I like my romance the way I prefer my whiskey. It should burn a little on the way down

Good evening. I like my dramas spicy, my romance dark, my kisses real, and my fight scenes well-choreographed. 

I also go by unagibento on manga sites, and now sell dark smutty smut under the pen name December Drake. Add dot com to my pen name, if you're curious.

I watched my first drama on broadcast TV while stuck in a hospital in Tokyo in '06: My Boss My Hero

Now I also watch Indian soaps, Korean, Chinese, Taiwanese, and Thai dramas. I also finished my very first Turkish dizi: Siyah Beyaz Aşk and I'm very slowly getting through Sefirin Kızı

I've pretty much retired from kdramas for a few years now (unless it's an extremely cool-looking fantasy etc) and watch everything else. Kdramas leave me feeling drained and starved; I'm over it. 

I go in cycles: I go dormant for awhile catching up on life, then start with light cdramas, move into more mature jdramas, then Thai series, then when life gets rough I need some super spicy Thai slap/kiss and nothing less will do.

My curated lists 

• Gangster Romance: Mafias, Yakuza, Crime Bosses
• Assassins, Bodyguards, Hitmen: Deadly Love
• Deceptive Love: Manipulators & Pawns
• Masters, Doms, Sadists: Forceful Love
  
• You Can't Quit Me, Baby
• Sympathy for the Devil
• A Reaper Falls in Love
• Loners Enjoying Their Best Foodie Lives
• 20s, 30s, 40s
• Stellar Kisses
• Sex & the City: Wine, Men & Song
• Spicy Dramas
• Shortlist: Ultra Sexy
• Otherworldly Bureaucracy
• Mature Women 30+ Dramas
  
• Noona in Bloom: Older Women & Younger Men
  
• Messy AF
• Favorite Loners & Rebels
• Trash TV for Trash Days: Curated Worsts
• Food
• Best Dressed
  
  

My ratings

I'm a forgiving rater. It takes a lot for me to rate a drama below an 8.5. If a drama gives me more joy/enjoyment than misery or angst, I rate it strongly. If I loved it, can watch it over and over, or just think it was very well-done even if I wouldn't rewatch it, it will probably earn a 9-10. If my rating dips below 8, something probably really irritated me (bad endings, super slow/stalled, limp/weak romances, overly exaggerated acting, lazy plot devices, etc). I generally don't pick dramas that I know will make me miserable such as tearjerkers, tragedies, or overly dark plots, because life is too short. There's enough in real life to make us miserable, so why seek it out. You get me?

My favorite drama elements

• Mature: I'm a little older, so I like shows not afraid to show real relationship dynamics, older (post-college) couples and situations, darker romances, and steamy or real kisses, but I understand how TV kisses vary cross-culturally and can be difficult on actors
• Romance pairings involving a character with darker professions/associations: mafias, gangsters, assassins, bodyguards, social pariahs
• Food: if not a food-themed drama, then appreciation/attention is given to the meals shown
• LGBTQIA: any dramas not afraid to show full diversity in love
• Action: I love action, especially when done right in another genre (romance, etc)
• Supernatural (but not horror): Elements of fantasy, I love all things with grim reapers, demons/angels, gods, mythological characters and magic, but it can result in campy special effects
• Beautiful, high value directing and cinematography: Money Flower and Legend of the Phoenix come to mind
• Comedy is awesome when done right, especially in dramas where it's not the main element
• Enemies who become allies/friends during the series, even if just to defeat another common enemy
• Female love rivals who aren't vile, soulless creatures dragging down the entire plot
• Dramas where the FL or BL lead has a strong/healthy support system in place, such as supportive friends/family instead of only vindictive/destructive elements

My least favorite drama elements

• Childlike adult characters
• Evil (often potential) mother-in-laws: very hard to avoid in dramas, but far too common
• Dramas that start off with a strong premise and turn into another story entirely, such as FL vs evil mother-in-law
• Simple misunderstandings used as plot devices where just a few words would clear it up, especially if it drags out the entire series/years
• Pregnancy as the final answer to a couple's romantic troubles: you still have the same problems but now you have another life to raise?
• Long filler chase/search scenes: you can't find your lover in the airport, we get it
• Extremely slow burn romances, slight romances (where more is expected) or overly chaste romances
• Youth-themed dramas or those dealing with high school students or anyone younger than college-aged - I'm far removed from high school and can't relate
• Sudden fevers & fainting after 5 whole minutes in the rain, etc
• Identity plot devices: bodyswapping, twins, plastic surgery transformations
• Most time travel: scifi is my most read book genre, but dramas ruin it for me
• 95% of all tragedies, more so in BL
• Dramas where product placement is very, very heavy: Terius Behind Me comes to mind
• Jdramas that try too hard to emulate the mannerisms of manga/anime, resulting in exaggerated acting that jolt me out of the story
• Horror
• Dramas where contact with foreigners is used as a shorthand for prestige/wealth: too long, awkward dialogues with foreign business associates, etc

First: Kdrama: Lie to Me Tdrama: Devil Beside You Cdrama: Guardian