Kaneki Ghoul

Oh my darling,,, the FL looks like Nayeon from Kpop group TWICE. She happens to be my bias too so it doesn't matter if this turns out bad, her cuteness will save it. Let's watch...

Too many scenes in meetings, correct, but also without those scenes I would never believe FL could be a company CEO or "super busy" as they hinted at. Those scenes were mostly to showcase her career growth (also loved how her college friends were first to bring up her growth too, and even joked she'll be a Boss in the future). I personally enjoyed them but can understand if someone just came for the romance.

Also, the chemistry is definitely there, maybe just not as intense as you'd hope. From dating to marriage to becoming parents, their chemistry remained the exact same. But I don't mind this, since it's still high enough to get the point of the show across. She healed him, he healed her, their love is mutual, their social stance is perfectly equal, their future together is bright... and CUT, actors get paid and move onto the next project.

If you've seen enough of these dramas by now, it's easily to see how. ML is either too busy to date or simply isn't interested at all (some dramas even make it a plotpoint; MC can't smile/laugh/emote/touch women, etc). That's how he becomes CEO. His family then pressures him into dating (blind dates) and he coincidentally meets FL in the most awkward (yet memorable) ways possible. An awkward meeting becomes several meetings where the mains clash, cementing each other in memory even further, until love starts to sprout.

Without the awkward encounter, ML likely would never fall in love as deeply. That's both the most romantic part about these dramas, but also the most unrealistic. Since that's what audiences enjoy, it likely won't be changed anytime soon.

Also, for some odd reason, the mains always already met as children. IDK why they write this part in, but it almost always never leads anywhere or is ever brought up by anyone again. Is the point just to say they were destined to meet!?

The Best Thing is still the best thing for me. It's gonna be hard to find another gem like that. But well said, 100% agree (Love 020/My Sunshine dropped too for same reason).

From beginning to end, I loved this drama. Not the absolute best of the best, but definitely worth the watch, especially with how well the ending wrapped up the story. This is by far one of the better endings to a romantic drama, with no loose ends left or doubt of their "Happily ever after". I swear some of these dramas leave me thinking; "If y'all can break up because of a stupid misunderstanding, how will your marriage last under another future problem"... Thankfully, this drama didn't need any of that. 9/10 would recommend 👍

ML is lame and gae (overpowered but has no brain), and all the side characters are annoying. 5/10 would recommend! Still a decent watch.

2nd Season confirmed, let's go!

Also, Caiwei Best Girl! I need to see more of her foodie adventures in the second season pls! She really does act like the big sis/best friend to our ML. Their dynamic together is by far the best in the show, even better than the main "romance"...

The Best Thing (2025), is by far the closest and best thing you'll find similar to this drama. Same as this one, it's just pure love all the way through, no nonsense added. It's currently my no.1 best drama ever seen.

Love them, love their voices, literally! I didn't expect to take the title seriously and actually fall in love with both their voices! I already added several of their songs to my playlist. This drama was just chef's kiss, perfect 10/10 from start to finish. I literally could not stop smiling, anytime our leads appeared on-screen.

I binged the entire thing in one sitting. Ended up enjoying this wayyy more than I expected! I'm in love with this show; the ML, and all the girls (red girl excluded, I hate her as much as the ML does). I need to see more! S2 please! He still needs to marry them all, his master, his maid, and his 2 fiancés are all good! (of course, red one not included)...

Perfect ending, to a beautiful drama. It definitely moved me. Love it or hate the ending, you should admit it definitely is fitting to its name/theme. Also, the ML is literally perfectly cast. The actor has that fierce EVIL/VILLIAN/KILLER look in his eyes, with sharp facial features. Perfect 10/10

I'm halfway into watching this drama, and I simply must say this; The second couple is just not fun to watch. I just can't see past a boss exploiting his employee, trying to force her to fall in love with him. Actually, she wouldn't even be his employee if he didn't force her into a slave-contract with him. He made an unreasonable order on her online store, instructed her to deliver it in person, then proceeded to secretly damage the goods just so that he could force her to compensate him for it.

Despite already having a secretary, he keeps forcing her to work overtime running personal errands even at his house?? Like, WTF are we doing here? Even if they end up together at the end, their relationship is just too toxic to last. This guy is just too manipulative, and she's too kindhearted to say no to all his unreasonable demands. And even when she does say no, or gets uncomfortable, he just forces her anyway. I'm skipping ALL of their scenes from now on, just wish it didn't take up HALF of each episode, ffs!!

Dropped around episode 10. FL is exceptionally stupid, even for an alien. She somehow has enough common sense to understand how the modern work works, but is dumb when it comes to literally anything else. The plot sounded promising, but the execution is so poorly done. It's as if the FL has no business being part of this story at all, since her only role here is to bring disaster/accidents that she later fixes with her superpowers. She's only an alien when the story needs her to be one at the moment. Which is ironic, considering the literal title of the show is "My girlfriend is an alien"!!

I've decided to delve deeper into historical C-dramas. After scouring a few recommended lists, I started with Moonlit Reunion (2024) first since the trailer looked really cool. I'm actually blown away by how good it is and how much I'm enjoying it so far. At first, I was expecting poor costumes/cgi effects, but that wasn't the case at all. Everything is extremely well done and believable; the powers, costumes/makeup, fighting choreo, acting, romantic chemistry, mystery elements, etc. If this is what historical dramas entail, then I really have been missing out!

Will definitely be checking out all of your recommendations too, as I've already seen a number of them in Top 10 lists everywhere. Thank you!

This is definitely a hidden gem! If you're watching the first few episodes and found the pacing too slow/boring, be advised, there is a second half to this drama that is simply incredible. This is definitely a must-watch C-drama, so DOT NOT DROP IT TOO SOON! It's as if at a certain point in the latter half, the writers just decided to step up their game and go all out. Especially the relationship between ML, FL and her Mom.

Good insight, I realise I may still be in the honeymoon phase of C-dramas since I only picked them up in recent years. So yes perhaps right around 2021 as they started improving (or as you mentioned, imitating K-dramas) did I finally take notice and started watching. Maybe if I keep watching them for a decade, as I have with K-dramas, I would start finding them repetitive too.

Also, I fully agree, J-dramas/Thai-dramas are weird for me too. I can count the amount I've completed on a single hand. But my friends swear by them and just keep recommending more for me to watch.

Lastly, I agree to the comment below, the decline of Korean dramas/TV/films can be attributed to Netflix, Disney+, Apple. Sometimes it's better to just have a focused audience (Koreans), and the rest of the world will naturally drift towards that content because they see the passion/soul behind the work. Diluting or bastardising culture for the sake of reaching a broader audience kills that soul, and has killed entire franchises in the past. Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Classic Marvel Movies, Disney classics, used to all have a focused target audience. That led to them becoming massive franchises in the first place. Now It's made for everyone, for all audiences (ages 1-100), meaning anything that can remotely offend even just 1 of those persons is removed/banned from the script. I don't know why I went that far with my examples, I could just say, look at the current state of K-pop.

Plenty of good K-dramas out this year, When Life Gives You Tangerines (2025), Love, take Two (2025), Bon Apetit, Your Majesty (2025). This drama doesn't really hold a candle to any of those, it looks like amateur next to those. I haven't seen many historical dramas, but have been really loving modern C-drama romances lately. The Best Thing (2025), Hidden Love (2023), First Frost (2025). After a decade of only watching K-dramas, it's refreshing to see just how good and slept on C-dramas were before. There's this concerning trend in recent K-dramas, where they seem to be imitating Hollywood style media, drifting away from that authentic Korean culture to chase a broader audience. At first, I thought I was the only one with this sentiment, but my YouTube and social media has been full of videos/people noticing the same trend/concerns. And they've all collectively decided that C-dramas, J-dramas, Thai-dramas are just better right now. Also, K-dramas are still notorious for their half-baked/rushed endings, after decades this still hasn't been fixed. C-dramas being 30+ episodes, they kinda have to end on a satisfying note.

Sure thing; My current favourite C-dramas are (ranked from best); The Best Thing (2025), Hidden Love (2023), The First Frost (2025), Amidst a Snowstorm of Love (2024), Meet Yourself (2023), Smile Code (2024), just to name a few. The reason for my comment was because I've been watching only K-dramas for the longest time. Only recently did I discover how good C-dramas were, so I've been on a binging spree. Mostly modern romance, I have yet to fully delve into historical romance, which some swear by is even better.

Why are K-dramas getting worse & worse and C-dramas are getting better & better over time. I can binge 35 eps of any C-drama, but getting through 10-16 eps of K-drama feels impossible & exhausting. Something ain't right here... I only watched this to see Bae Suzy and Kim Woo Bin, because without them, there's no reason to watch this confusing mess of a story at all.

The 2nd ML (Su Zhi Zhou) remained a pathetic man until the end. All for a woman who isn't loyal (sleeps around) and was in an active relationship when he started pursuing her. Even after breaking up with her now ex-boyfriend, she still didn't want him. Yet he kept trying anyway, why? He rejected a beautiful woman (his colleague) who had a crush on him, and was ready to accept him as is, without him needing to change at all. Yet he insists on changing himself, dressing weirdly (in pink!?), only to be rejected AGAIN! Buying her expensive bags/gifts, lying to her mother that he was her boyfriend already. He even refused a PROMOTION when the company wanted to send him abroad! only for him to be rejected by her AGAIN AGAIN!! He just kept chasing her around like a dog (even her friend called him a dog). At that point just give up man. She's just not worth it. You cannot convince me they had a happy ending, after they got together. He has no self-respect, and freely acts on a whim for her; nearly throwing away his entire future success, bending over backwards, trying to impress this woman. He had no guarantee that after all that effort they'd even get together, but he got lucky anyway. Now that they're in a relationship, he will forever be the one to compromise, because we already saw how she treated her ex-boyfriend after he revealed his secrets to her. As long as he's with her, he'll remain her pet dog forever...