Dramas i actually managed to finish

On the surface this is one of the best dramas in terms of comedy. However as i rewatched the first episode i remembered how excitingly multilayered the story is. So if you can endure the silly characters you get the full package which makes this the best drama of 2012. It can be watched in full on youtube (thanks SBS) so there is no reason to not at least watch the first episode.

This is the first asian drama i ever finished. I felt like Alice in wonderland exploring a strange but fascinating new world. For opening the door to a whole new world of entertainment (not only for asian dramas, but also for their soundtracks) i hold this one dear to my heart.  If you are an experienced watcher, chances are good you will only see a mediocre drama here, so better deduct 3 points from the rating in that case. As i watched some compilations of it just now i remembered how much the male lead carried this, also the soundtrack is something i can still listen to this day, making my heart bleed (in a good way). Its on youtube too (thanks SBS again) so watch the first episode.

Its hard for me to describe why i have it that positively in my memory. There isnt overly much happening storywise and the soundtrack is "only" ok. The female lead makes a lot of the charm, its a character you either love or hate. Her relationship to the two male leads makes the core triangle which surprisingly was enough to give this a strong rating. Villain, fallen hero and sassy beauty they all fill their role so well i had to binge this within 2 days. Watch the photos provided by MDL, what is there more to say?

As a side note they drive a Mercedes SLK, so as a big Mercedes fan thats a bonus. I know you didnt want to know that :P

Again we have a villain here, even more heinous now. In more than one way this i a kind of worse "My Love from the Star". On the upside the story is the load-bearing element here (as expected from a japanese template) and the villain is supporting that story excellently. However the other male lead and the female lead, one could say the most important actors, have a weak performance here. So weak in fact that i can only see it in the shadow of "love from the star".

You probably havent seen this yet. And you dont need to if youre not interested in porn.

I enjoyed it as it was easy to watch and made me think a bit about the difference how the japanese see porn and the morals connected to it when compared to more western standards. It was also nice to embark on a travel with the main character leaving his old job and working in a completely different field.

Never saw a zombie outbreak in medieval times? No? I wonder why nothing like that reached me so far. I mean there are so many movies about zombie outbreaks in modern times, though imo the middle ages is a heavily underrated setting in that regard. Building on the strong foundation not much was added though, the court intrigues were lacking in scope, the acting didnt escpecially catch my eye and the story wasnt all that exciting. But to not end it too negatively, its a solid watch that finally brought a setting to life i wanted to see, with a very pleasing production value.

Is it the best k-drama ever created? If seen purely for the good time one has for sure, but can that last as a classic for ages? Generations of scholars debated for that question but no clear answer could be found. In any case its a top contender. It has an unordinary setting plot, it combined the male mind with the female body well, the humor and acting is top notch, the soundtrack is nice. The plot wasnt ridiculous but also didnt take it too serious. The cast is so good and broad you can basically pick any actor and theres not much fault to find there. So what is there not to like about it? For the full 10 points the story isnt complex enough, so no its not the best drama but if i should recommend someone a k-drama, this is the first one that comes to mind.

This is a bit of a hidden gem. I already liked the japanese original, so i knew i will like the story. But instead of resting on that strong japanese story pillar the chinese version successfully slightly altered the story with their own touch and filled the positions with even stronger characters. Im not sure if i want to say that the chinese version is better, but it created a very own interpretation that is without a doubt an enrichment. I thank this drama for showing how a japanese-chinese combination can look like, this and the cheerful main character made a deep inpression on me. Its also on youtube (thanks iQiyi) so definitely try the first episode. You might need a few episodes though to get the feel of it, to see what lies hidden there.

Unfortunately romance isnt my favourite genre, otherwise this could probably have been my all time favourite. So if you are a fan of cheesy romance this could hit like a bomb. The story has just the right amount of complexity, the supporting characters do a good job, the female lead is embodying her role perfectly, the soundtrack is hitting the right spot and the production value feels like high-quality. Its a pity i couldnt see more of the ice "prince" and instead had to watch her becoming a weak person that has to be rescued by the males. But i guess that was inevitable when looking at the title and picture again.

Strangely "Squid Game" did get a lot of attention outside of the k-drama bubble. I cant understand that and think it is totally overrated. I can name so many dramas that are ways better than this and dont get that much attention at all, its a bit irritating. In every aspect i think of it as mediocre. Theres not even much for me to point out here in either direction.

And here we have another chinese gem,  also bringing a hefty 36 episodes to the table. Contrary to the similiar length of "Hikaru no Go" it felt a little bit tedious to bring it to the end. Surely 30 episodes would have been enough to tell the story. The story is interesting and big enough to barely fill this drama, however thats not a bad thing, entertaining me for that long is an achievement of its own. 

The strong point of the male lead is his unwavering self-confidence to tackle everything. I like that kind of overpowered heroes battling every obstacle while still looking cool. However its also his weakness, sometimes the character doesnt feel believeable, if he would be a car he is taking the curves at the outermost point nearly losing control tearing the viewer out of the immersion. He is pairing well with the female lead, the soundtrack is good, the supporting roles are adding to the flavor although they feel a bit ridiculous at times. So to sum it up its a top chinese drama you definitely should check out if you havent yet, as it can be found on youtube. The first episode is a good starting point, though you will need a lot more episodes to see its full charm.

You will probably find nothing of much interest here if you arent interested in k-pop. What kept me going here was a lot of thinking about the k-pop industry. Not sure how close the drama is to reality, but the industry depicted here is how i would imagine it, with its ups and downs. The soundtrack is also very similar to k-pop songs and catches the vibe of the drama very well. I also have a weak spot for the second female lead, just saw she is my age, hm better dont think too much...

Only half a year after "Imitation" its competitor came around the corner. At first i thought of it as an imitation (pun intended) and thought of "Imitation" as the better drama, however when i deducted the first time bonus (we tend to rate things better that we saw first) i came to the conclusion that "the coup" is better. They also go for slightly different directions and strangely in the end "the coup" was the better package in terms of entertainment, though it lacks a lot of the emotionality of "imitation".

This drama has a soundtrack that also works if you didnt saw the drama which is an indicator of a better soundtrack. The story is fleshed out a lot better and the female leads act way better. The attitude of the girls annoyed me a bit, at some point i thought im watching a group of crybabies that are unaware of what they want, so that probably prevented a better rating. But be sure you get the full load of k-pop-drama here, if that is good or bad is something everyone has to decide on their own.

season 1