Hello!  :)

Thanks for visiting my page!

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My Drama/Movie "Grading System"

( 10 )  A definite biased review. Don't come for me.

( 9> ) Near perfection if not perfection, rewatch-able.

(8-8.5) A great time, still could have been better for whatever reason.

(7-7.5) It's not bad, worth a shot.

(5-6.5) It's not that great... but there some redeemable qualities.

(<5) Not good, not worth your time. In essence, varying degrees of horrible. 

Don't come for me.
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WARNING: CONTROVERSIAL OPINIONS AHEAD. NOT SUITABLE FOR THE EASILY OFFENDED SNOWFLAKES. 

I'm a millennial, with our generation having been called such for so long, I'm self-authorized to use the term "snowflakes" without being offensive.

How Did I Come to Watching Dramas?

Let this, millennial,  "wise" elder tell you about a time when subtitles wasn't even heard of! Ohoho. Are you in for an unnecessarily-long-winded story, or are you in for an unnecessarily-long-winded story . . .

I grew up watching only Cantonese dramas. I believe that "A Kindred Spirit" was the first thing that I watched (drama-wise ofc). 

My eyes  were glued to the TV, intently watching, listening, whilst waffling dinner down my throat— that was my childhood. After a couple of years, did I finally start to see an appearance of non-TVB formatted dramas. Dramas like Princess Pearl (dubbed), followed by Jewel in the Palace (also dubbed),  and a glimpse of Meteor Garden (the 2001 one w/ Barbie and imo, the actual F4 guys).  These were chosen by Fairchild TV station (at the time only Cantonese channel on basic cable in Canada) to air on its platform. Choosing what dramas to watch was only but a DREAM. Unfortunately, I didn't have private access to the internet at home until the 6th grade. And even then, it took a while before I realized that dramas like Meteor Garden could be watched online, and actually UNDERSTOOD. 

Just let it all sink in for a thoughtful moment. There's a period in time where one would actually  sit in front of a television watching this drama that'd come on at 4pm, understanding ZERO,  because dammiT, one needed to know WHY Barbie and Vic seemed to like each other, but couldn't bE! ! ! Honestly, at the time I'm pretty sure I hypothesized that someone was dying, Cause someone was always dying in these things (death was literally "all the rage" with respect to plot, especially if its genre was the tragedy sort).

Doors finally started to open for me by the time I was in the 7th grade. Not to romanticize a nostalgic memory more than it needs to be... I do remember it vividly. 

I was recommended by a friend at the time a Taiwanese drama called, ISWAK (It Started with a Kiss).  The obsession begins there. I began conquering all of the popular Taiwanese Rom-Coms of the time. Was desperate to find my next dose of drama. At the time Chinese dramas were not quite so popular yet. Production for a majority of the ones out there were very poor, and the stories definitely were not hooking people in. This was all prior to hallyu wave that really had the ground shaking.

Anyways, I finally got to find Meteor Garden to understand exactly what I ended up watching. It was PURE ECSTASY. My eyes and mind were wide open. It was not long until the literal earth shattering title, Boys Over Flowers became the biggest thing since sliced bread... I mean literally the same story, but man this title had IMPACT. Literally every girl and woman had an obsession with this drama. At the same time as this a lot of people were listening to Kpop, Korean variety... Korean culture exploded. To this day, that was the reaL catalyst for asian culture in general to become more and more increasingly a mixed pot (in a good way).

 However, before the "good" took place, the "bad" had to happen... After the BOF phenomenon, next thing you know, the drama-world noticed a pattern. Meteor Garden was great, BOF toO became a cultural phenomenon. The drama world wanted so badly to replicate its success... SoO much so, drama-world suddenly had a billion remakes of the tried-and-true story that is Hana Yori Dango.

It was all fun and games at first... Until it really wasn't -_-"

And that is why— at least for me—I tend to stay away from remakes, unless it seems theres going to be a real meaningful, different rendition of... OR, a beloved actress/actor  is starring in it.  Although, side note, F4 Thailand kind of wow-ed me by doing their own thing, whilst paying a little homage to previous renditions of the story. It wasn't a bad time, and was fairly enjoyable to watch (both as a remake and even just as a drama).
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Now sometimes, I tend to watch dramas in "genre batches". When I'm at my lowest for example, I'll probably watch romantic comedies, or family dramas. When I'm a little more bored, and I'm mentally well-rested, I'll kick back with a cool psychological, thriller.  And I'd run that genre until the whim of the next "batch". Though more often than not, it's just whatever the moods are serving me. Or something that I think could inspire me. 

Dramas have and will always be one of my greatest teachers in life. I truly believe that art imitates life and vice versa. It's a great way for thoughtful reflection and introspection while taking a vacation from one's own life.

Though with mystery, psychological or thrillers, these genres... I've become more pickier. I've got to say as time goes on, you become acquainted with many shows, dramas... You pick up patterns. And I feel that certain dramas are more predictable (plot-wise) than others. Which imo, is fine with the Romantic Comedy genre. I feel that rom coms can get away with a pretty "tried and true" or trope-filled story, so long as the chemistry is somewhat palpable oR the characters feel interesting. BuT, that doesn't necessarily work for genres such as mystery, psychological or thrillers. At the same time, having a bit of formulaic tendencies, is fine. However there's a difference between having some formulaic tendencies, and essentially ripping off a different drama. The reality is that mystery, psychological and thrillers, are a less forgiving genre when it comes to story. Essentially, if one is made, the story better be original, and it better be good.

 Regardless of my criticisms, I can always appreciate what is being offered... Real people trying to portray real emotions.  

However, these days— perhaps it's the romantic in me—I don't know. But these days I long for romantic dramas. Doesn't necessarily have to be a comedy— although I am biased to the romance genre.
I'm down for most anything romance related. The idea of a romance that spans several lifetimes has always fascinated me. I think what can be explored more deeply are the different types of romances in modern reality or fantasy. Just the topic of "how to love somebody". already in itself is such an interesting and extensive topic. There are still many avenues and roads that haven't yet been explored.
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Drama Genres/Niches I'm Interested in Most (No Order):

Romance

Thriller**

Horror*

Mystery

Psychological

Comedy

Political

Forbidden Love

Costume / Period/ Historical

Wuxia & Xianxia

*Dependent on if it's tied to being psychological, or is whodunnit, haunted house,  exorcism-related, aaand most importantly! Does not utilize jump scares as a crutch for scariness/creepiness.

** It has to be reallY good. 

My gawd I'm still so scarred from watching Save Me (you can check it out yourself despite what I've to say abt it).

Continue to read my rant  

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Pls don't read this paragraph if you feel strongly about this drama. Seriously, this drama had potential... But it was needlessly long for no good reason.  It most definitely could have made a bigger impact if it was just 10. HOWEVER, length is the offense that I could  swallow.  

What was really offensive, and down right OBSCENE, was the ENDING. It did NOT tie up loose ends, and left me high and drY. 

We got FLYING HIGH AND DRY ENDS OVER HERE ! ! ! 

Even forgetting that for a moment, it still felt like there wasn't much to takeaway. And then irritation sets in. To think that we had to sit through so much nothing, for this?! ULGH! Inexcusable! The AB-SOL-UTE cherry on top is the rating. Ho- HOW does this drama have an 8.6 rating?! sO overrated, and I already tend to overrate dramas on the regular (in comparison to the MDL ratings for dramas overall).  Now, I gave it a 8 because I've still admit, there were in fact moments of entertainment value from this drama. However— and this is a big howeveR— I neither enjoyed nor was satisfied by the ending. And by "satisfy" I don't mean it needed to live up to an envisioned ideal ending, or a "perfect" happy ending, or even that there needed to be a lesson learned. But, at the very least, give us some closure. Why oh why bring us all  the way up a mountain and not let us see the view? And before you start thinking it was probably some artistic capture or an artistic cliffhanger— no it definitely wasn't. I've seen wonderful execution of that. It definitely was not it.

 All in all, the ending was very disappointing and sadistic.
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Drama Genres/Niches That I'll Be Less Inclined to Watch (No Order):

Medical

Law

Cuisine/Food related

Political Harem ***

Marital Revenge  / Marital Affair ***

Military

Terminal Illness

Competitive Sports ***

E-Sports/ Competitive Gaming ***

School Life / High School Life / Youth***

Idol/Band/Music

Cut Throat/Dog Eat Dog, Political, Ultra-Rich Life

Time Travel (genre literally became such a dumping ground for so much lazy writing.. I can't)

Soul Switching***

Remakes (of stories with already existing OG dramas)

***(Depends on premise and leading leads)

Note: I have definitely tried and/or have gotten tired of these genres. Perhaps new ground breaking dramas trend/patterns will change my mind... Until then, unless they've become notable on Mydramalist score-wise, have great OST, notable actor/actress, redeemable worthy premise, greaT reviews... It's a N-O.

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Other Things I Watch?

Before the 7th grade (when all the watching really started to become an obsession), I did enjoy anime and manga, and I still do occasionally—Manga, and only if it's complete. It would be very unlikely to catch me watching anime now.  There's something about... not being able to see the true, raw, subtle facial movements of a character that not just only makes it less captivating/authentic/immersive, but also takes away from truer expressions. I'm sure there are truly amazing artists out there that could create amazing true-to -life expressions. And I have seen with my own eyeballs some really great works. However the reality is that it would take a lot of time, defeats the purpose of the craft to go to the extreme,  and just on a whole again a lot of resources. Just not worth it for many to go to that extreme. And so, on the whole, anime just isn't my medium of entertainment. 

Again, IMO. Don't Come for me.  You've already been warned at least thrice by this point =_="

I still occasionally pick up manga because it's still a medium I can better appreciate receiving a story from . The medium relies more on the audiences imagination to fill in the gaps of "movement". With anime, it's inflexible with how a characters expression is expressed because the expression has since already been expressed. With manga, it will always be left up to the audience's interpretation. Now that's flexibility. So, if you've one shot to express an expression, decent actors/actresses are just more effective.

IMO. Pls, Don't Come for me.

I also really enjoy watching western shows, and sitcoms. Imo, western shows and eastern dramas have different strengths, and it's really nice to see over time the transitions, leaps and bounds the industries across have made.

Besides that, I love love looooOve Youtube. So many new niche channels always popping up to fulfill your every interest and passions. (I'll come back to edit/add on to this)

I definitely want to find a time to do the same thing that I've done for asian dramas, with the western shows/movies I've watched. I tend to have moments where I suddenly crave to rewatch things. However, my memory now is quite craP.  I'll forget titles and names of celebrities, so rewatching certain niche titles can be a reaL struggle bus ride. Hopefully there will exist a place for that one day.

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All in all, growing up...
Having a passion for watching dramas was very shamed upon, by not only what felt like society, but also from family as well. It was definitely not easy. Having something that you're passionate about, and want to share with others... It was hard, and still pretty hard now because it was how I was brought up. 

IRL, honestly, I'm more quiet than I would like to be about this hobby of mine. But that's okay too for now. Sometimes it's fun to have secrets with yourself.

It'll just be our little secret ;)

Shhh.

Nevertheless, it's all in the past. The world is vastly a more accepting place than it used to be.
We live in a much more fortunate time.

I'm immensely very grateful. 

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So many dramas to watch so little time to watch them all...

Slowly, but surely.

My eyes are peeleD

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