Discussion Post: Your Favorite Cdrama(s) of 2019?

I opted out of voting polls this year cause I honestly can’t keep up with the insane amount of dramas released. It keeps increasing at alarming rate and easily go over 100 dramas per year, including webdramas as well, which are becoming popular with stations fighting for viewers and securing the hottest actors at the moment. So instead of a robotic and mindless clicking of polls, I think a discussion post will be better.

I haven’t had much luck this year with dramas. Drought! I have been marathoning a lot of older series, touching base with my teenage self as I marvel over Charmaine in her TVB dramas. I just finished Witness To A Prosecution II where she starred alongside Bobby Au Yeung. Gotta say I didn’t buy their romance then and still don’t buy their romance now. Lol. Return of the Cuckoo is on the list next and I can already see myself heart-broken again for Chi Lam’s character. xD

So guys, what is your favorite dramas this year? Broke Out Stars? You can referred to my Cdramas Airing List for reference.

  1. 15 thoughts on “Discussion Post: Your Favorite Cdrama(s) of 2019?

    Princess Silver, The Romance of Hua Rong,The Gods, Well Intended Love, Hot Blooded Youth, Joy of Life, L.O.R.D., The Legends, Arsenal Military Academy,

    (In order of preference)

  2. 15 thoughts on “Discussion Post: Your Favorite Cdrama(s) of 2019?

    Definitely 庆余年! Even though I enjoyed quite a few other dramas as well, but it didn’t really leave a deep impression for me. 庆余年 is the only drama that made me want to rewatch and would call it a classic like Nirvana in Fire. Looking forward to S2, getting my hopes up because ZRY said most of the cast are willing to come back!

  3. 15 thoughts on “Discussion Post: Your Favorite Cdrama(s) of 2019?

    The Untamed and Joy of Life would be my top picks. Both dramas kept me entertained.

    I also like Put Your Head on My Shoulder which was short and sweet, something that’s really lacking in Cdramas. Not the sweet, but the short part, yes? =P

  4. 15 thoughts on “Discussion Post: Your Favorite Cdrama(s) of 2019?

    My favourite drama of the year has to be Joy of Life 庆余年. It’s both entertaining AND memorable plus re-watchable. So many good scenes like Fan Xian’s drunken poetry recital, his meal with the emperor and the two princes and so on. Love the great storytelling and the ensemble cast & characters (Fan Shize, Wang Qinian, 2nd Prince, Wuzu, Ruoruo, practically everyone really). Can’t wait for season 2 & 3.

    2nd fav would be Go Go Squid 蜜汁炖鱿鱼. Sure the drama is pretty much fluff (with some typical angst) but it was still fun to watch and rewatch. I’m not sure if I would’ve liked the drama as much if the two leads weren’t portrayed by Yang Zi and Li Xian, because of their chemistry. DT and the other kids were also a good surprise. Hopefully YZ & LX can reunite in another drama in the near future.

  5. 15 thoughts on “Discussion Post: Your Favorite Cdrama(s) of 2019?

    I watched and finished more dramas in 2019 than in the previous years, despite the historical genre ban! I think the year also saw quality increase in Cdramas in general. My favorite dramas are The Longest Day in Chang An, Mr. Fighting, Joy of Life and Royal Nirvana, though the last one is depressing the hell out of me. 2019 is probably the first year in which I got obsessed with a modern drama (Mr. Fighting). I’m also thrilled with the surge of old-school style wuxia dramas, with Sword Dynasty giving me the strongest TVB vibe from the 80s/90s due to the fighting scenes (and the indoor location, lol).

    Here’s hoping to an even better Cdrama watching in 2020!

  6. 15 thoughts on “Discussion Post: Your Favorite Cdrama(s) of 2019?

    Joy of Life and The Longest Day in Chang an! The first is comedic and quirky yet has a very strong storyline. The second is just cinematographic perfection.

  7. 15 thoughts on “Discussion Post: Your Favorite Cdrama(s) of 2019?

    Looks like Joy of Life is really popular, I’m glad 😀 Joy of Life for its fantastic setup, unexpectedly fun tone and characters, Young Blood for the cutest and shippable team on an adventure, King’s Avatar for camaderie and decent portrayal of mmo/esport, Gank Your Heart for the supportive and well balanced relationship + quirky characters.

  8. 15 thoughts on “Discussion Post: Your Favorite Cdrama(s) of 2019?

    My drama of the year is surprisingly a Hong Kong drama, the one with the abysmal English title Barrack O’Karma (今宵大廈).

    It’s not perfect, but it is a drama unique in its structure and storytelling for this year. Moreover, it’s a contemporary series that doesn’t focus on the rich and upper middle class that we always see in dramas, instead focusing on the lives and conditions of HKers who have to live in partitioned rooms. The show uses supernatural elements to explore various issues without necessarily a happy ending, such as the enormous pressure kids endure from their parents, the hopelessness of career and life for the younger generation, the difficulties people have juggling job, finances, and family, racism in HK society, and so on.

    I’m typically allergic to heavily romance-oriented series, but this one is well-paced and well-balanced between the main romance and the side characters and their stories. So maybe it’s not that heavily romance-oriented? lol

    I would recommend it wholeheartedly.

    TVB channels on youtube have been uploading lots of old shows. I didn’t buy the romance in Witness to a Prosecution II either but I think the two main leads had a pretty good friendship going on 😀 Been skimming those old shows and it does remind the viewer how good some of these HK actors were and still are. Dayo Wong’s dramas have been uploaded en masse and the scriptwriting was so sharp.

  9. 15 thoughts on “Discussion Post: Your Favorite Cdrama(s) of 2019?

    My fave is surprisingly the King’s Avatar. And then after that i watched an old drama of Gao Hanyu called Flipped… because he is so bae in the King’s Avatar i had to binge his other drama too.!!!!! XD

    Dramas i also finished and liked… Not in order

    The Gods… I’m surprised someone else up there watched it too!! 😀
    Mr. Fighting… Deng Lun is a cheese.
    Longest Day in Ch’angan… Best cinematography this year!!!
    The Prince of Tennis… My childhood anime come to life
    The Plough department… randomly watched this on YouTube
    Once upon a time in lingjian mountain.
    … Xu Kai really shines here

    Not cdramas but

    The Stranded… Damn cliffhanger and the main couple, i don’t like!!

    I feel like I’m missing some more but yeah i actually watched alot of cdramas this year.

    Now currently watching a lakorn: Thong Ek the herbal master.

  10. 15 thoughts on “Discussion Post: Your Favorite Cdrama(s) of 2019?

    Goodbye My Princess – I stopped watching after the show seemed to have gone through some brutal editing. The first few episodes had some nice cinematography and the two leads were charismatic enough to carry the show.
    Le Coup de Foudre – I finally finished my first modern drama! I decided to check out this drama because the two leads had chemistry in An Oriental Odyssey. I’ll have to admit that I fast forwarded a lot of the episodes towards the end.
    Love and Destiny – and….yep, like everyone says…the beginning was a bit lack lustre. If you can just get through it, the rest of the show will be rewardingly entertaining. I’ve yet to finish this show but I intend to, once I finish…
    Royal Nirvana – I will now watch anything that has “Nirvana” in its title. This show is so good! It’s smart, the actors are beyond capable (hm…was I watching mediocre acting all these years?), it has a beautiful colour palette, wonderful cinematography, and most important of all, an engaging storyline.

    Here’s hoping 2020 will be good for drama watching!

  11. 15 thoughts on “Discussion Post: Your Favorite Cdrama(s) of 2019?

    My fav was The King’s Avatar! I admit, I’m a fan of the webnovel and anime and had been waiting patiently for the drama to come out since it was announced back in er 2017? OST was awesome, I had it on loop the entire day! Here’s hoping they’ll do season 2!!!

    Also enjoyed The Lost Tomb 2: Explore with the Note though it wasn’t perfect. Can’t wait for Zhu Yilong’s portrayal of Wu Xie in the upcoming Lost Tomb Reboot/Lost Tomb 3! 🙂

    Other I liked include Longest Day in Chang An (suspenseful story-telling) and Listening Snow Tower (for its flawless execution of that sword fight in the rain). Haven’t seen Sword Dynasty yet but it’s next on the list to watch.

    Can’t wait for 2020’s list of dramas, may it be good! Thanks for all your updates Kappy 🙂

  12. 15 thoughts on “Discussion Post: Your Favorite Cdrama(s) of 2019?

    Untamed of course greatly enjoyed it. I’m currently liking Listening Snow Tower and King Avatar.

  13. 15 thoughts on “Discussion Post: Your Favorite Cdrama(s) of 2019?

    oh wow. I really didn’t watch much this year. The most memorable wasn’t even a drama: Stranger Things wins all the way. But anyways. I watched quite a few “pretty good” dramas and even some dramas I really liked, that I didn’t finish at all (yes incl Love and Destiny). Dramas that I ACTUALLY felt thoroughly motivated to watch and finish and also loved were Joy of Life and The Untamed (actually I think there may have been more in the first half of the year that I’ve totally forgotten now…Was Put Your Head on My Shoulder from 2019?). Joy of Life is…fantastic. I’m sure everyone has already ranted about how utterly captivating and what a success it was (as a drama…as a commercial piece for the platform, not so much, like wth was the platform trying to do…).

    I’m actually late to the train on the Untamed. I heard everyone’s obsessing and amazement over the summer which is why it was on my have-to-watch list, but I was COMPLETELY not in the mindset to watch it at all at the time. It came out early summer, right after I had an INTENSELY deep dive into chinese bl dramas and radiodramas. Frankly, I still think the novel and author are overrated. Which is NOT to say I don’t like her works, but all the immense praise for her due to the continuous releases of MDZS media (animation, radiodrama, etc) made me feel like MDZS in specific was highly overrated. I still think over the course of early 2019, I read (listened) to a lot of more moving, better written bl novels.

    NONETHELESS. I think the drama did a really good job. In fact, I think for once, I think the drama is far better than the novel. It was REALLY REALLY well brought to life. It kept all the good parts of the novel and smoothed out a lot of flaws. Overall it was really quite an amazing drama.

    • 15 thoughts on “Discussion Post: Your Favorite Cdrama(s) of 2019?

      Oh right, Young Blood definitely. And the first half of Legend lmao. And the first 10-15 eps of Novaland…lmao. There were a few webdramas here and there that were pretty cute and if I’d been in more of a drama watching mood, I would have finished…but ultimately didn’t. Like that one that was like the world owes me a first love (sorry, Lucky’s First Love. I had to look that up…direct translate never works lmao)?

    • 15 thoughts on “Discussion Post: Your Favorite Cdrama(s) of 2019?

      There’s gonna be more coming from the MDZS author. Another of her webnovels Heaven’s Blessing is gonna be getting the same treatment soon 😉 I think it’s scheduled for an audio version and anime in 2020 (hang on, that’s this year! I might have mixed the dates up hehe) and who knows, maybe a drama too!

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