Dramas 2023
I’m listing the favourite dramas I watched this year. Most, but not all were released in 2023.
China had a lot of great dramas this year ranging from wuxia to urban fantasy.
The Blood of Youth
Great wuxia ensemble cast and a fun story.
A League of Nobleman
Lan Jue and his harem of boyfriends. Supposedly a mystery series.
Detective L
Bai Yu in Republican era suits solving crimes. What’s not to like.
The Starry Love
Warring nations xianxia with mixed identities that was surprisingly lovely.
The Heart of Genius
I hate math, but I still enjoyed this parallel world drama centered on maths.
Justice in the Dark (8 episodes)
I’m still mad about it’s short run. Modu is a great novel and the casting in this drama was perfect.
Mysterious Lotus Casebook
Just great. Li Lianhua’s journey and his friendships with the various people in jianghu were wonderful.
Lost You Forever S1
Yang Zi did an awesome job as the lead and I also liked all of her companions (although I admit having an irrational dislike to Deng Wei).
My Journey to You
Dark, but great series. Quite claustrophobic in tone, but Esther Yu and Zhang Linghe were both great. The poison brother stole the show.
I Am Nobody
Urban fantasy where a young guy discovers he has superpowers and is part of a larger community with it’s own secrets.
A Journey to Love
Lovely, tragic tale of a group of people who go on a quest to recover their useless emperor from the enemy country. Right from the start you know how it’s going to end. But denial is strong.
Btw, can we ban the words ”Love” and ”Journey” in English titles of dramas for a while, please.
Japan:
Maiko-san Chi no Makanai-san
A lovely slice-of-life drama about food, friendship, life as a maiko or as a geisha.
Informa
A reporter gets juicy stories from a mysterious guy with his own agenda. A tour de force role by Kiritani Kenta.
Korea:
The Secret Romantic Guesthouse
A lovely drama about a young woman who gets entangled with a secret prince and his protector.
Tale of the Nine Tailed: 1938
Lee Rang rules this drama with his mermaid! Also, loved the brothers’ reunion and them working together.
Bloodhounds
Contemporary drama about loan collectors who end up going against the big money.
Perfect Marriage Revenge
Totally makjang soap opera about second chances, but I really enjoyed all the drama.
Taiwan:
Oh No! Here Comes Trouble
Fun and quirky drama where a guy can see ghosts. Touching and tragic at times, humorous at other moments.
Kiseki: Dear to Me
A mafia guy falls in love with a young student. Add in amnesia, various conflicts and delicious pastry to fill in the details.
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crazy that i finished 12 dramas in 2023. and only one of them was a traditional 16 ep kdrama.
they were, in order of completion -
through the darkness (kdrama, 12 eps)
blood of youth (cdrama, 40 eps)
lighter and princess (cdrama, 36 eps)
black knight (kdrama, 6 eps)
our beloved summer (kdrama, 16 eps)
race (kdrama, 12 eps)
dearest (jdrama, 10 eps)
a thousand goodnights (twdrama, 20 eps)
my lovely boxer (kdrama, 12 eps)
vigilante (kdrama, 8 eps)
i am nobody/the outcast (cdrama, 27 eps)
a journey to love (cdrama, 40 eps)
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Somebody help me out.
Where are the dramas these days with working class characters that are still working class at the end of the dramas and everyone is kinder at the end because they learned that holding eachother up is life's greatest secret?
We're talking the "just some guy" and "just some girl" archetypes
Kim Min Seok in Hello My Twenties 2 (2017 kdrama)
The sister in Down With Love (2010 twdrama)
The leads from Just Between Lovers (2017 kdrama) ****and grandma!!
Whoa some Hogu's Love type characters please and thank you (2015 kdrama)
Whatever they had going on in JTBC's The One and Only (2021 kdrama)
Joanne Tseng's character from Rainless Love in a Godless Land (2021 twdrama)
Thailand's version of the leads from Let's Fight Ghost (2021)
Puff Guo's character from The Way You Shine (2023 twdrama).
Phojai and Mhok from Last Twilight (2023 Thai drama)
Also the ML from 2020's 8 Days Limited. It was a terrible web drama, but Danny Lee radiated so much "just some guy" energy I can't look away and still rewatch sometimes.
Do you know what I mean? They know exactly how long to wait before they have to pay rent. They know how long a grocery trip will last. Maybe they're a little sweaty in some scenes. They WILL come to your house and help you fix your leaky toilet or take your grandma to her doctor's appointment because you can't afford to miss your shift at the warehouse/convenience store/fish market. They will also punch a child abuser.
Looking for drama recs in these trying times (my slump).
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Dramas watched in 2023
China:
The Blood of Youth
The Embroidered Shoes
Qing Luo
A League of Nobleman
Detective L
The Starry Love
The Heart of Genius
A Familiar Stranger
Desire Catcher
Back from the Brink
Justice in the Dark (8 episodes)
Mysterious Lotus Casebook
Lost You Forever S1
My Journey to You
I Am Nobody
A Journey to Love
Japan:
Maiko-san Chi no Makanai-san
Candy Color Paradox / Ameiro Paradox
Informa
Kabe-Koji-Nekoyashiki-kun Desires to be Recognized / Kabe Sa Doujin Sakka no Neko Yashiki-kun wa Shouninyokkyuu wo Kojiraseteiru
Unnatural
MIU 404
Minato’s Laundromat 2 / Minato Shouji Coin Laundry 2
Yu Yu Hakusho
Korea:
Roommates of Poongduck 304
Our Dating Sim
Unintentional Love Story
The Eighth Sense
The Secret Romantic Guesthouse
My Chilling Roommate
Tale of the Nine Tailed: 1938
Bloodhounds
See You in My 19th Life
The Uncanny Counter 2
Bon Appetit
Perfect Marriage Revenge
Taiwan:
Oh No! Here Comes Trouble
Kiseki: Dear to Me
Thailand:
Between Us
Moonlight Chicken
Midnight Museum
Currently unfinished:
Hwarang k
Something in the Rain k
Love in the Moonlight / Moonlight Drawn by Clouds k
Psych-Hunter c
The Blessed Girl / Ling Long c
Bloody Romance c
Find Yourself c
Run On k
Rattan c
Begin Again c
And the Winner Is Love c
Poisoned Love c
Lover or Stranger c
Unforgettable Love c
My Roommate Is a Detective c
A Female Student Arrives at the Imperial College c
Beloved Enemy c
Fall in Love c
Truth c
F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers th
Reset c
Pachinko k
From Now On, Showtime! k
Bromance tw
The Legendary Life of Queen Lau c
Café Minamdang k
Mr Bad c
Rock it, Mom! c
The Guest k
Possessed k
The Fulltime Wife Escapist j
Pledge of Allegiance c
Queenmaker k
Snow Eagle Lord c
The Longest Promise c
Fireworks of My Heart c
Story of Kunning Palace c
Wonderland of Love c
Love Me, Love My Voice c
Cherry Magic Thailand th
Derailment c
Last Twilight th
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