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kpoptimeout · 3 years

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My Top 10 K-Dramas of 2020 - What’s Yours?

2020 has ended after feeling like it was never ending and K-Dramaland has once again brought us so many goodies this year. As per our blog’s tradition [For 2019 faves click here], below are my Top 10 favs of the year (my faves in alphabetical order so it might not be yours so please don’t judge). (For our blog’s 2020 music ratings, click here!)

My only specific criteria is that the show must have had started in 2020 to be considered a 2020 series but like last year, I have allowed one drama starting very late in 2019 to make the list.

Without further ado, check the list below!

Crash Landing On You (tvN/Netflix)

While it started in December 2019, “Crash Landing On You” is certainly the Rom-Com of the year that swept the world by storm. It was possibly the K-Drama most people knew about and everyone rejoiced when the leads Hyun Bin and Son Yejin admitted to being a couple on 1 January 2021.

One might say “Crash Landing On You” has generic plot - two people from vastly different worlds meeting through a crazy accident and developing feelings as a result, the choice of using North and South Korea as the two worlds provided unique social commentary and the opportunity for lots of interesting shenanigans. This is not the first series to feature a romance between a North and South Korean lead (see 2012’s “The King 2 Hearts”, which was also stellar), but it is definitely a more light-hearted take which is fun to watch. Additionally, the series is filled with fleshed out and lovable side characters.

While North Korean refugees interviewed by media outlets point out that the typical North Korean captain would not have the looks of Hyun Bin, most of them agree that the production team did their research as the everyday life of typical North Koreans were recreated quite accurately - from the types of furniture and household appliances they use, to the type of K-Dramas they watch in secret.

If you enjoy a good Rom-Com and an interesting premise, this is the K-Drama for you!

Extracurricular (Netflix)

Being a Netflix only series with no counterpart on Korean television, “Extracurricular” was able to explore the dark side of South Korean youth life which is not discussed on traditional South Korean media platforms. We are thrown into the life of a nerdy high school student played by Kim Dong Hee, who is actually effectively abandoned by his family and making ends meet secretly as an illegal prostitution ring mastermind.

The story unravels as the star student played by So Minhee discovers the schemes of Kim Dong Hee’s character and begins to blackmail him. Not to give too many spoilers, but it will prove difficult to balance his double life and the whole journey is captured superbly by the main cast’s stellar acting.

If you are a fan of dark and realistic teen dramas, this is the series for you!

Hospital Playlist (tvN/Netflix)

The team behind the “Reply” series and “Prison Playbook” returns with a few familiar faces so we all knew when the trailers dropped that we were in for a treat. As expected, the fabulous acting of the main cast, the wonderful storylines and also medically accurate procedures (according to my doctor friends), combined to make “Hospital Playlist” one of the most endearing dramas of the year.

Set in the fictional Yulje Medical Centre, we follow the lives of 5 doctors who met in college and their respective medical teams. Jo Jung-suk acts as a prankster and fun dad who is also a genius doctor. Yoo Yeon-seok plays a pediatric surgeon who is dead set on becoming a priest. Jung Kyung-ho acts as a cardiologist who seems cold-hearted (pun intended), but of course isn’t really. Kim Dae-myung plays a gynaecologist who is a mummy’s boy and has family drama galore. And finally Jeon Mi-do completes the set as a neurosurgeon who is lowkey the only adult in the friend group and who everyone wants to be when they grow up.

The drama throws us into the day to day runnings in the hospital without too much introductions and it actually made the characters all the more real because it was like we were just casually witnessing their everyday lives. The realisms of the show is furthered by the fact that even side characters like nurses and medical students have meaningful storylines of their own. We honestly cannot wait for Season 2 to air in May 2021!

Itaewon Class (JTBC/Netflix)

A remake of a popular Webtoon, “Itaewon Class” is a feel-good David and Goliath story where the male lead played by Park Seojun goes on a journey to avenge his father and chooses to do so without bending his morals at any point in time and making many friends along the way.

This series stood out by providing very diverse lead characters including a sociopath, a former convict, a trans woman, an illegitimate son and a Blasian trying to find acceptance in South Korea. All their stories highlight the different social issues and the stigmas many face navigating through life and is touching and relatable in many ways.

If you love a show with a positive social message, this is the show for you!

Sweet Home (Netflix)

Another webtoon remake by Netflix, “Sweet Home” follows a group of survivors in an apartment complex after all hell breaks loose in South Korea, as people begin to transform into monsters based on their greatest fears and regrets.

Every character has interesting backstories that are slowly revealed as they try to survive together, while battling monsters that are generated by the team behind many Marvel Cinematic Universe blockbusters. The main cast led by Song Kang, Lee Jin Wook, Lee Siyoung and Lee Dohyun also acted extremely well, with Lee Siyoung grabbing a lot of attention with her ripped superhero physique. Kim Namhee also had a breakout performance as the survivor who favours a Korean sword and hopefully would continue to get more roles following years playing minor characters.

If you enjoy apocalypse thrillers that explore human nature, you would love “Sweet Home”!

The Uncanny Counter (OCN/Netflix)

Okay, Netflix is really funding all the webtoon adaptions because “The Uncanny Counter” is yet another one. Currently the highest rated OCN drama in the cable channel’s history, this webtoon adaption follows a disabled orphaned teenage boy who gains superpowers and joins a demon-banishing team of other super-powered beings (who own a noodle shop on the side) called the Counters, while the mystery of his parents’ death plays a key role in the story.

This somewhat cliché set-up is done in a fun and enjoyable way and it is great to see the talented Jo Byung Gyu finally cast as a male lead! Kim Sejeong has also further improved in her acting and is a loveable badass in this series.

If you love a ghost/spirit busting mystery and just the superhero genre in general, you would enjoy “The Uncanny Counter”!

VIP (SBS)

“VIP” is a drama following a luxury brand’s VIP service team. While it has office drama, intrigue and power plays in almost every episode, it is arguably more of a drama about womanhood than anything else. With 4 female leads, 3 of whom are in their late 30s, the series accurately depicts the concerns women face reaching that age, whether they are married or unmarried, with children or not.

Jang Nara plays a successful business woman and a co-worker to her husband played by Lee Sang Yoon. Born in a privileged background with a seemingly loving husband, all seems well until she has suspicions of her husband having an affair. This drives her to investigate and through her findings, she instead uncovers more stories of her other female co-workers, like the rumour-tainted but very cool section chief played by Lee Chungah and the stressed and depressed mother of two played by Kwak Sunyoung.

If you want a spicy office drama that also has meaningful discussions about working women in South Korea, VIP is the best drama for that!

The World of the Married (JTBC)

Overtaking JTBC’s “Sky Castle” to be highest rated cable TV K-Drama of all time, this 2020 production also by JTBC is a remake of BBC series “Doctor Foster” but highly localised to fit the Korean narrative.

Kim Hee-ae plays a successful doctor with a film director husband and a teenage son. Her life seems picture perfect until she discovers her husband’s infidelity. But unlike in “VIP”, where the female lead actually bonds with other women along the way, Kim Hee-ae’s character would quickly learn that she was in fact betrayed by everyone around her - they all knew her husband was cheating and have been pretty supportive of this whole affair.

While highly dramatised, the suspicions of the husband’s infidelity, the discovery, the subsequent divorce and schemes for revenge are all done tastefully and is a reason why it struck a chord with the general public, especially married women watching the show.

If you love mess and chaos and seeing douchebags destroyed, “World of the Married” is the perfect drama for you!

18 Again (JTBC)

JTBC really has a knack for remakes. This remake of the movie “17 Again” starring Zac Efron is also adapted seamlessly to fit Korean culture and social issues e.g. teen pregnancy, divorce, women’s careers after being a parent and parent-child relations.

Kim Haneul and Yoon Sanghyun truly acted out the energy of a long-married couple and Lee Dohyun did extremely well in encapsulating Yoon Sanghyun’s mannerism as his de-aged counterpart. This boy is truly on a roll this year (he is also in “Sweet Home”). Also, the younger cast of this show were also very likeable and well flesh-outed and by the end of the series you are rooting for all of them to do well.

If you love a slice of life drama with a little fantastical element, you would love “18 Again”!

365: Repeat the Year (MBC)

Based on the Japanese novel “Repeat” by Kurumi Inui, “365 Days: Repeat the Year” follows this social experiment where 10 individuals are given the opportunity to travel 1 year back in time. As all 10 individuals try to remedy their mistakes and become better people, the experiment takes a sinister turn as the time-travellers begin to die one after another.

The veteran detective played by Lee Joohyuk and the mystery webtoon artist played by Nam Jihyun team up together with other time travellers to uncover the secrets behind travelling back in time and learn about the past lives of everyone chosen for the project.

If you enjoy a well-thought out time-travelling series that involves some alternate reality battle royale shenanigans, this is the series for you!

Honourable Mentions:

Kingdom (Season 2) (Netflix): The ancient zombie drama is back and still as strong as ever - one of the best zombie series on air right now.

Start-Up (tvN/Netflix): Loveable rom-com set in the start-up world in South Korea with one of the most hotly debated love triangles in this year’s K-Drama world.

Hi Bye, Mama! (tvN/Netflix): When a woman reincarnates to meet her husband and child again 5 years after her tragic death, only to find he has since remarried.

What’s your Top 10 K-Dramas of the Year? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below and may the drama sharing begin (and the road to more excuse for holiday procrastination!)

Also, if you want to check out underrated K-Pop songs of 2020, here are the lists for idol songs and artist songs.

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recentanimenews · 4 years

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Review: Saint Seiya: Saintia Sho

Saint Seiya, the brainchild of Masami Kurumada, follows a group of young people, each taking the name of a sign of the Zodiac, who fight to protect a young girl named Saori Kido. Saori is the modern reincarnation of the Greek goddess Athena, and the Saints who protect her use enchanted armor and magic fighting attacks. The series has spawned manga, anime, films, OVAs, and musicals. Since the story has a beginning, middle, and end, most subsequent stories authored or approved by Kurumada are set in and around the events of the original story or before them. In 2013, Kurumada approved Chimaki Kuori, who worked on manga adaptions of Gundam SEED and her own work Kimi no Kaeru Basho, to create a new story set in the events of the original series but focusing on an all-female group of Saints. This is Saint Seiya: Saintia Shō.

Shō’s events revolve around Shoko, a young girl who comes to find her sister, Kyoko, the current Equuleus Saintia (the name for female Saints), but finds herself in the middle of the Galaxian Wars (a tournament to find new Saints). After her sister is taken by the show's Big Bad, Eris, an evil goddess that Athena once sealed away, Equuleus Shō (Shoko's new title as a Saintia) starts the journey to defeat Eris, destroy her Dryad army and save Athena and her sister.

I really enjoyed this ONA (Original Net Animation); it’s an all female version of a existing property, and I’m all about that gender bending fighting shonen show juice, plus it’s only ten episodes long. Did I need to know about the events of the previous series to enjoy this? No, not really. In the comments for this show on Crunchyroll, someone describes it as Sailor Moon with armor. That’s both accurate and misleading. Both Sailor Moon and Saintia Sho are much more than girls calling out magic attacks. But the underlying elements of both (loyalty to friends, confronting an unholy evil and, a royal rumble fight at the end) are very similar.

In Sho’s case, the fusion of Greek-inspired warriors and Japanese pop culture’s need to shout attacks in long line readings makes for a great time. Shoko starts the show knowing nothing about her sister’s secret life, and we (and she) slowly get introduced to the life of a Saintia and what it demands. Athena at this point in the series isn’t the all-wise Goddess she will later become. Instead, she has the foibles of a young teenage girl who leads with her heart and tends to fight out ahead of her guard. Shoko learns as her time goes on that she needs to protect Athena from herself as much as she needs to protect her from Eris’ minions. On top of that, Athena is dealing with elements within the Sanctuary (where Saints train to go out into the world in Athena’s name) who would rather she stay a figurehead … and in some cases, a dead one. The series spends a healthy amount of time working out friendly fire problems while staying on guard for Eris’ attacks.

One thing that newcomers should know: this story is smack in the middle of the original storyline, playing out between two major storylines. So there are moments where the characters reference events happening elsewhere in the story but that have no immediate resolution. There was one event midway through the finale where Athena and part of her host leave and then turn up in a completely different place. Piecing together the parts, it turns out there's a part from the original run that fills in this gap. So there are what may seem like inconsistancies, but they're not annoying. I liked that element of the show: you're in the middle of a very big universe but don't have time to worry, because Sho's next challenge keeps your mind on her story, her fight, and her adversaries. For those who already saw the original show, there are references and characters (including some of the Gold Saints) to tie it all together.

As the show progresses, Eris’ plan becomes known. The Saintia have to fight front and rearguard actions, the original Saints become involved, Shoko is tested by Pavo Mayura — a Silver Saint (Bronze, Silver, Gold in ascending order of power) who was crippled during a revolt against Athena years ago, and who I think is one of my favourite characters in the show. She is so exacting against Shoko that, at times, the girl looks like she’ll die in training. But she has a big sister or aunt vibe to her – her pride at her newest charge becoming the heaviest hitter on the Saintia team hidden from view but visible at odd angles. At the same time, the other Saintia range from the skilled but corrupted Katia to loyal and powerful Mii who have their reasons, bad and good, for fighting. One thing I’d like to draw attention to is that the animation by Studio GONZO really is good. The day-to-day animations might look average, but the Zodiac attack animations are first rate, and the voice cast scream their lungs out to sell you on their passion. At the same time, the character designs, which echo Kuori’s designs while also incorporating Kurumada’s originals for the Saints, are a nice blend. The voice cast includes Aina Suzuki (Love Live! Sunshine!!, The Quintessential Quintuplets) as Shoko and Inori Minase (Tada Never Falls in Love, Astra Lost in Space, Isekai Quartet) as Saori. Returning voices include Toshihiko Seki as Scorpio Milo, Ryotaro Okiayu as Gemini Saga, and of course, Hideyuki Tanaka as Leo Aiolia.

Saint Seiya: Saintia Shō is a perfect intro to the series. It tells the backstory of the previous hyperbolic shenanigans, says hi to a new group of heroes, and lays off on info dumping the whole thing in one go. The only bad thing is that there’s only ten episodes, whereas the original had over 100-plus movies and OVAs to tell its tale. That’s not to say anything of the redos, CG reboots, and everything else with the brand on it. Ten episodes isn’t enough for me to know Shoko, her fellow Saintia, and this version of Athena. I’d love to see more of it. Yes, I’m being greedy, but why shouldn’t girls climb into magical armor, scream attack moves at each other, and engage in the histrionics with the boys too?

Saint Seiya: Saintia Sho originally appeared on Ani-Gamers on November 27, 2019 at 8:56 PM.

By: Phillip

#Anime #News #Ani-Gamers

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