Dramas watched in 2023

notes may contain spoilers, completed dramas/movies only

pocketchange jun 16, 2023

15 Titles 0 Loves

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1. Led Astray by Love

Chinese Drama - 2022, 24 episodes

7.0
- Actually started watching this way back but the production's been plagued by censorship blocks and re-edits for said censorship and hiatuses to do those re-edits, etc. So honestly it's kinda hard to review this one because I'm not even sure if the version I watched exists anymore!
  a moment of silence for all the delightful spicy bits that got axed
- Anyways, the leads have a fun dynamic and there's background politics to drive a bit of angst into all the fluff. Ending was super abrupt but still not a bad way to spend an hour
2. Girlfriend Project Day 1

Korean Drama - 2022, 4 episodes

7.0
- Loved the characters, even if I didn't totally love how fast the relationship moved
  like this is half a step away from fake dating. let it simmer babes!!
  I like how the series treats gender/sexuality as nbd though
- Ending was abrupt. Supposedly a second season in the makes though
3. She Makes My Heart Flutter

Korean Drama - 2022, 5 episodes

9.5
- One of my new favorites out of the small but growing collection of sapphic mini-dramas out there. It's one of those shows that just has such a comfortable and fun atmosphere. Fantastic way to spend an hour
  Focuses on the generational friendship between an aunt and a niece, who are both lesbians but have very different levels of openness about their sexuality due to differences in their personalities and social acceptance growing up. There are some romance subplots too though
  Love that this drama acknowledges the value in both the aunt and niece's styles. Sometimes shows get sucked into the belief that the only correct way to live is to be 100% out all the time (never mind that that's not possible or that straight people don't have to do that) but not here!
- The characters are so lived in and memorable for such a short runtime and the acting is fantastic. Kang Seol has a whole friend group (who are also gay) who follow her around and support her as much as they rib her and each other for their poor life choices.
- The ending is a little pair-the-spares, but it's telegraphed throughout and ultimately the way they go about it is very funny and self-aware.
4. Kai Duan

Chinese Drama - 2022, 15 episodes

9.0
- pour me some more time loops please? Mostly an investigative thriller, doesn't get too much into the actual mechanics of the time loop. And obviously there's the bomb, but cw for some knife stabbings and for sexual assault of a minor character
  What's the nature of humanity doing on a bus full of strangers? Spends a fair amount of time exploring the lives of the other passengers as the leads investigate each as suspects, which was a great way of fleshing out the loop scenario and making us care about these people all while keeping the plot moving. And I genuinely came away loving some of those side characters! Cat Apostle, I'm talking about you!
  Loved watching the partnership between the two leads grow into steadfast loyalty and trust as they work through their very human reactions to a very traumatic situation. This show doesn't focus on romance much but it's woven nicely in there. at some point someone calls them a couple and they never refute it and spend the rest of their time calling each other that lol i love them
  Also spends a fair amount of time with the police investigation, which was somewhat necessary for our leads to get more information, but like. ugh. fine i guess
  There's a lot of standard copganda stuff in here (possibly censorship-weighted) but the police also spend more time than not wrongly suspecting the leads and treating them pretty terribly. whoops.
- Sometimes sacrifices details in the name of moving the plot forward (most egregiously the police captain just shrugging off his previously dogged suspicions in the ending) but I prefer that to stalling out
5. Tsukuritai Onna to Tabetai Onna

Japanese Drama - 2022, 10 episodes

9.0
- the sort of drama that makes you want a warm cup of tea no matter the weather. if you like your lesbians calm, quiet, and mature, then this is for you.
- while technically a short drama at 15 min per episode, it still felt the perfect length for the slice-of-life atmosphere and pace
  this show is very low angst and lovely. it doesn't touch on any homophobia outright but it does touch on how being a queer woman interacts with conservative gender roles. There's also some discussion of societal views on women & food (but nothing as far as eating disorders).
- focuses on the growing relationship between the leads, and mostly the narration and growing feelings of Yuki. we don't get to an actual confession but rather it's more about the journey of Yuki's determination and acceptance of her feelings towards Kasuga.
  as a result this season is all pre-romance relationship! I love a slow burn so I adore it~ But anybody less thrilled may be delighted to know we've been taunted with a season 2.
  I hope we get more of Kasuga's side of things moving forward! also this definitely made me want to check out the manga
6. Brush Up Life

Japanese Drama - 2023, 10 episodes

10
- Delightfully funny in a very self-aware way, this show then blindsided me with an amazing tale of friendship and growth. While I'd ultimately call this slice of life, there's lots of comedy and later rising stakes that adds some nice tension. Don't be fooled by the slow start, it's neccessary worldbuilding for later developments
  If you can get through episode 1 you'll be hooked. By episode 7 or 8 you'll be shouting at your screen
  Not to peddle my aro agenda, but it's so lovely to see a friend group of middle-aged single women with little interest in dating. They're just singing and gossiping and hanging out and being friends!
  And the ending! Perfect! Truly the best of besties <3
- An impressive amount of detail in the writing here. Part of Asami's challenge is completing the same helpful deeds each round, all while she's also changing her own life path and uncovering new information- and this drama does not drop any threads while doing it
  The afterlife system here is pretty internally consistent and smartly done too, especially given it's a plot mechanism and not something meant to be explored à la The Good Place.
  Most of the nostalgia music and drama references went over my head, but they're a lot of fun and add a dimension of time to a lot of the friendship moments
- Asami is such a funny and relatable narrator. If See You in my 19th Life said "living multiple lives makes you weirdly competent", Brush Up Life says "Like you even remember high school, idiot. Get studying" lmao
7. Ghost Girl and My Love

Japanese Drama - 2022, 4 episodes

6.5
- Not bad, but just didn't click for me. Something about the pacing of the romance maybe
- ayyy bi/pan rep tho!
- Good ending, nicely wrapped up. More wlw coming back from the dead please
8. Beneficial Fraud

Korean Drama - 2023, 16 episodes

7.5
- Look me in the eyes. This is not a romcom— nonono I can see you looking at the title, no, yes, I know, the posters and the synopsis but no! Read me!! Not a romantic comedy!!!
  This is a more a crime/revenge drama with the occasional comedic moment. It's not dark but it's cable and it's not rom-com light.
- Bit of a mess structurally speaking. The pacing is off, and there are characters and plot devices that feel incredibly disparate or weirdly utilized for most the drama. That being said, the later half kept my interest pretty active and they stuck the landing on the ending.
  The fourth wall breaks were good imo. It's a great way to get inside an otherwise stoic character's head, while explaining whatever con/scheme is happening and keeping things moving
- Great characters and chemistry— I really fell in love with the Jeokmeok kids. More than geniuses and masterminds, they're a group of deeply traumatized kids with jagged edges and baggage for days. Their growth, especially Ro-um's, is rewarding and heartwarming to watch
  Moo-young is very "I could fix her" but Ro-um is "I could make him worse". It's a compelling dynamic, and could be either toxic or balancing. Occasionally it's the former but more often leans towards the latter.
  This develops into a great subtle romance which I very much enjoyed. It's not subtext but it's played so you can read into it as much or as little as you like
  There's a theme of almost radical forgiveness and empathy, which was relatively thoughtfully delivered. They didn't try to force it on every situation either but ymmv
- tldr; ultimately a middling drama but there's good stuff in here and it's worth the watch if it catches your eye
9. See You in My 19th Life

Korean Drama - 2023, 12 episodes

8.0
- Sometimes a drama that could have been great disappoints you more than a drama that was only ever going to be average.
- Loses itself trying to do too much. Needed more episodes— not in an "i want more!" way but in a "this moved far too fast on several levels and became sloppy" way. The romance especially needed more room to breathe.
  I never totally bought Ju-won falling for Seo-ha. Partly because it over-relies on coding their childhood friendship and trauma-bonding as romantic, and partly because Seo-ha is... kind of just some rich kid. The second leads have a lot more chemistry but pretty much nothing to work with so they just waffle a bunch and then get together last minute anyways.
  The first life, once revealed in full, was great and had a lot of emotions to chew on. But we don't get the story in full until last second, and they just let it go, easy breezy. Sigh.
  The supernatural curse/illness thing is so stupid and arbitrary. Why bother.
  The ending's fine but not satisfying. If we were more focused on Ji-eum as a distinct character and her trauma (rather than Seo-ha's), then I could be convinced the laser-targeted amnesia was healing. Instead it's forced normality that doesn't land because she's essentially had most of her personality and life lobotomized AND everybody else knows anyways
- However many loose plot threads, this drama is absolutely great at tugging your emotions and I did enjoy it
  Shin Hye-sun's acting really pulls so much weight here. She does that otherworldy confidence in turn with vulnerability so well. And the identity shenanigans are so good!
  The family relationships were great! I just wish they'd been given more time and weight
  Did I mention this is a very pretty drama? It's a very pretty drama
- It did get me to check out the webcomic, which in a way, is a success
10. The Devil

Korean Drama - 2023, 12 episodes

8.0
- a fun spooky (but not scary) watch. Kim Tae-ri's acting really carries this show
  the plot is a little stop and go, sometimes deviating to a random case and sometimes launching into looking for the next plot object. It's all mostly serviceable but it weirdly lacks a central momentum and ultimately takes too long for the final team-up to occur.
  there's a random blindness plot thread that could have been handled better initially, but it's given a more thoughtful treatment in the ending and not magically resolved.
  while a couple of villainous characters were a little over-the-top, our main ghost antagonist is really great throughout, and it was exciting to learn more and more about her
  there's some foiling between San-young and the ghost, and it makes San-young's character growth in the final episodes very satisfying
- Hooray, the mom and the best friend survive!
11. Namnam

Korean Drama - 2023, 12 episodes

5.0
- On the one hand, this is a very progressive drama that tackles things like chosen vs blood family in a very Confucian society, female sexuality, teen pregnancy, etc. On the other hand, we're stuck with characters that do not grow or change for 12 episodes. Or rather, the only growth was in my levels of annoyance (ba-dum tsiss thank you i was here all night. 12 hours!)
  made even more infuriating by a hint of growth right at the end, that's then immediately thrown away
  also just some weird loose relationship threads that I wish I could treat as thoughtfully open-ended but just feel unfinished to me
- This is more of a personal issue but as much as I wanted to like Eun-mi, I found her behavior to be emotionally manipulative and bordering on abusive. The show seemed to be aware that her behavior isn't okay but again, never went anywhere or did anything with it. Sort of "that's how it is amirite" vibes. Sigh.
- this show is so frustrating guys idek
  also there's so much copganda. i'm so tired of cops.
12. My Heart Beats

Korean Drama - 2023, 16 episodes

6.0
- This show feels very 2014, both good and bad but ultimately just kind of stale.
  It doesn't help that I, personally, didn't much feel the chemistry for our leads, and the characters overall are just uninteresting
  There is a decent amount of campy fun here though
- While we start out with hints and promises of subverting some tropes (mainly the reincarnated lovers), by the end they remain doggedly unsubverted. And then combined with some tropes that I thought we had left for dead (evil second female lead I'm looking at you)...sigh.
- Ambiguously tragic ending, which pisses me off more on principle than anything. This show has been heavy on the romcom and had no problem with camp and deus ex machina magic... right up until the ending. What the heck showrunners?
13. One Piece

Japanese Drama - 2023, 8 episodes

8.5
- wait what this is on mdl
  like sure but it just also feels just hollywood enough to be wrong lmao
- it's a good show! i'm a lapsed one piece fan, but it feels like it threads that needle of adapting to a new medium while still keeping the campy bizarre fun of the one piece world and its characters intact
  Casting and acting's all amazing. Obviously, character aspects were adapted or toned down to fit live action but they really owned it all and brought the characters to life. I love this crew with its bitchy friendships and overenthusiastic declarations and dreams and emotions and shit
- the cgi's pretty well done considering the fever dream that is Oda's world. More importantly, it's used pretty tastefully in tandem with practical effects
  most importantly, they keep a lot of the weird little things like bizarre costumes/hair/themes, den den mushi, etc
- The pacing is a bit off for me, though that may be partially an issue of prior knowledge
  We spend too much time with the baby cop and Garp, even though I did like the early intro into the moral fuckery of the Marines/World Government
  Arlong's arc is made worse in live action when it's slavery-coded violence by a black man (in prosthetics) against a white woman. All while Arlong's talking about the systemic racism his people face. I can't remember if it was this awful in the manga but. Weird and bad.
- If Robin ever shows up, I'm going to be fucking insufferable. Just, absolutely unbearable.
14. Killing Romance

Korean Movie - 2023

7.5
- An absurdist comedy with musical interludes told in a fairy tale narration about a small time actress who gets stuck in an abusive relationship with an evil bugs bunny of a man. She regains hope of escaping when an lifelong fan offers to help her kill him. Nothing goes as planned.
  if this sounds insane, please know this doesn't even cover it. Ostriches become a major plot point.
- Truly a wild ride, but honestly a lot of fun, especially if you like absurd comedy, meta-jokes, and Lee Honey.
  I think a few wordplay jokes didn't make it through translation (I'm pretty sure obsessive fan is supposed to be a pun with 3-time-test-taker)
  Hilariously, my subs kept toning down the English swearing. A man on the screen is saying, literally, in English, "Fuck!" and my subs are trying to gaslight me into thinking he's saying "Damn it!" :(
  The Qualla (...Kuala Lumpur?) stuff feels a little questionable to me, in the same way most imaginary countries end up feeling a tiny bit xenophobic or racist.
  The musical numbers were so good! Some were genuine, others were more Enchanted style why-is-everyone singing, but they all had narrative purpose, and Lee Honey has a great voice
  The character interplay is really cute and fun. Beom-woo (and later the rest of the fan club) inspiring Yeo-rae to stand up to Jon is just really great
  I found it slightly annoying Beom-woo is a such weeny about killing Jon but it's a comedy and ~~an ostrich~~ life finds a way <3
- It's just such a unique and fun production. Give it a try!
15. Ghost

Korean Movie - 2023

7.5
- The central setup of this story lacks any logic, and the rest of the plot follows as such. However, it's got some good stuff (including some powerful homo-eroticism) and while Cha-kyung's first badass girlfriend is killed early on, both she and her second girlfriend survive. Which is all I wanted really.
  There's some really poorly done (probably machine translated) subs running around, which I unfortunately watched with. There's been some way better subs released since.
- Plot aside, it's a really pretty movie with some great shots, and the action's a lot of fun
  Lee Honey and Park So-dam absolutely kill it. Sometimes literally. They're so good. Also did I mention the POWERFUL homo-eroticism?
  I did have to fastforward through some of the torture and hanging stuff. I'm baby
- Basically, it's on the dark side of an action film, but there's a relatively happy ending for some very queer-coded badass action ladies if you can stick it out