Asian Drama Thread

[Seultoria]

I've been watching Korean and Japanese dramas since 2009, and branched out to Taiwanese and Chinese in 2013.

Here's my MyDramaList account. Haven't updated it in a year.

[Arvis]

Well, @dalucifer0 , I have a long way to go to catch up to you, but in the few shows we've both seen, we pretty much agree on the ratings!

The only one that really stood out to me was your 10/10 for The Princess' Man.  I liked the show, it had a lot of good things going for it, but... ultimately, between it and Deep Rooted Tree, I have no taste for saeguk. :P
It's just lots and lots of killing and reaction shots and people being evil with only the most tenuous of motivations.  And they also drag out much longer than shows set in a contemporary setting (since they're expensive to make).

That being said, Moon Chae Won is probably the best actress I've seen in drama (although Lee Sung Kyung is catching up).

Are you still watching dramas even though you're not updating your list?  Have you seen Healer?

[Seultoria]

I love sageuks. Korean history fascinates me, and I live for all of the fighting and killing haha.

I am getting back into dramas. Just took some time off because I was getting very busy at work. I've only seen a few episodes of Healer and plan to go back to it sometime. Ji Chang Wook is one of my favorite actors.

Right now I'm watching The Best Hit, Suspicious Partner, Fight My Way, and My Wife Will Have An Affair This Week.

[Arvis]

I, too, am watching Suspicious Partner!  Nam Ji Hyun alongside Healer-kun?  Heck yes.  And it's not disappointing.  Ji Hyun blew me away just from a few episodes of Angel Eyes (which, overall, is still the worst drama I've seen) so I'm thrilled to have Shopping King Louie and now this so close together.  She is amazing.

Fight My Way looks awesome (and stars my k-waifu Pyo Ye Jin) but it's not on Dramafever, unfortunately.  And Viki has way too many commercials.  So I'll probably have to sit on that one for a while.

[Seultoria]

I, too, am watching Suspicious Partner!  Nam Ji Hyun alongside Healer-kun?  Heck yes.  And it's not disappointing.  Ji Hyun blew me away just from a few episodes of Angel Eyes (which, overall, is still the worst drama I've seen) so I'm thrilled to have Shopping King Louie and now this so close together.  She is amazing.

Fight My Way looks awesome (and stars my k-waifu Pyo Ye Jin) but it's not on Dramafever, unfortunately.  And Viki has way too many commercials.  So I'll probably have to sit on that one for a while.

I've only seen one ep of Suspicious Partner, so I have quite a bit of catching up to do! I mainly know Nam Ji Hyun from her childhood roles, as this is the first drama I've seen her in years.

Yeah, I really enjoyed the first episode of Fight My Way. Kim Ji Won might become my next Korean waifu. My main one, Han Ye Seul, rarely acts anymore.

Viki Pass is $5/month. Bought a Chromecast last night so I could watch Viki (don't know why they don't have a PS4 app, since I watch Dramafever on there). Yeah, the commercials are annoying, but I pay $5/month for both Dramafever and Viki (and $6.95/month for Crunchyroll though they no longer have a good drama selection), so it's not too bad for me.

[Arvis]

Dude, Suspicious Partner is a lot of fun, so enjoy catching up.  Tonight's episodes will mark the halfway point of the show.

I've only ever seen Han Ye Seul in Birth of a Beauty, which was decent, not great.  But she herself was pretty darn good in it!  Definitely pretty.  She clicked with Joo Sang Wook (one of my faves) pretty well, I thought.  The writing in that one just got weaker as it went.  Like, it forgot that it was supposed to be zany and unrealistic.

So, are you saying that you have commercials on Viki even though you have a Viki pass?

I pay for the $0.90/mo plan on Dramafever and have one 30-second commercial before each episode and that's it.

[Seultoria]

Dude, Suspicious Partner is a lot of fun, so enjoy catching up.  Tonight's episodes will mark the halfway point of the show.

I've only ever seen Han Ye Seul in Birth of a Beauty, which was decent, not great.  But she herself was pretty darn good in it!  Definitely pretty.  She clicked with Joo Sang Wook (one of my faves) pretty well, I thought.  The writing in that one just got weaker as it went.  Like, it forgot that it was supposed to be zany and unrealistic.

So, are you saying that you have commercials on Viki even though you have a Viki pass?

I pay for the $0.90/mo plan on Dramafever and have one 30-second commercial before each episode and that's it.

Zero commercials with Viki Pass, just like Dramafever's Premium.

Yeah, Birth of Beauty was good for the first half but fell apart. If you want a really good drama with Han Ye Seul in it, try Fantasy Couple. It remains my favorite drama to this day!

[Arvis]

Mmm, the actor who played Han Ye Seul's husband in that one committed suicide.  Sad.  He was pretty good in Three Musketeers, too.

So, how much extramarital shenanigans are in Fantasy Couple?  Because that will determine whether or not my wife will watch it, which will determine whether or not I will watch it. :P

[Seultoria]

Mmm, the actor who played Han Ye Seul's husband in that one committed suicide.  Sad.  He was pretty good in Three Musketeers, too.

So, how much extramarital shenanigans are in Fantasy Couple?  Because that will determine whether or not my wife will watch it, which will determine whether or not I will watch it. :P

Well, it's not really extramarital affair. The husband is a gold digger and only married HYS for the money, so they don't even love each other, so it's mainly a romantic comedy between the two leads.

[Seultoria]

@Arvis

Are you watching anything new lately? Lately I've been watching 20th Century Boy and Girl, While You Were Sleeping, Because This Life is our First, and Reunited Worlds. Recently finished The Best Hit earlier in the month.

[Arvis]

Bro, I only just now finished One More Happy Ending, so I'm way behind.  The wife is rewatching Pinocchio right now, which is fine with me because 1) That's one of the best dramas ever, and 2) it gives me more time to game.

Go Back Couple, Revolutionary Love, and one of the ones you mentioned (BTLIOF) are all on my radar, as far as Airing dramas.  But I have no idea if I'll actually dive in soon or not.

I've heard mixed things from The Best Hit, what was your impression?

[Seultoria]

I liked it a lot! Yoon Si Yoon was amazing in the drama. His character showed great growth throughout the drama. One of the main characters (Jihoon) irked me because was too old (23) to be acting all angsty for as long as he did.

[Arvis]

Well, we've started Falling For Innocence, now, after finishing OMHE.  Funny we've got two Jung Kyung Ho joints back to back after we hadn;t ever seen him in anything before.

[Seultoria]

My favorite drama with him in it is Time Between Dog and Wolf.

[Arvis]

@Seultoria

Please tell me you're watching I'm Not A Robot!