⭐ Recommendations (Dramas/Movies)
- your mileage may vary
- the notes I made are spoiler free
- please ignore my ratings as they tend to skew lower than your average user
- potential cw/tw: a number of these titles deal with serious or potentially disturbing scenes or themes
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1. Isa Pa with Feelings
Filipino Movie - 2019
- seemed realistic at portraying some of the problems that would arise given their differences
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2. Blade Master
Japanese Drama - 2022, 9 episodes
- superb sword fighting choreography
- cinematography
- CGI
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3. Sankaku Mado no Sotogawa no Yoru
Japanese Movie - 2021
- superb visuals
- I'm easily scared and almost wished it was a little more spooky
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4. The Killer Is Also Romantic
Chinese Drama - 2022, 18 episodes
- great chemistry, numerous tender moments between the leads
- good sword fighting and fight scenes
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5. Ajin: Demi-Human
Japanese Movie - 2017
- everything is on point (action scenes, CGI, acting)
- ⚠️ pretty violent, gory
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6. Vanishing Time: A Boy Who Returned
Korean Movie - 2016
- came across as realistic despite the fantasy element
- great story and relationships
- ⚠️ there are some potentially triggering scenes/moments
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7. The Time Agent
Korean Movie - 2016
- the montages, soundtrack, acting, scriptwriting - everything was so well done
- ⚠️ deals with some sensitive themes
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8. Better Days
Chinese Movie - 2019
- fantastic movie
- you're doing yourself a disservice by not watching it
- ⚠️ there are some potentially triggering scenes/moments
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9. Wuliang
Chinese Movie - 2020
- short and heartfelt
- watch it here on dailymotion | password: wuliang
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10. Kai Duan
Chinese Drama - 2022, 15 episodes
- great acting, story, cinematography
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11. Last Sunrise
Chinese Movie - 2019
- engaging disaster movie that made me oddly emotional at times
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12. Kobold
Korean Drama - 2016, 16 episodes
- fantastic cinematography
- good chemistry between the leads
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13. Handmade Love
Korean Special - 2020, 8 episodes
- it's an ad but a welcomed one, the set design was great
- cinematography was good too
- good OST
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14. The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity
Chinese Movie - 2020
- good chemistry and acting
- phenomenal special effects, some of the best I've seen in the genre
- story was admittedly a little confusing for me to follow at times
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15. Jitenshaya-san no Takahashi-kun
Japanese Drama - 2022, 8 episodes
- ⚠️ some difficult subject matter
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16. Horimiya
Japanese Drama - 2021, 7 episodes
- wholesome high school story about love and friendship, coming out of your shell and accepting who you are
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17. House of Flying Daggers
Chinese Movie - 2004
- I loved the story and cinematography
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18. Zhang Gong Zhu Zhai Shang
Chinese Drama - 2022, 27 episodes
- good chemistry between the leads
- downside is the pacing is a bit rushed
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19. 30Sai made Doteida to Mahotsukai ni Narerurashi
Japanese Drama - 2020, 12 episodes
- cute, wholesome relationship
- made me laugh out loud a couple of times (which is rare for me watching dramas)
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20. MARS
Taiwanese Drama - 2004, 13 episodes
- has a special place in my heart as it was the first Asian drama I ever watched
- ⚠️ difficult subject matter
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21. Itsuka, Nemuri Ni Tsuku Hi
Japanese Drama - 2019, 6 episodes
- life lessons, makes you think and appreciate what you have
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22. Watashitachi wa Douka Shiteiru
Japanese Drama - 2020, 8 episodes
- decent chemistry between the leads
- I suppose you would consider it to be a 'makjang' so it's a little over the top at times
- there are numerous shots of food that may make you hungry
- the repeated flashback scenes were a bit excessive
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23. Splash Splash LOVE
Korean Special - 2015, 2 episodes
- short and sweet
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24. Color Rush
Korean Drama - 2020, 8 episodes
- unique concept
- good acting and chemistry
- personally thought it was decently executed despite the short run time
- ⚠️ there is a potentially triggering scene later on
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25. Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo
Korean Drama - 2016, 20 episodes
- good chemistry
- pretty cinematography
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26. Koi wa Tsuzuku yo Doko Made mo
Japanese Drama - 2020, 10 episodes
- had a lot of my guilty pleasure tropes
- I'm a sucker for tsundere characters
- the female lead can be a bit too ditzy at times for my taste
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27. Blackout
Thai Drama - 2021, 8 episodes
- my first vertical drama
- I love how well it was made, the four point of views match up pretty well
- ⚠️ there are some potentially triggering scenes/moments
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28. Writing Your Fate
Korean Drama - 2021, 10 episodes
- good cinematography, chemistry, acting and OST
- if you enjoyed Goblin you'll probably like this
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29. The Boy Next Door
Korean Drama - 2017, 15 episodes
- made me laugh and cringe a bunch with how over the top it was
- fans of BL content should find it enjoyable
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30. Shanai Marijjihani
Japanese Drama - 2020, 7 episodes
- good chemistry between the leads
- lots of skinship (physical intimacy)
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31. Twenty Years Old
Korean Drama - 2014, 4 episodes
- I thought they had good chemistry
- very cute male lead
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32. My Name
Korean Drama - 2021, 8 episodes
- great fight choreography, OST, acting, cinematography
- ⚠️ it's quite violent
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33. BKPP
Thai Drama - 2020, 5 episodes
- good cinematography
- excellent non-vocal communication / mutual pining
- every detail included (including the dialogue) is well thought out and has a specific purpose
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34. I Told Sunset About You The Documentary
Thai Special - 2020, 8 episodes
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35. Tian Ya Ke
Chinese Drama - 2021, 36 episodes
- great chemistry and bantering between the leads and a side character
- despite the low budget it still managed to deliver a good story and their outfits were nice
censorship was seemingly absent because their romantic relationship is very blatant
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36. Red Devil and Heroine Su
Chinese Movie - 2020
- they packed a lot of story and feelings into a couple of minutes
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37. The First Love Story
Korean Special - 2021, 2 episodes
- cute
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38. The Silent Sea
Korean Drama - 2021, 8 episodes
- it gets a little absurd by the end but I still thought it was an enjoyable scifi thriller
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39. Mute
Korean Drama - 2020, 4 episodes
- I really liked the male lead
- wished it was slightly longer
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40. Legend of Yunze
Chinese Drama - 2021, 12 episodes
- short and cute censored GL drama
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41. Legend of Yunze Special
Chinese Special - 2021, 14 episodes
- sequel (side story)
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42. Tomorrow's Memory
Korean Movie - 2021
- ⚠️ there are some potentially triggering scenes
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43. Shiyakusho
Japanese Drama - 2019, 10 episodes
- ⚠️deals with many heavy themes
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44. The Untamed
Chinese Drama - 2019, 50 episodes
- good chemistry, acting (especially Wang Yibo and his micro expressions which said so much), outfits
- blatant BL despite the censorship
- started off confusing and slow and finally hooked me at episode 13, may take you around the same
- ⚠️ there are some potentially triggering scenes/moments
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45. Silent
Japanese Drama - 2022, 11 episodes
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46. Saebit Boys' High School Council
Korean Drama - 2021, 16 episodes
- love triangle that isn't toxic
- cute and funny moments
- characters dealing with sexuality in a realistic way
- ⚠️ brief homophobia by some students
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47. Hero
Chinese Movie - 2002
- stunning cinematography and visually pleasing fight choreography
- low rating is because plot itself didn't grab me whatsoever for some reason, but don't let that deter you
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48. Move to Heaven
Korean Drama - 2021, 10 episodes
- ⚠️ there are some bodies shown, and quite a few mattresses with bodily fluids post-death
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49. First Love
Korean Movie - 2016
- ⚠️ there are some potentially triggering scenes
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50. The Fox Spirit and the Little Priest
Chinese Movie - 2021
- cute GL short film
- good OST
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51. Komi-san wa, Communication Shougai desu
Japanese Drama - 2021, 8 episodes
- daily struggles with social anxiety disorder and having trouble talking to others
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52. Cat in the Eastern Palace
Chinese Movie - 2020
- censorship was nowhere to be found
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53. Love in Blood
Chinese Movie - 2020
- good color grading, OST
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54. Rinko san wa Shite Mitai
Japanese Drama - 2021, 8 episodes
- there is an unnecessarily long misunderstanding (in my opinion)
- otherwise, I quite enjoyed this
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55. The Courtesan and the Female Scholar
Chinese Movie - 2021
- another short GL film
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56. Seo Bok
Korean Movie - 2021
- what does it mean to be human?
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57. Doctor Brain
Korean Drama - 2021, 6 episodes
- started off strong, kind of felt like it tapered off towards the end but it still kept me on my toes
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58. Semantic Error
Korean Drama - 2022, 8 episodes
- I like that it handled sexuality in a nonchalant way in one of the scenes, like it just so happens that a few of the characters dated around, could be bi/pansexual or what have you and there isn't any fuss or theatrics
- has female side characters that aren't vindictive
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59. Dear My Name
Korean Drama - 2019, 6 episodes
- cute take on the soulmate trope
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60. I'm Her Weapon
Chinese Movie - 2022
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61. Your Ship Is Real
Chinese Special - 2022, 1 episode
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62. The Beauty Inside
Korean Movie - 2015
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63. Who Killed Edward
Hong Kong Movie - 2019
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64. B-Class Cultural Heritage
Japanese Movie - 2014
- cinematography, subtitles and credits were on point
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65. Bichunmoo
Korean Movie - 2000
- like Hero it looked great, but the story didn't do much for me for some reason
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66. In the Absence
Korean Movie - 2018
- short documentary on the 2014 Sewol Ferry Disaster
- I believe everyone should watch it
- ⚠️ it's very emotional and has real footage taken from both inside and outside the ferry as it sank, mentions of suicide
- there isn't anything graphic shown, however, it's harrowing knowing what is happening to the students out of view as it capsizes and sinks
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67. Bulgasal: Immortal Souls
Korean Drama - 2021, 16 episodes
- adding this purely for the cinematography, it was beautifully shot
- every scene that takes place in the past (especially in the premiere and part of the finale) was very well done