u/CranberryOnly6982

"Hometown Romance" (also my first thai drama) and "Friendly Rivalry" are the only ones I have seen till now... I would love to watch more of this genre with actual compelling stories so if you guys could recommend some good ones I would appreciate that (I mainly watch korean but want to explore other cultures as well, thai in particular ig has a lot to offer in this genre as it seems to be more open minded to this.. china I think also has a lot to offer considering my first BL was chinese)

I am currently watching My Demon and Kim Seol Jin shines as the face changing assassin (even though he was killed mid way, he left a lasting impact on the characters as well as me)... He was so damn efficient in his job that only thing saving the main lead was the mighty plot armour... The way he intermingled with his surroundings wearing different faces was creepy and impressive at the same time (if only he hid his rashes as well, then he would've been undetectible lol)... The psychological trauma he gave the FL (kidnapped her, almost choked her to death in the car, almost crashed it on her, threw acid on her, broke into her house, rendered her unconscious, hung her by the railing of her building with a bedsheet then leisurely sliced it while dancing to music while she screamed for her life).. nearly killed the ML too, literally stabbed his heart puncturing his valves... Photos of his victims on the wall, his love for music and his artistic tendencies, all these little idiosyncrasies make such characters all the more compelling..

I love watching killers, in media, who have strange fixations like the one in "silence of the lamb" who liked wearing the skin of his victims or the one in "Strangers from hell" who loved to make bracelets with teeth of his victims or the one in "Se7en" who had cabinets full of journals in which he wrote down every thought in his deranged mind and committed murders mirroring the seven deadly sins.. It makes them so interesting to watch, like how twisted their hobbies or fascinations are and how far they go to enjoy it...

These 3 in specific were a very pleasant surprise... Let's talk about My Demon first as it's the one I'm currently watching. Kim Seol Jin shines as the face changing assassin and even though he was killed mid way, he left a lasting impact on the characters as well as me... He was so damn efficient in his job that only thing saving the main lead was the mighty plot armour... The way he intermingled with his surroundings wearing different faces was creepy and impressive at the same time (if only he hid his rashes as well, then he would've been undetectible lol)... The psychological trauma he gave the FL (kidnapped her, almost choked her to death in the car, almost crashed it on her, threw acid on her, broke into her house, rendered her unconscious, hung her by the railing of her building with a bedsheet then leisurely sliced it while dancing to music while she screamed for her life).. nearly killed the ML too, literally stabbed his heart puncturing his valves... Photos of his victims on the wall, his love for music and his artistic tendencies, all these little idiosyncrasies make such characters all the more compelling..

I love watching killers, in media, who have strange fixations like the one in "silence of the lamb" who liked wearing the skin of his victims or the one in "Strangers from hell" who loved to make bracelets with teeth of his victims or the one in "Se7en" who had cabinets full of journals in which he wrote down every thought in his deranged mind and committed murders mirroring the seven deadly sins.. It makes them so interesting to watch, like how twisted their hobbies or fascinations are and how far they go to enjoy it...

Strong woman Do Bong Soon was another that had a really good serial killer subplot. Jang Mi Kwan gave a stellar performance... That mask he wore gave off uncanny valley vibes and his obsession with that seven brides play and how he wanted to recreate it was interesting to see... The atmosphere in his little dungeon was intimidating and I was genuinely scared for his victims, hearing their cries didn't make it any less easy to watch (it's a good thing it was a rom-com otherwise they could've easily been more brutal with his character)... He was pretty competent too, managed to plant a bug in the police station, monitoring their every move (even kidnapped one of his victims who was under police protection), tho it was the police who were kinda stupid. Took them too long to find his underground jail..

Masks resembling human faces are so eerie, I don't like seeing them much lol.. my fav masks are those plain white ones or the ones shaped like owls, which brings me to...

Mr Queen, this comedy fest delivered one of the most intimidating assassins I have seen till now in kdrama.. the dokkaebi mask killer played by Kim Bang Won was perfection... He gave off major "Court of owls" vibes (my fav batman villains) and I loved every scene he was in.. he was a major physical threat to the king (as opposed to the Left state councilor, the main antagonist, who was all about mind games) and I liked the fact that he was the one to kill the 2nd ML (I found him kinda annoying tbh, even tho his intentions regarding the queen were generally good, the fact that he was her cousin yet harboured romantic feelings for her which she most definitely didn't reciprocate, yeah he had to go 🙂‍↔️)... Him shooting both king and queen at the end was like cherry on top, he was pretty much unbeaten till the end

Are there any other such type of characters in this genre that you guys loved? Do let me know 😁

Had to talk about this scene, its soo freaking good.. when she whistles to get the goons' attention, does all that theatric to distract them, the way he looks at her with awe, holds her hand and asks her if she knows how to tango... Twas such a peak moment..

What are some moments like these that elevated a drama for you?

When it comes to rom-coms, the overall plot is of no concern to me... the things i consider of importance in a rom-com are:

Main couple must look good together

They must have great chemistry

They must have a healthy romance

The comedic tone of the drama should be of my taste

As long as these conditions are met, i happily binge watch the hell outta it...

That being said, i thoroughly enjoyed "My Royal Nemesis" from beginning to end... their constant bickering, his falling head over heels for her, how down bad he got after a certain point, how physically expressive he was regarding his affection, but most importantly, absence of a love triangle... all these things were so refreshing to watch

I can watch a slice of life series based on their daily lives, genuinely the most entertaining couple (second only to min min and bong bong)

Not only were they a power couple, both of them had a commanding presence individually as well... As far as actors go, Heo Nam Joon has become my latest obsession

The josen era timeline was majorly left out, would have loved seeing more of that (tho ig they will deal with that in season 2) however, they both look much better in the modern setting (joseon era get up of cha se gye wasnt doing it for me)

I especially liked how petty he was when it came to her, like getting jealous of his own past self, removing that love making scene from her drama, making her change outfits for the ad, laying on her bed while she was on the floor in her own house, to name the few...

Lim Ji Yeon was phenomenal as shin seo ri as well... that one brain rot edit of her shouting is etched in my memory (i love when they scream in kdramas lol, something about that high pitched korean tone)... "The glory" will be the one I'll watch next after i am done with "Your honor"... would love to see them both as a villainous couple in the future, kinda like joker-harley (but healthier)

Can't even express how much i love this couple (last time i was this obsessed for an on screen couple was back when i saw lee dong wook and yoo in-na in "goblin" and subsequently in "touch your heart").. i have been in a Park Bo Young frenzy lately (having watched "oh my ghostess" and "Doom at your service" before this one) and so far she hasnt disappointed...

Their chemistry in this show is soo damn natural, genuinely had me giggling and shit everytime they act lovey dovey... and the fact that he even had a crush on her during the shooting lol, talk about living your dream.. ugh i wish we get more dramas with them as lead, they make such a perfectly cute on screen couple

Drama name- STRONG WOMAN DO BONG SOON