SoLatte

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WELCOME! A brief history on me: I grew up on Japanese manga and anime (dubs to subs), got into J-dramas later on, discovered some Taiwanese and K-dramas along the way, then took a looong break. Now? I am back to start a new chapter as of May 2022. More specifically, I am here to keep a growing collection of the old and new. :D

(Sadly my list will be forever incomplete. I do not remember them all. ;___; )

I am:

• shy with strangers but super talkative amongst friends

• a big nostalgia softie for my favourite series/movies

• a light gamer (Pokemon, Story of Seasons, Stardew Valley)

I also enjoy reading, writing, drawing/doodling, bullet journaling, playing Solitaire and Sudoku...

Some non-Asian shows I like are: Andor, WandaVision, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Murdoch Mysteries, Road to Avonlea, Anne with an E, Outlander, Bridgerton, etc. Period/Historical and Fantasy are two of my favourite genres. I am also a sucker for crime documentaries and many older, long running crime dramas. And yes, the occasional sitcom as well.

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My drama watching preferences:

I enjoy slice of life, comedy, romance, angst, and so on. What I do not like? HORROR.

Time is precious. If I do not like the first episode of a 16-episode (or longer) drama, I am likely to drop it. If however there is something compelling that gnaws at me to continue, I will probably give the drama another episode to win me over. If by the 2nd episode there is massive improvement but it still falls a little short, I might give it one more episode. After that, I am done. [6-8 episode dramas only get 1 episode.]

I prefer to space out my dramas rather than binge (with some exceptions).

Character > world. For me the character comes before the world building. Both are needed but if there is a character I am strongly drawn to, I am more forgiving of other flaws in the storytelling. :)

I need happy or at least hopeful endings. UPLIFTING is the key.

I do NOT need my dramas to be a moral story on right and wrong. In fact I rarely enjoy stories based around perfect characters constantly doing the right thing. Characters like this bore me. BORING is unacceptable. But I am not opposed to great stories with heroic/pure of heart characters. I only ask that they be interesting and struggle along the way. The personal journey is important to me.

Unsurprisingly I LOVE flawed characters the most. They are my bread and butter in almost any drama. On the flip side, I also love fluff, cutie pies, and huggable sweethearts. (Yes, I am a walking-talking contradiction of likes and dislikes! :P)

How I rate dramas (starting 2023):

My approach to watching dramas and how I feel about them afterward goes something like this: was it entertaining? Did I feel something about the character(s) or story being told? Did I have a strong reaction, good or bad? In other words, was I emotionally invested? If I was then it did something successfully, as opposed to nothing at all. I consider this a good indicator of my enjoyment (or lack thereof). At the end of the day I am here to be entertained.

With the above in mind, I will be rating dramas based on MY experience with them. As objective as I might try to be, my ratings will always be subjective. Why? Because I come to every drama with my own life experience and preferences, therefore bias is unavoidable.

Quick breakdown of ratings:

1-2—didn't like it, 3-4—passable, 5-6—liked it, 7-8—strongly liked it, 9-10—loved it.

The early dramas that got me started:

More recent highlights:

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In focus this OCTOBER (slow month):

* Note: some dramas are not listed here since they are not a priority watch and therefore may move as slowly as an episode every other month.

* I'm slow to update and even slower at finishing what I start, so these lists will move at a turtle's pace. LOL. (Yes I watch too many British/North American shows to keep up with Asian dramas the way I used to. My bad. :D)

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WARNING: Haters ignored. Fiction =/= reality. Respect the personal lives of actors/actresses or GTFO. No joke. Also, serious shippers are a big no thank you. (In other words: if you're emotionally invested in your ship being REAL...  take a walk.)

Last but not least, I support people who enjoy dramas of all kinds. No genre/trope shaming here. <3