Watched in 2025
I can't be bothered to write long ass reviews so this is what you get. Obviously everything is pretty subjective because I'm not a critic, and I like what I like, lol. Also a dumping ground for my thoughts as I'm watching.
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1. When the Phone Rings
Korean Drama - 2024, 12 episodes
I won't deny that this isn't the best written drama, but it does keep you entertained and sometimes that's all you need. I think the first two episodes had the most intensity, and the rest of it just didn't live up to that. I'll give it to Yoo Yeon Seok, he did act on a different level then his colead. However, the last episode was a whole ass mess, and they probably could have chilled it on the twists. (01/04/25)
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2. Usotoki Rhetoric
Japanese Drama - 2024, 11 episodes
Nothing award winning but a quiet little comfort drama. The female lead learns not to see the world in black and white, and in a way finds her people after being outcasted in her hometown because of her ability. Some of the stories are more interesting then the others, especially the one with dolls. (01/11/25)
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3. Secret
Korean Drama - 2013, 16 episodes
This was really not for me. I get that the female lead loved the guy, but no. Girl, no. And the ML is kind of crazy. You know I'm not terribly upset with the lack of toxic ML's these days. But I do like the SML's slow decent due to his guilt, although his acting at times isn't that great. Maybe it wasn't as bad because I wrote in off in the beginning. I do like that FL did regain her agency as the story went on. (01/15/25)
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4. My Lovely Sam Soon
Korean Drama - 2005, 16 episodes
Babies. Everyone is so young.
But seriously, this show did not age well, and by that I mean the writing, and characters. Not the actors, who, have DEFINITELY aged well, especially Daniel Henney, but I'm getting off track, lol. Hyun Bins character is the actual worst, I'm finding it really hard to like him, especially after episode 7, after he actually slapped a woman. He got himself beat up a lot, and he deserved most of them. Between him being a controlling asshole, his angry management problems, trying to date two women at once, the list goes on. At least Sam Soon tried to hold her own... sometimes.... but it came off as her settling. She could do better. The SFL could do better, but I guess she probably did. In a way I did kind of like the scenes between the second leads, but they had their own vibe that didn't always fit. More like a indie film. (10/14/25)
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5. My Undead Yokai Girlfriend
Japanese Drama - 2024, 8 episodes
This could have been perfect but....The 'anime' acting isn't needed. The lead and some of the side characters just come off as goofy. Sometimes it works, but this isn't a overtop comedy so it really doesn't work here. Also, they didn't beef it up enough, as if it's only a first season, sometimes the plot wasn't completely engaging. But it's colorful, a female lead that's way more interesting then the main character. I liked it, I don't know what else to say, lol. (01/24/25)
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6. Light Shop
Korean Drama - 2024, 8 episodes
The first half was kind of weird, and seemingly all over the place, which was I guess, a set up for a 'twist' however, I didn't really find it as twisty, since I kind of figured that was what was going on. If that was the plan - it wasn't really done well, nor was the 'horror/supernatural' element that strong. I might have liked it if they better incorporated the earlier episodes with the second half, and had the 'twist' in the later episodes.... I enjoyed the 'vibes', and yes, some of the stories are kind of heartbreaking, but I don't think I liked this as much as everyone else.
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7. Catch Me Baby
Thai Drama - 2022, 12 episodes
This is a weird premise for a show, and I'm not sure how much I like it. It really does make the ML seem smarmy since his job really sucks. And as it went on it kind of just stopped making sense, and none of the characters were that developed. (1/29/25)
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8. Moorim School
Korean Drama - 2016, 16 episodes
I wasn't mad at this, but I don't quite get what vibe it was supposed to be. Like this secret school, but they only really taught ethics and martial arts, but somehow some people had superpowers because of some ancient thing? I don't know. (2/08/25)
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9. Love Scout
Korean Drama - 2025, 12 episodes
My two major faults with this are the overly perfect ML and that troupe they threw in. The ML is just too perfect at time, and he kind of comes across as kind of wooden in the process. Having a child isn't really a flaw even if South Korea thinks it. And the troupe plotline, I kind of understand why they threw it in there, but it also could have done without. However, the female lead and the reversal of gender roles is what really worked well, also the general vibes of the dram. (2/14/25)
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10. My Dearest Nemesis
Korean Drama - 2025, 12 episodes
Ultimately, this was just okay. The idea of it was kind of interesting, but I hoped the gaming absent would come back at the end, but it did preach a bit on enjoying what you enjoy isn't wrong. Choi Hyun Wook might have been a bit miscasted but he did the best he could, if not for channeling Park Seo Joon a bit too much, lol. I did enjoy the emphasis on being a woman in the work place. However, the grandmother was a huge no. She was awful for so long, and caused the ML so much pain just for whatever that was at the end.
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11. The Romance Manga Artist
Japanese Drama - 2021, 11 episodes
I wasn't a huge fan of the direction the second to last episode took but this was pretty fun up to the part, especially after that little twist on their past. I really enjoyed the dynamic between the two leads, especially the silly bickering. Some character were kind of dumb and cartoonish but they could have been worse, and thankfully Aiko had a personality unlike some of the other female leads I've seen in jdramas.
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12. Ikinari Kon
Japanese Drama - 2025, 12 episodes
This is one of the jdramas that sounds kind of boring on paper, but sucks you in quite quickly. Well at least at first it was really charming, but then it decided become a Korean melodrama in the last three episode and it didn't seem to really fit the vibe of the earlier episodes.
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13. Undercover High School
Korean Drama - 2025, 12 episodes
A enjoyable mix of spy craft, treasure hunting, comedy, and Seo Kang Joon helped a bit too (Did this man have a glow up or something?), lol. Some of the weaker points were the NIS team dumbassry, the female lead at times (although Jin Ki Joo is still adorable as always) and the villain's shtick got very tiring after awhile.
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14. Flower of Evil
Korean Drama - 2020, 16 episodes
This took me forever to watch, much longer then most dramas I've been watching. I know it's regarded as a masterpiece by some but I just found it alright. Don't get me wrong the acting is top notch especially from the leads and Kim Ji Hoon, and I enjoyed the relationship of the leads, and Ji Won's unwavering love. But it was predictable, and I figured out the ml between quickly, so I wished they pushed the 'is he a psychopath or not' further into the series.
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15. Caution, Hazardous Wife
Japanese Drama - 2017, 10 episodes
While I liked the female lead and that's she's a very different character we see in most jdramas s, the second half wasn't as great. I enjoyed the 'cases' she took on in the earlier episodes but the ones in the later episodes didn't have the same sort of charm. Also, why did all the husbands have to suck? The only one who was a green flag, possible had a secret that could be worse.
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16. The Potato Lab
Korean Drama - 2025, 12 episodes
This was entertaining but the writing was all over the place. I wished they suck to the ridiculous comedy bits before throwing all the dumb drama with the ex, who I'll give it to Lee Hak Joo made himself so unlikable, the worse pathetic person. And I was hoping the other woman he hurt was more innocent in all of this - but she kind of disappointing in the end. Mi Gyeong was definitely a bit much (especially since there was no reason to hate him in the beginning), but I think everyone could understand how she felt after everything that happened to her in the past. The writing around the ML was pretty inconstant but he did have some development that made sense. Overall this woudl have been much better if they toned down the drama and kept more to the comedy.
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17. Only Just Married
Japanese Drama - 2021, 10 episodes
Ultimately forgettable, as it really doesn't add anything new to the genre, if not for fleshing the characters out a bit and not having them fit into typical jdrama cliches (the ml comes off as neurodivergent and the female lead is very set in her ways but never acts like a idiot).
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18. The World That They Live In
Korean Drama - 2008, 16 episodes
If the point of this drama was to show that working on a drama set sucks, then I guess its hit itself on the nail. If it's to be a mature slice of life drama it's failed. Lethal combination of pride and anger management issues. In every episode I've watched so far someone is throwing something, yelling at something, or hitting someone, and then sometimes they act like it was just common place. So it was really hard to get in to this, since almost every character can be extremely unlikeable most of the time, especially Soo Kyung, played by Choi Daniel, I could not stand that guy, and I wonder why he never got fired at all. This just dragged on and it took me forever to slug through it.
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19. Something about 1%
Korean Drama - 2003, 26 episodes
This wasn't awful, but it was missing a spark, and got pretty draggy towards the end especially as they started introducing other plot lines to secondary characters, and like the first half was filled with red flag teacher and dulu girl. Other then that some of the acting was just pain bad, and I had a hard time getting around some cultural things, such as Hyeon Jin needing to go back there, when I feel like she had enough justification to let them out of her life, and Da Hyeon's parents were a bit contoring.
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20. Kare wa, Imouto no Koibito
Japanese Drama - 2011, 12 episodes
I thought this was a movie so I was having a hard time trying to track down the listing, lol. I guess this was okay. I'm glad the FL did learn to speak up, if abt slowly. However her sister was too much, girl never even apologized.
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21. One the Woman
Korean Drama - 2021, 16 episodes
Just a easy one time watch comedy since the stakes weren't really stakes probably cause it was a bit of parody at the same time. The bad guys were bad, as they were just so obviously bad, and the FL lead just reminded me of her other role so she didn't really feel fresh. The concept was different but just okay at the end.
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22. The Haunted Palace
Korean Drama - 2025, 16 episodes
Started out promising, but kind of dulled as time went on. It was like the writing didn't make sense, it just wasn't really that exciting. Yook Sung Jae did a good job but there was something about Kim Young Kwang in the roll. However I think towards the end Kim Ji Hoon probably stole the show, his well round portrayal made this king... thee king, the kind of king who didn't believe he was better then his subjects and it was his role to look after them. Mostly just okay.
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23. Tastefully Yours
Korean Drama - 2025, 10 episodes
Kang Ha Neul is such a charming doof, and that's probably the only thing that is drama has going for it, because everything else is a mess. The tone and writing is all over the palace, and it has no idea what it was trying to be, especially the female lead. I couldn't get a grasp on her as well, and I'm not sure why we are trying to shove backstories in so sloppily. They should have stuck with the comedy.
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24. Second Shot at Love
Korean Drama - 2025, 12 episodes
I left being a bit confused. Like it started out as rom com with a strong unapologetic nature towards criticizing Korea's drinking culture and the female lead's struggle going sober and dealing with in society, but the last episodes somehow decided it needed to be a thriller, like I get the ML's fathers addiction was important when it came to why he was so passionate about helping treat alcoholism, but outside of that there was no reason for all the rest of that plot. They could have spent that time with the FL's family and their recovery since both her father and sister were also part of the same problem, or it could have been spent on the secondary couple, or even with alcoholism in general but it fell flat in the end.
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25. Oh My Ghost Clients
Korean Drama - 2025, 10 episodes
I enjoyed this, not in a can't wait for the next episode way, but I still enjoyed it. The way the split between some of the stories was a bit jarring, maybe more so then some of the dramas do it, but it did have some very heartwarming moments about the forgotten members of society. The three leads just really worked together well, kind of a bit of a chaotic dream team. The ML has a certain charm about him that makes him more likeable even when he's being a bit of jerk. There were things that gotten neglected with the shorter run time - such as his estranged wife and his brother, but overall the story made sense.
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26. Daily Dose of Sunshine
Korean Drama - 2023, 12 episodes
This is kind of hard for me to judge because I'm not a heath care worker or someone working with mental heath, but sometimes the writing just didn't make sense. While yes, as someone with anxiety, I did recognize myself a bit, but some of the other cases didn't seem resolved, like they were at the beginning of treating these patients not at the end. In that way a episode was too short. Especially when it came to Seo Won, who was such a sweet soul, but the stress of trying to study for a job, to fit in with society had cause him to retreat into a world that didn't exist. They claimed he was better - but he went right back to studying which was the route of the cause, so I would have disagreed with a doctor in this case, that wasn't a good sign of recovery. I know another person commented that the actual Doctors came across as one dimensional, which I had to agree with. Even the lead here, kind of a disorder that came up out of nowhere, that I don't think was handled well. There was a couple here but none of that was fleshed out well.
However Park Bo Young did put on a good performance, and I was glad they addressed the fatigue health care workers and those working and caring for loved ones feel, that taking a moment for yourself is quite necessary. Also I'm glad they addressed the issue of toxic parents - especially in a society of filial piety.
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27. Mary Stayed Out All Night
Korean Drama - 2010, 16 episodes
This did bring the older drama feels I was looking for, but it was crazy frustrating and I really felt bad for the female lead. Her dad was complete trash (he pretty much sold her off to his friends son despite very clearly telling him she doesn't want to get married) and there she was apologizing to him all the time like she was in the wrong. There were a few times were I thought she'd finally tell him off but she never does despite being so clearly miserable. Honestly, all the parents in this drama are awful and don't give a crap about their kids and honestly none of them apologize. At least the ML isn't a coward, the second lead certainly is despite seeming so confident work wise. I guess the leads are cute together and Jang Geun Suk's voice is nice.
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28. The First Night with the Duke
Korean Drama - 2025, 12 episodes
I'm not mad at this, it's not perfect but I did enjoy it. I did read some of the webtoon but I'm not a purist, so I wasn't getting upset over the fact that they changed some of the point points. However, it wasn't quite true to the spirit of it. I missed the chaotic nature of the female lead. Girl was a full on mess, and that's were some of the comedy was coming from. We only had that for a few episodes towards the beginning of the drama when she was trying to shake the male lead off of her. Some other nick picky items, but I wish they gave us more of a idea of who the female lead was (likewise the character she jumped into) it would have helped to explain why she made the decision she did. But the rom com was romcom-ing, and Taecyeon was charming here, and I really enjoyed the intensity in the last few episodes, despite how others hated it.
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29. Jugglers
Korean Drama - 2017, 16 episodes
Nothing groundbreaking just a cute rom com if not for some of the boring office stuff. Also kind of forgettable.
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30. City Hall
Korean Drama - 2009, 20 episodes
This took me some time to get into, and sometimes I still felt it was kind of boring. Also the romance wasn't really vibing with me, and the male lead could be kind of jerk in this regard, so it was hard to route for them while he was still engaged. I liked having a politic drama that had someone who wasn't in the role for power or greed but because they were generally out to help, but the female lead was hard to like in the beginning she was being so cringely.
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31. Reply 1997
Korean Drama - 2012, 16 episodes
Someone said this was a love letter to the 90s, but they must being talking about the embrassing part of the 90s. I get that they were teenagers but the fangirling was getting kind of clingey, and some episodes didn't really seem to have a point, or at least didn't flow nicely. Also what kind of a grown ass man is that condifent in the fact he's dating a high school girl. No. Thankfuly the episodes were short.
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32. Head over Heels
Korean Drama - 2025, 12 episodes