Notes on a few random Asian drama series
Mar. 5th, 2020 12:08 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
her_cool_auntThese are brief notes on a few random Asian drama series I’ve watched besides Guardian and HIStory 3: Trapped (which I’ve gushed about endlessly on Twitter or elsewhere here). They are almost all romantic dramas of one sort or another, because I like happy endings and recently I felt like I needed plenty of them! A few of the shows below are BL and - aside from enjoying watching gorgeous men on screen - sometimes the relationship/power dynamic can be more interesting. I really do not go in for a flailing, silly woman being saved by a strong older man (aka a typical het pairing). Here goes . . .
• The King’s Avatar (2019 live version), Chinese, 40 episodes – set in the pro e-sports world; not a romance; very cleverly done with plenty of good tropes and enjoyable characters; heavily plot driven (ostracised skilful underdog fighting his way back to success); mix of live action and in-game avatar action is neat; look out for the delightful combo that is Huang Shaotian and Yu Wenzhou.
• Top Management, Korean, 16 episodes – K-pop band on the way out meets rising music star plus one disaster-prone trainee manager with a side order of supernatural ability; it's all pretty amusing; a bit less slapstick would have been nice; I surprised myself by how delightful I found the characters; I was rooting for the other guy, though!
• Tharntype, Thai, 12 episodes – not quite your typical Thai BL drama (although it is one); more in-depth and mature; the chemistry between the two lead actors is OFF THE FUCKING CHARTS; plenty of gossip that they fell in love on set but could simply be the focus on “skinship” (apparently a thing) during preparatory workshops; there are seriously unsettling parts to the portrayed relationship (non-con, violence, emotional manipulation/threats) which are skated over, but I’ve found that a bit in other Thai dramas too, and I feel it’s maybe realistic to a relationship between these particular characters; interesting that it slightly subverts the typical top/bottom Thai BL dynamic; re-watch for all the gorgeous kisses and casual physical intimacy.
• WWW: search, Korean, 16 episodes – grown-up characters; focused on super-competent (but certainly not flawless) powerful working women in their 30s; as much about the business/politics narrative as romance; main pairing gets some lovely moments; I like the older woman, younger guy dynamic; the core issue driving their angst does get a bit wearing after a while; serious badass parts (e.g. two women taking baseball bats to a fancy sports car in revenge); quite gripping.
• Love O2O, Chinese, 30 episodes – young het love story set in university; cute main characters; side female characters mainly get the annoying “girls are either screechy, scheming/bitchy or useless” treatment; strange computer game world (“marriage” as a main gameplay concept) and there’s some terrible CGI; young female lead is demure but does have gumption; alas, every time she calls her boyfriend “master” it sets my teeth on edge; for being a Chinese drama I was surprised that it deals with sex (at least a little); also surprised by a seemingly non-straight relationship.
• Theory of Love, Thai, 12 episodes – more of a typical Thai BL; stars Off and Gun (very popular pair of Thai BL actors who have their own gameshow); typical “macho, hot-tempered, volatile/violent” top paired with “small, cute, boyishly good-looking” bottom characterisation; typical storyline of one gay character in love with another character who doesn’t realise he could be anything other than straight; they’re actually quite sweet; be aware there’s A LOT of crying. [Note: This is about as low as I’ll admit to going in the Thai BL genre.]
• Her Private Life, Korean, 16 episodes – grown-ups with real jobs; actions have consequences; set in the art world; lovely competent female lead character; delightful K-pop fangirling storyline (you might also learn something too!); the male lead actor didn’t work for me but I could live with it; first time I saw an obvious case of hairstyle changing with relationship status.
• Granting You a Dreamlike Life, Chinese, 40 episodes – epic storyline about three (gangster-ish) families running 1930s Shanghai; plot is rather Days of Our Lives in its silliness; female lead is nicely go-getting; watch for the Zhu Yilong pretty; I actually have a soft spot for this show.
• Strong Woman Do Bong Soon, Korean, 16 episodes – very odd, but rather enjoyable; hard to describe; superhero(ine) storyline, but also not exactly; really fun in parts; male lead character is unrealistically young, however it makes for nice dynamics in the pairing; occasional slapstick annoyed me; overall good and sweet.
• Descendants of the Sun, Korean, 16 episodes – good feisty main characters; more action than they knew what to do with (how many extreme disasters can befall one group?); very cute lead guy; cool action sequences; plenty of abs on display; lack of realism got a bit annoying (that's not how quarantine works, that's not how army chain of command works, etc); major plot twist was quite obvious; overall a decent choice.
• Bromance, Taiwanese, 18 episodes – girl brought up as a boy rom-com; slapstick is excruciating; probably best not to go here.
• My True Friend, Chinese, 40 episodes – young love triangle; I didn’t finish it; don’t go here (even for the Zhu Yilong pretty).
• The King’s Avatar (2019 live version), Chinese, 40 episodes – set in the pro e-sports world; not a romance; very cleverly done with plenty of good tropes and enjoyable characters; heavily plot driven (ostracised skilful underdog fighting his way back to success); mix of live action and in-game avatar action is neat; look out for the delightful combo that is Huang Shaotian and Yu Wenzhou.
• Top Management, Korean, 16 episodes – K-pop band on the way out meets rising music star plus one disaster-prone trainee manager with a side order of supernatural ability; it's all pretty amusing; a bit less slapstick would have been nice; I surprised myself by how delightful I found the characters; I was rooting for the other guy, though!
• Tharntype, Thai, 12 episodes – not quite your typical Thai BL drama (although it is one); more in-depth and mature; the chemistry between the two lead actors is OFF THE FUCKING CHARTS; plenty of gossip that they fell in love on set but could simply be the focus on “skinship” (apparently a thing) during preparatory workshops; there are seriously unsettling parts to the portrayed relationship (non-con, violence, emotional manipulation/threats) which are skated over, but I’ve found that a bit in other Thai dramas too, and I feel it’s maybe realistic to a relationship between these particular characters; interesting that it slightly subverts the typical top/bottom Thai BL dynamic; re-watch for all the gorgeous kisses and casual physical intimacy.
• WWW: search, Korean, 16 episodes – grown-up characters; focused on super-competent (but certainly not flawless) powerful working women in their 30s; as much about the business/politics narrative as romance; main pairing gets some lovely moments; I like the older woman, younger guy dynamic; the core issue driving their angst does get a bit wearing after a while; serious badass parts (e.g. two women taking baseball bats to a fancy sports car in revenge); quite gripping.
• Love O2O, Chinese, 30 episodes – young het love story set in university; cute main characters; side female characters mainly get the annoying “girls are either screechy, scheming/bitchy or useless” treatment; strange computer game world (“marriage” as a main gameplay concept) and there’s some terrible CGI; young female lead is demure but does have gumption; alas, every time she calls her boyfriend “master” it sets my teeth on edge; for being a Chinese drama I was surprised that it deals with sex (at least a little); also surprised by a seemingly non-straight relationship.
• Theory of Love, Thai, 12 episodes – more of a typical Thai BL; stars Off and Gun (very popular pair of Thai BL actors who have their own gameshow); typical “macho, hot-tempered, volatile/violent” top paired with “small, cute, boyishly good-looking” bottom characterisation; typical storyline of one gay character in love with another character who doesn’t realise he could be anything other than straight; they’re actually quite sweet; be aware there’s A LOT of crying. [Note: This is about as low as I’ll admit to going in the Thai BL genre.]
• Her Private Life, Korean, 16 episodes – grown-ups with real jobs; actions have consequences; set in the art world; lovely competent female lead character; delightful K-pop fangirling storyline (you might also learn something too!); the male lead actor didn’t work for me but I could live with it; first time I saw an obvious case of hairstyle changing with relationship status.
• Granting You a Dreamlike Life, Chinese, 40 episodes – epic storyline about three (gangster-ish) families running 1930s Shanghai; plot is rather Days of Our Lives in its silliness; female lead is nicely go-getting; watch for the Zhu Yilong pretty; I actually have a soft spot for this show.
• Strong Woman Do Bong Soon, Korean, 16 episodes – very odd, but rather enjoyable; hard to describe; superhero(ine) storyline, but also not exactly; really fun in parts; male lead character is unrealistically young, however it makes for nice dynamics in the pairing; occasional slapstick annoyed me; overall good and sweet.
• Descendants of the Sun, Korean, 16 episodes – good feisty main characters; more action than they knew what to do with (how many extreme disasters can befall one group?); very cute lead guy; cool action sequences; plenty of abs on display; lack of realism got a bit annoying (that's not how quarantine works, that's not how army chain of command works, etc); major plot twist was quite obvious; overall a decent choice.
• Bromance, Taiwanese, 18 episodes – girl brought up as a boy rom-com; slapstick is excruciating; probably best not to go here.
• My True Friend, Chinese, 40 episodes – young love triangle; I didn’t finish it; don’t go here (even for the Zhu Yilong pretty).
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Date: 2020-03-11 09:37 pm (UTC)I watched TharnType a few weeks ago and recced it on tumblr here. I watched it because somebody kindly clipped a kissing scene that was TRANSCENDENTLY HOT and I couldn't believe they had enough of that going spare that they could actually cut this particular scene. You're so right about the chemistry, it is unbelievable. And this is despite the fact that the kissing/sex scenes are actually pretty tame and almost entirely above the waist and clothed.
After watching TharnType I got linked to a couple of pictures of the actors Mew and Gulf at an event aaaaand fell head over tit into MewGulf fandom. (It helps that the actors are 1000% more wholesome than the characters xD)
I'd never heard of "skinship" before falling into this fandom? And I had no idea about the lengths Thai BL will go to to provide fanservice, to the point that it gets uncomfortable, but Mew and Gulf are next level even for Thai BL and somehow so graceful about the whole thing that it's kind of beautiful to watch. And it's also CONSTANT. There seem to be new clips of them at events every day because they're prepping for series two. They are ALL OVER EACH OTHER at all times, even at times when they wouldn't necessarily know there was a camera on them (to be fair, at this point in their deeply weird public lives, they probably have to assume there's always a camera). There was some ~incident with Mew and a male co-star on a previous show that I'm not 100% clear on but which strongly suggests that he is bi at the very least (I mean he's actually said he doesn't care about gender), and really if they're not an item they are at least very much not about toxic masculinity and no homo and hooray for that. (Not incidentally: there's a wonderful ongoing Mew/Gulf behind the scenes of TharnType fic called Skinship by EveHypo555).
there are seriously unsettling parts to the portrayed relationship (non-con, violence, emotional manipulation/threats) which are skated over, but I’ve found that a bit in other Thai dramas too, and I feel it’s maybe realistic to a relationship between these particular characters; interesting that it slightly subverts the typical top/bottom Thai BL dynamic; re-watch for all the gorgeous kisses and casual physical intimacy.
So much about TharnType creeped me tf out. I mean I am a Tharn stan through and through and I wanted to punch Type in the face A LOT through this show (fanfic has been very helpful in explaining Tharn's attraction to Type!) but you can't really skate over the fact that Tharn, like, sexually assaults Type more than once, and Type gets violent with Tharn more than once and yeah, the emotional manipulation is baaaaad. (Plus child sexual abuse and lalala. The thing I really can't forgive in the show is what happened to young Tar and how that is completely skated over.) I agree that it makes sense for their characters but the show also gets super operatic to the point where I'm not sure I could watch it again? I mostly experience the show through gifs these days :)
I'm curious about the usual top/bottom Thai BL dynamic because I haven't watched any others (currently working my way through Sotus and watching 2gether as it airs). Is it that Type is a hot-tempered bottom? (And lol, one of the things I weirdly haven't seen mentioned on the fandom side at all is that Type canonically likes it rough...)