lol.. like someone said

Wait till the date they have a couple fight :D

Lol @lordcobol. As our detective was running down the middle of the street and then found love running back to him I kept yelling to the tv: ‘get off the street! get off the street! there are trucks of doom everywhere and they don’t have brakes in South Korea, (as the car that was coming up behind the detective showed—it never slowed down on approach.) All is well that ends well.

NGL I had to re-check that there were only 10 episodes and it was really the end. I kept on wondering what would they do next week.

Guess Jinyoung was not bluffing when he said in this drama he spent the least amount of on-screen time with the FL.

that's a tough request... j doramas are either goofy/kooky funny, slapstick comedy, romance/melo, droll deadpan humor, melo/amnesia tropey, twisted dark trauma, violent cop/murder.....

i honestly can't think of one...
: O

I look forward to seeing the recommendation list from the J-drama veterans as I tend to find the rom coms very hit and miss. The full time wife escapist is probably the only one that I can happily recommend.
I am more slice of life with a romance element so if you want to see some consistently high quality dramas then I think this is my favourite J-drama genre.
These are some of my favourites: Silent, First love, Where does the sea begin? Unmet, Why I dress up for love, Hold my hand at twilight.

Jdramas don't really have the same kind of rom-com than KDramas...

So I can think : Rich Man Poor Girl, 5-ji Kara 9-ji Made, Buzzer Beat

If I had to choose one Jdrama: First Love.
It’s beautifully shot. The soundtrack is amazing and it’s guaranteed to make you a fan of the singer that is showcased in the drama (just watch the trailer). It’s a great emotional roller coaster than ends on a high note.

Long Vacation is an older one, but it holds up really well. Nodame Cantibile also has a great central couple if you can handle the heavy slapstick in the early episodes. The much more recent Kieta Hatsukoi (My Love Mix-Up) is also totally adorable, although it's a high school show, not an adult romance. I do agree that j-dramas tend to be quirkier and less likely to slot into the "traditional" rom-com mode than Korean or Chinese dramas.

As others mentioned, and one I watched a few weeks ago, The Full-Time Wife Escapist is a delightful rom-com (also has a special/ sequel that came out a few years ago). Definitely recommended.

Ayaka Is In Love With Hiroko is a a fun GL rom-com that I really enjoyed.

Arguably the most serious out of the ones I mention, and not a comedy, but Silent is pretty darn excellent, and is one of my favorite romance dramas in general.

This one is currently airing, but Shiawase Kanako no Koroshiya Seikatsu (Happy Kanako's Killer Life) is a pretty hilarious comedy about a women that ends up becoming a contract killer and finds out she's really good at it. It's wait & see if this one has romance, though it does hint at it.

I also really liked Little Women: Colors Of Sisterhood. However, while it has romantic elements, this one isn't really a romance (even if at first sight you might think it is), so if you're specifically looking for a more traditional romance drama, you won't find it here.

Hi, resident Jdrama Addict, I’ve got some good recommendations for beginners:
- Todome no Kiss
- Jitenshaya-san no Takahashi-kun
- Marry Me!
- In this Corner of the World
- Neko
- Uso no Sensou
- Monte Cristo: Great Revenge

I like An Incurable Case of Love. If you’ve watched Playful Kiss it’s a similar vibe but a bit more grown up.

Jdrama has taken a sharp nose dive in the last twenty years or so, and romcom never was their strong suit.
I haven't found anything on Viki yet that liked /could stand for longer than five minutes (even though my totally sound reasoning for getting Viki solely was "to improve my Japanese with listening practice", that went well).
Anyway, the original "Hana Yori Dango" (Boys over Flowers) is on Viki, which is by now basically something of required watching to understand Drama, since it sets up all the tropes.
It is however also quite toxic (understatement), so you have to see it in the context of it's time. MatsuJun is an adorable asshole and I like him much more than Lee Min Ho in the same role.
"Beach Boys" is on Netflix and focusses more on bromance than on romance, I loved it when it came out and still do. Good for relaxed summer vibes and definetely a place I'd like to visit.
"Tiger and Dragon" is about a yakuza falling in love with traditional, japanese comedy and quite funny, but again, no romcom.
If you can find it, "Nobuta" is an awesome highschool drama. "Trick" (all three seasons) is a supernatural drama with absurd humour, which is delightful, and very low on the romance.

Hmmm i second the sentiments here, compared to kdramas, J romcoms are not really romancing..however they’re still a good watch if you don’t mind the minute swoon they give us. Some favourites:
A girl & three sweethearts
Hold my hand at Twilight
Only Just Married

There’s one about two besties where the guy is in love with the girl for the longest time but just sort of watched her go through her relationship until her ex came back n tried to get back together (i think it was adapted from a very popular c-drama) very vague but i was hoping someone might know the title.

But that is also true. Usually the WWW comments are pre-written, and the first 20 or so are dropped nearly immediately the post goes up.

Usually by the time i write mine (rare occurrence) nobody reads it anymore 😆

Part time working is the new self care. Well done for calling it before you were pushed over the edge. I hope you can enjoy your down time and find a way to keep working reduced hours. Quality of life is so important as life is short. It makes no sense to live in stress mode when down time is just about rest and recovery to get through work rather than truly living a joyful balance.

After Covid, I took a whole year off work and that was the best year in my life for as far as I could remember. It was the year I watched a lot of Kdramas and started to be active on DB. Now I'm working part-time with a flexible schedule, and just thinking about returning to full-time makes me panic.

I'm glad you're having more time to yourself, although only for a short while. Perhaps you will work out something when those months is up?!

Well done @coffeprince4eva Enjoy your one day off to the fullest and may it bring you much rest and rejuvenation.

Do you get weekends off? I hope you get some time for yourself no matter how busy you get.

I remember hearing news about Lee Jun-young's casting in When Life Gives You Tangerines, though no word on his role. Ever since that scene between Geum-myeong and her boyfriend/fiancé's mother in Ep 4, I had been wondering who would play her boyfriend. My first thought upon meeting Lee Jun-young's character was "Netflix must love him" because he'll be in back-to-back-to-back Netflix Originals (Melo Movie, Tangerines, Weak Hero Class 2) as well as staring in D.P., Mask Girl, Love and Leashes, and Badland Hunters.

I think it depends the kind of villain.

I often think some actors choose "crazyness" to play a villain and it completely lacks subtility.

I can see Ji Chang-Wook playing a villain, he tooks grey characters lastly.

I can very well imagine why you thought that about SKJ. I have seen him in Grid. There is often a steely glint in his eyes that makes it very easy to imagine him as a villain. But I can't answer your question at all. Because to me, SKJ always has traces of that glint at the back of his eyes, even when he is playing the comedic good guy, even when it's himself in an interview.

But for example Jun? There's no trace of the crazy look he had in Brave Citizen, in for example his role in May I Help You. Even when his role has a distinct hardness, like in Imitation, he doesn't look anywhere as spine-tingling as in Class of Lies.

Tl;DR: I don't know! 😂

Ohhh I like the actors you mentioned. Villain pretty boy edition. I think as long as they are smart enough, can imagine or analyze how the villain mind works, have the skill to act it out, they can be a good villain no matter how pretty they look. I think the actors (except maybe Ahn Bo-hyun) you mentioned are skillfull enough to pull a believeable villain if given a good script. I would also add Im Si-wan to your list of actors who can portray a villain.

As for Junho in Chief Kim, I think the problem is with the script? We were shown he was a competent prosecutor in the beginning before he resigned so it’s hard to accept he would turn bad. After joining TK, he was also cruel only for a while (threatening the lady director and humiliating Chief Kim) until the Chairman betrayed him. He was always mentioned as a “villain” in the promotion when he's not the biggest baddie.

An Bohyun does play a somewhat villainous role in Kairos.

Seo Kang-joon has already played a villain role that I can recall. He can do nasty quite well. I am referring to his performance as the original (or human if you will) Nam Shin in KBS’s ARE YOU HUMAN TOO? (Viki US) (2018).
He gave a great performance in AYHT playing dual roles: the original Nam Shin and the now (lol) more famous android Nam Shin III.
I used to warn folks who first came to SKJ in JTBC’s WEATHER (2020) (Viki US) to be prepared for a very different SKJ in AYHT.

Oh, that's a tough one, I am still thinking about it. But before I can gather my thoughts on it, I have a question for you all: Have you always thought that Seo Kangjoon can play a villan well? Because I have only seen Seo Kangjoon in When the weather is fine and, with that baby face of his from 5 years ago, I would not have thought that he could. He changed his face, he looks more mature now. Did you see his villany gaze before?

Just like with any other type of role, it comes down to 3 elements: visuals (certain people have easy to make appear scary face), skills (obvious) and charisma (natural or trained ability to create evil vibe). You don't need all 3 to make a convincing screen baddie though, usually solid 1 or 2 would be enough. Good actors are expected to have both skills and rizz, and face-wise, well, it's not exactly up to them, right? For those who do have "villain face", it's a double-edged sword because it both sorta guarantees them regular employment, but also typecasting risk is high...

Never understood the notion of "too pretty to be villain" though - if anything, a capable actor with innocent cute face can be far more terrifying than any scary looking ones... It also somewhat reeks of a hypocritical idea that pretty people CANNOT be bad - and vice versa And public LOVES sexy baddies, it's a good route to break out for many rising actors. Like NGM in GIRL WHO SEES SMELLS or KJW in VOICE1. Or everyone's fave feral fox baby Lee Rang (Kim Bum) in THE TALE OF NINE-TAILED. Ofc, some dramas mistakenly think that hiring a pretty actor and giving him villain status in the story is all it takes, but that's very far from the truth...

We're talking Pretty Boy Villains, rt?:

Song Joong Ki, VINCENZO (Fabulous)
Ahn Boy Hyun, ITAWEON CLASS (Chilling)
Kim Woo Seok, MILITARY PROSECUTOR DOBERMAN (Standout)
Yim Si Wan, EMERGENCY DECLARATION (?)

I actually have not watched the last one, but Yim Si Wan is the bomber on board the flight, right? Pretty much can play any character, he's so talented.

I think there takes a certain level of fearlessness to play a villian. Even though I haven't watched the drama, I'm gonna use Strangers from Hell as an example. From what I understand there are alot of disgusting characters in that and the actors have to being willing to embrace that (for lack of a better word). The main actor, Im Siwan, kinda has a shifty look to him, maybe mousey? but then he can look really innocent. I think that helps when he plays villian roles. He's got an unassuming vibe which again makes me think he makes a good villian (and a believable inreliable narrator).

The other lead, Lee Dong Wook (I think that's his name), said that when he looked at himself in the mirror, he thought his eyes had changed. His friends also said he had a scary vibe or look (I think; it's been a long time since I've heard about it). But the way actor is by default also could make him believable has a villian cause he's just so deadpan haha. Like he's just so over whatever and I think that would make good at like a methodical type of villian; someone who is playing 4D chess while the protagonist is playing either checkers or beginner's chess.

The father in law or whatever he is who told someone to eat more of what they are deathly allergic to in Buried Hearts is also a good villian. I think that leans into the utter contempt he seems to have for Dong Joo. Like all the negative thought or wish are conveyed through his eyes and then he blinks (remembering he's not supposed to be so obvious).
Then again, as an actor he's probably had many moments when he felt immense anger about someone or something and he could be channeling that.

I think the really skilled actors are the ones who can turn it on and off; they're probably sociopaths or something haha

Well i never thought Lee Dong Wook could be a villain but he scared me in Strangers from Hell that i never got past the 1st episode.

Gong Yoo in Squid Game is great. Maybe the best thing about it for me. It's such a turn from his other roles.

I know it sounds crazy but ... empathy. The actor needs to really have a tremendous amount of empathy to put himself into the shoes of the villain, relate to him and convey the emotions convincingly. Only then, it comes across as real evil human, instead of a cartoon.

Thank you for this fun prompt. It actually deserves its own Drama Chat. Eottae @db-staff.

I’m so late to this conversation but it can some times surprise you who can get that villainy look in their eyes; like Lee Seung Gi generally is very cheerful and friendly looking but in Mouse it’s like he throws a switch and it’s scary! He does it really well.

If the notification takes you only to the post beginning, that means the comment you wanted to reach is on the second page. Which means you have to scroll all the way down, click the number 2, and search for the comment either by scrolling or by find in page function... Yeah🙃🙃

Park Bo-gum's weird thing was the cult, which fortunately, he left.

Honestly, I operate under the assumption that 10 out of 10 male celebrities will disappoint you, so when something bad happens, you'll be disappointed but not surprised.

Absolutely! Park Bo Gum is perfect. He will always be perfect.

Sighhh.. watching Tangerines and as i look at Bo Gum’s face I can’t help but wonder what secret is he hiding.. is the nice guy genuine or a public persona..