Drama who?

by Peppersqueak, June 1, 2020

46 49

Hello, all together! It's the bunny of MDL again Aka me Peppersqueak.

In this article, I sat down with many different drama watchers to discuss what they like, what makes dramas unique for them, and what they learned through watching dramas.

I hope you have fun reading ;)

What do you describe as your drama field?

(Your preferred country and genres)

- Shi

I am mostly a Korean drama watcher, but at times, I tend to watch other Asian countries too, like China, Japan, and Taiwan. Now, my preferred genres are, of course, romance (lots of it), comedy (I am always up for a good laugh), drama (I guess I am a sucker for it? Yep, I am.), and lastly friendship (who would not love to see that in a drama?).

- Tine-chan

Actually, I'm watching from all countries: Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, Thailand. But not many philippine things^^. Currently, I'm mostly watching Thai and Chinese dramas.
My preferred genres are romance, fantasy, historical, BL, comedy.

- Atine

I´m currently confused. I used to watch Kdramas the most, until I started watching less of them in October 2019. Then I slowly got into a Korean slump as I can´t find any 2020 Kdramas to watch. I would say while my prefered country might still be Korean, I watch Chinese and Thai the most at the moment. My absolute favourite genre is romance, but to get a bit of variety. I also really like mystery, action, and thriller and once in a while, a melodrama is nice as well.

- Minarii

Even though I've been trying to watch dramas from other countries, Korean dramas will always feel like home to me. I love historical dramas because I love learning about history, and the whole atmosphere feels so different and refreshing.

- Old_Anime_Lady

Japan. I will watch almost anything

- Penel

I’m an avid Korean and Japanese dramas' watcher, but every now and then I add some other countries’ flavoring into the mixture :).
I can watch almost every genre, as long as the story is well-written and engaging, and the actors’ performances are above average for my taste.

- Kate

For the longest time, I was, more or less, only watching Korean dramas. Now, I'm slowly broadening my horizons, and I'm trying to watch more Thai and Chinese shows. As for genres, I watch anything, except family and melodrama. If I had to name my favorites: life, horror, crime, medical, thriller, and BLs.

What do you think makes your preferred countries' dramas special and unique?

- Shi
I think why I love Korean dramas so much is because of the fact that it is so different from my own culture. I realized that they tend to show things that I enjoy more than expressed by my own country.
K-Dramas have this type of charm that makes you feel so much that you just want to keep watching. I like the diversity of genres and stories since you can enjoy all you want.
Now, again why are they so special? Because they give you something positive to look forward to when you need it more than anything. <3

- Tine-chan

Thai BLs with a happy ending^^ That makes Thai special and modern. It hits the nerve of time. While there are only a few Korean and Chinese/Taiwanese BL's (and China isn't really a fan of BL)... Thai is really way ahead

- Minarii

Kdramas. I've seen sooo many, and I can't hide the fact that most of them are very similar since Korean scriptwriters like to use the same kind of tricks. But they are entertaining. I have not seen enough Japanese dramas, but from what I've seen, I can tell that they are more realistic and raw.

- Old_Anime_Lady

Japan is great at psychological dramas and ones that give life lessons and feature character growth.
Also, their comedies have unique humor that not everyone gets.

- Penel

Asian dramas, in general, are totally different from the things I used to watch before, so their topics, social perspective, and emotional interpersonal exchanges are always interesting food for thought.

- Kate

I think most people would agree that the production quality of Korean shows is out of this world. Being a visual watcher, seeing beautiful scenography, costumes, camera angles, and unique shots just add to the visual storytelling that dramas are.
Chinese fantasy and historical shows have some of the best-written worlds and "magic systems". Thai shows are more grounded in reality and simpler in the approach which is refreshing compared to the, at times, over the top style of Korean and Chinese ones.

What do you think your personal advantage is when watching dramas?

- Shi

Watching Korean dramas excessively for me over the past four years, I think my advantages will have to be getting used to the language and being able to quickly read subtitles. Listening to such a beautiful language so many times, I have picked up on some words. So certain situations that once in my mind I think something might happen next, it mostly happens, and I can just keep up with the story.

- Tine-chan

I'm not a native English speaker, but I do understand English fluently. So there is no language barrier since there are eng subs nearly everywhere :). I also have the ability to make time for dramas. No matter how busy I am... I always manage to make room for at least one episode a day xD

- Atine

I don't care for things like bad editing or bad acting, and I don´t analyze or overthink while watching dramas, so I´m not bothered by unlogical details. Other than that, I think that my big advantage is that I like all kinds of endings no matter whether it´s happy, sad, bittersweet, or open, and I´m not often disappointed just because of an ending.

- Minarii

I would say that language doesn't matter to me. Also, I can stand a not-good-enough plot if the characters are well-written.

- Penel

Subtitles and languages were never a barrier for me. It might be difficult to adjust during the first couple of dramas from a ‘new’ country, but as soon as I get used to the sounds of a new language, I gradually get accustomed to it and stop noticing that it’s something different.
When I start a new drama, I am determined to finish it. Usually, 1-2 episodes are enough to decide if this drama is for me or not.

- Kate

Good memory for the plots helps me watch a lot of currently airing shows without losing track of what is going on or mixing stories from different titles. But I believe my biggest advantage is my psychological knowledge. My major made me accept a variety of people, and I believe it's easier for me to understand the reasoning behind some of the character's behaviors. And that makes the viewing experience far less frustrating at times.

Are there any regular challenges that occur when you watch dramas? And how do you overcome them?

- Shi

There are times where I just have to… Drop. A. Drama. I think that hurts my heart so much because I’m just not enjoying it and I’m telling myself “Why am I watching this if it’s going nowhere or it’s just not making any sense?”
At the end of the day, I realize that not every drama is going to be up to my alley, so I finally tell myself: “Shi, you are not enjoying this, so it’s time to let it go”. So, I just trust my instincts.

- Atine

I often get bored by dramas, and even if I enjoy the drama, I might end up being bored, looking at how much time is left in an episode or even drop it because of my mood. I don´t often have that moment where I´m hooked anymore.
I got rid of challenges like having 30 dramas on hold or that I didn´t have self-control and started too many dramas at once. I overcame these by training and setting small drama goals.

- Old_Anime_Lady

Feeling like I have not watched enough every month, and until I get my PTW to 20 or so titles, I don't think I will ever feel I have consumed enough visual entertainment.
And how do you overcome these challenges?
Remind myself I have a life outside of dramaland by playing games with my family : )

- Penel

Having watched quite a lot of dramas, sometimes it’s difficult to find something new, fresh, out-of-the-box story to watch… Moreover, since some actors/actresses are somewhat type-casted, unfortunately, that makes things more predictable and less thrilling and enjoyable.
But, to be honest, the greatest challenge for me is to find a healthy balance between family, work, social life, and drama time!
And how do you overcome these challenges?
Fortunately, I’m a night owl, so with a little more sleep deprivation, everything is manageable!

- Kate

Yes. I get easily bored. My brain just "works fast" and needs a lot of stimuli.
I have a few tricks that would most likely annoy a lot of people: watching on a higher speed (from 1.25x to 1.5x), skipping the plot lines (minor ones), browsing twitter or MDL on my phone as I watch, doing notes for Korean, playing Ludo or other online games with friends. Simply I just add another activity as I watch.

Open feed question:

What do you hope for in the future regarding dramas:

- Abzzski

Less generic/stereotypical stories. I feel like dramas need a change when it comes to writing stories. I think the industry needs to experiment more, instead of using the same formula to make a drama over and over again. Every genre from whatever country holds onto a formula to make a drama successful to play safe, but I feel like they need to experiment. I'm tired of watching so many dramas that are the same.

- EstellI

I want to see more dramas that are a labour of love, from all its cast/crew/contributors/producers. Dramas in which it can be seen that everyone has worked hard for every little detail regarding it, not just rolling with it/if it's serviceable, it's good enough.

- Maha

Sometimes they should just let the SML have the main girl

- Kura2ninja

•More variety in terms of story
•Tighter storytelling (why make each episode 1.5 hour long, or why make a drama 16 episode long if they can tell their story effectively in shorter duration?)
•I hope they stop doing live-shooting, for the sake of the crew's and cast's health
• I hope multiseason format (ala American series) doesn't become a rule

Many thanks to the friendly people who took the time to answer all my questions (人*´∀｀)｡*ﾟ