毎日grind, 毎日rhymes
Better late than… yeah, nevermind.
JAPAN
Cold Case 3*
Ore no Ie no Hanashi
Rikokatsu
Talio Fukushu Daikou no Futari*
Zenra Kantoku (Naked Director)*
Zenra Kantoku (Naked Director) 2
Raise de wa Chanto Shimasu*
30-sai made Doutei da to Mahouzukai ni Nareru rashii (Cherry Magic)*
#Cold Game
Ichikei no Karasu
2022 and 2023 under the cut.
KOREA
D.P.
Squid Game
Hellbound
Better late than never, right?!
JAPAN
Gokushufudo
Kotaki Kyoudai to Shikuhakku
Shiyakusho*
KOREA
Stove League*
Extracurricular
Hospital Playlist
The Banker*
CURRENT/DNF
Samurai Gourmet — Episode 10
Chief of Staff, Season 2 — Episode 1
Forest of Secrets, Season 1 — Episode 4
TOTAL: 7
* did not air in 2020.
For the sake of having it documented somewhere, here are the dramas I watched last year. Which feels like MANY years ago because lol corona.
JAPAN
dele *
Tokyo Love Story *
Cold Case 2 *
Fruits Takuhaibin
(anime) Cells at Work! *
(anime) Gaikotsu Shotenin Honda-san *
KOREA
Trap
Misty *
Chief of Staff (Season 1)
SKY Castle
Touch Your Heart
Should We Kiss First? *
Rescue Me 2
CURRENT/DNF
Stove League — Episode 5
Samurai Gourmet — Episode 10
Chief of Staff, Season 2 — Episode 1
TOTAL: 11 (+ 2)
* did not air in 2019.
It’s hard for me to explain why I didn’t watch as many dramas last year, but I certainly started a ton and with all this extra time (lol) I’m finally getting around to finishing them just now. I also kind of, sort of, started watching anime again. The only drama that really captured my heart was Rescue Me 2. Rescue Me was already so good, but this season — if you can even call it that, the only thing it has in common is “religious” cults and Jo Jae-yoon — had levels.
With less than 4 months left in the year (lolllll), so far I’m on track to finish more than 10 dramas this year so… that’s something. Watch this space for more updates 🤪
Japan
Ito-kun A to E
Unnatural
Kangoku no Ohime-sama
Totsuzen desu ga, Ashita Kekkon Shimasu
Okusama wa, Toriatsukai Chuui
Okaasan, Musume wo Yamete Ii desu ka?
Hito wa Mita Me ga 100%
anone
Momikeshite Fuyu
Ossan’s Love
Takane no Hana
Korea
Prison Playbook
Life on Mars
Life
Current/DNF
Misty
The Smile Has Left Your Eyes
TOTAL: 14
* did not air in 2018
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.
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JAPANESE
Boku no Yabai Tsuma
Dias Police
Cold Case
Fragile
Good Partner
Juhan Shuttai
Kyouhansha (SP)*
Love Revolution*
Love Song
Nietzsche-sensei
Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu
ON
Seirei no Moribito (Season 1)
Slow Dance*
Totto Terebi
Watashi Kekkon Dekinain Janakute, Shinain desu
Yume wo Ataeru*
Kono Machi no Inochi ni (SP)
Gou Gou Datte Neko de Aru
Kuroi 10-nin mo Onna
Kenja no Ai
Suishou no Kodou
KOREAN
Age of Youth
Baek Hee Has Returned
Beautiful Mind
Entourage
Ms. Temper & Nam Jung-gi
Oh My Venus
One More Happy Ending
Page Turner
Signal
The Good Wife
The King 2 Hearts*
Moonlight Drawn By Clouds
My Wife Is Having An Affair This Week
* = did not air in 2016
TOTAL: 34
Not too bad. Maybe this’ll be the year I break 40? Right now I’m still watching Doctor X 4 and Yuusha Yoshihiko to Michibikareshi 7-nin, which I’ll probably just include in my count for 2017. My undisputed favorites this year were Juhan Shuttai! and Signal; the former made me really optimistic about j-dramas again, whereas the latter ruined me and I just had no patience for tired old formulas in k-dramas. Here’s to another year in dramas! I guess my continuing resolution is to try more “classics”, haha.
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
Dakara Koya
Date
Fuben na Benriya
Garasu no Ashi
Ghostwriter
Gisou no Fuufu
Hitorigurashi*
Hondana Shokudo
I’m Home
Ishi no Mayu
Ishitachi no Renai Jijou
Itsumo Futari de*
Kageri Yuku Natsu
Kamoshirenai Joyutachi
Mondai no aru Restaurant
Mutsu
Okashi no Ie
Orient Kyuukou Satsujin Jiken
Otona Joshi
Tamiou
Tenshi to Akuma
Utsukushii Hito*
KOREAN
A Wife’s Credentials*
Awl
Bubblegum
Heard It Through the Grapevine
Heart to Heart
Hogu’s Love
I Remember You (Hello Monster)
Mask
Missing Noir M
My Beautiful Bride
Oh My Ghostess
Orange Marmalade
Producer
Punch
Splash Splash Love
Valid Love
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:
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Submitting this retroactively, ’cause uhhhhh I somehow I forgot to do this many years ago. Oops. Still managed to track it though.
JAPAN
Aoi Honoo
BORDER
Gomen ne, Seishun
Kagi no Kakatta Heya SP
Oyaji no Senaka
Sayonara Watashi
Second Virgin
Shinigami-kun
Shitsuren Chocolatier
Suteki na Sen TAXI
The Long Goodbye
KOREA
A New Leaf
Birth of a Beauty
Cantabile Tomorrow
Fated to Love You
I Need Romance 3
It’s Okay, It’s Love
Let’s Eat
Liar Game (2014)
Misaeng
My Secret Hotel
Queen In-hyun’s Man*
Secret Love Affair
Surplus Princess*
Witch’s Romance
* = did not air this year
TOTAL: 25! Nice. Watched a lot of Korean dramas this year…
Winter
Mahoro Ekimae Bangaichi
Nakuna, Hara-chan
Shotenin Michiru no Mi no Uebanashi
Saikou no Rikon
Sharehouse no Koibito
Spring
Cheap Flight
Doubles ~Futari no Keiji~
Last Cinderella
Soratobu Kouhoushitsu
Nine: Nine Times Travels
Summer
Double Tone
I Hear Your Voice
Yamada-kun to 7-nin no Majo
Master’s Sun
Two Weeks
Autumn
Ando Lloyd
Glass no Ie
Hana no Kusari
Medical Top Team
Koi
Miss Korea
Realizing now that I never got the opportunity to talk about some of the dramas I watched last year, but I think doing one of these towards the end of the next year is perfect timing. HAH. (more…)
This was suuuuuuuuuch a weak year for dramas! Last year had a lot of powerful new dramas (“Soredemo, Ikite Yuku”) and compelling sequels (“JIN 2”), but I knew it was Big Trouble when the winter season rolled around and I just didn’t care for much of anything. Didn’t watch a lot of between spring and summer, but (as usual) I went HAM towards the end of the year. Here’s what I watched:
Winter
Shokuzai
Strawberry Night
Summer
Higashino Keigo Mysteries
Boys on the Run
Spring
Kagi no Kakatta Heya
Kaeru no Ojousama
Keizoku 2 ~Sho~
Autumn
PRICELESS
Double Face
Osozaki no Himawari
Going My Home
Kekkon Shinai
Yuusha Yoshihiko to Akuryou no Kagi
I tried putting everything into superlative categories like “best romance”, “best thriller” and the like, but I don’t actually think I watched enough! Maybe I should change my strategy…