Low Expectations- Highly Satisfied
These are dramas that are low rated and/ or I was told would be a waste of time.
Those people don't know what they are talking about.
These dramas are amazing in their own right; look beyond the surface.
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1. Sei no Gekiyaku
Japanese Movie - 2020
I had no expectations, let alone low ones, for this movie but by the end I was an emotional mess. This is hands down the most hardcore bl story I've watched but the fact that the screenwriter was able to make me forget about the smut aspect and to look deeper into the story is simply fantastic. Unfortunately, this can't be enjoyed by everyone but I really do hope that those who do watch will enjoy it as much as I did.
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2. Cheese in the Trap
Korean Drama - 2016, 16 episodes
The only thing I ever heard people say about this is that the ML was a major creep. That's it. It piqued my interest and I watched it after coming across a comment again about the ML being a creep a couple months later. This is not just some run of the mill rom/ com and I think a majority of people came into this with that expectation. The leads, the ML as well as the FL, have major issues and they (try to) work through them together. They put in a SML who essentially took all the character development from the ML and I think that's the reason why so many people didn't like the mains pairing. On a deeper level their pairing made much more sense than the FL and the SML.
I personally think this is one of the best romantic dramas I've seen from S.K. that wasn't just high gloss but a story with actual depth. I would love to see Japan do their own interpretation on this.
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3. Lipstick
Japanese Drama - 1999, 12 episodes
Someone recommended this to me and I just want to give them a pat on the back for introducing this gem into my life. I saw the cover photo and read the synopsis and was like meh. This old drama just might be trash- boy was I wrong. This was so emotional and deep I ended up just bawling at the end. It was the first drama that made me truly cry my eyes out.
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4. Gloomy Salad Days
Taiwanese Drama - 2010, 20 episodes
The only good thing I heard about this is that the stories are based on true stories. I had no expectations about this, let alone low ones. I was pretty much hooked after the first epi. Yea the acting from some of the actors/ actresses is not the best BUT the story themselves are very heart-tugging and in some cases straight up tragic. The premise with the death girl was something I've never seen and I enjoyed.
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5. Ikebukuro West Gate Park
Japanese Drama - 2000, 11 episodes
It's weird to say but I had fun? while watching this one. The story itself is unique, the acting is on point from everyone, and with it being from the late 90's early 00's it shows Japan how it was back then (retro). I see people saying they dropped it after 1 episode and I'm like O_O WHAAAAT?!! But it's so good... oh well, that's their loss.
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6. Nemureru Mori no Jukujo
Japanese Drama - 2012, 9 episodes
What an unexpected gem this turned out to be. I thought this would be the run of the mill older woman lusting after a younger guy or the younger guy wanting the older woman but it's not like that at all. I guess you can say it's a character study of 2 different people going through different things in life and somehow managing to find one another and support in each other. What made this so enjoyable to watch is that it comes off as completely realistic (so you're not gonna get the ending you want) from the characters themselves to the conversations they had with one another.
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7. Save Me
Korean Drama - 2017, 16 episodes
The rating at the time I'm writing this i much higher than when I watched it (was in the 7/8 region and now it's nearly 9). I got this was so bad and it's such a waste of time coupled with I wanted the ML and FL to get together or the FL and the SML. I watched it purely out of curiosity after reading the synopsis and let's just say I finished this in 2 days. After every episode it was like 1 more episode, I can't stop now. A drama dealing with cults? I have yet to come across another dealing with this issue. This was a pleasant albeit disturbing surprise.
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8. Aishiteiru to Ittekure
Japanese Drama - 1995, 12 episodes
Went in thinking this was going to be another lame love story- I was wrong and I'm glad I was. Yea, it's the cliche girl meets boy, girl falls for boy, girl tries to win boy over troupe but the added mix of him being deaf and her being 10 years younger made the dynamic much more exciting to watch. This also has something I rarely even see in today's romantic dramas- ROMANCE! The number of times they kissed and bed scenes- I lost count lol but it was believable and not wooden which is what dramas these day's give us and it WHACK!! I don't re-watch dramas very often but this one, I can see myself watching again in the future.
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9. Seven of Me
Chinese Drama - 2017, 38 episodes
This gets a bad rap simply because it's S.K. counterpart gets the good one. I haven't seen the S.K. version yet so I can't say if it's good yet but apparently this was a shot for shot but with worse acting. Yea the acting is a bit cringy BUT I enjoyed it. It was funny while dealing with some serious issues. Dramas that walk that fine line without falling over are really gems.
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10. My Rainy Days
Japanese Movie - 2009
This movie had been on my ptw pretty much since I first joined MDL in 2018 and I finally watched it (2020). I don't know why I put it off for so long but I'm kinda mad that I did because this movie is so unexpectedly good! It tackles very hard/ mature issues ie cancer, prostitution, suicide, yet it still maintained a level of lightness so you don't feel absolutely horrible after watching. Even after going through all those issues, the ending was pretty pleasant.
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11. Mother and Daughters
Korean Movie - 2008
Another drama that was on my ptw for way too long. I was ugly crying in the corner after this one- it's such a heartwarming, funny, and cute story that I am so happy I stumbled across. I must admit I thought this would be a dirty rom/com but it isn't that at all. I highly HIGHLY recommend this one.