Asian Dramaland

The incomparable Rainie Yang is as charming and funny as ever in this 18-episode series. No, this is not the latest drama import from Taiwan. This post is about "Love You" because sometimes you need a little joy in your life. Even that joy is imported from near past. At the moment, Taiwan dramas on Netflix have become eerily dark. There's Light the Night , Shards of Her  and The Victims Game  -- all of which are moody explorations of past crimes and the painful secrets that haunt the present. Don't be mistaken--these are all standout series, but sometimes you just want to have a delightful romp after a long day of remote work. "Love You" came out in 2011--toward the end of the golden age of idol drama in Asia.  It has all the elements that you've come to expect from the genre: a fake marriage, opposites that attract, romantic rejection, lots of eavesdropping, and some over-the-top comedic performances by Rainie Yang  and Hsin-Ling Chung. Xiao Ru (Rainie

Woo Young Woo's name is a palindrome, like kayak, deed, and rotor. If you forget, she'll remind you.  I'm not a huge fan of legal dramas . Never have been. Never will be. There's a reason why there are so many lawyer jokes: the profession is filled with bloodsucking vampires. So needless to say, I wasn't too eager to watch a show about  lawyers  in my free time. But there's one lawyer I love. She extraordinary. She's autistic. And her name is Woo. When the show debuted, ratings were satisfactory. Woo was no "Stranger Things" or "Squid Game." But then, word got out. And each successive week, the viewership got bigger. And bigger. Each week beating the week before. That's the power of this show. It's not about the hype, it's about substance. Yes, you see law offices and courtrooms, but it's a show about humanity. And who doesn't love a show about a character with superpowers. Even if the superpower is about the law.  Eve

Maruya Kousuke is the kawaii-est thing since BTS. But how long will his cuteness last? You can look at this recent series from Japan as a textbook office romcom, but that would not be seeing the full picture. "My Cuteness Is About to Expire!?" is an examination of fleeting youth, beauty standards, growing old and humanity's eternal longing for a fountain of youth.  Maruya Kousuke ( Ryosuke Yamada , from Full Metal Alchemist and boy band Say! Hey! JUMP )  is a 29-year-old worker at a Tokyo beer company who has led a charmed life. He's super kawaii, polished, amiable, and a sales leader for the brand. Kousuke has the cute bias to his advantage and he knows it:  girls flock to him, men want to be him, all doors are open to him and even older ladies swoon in his presence.   The ghost of cuteness past wants to have a word with you. And it isn't pretty. One day, he is visited by his time-traveling, 59-year-old future self who tells Kousuke that when he turns 30, his cut