First time watching this, 10 years after publishing, and I only watched the first episode and I do wonder if watching this in the year 2025 is actually worth it? This show and it's characters feel so superficial and it does seem to be all about looks. Making the FL "ugly" and not think about her looks until the ML comes to the picture. As a western viewer this seems so out of date and touch even for a 2015 drama. Of course the culture in Asia is different, I get that, but this felt like watching something from the 2000s.. So my question is, is this actually worth it or should I just leave it here?
First of All, Thank you for Writing this article. ^_^ All the Tropes that you mentioned are the same ones I had…
Oh god the forced kiss scenes to "create romance" also seem very forced between the couple (or maybe it shouldn't look forced but the acting makes it bad idk?). When you watch so much western shows that making out and sex are just normal things to you, I just roll my eyes and watch the clock and hope that the typical forced-asian-drama-fish-lip-kiss ends.
Good article, OP. You've pretty much covered all the most annoying ones & I agree with everything except the 'strong…
I totally get the kissing scenes! Especially since seeing kissing and sex in western tv is normal, the kissing scenes in dramas is making me cringe! But I think it's all about the culture, like in Asia they want to see their women pure (and because porn is illegal in South Korea, China censoryn basically everything..). Of course there are exceptions, like there are also good kissing in dramas and even make out scenes (e.g. When A Man's in Love, The Bride of Habaek). Of course asian movies are their own thing, especially japanese and korean. But I think it's because people can choose to go see a movie, and decide what to watch. Like oh lord what does it do to people if you open tv and without a warning see somebody kiss.. or even more! And I think asian dramas are getting more and more western, and at least, I want that.
I think they will release the subtitle for free once it is completely done (at least I hope so). Last time I checked they had subbed only half of the episode and it is available in Patreon for charge.
Best Bromance: - Sherlock & Wato (Miss Sherlock) - Miyamoto Akiko & Miyamoto Miyuki (Stepmother and Daughter's Blues, this is very out of the box thinking but I think these two had amazing mother-daughter AND sismance kind of relationship)
Best OST: - No Doubt - Official HIGE DANdism (Confidence Man JP) - Lemon - Yonezu Kenshi (Unnatural)
I like that Netflix is bringing more japanese and korean dramas. Of course this varies by countries but I think if asian dramas become popular on Netflix they will bring more and more.
I've noticed that many kdramas (in MDL) are usually rated over 8. Especially when they are airing or just after they are finished. It's not possible for everything to be so good??
When I first got into kdramas I always thought "this drama must be good since it has rating over 8" and then ended up disappointed because I thought they were overrated. Nowadays I've learned not to trust kdrama ratings unless the drama has aired 2+ years ago. :D I've also learned to drop kdramas more easily if I don't like them and not try to keep watching "just because the rating is over 8".
Sometimes tho, when I watch a drama and give it a lower rating that the average, I start to think if I'm too critical or if I misunderstood the drama and it's story or if there was some deeper meaning that I totally missed.. But yeah, everybody has different kind of taste when it comes to dramas.
I think this is such a wonderful news! Like what would be better for the drama makers, actors, staff who work on them than people actually watching legally dramas. With that money they might have the ability to make more quality content, more amazing dramas.
And the possibility to actually find the HQ episodes on Netflix rather than trying to find bad quality stream that has ads every 5 minutes. I'm just waiting that Netflix will bring more asian dramas! Of course licensing is problem, even in Netflix. But I think there's also room for asian netflix/hulu/something provider. Like I would pay monthly fee if I could watch tons of dramas with english subtitles and hq video.
I don't want to be rude but I don't understand people who say this is not good news. Like your favorite actor or drama won't change if more people watch it and think it's amazing. You are not unique snowflakes, many people love dramas, same actors. Even kpop has been mainstream thing so many years already. If you want to be special, change your interests don't try to deny interests from other people. Just saying you should be happy your favorite actors are getting more attention from world, more money and deals. And give you more amazing dramas. :)
Thank you for this article! I had no idea about Boku no Yabai Tsuma being similar with Gone Girl (which I love), so I'm definitely going to check that out!
I hope there's a part two or more articles like this coming out. It's always nice to check out dramas that are remakes (official or not) and see are they similar with the original.
I have never understood blurred knives (until now). Also i find it funny when in hospital/doctor dramas, the surgeries are blurred. It makes me feel like that they did not invest enough to make the surgery look real (compared to e.g. japanese dramas).
And I think asian dramas are getting more and more western, and at least, I want that.
- Confidence Man JP
- Miss Sherlock
Best Comedy Drama:
- Confidence Man JP
Best Family Drama:
- Stepmother and Daughter's Blues
Best Action/Thriller/Suspense Drama:
- Miss Sherlock
Best Mystery Drama:
- Cold Case S2
Best Manga/Anime Adaptation:
- Stepmother and Daughter's Blues
Best Japanese Actor:
- Yamazaki Kento (Good Doctor)
- Ninomiya Kazunari (Black Pean)
Best Japanese Actress:
- Takeuchi Yuko (Miss Sherlock)
- Toda Erika (Dai Renai)
Best Japanese Supporting Actor:
- Higashide Masahiro (Confidence Man JP)
Best Japanese Supporting Actress:
- Yoshida You (Chugakusei Nikki)
Best Idol Actor:
- Ninomiya Kazunari (Black Pean)
Best Couple:
- Kitazawa Nao & Mamiya Shinji (Dai Renai)
- Haraguchi Ritsu & Kawai Shotaro (Chugakusei Nikki)
Best Bromance:
- Sherlock & Wato (Miss Sherlock)
- Miyamoto Akiko & Miyamoto Miyuki (Stepmother and Daughter's Blues, this is very out of the box thinking but I think these two had amazing mother-daughter AND sismance kind of relationship)
Best OST:
- No Doubt - Official HIGE DANdism (Confidence Man JP)
- Lemon - Yonezu Kenshi (Unnatural)
When I first got into kdramas I always thought "this drama must be good since it has rating over 8" and then ended up disappointed because I thought they were overrated. Nowadays I've learned not to trust kdrama ratings unless the drama has aired 2+ years ago. :D I've also learned to drop kdramas more easily if I don't like them and not try to keep watching "just because the rating is over 8".
Sometimes tho, when I watch a drama and give it a lower rating that the average, I start to think if I'm too critical or if I misunderstood the drama and it's story or if there was some deeper meaning that I totally missed..
But yeah, everybody has different kind of taste when it comes to dramas.
And the possibility to actually find the HQ episodes on Netflix rather than trying to find bad quality stream that has ads every 5 minutes. I'm just waiting that Netflix will bring more asian dramas! Of course licensing is problem, even in Netflix. But I think there's also room for asian netflix/hulu/something provider. Like I would pay monthly fee if I could watch tons of dramas with english subtitles and hq video.
I don't want to be rude but I don't understand people who say this is not good news. Like your favorite actor or drama won't change if more people watch it and think it's amazing. You are not unique snowflakes, many people love dramas, same actors. Even kpop has been mainstream thing so many years already. If you want to be special, change your interests don't try to deny interests from other people. Just saying you should be happy your favorite actors are getting more attention from world, more money and deals. And give you more amazing dramas. :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RF9iA9dHfQs
Both episodes subbed
I hope there's a part two or more articles like this coming out. It's always nice to check out dramas that are remakes (official or not) and see are they similar with the original.