Role Reversal (RR)

Slightly RR. It should've been RR, it is RR in theory but definitely not in execution. Despite taking place in a modern matriarchy similar to Ooku (low male population), the characters and the world are painfully traditional, ESPECIALLY so the women (it's giving high school cliches in the worst way). The only RR-ish elements are the fact that women are competing to win the men, and men are highly valued and thus treated more as luxurious commodities than actual people, but even that doesn't really give off a lot of RR energy, more idol energy? 

TLDR: Matriarchy, FL chases ML, Strong FL, Tsundere ML, Warm SML

Slightly RR.

ML is a manic pixie dream boy who (literally) saves FL from her boring every day existance. FL falls for him hard. She's kinda quiet and plain, he's quirky, cute, and sweet (their personalities even reflect in their outfits. He wears flashy and bold outfits while she dresses in very plain clothes). 

Tags: Manic pixie dream boy ML, Normal-person FL, Smitten FL. 

Subtle RR of the fucked up kind... Has very little romance but it's there, kinda... FL is a psychopath so not very romantic but.... she's assertive, takes initiative with ML and controls his every move, meanwhile ML is shy, awkward and gullible. It's more of a cult leader x cultist situation but yeah

TLDR: Psychopath FL, Assertive FL, Shy ML, Manipulative FL, Cult Leader FL x Cultist ML.

Subtle RR. Not romance but FL is cold and aloof while ML is sweet and emotional. Honestly, most men in this drama are very sensitive and emotional while the women are confident and cool. Also there's a badass older sister character.

TLDR: Emotional ML, Aloof FL, Strong FL, Confident FL, Warm man/Cold Woman

Slightly RR. Slight romance (married leads) and though ML is a bit more pathetic than ideal, they still give off RR vibes. ML is unlucky and kinda dim so FL takes charge in the relationship, stands up for him (and to him), takes no ish, gives no ishs, is assertive, stubborn and no-nonesense. Meanwhile ML is more the talker type, a bit of a himbo with a dash of pathetic, if you will. Giving Girlboss x Boyloser (for plot reasons, this later changes and ML becomes more protective but yeah, present in the beginning)

TLDR (first handful of eps only): Girlboss x Boyloser, Babygirl ML, Crybaby ML, Sensitive ML, Protector FL (later eps): Power couple, Strong FL.

Slightly RR. FL is a tough and traumatized psychology student who ends up counseling ML for a research paper. ML is sweet, shy and good with kids. One thing leads to another and they fall for each other. FL is assertive and initiates their first kiss and their first time (which was ML's first time ever and it WASN'T portrayed as him being a loser!!). But because she's his counselor, it's very much her taking advantage of him- 

TLDR; Assertive FL, Shy ML, Experienced FL/Virgin ML, FL takes advantage of ML (not in that way)

Slightly/Subtle RR. Veryyy slight romance. FL is the one seeking revenge in a straightforward, out-for-blood kinda way. She's an incredible badass that fights like a demon. ML on the other hand is a righteous cop. I wouldn't go as far as to say their dynamic is RR but she's cold, quiet and vengeful while he's more just a regular guy (warmer than her for sure tho). He does however have a bit of a "I can fix her" mentality which is always peak

TLDR: Strong FL, Bad Girl x Good Boy, Cold FL, Badass FL, I-Can-Fix-Her, Very Slight Romance

Slightly RR. The drama is very traditional since it's historical fiction so the amount of role reversal is fairly limited. Despite this the vibes were present. FL is tough as nails, able to effortlessly stand toe-to-toe with even the most scheming of ministers, meanwhile ML is a very emotional puppet king that spends 50% of the drama crying. The leads give off quite some egalitarian vibes despite the historical setting. 

Tags: Emotional ML, Sensitive ML, Crybaby ML, Strong FL, Badass FL. Egalitarian Relationship (leads)

Slightly RR. The vibes were there? ML is cursed to make anyone he kisses to fall asleep. He's a shy and soft-spoken guy that longs for true love. All prominent people around him are women. SFL tries to break his curse by any means (she's very assertive and chases him hard). 

Then there's SFL. She acts like a mentor character to ML but her past relationship was also very much giving RR. Artist (her) x Muse (him) type deal. 

The overall feel just kinda felt RR in a way even if it doesn't seem that way on paper. Like the male characters have these long slowmo beauty shots where they stare prettily and are admired by their women and it's just a lil treat, yknow ^^

Tags: Shy ML, Prince in peril ML, Assertive SFL. Artist (FL) x Muse (supporting male character).

Slightly RR. FL chases after ML, she's the one to initiate romance and all that but it's honestly very light on the rr

TLDR: FL chases ML, Supernatural being FL x human ML, Tsundere ML, Forward FL

Slightly RR. All this pre-marriage and post memory-loss. Girlboss x malewife and also a bit of girlboss x boyloser. FL is bossy, arrogant and a lil mean while ML is sweet, dim and dorky. FL comes from a wealthy family while ML is a broke student. She's also a bit of a trainwreck and he loves her anyway so it's also giving "I can fix her" energy 

TLDR: Rich FL x poor ML, Girlboss x Malewife, Bossy FL, Dorky ML 

Slightly RR. Not romance. Mostly the classic deadbeat detective with a dead spouse trope but for FL (and her dead husband is kind of like 'saving' her in her mind cuz of reasons, it was kinda giving ok). Also involuntary child-acquisition arc which is always peak when it's with a deadbeat woman ^^ 

TLDR: Deadbeat cop FL, Badass FL, Strong FL, Accidental-motherhood. 

❌Dropped @ ep 3 cuz boring and not my scene.  

Slightly RR. Very slight romance. It kinda was RR but also kinda not? They were definitely giving more power couple and egalitarian dynamics rather than RR. FL is a pirate captain which is RR enough already. She's strong, cold, and badass and though ML is not weak by any means, he is not as strong as her, not as cool as her, and bubbly by comparison. 

Tags: Cold FL x Warm ML, Power couple, Egalitarian Relationship (leads)

Slightly RR. A lot of powerful women forcing their wills upon men. Both the empress of Zhou and the empress of Qin have lovers other than the emperor, the former's lover crossdresses to see her and recite poetry for her while she stares lovingly at him, the latter is dating a pretty musician who plays hard to get (she's very much giving femdom vibes). TFL actively pursues ML and is very toxic and possessive of him, think badgirl x goodboy (even kidnapping him) while he's at her mercy as a hostage prince and a soft-spoken person (they're NOT a couple but she pursues him for the entire drama). Quite a few other supporting female characters also actively peruse their love interests, have a 'harem' of lovers/companions, are possessive of their men, etc, etc.  Lots of female villains too which does mean there's a LOT of female rivalry but yeah. 

It's still very much a traditional period drama but I was surprised to see so much femdom energy so...

TLDR: Possessive Women, Femdom vibes, Girlboss x Malewife 

Very slightly RR. Not romance Despite being fairly traditional in most aspects and there's no actual romance, FL lowkey has gentle dom energy and ML has that subby puppy energy (but p much only with each other)- There's not even any romance, but when they interact, I get that feeling. Like she's so no-bullshit but in a gentle way with him and he opens up only to her and is all shy when he's actually kind of a hothead. 

TLDR; Gentle-dom energy FL, Subby energy ML, no romance

Very slightly RR. 2 out of the 8 stories have some subtle RR elements

#5. FL is a traumatised individual who's life is kinda a wreck and she often lies to get what she wants from men. She meets ML and he remarks that he admires her honesty. He's the cute, warm and kindhearted kind and has kinda this "I can fix her/love her anyway" energy to him. - Ending Spoiler: Open ending where it's implied FL confesses her love. 

#8. ML is a new nurse trainee where FL (a senior nurse) works. He's very empathetic, sweet, and warm. FL admires his kind heart and falls for him. She's professional and cool (and older than him). There's also SFL who's an elderly woman who also falls in love with ML. - Sad ending: ML moves oversees to study. 

TLDR: Broken FL x I-can-fix-her ML, Sweet ML | Cool FL, Sweet ML, Nurse ML, Slight Mentor FL/Mentee ML, Older woman / Younger man x2, Love triangle (FMF).

Very slightly RR. Assertive FL and ML who marries (iirc?) into her family as opposed to the other way around. She bosses him around quite a bit. 

I watched this way back so my memory is a bit hazy, I'll rewatch later and clarify

Very slightly RR. FL manhandles ML like once or something iirc and she's a cold general while he's a flirty doctor (which is nice) but other than that, pretty standard coupling. Also the quality was so bad it was basically unwatchable t-t

TLDR: General FL, Doctor ML, Cold FL, Flirty ML, Assertive FL. 

part of the above so the same applies

Very slightly RR. FL is assertive, chases ML first, she saves him, manhandles him and can kick butt. It was really looking out to be a lot more RR than it actually was (with the poster and set up). In the end, the MCs are more along the 'similars attract' & 'power couple' than RR.

TLDR: Assertive FL, Strong FL, FL saves ML, Power couple

Very slightly RR. ML has quite some manic pixie dream boy energy. He's very eccentric and quirky and clueless while FL is unassuming and somewhat bland. That's it tho

TLDR: Manic pixie dream boy ML, Regular person FL, Naive ML

Very slightly RR. Not romance. FL is cold, aloof and a lil mean. She's a strong martial artist who's feared by all and she protects and saves both MLs who are a tsundere and a cutie pie respectively. 

TLDR: Strong FL, Weak MLs, Protective FL, Cold FL, Warm SML

Very slightly RR. Not romance FL is a politician and her husband is a househusband. Their dynamic had some RR to it but ML was actually unemployed. Still tho, I think it would've been about the same had the roles been reversed so cool enough. ML is FL's assistant.

TLDR: Strong FL, Stay-at-home husband supporting character, Personal assistant ML

Very slightly RR. Not romance focused FL is ML's commanding officer and he has this cute lil crush on her and always tries to impress her (I considered not adding this title cuz it was very subtle but then I thought about how common the reversed trope was so here we are xD). She's cold and distant while he's innocent and kind. The relationship doesn't really develop past his seemingly one-sided crush tho. 

TLDR: Strong FL, Kind ML, Cold Woman/Warm Man, Superior FL/Subordinate ML

Very Slightly RR. The relationship is admittedly very traditional with only some RR elements. ML is a simp for FL so he does everything for her and she's nice and popular. He's very shy and thus FL teases him a lot since she's quite confident 

TLDR: Shy ML, Confident ML, Nerd ML x Popular FL 

Not really RR. I found this one to be somewhat misleading based on the synopsis. Both mcs act rather traditionally when with each other and only act prince-like (for the FL) or princess-like (for the ML) when with their friends/fans. There is some enjoyable but more subtle RR to the show, like the fact that both MCs are confused as being the opposite gender and that they cross-dress (and generally speaking, dress somewhat androgynous) but yeah, I was expecting (and hoping for) more.

TLDR: Femboy ML, Mascgirl FL

Not really RR. I... I guess there was an attempt? They tried the whole crossdressing and matriarchy thing but wow did they miss the mark (There's quite a bit of crossdressing though and in the beginning they show a bit of the world which was nice even if played for laughs). Not only is there little to no RR amongst the leads but in the end the role reversal is 'fixed' because it was 'wrong'. Also, very standard characters and a female villain who's entire thing is being wronged by a man. Idk what I was expecting with the censorship but this was definitely disappointing... 

TLDR: Matriarchy, crossdressing ML & SML

Not really RR. This one was bad even for a noona romance. ML is younger, yes and FL is allegedly a successful businesswoman, but she acts like an immature child (she is somewhat assertive in the beginning but that's about it). Secondary couple aren't much better but SFL does have to carry SML when he's drunk which was endearing and he does end up sleeping on her shoulder <333

TLDR: Older woman/younger man, Businesswoman FL, Tsundere ML, FL chases ML

Not RR. Honestly, only really RR in the sense that FL does weightlifting so she's a bit more tomboyish, strong and rough. Other than that, extremely traditional 

TLDR: Strong FL, Tomboy-ish FL

Not RR. I don't remember a single RR instance? Idk why it has the Gender Role Reversal tag...

TLDR: FL x Multiple husbands (platonic)

Not RR. ML marries into FL's home but their dynamic is extremely conventional otherwise. If anything, ML is more insufferably overpowered than other MLs

TLDR: ML marries into FL's family, Strong FL

❌ Dropped halfway through

Not RR. Honestly, I have NO idea why this was tagged as 'gender role reversal'. FL is cold, that's literally it. Also it's very much dependent on you watching the OG drama so not worth checking out unless you've done so.

Not RR. I remember there might've been a slight RR moment (iirc, FL goes 'evil' and gets some concubines?) but I honestly hated the drama so much I can't remember.

So far... Not too RR. Much like Season 1 it takes place in a matriarchy and we got peacock-core ML slaying as always. Somehow even more lacklustre with the RR than the previous season tho T_T FL is dumber than ever but she's physically strong so yay... ML lost his physical strength so she does end up having to save him sometimes which is something. SML became more puppy-like in this season and his relationship with SFL is giving rich elite woman/devoted guard, lol.

➤ On Hold (03/19)

Tags: Strong FL, Weak ML

So far... Not too RR. 

TLDR: Slight Femdom, coquettish ML, Cold FL

So far so RR... FL is a rich and powerful heiress, ML is a poor mistreated bodyguard who she fancies. 

Tags: Dom FL x Sub ML, Femdom, Master FL x Servant ML, Rich FL x Poor ML, Strong FL, Assertive FL x Shy ML, Possessive FL, FL saves ML, Steamy

(Still Watching)

So far... rather RR. FL who was pretending to be a man ends up as the emperor. ML is an eunuch who made her into the emperor. Though their dynamic isn't really too RR, there's still some elements here and there

Tags: Emperor FL (cross-dresser), Master FL x Servant ML, Queenmaker ML, Strong FL, 

So far... rather RR

Tags: (1st arc) Strong FL, Weak ML, Cruel FL, Kind ML, Bullied ML, Consort ML