Viajero

China taking over is news to me. I regularly watch both Korean and Chinese dramas and on the whole, I think the Chinese have some ways to go to catch up with Korea when it comes to the quality of the writing, production, and yes, acting.

This doesn't surprise me. Good Boy is entretaining, but Our Unwritten Seoul is one of the best series of the year so far.

I thought the Canadian show was very good. This one is going to have to go a long way to match up.

I would add that when it comes to movies (as opposed to TV shows), on the whole I find Japanese movies to be superior to Korean movies and far superior to Chinese movies.

On the whole, I find kdramas are more likely to be better written, with better acting, and have higher production values. But there are some very good Chinese shows. The problem for me is that the most popular Chinese shows are either overly wholesome modern romances, or historical fantasies (which just aren't my thing). But I have found a few better more realistic modern romantic dramas and a few good historical dramas where the fantasy elements are minimized. My impression of Japanese shows is that they tend to have some quirks that make them perhaps less appealing to a broader international audience. I've come to really appreciate the uniqueness of many of these Japanese shows, but can understand why they are not for everyone. As a rule of thumb, when looking at MDL audience scores, I automatically subtrack 0.3 pts from the scores of Chinese shows and add 0.3 pts to the ratings for Japanese shows. This seems to better reflect my own tastes.

In my opinion, the quality of kdramas has improved markedly since the international OTT platforms started producing their own original shows in Korea, and this very much includes the quality of domestic productions. I find that your average domestically produced kdrama from the early 2020s tends to be clearly superior to your average domestically produced kdrama from the early 2010s. Another way to put it is that I've watched over 200 kdramas produced over the past 15 years or so and the only one from prior to 2018 that makes my Top 30 is Empress Ki (2013). In pretty much every genre, there are multiple dramas produced over the past 7 years that are as good or better than the best drama in that genre produced before then. To the extent that the international OTT plaforms forced domestic producers to improve their product, then I'm the last person to complain.

This sounds a lot more like fantasy than science fiction. They should be careful how they label these shows to avoid confusion.

I agree with everything you wrote, except that I actually thought that, on the whole, these characters were at least as interesting. HP did have more comradery between the main characters, which makes sense given that they had known each other since med school, while the ones in this series had just met.

I personally thought she was the best thing about this series, just like she was one of the standouts in Moving. She perfectly captured the world weary downbeaten character she was playing.

Not having been much of a fan of Hospital Playlist, I only now finally got around to watching this spin-off. Perhaps because I had low expectations, I enjoyed this one more than I expected. Among other things, I appreciated the dry humor interspaced throughout the season along with the vigor that comes a plot focused on much younger characters. But I think what made the biggest difference for me was that I simply found the main characters in this show to be much more interesting . I also came to particularly appreciate the understated way Go Youn Jung played the world-weary FL, making what could have been un unlikable character into someone you increasingly sympathise with.

I would add that I did like her character in Blossom in Adversity.

Her character wasn't a particularly good example of an indpendent woman in Lighter and Princess, where for most of the season she sacrificed her own capabilities and ambitions for the ML, meekly following him around like a lost puppy no matter how bad he treated her.

Agreed. 8.4 is not bad for a mystery thirller that is still ongoing. If they bring it to a satisfactory conclusion, the ratings almost always shoot up after the season is over.

I don't know if it means anything, but the actress who plays the therapist has been the main lead in many series and usually has larger and more important roles that this one. It's been awhile since I've seen her is such a secondary role. So perhaps her role isn't so secondary after all?

This film has recently been added to American Airlines inflight entretainment available on both domestic and international flights. It's a bit longer than it needed to be, but Watanabe Anne is fantastic, easily carrying the film even in the slower moments. The story does a good job of exploring the different ways memories (or the lack thereof) can affect our lives. Finally, it has a much more believable realistic ending compared to many other similar stories.

I also had to try Chicago Typewriter three times before I finally got into the show enough to finish the season. Even then, I felt it was overrated.

They obviously need to wait until Hwang Min Hyun is available to film, but I hope they also bring back the rest of the main cast. Particulary Shin Su Hyun, whose character was one of my surprise favorites.

I've watched most of these and agree that they are pretty good. But my favorite Japanese series by far is "Alice in Borderland". Two other j-dramas I would rate higher than any on this list are:
* Silent
* Falling High School Girl (Tsuiraku JK to Haijin Kyoshi)
Another couple of shows I personally liked, though they may not be for everyone are:
*Rinko-san Wants to Try
*Why I Dress Up For Love
(and yes, I am partial to Kawaguchi Haruna, who stars in at least a couple of these).

I always bump up the MDL ratings for Japanese dramas by 2 or 3 points when comparing to k-dramas or c-dramas. Based on my experience (and my tastes) this site very consistently underates series from Japan.

I have watched Trauma Code and would have given the award to Park Bo Gum because he simply showed a lot more range. I understand why Ju Ji Hoon was a popular choice, but in the end he was just playing the standard perfect male protagonist with almost cartoonish abilities who is better than everyone else at pretty much everything (the best trauma surgeon ever, dodges bombs and bullets without batting an eye, can rappel down cliffs, and pilot helicopters, etc.). Very much the MacGyver type (for those old enough to remember MacGyver). Male actors have been playing that same role for decades.