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Sherry3000:
What good RR to enticpate at the end of 2026?
I honestly have no idea what we can expect from dramaland for the end of 2026. I know that Love in Disguise and Portraits of Delusion will be airing this October (both are a bit dubious on the RR, but seem promising). Other than that, cdramas are very bad with concrete release dates, but there are rumors for Immortalis, Tiger Sniffs Rose (rumored for October but now apparently not anymore?), and Coming to Myself (people speculating it will air by the end of this year as long as the actress' issues are properly resolved). I also just saw that My Chef in Crime is saying it'll air soon. MDL says that's on November... so... we'll have to see about that.
unbeliebubble:
Yes, I never understood why, especially Chinese filmmakers, often make MLs save FLs in RR dramas. They don't have any problem making young FL save young ML, because they LOVE that so-called "debt of gratitude" trope. And ML paying with his body.
But why is It, that adult FL is no more heroic?? SMH.
Now that you mention it.... why is it that FLs are always more heroic as literal children? 😭 Where does all that fire and strength go? Ugh, I hate this so much.
For real. I would like more like this one. The characters were complex. They had a background and the story was captivating too. So much push and pull and unspeakable desires, with a compelling story. A real treat.
Trulyyyy! We really need more dramas like this one! It was very well layered and committed to its trashy melodrama and of course, the role reversal. I would love to read the novel for this one, too 👀👀
I watched it to know the Main plot of PoJ, but it was very boring and there's no RR in this at all.
I mean, about sums up PoJ, LMFAAAAOOO. Admittedly PoJ does have some RR early on
@Arclei
THANK YOU SO MUCH for :
Pampered: My Sweet Opera Star Husband Is a Young Marshal《豢宠：我的名伶甜夫是少帅》
What a great RR drama. Although the ending was very usual. The drama is great ans RR is on dire in this show. I have to rewatch this 😛. They even made a SML set-up a honey trap 😆 something only female antagonist do in every show ... WoW... Among other things
YAAAAYYYYYY, I'm glad you watched it and loved it!! Wasn't it delicious?! Definitely high on my rewatch list too and I gotta make some GIFs for it when I have more time. It was amazing and Zang Chi is so gorgeous in this~ It's so rare to see role reversal in a republican era setting and with a mafia boss FL and a helpless opera singer ML? This was INSANEEEEE!!!
potatocouch:
Some of the fashion is cute, but it's true they can't get as creative as MLs in historicals. That's why this little exercise was so fun!
It peaks with Daniel's high waisted pants in SB, tbh 😩 but idk, I don't watch much contemp, lol
It is indeed Yeonjun 😁
damn 🔥
You know what? That's exactly what I should've expected.
LMFAO, yeah xD
It's being made by Netflix? Ooh, girl, I'm sorry D: Yeah, they're gonna destroy it. And if it's actually good, it'll get cancelled after one season.
Yeah, we're really done for 😭
There are so few good RRs, so maybe she just settles for as close as she can get.
Yeah, that's a fair point. I've just seen other actresses do better, so those are more my standards. But yknow, I'm not gonna blame a lady for doing her best and trying to get more interesting and diverse roles. As long as I'm getting fed, idc by who, tbh. She's just not my fav actress to see in RR roles, lol.
I do agree she's missing the aura some of our fav RR actresses have, which is a shame since she gravitates to RR dynamics.
This especially. There are some actresses out there with some SERIOUS aura but they do so little or basically no RR... which makes me a bit salty, but it's ultimately also up to the actors and their agents, so... shrugs beggars can't be choosers or whatever.
The "uncanny thin" look is also back in the U.S. after so many years of the body positivity movement.
Yeah. I've been seeing this more and more... It's pretty widespread across the entertainment industry, but this actress is... on another lvl, lowkey
I'll have to check those out!
Two are historicals, beware!
and Start Up was watchable (the drama I first saw CY's faceclaim in).
He's just there to paint her while she laments her long life in a very Interview with A Vampire fashion.
God this sounds boring as fuck 😬😬😬 uhm... what the fuck is the drama even gonna be about, this sounds like the plot of a short film 😭 vampire x vampire hunter can definitely be RR since vampires are well, stronger and monsters, but from the vibes I'm getting in this drama, I doubt they'll do that. Idk if they're gonna be making the romance between the leads, but I'm hoping for maybe some subtext 😩
Wait...>.> Which drama is this?
We were talking about The K2.
Ah, so it left a scar on your heart too? 🥹
How could it not when it created brand new vocabulary for us and we had such a blast watching it!
LilaS:
@Arclei Been following your RR list and many great RR dramas. I didn't even know so many women liked RR-type dramas. As a straight male who watches K-dramas and C-dramas, it's often hard to find FLs where they are the more domineering ones. You have made a great list. Also, do you have more recommendations for dramas where FLs are borderline obsessive about MLs or straight-up yandere?
Oh hi there, welcome to the club! I'm very glad to hear my lists have been helpful to you and yeah, there are more of us RR-lovers out there than it might initially seem!
Dramas with obsessive and possessive FLs:
Forever Love - Toxic CEO red flag FL
Love Like Ashes - similar^
豢宠：我的名伶甜夫是少帅/Pampered: My Sweet Opera Star Husband Is a Young Marshal - similar^ but FL is a mafia boss
Yue Bang Jiu Xiao - I think this is the best yandere depiction I've seen for a FL. She's obsessed asfff
The Blossoming Love - Very obsessive but in a cheeky fun way? At least as far as I watched.
A Dream like the True Love - Not FL but SFL and it's scrumptious!! She's veryyyyyy possessive and yandere-coded.
Haiiro no Otome - FL is a stalker. Sadly I couldn't find this one fully subbed anywhere so I could never finish it 😭
Her Phoenix Majesty - I watched only an ep or two of this one, but FL was very obsessed and I hear she only got
betterworse.Dear My Baby: Watashi ga Anata wo Shihai suru made - FL is an obsessed stalker. This one is also hard to find subbed and I haven't watched it yet, so I can't speak on anything romantic.
Those are the ones that immediately come to mind. I'll come back if I remember any others, but hope you find something fun!
Thanks a lot! I have been wanting to watch Forever Love and Dream Like the True Love. I was waiting when I realised SFL is Yandere one and he doesn't end up with her ;) although the ratings are pretty good. Also you should keep tabs on Tiger Sniffs the Roses if adapted properly we are going to see the biggest Yandere FL that will put Yandere mls to shame.
in A Dream Like the True Love, he sadly doesn't end up with SFL, yeah, but the bits we got were still really yummy 😩
As for Tiger Sniffs the Rose, I'm definitely awaiting it with bated breath! I hear the FL is absolutely unhinged in the novel, so if we get even a taste of that in the drama, it's going to be an epic ride! I also hear that the FL in Shadows of Desire is pretty red flag, so... we have that to look forward to as well 😌
Unexpected RR: Legend of Zang Hai
Finished LoZH a little while ago and much to my surprise, this drama had quite some role reversal. Of course, it's a revenge political thriller first and foremost, so the romance is very much in the background, but ML is a pretty but physically weak poor scholar who's out to seek revenge for his family's massacre. He ends up meeting a wealthy businesswoman who enjoys bullying him but also wants to recruit him to her own side, but ends up bullying him more, but also protecting him when he's in trouble (multiple times) and she's also a martial artist(!!!) so the protecting is literal sometimes and it was lovely. She was very much giving gangster vibes with how she tried to blackmail and coerce him and how she dealt with his enemies. I liked her 😂
She's very assertive and loves to tease him and he's caught off-guard by her flirtation because he's just a wee lil boy, what does he know about such matters? 😩
There's this one scene where he owes her a favor so she gets him to go on a date with her and that means getting them a private boat ride during a festival where she sets out hundreds of lanterns onto the water to totally not show off. And y'all.... I was fucking WEAK. I basically NEVER get to see a FL do a grand display for a ML like this!!!
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Now for the biggest downside, after ep 28 they have a trad arc and then FL loses p much everything she had going for her including her successful business, freedom, wealth, etc. and ML rises to the rank of super awesome guy and well, their relationship shifts onto egal, leaning more to trad. This is a huge shame because (SPOILER) it is later revealed that FL is the princess from a matrilineal kingdom where the leads literally end up going to, but she never gets to fight her sister (who is thoroughly incompetent) for the throne and is instead stuck in an arranged marriage to some other tribe... This is especially egregious because both ML and SML get to rise to high ranks and overthrow corrupt siblings, but FL needs to be stuck just "wanting something else from life". Fuck offffff- Idk how they managed to fumble this so badly, but the entire final arc of this drama was atrocious all around so I'm not exactly surprised... just a real shame :/
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the drama for the first 28 episodes. After that it sadly went pretty badly downhill and I skipped till the end and no longer cared, but until that point I was very invested and the drama did a great job of showcasing grief-fueled revenge through the eyes of a ML that is neither cold nor aloof. His dynamic with the main villain was also very compelling and hell, we even got some role reversal romance between him and FL! Very tense, heartbreaking but compelling drama.
Oh and Xiao Zhan being the gorgeous crier that he is cries a LOT in this drama 😩 He really is a beauty
On Her Plate
After a long RR dry spell, we're finally starting to eat good again y'all! Between this vertical and At Her Mercy, I'm feeling a RR high I haven't felt since the beginning of the year when I was finding back to back gems. On Her Plate was so thoroughly RR in every sense, I was swooning!!! From the rage-filled FL who is in her mid-to-late forties (when do we ever get a woman near fifty as a main character??? Especially one who isn't drowning in insecurity and self-pity?) to her grown, TWENTY-FOUR YEAR OLD DAUGHTER who is just as smart as her mom, and the down on his luck, gigolo ML who isn't secretly a rich heir, I was glued to my freaking phone! And if a fantastic, revenge-fueled RR dynamic wasn't enough, the plot was wildly interesting!! For once it wasn't one of the five cliche vertical plots we're used to seeing (no transmigration, no getting pregnant after a one-night stand with a CEO, no swapping grooms, no finally standing up to an abusive boyfriend/husband/family, and no real heiress coming back to replace the fake green tea one), it was actually fresh and executed well. Seriously, I couldn't easily predict every single thing that would happen next. Some things actually caught me by surprise! And the acting, directing, and screenplay were quite good—especially for a vertical.
The only thing I'd like to point out is On Her Plate isn't really a romance. It's female-centric, and more about revenge and warning viewers of the dangers of romance scams. Toward the end, a possible romantic relationship is brought up, but there's not a lot of it on screen. I usually prefer romance in my verticals because if I'm not in the mood for romance I'll just go and watch a legitimate thriller or something, but I don't want that to dissuade anyone from giving On Her Plate a try. It was so good, I didn't even miss the romance, and it was interesting watching the leads interact.
I didn't mean to yap for so long before getting to the summary, but that's how much I enjoyed it.
Summary (punched up for readability): Zhou Min Zhi is a high-powered department store owner. Her best friend takes her own life in front of Min Zhi after investing in a shady business deal recommended by her younger ex-boyfriend, and going bankrupt. Vengeful and heartbroken, Min Zhi hunts down the ex, a jewelry store employee named Lu Ze, and proceeds to make him pay...
This vertical had:
A delicious older woman x younger man dynamic that was full of tension even though the drama isn't a romance
A ML with killer puppy dog eyes
Scheming by both parties with the FL generally ending up on top 😏
Sexy directing + dialogue
Role reversing a trope I didn't know I needed to see role-reversed. Do you know that trope where a ML is driving his fancy car super fast to scare the FL in his passenger's seat? Yeah, we got the RR version of that in this drama, and I didn't know I needed it until I saw it.
Competent women (I was shocked and super pleased when the FL's adult daughter was just as smart as her, and they actually had a good relationship instead of a jealous, tumultuous one)
Solid twists and turns
A good message
I definitely recommend it, and I give it a solid 3 stars on my role reversal scale for FL's aura and the fact that the drama never tried to make the ML as powerful or more powerful than her. She always had more money and resources. I feel like it's an underrated vertical that deserves more attention in the RR space.
A Dream like the True Love was really amazing thank you. I was taken aback by the aesthetic of this drama and the villainess RR subplot is just amazing. She was such an obsessive twisted Eldest Princess. She really challenged my understanding regarding her motives to do what she did to ML. Her motives should have been uncovered. Besides the polical reasons I mean. Please don't tell me she was in love with ML, that would be completely crazy. I think she was betrayed by lover and she wanted to vent her anger on ML. But this my pure congecture, None of this is said regarding her background.
I Liked FL too. She was satisfying to watch. She has beautiful character development. The love story was great with ML. I have only good feedback regarding this drama. I LOVED IT, I cried several times. Such a compelling story. I couldn't help myself but feel emotional. Thank You 💕💕
OMG I love this version so much. Actually, this is the only version I watched so far. And I could feel that it was great. I also wanted to watch the other versions. Maybe starting with the Japanese one.
It's the best version! Since you started off with the best, all the other versions are going to be disappointing and infuriating. The Korean version (Boys Over Flowers) is the most popular, but I didn't even finish it because it got so boring and repetitive. Plus all Jan Di (Gorya) did was cry. The Japanese version is really beloved, and has one of the best Makinos (Gorya) but also one of the absolute worst Domyoujis (Thyme). He doesn't even feel human. Tonally, it's also more whacky and comedic. It didn't do anything for me at all, but at least it gave me "Flavor of Life" by Hikaru Utada. Ugh, such a good song!
But oh dear... F4 Thailand was so well written and a feast for the eyes.
Yes! I totally agree! It was F4 Thailand that started my love affair with Win Metawin <3 He's so gorgeous! I like Bright too. I've been following his music. Dew and Nani were also good in their roles. When I first saw Dew I thought he was soooooo adorable! I wish he was in more stuff I wanted to watch. And Tu had the best acting skill in the main cast in my opinion. When I found out it was her first role (I think), my mind was blown. I'm looking forward to her and Win in the Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo remake. I'm hoping Thailand will improve everything about it the way they did F4 Thailand or I won't be able to stick with it.
I was team Ren but I like Thyme's characters. He was multidimensional, he had a background. And I could understand why Gorya chose him. This drama had me rooting for Rent although I knew FL is supposed to end up with ML. Hhhhhha what a beautiful drama .
This is so funny because in every other version I'm rooting for Rui (Ren) and Makino (Gorya) because I hate Domyouji's character (Thyme) SO much. F4 Thailand is the first and only version of the character that actually grew on me, and it shook me to my core! I was watching it with a friend, and she kept laughing at me and saying, "It almost took twenty years, but he's finally won you over". And it was true! After watching so many versions of Thyme, I appreciated this one because he was actually introspective, and took accountability. Gorya didn't have to teach him what human emotions were, and when he wasn't acting right she just clobbered him 😂 Still not my personal ideal relationship, but I finally was like, "Alright girl, go ahead and choose him" by the end.
Thank you for the two new recommendations!
