Do you like Romance?

/ March 13, 2017

Do you like romance? If you do then I think you are doing yourself a big disservice if you haven’t checked out at least a couple of Asian Dramas. Primarily Korean, Taiwanese, and Japanese ones. Why? Because I think Romance is a genre that they truly excel at. 😀 Therefore, allow me to give you 3 BIG reasons why they have gotten my attention and I love them so much. ^_^

1.I Love Romance…Ships/OTPs

I have always found myself to be particularly interested in movies/tv shows that had an element of romance in them. However, I always found it difficult to find shows that really emphasized on the relationships themselves.  Too many times the same problems would happen for me with American shows. They would be: couples would just rush to the sex part, characters would feel like they got together only because they where hot, if a ship became real they would be broken up multiple times, the show would go on for so long a character would leave the show and break the ship. These where some of the problems I kept seeing happen.

With Asian dramas that I have watched it felt like relationships where taken slower and the writing for them was more organic. Most of the focus being on the characters feeling’s for one another, watching it develop and progress. Put it this way, if you think there should be meaning and build up for a kiss scene then there is a good chance you will like Asian dramas. haha Sure they have their own set of problems, I mean nothing is perfect. Overall though I clicked with them more.

2. 16-24 Episodes

Why must every American show try to go on for so long? Can’t there be at least some shows that WANT to be shorter? I prefer shorter shows because so many times Western ones feel like they have filler episodes and could have easily been shorter. Even a lot of my fave shows can feel dragged on at times.

Most Asian dramas I have watched on the other hand have been between 16-24 episodes. This is like the golden standard for me now. I don’t know if my brain is just tiny but I can’t deal with super long shows anymore. 😛 What I like about the 16-24 episode format is that it makes it easier to binge watch a drama because it takes up less time. Also makes it easier to move on from one to the next. I would much rather be left wanting more than to risk wishing I had less. Anybody else with me?

3. So much to choose from

It’s like there is and end supply of dramas available. lol Just when you think you are caught up with the things you wanted to see. Something new will start or somebody within the drama community will recommend you something you had never heard about before. Sure there are tropes that pop up time and time again. Similarities that you begin to pick up on. Stuff that could easily be made fun of. However it doesn’t change the fact that there are many sub genres within the Romance genre. Making it highly likely that there will be one for you and your sensibilities. I’ve met people who have watched dramas that I would never even think about watching and people who have watched many dramas but have somehow not watched a lot of the ones that I have.

So yeah those are my 3 big reasons why I watch them. If you wanna give them a chance then my all means check out Viki and dramafever. These are free, safe, and legal sites where you can watch Asian Dramas. They have pretty good selections to choose from. So go and start watching today!

For newbies I will try and recommend a few. I’ll try to make my picks as diverse as I can. I will also link to them. 😀

Master’s Sun

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This drama is about a woman who can see Ghosts and her Boss who is a CEO that has an obsession with money. This one is good if you want one that has a reason for the characters to be a bit handsy with one another. For you see, she can’t see any of those scary ghosts if she holds on to him. 🙂

Kill Me, Heal Me

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This one is about a third-generation business heir who has dissociative identity disorder(multiple personality disorder). He has a total of seven personalities. He asks the female protagonist of this drama for help because she is a first year psychiatric resident. Fantastic for the main actors portrayal of all the different personalities.

Murphy’s Law

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The girl is a love guru who works for an online dating website. The guy..well not only does he not believe in love. He also works for a service that sets up parties for couples who are breaking up. The idea being that these couples break up on good terms. It’s a predictable drama but I recommend it for its cuteness. Plenty of moments where the leads act like a teen couple.(but in the best way possible)

Back to 1989

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A guy who doesn’t know about his father travels back in time to right before he was conceived. He tries to use this opportunity to find out who his father is. In the mean time… he falls in love with his mother’s best friend. No Biggie.

The Hours of My Life

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Check this one out if you are into getting wrecked. The main guy is an average college guy finding it hard enough to just get a job. Things get even worse when he is diagnosed with ALS. Watch how this begins to affect his every day life and his romantic life. You need to have a lot of tissues prepared for this one. T_T

So that concludes this post. I might revisit this subject again down the road. Thanks for reading! 😀

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29 thoughts on “Do you like Romance?”

  2. Your second point is really true. I love that most Asian dramas tell a complete story, with beginning/middle/end, all in one short season. The pacing tends to be really solid. It also makes them easy to binge watch! There are a bunch of good ones on Netflix, and I use dramafever too.

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  5. Your first point instantly made me think of Tony and Ziva from NCIS. I really have to agree with you that US (and UK) shows just aren’t anywhere near as satisfying as Asian dramas when it comes to romance.

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  7. I completely agree with your reasons! The first one is a big one for me. I was already really dissatisfied with American TV when I found kdramas. And they showed me exactly why I was unhappy. Asian dramas just seem to understand how to craft good characters and create meaningful romances as well as other relationships. I still watch some American TV, but I find myself just constantly criticising it and being like “this would be so much better if it were a kdrama” lol.

    And yes, American shows go on for way too long! Even the good ones rarely need more than a couple seasons because the show just gets worse as it goes and ends up completely different from how it started. Ah, and number 3…the endless buffet of dramas forever at your fingertips! You just can’t beat it 🙂

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    • Ive thought about how some American shows would be as a drama too. 🙂 My go to answer for an American tv show that could be interesting as a drama is the X- files. Probs never gonna happen though. 😛 haha

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      • Now that would be a fun one! I know of a couple dramas that do a sort of supernatural detective theme. I haven’t seen this one yet, but there’s a historical called Joseon X-Files. Obviously, it’s not like the American show, but everyone says it’s really good as a historical supernatural investigation drama 🙂

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  9. I have the attention span of a five year old so I totally related to the shorter number of episodes. LOL. I’m so glad you included The Hours of My Life. Miura Haruma was priceless in this one.

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  12. I have recently got into Taiwanese dramas and I have to to say i have binged some and I am absolutely in love with them, i feel like more people should watch and experience them. I love Murphy’s Law of Love it is one of my favourite shows. However, I have not watched any Korean dramas yet

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  13. Im more into Kdramas myself but have been watching Taiwanese dramas more and more lately. I recommend ones starring Aaron Yan or George Wu. Their dramas are really good. 😀

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      • Mysteries, thrillers usually attract me more. Tomorrow with You and Train to Busan piqued my interest so I’m probably gonna start with one these. 🙂 Kill Me, Heal Me sounds interesting too because of the male character’s multiple personality disorder.

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      • I would strongly recommend a drama called Signal. I just started it recently and it’s crime thriller/mystery with a supernatural element thrown into the mix. 😀
        It centers around a cold case profiler who is able to communicate with a detective from the past using a walkie talkie. Together they try to solve crimes before they happen! Plus there is an overarching mystery dealing with a girl who was kidnapped long ago. I’ve been enjoying it so far. 🙂

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  15. For some reason I can’t reply directly to your comment so I respond in a separate one. You convinced me, I’m gonna watch the first episode of Signal.

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