rje1

Set in steamy Chengdu, three wayward youths (two guys and a girl) board with a woman Beijing opera singer, mourning her son who died in a road accident. There is no support from parents (alcoholic, remarrying, etc) nor the state (symbolised by a rural town ruined by earthquakes), but after initial friction they start to care for each other. In a strangely traditional resolution, they find freedom in the scenery of the remote mountain valleys of Sichuan seen by riding goods trains, and helping repair a wrecked Buddha temple. The woman finds release, and the young couple find real love.

Yet another Japanese sentimental drama made to a familiar pattern, in which each episode culminates in an emotional finale in which people are shouting and crying and mouthing platitudes (remember, a mark of good screenwriting is show, not tell), while the background music swells, just in case we haven't yet got swept up in what we're supposed to feel.

It seems Koreans never tire of the childhood-friends-become-lovers trope, or maybe in fact they do, because their scriptwriters can't think of any other way of adding depth to a romance.
It's the steadfast support of the five friends for each other through all their quirks and hardships, and their lively and unique personalities that make this worth watching, and it's the plot progression which relies on them not communicating with each other about vitally important matters, or even realising things themselves, which makes this drama frustrating and at times unbelievable. Does it actually happen in real life that someone is in love with someone else while totally denying it to themselves, and repeatedly badly treating the object of their love?
The remake has a second season which takes things further, and since I had already watched that, watching this original left me feeling dissatisfied. Best to watch this series first.

Clearly the friendship of the crown prince and the other female historian couldn't go anywhere (there's no way she'd accept becoming a concubine) but it would have been nice to have some sort of conclusion/parting/agreement between them.

I really enjoyed your lengthy comments, as I share your views, and also find myself enjoying this drama and am racing through the last episodes.
It's not that hard for a writer to spot cliches and think of a different route for a story, but alas it's so rare. My favorite Korean dramas are not sageuks, which are prone to cliche, and prone to endless court intrigue. My first ever Korean drama was Jang Ok Jung, which was some 50 episodes of such, which strangely did not put me off Korean dramas for ever. The characters are either goody or baddy, nothing complex or in-between.
I wonder if a part reason for the exaggerated sexism represented by the various characters is because Korea is still struggling with feminist values (along with the rest of the world in varying degrees, let's face it). Replacing Neo-Confucianism with Roman Catholicism hasn't made any real difference, as you'd expect.

There's a 2022 special that just came out.

Thanks for your quick reply. As I see it, only the first 4 are free, and I don't see a CC. At the moment I'm using a VPN to the USA. Can I ask what country you are accessing it from? And are you a member on that site?

I just had a look - can't figure out how to switch to English subtitles.
Do you have premium? Would you be able to download all the subtitles and put them on subscene?

"Rookie" is American slang and therefore sounds anachronistic to me, while our heroine and her colleagues are not historians (students and interpreters of history), but rather recorders/chroniclers.
Although this is set in early 19th C royal Jeoson, at its heart is a timeless issue relevant to our modern troubled times: one of the core principles of democracy is that governments must be accountable. In the drama, we see that when the king knows his actions are observed and recorded, then he behaves differently, even if those records remain secret except to the future.
And in an Asian kind of way, it's a vindication of the rights and powers of women.
This begins almost frivolously; when occasionally the mood is dramatic or romantic, it often switches back into comedy to conclude the scene. Much of the plot is predictable, and the pleasure is in how the story is told and acted, rather than truly surprising us. Several of the minor actors play exaggerated roles that are more like pantomime characters than realistic humans. Some of the palace scenes that particularly in the remote residence of the prince, are georgeous gardens. I haven't had the opportunity to visit the royal residence in the east of Seoul, but I'm wondering if it was filmed there?
Then it gets increasingly dramatic and serious, and builds to a fairly satisfying conclusion.

But it was cute.

Fair comment. Maybe I should give it another try and see it through to the end.

In this paean to Taiwanese independence (the only one I've seen), the lead singer of a small-town death-metal band goes to the big city to try to talk their favorite big-time Taiwanese death-metal band to play in their town to support their protest against commercial takeover of Taiwan by mainland big-spenders. But he finds that just as so many Taiwanese are tempted by mainland money to sell-out their freedom, the band have sold-out their political stance for the sake of keeping sponsors. I got a bit confused what happened in the end, especially as the singer is prone to Walter Mitty-type fantasy scenes with animated overlays, but it looks like he got inspired to take his own stance and lead a dramatic martial-arts inspired protest, with death-metal soundtrack, against the turncoat visiting Taiwanese government.

Kinda, I guessed so. I've tried to make makgeolli a couple of times, and it might be an extra reason why I'd give this drama a try.

Do you see much about the production of alcohol in this drama?

I hope you don't mind my chuckle, but your accidental pun is lovely. I think the title is "embracing". But it's nice to think of the sun being embarassed by the moon. I haven't seen it, but according to several postings on the drama's page here, the ending is happy.

I'd better get my brain checked.

I've heard so much about Autumn Concerto, the various national remakes and the anime, and I have been to the island in Chuncheon where I believe the Korean one takes place.

Enjoyable slice-of-life story about a cheese farmer, his family and neighbours, set on the farms of Hokkaido during the sunny season (except for the midwinter freezing prologue). The most drama that occurs is the fight between loyal neighbours as our hero struggles with his dependence on his cheese-making mentor. A chef joins the community, leading to a celebration of local produce and its use in restaurant cooking.
If you like this sort of thing, I highly recommend the pair of Japanese movies Little Forest, maybe the most calm-inducing movies I know.

Have you re-watched these recently? Often our tastes mature, and what we enjoyed years ago, has inexplicably lost its charm when we watch again.
I haven't seen any of these - probably started watching Asian dramas around 2015. Thanks for your article.

Neither the characters nor the plot grabbed my interest and I gave up after an hour.