Hello my fellow DramaList-ers! ^^
I'm back to pick your brains once more. I just finished Nirvana in Fire and am dying for another good historical-esque drama. I'm looking for political upheaval, daring quests to save the world, beautiful costumes and royals in disguise. All the juicy fun that makes up a good historical. I am hoping you can help me choose a drama that will really grab my attention and make me wanna go on a full drama-thon. : D I'm not picky in regards to nationality. (ie. C-drama; T-Drama; K-Drama; J-Drama) The only one I have yet to try is a Thai Drama, but that is mostly due to a lack of knowing where to start.
I have a CRAP TON of shows on my Plan to Watch List, however because I have so many I found myself at a loss as to where to start looking within it or even merely narrow it down. Feel free to recommend off of my PtW List. Though I'm also more than willing to find something completely new. (Note: the list below states my preferences, these are not iron-clad must haves.)
My general preferences this time around are:
- I want closure. There should be no doubt in my mind as to how this story ends.If there is romance, then I would prefer not to have the female lead wind up not decisively choosing the male lead or vice versa by the end of the drama. I don't mind if the main leads don't wind up together by the end of the drama, I just want to know decisively whether or not they are together. Ambiguous endings drive me up the wall! (Example of a major offender: Shine or Go Crazy)
- The struggles the characters face should not be recycled over and over again. Once a problem is resolved, I would prefer not to have it then rehashed several more times. Having a character continuously struggling with the issue/problem is one thing, but to have the character seemingly move past the issue then two episodes later have them face it once more as if it was the first time all over again is off-putting. It's only natural the character would handle the problem differently or have a different perspective of the issue the second time around.
- Political maneuvering and intrigue. This isn't a must have for me. However, I do enjoy seeing all the back stabbing and faction wars.
- I prefer realism, but this is not a must have. I understand that a lot wuxia or historicals have unrealistic martial arts. That's fine with me. I don't mind it so, feel free to recommend those with a bit of supernatural, mythical or magical elements.
Historical Dramas I LOVED:
Sound of the Desert - I adored this drama. Lots of intrigue and plot. I was captivated by both Wei Wu Ji and Mo Xun's devotion to Xin Yue.
Legend of Lu Zhen - The costumes and cast left me breathless. Especially the acting of Chen Xiao. I greatly enjoyed the romance between Lu Zhen and Gao Zhan, I felt there was reasoning behind them being together. They developed it, it wasn't just instant I would die without you kind of thing. The relationships between all the characters were very well done. None of the characters felt like cardboard stereotypes.
Prince of Lan Ling - I greatly prefer happy endings, this was just too amazing to pass up though. The strong heroine made me so happy.
Faith - The lack of a big reunion left me a bit disappointed, but I still enjoy this drama greatly. I enjoyed background machinations of the court. The secondary romance between the King and Queen had to be one of the best parts for me though.
Nirvana in Fire - The fact that a lot of the wins were based on strategy and brain power was awesome. Even better than brute strength winning the day. Not too mention how gripping the story line was. I ached for the characters. I became heavily invested in their story and found myself marathon-ing the entire drama in a matter of three days. It was simply beautiful from beginning to end.
The Princess' Man - Wow. Just wow. Left me in tears, but happy. I couldn't get enough. The revenge, political upheaval, and romance all tied together for a beautiful story. How the characters grew was also amazing. They didn't start out strong of will, they grew up and into mature adults.
Historical Dramas I Dropped and Why:
Perfect Couple - I really enjoyed the chemistry between Wallace Huo and Tang Tiffany, but the whole her lying about being the daughter of the Jiangs' really began to grate on me. I simply couldn't sympathize with her motivations. I understand she wanted to find her adoptive mother's son, but I just couldn't suspend my disbelief that someone could justify lying so much for supposedly 'pure' motives and good intentions. I didn't like that the drama wanted me to think what she was doing was okay.
Da Tang Nu jiang Fan Lihua - The over the top-ness was too much for me. I couldn't take it. I loved Li Hua as a character, but she was too old looking when she stood next to the male lead. I'm not sure if it was the way they dressed her or her make up. I just know I kept feeling like a cougar was chasing Lau Hawick around the screen. In a not good sort of way.
