DaliaB

I have honestly stopped myself from getting excited about anything by the synopsis or trailer. Been burned badly last year, (ahem Legend of Anle ahem, ahem She and her perfect Husband ahem) and won't be getting myself hyped again. On the other hand I watched a few that weren't on my radar before I randomly stumbled upon them and clicked watch, and they turned out quite good.

That being said, "Men in Love" looks good. Liang Jie often chooses good scripts and I just like her on my screen. And her partner as well, he is a good romance actor.

As does "A Snowstorm of Love", the setting in Iceland alone makes it worth the watch I hope.

I might also peek at the one with Gina Gin, because love her and see what she is like in a Wuxia. Hoping for beautifully choreographed fight scenes, she was a ballet dancer after all.

I mean, which show. 😏😁

I saw so many clips on YouTube, I was kind of over it before it finished airing. The spoilers were unavoidable.

You might have just made me want to watch this! Great article, so well written!

Also, great post. I only watched a part of My Secret Bride with her, but your write up is inspiring me to watch more. Also love what you did with the colours!

Looks a bit melodramatic for a show with that many topless guys. But will I watch it, propably yes. :-P

So... you are just going to leave us without telling us where that last GIF is from?

I don't think you answered the right comment.

But for the sake of it: I nowhere said that this is a good way to live or to solve it in a story.

I said it was realistic, as in, this happens thousands of times everyday the world over. And thus, her needing a second operation until she finally leaves... it often takes the breaking-point, and that is different for everyone. Your breaking-point is very much dependent on how you grew up, violence in your family, your culture etc.

The reaction of the victim does not diminish the guilt of the perpetrator. So understanding the victim does not mean I sympathize with the husband or anyone.

I hope anyone that watches this drama takes away all the red flags, and keeps mental, financial and emotional independence even when married, and walks away at the first infraction, society be damned.

I have not done much reading these last few years, but you inspired me to get my audible subscription back. I wish they would remake some western classics into shows, like Pride and Prejudice or Romeo and Juliet, but interpreted for Chinese and Korean history of course. It would be fun to see, since I have seen renditions in other cultures as well, and that's always fun.

Yeah, I want articles about dramas, and not just KDramas either, and major news (deaths, weddings) about the actors. Not copy/pasted and badly AI translated gossip, with apparantely no foundation. Someone said that someone said... No thanks.

"Now every romance has to have a serial killer, supernatural fantasy lelmnts or a supernatural serial killer :("

OMG, this. I have been watching some KDramas recently, but the romance just doesn't hit the same if I have to sit through blood spouting, people getting kidnapped and buried alive and random zombies showing up. I have barely ever come across a KDrama that didn't have them, though. China is better at those, but then you have to sit through business bla bla.

Recently aired "I may love you" and "Here we meet again" were really nice romances, if you skip the semi-interesting business blabla. Also, some Japanese shows, but they often lack in terms of aesthetics.

Tick the spoiler warning please!

Hi, some of them have a synopsis on Wikipedia and elsewhere. I just didn't get around to adding them properly during our research.

As an Austrian who had to face the past of my country and our neighbours in excruciating detail in school and in many, many shows, movies and documentaries and monuments, I am a bit shocked by the Japanese reaction. Are they surprised that their cruel colonial past is still on people's minds or have they never heard about before?

I mean it's not something to crack jokes about, trust me I know the feeling, but it wasn't treated as a joke by anyone here.

Just the kind of toxic, but softhearted role he was made for. lol

Yeah, I made that mistake when looking if people generally liked Maestra or not (which I do look for if I find a new show, a bit of community) and was bombarded with theories of who did what from the newest episode and it made those episodes less exciting. It's a hard bargain between being able to discuss shows with people and then having the stress of watching the day it comes out.

I wish I had a podcast or group of people I could just discuss the shows with that I am watching, even if it's two years late.

Yes! More mature characters please!

How many 2023 dramas did you watch: 11, I watched and rewatched more of course, but I don't much enjoy watching currently airing dramas, so I wait.

What country did you watch the most in 2023?
China

What genre(s) do you usually watch?
No surprise there, romance and comedy, so rom-com, specifically with the tags Happy Ending and Nice Male Lead, apparently. Again, surprise to no one that knows me from anywhere.

What is your top drama listed in this article?
I watched three dramas from this list, (TTEOM, Love to Hate You and Perfect Marriage Revenge) and neither made it into my Top anything. (I am a rebel like that.) I guess if I had to choose TTEOM, because it had the least bad plot?

What is your top drama NOT listed in this article?
Meet Yourself, Sunshine by my Side and Forever Love were my top dramas this year, very different, but each excellent for what it set out to be. I also highly recommend Taiwanese Omnibus Drama At The Moment.

How was your drama journey in 2023?
I don't even remember the beginning of 2023, that's the kind of year I had, but drama wise this lead to a lot of rewatches of older shows and as I said, seeking out the fluff. The thing I did the most this year is pick up random dramas, like going on of the platforms and just going oooh, what is that and watching it, which lead to a few happy accidents, like finding Japanese movies.

What is your wish or plan in dramaland in 2024?

I wish I could find more dramas that keep me interested from start to finish. I have a lot of dramas on my currently watching, because I just can't get myself past the “and then they got seperated for no good reason” plot point. I also wish Taiwan came out with more romance or family dramas. My plan is to watch more Japanese shows and to branch out into different genres, currently I am watching a thriller mystery (Maestra) and it's a nice change. Also, continuing to go on blind, I realized I really dislike spoilers this year.

Aaaaand... The only one I have watched is Love Reset, which is very on brand for me. I am always planning to watch different genres and I find movies more digestible in that regard than dramas, but I somehow find movies more boring than the long dramas... And I used to really love movies. What is happening to me, my grandma used to say the same thing. Ahhhh.

That was my first thought too. He could always make up for his deficiencies with his dimples.