✓ the first Bad-Ass Woman I saw  in a C-Drama

✓ insane sword skills; 

✓ can hold her own against any man - and does

   Lang Zhan /Hanguan Jun/ Lan Wang Ji                The Untamed     

✓silky-smooth swordsmanship

✓ known for his blade appearing out of nowhere to block attacks on Wei Wuxian; 

✓ his sword does his talking 

Ddang Sae /Venomous Magpie/Lee Bang Ji       Six Flying Dragons 

✓ unmatched technical prowess with a sword 

✓ does not screw around 

✓ so well focused and balanced that he dethrones the greatest swordsman in Goryeo

 Nangon Pu Che   
 Snow Sword Stride 

✓ bad-assery on a level with Lan Zhan

✓ uses two swords because she is twice as cool as everyone else 

✓ called the "White Fox" for a good reason that I'll never find out because my the time Season 2 comes out, I'll be dead

  Himura Kenshin   
 Rurouni Kenshin                                                    

✓ do not let his calm demeanor fool you: he is bad-assery on a High Heaven, Twin Dragon Stance level 

✓ the sharp edge of his sword faces him, because he's tired of killing 

✓ can disarm and knock out 10 thugs with wooden practice  swords

    Tang Lian
    The Blood Of Youth

Du Er (Monk at the Futu Temple)  
Heroes (2024)

✓ stops a sword thrust from a reknown swordsman - using his plams - and then twists the sword to throw his opponent off balance...with one hand

✓ his"Sweeping" move in Ep 17 gives new meaning to the tai chi move "sweeping ten thousand warriors"

✓ will kill your cultivation if you don't stay  where he told you to stay.

Tian An  
The Wild Blade of Strangers 

✓ don't let his occupation fool you: he's smart, capable, and strong

✓ he was just tyring to live a semi-reclusive life when the crap started ;  he just responded, so deal with the wild blade of this stranger

✓ can do more with a Mo sword than most people can to with a regualr sword

✓ do I even have to say it? I mean, look at him!

✓ ignore the reveal about him in Season 2  

   The Longest Day In Chang'an

✓technically not only a swordsman (there is nothing he can't use as a weapon),

✓ his swordsmanship is proven on the battlefield and through the metropolis of Chang'an.

✓ he is the Bruce Willis in Die Hard, of C-Drama

✓ trains when he doesn't need to - he's Moo Freaking Hyul

✓ when he squints his eyes and reaches for his sword hilt, it's a good time to run

✓ it takes more than another swordsman to stop him

✓ backlit image of him on a hill crest with his sword says bad-assery like few other images

✓ starts out clumsy and in no time moves to warrior

✓ takes on anyone who threatens his principle: Lee Bang Won

✓ in his mature level, when he stabs someone, his sword is so fast that blood doesn't stick to it  

✓ member of the elite Embroidered Uniform Guards

✓ has to get bad-ass to clear the false accusations against him

✓ injuries do not and will not stop his blade in both BoB 1 and 2.

Jin Fan
My Journey To You

✓ masterful sword skills: Master. Full.  

✓ calm under pressure, even when that pressure is the adoration from Gong Shi Zang

✓ the youngest person in the Gong clan to achieve the Red Jade distinction

✓ gives it up to be a Green Jade Guardian for Gon Zi Yu, which is indeed bad-ass

Osagami Kakeru  
Fuujinshi

✓ works w/ a secrtive organization to rid Japan of swords made out of negative emotions ("filth") 

✓ is very , very, very hard to kill 

✓ combats all enemies with his hands and a sword scabbard - no, you read it right - scabbard.

So much bad-assery that I can't pick one:

Dramas with a historical angle  tend to be my favorites.  

• This is quite a story of the Ming Dynasty; more like a saga.
• Not an overt love story, but there are several "couples" who are intertwined in the forming and fate of the dynasty
• Costuming is beyond excellent 
• Ending song is beautiful

• Jin Dong plays Min Lou,  a triple spy: try to beat that!   
• Long series, but nearly every minute of it has a tension; sometimes the tension was so thick that I was holding my breath   
• Japanese occupation of Shanghai is portrayed with subtle cruelty
• Note the number of  actors in this series from Nirvana In Fire 

• About the founding of the Joseon Dynasty.
• Moves along at a decent pace, considering the number of episodes. 
• I bought the  OST because I enjoyed it so much -  especially the Lee Bong Geun pieces that use Pansori style singing, but instead of lyrics,  he just uses syllabus and raw emotion.  
• Watch this and then watch King of Tears, Lee Bang Won and draw your own comparisons.  Then read up on the founding of Joseon for the historical record

The Wind Blows from Long Xi

• Set during the Three Kingdoms period of China 
• Definitely NOT a costume drama; it's tense spy drama with dark overtones
• the director's color pallet is subdued, keeping with the roles of the two spies
• Slow burn with a deliberate pacing

• A series about  the struggle to create and implement the Hangul writing system. 
• Released before Six Flying Dragons, so If you've seen SFD, but not this, don't get freaked out by the actor playing Lee Bang Ji.  Also,  you'll notice several characters played by actors who were also in Six Flying Dragons (but they are playing different roles) 
• Cast list is impressive, so are the performances, led by Han Seok Kyu, and Jang Hyuk - who always deliver top notch acting in everything they do.

The Man Standing Next 

• A movie filled with tension about a very tense time in modern Korean history 
• To get a better understanding of what was going on in 1970s Republic of Korea,  watch A Taxi Driver for historical context
• Interestingly, the movie begins where it ends, but that hardly keeps the movie from being a nail-biter
  

The Longest Day In Chang'an (2019)

Anyone who knows me knows that I listen to major sections of this soundtrack often...very often...as in everytime I cook.

And then there are songs from C or K Dramas that just are amazing on their own.

Resurrection Door, from The Mystic Nine  Person by The Bedside from Eternal Love of Dream Moonlight, from The Legend of Qin (aka Qin's Moon)  (Yes, I love Tiger Hu's voice) The Day of Unknown from Three-Body Yong Heng Gu Du from Three-Body One Time Heart from Ming Dynasty (2019) Blue Moon from The Tale of the Nine-Tailed1938 Who Am I? from Bad Guys: City of Evil  Close Your Eyes, from The Uncanny Counter We Won't Be Falling, from Guardian Title Song, from Nirvana In Fire

• I am beyond in love with  Lee Bong-guen's voice and everything  he sings, followed very closely by Oh Hyuk's voice.
•  Tiger Hu's voice and song songwriting.
• Modernization of traditional Mongolian instruments and themes in two these groups:  The Hu Band and Hanggai
• Silica Gel; NELL, WOODZ
• Some Kpop: EXO, CBX, Pentagon, Shinee, Super Junior, Astro