Drama Recommendation: Chasing Dreams Edition

I just finished watching Skate into Love, a sports-themed drama and I got an idea to write about dramas revolving around chasing dreams. The three dramas I am going to talk about have the common theme of "chasing dreams together." All these dramas are heart-warming, inspirational, feel-good dramas where both male lead and female lead have their dreams to pursue and fight for.

Without further ado, here's the first one: 

Buzzer Beat (2009)

Synopsis: 

Kamiya Naoki is a young player from a professional basketball team. But due to his relatively smaller size and tendency to crack under pressure, he is unable to show his true skills on the court. Meanwhile, Shirakawa Riko is a cheerful, strong-spirited music college graduate aiming to become a professional violinist. One day, Riko finds Naoki's lost cell phone on a bus, and their meeting begins a friendship that eventually turns into love. However, Naoki was already considering marriage with his current girlfriend. It doesn't help matters that Naoki's coach has fallen in love with Riko at first sight! 

(Source: Mydramalist.com)

Why I love this drama: 

It’s a decade older than the other two but it’s a classic with Yamashita Tomohisa and Kitagawa Keiko starring together. The chemistry between the two was amazing. And as usual with Japanese dramas, it is grounded and realistic without glorifying a lot of things. It has a good balance between romance and sports. It’s also heartwarming because of every little moment where the two leads encourage each other to pursue their dreams.

This is so cute… 

Synopsis: 

This is a love story between an e-sports gamer and a Tsundere live streamer. Ji Xiang Kong had the reputation, the good looks and the hoards of fangirls. Qiu Ying meets him during an international competition and jumps at the chance to boost her popularity, oblivious to the fact his reputation in the world of e-sports is strangely tarnished. Instead of helping her, the association hurt her even more. The experience turns out to be a blessing in disguise as Qiu Ying finds her calling. By chance, she discovers that he is actually a misunderstood genius. 

(Source: Mydramalist.com)

Why I loved this drama: 

It really focuses on e-sports, team spirit and friendship even though romance is also a huge part of the drama. I really loved the friendship between the male lead Ji Xiang Kong and his teammates. The romance has a bit of enemies-turned-lovers trope but later the two leads became supportive of each other. There’s this competitive national spirit about China's e-sport, making it more inspirational. And, there’s Wang Yi Bo to fangirl over as well.

I really loved the competitive spirit during all the games...

Synopsis: 

During elementary school, the timid and cowardly Li Yu Bing had to endure his seatmate Tang Xue's constant bullying. Even so, they share one thing in common, a dream on the ice. When they meet again at Lin Da University, Li Yu Bing has become the school's ice god while Tang Xue's future remains hazy. Li Yu Bing pulls a few strings to turn Tang Xue into his helper to get payback for everything that she did. The more they spend time together, the more Li Yu Bing notices Tang Xue's good qualities. He realizes that his courage on ice is inspired by Tang Xue herself. In turn, he helps Tang Xue rediscover her dream in speed skating.

(Source: Mydramalist.com)

Why I loved this drama: 

I mainly loved this drama for the romance. Romance in this drama is really cute and fuzzy. Janice Wu is a very natural actress and her chemistry with Zhang Xin Cheng is great.  As for the sports aspect, it's purely ice sports-themed, revolving around three ice-sports - ice hockey, short track ice skating, and figure skating. There's a repeating message in this drama around withstanding pressures, getting up after falling and of course, chasing dreams. This drama particularly portrays how athletes of these sports have to deal with injuries and the recovery process after.  

Check out the color-matching fashion of the two leads...

So, these are the three dramas I would like to recommend for Chasing Dreams Edition. I am sure there are more sports-themed dramas with main leads "chasing dreams together". If you have any recommendations, let me know in the comments...

Happy Drama Watching!

^{Editors: BrightestStar (1st editor) & Jojo (2nd editor)}