2024 watched/completed dramas

Help- how was this my first title of 2024??? eh whatever, can probably stick it in my MDL challenge somewhere.

Final thoughts on this one - spoilery I think

Used for country in MDL 2024 Challenge

Beautiful. It gets the 10 from me because it damn well deserves it! My final thoughts!

1st least fave from C5hallenge. Avoid using for MDL challenge unless absolutely necessary (doubtful)

Final thoughts

1st fave from C5hallenge!

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this was fun! comfort watch for whenever I want some GOOD hugs! 

Final thoughts

Used for country in MDL 2024 Challenge

Final thoughts! Least fav round 2 of C5hallenge

Final thoughts! Fav of round 2 c5hallenge!

3rd least fav from c5hallenge. Since I mention Cherry Magic has good hugs, this can't go unmentioned. The hugs here were lovely, and although I grew less interested, if someone else wanted to watch party I wouldn't object to rewatching with them since it started out well!

Final thoughts!

3rd fav from c5hallenge - I loved this from start to end, and it was comforting.

Final thoughts!

Would not recommend. Awful, sexual harassment/assault and poor FL goes through so much that even at 4-6x speed it still wasn't fast enough.

Final thoughts.

Wow, some of the stuff here was painfully close to me. Especially the plots about losing loved ones. Dropped the ball on a few bits, and some character development seemed more implied than seen, but otherwise I think I enjoyed it.

Final thoughts!

All for the sake of torturing ViolinGal for the C5hallenge... this was worth it, but only by a small margin.

Final thoughts TwT :clown:

This was beautiful. 10/10 if it wasn't for my nagging issues.

Final thoughts!

I LOVED IT! My 3rd 10/10 this year, and of 26 titles! Kimutaku and Shibasaki Ko are my biases though, so I shouldn't be surprised, but it was better than I expected, and I expected to love it!

Final thoughts!

Final thoughts!

This one dropped the ball in the latter half which is really unfortunate, but it was beautiful. The music was impressive almost all the time.

End of ep 2 notes about the squeaky music which means I won't rate music 10.

Thoughts at the end of ep 10

Mini final thoughts on rating

Final thoughts - very long!

Quite fun, and while I intially thought it would be a contender for my dramas to rewatch, I think it doesn't quite stay there by the end.

Final thoughts!

Argh!!! The chemistry was good, the acting was great, but the plot and certain characters were really frustrating. 

Final thoughts!

SPOILER IN THE NOTE BELOW!

NOTE: This is a slap/kiss. I hear that there are some which DON'T feature rape, but this one does unfortuntately, although ML does feel remorse even if he isn't punished.

So cute, and I love the leads' smiles. Simple, low energy watch, which was perfect to perk up my mood! No sinister plots, low stakes plot overall, and very fluffy and high on hugs/skinship! ;) Thank you jujubes for the rec! <3

I'm going on a gut feeling because it's been a while since I watched it! I loved it, pure fluff, and in a less optimal mood it truly cheered me up! I liked the little opening dance and music overall, so I'd give it 8.5!

I had thoughts, but I'll have to search for those at another time. I liked it though, probably because I know a few people similar to both leads and so can feel for their situation.

Final thoughts - coming soon if I remember!

Thank you torture clowns for putting me through this. The clowns to blame for dragging me into this are crafty and kate (with the lowercase "k" - xulansis) but I can only remember Yim's frustrating voice and his on screen sister's references to PiXXiE in the last 2 episodes (WHO IS PLAYED BY A MEMBER OF PiXXiE!!!) - they're a girl group I absolutely LOVE! It was painful to get through but the company made it kinda fun! Torture Tuesdays will definitely be a thing I join once again after exams!

Final thoughts - maybe I'll add those soon if I can be bothered.

Far too skippable. I dropped it for a reason. 0.5/10, only worth it for the last minute PiXXiE references by Jan (played by Ingkho PiXXiE!).

The first drama in a while that I willingly binged all the way through! I've recently struggled to focus on one title for an extended period of time but this one allowed me to lose track of time and watch it all the way through in less than 2 days! 

10/10 for the whole thing, and I can't think of anything I disliked that wasn't the character actions, and the whole point was that humans aren't lovely despite being in/around school.

Final thoughts - summarised above in case I don't get round to writing them up!

So so fun! This is one which defo needs more watchers!!!

Final thoughts!

Super fun - and I never knew I needed to see these couples! 

Final thoughts!

Loved it! Binged on a whim, and it was the first thing that managed to keep my attention for more than a few minutes after finishing Ploy's Yearbook more than a week ago!

This is my second title from the Philippines but my first drama from there. The show page now shows SK as the country, so I guess I'll just feel like a clown here while insisting I started it because of the country being the Philippines. Perhaps I thought there was a lot more Filipino/English than Korean, but then again the native title is Korean so I'll take this one as an unintentional K drama down and shut up. and perhaps I'll push "Vince & Kath & James" up on my PTW priority list as I really enjoyed Julia Barretto's performance here! Perhaps it was the fact they were speaking English the whole time, so I could notice more, but I think Julia was defo the stronger actor, but not enough to carry the whole show. ML's lines occasionally seemed to fall a bit short emotionally. However, I won't hold that against Lee Sang Heon bc from searching it seems he's a new actor, and to his credit the final monologue/letter was beautiful!

Story: 7; Acting: 7; Music: 6 (it wasn't awful, but it was only notable at one point); Overall: 7!

Final thoughts - above in case I don't write up a post.

Extremely good for a short drama - far better than I'd expected! I really liked it and I'll echo what I was told: DON'T LOOK AT SPOILERS! As someone who actively seeks out spoilers, I promise I think the experience is way better when you don't know anything beforehand!

Story: 8; Acting: 8; Music: 9; Overall: 8.5!

Fianl thoughts - summarised above!

I'll preface by saying I LOVED IT! It was the perfect short show to watch in exam season (to be fair, I only dare watch something before an easy exam) so despite the drawbacks which lead me to rate it low, it is NOT in the same league as some other shows I've rated similarly in terms of enjoyment! 

This was a wild ride, as most short C dramas are. I'd love to be a bit objective, so I'll say that the drama is generous with the airy fairy and slow motion scenes. Like someone walking up the stairs sadly was extended so much and with 4x speed still was slow! In fact, once they do the slow motion, it's STILL slow motion when I watch it with 4x speed! 

And the throwing around. Mate, the poor FL did not need to be dragged around and picked up onto the desk like that (though to ML's credit, he does seem to be extra careful, which seems comic when his character is so pissed).

However, I LOVE the leads! FL isn't extremely stupid as is universally lamented about shows to this day, and I really like her expressions when she's plotting and just generally! She's smart and pretty, and her outfits are to die for! ML is - in the most respectful way - absolutely smokin' hot (in the most exaggerated American accent I can muster). He reminded me a bit of Wang Ziyi in Why Women Love for some reason, more because of how he feels like a lost/hopeless puppy when he's in love. He seemed really sincere so I liked it, although his plots were quite foolish at times lol!

Story: 6; Acting: 7; Music: 4 - music wasn't notable so usually would be a 5, but I'm including the slow mo and general extra airy fairy deductions here. I don't mind the airy fairy something all over the place like The Lost World, but I was taking it seriously so ; Overall: 6!

I loved this one! Perfectly intriguing - I only wish we'd got more time to unfold the whole plot because 18 (8 on Viki) episodes were not enough. The main couple were wonderful, and the main women are actors I'll look out for in future because their acting was especially notable! Whether the ML's advisor, the maid, or even the villain, I enjoyed every performance here. Decent acting is a pleasant surprise in a mini-drama, but these actors were incredible, and I can't find fault with them. 

Despite it clearly being low budget, I still liked the show, and only wish this was a little longer to end it more smoothly. The musical score was beautiful, and the sets and outfits were beautiful.

Story: 8; Acting: 9; Music: 9; Overall: 9!

Chaotic, but surprisingly hilarious. The dodgy CGI was my first warning to stay away and yet I was too curious. One lead is broody and didn't get enough chance to act until the later episodes and the other was far too chaotic but had some decent acting moments.

Story was theoretically the same old transmigrating into a novel and a lot of people compare it to SVSSS (I think that's the right number of "s"es lol!) but it didn't hugely stand out. Perhaps I'll remember it for the sheep SFX (yes, sheep, not horses). 

The bromance was so censored that I didn't really suspect until the end that it might be a censored romance. MDL tags tell me that it was one, so I guess if I watch the sequel I'll squint and see if I can feel the romance. However, this is the first censored BL I've completed from China sso I'll allow it. (Technically I've partly watched The Untamed and Word of Honour although I'd already read the novel for the former and the latter wasn't exactly discreet)

Story: 6; Acting: 7; Production/music: 6 (including visual effects); Overall: 6!

Cooking and Tpop, a combo I didn't think I'd like this much. Can't gather thoughts currently for anything recently finished so I'll leave the rating for later. I find the ending voiceover for that specific cameo hilarious though!

Before I forget, I appreciate Aun here, even if his character often wasn't my favourite.

Final rating is 8, because despite frustrating moments, I also could kinda get why some characters acted the way they did, and acting was solid, with some lovely soundtracks!

I was hooked. For a short C drama it was spectacular, with decent plot and super satisfying moments! I'd give it somewhere between 7 and 8, so let me ask the wheel real quick to decide for me! 

8.5 is subjective gut rating, no criteria pulled out here. Loved the acting from both leads!

Through this whole year, I've been saying I'm gonna rewatch a drama. My sights were set on Why Women Love. (I realise now I rewatched >=75 C with @flamingo over 4 months ago from message timestamps but forgot to add it here TwT)

But on the evening of the 22nd of July I decided to rewatch this on a whim. So here's my first second(!) rewatch of the year. Objectively, it pisses me off through so many character actions. Subjectively, it was my second K drama (after Pinocchio, which gets the honour of being the first) and so it always resides in a special corner of my heart! I wonder if this is my second or third rewatch? Doesn't really matter, because it's one that will count for my MDL challenge!

A 10 from when I first joined for the pure sentimental value like Pinocchio, regardless of any objective shortcomings that could be argued. I still note that I adore the soundtrack though and where the lighting isn't extremely bright there's a few moments I note and remember!

I wouldn't be able to rerate it less biased now, so it stays the 10/10. XD

Rewatch 3 of the year, and I'm currently rewatching Why Women Love too so expect that to appear on this list if I remember to continue it!

This rewatch in a lighter space in my house has actually made me pick up on a very dodgy thing which I severely side eye Togawa for. I didn't realise what actually happened in my first watch and first rewatch because both were with pretty bad earphones and dark places. I can't remember what the 0.5 docked was for, but I suspect it was partly for the short length and some scenes with iffy lighting and for another iffy thing . However, this detail I've just clocked tempts me to dock another 0.5 to give it a 9. But I'll leave it, since it's a rewatch.

The soundtrack was a sound for sore ears, and I adore it truly! I need those instrumentals on Spotify pronto!

Did I side eye? A lot. Not as much as some shows. But will it be a drama if there's not a dragged out misunderstanding that drives you nuts?!?!?!? Nope. Having said that, I did really like the leads' acting, with YU especially standing out to me. But perhaps I appreciated his character's change through the show.

I wanna say acting was an 8, music was defo a hit or miss for me, since some transitions felt jarring or just plain bizarre. Plot itself felt perfectly typical, kinda predictable, but the characters made it work. I'll give it a 7.5, but I've objectively rated things 6.5 and absolutely love them!

A solid sequel of the first, which was more a continuation of plots hinted at in the first season (that slap sheesh!) and was enjoyable! I think I could've done with more time to get attached to the other couples, but I'm not particularly bothered by that. I vibed with the music more here, and after searching the OST I discovered that YU (Shu Yi's actor) actually sings one of my favourite songs on the soundtrack!

So with a lot of bias, I'm giving it an 8.

On a side note: if only the MDL challenge also had a category for shows where a lead actor sings a song, not just the Thai Watch Challenge!

I have no clue what to rate it. Spectacular acting all round, especially Itagaki Rihito who I didn't realise was probably about 19/20 when this was filmed! The opening and closing songs were beautiful, but the BGM at times was awfully creepy only to have no payoff. But I've never been so nauseous and on edge by a non-horror BGM.