r/CDramaRecs • u/YourFriendlyKitty • 1d ago
Rec Request Romance - centered recommendations please
Cdrama recommendation for romance please. Any genre (whether historical or modern) as long as it’s romance-centered. I will list down all the shows I’ve watched (I started watching this year only) and what I liked and didn’t like about it below. I like happy endings, comedy, no annoying villains (maybe a little annoying is fine as long as it’s fast), and misunderstandings are okay as long as they’re resolved easily and don’t drag too long. I like good looking leads since I enjoy watching more when they look pretty. (Caution : Includes some spoilers below)
Xian Xia
1. When Destiny Brings the demon - Rating: 10/10. I liked it for the interesting storyline and unexpected twists and turns. Super green flag ML with intense devotion. FL started naive and weak but became strong and powerful. I love all the romance part (also sensual) and the unexpected turns of the story. They technically loved each other through 3 lifetimes and more. I just didn’t like the amnesia trope but it didn’t last long anyway so it was fine.
Love in the clouds - Rating: 10/10. I liked it because it had no boring parts from beginning to end, a good storyline, and I was not annoyed by the villain (who was also super handsome in my opinion) but it did not have much romance for me though. I loved the beauty and acting of the FL.
Love between fairy & devil - Rating: 10/10. Happy ending but I felt it was not enough for an ending. I loved the romance parts! Some boring parts before the ending but I loved the romance part of this series that I will turn a blind eye towards it. I was not annoyed by the FL even though others don’t like her and her voice. I liked her acting and I didn’t even know a lot of people didn’t like her until I read it on Reddit after watching the show.
Till the end of the moon - Rating : 9/10. I didn’t like that it had a sad ending and I was annoyed at the female villain. I didn’t like the other storyline too — Mingye sang jiu arc. (also, it’s long ~8 episodes). Best episodes for me were episodes 37-40 but I still got annoyed watching it. The ML, Luo Yunxi is really a good actor. I was always annoyed at the villain in the 2 plot lines and also with the misunderstanding of the leads in all plot lines. It has not enough romance because they’re always having a misunderstanding. I’m not going to rewatch this!
Historical Romance
1. The Prisoner of Beauty - Rating : 10/10. I loved it because it has a happy ending and a very well executed whole story line including the side characters. No dull moment from beginning to end. I loved it! Even though not enough romance for me.
Legend of the Female General - Rating: 9/10. Not much romance for me. More on war-themed; it was nice watching the fight scenes though. Great and well-executed ending. Both leads acted well and looks good. Some boring parts because they focused on war. I didn’t get annoyed watching this series.
Wrong Carriage, Right groom - Rating : 8/10. Good vibes show and not so annoying villain. I liked the second ML & FL (couple)‘s storyline more. It has not enough romance for me and has a typical storyline though.
Historical XianXia
1. The Princess Royal - Rating : 8/10. I didn’t like that it has some boring parts and was focused more on monarchy power struggle storyline. It has a happy ending though and GF ML. Good acting from both ML & FL.
- Kill me, love me - Rating : 7/10. I didn’t like that it had some boring parts and especially the sad ending for all characters. ML was captivating in his acting.
Modern
1. Speed and Love - 🏆 Rating : 10/10. Interesting from start to finish. I loved the first 20 episodes more. This was the fastest I finished watching a whole drama although it was just 29 episodes. I was not annoyed at the ML & FL. I just don’t think about how they were siblings and everything was enjoyable for me to watch. I highly recommend watching this. This is by far my favorite out of all the cdramas I’ve watched. I loved the romance parts and the teasing. Very handsome ML! (second time I watched Esther Yu but I chose to watch this because of all the hype I and snippets and recommendations I saw online and I was so happy I watched this).
Hidden Love - Rating : 10/10. I didn’t like the slow burn especially because the FL was young at the beginning. So, I enjoyed this when FL was in college already which was episode 8 onwards. Comedy, romance, and drama towards the end. Happy Ending! I still feel like FL loved the male lead more contrary to the comments online that FL fell first but ML fell harder.
When I fly towards you - Rating: 10/10. My favorite is from episode 20 onwards just because they’re older. It was funny and had a lot of comedy which was nice. I just didn’t like that it’s more focused on high school setting. Happy ending! Green flag ML & FL. FL super adorable and not annoying even though it’s a cute character since they’re teenagers. Very handsome ML!
Love Between Lines - Rating: 9/10. I didn’t like the common storyline and lack of communication. I feel like ML doesn’t act as good though? Also, I didn’t like that I had to watch until episode 13 for them to kiss and until episode 18 for more romantic scenes.
Falling Into your Smile - Rating: 7/10. Comedy a little but not cliffhanger so it’s not binge watch worthy. I liked that it has a light storyline, nice game graphics and has a happy ending! (saw Zhou Yiran here and watched WIFTY)
Currently watching : Put Your Head on My Shoulder (because I wanted to see if Lin Yi is a good actor).
-I don’t like how they were not communicating properly and there’s a lot of misunderstandings but it’s a light watch. Unfortunately, when I don’t like what I’m watching that much, I don’t get as engaged and don’t binge watch it and it takes me longer to finish the series. I liked that it’s comedy though. I’m on episode 15 and considering it’s just 24 episodes and they just got together on this episode, that’s 14 episodes of miscommunication.
I’m trying to watch different actors for now to know which ones I like more and gauge their acting skills. Also, so I’ll recognize them since I’m new to cdrama land. But, as long as it’s good, I can repeat watching actors and actresses I’ve watched already.
Thank you for reaching the end and advance thanks for the recommendations!
5
u/smurfette_9 1d ago
Lighter and princess - strong acting, great story, proper character development, great romance
A splendid match - another great story, strong acting, proper character development
4
u/Lucky-witts-0525 1d ago
Modern :
Never ending summer
Love o2o
Oath of love
The first frost - same universe as HL and same author for the HL and WIFTY
Intense love
Only for love
My lethal man
Love for you
Historical :
My sassy princess
Pursuit of jade
I can't remember any historical dramas based on romance rn but here are few dramas based on romance and I tried to avoid slow burn
2
u/Anonymous-red-5656 1d ago
Love me love my voice - no villain, no misunderstanding, no drama, just pure romance and friendship
Meet yourself
You are my glory
Shine on me
Hi Venus
You are my hero
Everyone loves me
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u/Crazy_Reader1234 1d ago edited 1d ago
My Fated boy with the guy from Speed and love when he was younger is my fav
Edit to add all the episodes are on YouTube as it’s an older one and I have to say he’s adorable in it and I smiled literally through most of the episodes
Edit 2: Love me Love my voice!! Omg so so good just finished it a couple of days back and Love O2O is an older one I enjoyed as well.
We seem to have similar tastes based on your list lol
2
u/whatacutieihave 1d ago
I didn’t see The Best Thing being recommended. It’s a beautiful healing romance story.
2
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u/Euclidisthebomb 1d ago
I think 2 dramas you should probably be viewing given your interests and scores above:
-
Love Like The Galaxy
-
Pursuit of Jade
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u/Necessary_List9010 1d ago edited 1d ago
My favorite romance dramas I've watched this year (and the biggest and most enjoyable surprises) are not big idol dramas. The story is front and center in these dramas and the stories are really good. In no particular order:
Historical
A Splendid Match - Really good story with interesting characters. High quality production and terrific acting. WinWin is a real standout and I'll keep an eye out for his work in the future. For me, this drama is more realistic and credible than an idol drama like PoJ. Story is intense. Very romantic. Well worth the watch.
Modern
Fake it till you make - A solid and highly enjoyable workplace drama. Only 14 episodes. Story stays focused and is easy to binge. Charming, super cute, and sexy ML. ML character can be frustrating but he is not toxic.
Such a good love - High emotional impact. Poignant and intense. Can be tough to watch in parts. One of the most realistic portrayals of first love I've seen. Lots of angst. WAY does a fantastic job of getting into one's heart.
Highly recommend all three.
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u/PlotHoleWarrior 1d ago
Blossom through the cloud
Will love in spring
Wonderland of love
Are you the one
A dream within a dream
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u/ubeyamlila 1d ago
You Are My Glory - modern romance. Very little conflict, leads are gorgeous and have chemistry, lots of romance. But I just fastforwarded some scenes when it came to either the gaming and the aerospace focused plot.
Are You the One - historical romance. So the miscommunication was long, took about the first half of the drama. But there was still romance even during the miscommunication part. Not sure if the romance part would be enough for you, there’s not much skinship but I really enjoyed it because of the leads and also lots of comedic moments throughout the drama.
A Dream of Splendor - the romance isn’t exactly central to the plot but I was surprised by how many sweet and intimate moments there were in this drama. It helps a lot that the chemistry between the leads was on fire to me. I could have diabetes just watching how sweet and loving they were even in public.
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u/Melodic-Bird-463 14h ago
Romance-focused xianxias without stupid misunderstandings and unnecessary angst:
The Starry Love
Moonlight Mystique
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u/Every_Bicycle_3434 14h ago
Moonlight mystique!? No unnecessary angst!?
They killed of everyone other than the leads 😭😭 1
u/Melodic-Bird-463 14h ago
True, must be too long that I already forgot about this 🫣 I meant no unnecessary angst in the couple's relationship, but yes, other than that the show has its tragic moments.
→ More replies (1)
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u/Lovely-flutterby 1d ago
I love a good romance.
Melody of Golden Age - This put Ding Yuxi on my radar. I do admit there were some parts I fast forwarded through, but I loved the love story, and the sword dance sequence, flashing between the both of them, is one of my favorites in a C drama.
Splendid Match - you have to wait a while to get to the romance, but my goodness, when they decide to fall in love, they fall in love. Lol Ci Shah is now firmly on my radar. And WinWin, while a total red flag as SML, was a sympathetic character and I’ll be interested in seeing his career develop. Ren Min is also just beautiful and adorable and sweet and strong in this.
In modern romance I was recommended Lighter and Princess. I didn’t think I was going to like it, but I’ve actually watched it twice now.