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Cdramas with unique characters

kabocha

Hi there,

I'm kinda new to cdramas, and my favorites so far have been romances featuring unique characters with extensive backstories. I'd be willing to branch out to other genres besides romance to find great character development, though.

The Untamed: leads have contrasting temperaments and martial arts affinities, and their origin stories are creative and singular.

Amidst a Snowstorm of Love: both leads are obsessive types, focusing intensely on billiards; he's more noticeably unusual when it comes to his way of relating with other people. Her family members are blunt and idiosyncratic. His family history is tragic, and his found family history is also marked by loss. [edit to add: I really appreciate the minor details here - his lighter collection and the fact that he lives in places that look like closets and frequently sleeps on a spare sofa or bench, for example]

See You Again: he's a Republican era film star and a man of his time, thrust into the present, and she's a plucky and personable writer with a great imagination.

Nothing But You: tons of original, beautifully observed character detail, especially regarding family dynamics and family and personal history - for all the characters, but especially the leads.  [edit to add: they're ordinary people, but there are a ton of small moments that flesh them out and make them more real, like quirky parents, specific tastes, and hidden talents]

In contrast, I adored My Roommate Is a Detective, both Go Go Squid dramas and Reset, but the characters are all types I've seen in a lot of dramas. And I'm enjoying Arsenal Military Academy so far, but again, a lot of stock characters. I have the greatest respect for excellent fluff like Only for Love, but I'm not looking for that kind of drama at the moment.

Looking forward to your suggestions! 

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Arclei

Here are dramas with characters I found refreshing/different from other dramas. 

  • Secret of Three Kingdoms - Kindhearted and naïve ML, cunning and cutthroat FL as emperor and empress, respectively. Very refreshing, especially for a historical. Pretty much all the side characters were also very solid (has romance) [unique personality]
  • The Blue Whisper: Part 1 - FL is a spirit guardian; she's cunning, a bit cold, and manipulative, but still kind, and ML is an innocent and naïve merman whom she tames. In the second part, they take more typical xianxia roles, but the first part was quite different. (has romance) [unique personality, unique job, unique background] 
  • Dong Lan Xue - Both leads are ruthless, cunning villains. FL is more cold and scheming, ML is more unhinged and obsessive. (has romance) [unique personality, mostly FL] 
  • Ripe Town - One of those more serious dramas where the characters are more atypical and realistic all around. ML is a bailiff (historical cop) with a temper, SML is the more unique one: a judge who's very intelligent, experienced, and tough. (no romance) [unique personality, unique job, unique background, mostly SML] 
  • Parallel World - ML is a retired desert tour guide who's struggling with mental illness, and FL is a spunky, tough-as-nails badass with amnesia. (has romance) [unique personality, unique job, unique background] 
  • Oh My General - Strong and badass general FL and spoiled pampered nobleman ML (ML starts off poorly but gets better later on). (has romance) [unique personality, unique job, unique background] 
  • Joy of Life - Should've probably been my first recc. Interesting characters across the board. Pretty much all of them have depth and unique aspects to them. ML is a bit typical on paper but the character undergoes a lot of development. (has minimal romance) [unique personality (kind of?), unique job, unique background] 
  • A Dream like the True Love - Resilient maid turned businesswoman FL who's a quiet sort of strong. ML was more generic, though, but his circumstances are definitely not. (has romance) [unique personality, unique job, mostly FL] 
  • Kill My Sins - FL is a historical psychiatrist with a thirst for revenge, ML is an official struggling to balance the ruthlessness required for his job and his kind heart. To me both were very refreshing in the historical cdrama scape (no romance but...) [unique personality, unique job, unique background]
  • An Ancient Love Song - Time-travelling ML meets a cold, ruthless' empress FL. Definitely the subtle, more profound sort of unique, but the entire drama is a one-of-a-kind gem. (has romance) [unique personality, unique job, unique background] 
  • Love in Between - ML is a sweet and quirky wandering doctor, FL is a cold badass thief. Very refreshing and different. (has romance) [unique personality, unique job, unique background] 
  • The Princess Royal - FL is a princess royal who's cunning, clever, and bold. She takes in ML as her consort, who's equally cunning and clever but more gentle and kind. They both travel back in time to when they were teens, so by that alone, their characters are unique. Bickering married couple to a T. (has romance) [unique personality, unique job, unique background] 
  • Bound by Sin - Provocative playgirl with a flirting addiction, FL, and her very reserved but also really into it bodyguard ML. Don't see pairings like this too often, so quite refreshing to see. (has romance) [unique personality]
  • The Embers - ML was arguably the most bland of the characters, but there's a twist. All the others were interesting and unique. Especially SML and the supporting cast. (no romance) [unique personality, mostly SML] 
  • The Imperial Coroner - FL is an atypical coroner; ML is a bit more typical. Both she and ML have similar personalities and complement each other well (they also both gave off neurodivergent vibes, but obviously never confirmed). (has romance) [unique personality, unique job, unique background, mostly FL] 

I haven't seen any of the dramas you mentioned other than Nothing but You (assuming you're referring to the 2023 sports drama, haha), so I hope these are satisfactory.

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emeraldarrows
  • Go Ahead - a lot of focus on family and trauma, all the characters are distinct and shaped by their childhoods/family relationships
  • Lost You Forever - all the characters have distinct, interesting backstories that shape who they are in the present
  •  Legend of Fei - ML is a poisoned prince from a fallen dynasty and FL has a lot of character growth from weak to very strong
  • Secrets of the Shadow Sect - FL is a sect leader with a harem of men, ML is her bodyguard with a secret identity and past, interesting reversed roles dynamic
  • The Legends  - both leads have interesting origins and a lot of growth/change in their story arcs, same with many of the supporting characters
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autumn iris

imo, maybe:

I Am Nobody It's weirdos parade. There's a white haired celibate man who love an enemy, there's a rich monk trainee who looks poor, there's a  funny powerful boy hate to use his power, but the most unique one was amnesiac FL. Aged hundred years but looking like a youngster, she's like a robot who only follows her superior's orders.

Justice in the Dark Born without empathy, MC fight his violent tendency even after receiving his father's doctrine every single day. Being perceived as a sociopath by hard mouth soft at heart ML, MC didn't mind and always readily offer help and protection in any shape to make sure ML's well-being.

Live Surgery Room Both MLs were unique. Anti-social genius 1ML was obsessed over medical development, ignoring the operational cost. I believe he, if given chance, will say money don't impress me. In contrast, 2ML was talkative and well-connected, he'll be the heart of a party. Yet, both of them have deep wounds relating to a father and a teacher.

The Knockout While the main hero in the drama is righteous and inspirational, he was actually the privilege the major villain used to become who he currently is. Starting as a fish seller on the traditional market who's being bullied and put into jail; he diverted from righteous path, trapped by situation he manipulating people, fabricating  evidences, using strategy (yes, main hero was the one asking him to read book full of strategy, art of war, and alike) to win people and became the biggest mafia boss in town for 2 decades.

Winter Begonia MC was a child that never grows up. Originally thought himself as being abandoned by his family, the genius ADHD Peking opera troupe leader did and said whatever he wanted. Not scared of being killed, challenged investor (ML) "superiors," subordinates, Japanese soldiers, and whoever blocking his path. But he also soft-hearted, kind, happy-go-lucky, optimist, and sensitive person. He even forgave a previous opera trainee who stole his identity near the end of the drama.

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RSB

I have lists for unusual MLs and autistic-coded characters (such as LWJ from Untamed). I should make one for eccentric FLs, I do like those too. 

My favorite for character growth is Scent of Time. Billed as a romance but it's really more of a character study of the FL and her development. 

Seconding Go Ahead, Lost You Forever, The Legends. The currently airing Gemini has some interesting characters too. Story of Kunning Palace the leads have to do some growing to overcome obstacles. 

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Lou

+ Winter Begonia

Burning Ice - romance is secondary here but the character evolution is superb. 

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kabocha

Many thanks to all! You're all amazing and spot-on. My Plan to Watch list has now grown appreciably, because you've given me a way in to find dramas that will satisfy me. After thinking more, I realize I left out how much I care about original writing touches that build character, but most picks here include them, as far as I can see from the trailers, because those are pretty much built in with this level of high quality, smartly written dramas.

Thank you thank you thank you!!!

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