We Watch Challenge 2024

complete: I.

II. 

Hi ElBee

I haven't seen much of drama other than korean. But I will recommend you based on dramas I liked.

1. First Love: Hatsukoi- (J drama) my favourite drama. masterpiece. Its beautifully scripted and directed. It has best ost. I hope you choose this drama from these three recs. 

 2. Lost Romance- ( Taiwan) not my favourite drama. But I liked it. Fl entering ceo romance novel. It was refreshing concept. And I liked chemistry so much.

3. Silent- ( jdrama) it's romantic when you express your love with sign language.

I prefer kdrama. But you can recommend me other mdl language drama if its rated above 8.5. mood: rom-com but I like every genre. 

Just make sure whichever drama you choose to recommend its not in my completed list.

I accept awesome recommendation for The First Half of My Life

I accept jenn's recommendation for Light on Me.

Status: completed

Rating: 9/10 7.5/10 updating rating because I noticed here rating drama is serious matter. And I have made new rating system.

-0.5: because it didn't become my favourite

-0.5: I got bored while watching

• First five minutes were relatable. A loner student want to make friends. And he even got successful in end. Which I never did. Then it got boring. But I still stuck till end. 
• I actually liked that romance was slow paced. I liked small interaction between mc. And supporting characters story. It was common teen romance. So drama was average. Mc has many sweet interaction. And last ep kiss ?.
• Overall it was okay. And boys over flowers reference.

13th challenge completed!

Back to me recommending to you, dear jenn!

I’m throwing you into high school with a teacher that I feel almost sure you will appreciate the antics and personality of… while there is naturally built in social commentary what with the angst of teens and their individual struggles to face, it is very warm, tender, and at times jubilant, fabulous, even: Ore no Sukato, Doko Itta? aka My Skirt, Where Did it Go? It feels quite old school, almost like a relic from 1998-2007 school dramas (the main teacher’s outfits feel other-era-ly which definitely makes it one of those “any point in time, but this is absolutely Japan through and through” titles to me). 

I made sure the fan subbed files were still up, and in the process of following the path to the videos (and, you know, rewatching… to check and be sure the quality is okay and subs are synced well, of course?), I found a much easier way to watch than downloading 15 gigs of raw files and subs separately, converting the video files, and hoping they sync! An easy binge, 7.5 hours or so! I hope you enjoy it!

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ZEX679qTUIVLG6TQa4VKTzxKODrENB6l

Open for recs, Japan, Taiwan, or Hong Kong especially welcome!  As always, up for anything (up to 30 hours long) so long as there is a solid storyline and no dubbing. I need mouths to match the audio to enjoy it! Ignore my PTW since it is not at all indicative of my taste. My completed list is infinitely better for figuring out what I like (sort it by rating for ease). Any genre, any country, “normal” or weirdly wonderful, it is all welcome (unless it romanticizes violence which is a big no for me). :)

I accept Sweetsis_warrior’s recommendation for 3 Papas. It sounds adorable! 

Rating: 9! This was so tenderly portrayed and had the perfect balance of humor and emotional scenes that made me tear up more than once. Thanks for the rec! I don’t understand how it has such a mediocre rating! 

Challenge 2

Hello Sweetsis_warrior,

I looked at your profile and we have thriller and zombies in common so I can recommend you these:

A Murderous Affair in Horizon Tower (Thriller, Mystery, Drama) character focused murder mystery

Kingdom (Thriller, Historical, Horror, Political) zombies in joseon era (for this one I have to say that the 2nd season is even better (imo))

Train to Busan (Action, Thriller, Horror) just zombies (this is a movie)

as for my recommendation, my PTW are titles that I'm looking forward to. This is a list with titles I want to get to this year (basically my actual PTW) but it does not have to be from that list.

I accept Jojo77's recommendation to watch One Spring Night. I dropped Run On (even though I liked it but I couldn't get back into it) and I've watched The Day of Becoming You already (and loved it) so One Spring Night is the only survivor. Thank you for your recommendation! I wanted to watch this drama since forever but never came around to do so, so this is the perfect excuse!

Status: Completed (32/32)

Rating: 7

Thoughts: I like quiet dramas but this felt too quiet? Also I can’t get behind the love at first sight thing (it’s a me problem I’m aware). I loved the single dad plot line and the chemistry between the leads honestly saved it for me.

4th challenge complete 

To Jojo77, 

I looked at your favorite dramas and picked a couple rom-coms from South Korea, China and if you feel adventurous a Thai rom-com. 

1. Healer (romance, thriller, action, less comedy)

2. My First First Love

3. The Romance of Tiger and Rose 

4. To the Moon and Back

Open to recommendations. Preferably from my watchlist for the MDL Watch Challenge 2024 or my PTW list. Thank you! :)

I accept SKYLINE's recommendation for Bad Buddy. It's always a joy to get recommendations from you, SKYLINE. ^.^ I'm happy you chose Thai dramas for me, especially Bad Buddy because I needed a gentle push to start watching it. I tried it before but didn't get past episode 1 because my mood wandered off. I'm ready to give it another try because I liked the first episode. 

Status: Complete - I'm a fan of P'Aof's works, but to be honest I had higher expectations for Bad Buddy. I enjoyed the interactions between Pran and Pat and the actors performance.
While watching though I realized I couldn't care less about the side characters. Since the story  focus was on the main leads, the side characters felt flat and were boring. The story arc of Pa and Ink for example didn't have the depth I wished for. Also I dislike the end because I think it simply wouldn't work in real life and lacks a real closure. I'm sorry that my rating couldn't be higher. In the end I'm still glad I finally ended up watching the drama. Thanks SKYLINE. :) 

Rating: 7.5

completed: I, II.

III: Hi skyline

It was hard choosing a drama for you. Its like whichever drama I choosed you have watched it already.

1. Reply 1988

2. Alchemy of souls

3. Someday or one day

I prefer kdrama. Mood rom-com. I rate drama only when I don't agree with mdl rating. Refer PTW or this list. I like mostly any drama. I like every genre.

I accepted jenn's recommendation to watch Not Me.

Status: completed

Rating: 10/10

I surprisingly liked it. It was exciting journey. Thanx for recommending this drama. 

14th challenge completed!

My dear jenn, are you alright with a crime thriller this round? I looked at the list you linked to, and Flower of Evil caught my eye as one I remember really enjoying. It has a lot of tension, naturally, and in part centers around a psych disorder (so it is a bit heavy and might not pair well with stressful days/weeks), though there is an adorable little girl playing the daughter (a young actress I always like watching, my bias pretty strong admittedly). If you are not in the mood for something so intense, I can certainly find another title-I haven’t run out of em yet! (Unrelated to the WWC, I do have a draft in progress to reply to you but was too dead to keep words in order when I came home!)

Scratch crime thrillers for now… let me give a few options.

1) Dive/sink into a sweeping adventure, a Japanese kind of Tolkienesque story with a truly truly badass FL at the center. It IS all one story but was told in 3 parts (the first 4eps have the ML as a child, an intro into the world and his unique gifts, the other two parts showing him as a teen). Lots of folklore in different villages traversed, mythos, stuff to get lost in. Not to my knowledge licensed anymore (might be wrong-it was before) so the graphics compression may not be great but it is a fantastic story that took me 3 years to film, hence the 3 parts: Seirei no Moribito (linked to part 3 but they have to be watched in order or won’t make sense)-I never knew I could be so enthralled seeing spear fighting or would see a female so adept at it. 

2) a “hello my 20’s” (literal title) slice of life coming of age story, mostly comedy, female-centric, from 2016 (I watched it then and don’t pretend to deeply remember all of it beyond the sismance): Age of Youth

3) also slice of life, comedy with sismance, hi to their 30’s instead, some more romance in this and a healing story for one, a shampoo song that had 7-12 versions and kept poking my ribs and making me laugh, a character I related to who was in charge of product placement and had an attitude and reactions I want to return to being 30 and channel (though I’ve never had the boss to be that way around, I’d do it for a day!): Be Melodramatic 

4) Cross dressing historical romantic comedy, part of it serious (there is a story, not just romance+comedy), much of it silly, child actress who belongs on SK’s SNL already with her delivery: The Tale of Nokdu (the 32 eps are half eps-was the era of mid-show commercial breaks during the China ban on kdramas/income loss from it)

Open for recs, especially quirky ones!  As always, up for anything (up to 30 hours long) so long as there is a solid storyline and no dubbing. I need mouths to match the audio to enjoy it! Ignore my messy PTW since it is not at all indicative of my taste. My completed list is infinitely better for figuring out what I like (sort it by rating for ease). Any genre, any country, “normal” or weirdly wonderful, it is all welcome (unless it romanticizes violence which is a big no for me). :)

I accept leafless7’s recommendation for The King of Pigs. I haven’t dived into something dark and gritty in a while and it is finally spring so it won’t make the gloomy winter weather feel any darker! ?

Rating/thoughts: 9-9.5! I have a general beef with crime thriller Kdramas’ female characters, and this one, while not as bad as a lot, left some flavor behind in crafting the female investigator. They didn’t bother developing her (or giving any hint of why she adores and wholly trusts the kid she kept throwing tasks at) enough for my taste, but it is a pretty small gripe. By the end, she finally became more interesting, but it was quite a sea of smelly dudes (from cops and killers to teen boys). They also made the story of the wife’s death quite weak for my taste considering it is the first thing we see from the cop’s POV… “it is a woman issue” seems weirdly applicable to far too many crime dramas lol. I love how they kept adding tiny bits of the backstory as the present day one unraveled. It is one of the best uses of flashbacks I’ve seen, and I’m especially glad they didn’t repeat scenes but expanded on them instead. Can’t say I would rewatch given how rough the violent content is, but it was absolutely excellent! Thanks for pushing me to finally watch it (petty reason, but the poster kept pushing me away?). ❤

Leafless 7 im going to recommend movies instead of dramas to fit the 10 hours 

dream- definitely comedy that had me inspired my the characters 

alone/alive- usually I prefer a range of in depth characters yet was hooked with only 2 characters stuck in their apartment after a zombie zirus 

-kill-bok-soon - a fast paced action with the fl out to be killed 

love-mate- (bl) really sweet moments with character development and changing into a better person 

Open to recommendations but prefer a physiological or thriller (please check my profile for the difference 

I accept tomorrow as for me it had potential but let me now through the characters and stories it was given to me 

5/10

Hi Sweetsis_warrior I have a couple recs for you!

1.  Parasite - I have no clue if you've already watched it and simply have not added it to your list yet, but I feel like this is an essential watch for every drama watcher. It's suspenseful, anxiety-inducing and overall wonderfully produced.

2. Tomorrow - This is a drama that covers multiple issues and topics in society, like bullying, r*pe, suicide, comfort women, eating disorders, and many more. If any of these topics trigger you, then I suggest choosing something else. I'd still highly recommend it though, just be prepared with tissues :)

3. Taxi Driver - Like Tomorrow, Taxi Driver also deals with a lot of topics within society, except that it has more action and fight scenes which in my opinion, were executed quite well.

4. Kieta Hatsukoi - This is more out of your recommended ballpark as it's neither a thriller or a psychological, but seeing your like of BL content, I figured this is a good one to recommend too. It's a fluffy and adorable Japanese BL that's very short.  It's just very heartwarming and cute

I haven't watched many dramas, so I'm down for anything. It doesn't matter what country too. Just as long as it's not in my "not interested" list.

I accept Jojo77's for It's Okay to Not Be Okay. I've heard nothing but good things about it (good autism rep, fantastic found family, etc) and I'm looking forward to the main trio as they're all acclaimed actors :D

Status: Completed
Rating: 8.5

Thoughts: The acting was the best part about this drama. Oh Jung Se wowed me with his portrayal of an autistic man. I knew Kim Soo Hyun was good beforehand, but I honestly think this is his best acting performance. Seo Yea Ji was intoxicating, I literally couldn't take my eyes off her. The reason why I rated it a 8.5/10 is because of the plot twist where we found out Mun Young's mother is alive. I felt as though it was a weak writing plot and it ruins the theme and message of the drama. The mother being in the "background" and being a shadow who haunts Mun Young in the dark was a much better choice. Overall though, I enjoyed the rec very much. Thank you Jojo! :)