Certified couch potato

Romance, comedy, thriller, action and whatever genre it is, as long as the story is good then I will definitely watch it. Growing up, I really like watching Philippine television dramas other than cartoons. I remember my mom would cover my eyes if there were some scenes that is not suited for a kid. Then if my dad would see me watching dramas, he would always comment that I should not watch dramas all the more if it was in Filipino. He said that it is better to watch educational or informative shows that were in English not only for me to be fluent in that language but also to learn some other stuffs that will be useful in school and/or in the future. Back then, my English was terrible and I only know basic English words that I would rely on the visuals rather on the audio for me to understand a particular drama. If only I listened to him that time then maybe I would have had the confidence in doing public speaking. Being the stubborn daughter, I didn't listen to him and up to this day, I still love watching dramas. Probably the reason why I am overly dramatic every now and then.

Years passed and slowly I was able to enjoy watching English movies and I was able to focus both on visuals and audio even if it was in English. Watching Hollywood movies really did helped me enhance my English. Eventhough it is not as good as it is with other people, I am happy that it isn't as terrible as it was before. But before I appreciated Hollywood films, I first enjoyed watching Mexican dramas when I was a kid although they were dubbed in Filipino. Are you familiar with Marimar, Rosalinda, Maria la del Barrio and Maria Mercedes? I have watched those when I was a kid. Ooopps. You might have already guessed how old I am with those Mexican dramas that I have mentioned. Even if it was dubbed in Filipino, the story of those dramas were really good though I cannot remember some of it now. Those were the only dramas that I have watched other than Philippine television dramas. Maybe because I was still a kid that is why I never got so addicted to Mexican dramas and maybe because I can only watch it once it has been aired on TV.

Then when I was in college, they started to air Meteor Garden on TV. Meteor Garden is a Taiwanese drama and it has been the talk of some of my blockmates and friends that time. I only started watching weeks after it was aired and I got so hooked not only with the story but also with the characters. Jerry Yan was my crush that time. I guess I really like those bad boy looking dudes. That time my mom does not know why everyone was talking about Meteor Garden so when she decided to watch it, she also got so hooked up that she hated Fridays because she will miss Dao Ming Xi for 2 days because Meteor Garden was aired from Monday to Friday for 30 minutes. I was in college when downloading music and movies into CD first became a thing that one of my blockmates burned a copy of Meteor Garden. VCD days so 1 episode per CD. I forgot how much it cost but I know it was per episode. I immediately bought a copy because I could not wait how the story would go. Of course I also bought a copy for season 2. It was with Meteor Garden where I first learned some Mandarin words that I would ask my Chinese blockmates the right pronunciation.

After the success of Meteor Garden comes another drama but this time it was from South Korea. Full House was the first Kdrama that I have watched followed by Boys Over Flowers after few years. But before I got so hooked on Korean dramas, I got to watch a few Taiwanese dramas other than Meteor Garden. During early 2000, it was really hard to look for a site where you can watch some Asian dramas but I was still lucky that I got to watch the dramas that I like.

From Philippine drama to Mexican to Taiwanese to Korean comes Japanese drama. After I have watched Boys Over Flowers for countless time, my brother told me that I should also watch the Japanese version since I have already watched the adaptations from Taiwan and Korean. My brother also told me back then it was actually from a manga. My brother loves anime and also their songs that is why he wanted me to give Hana Yori Dango a try. I did watched it but he cannot make me love it as how I love Boys Over Flowers. Out of the 3 adaptations that I have watched, I must say that my top favorite is Boys Over Flowers, next is Meteor Garden and Hana Yori Dango. I do not know if I would watch other adaptations in the coming days but I think they won't be able to meet my expectation.

Lately, I have been watching other dramas from Japan, Taiwan and Mainland China. But personally I must say that South Korean dramas will always be my top favorite. There are also handsome and beautiful actors in other countries but in my opinion, the acting of the Koreans are natural and so heartfelt that it can move a person. In the dramas that I have watched recently, honestly, I was so irritated in some of the female lead because they were so overacting. But there were also some actors from other countries that I did not know before and is now my crush to the point that I even followed him on Instagram. LOL. If I were to rank the dramas that I have watched by country, it would be, South Korea, America and Japan (both on no.2), Philippines, Taiwan, Mexico and Mainland China. In my preference, I think that no country can exceed South Korea in terms of producing quality dramas. Oh before I forget, I also would want to commend the Spanish crime drama, Money Heist. It was so awesome.

Currently, I am about to finish a drama and I can already feel that I am getting bored from watching dramas even if it is about romance probably because I am not satisfied with the story, casts and acting. Should I rewatch some of my top favorites? What do you think?

June 27, 2022

P.S. lead image is a photo I took while watching Kdrama few months ago.