Surprise-Lobotomy

I have been "currently watching" Can You Hear My Heart? for about two months now. It should probably go to my On Hold list. There were a couple of reasons I was put off: I honestly can't take the female lead seriously because of that haircut. I know it's ridiculous but I am really put off by it. Kang Moon Young also makes me incredibly uncomfortable, so I had trouble really getting invested. The story drags at parts and I really don't think the actors have a lot of on-screen chemistry.

My favorite drama I have watched so far is The Moon Embracing the Sun. I adored it because I have a huge soft spot for first love with separation and reunion / eternal love or a "fated connection" if you will, and this drama is the best I have watched so far.

I almost religiously stick to dramas with happy endings for some of the same reasons you listed.

I'm actually three episodes into Lovers (I am fairly lazy at updating my list unless I have completed the drama) and love the male lead so far, still haven't decided on the female lead. MARS and Orange Days are two that I have debated starting since I completed Pride, but hadn't settled on them. I think it's amusing that your prioritization falls rather closely to mine, thanks for reaffirming :) Several of the dramas on my PTW list are romcoms that I may never start. I have a very hard time watching romantic comedies, but I add them to my list occasionally just in case the mood strikes.

Looking over your page, I think we look for very similar things (aside from your distaste for melodramas, several of my favorite dramas would fall under that genre.) I will let you know what I think about the dramas when I find the time to finish them.

I'm old enough where I am really not ashamed about being comfortable being myself. I have had girlfriends that I was the one dragging them to see romantic comedies (except for 27 dresses - in high school I was dating a girl that made me see it 3 times and I will never forgive her.)

It's actually very rare that I "hate" a lead character. My favorite female leads are either strong/passionate/talented (think Hang Ah from King2Hearts or Ra Im from Secret Garden, Ha Ji Won characters are the greatest example) or incredibly sweet/adorable and maybe even a little damsel-in-distress (think Me Ah Ri from A Gentleman's Dignity or Yeon Woo from The Moon Embracing the Sun) but I am very flexible as long as the acting isn't stale or two-dimensional (I love characters with depth.)

I think my favorite scene in the entire show is either when she takes the arrow in his place (it's rare you have a strong female lead willing to sacrifice her life for the one she loves) or when he kisses her wound. Try to imagine a fairly masculine straight male in full-on schoolgirl mode.

I am a fan of emotional rides as long as that emotion isn't caused by characters constantly doing really frustrating things. I will slap a character through the screen if I have to. I'll start The Bridal Mask in a little bit after I finish cooking dinner.

I guess I can start that next - I haven't been able to decide what I want to start for a couple of days now.

The ending took me by surprise and I was pretty frustrated with it at first (Jong's death stuck with me for a long time) but I at least felt like it showed not only the strength of their romantic bond, but the strength of Park Shin Hye's character to move past it and focus on the future instead of dwelling on the past. I think he should have had some sort of comeuppance, personally, but I think believing that his daughter had died as a result of his actions was at least a mild form of punishment. I know what you mean, though, because it was my feeling after I completed the drama (once my excitement settled that it ended happily, I went into the drama blind and and fell for the trick near the end.)

I see soo yeon and jung woo in your profile, nice taste :) It's nice to meet you as well.

The intense emotions make the romance so much stronger - I won't give away any specific scenes, but I am sure you will know after seeing them. Some very memorable moments in the drama

This is one of the only dramas I have watched that I loved both the main and secondary couples almost equally - there is a great deal of chemistry between all of the characters. If you are around episode 9 or 10, you are approaching when the story really picks up so you will have a lot to talk about. I got really emotional during this drama, the only drama that tugged at my heartstrings harder was Missing You because it was the first melodrama I watched and I didn't know what I was getting myself into.

I typically hate problems sparked by lack of communication when it seems pretty obvious that they should say or do something to make things clear (cough Spring Waltz cough) but everything else about this drama makes up for that, especially the second half of the story. You can be the judge, though

I think it wasn't until episode 7 or 8 for me until I absolutely couldn't stop watching. It's not necessarily hard to watch, but it's a slow build-up (most historical dramas are like this.) Once the bulk of the action starts and especially the romance it will be very hard to stop.

It has quite a bit of political intrigue, but it is absolutely wonderful. It's a romeo and juliet-esque romance so it's very emotionally heavy (most melodramas are) but it is one of my absolute favorites. It may take a little bit of time to get into the story, but I think it's very worth it. I am not too big into sageuks either, but this one is definitely a masterpiece. It also has a happy ending (sorry for spoilers.)

I thought Park Shin Hye's character was flat - she had absolutely no depth and might as well have been played by a doll with no speaking lines. I swear she said "thank you" or "I'm sorry" as 90% of her lines, and she had absolutely no chemistry with the main lead (or the secondary leads, for that matter.) I'm very vocally critical of the drama, but it really frustrated me because it's so much more popular than dramas I think are 10x better.

I've only finished the two by the Hong Sisters (My Girlfriend is a Gumiho and The Master's Sun) and absolutely hated You're Beautiful and dropped it. They seem to be very formulaic, but then again so are most romcoms compared to other genres

Those are the two cliches I hate the most - memory loss and the unnecessary separation near the conclusion of the story. "Okay, so our main characters have fallen in love by episode 14 - let's send one of them over seas for 3 years to show how hopelessly in love they are." It's always for some absurd reason, too. This happens in too many dramas too count. I loved My Girlfriend is a Gumiho despite it having a slow start (I came dangerously close to dropping it around episode 8, very glad I didn't) so I expected decent things from the Hong Sisters, but those cliches in The Master's Sun definitely did it no justice..

I don't enjoy it as much if I can't live it. You probably wouldn't be able to tell by looking at me, but I love to tear up during both the happy and sad or yell at my TV in anger whenever I can. It's much more fun if you let yourself feel instead of bottling it up.

At least she stole a kiss from him earlier in the show, I thought that was great. I actually wasn't very pleased with the last 2 episodes of The Master's Sun - I thought Gong Shil suddenly having cold feet after Joong Won got his memory back was slightly annoying, not to mention there was no real conflict left. I really enjoyed it up to that point, I was upset that I was let down a little bit in the last two episodes.. at least they made Yi Ryeong and Kang Woo official instead of only hinting at the romance! That made me happy.

I'm always up to discuss anything! I can get very invested, so I have a whole lot to say most of the time..

Thanks for the recommendations, I will add them to my PTW when I get a moment. I watched several more episodes of Pride and I think that may have been one of my favorite confessions I have seen yet. Halu and Aki are really adorable together, so far so good :)

I absolutely loved Park Yoochun in this and couldn't imagine anyone cheering for someone else. Especially since Harry was really not a good guy and it's really hard to justify so many of his actions. He is incredibly handsome, though.. I'm straight, but those eyebrows are fabulous.

I'm slightly spoiled and can't even watch anything without a good love story anymore, so I will let you know if I finish anything worth watching. Everything on my list right now has romance as one of the genres, and i've been fairly lucky in picking them and haven't finished anything I really didn't like (dropped several that I haven't put on my list, though. I can tell pretty quickly whether I will like it or not.)

I would watch anything as long as it's good - I just haven't looked into movies yet. I think I've stuck with dramas so far because I enjoy immersing myself in something for longer periods of time - I think it's easier to get attached to the characters / stories if they are stretched out. That said, I absolutely love romance movies, I just haven't had any experience with Asian ones yet. If you have any good recommendations for a starting place, I will check them out.