Musings on comparing

Hello!

First, a disclaimer. These are just some observations of mine, I'm not pretending that they are particularly insightful, especially since I haven't watched that many dramas, all things considered. Almost all of them have been romance / comedy, and broadcasted between 2005 and 2012. So my observations are probably biased and possibly outdated.

You're welcome to politely disagree and enlighten me!

When I was updating this blog, I chose to watch an equal amount of Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese dramas, but what dramas did I tend to prefer ?

In order to know, I looked at the list of my reviews and... I realized that I had actually reviewed 17 J dramas, 13 K dramas and 13 TW dramas.

Oops. I totally blame Yamashita Tomohisa. *cough*

Anyway, there are no significative differences in the Fav nor in the +/- or in the minus/ DNF (I added these two categories since there are no Japanese DNF, probably because J dramas are shorter). I have 7 J dramas rated + compared to 4 K and 4 TW dramas, but it could be explained by the fact that I have watched more J dramas. So I can say that I don't really have bias, and it's confirmed when I add the Fav and the Minus/DNF of dramas I've watched but not reviewed. But I would be more affirmative if I had actually watched/reviewed the same amount of each.

That (kinda) established, I'd like to say that music is always important in J, K and TW dramas, with recurring motifs and songs, and I always like the OST.

Now, moving to a basic difference : the length. There are exceptions, that I didn't watched because I didn't want to get into a 50 or 100 episodes drama, but here are the usual :

Japanese : usually 10 or 11 episodes of 45 minutes

Korean : usually from 16 to 20 episodes of 1h

Taiwanese : usually from 13 to 20 episodes of 1h15

J dramas are the shortest, which may also explain why I used to watch more of them, considering that I usually binge them. They also sometimes have sequels, like second season or "special" (i.e. a TV movie).

I noticed that some TW dramas have a "turning midpoint" which is a traumatic event, after which the drama jump a few years in the future. I think it may be due to the length. This jump allows the drama to reset itself and keep things fresh.

The length difference also explains that K and TW dramas, but especially K dramas, tend to have a B-couple, or almost 4 leads, who has its own storyline. It adds difficulty because the other couple must be as interesting as the main one.

Onto the style/content, I've watched two J dramas that I consider "crack": Anna-san no Omame (2006) and Mendol (2008). TW dramas Brown Sugar Macchiato and The Legend of Brown Sugar Chivalries, which were vehicles for groups Lollipop and Hey Girl, were kind of "crack-y". However, all the K dramas I've have watched have been straighforward (but still funny when they were supposed to, just not in the weird how-did-this-make-it-to-air way).

On the other side, I've learnt to be prepared for TW dramas, they hold nothing back, even in romance. Suddenly killing beloved character ? No problem at all!

Since I didn't want to spoil any dramas I've reviewed, I wanted to use as an example "Mars", a 2004 TW romance drama I've never finished. It was a big deal at the time, but I bailed because it depicted too much misery. The first episode gives us the aftermath of a crippling accident, sexual assault, hallucinations due to a trauma and the second episode, murder attempt, sociopathy, bullying. Yeah... Then, I read that it is actually based on the manga "Mars" by Soryo Fuyumi and that there is a 2016 Japanese adaptation. So, not a good example for my point of Taiwanese romance dramas not afraid to go dark.

TW dramas acknowledge sexuality more than J and K dramas. I think this has started to change but dramas, especially J dramas, are very soft in depictions of "sexuality". Love interests used to barely even kiss. Now, it seems that kisses have gotten more passionate. Sexuality is more in the subtext, like sleeping in the same bed is quite common but then there are the "saving the apparences" or "embarassed" parts. By the way, this is not a complaint, but it's something that stands in contrast to Western media.

Now, last topic I want to address talk about : the multiple adaptations/remakes.

Something I wish I could do would be to read the source material, then watch and compare all of the adaptations. If someone did so, let me know!

In the list below, I underlined those I've watched entirely. I DNF Absolute Boyfriend (TW) because I didn't like it and Hua Yang Shao Nien Shao Nu (TW) because the lead made me think of my brother. I could try to watch more of them. I also mentioned Chinese (mainland) adaptations.

Besides Mars, I know of :

Boys over flowers / 花より男子(1992-2008) : manga by Kamio Yoko

Adaptations : Meteor garden (TW) 2001 / Hana Yori Dango (JP) 2005 / Boys over Flowers (KR) 2009 / Meteor garden (CH) 2018

Absolute Boyfriend / 絶対彼氏。(2003-2005) : manga by Watase Yuu

Adaptations : Zettai Kareshi (JP) 2008 / Absolute boyfriend (TW) 2012 / My Absolute boyfriend (KR) 2019

Hanazakari no Kimitachi e (Hana Kimi) /花ざかりの君たちへ (1996-2004) : manga by Nakajo Hisaya

Hanazakari no Kimitachi e or Hua Yang Shao Nien Shao Nu (TW) 2006 / Hanazakari no Kimitachi e (JP) 2007 / To the Beautiful You (KR) 2012

Nodame cantabile / のだめカンタービレ (2001-2010) : manga by Ninomiya Tomoko

Adaptations : Nodame cantabile (JP) 2006 / Nae Il's Cantabile (KR) 2014 / Symphony's Romance (CH) 2020

No manga. Also the worst.

Fated to love you (TW) 2008 / Fated to love you (KR) 2014 / Unmei Kara Hajimaru Koi (JP) 2020

No manga. Also, I only remember it was fine.
The Man who can't get married or Kekkon Dekinai Otoko (JP) 2006 / The Man who can't get married (KR) 2009