[✔]Dramas watched in 2025

1 01
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/KoxZktA
Meng's 2025 Project part 1 - finishing up ancient shows that have been stuck on my list since forever
My first watch of 2025, and it's a partial dud.
Watchable on its own but, obviously, doesn't hold a handle to the JPN version (Kodoku no Gurume). I was kind of caught off-guard by Wu Lang/Goro's backstory in the finale (since it never appeared in the og), but I haven't gotten very far into the japanese version (so far I've only watched the first season) so it might appear later on.
Otherwise this one is entirely skippable unless you're a big fan of some of the actors (or want to know Goro's backstory).

8 01
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/PZppdSb
Meng's 2025 Project part 2- finishing up ancient shows that have been stuck on my list since forever. This one for... drumroll... 3 years!

It might've been a revolutionary show 15 years ago but it didn't age that well... Still worth a try if someone likes old-school jdramas; unfortunately I didn't find this one funny at all.  AND characters are kind of meh - both MLs [Oguri Shun is bearable but the other one? Straight up annoying womanizer, less-funny Onizuka Eikichi style] and support characters/comic relief (especially ML's mother... gets boring quickly), the plot is simple... I've seen better, seen worse. Solid 6.5/10.

8 01
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/ozbPof0
Bloody hell, I love it :o
It's a short series, 6 episodes around 5 minutes each and it's already awesome... Imagine what would happen if this was a full 12-episodes drama.
Fincher meets Villeneuve, no more info about anything lest I spoil you the plot

25 01
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/J4vogUR
Watchable (for a mini-drama) and somewhat coherent, but early episodes are way too repetitive. Seen worse.

30 01
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/Lr7LJU2
It's a no from me, pal.
Meng's 2025 Project part 3 - finishing up ancient shows that have been stuck on my list since forever. This one for... drumroll... 7 years!
I remember kind of enjoying it and having fun all these years ago but I was 7 years younger and way more immune to bullcrap back then. The final couple of episodes are pure torture, this drama is filled with shallow side characters and crappy side stories, way too lakorny and... corny for my taste. We even got a "omg my lover is going abroad, I need to catch them at the airport!!!111! scene. The concept of tom main lead is interesting and I'd love to see an (improved) remake of it, with more exploration of Toon's identity and less bullcrap love triangles/squares and toxic psychotic exes, accidental kisses and misunderstandings.  It was actually a 6.5 (perhaps 7) until the final 4-5 episodes. Give me back the 30 hours I spent on this show.
I don't generally enjoy silly romances so other people might actually enjoy it, and probably would, too, if it was shorter by at least a half

31 01
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/nQNmbte
Welcome the leads of this show: Euro Cake, contact lenses and Cheetos.
Watchable - but not great. Did some things better than the Japanese drama version (I really liked the way they dealt with the stage play here), gave us more eps and expanded on some subplots and characterizations but in the end lost all of the charm the original had - even the characters became annoying over time, turning it into yet another run of the mill Thai BL. What a shame, early episodes were really charming.

3 02
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/3nXZJf7
Good for what it is - people who like shogi will probably enjoy it more, but I know jackfruit about it :) It's an underdog, fixing-your-life and fighting your demons story, with beginner-friendly explanations of shogi. I actually recommend this one, since it's short, concise and entertaining (be warned that the first episode is slightly cringe though)

8 04
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/lzDzVue

Meng's 2025 Project part 4- finishing up ancient shows that have been stuck on my list since forever. This one since 2019 (I started watching as soon as the first episode aired)
I think it would be easier to starts with things I DID like:
+The premise and overarching plot: honestly the idea, while overused, is great. Who doesn't like adventure shows where ML gains some kind of superpower while fighting enemies and uncovering mysteries and conspiracies? I know I do.
+Some adventures and tomb raiding were generally fun. There was also like a jade auction or jewellery and antique markets. I really enjoyed these parts
That's it. Literally the only good stuff. Now for the BAD...
-Zhang Yixing(Lay), I love you, I really do... Please don't take any more leading roles until you learn how to act :( Stick to being support characters/comedic relief, thank you xD We've seen that bad shows often get saved by capable leads. Not the case here, sadly
-Even if the actors could act, their characters are so shallow there's nothing to act out anyway. Don't get me started on Huangfu Yun's character. I'm surprised his name isn't "Fatty" - he's such an obvious ersatz of Iron Triangle's Fatty... But while original Fatt(ies) are somehow entertaining, this fake fatty is straight up annoying. And his love interest is twice as annoying as him. Pretty much everyone is either bland, or annoying, or both.
-In this kind of show, there's always travel to faraway places where some good camera work can be showcased, right? While I appreciate they went to (as far as I can tell) Myanmar to shoot scenes set in Myanmar, Prague for scenes set in Prague etc., their shots just suck. And they reuse them, I think I counted three instances of repeated footage from Myanmar before I stopped looking for it and started fast forwarding.

11 05
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/yvv1Xf6
The "cases" in this show are... not that great. I think the selling point of Aozora no Tamago is the co-dependent relationship between male leads - and while the idea is interesting, their backstories are not fleshed out enough. It's uniquely Japanese, mixing murder investigations with cosy slice of life and adds a lifelong trauma for leads on top of it. But it also resolves said trauma in 15 minutes :)
It's an okay show but I've seen others with a similar premise that was better executed - it is short though, so worth the time, especially for people who watch doramas and are used to this style of storytelling.

11 05
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/LZk2Pu2
This show is... not enough. Just that. Not enough.
Not Takashi Miike enough. Not Japanese enough(because only Japanese can pull off this kind of plot). Not gory enough. Not f^ed up enough. Not fever dream enough (although it changed in the finale... and oh boy, was it a welcome change).
On the other hand it tried to be Korean, it tried to be Netflix and it failed here as well. It tried to be too many things at once, while being Not Enough.

The premise is great, the director is Great (but perhaps Connect isn't his greatest work) and while the leads are great in other productions, they dropped a ball in this one - don't even get me started on Go Kyung Pyo.
The best part? Camerawork and opening sequence, the rest is... fine. Just OK.
Oh, the "living sculptures" are fire.

18 05
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/VrXz4t5
Custom-made for Meng. Delightfully old-school, nostalgic and touching, yet funny at times. Mostly calm but dramatic when it is needed. OST is perfect.
Did I mention it has my favourite found family trope? As of this day Analog Squad is my favourite Thai drama (:

18 05
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/DqkAZtO
You make me cringe.
I walked into this trap myself by browsing a "Found family" tag ang actually believing it was going to be a show about found family. Yeah, sure.
+1 to overall for it being short and wasting only a little of my already limited free time

23 05
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/3V1A8S7
No.

4 06
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/PQ3bQFb
I'm going to keep watching these short bls until I find something worth at least 8/10 (:
This one came pretty close actually, I really liked the aesthetics (but not much else).

706
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/njq8Kte
Yet another very good short drama on my list

7 06
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/Nem6NFZ
Meng's 2025 Project part 5 - finishing up ancient shows that have been stuck on my list since forever. This one since 2020 (the year it started airing).

In short, pluses:
-the vibe
-main characters' complexity
-acting by female leads
-pacing and logic (most of the time)

Minuses:
-the final episode
-Jang Hyuk's performance was slightly underwhelming
-clichéd supporting characters
-OST at times

Final rating: 7.3/10 (rounded up to 7.5) and I generally had fun. I'd say I recommend this show as it had its good sides

8 06
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/DqpP8CO

Surprisingly okay for a short, campy drama. Sure, it's still over the top but what else would you expect? It's basically an undercover fanfiction filmed on a budget of a sack of potatoes :) Doesn't even come close to actual dramas and has like 2% depth but it's addicting and entertaining. I was supposed to watch a couple of episodes as a palate cleanser between good dramas™ but accidentally ended up watching the enitre thing - 4 hours worth of cringy romance and I'm not even mad about it :D

8 06
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/53xRXin

Meng, why the hell would you wait 2 years to watch it?
It's aesthetic, beautifully shot, thai, nostalgic... A love story set across two generations and two countries. Kind of reminds me of Ter's movies but is slightly more hopeful.

Features yan lipao/basket weaving.
100% Meng recommended.

15 06
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/yK3RXU6

Meng's 2025 Project part 6 - finishing up ancient shows that have been stuck on my list since forever. This one since 2020.

Okay, let me get the elephant out of the room - 100% Meng recommended, and definitely one of my favourite jdramas (even though I rated it only 8/10). Why did I put it on-hold to begin with? Probably didn't vibe with it back then - but I do NOW. The lighting is just deliciously bleak, plot and cases gripping enough, Oguri Shun's performance stellar. At times I felt the drama was moving at a glacial pace (an advantage for me, a major minus for most of the viewers)

Final score: 8.2/10 (rounded down to 8). Aged like fine wine

15 06
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/yK3jLS6

Meng's 2025 Project part 7 - finishing up ancient shows that have been stuck on my list since forever. This one since 2021 (the year it started airing).

I got attracted to this show because of Joy of Life cast - but I also kept comparing these two shows for this exact reason - and unfortunately My Heroic Husband loses on all fronts. A lot of the secondary characters appear for a minute or two to be comedic relief (chicken lady), others would benefit from more screentime (Shuwan), while others would benefit from getting erased from the drama (Ning Yi's matrilocal buddies). There's a tonal shift in the middle that, in my opinion, wasn't done properly - yet we have like 10 episodes of filler in the middle of the show that needs to go.

Overall an okay-ish show.
Final score: 7.5/10 (but some parts are solid 6/10, while others are 10/10).
I think I would enjoy this show more if I didn't watch Joy of Life first and didn't have anything superior to compare it to.

16 06
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/8WJwrF6

Meng's 2025 Project part 8 - finishing up ancient shows that have been stuck on my list since forever. This one since 2019 (the year it started airing).

What a horrible day to have eyes ? I borderline hate it (and not for the reasons you might expect), 2019 Meng, what were you thinking?!

20 06
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/Ne4p8tZ

I had some luck with short cdramas lately - and it finally ran out. Pure cringe and dung, time to stop watching these shorts for the foreseeable future

6 07
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/4vaK7PId

Meng's 2025 Project part 9 - finishing up ancient shows that have been stuck on my list since forever. This one since 2021.

I'm not a usual target audience for this drama (for reasons I don't have to spell out) and I started watching it only because I was doing a watch challenge in 2021 that required me to "Watch a drama with an actor/actress you dislike" and since I'm not the greatest fan of Tamashiro Tina, I decided to pick this one. Synopsis looked weird enough, I liked Aku no Hana (the anime was the best, manga was slightly worse, and the live action film was crap/starring Tamashiro Tina as well/) by the same author, comments said the camerawork was great... I expected to slightly dislike it, I didn't expect to borderline hate it, *despite* the great visuals.

3/10 but if you're 15 you might actually enjoy it

22 07
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/JddqPuR

Meng's 2025 Project part 10 - finishing up ancient shows that have been stuck on my list since forever. This one since 2022.

It's an okay "eccentric detective duo solves crimes" show, but not the greatest Sherlock-inspired show. Acting is okay with a couple exceptions (like Ito Ayumi) and I didn't really vibe with Dean Fujioka's portrayal of "Sherlock". I know he can do so much better (I've seen him do it in other works, so...). Characters are good enough for this type of show, again, with a couple of exceptions - like Eto Reiji. Cases are... Okay? Some are Sherlock-inspired, some appear to be original plots - some of them are witty, some of them are dim-witted. Music is not really memorable.

Do I recommend it?
It's a hesitant recommendation with a caveat: it's not Sherlock, don't treat it like Sherlock, don't compare it to other Sherlocks - it's maybe (?) similar to Sherlock Holmes (2009) with Robert Downey Jr, but again, the 2009 film was better :) So no comparing. 7/10

23 07
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/OKZ12Iw
Drama with a... rap narrator. Unique in that sense, run-of-the-mill in other aspects. An okay show.

28 07
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/Ll56v8Tp
Okay, cute, don't kill me.
Not everything I watch has to be deep and artsy.

25 08
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/35ErZC7
A Woman who cooks and a Woman who eats... a.k.a Wholesome Woman and Wholesome Woman.
This, drama writers. is how you write slow burn romance (straight or not, doesn't matter). You take two wonderful people and make them slowly fall in love. No drama. No "ex comes back". No "evil mother-in-law". Just pure slice of life, wholesomness and warmth. Okay, and a healthy dose of women empowerement and acceptance.
Food/SoL drama writers... this is how you write a food drama. No exclamations every 2 seconds, that something is "uma", "fuwa fuwa" or "kira kira". No overexaggerated yells. Just food and wholesomeness.
Love it.