Another month has ended and, with it, another set of dramas have made it to the completed section of my extensive watch-list.
Not counting the dramas I watch while they’re on air, I found myself feeling restless for the greater part of this past month because of how few dramas caught and held my attention all the way through. Still, I managed to get to the end of most of them and here’s a list of mini-reviews for what I went through in August.
Binge-watched: Unrequited Love (QQLive, Netflix)
aired: June-July 2019 | episodes: 24 | genre(s): Youth, Romance, Slice of Life
Somebody, I watched this drama in 2 days (could’ve been one if I hadn’t started in the ungodly hours of the first night). It was 100% worth the time though so I’ve got no regrets. I found it near impossible to look away from this drama as I was captivated from the very beginning.
When it was first released on Netflix, I was hesitant to watch it until I found out it was based on a novel by the same author who wrote the novel for 2016 drama With You and the 2017 drama My Huckleberry Friends. I adored both of those dramas so I decided to give it a try and the only thing that took my attention from it was… well, sleep and food.
Now that I think about it, I feel like I’ve been conditioned to expect low-key stalker behaviour that weirdly evolves into “romance” because of excessive pushiness on the part of said stalker when I think of unrequited love in a drama. Thankfully, Unrequited Love was nothing like that once I started it.
First of all, our female lead’s crush did not come out of thin air or worse, from a place of superficial vanity. Her feelings developed over time because of interactions with the male lead. But due to misunderstandings and a whole complicated past, she buries her feelings, only allowing herself to– on occasion– admire him from a safe distance that doesn’t make him uncomfortable.
I genuinely liked her character because she was mature and logical in all her actions, not the type of character who blindly follows her emotions, and that was far easier for me to relate to. She acknowledged that her feelings were hers and not something the male lead needed to take responsibility for so she didn’t allow them to interfere with how she interacted with him. Boundaries. That’s what she had.
Their romance is completely separate from her original crush on him too. It begins with a genuine friendship that evolves into mutual romantic interest that all happened so naturally. I was so invested in them as a couple that I needed that happy ending. Of course there’s no real story if nothing rocks the boat but, if you don’t mind the tone and pacing of the drama, it’s worth trying. Seriously, this was such a good watch.
I’m positive that I will watch this very same story in the next upcoming adaptation, I can’t even pretend to deny it. C-dramas really have found the formula for good youth/first-love dramas and it shows.
Binge-watched: Face Off (Shenzhen TV)
aired: Nov-Dec 2017 | episodes: 42 | genre(s): Romance, Comedy, Drama
Oh, I hated this. I can’t even sugarcoat it.
I started this drama because I had enjoyed other dramas that Tan Song Yun was in, like With You that I mentioned before. The only thing that kept me going through this was my desire to see the antagonists get what they deserved. I mean, I wasn’t on the side of the protagonists or anything (they were ridiculously stupid and I hated all of them) but the bad guys were so far beyond redemption, I needed to see for myself that they were punished.
The whole backdrop of the special effects makeup industry was probably the most interesting factor of the drama but it was pushed further and further into the background as more drama unfolded. The plot was kind of predictable, the protagonists were dumb, the antagonists were practically rewarded for being unforgivable assholes… I can’t even pick a character who felt like the saving grace of that disaster.
It was a whole mess that I definitely regret wasting my time on.
Binge-watched: Gank Your Heart (Mango TV)
aired: June 2019 | episodes: 35 | genre(s): Romance, Youth, Sports
This may very well be one of my favourite Chinese Dramas. I watched this TWICE (the first time, without subtitles because I was hooked but also lack patience and the second, with subtitles so I could actually understand what was going on).
I absolutely adored everything about this drama (except Miya’s existence). It was a story that followed two characters who fall in love while chasing their dreams. The story didn’t lean heavily to one side to favor one character’s journey over the other’s. It also didn’t abandon everything else for the sake of the ship taking off and I loved that.
And the main couple? They can have my whole heart, I love them. Yes, it was one of those enemies to lovers tropes but it was the characters that made it worth watching anyway. These characters went from misunderstanding and hating each other, to understanding and befriending each other which led to them supporting and caring for each other. That’s why they fell in love and they stayed in love because they continued to wholeheartedly support each other going for their dreams without sacrificing or losing sight of their own dreams in the process.
There was the fair share of conflicts to keep things interesting and the supporting characters were all so lovable in their own right (Pei Xi was lowkey adorable and Yi Yi is a whole soulmate kind of bestie).
Even at the most frustrating points of this show, I was completely invested and for the things that were dropped without being properly addressed, I didn’t mind that those threads were left loose. They held very little bearing on where the show went from that point onward and, it’s understandable why certain things are dropped rather than blown up into a bigger issue sometimes… even if it’s not the best way to handle said situation, it happens.
I enjoyed this drama both times and I’m pretty sure I’ll be watching it again in the future (this has very little to do with me liking the fact that Wang Yi Bo is on my TV).
Completed: Everything and Nothing (SBS)
aired: August 2019 | episodes: 4 | genre(s): Youth, Melodrama
This was completely unexpected for me. I’ve seen Park Si-Eun and Yoon Chan-Young play the younger versions of so many drama characters that I’ve basically seen them grow up like my own precious kids. Now they were doing the high school student roles (those are basically the transition role from young versions of main characters to main characters themselves that drama-land’s child actors all seem to go through).
Even though it was a 2 episode (each split in two) drama special, I was here for it being something light and easy to watch. I mean MyDramaList went ahead and listed this under the romance genre so at the very least I was expecting the innocence of first love.
I was not mentally prepared for what I got.
It wasn’t any version of sweet. It was a mature look at youth that was heavy, raw and those children were completely damaged. I don’t even think you can call what happened between them any form of romance, this wasn’t about anything like that. This was a look at things from the perspective of kids who were “old enough to know better” but “too young to know anything” living in a complete shit-show of a life and because of each other they face their reality and decide how to move past it.
It was a good watch, a storyline that could’ve been fleshed out in a full-length drama and I’d watch it all. But it’s not exactly the re-watchable type of story. It just needs to hit you once in all your feelings and that’s enough.
Completed: The Untamed (Tencent Video)
aired: June-Aug 2019 | episodes: 50 | genre(s): Action, Adventure, Wuxia, Fantasy, Comedy, Horror
Have I mentioned that I like seeing Wang Yi Bo on my screen? Because I do. Like, doesn’t his mom look at him and think “wow, I did a good job with this one”?
I started this because I saw the character posters and Yi Bo was looking hella pretty as Lan Wangji. I was actually waiting for enough subbed episodes of this when I started Gank Your Heart in the first place. What I didn’t expect was to see Xiao Zhan for the first time on screen and fall all the way in love with him. Seriously, look at him and Wei Wuxian is just the sweetest, purest, most lovable boy who really deserved less hurt in his life.
I’ve seen maybe two or three Wuxia dramas before this one and I enjoyed all of them not just because of the stories but because of the worldbuilding. The costumes and set designs and the martial arts with a touch of magic it’s all just so much fun for me as a viewer and The Untamed was no different.
I don’t know, maybe they were working with a better budget or something but this drama felt so much nicer to look at. The quality of everything felt better, hair and makeup team did their work, the props didn’t look like plastic toys but I’m pretty sure the flowers were all fake (I haven’t trusted a C-drama garden since I saw that field of obviously artificial flowers in one of the earlier episodes of The Princess Weiyoung). Also, the CG did have its moments where they could’ve done a better job but for the most part this drama was visually pleasing.
The story though, was really good. It’s that whole the good versus evil trope where the “good guys” chose to see everything in black and white– “you’re either on our side or you’re the villain”– when in reality the villains had been among them the whole time, using this mentality that they have to seamlessly shift blame onto a”bad guy” whose only crime is not being a part of the “good guys”. And things are even worse when the one being framed has the added crime of turning away from the “right path” due to circumstances that no one else wished to consider.
My favourite drama character this month might actually be our hero, but the realm’s biggest villain, Wei Wuxian. Not only is he very pretty (his hairstyle is the only valid look for Wuxia dramas, that is all) but he straight up doesn’t care about what others think or choose to believe. He just acts in a way that keeps his conscience clean, doing what he knows to be the right thing with no regard for what the “real heroes” believe. And his carefree attitude is everything, it’s no wonder he managed to make a soulmate out of Lang Wangji who has possibly the highest reputation among the good guys. I’m really out here needing more lead roles for Xiao Zhan in my life.
I loved this drama so much that I’ve missed seeing my precious boys on my TV ever since it ended. I definitely recommend this to anyone who likes this genre. I don’t usually join in on the “make another season” train for a drama where the story is obviously concluded but, if they are making a second season of this, I am so here for it.
Binge-watched: The Man Living In Our House (KBS)
aired: Oct-Dec 2016 | episodes: 16 | genre(s): Comedy, Romance, Drama
I tried this drama once a few years ago but never made it past the first episode. At that time, I was still fairly new to drama-land so the only actor I recognized was Jo Bo-A. If you’ve seen what she’s like in this, then you can understand why her presence was not enough to keep me around at that time.
Anyways, I tried it again a few weeks ago when I was searching for anything to occupy my time and I managed to make it all the way through it.
There wasn’t really anything special about this drama for me. If anything, that one major plot point that made this different from every romantic comedy was probably the thing that I found weird the whole time. Still, it wasn’t a complete waste of time, the perfect drama to watch when nothing else seems to be able to hold your attention. Plus there are a lot of familiar faces that have gotten lead roles in other dramas recently so it was kind of fascinating how the first time I tried it I knew none of their faces.
Not a bad drama but not worth a re-watch.
Completed: Love Alarm (tvN, Netflix)
aired: Aug 2019 | episodes: 8 | genre(s): Romance, Youth, Drama
So, this “first season” was actually a half of the full drama. Somebody told Netflix this was a good idea and they’ve been doing it since My First First Love.
Let’s be clear, it’s not.
Two episodes a week until it’s over or a whole season dumped on me at once, that’s what makes sense. I mean look at me, I watched the first half of MFFL in a day while I haven’t even looked at it since the second half has been released. But they left us on a cliffhanger that was even worse than in MFFL so, I mean, I don’t have a choice but to watch the rest as soon as it’s out.
Anyways, this is actually based on a webtoon of the same name and the concept is quite interesting: a cell phone app that tells you if someone in your immediate vicinity likes you. A love triangle with this at its centre is so much potential drama especially since both boys are best friends.
I didn’t want to like the male lead at first… bruh who even is the male lead tbh?
I didn’t want to like Sun-oh at first because his interest in Jo-jo started because he noticed that his best friend had the hugest crush on her. I mean, sure Hye-young was constantly denying that he liked her but it was obvious and Sun-oh definitely crossed a line he shouldn’t have.
That being said, I don’t ship Hye-young with Jo-jo either. He decided to work up the nerve at a time when she had given up on relationships so nobody’s romantic interest was welcome. I read a post somewhere about how selfish second leads tend to be just because they’re the good guys and that’s exactly the kind of character Hye-young feels like. He only cares about the fact that he likes her and has no regard for her feelings on the matter.
Okay fine, he wasn’t the one responsible for her heartbreak. And yes, he was helping her put her guard down again but the way he blatantly put out that his interest in her was far from platonic, will inevitably put pressure on her to choose him if she continues to accept his gestures as something friendly.
I don’t know man, Sun-oh started off on the wrong foot but that didn’t mean his feelings for Jo-jo weren’t genuine. If she really does have to pick between one or the other I’m more in his corner but honestly, Jo-jo needs a change of scenery and a third candidate because these boys are nothing but stress.
I’ll have to come back for the second half to see who she ends up with but, most importantly, I NEED to see what happens between Duk-gu and Gul-mi. Whoever Jo-jo picks is far less relevant to me than Gul-mi meeting poetic justice.
Completed: The King’s Avatar (iQiyi, Netflix)
aired: July-Aug 2019 | episodes: 40 | genre(s): Action, Aventure, Sports, Fantasy
This is the third e-sports Chinese drama I’ve watched but this one places a lot more focus on the actual gaming. It’s a comeback story where our male lead makes a glorious return to the world of professional gaming with a found family of underdog players. Another thing that’s different from the other e-sports dramas I’ve seen is the absence of a romantic subplot, don’t nobody have the time for that.
I was genuinely surprised by the CG in this drama when I started it. The other two dramas were romances with the e-sports world as the backdrop so we didn’t really see much of the actual gaming as it played out. The only other drama where we saw the game being played from this angle was Love O2O and even then it was just our cast of actors cosplaying as their game characters. The King’s Avatar, however, had the graphics that made it feel like you were inside of the game with the players.
Another thing I loved was all the characters . There was the group of them that Ye Xiu managed to bring together for his team. Seriously, they were all so different but all of them so precious. And then there were the opponents who had nothing but respect and support for Ye Xiu as their teacher and/or biggest rival. But there was also the antagonistic character who did their job the right way, if my irritation was anything to judge by.
I love found families and the underdog story never gets old so I was here for all of this. But the thing I hate most with stories that have these tropes is the occasional “realistic” ending where the underdogs lose because “that’s life” or whatever. I hate it when this happens. I don’t invest my time and feelings into watching a team struggle and grow and improve and make it all the way to the end only to see them lose. It’s one of my biggest peeves and this drama almost had me for a second but, luckily, this wasn’t the case. I’m still salty about that fake-out though.
Anyways, this was a good watch, totally worth it if you have the time to invest in watching Yang Yang as a genius player and undercover cinnamon roll make the perfect comeback.
Dropped: JOJO’s World (TTV)
aired: Aug-Nov 2017 | episodes: 15 | genre(s): Romance, Comedy, Drama
I wanted to finish this drama, I really did. I put out the effort to make it to episode four before realizing I didn’t hate myself enough to suffer through it.
The plot of this drama sounded like it could make for some really interesting drama but I couldn’t stick around long enough to see if it delivered. The acting was pretty bad and it felt as if everybody was constantly yelling at me. The characters that’d been introduced so far weren’t really endearing either. They were kind of annoying, over-exaggerated stereotypes and I don’t even know if that was an issue with the writing or the portrayals or both.
I think the thing that really got to me the most though was the ease with which the female lead could continuously refer to her co-worker as a slut, both behind her back and to her face. I was hoping that it was one of those things that was harsher when translated but it was still off-putting. I mean, it’s none of your business if a woman wants to use her body to gain advantages and, as a woman yourself, it doesn’t earn you some good girl points trying to shame her for it. I don’t know what the writer was trying to achieve by doing this (other than making me dislike the main character) but I couldn’t manage to stick around to find out if there was a point to it.
It just– yeah I just had to drop this.
Dropped: Oh! My Emperor
aired: Apr-May 2018 | episodes: 21 | genre(s): Romance, Comedy, Historical, Fantasy
There isn’t much for me to say about this drama since I didn’t even make it past the first episode.
Like I said earlier, I needed more of Xiao Zhan and I’d seen Zhao Lu Si in I Hear You and thought she was adorable so I decided to give this a try. I don’t even know what the plot was supposed to be, I legit only came for him.
Honestly, he may have been the prettiest one I saw but he wasn’t the male lead. I’d seen him go through far too much already in The Untamed, if he wasn’t the lead– getting the girl, since it’s a romance– I was out.
So, yeah, dropped this too.
Movie: Deadpool 2
I decided to look at what was on TV one day and saw this so I watched it. I’d seen the first movie and well, I don’t even remember anymore.
What even is Deadpool though? A super anti-hero? It feels weird to call this a superhero movie knowing exactly what Deadpool is like and the blatant disregard for innocent bystanders becoming casualties of his (team’s) actions doesn’t really sound like superhero behaviour.
Still the movie was pretty much like your standard superhero movie. It was an easy story to follow, it was funny, the action was entertaining. It was exactly what I wanted out of a superhero movie so, I guess it’s worth the watch.
I don’t really have much to say about this so, if you’ve seen it, then you know what it’s like. If you haven’t, it’s not a complete waste to see it yourself.
Movie: Spider-Man Far From Home
When the powers were new and exciting, being a hero was exactly what the teenage Peter Parker wanted. It’s understandable that he was more than ready to protect everyone, to save everyone.
In Far From Home, however, it wasn’t new and fun anymore. He was grieving in his own way, feeling inadequate and incredibly pressured by the responsibilities that now awaited him. It was completely within reason for him to want to walk away from it all and go back to being a regular high school kid with the biggest crush on MJ. It wasn’t ridiculous for him to inadvertently cause the trouble he did here but, in typical superhero movie fashion, he managed to saved the day. And that’s what really matters.
Again, with the whole point about being like your standard superhero movie but I did enjoy this more than Deadpool 2 because I felt more for the characters in this one. It’s really a matter of personal preference.
Some days you may feel like watching a superhero movie and, if I had to choose between the two I recently watched, my choice is kind of obvious.
So, that’s it for this month’s watch-list. Why does this feel so much longer than last month’s? I wouldn’t blame you for skipping over whatever just to get to the end of this but, if you read all that then thank you.
Maybe I should start writing individual reviews so these monthly round-up posts don’t run on for this long…
Until next month, I guess.
Bored Homebody 
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