MyDramaList MDLv6.6

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  • Last Online: 51 seconds ago
  • Gender: Female
  • Location: Brussels, Belgium
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  • Birthday: January 04
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  • Join Date: January 30, 2023

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Ariane aka RiriLaRoro

Brussels, Belgium

Ariane aka RiriLaRoro

Brussels, Belgium

This is the journey of a girl who -completely and quite unexpectedly- fell in love with Kdramas and more...


How this addiction (let's call a spade a spade !) started:

Beginning of September 2022, I was experiencing a major slump on Netflix. Despite an endless list of series and movies on my watchlist, nothing was tempting me.
A few weeks prior, a friend had recommended a South Korean series called "Crash Landing On You". I wasn't really convinced (back then I was -almost exclusively- a fan of American & European shows) but, knowing her excellent taste, I added that title on my watchlist... and just left it there ! :-D
At the time, I admit, I wasn't really aware of the existence of Asian TV-series (I know, right ?!), let alone that they were SO MANY and that they were named "dramas".  

Pretty soon Netflix began to recommend other South Korean dramas' titles and my curiosity finally got the better of me: the very 1st drama I clicked on was "Business Proposal". I don't remember why I chose that one in particular but what a cultural shock it was ! To be honest, I was still a litte skeptical after that first watch but I was definitely intrigued, to say the least.
That's when I finally decided to watch -the now classic- "Crash Landing On You"... and down the rabbit hole I went. Deep. Down.

By the way, "Business Proposal" is - to this date- still the only Korean drama I rewatched entirely (and re-rated). I absolutely HAD to reevaluate that first watch a few months, and many Kdramas, later ! 

As a newbie I quickly realised how late I was in the game.
After just a few weeks I already had waayyyyy too many Kdramas on my "never ending" watchlist. So I made a promise to myself to NEVER! EVER! watch any other Asian countries' series. That would be completely insane, right ? Well, a few months later that promise went down the drain (why am I not surprised ?!) as I subscribed to VIKI and watched my very first Taiwanese drama: "Lesson in Love".
Again, don't ask me why I chose that one specifically but I was hooked !

Soon after, I joined other streaming platforms... (having access to a wide selection of Asian shows is something I love even though I get so conflicted when trying to select a new drama to start), finally discovered MDL, fantastic podcasts and amazing related communities on social media.  
I finally caught my first Chinese drama in July 2023, the no less famous "Hidden Love", and as they say, the rest is history.

At the moment, around 60% of all the dramas and films I'm watching are (still) Korean. The rest is about 20% Chinese, 10% Thaï, 5% Taiwanese and 5% Japanese.
I like all genres but I'm not a fan of Horror ('cause I'm a chicken), except if mixed with good comedy, nor particularly interested in Anime.
I usually struggle when it's time to choose my next drama because there's so much I want to watch, That choice can be influenced by social media, different podcasts' (see list below) reviews, by Netflix's decision to remove a series from their panel... but, in the end, I mainly let my mood choose.

Although I'm not hyperfixate on that specific genre, I love a good interesting romance (Noona's, BL's, fun sweet rom-com's, mature/smart melodrama...) and I'm definitely a Slow Burn -with a touch of angst- aficionada.
My favourite tropes are hidden/mistaken identities, enemies to lovers and fake/contract relationships.
I cringe at unnatural/duckface kisses, Love Triangles, Truck-of-Doom tropes and over-the-top toxic/screaming Makjang-type parents or characters. And I absolutely despise infantile FLs (with over-the-top childlike voice and attitude) and sudden amnesia tropes. This latter has sadly caused some amazing dramas to lose points on my rating chart.
By the way, the "age gap" and characters' sexual orientation are never an issue for me. As long as both characters are consenting individuals, I couldn't care less. 

In general I'm more of a "binger" kind of watcher. That's one of the reasons I rarely start an airing show before all episodes are released. Also, the likelihood  of forgetting what happened the previous week is too great for me ! :-D
It can be hard for me to drop a drama. Probably because, at this "Newbie stage" of my journey into Dramaland, I still want to watch as many Asian shows as possible. Yup, I definitely struggle with FOMO ! No worries, I'm working on it.  Slowly.
If I ever drop a show, it's very rarely before watching at least the first 4-5 episodes (of a Kdrama or 8-10 episodes of a Cdrama). I like to give it a fair chance.
I rarely rewatch a entire show though. It's not that I don't want to but time is of the essence here, guys ! ;-)

Important note: fastforwarding/speed watching is a crime. Obviously. And don't get me started on dubbing ! A sacrilege, no less. :-x (if you're guilty of one of these crimes, please never admit it to me ! Deny or I'll die a bit inside)

By the way, have I ever mentioned how much I loathe spoilers, especially those inconsiderate selfish Social Media Clout/attention seekers who publish or write about major story blind points (without any prior warning), like the one which made me stop watching right in the middle of the suspenseful 2020 Kdrama "Flower of Evil" ? Or the one which spoiled me of the very ending of the 2021 Kmovie "Midnight" ?

Shameful confession: although I usually have a very good visual memory (I excel at remembering faces), I almost NEVER -to my great surprise and regret- recall the names of Asian actors/actresses. But give me a description of the actor/actress, with some titles of dramas he/she acted in, and I almost immediately see who you're talking about !


My RATING System is my own (50% emotional + 50% rational):

10 (or A+) = my kind of perfection.
I acknowledge that no drama or film is perfect but a 10-rated (or A+, which I rarely give, to be honest) is close to "my kind of perfection" on my emotional and aesthetics' enjoyment scale levels.
I never rate a drama I didn't watch AT LEAST HALF of its episodes. (I personally cannot understand how it's possible to evaluate an entire show after only watching the first few episodes)
The more dramas I watch, the more picky I naturally become and the less I give out high ratings.
Important: I would never recommend a drama I rated 7 and under.

My rating can be changed upon a rewatch (as it did with my very first Kdrama, "Business Proposal") but, as I said before, I VERY rarely rewatch a drama.

10★WOW… UNFORGETTABLE ! Spellbound. A Masterpiece. This touched my soul.  (A+)
9 - 9,5★AMAZING ! Fantastic watch. Almost flawless. Loved every second.  (A- to A)
8 - 8,5★VERY GOOD / SOLID ! A few flaws and/or plotholes but still very enjoyable.  (B to B+)
7 - 7,5★GOOD / DECENT but NOT impressive. Quite flawed. Could have been better !  (C+ to B-)
6 - 6,5★SO-SO ! AVERAGE but frustrating at times. Still watchable but VERY flawed.  (C- to C)
5 - 5,5★MEDIOCRE. Disappointing. Barely watchable/tolerable. This tested my patience. (D)
4 - 4,5★BAD. A definite waste of time and energy.
3 - 3,5★TERRIBLE to the point of enraging. Just plain torture. 
2 - 2,5★TRASH ! WHY, OH WHY was this even made ?!? I'm sure I lost brain cells watching it. 
1★This is a CRIME against humanity. This shouldn't exist, it's that simple ! How am I still alive ?



Still can't get enough ? You wanna hear more about Asian DRAMAS ?

In no particular order, here are some GREAT PODCASTS SUGGESTIONS (English speaking) on Spotify and their Instagram accounts:


Even if your tastes are completely different than mine, don't hesitate to send me a Friend Request or message ! "The more, the merrier" in this Delulu Land, right ? ;-) 

THANKS for stopping by & HAPPY WATCHING !

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