women occasionally made me very frustrated. Grade: C+ (Netflix).

40. Suspicious Partner: Great story, great characters, attractive actors, beautiful romance, interesting plot, sometimes funny, sometimes suspenseful, but with 40 episodes, the plot was dragged. Grade C+ (Viki)

41. Crash Landing On You: The first half is GREAT but the second half is way too melodramatic for my taste. It’s a very interesting storyline, the main couple has insane chemistry, and there are very lovable side characters. Grade: C+ (Netflix)

42. Secret Romantic Guesthouse: First few episodes were a fun scooby gang mystery, middle episodes were super boring, last 3 episodes were crazy fast paced and thrilling. It ended well- I’ll give it that. Grade: C (Viki)

43. Dear.M: It was inoffensive and decently entertaining. If you like school dramas, you’ll probably enjoy it. Grade: C (Viki).

44. A Good Day To Be A Dog: The storyline is bonkers but very intriguing. It started off so well but the storyline lost its way in the back half. But hey, Cha Eunwoo + dogs, it’s worth the watch. Grade: C (Viki).

45. Angel’s Last Mission: Love: This drama was very similar to Doom At Your Service but it was more a bit more redundant with all of the tragedy and crying. I LOVED the chemistry of the main couple but I found myself fast forwarding a lot. Grade: C- (Viki)

46. Marry My Husband: Episodes 1-11 were phenomenal. Such an interesting premise with shocking twists and turns. After episode 11 it seemed like there were new writers who had never seen the show. Very disappointing but top tier villains. Grade: C-

47. Our Beloved Summer: I LOVED V’s “Christmas Tree” OST however I struggled to keep watching. Boring storyline but great acting. Grade: D+ (Netflix)

48. Heavenly Idol: An absolute hot mess. It was completely convoluted and just low quality but I also weirdly liked it. I can’t bring myself to rank it higher because I know how bad it was but I actually enjoyed it better than many shows I ranked ahead of it. Grade: D+ (Viki)

49. My Secret Romance: The story of a total screw up female lead falling for a manipulative, gaslighting, hottie. It was problematic yet fun? So 🤷‍♀️ Grade: D+ (Netflix)

50. My Man Is Cupid: Pros: many cute dogs, sometimes those dogs wear human clothes, cute ending. Cons: Makes no sense, not much chemistry, murder plot takes up too much time. Grade D+ (Prime).

51. She Would Never Know: As handsome as Rowoon is, I found his character problematic at the beginning (no means no buddy) but he did get a lot better as the show went on. I just ended up skipping to watch just the scenes with the main couple, which made the show way more enjoyable. Grade D (Netflix)

52. My Love From the Star: I found myself fast forwarding a lot through all the parts that didn’t involve the main couple and most of the flashbacks. Grade D (Viki)

53. Goblin: The age gap is too disturbing for me, like call the police disturbing. However, the Grim Reaper who is one of the most adorable characters I’ve ever seen. Grade: D- (Viki)

54. Extra-Ordinary You: I have never felt so betrayed by a second half of a series as I did in this one. All of the character development that it seemed to be leading to was replaced by a pretty sickening codependent relationship. Grade: D- (Viki).

Currently Watching: Wedding Impossible (I think I like it)

Dramas I’m Thinking About Watching: Gaus Electronics, Bad and Crazy, Hospital Playlist, Another Miss Oh, Oh My Venus, My Roommate is Gumiho, She Was Pretty, Crash Course in Romance, Soundtrack #2, Queen of Tears

Dramas I just couldn’t Finish (I’m sorry I tried): Today’s Webtoon, Once Upon a Small Town, Love in Contract, Hotel Del Luna, Kings Affection, Record of Youth, Behind Your Touch, Sparkling Watermelon, Tale of Nine Tailed 1938, Strong Girl Nam Soon, The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract

What are your thoughts on these shows? Do you agree or disagree with my rankings? Any k-romcom recommendations that are not on the list yet?

[youknowihavenochingu]

Historical kdramas ⚔

The Red Sleeve

Sungkyunkwan Scandal

100 Days My Prince

The King's Affection

Love In The Moonlight

Mr Sunshine

The Moon Embracing The Sun

Tale Of Nokdu

Hwarang

Queen For Seven Days

[detectivekirby]

Play with each new episode!

[kdramasource]

DO KYUNGSOO as LEE YOOL in 100 DAYS MY PRINCE (2018)

[whumpetywhump]

100 Days My Prince - Ep. 9, 10 + 11

[madame-yus-wife]

[theboookwitch]

I may not know the difference between all the colored court uniforms in historical dramas, but I know one thing for sure…never trust a motherfucker wearing maroon.

[akmu-is-love]

Chanhyuk re-enacting 100DMP scene with Kyungsoo (FULL / ENG SUB)

[finniigan]

When I started 100 days my prince, no one warned me not to get attached to Mu-yeon,,,, no one told me he'd die T.T 🌼

anyway so in my head he eloped with the princess and they settled in some far off village to raise their kid :) and nothing bad ever happens to them :)

[fake-married-my-dead-fiance]

I started watching Kdramas this year and I do a lot of literature analysis in my normal life, so I found it really fun to find the tropes that were unique to this genre/culture that were different than what I find in Hollywood TV/movies and novels. I started with Alchemy of Souls and I was kind of amused looking back, because I never thought the SML had a chance with the FL but if I had known how strong the "they met as children and therefore DESTINY" trope is, I probably would have thought they would get together for sure!

Here are some of the unique tropes I've noticed:

-Leads meet as children and therefore DESTINY (What's Wrong with Secretary Kim, 100 Days My Prince, It's Okay to Not be Okay, Castaway Diva, The King's Affection, Sh**ting Stars, Destined with You, subverted in Alchemy of Souls)

-Reincarnation, which happens a ton but of course for the same reason Western media is littered with Chosen One/Saviour plots (played with in Alchemy of Souls and Extraordinary You, straight in Destined with You, Tale of the Nine Tailed, Moon in the Day, My Demon, The Story of Park's Marriage Contract... so many)

-Guy (usually) buys the girl shoes and then puts them on her. They also usually make a joke about her running away. (Tale of the Nine Tailed, 100 Days My Prince, Extraordinary You, Castaway Diva, King the Land, subverted in The King's Affection and The Forbidden Marriage)

-Guy (usually) gives/brings the girl an umbrella to protect her from the rain. I LOVE THIS TROPE, symbolism for protection and shelter gets me (straight in My Lovely Liar, King the Land, Tale of the Nine Tailed, Extraordinary Attorney Woo, subverted/played with in Alchemy of Souls, Business Proposal, Doom at Your Service, Castaway Diva)

-Not sure if this would count as a trope, but unique to the genre because we don't have formal speech in English and especially not in Canada where I live (we've basically started just going first name with everyone) I love it so much when the main characters use informal terms with each other for the first time. The subtitles don't always translate this well, but I know what the honorifics sound like and I'm all, "She didn't use "Mr." that time it's serious now!!!"

Anyway, are there more? I'm probably not catching them all!

Edit: Definitely some sort of trope around characters finding wild ginseng to solve a problem.

(I've only been watching Korean dramas by the way, I'm sure some of these tropes are shared by other dramas from China and Thailand. I just found the comparison with English language TV interesting.)

[sombredancer]

Asian dramas and my favorite types of characters

There are my favorite types of characters as a list. A villain with a fatal weakness

Drama: The Scholar Who Walks the Night /밤을 걷는 선비 Character: Gwi Screentime: Secondary Gwi is an ancient vampire and a master of puppets (and Joseon's king is the main of them). He is merciless, invincible and scheming all the drama long, until he accidentally kills a girl, who was his hostage and recalcitrant puppet from her childhood on and was the only one who could scold him and deny him. Nothing about it is said directly in the drama, but after her death he goes insane, kills all of his puppets and this way causes his own death. So, I suppose, she was his only weakness, and I like this type of a personal drama for a villain. Punch-Clock Villain / the Dragon

Drama: 100 Days My Prince /백일의 낭군님 Character: Moo-yeon Screentime: Secondary Moo-yeon works as an assassin for the killer of his father, who is constantly threatening him with the life of his sister. Moo-yeon is a man of a very ill fate: his family was accused of a treason and executed, his sister became a fugitive, he was forced to sell his conscience for his and sister's lives and, as a cherry on the top of this cake, fell in love with the daughter of his captor. And died trying to save her... His story is sooooo sad, but it makes me feel for this character fully. Also, he is the king of whump because the half of the drama he is injured and suffers from his wounds. The whole sad story of this guy is analyzed by me here, here and here.

Drama: The King Loves /왕은 사랑한다 Character: Moo-suk Screentime: Minor Koreans, obviously, like this type of characters, too, so there is another Dragon of the main villain, Moo-suk. In his free from dirty deeds time he h̶e̶l̶p̶s̶ ̶o̶l̶d̶ ̶l̶a̶d̶i̶e̶s̶ ̶c̶r̶o̶s̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶r̶o̶a̶d̶ literally saves cute children and restores self-confidence of young ladies. And then he falls in love, rethinks his life and dies from the hand of his master. Predictable and sad. Still a memorable guy, though. 50 shades of a Byronic Hero

Drama: The Wolf / 狼殿下 Character: Chu Youwen Screentime: Main A Mowgli boy was adopted by a wicked emperor, brought up like a cruel beast and was forced to do some dirty stuff for the emperor. He is mysterious, severe and you never know what's on his mind. As a true Byronic hero. He is some kind of Dragon, too, but it's a Chinese drama and he is a main hero in it, that's why he doesn't really do anything bad during the series. His soul is kind and his heart is pure, but he hides it from his love and deals with all of his problems on his own. It's the reason why all of this drama is a masochistic tango between him and his love. Whump lovers will be happy, too, because he is constantly in chains, pierced by arrows like a hedgehog or works as a slave in mines. As any other Dragon, he has a BE.

Drama: Lost You Forever /长相思 第一季 Character: Xiang Liu Screentime: Secondary A mysterious demon general, whose name makes everyone shake in fear. A former demon slave, who is true to his word enough to fight for his benefactor even if he knows crystal clearly that it's hopeless and he and his army will die in the end. A man who has huge problems with expression of his emotions in a socially approved way. Edward Cullen of Chinese dramaland. He is enigmatic, with thick vibes of a bad guy, yet very loyal to his benefactor as well as his love and very selfless. SPOILER TO SEASON 2: because of this loyalty he will die and the love of his life will never-ever find out about anything he has done for her during the story.

Drama: My Journey to You /云之羽 Character: Gong Shangjue Screentime: Secondary A guy was through trauma in his childhood and it made him look intimidating and unfeeling. A tsundere is born! He coped with his trauma by taking extra responsibilities for everything and everyone and turned to be a walking killing machine instead of a man. But an enemy assassin comes to his life and teaches him how to be a human once more. It's a painful experience, but it`s necessary in order to grow up as a character and is beautifully fulfilled. It was a great joy to know that he survives at the end of the story, it's a rare thing for this type of characters, so even if there is season 2 someday, I will not watch it in order not to spoil my impression of the first one. I wrote about him detailed here, here, here and here.

Drama: Princess Agents / 特工皇妃楚乔传 Character: Yan Xun Screentime: Secondary It's the transformation story, too, like a previous one, but this time it's transformation from an ordinary man to a villain. Prince Yan Xun is a hostage colony prince in a metropolis empire, but he enjoys a noble life along with other nobility youth. The society around him is awful, each of these noble youths is a psycho who appreciate human hunt and so on, but cheerful and easy-going Yan Xun doesn't think their bloodthirstiness could turn against him. When relationship between the metropolis and the colony become tense, though, Yan Xun's friends of yesterday are happy to drink his blood. He loses his whole family and, insanely longing for revenge, slowly turns to one of those monsters himself.

Drama: A Journey to Love / 一念关山 Character: Li Tongguang Screentime: Minor This guy has got a very realistic personality and background: he is a bastard who was deprived of mother's love since he was a child. The first circumstance made him power-hungry, scheming and outwardly emotionless, the second one made him longing for mother's love on insanely level. So he is invincible outwardly, but turns into a teary mess when it's about his female tutor, who is a mother figure for him. The contrast between these two personalities is enormous and makes this character very alive and interesting. During the drama he will not cope with his Oedipus complex but circumstances will solve this problem for him.

A pure-hearted hero

Drama: Creation of the Gods Ⅰ / 封神三部曲 Character: Ji Fa Screentime: Main It's maybe strange to find this type of characters in the list of my favorite types, but morality and selflessness of a character is very important for me, too. This story is some kind of King Arthur's legend, but in a Chinese way. The emperor is bewitched by a demon and is bringing the kingdom to it's downfall, the Gods are here to find the savior with the help of a magic scroll that can be opened only by a true king. Ji Fa, a hero of this story, doesn't care about scrolls, but his heart is loyal to his kingdom and to his family (in this very order). He genuinely wants to help his friend-prince to be a king his kingdom deserves and, despite awful things that were done to him and his family, doesn`t harden his soul and betray his ideals. And, I suppose, although he isn't aware of this, he IS the future King Arthur of China. Interesting character decisions

Drama: The Legends/招摇 Characters: Jiang Wu Screentime: Minor This character is something like a rival of the male lead. He is a xinmo - an inner demon of some other character and represents the darkest features of a human's soul. He is a ruthless killer, a dark sorcerer without conscience, but what was very unique, being literary the worst part of a human personality, he values his assistants a lot and genuinely cares for them. A villain is usually a lone wolf. He doesn't trust anyone and doesn't value anyone, his loneliness is usually his weakness and a key to his downfall. So I was pleasantly surprised that sometimes a villain is capable of building healthy relationships with his subordinates.

Drama: Sh**ting Stars / 별똥별 Characters: Do Soo-hyuk Screentime: Minor

This guy truly surprised me. Firstly, he is supposed to be something like a third wheel in relationships of the main couple, but he just calmly got a refusal from the female lead, said "OK" and, absolutely relaxed, proceeded to live his life further. It's something unbelievable for me, because I used to see the insanity caused by an unrequited love to be the plot engine of a lot of dramas. Secondly, he is well-written as a character, straightforward, principled and has tsundere-ish or Byronic vibes - all the character features that I like =) Part 3 will be about other interesting types of relationship, mostly between men.

[k-nonsense]

You know when you’ve got a good k-drama on your hands? When nearly all the side characters are lovable. What k-drama has the most lovable side characters?

[keykeylocke]

Happy Birthday Kyungsoo!!! 🥳

[tessxblxckthorn]

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