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Here are my personal Taiwan drama picks… Still have a bundle to watch so I’ll just update it every now and then… ^_^

I’ll rate it the way it is rated by  Asian drama addicts… 1-10 (10 being the highest)  The first is how much I enjoyed it, the second is how I rated it and the third one is how I will recommend it.

♥ Meteor Garden (2001) – I gave credit to this drama, because my Asian drama addiction started when I was swept off my feet by 4 china-eyes hunks. This was my “first” Asian drama, and because it’s the first, it will always be special. At that time it was aired, it was a novelty… vibrant and undeniably addictive. With cute guys you can’t help but fall in love… interesting development of the love story… and romantic elements well injected to stimulate the audience’ romantic veins. These are reasons why you should watch it. Phenomenal, unsurpassed and spellbinding. 10/10/10

♥ It Started with a Kiss and They Kiss Again (2005 & 2007) – It’s the drama that I watch when I’m sad so I can feel better. It is so breezy, flowing and never a dull moment. The endearing chemistry of the lead couple was one of the best I have ever seen in the Asian drama land. 10/10/10

♥ Autumn’s Concerto (2009) – what’s strange about this drama is that the premise was typical, but superb directing and acting I guess made me glued and love this drama so much. The pacing will make you crave for more, the twist is simple, yet done exceptionally. It’s like your favorite romance novel coming into life. This is my must see Taiwan drama of 09 and of all time. 10/10/10

♥Sunny Happiness (2011) beckoning, entrancing and habit-forming. Mike He at his usual devilish charm and Janine Chang at a very refreshing performance. It will be on my Top 3 taiwan drama this year. ^_^ 9/9/9

♥ Starlit (2009) – A different kind of Jerry Yan here. Stirring, nothing fancy, and will make you cry. It sure will pull the sad veins in your body. At times dragging but the tone of the story kept it afloat. 8.5/8/8.5

♥ The Hospital (2006) – Superior directing and scriptwriting. I saw Jerry in different faces and I say he may be struggling in this drama but you will let it pass because it can faintly be felt because of the flowing story. 8.5/10/9

♥ My Lucky Star (2007) - Groovy, high spirited and lingering… Took a few episodes for me to get hooked, but I did eventually. One of those T-dramas with vivacious yet feel-good vibe. 9/9.5/10

100% Senorita (2004) –  *bucket list

♥ Brown Sugar Macchiato (2007 ) -  *priority list

♥ Bull Fighting (2007) -  *priority list

♥ Bump-off Lover (2006) – *bucket list

♥ Smiling Pasta (2006) - Perky, fun and tantalizing… The vibe is similar to Korea’s Full House. A love tale of an almost-losing-hope-in-love-girl who found her ever-after when she least expected it. 9/9/10

♥ Romantic Princess (2007) - Nothing spectacular, light and quite engrossing… Wu Chun at his prince-like addictive state was what made me enchanted to this another princess-fairytale-like-story. 8.5/8/9

♥ Easy Fortune Happy Life (2009) - It was a nice, sweet drama.  With I-have-to-make-you-fall-for-me-to-keep-my-inheritance-in-place major storyline.  Then of course the main male lead will be moved by the kind-hearted lead woman.  Ijust want to see Chen Qiao En in a different kind of tone just not a typical nice girl image.  8/8.5/9

♥ Hayate the Combat Butler (2011) -  *priority list

♥ Calling Big Star (2010) -  *priority list

♥ Hana Kimi (2006) – Fast paced, energetic and cute cast. I still prefer the Japanese version though. 8.5/9/9

♥ Mars (2004)  – Sentimental, amorous and absorbing… Terrific directing with melo-dramatic yet engaging storyline. 9.5/9.5/10

♥ Corner with Love ( 2007) - Average, sunny and endearing… There were minimal story arcs that should have not been placed but nevertheless the “love-realization” tones they neatly layered made the narrative a must watch. 8.5/8/9

♥ Hi My Sweetheart (2009)  – *bucket list

♥ Honey and Clover (2008)  -  *parking lot

♥ Miss No Good (2008) – Cheerful, sparky and fascinating… This was something that was really full of wit, humor and love. It was a stunner and yet it’s strange that it’s not lingering. 8/8/9


♥ Why Why Love (2007) - the onset was fun, the twist was cool, but the ending was disheartening. 8/8.5/9

♥ Le Robe De Marriage (2004)  - adorable, sometimes dull, and yet ironically worth watching… 8/8/8.5

♥ Devil Beside You (2005)  – pardon me if I didn’t enjoy it… It’s just so typical, nothing extraordinary for a love story… Didn’t like Rainie Yang’s acting here. Nevertheless, it’s buoyant, fervent and warm. 8/8/8

♥ Love Contract (2004) – Moody, spry, but will eventually keep you uninvolved… No matter how perfect the lead couple, this justified that you can’t get the best of both worlds. 8/8/8


♥ The Prince Who Turns into a Frog (2005) – satisfactory, sometimes dragging, and I don’t know why it got pretty decent ratings. 8/8/8

Knock Knock Loving you (2009)  – *bucket list

Lavender (2001)  -  *bucket list

Love Keeps Going (2011)  -  I have neglected seeing some Taiwan dramas lately, and so I will spend the remaining days of November finishing the rest of the DVD’s here.  I took this darling because of Cyndi Wang and Mike He, and because it’s only 12 episodes.  I have a love-hate relationship with him, I’m waiting for him to crawl in my heart and warm it up.  I don’t like him that much yet, but I have watched all his drama*giggles And proving that I have the gift of premonition, I chose right.  It was a bit weird in the beginning, but when the relationship was established it was charmingly sweet.  There were some unnecessary things but the interaction between the lead characters filled up the weak spots I guess.  Sunny, remarkable and very doting. 9/9/9

Love You (2011) – *priority list

♥ Summer X Summer (2007) – Two Words… Skip it… The only good thing going on here is Joe Cheng. 6/6/6


♥ Love storm (2003) - chipper, lively and amusing… Classic love bickering and one of my favorite Vic Zhou’s TV portrayal. 9/8.5/9

♥ Tokyo Juliet (2006) – interesting chemistry of the lead couple… I may be weird but I enjoyed it, I manage to finish it in one sitting. You’ll slowly get attached to it. Decent and satisfying… 9.5/9/9

♥ The Rose (2003) - You might not really enjoy it. Drama is all over the place, weird development of romance. But once you watch it, you can’t help but finish it. 8.5/8/8

♥ Magic Ring (2004) - High Grade storyline layering, twist executed fairly… Enjoyable and Attractive… Aside from ISWAK, this is another Joe Cheng darling. 9/9/9


♥ Fated To Love You (2008) - classic, amazing and fascinating… Fated Love was perfectly portrayed by the lead characters. It is a love story I secretly wished to have. 10/10/10


♥ Love or Bread (2008) - Don’t watch it after watching ISWAK, because you’ll just get disappointed. Whatever chemistry they had from the endearing ISWAL turned into Physics here. *giggles 8/8/8

♥ Silence (2006) - The story is compelling, but I don’t know, I feel like it’s missing something. Or I’m just used to the lead couples really talking to each other and not just mutual understanding. ^_^ 8/8/8

♥ Wish to see you again (2008) - sometimes captivating, most of the time though I dozed off… 7/8/8


♥ Hot Shot (2008) – Electrifying, fancy editing… skittish and exuberant… My Jerry Yan as a basketball star, I was a happy camper here. 10/9/9


♥ Down With Love (2010) – I’m forever in love with Jerry Yan, so I watch all his dramas. This could be dragging but you still will drool over him. It will give you mixed emotions and flower petals are scattered everywhere when the lead couple finally surrendered to the idea that they are both in love to one another. 10/10/10

♥ Material Queen (2011) - *bucket list

♥ That Love Comes (2011) – short, simple and sweet.  The ending blog love revelation scene was a darling.  Nothing much to expect but it will not disappoint you either.  Hassle-free and endearing.  Joe Cheng, I miss you sweetie.  9/9/9

♥ Skipbeat! (2012) -  Watching Skipbeat! was a pleasant experience.  It was perky and fun and didn’t deviate much from the manga and the anime production.  That’s why maybe I liked it, it played safe while playing on the strength of the characters.  The characters were able to live up to their persona, but there’s still room for improvement and sometimes chemistry was delayed.  The hero-worshipping and I secretly-love-a-girl-younger-than-me plot were enough to keep you addicted and following.  8/8/8

18 Comments

  1. “China-eyes hunks”?? :\

    • Hi there,

      China-eyes hunk is what I call gorgeous actors in Taiwan… Take care.. ^_^

  2. Its a very good list. I really admire your love to asian films.
    Recently i watched “Starry Starry Night (2011)”. You might want to take a look at it.

    • its a movie by the way.. not a drama..

  3. What about skip beat? I am in the middle of it….those movie where you love to see the actor but hate the acting.

    • Hi grany, I’m also halfway through skipbeat, hopefully by Sunday I’ll have the series review.

  4. I LOVED skip beat…so taiwanesse.

  5. HihI~ Wow, u’ve seen a lot of TW dramas ne! I’m impressed! I like to recommend “EX” from earlier this year. It’s so far my favorite drama! Here a 15 mins preview: http://youtu.be/VOpAGbX5dzE

    • Hi Ah Man, appreciate the warm response… I’ll put your recommendation on my list… Thank you for that. take care. ^_^

  6. hi abby…………not a day passes by without viewing ur blog for me ..i can’t really express how muchhhhhhhhh i loveeeeeeeeeeeeeee it…i hav watched almost everything u gave 10/10 rating…

    can u please suggest me one thing..i love romantic comedies rather than melodramas….is it better to watch “autumn’s concerto” or “skip beat”???

    • thank you so much harry… I finished Skipbeat just for you, just so I would have a definitive answer for your question… While Skipbeat is pleasant and perky… Autumn’s Concerto was a total package. The Taiwan adaptation didn’t deviate much from the anime production. Siwon and Donghae were of course very nice to drool at but I felt that while the characters were strong at their performance, the romantic connection was missing. So watch Mu Cheng and Ren Guang Xi first. Hope this will help. -jediprincess ^_^

  7. thats soooooooooooooooo sweet of u abby…thanx for the recommendation :) :) :)
    i m going to watch “autumn’s concerto” first then…….. thank u soooooo much for such an awesome blog

  8. This might be a stupid question but what do u mean by bucket list like u would see it eventually or u haven’t see it yet bc the ones u mark as that I really wanted to see

    • Hi Nata, yes those on my bucket list are not yet watched but I already have the copy. Take care. ^_^

  9. Does anyone know where I can purchase the DVD set of “Bump Off Lover 17″ with English subtitles? It looks so interesting, but I have only been able to find the Chinese version sold by yesasia.com. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much!

  10. Hi, it’s me again. I’m vacationing in Canada where I have been able to access “Bump Off Lover 17″ on-line. I am really starting to get into it, particularly because it is a mystery story. I have also been enjoying the music throughout the series, especially the opening theme song. But there have been other melodies recurring at strategic moments (and the closing credits). I have always loved the scottish folk song “Annie Laurie”; that tune is hummed during the sad, emotional scenes. However, the song that is really piquing my interest is “Red River Valley”. I do not understand the words being sung being sung on the show, but one of the original English verses goes:

    Come and give me a kiss if you love me,
    Come and kiss me and bid me adieu,
    Say goodbye to the Red River Valley,
    And the girl who will love you so true.

    It was while watching episode 5 that the symbolism of this song hit me very hard. I will watch the rest of this series during my time off (it is MY vacation, I can do WHATEVER I WANT, HA HA!!) I will give my comments along the way, I am hooked now (PLEASE DON’T SPOIL IT FOR ME!!!!!!)

    • Hi Litavec,

      Thank you for sharing your thoughts about Bump Off Lover. Enjoy your vacation! ^_^

  11. Wow, episodes 6 and 7 are taking a rather sordid turn. Plus, the incidental music is getting more interesting as well. Everybody is under suspicion now!! (BTW, just call me Terence).


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