breyzyyin

I watched a lot of smaller dramas this year (not more than 20 episodes). While some were cute, some nice but forgettable, some others were ones I liked so much that given the chance (and TIME! Lots of time) I’ll happily rewatch them. To narrow it down to 5 dramas, here we go from 5th to 1st place:
 

5. Old fashion Cupcake

Japanese dramas have a vibe of their own, I'm almost always ready to watch them and usually end up like I watched something worthwhile no matter the no of episodes or run time (with a few exceptions). This drama though!Oh my gosh! It's just 5 episodes but the older characters just do it for me. Office romance? YESSS! Men in suits? Uhh, yes,please! The scenes with desserts are just so mouth-watering. The intensity of Togawa's love for Nozue and their relationship that goes from cordial to friendly to lovers was so satisfying to watch.
I have a soft spot for this kind of theme in BLs where the younger character is in love with the older one and there's a lot of self-doubt, insecurity or fear which the character confronts and overcomes because... LOVE!! I'm sorry, I just watching love on screen so much! *cries in single*

4. Vincenzo

Here we go with a...not-BL! I'm not always here for Mafia themed stories but Vincenzo uses the idea mixed with so many others.The main characters, the dialogue, the action and twists in the drama had me wanting to watch more at the end of each episode. I would not recommend this for romance lovers(though there's plenty of shippy material I suppose), because it's very big on the main story which seem to be separate story lines but actually connect later on. It's also a memorable show because I really like how there's a bit of found family-ish touch here and some of the side characters really grow on you.
Vincenzo was the right hand man to a Mafia boss who had adopted him as an orphan but after his death he flees to South Korea to find his secret stash of gold. Apart from him we have this hilarious, but sharp lawyer,Hong Cha Young. Maaaan, she's just so much fun to listen to on screen. Epic woman!

3. Tomorrow

Another K-drama,oh my! I've already talked about this one before,lol. It's about grim reapers and the main story revolves around grim reapers who track suicide cases and try to stop people from committing said action so as to fix the population of Korea that is diminishing.
Brilliant characters-I love the main characters so much!! The episodes center around various cases and each case is truly emotional, some of them make you want to give a hug to the person who felt that there was nothing else to do except turn to suicide as a last resort. For some others I kind of cried. There's a very angst-ridden romance here that simply breaks your heart but later on ends in a hopeful way, though that is just one part of the story for one of the characters. This is a show to try out if you like a mix of supernatural with modern day, like the after world people using computers and technology, stylish grim reapers and so on.

2. Wednesday

This came as a surprise! But I LOVE EVERY BIT OF THIS SHOW! I don't care how overrated it is!
The magical school! Fantasy genres are one of my favourites but I don't watch too many of them nowadays because they often rely on a lot of battles, fighting and long talks that are not for my attention span. Wednesday does something in a way that I actually watched the show without skipping forward (its' rare for me to do so!). Whether it's the dialogue, the emotional moments, the cuts between various scenes, great soundtrack, the lack of unnecessary sexual scenes-gosh, this show is my cup of tea. And for some reason it made me feel young...I don't know how else to describe it. :D

1. The Eclipse

Okay, here it comes: MY ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE THIS YEAR!
I can't believe I picked it up just to see what it's like after checking out this helpful list for BL dramas.
Truly speaking, Thai dramas are probably the best for their stories, depiction of human emotions, run times, number of episodes. But it's not something I always gravitate towards.
Apart from the romance, the students here deal with so much social issues related to school, to their right of free speech and more, that even if it's a high school drama, it never feels like a typical high school drama,
I'll say this, the main pairing hooked me right in with their chemistry( the actors did a phenomenal job of portraying the whole 'suspicious of you but attracted to you' vibe). Cue in some mystery which adds to the story, it's the character development, the healthy relationship that makes this show.
In some ways I think I related so much to Akk who is a prefect and can't stop caring about disappointing his teachers, principal,parents even if it means hurting himself. His fear of not being anything if he's not a prefect and the lengths to which he's ready to go to for preserving his status because he's afraid, my heart! It's so ingrained in Akk and doesn't go away easily and I think I loved the show handled that,they didn't just magically make him stop caring about others' opinions all at once and you can see that he's still got a long way to go.
My absolute favourite scenes are of the way Akk and Ayan simply look at each other. If I don't get an Ayan in my life,I will simply cry!!


Honourable mentions:

Plus and Minus:This Taiwanese BL show centers around two best friends Zheng Ze Shou and Fu Li Gong who are divorce lawyers. Zheng Ze Shou has been in love with Fu Li Gong since a very long time and tries hard to keep it to himself and not ruin their friendship. The pining and longing is my favourite part of this show,lol but again, it is a bit long and repetitive sometimes so I tend to skip forward.
 

Semantic Error: K-drama, yes. Is this one predictable,yes. But that doesn't mean it's not good. It's the kind of drama I enjoyed because it was easy to follow,had the right amount of drama, cuteness, tension, run time. Just what I'd watch again on a cold, wintery day. :D

 

The devil judge: This show is set in a dystopian version of South Korea where trials are held as a live show and the whole population of Korea get to judge whether the accused is guilty or innocent. Kang Yo Han is the chief judge who is heartless and isn't afraid to punish corrupt people no matter who they are. There's a lot of politics, play of power, family mysteries, old cases etc. that all kind of connect together.
What I enjoy the most in this show is Kang Yo Han himself, his character, his sharpness, his relationship with his niece and Kim Ga On(one of the judges) who I'm pretty sure isn't just a colleague but more like 'hey, we're a mess and we are perfect for each other'. XD

The trials, the other characters and Kang Yo Han's thinking skills, the rightful punishment that the criminals are given unlike in real life where they'd go unpunished! YES,PLEASE!