Hello. How are you ?

This blog will be my space to express my many thoughts and feelings about Asian TV shows, commonly called ''dramas''. 

Linked to my MyDramaList account. MDL is a great place to find dramas. But I want my own bubble. Hence why I'm here. For now, I watch Chinese and Korean dramas. English is not my first language. If you haven't noticed yet, you will soon.

I will mostly post reviews on both of these platforms. I'll just copy/paste them from there to here but I might edit them if I feel like it. I reread and edit my stuff constantly, don't be surprised if you notice. I just overthink overthinking and I care too much about useless stuff. If a review contains spoilers, I will warn about it.

I do not always write reviews. Over the years, I have watched 70+ shows. I haven't written about all of them, even those I loved. I'll also only share here reviews I'm relatively satisfied with, not those I wrote long ago without thinking or merely to vent my frustration. But even when I write carefully, it remains messy, long and personal. However I try to be as objective as possible and give each story I watch a chance to share  something valuable. 

I rarely drop shows because I rarely begin one on a whim. I decided I wanted to watch it : therefore, unless specific circumstances occur, I will watch it. I also don't want to miss out on anything or be unfair. But it happens. Sometimes, it's just not for me. Sometimes, it's not the right moment. 

But first there are a few things I need to make clear. My preferences are restrictive. I do not binge-watch every new or popular shows. I do not watch ongoing shows. My opinions rarely align with mainstream ones. For the rest of my most unpopular views about some hot topics in Dramaland, you can directly read my profile on MDL but I'll still state them here :

1. I rarely watch romances in general. It's a good and important part of life and stories. It's also simply not my personal focus and passion. If there is some, I'll like it best on the side, neither the main point nor the driving force. Mature or naive, I don't really care but I prefer it to be modest. I do not enjoy sexual content or nudity, unless absolutely necessary to the story (although, necessity is debatable). I dislike languorous or long kiss scenes. If I wanted that I'd watch Western shows. The biggest age gap I can tolerate is 12 years - absolute max. Both between actors and characters. If one is barely major, I reduce it to 6-7 years. Don't even talk to me about Goblin unless it's to trash it. Kindly.

 

2. I do not watch or support BL*/GL* or anything LGBTQ+ related. That includes C-dramas' censored adaptations of "gay romances turned into platonic bro/sismances*" (such as the extremely famous The Untamed or Guardian), not because I can't interpret them as platonic if I want, but because I don't want to support such novels and adaptations.

3. I DO watch and passionately love original platonic bro-sismances, deep friendships between males and females, and intimate non-romantic bonds in general. While I can't really call myself a good Christian, I'll use as examples some Biblical bonds that fit fairly well with the kinds I'm after : think David and Jonathan, Joseph and his brothers, Ruth and Naomi, Jesus and his disciples. True love, with affection, devotion and emotions. Is that romantic ? Definitely not to me, yet some call David and Jonathan a gay couple because their relationship "looks gay". I guess Naomi and Ruth would be lesbian then. So go figure. 

4. No surprise, I do not ship* or consider as a potential couple characters who are not actually romantically involved in the story (or explicitly wish to be). I hate shipping and everything related to it. Subtext exists, sure. Delusion and over-interpretation as well. For me, as long as there is no sexual dimension in a relationship, I myself would be comfortable having the relationship they depict with another female even though I'm not gay, and I personally think their interactions would remain appropriate between blood relatives, I don't see the point in interpreting things as romantic unless the writer literally makes them say they are a couple. I understand why people do because we're programmed to think this way. But I believe this is very narrow-minded, prevents us from expressing love truly and fully in various non-romantic manners because it immediately gets categorised as either attraction/good or friendzone/bad, and is a big problem in our current society that romanticized/sexualized and individualized everything it could over the past decades and is only getting worse. But anyway.

5. I'm not a robot, I wish I was though. 

*BL/Boys Love : term used to identify material (novel, movie, show, manga, etc.) depicting romantic relationships between male characters as a central focus of the story. 

*GL/Girls Love : term used to identify material depicting romantic relationships between female characters as a central focus of the story. 

*Bromance/Sismance : terms initially meant to identify material depicting close platonic relationships between same-sex characters (bro for males, sis for females). Used to differentiate tags between opposite gender friendships or mixed gender friendships, those being simply called 'friendship'. This tag can be applied to characters of a same family. However now gets frequently confused with BL/GL, in parts due to it being used as a cover for Chinese dramas' censored gay romances turned into friendships.

*Shipping : the extensive fan culture of romantically coupling characters/people together, including those who are not romantically involved in a story/real life, to be used as headcanon, fanfiction or fanart material, to sometimes extreme and aggressive degrees of expression or delusion, interpreting the slightest 'hint' as being a fierce validation of their views. 

Now that it's all said, if you're still here feel free to read, talk, recommend, share your thoughts or ask questions. I might answer. I also might not. I don't care if you think differently than me as long as you don't either. Personal attacks, mindless hate and wilful ignorance will be banned. I only engage in meaningful discussions. Thank you very much for passing by. I wish you health and peace, to you and your loved ones.