MC writes:
What shows have female leads that are relatable? Lately I get tired of watching candy girls with sad life stories yet are so cheery (I mean who would be so cheery if they had such a hard life!?).
I would love to watch shows with relatable female leads who have their good and bad days and grow through the bad days! I’m asking about female leads coz you did something similar for male leads.
Entropyenator writes:
Hi KFangurl,
Absolutely LOVE your blog and best of luck in your journey to keep writing!
Two questions for you I hope you can help with, though they are sort of related:
1) Why is it so rare for kdramas to get more than 1 season?
2) What qualifies a kdrama to get a second season?
To explain a bit, I just finished Vincenzo (so amazing, SJK, JYB and the rest of the cast were brilliant, even if the logic got…stretched in some bits) but SJK’s interview right after the finale seems to indicate it won’t get a second season despite very very good ratings.
This seems to be the norm for kdramas–save very rare exceptions like Hospital Playlist and Age of Youth/Hello My Twenties. So what gives? Is it a different industry/culture thing? I do admit that I am based in the US, where, as long as a show doesn’t completely flop, getting at least 2-3 seasons is incredibly common.
Looking forward to your answer!
THE SHORT VERDICT:
A restrained, loving study of music, characters, and their relationships, Do You Like Brahms? boasts characters that are carefully and tenderly drawn, relationships that feel patiently and organically grown, and a narrative filled with music-related touches that demonstrate an understanding of and empathy for musicians.
Our cast is very solid all-around, with each actor bringing their character to life in a way that feels real and believable.
I loved extra, our sweet, bashful, very well-matched OTP, played by Kim Min Jae and Park Eun Bin.
Not only is their romance handled thoughtfully, their individual journeys as musicians and as people, are teased out carefully too.
A very enjoyable ride, particularly if you identify as an introvert &/or a musician.
Let me get what I think are the two biggest questions out of the way: No, you don’t need to know a thing about baseball, in order to enjoy this show. And no, you don’t even have to like baseball, in order to like this show.
Would you get more enjoyment out of this show if you actually already love baseball? I’m not sure, to be honest.
Sometimes knowing too much can be a bad thing (if you’re a doctor you probably roll your eyes at the details in medical kdramas, and so on), but I’m guessing that understanding how baseball works would probably help you appreciate the nuances that I missed.
I went into this show without much knowledge or interest in baseball, and I’m coming away with only marginally more knowledge about and interest in the sport.
And yet, I found myself enjoying this show very well, and wholeheartedly rooting for our characters, often without actually truly understanding the full details of what was happening on my screen. That’s quite an accomplishment on Show’s part, I’d say.
Also, for the record, I’ve felt rather neutral about Nam Goong Min for a while, even as everyone else has grown hearts in their eyes for him, and here, I finally actually really like him.
Lots of happy surprises overall, yes?
Reka writes:
Dear kfangurl,
I love you blog! Your reviews are very interesting!
I started watching kdramas last year, and haven’t stopped since xD
I was wondering, can you recommend me any kdramas with good, compelling, interesting female characters? Because I find this aspect kind of lacking D:
THE SHORT VERDICT:
A dark horse of a show that took a tiny bit of getting used to, but eventually surprised me by sneaking under my skin to grab my heart in a big way.
Search: WWW truly is a rarity in Dramaland.
First of all, it’s women-centric and puts the spotlight on the relationships among our main female characters, which in itself is a big plus.
But even more surprising than that, is that while each of our 3 main ladies has her own loveline with a perfectly matched love interest, those romance arcs never take centerstage in our narrative, even at their most melty.
Instead, the romances are positioned as just one aspect of our women’s very full lives. Seriously, how refreshing and cool is that?
Thoughtfully written, solidly directed, and brimming with consummate performances by the cast, this is one drama that I won’t be forgetting anytime soon.
THE SHORT VERDICT:
A sequel that feels similar-yet-different when compared to its elder sibling Age Of Youth.
The departure of several characters and the addition of new ones makes this season feel rather bittersweet, but the drama world feels the same, and it’s great to spend time with familiar beloved characters once again.
Show continues with certain hanging threads left over from Season 1, while introducing new adventures and new people to our Belle Epoque girls. All in all, this feels like a solid continuation of Season 1.
Familiar enough to make existing fans of the show happy, but also accessible enough for viewers who haven’t seen Season 1.
Every once in a while, a little gem of a mini series will show up, and shine more brightly than its peers. Color me surprised, but this is one of those times, you guys.
I’d enjoyed this show’s sisters (Queen Of The Ring and Romance Full Of Life) to varying degrees, having randomly picked those to start with within this trilogy, because I have a lot of affection for Kim Seul Gi and Yoon Si Yoon, who star in each of those shows respectively.
I’d kept this installment for last, because I have no strong feelings for the leads either way, and had merely expected this installment to be about as light and fluffy as the others – maybe less, even, since this story’s premise involves death. Eep.
I should’ve known, though, that in the hands of the writer who gave us the wonderful Splash Splash Love, this one was probably always destined to hit me hardest, where it counts the most. <3
You guys might remember that this time last year, I pinky-swore-resolved to make better use of my drama hours – and better use of time in general – in 2017.
Now that 2017 has flown by in what feels like a flash, and it’s time to check in all over again, I’m happy to report that I think I did.. pretty ok, all things considered. 🙂
Some of you know that I went through a drama-cum-blogging slump somewhere in the middle of 2017, and ended up not only neglecting the blog in a big way (I’m really sorry you guys!
I did read every single comment, even though I didn’t respond to any, during my slump), but not watching a whole lot of drama either, for about 2-3 months (gasp! The horror!).
When I was watching dramas, though, I paid a lot less attention to what dramas were trending at the moment, and a lot more attention to my mood, and how much I was enjoying the dramas on my screen – or not.
This meant that I ended up dropping more dramas this year than I have in previous years – if I just wasn’t feeling a show, I’d be much quicker to drop it – and, it also meant that I missed out on some good dramas because I just wasn’t in the right mood.
On the upside, though, I found that I ended up feeling happier in general, with my 2017 drama-watching experience. That’s not a bad trade-off, right?