My 10+ list
Every now and again, a Drama works so well for me and makes such an impact on me that scoring it as "only" 10/10 feels like selling it short. So, out of the 440+ Dramas I've finished, here are the best of the best of the best.
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1. Avengers Social Club
Korean Drama - 2017, 12 episodes
My score: 12/10. Lee Yo Won totally OWNS these powerful, female-centric Drama roles, and the camaraderie and growth of the team was beautiful.
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2. Goodbye to Goodbye
Korean Drama - 2018, 40 episodes
My score: 12/10 . The most amazing female OTP of any Drama I've watched, this almost forgotten masterpiece was a triumph, telling a story that was all about the women who drove every key arc.
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3. Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu
Japanese Drama - 2016, 11 episodes
My score 11/10 Only Japan can consistently pull off this sort of unorthodox relationship setup. Contract marriages are a universal trope, but this one made it so fresh. And of course, it gets the extra point for THAT DANCE! :)
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4. Quartet
Japanese Drama - 2017, 10 episodes
My score: 11/10 Another triumph of Japanese unconventionality. These four were so good together, and Hikari is gorgeous! :)
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5. When I Fly Towards You
Chinese Drama - 2023, 24 episodes
My score 11/10. Simple, short, sweet, SUPERB
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6. Yeah, That's How It Is
Korean Drama - 2016, 54 episodes
My score: 10.5/10 VERY few people watched this one, and I feel strongly it was their loss. So many strong, complex performances from the female leads, ESPECIALLY Yoon So Yi, with Seo Ji Hye and Wang Ji Hye proving the "wisdom" of their decisions to accept their roles.
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7. Juhan Shuttai!
Japanese Drama - 2016, 10 episodes
My score 10.5/10: Odagiri Joe is Japan's Chen Bolin for me, and he was the reason I started this sweet little gem. Everything about it was right, and the feel good factor of the ending earned it entry to to the 10+ club
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8. Our Beloved Summer
Korean Drama - 2021, 16 episodes
My score 10.5/10 This Drama scored 10+ for being SMART. The show had laughs and loves aplenty for the first 13 episodes, but far too many Dramas fall apart when they hit the final strait. This one danced nimbly through the trope-laden minefield of the final few, transcending even the one annoyance that had bugged me, and proved that the era of K Dramas written by actual sentient beings is not completely over. That there was a scene near the very end which seemed like a direct homage to a favourite scene from "Miss Korea" didn't hurt, either.
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9. Girls' Generation 1979
Korean Drama - 2017, 8 episodes
My score 10.25/10 THE MUSIC!!! So much love, from the opening scene starting with ABBA's "Dancing Queen" to the amazing feast of the beautiful Carpenters' soundtrack used throughout, this quiet, short Drama was marked in my memory by its music. And by its embrace and celebration of satoori as a perfectly normal, valid language variant.
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10. Soul Mate
Chinese Movie - 2016
My username reflects who and what I am. After seven years of watching East Asian Dramas, and quite a few more years than that being alive, I am seldom moved to tears any more by Dramas or movies. This outstanding gem hit me RIGHT in the feels, Ms Ma and Ms Zhou absolutely on top of their game in delivering a stunning joint performance. I scored this 10.5 on my personal list, for the understated perfection of the performances. Sigh!
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11. The Story of Rose
Chinese Drama - 2024, 38 episodes
Really, really SMART. The emotional intelligence of the main female characters was outstanding, as was the way the Drama focused on THEM. A story of personal growth, with a side order of a truly inspirational romance - NOT one involving the titular character. I gave this 11/10
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12. Fake It Till You Make It
Chinese Drama - 2023, 14 episodes
I scored this 10.25/10 for SMART dialog, sweet, stunning chemistry between 2 skilled leads, the bonus is for the perfectly grounded feelgood realism of the very end
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13. Pu Kou Shan Liang Te Wo Men
Taiwanese Drama - 2024, 8 episodes
My score 11/10
LIN YI CHEN -was outstanding in this role. A billion light years from any of her cute, sweet Candy style FLs of the ISWAK era, she played a terrible person, and did a brilliant job. Building the leads' relationship around analogies and hypotheses from quantum mechanics was an inspired decision. It meant that while neither of the leads was a NICE person, and Lin Yi Chen's character was by her own admission a terrible person, they were still understandable and relatable.
I knew going in to the final episode that it was emotionally impactful. But to be bawling like a baby DESPITE the absence of any twee, maudlin 'quick fix' between the two enemies was a remarkable testimony to the power of the writing and the performances from the actors who delivered it.