Review:(2024) Lady Revenger Returns from the Fire (披荆斩棘的大小姐), a.k.a.: The Lady Who Beat the Thorns, Pi Jing Zhan Ji De Da Xiao Jie, 披荊斬棘的大小姐

Dear Reader, I admit I watched this Mainland Chinese costume drama because Wei Zhe Ming (魏哲鸣) is cute, and the drama itself didn’t look challenging. There are times when I want a heavy drama, or an artistic drama, and there are days when I just want to turn my brain and feelings down a bit. I’m probably not the only one who has had a drama totally wring you out, for good or bad. This C-drama is…

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Update: Currently Watching

I’m doing a lot without appearing to do anything. In Progress: (2024) The Midnight Studio (야한 사진관), a.k.a.: Photo Studio Limited In Night, Nightly Photo Studio, Sexy Photo Studio, Midnight Photo Studio, Night Photo Studio, Yahan Sajingwan, 야한 (夜限) 사진관 ML: Joo Won (주원), FL: Kwon Na Ra (권나라) Contemporary supernatural k-drama rom-com about a family curse following Death’s camera (let’s ignore the…

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Squirrel Break

Ever just find yourself in the middle of a very serious turning point in a movie, only to be sideswiped by a Squirrel Break?

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Update: Currently Watching

In Progress: (2009) You’re Beautiful (미남이시네요), a.k.a.: Minami Shineyo, He’s Beautiful, You’re Handsome, You Are Beautiful, Eres hermoso, Eres hermosa, A.N.JELL, Minamyisinyeoyo ML: Jang Geun Suk (장근석) FL: Park Shin Hye (박신혜) The original Hong Sisters k-drama of a nunnery novice who cross-dresses to replace her twin in a boy band. Apparently, there’s a Japanese remake, in addition to the…

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Update: Currently Watching

Just Completed: (2022) Plus-sized Misadventures in Love! (デブとラブと過ちと), a.k.a.: Fat, Love and Mistakes!, Debu to Rabu to Ayamachi to!, Chubby, Love and Mistakes! ML: Kusakawa Takuya (草川拓弥) FL: Ueda Kanade (上田奏) Live-action adaptation of the manga series, Debu to Rabu to Ayamachi to! ( デブとラブと過ちと!), written and illustrated by Mamakari (ままかり), which I’m going to run off and read RIGHT NOW, because…

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Review: Best Choice Ever (承欢记), a.k.a.:Story of Joy, Cheng Huan Ji, 承歡記

This contemporary Mainland Chinese drama is purportedly about the personal growth of Mai Cheng Huan (played by Yang Zi, 杨紫) and her romance with Yao Zhi Ming (played by Xu Kai, 许凯), the grandson of her step-grandmother, who has returned from abroad to attempt to inherit his grandmother’s hotel as part of a strategy to advance his career. Things don’t go as planned as his Machiavellian…

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I Have Questions

Dear Reader, dramas can be a fashion adventure – whether it’s traditional clothing or the bling of elites, there’s always something new, and one may either love it, hate it, or be indifferent to it; perhaps it might be a bit confounding, even. Like this headwear in Yong An Dream: A hat for a hat This is what the ML wears when he’s meeting with the emperor. It’s sprung on the viewer with no…

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Update: Currently Watching

Completed: (2024) Blossoms in Adversity (惜花芷), a.k.a. The Story of Hua Zhi, Xi Hua Zhi. Main leads: Zhang Jing Yi (张婧仪), Hu Yi Tian (胡一天) (2023) The Starry Love (星落凝成糖), a.k.a. Love When the Stars Fall , Xing Luo Ning Cheng Tang , 星隕凝結成糖果 Main leads: Chen Xing Xu (陈星旭), Landy Li (李兰迪) In progress: (2024) Best Choice Ever ( 承欢记), a.k.a. Story of Joy, Cheng Huan Ji. Contemporary Mainland…

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Update: Currently Watching

(2024) Blossoms in Adversity (惜花芷), a.k.a. The Story of Hua Zhi, Xi Hua Zhi. Mainland Chinese costume drama about a strong female protagonist named Hua Zhi and how she flourishes while overcoming obstacles. (Yes, the title is a bit on the nose!) It’s on air, so I’m waiting for Episode 30 to drop. Main leads: Zhang Jing Yi (张婧仪), Hu Yi Tian (胡一天) (2024) Best Choice Ever ( 承欢记), a.k.a. Story of…

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Review: (2019) Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Agency (꽃파당: 조선혼담공작소)

I watched this K-drama as a stopgap between episodes of Best Choice Ever and Blossoms of Adversity. It made it onto my watchlist for starring Kim Min Jae (김민재), who I first saw as the young king in Goblin, but has lately been in several fairly lighthearted dramas such as Dali and Cocky Prince and Poong, The Joseon Psychiatrist. I’ve haven’t watched Poong yet, but I thought he did well in Dali and…

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I Can't Wait! -or- Why I'm Watching a Chinese Drama in Spanish

Dear Reader, we all know that dramas can evoke some strong emotions - we laugh, we cry, we wonder what the hell the writers were thinking and if the stars have it in their contract to not kiss with an open mouth – there’s just so much to ponder. We wonder what is going to happen in the next episode. And if we are wise, we only begin watching dramas that have already had their entire season drop.…

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Why this

Dear Reader, IRL I begin my discussions of Asian drama with either a rebuke of American media for it's failure to meet my specific requirements (if the listener is not already a convert), or I bring out my oral manifesto on Why I Like Asian Drama. I will spare you both of these, not only because I'm a tad tired of hearing it myself, but because online such as we are a present, you can walk away very easily, and I won't even see you do it. This eases the tension quite a bit for both of us, if I'm being honest, so I'm going to give it all to you as succinctly as possible today and let the chips fall where they may, so to speak.

All media, IMHO, works within its own parameters. It may be done well, or poorly, or even done in some oxymoronic way where bad becomes good or vice versa. (There is probably jargon media experts would use right now to express this, dear Reader, and if you are one of them, I apologize for all the eye rolling you may be performing. I'm not a media expert.) However, no matter how well a particular media is executed, it is not guaranteed to suit everyone. We all have our own needs and tastes. My needs and tastes are not met by the parameters of American dramas.

You may be wondering at my use the word "parameters." Perhaps if I was someone else, who thought slightly differently, I'd be writing about originality or being forward thinking or something else in the context of media. But what I think about is parameters. Everything has parameters. Parameters help lend definition to something. Although they are literally limiting, which can seem like a negative, it is very difficult to get anything done without them. Even this blog. It's easier for me to be creative within the confines of this austere, questionably attractive blog format, than I would if I were spending energy on being slick or savvy. If I had many fancy options, I'd bouncing off them endlessly, instead of just getting down to writing this here today.

The parameters of Asian drama hit my pleasure center just right.

There is tremendous of variety amongst them, for one. The number of episodes varies drastically, from 6 episode long Japanese web dramas to 60 episode long Chinese costume dramas. It can be fantasy or historical, contemporary or futuristic, romance-centered or mystery-centered, or combinations of them all. There are many tropes and archetypes. Meme bingo cards have been made of them, they're so prevalent. But a trope or an archetype is just another kind of parameter, and I'm all for it.

I'm not anti-innovation or creativity, dear Reader. In my defense, I'm going to drag in Jane Eyre.

Jane Eyre one of the most famous Bronte novels. We've all heard of it, even if we don't know much about it, per se. It's part of our popular culture. Why is that? What makes it so great?

It's because Jane Eyre is a play on the dominant romantic paradigm at the time, the Gothic novel, where a beautiful young heroine meets a dashing, handsome, virtuous man, and is rescued from supernatural and earthly horrors by him and Live Happily Ever After. Jane Eyre is a young woman, but she is neither beautiful, nor such a paragon of virtue - she doesn't forgive just because people ask, and she is not entirely sheltered from cynicism. Edward Rochester is the main love interest, but he is also not handsome, nor particularly charming, and he has some obvious faults of character that those who have read the book know very well. In a typical Gothic novel, Rochester would have been the villain. This is what makes Jane Eyre great: Bronte turns the Gothic novel on its head, and doing so, wrote the first modern anti-hero.

I consider the anti-hero considerably when I'm consuming media. I enjoy exploring all the incarnations of archetypes and the way they can be played with or mutated. Sometimes it can be frustrating, but it can also be very satisfying. Asian dramas bring in a wider variety of archetypes and tropes than American media and are not shy about it. I can't tell you how many arrogant CEO romances I've seen, some of which wouldn't be too ashamed to put that in their title like a Harlequin Romance, and I still have room for more, because even if it's a remake, it's still not quite the same.

I'm going to end this admittedly not very succinct post with a recommendation for my favorite arrogant CEO drama:

Lost Romance. An editor (and voyeur) at a romance publisher witnesses the attempted murder of the handsome CEO through a drone and ends up falling into the novel she is editing as the female antagonist. If you want to see a lighthearted rom-com wherein a female underling can talk her way free of consequences after being caught watching her boss shower, this is for you.

(2023) Troubles All Aboard! (Hitomonchaku nara Yorokonde!  ひともんちゃくなら喜んで！)

I dove into this J-Drama based on the josei manga series “Hitomonchaku nara Yorokonde!” (ひともんちゃくなら喜んで！) by Yatsumi Tsumu (八海つむ) yesterday betweens boughts of desperately searching for new episodes of the C-dramas I’m currenly watching. Like many J-Dramas adapted from manga, this series is brief (Ten 23 minute episodes), a bit zany, and requires extensive suspension of disbelief. On a Suspension…

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