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!
Today’s post is inspired by Jesse!
In the course of one of our chats scattered across the blog, where I was trying to think of dramas to recommend to Jesse, I’d suggested Romance Is A Bonus Book.
He’d ultimately sounded quite happy with this suggestion and said that he would probably check it out soon, but, he’d also said this, about the first time he’d considered watching the show:
“I remember at the time that I came across the show in a search awhile back, I saw the word “success” (as in Cha Eun-ho is a successful author) and completely lost interest.
I didn’t want to see successful characters! I wanted to see losers and average Joes, because that’s who I could relate to at the time. I wanted to see love interacting with unremarkable people so I could nod and say, “See, Jess – it happens. Just you wait…”
..And that made me realize that Dramaland’s been so focused on creating everygirls and everywomen to give the female viewers (traditionally a majority) someone to identify with, that it’s forgotten that our growing number of male viewers would also appreciate an everyman to identify with.
So I set about coming up with a list of dramas featuring regular guys – instead of the usual chaebol prince, or requisite geeenius – as romantic leading men.
amethystwaves writes:
Dear Kfangurl,
I’ve been an active reader of yours since I got into K-Dramas, and I just have to say how helpful your reviews are to figure out whether a drama is worth my time or not.
Your humor is very similar to mine, and I just love reading your in-depth explanations about what makes the dramas I love so squee-inducing.
WITH THAT BEING SAID, we have a pressing problem at hand. I am a teenager, and because I am stuck at home with my parents and two brothers, we have been watching a lot of TV.
My mom has expressed interest in watching a K-drama with me, and while I love her to death, I am not super inclined to have her watch me scream over a hot Korean man.
So, my question to you is: How can I enjoy a K-drama with my mom without it being weird? Also, what do you think are some good dramas to watch with the family?
I would love to watch one with her, and she’s not bad about watching kissing scenes and the like with us, but how can i do it without making it awkward?
Anyways, sorry for unloading my familial insecurity onto you. Thank you for always being a reliable source for laughs, insight and good drama recommendations.
Happy watching,
amethystwaves
THE SHORT VERDICT:
Beauty Inside basically takes Dramaland’s recent-ish penchant for rom-coms with a distinct fantasy twist, deftly mashes it with a well-rounded, well-executed collection of classic rom-com tropes, casts two very capable and very attractive actors as our leads, and then scores it all with a very enjoyable OST sprinkled with everything from cheery-breezy tracks, to wistful-plaintive ballads, to big love anthems.
When Show is cute, it’s very cute, and when it’s angsty, happily, the angst doesn’t actually last very long. Seo Hyun Jin and Lee Min Ki are very good separately and together, and they bring enough goodies to the table that I feel content not to be too nitpicky about Show’s flaws.
Just know that Show doesn’t try to be something deeper, and also, sometimes logic is a bit of a.. stretch. But hey, fantasy romance after all, right?
A good pick for when you’re in the mood to switch off the ol’ brain and sink into a good ol’ kdrama rom-com.
In the spirit of making better use of my drama hours – and making better use of time in general – I’m calling it quits earlier on this show than I would, normally.
Usually, if I can make it past the first episode or two of a show, I like to give it another couple of episodes at least, y’know, to give Show a chance to pull me into its story properly.
Lately, though, my drama hours have been much more limited than before, because I’ve been in the thick of getting ready to move (houses, not countries).
And, I’ve also learned a lesson with the moving; when you have very little space to accommodate all your stuff, you quickly learn to set the bar a lot higher, and become a lot more ruthless about culling stuff.
Turns out it works the exact same way with drama hours; because my drama hours are so much fewer now, I find myself setting the bar a lot higher, and becoming a lot more ruthless about dropping dramas.
Who knew, that moving house would teach me such an important lesson about managing my drama hours, and honing my Dropping Reflex? Heh.
THE SHORT VERDICT:
More than – and therefore possibly mis-marketed as – a typical rom-com, this show possesses a sensitive, thoughtful core that tends to lean melancholic.
Empathetic writing, tender directing, and some outstandingly dig-deep acting come together to bring out the beauty inherent in the melancholy, and it’s quite remarkable to behold.
A deft comic hand to manage the broad comedic elements, a solid supporting cast, and a gorgeous OST round out this show’s appeal.
Not perfect, to be sure, but so worth the watch.
I can hardly believe that 2015 is coming to a close and 2016’s almost upon us. I know I said this last year too, but seriously guys, time is flying.
Even more so when you count the year in drama milestones, or so it seems, since there are more dramas in dramaland than ever before, vying for our limited drama hours.
Everything feels like it’s flying by in a blur, and even though I’m dedicated to my dramas, it’s just not humanly possible to stay on top of everything – and that’s before taking Real Life responsibilities into account! XD
Still, I’m pleased to report that I managed to watch at least as much drama as I did last year, if not a little bit more. I’m sorta behind on the reviewing front, but I promise to catch up on that, pinky swear!
THE SHORT VERDICT:
In true sibling fashion, Let’s Eat 2 looks kinda-sorta like the first Let’s Eat, but, like almost all siblings the world over, is really its own beast, with its own distinct personality and character.
The characters took a while to grow on me, but they ultimately proved to be a warm and endearing lot.
And even though the food shots aren’t quite as glorious as the ones in Season 1, Show makes up for it this season, with less intrusive PPL in general, and even better, an improved, more cohesive narrative handle too.
While it may take a while for fans of Season 1 to come around, I eventually found Let’s Eat 2 to be just as warm, endearing and tasty as its predecessor.