by Ceki, January 5, 2018
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Hi, guys! With the winter season in full swing (at least for most countries) let's take a look at the most anticipated Asian dramas. I've compiled a list of 30+ recently released and upcoming series that will make cold winter days more interesting and warmer :) Happy watching!

NOTE: This article does not guarantee accuracy since information regarding these dramas can change in the future. The synopsis has been taken from MDL respectively.

⛄ DECEMBER 2017 ⛄


(Tsubasa Honda, Otani Ryohei)

(Lee Seung Gi, Oh Yeon Seo)

(Tori Matsuzaka, Erika Sawajiri)

Chase - Mikami, a journalist, and Mai, a rookie assistant director of a  satellite broadcasting station, close in on the truth of the unsolved serial murders of five little girls which took place 27 years ago. (detective. investigation, creepy murder) *cancelled

A Korean Odyssey - Adapted from the classic Chinese novel “Journey to the West,”but reinterprets the story into the present day and has a romantic-fantasy twist. (fantasy, romance)

Funohan - Usobuki Tadashi is a mysterious man with red eyes. He wears black suits with a wine-red shirt and possesses a special power which will drive people to their death through methods, such as curses and brainwashing.  (mystery, supernatural, thriller)

Happy Ever After - A husband and wife have had a  sweet love, but surprisingly one day they decide to divorce. Can they find love again and get their happy ever after? Doesn't this plot and cover remind you of one particular K-drama? ;) (second chance romance, love-hate relationship)

Faithful to Buddha, Faithful to You is about a 23-year-old historian student Ai Qing who successfully travels through time and meets Kumarajiva, a little monk who is 13  at the time. Their relationship begins as teacher and student, but he develops a crush on her ever since. (historical, time travelling, romance, fantasy)

My Dear Boy follows Luo Xiao Fei who works as a director of television commercials and falls for the much younger An Qing Hui, who just graduated from college. (romance, older woman-younger guy)

⛄ JANUARY 2018 ⛄


Wonderful Life - Wonderful Life tells the story of Xu Tian, who suffers  big blows both in his love and work life. Therupon, he decides to leave  America, where he has been living for ten years, and returns to his home  country. (drama, romance)

Flipped in My Youth - It depicts the life of an ordinary married couple, how they overcome hardships together and both mature over ten years. (romance, drama)

What the Duck - The relationship of several couples who try to search for the meaning of the word ‘love’. (BL, gay, romance, drama)

Life As a Girl - Miki Ogawa yearned to live the life of a lovely girl and moved to the city from the countryside because of this. She holds a job at a fashion mail order company. Miki Ogawa also has a secret. She is transgender. (transgender, drama, life)

Longing Heart - A man named Shin Woo regrets letting his first love go ten years ago because he didn’t have the courage to confess. However, he gets the chance to win her again when he travels back in time, and this time he’s  armed with the knowledge that she liked him back then too. Unfortunately, he has a pretty strong competitor:  himself from ten years ago. (romance, drama)

Todome no Kiss - Dojima Otaro works as a popular host. Because of a past incident, he believes that love makes people unhappy. He now only pursues money and power.
A mysterious woman appears in front of Dojima Otaro. Due to her kiss, Dojima Otaro dies and goes back to the past over and over again. (romance, fantasy)

Haru ga Kita - Kishikawa Naoko works in the undergarment counter at a department store.  She is a 31-year-old single woman, leading a boring life. She lives her father Shuji, mother Sue and younger sister Junko.
One day, Naoko happens to meet Lee Ji Won. He is a cameraman from South  Korea. Lee Ji Won causes Naoko and her family to change slowly. (drama, romance, family)

Peace Hotel - 1935, Peace Hotel: Mysterious guests gamble their lives during ten days.  In 1935, when Manchuria has been occupied, patriot Wang Da Ding  investigates an opium cream that is supposed to enter the market soon,  and checks into the Peace Hotel. In order to avoid being investigated by them, the two strangers Da Ding and Jia Ying pretend to be a married couple.. (historical, romance)

Unnatural - Misumi Mikoto is a pathologist at UDI (Unnatural Death Investigation)  Lab. She can't stand neglecting unnatural deaths and believes there must be a truth behind the deaths. She works on unnatural death cases and tries to reveal the truth behind the deaths. (investigation, medical)

Mother - revolves around a substitute teacher and a young student who bears bruises from abuse at her home. Based on the famous Japanese drama of the same name. (drama, family, abused child, adoption)

Holiday Love - Takamori Azu discovers that her husband whom she trusts more than anyone else, is having an affair. Her peaceful everyday life suddenly transforms into days of endless worry. (drama, romance, cheating)

Radio Romance - a love story between a top star who becomes a DJ and the radio program’s  writer, and it deals with healing people’s wounded hearts through the radio show. (romance, drama)

Misty - Go Hye Ran is a popular anchorwoman for a prime-time news show. She works hard at her job. One day, Go Hye Ran becomes the suspect in a  murder case. Her estranged husband is a prosecutor who decides to help her and defend her. They fall in love again. (drama, second chance romance, law)

Cross - A man becomes a doctor that uses medical practices to kill in order to get revenge on the person who brutally murdered his father. (medical, suspense, crime)

Mob Psycho 100 - Shigeo Kageyama is an average middle school boy, nicknamed Mob (means “background character”) for lacking a sense of presence. Although he looks like an inconspicuous person, he is, in fact, a powerful esper. As he grows older, Mob realizes that his psychic powers are strengthening and becoming more dangerous. (supernatural, action, superpowers)

Family Next Door Looks Blue - Story depicts the conflicts and growth of families who live in co-operative houses. (life, romance, friendship)

BG: Personal Bodyguard - Shimazaki Akira lives with his middle school student son. He used to work as a bodyguard, but, due to an incident, he now works as a security guard at a construction site. Hiding his past as a  bodyguard, Akira Shimazaki begins work as a novice bodyguard. (thriller, action)

Sego-don - follows the life of historical figure Takamori Saigo. He was born the  first son of a lower-class samurai. He was exiled two times and went  through three marriages. Takamori Saigo was one of the central figures  of the Meiji Restoration but later rebelled against the government over  dissatisfaction with Meiji reforms. (historical, life)


You Always Inhabit My Heart - Ogawa Kyoko is a woman in her 20s and she works at an underwear company. Because of her mother, Kyoko has suffered from low self-esteem since she was a child. She is also shaken by two men: Yoshizaki Kojiro and Hoshina Ren. (romance, love triangle)

Final Cut - When Nakamura Keisuke was a high school student, his mother was accused of killing a girl and then his mother committed suicide. 12 years later,  Keisuke tries to find the girl's real killer and also take revenge upon those responsible for his mother's suicide. (investigation, crime, suspense)

Anone- The story begins with a girl who has no family, strayed from the right path and lost her perspective in life, meeting a much older woman. Both of them were deceived, betrayed and have lost faith in other people, but somehow they gravitate towards each other and so the older woman gives shelter to the girl. (life)

Untouchable Lovers - Tianji Tower, the leading organisation of the pugilistic world (jianghu)  is determined to overthrow Liu Ziye, the tyrannical ruler of the Liu  Song dynasty. To achieve their mission, Tianji Tower replaces his sister  Liu Chuyu with their own disciple and Princess-lookalike Zhu Que. (historical, romance)

Love Is In The Air - Two years have passed since white collar worker Jiang Yi Yi and her  first love Chu Tian Qi broke up. Even though Yi Yi pretends to not be  affected anymore, she still can’t forget him. Then she meets the trainee  guardian Fang Mu Ye from the Guardian Tribe, with whom she ends up  living together. (romance, fantasy, supernatural)

Repeat - Shinozaki Ayumi receives a strange call telling her that an earthquake will occur one hour from now. She hangs up the phone thinking it was just a prank call. But one hour later, she feels herself sway a little.  After that, she receives another phone call from the same caller who identifies himself as Kazama. He says that he knows what will happen in the future because he went back to a certain spot from the future and made a fresh start in life. (supernatural, thriller)

⛄ FEBRUARY 2018 ⛄


Soulmates - BL web series about an older student who has to choose between two of his younger admirers - a ghost who might be the right one for him, and the other, a human that he likes. (BL, romance) *cancelled

Laughter in Waikiki - Three very different young men – Dong Goo, the bad luck incarnate who  dreams of becoming a film director, Joon Ki, an eccentric actor who  performs to make a living, and Doo Shik, a freelancer writer who fiddles  around doing nothing most of the time - open a guest house named  “Waikiki” in Itaewon where many foreigners come to stay.  Although they  have no clue how to run it, they’re eager toearn money to pay for the production of their upcoming film.. (romance, comedy)

Memories of Love - tells the story of a young couple who finds their love rekindled after  being separated for ten years. Lu Fei, a seemingly perfect Prince Charming, who  unexpectedly encounters the stubborn and rebellious young lady Xin Chen. (drama, romance)

Bye Bye Blackbird - Kazuhiko Hoshino will soon take a bus ride. Before taking the bus ride, he meets his five girlfriends one by one and says goodbye to them. Kazuhiko dated the five women at the same time. Mayumi is a large woman. She follows him as an observer and makes  Kazuhiko get on the bus. (mystery, gender bender, weird plot)

Children of the Lesser God - Cheon Jae In is a detective and he is extremely smart. He is guided by only facts, logic and numbers. Kim Dan is a detective. She possesses a superhuman ability involving her vision.  They are totally different in personality, but they work together to uncover a conspiracy involving a powerful organization. (investigation, romance, crime)

My Husband Oh Jak Doo - Features a gender role reversal,  capturing the search by a career woman in her mid-thirties for a  house-husband so that she can achieve the desired social position of being a married woman. (drama, romance, contract)


Which dramas are you excited about?
Thanks for reading and happy holidays!

japanese korean winter upcoming dramas taiwan 2018