astromantic

毎日grind, 毎日rhymes

Category: watching

  • Autumn ’18

    Autumn ’18

    I have been extremely busy of late – I pride myself on making room for just ONE drama, but I haven’t even been able to do that lately. I finished Life just a few short weeks ago and… that was it. It doesn’t help that nothing I’m interested in watching is available legally/subbed either. Thems the breaks.

    But we’re going to switch things up a little bit! Fall started, and it’s just around the time that I’d post a what-I’m-watching for the season anyway. Since I can’t do that, I will share a bunch of dramas I’m really interested in watching – plus some words on Life because, duh. (more…)

  • Summer ’18, Part 3

    Summer ’18, Part 3

    Summer is OVER! Hello darkness school, my old friend.

    [white_box] Overall thoughts on Life on Mars, Hito wa Mitame ga 100 Percent, anone, and Life (!!!) after the jump — very light on spoilers. [/white_box]

    (more…)
  • Summer ’18, Part 2

    Summer ’18, Part 2

    RE: my viewing habits—

    Despite feeling pleased with the quality of dramas I saw last year, I was pretty discouraged when I saw that my yearly drama count went from 34 to only 19. I haven’t been watching much lately, so I thought maybe I was becoming picky or there just wasn’t much to watch.

    Looking at what I finished, I know that isn’t the case. 2017 had a lot of good dramas I missed! And looking back at my yearly roundup posts, I realized something very important… I’ve always watched dramas less dramas during school. The only time I really ramped up my viewing habits was when I was on a school break, like now.

    For k-dramas I do generally prefer to watch live/normally because the series/episodes are way too long for me to ever want to watch otherwise. Seriously, when’s the last time I ever watched an OLDER k-drama? There’s a reason why I still haven’t finished Misty! J-dramas are short, sweet, and easy to finish within a day or two. So I actually think it’s better for me to wait until an extended break for me to watch whatever I want rather than feeling overwhelmed and ultimately discouraged when I end up dropping everything and watching nothing, lol.

    [white_box] Spoiler free reviews on Kangoku no Ohime-sama, Totsuzen desu ga, Ashita Kekkon Shimasu, Okusama wa, Toriatsukai Chuui, Okaasan, Musume wo Yamete Ii desu ka? after the jump. [/white_box]

    (more…)

  • the catch up

    the catch up

    After finishing my round up post yesterday, I checked my handy dandy spreadsheet of dramas and realized that not only have I finished a measly THREE dramas this year (it is July), I also have a lot that I have left unfinished.

    Like, a lot.

    • Totsuzen desu ga, Ashita Kekkon Shimasu (3/10)
    • Okaasan, Musume wo Yamete Ii desu ka? (04/08)
    • Okusama wa, Toriatsukai Chuui (04/10)
    • Samurai Gourmet (10/12)
    • Hito wa Mita Me ga 100% (03/12)
    • Anone (02??/10)
    • Kangoku no Ohimesama (01/10)
    • Misty (06/16)

    Mess.

    Although I’m pretty invested in Life on Mars at the moment and nothing will stop me from starting Jo Seung-woo and Lee Dong-wook’s newest drama, I want to finish these by next month. I think that’s pretty doable… see you in the next summer roundup then, ahahah.

  • Summer ’18, Part 1???

    Summer ’18, Part 1???

    omfg I can’t believe I missed doing a spring roundup post. Real talk, I was not watching any dramas in the spring, which is a bummer to think about since I’m just wasting money on my DramaFever subscription…

    There are a few dramas that have piqued my interest (mostly on the j-drama side) but for now, I am watching the OCN remake of BBC’s Life on Mars.

    [white_box] MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR EPISODES 1-8 AHEAD. [/white_box] (more…)

  • Revisiting Ratings

    Although MyDramaList is the service of choice for a lot of people who like to track the dramas they watch, I prefer to keep things local and track it on an Excel spreadsheet. It’s pretty simple, and I have things organized by name and country. On occasion, when I feel very strongly about a drama (immediately afterwards), I’ll add a rating out of three stars. They’re usually classified as follows:

    * = recommended with reservation
    ** = recommended
    *** = strongly recommended

    And I do add half ratings. As I was looking through this spreadsheet though, I was a little baffled by some of the one- and two-star ratings I’d given to certain dramas. Why did I give Mystery Queen, a drama that brought me SO much happiness, 1½ stars and Surplus Princess three whole stars given THAT ending? Some of them I can understand: Liar Game (2014) got two stars while the original got only one, simply because the remake actually ended up being better, but my entire rating process is in need of some serious review. For anyone curious about the dramas I rated as recommended w/reservation…

    (more…)
  • Winter ’18

    Winter ’18

    Finally out of exam hell. First impressions for select dramas this season, plus what I’m considering and what I’ve completed. (more…)

  • unpopular opinions

    unpopular opinions

    I don’t actually LOVE romance dramas! The more likely story is that I’m super picky, not a fan of the frustration they inevitably cause me, and would rather avoid them altogether. Even when I think I enjoy one at the time, I end up looking back on it like, “man, that was wack.” LOL. I’ve been burned too many times!

    Usually when someone recommends a drama to me (or others), I cry a little on the inside when I come to find out it’s a romcom or heavy on the romance. I can’t help but think that there’s so much more to watch! I remember a time when I was just dipping my toes into k-dramas, and one of the best recommendations I received was to watch Vampire Prosecutor. It had exactly what I could enjoy in a drama; a compelling mystery, a great cast, and no romance. The supernatural element was a unique touch, too. That means no crazy interloping in-laws or rivals, noble idiocy, or other inane gestures that are supposed to be “sweet”. Being a jerk? Wrist grabs? Controlling or pushy behavior? Keep it!

    Even when a drama is popular for supposedly doing things the right way (Because This Life Is Our First is one that immediately comes to mind), I’m just sort of like… meh. Let me tuck into a drama about cults instead. Lately I’ve also realized that I prefer my romance to be the icing on the cake rather than the whole entree. Mystery Queen had a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it hint of a romance, two leads with great chemistry, and I ate that shit up haha. I love when dramas flirt around with the idea of a relationship without pushing it, because why ruin a good thing? (The Best Hit, I’m looking at you.)

    So, in the spirit of Valentine’s Day, here are some rare favorites of mine (’cause I’m not that heartless!) (more…)

  • A year in dramas (2017).

    A year in dramas (2017).

    明けましておめでとう! ✨

    Famous last words from my 2016 roundup, about 2017: “Maybe this’ll be the year I break 40?” Well…

    JAPAN
    Furenaba Ochin*
    Sennyuu Keiji Idol Deka Dance*
    Yuusha Yoshihiko to Michibikareshi 7-nin*
    Juken no Cinderella*
    Naomi to Kanako*
    Unmei ni, Nita Koi*
    Lunch no Joou*
    Unubore Deka*
    Quartet
    Shinya Shokudo 4*
    Keiji Yugami
    Kurokawa no Techo
    BORDER: Shoudou
    Kahogo no Kahoko

    KOREA
    Tomorrow With You
    Mystery Queen
    The Best Hit
    Forest of Secrets
    Rescue Me

    CURRENTLY
    Totsuzen desu ga, Ashita Kekkon Shimasu
    Okaasan, Musume wo Yamete ii desu ka?
    Samurai Gourmet
    Hito wa Mita Me ga 100%
    Okusama wa, Toriatsukai Chuui
    Prison Playbook
    Ito-kun A to E

    * did not air this year

    TOTAL: 19

    DISMAL. I couldn’t even break 20! I think school being a bit more difficult than usual (and starting a new job) was what lead to a big dip in my viewing habits after the end of January. I can usually make time to watch just about anything (2015-2016 I was working full time), but not this year. I am pretty proud of what I was able to watch though. As far as favorites go, Quartet and Forest of Secrets were my top two, but the latter is the best overall. It was just so dang good! And you know I love a drama when I dedicate separate posts to it on a weekly basis, hehe.

    (more…)
  • Fall ’17, Part 2

    Fall ’17, Part 2

    You can see part 1 here. Like a bum, I accidentally titled the post “fall”, when it should have been “autumn” to match all the other times I’ve done it! 😒 Oh well.

    [white_box] Contains light spoilers (very, very light) for Wise Prison Life, also very text heavy because I am lazy. Pictured image is from Keiji Yugami, episode… something. [/white_box]

    (more…)