Great Dramas (Asian)

Best.

Immersion                            ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Writing                                   ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Acting                                      ⭐⭐⭐

Music                                       ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Direction                               ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cinematography               ⭐

Aesthetic                               ⭐⭐⭐

Production                           ⭐

Complexity of Plot            low

Immersion                            ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Writing                                   ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Acting                                      ⭐⭐⭐

Music                                       ⭐⭐⭐

Direction                               ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cinematography               ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Aesthetic                               ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐(⭐)

Production                           ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Sadly, it's been so long for seasons 2 and 3 to come that the cast is losing out on a couple of very key actors. Filming will supposedly start in early 2023, but who knows at this point. Losing the Emperor (Chen Dao Ming) strikes me as disastrous at this point, as his performance was the single most outstanding contribution to season 1.

No drama has stronger presence of characterisation than this on this list. It's the biggest X factor of the show. 46 episodes vanishing before my eyes? It's about 80 episodes too short (HINT HINT GIVE SEASONS 2 AND 3 PLS K THX).

Immersion                            ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Writing                                   ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Acting                                      ⭐⭐⭐

Music                                       ⭐⭐

Direction                               ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cinematography               ⭐⭐

Aesthetic                               ⭐⭐⭐

Production                           ⭐⭐⭐

Complexity of Plot            low/moderate

Emotional torture, and I was all for it at the time of viewing. On second viewing not quite as impactful, not holding up in the manner that Breaking Bad does, for example -- still, the memory of the first viewing is so visceral and thrilling.

Immersion                            ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Writing                                   ⭐⭐

Acting                                      ⭐⭐⭐

Music                                       ⭐⭐

Direction                               ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cinematography               ⭐⭐

Aesthetic                               ⭐

Production                           ⭐⭐⭐

Complexity of Plot            low/moderate

Adore the visual style here. Some amazing cinematography, and I don't mean the one dimensional landscape kind seen in say, Mr. Sunshine (though it also has some clever effective shots), I mean great overall and well-rounded cinematography in most aspects of telling a story with the camera, dynamism and nuance of camera work and not just pretty pictures. (Incidentally, the drama with the best cinematography I've seen is clearly A Dream of Splendor and it's not really close, though there is good work in D.P. also.)

Immersion                            ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Writing                                   ⭐⭐⭐

Acting                                      ⭐⭐

Music                                       ⭐⭐⭐

Direction                               ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cinematography               ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Aesthetic                               ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Production                           ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Complexity of Plot            low/moderate

Crime makjang-lite with lots of twists and turns, but excellent and intricate writing... and Choi Ran arguably produces even more intricate and brilliant writing in Black, which is convoluted but a lot of fun.. 

Immersion                            ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Writing                                   ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Acting                                      ⭐⭐⭐

Music                                       ⭐⭐⭐

Direction                               ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cinematography               ⭐⭐

Aesthetic                               ⭐⭐

Production                           ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Complexity of Plot            moderate

Extremely cosy (but flighty) slice of life replete with "healing".

Rather different from the source material as to pass censorship. As such, the insidious badness of kids is particularly subtle and surreptitious, and you might say this actually benefitted the adaptation. Though I'd be very interested to see a show which captures the brutal callousness and psychopathy of the novel it's based on. This is also a visual feast with a striking aesthetic and some exemplary cinematography.

Immersion                            ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Writing                                   ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Acting                                      ⭐⭐⭐

Music                                       ⭐⭐

Direction                               ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cinematography               ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Aesthetic                               ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Production                           ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Complexity of Plot            moderate

The first six-episode arc is among the best in all of drama. Afterwards, it's still a great ride, but doesn't sustain its first arc peak. A rare drama where, despite being thoroughly immersed in it, I left it disliking pretty much every significant character, especially the leads. Also has a pretty dramatic and effective soundtrack, which is frankly rare for Kdramas - the music in Kdrama is typically uninspired, often with very poor integration to the actual scenes and action... as though they don't properly collaborate with the composer. Examples of well integrated OSTs are Alice in Borderland (same chap who wrote the super soundtrack for Vinland Saga) or even  The Untamed. Or Yonder. Yonder has some very ethereal "sci-fi"  instrumental music which really captures the essence of the show, and it's clearly a closely worked and quite meticulously handled collab in all production facets.

Kim Hee Ae's performance is the best I've seen in Kdrama along with Yeom Jung Ah's in SKY Castle.

Immersion                            ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Writing                                   ⭐⭐⭐

Acting                                      ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Music                                       ⭐⭐⭐

Direction                               ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cinematography               ⭐⭐

Aesthetic                               ⭐⭐

Production                           ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Complexity of Plot            moderate

Another rare Kdrama which has a strong and memorable OST. The journey is utterly epic, its peaks are absolutely thrilling, and its leads leave a lasting impact with their performances. Not all the character writing is especially interesting and some of the Six Flying Dragons become non distinct and a bit 2d.

Way too many tears to count. Lee Hye Young's performance stands out awesomely. Just such an immersive and emotional journey, albeit (as seems to be typical for Kdramas) a bit heavy on the convenient synchronicities as a story-driving plot device.

Immersion                            ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Writing                                   ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Acting                                      ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Music                                       ⭐⭐

Direction                               ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cinematography               ⭐⭐

Aesthetic                               ⭐⭐

Production                           ⭐⭐⭐

Complexity of Plot            low/moderate

It's just perpetually intriguing and arresting. Does have pacing problems in the second half and I'd have preferred about 4 MORE episodes. Also perhaps my fave theme/title song for any drama. Also really like Love Between Fairy and Devil and The Long Ballad title songs. Probably others but can't recall right now.

Yeom Jung Ah's performance takes this drama to da next level yo.

Immersion                            ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Writing                                   ⭐⭐⭐

Acting                                      ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Music                                       ⭐⭐⭐

Direction                               ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cinematography               ⭐⭐⭐

Aesthetic                               ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Production                           ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Complexity of Plot            moderate

Maturely and realistically written and executed time loop, with very natural and unaffected acting performances all way round. Zhao Jin Mai was a revelation. The process of trial and error and realistic mistakes and oversights in continually trying to escape the loop with the best possible outcome was a treat to view.

(And if any random soul might be interested, my MDL name is not chosen on the basis of this drama.)

Immersion                            ⭐⭐⭐

Writing                                   ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Acting                                      ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Music                                       ⭐⭐⭐

Direction                               ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cinematography               ⭐⭐

Aesthetic                               ⭐⭐

Production                           ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Complexity of Plot            moderate

Again, it's a vibe. The OST, the aesthetic and the tomboy FL just resonate with me hardcore. That, and this really is a "swaaag" and fun outing. Episodes 11-13 or so bothered me - young lovers doing dumb annoying young lover things.

Immersion                            ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Writing                                   ⭐⭐⭐

Acting                                      ⭐⭐⭐

Music                                       ⭐⭐⭐

Direction                               ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cinematography               ⭐⭐

Aesthetic                               ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Production                           ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Complexity of Plot            low

OK, it's really not that funny. If I want comedy I'll watch actual comedy shows. But it is always a fun romp and NEVER dull. I have no idea where the time went in watching this drama, because by the time it was over it felt like it had barely started.

Immersion                            ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Writing                                   ⭐⭐⭐

Acting                                      ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Music                                       ⭐⭐

Direction                               ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cinematography               ⭐⭐

Aesthetic                               ⭐⭐

Production                           ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Complexity of Plot           low

It's a vibe. It's just my thing. The concept, the directing, the dynamics, pseudo-anime delivery (even more strongly felt in Alice in Borderland). I was shouting at the screen in excitement during many moments of The Gifted. It's just sick.

Immersion                            ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Writing                                   ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Acting                                      ⭐⭐

Music                                       ⭐⭐

Direction                               ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cinematography               ⭐

Aesthetic                               ⭐⭐⭐

Production                           ⭐⭐⭐

Complexity of Plot            moderate

No arbitrary pretty shots, but instead painstaking consideration of artful aesthetics in the composition of cinematography. Photographers will probably enjoy this one.