[✔]Dramas watched in 2026

12 01
https://mydramalist.com/profile/mengosteen/feeds/jqqxyzuO

Disclaimer: I watched it re-edited into 12 episodes, 30 minutes each, so if you watched a different version then your viewing enjoyment may vary...
100% my favourite short drama so far, even if the budget was 5 dollars (and it shows). It's just a story about friends overcoming difficulties together and forming long-lasting relationships despite their differences. Not even death will stop them.
There's a couple of different stories centered around all kinds of love: a mother and her son, friends, lovers, doctor who loves the humanity... Funny at times but mostly touching
If it had a decent budget then it would've easily become one of my fav shows. For now it's like 7.7 rounded up to 8.0

Meng approved

18 01
https://mydramalist.com/profile/mengosteen/feeds/LwwLqJi2
Meng's 2026 project part 1 - finishing up ancient shows that have been stuck on my list for ages. This one since 2024 (so not THAT long).
A hotchpotch of different genres, sometimes blended seamlessly, sometimes not at all. It's divided into two parts: one comprises police work, undercover dealings and an assassin organisation, and the other focuses on... food and gives you tips on how you're supposed to eat them, how to achieve the best texture and taste. The show switches between them: a little murder investigation, eat a burger with wagyu beef, investigate a drug sale, go eat hotpot and spend 15 minutes describing why crab and duck should, in fact, be put in one pot. The transition could've been done better because while I did enjoy both sides of this show, sometimes the transition was just jarring.

I really liked our leads and their little budding friendship; some of the background characters were alright. On the other hand some of the plotlines were straight up stupid so it evens out. This is something you watch for the vibe, and the policework and handsome assassins are just an added bonus. In general I recommend it, it's an entertaining show that doesn't require much thinking and 100% vibe and aesthetics.
7.6/10, Meng approved

18 01
https://mydramalist.com/profile/mengosteen/feeds/kBBKEwIk
Unique black (?) comedy about death, featuring the trademark Nagahisa Makoto's colourful and dynamic aesthetics, If you've seen any of his works, you know his flair and his... interesting attitude towards death.
Recommended if you don't mind some Japanese arthouse in your life.

18 01
https://mydramalist.com/profile/mengosteen/feeds/5vvVXQtn
I watched a bunch of One Piece shorts on youtube lately so The Algorithm recommended this little gem to me.
It was released as a special project alongside the 100th volume of One Piece and features excerpts from the anime version of OP, as leads fall back on them while on the crossroads of their lives. Must see for manga/anime watchers/readers and double must see for One Piece fans. Divided into 5 episodes, each episode has a different story

Directed by Ninagawa Mika

20 01
https://mydramalist.com/profile/mengosteen/feeds/ABBW5duA
I knew it was going to be bad since the first episode.
They took a very complex and difficult subject, cheapened it and put it into rigid frames of right-or-wrong (even though the show pretends to be non-judgmental) and slapped a goody two shoes female lead + callous male lead on top of that. Meh

I guess the camerawork is decent?
It always amazes me how some Japanese screenwriters capture human nature so well, while the others... produce this.

28 01

09 02

04 07
https://mydramalist.com/profile/mengosteen/feeds/ABJ00ZSr
It's THE BEST cultivating drama

I read the novel years ago (and I'm pretty sure I got stuck somewhere in the middle) so I'm pretty hazy on the details but as far as I can tell, it follows the source material faithfully, retaining both the good stuff and the bad stuff. As it happens with these novels every supporting character is undeveloped but A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality turns it into an advantage. It's Han Li's journey, everyone else is meaningless. Han Li's line (something about there being plenty of farewells as opposed to reunions) depicts it perfectly.

Pros:

+I'm sorry for being shallow but Yang Yang's face card is insane. They managed to get a lot of really good-looking people yet Yang Yang takes the cake. Aaand... He even managed to act well unlike his previous "cultivation" shows (cough cough Martial Universe)

+Music. I didn't find a single track that was off and 蜉蝣志 by 石岩 is a banger that I keep on repeat.

+source novel is actually DECENT so the writers didn't have to come up with a lot of crap

+ Han Li

Not so good:

-editing is a little iffy. Adding 5 episodes would make it run smoother and avoid these jarring, sudden cuts.

-similarly while the scenes shot in the wild were nice, green screen ones weren't the best

Overall? A must see if you like pure cultivation content, skip everything else as nothing compares to The Immortal Ascension

WHERE IS MY SECOND SEASON?

17 07
https://mydramalist.com/profile/mengosteen/feeds/3orV4AFj
I don't know what I'm supposed to think about this show.

Dude is literally imagining having dates with random women he meets on the streets, at work or anywhere in his life.

On one hand the premise is incredibly unique, I don't think I've seen anything utilising maladaptive daydreaming like that anywhere in media, not even in manga or dorama. Cooking scenes are really well made and their utilised colour grading to the max (in a good way) and while the background music is almost unnoticeable, theme song is really catchy (o-o-ordinary days) and is accompanied by a funky animation.

On the other hand ML is painfully uninteresting and unlikeable, so I didn't care what happened to him (even when he faced difficult decisions) and which girlfriend he got (if any). Most of his "imaginary girlfriends" were cookie cutter and while the variety got slightly better near the end I was already way too annoyed to care and root for anyone.

I don't know if I recommend it. Probably yeah, with a caveat of setting your expectations low?