Why I Love Asian Dramas?

LL
5 min readMar 3, 2021

I am slowly easing my way to anime…

gotta give it to Taiwanese dramas for bringing me into this world

Where should I begin with this topic? I have probably started watching dramas and tv shows since I was in middle school. My sister was watching lots of Taiwanese dramas when I was young. Later, when my sister-in-law came along, I got more exposed to the Asian drama world.

Both of them seemed to start with Taiwanese dramas, and it was my start, too. Later in middle school, most of my friends were Korean and I tried Korean dramas.

Let me just say now that Korean dramas hit different!

It is a different culture for me, and that may be the biggest reason for my interest. However, it is still pretty interesting how this all comes about.

Chinese dramas made their way in around middle school, too. I probably saw more shows and episodes information through social media and decided to give it a try.

I started also liking Thai dramas. My best friend is Thai, and wow some of the romance can get juicy!

Anime came more in around college.

Japanese dramas I got into that around college as well. I got to blame YouTube for that as I saw a clip and then had to watch some dramas. There are some great ones out there, and they are pretty short!

Don’t ask me why I haven’t gotten into Naruto (okay…it’s too long)

That is my “short” introduction with my drama world.

Of course, I am missing some details and thoughts about dramas. Therefore, I am going to break it down now. I don’t want to give too much away, but for my current asian drama lovers or anime, let’s ENJOY!

TAIWANESE

  • some great classics especially ones that are based on Japanese manga (which is a pretty common thing now)
  • Roy Chiu, Aaron Yan, and George Hu some popular actors that always gets me even more interested. There are other great ones, too — they came into my head first
  • dramas are usually not too long compared to Chinese dramas
  • Janine Yang, Ivy Chen, and Alice Ke are some favorite faces that I love to see again and again.
  • some great OST’s that are still extremely popular today and great artists and singers for those magical songs.

TAIWANESE recommendations

  • Autumn’s Concerto (2009) made me cry and smile
  • It Started With a Kiss (2005) ton of remakes-movies and shows
  • Murphy’s Law of Love (2015) still watch clips to this day
  • Fall in Love With Me (2014) some great acting and great songs
  • Someday or One Day (2019) some great scenes and plot

Honestly, it was so hard to make decisions, and it’s only going to get harder. These aren’t all and only my top choices, some are slipping out of my mind. But they are all good!

KOREAN

  • some great serious acting with best fashion looks
  • strong female leads and strong male leads-always great looking couples
  • Ji Chang-wook, Lee Min Ho, and Lee Jong-suk MANNNN hotness alert
  • Girl actresses I can’t even start, everyone is talented!!!!
  • probably the BEST OST’s, and it may be the fact that I don’t understand what they are saying
  • dramas are usually 16–20 episodes, and it’s not too dragged out!

KOREAN recommendations (OoooOoooooo)

  • Healer (2014) (I WATCH EVERY TWO YEARS) aww such a cute one
  • Crash Falling On You (2019) the Netflix favorite
  • Strong Girl Bong-soon (2017) fantasy but too good of a plot and couple
  • W (2016) started the whole movement of webtoons

AHH this was hard, too. I think…no I know there are some great ones, but I will leave that to you to explore!

CHINESE

  • okay I am Chinese, but my biggest complaint is TOO LONG! (episodes can be 40–60 long 45 minutes each)
  • interesting plots and there are popular ones for teens, adults, and elders-it’s not just targeted towards one audience
  • the bad people in the dramas can get crazy…like crazy…always about secret plotting haha
  • some people just can’t act but are gorgeous or handsome
  • Dilraba Dilmurat, Zhao Liying, and Yang Mi are GORGEOUS actresses! (so hard to choose-many talented and beautiful actresses)
  • Song Weilong, Yang Yang, Deng Lun all pretty interesting…
  • Chinese movies are pretty great too!

CHINESE recommendations

  • Nothing But Thirty (2020) three different statuses BOSS ladies with romance
  • The Princess Weiyoung (2016) classic historical dramas with a real life married couple
  • Ode to Joy (2016) such a good one a second one came out
  • Find Yourself (2020) such a beauty with Victoria Song f(x)

OKAY! no more. Honestly, I come give much more. I watch the most Chinese dramas, and I haven’t stopped.

I’m not going to be giving anymore bullet points of the rest because I don’t know enough…just yet, but I will be some day hehe.

THAI recommendation:

Hua Jai Sila (2019) man that was so interesting…that connection

Also, Push and Mike (popular and also have stepped into the Chinese film industry-talented male actors)

ANIME recommendations: Erased, The Promised Neverland, and The Demon Slayer.

The plots and stories of anime are omg spot on and always full of surprises!

JAPANESE recommendation: An Incurable Case of Love

NOW NOW NOW

Why do I watch dramas everyday and whenever I get a chance?

I get to enjoy a type of love that I don’t currently have. I get to let my imagination go wild.

I LOVE SEEING ABS and SHIRTLESS GUYS! AHAHHAHAHAHHAHA

sorry, I had to…

I have always been interested in writing and short stories. Some of the dramas that are out today are based on short stories and webtoons. It interests me how we can transfer something written into something visually beautiful and appealing.

ITS A FAMILY THING…I love talking about the scenes and dramas with my family. It can be such an engaging experience especially with the lessons that you can learn or hear from the screen.

It’s an aesthetic and learning experience and where I learn much more about every culture that I see on the screen. I fully enjoy the works of art created with a big crew and group. There is so much going on behind the scenes and in the process of making.

I appreciate the process of that and find it encouraging to always find a way to make something beautiful with others.

I know that it can be a “waste of time.” But like how reading or music is your “go-to,” mine is dramas… and music…

I love languages, and I love to see how the actors and actresses can speak and express so well. Sometimes, yes it is not the real voice or speaking, but it is still a beautiful part in the making.

I love the culture that it brings. I love the thoughts and imaginations that arise. I love seeing the progress of a mini actor/actress to a famous and strong actor/actress.

I like to follow, and I seem to grow with them. I may be thinking too much about this. But dramas have grown up with me. To see myself and see others doing the things we like and improving every year and every piece.

It’s a form of art that I 100% appreciate everyday. We all have something we like, and I enjoyed sharing this piece.

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LL

Hello. Welcome to my crazy and strange mind. Sometimes I rant, but you just gotta go with the flow.