Dramas I Watched: 2025

Started in 2024.

Well, I can finally say I've watched all of the Reply/Answer Me dramas. I think 1988 might be my favorite because I connected to that drama and its characters emotionally in a way I didn't the others, but while I overall like all of these dramas, none of them ever managed to cross over into 'I love/adore this drama and must add it to my favorites list' territory. What I can say is that they are extremely good, and I deeply appreciate them for their storytelling and characters. They are very much worth watching, and I wish I had watched all three when they originally came out.

This drama is a riot, lol. There were a couple episodes I didn't enjoy as much, but overall this is a lot of fun.

Started in 2024. The script is very close to the original, almost identical, and part of me did think it would have been nice for this version to do things a little differently, but this is a very solid adaptation. One thing this version did better than the original? Gave the side romance between the male lead's friend and the male lead's sister more heart and romance, which made me very happy, lol.

Fourth rewatch. I can't help myself, lol. This drama is my happy place.

Fourth rewatch.

First rewatch. This is such a comforting drama.

Fourth rewatch.

I'm dropping this for now. It wasn't quite what I expected, which affected my viewing experience, and that isn't fair to the drama. I'll try watching it at a later date.

First rewatch. I loved this drama the first time, but rewatching it made me realize I had completely missed some important details during my first watch that make me appreciate this drama even more now.

Only rewatch. This drama is very much of its time, and I went into my rewatch with that in mind, so I was able to turn off my brain and enjoy it for what it was. Unlikely to watch it a third time.

Started in 2023. Finally found subs again so I could finish!

I've seen the anime (love it), read part way through the manga (been loving it), watched the movie version (it was meh), and now I've seen the drama. And whoever cast this version nailed it, because every single actor/actress is perfect for their role. This is a pretty over-the-top story that could easily become way too campy in live action, but this drama is a perfect blend of absurdist humor and a heart of gold. I love it!

All the real romance and most of the comedy happens while the male lead has amnesia. Then he gets his memory back, and the story focuses almost solely on his toxic behavior and a secondary character who wants to take over the company and who kills a bunch of people. Wasn't worth finishing, but once I invested so many hours in it, I wanted to see the end. The only reason I wasn't banging my head against the wall while watching is because I knew this wasn't the sort of drama to have expectations of. And my expectations were very low, lol.

This was a lovely, well done, modern interpretation of a literary classic. They kept the heart of the original while making each individual girl's story more in line with what women are feeling and experiencing and desiring today. Highly recommend!

Holy cow is this good. I would say I should have watched it sooner, but then I would have been suffering alongside everyone else who watched it back in 2016 and made it to the finale and the final cliffhanger and had no resolution all these years, lol.

First rewatch. This was a drama I loved in so many ways the first time I watched it, but I was disappointed by the romance. Rewatching has given me a new perspective that helps temper those feelings (even though they do still persist). This is Soon Ae's story, and it's definitely worth watching.

First rewatch, and I still love this drama. I didn't like her grandma telling her at the end that the well-being of the entire family is now on her shoulders, because that's entirely unhealthy and unrealistic. One person cannot carry that weight. And I wish we had gotten at least one moment of real romantic physical affection between the leads. But I love everything else.

I still don't like this special.

Only slightly less silly than the Korean version, but it was easier to finish and more enjoyable. I don't think this story is good, but I am pretty committed to consuming every version of it for some reason, lol.

First rewatch. Still one of my favorite dramas (along with season 1). And it still kills me that we don't get to see Ji Won and Seong Min actually get together.

This was a fun watch. It's a pretty quick story (I binged it in about a day, lol), and while there are definitely some heavy moments, the majority of the drama is lighthearted and upbeat. And the female lead is great. The actress' delivery is absolutely fabulous and keeps her character from coming across as weird or self-obsessed or obnoxious. Definitely recommend.

If I had watched this when it aired or at some point over the next few years after, I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more. But watching this in 2025 and after watching and loving several dramas that have done a lot of the same tropes but better, in my opinion, I find this drama to be kind of mid. No hate for the drama or the people who love it. I totally get why someone would. I enjoyed it well enough. I just don't think it is particularly impressive.

An imperfect but sweet, coming of age, romance.

While I think the original Kdrama is better, this version definitely has its own charm. It's a bit shallower, but it's lot more comedic (which I mostly loved), and it does give some plotlines and characters more layers than the original, which I appreciated. And while I don't generally experience second lead feels (when a writer tells me who their OTP is, I commit to that OTP), this drama did test that for me. Kawin has no personality as an adult, and I didn't understand what Ploypailin liked about him once they reconnected, even though I accepted that he was her choice. But Tula? Tula can have my heart, mind, and soul, lol. In real life/in a more realistic story, he would be end game. And now I want to see that drama, lol.

Dropped first (and only) rewatch after ep 11. I really wanted to finish for the sake of the romance (I'm an outlier who liked the main couple). Unfortunately, I remember now why I dropped this drama the first time I watched it, and I can't even force myself to skip the stupid stuff just so I can see the conclusion to the romance, lol.

The story slowly devolves into (almost) everyone making choices that make no sense in relation to their character goals/motivations.

FUTURE SELF: Do not attempt to rewatch this again, YOU IDIOT!

Objectively, this is a good drama. Well-written, good performances, heartfelt and thoughtful romances (a few relationships spring up among the characters). But it never quite pulled me in very deeply. That's not a problem with the drama. Just a case of an enjoyable story that didn't hit me quite like it should. I would definitely recommend to others, and I imagine I'll rewatch this some day.

Second rewatch. Not sure what else I should say other than I love it, lol.

First rewatch dropped. I don't know why I felt compelled to watch this again. Sometimes you just make bad decisions, lol.

First rewatch dropped. Stopped halfway through ep 12. I remember loving this drama the first time I watched it, and I still found the characters and story enjoyable while rewatching. But I also found the story to be kind of meh. Then the female leads former love interest reappears and hijacks the story (which annoyed me almost as much as it did the first time). If that hadn't happened, I might have been able to finish the rewatch. But that killed a lot of the fun.

I really enjoyed this. The break-up/separation was frustrating in both the manga and here (although it's fortunately much shorter-lived in this adaptation), and the secondary love interests made me just as mad as they did in the manga, but I think they did a pretty good job pulling out the right beats from the manga for a live-action adaptation. The finale made a few bigger changes to the story that I ended up really liking and that made me a bit emotional. I would definitely recommend this drama.

First rewatch. I remembered the story being flawed (teen girl plots the death of her identical twin and the destruction of identical twin's boyfriend's psyche in the most unbelievable way possible, anyone?), but I didn't remember the romance being disappointing. The conceit for them being near each other, he makes the ghosts go away if she's touching him, the double-speak and tip-toeing around our feelings and saying the opposite of what we really mean in clever and witty dialogue was all fabulous and well-utilized. But I wanted a more compelling reason for them to actually like each other. And Mr. 'you traveled the world with me while you were a ghost' was brought into the story far too late. The finale was quite enjoyable though, and that did soften some of my negative feelings about the romance.

Not sure if I would ever watch this a third time. I guess we'll see.

This is utterly charming from start to finish.

Currently watching. Holy cow. I am HOOKED.