Non Shitty Chinese or Taiwanese Dramas

 Misaki25:

Just You. The best I ever seen

I tried Just You, I think I watched about 10 episodes or so. I think it had potential. I liked ML and I thought he and the FL had great chemistry. However, the incompetence of the FL and complete disregard for logic in how an employee would interact with her BOSS and her sometimes over the top and illogical behavior/reactions put me off. While What's Wrong with Secretary Kim was not necessarily perfect, at least the FL showed time and time again that she was competent and intelligent and frankly acted in a logical/human-like behavior. 

Frankly, I don't like hysteric, dumb, incompetent FL. I don't also like when I'm told that FL is smart and competent yet as the viewers we don't see any evidence of that intelligence. 

I've been watching Asian dramas for around 6-7 years, so I've become very picky about the shows that I watch and don't necessarily have the ability to turn a blind eye and enjoy things that I might have enjoyed in my early Asian-drama days.

But thank you for the suggestion anyway :) 

It's ok :) and it's good that you have the other versions of BOF a try, it's not for everyone. I hope you enjoy the rest of the dramas I gave you!

While I would not use the term shitty to describe something that isn't to my taste, I agree finding one that I enjoy is akin to finding an orange unicorn.

That said, I did enjoy this Taiwanese one. It was kinda clever and cute.

 acemoonshot:

While I would not use the term shitty to describe something that isn't to my taste, I agree finding one that I enjoy is akin to finding an orange unicorn.

That said, I did enjoy this Taiwanese one. It was kinda clever and cute.

When a Wolf Falls in Love With a Sheep (2012)

This post came after a string of frustrating Chinese dramas that had different reasons for frustrating me (silly/hysteric/irrational FL, really silly/juvenile and again irrational plots, pretty horrible performances...). Out of the dozens Chinese and Taiwanese dramas that I attempted and the few I completed, I only loved about three and those three I watched a loooooong time ago so I'm afraid I'd rewatch them and discover that they were not all that (except for maybe In Time With You since I love Chen Bolin). So I was really really really annoyed when I wrote it. I do agree that shitty is not an appropriate word to use especially that it entirely depends on taste and preference. 

PS: I loved your metaphor of the orange unicorn :)

 Jay:

Interestingly, after going through your Favorite Romances list, "cliched", "idiotic" and "juvenile" would be some of the terms that I would use to describe more than a few of the dramas on your list. Guess everyone has their own tolerance for some of the cheesiness found in dramas before it veers into corniness and idiocy. 

As for dramas I would recommend, the best Chinese Dramas that i've watched include: Nirvana in Fire, Battle of Changsha, Nirvana in Fire 2: The Wind Blows in Chang Lin, With You, My Huckleberry Friends, Romance of Our Parents, Ode to Joy, Scarlet Heart and Auntie Duohe.

Taiwanese Dramas: Q Series: Love of Sandstorm, Days We Stared at the Sun, Age of Rebellion, Love, Timeless, An Innocent Mistake and My Dear Boy.

Not all of these dramas are focused solely on romance but if you're looking for quality Chinese and Taiwanese dramas, these dramas are certainly worth your time and attention in my opinion.  

I agree with you that some of the dramas in my Favorite Romances list are "cliched", "idiotic" and "juvenile." However, there's at least one or two redeeming qualities. Let me give you a couple of examples:

Kill Me, Heal Me - The FL was screechy and hysterical and I hate the actress, and the plot wasn't necessarily airtight but Ji Sung carried the story with his performance and had great chemistry with the FL

 Fated to Love You - encompasses all the words I said (cliched, juvenile, and idiotic, with a horrible second act) but again great performances and chemistry.

High Society - Only watched the parts of the SFL and SML and skipped the rest since they had, again, great chemistry and the SFL had unexpected reactions to most of the cliched plotlines.

My ID is Gangnam Beauty - is the opposite of most of the others. Great plot and characters but not that great of performance especially from the ML.

As for the Chinese dramas that I dropped had little to carry me. When the acting is unconvincing at best, cringy or boring to tears at worst, or only one single cast member that can act (Meteor Garden Chinese version), and the story is cliched/juvenile, and the plot is all over the place or there is no plot to talk of, and there is very little chemistry, there is nothing for me to latch on, to push me to actually finish it.

I'm sorry if my wording of the original post was too harsh and offensive or dismissive of others' taste.

 acemoonshot:

Oh, I hear you. You are stronger than I am, to have watched that many.  Some Chinese movies I can tolerate.  But no dramas.   Somebody must like them but clearly, I am not their target audience.  You were speaking of being afraid to re-watch some dramas, for fear they'd not hold up.  I had that fear after my recommendation.  That my recollection of When A Wolf Falls in Love With A Sheep was overly praiseworthy.  But to be fair, it is only one I have liked.  So I threw it out there.

I actually watched that movie a couple of years ago and I remember liking it as well. Rewatching has definitely ruined some dramas for me but also made me love ones that I didn't like the first time around. So it can be a blessing and a curse. When one grows and their experiences and thoughts evolve, they change as people and their tastes change. I really scratch my head over dramas that I liked when I was a lot younger.

Anyway, thanks for the recommendation :)

I wasn't trying to be dismissive or critical of your favorites either and i'm sure you have your own reasons as to why you like those dramas and that's perfectly fine, everyone's taste is different. For Instance, you didn't like Just You and I definitely acknowledge it has its flaws too but I still like it. The drama writer actually is aware that the main FL is kind of abrasive and loud in the beginning but she does kind of change by the end of the drama and she's given more opportunities where she's able to show her competence. Beyond that, the drama is just fun for me and it has one of my favorite ensemble casts.

Some of the dramas you've watched are more what I consider to be "idol" dramas. Those tend to be more silly and lighter which isn't a bad thing but it depends on how they're executed for me. The ones I recommended for the most part aren't really like those ones you've watched so far so you might respond more positively to some of them. Hopefully you find something that you end up liking and that isn't a waste of your time. ;-)

Historical, Romance, Spy

Battle of Changsha

Rookie Agent Rouge

Sparrow

Melodrama, Romance

Autumn's Concerto

Action, Romance, Thriller

When a snail falls in love

Romance, Comedy, Friendship

Love and pi (Taiwanese drama - ongoing) (I am loving it)

High School, Romance

With You

My Huckleberry Friends

A Love so Beautiful

P.S. I too find it hard to get into C and T dramas and I have dropped plenty of them specially disliked the once you dropped. But these are some dramas that I really liked. I hope you check them out and I hope you like them. Good Luck. (: