bromance

Dear kfangurl: How do I deal with drama fatigue?

| kfangurl
So. Tired. 💤

So, full disclosure, you guys. This wasn’t actually submitted as a Dear kfangurl question.

What happened was, I had written very enthusiastic episode notes for episode 1 of Twenty Five, Twenty One, over on Patreon, and Natalia had commented in response:

“Oh no. Such a great recap but it only makes even clearer what I have suspected for a while: I suffer from KDrama fatigue! I don’t feel like watching anything? Is it serious, doctor??”

..Which made me think, Hey, that would make a pretty good topic for a Dear kfangurl post!

And so, here we are. If you, or people you know, are suffering from drama fatigue, I hope this post will be at least a little bit helpful. ❤️

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Dear kfangurl: What are your guilty pleasure dramas?

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Shahz writes:

Hey KFG. Hope you are well. An idea for “ask KFG” post was one around what your guilty pleasures are? And opening that same question up to the KFG community. In particular those that you couldn’t explain to a non K drama lover.

So for me three immediately come to mind. The first being “Secret Garden”. Body shifting, toxic couple. Female lead sometimes one note, an annoying mother but even though I watched this ten years after it was shown I still fell for all the iconic lines.

The second ” “You are Beautiful”. Cross dressing nun joins a pop band pretending to be her male twin. The chemistry between the OTP never sizzles but it is oh so sweet and actually what develops is a nurturing relationship despite the communication problems. And Jang Keun-suk is so mesmerising beautiful that you can’t take your eyes off him.

The third is” Don’t dare to dream”. Questionable OTP and questionable decisions and at one point the female lead dates both the ML and the second lead at the same but the sparkling chemistry between the leads makes this a great binge watch.

And an honourable mention for Masters Sun. FL sees ghosts and ML acts as a barrier to those ghosts but uses this power to manipulate the FL into furthering his interests but again the sizzling chemistry between the leads makes the show so bingeable”

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Dear kfangurl: What are some dramas that would make my day better?

| kfangurl
Make! My! Day! ❤️

Confession: this Dear kfangurl post wasn’t actually triggered by a Dear kfangurl question. It just made sense to group it with the other Dear kfangurl posts, coz that’s where the other lists on the blog live, heh.

BUT! This post was triggered by a conversation with my friend Jan on Twitter.

Basically, yesterday, Jan had remarked that she was looking for a Kim Ji Suk fix, and I’d suggested 20th Century Boy and Girl, in which he is the sweet, perfect boyfriend.

Less than 24 hours later, Jan’s super happy with the drama suggestion, and her tweets are filled with happy spazz, and she’s also said that this was the rom-com she’d been looking for.

..Which got me thinking. With all the darker &/or heavier shows that Dramaland’s been serving up of late (like World of the Married, Graceful Friends, Flower of Evil and It’s Okay To Not Be Okay), as solid as these shows are, maybe some  – or many? – of you guys might be looking for something lighter to make these dark pandemic days a little brighter.

That’s why I’m here to help. 😀

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Flash Review: Shan Shan Comes To Eat [Boss & Me] [China]

| kfangurl

Expectations count for a lot in drama-watching, I’ve come to find. If a show exceeds your expectations, it’s always a happy thing. But if a show doesn’t live up to your expectations, it can feel like a real disappointment.

The problem is, expectations can be.. a rather tricky thing to manage.

Lots of drama friends – bloggers and readers alike – had recommended this show to me, and all of them had enthusiastically assured me that this one was Stinkin’ Cute, and that I would absolutely love it.

That kind of created a bit of a challenge for Show, since with all that glowing praise, my expectations unconsciously inched higher with each positive pronouncement I heard about it.

That then inadvertently put Show on an instant uphill task in my head. From the first minute I dipped my toes into this watch, Show had to prove itself worthy of all the squee. And that’s an unnecessary challenge that just helps nobody, amiright?

…Which is why I’m here to help. I’ll help manage your expectations so that hopefully you’ll end up enjoying your watch more easily than I did. We drama fans gotta help one another out, after all. 😉

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Flash Review: Fall In Love With Me [TW Drama]

| kfangurl

So something pretty surprising happened lately. I – who previously hardly ever (like, seriously, ever) checked out Taiwanese dramas – have been on a Taiwanese drama kick.

I’m not even talking about being mildly-to-moderately interested, and simply adding Taiwanese dramas as one more option to my drama plate. I’m talking about full-on back-to-back episode binge-watching, to the exclusion of everything else. Including kdramas.

Gasp! What in the world..? Right?!? 😛

And this, when the dramas themselves weren’t even all that good. Like this one.

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Flash Review: Bromance [TW Drama]

| kfangurl

Have you ever loved a drama in spite of its multitude of shortcomings? Like, it’s got so many flaws that you can’t help but roll your eyes sometimes (or maybe more like a lot of the time).

And yet, it’s got That One Thing going for it, that’s so awesome that it makes the watch completely cracktastic.

Which is how you end up watching an entire Very Flawed Drama, for the sake of that One Thing?

Yep. Exactly what happened here, you guys. I was literally hooked on Bromance for a good part of its run, so much so that it was the show that I looked forward to the most, each week.

This, when I usually have a ridiculous amount of trouble getting into Taiwanese dramas as a general rule, and therefore typically don’t even bother checking them out anymore.

Woah, right?

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Dear kfangurl: What is it about bromances that make a kdrama great?

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Today’s question is brought to us by Bakazen, who asks:

Dear kfangurl,

What is it about bromances that make a kdrama great? I just recently finished watching Doctor Stranger and realized 2 things: LJS is a good actor and I really didn’t like this drama. So why did I finish it? Because I was hooked by the bromance tease between LJS and PHJ.

My personal theory is they work well as substitutes for the sometimes overwhelming lack of affection we see between couples. Guys in bromances show affection, love, solidarity, joy, connection & (dare I say it) skinship!

Nothing warms my heart like one of the F4s coming to a bros rescue, the F44s teasing each other or the leads in School 2013 (LJS & Woobie) saying how much they missed each other’s friendship.

Besides, I rarely get that hooked into the female friendships (major exception, Noh Eun-seol & Lee Myung Ran from Protect the Boss). What do you think?

Bakazen

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Best Kickass Imaginary Dream Dramas, Ever!

| kfangurl

Do you have a Dream Drama?

Y’know, like in your head, you have the Perfect scenario, the Perfect male lead, the Perfect female lead, the Perfect second leads, and the Most Perfect story arcs, Ever? The kind of idea that makes you go, “OMGGGG I WOULD WATCH THAT DRAMA!!!!”???

Where if you could have it your way, this drama would be filmed and produced, stat, and immediately given a time slot on a Korean network, so that the entire dramaverse would be able to inhale the awesome, in unison?

Well, I and the ladies on this blog certainly have a few of those, and not only am I gonna share those awesome scenarios with you today, we wanna hear about your Perfect Dream Drama too!

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Review: School 2013

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

An earnest, honest high school drama that isn’t just about high school.

Pulsing with teen angst on the one hand, yet also dealing with more universal issues on the other, School 2013 is about growing up, and about friendship, hope, love and loyalty. Things that all matter, whether you’re a teenager or an adult.

A wonderful, engaging watch that manages to overflow with heart, in the midst of the angst.

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