My friends!
It’s that time of year again – when we take a deep breath, look back on our 2025 drama adventures, and realize… wow, we really did have a lot of feelings™. 😂
Welcome to this year’s End-Of-Year Patreon Year-End Awards!
This whole thing started years ago when Shahz casually said, “Hey, let’s share our drama years in the chat corner!” — and instead of devolving into complete chaos (as I secretly feared), it blossomed into one of the loveliest traditions we have. 🥲
Now you guys keep notes all year, plan your categories, and even tease your upcoming EOY posts months in advance (!!). My heart. 😭💛
I’m so excited to kick off this year’s series. You guys always bring such heart, humor, honesty, and community spirit – and I can’t wait for everyone to read what you’ve lovingly put together.
As before, we’ll be seeing up to 2 guest posts per week, and this will unfold into January 2025, and my annual year-in-review will come out in early 2026, after all the guest posts have been published. This way, by putting all our experiences together, we get a more wholistic view of Dramaland in 2025. Pretty great, yes? 🤩
Today, I’m pleased to announce that Natalia’s kicking things off for us, in sharing her drama year!
If you’ve read Natalia before, you might already know that she’s super forthright and makes acerbic wit look extremely effortless, while often being laugh-out-loud funny.
I had a great time reading her EOY entry this year, and I’m sure you will too!
If you like Natalia’s style and want to know what she thought about dramas last year, you can check out her post here!
I hope you guys enjoy!
~ KFG ❤️
My 2025 in dramas
Old, new and possibly future friends, hello.
Natalia here, celebrating my fourth year writing up an EOY post. And this year, I am doing it ad lib! I lost my drama notes, but no worries. What I don’t remember, I will invent. And improvise. And give out all kinds of silly awards, that’s a promise.
2025 (until December 7) for me equals 33 Asian dramas.
Of them, 28 were 2025 or 2024 dramas that I had started at the end of 2024. 5 were older dramas (not older than 2019 though). It was an easy win for China, with 16 shows, followed by Korea (12), Japan (4) and Taiwan (1).
However, the best -objectively- drama that I watched this year was the Korean When Life Gives You Tangerines.
I am sure most of you have watched Tangerines, the Fangirl has written an amazing review, and many of my Patreon friends will surely talk about it in their posts in the days to come.
Nevertheless, a fair and objective EOY post where I would give all awards to Tangerines (minus Best Fighting Scenes and Hottest Bath Scene) would be … well, boring.
Also. Let’s be honest. Tangerines is Citizen Kane: it approaches perfection, but who wouldn’t prefer to rewatch Back to the Future instead? [hyperlink added for those too young to have even heard of Back to the Future. I pity you.]
So, without further ado, here are my awards for 2025 (and a bit of 2024, and 2023, and 2022, and 2019), and with the caveat that I am, in fact, currently watching some shows that could have been in my winners’ list, had I completed them in time.
THE NOT WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU TANGERINES AWARDS
The serious ones
Best Drama – meaning the drama that I most enjoyed watching.
We got some very enjoyable this year (light and heavier). But if I must pick one, and prioritize 2025 productions, it will be Study Group, starring Hwang Min-Hyun as a hopelessly bad student with a dream, a heart of gold, anime fighting skills and a knack for making friends.
I have never rooted more for teenagers to sit down and study – not even my own kids!
Best script – meaning the script that made me go “aha, how clever/ effective / delightful / amusing!”.
And the winner is … A Dream within a Dream, the transmigration comedy starring Li Yi Tong and Liu Yu Ning. I had a blast watching this one and thoroughly enjoyed the super-clever script.
However, I must say that viewers with no previous experience in Chinese historical dramas might not fully get its brilliance.
Still, I think that the idea of a script within a script within a script may appeal to everyone and, who knows, maybe the tropes that the show makes fun of will charm you enough to watch more Cdramas!
Most pleasant surprise – meaning a drama in a genre I don’t usually care for that turned out to be a pure delight.
This award goes to The Immortal Ascension, the cultivation drama starring Yang Yang.
It starts out as an underdog story, turns a bit into horror, then it’s Harry Potter, then it’s War of the Worlds. Very good fight scenes (a lot of wire work and CGI, as expected – be warned that at times it feels like a video game), an amusing villain and unexpected depth towards the end.
However, a second season is needed, and I am not fully certain that it is coming.
Biggest disappointment: A show I had high hopes for but turned out to be meh.
Even without notes, I can very well recall that I hate-watched The Legend of the Female General because of how low effort it was. So, I am going to make a low effort myself – no photo for the General, that will teach her.
Best actor – This year, I pick two actors I was previously unfamiliar with who gave a performance that made me vow to follow them in their career (and not because of their looks, otherwise the winner would be Lee Chae-Min in Bon appétit, your Majesty).
One of those two actors is Zhou Yi Ran as the loyal but unfortunate Tang Yi Xun in Twelve Letters. , a hidden gem of a drama, if you ask me, about two kids trying to overcome their miserable life in a provincial town in the 90s.
The other is Wang Duo as the unscrupulous social climber / despicable husband in Blemish Flaw, a neo-noir short drama about a real crime youtuber who investigates the alleged murder of his ex-girlfriend. Wang Duo also made a memorable appearance in The Immortal Ascension, as a quirky villain (see the guy next to Yang Yang in the TIA’s poster above).
Best actress – same criteria apply: new face that won my heart.
So, definitely Wang Ying Lu as the loyal but unfortunate Ye Hai Tang in Twelve Letters. She is amazing in this drama – I wouldn’t be exaggerating if I were to say that I felt her physical pain AND a physical need to enter the screen and protect her myself.
I am a sworn fan now, and this is why I watched Yummy Yummy Yummy, a comedic transmigration drama also starring a very handsome Li Yun Rui. Was that good? Not really. But she was.
Most melancholic watch and also Hidden gem: This is a 2024 drama so it shouldn’t really be here, even more win an award, but hey, it’s my party.
Heroes, the wuxia Cdrama starring Qin Jun Jie, Pang Han Cheng, Maggie Huang and Liu Yu Ning (please note that the latter stars also in a 2022, I think, drama with the same generic title) is a story of a group of people searching for a treasure.
But mostly, it’s a story of individuals with a past (an imperial guard; a sword sect leader; a scholar turned police officer; an imperial princess) that struggle to get a future at a time of violent changes (the last days of the Qing dynasty and the imperial rule in China).
Unfortunately, not many people watched this drama, but those who did really loved it. Please give it a try.
Best comedy – Many dramas had their amusing moments this year, from Lee Joo Ahn and his best Girls’ Generation impersonation in Bon appétit, your Majesty to Kim Hye Ya tormenting her pastor in Heavenly Ever After.
Still, the ones that made me laugh out loud were A Dream within a Dream and the award winner, Guardians of the Dafeng, the swashbuckling adventure drama starring Wang Hedi as a brilliant young man transmigrating to a fantasy kingdom, adapting in 5 seconds in his flamboyant genius warrior new role and encountering all kinds of fantastical adventures.
Dylan Wang also gets the award for this year’s Most Hero hero.
Best Revenge Drama: I love revenge dramas – my favourite novel as a child was The Count of Monte Christo and I still count Return to Eden among my all-time top shows [hyperlinks added for those too young to have spent their summer afternoons reading Alexandre Dumas or watching soaps with their grandmothers).
This year, we got quite a few revenge shows, but the one that gets the award is the Legend of Zang Hai.
Surviving the massacre of his family, Zang Hai spends his childhood training in order to take revenge. He then slowly infiltrates the household of his arch enemy. He is brilliant and unscrupulous, but he has to take action before his training is completed, therefore success is not guaranteed.
The show had its flaws, but it was lucky to have not only a great cast, but also a very competent director. At times, I was in awe with how good the director was.
Best OST – ok, this is an extremely difficult category for a Not When Life Gives You Tangerines award. Tangerines had a wonderful OST. Having said that, this was a great year for OSTs.
I thought that A Dream within a Dream made exemplary use of music, also featuring its male lead Liu Yu Ning, the King of OSTs. The Legend of Zang Hai, the revenge period drama starring Xiao Zhan had one of these mesmerizing opening themes – I didn’t skip it once. And The Immortal Ascension featured my favourite song this year, the heart-wrenching Mayfly Will, that I invite you to listen:
The less serious ones
Best OTP – and by that, I do not mean the melodramatic, too-big-for-this-world OTPs like Gil-Chae and Lee Jang-Hyun (Ahn Eun-Jin – Namkoong Min) in My Dearest, nor the down to earth, love-for-ever OTPs such as Natsumi and Takimasa (Yoshine Kyoko – Honda Kyoya) in A Calm Sea and Beautiful Days with You.
I mean a couple that I was fully able to relate to: Lin I Ling and Zeng Xue You (Alice Ko – Jasper Liu) in I Am Married…But. Because, in real life, who is married and doesn’t think about divorce at least twice per week?
Best fighting scenes: I have watched my fair share of fighting this year, but the winner is Last Samurai Standing, the Japanese show (attention: first season), about Samurai warriors turned obsolete in the Meiji Era that compete for a big prize.
Look, this isn’t Shogun and I thought it was a bit simplistic at times, but everyone’s fighting skills were awsome – particularly the male lead’s, Okada Junichi (who also serves as the show’s main action choreographer!).
Best villain(s): Next year, remind me to do a villains-only post! Seriously, what is a drama without a proper villain?
This year, many of the most villainous villains were parents villainizing their own kids, hence the special award that follows.
Out of the rest, the most imposing was Duke Ping Jin, portrayed by Huang Jue, in The Legend of Zang Hai. Duke Ping Jin is an awful man that is still able to charm the audience and even Xiao Zhan’s Zang Hai.
The viewers (as well as Zang Hai) need to stumble across the Duke’s human skin collection to remember how bad he is!
I don’t have time to finish Dear X as I write, but it is quite possible that Baek Ahn Jin, the cold, anti-social, ruthless starlet, impressively portrayed by Kim Yoo Jung, would give the Duke a run for his money!
Most awful parent: As previously stated, 2025 gave as some real nasty parents, not even counting loathsome jerks like Im Si Wan’s Player 333 in Squid Game or evil stepmothers like Lee Mi Sook’s Im Ok Seon in Tempest.
The top three would include the makjang awful Baek Seon Gyu (Bae Soo Bin) in Dear X, the mesmerizingly two-faced Zhuang Shi Yang (Yu En Tai) in The Glory, and the award winner: the despicable Ye Yi Bo (infuriatingly portrayed by Li Yi Xiang) in Twelve Letters. If I could enter the screen and kick his butt, I would.
He is punished too, no photo for him.
On the contrary, I will include a photo for the winner of the Best Parent award. I know this is not the Not WLGYT awards, but I simply can’t ignore Jeon Gwang-Rye , played by the wonderful Yum Hye-Ran. I won’t say more in case I spoil it for the very few people that haven’t watched it first.
Best Human Being and Most Clever Character: Both these awards go to Arisu Ryohei (played by Yamazaki Kento).
Arisu is a deadbeat gamer who entered a deadly other-dimensional game in 2020’s Alice in Borderland. Right from the start, we knew he was super clever.
By the end of the series in 2025, he had also proven to be one of the best human beings to ever appear on our screens. I am glad he got his own perfect OTP out of all this – Tao Tsuchiya’s Usagi, maybe the second-Best Human Being.
Most Lovable Character: Just look at his photo. Isn’t she adorable? Ling Miao Miao in Love Game in Eastern Fantasy. Esther Yu is not everyone’s cup of tea, but I will always find her the cutest cutie out there.
The just because I can ones
Which brings me to the exact contrary, the Most Slappable Character award, that I will reserve for Chu Gui Hong (Wang You Shuo) in A Dream within a Dream.
We have had quite a few slappable characters this year, but poor Chu Gui Hong is stuck in a time loop of sorts and has to be an infuriating jackass over and over again.
And what about the Hottest character? Meaning the role, not the actor, because in that case my money would be on Xiao Zhan, even if he played a homicidal dentist.
I am therefore torn between the fierce general Song Mo (Li Yun Rui) in Blossom and the mysterious bandit Li Shi Liu (Liu Yu Ning) in A Dream within a Dream. I will let you pick, and see who wins.
But then, I also have a special Hottest Bath Scene award: Cheng Lei was a strong contender as I think we have watched him bathe in every drama he was in this year (and the previous years, by the way), but look, let’s be real, this award is for The Legend of Zang Hai and Xiao Zhan!
Most Understanding Boss: Don’t you wish you had a boss that always lets you do whatever seemingly insane thing you want to do, no questions asked? And even brings snacks and drinks when you wake him up at 2 am?
I am sorry to say there is only one boss like that, and he’s a police captain in Macao. His name is Duan Zheng (Ricky Chan) and he already has his hands full with Ding Qi (Bai Jing Ting) in Mobius.
Most Infuriating Mother-in-Law: In I am Married … but!, the female lead’s doting (on her son) mother boils, at some point, the female lead’s underwear to make sure they are clean. No need to search for other nominees.
Most Overhyping Award: Seriously, macarons are nice little cookies, but would anyone enter a state of trance eating one?
Nevertheless, I thought that the food tasting scenes in Bon Appétit, Your Majesty were fun!
Worst title: This is a special award just for Yummy, Yummy? Yummy! (seriously…).
Best Doctor Award: And this one is specifically for the flamboyant Dr. Baek (Ju Ji Hoon) in The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call! The same show could also get an award as the show that most normalizes workplace harassment (calling Dr. Anus…).
Representation Award: Without a doubt, this is for Squid Game and Player 120. Even with Park Sung-Hoon not being a trans actor, Player 120 was a big step for an Asian drama.
Finally…
Most “I Will Miss You” drama: This year, it was goodbye to two dramas I loved and eagerly followed until the end, despite not being convinced they actually needed the extra seasons.
I liked the third season of Squid Game quite a bit, but I will not miss it, I think. On the contrary, I already feel nostalgic about Alice in Borderland. It had its ups and downs, but overall, it was a great ride. Arisu, Usagi, goodbye!
and
Most anticipated drama for 2026: There is, of course, Made in Korea, the highly anticipated political crime thriller starring Hyun Bin! Jung Woo-Sung! Won Jin-An! Jung Sung-Il! Woo Do-Hwan! But hey, there is also Spying, the even more highly anticipated (by me at least) spy thriller starring Xiao Zhan and Zhou Yu Tong.
That’s it from me!
Dear friends, enjoy yourselves during the end of year holidays and let’s continue discussing dramas for many years to come!
Happy 2026!
~Natalia
✨ About the End-Of-Year Patreon Awards
This post is part of our annual community tradition, where Patreon members share their drama year — favorites, surprises, disappointments, discoveries, and everything in between. 💛
These EOY reflections are one of my favorite parts of the year, because they show just how thoughtful, funny, and passionate our little community is.
If you’d like to join us for watch discussions, episode notes, voice notes, and next year’s EOY Awards, you’re very welcome to check out Patreon! 🥰
KFG ❤️
Thank you for your witty and entertaining post, which highlights many of the C-Dramas that I enjoyed. I loved Legend of Zang Hai and Immortal Ascension. Like you, I was disappointed with Legend of the Female General, mainly because it strayed from the original material.
Hey Alice! I wasn’t even familiar with the original material and could still tell the show was doing something wrong!
Glad to find more people enjoying C-dramas. I hope we will have a great year in shows!
Natalia – you never fail to crack me up. . Your humor is right on time. I also tend to like a lot of what you like as well.
Immortal Ascension – A big adventure. I made it to E22 where I stalled. I did manage to watch the anime. I managed to catch a YT video with 120? Episodes. I cannot remember if it was more episodes or not although I watched them all. This kind of un-motivated me to finish the live action drama because the anime was pretty good. The ML on the anime looks so much like YY, it is eerie. One day I will finish the live action version.
Heroes – I never finished this either but I will probably go back one day and wrap it up as I have a fondness for Qin Jun Jie and of course, Liu Yu Ning but I do struggle with CDramas set in that time period.
Guardians of the Dafeng – who could not love this family? Their relationships truly made the drama more meaningful. I am eager for S2. The family members were brilliant.
Legend of Zang Hai – I waited (impatiently) for this to drop. Xiao Zhan did a good job with his role. I found the beginning episodes pretty interesting. The Duke’s character was really interesting and he was legitimately scary. Let’s face it – Xiao Zhan is a doll face (this term is a serious compliment in my area meant for only the cutest and bestest doll)
I Am Married…But – Now, I hafta watch this! That MIL sounds awful.
Last Samurai Standing – I was on the fence on this one but I have now decided to watch.
Esther – I cannot help but love her even when she overdoes the cute. It is impossible to not love her.
Park Sung-Hoon – I found him in Into the Ring (he was hysterical and I still quote lines from that drama) and I have been impressed by his wide acting range. I agree that his performance in Squid Game as Player 120 was so well done. Now compare this to his role in The Glory. Just wow. He is one actor I struggle to recognize as all of his roles as so different and he literally ‘becomes’ each character.
This was a great post Natalia! I appreciate the laughs. I smiled the whole through the read, and laughed out loud many times. I love your comments and your perspective is uber refreshing.
Phl1rxd, we seem to agree on so many shows! And doll faces!
If your time is limited, pick Heroes as a show to finish. However, I must confess that, contrary to you, I love this time period. Nostalgic but full of potential, if you understand what I mean.
And yay for Guardians of the Dafeng! Let’s watch season 2 “together”. And that the lovely family – my favourite being the ultimate drama cousin – will be back!
Happy New Year, dear!
Hi Natalia, thank you!!! Fun to read and great awards! So many recommendations I will gladly follow. And it is Song Mo for me.
Yay, one vote for Song Mo!
Thank you, ngobee! See you in Patreon!
Ah this was so very fun, Natalia! You have such a witty way with words amongst us Patreons.
While I haven’t watched as many C-dramas as you, I agree that WLGYT could pretty much sweep all awards. Does it sweep all of mine though – you’ll find out when my EOY comes out! 😀 But Yeo Hye Ran – the best parent for sure!! She basically made me weep so hard.
I have heard so many good things about Twelve Letters but I’m not sure if I can deal with the pain of that terrible parent.
and hottest character! hahaha. I guess my hottest character might be Satoh Takeru in Marry My Husband: Japan (or Lee Jun Hyuk in Love Scout though like you and Xiao Zhan, I would love him in anything…). Do I need to watch Blossom for Song Mo hotness?
MC, Song Mo is hot, but he looses the hair sort of early on, and for some reason I found the show less engaging after that… But Li Yunrui is a handsome young man anyway.
I haven’t watched Marry my husband or Love Scout, I am afraid – romance is not my favourite genre, though I do watch romance shows occasionally. I will be waiting for your EOY post… Is it all romance??
hahaha now that i think about it i did watch quite a few romances though i did watch and enjoy Mobius (i agree on that long suffering boss!), Nine Puzzles, Doubt, Flex x Cop. and enjoyed to a lesser extent Queen Mantis and hate watched Good Boy (what a mess).
i have good intentions to watch more c dramas next year!
The “no photo punishment” is a fantastic idea!!! Hahahaha, Natalia, your wit is sharp as ever. You reminded me: a) I watched I am Married, But… too and completely forgot; b) I totally forgot to watch Wang Hedi in Dafang and need to correct this oversight; c) Cheng Lei looks very, very good in a bath scene.
As for you indecision, obviously it’s Li Shiliu – someone who can rock an outfit that entails curtain tassels and be serious, silly, AND swoony has to win literally everything. I have no bias 🙂
OH MY GOD, AND you loved Heroes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Isn’t it just brilliant?!!!
Brilliant, and it made me discover Qin Junjie. What a great actor. You should watch Blemish Flaw, even if Liu Yu Ning is “replaced” by Wang Duo. Oh, and yes, I think I do lean towards Liu Shiliu myself. Song Mo has this super pretty gray mane, while Liu Shiliu grandma tassels. So surely he’s the hottest against all odds?
I did find Song Mo splendid in the mane, mind you! Ah, Qin Junjie was stellar in Heroes. I will check out Blemish Flaw and let you know how I get on. xx
YAY for “I Am Married But” getting some love – a fantastic show that is so grossly overlooked! Ko Chia Yen is just all kinds of awesome, and Liu Yi Hao really upped his game with this one I love that its Mandarin title means something like Fairy Tale Part 2, and I especially love that its ending reminded me of the Piña Colada song (yes I’m older than dirt)
Robin, the Pina Colada song! 🤣🤣🤣 Indeed. I really liked this show (the original title is much better, by the way) and how real it was. Two normal people, having normal couple issues (including the insufferable-though not mean- mother in law). And as you say, both leads were great! I usually prefer costume dramas but this one just spoke to me…
Hello Natalia
Congratulations on being the first to post the EOY review in the blog and as per your usual style it was a fun witty yet intelligent review of this drama year.
Given that I watched only 10 dramas from 2025 and that none of them have featured in any of your awards, looks like either our tastes are vastly different or that I really need to amp up my drama watch list.
In any case the dramas that got me interested based on your views are:
Also I am in the minority who hasn’t watched WLGT and won’t be doing so anytime as family melodrama is not my preferred genre and hence thanks for making this post neutral and non-WLGT if any. Much appreciated.
Now I give you the “Best Understanding of Marriage Award” as you rightly summed up my feelings as well when you wrote these lines “Because in real life, who is married and who doesn’t think of divorce at least twice per week….”. Though I don’t think I would watch that Taiwanese drama as it might hit close to home if any. (I did read the synopsis of this drama and again I think that MIL is deserving of that award just based on my read)
And a big yay for being an Alexandre Dumas fan and mentioning The Count of Monte Cristo. I remember enjoying his novels well especially Monte Cristo. Also I vaguely remember watching Citizen Kane but give me Jurassic Park movie anytime – in other words some of us enjoy fun interesting stories as against perfection.
Which finally brings me to the question and I am still amused that you watch so many varied C-dramas in spite of not being based in Asia or having Asian lineage. And you seem to like them all equally well. So kudos to you for that and if you can share what’s the secret to that – it would be good to know. Thank You and looking forward to many more years of witty drama discussions.
P.S – too bad you haven’t finished The Manipulated yet and I guess it would have made it to your Best Revenge Award shortlist if any.
Jasmine, thanks for reading! Yes, we don’t always watch the same dramas but hey, Monte Cristo is more than enough to bond! Also, I am certain The Manipulated will be revenge-perfect, if only I have the courage to continue with episode 3!
As for your question, I could say that’s because of a Japanese significant other, but it wouldn’t be true: what got me into Asian dramas (Korean, at the beginning) was Covid19 and Hyun Bin!
Such a fun, entertaining EOY post–thanks Natalia!! Of the cdramas you mention, I’ve only seen A Dream within a Dream and it was one of my very favorites as well. So clever and yes I vote for Shi Liu (and LYN in pretty much anything so I’ve added Heroes to my list). Twelve Letters is on my list but I will also have to check out Alice in Borderland.
Do watch Heroes, Deb – and you will discover another great actor, Qin Junjie!
Thank you for reading and thank you for all the discussions we had in 2025 – drama and music-related!
@Natalia
Definitely, a very worthy start to these posts. I enjoyed it a lot, even though I don’t have any context for the cdramas. Perhaps in a year or so I will branch more away from kdramas but for now it’s equal parts loyalty and stubbornness since I am investing effort to learn the language.
I also liked Study Group, despite the violence. I loved the story and the group of misfits and outcasts who supported each other and fought off the bullies. It hit all the right notes for me.
And, yes, I also have a very big soft spot for When Life Gives You Tangerines. I share your appreciation for it and found it cute that you had to slice it out of the rest of your awards. Well done!
Finally, thanks for your contributions on Patreon. I know there have been suggestions of dramas and OSTs of yours that I’ve taken. I’ve enjoyed getting to know you this year. Have a great 2026!
It was also great getting to know you too, Nathan! And I will cunningly and insidiously try to lure you to Cdramaland in 2026 😆
@Natalia – You lost the bet with Jennifer (do you remember?) I have not watched a single Chinese drama as the year closes out. So I can hardly comment here other than what a fun creative enjoyable read. I have some silly categories of my own but I’ll be posting to the Patreon crowd only. I don’t keep drama notes, only a watch list.
We did watch WLGYT though. We are extremely shallow in our drama tastes this year and WLGYT was so much misery on top of so much love we just felt like it dug deep in our hearts to remind us how much misery there is in the world right now and that reminder was too much for our souls to handle. We finished it but we’ve stayed away from heavy themes dramas ever since. Not arguing with the acting or directing or production or music just that emotionally it weighed us down more than we can manage.
Ha ha Deni, this is why I would always watch Back to the Future instead!
As for the bet, damn! I had forgotten all about it. But I won’t loose hope, I feel 2026 will be your Cdrama year! 😆Jennifer, are you joining in the bet?
OMO! What a fun fun EOY post Natalia!
The awards were so creative and made me LOL at times.
Other than Tangerines I haven’t watched any of the dramas in your list.
Your post is making me very interested in C-Dramas ( especially since I just found out my mom is busy watching those back in India).
Thank you for an awesome start to the Year End Awards!
Kumari, trust your mom!
One of the reasons I am so glad K has Patreon is that we always meet new lovely people with interesting views on dramas. I am glad I met you this year and I hope we will have more lengthy discussions, especially if you trust your mom!😁
Great EOY start! It’s always fun to read what dramas other people picked up and what their thoughts about them are. I haven’t watched most of the dramas on your list and I did drop some that you loved. But then I dropped a bunch of others too. That’s me, the serial dropper, ha.
I might pick up Guardians of the Dafeng again to finish it. I loved the beginning but then it started going to a direction I wasn’t too hot on. Let’s see if I can get past that obstacle.
Okada Junichi – one of my very early jdrama “crushes”. 😁 Did you know that he started out as a singer in a jpop group V6? Here, have some vintage Okada ca 2005. 😜
https://youtu.be/zY9um5ICt6U?si=LLeBGz99yD5Ysxq3 Gosh, I love that song! It always makses me smile, happy memories…
I just counted and I’ve apparently finished 14 dramas so far. That’s actually more than I thought. Most are Chinese, no surprise there.
Timescout! That video!! 🤣🤣🤣 Thanks for posting this – have you watched Samurai? Hard to imagine it’s the same person!!
Let’s talk on Patreon about Dafeng, you can tell me which direction that was and I can tell you if it really keeps it up. I think the hardest thing in this drama is the humor. If you find it funny (I did!), then all is OK.
Fellow Cdrama watcher, I am counting on you for more related suggestions and discussions in 2026!
Oh, Okada has come quite far from those early days. He started acting pretty early on, moving slowly to more serious and demanding roles. I still think fondly of some of his earlier dramas. He was pretty good at comedy as well. I haven’t watched Samurai yet as I don’t have access to Netflix and I’m a bit iffy on the violence as well.
I honestly can’t remember what exactly it was that made me drop Dafeng really. I got as far as ep 23. I think I might have to start again from ep 22 and see if I feel like continuing. We’ll see I guess.
I chuckled more or less all the time reading your review, in spite of not having watched most of your dramas. You are truly funny!
I did watch A Dream within a Dream though and definitely second you on all the awards there. The most slappable character was a great award and I definitely wanted to slap that young and annoying jerk of a general! Since it was my first Chinese drama I probably missed a lot of references to other dramas etc, but I still found it to be very, very amusing.
Thank you for a review that made a good start for my Sunday!
My, have you watched Dear X? I hadn’t completed it when I submitted the draft for the post but I did since and there is one particular character in it that I think would have won the most slappable award over the undoubtedly ultra annoying general Chu! Anyway, I hope next year we will have more Cdramas to talk about 😉. I will find you on Patreon and give you some suggestions…
(A promise? A threat? Who knows!)
I take it as a promise! Seems as if I need to watch Dear X, to find someone even more slappable!
@Natalia – As always, I just love reading your posts. So witty, so humorous, and always brings a smile to my face. All the awards were fun. My favourite was the worst title award. 😂😂 Kudos to you for writing such an entertaining post despite losing your notes.
There were many dramas that we discussed throughout the year: Last Samurai Standing (We need season 2 as soon as possible), Blossom, Study Group (Need season 2 of this as well), Twelve Letters, and Blemish Flaw, both of which I added to my watchlist thanks to your inputs, Trauma Code, Squid Game, and Alice in Borderland. I watched Alice in Borderland in just 3 days thanks to the push you gave me, and I must agree that both Arisu and Usagi are such wonderful leads. I certainly miss them both, especially Arisu.
I did a little bit of research after reading your EOY post and added the following titles to my watchlist: Love Game in Eastern Fantasy, A Dream Within a Dream, Legend of Zhang Hai, and I Am Married But…
Also, I am one of the few who has not watched When Life Gives You Tangerines yet. I just could not find the right mood this year. But I will get to it eventually. I promise.
Thank you for the post.
No ABV, I thank you for always being available for a good drama talk! I really cherished our discussions this year on a very wide range of shows and I am looking forward to more sharing of opinions next year. Thanks for being such a good drama buddy!
@Natalia – So happy to hear that, and I feel the same way. Looking forward to our discussions in the coming year. Thank you, too. 😊
Hi Natalie, that was a blast! Thanks for busting out of convention, and reminding us that some of the things we love most about Asian dramas are not all high minded. Unrelated to that observation, Study Group was one of my very favorite shows, too. It was filled with unglamorous heroes, and I was down for the epic battle between good and evil. Very cleverly written, and well-acted. Finally, it looks like I need to add Immortal Ascension to my list! Thanks for a very fun post.
Leslie, do give The Immortal Ascension a try! I usually stay away from this kind of drama and I am not a fan of the male lead, but the show really grabbed me. Not to mention that is a very small but I thought very touching love line in it (very very small, mind you).
Heroes! I also watched that one this year, and agree that it’s criminally underrated. It was lovely to see a period show that felt rooted in actual history, and I enjoyed the complexity of all the characters. It was also fun to see so many of them again in such different roles in Blemish Flaw, plus obviously the excellently alarming Wang Duo.
Wonhwa! I am so happy to see that I not the only one to have watched both Heroes and Blemish Flaw. Both underrated dramas, I think, and especially Heroes, of course. What did you think of Blemish Flaw? I was also attracted to it by the identical cast (minus Liu Yu Ning / Wang Duo), but I stayed for its unique vibe. And seeing the same people in different roles was like watching a transimgratiion drama, wasn’t it? I wouldn’t mind a third drama with the same cast/same production…
I also though Heroes was a better show overall, but I found Blemish Flaw to be a solid, stylish thriller with messier characters than C-drama sometimes allows. I did find the obligatory glowing portrayal of the Chinese police and the heavy-handed insistence that all crimes big and small must be fully punished to be a bit much towards the end. It was fun though to see Qin Jun Jie in a decidedly non-glamorous everyman role and this was my first time seeing Wang Duo in anything and I thought he was great.
We are in total agreement, then! Have you watched Regeneration last year? Also a great drama with a somehow forced “law must prevail” ending, but it is still worth it, if you haven’t watched it.
Natalia, now that’s what I call getting EOYs started out in style!
You automatically win the award for Most Clever Awards and the Zen Buddhism prize for embracing the Not WLGYT space.
I vote for Liu Lu Ning. And am still chuckling at Punishment By No Photo.
Your post reminds me that it would be OK to check out the new seasons of Squid Game and that I ought to watch Alice in Borderland, although I have no idea about what it is about.
Thanks for sharing your year, not to mention sharing your wit and wisdom all year long. All best wishes for a wonderful EOY holiday, Natalia!
J3ffc, saying you have no idea what Alice in Bordeland is is not a wise thing to say around me – the only thing that stops me from writing a whole essay about it is that I am traveling and writing an essay on my phone is not an option. Do watch an episode or three, though. I think you may actually love it. ABV actually watched the whole three seasons in 3 days!!
I am loving the Zen Buddhism prize – now I just hope other people will write about Tangerines, otherwise I will get the Guilty Conscience Catholicism prize.
Oh, and I meant to ask you for a while: are you by any time watching Love on the turquoise land? It has a Buffy vibe that you may enjoy…
Happy end of the year, my dear; let’s talk more about dramas in 2026!
Thanks for the recs, especially since I’ve not heard of Love on the Turquoise Land – will take a look. Happy end of year to you as well! And thanks again for sharing such a fun post.
First to comment?? Thank you Natalia for yet another witty, brisk and fun ride through your watches of the year!! I agree with you very much on the hotness of Song Mo and Li Shiliu, and adored Study Group too! Will be adding others to my list from what you’ve seen and watched, like Last Samurai Standing (I love good action scenes) and perhaps Legend of Zang Hai too!
I can’t remember, have you watched Undercover High School yet? I watched it 8 months after watching Study Group and I found it very enjoyable too, and different enough in plot!
Elaine! Thanks for reading and being the first to post!
I did watch Undercover High school but, contrary to you, I made the mistake to watch it right after Study Group. The result was, I could not avoid comparing the two, and Undercover High School lost (imo) in every category. So yeah, I was not thrilled by it. Having said that, I did enjoy the villainous head master. Which reinforces my decision to write a villains EOY post next year. If only I had thought of it earlier!
Also, you are not supposed just to agree with me on the hotness of Liu Shiliu and Song Mo: you must pick one for the award!
Anyway my dear, thanks for being my drama buddy this year and in many years to come!