Q Series: Love of Sandstorm (2016)

What I liked about this drama series was that each five of the family members had their own distinct personalities and although they were at different stages in their lives, some of the issues they faced were also shared by another family member. Because of this, characters were able to talk it out and help each other with their respective issues, which was nice to see.

Despite running only seven episodes, I felt that all the family members were given the appropriate amount of focus for their character arcs to be fully realized. Sometimes you might find yourself wishing for one character's scenes/arc to be finished to move on to another one but in this drama I never felt that way. I was equally invested in each of the character's lives and was anxious to see how they would sort out their problems.

However, one of the greatest strengths of this drama is its offbeat sense of humor. This drama deals with common issues such as finding purpose in one's life, infidelity, first loves/making a connection with another person and injects its own brand of offbeat humor to it that made it all very refreshing.

Also, any drama that features characters bonding over their shared love for great Japanese directors such as Kurosawa, Ozu, Mizoguchi and Oshima is a win in my book.

The cast features both seasoned actors and fresh faced actors with no prior acting experience but they were all uniformly excellent. Special shout-out to Sakuraba Nanami and her Mandarin skills and to Esther Yeh. In the latter's case, her character could be seen as annoying in less capable hands but she was a scene stealer for me and couldn't help but laugh at her interactions with Chris Wu and the rest of the family members.

I have to thank this drama for introducing me to One Ok Rock and really like how "Wherever You Are" was used throughout the drama.

At only seven episodes, you don't have to invest a lot of time with this one but if you're able to get on this drama's wavelength and enjoy a little wacky humor with your family dramas then I believe you will be rewarded with a gem of a drama.

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