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I love animes. I grew up in the time of Dragonball Z and Yuyuhakusho. I still love Yuyuhakusho by the way. Then came Samurai X or Rorounin Kenshin. That show is my number 1 fave samurai/action type anime. When I came back from my 1st trip to the US, I got hooked on this Taiwanese drama – Meteor Garden. It also helped that the show had 4 really cute guys and the story was just so romantic and funny. I and my friends were devoted to getting all the music, all the news, all the TV appearances of the actors in this drama. The F4 mania was born.

Meteor Garden started the import of asian dramas particularly korean dramas. Who can forget the poignant and tearjerker story of Endless Love or Autumn in My Heart? My mom had a crush on Song Seung Hun while I loved Won Bin. Movies like My Sassy Girl and My Tutor Friend had me following the Korean entertainment world. I can’t decide which I have a crush on more: Won Bin or Kwon Sang Woo. Both are to drool for!

Then my friend suddenly “graduated” from korean dramas to japanese dramas. At first I was reluctant to watch a new and different kind of drama. But when I saw Takuya Kimura in Pride, I fell in love. So far I’ve watched almost all Takuya’s drama – loved him in Pride, loved him in Engine, loved him in Good Luck! My friend actually discerned that korean dramas are all about love and love triangles (very heavy dramas) while japanese dramas are about daily things in life, very light and makes you feel good in the end. Although some people might find Japanese drama weird because the japanese actors act like in animes – very quirky and over-the-top. But those are one of the things that make the show endearing.

Nowadays, it’s hard for me to discover good animes or asian dramas. My friends are not updating me anymore – am I the only one who is still stuck into this kind of pastime? Crunchyroll.com is a good source of animes and asian dramas. It has user’s review and synopsis of the shows so you’ll get a picture if it’s something that you would like.

Here are my top picks or all-time faves. (Note: my taste runs in romance, comedy, superaction and cute guys)

Animes:

1. Yu Yu Hakusho
2. Rorounin Kenshin – loved the soundtrack too!
3. Fruits Basket
4. Kareshi no Kanojo/ His and Hers Circumstance
5. Fatal Fury
6. Slam Dunk
7. Bleach – the first 80 episodes are the best!
8. Naruto and Naruto Shippuden
9. Death Note – only until Light Yagami surrendered his Death Notebook
10. Ouran High School Host Club
11. NANA

Korean Dramas:

1. Autumn in my Heart
2. My Lovely Kim Sam Soon
3. Coffee Prince
4. Goong
5. Stairway to Heaven
6. Sweet 18
7. Lovers in Paris

Japanese Dramas

1. Pride
2. Engine
3. Good Luck
4. Kimi wo Petto
5. Proposal Daisakusen
6. Hana Kimi
7. Gokusen
8. Nobuta wo Produce

Other Dramas:

1. Meteor Garden (Taiwan)
2. It Started with a Kiss (Taiwan)
3. My Tutor Friend (Korean)
4. My Sassy Girl (Korean)
5. Turn Left Turn Right (Taiwan)
6. Ringu/Ring (Japan) – the original version of the horror movie, Ring

I keep thinking I have forgotten some titles but this list is a good start.