Top 20 Dramas

 

Okay, Let’s get this party started, hm?

1. Heirs – Okay, I know it’s way too early to be choosing a currently airing drama as my number one. With only 6 episodes currently aired and a whopping 14 left to go, publicly stating that it is my number one pick is like saying my favorite dessert is tiramisu when I’ve never tasted it. However… It’s my number one. I’m so in love with this drama at this point that I highly doubt that will change between now and the final episode. It just gets better with each episode.
2. Monstar – Oh the wonderful kdrama feels I have for this one. If you don’t believe me, read the Monstar Review post. I could probably gush about it some more here, but it’d more or less be the same things stated in there.
3. Flower Boy Next Door– Looking through my list more closely, I’m noticing quite a bit of Park Shin Hye here. Well, that just goes to say something about her acting. Again, I could gush about this one all day. However, I’ll just let you read the FBND Review.
4. Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge – Kamenashi Kazuya. Need I say more? Review here: Yamato Review
5. Hana Yori Dango – This was one of the first Asian dramas I watched, and the very first Japanese one. With a rewatch value of 10 on my list, it is by far one of my favorites to this day.
6. Shut Up Flower Boy Band – In my opinion, one of the better bromance-filled dramas out there. I think I was in love with damn near every guy in this one. Key words being ‘damn near’. Shut Up Review
7. Secret Garden – I know, I know. “Why isn’t it higher on the list?!” While SG is definitely one of my top ten, I cannot adequately explain why it is number 7 instead of, say, 1 or 2. For awhile, it was. It may one day be again. I absolutely adore Ha Ji Won and Hyun Bin, by the way. They’re one of my favorite couples in dramaland.
8. Sungkyunkwan Scandal – Yoochunnie! Yup, I’m a total Yoochun fangirl. Aside from the obvious bias here, the bromance makes me squee every time I watch it. Geol-oh (Yoo Ah In) and Yeo-rim (Song Joong Ki) have the kind of bromance a girl can fall into a dreamy trance over.
9. Boys Over Flowers – Come on… You HAD to see this one coming from miles away.
10. Missing You – Yoochunnie again! Yup. Yeo Jin Goo and Kim So Hyun were the perfect pair for the young Soo Yeon and Jung Woo. Most of the crying I did was in the episodes those two were prevalent in, and when I say I cried, I don’t mean one glistening tear rolling down my cheek. I bawled like a kid whose puppy just died. While Yoon Eun Hye is not one of my favorite actresses in the world, I will admit that there is obviously something about her that speaks to the audience. If there wasn’t that little something, she wouldn’t continue being cast in lead roles and I wouldn’t keep watching her dramas. For my full drama love on this one, look here: Missing You Review
11. MARS – Get used to seeing this one on every ‘top’ list for dramas I may or may not post in the future. It was one of the first dramas out of Taiwan that I watched, and quickly became a standard for me. Dark, psychologically exhausting (that’s a good thing, trust me), and completely fascinating, I fell in drama love with it. Barbie Hsu and Vic Chou are one of those couples that I love seeing together. They were in Meteor Garden together as well.
12. Shining Inheritance – I wouldn’t exactly say you had to see this one coming, because it’s frankly the only Lee Seung Gi drama that I’ve watched. Now, I’d heard about the high ratings before watching it, and I am one of those people that is pretty wary of any show with high ratings. I don’t always like them. Surprisingly enough, by the third episode I was hooked.
13. Tumbling – Male gymnasts. ‘Yankees’. Daito Shunsuke as a hot, brooding loner. Yamamoto Yusuke is loud, rude and used to kicking the crap out of people. A hottie from co-ed group AAA plays my ultimate bias in this drama. Obviously I won’t go into details on this one. Go watch it and see for yourself.
14. You’re Beautiful – I think this is the drama that is the most well-known among newbies to the kdrama world. Every time I get a message from someone new to korean dramas, I’d say about 8 out of every 10 of them have at least seen this one. This is probably the only role in Jang Geun Suk’s resume that I’ve loved 100%. Don’t get me wrong, the guy is a talented actor, but some of the other things I’ve seen him in just.. haven’t been that awesome. I still think of Park Shin Hye as ‘Pigrabbit’ if I’m not careful. Don’t even get me started on Lee Hong Ki and Jung Yong Hwa. Fluffy drama loves all around for this one!
15. To The Beautiful You – I can just hear it now. “Why not the Japanese or Taiwan versions?” Well, lovelies, the answer is this: They didn’t have Choi Minho. KIDDING!!! To be honest, I do love them. I loved Wu Chun and Ella Chen, and I loved Oguri Shun and Maki Horikita just as much. However, I take a lot of things into account when picking a favorite among re-adaptations and/or remakes. The acting, different takes on the manga’s story (when it’s based on a manga), the music… whether the story gets drawn out too long.. To be honest, while I loved the Japanese version, there was just something missing from it overall. The acting was great (They’re two of my fave Japanese actors), the music was great, but there was just… something missing from it. As for Hana Kimi Taiwan, Ella’s portrayal of Rui Xi was a little much for me and I didn’t like the ending all that much. To the Beautiful You is sweet, has some pretty kick-ass acting, a pretty decent story line, and beautiful music. Beautiful You Review
16. Bull Fighting – Mike He and Hebe Tian make an interesting couple, though Hebe isn’t one of my faves that’s been paired with him. Music is great, and Mike was a fantastic rich bad boy as usual. Yummy yummy man. If I were to make a top 50 list of dramas instead of just 20, you’d probably see a good chunk of his work on it.
17. Asuko March! – Looooove iiiiit!!!!! Can’t help it. The interactions between all the boys and the lead actress are too good not to love it.
18. Devil Beside You – THIS is my favorite pairing with Mike He. Rainie and Mike play off each other really well.
19. Gokusen – This isn’t just one season of Gokusen, either. This is the entire damn series. Whether its Jun Matsumoto, Kamenashi and Akanishi or Miura Haruma, I love Gokusen.
20. Skip Beat! – Choi Siwon and Lee Donghae. Yum. It wasn’t my first go-round with Siwon, but it was with Donghae. Loved it. Still do.

Related articles

• Review: Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge (asiandramacloud.wordpress.com)
• Full Series Review: Monstar (asiandramacloud.wordpress.com)
• Newly Discovered Love: Monstar (asiandramacloud.wordpress.com)
• Review: Missing You (asiandramacloud.wordpress.com)
• Review: Shut Up Flower Boy Band (asiandramacloud.wordpress.com)
• Review: To The Beautiful You (asiandramacloud.wordpress.com)
• A Quick Look at Heirs (asiandramacloud.wordpress.com)

Review: Missing You

Missing You

Aired: 2012

Starring:

Park Yoochun as Han Jung Woo

Yoon Eun Hye as Lee Soo Yeon/Zoe Lou

Yoo Seung Ho as Kang Hyung Joon/Harry Borrison

Kim So Hyun as young Lee Soo Yeon

Yeo Jin Goo as young Han Jung Woo

Plot: 15-year-old Soo Yeon is a victim of bullying at school, targeted because her father is a murderer. Through fate, she meets Han Jung Woo, the son of a chaebol and gangster. Jung Woo protects Soo Yeon from the bullies and they become friends. One day, an unfortunate incident occurs that separates the two and changes their lives drastically. Fourteen years later, fate throws them together, but will outside forces rip them apart all over again?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh the fluffy drama crazies I have for this show. Just in the first six episodes, I was virtually ripped to shreds emotionally. I thought I’d never find a drama that would make me cry that hard or that much. Yet just within the first episode, I found myself unable to make the tears stop. This drama has a way of, in its intense display of dramatics, worming into your very core and wrenching every bit of hope out of your body. It’s a very long and drawn out process. Finally, when you think you couldn’t stand any more despair and that things couldn’t possibly be repaired… it happens. That one moment between the two leads. Fleeting recognition. Shock. Horror. Despair. Hope. Love. And when you see that final emotion play over their faces with such intensity, the world rights itself. You can breathe. That’s when the fresh round of tears begins, and this time they’re tears of relief. MissingYou is quite possibly the strongest story I have seen so far.

Now, I’m sure most people would start with the adult leads when reviewing a drama like this one. Well… I’m not them. I was so drawn in by the younger cast that I refuse to do them the injustice of leaving them for last. So, Park Yoochun and Yoon Eun Hye, my darlings, as wonderful as you both are and even with how high up on my list of favorites you both are, you will have to wait.

I spent an hour debating over which one to start with. Yeo Jin Goo or Kim So Hyun. Both brought a level of skill to their portrayals that rivals some of the best adult actors I’ve seen in Asia. It was only when I realized I’d made an entire pro/con list to decide who to go with first that I decided it really shouldn’t matter which one I start with. They both tore my emotional strength to shreds. Since I’m not one to cry during dramas easily, that takes some definite acting ability. So I’m just going to type a name and roll with it.

Kim So Hyun is a fresh face who brought a level of despair to Lee Soo Yeon’s demeanor that quite frankly is one of the most heart wrenching I’ve come across. Even Yoon Eun Hye and Park Shin Hye, who are admittedly some of the best criers in Korean dramas, haven’t depressed me that much. As Lee Soo Yeon, every tear is like another knife to your heart. Now, when she smiles? Paradise. They seem so few and far between that when a smile does grace you with its presence, even just for a few moments, even if it’s only a small glimpse of a smile… that it makes up for every hint of anguish that seems stuck on her features the rest of the time.

Yeo Jin Goo is adorable. I can’t put it any other way. He really is. Which means that when he isn’t smiling and melting female viewers everywhere into a giggly puddle on their sofas, he’s even more heartbreaking with his tears. I must say he really surprised me. It’s very difficult to find a child actor or even an adolescent who is able to deliver such a powerful array of emotions and move their audience without saying a word. Now imagine how it could affect you when he speaks, too. It’s definitely something to see.

Park Yoochun. I have seen this man in everything he did with TVXQ (before their ‘split’ into two groups under different companies). Also worth noting are his performances in Sungkyunkwan Scandal, Goodbye Miss Ripley and Rooftop Prince. He is able to capture raw emotions and yet be very comedic. …Okay, let’s be honest here. The guy could read a phone book in Korean (even though he speaks perfect English) and I’d probably be completely fascinated. Here’s another one who can make me cry, though I must say this is the first thing I’ve seen him in where he did so. I was extremely surprised. Normally I just think he’s really funny. Not that he wasn’t funny in this drama, because he was. I think it’s more or less his facial expressions that really drive the comedy home. Either way, he did a bang-up job here and I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you think that an adult actor can’t be adorable, watch Missing You. He’s got quite a few scenes that are completely endearing. Don’t even get me started on the short haircut. It’s all spiky. Total loves, even though the guy looks terrific with long hair too.

Now…I will admit that Yoon Eun Hye is definitely one of the best criers and is a talented actress. She was in the first Korean drama I ever watched, Princess Hours (also referred to with the title of Goong and Palace). Coincidentally I own that drama on dvd. But that’s off topic. Back to Missing You and Yoon Eun Hye. I definitely like her work, but there have inevitably been a few dramas where I felt she could have done better. This was not one of them. She startled me a couple of times, namely with a certain outburst. I don’t remember which episode it was, so you’ll just have to watch the drama and find out. Still, it was surprising to see such an explosion from her. It even shocked Park Yoochun (I’m sorry but I don’t care if he was supposed to act shocked or not, the man looked genuinely shocked and I absolutely love that).

Music. Music music music. This soundtrack was well matched with the film because it amplified the emotions portrayed and dampened the effects when needed.

Overall, Missing You is a phenomenal experience and I highly recommend watching it. A bit of advice, though… Make sure you have a romantic comedy or a straight-up variety show ready in the wings when you finish. You’re going to need a pick-me-up. It’s simply that powerful.