7 Habits to Learn from Dramas
It has been a while since I wanted to do a Currently Watching article and I cannot find a better drama to start with than Someday or One Day, a Taiwanese time-travel drama that is one of the most mysterious I have ever seen, and that is saying something. This extraordinary drama has garnered quite some popularity among Chinese audiences and is one of the top shows airing right now. Let me outline why this multiple-doppelgänger-laden drama has the right mix of elements to captivate you:
Time-travel with a twist
The female lead from 2019, Huang Yu Xuan (Alice Ke) unexpectedly travels to the past by means of a Walkman and a particular song, but not her own past and neither as herself, but rather into the body of someone else who looked just like her, a schoolgirl called Chen Yun Ru in the year 1998. The exact trigger of the time-travel is unknown, and it seems as if her arrival changes the future. However, other clues make it seem as if everything were preordained. Afterwards, it appears that changes are possible as long as they are not too much. If that seems like a lot to make sense of, it is. This drama would use a lot of your brain. In that respect, it has echoes of my favourite Korean drama, Nine: Nine Times Time Travel.
Murder. Intrigue. Mystery
There are a particular murder and accident that are central to the mystery. However, do not think that there may not be more. Even though we learn quite early on that there is something not quite right about one character, inexplicable occurrences make it hard to actually guess what happened. We are left guessing as to who knows what, and even how many versions of one character may be existing simultaneously; be warned that there may be more than two such characters but also do not worry, there is a logic behind the madness.
Fleshed out characters
The drama does not have a complex web of characters. Instead, it has very well-developed characters who really come to life. The two female lead versions, Huan Yu Xuan and Chen Yun Ru, are quite different characters, as are the two male leads versions, Wang Quan Sheng and Li Ziwei (played masterfully by Greg Hsu). The tragic character of Mo Jun Jie (Patrick Shih) is written carefully, and his attraction towards Chen Yun Ru appears so natural as does his perplexity at how she suddenly changes so much. Even the side characters of Chen Yun Ru’s mother and brother are given their own space to grow, though another writer could easily have deemed it non-essential for the plot. The attention to detail makes this drama stand out.
Romance in many forms
There are many stories oriented around the school and many romances as well as many school romances. The time travel aspect enables Someday or One Day to show many aspects of love and romance. We see the wordless school crush. We see the dreaded confession rejection. We see self-sacrifice. We see fading attraction at a change of personality. There are heartbreak and longing. There is even a very brief taboo gay crush. The difference between the playfulness of school, as well as college life, and the working life are also shown skillfully. 
Veteran Taiwanese drama watchers would love this drama, but it is also recommended for anyone out to watch their first. If you take my suggestion, let it sink in overtime even if you are a habitual binge-watcher. Trust the current rating on MDL and just go for it.
