What is your angstiest drama?

[dangermousie]

Flist's collective freak-out over the angst in City Hunter prompted me to wonder - what is the angstiest drama you've seen?

I think to qualify as angsty, for me, there are two components - (1) bad bad bad things happen and (2) I care for the characters to whom these things happen and so am emotionally embroiled in their pain. A much lighter drama that makes me care will be angstier for me than one chock-full of bad stuff that does not - e.g. For me, My Girl is angstier than Bad Love even if the former is a romcom and the latter an ott melodrama because I adore My Girl leads and couldn't care less if entire cast of Bad Love drowned in the lake.

For me, the indisputable winner of "angstiest drama I have ever seen" is 2009 hit IRIS about an agent betrayed, framed and hunted by his agency. It may seem weird to pick a thriller-revenge drama and not one of many anxtolicious melodramas Korea is known for, but there it is. Part of it is that the number of truly horrific thing that happen to Hyun Joon do almost beggar belief (and that ending!!!) but the main reason is that I was so emotionally invested in Hyun Joon that it was almost unhealthy - the screen seemed to almost dissolve and grab me into his world due to Lee Byung Hun's amazing intensity and acting. And to see a character I felt so much for (Hyun Joon remains my favorite drama character ever) go through what he did with little reprieve and be rewarded by that horrifying "evil wins" ending , shot as he was finally within reach of happiness, of peace, lying there unable to move or call out or reach to his love, reaching, the proposal ring there by him, tears out of his dying eyes and such longing - they really eviscerated him and made him die in the worst despair. And Kim Tae Hee's character waiting, happy, unknowing, punished too, perhaps a target for punishment more than Hyun Joon. I cannot imagine what happens after. I don't want to.. This was almost more than I could bear. I remember crying on and off for a week afterwards.

There are runner-ups, of course - Mawang, Karei-naru Ichizoku, A Love to Kill, The Outsiders. But nothing to reach IRIS levels for me.

How about you? I fully realize everyone's threshold is different.

Comments

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

By your crieria, Probably Young Warriors of the Yang ClanDamo and Hwang Jin Yi.

TBH, I actually don't find City Hunter to be incredibly angsty? I mean, the characters have angst and there's the nonstop DRAMA, but the actual plot is too cracky and OTT and id-tastic and nothing has happened yet that makes me really worry about the characters. So far, it doesn't seem the sort to add permanent trauma to the characters on top of what they've already had. (If Sae Hee and prosecutor were the leads, maybe, but Na Na and Yoon Sung are basically a pair of dorky goofballs when they don't have to be serious, and that keeps me from seeing it as ANGST ANGST ANGST as opposed to "fun and cracky with some angst.")

[calixa.livejournal.com]

Young Warriors of the Yang Clan for me too.

[littledelusion.livejournal.com]

IRIS is definitely up there, but Resurrection. My God, Resurrection. *sob*
There's also Nanase Futatabi (2008). I felt so horribly depressed afterwards. That one really made me hate humanity for a while.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Resurrection has a hopeful ending but yeah, the bulk of it was brutal. I find Mawang even more angsty but Resurrection set a heck of a high bar.

[darkeyedwolf.livejournal.com]

I think what was so awful and tragic about IRIS is that we've seen it before, the dysfunctional anti-hero, except this time it wasn't about redeeming him with love or building him up with goodness. He was good. And that goodness came back to bite him over and over again. His only reward was torture and pain and PTSD. And that ending! God, it wasn't just tragic, it was horrifying and hopeless.

The Myth got me too, for the same reasons. By the final stretch it was like "GOD, IS HE EVER ALLOWED TO BE HAPPY?" I have visceral memories of that misery.

The ending of The Outsiders made me cry so hard I was literally nauseous, though that may have been because I watched it all in a day and was almost feverish with obsession and emotional investment. XD

*thinks*

Sailor Fuku to Kikanjuu depressed me for weeks. I couldn't even think about it without my whole mood taking a downswing.

Why do I watch so many angsty dramas?

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I prefer angsty dramas - they draw me in emotionally more than fluffy ones, but that comes with a price.

Ah, The Myth. I believe I blocked it out from my list out of sheer self-preservation. I cried so hard with that one I threw up. I agree with you that it and IRIS have the similar theme - a good, well-adjusted person is thrown into hell, keeps his humanity and his reward is suffering and death. I think IRIS is marginally bleaker because in The Myth he at least kept history on track but in IRIS all of it was for nothing, and the evil played with him like cat with a mouse and when it got tired of playing it killed him in the worst way (and there was never any way out ever - not since he was a child whose parents were shot). I've never seen a kdrama with that bleak, that uncomfortable, that bitter an ending. Strength and smarts and iron will and incredible goodness - nothing was enough to save him, ever.

Ahhh, The Outsiders. When dramas want to wreck you, they do it well.

[jennyhime.livejournal.com]

hmmm, most likely Mawang. It was just brilliant, the jdorama version was okay but in this case the korean was far more superior.
Karei-naru Ichizoku was another one, in the end I just bawled my eyes out and was blown away by Kimura Takuya's performance.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Mawang is unforgettable. KNI broke me. All the horror and for nothing - oh God.

[spazzy06.livejournal.com]

Time between Dog and Wolf, hands down.

I've seen Mawang and Resurrection too, but it was Lee Jun Ki's character in Time between Dog and Wolf that really got to me. The fact that, that drama ended on a semi happy open ended note surprised the hell out of me. I was expecting to see the male lead rocking back and forth in a mental institution or commit suicide. Happy ending- I never thought that was in the cards.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Oh yes. TODAW was beyond brutal. I can't believe I forgot about it. I mean, he repeatedly tries to kill himself, has horrifying PTSD and I am not even getting into shippy stuff.

I did wonder if, at the end, he's that sort of agent because it's the only world that can take his dysfunction.

[momosan.livejournal.com]

I bailed early on IRIS. As much as I love LBH (known in my world as the Bad) and TOP, after episode 8, my mind exploded from the nonsense, so I just skimmed it.

For uber-angst that sent me into a corner rocking - Damo. But, it's one that going in you knew was going to be a train-wreck. The opening scenes are the ending, really - so you know what is coming. I think that is what keeps it so high on my rewatch list.

Normally for the uber-angst stories, they are so painful I can't even rewatch them, so in that department- for even more angst - Mawang or WHIB. Mawang just for the total experience, and WHIB for that final twist of the knife.

In the dorama department...gosh, the one I can think of that got me the most was Million Stars.

The only one that years ago had me sitting back and wondering "good gravy, how much more can happen here!" was Kamisama - the final episode of that made me go "eh? say what now? you really went there, show?"

Revenge dramas are one of the few types of makjang that I watch. I was just thinking that technically, leaving out the incidents that start the ball rolling, the plot summaries of CH and CYHMH almost sound the same, but the series couldn't be more different in reality.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I didn't find IRIS any more oddly plotted than the usual thriller or revenge story but MMV (man, I can say that "to each their own" now but in throes of my obsession when it was airing, it would have been pistols at dawn. I still remember scary pitched battles between YAB and IRIS fans. It made me loathe YAB forever because I was on the IRIS side :p)

Damo is awfully bleak but even though I loved it, emotionally I was a bit detached so I watched the ending more with appreciation how well the tragedy was laid out than actual heartbreak. Mawang and Bali though? Ohhh. That bit in Bali where she tells him she loves him and he starts keening, oh God. It's still one of the darkest, most messed up dramas I've seen (I always view QSS as the happier version of the same premise).

Kamisama - I loved that drama. Mmmmmm Takeshi. Though so many bad, emotionally draining things happened that I was numb by the end. Ditto for A Love to Kill.

Ooooh, Tree of Heaven, I cried and cried for hours.

I love revenge dramas because they are unpredictable but that means there is a risk of baaaad end.

Oooh, and I wouldn't put Hong Gil Dong on the list because it was fairly hapy for a chunk of it but talk about a devastating ending!

[happahaole.livejournal.com]

Wow this is a hard question...
Tree of Heaven, autumn in my heart, autumn's concerto, baker king, snow queen, silence, Stairway to heaven, damo, winter's sonata, etc, etc, etc...

[happahaole.livejournal.com]

shit! i forgot Kamisama Mou Sukoshi Dake...:O

[uisceros.livejournal.com]

My gut wants me to say Love Contract, because that drama EVISCERATED me. That being said, it was really only the ending that was all OMG!ANGST. Otherwise I'd say either Byakuyako (that drama remains THE most screwed up thing I've ever seen), or Something Happened in Bali (obvious reasons).

Other angst fests - Kou Kou Kyoushi, Summer Snow, LIFE and Sekachu.

I am ridiculously amused that the angstiest stuff I've watched are somehow jdramas...

[darkeyedwolf.livejournal.com]

OH GOD, KOU KOU KYOUSHI. THAT ENDING.

[timescout.livejournal.com]

Karei-naru Ichizoku, hands down. I don't think I've ever bawled so much after watching a drama. Weeks afterwards I was still affected enough to burst in tears when listening to the main theme. And that was when I was in a train, on my way to work.... Yeah, that one really broke me.

Mawang came pretty close but with Mawang I was sure where it was heading so it wasn't nearly as bad.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

KNI was horrible and it kills me it was all for nothing.

[att123.livejournal.com]

Mawang. No doubt. The ending made sense and I did like it but I just didn't want THAT for the characters. I loved all three of them so much. The ending stayed with me for a while after.

I'm Sorry I Love You is pretty soul crushing as well. I'm almost done with it and its just...
I wish they could just be happy. Leave the revenge alone and just be together.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

MISA really is ridiculously depressing :(

I wanted Mawang people to be happy. In their different ways, they were all worthy of saving.

[kycoo.livejournal.com]

Some parts of Mars, almost all of The Last Night of Madam Chin... (Why are both of these Vic Zhou dramas? lol) Shanghai Bund would've been really angsty if they'd managed the timing better.

I feel like I tend to avoid angsty dramas, though, so my perception of super-angsty is probably pretty low. xP

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Ohhhh, Mars :(

[vert-gazon.livejournal.com]

Either A Love to Kill or Byakuyako. Byakuyako was so insanely dark it's crazy. Although, A Love to Kill wins in the overall angsty drama department for the acting and AMAZING cinematography and music.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

ALTK was sooooooooooooo amazing.

[linfer.livejournal.com]

For me it's still Kingdom of the Winds and that won't change so easily.
I think since Farscape I wasn't so emotionally invested in TV characters or cried so much. And I don't think I would've kept my sanity if not for Seryu and Gweyu.

It's closely followed by IRIS and Mawang and now also Resurrection.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

KOTW was basically one giant 'let's torture SIG some more' extravaganza. Loved it but yes, angsty.

[ambergold.livejournal.com]

For me, MISA. My bar is low cause I tend to avoid angsty dramas like the plague. I dropped Outsiders cause I just couldn't handle it. But I was frozen in misery for the second half of MISA.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Oh God, MISA.

[ambergold.livejournal.com]

I TAKE IT BACK OMG SILENCE.

I cried so hard I was bawling at the end. I was traumatized for DAYS and couldn't get it out of my head for weeks. (but so good).

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Oh God, I was almost ill from crying with that one.

[iheartkleenex.livejournal.com]

IRIS without a doubt takes the trophy. I'm still traumatized because of it, thinking that every single revenge drama I watch from now on will end that way. The Devil is a close second because that entire drama was just...wow, and although the ending was one that was actually the most appropriate I am still bitter about it.

Then there's Autumn Sonata which is in my opinion the mother of all angsty dramas, that;s when it all started...

And All In as well because the things that happened to the main character made me hurt so much but we got our happy ending so I guess it wasn't that bad.

And then there's that entire list of angsty dramas: Beautiful Days, Sandglass, Sad Love Song, Winter Sonata (since it has everything from death, resurrection, amnesia, possible incest and of course the always present always powerful deathly illness)Stairway to Heaven, Green Rose too a little bit, East of Eden (I am still infuriated about the girl picking her rapist instead of the nice prosecutor)

A Love To Kill was also angsty but I chose to think that the ending was actually a happy one because they were together again. Oh, that was such a good dramas. It made me love both Rain and Song Min Ah.

Ok, wow, I watch a lot of angsty dramas.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I guess LBH likes doing the 'how much can we torture him?' roles. Btw, yay, another All In fan. I adore that drama to bits.

[vierran45.livejournal.com]

Silence and One Litre of Tears for me. The latter of the two is made even worse by knowing that it's based on a real story.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Silence was just = I could never finish it properly due to misery.

[junmaolove.livejournal.com]

That would be the show that introduced me to Kdrama world 10 years ago. Winter Sonata made me cry buckets of tears every single darn episode. I remembered going to work with baggy red eyes and slumped shoulders coz it felt like I was carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders. That would be the only melodrama that I watched and will NEVER watch another one like that. After all that emotional purging, romcoms suit me best.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

WS - I love it but oh boy, the buckets and buckets of angst! I am still shocked they got a happy ending.

[singing-tree.livejournal.com]

WHIB, obviously. And Tree Of Heaven I think, I didn't even finish it due to the doooom that was hanging above it.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Oh God, ToH. I bawled for hours.

[hamster428.livejournal.com]

Hmm... I kinda avoid angsty dramas overall, like those heavyweight epic ones (Giant) with huge flashing "ANGST" on them. But out of the melos that I watched, I'd say Que Sera Sera and Crazy for You. Maybe not so heavy on the shitty-events, but just more on the internal turmoils aspect.

I dunno if you're familiar with oldschool TVB stuff, but they had one called The Greed of Men. Sh!tload of angst there.

[ladysaotome.livejournal.com]

Crazy for You is what I was going to say, too. I avoid angsty dramas generally but Crazy for You got there to me. Even though I loved it. Even Brilliant Legacy had its moments.

[ifruity.livejournal.com]

Who Are You? definitely made me sob. Occasionally, when I wanna have a good cry, I look back at screencaps and it tears my heart apart. His longing looks.

Tamra the Island is mostly angsty on Park Kyu's part. When Beo Jin leaves him to go off with William, my heart broke. That scene is one of my favorites, as well as the scene when Park Kyu tries to kiss Beo Jin. I know the drama is extremely light-hearted, but these scenes, they're just so sad.

OB-GYN is also extremely angsty, mostly because of the babies. But once babies aren't part of the conversation, the rest of the drama is pretty light-hearted. I absolutely love that drama, but it made me cry so much. So many babies.

I know these dramas are mostly funny and bright, but when a drama is full-blown angst, I can't handle it or it seems like so much of a trainwreck that it doesn't even resemble real life. I mean, I know that dramas are cracked-out caricatures of reality, but I want some kind of happiness sometimes because life is usually never like Tree of Heaven or Innocent Love.

[darkeyedwolf.livejournal.com]

OB-GYN is also extremely angsty, mostly because of the babies.

Oh my fucking god, that one baby? The doomed one? With the little hat??? I SOBBED FOREVER.

[lightsjustright.livejournal.com]

I don't think I've ever been that destroyed by a drama that I've thought about it much after I'm done with it. Maybe because I've only watched one terminal illness drama (1LoT) and the couple of dramas I've seen that end badly never had me that emotionally connected to their characters (like Byakuyako).

Though I'm actually a baby and cry easily enough watching non-tragic dramas when I'm invested. Like CYHMH made me cry. XD

[att123.livejournal.com]

Same here with CYHMH, I've cried like every episode. Its ridiculous! And the last two before the finale had me freaking out and sobbing.

[doozy05.livejournal.com]

angstiest dramas: Let's Go to School, Sang-do, Jejoongwon, and Sunao ni Narenakute (the Linda arc got me good)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, Sang-Do. *bawls*

[blobofcolour.livejournal.com]

Aishitteiru to Itekure. It gets to me every time because the characters and emotions feel so. real.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Oh God, I loved that drama.