Hi, it's Quelanis !


Welcome to my page :)
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I'm mainly into realistic dramas & movies with a lot of "HAN" in them.

 While scrolling through my lists, you'll notice that almost all of my favorite and top rated kdramas, contain one if not all of these themes :

I don't necessarily look for romantic elements in my kdramas, but I search for strong human bonds that usually form between total strangers, be it a brotherhood, motherhood, friendship or romantic love.

When it comes to characters, I am mostly drawn to ordinary and flawed human beings. 
HOWEVER, even in their most imperfect state of being, they still have to make sense. 

A character shouldn't be dumb, clumsy or perceived as such just for entertainment reasons. A character's personality should be part of their identity, and is shaped by their life experiences. If we take a look to their childhood and past , would their actions and reactions still make sense ? 

What makes them the person they are today ? Are they clumsy and act as people pleasers because they are insecure ? Because they lived a privileged life and never struggled with any trust issues ? 

Or are they cold and standoffish because of a past that wounded them ?  What are their beliefs ? What are their aspirations ? How do their life events impact them to unexpectedly change over time ? 
Is the change worth watching ?


---> By understanding a character's background we come to get a grasp of their personality. It becomes easy to interpret their emotions, to sympathize with their suffering, and to understand their moments of silence, joy or sadness.

Sometimes even when a K-drama is flawed, I still find in myself the capacity to fall for certain characters, to feel their impact, and for them to shape my life perspective for a long time.

Characters are not meant to be perfect, they are are meant to make mistakes, to struggle, to fail, 
and to make peace with their vulnerabilty and imperfection. 

An important part of growth is also how inconsistent it is. 

In that, a happy ending isn't necessarily one that portrays life as sunshine, lollipops and rainbows. 

A happy ending is a clear growth in the character, that shows us how far they have come despite all the difficulties, and how different they became compared to their humble beginnings.

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Just like in real life, characters must be individuals who are trying to figure it out. No matter what their quest is, it shouldn't require the intervention of someone else to cause an inherent change in who they are. If they change for someone other than themselves, that means the change is shallow and will only last temporarily.

When a second character is introduced as an element that helps accelerate their growth journey, I find it very important for the main character's sense of indiviuality to stay consistent, if not even untouched. 

 In relationships, the concept of "growth" and "change" is what makes the difference between a healthy dynamic and a toxic one.

Relationships are meant to push characters's to learn, they can either grow together or grow apart. Change is what comes as a result of this growth and not as a precedent.

Secondly, a bond that starts with objectification almost always loses my interest. Kdramas with characters that get introduced to one another in a cheesy slow motion scene, with music playing in the background and them almost getting a stroke because of how UNEXPECTEDLY attractive the other person is, DONT FAIL to make it to the lowest of the low ranks in my lists.

I always prefer the depth that comes with "the rivals to friends" dynamic, and makes it  to a strong and inseparable bond.

The bond  makes sense beause characters take their time to get familiar with this new stranger who makes them question their life views, or whatever they've been considering to be "right" & "good".  

"I don't like you, because you are different and your difference represents a threat to my system of beliefs. 
 I am defensive because you show me the contradiction in whatever I thought of as the absolute truth" 

At first, their beliefs clash and they are pretty judgmental of one another. They only learn to appreciate their differences when they are put in situations that make them realize they are not inherently different. 

YET AGAIN, it doesn't have to be a romance.