We Watch Challenge 2024

1st Challenge|| 2nd Challenge|| 3rd Challenge:

Hi Neriya

Here are few recommendations for you. Let me know if you prefer something else :))

1. It's Okay to Not Be Okay Or
2. Falling Into Your Smile Or
3. Hidden Love

Accepted Recommendation From maia_1618 - Marry My Husband 

Status- Completed 

Rating- 8/10

Review - Overall an enjoyable one time watch. The drama had a very strong start. The premise was so strong that I was sure it would be one of 10's but the writing of later episodes kinda ruined it for me. In the last few episodes it fell short and felt a bit rushed! The revenge plot felt too stretched at times.

The acting of FL was convincing and good ! The pain ! The betrayal! One could feel it but was a little disappointed with the chemistry between her and ML initially, though it was picked up in later episodes. Surprisingly the main antagonists stole the show for me with their acting skills. 

The ending for me was satisfactory but a lot could have been done with that story and the talented cast.

16th Challenge | 17th Challenge: 

Hello maia_1618 ,

Welcome to the challenge. Hope you enjoy it as several of us do. Looking through your Completed list and your PTW. I recommend the following:

1.  Be My Favorite- Thai Drama; BL. Very cute and one of my favorites.

2.  Sweet Home - K drama; It has Song Kang <3 . Song Kang has to survive in this apartment complex that he just moved into , which seem to have "monsters".

3. 3 Papas - J drama. This one was recommended to me recently from this challenge and I LOVED IT. its about three friends, who end up raising a child together.

*I know this is not Song Kang but I love him just as much

Open for recs. Please something short and light. Have a stressful time at work and want to unwind.

Hi JulyMoon  

I accept your recommendation to watch Casa Amor: Exclusive for Ladies. I read the synopsis and it seems like my kind of watch. 

FYI. Your link to your MDL Watch Challenge is not working. (I was trying to stalk so I can see what shows I can add to mine cause I am struggling LOL)

Status: Completed

Started: 03.21.24
Finished: 03.21.24

Rate: 8

I enjoyed it a lot and it was a great movie. Loved how it started with so much stigma and then it unwraps itself as we get to know more of the characters. the FL did get me annoyed at times but I feel like her and her husband are a great fit for each other.

15th Challenge complete!

Hi, again, JulyMoon!

I admit I am not the best guide for Chinese titles, but on the plus side, nothing I have watched is a 50 episode sort of title? I am assuming that dramas under 12 hours qualify as short. :)

Three Chinese recs coming at you:

Reset is a time loop drama, so there are repeated scenes that change ever so slightly or change in massive ways as the young protagonists try to save everyone on a bus that is set to explode. 15eps x 45mins

Better Days is a movie that on its face is nothing new-victim of school bullying rescued by a rough around the edges king of guy, etc., but it did everything right in crafting it, and the acting is quite impressI’ve and easy to get immersed into. 138 mins

A Murderous Affair in Horizon Tower is a murder mystery with actually competent detectives though the charm of it is in how it peels off the layers of characters intricately. There is an actress that is not so beloved playing the adult Mei Bao the now-deceased resident of this wealthy high rise, so if she is someone you have a strong dislike for, it might not be the best choice. (I’d never seen her in anything and found her adequate for the role since it is not a very challenging role to depict; she is certainly quite pretty and her big eyes make empathizing with her pretty easy.) 16eps x 40mins

Open for recs up to 30 hours long-be it a thriller or quirky oddball drama, if it is good, throw it at me! Only hard requirements=no dubbing! Please ignore my PTW I can’t bring myself to clean up (bc I would have to stop watching a drama to do that); my completed list/ratings will guide you best! I am trying to watch more outside of South Korea, for whatever that is worth!

I accept dearuto’s challenge for Love Endures! I have seen posts with photos of the leads but have actually never seen any of the top 6 in anything, so this will be wholly new territory for me cast-wise! Thanks for a rec I’ve never heard of and only vaguely know the names of the leads, not anything about em (but wow, she has gotten loads of digital flowers gifted to her on here lol!!) ?

Rating/thoughts: Okay, finally got it all watched 3 weeks later! I gave it an 8.5, the main detraction being that there was a slow lagging (for me) period that was hard to stay interested during even before it even got to the halfway point. It made me want it to pick up the pace or do more of “something” despite being a slice of life… but the last 12 episodes in particular (the healing arc) were perfection and made it worth what kind of felt, sorry for the play on the title, like an endurance test sometimes. it definitely was not something I could enjoy as a binge quickly kind of show-I had to watch a couple of episodes then go run to something plot centered for a while, especially early in the viewing before they got more glued to my brain as people I wanted to keep watching. I like the way they used flashbacks at appropriate times though sometimes having them actually reminisce about the younger scenes before showing them felt a little weird admittedly. At least there wasn’t too much explanation in the future tense intro to their youth!

The cast did a GREAT job with their very different characters and interactions-that is the strength and kind of everrrything to this drama, so it had to be strong. The romance is revealed bit by bit in a beautiful way (even though that game is a little too, well, unrealistic even if they had lots of home videos to draw from lol. I would be kind of scared if AI could produce that level of interactive experience with real people in my life based on so little data lol-deep fakes already unnerve me). The OST, while I could’ve used a little more variety, almost makes it feel like the show was written (as some others are like First Love Hatsukoi-I think that is one of em at least) based on the songs. The lyrics were on the nose, that is for sure, and her cameo is really sweet. It was crafted meticulously, sometimes in a way that felt a little tiring or tired but still made sense (some spontaneity in the format could’ve helped me feel like it was dragging less before we got to the present day timeline). I still did really enjoy it overall, albeit at my snail’s pace til I flew through the last 12 in 3 days despite being busier than usual all of them. The show lost its concealing shell and in turn I was the one who, by comparison to the 18 days prior, flew through the last stretch. :)

Thanks for the rec! 

16th Challenge | 17th Challenge | 18th Challenge:

Hello dearuto , 

Unfortunately, I do not watch a lot of C Dramas, but I have seen many more K dramas and J dramas, so I am recommending three so you can see which one piques your interest. I believe one of these was not on your PTW but I decided to recommend in case it may interest you. Now that I think about it .... none of these were on your PTW  but have fun. Always fun to pick something new

1. Kieta Hatsukoi - Japan; BL;
2. Weak Hero Class 1 (2022) - K drama;
3. Hi Bye, Mama!  - K drama

OOH wait, I just finished a c-drama in case you are very against the others.
 
4. My Decoyed Bride - C Drama ; it's a short series. 10-12 min episodes. 

Open to new recommendations but please nothing dark or longer than 16 hours UNLESS its a MUST SEE kind of series then I will try it.
 
Sweetsis_warrior  I accept your recommendation for Racket Boys. 

Status: Completed
Started: 03.23.24
Finished: 03.26.24


Rate: 9
I FUCKING LOVED IT. This coming-of-age drama hit me in all the right places. I loved the friendships and the development of each character including the adults. Only reason it was not a full 10 is because I wanted to see the village welcome the new city people in their town and I wanted to see more of In-Sol playing and not just in the last 2 minutes. 

1st Challenge  ||2nd Challenge|| 3rd Challenge✅ :D

Recommendation For  Sweetsis_warrior        -I like the crime genre too  so you can pick between Through the Darkness, A Shop for Killers or The King of Pigs.

Since you don't have access to those i will pick from netflix.

 You can pick one from Hospital Playlist, Daily Dose of Sunshine, Money Heist: Korea or Extracurricular

>>Badge----Image

Recommendation From JulyMoon        -I accept Memories of Murder.

Status- Completed (2hrs 12min)

Rating-8/10

Thoughts-I recognized the case this was based on . I recently watched signal. I can see why it is so highly regarded. The fact that it is based on a true story is so disheartening. It is a good movie for the time it was made.

1st Challenge

Hello JulyMoon! I don't watch c-dramas that much so I checked your MDL challenge list, and there are some series I would like to recommend to you, so you can choose any of these three. 

The Sign - this is an action and investigation series (the characters are cops/detectives), ++ there's also some supernatural parts. This has 12 ep with around 50min each. 

The Gifted - it's about students with gifted potentials (power) This has 13 ep with 55min each. 

It's Okay, That's Love - I watched this a long time ago, but from what I remember, it's a drama and psychological genre (some characters are in medical field). Compared to the other 2, this has 16 episodes with 60min each.

Open for recommendations! My PTW list is long so you can just recommend me anything but I'm slow with watching longer series, so if possible, please recommend a short-length one. Thank you!

I accept Jojo77's recommendation to watch Alchemy of Souls. Though this has a lot of episodes, it looks promising and worth watching. Thanks for your recommendation!

Status: Completed  | 10/10

It's a good series. I kind of regretted dropping this back then. The plot, cast, and portrayal of the characters—everything is just so good. Every episode was worth watching, and I wasn't really bored of it, even though there are 20 episodes. I'm going to start watching the second season because I'm curious about what happened to Naksu. Thank you Jojo77 for recommending this series!! <3

Sixth Challenge completed here

I recommend Jojo77  to watch either: 

•  You Are My Hero:
  • A simple love story between a SWAT officer and Doctor. I love how natural their chemistry was which also explains why so many of their scenes were adlibs. and also. Xiao Bai here >>
• Love Me, Love My Voice 
  • Also a simple drama-free love story between a big-shot voice actor/doctor and cover singer. I loved the pacing of the drama, and how wholesome all the characters were. This drama is also based on a novel written by MBFB, who also wrote Go Go Squid/AASOL/One and Only etc
• Our Secret 
  • A school drama that I enjoyed a lot and I noticed it was also on your PTW! Zhou Siyue >>>>

Hoping for a c-drama rec! but k-drama is also fine :) 

I accept Jenn's recommendation to watch Twinkling Watermelon!

Status: Completed, 9.5/10 

I absolutely get why this drama was loved so much when it was airing... I loved the characters, the actors had great chemistry with each other and my heart strings were tugged so much as I was watching the show. I laughed and cried together with the characters and this drama has def made it to my Favorite list! I also appreciate the normalization of sign language in the drama :) 

I

Hi jenn! You're a much more experienced drama watcher than me, and the ones where I watched and you didn't, it had darker themes haha. Regardless, I hope one of these is to your liking:

1. Gaus Electronics - charming office romcom! in my opinion, the best kwak dong yeon acting performances are when he plays the loser, pathetic type lol (12ep x 50m)

2. The Heavenly Idol - this one garnered a lot of negative reviews, and i don't quite understand why. the romance is lowkey and on the slower side, which i liked. the chemistry between the leads were there as well. if you go in knowing that it's on the cheesy and cornier side, i feel like you'd enjoy it more :D (12ep x 70m)

3. Soundtrack #1 - there's not much to say about this one, other than the fact that it shows an authentic portrayal of what it's like to fall in love with your best friend. cute and short, with good acting! (4ep x 45m)

No historical dramas please! I'd prefer if it's either Korean or Japanese as well.

I accept Sweetsis's recommendation of All of Us Are Dead. I've seen my dad watch it back when it aired. He seemed to have really liked it, and that fact stuck with me since he's not the biggest fan of k-dramas!

Status: Completed
Rating: 9.0

Thoughts: OMG this was so good! The actions and personalities of the characters made sense even though some of them annoyed me. The actors -- from the main to the extras -- all acted their hearts out and made me immersed in the story. A lot of people love Soo Hyuk and Nam Ra's chemistry, but I personally preferred Chung San's and On Jo's haha. I can't wait for season 2, thanks for the rec <3