The strangest / most original dramas you've ever watched? 😯

TV & Movies
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“My Holo Love,” “Devil Judge,” “W,” “The Smile Has Left You Eyes,” and “The King: Eternal Monarch,” are all super original dramas in recent times, to me.

But there are a ton of OGs like “■■■■ Me, Heal Me,” “I Remember You,” and “City Hunter” too.

For dramas that were too ridiculous for me, I couldn’t find the will to finish more than a couple of episodes of “Eternal Yesterday,” but I know it’s got a 9.3 rating. A lot of people loved it. I just didn’t see where it could go, with the dude being a corpse and all, lol. It was just a bit out there for me. :sweat_smile:

And I know the majority of people will disagree, but I couldn’t finish Thai BLs “Tharn Type” and “KinnPorsche” (I’m sorry!!). I personally – personally ok! – couldn’t take the plot and setting of KP seriously, and there were so many issues with TharnType that put me off, largely Type. Midway, one of the MLs punched the other, and it (relationship violence??) was just swept under the rug and not discussed. I’m pretty sure I clicked out and never returned right at that moment.

To all the die-hard fans, I apologize, lol. :upside_down_face:

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28

Watched when it was released in 2015 and it’s on Viki at the moment.

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29

In the category of strange (which makes it original, for better or worse) is:

The School Nurse Files (2020) - MyDramaList

Honestly, upon looking through my MDL, there isn’t a lot of originality among the dramas I’ve watched, which is fine. I find comfort in most of the cliched tropiness. One on my list that did have some originality was:

The Sound of Magic (2022) - MyDramaList

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30

I thought the Arthdal Chronicles, both Season 1 and Season 2 are wierd. I think it was supposed to be like the Korean Game of Thrones. But for those of you who didn’t watch it – here’s one hint of the wierdness – in Season 1, Song Joong Ki bleeds purple blood and can communicate with horses. I forced myself to watch all of Season 1 but quit Season 2 after just one episode of more wierdness.

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31

I wouldn’t say this drama is strange, but it is definitely original in it’s execution. The dialogue is written almost like a pretentious literary fiction novel. Slightly bizarre, but also very real. It’s been a very pleasant surprise to have found such a gem while working as a contributor. It’s one of those dramas that I’ll never forget :heartpulse:

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32

I would definitely agree with this. I also consider it a gem… one that I almost missed out on.

While it had its obvious melo moments, I appreciated its wit and dialogue. It had a kind of humor that I had not seen up to the point I watched it and maybe haven’t seen since.

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33

Exactly, I have watched many dramas through the years, but none have had the humor and delivery like this one. I fear I won’t ever see anything like this in the future, but that makes me cherish this one even more. It is also a drama where the OST matches the energy of the drama itself, it is weirdly enticing, yet beautiful.

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34

Hello everyone!
For me it is very difficult to choose only one drama because I consider that there are many original dramas but one that comes to mind and is not so well known is Page Turner.

I found Page Turner to be not only very interesting but I think it left me with a very valuable life lesson. I don’t want to say too much so as not to spoil it in case you haven’t seen it, but when you get to the end you may discover that the title is much more than a common title but also reflects the journey of the protagonist and the other actors.

Have you watched it? What did you think about it?

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35

I’ve started watching dramas only recently (must be one year now), but the strangest one to me for now was: Meteor Garden / Boys Over Flowers / Hana yori Dango - the Chinese version.

I mean, they’re all sweet and nice and everything, but… a group of youngsters makes a whole university scared of them because they’re so good at… card games. CARDS! At first I kept on watching because, no, it can’t be just that, there has to be something else, somewhere, it has to be… but no, just CARDS! And there are heated stories about whether or not the characters will win CARD GAMES, as it those games were life matters! Card games, life matters…! Talk about “weird”…

Also, this Chinese version often goes to a “practical manual for dating”, really leading to fully serious and 1st degree conversations… weird, to use a drama for that, so seriously?

I forgot the details, but I remember that all the characters had strange personalities and backgrounds too, especially if you knew the original work: they were all too “all sweet and potential role-models”, while the original characters are all nice in their own way, sure, but definitely not role-models.

Etc.

In the end, I tried to skip through the episodes but I had to give up rather quickly, it felt too weird, too often.

Special kudos though to Dylan Wang for the few seconds where he speaks a bit of French: I don’t know if he ever learnt the language, but his accent was very good, grammar and vocabulary AND intonation were great too. Kudos to everyone involved in these few seconds, and to him for delivering the words so well!

36

Another one:

Despite the fine cast, I’m hesitant to watch…

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37

Same here. I couldn’t actually believe this was real when I saw the trailer. :laughing:

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38

Reading the title of this thread, I thought about Sweat and Soap too. This series was very weird, but I liked the unexpected healthy conversations between the two leads.

Yesterday, I finished watching the series Ready, Set, Love. The female lead has to join a match making show, to find a wedding match in an Utopian world, where men are almost extinct, and to participate she has to pass several games and obstacle courses. Meanwhile, we get to learn a bit about some dark plots in this Utopian world. The female also has an ill younger sister. This series has a good combination of humor, adventure, serious moments and romance. :heart:

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39

I don’t know why, but I was fascinated by imo, the most strangest and most original (a unique drama that can’t be matched) titled: W
I can see it again and again, and feel the same excitement of watching it every time (so far 4 times). lol

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40

For mee it’s Hotel del Luna.
I didnt want to watch it at first and then I was into the story and want to find out how it’s end. I will probably watch W though as the post before make me curious.

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41

JadeCloud, is Namsoon a remake of Bong Soon, or are they different stories from the same “universe?” I really enjoyed Bong Soon - hilarious, a really well-written love-triangle story, admirable characters, and Park Bo-Young just rocked the title role (she became a fave after I saw her later in “Oh My Ghost!” It’s like she was born on a stage.) I’ve seen “Namsoon” currently available in the roster of some streaming service - either Fletnix or A-zonPrime, I forget. Though I’m not convinced the story concept is strong enough to support a whole second series, I might check it out anyway.

But to answer the lead question: The strangest drama I’ve seen would have to be the original “Galileo” with Masaharu Fukuyama and Kou Shibasaki (both of them successful Pop singers when they’re not acting.)

Fukuyama-san plays a genius physics professor named Yukawa-sensei; Shibasaki-san plays a rookie cop named Utsumi-san who gets assigned bizarre cases nobody else wants to tackle. She asks him for his input and he always refuses - until she tells him that the case is “impossible.” Which she knows is irresistible bait that he always takes. So together they investigate these weird, seemingly impossible cases - and in the end they always have perfectly rational though scientifically obscure explanations.
It’s one of those dramas that makes me think - and that’s always a good thing (some of my buds say “a rare thing” but I try not to listen to them. :grin:)

Oh, 'just thought of another: “Subete ga F ni Naru,” or “The Perfect Insider,” which I think ran on C-roll before they went 95% Anime. It’s similar to Galileo in that a mismatched but symbiotic pair of investigators solves bizarre cases - in this series they’re all locked-room mysteries, so each episode is like a mind puzzle:

'Really wish I could watch these again… hint hint!

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42

This sounds like a fun/interesting drama.

As for Strong Girl Namsoon, it is a story in the same ‘universe’. I believe the FL is a cousin of Do Bong Soon’s, or at least a relative of some kind.

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43

I watched the School Nurse Files a while ago. This is a weird one too. :grin:

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44

Same here, I can’t quite decide whether I want to watch it or not!

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45

Yes, the jellies. I still managed to enjoy the drama.

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W is great in my opinion, but I am a fan of supernatural/ time travelling stories. I wouldn’t have thought of it weird to be honest. A very good watch with enough to keep your brain working through the story. :slight_smile:

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