Jess4163

This is my favorite trope of all time in a romance: Obsessive heroes or villains. But I only love the ones who never give up and will chase the heroine to the ends of the earth, lol! And of course, the plot has to be engaging. Here's three more recs:


New Tales of Gisaeng -the hero is both extremely handsome and one of the most passionate/devoted men I've ever seen. Before accepting his feelings for the heroine, he did something cruel, but ended up paying for it tenfold. It was both extremely satisfying and heartbreaking watching his torment over the heroine -she really gave it to him good! This was the angst I wanted and it built up to one of the most climatic/touching scenes I've ever witnessed in episode 33. I was thoroughly convinced that the hero couldn't live without his heroine.
Keep in mind that it starts out rather slow and doesn't become a downward roller coaster ride until episode 16 where the hero "digs his own grave." From then on, you will witness his downfall as he comes to realize how much the heroine means to him and what he has lost. He then trails after the heroine like a bloodhound, determined to win her back, but our heroine will not budge. Forgiveness takes a long time and our hero is in for a world of pain for many episodes -can't say he didn't deserve it, lol.

The next two feature villains who were the ultimate big bads (not second-in-commands) and both heroines never reciprocated their feelings:


Memory Lost (Chinese drama):

The villain's backstory and motivations were so compelling that my heart was absolutely shattered in the end. He really took obsession to the next level (erases the heroine's memories so he can start over with her) and I can't say he loved the heroine any less than the hero -she really was his entire world! He could give up anything and anyone in order to be with her. Even the other woman said it, "I knew an old friend who could turn against the whole world in order to possess the one thing he wants..."
I also really loved the male lead and only want him with our wonderful female lead as they share fantastic chemistry. He's also possessive and 100% devoted to her.

Harper's Island (non-asian horror TV series):

The villain is 100% yandere. He's sadistic and duplicitous, basically manipulating all the events and killing everyone that'll stand in the way of him and the heroine. Everything he does is so that he can be with the heroine in the end, just the two of them "forevermore." Loved this series and loved him...I'm a total sucker for yandere villains (real villains, esp. the ultimate baddie, not mere mean bullies, etc.).

Well, I dropped Goblin because of its aimless narrative and don't consider it anywhere near as good as Healer, so to each their own

Loved the plot and romance in this one and that mv is one of my favorites featuring the main couple!

Sweety_Xiin is really skilled at making quality mv montages of dramas. Her "Ten Miles Peach Blossoms" one is really good too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YK373C6Xnwg&index=4&t=0s&list=PLyvQ4yV55eNUykkxB3yb4BOKDhuD5pkzF

I was really happy to see this amazing drama included on their site. But after checking out a random episode, I found the English subtitles to be subpar. Dramafever had way better translations.

For example, in episode 30, they translated "He is my sweetheart, my darling, my sweet honey" merely into "He is so precious to me." The Chinese dialogue was so witty and that lame translation made it lose all its charm.

Lol, just found out that the writer is Kim Eun Sook, which by default, marks this as a drama to avoid for me. None of her last three dramas possessed a cohesive plot, and it looks like this one will be similar (gorgeous leads, beautiful cinematography, catchy music, but an aimless direction with little buildup and payoff). For me to get into a drama, a decent narrative with a successful execution is a necessity.

Thanks for the confirmation that this is another one of those "aimless/directionless" dramas -can't stand ones like "Heirs," "DOTS," and "Goblin." I will avoid this one for sure.

You actually finished whereas I gave up after the 2nd episode. Lol, this isn't the first time I've been burned by writer Kim's nonexistent plots and messy narratives. I was so hesitant to give this one a chance too, but thought I had to try it since it was rated so highly.

The first episode at least had enough story and intrigue to get me to watch the second. But the second one bored me to tears and convinced me to abandon ship, as it was already displaying similarities to her previous "no plot" dramas ("Heirs" and "Descendants of the Sun"). You know, one where practically every episode is just a whole bunch of scenes and dialogue that lead up to nothing -you can't see the overall picture and don't understand the point.

In addition, I felt no chemistry between the main leads, so there's absolutely no reason for me to continue watching. To me, a drama where nothing really happens until the last few episodes is definitely not one worth watching. That makes the writing and script a complete failure.

Lol, I bailed out after episode 2 when I realized that despite all the flashy cinematography and gorgeous faces, all the scenes really added up to nothing.

I hesitated to watch this for a long time too because of the screenwriter (previously wrote "Heirs" and "Descendants of the Sun," two very popular dramas with no plot). Luckily, I could see from a mile away that this is another one of those "plotless" dramas that become popular more due to the cast and exciting premise rather than because of a decent narrative.

Yes, we all have different opinions and just happen to disagree on this one :)

Even though it's set in the world of gods and goddesses, the drama chose to make the romance plotlines its main focus. It had a purpose, which was to mainly tell the love story between Bai Qian and Ye Hua, and competently portrayed their story. Plus, the leads had loads of chemistry and their love line went in a direction I loved (male lead never gave up on the female lead and was cold to all other women).

The drama also never deviated from its main purpose and knew where it was going from the very beginning. Tons of dramas nowadays try to fit in too much that they completely lose focus and the plots go nowhere.

You believing that romance shouldn't be the main focus for this type of premise is your opinion. But as for me, I loved the romance and agreed with pretty much all the changes the drama made from its novel counterpart.

This drama is focused on the love story and since I love a good romance, this was the right series for me. But if you don't care about romance, then I can understand why you wouldn't care for it.

This is your opinion and just because you hated this drama doesn't mean the majority of viewers feel the same way. Also, even though the drama is based on the novel, it's still a separate entity.

Even though the source novel was a plagiarized work, I rated the drama highly because it did a wonderful job adapting the source material. I never read the book because I didn't like the story and the drama somehow made me fall in love because of its clever changes and focus on the love story. But, I credit the drama, not the novel, which I have no interest in reading and never will.

Thanks for further confirming the kind of drama I suspected this one to be: One where nothing of substance really happens for the majority of the episodes (jokes, character interactions, etc. that don't really go anywhere) and maybe something big happens at the end that makes people emotional to the point where the creators hope all is forgiven. Nope, not happening with me this time -I'm bailing out early :)

Wow, after just two episodes, I can firmly say this drama isn't for me. In fact, this'll be the last time I'll ever try another drama by writer Kim Eun Sook. Before Goblin, I've tried and dropped both "Heirs" and "Descendants of the Sun" because of incoherent plots and lackluster writing. "Secret Garden" was the only drama written by her that I ever finished and even then, I had problems with the body-switching plot. But, there was enough story and chemistry btw the leads to keep me going.

Unfortunately, I don't find the leads in Goblin to have much chemistry and after episode 2, I already feel like the plot's going nowhere. I can't watch dramas with thin plots and lack of an overall direction, so there's no reason for me to continue.

I was really looking forward to "What's Wrong With Secretary Lim" because I love the male lead, but after hearing about the weak plot, I ended up avoiding it. Dramas like that one as well as "Strong Woman...", "Descendants of the Sun," and "Weightlifting Fairy" are just not my cup of tea. Basically almost any drama where I can't see the overall direction, the plot goes all over the place or there's not much happening (no drama at all) are the ones I avoid nowadays.

That was my problem with this drama: Lack of an overarching plot. There wasn't much of an overall direction and instead, concentrates on the day to day life of the athletes/teachers in school. Even though the leads had good chemistry, their relationship lacked good angst and wasn't connected or intertwined into a major narrative that drives the drama forward. It's just them being friends, later lovers and supporting each other -not enough to sustain a 16 episode series.

For me, I need my dramas to have higher stakes and to give me an overall picture. Rarely can I watch dramas with plots that I feel don't go anywhere. I dropped "Strong Woman Do Bong Soon" for a similar reason, though that drama, story-wise, is much worse than this one and couldn't decide which genre it wanted to be.

But I do see the appeal for this drama and understand people's love for it: The characters are very endearing and the OTP's relationship is a dream come true: Very sweet friends to lovers story.

Just found the first two episodes on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hmxf2PxMAJE

I don't think this has English subs. I watched this years ago with Chinese subs.

OMG, I just finished this and am absolutely heartbroken!!! The three leads were riveting to watch. I have to admit, although I love the male lead and only want him with our wonderful female lead, the secondary male's backstory and motivations were so compelling that my heart was absolutely shattered in the end. He really took obsession to the next level and I can't say he loved the heroine any less than the hero -she really was his entire world! He could give up anything and anyone in order to be with her. Even the OW said it, "I knew an old friend who could turn against the whole world in order to possess the one thing he wants..."

Boy, he really will go down as one of the most obsessive fictional characters I've ever seen and now I'm off to read the novel...many readers were equally shattered by him. My heart is bleeding right now...

Thanks for your response! I really like crazy in love male leads who are strong enough to protect the female lead. But I heard this male lead is pretty much always in the dark and constantly being yanked around, so I may skip this even though I'm really in the mood for a slow burn romance with a crazy in love male lead :)