Dramas watched in 2023

*
Excellent, addictive first third - a mix of mystery, intrigue and  action; good second third and disappointing final third. This drama unfortunately ran into budget cuts halfway though filming - which likely explains the messy last third (important fights/battles happening offscreen, key characters dying offscreen etc). But this drama reminded me why wuxia is my favourite genre (in fact I hadn’t enjoyed one in years before this) - I loved how gritty lived-in the settings felt, the thrilling fight scenes in the first third, flawed characters - so despite its misgivings, it is still one of fave watches of 2023.  

A funny time-travel fusion sageuk. Very entertaining and bingeable - breezed through this in three weeks. The only thing is I was just never super emotionally invested in anything - characters nor plot but I was never bored.  It did make me become a Shin Hye-seon fan so no regrets. SHS hard carried that drama like no other actor I have seen a while.

*

Favourite non-2023 drama watched in 2023. 

A contemporary time-travel E-Sports underdog story with a bit of everything  - friendship, following your dreams, action,  mystery, thriller and a bit of romance squeezed into 35 episodes. It is also surprisingly very funny with some memorable laugh out loud moments. Last one minute and cry the next. It comes with the expected time travel 101 plot holes but I was willing to overlook most of it. Whacky, heartwarming, fun. Definitely one of the most pleasant surprise watches this year. 

Micro-drama. (3 min-eps).

Romantic melo with Hong Kong retro aesthetics.

Micro-drama.

Period politics set in fictional dynasty involving affair between ruthless prince and  

Micro-drama.

Supernatural romance with a vampy twist.

Micro-drama.

Xianxia. I don’t remember much about this except for the sorta cool CGI in the last ep lol.

Micro-drama.

Wuxia - spies, poison, enemies to lovers OTP.

Mini-drama. Fictional republican setting. Binge-able and addictive first half. Draggy second half. 

Micro-drama.

GL.

Mini-drama. 

*

A character driven fantasy about love, loss and longing. Characters that I’ve deeply grown attached to by the end, some fantastic (and not some) acting, accompanied by a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack.

Favourite scene: so many but probably the moment when Xiaoyao realises that Cang Xuan realises she is her long lost cousin. The pent-up emotions released from XY after he healed her leg that he broke? - ooof! 

Mini-drama. Republican. No.

*
Mini drama. Fantasy.  Wish the acting from the ML was better and the story didn’t really hook me until the halfway mark but this is one of the best minis and one of the best love stories told this year.  Really enjoyed seeing how the plot threads came together in the end. 

*

Fantastic first 12 episodes. So so good - perfect pacing, surprisingly funny (this is probably the funniest drama I watched this year), great character introductions, thrilling battle scenes, the emotional scenes packed a punch! This is the only 2023 drama that I watched as it was airing. I haven’t kept up with an airing drama in YEARS and AJTL was in the running of becoming a 2023 #1 favourite. Until… it didn’t. The glaring flaws and plot holes became more difficult to ignore as the story went on. They dragged one of the characters‘ obsession for too long and the character ended up taking way too much screen time. The pacing was all over the place in the final third. And one of our beloved main characters’ final decision  left a bad taste in my mouth in the end because it felt OOC to their character arc.  

I still enjoyed this drama for the camaraderie among Liu Dao Hall members, its loveable and unforgettable ensemble cast, power OTP and found family aspect but was just let down since it had such a promising start. Yang Ying and Yuan Lu gets my vote for #bestgirl and #bestboy! And Yu Shisan for true MVP. 

*
Probably the second funniest drama I’ve watched this year and a great one to close the year. Wasn’t going to check this out due to the dusty and generic visuals and awful trailer but I’m glad I did because this ended up being a pleasant surprise. Super addictive that I binged this in six days.

This is a very self-aware xianxia that doesn’t take itself so seriously. The comedy didn’t always land (some of the jokes/slapstick weren’t really funny to me) but it pokes fun of familiar and tired tropes of this genre (multiple lifetimes? No, let’s have three occurring at once! Immortals’ diet in the Heavenly Realm?  Purified air that makes you sick ?). If you’ve seen enough xianxia, it’s fun to spot these along the way. The bond between the sisters are lovely and it’s easy to root for both couples. There are lovable supporting characters that will make you smile and tear up.

Funniest scene: The whole sequence where Manman impersonated the twins’ father Emperor during the ritual ceremony in episode 17. 

Favourite OTP scene: “This life of mine was saved by Yetan, so I will live the rest of my life for her.” “If the world accepts her, then so be it. If it rejects her, then I will take on the entire world.”