DRAMA RECS PART SEVEN

Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI

It's been way too long since I've done one of these! I've decided to change up the format a little bit to make it easier on myself.

As I have mentioned in earlier installments of this series (linked above): I highly recommend diving into the world of Asian dramas (with subtitles, if required). To date I've tried Taiwanese, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Pinoy, Malay, Singaporean, Hindi, Indonesian, Vietnamese, and Thai shows. My personal tastes tend to lean towards rom-coms, mystery, or science fiction series, but there are a plethora of options for any and every taste: time travel, historical fiction, horror, courtroom dramas, etc. 

I usually watch dramas through Netflix, Viki, and YouTube, although occasionally you can find them elsewhere. Pinoy dramas are admittedly quite difficult to find if you're based in the U.S, though. 

1. The Full-time Wife Escapist (2016) + the 2020 special

The Full-time Wife Escapist is a Japanese drama with 11 episodes and an approximately 2 hour long follow-up special (both available on Netflix). The plot revolves around 25-year-old Moriyama Mikuri, who has trouble landing long-term employment. By chance, she finds work as a housekeeper for bachelor Tsuzaki Hiramasa, who is too busy with his demanding job to keep up with cleaning or cooking for himself. Mikuri lives with her parents, who surprise her with the news that they are moving away and that she will need to find housing on her on. To help Mikuri out of her predicament and prevent the loss of her superior housekeeping skills, Hiramasa then proposes a contract marriage with a twist: they will approach the marriage as if it is a business contract, aiming for a mutually beneficial and equitable arrangement.

This drama and its special are very understated, but excellently done. Although the inciting incident forcing cohabitation appears unrealistic, the dynamic between the characters is a detailed and inspiring depiction of what marriage should be: two complementary individuals building a life side-by-side. The themes are bolstered by the problems and successes faced by their family members, friends, and co-workers, painting a detailed portrait of adulthood in the current era. While the central themes consist of serious and important topics--gender roles within marriage and parenthood, division of labor, the legal and social consequences/benefits of marriage, age-gap relationships, and how self confidence and communication styles affect partnerships--the show's stylistic elements (music, setting, plot points, character designs) remain rooted in the romantic comedy genre, successfully preventing the messages from coming across as preachy or boring. While the inner conflicts keeping the main couple apart do feel frustrating to watch at times, they are realistic and contribute to the overall themes of the show, making the happy ending feel earned. 

Content warnings: drinking, allusions to sexuality, pregnancy/childbirth (no birth scene onscreen), cancer (without death)

2. Wait My Youth (2019) 

Wait My Youth is a Chinese coming-of-age story with 24 episodes. It follows Su Can Can from her adolescence through her adulthood, during which she is surrounded by her trusty comrades: her lively but impulsive bestie Xu Mei Li; her rough-around-the-edges (but secretly sweet) enemy to friend to closest confidante, Lan Tian Ye; her longtime crush, popular golden boy Lin Jia Ze; and her all-too-perfect cousin, Tao Ya Ting. Together they share secrets, joys, and struggles as they follow their paths to friendship, education, careers, and love.

This drama was so lovely. The nostalgia factor comes in thanks to the classic "school drama" tropes we all know and love (falling in love for the first time, worrying about test scores and applying to college, exploring hobbies and interests, the weight of parental expectations, the pressures of young adulthood), but the uniqueness of the story lies in its fresh take on the message of finding one's true passion and purpose in life as the characters face both triumphs and letdowns in achieving their educational and career-centric goals. The result is a charming, funny, and heartwarming story full of characters you can't help but relate to, especially if you're a millennial. Also, sending a huge sigh of relief and a slight spoiler: while one of the characters does have an unrequited crush on her adult teacher, there is NO teacher/student romance!!!

Content warnings: minor commentary on body image, parental neglect, drinking

3. 46 Days (2021)

46 Days is a Thai drama consisting of 18 episodes. The series tells the story of Ying Ying, an unpopular net idol abandoned by her fans and caught in the middle of family drama. As if that weren't enough, she also feels responsible for the happiness of her childhood best friend, Noina, who is also the creditor of her debts. Thanks to Ying Ying's meddling, Noina is told by a fortune teller that she is going to get married within a year, and she is convinced the groom will be Doctor Korn, a handsome and kind doctor. If Ying Ying helps facilitate the marriage, she will be entirely free from all the debts she owns Noina. The problem is that in the next 46 days, Korn is planning to marry his snobby and selfish girlfriend, Wisa, another influencer who despises Ying Ying. Ying Ying and Noina discover that the bride-to-be is hiding a secret, and decide to  "protect the guy and set him free from the devil bride to end up with an angel". 

While the synopsis admittedly paints Ying Ying and Noina as flawed characters (and indeed they are), their plan to "rescue" Dr. Korn for their own gains feels much less problematic once Wisa's personality and the shallowness of her relationship with Korn is explained onscreen. The show does well to put both on display early on, without fully exposing all of Wisa's secrets so as to maintain suspense. Among the chaos, it successfully portrays Ying Ying's devotion to Noina as sincere. A good decision, as although the romance storylines are important, Ying Ying and Noina's friendship is the main axis on which the entire plot spins. The characters are well crafted in their complexity: Dr. Korn is the "perfect guy" but fails to admit and commit to what he wants; Wisa is a selfish bully but has misguided justifications for her choices; Noina hides depth beneath a veneer of bubbly babygirlism, and Ying Ying's devotion and dedication to others is a distraction from her own lack of self-fulfillment. The zany humor, numerous montages, and multitude of plan backfires are reminiscent of early 2000's media such as That's So Raven, She's the Man, and John Tucker Must Die, making this a treat for fans of that genre.

Content warnings: drinking, implied sexuality, infidelity

4. Unnatural (2018)

Unnatural is a 10-episode Japanese drama set at the “Unnatural Death Institute” (UDI). The story follows medical coroner Mikoto and her team (lab technician Yuko Shoji and rookie recorder Rokuro) as they work to solve mysterious deaths that are not always what they seem. Entertaining and full of suspense, this drama is also educational--I had no idea about the very low autopsy rates in Japan due to the normalization of cremation and how that can present obstacles for solving cold cases or re-investigating suspicious deaths that had been previously deemed "due to natural causes." The entertainment factor is heightened by the well-roundedness of the characters, with each individual carrying their own backstory and motives. I especially enjoyed how well the story balances their development with the unraveling of the mystery investigation over the course of the series.

Content warnings: murder and attempted murder, violence, car accidents, drug use, fire, dead bodies, drinking, implications of sexual assault

5. Saving My Stupid Youth (2014)

Saving My Stupid Youth is a comedic Japanese drama with 10 episodes. The plot revolves around 31-year-old Hara Heisuke, a teacher at a Buddhist, all-male high school in Shizuoka that he also attended as a teenager. Stuck at home with his annoying father, self-centered brother, his brother's beautiful but air-headed wife, and the ghost of his deceased mother, his main enjoyment in life is the advisory radio show he tunes in to every evening. Both Heisuke and the school where he works are haunted by an unfortunate accident that occurred 14 years ago, which culminated in a mandatory ban on interactions between its students and the female students attending the all-girls Catholic school next door. In present-day, financial problems for both schools necessitate a merge, bringing the male and female students together for the first time. Heisuke and a female teacher from the girls' school are put in charge of a "test group", and together they shepherd the students through internalized sexism, bullying, tests, competitions, crushes and heartbreaks, all while learning something about themselves in the process. 

This show is quirky and fun, but there is a heartfelt seriousness underneath all the silliness. While it seems like the earlier episodes tend to play on sexist stereotypes for laughs, the jokes become more clever and thematic as the characters learn to see each other outside the tropes and assumptions they've made, allowing the audience to partake in the journey of the protagonists. The students in particular are lovable and easy to root for--one plotline in particular that was a welcome surprise involved one of the students coming out as transgender, to the support of their classmates and teachers. To see such a well-written depiction of an LGBTQ experience in a 2014 drama was unexpected, and I really enjoyed it. I also got a kick out of how despite all the drama over the merging of the schools, the fact that one school practiced Catholicism and the other Buddhism was a non-issue.

Content warnings: sexism, implied sexuality, fire, minor religious aspects (Buddism and Catholicism), bullying, infidelity

5. Moonlight Chicken (2023)

Moonlight Chicken is a Thai drama with eight episodes. The main character is Jim (as played by the stunning  actor Earth who, because he is in his twenties, does not at all look forty years old like the character is supposed to be, so you just have to suspend disbelief there, okay?) A gay man supporting his teenage nephew by running a Hainanese chicken rice diner, Jim is generous and kind, although introverted and invulnerable. One night, he encounters younger businessman Wen, who drunkenly stays past closing. As the two get closer emotionally, they embark on an undefined but electric connection, despite Jim's efforts to remain unattached due to past heartbreak. But Jim is not the only one shouldering an emotional burden--underneath his good-natured affect, Wen is struggling to let go of his own toxic relationship history. The secondary plotline follows the relationship (first adversarial, then friendly, then romantic) between Jim's nephew Li Ming and Heart, a deaf boy his age. 

If you're looking for something more serious, adult, and artistic, this is the one for you. This drama is an emotional roller coaster--beautiful, but heart-wrenching at times. Although the lighting and filming techniques contribute to a swoony, magical vibe, the themes are handled in a realistic way. Luckily, the characters are fully drawn enough to be sympathetic even when they make mistakes, and because their problems are reflected in how they pursue romance and engage with their family, it is easy to understand why they make certain choices. The story definitely keeps you guessing as to what exactly is going on here, and at times that leads the viewer to feel frustration with certain characters until the truth exonerates them from judgment, so the happy ending feels absolutely deserved. The use of sign language and deaf representation is also done exceedingly well. 

Content warnings: implied sexuality, minor religious aspects, infidelity, minor character deaths, toxic relationships, emotional abuse, violence, drinking, parental abandonment and neglect, referenced homophobia