This article blew my mind!! Like not just as an article about dramas but more in general as a great essay about friendship. Plus, it definitely added a lot of titles to my PTW list :D Now I'm trying to figure out where my friend groups would fit in all those categories!!
I also participated in the watch challenge for the first time last year. I decided to start with the easy setting because I started quite late in the year and also knew that I don't have that much free time/ am not an intense watcher. Based on how many titles I watched last year, I decided to stick with the same level this time around. I mainly use the challenge as a way to decide which title of my ptw next. So I basically went through all the blocks and deleted the ones that had themes I did not like and then checked my ptw to see which blocks I should start. I guess that is similar to what you meant with planning. I feel like if you don't regularly watch 100+ titles a year, it's better to not take the challenge too serious. After all watching dramas should be something we do for fun, not because we feel like we have to. That said, I really enjoyed your article!
My question is how do you know a drama is going to have an intense love triangle ahead of time? If I could know…
Basically what BlackBallon said in her comment. There is also a love triangle tag to look out for, or if the mention both ML and SML in the short summary
I think I naturally shy away from dramas with to intense love triangles, I'd rather have a secondary couple. but I definitely get MLL VERY easily. I guess it's mostly that I root for everyone the FL crushes on hahah I definitely get SLH towards the end of dramas. Especially when the SML is not giving up even when the FL has already made it clear she is not into him
Ngl it's rare that I just can't stop myself from continuing to watch a show like this. I'm a bit eh about the love triangle with Li JianJian, Ling Xiao, and He Ziqiu. Especially because it feels the later really one only likes her in a romantic sense because everyone else tells him that he should. Also it's a bit weird that both basically want to be with her to be on the same family register. At least LX seems to be interested in her as well and not just the family name. I hope that HZ goes back to only see her as a sister soon. Nevertheless, the show has so many good parts that I'm able to tolerate the weird love triangle (as long as it is over soon... Otherwise I will start skipping things...)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4D0KlUVq4IzsRp-uvBUV99PAKyaQJ5df
Plus, it definitely added a lot of titles to my PTW list :D Now I'm trying to figure out where my friend groups would fit in all those categories!!
I mainly use the challenge as a way to decide which title of my ptw next. So I basically went through all the blocks and deleted the ones that had themes I did not like and then checked my ptw to see which blocks I should start. I guess that is similar to what you meant with planning. I feel like if you don't regularly watch 100+ titles a year, it's better to not take the challenge too serious. After all watching dramas should be something we do for fun, not because we feel like we have to.
That said, I really enjoyed your article!
I'm a bit eh about the love triangle with Li JianJian, Ling Xiao, and He Ziqiu. Especially because it feels the later really one only likes her in a romantic sense because everyone else tells him that he should. Also it's a bit weird that both basically want to be with her to be on the same family register. At least LX seems to be interested in her as well and not just the family name. I hope that HZ goes back to only see her as a sister soon.
Nevertheless, the show has so many good parts that I'm able to tolerate the weird love triangle (as long as it is over soon... Otherwise I will start skipping things...)