monstersnroses

Not high production value, but there's an older one from 1998 called "A Sleeping Forest" and it's so beautiful, lots of lush green forest scenes and a hot ML.

Then there's Watashitachi wa Douka Shiteiru, but you've probably already seen it... the cinematography is kind of average but the production value is good, and the colors really pop.

You could try Kingyo Tsuma, it was very beautiful but I can't recc it for the story I didn't really dig it, I gave it a 7, but you might like it, and it was really pretty and similar to this in aesthetic.. Very good production value.

Then this might sound weird, but there is a J-Drama called "Homeroom" and it's more of a comedy, and it is pretty dang wild. But I was really struck by some of the amazing cinematography. Not the kind of show I was expecting to find that type of artistry in, but it was really good just on that level alone. It's not like in this show with lots of blues and purples and cool tones, it really is more of a "red and black" vibe, but to me it was really gorgeous.

Kind of a stretch, but you can also try Majo no Jouken. It had average production value, and above-average aesthetics, but the artistic sensibility is the same as this one,(I think much better in fact) and the use of symbolism runs really deep through the show, the psychological and artistic content is impressive. Subject matter might bother some people, though.

There's a really cheesy spicy one called Koi To Dangan, and it has a lot of fun cringe in it, but it also has some very spicy lines and scenes in it that make you just fan yourself and turn to jello, and the production value and aesthetic are really nice. A lot of pink, cherry blossoms, black leather and starry sky type vibe. But it's less airbrush-beautiful and more like guns-n-bubblegum-cool.

Also I see from your watchlist that you really enjoyed Love To Hate You, so I'd also recc you 'Crazy Love', which is Korean, but it's pretty similar to Love To Hate You, as far as the tone it takes and the crazy level of chemistry between the ML and FL.

Also, the most stunning visuals I've ever seen in a drama, is the c-drama Rise Of The Phoenixes. The story is a little bit heavy. There's no HE, and the romance is a side dish, or like a carrot on a string that keeps you watching but never becomes closer to fulfillment. But the story is intricate and immersive, and the production value and visuals are on a whole other tier unto itself. Absolutely gorgeous.

Entry Level Insanity:
Nothing But You
Lesson In Love
Meteor Garden (Tawanese Version!!!)
Secret Garden (K-version)
Koi To Dangan
That Winter The Wind Blows
Cheese In The Trap
The Smile Has Left Your Eyes

Professional Level Insanity:
Embrace In The Dark Night
Secret
My Lethal Man
Love And Bid Farewell
Till The End Of The Moon

Certified Batshit Level Insanity:
I Love My President Although He Is A Psycho
Well Intended Love
Enslaved By Love
The Rose

Yep, that elevator kiss scene, that was VERY good, but the rest of the drama to me was so snoozy, aigoo.

My Fated Boy
Lesson In Love
Falling Into You
Que Sera Sera (kind of a meh drama, but with one of the hottest kiss scenes I've ever seen in it)

short length awesomeness:
Embrace In The Dark Night (holy shit!)

I said the same thing at ep 23, I came back to this page and said "uhh... why am I still watching this again?" and people were like "JUST KEEP GOING YOU WILL NOT RAGRET"!!! I was starting to feel like this futile frustrated boredom start to kick in, but then BAM it got good! So good in fact that to this day, out of like 400 shows, this is the ONLY 10 I've ever given out. And now I'm on my 6th rewatch.

For me, all I can say is it was DEFINITELY worth my time investment. The payoff is so awesome.

good luck, we are all still looking for something a year later, and so far we just have meager suggestions for things that can take your mind off it for a while, but I'm on my 6th rewatch because there's nothin good out right now. Pearl Girl was a total bust. Double and Princess Royal don't have anywhere near the chemistry as SOKP. Blossom was imo REALLY good, but the drama's weak point is there's no chemistry and the romance is just a side dish and the FL is more of an 8/10 and not really a 10/10 for the role....

These are my other favorites, for what it's worth. They're not as good. But they're good enough that for the time I spend watching them, I temporarily forget SOKP:

My Fated Boy
Falling Into You (not Falling Into Your Smile, that's a different show)
Till The End Of The Moon

if you're into dark shit:
Love And Bid Farewell
The Smile Has Left Your Eyes

If you're into spicy shit:
Lesson In Love
Embrace In The Dark Night
Undercover Affair

If you're into k-drama:
Crazy Love
Love To Hate You

If you're in it for the story:
A Dream Of Splendor
Blossom

A well developed character, she spent her last lifetime as a scheming bratty b*tch, and died because of it. She finds herself awake in her second timeline, and is kind of in shock about it, and she starts thinking. About where she went wrong, what she could have done different, how she really feels about things etc. Since she had previously been the Empress, she is now really a strange mix of self confidence and self doubt... she's smart and strong minded with a really sharp sense of humor, but tries to pass herself off as just some backcountry girl with no importance or experience, and doesn't want to be noticed by people. Bai Lu's acting is very natural and unforced, and FL has enough dimension to make her seem like a real person.

imo anyway

tysm <3

it's amnesialicious

what's the spice level?

I gave it a 7, i thought it was okay. But the highlight of that drama was the part where she's in the ?shower/bath? next door, and he calls the landlord and goes "can you shut off the electricity to just one unit?"

RED FLAG FIRE 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Luo Zheng, I love you a lot... but I can't watch a genderswap I'm sorry. Hard pass. I promise I will watch your next one. <3

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Ep 19-20

Well that sucked

I thought these two would hook up by the 2/3 mark, but apparently that aint gonna happen lol. imo, this was such a terrible direction to take this story, omgawd. We got 2 core characters axed, a time skip, AND amnesia.

Well all righty then.

Story of Kunning Palace
Embrace in the Dark Night
The Smile Has Left Your Eyes / A Million Stars Falling From The Sky (k-version/j-version)
Cheese In The Trap (the series, not the movie)
The Scholar Who Walks the Night
Love Between Fairy and Devil
Love Is Phantom
Supervisor Husband
Undercover Affair
Hanaoni 3
Huang Shu Da Ren Jie Yuan Ba
My Lethal Man
Flower of Evil
Tempted
The Black Devil and the White Prince
Nothing But You
Blue Whisper

Some of those I thought were much better than others, but nothing on that list for me is below a 7. They all have what I would consider calculating, enigmatic ML's, but there's a really wide variety of styles of shows in that list. Maybe something will pique your interest there. <3

I think what determines if you like an acting performance is it's ability to contribute to the feeling of total immersion in a show. If the actor is somehow taking you out of total immersion, then their acting is gonna bother you because it's removing you from the story instead of making you feel like it's real.

Behold, the straight-man, just going about his revenge business. all stoic and unreadable in his combat boots and black cobra kai sleeveless hoodie. Along comes FL, the sweet defenseless bunny rabbit. She wrecks his vibe, dancing around in her little housedress and climbing all over him and being silly. And in the last couple episodes somewhere, he just basically said that if she keeps coming on to him, she gonna FAFO.

I will take him at his word, because when was the last time Gao Zheng was in anything tame.

Am I the only one who thinks it's so gross and cringe when they do the gulping sound effect during sexual tension scenes in c-dramas? At least this one wasn't that bad but sometimes they will do them really loud, and now whenever I see one of those 'gulp' sound effects about to happen I'm like "Noooo!" and I use my mongoose speed to quickly turn down my speaker volume so I don't have to hear that disgusting noise ughh.

Is it just me? :P

Tysssm, and happy new year to you as well! <3

I gave Blossom a 9/10 and thought it was awesome, but I agree that FL's acting isn't the best. Not the worst, for sure. But also not the best. One good thing I can say about her though, is she's better than Yang Mi.