Dramas watched in 2022

notes contain mild spoilers, completed dramas only

pocketchange Jun 23, 2022

10 Titles 0 Loves

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1. Legend of Yunze Special

Chinese Special - 2021, 14 episodes

8.0
- Everything I wanted out of the first season; less plot but more focused on their (fluffy) relationship, it also has the bonus tragic-death-turned-reincarnation trope going for it.
- Zhao-yun pulling every single cdrama male lead move out lmao. honestly if it were an male lead, I would be so offended but instead it's wlw so like. STEP ASIDE RED FLAGS IT'S FOR ROMANCE
  is this what straight people feel like
  also the tables getting turned in the last episode. poetry. hilarious poetry
- shout out to the side characters for being so damn funny with so little time too
- the effect of censorship here is maybe a little more obvious? but i'm still squeeing. a half hour well spent
2. Legend of Yunze Season 2

Chinese Drama - 2022, 15 episodes

8.0
- Maintains that slightly darker and more plotty vibe of season 1 but holy payoff batman
  the plot is more central to the characters so we get some amazing development for both A-ze and Zhao-yun
  like no joke i was tearing up those last two episodes
- bittersweet ending we are PRAYING for a third season
- more than worth the hour and a half watching both seasons all over again
3. Three Hundred Years Later

Chinese Special - 2021, 2 episodes

6.0
- really a two part short film but i have a system and i'm sticking to it
- cute and has elements of a larger plot and characters i'd like to see
- just kinda ends though
4. The Vampires

Chinese Drama - 2022, 8 episodes

7.0
- did i understand what was happening at any point? no!
  was everyone so pretty it didn't matter? yep!
  this in no way impacted anything but i'm struggling to find a polyhedron adequete enough to describe the sheer number of love lines and triangles up in here
- hilarious first episode or so but gets serious pretty quick. the ending's technically bittersweet but. i'm sad now :(
5. Out of Breath

Korean Drama - 2019, 3 episodes

7.0
- cute in a quiet way and feels very much by wlw, for wlw
- On the one hand I love that we focus on understated queer problems like loneliness and difficulty connecting rather than like. Outright homophobic insults and violence
  on the other hand i'm so very bored of "out of the closet" stories lmao
- there's a small thread of the best friend being Very Obviously in love with her which was just kinda there.
  yes queer groups are like that (authentic!) but it's an odd narrative choice to include it in a such a short show for no other reason
6. Tomorrow

Korean Drama - 2022, 16 episodes

8.0
- all the content warnings. All of them.
  suicide is treated as a crime punishable by hell. which. i hate it but it's not a new concept and was probably done so as to not condone anything. but the series itself comments on how harsh this is a couple times actually
- visually incredibly slick, great editing and wardrobe; it's all very netflix
- this show is the mental health version of a medical drama. you'll have be okay with magic fixes in the name of narrative
- first half of the series nicely balances humor and hope with the darkness of the subject matter at hand, while keeping it all fairly respectful
  the second half gets DARK. like middle of winter in the arctic circle d-a-r-k. pace yourself.
  great acting throughout and i was pretty happy with how all the character arcs went. and we do get a relatively happy ending, thank god
- i wish we had spent less time on the episodic case format; there's so much to explore in the reaper's world- maybe a more natural opportunity to explore our reaper's pasts too
  it may have also prevented so much plot being shoved into the last episode, cause boy is there a lot going on there! some weird random plot threads and things I would have liked to either have more build or more fallout
  minor point bc i know this is primetime and i wouldn't trust them to do it well anyways but. we get a dog episode...but not an lgbtq+ episode? okay.
7. Spring Turns to Spring

Korean Drama - 2019, 32 episodes

7.5
- a comedy through and through for better or for worse
  by which i mean there are a few points I wish we could have delved into characters or relationships, but this show will take the played-for-comedy option 90% of the time.
  but the comedy is done so well it's hard to complain. the leading ladies in particular are absolutely hilarious and amazing to watch as they easily inhabit each other's characters or even each other's character pretending to be the other (and everything in between as they begin to exchange traits)
  the bom boys are kind of marmite. i hear they grow on people but i found them incredibly irritating at best and skip-worthy in general.
- the plot is filled with bad science and by the end has several holes poked in it's in-universe logic. but it kept the comedy moving, so I never felt it dragged too badly.
  given that bom and bo-mi switch bodies and not minds (thus making it possible to be caught) i wouldn't have minded more reveals or more people switching as well. If you're gonna go chaotic, go all in!
  i was a little surprised the Big Reveal was played straight instead of laughed off as a hoax/ special effect but sure why not
- The odd little sismance between Bom and Bo-mi is so sweet and fun and part of what makes this such a unique use of the bodyswap trope. I wanted way more of it!
- Overall though, this is a delightful bit of light fluff, especially if you need a second to unplug your brain or a break from another darker drama (coughtomorrowcough)
8. Koisenu Futari

Japanese Drama - 2022, 8 episodes

8.0
- hits that drama/slice-of-life vibe that jdramas do so well
  as someone on the aro/ace spectrum, it definitely felt written by and for the community but I think it's plenty accessible to allies as well. also they explicitly use aromantic and asexual!!
- the main characters feel real and well-acted; the side characters could often be abrasive in parts but showed a nice, if not realistic amount of growth and dimension
  a lot of the main side characters do not react very well to a lot of aroace concepts, and there's a couple episodes that are difficult to watch by virtue of side characters more or less hounding the main characters to defend their identities. It's dealt with very well and succinctly by the main characters, and most everyone comes around to some level of understanding or allyship though.
- something something the rejection of the binds of 'normal' in exchange for the freedom of 'subject to change' as a queer thesis and in this essay i will
9. Hospital Playlist

Korean Drama - 2020, 12 episodes

7.5
- If you can get through the fire-hose torrent of characters, then once you put names and faces together you're in for a warm, moving, and often hilarious slice-of-life
- The acting and script is great, especially the banter and antics between the five friends.
  would have loved more of the five friends together; when they get to share scenes, it all comes alive
  also more band practice stuff. the band ends up being a once-an-ep musical interlude at best.
- It's hard to explain how this show is good... and yet I rarely had that desire to watch the next episode outside of the fact it was sitting in my watchlist. There's a certain spark/drive/direction that's missing for me
  i'm sorry show i wanted to love you!
10. A Practical Guide to Being a Superstar's Assistant

Chinese Drama - 2022, 6 episodes

6.0
- i'm here for the "plot"
  no seriously this is obviously just an excuse to get two of the more influential douyin baihe actors in the same room.
  who needs "character development" or "plot structure" ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED