A year in dramas (2015).

Instead of doing some mega essay about why so-and-so was my favorite in such-and-such category, I’m just gonna share highlights. It ended up being 1500+ words anyway. Here’s what I saw:

JAPANESE

KOREAN

TOTAL: 38

New record! And that’s even after taking a mini-break after Oh My Ghostess. Yes, it’s a lot. I’m not a college student anymore (for now anyway), and it’s easy to unwind by watching a drama episode or two after work. I usually watch a few at once and finish them around the same time (usually j-dramas because they’re on the same schedule, even though they’re subbed slower). That’s all there is to it!

Now onto this year in dramas:

(1) Let’s pour one out for all the dramas I dropped last year: Warm and Cozy, Kokoro ga Pokitto ne, Hanasaki Mai ga Damattenai 2, She Was Pretty, and Siren. The worst offender was probably Warm and Cozy for wasting the talents of Kang Sora (who I adored in Misaeng) and Yoo Yeon-seok. Seriously, how could you?

(2) I have a Google Chromecast and I watched dramas on it pretty extensively up until I built my computer. My main shows were Ghostwriter, Valid Love, Hogu’s Love, Heart to Heart, and My Beautiful Bride. My mom actually watched a few episodes of MBB with me (conveniently falling asleep during the violent scenes!) and was pleased to know that the “handsome guy” found his bride in the end.

(3) ALSO — reveals at the end of My Beautiful Bride (episode 2) KILLED. ME. DEAD. Knowing that Kim Do Young could handle himself was a hilarious surprise, which shouldn’t have been given the nature of the show. STILL. And the car chase? Chills. So freaking good… as is shitting your pants to expertly escape gangsters (episode 4). CLASSIC!!!!

(4) WOWOW really turned it out this year when it came to specials. I already touched on Kageri Yuku Natsu before, but Garasu no Ashi and Ishi no Mayu were also fantastic. Garasu no Ashi had an amazing, perfectly moody atmosphere. I came out of it feeling like I actually read a short story rather than watching a mini-series. It was so dang heavy! I didn’t particularly care for the conclusion, which might be why I feel a little bit “warmer” to Ishi no Mayu. It wasn’t BORDER levels of good (there were quite a few logical fallacies that could frustrate some), but it was thrilling to watch. And what a soundtrack! It was straight out of a movie.

(5) Never thought I could get through a drama longer than 20 episodes but when it’s good, it’s good. Heard It Through the Grapevine wrapped up with 30.

(6) Mutsu: for wasting Ito Hideaki’s talent, the goodwill I had towards Nishijima Hidetoshi for Double Face and Strawberry Night, Nakamura Aoi’s looks and most importantly, my time. 💔

(7) Shinohara Ryoko’s amazing haircape — WERQ. (Otona Joshi)

(8) Something I neglected to mention when I talked about Orange Marmalade before was the inclusion of a very special dream for Yeo Jing-gu. As if Seolhyun sucking on his neck in the subway wasn’t bad enough! Probably the only thing that has ever made me clutch my pearls in a drama, I was so scandalized and mortified!

(9) Oh My Ghostess was the perfect summer drama/GOAT for summer dramas! Yeah it was flawed in some ways, but it was FUN! I loved seeing Jo Jung-seok try not to break character whenever Park Bo-young was being endlessly hilarious. She’s such a charmer!

(10) The theme songs for Heard It Through the Grapevine, Ghostwriter, Date, and My Beautiful Bride (both).

(11) Valid Love is a drama I really had to step back and reflect on because I remember coming out of it hating everything but Kim Il-ri and Hee-soo’s relationship. The drama asks this question: what would you do if your met your “long” love now, and your passionate first love later? I think now I can appreciate it somewhat, even though it should have never been 20 episodes. It was sobering in ways that were difficult to stomach, and I felt bad for Il-ri who gave so much of herself to the world. It It did have some very beautiful title cards though!

(12) The awkward dinner party in Episode 14 of I Remember You but really, every time Lee Min makes a sassy quip and takes a sloooow sip from his teacup. That’s when I knew I’d love Park Bo-gum.

(13) Bubblegum made me believe in Lee Dong-wook again.

(14) Splash Splash Love is everything I wanted from a time travel/historical romance (and so was Queen In-hyun’s Man, but let’s not split hairs here). It was so cute I had to watch it twice! Also surprised that no one else got Fushigi Yuugi vibes? Maybe it’s just me…

(15) You want crazy? Mask will show you crazy. It brought us a deadly peanut allergy, Seok-hoon’s declarations of greatness, Yeon Jung-hoon in khakis, death by poisoned lime-a-ritas, Miyeon drinking wine with a straw, the hunting trip from hell (wherein everyone dressed like they were in a Ralph Lauren ad), the best “divorce” ever, and Byun Ji-sook finally putting on her big girl pants. It brought everything I asked for.

(16) I didn’t know eating jajangmyeon could be so dramatic until I watched Punch. Everyone was pretty into their feelings which makes for VERY ENTERTAINING politics, it was great. And shoutout to Kim Rae-won’s hairline.

(17) The cop-in-law (Oh My Ghostess) committed minor acts of terror and still managed to look so gosh darn friendly!

(18) Tamiou defies logic, which is screenwriter Nishiogi Yumie’s M.O. (see: Ando Lloyd, subsequent SPEC specials and movies). The thing about Tamiou is that it’s funny and super wack, so it’s easier to just sort of roll with it and how outrageous it is rather than getting frustrated. I laughed a lot.

(19) CAN’T FORGET AWL!! I watched it during my Christmas break and was like, “wow, this is really valuable”. I think it was an important drama for the year, especially given the South Korean govt’s actions against labor protesters. Aside from all that, it was a compelling story with commanding performances from Ji Hyun-woo (aka Kim Boong-do from Queen In-hyun’s Man) and Ahn Nae-sang. So good.

(20) POORLY. EXECUTED. IN SO MANY WAYS. Still, I don’t regret watching Gisou no Fuufu at all. I would have filed this show away in the garbage if not for the fact Amami Yuki was sooo good and as gorgeous as usual. I just hated that they undercut emotional moments with comedy BS that no one ever asked for (EVER!) and reneged on important developments that happened in the previous episode. So annoying, but I actually cried at the last little bit of the ending despite myself LOL …………

(21) Beautifully shot dramas: I’m Home, My Beautiful Bride, I Remember You, Tenshi to Akuma, and every WOWOW drama I watched this year.

(22) Maybe it was because Producer was so variety-like in nature (and variety shows always make me laugh), but it really made me laugh. Hogu’s Love also put me on the chuckle bus (for the first 6 episodes, anyway).

(23) Okashi no Ie warmed and broke my heart in so many ways, which is remarkable considering that it was a 10 episode drama (30 minutes apiece). Almoooooost thought it was the only midnight drama I watched this year… (Fuben na Benriya was really unremarkable, huh).

(24) Mondai no Aru Restaurant for its commentary and endless witticisms, this being my favorite: “I hope your touchscreen responds slowly for the rest of your life.” Oooh, burn!

(25) Best parts of two dramas that I didn’t watch: Ms. Cop with Lee Da-hee and Son Ho-joon’s adorable loveline. They are two people who I like very much in their individual projects, but there was no way I was going to sit through Ms. Cop. If I couldn’t do it for Kim Hee-ae, then … I did watch the last episode though … wowowowowowoow, put these two in a rom-com. (And while you wait for that day, you can also watch this cute music video.) I also only watched an episode of Ouroboros for Oguri Shun’s kabe-don. Hot damn I say, HOT DAMN.

(26) Favorite gags: the guy in love with his mechanical keyboard (I Remember You), Min-soo and his “Shrek pasta” (Oh My Ghostess), the office supply dictator (Producer).

(27) The asterisked dramas were the only “old” ones I watched this year — I think Hitorigurashi was the oldest out of all of them (1996), and it had a quality you don’t really find today.

(28) I think the problem is that endings usually fall flat for me, and that can negatively impact the overall series for me… Kamoshirenai Joyutachi, despite being a one episode special, was freaking great.

(29) “I’m a fool who can’t do anything on my own, but… I decided to love Bom. It’s the first thing I’ve done without a tutor.” S’CUTE! (Heard It Through the Grapevine)

(30) 2015 was a bit of a weird year… I felt like I watched some really good ones in the beginning (Heard It Through the Grapevine, Punch) and the rest of the year never lived up to it, save for Awl. Either it was never great to begin with, or fell short in the end. If I had to pick the best one out of everything, including old shows, I’d say A Wife’s Credentials won without a doubt.

. . .

And that’s it! I didn’t mention everything I watched, but I’m sure you can find something in the tags. I’m looking forward to wait 2016 will bring. 😊 Resolutions? Maybe watch more old dramas.