#japanese dramas

[jdramasource]

FOUR YEARS OF JDRAMASOURCE!*:･ﾟ✧ ESTABLISHED: NOVEMBER 3RD, 2020*:･ﾟ✧ Thank you always for following and sharing all things jdrama related!

— tracking: #jdramasource / #jdramaedit —

[gray-r-regan]

So I decided to watch the first ep of If My Wife Becomes an Elementary School Student (cried the whole time).

Now I'm watching the live Tyson fight (hope he beats the shit out of that shithead's shithead brother).

Then I'm going by myself to see The Substance at AMC.

I am such a goddamn masochist it is unreal.

[jjminah]

can someone suggest some really good jdramas??

like, iwgp, miu404, youre my destiny, nobuta wo produce, kantaro

[momentsatmydesk]

Sunday wisdom from ‘The Makanai’. 🌼🌞

[caitchercatlady]

Ranking Asian Dramas of 2024: Winter

YouTube community posting is not going to be enough to share my opinions on dramas that I watched this year. Instead, I will share them here. Then, I realized that a Tumblr post won't be enough, but I still want to post here anyway. No matter, it's time for plan C: Posting in parts! What you will see first will be all of the dramas that aired in winter 2024 (some that aired in December of 2023 that finished in 2024, not to get confused). First, let me introduce you to my ranking system, which seems self explanatory.

Where’s the Replay Button?

They Got the Bag

Good For What it Was

Wanted to like but it has eh?

Why did I even Finish this?

With that noted, let's get started. (BTW, these will be in order of when they first aired.)

I Became the Lead in a BL Drama (Premiered Dec 24, end Jan 2nd; Where’s the replay button?)

If this wasn’t my favorite drama of the year, what was going to be? Episode one pulled me in for a loop by first making me think that this is going to be a shy child star and hot new celebrity trope when in reality the hot mysterious celebrity is actually a closeted fan of the child star whose dream just came true. Thankfully, he’s not saesang crazy because he remembers that he has a reputation to uphold, but that doesn’t make the romance any less cute whenever Yuichiro and Hajime are together. I honestly wished this series was longer, but I’ll rewatch it someday anyway.

Patisserie Mon (Premiered Jan 3; Wanted to like but it has eh?)

Truthfully, I found out Perth was in this, and I wanted to binge every moment that he was in it. To be fair, the side characters, minus FL’s friend, were the best part of the show. The love triangle ruined the main characters for me. Isamu for the win! That opening theme slaps hard AF though. I will play the whole thing from start to finish each episode. (I've been putting it on full blast since I found it on Spotify!) The ending was also very wholesome; Not gonna lie.

Intern in My Heart (Premiered Jan 10; They Got the Bag)

I was very worried that a show like this wouldn’t take a younger man/older woman romance seriously, but lo and behold, I was wrong! I was very happy that Ray and Rin (and the side characters as well) were treated like normal people in this drama. I mean, Ray is not normal because of his foresight powers, but when it comes to the romance, age didn’t play some comedic trope that made the two so awkward. It wasn’t awkward in the slightest as a matter of fact.

Blue Spring Ride Season 2 (Premiered Jan 19; Wanted to like but it has eh?)

I completely forgot that the first season aired in the last year, so that’s why I didn’t review the first season at that time. Admittedly, as a person who read both the manga and watched the anime, I was kinda thinking that events jumped around and about for this anime to have more drama in it. Maybe I’m misremembering and that the racing is just really fast. Honestly, maybe I preferred this because at least we get more story with Futaba and Kou. Now, onto Season 2. So we go from getting the boy to a stereotypical love triangle done always wrong all for the sake of “romantic trouble plot.” Also, minor student falls in love with adult teacher. Jesus, you would think that this drama would’ve cut that out, right? We’re in 2024 for god’s sake. Trying to finish this series for the sake of this post was absolutely painful to watch. It’s convincing me to not read the rest of the manga if it’s going to be like this, and that’s sad because the anime and manga had me in a heart grip.

Legend of Mermaid: Human Love (Premiered Jan 22; Wanted to like but it has eh?)

To be clear, I really didn’t want to watch this because the effects are pretty bad, especially the CGI fox demon and how goddamn slow the fight scenes are, but I was watching this as a part of my Mermaids in Asian dramas video, so I had to watch it from start to finish I absolutely regret it with how hokey it was. Oh well, at least I watched it on YouTube for free. Also, once you actually get into the movie, the plot intrigue really isn’t that bad. However, the mermaid concept as the title states, doesn’t exactly exist, so as a partial romance, the story falls flat, but as a mystery fantasy, it does better.

Happy Ending (Premiered Jan 25; They Got the Bag)

It was very cute for a short series. Very romantic at that. Kinda wished it was a full series for me to get into it more, but they got the bag for audiences to be attracted by it.

Anti-Reset (Premiered Feb 2; Good for What it Was)

Logically, this drama shouldn’t make sense, but I watched it because the premise reminded me of Absolute Boyfriend, the manga from the early 2000’s. The story was pretty predictable, which I expected from something like this, but Yi Ping and Ever 9 were just so cute together. If the show was just about the two of them and no side characters who try to break them apart, I would’ve had a more enjoyable experience than I already had. The ending broke my heart 100%. I thought I would be ready for what I was about to watch, but I was so wrong.

My Piggy Boss (Premiered Feb 2; Wanted to like but it has eh?)

This is Beauty and the Beast. Usually, you can’t make Beauty and the Beast boring, but somehow, they did. Xiao Zhu as Belle is like Emma Watson’s version of Belle, and I’m not happy to see it. I normally like stories where the jerk warms up to the female lead, but his change felt unwarranted because the FL was so unapologetically boring.

Kun in the Distant Ocean (Premiered Feb 11; Why Did I Even Finish This?)

Someone in the comments of MDL said that they believed the script to this movie was written by AI. After watching so many bad Chinese drama shows and movies this year, I wouldn’t be surprised anymore. Again, this was for the mermaid drama video, and movies like this make me regret the experiment in the first place. Everything about this movie felt wrong. Why was the character and plot all over the place?

[dylan-rodrigues]

I love this drama so much, I love tuning in every week to see this little found family 🥺😭

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[bisexualboysbroadcast]

minor subtitle translation thing that makes me sad:

in japanese dramas when they say いただきます (itadakimasu) and the subtitles translate it as bon appétit

that’s not what it means :( that’s not what they’re saying :( i understand logically it’s an okay translation but it’s not quite the same meaning :( it’s more like ‘thank you for this meal’ or ‘i will enjoy this meal’ bon appétit is more like ‘cheers to the food’

i don’t know the vibes just don’t feel right between these two phrases

[laylalgbtqheadcanons]

Aoki Sota from Kieta Hatsukoi is bisexual! (Canon)

[jaejoongs-nipple-piercing]

So I will watch all the way to the end of the series, but I need to know (because I'm incredibly impatient and can't wait): what exactly happens to Kai at the end of Fermat's Cuisine? I know he's sick but does he leave like to get better or is it implied that he passes away?

[ibelongtotheclassics]

curious how the story of these two will conclude 🙉

i just hope it won't be another heartache like what happened to my hiro & kanae ship 😭😭😭

<credits to the video owner>

[maychild]

mini-reviews of bl dramas watched (part 7)

A MAN WHO DEFIES THE WORLD OF BL 2

here's my issue with this whole BL: it's.so.boring. like does anything happen?? NO. it's just mob and his internalized homophobia. (why does he not want to be in a relationship with a boy so much??? is it the phobia and stigma that comes with liking someone of the same sex?? LIKE WHAT IS THE REASON?? maybe i'm just not watching this show closely but fuck it; it shouldn't be watched closely.) also, YMMV and everything but there's no charm to it like in Cherry Magic or Old Fashion Cupcake. it's just mob and his No Homo all day everyday.

they are trying to cram character growth and romantic development into three very short eps and, imho, i don't think it works?? yes, it pokes fun at BL tropes, but i think that's the only good thing it does because i just don't care about these characters. well, that's not true, i do care about kikuchi and mob but then i'm inundated with all these minor characters that we're wasting time on when we could be focusing on kikuchi and mob. i just want the freakin' show to focus on them, but it doesn't and so i'm frustrated. maybe i just don't like self-referential shows?? this bl and I didn't vibe and that's okay but i feel like some people rate it more highly than it should be. (also, i don't remember what happened in either season, that's how much this bored me. well, i remember mob was in the hospital for some scenes but that's all...)

i do love the beauty and the beast-esque instrumental music and the opening/closing themes so very much tho. 6.5/10

CHERRY BLOSSOMS AFTER WINTER

so beautifully filmed and happy and fluffy. this isn't a drama that says a lot, or is deep in any way really, but taesung and haebom were adorable (there is a bit of Drama with the mother--the sole guardian/parent of these two boys--not approving of their relationship at first, but she comes around, and i do like that that part is realistic). a simple story told semi-realistically (there was no dreaded last minute break up, thank goodness, and it seemed to avoid most cliches found in kdramas).

the chemistry for these two is so-so for me; it wasn't necessarily bad, but i also didn't really buy into their relationship. here's my whole issue: besides a couple of almost steamy kisses, and romantic touching, this isn't a show that focuses a lot on the physical side of things. and that's okay! some loving, romantic relationships don't revolve around sex at all, and to each their own, but well, it just seemed to me that this show erred too much on the platonic side of things (the show really tried to tell me that these two weren't horny for each other at all, without explicitly also stating they were asexual, which i might've bought if they showed the two leads having any kinda conversation about sex, even while sleeping in the same bed, but they didn't so i didn't buy two college students being so very chaste in their relationship). 7.5/10

THE EIGHT SENSE

this was very beautiful in the story line and cinematography and everything, although the choppy camerawork grated on my nerves at times, and so did the jump cuts (i get that it was an experimental style of filming, but up to this point all KBLs have mostly been very polished pieces, except for certain parts of blueming as well, so it's jarring to see it in a piece that's been afforded a much longer run-time. also, for example, some scenes were quite noisy where i expected it to be super silent, so this felt very realistic in that regard, but again, so jarring). these are very, very minor quibbles in what was essentially a bl so beautiful and pure and amazing, tho.

the slow burn of it all was wonderful as was the chemistry between all the character. there was one drunk kiss between the leads that they never talk about again so the whole bl is them becoming friends AND then becoming lovers so i appreciated that while they both had a connection with each other right from their first meeting, it wasn't only about the lust between them, but about how these two different people came together when they needed each other the most and provided a safe harbor for each other. jaewon's therapist harped a lot on jihyun being jaewon's refuge and safe place but i think he was the same thing for jihyun and i think that's why they worked so well together considering they came from different backgrounds.

the minor/supporting characters were also a delight to watch (esp. jihyun's group of friends contrasted with jaewon's friends who felt very fake and like they were only jaewon's "friends" bc his dad was super rich--excluding yoon won who was the best).

i did wish for more beautiful, tender, cute boyfriend moments (seriously the latter half of the show was so much angst topped with angst and i understand why, narratively it made sense for a character like jaewon who had so much trauma in his life he was trying to live through every day), but i also really loved what we got.

i would definitely love a second season or even the two leads appearing in another bl (i know korea doesn't do branded pairs/fan-service like other countries but it's also not entirely out of the realm of possibility). 9/10

OUR DATING SIM

i was initially hesitant to start this bc the summary made it seem so cringey and gave me secondhand embarrassment re: the rejection and then ep 2 clears everything up: IT WAS ALL A MISUNDERSTANDING. and then we enter the miscommunication era that lasts a whole seven years. sigh. it's a good thing i don't mind the miscommunication trope.

this was so cute and fluffy and adorable and overall we got a lot of the story told in flashbacks, which i like, when the flashbacks are utilized in a good way and they definitely are here. this is a combo of friends to lovers and high school romance combined with office romance and the tropes are delicious. lee wan does the chasing at first, then the miscommunication happens, and then shin gi tae does the chasing in their adult lives and i like when it switches up like that. the two actors' chemistry is very believable and it's easy to believe they are totally in love. the series was short of course, but, the upside of that was that it forced shin gi tae to be very straightforward and direct with his feelings; of course he was playing games for the first four or so eps because he was justifiably hurt by the abandonment of his best friend but once he leaves behind that hurt, there was no stopping him from pursuing lee wan. and lee wan also had to take some time to get used to the fact that shin gi tae liked him back, so it felt very realistic.

the pacing of this story was stellar too; nothing felt too rushed, there wasn't any filler, every scene moved the story along, and the conflict came from having to choose different paths, and miscommunication.

this was a kbl that didn't disappoint in any way (besides only being about eight eps and 15-18 minutes long). 9/10

PART 1/???, PART 2/???, PART 3/???, PART 4/???, PART 5/???,PART 6/???

[jdramasource]

Snowdrop no Hatsukoi スノードロップの初恋 (2024)

[kooriyuki]

What kooriyuki watched this week - Jan 1-7

What kooriyuki watched this week – Jan 1-7

And we’re back with kooriyuki’s weekly mini review post! I hope this year I can be more consistent with this weekly post so fingers crossed! What have you watched the last week? Unlock My Boss (Ep 7-10) We’re finally told that Seon-joo (Park Sung-Woong) is not dead and the Vice President of Beom Young is actually not the real villain after all? That’s one development I wasn’t anticipating. I…

[wren-der]

I've been on one of my foreign drama kicks lately, because I'm bored with American television/steaming, and the thing I've learned about myself is I HAVE TO pause the show anytime it mentions the temperature in celcius so I can check the conversion. Also anytime it gives an amount of currency I need to look up the exchange rate so I have some reference. My silly brain won't let these things go.

You would think at some point I would just learn to convert temps in my head, but no, apparently I'm to old for that new trick.

[caitchercatlady]

Ranking Asian Dramas of 2024: Summer

Welcome to part three of the Asian Dramas of 2024 series. This post will focus on shows that I finished to completion in the summer season. Let's reintroduce ourselves to the ranking system.

Where’s the Replay Button?

They Got the Bag

Good For What it Was

Wanted to like but it has eh?

Why did I even Finish this?

Fake Buddies (Premiered Apr 27; Why did I even Finish This/Wanted to like but it has eh?)

The only way I can describe this is “Cheating is ok because it turns out they’re gay (or bi)” the series. Perhaps I should’ve created a new tier called “Why the hell was this made?” So how was I supposed to enjoy a series that’s about four people being the worst?

Love Sea (Premiered June 9; Good for What it Was)

I should’ve known what I was getting into when the MyDramaList page for this drama included the top forum, which was a thirst thread. At least for the first half of the series, this was nothing but thirsty. What I was not ready for was the rest of the series, which suddenly jumps into family drama. Come to think of it, was not ready for this series at all, but I was so happy I watched it anyway. After all this, Fort has become my favorite Thai actor, and I want my own Mut.

Takara’s Treasure (Premiered Jul 1; wanted to like but it has eh?)

This drama was really boring. I like the hiking slice of life part, and I wish they showed more personality traits in Taishin and Takara. Well, actually, we do learn more about Takara as the series goes on, but I don’t know who told Konishi Eito to give Taishin the personality of a puppy with PTSD because I can’t recall a time in this show when Taishin doesn’t act so shy and nervous all the time. Isn’t he supposed to like the outdoors? Give him something else! Also, why was the last episode the best episode of this whole series?

Find Love in Her Mind (Premiered July 3; Why Did I Even Finish This?)

This show did have…some budget? Honestly though, if I had some random girl asking me to taste my cooking, I’d call the cops. What bothered me the most is that whoever was in control of the audio mixing doesn’t seem to know how to properly mix, especially with the internal thoughts scenes.)

Ayaka-chan wa Hiroko-senpai ni Koishiteru (Premiered July 4; They Got the Bag)

Ayaka is a very weird person, but at the same time, it’s that weirdness that encompasses falling in love with your coworker so well. People know that Ayaka is weird, but she also does the work she needs to, so her company doesn’t really bat an eye at it…except Hiroko, the woman she has a crush on, but who is also her boss. I admit that I was iffy about watching this because of the boss and subordinate demographic, something that Hiroko herself brings up a multiple amount of times in the show. In fact, for something that was originally supposed to be a comedy, the show later does bring the reality of gay marriage politics into the forefront quick. Every episode is a battle between Ayaka, who brings the modern notion of being homosexual is not a crime, but something to be embraced, and Hiroko, a generation older than Ayaka, who has had lesbian relationships fail due to the anti-gay landscape. As much as she wants to be happy like Ayaka, Hiroko has seen too much misery in being lesbian in her work life to reciprocate even though she really wants to. Even though the argument is more political than it is career based, having their company be used as a romantic battle ground is a little…harassment-is, and Hiroko has brought it up before. I don’t like how abrasive Ayaka is in that regard, but it’s their debates in private that remind me that this is a old vs new mentality in regards to being LGBT and not a work conflict in itself.

This Love Doesn’t Have Long Beans (Premiered July 5; Wanted to like but it has eh?)

I could clearly tell that this show was made to show some sexy chefs in the kitchen. So the plot is supposed to be how Plawan is trying to earn money to pay for his family member’s medical bills, so he’s gonna fake it until he wins a cooking competition, but he uses this competition to get closer and have sex with Oab, the head chef of the restaurant he works for. This show is so dumb in plot that really, I only stayed for the sexy time, and not the competition itself. Also, yes, I avoided every moment with the female character because I knew exactly where it was going.

I Can Hear the Sunspot (Premiered July 26; Why Did I Even Finish This?)

I don’t even know how to describe how I feel about this series. It started out so well but the more I watched it, it made me ask myself, “Did I even like the original manga?” I had to, right? This drama was so dull and sterile.

Mr. Mitsuya’s Planned Feeding (Premiered Jul 26; They got the bag)

This drama was not what I expected from a homosexual male age gap BL drama. Well, it feels less like a BL and more like a mature romance that just so happens to have gay characters in it, which is not a bad thing at all. The chemistry is tight knit, and that’s the best kind of chemistry between two people.

Pretty Boys (Premiered Jul 31; Good For What it Was)

Why does this movie feel like the book, Will Grayson, Will Grayson? If you don’t know what that is, you can find it on Goodreads. This movie was a comfort movie for me. I needed something corny as hell, and Pretty Boys was it. If anything, this movie was the definition of camp, and it’s fine.

Monster Next Door (Premiered Aug 8; Wanted to like but it has eh?)

Jokes about the turtle’s enclosure aside (even though that did play a part in how I felt about the production of this show), the couple, God and Diew, made this show happen the way that it did. But with each episode closer to the end, the flaws of it become clearer. It went from cute to boring rather quickly, and it annoys me. God stepping over Diew’s boundaries rubbed me the wrong way.)

Same Place, New Pace (Premiered Aug 10; Good for what it was)

Cozy, but Pugan never paints anything XD

Heartbreak to Happiness (Premiered Aug 31; They Got the Bag)

This is a short GL series on recovering from heartbreak to do the things that you want to do to create change. If you’re looking for a chillaxing short show, this is it.

[happypotato48]

This Is A Gay Asian Rant About BL Comments Made By Some Queer Westerners I See Sometimes.

So you know of those gays (usually white) that made dumb tiktok dancing to list of countries that legalized same sex marriage and list of countries that discriminate against LGBTQIA+ poeple as a way to say something racist. yeah i kinda got the same vibes from some comments regard how asian BL is homophobic just cause they don't live up to queer western standard. look, i'm not saying that some BLs and their creators don't deserve criticism regard how they capitalized/exploited queerness for an easy cash grab.

But people need to understand that Asian countries despite recent progress are still very much culturally conservatives. so when people says that thai bl is homophobic and all the characters looks like bunch of straight guys, which is true for some olders thai BLs i'm not gonna denied that. but after all this time and newer BLs generally being very queer and most of creators being out queer themself and poeple still making these comments, i'm annoyed.

And don't get me start on the actors. you don't know them! why are you making assumption and calling them queerbaiter just cause they acts in bl. like maybe they're straight, maybe they're not but what they're definitely doing is making queer content for you know, queer people here. so when you made halfass comments about their sexuality what do you think that made other queer people who still in the closet feels. and when you add the nationality to that, "these thai bl pair are this and that, this korean actor is so ungrateful for his bl past", etc. when our societies are still very much still in progress regard LGBTQIA+ acceptance. it make us living here feels fucking awful like somehow we're lesser queer than people in the west just cause we don't have citibank at pride or some shit.

And the shittiest in my humbled opinion are comments regard censored chinese bls. people do know like, that the creators making these bls are risking their livelihoods for this. that these shows getting make at all are miracles. yes it sucked that they're censored but they're still very much queer shows making by queer people who want to express thier queerness despite the chinese government being the chinese government. when people dimissing these shows as not belonging in queer media, you're also dimissing their creators and audiences as not belonging in the community.

Look what i want to say is that we're trying our best over here, and maybe our best are not up to your liking. the ways we talk and express our queerness maybe still can be perceived as problematic by western queer standard. but these media are our house and you're the guests. for people aren't shitty we appreciated that you're here engaging and loving our media, this is your home too and you're welcome in it. i can speak for myself that i very much love being here on tumblr and interacting with people from all over the world who love BL. but for people who are being shitty sometimes about asian bl.

YOU'RE THE GUESTS, BEHAVE!