K-drama wrap-up 2015

The premiere k-drama blog, dramabeans, has been doings its yearly wrap-ups and it confirmed something for me - it was a bit of a slow year for good k-dramas, especially in the rom-com and lighthearted categories. Most of the top shows seemed to be procedural or dramatic (not my thing) and the rom-coms that did get recapped or reviews mostly did not fare that well. Too many duds! This was actually reassuring. I was thinking it was just me being unispired to watch and got worried. Was I "over" k-dramas or something? And yes, my limited show watching time is currently being used up by a spanish show but still, I can't leave behind my k-dramas. I guess just need something good to watch :-) But splish splash love is short and has lots of good reviews so I'm trying that out.

But here are the few shows I'm see since July and my ratings. It's a short list because it doesn't count the shows I started but didn't finish or just wasn't willing to even try (at least not yet, I do think I'll gamble with Answer Me, 1988, but I want to make sure people are happy with the end first. I don't think I can take another AM 1994 incident)

Oh My Ghostess - 4 stars

This is one of those shows that is really not all at well depicted by the tag line description. A ghost trying to lose her virginity may be technically true at the beginning of the show but you could say the same thing about describing You're Beautiful by saying its about a cross dressing nun in a boy band. Well, yes, but no, not really at all.

But weird storyline idea aside, this is cute. I wish it had developed the non-possessed version of our heroine more or at least given more time to her and Chef's resolution as the ending felt like a bit of a cop-out. But that's really me being a bit knit picky. The chemistry is great as is the cast. I adore Jo Jung-suk, as always, and he's perfect as our hard exteriored marshmellow of a chef. Park Bo-young does a great job selling both of her characters. Kim Seul-gie is hilarious as always (she's a big part of why I am trying Splish Splash Love).  It's sweet and fun and the mystery keeps the show going without adding too much angst.

Sassy Go Go - 4.25 stars

Another show that doesn't seem to match its descriptions. This was misleading as it presented itself as a highschool drama pitting the cheerleaders against the dance team and seemed very Bring It On-esq in the marketing. But it was a whole lot meatier than that. I don't mean it was cw melodramatic. Every so often it thought about it but always seemed to pull back before it hit crazy territory (although that's a bit sad because I really wish some of those situations were ridiculously overdone but given Korea's school climate, I don't think they are). It was just less shallow that I expected with its sweet friendships and struggles of growing up and making decisions. Go show go!

Warm and Cozy - 2 stars

This makes me sad. Great actor. Lovely location. The Hong Sisters writing. What could go wrong? Well, nothing. But in that case this is a problem because there was no story. Nothing happened in this show! Nothing! Where was the conflict? Where was the plot? Where was the quintessential Hong Sisters wackiness? Not here.

Splish Splash Love - 3.75 stars

Super cute! This was a drama special (just two episodes, about an hour each) so it didn't have the depth that a normal drama does but that meant the plot kept moving. Parts of it did remind me of an after school special (of the pbs not lifetime variety) and then I noticed that it was sponsored by an educational department or something which made more sense. But the history and math parts just made it more fun. And this is tons of fun and laughs. Great if you are looking for a short drama to watch over the holiday break.