This has been a strange year. In a way it’s just like kfangurl wrote in her year end post – seems like the year went by fast but also it feels like I was stuck in time. It also feels like 2021 has been a continuation of 2020, only worse in some ways.
At the beginning of the year I decided to take a break from dramas and blogging but as the months went by, I realised it was actually more of a break from blogging. I’ve been battling exhaustion all year from ever increasing workload that usually leaves me totally drained. Weekends are mostly spent recovering from the previous week. The saddest part is that I don’t think next year will be any different. Sigh. Writing a blog post takes time, effort and some brainpower, none of which I have in excess and it shows. I made all of 4, yes frour, posts in 2021 and two of them were about GOT7, ha. I also seem to have developed an attention span of a gnat. I tend to “wander off” from dramas I’m watching after couple of episodes, never to retun. Even if it is something I was mostly enjoying. I did manage to stick to few dramas long enough to finish them and there are couple I do intend to continue with (Move to Heaven, Hospital Playlist 2, Luoyang). I’m also currently watching Sword Snow Stride 雪中悍刀行, which is quite entertaining and the cast is grrrreat.
Here’s what I watched this year (as far as I can remember^^):
Korea
Awaken, Forest of Secrets/Stranger (re-watch), Imitation, Navillera, Run On, Sell Your Haunted House/Daebak Real Estate, The Silent Sea (pretty good for a Korean SciFi drama – watched it from behind a pillow 😂 ), The Veil/Black Sun
China
Be Yourself (a nice college/coming of age drama), Definitely Not Today (darkly quirky and fun), The Imperial Coroner (bit of a hidden gem), Nirvana In Fire
Taiwan
Some Day or One Day
A Touch of Drama 
That’s actually not a bad watch list considering how busy you were 🙂 I’m glad you found some dramas to enjoy last year. I really hope 2022 lets up some and gives you more of a break. You deserve it! Happy New Year! 🙂
Happy 2022, Timescout! I feel ya on the exhaustion, hoping you will still get time to rest even though you said this year might be the same as the last.
I am also watching Sword Snow Stride 雪中悍刀行 and reading the novel. Hope to do a post on it when I get the chance to.
Happy 2022 to you too! This year may well be more of the same, but perhaps the latter part will be somewhat less busy. We’ll see.
I’ve been thinking of giving the Sword Snow Stride novel a go too. Haven’t yet checked if there’s a traslated version available though. I’m looking forward to you take on the show.
I don’t think there’s a proper translation available. In any case, it is a massive work – 986 chapters online, and a total of 20 volumes in book form. As for the drama, I’m only 10 episodes in, and I lean towards the comments on douban. The “martial arts” choreography is rubbish and the acting of the FL and some story arcs leave much to be desired. That said, I think Zhang Ruoyun is doing pretty decently.
Oh yes, these web novels are ridiculously bloated. Imho, you could cut about a third of most of ’em without any damage to the story. I’ve read Joy of Life, which is another web novel by the same author. That was pretty long as well. I’ve so far watched all the available epis with subs and I think the they get a better hang on things as the drama advances. Yeah, the fight choreo isn’t much to write home about, but I don’t really mind. I’m not watching it for the fighting. I like the story, the characters and most of the character interactions. The father/son pair is my fave.
Oh no, Sword Snow Stride and Joy of Life are not by the same web author, though their drama adaptations share the same scriptwriter and lead actor. Reading as I watch gives me some wtf moments, given that the story development in the drama is faster but sometimes does not make sense. I do agree the father and son interactions are pretty fun.
Ah, guess I got things a bit mixed up on that front. I think it helps that I haven’t read the novel. Easier for me to just go with the flow. 🙂
Happy new year, Timescout!
Our watched-list is quite different this — err, last — year, and yes, the time and brainpower required to blog can be no joke, but it’s always nice to see your blog updates from time to time despite your hectic work-life. (Also, thank you for taking the time to regularly like/comment on my posts, i truly appreciate it!) Hopefully your workload will be more manageable this year, and that we’ll get to see you around the blogosphere whenever you feel like it 🙂
So, what did you watch? Besides the dramas you have posted about. Inquiring minds and all that jazz… 😉
It is frustrating wanting to write about somehting but no energy to do it. Yeah, I do hope work will ease up somewhat to actually have a life this year. Not holding my breath though.
Wishing you all the best for 2022!
I’m steadily shifting toward j-dramas as they’re shorter and it’s getting harder to commit to 70+minutes k-dramas 😅 I think we only have Move to Heaven in common and i’m considering Silent Sea (is it unnerving?). I did finish Mr. Queen, Beyond Evil, Great Shaman Ga Doo-shim, and One Ordinary Day, though.
Sigh, work/life balance can be really elusive, huh. 😶
Hi TImescout – Happy New Year! I see your Sword Stone Stride header. I recognized it immediately as I love the artwork in the opening title. You certainly have good taste, I truly hope things do get better for you.
Happy New Year to you too! Dunno about taste but Sword Snow Stride has been a good one so far. 😀 The only thing I don’t like is that this is only the S1 and we never know if S2 will actually matarialise some day. Cdramas often have lovely opening and ending credits. The artwork is so pretty in many of them. I do hope things will ease up at least somewhat in the future.
Hugs. Thanks for sticking around, Timescout, even though things have been extra tough in the last year. Glad you still managed to enjoy some dramas, in spite of feeling so tired. May 2022 be better for you! ❤️❤️
Thank you, dear. I do hope some relief from the daily grind in 2022, but so far it seems unlikely. You never know though, stranger things has happened. 🙂 Thankfully there are always some dramas to enjoy, even if I don’t have the capacity to comment on them.