DramaHeroine

I would really like to know the books that the female lead's best friend is reading in episode 3. Anybody know?

As for whether I want to see western productions of Jdrama's, the answer is probably not. But that doesn't stop me from wishing they would still offer more of them to watch legally online or buy in DVD sets. Just let me give you my money, pleeeeeeease!!!

The western productions of Kdrama's haven't felt demonstrably different to me from Korean productions of Kdrama's, so it hasn't bothered me too much, but I get feeling like something is missing.

While I can't necessarily disagree with your assessment that the globalization of Korean media has had a fundamental impact on the overall style of Kdrama's, I do think it's a bit too much to say that the introduction of players like Netflix is the sole, or even the main, reason for this. I think there are a few other factors to consider. 1) I lived in South Korea for a year as an ESL teacher (from 2012 to 2013). I had already been watching dramas for a few years by then. At that time, there were a couple of TV channels in Korea that showed exclusively western content including subtitles (I think it was mostly American, but there might have been some British as well.) Big American movies were commonly shown in Korean theaters, and they were pretty popular with Korean audiences. I was also frequently in contact with different English speaking Koreans as part of a foreigner FB group that existed to help foreigners in my area find other people to meet up with, etc. Whenever I talked with any of these Koreans about TV and movies, they generally had the same thing to say about Kdrama's. They preferred western media and found Kdrama's (and Kpop) kind of cringey and over the top and unrealistic (Kpop was particularly seen as something for kids, and it was huge with my students). The only English speaking Korean I knew who liked Kpop and Kdrama's was too embarrassed to admit it to other Koreans. So even back then, there was a growing interest in stories outside of what could be found in Kdrama's and a growing disinterest in what Kdrama's had to offer. 2) I noticed, sometime around 2014/2015/2016 I think, that there was a slow shift happening in the Kdrama landscape. Production teams were trying things we hadn't seen in Kdrama's before. It wasn't on a broad scale, just the occasional drama doing it, but there was experimentation happening. Playing with tropes and clichés, sometimes abandoning the tropes and clichés altogether, trying different filming styles, adding fun graphics, toning down some of the acting, you see what I mean. Once this shift ended, Kdrama's had definitely changed. Production quality was higher and stories had grown up a bit. There was a little bit more room for a wider variety of stories (granted, probably only a size up, but still). One important reason I think this happened is that a lot of production decisions made in older Kdrama's were most likely made due to budget constraints, but newer dramas were being given more money to play with, so that meant trying more. (I think tVN played a big part in this, as they were pumping out a lot of trendy drama's for young people with more modern styles of storytelling.) 3) This is the most important reason, in my opinion, as to why Kdrama's have changed so much, and it's something that's always missing in this conversation. What if Koreans are just...ready to move on? We love the tropes, the clichés, getting a glimpse into a culture that's different from ours, all that good stuff. But I'm pretty sure that Koreans are kind of over a lot of it. They're not interested in asshole chaebols and hard-working, cheerful Candy's anymore. They're not into stories so far removed from reality you have to pretend they're happening on another planet to believe in them. It's also important to remember that some of the more traditional Korean elements of Kdrama's were reliant on women fulfilling certain roles in the home, and young, Korean women are forgoing a lot of that today. (Rereading this, I realize now that 1 and 2 are the same point, but I refuse to let my OCD drive me to find a way to Frankenstein them together, lol.) Ultimately, I think the change in the Kdrama landscape is due to a number of factors, Netflix probably among them. Myself, I have found myself more drawn to Jdrama's lately. I've historically had a hard time getting into them for some of the same reasons you mentioned as to why you like them so much. With Kdrama's, once you've watched a few, you know what to expect, so you know exactly what to look for. I found it really hard to know what I was getting into with Jdrama's. I also have always preferred rom-com's over every other drama, and I was tricked a couple times into thinking a Jdrama was a strict rom-com when it wasn't. I've been branching out into other genre's lately though and finding myself enjoying them. I've also finally figured out how the Jdrama world works, so I'm having more luck finding things I like. And finally, I've been with Kdrama's for so long that I think they've lost some of that cracktastic spark they once held for me. (And I think I miss some of the old tropes, lol.) But I'm falling into a nice groove with Jdrama's, so I think that's where I'm going to be spending some more of my time, lol.

I would almost sell a kidney to be able to find a way of buying or downloading a decent quality subbed version of this drama.

This is unexpected. Guess I'll put this on my PTW list, lol.

I dropped this before the last two eps, because I had lost all desire to finish it. Then I remembered it over the weekend this weekend and felt a craving to go ahead and finish it. And now I'm reading all of the comments talking about how terrible the ending is, and I don't think I want to finish it anymore.

Sometimes life, or a drama, takes you on a journey, lol.

This. Exactly this. I haven't watched the last two eps, but I couldn't stand the whole part with Gyeom's accident. It was an unrequited, disappointed Crush. A Crush! But the writers turned it this heartbreaking, life-altering event that it did not deserve to be, and I didn't understand that at all. I just kept thinking 'Why isn't the tenant coming back? Wasn't that important? Why are we over-dramatizing this young mans feelings instead?'

I haven't watched the last two episodes, but I would agree with this assessment. There's nothing all that compelling here, but if you enjoy the tropes it employs, then you'll enjoy this drama.

I love this movie. It portrays that awkwardness and insecurity of being young so incredibly well, which I credit most of to the actors. Their portrayals are pretty spot on. Obviously, the story isn't realistic in places, but the characters really make it work. And I'm saying this as someone who watched it for the first time as an adult. It's one of my favorite youth-centered films.

I love this movie, but the ending really doesn't work, in my opinion.

Further thoughts: If I make it into the hall of fate, get to pick up my own book, Write In It, and no one's stopping me? I'm writing my happy ending and looking up at the ceiling at the same time like 'This is your own fault for not locking the door.'

I would say ep. 8 is definitely the strongest ep. of the series. I enjoyed the series as a whole, but 8 does some really great things writing-wise.

Gonna write a full review later, but I just finished the drama and wanted to verbal-diarrhea my thoughts somewhere while they are fresh. Overall, this was a really enjoyable watch. It stayed very light-hearted and fluffy and not particularly heavy or deep most of it's run, which worked really well because the story does each of those things really well without feeling like it lacks substance. But then the drama surprises you in the last few eps with some genuine depth and amazing plot development and a very good talent at making you feel all the feels. And booooy did I feel all the feels. I particularly love the twist in the stories magic system/fate logic that the one who is fated is able to change the fate in their book, as it creates a very interesting dichotomy between the role of the gods of destiny (and who/whatever is behind them), and the people whose fates are being written. I thought this was fascinating and very well-executed. My one quibble would be the ending. Chae Kyung could have written in her book that they got to be together and let that be that. There's no specified rule that says she Can't do this, especially if Ba Reum can decide he doesn't need a god of destiny anymore at all, so why wouldn't she do this? It begs the question. Why you would choose to have the same heartbreak repeated endlessly throughout your life ultimately causing yourself endless pain when you have the option to simply...not do that? That's not romantic. That's self-mutilation. But I'm creative enough to make up my own head cannon, and I enjoyed the rest of this drama more than enough to not let the ending ruin it for me, so I'm choosing my own fate and saying they end up together and happy and creating lots and lots of ridiculous (and ridiculously entertaining) soapy dramas till their dying days. The end.

Well, everyone else seems to be happy about the trajectory of this drama, but it's turned into somewhat of a mixed bag for me. After Ja Sung was so incredibly mean ep 4, I was somewhat anxious to go into ep 5 and 6. But then I saw all the happy reactions to the episodes and thought 'his behavior must have improved.' Sadly, it both improved and didn't improve. I know it was supposed to come off as him slowly recognizing his feelings/fighting them off, but it just felt like wild mood swings to me. One minute he liked her and was being genuinely nice to her, the next minute he couldn't stand her and was being unnecessarily mean. Granted, his behavior wasn't as bad as it was in ep 4, but it wasn't entirely innocuous either. I'm not giving up on this drama, but here's hoping next week Young Won tells him off a little bit, and it knocks some sense into him.

So I'm a little confused. I've never watched a Xianxia or Wuxia before this drama, so I don't know much about the rules of each genre, but I assumed the storyline of Ashes was taking place over a semi-quick timeframe. I'm on ep 15, and the female lead just mentioned something about training with the male lead for one hundred years (when she was disguised as a man)? Am I supposed to be watching this with the understanding that the events are taking place over a long span of time, or was my original assumption right?

I mean, I should have expected it considering how many Kdramas I've watched over the last ten years, but it still made my heart sad, lol.

I really liked the male lead in the first three eps. His behavior was benign enough that I could enjoy him as a character and be excited for his eventual pairing with the female lead. But he was downright mean and petty in ep 4, and I really don't want that behavior to continue. (I mean, imagine being so Conceited! and Incensed! that someone would commit the Cardinal Sin of 'mistakenly' thinking you might like them.) I'm not bothered by male leads who start off jerks but grow over the course of the story. I know a lot of people hate that trope, but I enjoy it when it's well-done. But knowing Kdramas the way I do, his intensified attitude/behavior does make me cautious. The story probably won't get too bad since this is a newer drama, but I do hope ep 4 is the worst of it and we see some growth from the male lead starting soon.

The kiss wasn't real! NOOOOOOO!!!!! What are you doing to me, drama gods????????

So I sat down this evening to start ep 15 and realized I don't feel like finishing this drama, so I may have to eat my words a bit from my last comment. Ep. 15 started kind of the way you predicted, and I found myself uninterested in watching it. Like I had zero interest in the story or characters whatsoever. I still think this drama is enjoyable enough if you turn off the critical side of your brain and just let the story do what it wants, but I can't muster up the will or desire to do so anymore. I don't know if it's because I've gotten all of the enjoyment out of the drama that I can and I'm ready to move on to something else, or maybe because ep 14 has finally set in and I feel a lot more aware of the dramas flaws now, and that's ruining my viewing experience. (My currently watching-list has also gotten a lot longer than I really like it to be, so I think my brain is screaming 'PLEASE DROP SOMETHING FOR THE SAKE OF MY SANITY!', and this drama isn't exactly at the top of my list of favorite/best things I'm watching right now, so it's the one my brain has decided has to go.) But I think I do agree with your critiques more after pondering over them. I don't think this drama is good enough to really be bothered over any of it, but it's also not good enough to force myself to keep watching if I'm not getting anything out of the experience either. I know enough about the last two episodes to know how the drama ends, and I think that's good enough for me.

Ugh, I want more episodes of this NAOW, lol.