Historical Dramas Club

Bonsoir everybody ! I don't know why it took me this long to join the club as I mostly watch historical dramas, series and movies since like... forever ^^, but I'm finally here.

Historical dramas were actually the reason why I came to MyDramaList as I was searching for more to watch at that time. I have watched "western" historical TV series and movies since childhood, as well as Chinese historical movies. However, as explain in my profile, it's a well known sageuk that really drown me in the universe of Korean dramas and especially this thrilling genre. As I studied Korean history and Korean language (in particular the 하소서체 (Hasoseo-che), highest speech level that was used before at the Court and now in religious texts), Korean historical dramas and movies are quite easy to understand for me even without subtitles so of course that's one of the reason I prefer them. I haven't watched many Japanese ones, but I like it too. Only watched few, but very good ones, Chinese historical films. Cannot get into Chineses dramas though. There is always something "off" that I can't really describe that make me bored or disliked. Hope to find one that change my mind someday.  And finally, even if it's not covered here on MyDramaList, I have watch a lot of Indian historical movies since a long time.

You could say that I'm a "picky eater" when it comes to this genre. An actor/actresse I dislike (for whatever non-logical reason I have), and I can't watch it. A bad CGI (in my picky opinion) and I can totally lost interest. A slightly too little caricatural way to portray an historical figure and I will probably not drop it but curse the drama all along and rate it harshly. As it is my favorite genre, I'm the most strict with it, and especially for ratings. But I can also easily fall for a pretty romance with a weak historical background sometimes. ㅎㅎㅎ I like movies a lot and if sageuk had not existed, historical movies would be  unbeatable for me. But I love theses epic stories that last for hours throughout dozen of episodes.

Voilà ! ^^ Looking forward to exchange with you all here and expand my views on historical dramas.

@Kim @kYuBin welcome to the club!! ^_^

@Sam have you tried the currently airing City of Streamer? It's a period espionage romance drama set in the early Republican Era & it's said to be well-paced & addicting, with great chemistry between the leads. Plus I think it's worth it due to Jing Tian's visuals alone!! *_*

@kYuBin sageuks were also my gateway drug into Asian Dramaland, though the last 2-3 years, after I started watching Chinese historical dramas, it's hard to go back… Btw have you watched Six Flying Dragons & Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People? It's 2 of my favourite dramas of all times, highly recommended if you like their genres/tags!!

 Estelll:

@Kim @kYuBin welcome to the club!! ^_^

@Sam have you tried the currently airing City of Streamer? It's a period espionage romance drama set in the early Republican Era & it's said to be well-paced & addicting, with great chemistry between the leads. Plus I think it's worth it due to Jing Tian's visuals alone!! *_*

@kYuBin sageuks were also my gateway drug into Asian Dramaland, though the last 2-3 years, after I started watching Chinese historical dramas, it's hard to go back… Btw have you watched Six Flying Dragons & Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People? It's 2 of my favourite dramas of all times, highly recommended if you like their genres/tags!!

Six Flying Dragons have been waiting  for a long time for me to watch it hahaha. It's exactly the kind of historical drama I like, more action/political than centered on a romance. I will definitely watch it this year. ^^
I don't like to have too many dramas to watch at the same time, and I often prioritize movies over dramas, so I ended up having many sageuk I want to watch to wait in a corner... Same for Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People actually.

 kYuBin:

Thanks for pointing it ! It made me remember I wanted to update it to a drawn version someone did for me. ;)

And I like yours too. Every time I see an image of Galadriel, Tolkien's writings describing her in The Silmarillion pops up in my head :“A sister they had, Galadriel, most beautiful of all the house of Finwë; her hair was lit with gold as though it had caught in a mesh the radiance of Laurelin.” Thanks for that !

I like your profile presentation too, we can really "feel" you through it I think.

Wow, that's an amazing drawing! Always nice to meet another Tolkien fan! And thank you! ♡

 WandereR:

Wow! Reading the excerpt you quoted brought back memories. It's been ages since I last read the book, I was truly obsessed with JRR Tolkien at one time :)

Welcome to the club!

^^ I re-read most of Tolkien's books every two years or so and I think I will never stop being obsessed with the amazing universe he created. Good to see many people with similar interests other than Asian dramas/movies.

Ok I realized that I've only watched 2 dramas in Xuanhuan category... The Great Ruler and The World of Fantasy... Both were sub par drama... Story was good but not executed well... But it's for me so if you liked it... Good for you.... Anyway

Need some recommendations for Xuanhuan Genre 

 Ari:

I'm currently watching General & I, and I really can't get into it. Did anyone else have this feeling when watching this or did anyone like it? 

I actually almost couldn't get through many things in the 2nd half of General and I, but I loved the beginning. So I don't know, of course it's very likely this is not the drama for you. But there's also high chance you will love it if you continue it! :)

The best part about it imo was the chemistry of the main leads, the OST, the visuals, and some memorable supporting characters later on!

Yes, agreed. The blame lies mostly on the censorship.

Real xuanhuan is gritty and edgy, much like horror stories of old. The depiction in dramas is mostly sanitized hybrid of contemporary fantasy, which can be entertaining in itself but somewhat lacking the cultural basis of the stories.

The same goes for xianxia actually, especially in recent times. It's less about cultivation and more about angsty love over several lifetimes. For those who love romance, it's great though.