Start Date:Jan 22nd Finish Date:Dec 30th Progress: 24/24 (These are dramas that aired during 2023. Most completed airing in the same months as listed.)
Rules: Comment two Asian dramas that you have watched during each month and would recommend.
January
February
March
I Told Sunset About You (and part 2I Promised You the Moon): One of the best coming of age stories I have seen. Set in Phuket, the scenery is breath-taking. It's well-acted, well-directed, and I loved it. The sequel is a realistic portrayal of the challenges of young love. BL
The Forbidden Marriage: Historical RomCom, Mystery. In the first couple of episodes, the FL's shaman acting was a bit over the top and was not meant to be taken seriously. The chemistry and rapport among the FL/ML, ML/SML and FL/SML were so good. Satisfying ending.
My School President: The music club leader Gun and school president Tinn cooperate to avoid closure of the club. What Gun doesn't realize is that Tinn has had a secret crush on him for years and is helping out the music club for personal reasons. One of the cutest, most wholesome BLs. Great OST with super talented singers.
Utsukushii Kare Season 2: Even better than Season 1 which I loved. Hira and Kiyoi try to find their footing both in their relationship and in their school/work lives. Will Hira forever feel like a pebble unworthy of Kiyoi's love?
Moonlight Chicken: Deals with complicated adult relationships and budding first love. Well-developed characters. Superb acting and representation (deaf BL character).
Love Like the Galaxy: Part 2: I finished Parts 1 and 2 in 5 days. I was wondering if they would live up to the hype and I was not disappointed. Part 2 was slightly better than Part 1 for me. I loved everything about it - action scenes, the humor, the angst, even the sad parts. But, I esp. loved the happy parts.
April
May
June
Bed Friend: If judging by the title alone, one would think this is another fluffy and potentially smutty BL, and it does have have it its fluffy and smutty moments. But it's so much more. Uea deals with abusive parents, plus sexual assault at work and with an ex. In the meantime, there's King who's clearly smitten with Uea from their first meeting but gets rebuffed at every turn. As King and Uea enter a Bed Friend agreement, I could already see that it's more than that. What stood out for me in this series were (a) Uea's boss decisively dealing with his attacker, (b) suggesting therapy, and (c) Uea starts taking meds as part of his therapy. These are three things I rarely see in Asian drama.