THE TIME HAS COME!! This week marks the week that I start making the lists of my favorite dramas of all time from all of the Asian countries I watch dramas from. Some of these lists will be easier than others. Now, I have never actually sat down and made lists of my favorite dramas from each country from all of the years I have been watching dramas. There are some countries that I have watched WAY MORE DRAMAS from compared to other countries. Which is why I am curious how these lists are going to look by the time I get done with them.
People seem to like these types of blog posts and I like making them. Now, a few ground rules, these lists will be in no particular order or genre. It is just my favorite dramas from this particular Asian country. I have to had completed the drama for it to be on this list. I can almost guarantee that not all of my favorites will make these lists because then we would be here all day. I have made sure to just say "Caitlin, you can only put 10 dramas at the most, on these lists". There may be an HONORABLE MENTIONS section on some of these blogposts. If your favorites are not on my list, doesn't mean I didn't like them. I either had to pick and choose and your favorites didn't make the cut OR I might not even have seen them yet. Play along and tell me your favorites!
I am going to ease myself into these lists and do my list from Japan first. I think overall, I am a pretty solid list from Japan. I have watched a fair number of Jdramas but there is PLENTY I have not seen. I think I also can cover MANY genres in Jdramas. I have stated in other blog posts like ROMANCE JDRAMAS I WOULD RECOMMEND and WHY I LIKE JDRAMAS that romance jdramas are my favorite. There is just something special about jdramas and unique to jdramas that always make me excited to watch them. I DEFINITELY DON'T WATCH ENOUGH JDRAMAS! That is FOR SURE! Overall, I think this list was easy to make. There are a few that I left off the list because I decided to not do an honorable mentions. I have mentioned some of the jdramas that I left off this list in some of my other Jdrama posts on the blog FYI.
THIS IS ONE CRAZY CRIME DRAMA! I remember watching and just saying out loud - WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON!? 😂 I love mystery dramas centered around locked rooms and Japanese dramas HAVE A TON of these! I try and watch as many of these type of crime Jdramas that I can get my hands on. This crime drama is SUPER unpredictable and the villain was just so different and had quite a concept. I just remember watching this drama and thinking WOW, this is out there but I am here for it! It was a crazy ride that I couldn't look away from. Also, the leads had SUCH AMAZING chemistry. I don't remember if there was ever a romance but I do remember how good their chemistry was. This jdrama was one of my first Japanese dramas I ever watched. I wish I could find it somewhere again to watch it - RIP DRAMAFEVER!
This is one of my favorite romance jdramas. I remember watching this and it took social media BY STORM! Everyone was watching it and loving it. If you are looking for a drama that has a healthy relationship - THIS IS IT!! The main couple support each other. The male lead listens to the female lead. He loved her for who she was and didn't try to change her. The female was able to grow and gain confidence in her life. There is communication and not a lot of obstacles. It is a low stakes romance drama and sometimes you just need one of those. It is a nice, fluffy binge.
I don't think anyone is surprised to see Cherry Magic on my list. We all know how popular this drama was in 2020. This is another drama where you get a healthy relationship. I loved watching the leads' relationship progress from beginning to end. This is just a cute and heartwarming drama. This was one of my top dramas from that year. I loved how both leads grew from their relationship and both characters supported each other. They had great chemistry together. I just couldn't stop smiling while watching this one. I remembered I looked forward to the episodes every week. You can read my review of Cherry Magic here.
This one just became a comfort watch. The leads have a really comfortable chemistry. It is a really quick binge and I WANTED IT TO BE LONGER! It was way too short. The acting was phenomenal. I loved the progression of the story. I am a SUCKER for office romances so this was my cup of tea.
There are very few dramas that make me want to watch the anime or read the source material. ERASED IS ONE OF THOSE JDRAMAS! I want to watch the anime at some point. THIS CRIME JDRAMA BLEW MY MIND WHEN I FIRST WATCHED IT! Furukawa Yuki is one of my favorite Japanese actors. This drama kept me on the edge of my seat. it has beautiful cinematography. I will warn you; this drama is VERY dark and if you are not okay with murder and child abuse - TRIGGER WARNING FOR SURE!
Two things stood out to me when I watched this drama - CINEMATOGRAPHY AND LIGHTING! This drama is just SO COLORFUL which made me love it. I just was in AWE while watching this drama because of the cinematography and lighting. It was fun seeing the lighting reflect what that character was feeling at the moment or that the character had lighting that belonged to them sometimes. The personalities in the drama are also memorable because they are so vibrant and loud. This drama shows some really beautiful relationships. I also love the message it portrays as well. I thought all the actors did a great job portraying their characters and acted well in this drama. You as an audience can relate to these characters which I thought allowed the audience to be more connected to the story and characters.
I started this drama at first because the trailer showed cheating and chaos. This drama DEFINITELY had that so TRIGGER WARNING for cheating and domestic violence. This jdrama is so much more than cheating and domestic violence though. The story has a lot more depth to its story than what the trailer first shows. I loved that it explored not only the main couple's story but other residents of this apartment complex. Some of the other stories are just so beautifully told and heartwarming. I love that you couldn't always predict the outcome of these stories when the episode first started either. Another thing that stood out to me in this drama was the colors and cinematography. It was just beautiful to watch. You can read my review of Fishbowl Wives here.
Now I want to preface by saying, I have not watched Season 2 yet. It is on my list to watch but I just have not gotten around to it. THIS JDRAMA IS INTENSE!! It just grabs ahold of you and doesn't let go. TRIGGER WARNING for gore and violence. I loved every minute of this drama. It kept me on the edge of my seat and was SO unpredictable. The CGI was INCREDIBLE! I tried not to get attached to any character because you just never knew if they were going to survive. I failed because I became attached. I loved seeing these character progress through this drama and watching their character development. I also loved learning about the characters' backstories. I REALLY need to watch Season 2 of this drama! You can read my review of Season 1 here.
If you are a fan of the trope of contract marriage and you have not seen this Japanese drama yet - WATCH IT NOW! This is just an easy, fluffy romance drama. The leads have great chemistry. There is very low angst and conflict. There are no BIG misunderstandings. The leads have GREAT chemistry and skinship which is always a plus with romance dramas. We all know how big of a deal it is for me liking this drama because I AM NOT KNOWN FOR LIKING ROMANCE DRAMAS! I love this drama so much. It just makes me smile.
This one may be a hit or miss for some people BUT I WAS HOOKED with this drama. I remember it surprised me so much when I watched it. THERE IS TONS OF KISSING so, if that is your thing, you will love this drama. This couple is just all over each other all the time. I loved the main couple and watching their relationship progress. I loved how the female lead was very perceptive and made the male lead open up more by being in a relationship with him. You can read my review of Love is Phantom here.
Making this list has made me want to go and binge some of the jdramas that have been on my PLAN TO WATCHLIST. This list was fairly easy for me to come up with. I know other countries will not be this easy.
ANYWAY - THAT IS THE LIST! THAT IS MY LIST OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITE JDRAMAS THAT I HAVE SEEN!
Did some of your favorite Japanese dramas make the list?
What are some of your favorites that are not on the list that I should check out?
What on the list have you seen?
What on the list have you not seen but are now going to check out?
WE NOW ALSO HAVE A DISCORD SO TALK TO US ON THERE AS WELL