No eye candy is needed - it's all about the plot and acting!
I was watching Pride and Prejudice to get this noticed. Sure, my first immersion into it was either Love Story in Harvard (and that's when I wanted to marry the lead actress) and got more into it with Kill It. However, Pride and Prejudice doesn't contain much eye candy for the men (Baek Jin Hee isn't pretty) and Choi Jin Hyuk gets termed as "rather ugly" by some people I know. Though, I kinda ship Jin A Nana with Choi Jin Hyuk ever since I saw Justice.
Pride and Prejudice didn't capitalize on the usual telenovela trends. The romance IS there but you hardly get it focused. Instead, everything gets focused on digging up cases. Jin Hee and Jin Hyuk seem to be a funny-looking couple BUT they really had the dynamic to work together. If you've got a good plot - ugly celebrities don't matter at all. I can get all the unattractive celebrities (like Shin Hye Sun who I feel should do more legal drama) where quality acting matters much more than a pretty face. I still feel Nana's acting isn't that praiseworthy. Why Jin Hyuk praises it is something. Has Jin Hyuk said the same thing about Jin Hee? I feel Jin Hee had better performance even if she's not pretty.
This reminds me of some Super Sentai series I enjoyed. Mirai Sentai Timeranger lacks having eye candy. Mika Katsumura (who kinda looks like Jin Hee) isn't pretty but she pulls out Yuuri rather well. I really feel like I want to argue with some Power Rangers fans (who prefer watching more of the post-Timeranger shows) who keep insisting that Samurai Sentai Shinkenger is Yasuko Kobayashi's magnum opus. Timeranger was simply trying to add layers of complexity and maturity its successors just couldn't have. Maybe, I could also mention how Go-Busters' Yoko isn't pretty to me BUT I'm rewatching the show any time over Beast Morphers and I'm not finding Donbrothers that entertaining either.
Eye candy is just a bonus when the show has it
Right now, I think Shaina Garcia Magdayao's addition into Ang Probinsyano a few years ago was freaking pointless. I'll admit that I've watched both Kill It and Justice for Jin A Nana. Both shows involve an anti-hero misguided by anger. Both Jang Ki Yong and Jin Hyuk can kick Coconuts Martin's butt. Nana's appearance in both legal dramas made me think how eye candy was well-utilized into many of them... by NOT capitalizing on them.
Watching both Suspicious Partner and Doctor Prisoner makes me think of how Kwon Nara is rather well-integrated. Sure, it can be a stupid reason to watch them because she's there even when she's not the lead. Like Erika Toda, Nara gets herself rather well-integrated without becoming the eye candy focus one way or another. Vincenzo is another show with some ey candy. Okay, maybe one can argue Jeon Yeo Bin isn't that pretty. Though, she did show her bare back in Night in Paradise movie on Netflix. What truly makes Yeo Bin stand out though is her badass acting. I watched the show for Yeo Bin but ended up fearing her due to her prowess. Nana and Nara also give their contribute in some way. Later, I decided to watch My Name and Han So Hee really proves you'll need a medic before you can even molest her.
This is quite different from teleseryes on local TV or some Power Rangers seasons. It's no secret that I find Kimberly prettier than Mei but I'd watch Zyuranger over Mighty Morphin'. The teleserye trend tends to add lots of eye candy (Rhian Ramos Howell is another) but ends up rather bad. I don't have any reason to watch Ang Probinsyano for Shaina at all.
Well-choreographed action scenes
If there's one reason why I watch any fight science documentaries - I want to find filming secrets. Sadly, most of them dob't give me what I want - behind-the-scenes (BTS) of the insane action. I guess Korean action shows don't spare any moment (if any) to flaunt how Taekwondo is the national sport. Suzy Bae, Nara, and Nana are both black belters so trying to molest them is a guaranteed trip to the ICU. Just seeing those chicks display their prowess is scary.
I think there's something about the camera work that makes the action scenes entertaining. In the realistic crime dramas - the chase really makes me scared as if I was there. I couldn't help but love how these chase scenes happen, how the fight happens, how the battered protagonists retreat, or how the protagonists catch a minor antagonist during the course of the series.
I think one of my favorite legal dramas is Lawless Lawyer. I guess it's not just because Judge Cha looks a lot like Judge Amelita Tolento. It's also because how Lee Joon Ki looks rather weak but... WATCH OUT... he can land you to the ICU! The plots of Lawless Lawyer gets accompanied by plenty of action that just
Mysteries and plot twists unfold in a way that's hard to imitate
One legal drama that caught my attention was Flower of Evil. The whole series focuses on a man falsely accused of a serial murder. It was entertaining to see how the interesting mysteries (spoiler territory) unfold over time. I did enjoy the show Innocent Defendant too for that reason. Sometimes, you even wonder if the story has a happy ending with how everything unfolds. Partners for Justice (being focused on forensics) also does it a lot.
These mysteries and plot twists tend to try to be grounded on realism. True, some of them have sci-fi elements like in Tunnel but there's also some realism. Procedures like DNA testing and other ways to prove innocence or guilt are easy to miss. I admit that I even had to rewind a few times to find out the proceedings with how unpredictable the series can get at times.
These mysteries and plot twists tend to try to be grounded on realism. True, some of them have sci-fi elements like in Tunnel but there's also some realism. Procedures like DNA testing and other ways to prove innocence or guilt are easy to miss. I admit that I even had to rewind a few times to find out the proceedings with how unpredictable the series can get at times.
When fantasy is involved - it doesn't try to be fantastic
I guess one reason why I'll always say Winspector is better than GoGoFive and Lightspeed Rescue (and I dare say even better than Dekaranger) is how it doesn't try to be too fantastic. I think the series like While You Were Sleeping, Tunnel, and Awaken have fantasy elements but don't try to get too fantastic. Maybe, Rugal did try to get too fantastic with the cybernetics. However, the plot like somebody within Rugal was a traitor or how Argos goes tries to have a good blend of realism.
I think one reason why I enjoy fantasy-based crime dramas is how real the characters try to be. For example, in Awaken, the youth serum and the superpower plots are made to be plots of disbelief. In While You Were Sleeping - visions of the future are anything but believable to the characters. The emphasis on human weaknesses in the heroes and villains makes them still human in the face of superpowers.
I think these shows had analyzed past works a lot. You have these elements in superhero shows. I think the bigger difference is how they try to emphasize more on regular people more often than super-powered beings (like Rugal does). It's pretty much learning from past works and trying to find one's own unique take.
Some shows just try to be as realistic as possible even while writing that disclaimer
I felt some Korean crime dramas had been taking notes from past works a lot. I thought about watching Law School and Juvenile Justice naming a few. Watching them made me do a lot of Google about law proceedings or cases that may have happened. Both Law School and Juvenile Justice try to focus on legal procedures and nothing more - like American crime dramas. I feel many of these are based on real-life cases in South Korea and America or from some American legal series I haven't seen.
Sure, they're writing fiction ut it has a very meticulous way of writing it. I feel like such traits were probably taken from the Japanese 5S system implemented into Korean shows. I feel the shows are trying to make sure, "Let's keep this as real as possible." even when all the characters aren't real. I felt the degree of realism in both Law School and Juvenile Justice. I've also watched Live which tries to explore police officer jobs the way the y are - as human beings who are trying to keep society safe.
It's just the right amount of episodes
I think why most Korean series appeal to me is having the right amount of episodes. I feel like teleserryes are too long. Some Anime series in Japan have gone TOO LONG and it turns that I have to wait for season two of Dragon Quest Adventures of Dai on Netflix before I can legally watch it. I still think that I'm not even into a full rewatch of the whole Dragon Ball Z series and would only watch selected episodes every now and then. I have no intention to watch One Piece with how it's going on and on like there's no end in sight. The same reason goes for teleseryes - some of them overstretch to unbelievable lengths!
I think having the right amount of episodes works its charm. One story ends and you're ready to watch another one. It's like how I decided to immediately watch another legal drama after I finished a previous series. I would call it as replay value. I don't want to rewatch all 1,500+ episodes of Ang Probinsyano in contrast to rewatching Kill It all over again. Having a show end at its peak and writing another one is more ideal than overextending a show IMHO.
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