Hi everyone,
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about romance in dramas — why some love stories not only work really well, but linger long after a show ends, while others fade (sometimes while we’re still watching them! 🙊).
In this voice note, I talk through a few patterns I’ve noticed over time, looking at what the most memorable drama romances tend to share in common.
Voice note: “Romance in dramas — what do the best ones have in common?”
Thanks for listening, and I hope you enjoyed hanging out with me! 🥰 Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
KFG ❤️
(This is a topical voice note post, shared as part of the upcoming Patreon refresh.)
Thank you for your voice note! Thinking about my favorite OTPs:
Romance is a bonus book
hospital playlist
the red sleeve
30 but 17
25, 21
hometown cha-cha-cha
weightlifting fairy
I’d love to know others’ lists
I am usually not drawn to purely romantic story lines. My personal favorites are stories of personal growth, redemption, and healing. I like it when the romance is part of a bigger story arc. I think high stakes, danger, and tension add a lot to a romantic arc. Here are some of my favorite romances:
30 but 17 (healing)
It’s Okay To Not Be Okay (healing)
The Story Of Lady OK (personal journey)
Moon River (high stakes palace intrigue)
Very much in agreement with you on what makes a good romance and how so many recent dramas have fallen short. 1% of Something is a great romance example as is Call It Love, and Secret Love Affair may be at the top of my list of dramas (possibly displacing Healer!). ADWAD is one of my favs from this year but I agree with you about the OTP. TPOB was better on that front, but not without issues as you point out. Let’s hope for better writing in 2026!
As I’m sure you know, romance isn’t my first or even second criterion when I pick up a show. There are very few romance centric shows that I have watched and truly enjoyed (I tend to get bored 😝). That said, I do think that your points on what makes a good romance are valid. No actual payoff and lacklustre chemisty are sure killers of any romantic show. I do like romances that develop organically and they don’t even need to be particularly sizzling to appeal to me. As long as they give me the warm fuzzies I’m good. 🙂
Secret Love Affair is a really good example as is Calm Seas and Beautiful Days With You. I also really liked the main OTP romance in Kikazaru Koi ni wa Riyuu ga Atte (There’s a Reason for Dressing Up Love). Another good one is The Pursuit of Happiness (oldie from TW).
I had a hard time with this as I was so engaged with what you had to say in this post that I almost burned my dinner. The lesson from this is never cook while listening to Fangurl! 🤣😅😂
this is very funny! please don’t burn yourself or your food!
P.S.S. 100% in agreement with The First Frost (I’m now reading the book to get more insight about what the OTP felt), The Best Thing (soo pretty), Lovely Runner (just finished my 3rd rewatch, with a focus on the OTP lol), Meet Yourself (Show made me fall in love with SWL despite his character’s questionable decisions on certain points), Love In Spring (love how real the OTP are) and Yumi’s Cells (the cells are so hilarious and witty and Show is well-written but I still can’t finish the 2nd season up to the point of the OTP minting; Show made me fall in love with OTP with Babbi too much but accidentally found out about it’s ending huhuhu).
Wowww, we are very much aligned on these dramas, mc!! I was also very much on board Team Babi, I loved Park Jinyoung as Babi 😍😍😍 – and I completely understand your instinct to not continue, after being spoiled for the ending. 😭🥲 It it helps at all, I did feel that the ending was handled in a way that felt realistic and true to life.
Ooh, enjoy your read of The First Frost!! I’m sure reading the source material would give you an amplified appreciation for the story and the characters. 🥰
Team Babi all the way! (haha) And I especially love how Show depicted on a cellular level, how straightforward Babi is in his pursuit and how helpless Yumi’s cells are of his ‘attacks’; it made me so giddy and in awe of the writer/s. If I’m gonna be honest, I get what the Show is doing, because it is ultimately about Yumi’s journey; the ending spoiler maybe just got a bit too real for me and too realistic that’s why I made myself stop watching lols. I just went ahead and read your full review (I needed to know why the ending had to be that way) and will pick up the Show again once I’m in a better headspace.
I’m still in the earlier chapters on TFF and I love how I understand the nuances better on OTP interactions (esp SY’s shamelessness which always makes me laugh and WYF’s quick-wittedness). Would 100% recommend. 🙂
Ahaha I feel you – Babi made me giddy too! 😂 Plus, Jinyoung’s so very charming. 😍 Maybe finishing it in time for Season 3 might be the way to go, since Season 3 is certain to give us a happy ending? 😁
Ooh, that’s really cool, that reading the book is increasing your appreciation for the nuances in the story! Thanks for the recommendation – I will keep in mind! ❤️
Oh yes, I have heard that there is going to be a Season 3 but no Babi anymore? *sigh* I can feel my Team Babi cells packing up the fan club and going on hiatus. lols
hi small mc, i’m big MC too! welcome around these parts! we have quite similar tastes in liking romance shows although my standards for romance shows are very very high now. i did enjoy Yumi’s Cells and Lovely Runner (i haven’t watched The First Frost, Will Love In Spring or Meet Yourself though). i loved Love Like The Galaxy too!
if you can afford it, the voice notes tier is very fun. i always enjoy listening to KFG’s voice notes!
haaaiiiiii 🙂
I’ve been a kfg lurker for quite sometime and just started commenting. My writing is still a bit rusty but I am having fun listening to kfg and sharing my thoughts.
I have been thinking of joining Patreon for a while but initially wasn’t sure if I am able to ‘maximize’ its use hehe. I dipped my feet in Patreon awhile back (not kfg) and I was not able to consistently join because life happens. I can barely keep up with my socials, right now really only active in X, but now I am seriously considering it. Is there anything else in kfg’s Patreon that you enjoy?
welcome! i’ve been commenting since…. 2018 or so?? i’ve lost track of time. it’s fun around these parts!
ah, you can maybe check out the different tiers and see what works for you? you can always consider a monthly subscription to “test” out if it works for you – you can always cancel or upgrade/ downgrade based on your needs.
i get what you mean by life happens! what i do like about patreon is that i appreciate the episode notes that guide my watch along the way (i watch a mix of current and older shows so i am at a tier where i can access all notes and look for them when i get to the show). i do like the entertainment drop that gives me a sense of what’s coming up that i’d be keen to watch. and there’s always a fun community chat going on (i don’t appear all the time coz life, right, but they’re a warm and welcoming bunch who won’t be upset if you come by infrequently).
maybe you can give it a test to see if you like what you see!
P.S. Still looking for where I can stream and watch Secret Love Affair. lols
If you’re in the US (or have a VPN), you can stream SLA on Tubi! ❤️
Wow, I did not know that! Time for a rewatch. Just the music alone makes Secret Love Affair worth watching.
So I’m trying to have a real-time reaction to your voice note, so if it it feels like my thoughts are jumpy, apologies in advance. hehe
I am in agreement with how there are a lot less-promising kdramas around that’s maybe why I started watching c-dramas early this year.
Re ADWAD, started watching this because of the rave reviews and because of LYN’s personal feelings about how good Show is. First few episodes are hilarious and would make me LOL’d. I love me a fiesty FL and a multi-layered ML. I enjoyed how campy it was at first because the writing was really good. But after the numerous back-and-forth, will-they-will-they-not-kill-each-other scenes, it got too old for me. Maybe if they springkled a little bit more of OTP romantic tension here and there, I wouldn’t have felt that they milked it beyond my limit. So I shelved it for now, and hopefully will pick it up again once I’m in a better mood for it. Love how the OTP romance in TPOB was spaced out and with all it’s minor faults, I’m glad that it was my first historical C-drama.
Hi mc — I love that you tried a real-time reaction comment to the voice note! 😁 It really does feel like we’re chatting in the same room, which is kind of delightful. ❤️
That makes a lot of sense about branching into c-dramas, especially when the k-drama landscape feels a bit thin. And I think the same rule likely applies everywhere: for every gem, there are always going to be a fair number of duds too. 😅
I’m very much with you on ADWAD. I enjoyed the campy energy early on too, but I also found that the repeated will-they-won’t-they escalation started to wear thin without enough romantic tension to balance it out. Shelving it until the mood’s right sounds like a very reasonable call.
Though I had my quibbles too, I do agree that the OTP romance in TPOB was spaced out, and that made a big difference. I’m glad it landed well for you as your first historical c-drama. 😊
If you end up wanting another in a somewhat similar vein, Love Like the Galaxy might be worth a look too — though, fair warning, it does have a few late-stage hiccups.
I’ve been so used to just reading your reviews but hearing your voice notes is a pleasant surprise. Plus commenting on it real-time felt natural. Looking forward to more of your thoughts and observations. 🙂
Blame it on my people-pleaser streak, I would always feel so bad (for the writers/prod/actors) whenever a show would turn out to be a dud or not click with me and I have to reluctantly drop it esp if I came in with full expectations. *sigh*
Love Like The Galaxy was THE show that made me get a Viki subscription and it is one of the best decisions I had this year. lol. I had admired Zhao Lusi and Wu Lei in Hidden Love and Amidst the Snowstorm of Love respectively and I kept on seeing LLTG in a lot of ‘best cdrama’ lists but couldn’t find a bootleg links anywhere. Show was a revelation for me as a cdrama baby and despite limited OTP skinships, the characters (funniest Emperor ever), the acting and the story got me on a chokehold for most of its 40(?)-episode run. Got too bloody for me and just a tiny-bit rushed at the end but I can forgive bloody Wu Lei and the showrunners anytime. It’s still one of my fave historical cdramas. 🙂
I know your review staple are Kdramas but I do look forward to more cdrama reviews in the future. No pressure tho lol
Ooh, I’m really glad the voice note landed as a pleasant surprise, mc, and that the real-time commenting felt natural — I’m happy to hear that! 😊
Just so you know though: voice notes aren’t something I’ll be sharing on the blog as a regular feature — this one’s here as a taster — but I’m really glad it gave you a sense of how I think through things in a more conversational way.
Awww… I really get what you’re saying about feeling bad for dropping shows. It is hard sometimes. I always remind myself that for every person a show doesn’t work for, there’s often someone else who absolutely loves it — so it’s like handing the baton over, and letting someone else enjoy it in your place. At least… that’s how I like to think about it! 😅
Ahh, I’m so glad you loved Love Like the Galaxy! Wu Lei and Zhao Lusi were wonderful together 🥲 — and yes, it was good enough that I also forgave bloody Wu Lei. 😂
And no worries at all about pressure — I’m glad to know you’re looking forward to more c-drama thoughts, and I’ll definitely talk about them whenever something really grabs me. ❤️
That is a refreshing mindset when dropping shows, that Show just didn’t have the right audience in me and someone else will appreciate it more than I can. Thank you for sharing this. 🙂
A great voice-note episode, thank you for putting it out. First, I agree wholeheartedly about the disappointing lack of really sparky OTPs recently. Your comments about Would You Marry Me, Typhoon Family and Bon Appetit, Your Majesty all hit true to my own opinions.
Your thoughts about what makes a good OTP click are pretty solid. I absolutely agree that the OTP must develop organically (or at least, the reasons for them coming together must land as natural i.e. the arranged marriage of A Calm Sea and Beautiful Days) and it must also mature organically. If I had any (slight) disagreement it was on the issue of external factors creating angst failing to help develop an OTP. The problem with the external factors in WWYMM is that they didn’t force the OTP to work together to develop the teamwork that a couple needs. Done right, the use of external conflict can make a couple find out how they react under stress and cement the reasons why they won’t fall apart.
FYI, I think if I tackle a cdrama this year, it will be First Frost. Beyond the comments from others, your description here has intrigued me a lot and I am feeling quite tempted to try.
Thanks again, well done!
Hi Nathan!! I’m really glad you enjoyed this voice note, and thank you for such a thoughtful response — I really appreciate how carefully you engaged with the ideas here. ❤️
And yes — we’re actually very much in agreement on the external conflict point. 😁 I don’t think external forces are incapable of helping an OTP develop; they absolutely can, when they force the couple to work together, reveal character under pressure, and actively deepen trust and partnership — exactly like you described.
Where WYMM (and a few others) lost me was that the external pressures felt more like a replacement for meaningful narrative tension for the OTP relationship itself. Basically, things happening to the couple, rather than situations that required them to grow with each other. Done well, external conflict can be incredibly bonding; done poorly, it just exists as a cheap stand-in. 😅
And ooo, First Frost! I love that this one caught your interest. No pressure either way, of course, but if you do give it a try, I’d be very curious to hear how it lands for you.
Thanks again for listening and for sharing your thoughts — it was a pleasure to read. ❤️