Top Dramas of 2023

So let's start with the easy stuff: my favourite Asian dramas of 2023.

KOREA

1. Missing: The Other Side 2
2. Moon in the Day
3. Call It Love
4. Taxi Driver 2
5. The Forbidden Marriage
6. Tale of the Nine-tailed 1939
7. Destined With You
8. Numbers
9. Behind Your Touch
10. See You in My 19th Life

For me, it was a difficult year for K-drama, although I did complete watching 48 of them. Earlier in the year there wasn't much released that interested me, and the second half seems to have been littered with little but reincarnation romance stories. I love watching these, but if I see that firework bridge in a romance drama again I shall scream - it is visually stunning but is now well-overused. I even heaved a sigh when the flashbacks began in My Demon and A Good Day to be a Dog (both excellent dramas but not yet complete so ineligible for this list) - no bridge as yet, but it can only be a matter of time. 

I'm getting deja vu here

I did spend a lot of time rewatching old favourites, both because of a lack of enthusiasm for newer dramas and because work left me mentally drained and needing to relax with something that didn't need too much thinking about. I also caught up on some older dramas I hadn't got around to, which were more appealing than newer offerings.  

I did drop a few dramas because I really wasn't enjoying them: Heartbeat (sorry OK Taecyeon), Heavenly Idol and Strong Girl Namsoon. I also put one of the most popular dramas of the year, Moving, on hold because I wasn't in the mood for it and haven't yet got in the mood to pick it back up again. 

Missing: The Other Side was always going to be my drama of the year as I loved the first series so much that nothing has managed to unseat it as my favourite of all time, and this was an excellent (and somewhat surprising as we never believed it would really happen) continuation. I had already said at the end of 2022 that had it started earlier in the year it would have been my drama of the year then, and that didn't change. Now I hope, that given the ending, there will be a third (and it was briefly mentioned a fourth) series sooner rather than later.

Honestly, the best drama series ever made (anywhere in the world)

CHINA/TAIWAN

1. Oh No, Here Comes Trouble
2. The Inextricable Destiny
3. Destined
4. She and Her Perfect Husband
5. The Starry Love
6. Song of the Moon
7. Hilarious Family
8. Sweet Games
9. The Princess and the Werewolf
10. Butterflied Lover

I watched far fewer Chinese dramas this year (25) and also missed a lot of the 'big' ones because they had received bad reviews from the reactors I follow or had a lot of traffic on social media for the wrong reasons. Also, generally, they were hella long and I didn't have time to waste on loads of 40-episode dramas when I had thousands of songs to listen to and Hogwarts Legacy to play.  

There are 2 other dramas which probably would have been on the list (Three Body (based on the sci-fi novel by Liu Cixin) and Parallel World), but I put both on hold because of work and didn't pick them up again in time to finish in 2023. I really should find time, though, as they were both very good.

Oh No, Here Comes Trouble is a perfect blend of comedy and fantasy and should be at the top of anyone who's seen its list this year.

These guys are definitely (in) trouble

JAPAN

I don't normally watch much Japanese drama as I generally find them a bit strange. But just occasionally one catches my attention that is worth mentioning. For me, the pinnacle of Japanese series' is the sublime Mystery to Lunakare (also known as Don't Call It Mystery) which, while it is every bit as weird as any other J-drama, is also completely brilliant and has a lead character with the best hair ever. 

Check out that hair - I am so jealous

The original series was released in 2022, but this year saw not only a full-length film, which I haven't yet watched as I've been jealously hoarding it for a time when I can enjoy it to the full extent but an extended episode of the show which repeated the first episode of the series and added a whole load of new information to bridge the gap between the series and the film.

Honestly, he really is the coolest person ever

I was also impressed by Debu to Love to Ayamachi to! (Plus-sized Misadventures in Love), which whilst being completely bonkers is an excellent feel-good series that puts forth a fantastic message about the importance of self-esteem.  

With high self-esteem, you can achieve anything

THAILAND

I watch probably about as much Thai drama as I do Japanese. Generally, they're best known for BL (boy love), which has never particularly interested me, but they do sometimes do some supernatural stuff that I quite enjoy now and again.

This year I watched two, Midnight Museum, which featured a star-studded cast and was interesting enough but lost its way somewhere towards the middle. I have no idea whether a second series is planned, which might explain the ending. The other, slightly less confusing but with a definite cliffhanger ending, was Enigma. Both are also short, which is appealing when you don't have much time.