Dramas – 2026 Completed

The atmosphere of Can This Love Be Translated felt comforting. I'm a big fan of it being filmed in different countries, them speaking in multiple languages and it featuring actors from various parts of the world.

I went into this drama without reading the synopsis. Although her mental health issues would usually feel a bit out of place in a story like this, I felt like they wove it into the story in a clever way and it definitely worked for me. DID representation in film is rarely accurate, but I think that this drama at least didn't paint it in a bad light compared to other things I've seen.

Although their relationship was a slow burn with many things getting in the way, (like I already said) the drama still had this calm vibe to it. (Spoilers) My rife with this drama is only that I don't see how he is allowed to keep her mental health issues a secret from herself; I think he should've told her that Do Rami talked to him.

I just completed my first drama of the year but January is already close to ending.

I had been excited about this drama since before it was released because I really liked Han Daon (Kim Jaeyeong) from Judge from Hell. I started watching Idol I during Christmas right after the two first episodes had aired. As an idol fan (previous hardcore ARMY, currently a chill LUNÉ and low-key MOA), it was easy to relate to that part of our female lead. It becomes a bit like a self-insert story, in a way. It also shines a light on the toxic parts of idol fans. I heard that this drama got bad reviews in Korea because toxic fans of idols felt attacked by it.

Many seemed to have a difficult time liking the ML. Personally, I didn't have any strong feelings towards his character. There were actually many interesting characters in this drama. The 2ML was a good guy, and I thought that Hong Hyeju's actress played her character really well. The female lead was likeable and so were her coworkers. But I was the most pleasantly surprised by her work rival; her ex-bully; the prosecutor Kwak Byeonggyun. (Spoilers) For one, I find the relationship dynamic of your high school bully becoming your work rival super interesting. He was just a very grey character and I was second guessing my opinions of him repeatedly. Although the bullying is unforgivable and he is being a pain to her at work during the first half of the drama, he actually turns over a new leaf towards the end. It was really nice to see him learn from his mistakes. So although he isn't a fully likeable character, he was definitely very creatively crafted, which I appreciated.

(Spoilers) The ending of the case was definitely underwhelming tho. It felt like we were dragged around only for the solution to be right in front of us. Still, I enjoyed the journey of Idol I and I had fun watching the newest episodes every week!

A really cute and fun JBL~ I'm always attracted to a hidden/double identity story, and I love that it's about punk fashion and modeling! The characters were likeable and the two actors had chemistry~ Really liked the OST too :)

I went into Leaning to Love with low expectations, but it ended up being better than I thought. I really like the complexity and emotional depth of the characters! The acting was good and the story was entertaining too, of course, but it was the characters I was drawn to. Both of them are flawed people who learnt from each other. It was a very interesting relationship to witness.

I feel inspired by seeing the male lead tackle his challenges with dyslexia. I recently discovered that I might be autistic, which has deepened my understanding of myself. I now see that some of the biggest challenges in my life had a hidden cause behind them. So now, having identified the cause, the new challenge is how to do what I want to do with this in mind (I previously thought that the challenges could be overcome, but it seems like that's not the case). I have to work with it instead of against it.

It's both worse, and better than expected. With the expensive cast and interesting premise, I had high expectations for Boyfriend on Demand. But after seeing the response from the viewers soon after it aired, my expectations dropped very low. Yet I still decided to give it a shot, and although it took me over a month to complete it, it was still worth completing.

I think people were hating too much on Jisoo's acting. It wasn't that bad. But out of the very extravagant cast, Seo Kangjoon is my favourite. Although episode 3 started off cringy, I surprisingly ended up feeling quite emotional when she got help from his character, releasing some of the wounds from her ex. There was definitely much more character development than I expected.

But this drama has its flaws for sure. I cringed many times and got frustrated more than a couple of times. Especially the last conflict could just have been solved with better communication. I'm very tired of this overused/wrongly used trope.

On the other hand, I kinda wanna try creating my own boyfriend like that~ But I think that I'm more so curious what kind of avatar would come up (to learn more about myself) rather than to actually date it. Who knows, custom otome games as advanced as this might not be that far from coming to reality.

Seo Inguk did really well too.

Watching Perfect Crown that's currently airing brought me back to dramaland. In Your Radiant Season has been on my radar ever since I saw it was well received after it had finished airing. I would say it definitely met my expectations which is why I'm giving it a generous 8/10 right after completing it.

I Really liked the atmosphere of the drama; it was calm and soft with both happy and melancholic tones spread throughout. It's a story about healing with very likeable characters. I love love the happy vibes so many of the characters are emitting. All the sisters were really cute, but I especially have a girl crush on Hayeong~!

Unexpectedly, amongst all the many love stories in this drama, my favourites were the oldest and the youngest. It was so precious to see the elderly couple bond and get together! And if Yugyeom isn't a perfect boyfriend– Seriously, the love the youngest couple had for each other was so pure...! And the way Yugyeom cared for her grandmother... my heart </3 Needless to say, I think I cried at least once for every couple.

I was however a bit disappointed with the last 2 episodes when it came to how Sunwoo Chan's past was revealed to the female lead. Super typical and very disliked method in my book. It bothered me a lot in this drama because it made me slightly dislike the female lead a bit. I just wanted her to act like Yugyeom, I guess. That super rare, pure and trusting love. Well, I wouldn't know if it's rare irl, but it is in dramaland. Give me some good communication, please!

Perfect Crown ends this week, so hopefully I'll like the last couple of episodes of that drama more.

This was a decent watch. I was feeling up for an historical drama and found it interesting that this has a body swap trope included. Reading the comments beforehand, I understood that the body swapping wasn't a major part of the drama, still I was slightly let down with just how little it gave the story. It felt more like an afterthought rather than anything significant. Switch out the body swapping with something else and you could've probably still told the exact same story.

Yes, there was conflict and drama in this. but it was on the milder side. 16 episodes felt too long for this story. The romance also felt minimal and the chemistry between the leads wasn't that strong in my opinion. I've seen Nam Jihyun in a lot of dramas before, and I especially like her chemistry with Ji Changwook. That doesn't mean I'm dissing Moon Sangmin in any way; chemistry is supposed to be mutual, the two leads just weren't doing it for me this time. I haven't seen much of Moon Sangmin before, and this is the first time I'm completing a drama of his where he plays a significant role. His acting is good and I really like his voice. I hope he can star in a romance drama again in the future with someone he shares more chemistry with.

But perhaps it's not the actors fault that the drama feels like it's missing something. I could never fully connect to the characters. The leads were both nice people, but that's about it. Jaei was more interesting as a character because of his flaws and character development throughout the story. So, as someone who likes character driven stories, this is probably where this drama lacked the most: it's characters.

I watched the first episode of Under the Queen's Umbrella in November 2022, and I made a 2nd attempt at watching this drama a while ago, but I was able to complete it during my 3rd try. There is no doubt that this is a well made drama, but it's just not my preference.

For having comedy as a genre, there was a great lack of it. In fact, this drama made me feel stressed...!! Some of the nastiest characters I've seen live in this drama. (Spoiler) When they started dropping like flies towards the end, all I said was "nice". Incredible acting tho for making me despise them so much.

Of course the queen's acting was the best! She's really talented, Kim Hyesoo. I did give this drama a 3rd attempt because I watched Moon Sangmin in To My Beloved Thief. His acting was fine. But I hope he can improve even more. There were a couple of scenes where I'd have liked to see more emotion from him.

But this drama really included a lot of things! From wicked in-laws and sexual abuse, to possibly teen pregnancy and even an important transgender character. I'm truly impressed by Yoo Seonho's depiction of the character! Also, seeing Chani play the villainous prince was new and welcomed! The grand cast of characters covered the whole spectrum from white, to grey, to black in this drama. I'm glad I got to finally complete it.

When I started watching Perfect Crown the other week, it was the first drama I had seen for months. My expectations were average, yet I ended up enjoying it so much to the point where it rivalled my attention for my favourite part in my rewatch of Teen Wolf, as well as my hyperfixation at the time, Fields of Mistria. Although my final rating might be a bit harsh due to the last 2 episodes, my enjoyment of Perfect Crown brought me back to dramaland.

The concept of this drama is interesting. We are brought to a parallel world where South Korea is still a monarchy. I learnt that there is some critiqe on the accuracy of it all, but at the end of the day, it's not real. However, I too would be a bit annoyed if there was misinformation about Sweden in a series, so I understand. Anyway, it was interesting to see an alternative version of how South Korea could rule its country. The modern touches to the palace and outfits were fitting (opposed to the fire security measures).

IU and Byeon Wooseok have chemistry, and I'm glad to see that he is almost as talented as IU at crying (remembering When Life Gives You Tangerines). There are a few clichés and I keep hearing "Sol-ah" in echos, but overall, still great acting. I'm especially impressed by Gong Seungyeon's portrayal of debi. She really embodied her role!

I'm having deja vu with IU's character, remembering the king in Bon Appetit Your Majesty. I have to be honest, I have a hard time understanding why the crown prince fell for her. Her character is fine, but idk, something is just missing. But they have chemistry, so maybe it's just me.

Also nice OST and cute side couple!

Two years ago, I watched 2 episodes of My Dearest. Now, I rewatched it from the beginning and finally completed part 1. It's a very gripping story once you focus, and I'm going to continue on to part 2 shortly.

The acting and pacing are the most outstanding parts of this drama. And if MDL had "adventure" as a genre, it would definitely fit My Dearest part 1. The characters have very distinct personalities. Even though I cringed a bit in the beginning during some of Gilchae's antics, she quickly grew on me as she continued to prove herself as a very capable and brave woman. Lee Janghyeon still has many secrets left that I hope to see uncovered during part 2. My favourite scenes of the two were actually when they were separated. Hopefully they will have a happy ending, but I hope it will be more entertaining to see them in scenes together.

I'm confused tho; who is the "gay supporting character"? Why is that one of the most upvoted tags yet I have no idea who it is? Is that supposed to be Ryang Eum? 'Cause I didn't hear him say anything like that. Or am I dense? Did I miss something?

Also, even though this doesn't have the genre comedy on MDL, compared to Under the Queen's Umbrella (which is a comedy on MDL), I found My Dearest way funnier.

Currently being home alone and having the TV all to myself, it was nice to complete My Dearest on the big screen. I've only heard good things about My Dearest, but when I tried watching it two years ago, I just couldn't get into it. Now, having completed it, it truly is a well made drama with a gripping story, compelling characters and amazing acting.

But I didn't enjoy watching scenes with the foreign princess. Her addition to the story was just another obsticle to the leads' union, and I was starting to get annoyed with just the amount of things getting in between them. The two leads have surprisingly few scenes together for being a 21 episode drama. I definitely enjoyed seeing them together more in part 2, like I had hoped. Probably because they were being more open with each other. Anyway, the drama felt a bit draggy in the middle because of all the obsticles. The storyline with the foreign princess had a surprisingly peaceful conclusion, but I still disliked her (she's gorgeous tho). But I did like the scene where Gilchae yelled at her.

And wow, the "gay supporting character" tag had a purpose after all! (Spoiler) It felt like an unfair assumption to have from part 1, but there were more hints of him having those feelings in part 2, and then came Ryang Eum's confession to sleeping Gilchae that he did have romantic feelings for Lee Janghyeon in the last episode.

I'm glad we got to learn Lee Janghyeon's backstory. It was needed to feel more connected to his character. It also tied together the storyline with his father, as well as the double amnesia bit.

The ending was nice and it even made me cry, but I feel like they could've cleared up a few more things before ending it. Still, I enjoyed My Dearest very much and might rewatch it someday in the future.

I stayed away from this drama for a hot minute because I was afraid it'd give me health anxiety. But it was an unnecessary worry. I had a lot of fun watching this drama!

Park Eunbin is one of my favourite actresses, and she for sure did not let me down in this drama either! She did excellent in portraying the eccentric and cute character, Chaeni! I also wanna applaud the person who styled her because I loved her alternative fashion!

Choi Daehoon and Im Sungjae did an amazing job acting as well! I especially grew fond of Mr. Son. Superpowers having a trigger to activate is a popular concept, but I think it's my first time seeing the combination of sticky + lies. Out of all 4, his powers seemed the least powerful, yet he found really creative ways to use them.

As for Cha Eunwoo... learning of his recent controversy, he was the 2nd reason I wasn't initially interested in this drama. I don't know much about tax evasion, but let's not be criminals. I thought about watching this on a pirate site, but because I like Park Eunbin, I decided to watch it on Netfllix in the end anyway. I didn't want Cha Eunwoo to ruin the drama for all the other people who worked on this drama.

This drama reminded me both of Moving, Family Matters as well as the anime Dan Da Dan. But neither Moving nor Dan Da Dan made me as excited as The WONDERfools. And whilst Family Matters felt like a unique mix of things I've seen before, this drama was a lot more creative. My most accurate rating is 8,7/10. High rewatch value for sure!

A season 2 would be nice, but I feel satisfied as it is.

I was worried I'd feel lost just jumping into season 2 when I've forgotten a lot from season 1, but I was able to enjoy this 2nd season regardless. Season 2 has it's own storyline but with many familiar characters. Seeing as I gave season 1 & 2 the same rating, I enjoyed both seasons rather equally. But when it comes to themes/tropes, I think I prefer season 2 with the illegal fight club over season 1's debt/fraud plot. Season 1 delivers more on the backstory of the characters, which I like, but since that isn't needed for season 2, this 2nd season could focus fully on the story.

Great action and acting in this season as well. "Iron fists but a heart of cotton candy"; they cry quite a lot in this drama. I don't remember if it was the same in season 1 (I'm not saying it's a good or a bad thing, it's just an observation). Also, I really like Woo Dohwan's voice btw.

I smell a season 3~

After watching the first episode, I was already shipping the two leads, so I went back to check the genres and was devastated that this drama isn't a romance. Luckily, I didn't have to be because the ending was really precious!

Every time I see Sano Hayato I think of Hasebe from Todome no Kiss, and every time I see Sakurada Hiyori I think of her lead role in the movie Our Secret Diary. It was interesting to see these two in a drama together. Linda is a type of character that I really like to see and Hachi was a very likeable female lead as well. They definitely have chemistry!

The story was entertaining and I only felt a bit bored when the two leads weren't in focus. In the beginning, I thought Hachi's reasoning for wanting to escape from her father was tame, but it was given more depth at the end of episode 5. My main complaint is that the drama was cut a bit annoyingly sometimes; two different scenes jumping back and forth within short intervals. It made it hard for me to stay engaged during those scenes.

I liked the ending and I feel like they tied the most important things together. (Spoiler) So so so very happy we got some romance between the two!! It was really cute and precious! I was also left lowkey shipping Gan and Lily. Would've liked to see the 4 of them together in a scene in the last episode, but I'm still content as it is.

This drama has been on my radar for a really long time, but for some reason I kept avoiding it. Despite its high rating, I thought that this drama wouldn't fit my taste. But now I've finally completed it. It wasn't what I expected, but it wasn't anything new either.

Hold My Hand at Twilight was enjoyable, but it's filled with clichés. Poor communication and misunderstandings are no stangers to this drama. The characters are fine, but I didn't feel a very strong connection to them. They just had to create those annoying characters too like Seira and the older designer guy. I mean, they could've made them more likeable, yet they just messed them up and made them cliché. (Spoiler) Like, why make Seira have romantic feelings for the female lead if they aren't gonna explore that properly? Why did they have to make her an obsticle that come between the leads' love?? Idk how to express it, but it felt very unsatisfying to see her character be treated like that by the writers.

Then we have one of my most hated tropes: lovers separated. This drama is a very good example of why I hate this trope. I'm just left feeling unsatisfied and frustrated by the whole situation. And wow, they really milked it with the romance! (Spoiler) Literally confessing in the last scene before the outro! Outrageous! I wanted to see them in love more!

Yeah, so I guess this wasn't my type of drama. But it's not bad. The outro was cute and I liked how they changed it up for every episode. Probably won't rewatch it tho.

P.S. I just arrived in Riga today for a family vacation. I feel both pleasantly surprised about how nice it is here, but also sad because I miss my cat at home and changes in routines makes me stressed. Hopefully I will continue to have a good time here tho :)

Rewatched June 15th – 17th.

This was my 2nd time rewatching this drama. I just felt like watching a good Jdrama and was debating whether to watch this or Todome no Kiss. I had a good time watching it this time as well.

I was lured by the high ratings into watching Reborn whilst it was still airing. Although I'm not especially attached to any of the actors, the time travel and hidden identity tropes are some of my favourites, so I thought it was a high chance I'd enjoy this. I was wrong.

It was mid in every possible way up to the ending, which was plain bad. The time skips that happen multiple times throughout the drama were very annoying. I didn't feel attached to any of the characters because most of them had almost no substance. Characters kept repeating mistakes and there were many characters that didn't seem to have a significant impact on the story whatsoever. The tiny romance was very boring. Both Neo Kosei and Eito were boring main characters, and after time travelling, although he seemed like he was doing things, it felt like nothing was happening or chaning.

Because it was very plain, I was prepared to give Reborn the mid score of 5. But after watching the ending, I truly have regrets about watching this. It was not worth my time, so it gets a lower score. That being said, it did have some moments that kept my attention, but it was still not that good.

I feel like I'm at an unusually interesting museum. Although I've known about the Arthdal Chronicles drama series for a very long time, I wasn't very interested in it because I used to not enjoy fantasy very often. But I thought it was time to give it a try since I've started to like both historical dramas and fantasy as a genre more. I ended up enjoying part 1.

I don't have any strong opinions on this drama yet (maybe it'll change after watching part 2 or/and 3), I just think it's enjoyable. If anything, I guess I have more fun watching scenes surrounding Eunseom and get a bit more bored when it centers around the older characters. But I'm still engaged in the story, and I'm looking forward to what will happen in the following parts of this drama series.

P.S. short diary entry: today was the last day in Riga, Latvia. I've had a good time, although I did push myself a bit too much, especially yesterday when we went to Jūrmala. Still, I'm surprised how much I like it here compared to other European cities I've travelled to in the past. But I'm looking forward to going home to my cat and eating my safe foods tomorrow.

Part 2 was slightly more enjoyable than part 1, but not enough to give it a higher rating. Maybe I liked it more because I'm getting used to the story and setting?

In part 2, Eunseom was largely replaced by Saya. Tanya and Saya took the frontline as the protagonists. I think the actor did a decent job at playing two different characters in one drama, because I like Eunseom but I find Saya kinda annoying. But I'd rather talk about Tanya actually because I thought she was a bit of a damsel in part 1, and she kinda is in some of part 2 as well, but she was really cool in the final episode of part 2. It's why I can't bring myself to dislike Taealha either; I like competent women.

I was slightly confused in some parts, but it was probably my own fault for not paying enough attention. I was still able to follow along despite the confusion so it didn't make me enjoy the story any less.

Now onto part 3!