My Favorite Dramas

Best show ever maybe??? Definitely the bar for how much new adaptations can grow a story. I'm salty about The Rise of Skywalker... This helped mend my broken Reylo heart TT

F4’s acting, plot, character and relationship development, production design, cinematography, symbology, and overall thematic mythopoetry are all so impressively controlled and wielded that I usually end up crying multiple times every episode. And to my nerdy delight, the creators seem to be striving for optimum emotional resonance by meticulously embedding as much symbolism as possible into every aspect of this masterpiece.  ??

And I literally cannot believe how feminist and overtly anti-patriarchal it is! With only one episode left, I am so freaking excited for this redemption-filled happily ever after that I can’t even be upset it is coming to an end… well ok I’m a bit sad lmao

Most importantly, this beautiful adaption of the Hana Yori Dango shows the power iterative storytelling has to evolve our myths to illustrate the potential growth of our society✨

___________

I came back post-finale to add that F4 ended wonderfully, filling me with joy and hope. I'm never moving on. What a blessing of a show.  A new standard.

Wonderfully meta, very freaking funny, and their chemistry!! I recommend it to newcomers looking to start checking out Asian dramas. My mom quickly lost her apprehension and became so invested that I was blessed with adorable late-night texts updating me on her accelerating progress. Made me giddy. 

Gourmet Xianxia, yin and yang, enemies-to-lovers gloriousness

Time travel is one of the greatest subgenres containing many of my favorite movies, and this is gem plays with the concept so beautifully it jumped to the top of my list--https://boxd.it/26mog 

The Pride and Prejudice vibes omygoddjsfsksjfjs

Feelings!

Broke me open! Both my ND mind & queer heart (┬┬﹏┬┬) 

Rewatches: III

My 2nd drama. Starts SO strong and the convoluted mystery plot may get a bit ehh by the end, but I truly adore this love story and both the leads so much it's a comfort rewatcher for me ♥

Love them.

My first drama >< I was obsessed from the first scene! Sigh... been so long... I want a rewatch! (just did and I forgot how silly it is lmao) Maybe I can talk my mom or a sister into watching it... but they're so busy... and I've gotten to show them so few so far... and there are so many I want to share it's hard to choose what to prioritize >< Wish I'd fallen in love with dramas sooner... They're such an endless source of amazing romance stories, which are my absolute favorite!

Pterodactyl screech!! Gaaa this was adorable

Oh the angst! My first Xianxia✨ I'm obsessed. 

Xu Kai has quickly become one of my new favorites 

I have such a thing for Lee Min-ho & also MERMAIDS!! Loved this one, it had a great start and wonderful cast of characters, but honestly my memory of the ending's a little murky... It's one of my earliest dramas, I need a rewatch:)

Cut me deep! Watched this at the beginning of my journey down the Asian drama/BTS rabbit hole, and this story made me feel seen and comforted during my fangirl rebirth❤

Precious pineapple head! This adaptation hooked me on Hana yori Dango. Thank you to the lovely Reylos I followed down the Star Wars to Asian drama pipeline. 

Romeo and Juliet but they're sword-wielding badasses who lead opposing armies and get a fn happy ending! AS. THEY. SHOULD. And gaaaa how great is Xu Kai?? 

Cinnamon roll sunshine wonderful cutieeee gaaa Mom, I love him! And his beautiful prickly pear tsundere too

Gong Yoo❤️‍

Why is body swap such a tasty trope... perhaps it's inherent queerness? 乁(♥ω♥)ㄏ 

Gong Yoooooooo

Love him. One of my first dramas. 

Relatable 

One of my very first dramas (●'◡'●) Thank you Netflix recommendations!

I seriously love this guy... Had me immediately watching this back-to-back with One Spring Night at the beginning of my fall down the drama rabbit hole

Campy goodness with boyfie Lee Min-ho✨ This was one of my first dramas, and my 2nd HYD adaptation that I instantly sought out after binge-consuming 2018's Meteor Garden lmao gaa I love this story

Fanfic-ish (affectionately) -- what a tropey snack with a sappy HEA. Yum. The 2nd half's a little on the slow, fluffy side, but kept me invested with super likeable main characters, especially Park Min-young, whom I've had a crush on since What's Wrong with Secretary Kim, which was one of my very first dramas. 

This made my agoraphobic ass feel so hopeful TT

My guy again ><

? https://twitter.com/CarleighAnneArt/status/1361887719350222849?s=20&t=DljtwVwUHv09m0PrMT6qDQ 

Another I'm soft for because it was one of the first I saw, was from the 'More Like This' Netflix recommendation section when I first got into dramas. 

One of my first dramas. Came out right around when I started watching them. It petered out a bit but this one really had me hooked.