Macy

Currently watching this asadora. It’s hard not to think about the cheating scandal while watching tbh, but I still like it so far. In general, I think it’s a bad idea for co-stars to marry in real life. Rarely does it seem to go well…

Asadora need actors to play multiple different ages so I think they don’t pay much attention to their actual ages.

I just finished this asadora and noticed your comment haha. I need to check out Toto Nee-chan soon!

Their dynamic was my favorite part of this asadora. I wish more second male lead characters (especially in K-dramas) were like Godai. He was so charming, never imposed his feelings on Asa, and had a genuine friendship with her and Shinjiro.

I wrote this in my review for Asa ga Kita, but I'll include it here too so more people will see it. Asa ga Kita is based on the life of the Osaka businesswoman Hirooka Asako. She is mentioned in the biography "Anne's Cradle: The Life & Works of Hanako Muraoka," which serves as the source material for the asadora Hanako to Anne and started me off on my asadora journey. The description of Asako in the book seems that they captured her pretty accurately in this asadora, though keep in mind that it's only about 2-3 pages. Anyway, I just thought it was interesting that two asadora heroines knew each other in real life.

Asa ga Kita is definitely a 10/10 asadora to me. If you're looking for a next watch, I recommend Hanako to Anne (of course lol) and the most recent asadora Tora ni Tsubasa.

I watched this because it’s leaving Netflix in two days and I was not prepared for that ending 😭

Interesting article. In my experience with low ratings, the more viewers the more accurate the rating. Dramas or movies with less than 100 viewers I’ll give a chance if I’m interested despite the low rating. And sometimes the low rating comes just from having an unpopular ending.

Great article! I particularly liked your point that it's okay to watch just 2-3 K-dramas a year. That's me most years. This year and 2020 are the only years I've kind of gone all in in watching dramas. You also made a great point about making a "shift." I watch dramas and movies from most of the countries on MDL, but I like to shake things up every once in a while with a great Indian film. I would also recommend RRR.

Also, addressing K-dramas losing their "charm." I think this is inevitable. When you discover something, it's all so new and you'll like some dramas that just seem mid later. As for myself, I still enjoy k-dramas but I don't think I'll discover a new favorite. My most favorites are Answer Me 1997 (from 2012 when I first started watching k-dramas) and It's Okay to Not Be Okay (2020 when I rediscovered k-dramas).

I’ll probably watch this since it’ll be on Netflix. I also liked Jung So Min in Alchemy of Souls.

I'm looking forward to the upcoming episodes. I'm very curious about the full story of the family split because so far I don't feel the whole "you're dead to me" thing coming from the mom and daughter is justified, but I might change my mind in the future.

Finished this drama yesterday. I tried to binge it, but I got a little bored towards the end so it took me a few more days than I thought. The beginning of the drama is pretty strong. However, since it's really just a word-for-word, scene-for-scene adaptation of the book, the fatigue set in around ep 15. I think this drama would be better for those who haven't read the book, but that also makes me a bit sad that this drama gives no incentive to read the book.

This drama covers the entire first book. There are two more books in the series and a season 2 is currently planned based on the second book "The Dark Forest."

A good drama, not an amazing drama but good. Some issues and some boring episodes but the ending was ultimately worth it. Might've benefited from being shorter.

I’m excited for this! I hope it gets picked up by a subber when it starts airing.

Yeah, she still fulfilled her dream and it showed her daughters fulfilled their dreams so it was satisfying.

I never trust bad reviews with asadoras tbh. Even if there’s a part of an asadora I don’t like, I can still find so much that I do like.

The FL dies at the end which makes sense she was in her nineties but it was still very sad. I was crying the whole last week of episodes.

That’s good to know about Mai Agare. I’ve been just watching little bits of it and haven’t been too sure of it.

I didn't include this in my review so I'll write a comment instead. So far, this is the closest a more recent asadora has come to Oshin. It covers some of the same time periods, uses three actresses to portray the heroine, and has long arcs focusing on their children. Carnation doesn't have as much suffering, but I honestly don't know if it's possible to have as much suffering as Oshin lol. The characterization and theme are different but I still think this is the closest experience you can get to Oshin (you know, if you don't want to watch 297 episodes lol).

I finished Carnation. I really liked it except for a few weeks, but it has a very bittersweet ending and I know you don't like those.

I guess we’re on the same wavelength haha. I’m enjoying this one so far but I’m only about 50 episodes in.

Does anyone know where to watch this?