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dangermousieMy 15 Favorite Dramas of 2011 Post.
I use the word 'favorite' advisedly - some of these dramas aren't ones I can claim are objectively good, But all of them worked for me, made me emotionally involved, made me laugh and cry and care. And yeah, some of them ARE freaking masterpieces.
Two notes before we get into it - while all the dramas on this list are dramas which aired at least a part of its episodes in 2011, I have excluded both Gloria and Secret Garden, as they were all over my award list for last year and to include them again seems like double-dipping. Oh, and I did not include any drama where I saw less than 4 eps - that is why What's Up, Love Keeps Going and A Thousand Days' Promise are not on the list.
In any event, without much further ado, here is my list.
(15) The Empress (Korea)
A woman who had the world take everything from her, decides to get revenge on said world by becoming the most powerful courtesan in the country and destroying her targets through getting he hands on their secrets. A ridiculously hunky thug helps her, driven by hopeless love for her, which turns out not to be so hopeless after all.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is my perfect melodrama. There are awfully bad people who need to be punished, a beautiful tragic heroine, a gorgeous man willing to do anything for her (Kang Ji Sub has the most soulful eyes in the Universe, is my bet), the whole 'fighting a gang to save her' trope, the 'courtesan/thug' trope, awful secondaries trope etc. This is not high art but it's well-acted and effective at what it sets out to do, and the chemistry between the leads sizzles. This is based on the same manga the horrifying jdrama Jotei was based on, but unlike Jotei, this is far from an utter wreck - this is delicious, angsty, sexy slice of heaven pie. (Did that sentence even make sense?) If sex gods in wet, see-through white shirts rescuing beautiful women from drowning themselves and telling said women to hit them as they both collapse sobbing in the sand are your thing (and how could it not be?) then check this baby out!
(14) Spy Myung Wol (Korea)
A North Korean spy (Han Ye Seul) is sent to infiltrate South Korea and marry its top star, Kang Woo (Eric Mun) so he'd defect.
"Spy Myung Wol!?" I see my flisties cry in shock. Has Mousie finally gone insane? Nope, I haven't. SMW had abysmal ratings and probably ten fans (of which I could possibly be the most devout) and even I won't argue it was a miracle of our times, but it entertained me as few things did this year. Starting out as a somewhat off-beat comedy, SMW ended up as an utter angsty spy melodrama, which may have thrown fans of romcom genre off, but since this is what I secretly yearn to happen with every romcom, I had no complaints. Yes, the plot made no sense half (or more) of the time, but it wasn't about plot for me - the drama was not driven by plot but by the OTP. It was all about Eric and Han Ye Seul and their ridiculous, off-the-wall chemistry which made me want to write x-rated fanfics in my head. Their relationship was sometimes funny, often dysfunctional, and always always one which kept me glued to the screen. Perhaps the best analogy for SMW would be a romance novel - that is really what SMW was - the one time I've seen a kdrama put a romance novel on-screen. And if you've read and loved and cooed over as many romance paperbacks as I have, you will understand my deep and undying love.
(13) Ikemen Desu Ne (Japan)
A trainee nun cross-dresses as a boy to join an idol boyband, in order to fulfill her twin brother's hopes. A remake of a kdrama 'You're Beautiful.'
Yes, the plot sounds insane but, once on screen, it makes perfect manga logic in that you like these characters so much, you don't care. I was lukewarm about the Korean original (though I did like the leads) but the remake fixed everything that bothered me and kept all the effective parts. In addition, due to its much shorter running time, it cut out all the filler, keeping the focus solidly on Mio's (that's the trainee nun) relationship with Ren, the sulky, darling leader and muse of the band. They are by turns hilarious, tender, and sexy, but always achingly young. This drama made me want to take them and put them in my pocket to preserve them forever. In the original, the imbalance of maturity/power in the relationship bugged me because the heroine was just so helpless, but in Ikemen she is made to be more mature and assertive, even if still unworldly, and the whole thing just somehow perfectly works. The cast is pretty much all pop idols taking time off between recordings, but don't let it scare you - they all do deliciously competent jobs.
(12) Heartstrings (Korea)
A story about a bunch of music students in a Korean university, focusing on the relationship between Shin, a guitarist in a rock band, and Gyu Won, a classical Korean music performer.
Pretty much nothing happens in this drama. There are no evil secondaries, taboo birth secrets, or chases across night roofs. But what this is, is a story of coming of age, of finding what you like and who you like and how you fit into this world. Park Shin Hye's Gyu Won is an instantly-relatable young woman - no weakling but no superheroine, she has a temper, jumps to conclusions, is loyal to those she cares for, is finding her path in the world. Jung Yong Hwa's Shin is, perhaps, not instantly loveable (though instantly lustable, definitely), but as the drama progresses, you get behind his stand-offish facade to see a remarkably steady, caring, sensitive young man. Gyu Won's and Shin's love story is, once again, not spectacularly dramatic, but it rings true - it captures the feel of being young and in love so perfectly. Shin Hye and Yong Hwa have gorgeous, lovely chemistry and the drama shines when they are together. I like all the secondary characters, adults and grown-ups, and the music - oh, the music in this drama (Yong Hwa is a musician and Shin Hye is very talented for an amateur) is, hands down, my favorite soundtrack this year. It starts a little slow, but overall, this is an underrated, fresh-feeling gem.
(11) Me Too Flower
A young man (Yoon Si Yoon), leads a double life of sorts. He's a reclusive and wealthy designer who likes to observe and live his life as an unknown working person. His paths cross with a prickly, depressed policewoman played by Lee Ji Ah.
Yet another drama whose description is misleading, mainly because it's so hard to describe what it's about. It's off-beat and quiet and achingly lovely in its portrayal of two damaged people finding hope and happiness with each other. Lee Ji Ah has always been a favorite but she has a fairly specific range - this drama uses her ability to be both vulnerable and tough at the same time. And I always thought YSY is pretty (you'd have to be blind to disagree) but he blew me away with his acting here as a complicated, damaged, deeply good man. The leads have plenty of chemistry and the quiet moments between them blow me away. This drama marches to the beat of its own drummer, but what a wonderful drummer it is.
(10) Ouran High School Host Club (Japan)
A young girl joins a host club in a ritzy school to pay off her debt, and nobody but the hosts know her gender. Wacky hijinks ensue.
I am a big fan of the manga this is based on and somehow the drama managed to capture the source's material combination of wackiness and heart perfectly. The casting is also spot on - I cannot imagine anyone else as Haruhi, Tamaki, Kyoya, the twins etc. It's just a lovely story about friendships and being a good person and falling in love, wrapped in a sparkly, silly, but utterly sweet package.
(9) New Tales of the Gisaeng (Korea)
A young woman who was abandoned as a baby, grows up to be a classical dancer and meets the only son of a rich family. A love affair ensues, but eventually, after rich boy breaks up with her and she finds out the truth of her parentage, our heroine decides she has no choice left but to join the gisaeng house and become a gisaeng. To her shock, her erstwhile lover follows, determined to win her back. And the story goes from there.
Saran and Damo. Oh my God. Sure, I enjoyed the family interactions and the secondary OTPs (it is a 50+ ep drama, a lot of room to fill), but the reason this drama is on this list, the reason I used to get up at 6am to devour new episodes, the reason I would watch raws and gorge on spoilers and post long screeds are Saran and Damo, our star-crossed lovers. First, let's get this out of the way - the chemistry was INSANE and the two leads were gorgeous. But what really made this so wonderful was the way the writer portrayed their interactions - they were so thoroughly real and modern - cagey, proud, pragmatic, fatalistic, happy, wounded, seeking happiness, ambitious - whatever the mood was depended on the scene - but they were always real. I could imagine them passing me by on the street. I think I was a goner from a very early scene where he takes her to the hotel for a one-night stand, assuming she'd be fine, and she walks off, offended, and refuses to get into his car, saying she will only do so if he kneels in apology. And when he defends himself, getting angry at her overreaction, she finally explains that he made her feel like a whore. And he gets down to kneel. Yeah. She may give him happiness and stability and care, but I have rarely seen a drama hero as obsessed, determined and in love with the heroine as Damo.
(Sorry, it's a little pixilated, but it's an awesome MV anyway).
(8) Royal Family (Korea)
A widowed daughter-in-law of a rich family and a rising young prosecutor with a long-time connection both find out the true dark side of wealth and power when they cross the family she married into.
The most underrated drama on this list is this little noir gem, starring Ji Sung and Yum Jung Ah. There are too many wonderful, taut plot twists and wonderful character sketches to mention, an unconventional love story (you like older woman/younger man? Come right in!) but above all, its look at a corrupt, decaying, poisonous family is what drew me in. JS and YJA are beacons of hope in the story (though neither is without their demons) and you keep hoping for them to escape and win.
(7) Can You Hear My Heart (Korea)
A young woman who's been adopted by a mentally-challenged but warm-hearted man, a young man who's lost his hearing due to his stepfather's evil but hides his disability from the world, another young man who gave up his poor family to try to rise in the world and in the process became the deaf rich kid's big brother. Families, revenge, love and, ultimately, redemption. Welcome to the drama with the biggest heart in all of 2011.
I love these characters. I love them, I care for them, they make me happy. Even the characters I don't love as people serve their purpose in the narrative. There are some pretty grim issues buried right under the surface but the overall mood is full of hope. And then there are the leads - Young Gyu, the mentally-handicapped man with the kindest heart in the Universe. Woo Ri, the funniest, sweetest, quietly smartest girl. Dong Joo, who retained his warmth and heart despite his disability and his family dysfunction and his mother's call for revenge. I love them. (I don't love Ma Ru, but we can't love them all). And the OTP in this one is so sweet, supportive, functional and necessary to each other, and fit so well, I cannot imagine not rooting for them.
(6) Jade Palace Lock Heart (China)
A young woman (Yang Mi) travels through time to land in Qing China during the reign of Kang Xi and gets the attention of both the Eighth Prince (Feng Shao Feng) and Fourth Prince (Mikey He). Adventures, battles, true love, and a sort-of take on period Boys Over Flowers ensue.
This was fun. Such fun. Yang Mi and FSF have such chemistry as strong-willed Qing Chuan and hot-tempered yet madly devoted Eighth Prince, that I thought my laptop would have melted (they became a hugely popular pairing after this drama). There are crazy adventures, and evil villains, and palace intrigue and doooooom and joy and just - I don't remember the last time I had such fun watching a drama. The heroine is one of the toughest, strongest, cheerful-est, clever drama heroines I've seen in a while. The hero is so amazing he made me forget the horrid Qing hairstyle (and the way he loves her makes me melt) and Mikey He is having a blast playing a charismatic, complicated villain. Go watch! Now!
(5) Tree with Deep Roots (Korea)
There is a conspiracy to prevent King Sejong from propagating the alphabet, and two average people - Chae Yoon, a palace guard with a past and a grudge, and So Yi, a court lady mute from trauma - get drawn into the events.
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE! This sageuk is so smart, with some incredible performances (any time Han Suk Kyu squares off with Jang Hyuk, or when Song Joong Ki is on screen, it's incredible), fights, dialogues, a love story that makes me weep, a beautiful cinematography, and and interesting message. It's a rare combination of brainy - it really is full of interesting ideas on notions of powerlessness and education and even the novelty of an alphabet in a pictographic society; and heart-wrenching - the emotion between Chae Yoon and So Yi, even before they know who the other is, blows me away, but once they finally realize the truth, I wept and wept. I cared so desperately for these people.
(4) Vigilantes in Masks/Strange Hero Yi Zi Mei (China)
China does Robin Hood. A drunken, washed up former police officer, played by Wallace Huo at his scruffiest, best and hottest, finally wakes up out of his stupor to the world of injustice and decides to fight it with the help of his three-person team, one of which includes the best thief in the world, played by Liu Shi Shi.
Sometimes it's the simple things done well that really get you. ViM is not a deep philosophical treatise on the meaning of life. What it is, is a well-written, well-acted, action-driven story about noble thieves fighting the world, righting the wrongs, and healing themselves from the trauma of their pasts. This is fun, cheeky, angsty, sometimes romantic yarn with awesome fights and clever plots and heroic rescues that you can imagine in the best shounen manga (Mr. Mousie loved this drama, which is saying a lot, seeing that he never watches them). Li Gexiao is pretty much my dream hero, with his suicidal (and I do mean that word), weary nobility. And Sannyang is tough and damaged and can heal him and be healed by him, so it's all perfect. The OTP hits every shippy kink I have, with more hurt/comfort than one can ever wish for.
(3) Bu Bu Jing Xin (China)
After an accident, a modern woman wakes up as a Manchu noblewoman in Qing dynasty China and unwittingly gets involved in the Emperor's sons' succession fight.
If I were capable of being objective, this drama would be much higher-rated on the list, possibly even number 1 - it is certainly the most gorgeously-filmed this year (or possibly ever - it is incredibly how well-thought the cinematography, the costumes and the landscapes are), with an intelligent, uncompromising script and wonderful performances - I have always liked Liu Shi Shi (there is a reason two of the dramas on this list star her) but after this drama I was blown away by her as an actress. And after seeing promos, I was appalled that Nicky Wu was cast as her love interest - he looked like a gargoyle in Qing get up, I thought. But after watching this drama, I fell irrevocably in love with his ruthless, intellectual, besotted-with-heroine character and shipped them so hard I bawled like a maniac during some scenes. Kevin Cheng was gorgeous and doomed and a noble to his fingertips as the Eighth Prince and I loved Yuan Hong as the Thirteenth Prince. So why is this drama not higher-rated? Because I am a petty, spiteful bitch, and I cannot forgive it for ripping my heart out in 12 different ways.
(2) Padam Padam (Korea)
A man (Jung Woo Sung), who's been imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit, finally gets out of jail after 16 years. With him is a young man (Kim Bum) who may or may not be his guardian angel. Their paths cross with a closed-off veterinarian (Han Ji Min).
I am only four episodes in, and I bet if I had more episodes under my belt, I'd feel comfortable putting it in the number 1 spot. This story moves at its own pace, with so many moments of beauty and hurt and hope, all feeling so real that I feel like I am intruding. Jung Woo Sung is my pick for performance of the year for his portrayal of Kang Chil - someone who never fully grew up due to being put in jail while so young, who somehow maintains both an optimistic soul and a very damaged one. You get the sense he's utterly un-self-reflective because if he let himself think about his life, he'd start screaming and never stop. Han Ji Min's character is also damaged, by her family tragedies and dysfunction, even if in more contained, less visible ways. When those two hurt souls cross paths, you can feel the chemistry, and I cannot wait to see more of their relationship develop - I want them to be made happy, to be loved at last. Kim Bum is holding his own as a young man who claims he's an angel. Is he? Or is he just a damaged, hurt young man who's been so distraught he's become unstable? I do not know.
This is the one airing drama you should not miss.
(1 tie) City Hunter (Korea)
A young man (Lee Min Ho) brought up by a former commando to wreak revenge on those high in power who betrayed and destroyed that commando's unit, goes rather off-plan once he gets to Korea.
You see. You see how ridiculously inadequate that description is? There is simply no good way to describe the improbable but wonderful mix of genres and stories that comprises City Hunter - it's an action drama that contains my favorite love story of the year. It's a revenge thriller that is all about family. I honestly do not know how to describe it. Perhaps the best way is, as one of my flisties put it, to call it 'if Batman decided to do a Smallville - type story of its own.'
I had no expectations of this drama. I adore Lee Min Ho but his project-picking skills have been dubious at best in the past. I liked Park Min Young in Sungkyunkwan Scandal, but that was the only drama I was familiar with of hers. And the trailers made no sense - is this an office romcom? a supernatural thriller, what? But once the drama started, I was drawn in from the first scene and didn't stop until the closing seconds of the last episode. Yoon Sung, trained to be a killer, kidnapped as a baby and denied love from that moment, brutalized to make him efficient and soulless, and yet who still maintained such capacity for love and such instinctive desire for justice. And Nana, orphaned at a young age, left to struggle on her own in what was efficiently demonstrated to her was a corrupt, cruel world, and yet who still kept all her warmth, hope, and humanity. I shipped them so ridiculously much. Yoon Sung and Nana Bear became my OTP of the year - with their interactions hitting every shippy kink I had - from her showing him the possibility of normalcy, to the fact that they ended up in opposite sides and were supposed to hunt each other down, to them rescuing each other, to the utter adoration in Yoon Sung's eyes and utter trust in Nana's. If I will start talking about them, I will ever stop. But in addition to them, the drama also had a fast, complicated, yet untangled plot - who are the people Yoon Sung has been trained to bring down and why him. It also had a slew of great secondary characters, from Yoon Sung's horrifying, damaged father figure (die, die, pig!) to comic relief "uncle," unusually connected to Nana, to Blue House employees, to a righteous Prosecutor determined to bring City Hunter down, to a smart contained veterinarian who was miles from the usual secondary girl in every respect. Was this a perfect drama? No, but it got as close as made no difference.
Also, pssst, Lee Min Ho and Park Min Young are now dating in RL. Good-luck! :)
(1 tie) The Princess' Man (Korea)
Prince Sooyang will stop at nothing to wrest the throne from his weak, underage nephew. Only the new King's chief minister stands in his way, so Sooyang decides to eliminate that threat. Unfortunately, Sooyang's favorite daughter and the minister's son have fallen in love.
Now, this drama I had high expectations for. Billed as "kdrama goes Romeo and Juliet," this really isn't a drama that reflects that tagline. Sure, its lovers are star-crossed and it's a romance-centric drama, but its protagonists, Se Ryung and Seung Yu, are no passive victims of fate who are prone to suicide. What makes this drama so brilliant (in addition to camerawork, the acting of the entire cast, and a smart script) is that both SR and SY go through so much together and apart that by the end they are almost different entirely from who they started as, but that inner core that makes them who they are irrevocably remains. They are both strong and forward-thinking in period-appropriate ways. Seung Yoo is the one who goes through the most - the things that happen to him almost succeed in destroying him, and one of the pleasures of the second half is watching him slowly come back from the abyss with the help of SR. But Se Ryung is the focal point of the drama, the heart of the narrative - a rebellious princess who wants more freedom than the world allows her but who still leads a carefree life idolizing her father, until her eyes are slowly open to what a monster he is. No matter what happens to her or her loved ones, she never loses an iota of her moral compass, of her inner certainty of right and wrong. My favorite secondary OTP also hails from this drama - if Kyong Hye and Jeong Jung don't make you weep, I worry for you.
I use the word 'favorite' advisedly - some of these dramas aren't ones I can claim are objectively good, But all of them worked for me, made me emotionally involved, made me laugh and cry and care. And yeah, some of them ARE freaking masterpieces.
Two notes before we get into it - while all the dramas on this list are dramas which aired at least a part of its episodes in 2011, I have excluded both Gloria and Secret Garden, as they were all over my award list for last year and to include them again seems like double-dipping. Oh, and I did not include any drama where I saw less than 4 eps - that is why What's Up, Love Keeps Going and A Thousand Days' Promise are not on the list.
In any event, without much further ado, here is my list.
(15) The Empress (Korea)
A woman who had the world take everything from her, decides to get revenge on said world by becoming the most powerful courtesan in the country and destroying her targets through getting he hands on their secrets. A ridiculously hunky thug helps her, driven by hopeless love for her, which turns out not to be so hopeless after all.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is my perfect melodrama. There are awfully bad people who need to be punished, a beautiful tragic heroine, a gorgeous man willing to do anything for her (Kang Ji Sub has the most soulful eyes in the Universe, is my bet), the whole 'fighting a gang to save her' trope, the 'courtesan/thug' trope, awful secondaries trope etc. This is not high art but it's well-acted and effective at what it sets out to do, and the chemistry between the leads sizzles. This is based on the same manga the horrifying jdrama Jotei was based on, but unlike Jotei, this is far from an utter wreck - this is delicious, angsty, sexy slice of heaven pie. (Did that sentence even make sense?) If sex gods in wet, see-through white shirts rescuing beautiful women from drowning themselves and telling said women to hit them as they both collapse sobbing in the sand are your thing (and how could it not be?) then check this baby out!
(14) Spy Myung Wol (Korea)
A North Korean spy (Han Ye Seul) is sent to infiltrate South Korea and marry its top star, Kang Woo (Eric Mun) so he'd defect.
"Spy Myung Wol!?" I see my flisties cry in shock. Has Mousie finally gone insane? Nope, I haven't. SMW had abysmal ratings and probably ten fans (of which I could possibly be the most devout) and even I won't argue it was a miracle of our times, but it entertained me as few things did this year. Starting out as a somewhat off-beat comedy, SMW ended up as an utter angsty spy melodrama, which may have thrown fans of romcom genre off, but since this is what I secretly yearn to happen with every romcom, I had no complaints. Yes, the plot made no sense half (or more) of the time, but it wasn't about plot for me - the drama was not driven by plot but by the OTP. It was all about Eric and Han Ye Seul and their ridiculous, off-the-wall chemistry which made me want to write x-rated fanfics in my head. Their relationship was sometimes funny, often dysfunctional, and always always one which kept me glued to the screen. Perhaps the best analogy for SMW would be a romance novel - that is really what SMW was - the one time I've seen a kdrama put a romance novel on-screen. And if you've read and loved and cooed over as many romance paperbacks as I have, you will understand my deep and undying love.
(13) Ikemen Desu Ne (Japan)
A trainee nun cross-dresses as a boy to join an idol boyband, in order to fulfill her twin brother's hopes. A remake of a kdrama 'You're Beautiful.'
Yes, the plot sounds insane but, once on screen, it makes perfect manga logic in that you like these characters so much, you don't care. I was lukewarm about the Korean original (though I did like the leads) but the remake fixed everything that bothered me and kept all the effective parts. In addition, due to its much shorter running time, it cut out all the filler, keeping the focus solidly on Mio's (that's the trainee nun) relationship with Ren, the sulky, darling leader and muse of the band. They are by turns hilarious, tender, and sexy, but always achingly young. This drama made me want to take them and put them in my pocket to preserve them forever. In the original, the imbalance of maturity/power in the relationship bugged me because the heroine was just so helpless, but in Ikemen she is made to be more mature and assertive, even if still unworldly, and the whole thing just somehow perfectly works. The cast is pretty much all pop idols taking time off between recordings, but don't let it scare you - they all do deliciously competent jobs.
(12) Heartstrings (Korea)
A story about a bunch of music students in a Korean university, focusing on the relationship between Shin, a guitarist in a rock band, and Gyu Won, a classical Korean music performer.
Pretty much nothing happens in this drama. There are no evil secondaries, taboo birth secrets, or chases across night roofs. But what this is, is a story of coming of age, of finding what you like and who you like and how you fit into this world. Park Shin Hye's Gyu Won is an instantly-relatable young woman - no weakling but no superheroine, she has a temper, jumps to conclusions, is loyal to those she cares for, is finding her path in the world. Jung Yong Hwa's Shin is, perhaps, not instantly loveable (though instantly lustable, definitely), but as the drama progresses, you get behind his stand-offish facade to see a remarkably steady, caring, sensitive young man. Gyu Won's and Shin's love story is, once again, not spectacularly dramatic, but it rings true - it captures the feel of being young and in love so perfectly. Shin Hye and Yong Hwa have gorgeous, lovely chemistry and the drama shines when they are together. I like all the secondary characters, adults and grown-ups, and the music - oh, the music in this drama (Yong Hwa is a musician and Shin Hye is very talented for an amateur) is, hands down, my favorite soundtrack this year. It starts a little slow, but overall, this is an underrated, fresh-feeling gem.
(11) Me Too Flower
A young man (Yoon Si Yoon), leads a double life of sorts. He's a reclusive and wealthy designer who likes to observe and live his life as an unknown working person. His paths cross with a prickly, depressed policewoman played by Lee Ji Ah.
Yet another drama whose description is misleading, mainly because it's so hard to describe what it's about. It's off-beat and quiet and achingly lovely in its portrayal of two damaged people finding hope and happiness with each other. Lee Ji Ah has always been a favorite but she has a fairly specific range - this drama uses her ability to be both vulnerable and tough at the same time. And I always thought YSY is pretty (you'd have to be blind to disagree) but he blew me away with his acting here as a complicated, damaged, deeply good man. The leads have plenty of chemistry and the quiet moments between them blow me away. This drama marches to the beat of its own drummer, but what a wonderful drummer it is.
(10) Ouran High School Host Club (Japan)
A young girl joins a host club in a ritzy school to pay off her debt, and nobody but the hosts know her gender. Wacky hijinks ensue.
I am a big fan of the manga this is based on and somehow the drama managed to capture the source's material combination of wackiness and heart perfectly. The casting is also spot on - I cannot imagine anyone else as Haruhi, Tamaki, Kyoya, the twins etc. It's just a lovely story about friendships and being a good person and falling in love, wrapped in a sparkly, silly, but utterly sweet package.
(9) New Tales of the Gisaeng (Korea)
A young woman who was abandoned as a baby, grows up to be a classical dancer and meets the only son of a rich family. A love affair ensues, but eventually, after rich boy breaks up with her and she finds out the truth of her parentage, our heroine decides she has no choice left but to join the gisaeng house and become a gisaeng. To her shock, her erstwhile lover follows, determined to win her back. And the story goes from there.
Saran and Damo. Oh my God. Sure, I enjoyed the family interactions and the secondary OTPs (it is a 50+ ep drama, a lot of room to fill), but the reason this drama is on this list, the reason I used to get up at 6am to devour new episodes, the reason I would watch raws and gorge on spoilers and post long screeds are Saran and Damo, our star-crossed lovers. First, let's get this out of the way - the chemistry was INSANE and the two leads were gorgeous. But what really made this so wonderful was the way the writer portrayed their interactions - they were so thoroughly real and modern - cagey, proud, pragmatic, fatalistic, happy, wounded, seeking happiness, ambitious - whatever the mood was depended on the scene - but they were always real. I could imagine them passing me by on the street. I think I was a goner from a very early scene where he takes her to the hotel for a one-night stand, assuming she'd be fine, and she walks off, offended, and refuses to get into his car, saying she will only do so if he kneels in apology. And when he defends himself, getting angry at her overreaction, she finally explains that he made her feel like a whore. And he gets down to kneel. Yeah. She may give him happiness and stability and care, but I have rarely seen a drama hero as obsessed, determined and in love with the heroine as Damo.
(Sorry, it's a little pixilated, but it's an awesome MV anyway).
(8) Royal Family (Korea)
A widowed daughter-in-law of a rich family and a rising young prosecutor with a long-time connection both find out the true dark side of wealth and power when they cross the family she married into.
The most underrated drama on this list is this little noir gem, starring Ji Sung and Yum Jung Ah. There are too many wonderful, taut plot twists and wonderful character sketches to mention, an unconventional love story (you like older woman/younger man? Come right in!) but above all, its look at a corrupt, decaying, poisonous family is what drew me in. JS and YJA are beacons of hope in the story (though neither is without their demons) and you keep hoping for them to escape and win.
(7) Can You Hear My Heart (Korea)
A young woman who's been adopted by a mentally-challenged but warm-hearted man, a young man who's lost his hearing due to his stepfather's evil but hides his disability from the world, another young man who gave up his poor family to try to rise in the world and in the process became the deaf rich kid's big brother. Families, revenge, love and, ultimately, redemption. Welcome to the drama with the biggest heart in all of 2011.
I love these characters. I love them, I care for them, they make me happy. Even the characters I don't love as people serve their purpose in the narrative. There are some pretty grim issues buried right under the surface but the overall mood is full of hope. And then there are the leads - Young Gyu, the mentally-handicapped man with the kindest heart in the Universe. Woo Ri, the funniest, sweetest, quietly smartest girl. Dong Joo, who retained his warmth and heart despite his disability and his family dysfunction and his mother's call for revenge. I love them. (I don't love Ma Ru, but we can't love them all). And the OTP in this one is so sweet, supportive, functional and necessary to each other, and fit so well, I cannot imagine not rooting for them.
(6) Jade Palace Lock Heart (China)
A young woman (Yang Mi) travels through time to land in Qing China during the reign of Kang Xi and gets the attention of both the Eighth Prince (Feng Shao Feng) and Fourth Prince (Mikey He). Adventures, battles, true love, and a sort-of take on period Boys Over Flowers ensue.
This was fun. Such fun. Yang Mi and FSF have such chemistry as strong-willed Qing Chuan and hot-tempered yet madly devoted Eighth Prince, that I thought my laptop would have melted (they became a hugely popular pairing after this drama). There are crazy adventures, and evil villains, and palace intrigue and doooooom and joy and just - I don't remember the last time I had such fun watching a drama. The heroine is one of the toughest, strongest, cheerful-est, clever drama heroines I've seen in a while. The hero is so amazing he made me forget the horrid Qing hairstyle (and the way he loves her makes me melt) and Mikey He is having a blast playing a charismatic, complicated villain. Go watch! Now!
(5) Tree with Deep Roots (Korea)
There is a conspiracy to prevent King Sejong from propagating the alphabet, and two average people - Chae Yoon, a palace guard with a past and a grudge, and So Yi, a court lady mute from trauma - get drawn into the events.
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE! This sageuk is so smart, with some incredible performances (any time Han Suk Kyu squares off with Jang Hyuk, or when Song Joong Ki is on screen, it's incredible), fights, dialogues, a love story that makes me weep, a beautiful cinematography, and and interesting message. It's a rare combination of brainy - it really is full of interesting ideas on notions of powerlessness and education and even the novelty of an alphabet in a pictographic society; and heart-wrenching - the emotion between Chae Yoon and So Yi, even before they know who the other is, blows me away, but once they finally realize the truth, I wept and wept. I cared so desperately for these people.
(4) Vigilantes in Masks/Strange Hero Yi Zi Mei (China)
China does Robin Hood. A drunken, washed up former police officer, played by Wallace Huo at his scruffiest, best and hottest, finally wakes up out of his stupor to the world of injustice and decides to fight it with the help of his three-person team, one of which includes the best thief in the world, played by Liu Shi Shi.
Sometimes it's the simple things done well that really get you. ViM is not a deep philosophical treatise on the meaning of life. What it is, is a well-written, well-acted, action-driven story about noble thieves fighting the world, righting the wrongs, and healing themselves from the trauma of their pasts. This is fun, cheeky, angsty, sometimes romantic yarn with awesome fights and clever plots and heroic rescues that you can imagine in the best shounen manga (Mr. Mousie loved this drama, which is saying a lot, seeing that he never watches them). Li Gexiao is pretty much my dream hero, with his suicidal (and I do mean that word), weary nobility. And Sannyang is tough and damaged and can heal him and be healed by him, so it's all perfect. The OTP hits every shippy kink I have, with more hurt/comfort than one can ever wish for.
(3) Bu Bu Jing Xin (China)
After an accident, a modern woman wakes up as a Manchu noblewoman in Qing dynasty China and unwittingly gets involved in the Emperor's sons' succession fight.
If I were capable of being objective, this drama would be much higher-rated on the list, possibly even number 1 - it is certainly the most gorgeously-filmed this year (or possibly ever - it is incredibly how well-thought the cinematography, the costumes and the landscapes are), with an intelligent, uncompromising script and wonderful performances - I have always liked Liu Shi Shi (there is a reason two of the dramas on this list star her) but after this drama I was blown away by her as an actress. And after seeing promos, I was appalled that Nicky Wu was cast as her love interest - he looked like a gargoyle in Qing get up, I thought. But after watching this drama, I fell irrevocably in love with his ruthless, intellectual, besotted-with-heroine character and shipped them so hard I bawled like a maniac during some scenes. Kevin Cheng was gorgeous and doomed and a noble to his fingertips as the Eighth Prince and I loved Yuan Hong as the Thirteenth Prince. So why is this drama not higher-rated? Because I am a petty, spiteful bitch, and I cannot forgive it for ripping my heart out in 12 different ways.
(2) Padam Padam (Korea)
A man (Jung Woo Sung), who's been imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit, finally gets out of jail after 16 years. With him is a young man (Kim Bum) who may or may not be his guardian angel. Their paths cross with a closed-off veterinarian (Han Ji Min).
I am only four episodes in, and I bet if I had more episodes under my belt, I'd feel comfortable putting it in the number 1 spot. This story moves at its own pace, with so many moments of beauty and hurt and hope, all feeling so real that I feel like I am intruding. Jung Woo Sung is my pick for performance of the year for his portrayal of Kang Chil - someone who never fully grew up due to being put in jail while so young, who somehow maintains both an optimistic soul and a very damaged one. You get the sense he's utterly un-self-reflective because if he let himself think about his life, he'd start screaming and never stop. Han Ji Min's character is also damaged, by her family tragedies and dysfunction, even if in more contained, less visible ways. When those two hurt souls cross paths, you can feel the chemistry, and I cannot wait to see more of their relationship develop - I want them to be made happy, to be loved at last. Kim Bum is holding his own as a young man who claims he's an angel. Is he? Or is he just a damaged, hurt young man who's been so distraught he's become unstable? I do not know.
This is the one airing drama you should not miss.
(1 tie) City Hunter (Korea)
A young man (Lee Min Ho) brought up by a former commando to wreak revenge on those high in power who betrayed and destroyed that commando's unit, goes rather off-plan once he gets to Korea.
You see. You see how ridiculously inadequate that description is? There is simply no good way to describe the improbable but wonderful mix of genres and stories that comprises City Hunter - it's an action drama that contains my favorite love story of the year. It's a revenge thriller that is all about family. I honestly do not know how to describe it. Perhaps the best way is, as one of my flisties put it, to call it 'if Batman decided to do a Smallville - type story of its own.'
I had no expectations of this drama. I adore Lee Min Ho but his project-picking skills have been dubious at best in the past. I liked Park Min Young in Sungkyunkwan Scandal, but that was the only drama I was familiar with of hers. And the trailers made no sense - is this an office romcom? a supernatural thriller, what? But once the drama started, I was drawn in from the first scene and didn't stop until the closing seconds of the last episode. Yoon Sung, trained to be a killer, kidnapped as a baby and denied love from that moment, brutalized to make him efficient and soulless, and yet who still maintained such capacity for love and such instinctive desire for justice. And Nana, orphaned at a young age, left to struggle on her own in what was efficiently demonstrated to her was a corrupt, cruel world, and yet who still kept all her warmth, hope, and humanity. I shipped them so ridiculously much. Yoon Sung and Nana Bear became my OTP of the year - with their interactions hitting every shippy kink I had - from her showing him the possibility of normalcy, to the fact that they ended up in opposite sides and were supposed to hunt each other down, to them rescuing each other, to the utter adoration in Yoon Sung's eyes and utter trust in Nana's. If I will start talking about them, I will ever stop. But in addition to them, the drama also had a fast, complicated, yet untangled plot - who are the people Yoon Sung has been trained to bring down and why him. It also had a slew of great secondary characters, from Yoon Sung's horrifying, damaged father figure (die, die, pig!) to comic relief "uncle," unusually connected to Nana, to Blue House employees, to a righteous Prosecutor determined to bring City Hunter down, to a smart contained veterinarian who was miles from the usual secondary girl in every respect. Was this a perfect drama? No, but it got as close as made no difference.
Also, pssst, Lee Min Ho and Park Min Young are now dating in RL. Good-luck! :)
(1 tie) The Princess' Man (Korea)
Prince Sooyang will stop at nothing to wrest the throne from his weak, underage nephew. Only the new King's chief minister stands in his way, so Sooyang decides to eliminate that threat. Unfortunately, Sooyang's favorite daughter and the minister's son have fallen in love.
Now, this drama I had high expectations for. Billed as "kdrama goes Romeo and Juliet," this really isn't a drama that reflects that tagline. Sure, its lovers are star-crossed and it's a romance-centric drama, but its protagonists, Se Ryung and Seung Yu, are no passive victims of fate who are prone to suicide. What makes this drama so brilliant (in addition to camerawork, the acting of the entire cast, and a smart script) is that both SR and SY go through so much together and apart that by the end they are almost different entirely from who they started as, but that inner core that makes them who they are irrevocably remains. They are both strong and forward-thinking in period-appropriate ways. Seung Yoo is the one who goes through the most - the things that happen to him almost succeed in destroying him, and one of the pleasures of the second half is watching him slowly come back from the abyss with the help of SR. But Se Ryung is the focal point of the drama, the heart of the narrative - a rebellious princess who wants more freedom than the world allows her but who still leads a carefree life idolizing her father, until her eyes are slowly open to what a monster he is. No matter what happens to her or her loved ones, she never loses an iota of her moral compass, of her inner certainty of right and wrong. My favorite secondary OTP also hails from this drama - if Kyong Hye and Jeong Jung don't make you weep, I worry for you.
