burhaa aadmi

"It's a shame" that other people don't share your personal preferences? "darker dramas are the best"? That last statement is a common refrain among many J-dorama fans, it seems. As if pain, misery, violence and death intrinsically and automatically make a drama "better".

The simple reality is, whether you watch 1000 litres of tears or Nigeru wa Haji, it's still a choice made for one's own entertainment. Some people find blood, pain, angst and violence entertaining, others don't The content alone does not make one genre qualitatively better.

Excellent review, thanks for the heads up. I tried marking your review as "helpful", but the system wouldn't accept it.

Another handy use for my secondary phone number - get verified here while protecting my primary number. Thank you.

Oh, DO check it out, it's very good. And apart from the miracle of no-shave neurosurgery, very credible overall too.

Of course, the correct answer would have been: "It is if the writer says so"
"Punch" is one of my all-time favourite K Dramas, and solidly written overall, but it still amuses me that KRW's character had major neurosurgery to attempt tumour removal WITHOUT LOSING HIS HAIR :D

I hope you do try it again. For me, I didn't click with the leads' story, and FF'd through most of it. But I really enjoyed the documentary film maker's arc. It was the most interesting part of the Drama for me, and involved the most growth

It is if it's metastatic

If I could give your post multiples hearts for "Auditory Hallucination" I would. :)

And I'm not on Kocowa's map :)

In a world where people are increasingly careful to avoid racism, sexism, ageism and ableism, why is hemispherism still OK? :)
Xmas ain't winter for those blessed to live in the Southern Hemisphere. Happily, Gogh the Starry Night s a sweet story that is just much fun to watch in Summer.

Excellent article! Avengers Social Club is all kinds of awesome, one of my "10+" list. Always nice to see it getting some love. Also loved both Matrimonial Chaos and Be Melodramatic. I thought this article did an excellent job of summarising Matrimonial Chaos, a Drama I too did not expect to enjoy. But it was thoughtful and grounded, while still positive and not depressing. As for Be Melodramatic, I have to admit that I didn't really care for the lead couple or their story much. But I loved the Drama for the storyline involving the documentary maker and her frenemy/subject - that storyline was nicely nuanced, and the glimpse into the way managers and celebrities interact was fascinating

Since this thread was about K Dramas, I didn't include any J-movies :D

I rated Kids on the Slope 6/10 - not bad, not great. I did like the music, a lot, and there was nothing wrong with the film, it just didn't leave any particularly deep impression on me.

But how would you define a "Top" 25? Everyone's tastes are so different. For example, while I agree with the consensus on Heirs, I feel that many of the lauded alternatives are much worse, and can't stand some of the actors praised in comments on this thread. While my choices would be dull, boring, and tediously female-centric to many others. There is no "objective" way to generate a "Top" list, it's all about, to quote from this list "Personal Taste" :)

Taste is very subjective, of course. One's age and background also plays a part. As an older male, my viewing preferences tend to be quite different from the younger females who make up the majority of members on sites like this one. So my favourites tend to be less commonly viewed as such :)

Looks like next year will be a "clear my backlog" year. Only interested in checking 3 of these, Half of Half, Itaewon Class, and Psycho but it's OK. None really grab me, all have flaws. MOST flawed, Psycho but it's OK, will check ONLY for Seo Ye Ji, unless somehow the unwatchable male lead magically discovered how to act after his military service. Strong chance of dropping all three.

Watched 12, dropped 3. Two of them made my own top 25 for K Dramas from 2010>2019
Buamdong Avengers Social Club; Goodbye to Goodbye; Yeah, That's How It Is; Girls Generation 1979; Circle; Miss Korea; Ms Temper and Nam Jung Gi; My Only Love Song; Punch; Queen In Hyun's Man; Fated to Love You; Page Turner; Splash Splash LOVE; The Village: Achiara's Secret; A Poem A Day; Age of Youth; Immortal Goddess; Lie to Me; My Little Baby; Reply 1997; Forest of Secrets; Another Parting; Chief Kim; I Hear Your Voice

So much of the Drama is about cooking that the theme music, "O Nara" is often used in other Dramas when scenes are in the kitchen. There's also a recent Drama called "Dae Jang Geum is watching", about her modern day descendants, and their cooking skills :)

Dae Jang Geum would be right up there too, if you'd seen it. Some call it "Jewel in the Palace", I call it Medieval Kitchen Rules.