Started Watching:
Got a Crush on You (C-Drama, on ep.6/26)
It really does feel like C-Drama had way too many emergency responder drama in the last bit. Got a Crush on You is a bit more focused on the romance line though so the emergency responder part of the story doesn’t feel as central to the plotline compared to its predecessors. Got a Crush on You fall into my category of not bad but also not great sort of shows. I don’t have any concrete criticism for it but I really can’t think of anything too memorable either. As of right now, I don’t see myself finishing this one.
Ninja score: 6/10
The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract (K-Drama, on ep. 6/12)
I saw a cute YouTube Shorts of actor Lee Se Young and Bae In Hyuk that led me to check out The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract. I kinda expected the story to jump right into our heroine’s time travel into modern time so I was pleasantly surprised to see the story spent a good amount of effort in setting up our two leads’ backstories in the Joseon timeline. I am really liking the cute chemistry between the two leads and with the whole thing being only 12 episodes long, I see myself finishing up this series.
Ninja Score: 8.5/10
Still Watching:
The Last Immortal (C-Drama, ep.35/40)
I usually read the novel before I watch a drama adaptation but I had a really hard time with this particular novel since the story was pretty hard to get into if you didn’t read the previous novel- Ancient Love Poetry. Luckily, once I started watching the drama, I found the novel an easier read and finished it with a reward of puffy eyes for two days. The show did make a few notable changes to the story but overall, I didn’t mind the changes.
Ninja Score: 8.5/10
A Good Day to be a Dog (K-Drama, ep.13/14)
I am waiting patiently for the last episode to air so I can finish this cute show! This was a quick and super cute watch. I was a bit worried about the fantasy elements but I ended up loving how much it added to the depth of the story.
Ninja Score: 9/10
Finished:
Be Your Own Light (C-Drama)
I started watching this one because I was still too chicken to finish watching A Journey to Love and my attempt to read a fluffy romance (details below) turned into icing my swollen eyes + emotional scars I have yet to shake off yet. My mood was still too raw for a super sweet or comical drama so I figured watching Liu Yu Ning in a modern drama that followed the rise of an abandoned wife would be what the doctor ordered.
On the day of her holding a surprise wedding anniversary party for her husband, our heroine found out that her husband had skipped town leaving her and her son with an astronomical amount of debt she had known nothing about. Her perfect life crushing down overnight, our heroine ends up finding support in the most unlikely place– our hero, one of her creditors who had been scammed by her husband.
C-drama seems to put out a number of these types of “trusting wife betrayed by jerk husband and must fight to rise to the top again” drama every year. Be Your Own Light is not exactly refreshing in story but I still found it to be an easy watch with enough comical touches at surprising moments to keep me watching. In fact, I think the story improved as the show progressed. I do think Liu Yu Ning’s look and his height are best showcased in historical drama but I liked him here anyway.
Ninja score: 7/10 (On Youtube)
Looking Forward to:
Our Interpreter (C-Drama, To air 1/8/23)
I am strangely excited for this show even though the story is fairly standard fare. Girl dumps boy in college to pursue a career as an interpreter. Years later, girl is a successful interpreter but boy has also achieved great success. Boy and girl are reunited again through work. Boy is determined to use the opportunity to seek revenge on girl…that is if he can get his little heart to harden up enough to actually follow through with his plan first.
Other:
I saw a promo trailer for Chen Zhe Yuan and Jiang Jie’s upcoming C-Drama, The White Olive Tree. This is supposed to air this year but we know how that goes in C-drama land so don’t get too excited for this one yet. Since I liked both leads, I immediately went looking for the novel this one was based on. I was ready to read a sweet romance story…and that’s what I got…AND a heavy dose of emotional scars. The story follows the romance between our heroine, a reporter and our hero, an explosive engineer when they meet in a war-torn country. I won’t spoil the story, but let’s just say the author did a great job describing the evils, the pain, tragic losses, human strength, the horrors, love, loyalty, and sacrifices of war. It’s a story that knowing what I know now I might not have chosen to read, but on the other hand, it is a story that needed to be told and…therefore, one I needed to read.
I will be honest and admit that despite being a fan of both actors, I am not sure The White Olive Tree will be on my watch list once it airs. I think it will take a good while before I can forget the searing images just from simply reading the words of the novel so I think watching the story played out on screen will be that much more traumatic.
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