dramas in 2020 ❀

light and cute but lost momentum after they got together. i skipped the secondary couple entirely.  

xing fei was the highlight for me and i'll look forward to future dramas from her.

nogi akiko never disappoints. gakki please return to dramaland, i miss you.

i love the atmosphere of this show and the bittersweet ending was fitting. it's much better than its low rating would suggest (mdl ratings are absolutely wack tbqh).

mewgulf have some of the best chemistry i've seen, but this show is an absolute trainwreck.

worth watching for type's growth i guess??? imo this is an okay epilogue to the series and there is no need for a second season (and i definitely won't be watching). 

cliches abound and there's really nothing here you haven't seen before, but it is so sweet and earnest it's easy to forgive its flaws. 

i adored this show so i just can't watch that last episode. fantastic performance from wayne song.

side couples shone more than pha/wayo. cute but some of the acting was very awkward.

great chemistry unfortunately cannot hide the absolute mess that this show was in terms of writing & editing. i know covid screwed up the shooting, but the flaws were there right from the start.

that said, i loved zon & saifah and they were the only 2 that got a semblance of a coherent storyline. they were absolutely adorable.

aepete do have a very healthy relationship for a thai bl. i also adored perth's acting and really thought he carried this show on his back as the rest of the cast are very green.

i would've rated this higher but some storylines marred it for me and much like tharntype, it screams 'written by a straight woman' with some real fetishistic bs. 

needless to say i won't be watching s2! aside from more of the same problematic content (that is heavily romanticised) tincan as the main couple sounds like a complete nightmare to me as i'm not into them whatsoever and the acting from mean & plan is frankly pretty terrible.

the story is barely there and this is altogether a waste of time. war is one to watch though.

where do i even begin. this show went from the thing i most looked forward to every week, to one of the most disappointing dramas i've seen in a long time and there really is nothing positive i can say about those last 2 episodes (apart from mantype). shame because the first half is magic and and really quite charming (and i adore the fake dating trope). however when they do get together the show loses its momentum and all the character regression and poorly written conflict for the climax really ruined the show for me sadly :( 

first of all: holy budget, this show is gorgeous. second of all: tangmo, i love you. 

the gender swap angle was handled fantastically well & james' acting... well i'm a fan for life now. a wonderful show that was surprisingly heartfelt.

i think every year we are blessed with one great rom-com, and this was it for 2019.

[screams from rooftops] RAMKIIIIIIIING

bring on season 2!

at first this show was a pleasant surprise but i was sceptical how the writer could sustain this premise for 16 episodes. short answer: she couldn't and it resulted in two forced & frustrating breakups that made me roll my eyes so hard they nearly fell out of my head. i also think jung-hoon's hyperthymesia wasn't explored in enough depth.

kim dong wook's everything and some good chemistry aside, sadly this was a bit underwhelming.

pros: phun & no are absolute darlings, the soundtrack is amazing and i liked the naturalistic approach to the directing. this series is iconic for a reason.

cons: everything outside of the central romance just feels like filler. i feel i can't really rate this as i skipped watched most of the drama.

at its best this series was intense & powerful. fluke’s acting (especially in the finale), was impressive. i appreciated how it did not rely on typical bl tropes for pointless conflict. there were major pacing and editing issues, i can’t argue with that - and at times this felt like an exhausting watch. however, i really liked all 3 couples and it was certainly a memorable experience.

a+ acting and production, but with a messy, frustrating & nonsensical story. i was a charlam x tantawan shipper from the get go, so i was reasonably satisfied with the ending in that sense. i think she made the right choice. thank god (!!!) tantawan realised that her and peng just weren't compatible/their love for each other wasn't enough and decided to take a chance with charlam (sky is such a cutie).

i will be forever bitter about dao's ending. he and tewkao did not deserve that bullshit :(

the fact that this show even exists is amazing. but all those little details, the soundtrack, the chemistry & jang eui-soo's soulful eyes™ made it special. i absolutely loved it!

this show started off quite well but went downhill in the second half imo. i loved nuan nuan (eleanor lee was fab!) and her strength and resilience. han che was a flat character imo (also so obstinate and frustrating at times!) but really this was nuan nuan's show. i liked that nuan nuan did not take han che's bs but he never seemed to learn from his mistakes. the side characters were just... there. the show took an angsty turn towards the end with han che's health that it hadn't really laid the foundation for so it didn't really work for me.

the leads had great chemistry and it was clear how much they adored each other so all in all it was mostly a fun watch.

although i think i'm not a huge fan of xianxia, the production, sets, costumes (ling xi's dresses and headpiece were exquisite!) and the soundtrack were so well done. my only quibble was that the story was far too dragged out, and should have been condensed to about 40 episodes (with only 10 for the mortal realm arc instead of a whopping 30). side characters had depth and purpose though i confess i was only really interested in ling xi & jiuchen. 

nini and chang chen were magnificent. tbh you don't usually see acting of this calibre for a show like this. 

this show is one of my absolute favourites this year - it's so delightful. all the meta jokes, the great chemistry of han shuo x chen qian qian gahhh i just adored it. although the gender equality issues were only really treated superficially in this drama, i appreciated what the writer was trying to do. i especially loved the absurdist comedy of the matriarchal society and men in subservient roles - it's funny because it's so far from actual reality. there's so many things i want to say about this drama but i won't ramble too much. suffice to say i'm totally in love with zhao lusi & ding yuxi now. 

bring on season 2 of the romance of ms orange & mr banana!! ♥

oh, how i loved this show. so lovely from the acting to cinematography. although i was angry with akira i also understood him and his desperation to be "normal" (like the moment when he realised he was parroting his mother hit me hard). the ending shot of their rings made me cry! ♥ the random iconic cameo from the MODC couple was also amazing.

i loved kao and gigie's chemistry but the story was so frustrating - view was so objectified it was gross, her manager was absolute trash and if i heard one more time that fai wasn't worthy of her i was gonna smack someone.

it's so difficult to sum up what makes this drama so great. i think part of it was the stellar performances from all the cast and a fantastic production. but i think what really shines here is the script - it's so well balanced and paced that not once did i feel disengaged from the ups and downs of dreams. i have a casual interest in baseball but more the actual sport, not team management. this drama makes it so enthralling. truly deserving of its drama of the year award at the baeksangs. 

also i loved lee je hoon's cameo - it was amazing to watch him and nam goong min play off each other. 

my first ever lakorn. oh wow this was a crazy ride. putting aside that messy and frankly ludicrous script and really bad editing (can't you just let the story flow naturally instead of inserting flashbacks every five seconds), the chemistry between mark & mew was amazing. i even have a bit of a crush on mark now despite the fact that tien is absolute garbage and one of the worst male leads i have ever come across.

hello, drama of the year! ♥

a true gem. one of those dramas that i could watch for a hundred episodes. this is now an all time favourite - it really stole my heart.

this was short but sweet. 

i loved that it didn't demonise its female characters (it's a low bar, ok). i also really loved the setting. kura yuki was so good in this. 

i'm glad i gave this drama another chance!! i dropped this in the first episode way back but i thought i would give it another go due to the good reviews & tv ratings. although the story got a little convoluted at times and the investigation wasn't truly that clever, it's the characters that got me. i liked how even though this was a procedural it really pushed its characters to the forefront of the story. 

a great performance from jang seung-jo and since i first saw him in money flower i thought he was an impressive actor. this was a breakthrough role for him and i'm so excited for snowdrop next year.

damage control the series is here! the downsides of this were excessive product placement and callbacks to the original series and the conflict between the cheerleading club & music club was so juvenile (very high school - it's hard to believe these characters go to university as they don't even mention it). anyways this was light and cute, very fluffy watch and thank god sarawat was in character here and not whoever he was at the end of the 2gether. mantype crumbs were cute. i admit after the original series disappointed me so much i've lost alot of my investment in wat/tine but they did have some lovely scenes here. the final kiss was so unexpected but sweet ♡

this series is just magic, it made me laugh and cry and was so real. the acting was absolutely brilliant and kokoy & elijah had great chemistry even though most of the show they were communicating through a screen. pearl is the best wingwoman & bff ever. this really set the standard for bl series and was so creative and heartfelt. truly a gem!

all the praise this show gets is so well deserved. the coming out scene made me bawl. ohm and singto's acting was brilliant. the romance was so tender and sweet. loved it! ♡♡

yes the conflict was nonsense but this was mega cute. go sangha best boy! i loved the notion of them being rivals as well as boyfriends in the end.

a sweet show. the misunderstandings & backtracking of confessions was a little frustrating. mico was the heart and soul of this show though, i adored him so much and really wanted him to get his happy ending. jc really sold the highs of being in love and the lows of heartbreak. his dimples as well were a highlight ♥ this series had one of my fave tropes where feelings explode under the guise of something else entirely (e.g. the presentation of their school project); where performance & reality converge. great stuff. the hug at the end was so cathartic and moving.

good god this show was a waste of good acting and chemistry. i loved linshen's detailed acting and lusi's natural energy and cuteness and they were great together, but all the conflict was nonsensical & frustrating and the side characters were so boring.

so very light and cute! melodramatic side couples drag the show down imo but i adored the main couple. so caring and respectful of each other with minimal angst / misunderstandings. y'all know i love a contract marriage drama and despite its cliches, i really enjoyed this one.

oof i really enjoyed this! it has quite measured pacing so is better as a binge watch imo. loved seeing the gang back again, pete's maturity and kao slowly growing more comfortable in his own skin. their relationship with their parents was so heartwarming. loved morksun too and they were a nice counterbalance to the petekao dramarama and lack of communication. pete and kao talking about marriage and also that feeling of having to prove yourself even more to everyone around you just because you're lgbt... this series for me didn't exist in some kind of bl fantasy universe and actually felt more grounded in reality. such an iconic intro and a really satisfying ending. p'aof, thank you.

loved the lead's chemistry and luo yunxi looking delicious in a suit, but the story was complete nonsense and too much time spent on secondary characters that i wasn't interested in. 36 episodes was far too long although i would like to praise the production which was above average for this kind of show. i would love to see bai lu and luo yunxi reunite in a historical drama, make it happen please iqiyi. 

it's hard for me to write about this show (.﹒︣︿﹒︣.) i did adore it though.

a rewatch. forgot how much i enjoyed this series, effective storytelling in just 4 episodes. sheng zhe's self-doubt and fear was so relatable.  i loved yoyo, the child actress was so natural and the bond between the 3 felt so real. i actually teared up at the end, sweetest ending ever.

charming and offbeat, i enjoyed this! nice soundtrack (shinkiro is my jam) and the main duo have a fun dynamic. a weak ending with a standout episode 6. 

cute and sweet. i was a bit disappointed we knew nothing about himari's goals and interests tbqh. i enjoyed seto toshiki and mizusawa rintaro's performances.

the ending to this is quite rage inducing. thankfully s2 is superior in every way!

this had such lovely production and music, but the story was sadly so underdeveloped. would've made a great longer drama, even a 2 hour movie i think would've done the love story more justice.