Top 10 K- and C-drama
Mar. 7th, 2021 09:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
graculusAs previously mentioned, I fell down the rabbit hole of K- and C-drama a while back and am happily wallowing at the bottom of it - some of it takes a little more finding with English subtitles than other things, as I've yet to learn either Korean or Chinese by osmosis (why isn't that a thing?) but it's often well worth the effort. If anyone wants links to places they can find stuff, please let me know...
Anyway, if anyone is interested but particularly for those who are a bit intimidated by just how much is out there, here's my favourites in no particular order. I'm not including the shows I'm currently watching, as there's always the possibility of not sticking the landing (not that this is necessarily going to preclude inclusion in a future edition of this post - I'm looking at you, makers of Guardian). Mostly historical, to be honest, that's just the way my tastes tend to go...
1. Kingdom - unlike a lot of K- and C-drama, this is not a series with immense numbers of episodes (just 12 so far), so it's a good gateway drug in a lot of ways. It's a Korean historical drama, set in the Joseon period (which lasted around 500 years) and was particularly a period with some fantastic costuming and even more fantastic hats.
The basic premise of Kingdom is that our protagonist, the Crown Prince, finds his position under threat from the Queen and her scheming relatives after his father falls ill. There's a mysterious illness sweeping the land, so the Crown Prince ends up joining up with a bunch of other people to try and find a cure. Yes, it's a historical zombie drama, and it's incredibly good and well-plotted.
2. Nirvana in Fire - 54 episodes, all available with English subtitles on Youtube. One of the best C-dramas out there, another historical epic which takes a bit of getting into but is well worth the effort.
The basic premise of Nirvana in Fire is that it's the story of a young general whose family and army were betrayed and who fell seriously ill, to the point where his physical appearance was changed (I know, just go with it). Years later, he wants revenge on the emperor who killed his family and friends, which he plans to get by helping his childhood friend - one of the emperor's sons, but an unfavoured one - to become Crown Prince and eventually take the throne. There are plots within plots in this one, again some excellent story-telling on display, as well as great costumes and sets. This does not canonically have a happy ending, however, though a lot of people (myself included) hand-wave over the final few scenes and are quite content to do so.
3. The Longest Day in Chang'An - 48 episodes. Yes, another historical C-drama.
This drama is a 'race against time', set in a single day as our protagonist odd couple (the brilliant scholar in charge of intelligence in the city and a former detective he releases from prison to help him) try to foil a plot to kill the emperor and blow up the city of Chang'An. Again, we're talking incredible sets and some entertaining wheels-within-wheels plotting.
4. The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty - 48 episodes and my latest obsession, as I loved this show immensely. It's historical C-drama with some detective elements, though focussed a lot more on both the relationship between the main leads, who literally move in together in episode 5.
Our protagonists are a local magistrate/foodie twink and a member of the Imperial Guard who is also an avid cook. This is not a show to watch at times if you're hungry, as the food scenes will make you crave all sorts of things! There are various cases to solve, as well as an over-arching plotline around attempts to overthrow the current emperor. The supporting cast (including a character called Wang Zhi, a eunuch running one of the city's intelligence bureaus who would definitely object to being called supporting cast) are excellent, including some very good roles for female characters which is not always the strong suit of some of these shows.
5. Cherry Magic - an unexpected appearance from a short Japanese drama (12 episodes + a couple of specials) which I absolutely loved, available here with English subtitles.
The basic premise of Cherry Magic is that if someone hits 30 without losing their virginity, they acquire touch telepathy. Our protagonist here is Adachi, who works in a stationery company and discovers that his handsome coworker has feelings for him. There's also a sub-plot around Adachi's best friend, who writes romance novels, and a delivery driver which is also complicated by said friend hitting 30. It's sweet and domestic and sometimes that's the kind of thing we really need.
6. Detective L - another historical detective show, this time set in 1930's Shanghai.
Yes, it's quirky detective meets more straight-laced police officer and together they fight crime, massively helped by just how entertaining Bai Yu (who plays the eponymous detective) is to watch.
7. Hospital Playlist - an unexpected appearance by a contemporary K-drama, which surprised me by how quickly I was hooked. This one is 12 episodes, available on Netflix, and hopefully season 2 will go into production this year.
I really haven't had a great deal of success with contemporary K-drama, except for a couple of shows where there's something more going on (like the very entertaining Zombie Detective, for example) - this was an exception to that rule and it's also a hospital drama, all about a group of doctors who were at medical school together, formed a band which they all still play in, and also now work together.
8. Tientsin Mystic - I have to say, this is included in the list because of season 1, since I've not seen season 2 yet and they also re-cast one of the main leads. Another historical crime drama, this one set in Republican era China. It's 24 episodes for the first season.
Our main characters are a scholar recently returned from Europe and a guy who works recovering bodies from the local river. There's also a character who's a female shaman who plays a significant role, as this is a crime drama with a lot of supernatural elements included.
9. Stranger - another surprise contemporary K-drama, this one massively helped by the dynamic between the two main characters. There are two seasons of this, the first being slightly better than the second imho - the second one's pacing is a bit odd and drags a bit in the middle.
Our protagonists are a prosecutor and a detective, who are very chalk and cheese, dealing with murders and widespread corruption. A massive selling point for me is that Stranger also does an excellent job of not including a romantic sub-plot just because they're a man and a woman, which helped me enjoy it much more. There's a strong relationship between them but it's about trust and friendship rather than an unbelievable romance just because.
10. The Ghost Bride - a 6 episode show, adapted from the novel of the same name by Yangsze Choo, which I also really liked.
Set in colonial Malaysia, our protagonist is married off to the son of a local rich family in order to save her family from financial destitution, which would be fairly normal except that said son died some months earlier. There's also a conspiracy and some supernatural elements, if you like that sort of thing (which I definitely do).
Anyway, if anyone is interested but particularly for those who are a bit intimidated by just how much is out there, here's my favourites in no particular order. I'm not including the shows I'm currently watching, as there's always the possibility of not sticking the landing (not that this is necessarily going to preclude inclusion in a future edition of this post - I'm looking at you, makers of Guardian). Mostly historical, to be honest, that's just the way my tastes tend to go...
1. Kingdom - unlike a lot of K- and C-drama, this is not a series with immense numbers of episodes (just 12 so far), so it's a good gateway drug in a lot of ways. It's a Korean historical drama, set in the Joseon period (which lasted around 500 years) and was particularly a period with some fantastic costuming and even more fantastic hats.
The basic premise of Kingdom is that our protagonist, the Crown Prince, finds his position under threat from the Queen and her scheming relatives after his father falls ill. There's a mysterious illness sweeping the land, so the Crown Prince ends up joining up with a bunch of other people to try and find a cure. Yes, it's a historical zombie drama, and it's incredibly good and well-plotted.
2. Nirvana in Fire - 54 episodes, all available with English subtitles on Youtube. One of the best C-dramas out there, another historical epic which takes a bit of getting into but is well worth the effort.
The basic premise of Nirvana in Fire is that it's the story of a young general whose family and army were betrayed and who fell seriously ill, to the point where his physical appearance was changed (I know, just go with it). Years later, he wants revenge on the emperor who killed his family and friends, which he plans to get by helping his childhood friend - one of the emperor's sons, but an unfavoured one - to become Crown Prince and eventually take the throne. There are plots within plots in this one, again some excellent story-telling on display, as well as great costumes and sets. This does not canonically have a happy ending, however, though a lot of people (myself included) hand-wave over the final few scenes and are quite content to do so.
3. The Longest Day in Chang'An - 48 episodes. Yes, another historical C-drama.
This drama is a 'race against time', set in a single day as our protagonist odd couple (the brilliant scholar in charge of intelligence in the city and a former detective he releases from prison to help him) try to foil a plot to kill the emperor and blow up the city of Chang'An. Again, we're talking incredible sets and some entertaining wheels-within-wheels plotting.
4. The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty - 48 episodes and my latest obsession, as I loved this show immensely. It's historical C-drama with some detective elements, though focussed a lot more on both the relationship between the main leads, who literally move in together in episode 5.
Our protagonists are a local magistrate/foodie twink and a member of the Imperial Guard who is also an avid cook. This is not a show to watch at times if you're hungry, as the food scenes will make you crave all sorts of things! There are various cases to solve, as well as an over-arching plotline around attempts to overthrow the current emperor. The supporting cast (including a character called Wang Zhi, a eunuch running one of the city's intelligence bureaus who would definitely object to being called supporting cast) are excellent, including some very good roles for female characters which is not always the strong suit of some of these shows.
5. Cherry Magic - an unexpected appearance from a short Japanese drama (12 episodes + a couple of specials) which I absolutely loved, available here with English subtitles.
The basic premise of Cherry Magic is that if someone hits 30 without losing their virginity, they acquire touch telepathy. Our protagonist here is Adachi, who works in a stationery company and discovers that his handsome coworker has feelings for him. There's also a sub-plot around Adachi's best friend, who writes romance novels, and a delivery driver which is also complicated by said friend hitting 30. It's sweet and domestic and sometimes that's the kind of thing we really need.
6. Detective L - another historical detective show, this time set in 1930's Shanghai.
Yes, it's quirky detective meets more straight-laced police officer and together they fight crime, massively helped by just how entertaining Bai Yu (who plays the eponymous detective) is to watch.
7. Hospital Playlist - an unexpected appearance by a contemporary K-drama, which surprised me by how quickly I was hooked. This one is 12 episodes, available on Netflix, and hopefully season 2 will go into production this year.
I really haven't had a great deal of success with contemporary K-drama, except for a couple of shows where there's something more going on (like the very entertaining Zombie Detective, for example) - this was an exception to that rule and it's also a hospital drama, all about a group of doctors who were at medical school together, formed a band which they all still play in, and also now work together.
8. Tientsin Mystic - I have to say, this is included in the list because of season 1, since I've not seen season 2 yet and they also re-cast one of the main leads. Another historical crime drama, this one set in Republican era China. It's 24 episodes for the first season.
Our main characters are a scholar recently returned from Europe and a guy who works recovering bodies from the local river. There's also a character who's a female shaman who plays a significant role, as this is a crime drama with a lot of supernatural elements included.
9. Stranger - another surprise contemporary K-drama, this one massively helped by the dynamic between the two main characters. There are two seasons of this, the first being slightly better than the second imho - the second one's pacing is a bit odd and drags a bit in the middle.
Our protagonists are a prosecutor and a detective, who are very chalk and cheese, dealing with murders and widespread corruption. A massive selling point for me is that Stranger also does an excellent job of not including a romantic sub-plot just because they're a man and a woman, which helped me enjoy it much more. There's a strong relationship between them but it's about trust and friendship rather than an unbelievable romance just because.
10. The Ghost Bride - a 6 episode show, adapted from the novel of the same name by Yangsze Choo, which I also really liked.
Set in colonial Malaysia, our protagonist is married off to the son of a local rich family in order to save her family from financial destitution, which would be fairly normal except that said son died some months earlier. There's also a conspiracy and some supernatural elements, if you like that sort of thing (which I definitely do).
