Has there ever been a C/J/K Drama with a true power couple. I mean, two people who are professionals and help each other out in their jobs etc. minus the fantasy bits like MLFTS etc.?

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    Doesn’t that apply to BTLIOF?!

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      I could see it. I meant more like in the business sense for example. One person has a consultation firm and the other runs a fortune 500 or something and they each help the other take on the baddies and huge problems or make the other better in their jobs etc. Or something even more along the lines of a Western drama like House of Cards for example.

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    Healer – journalist and erm…a healer lol but once they learned who each other was they did help each other out
    I Remember You – police officer and profiler – not necessarily high-end jobs but mutually helpful to each other
    While You Were Sleeping – journalist and prosecutor

    None of the above are really powerhouse couples in the sense of what we usually picture, but they fit the basic definition that you gave of professionals helping each other out.

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      Oh! This might be helpful. I’ve been meaning to watch Healer for lord knows how long, so this might help me get into it. I might also check out I Remember You as well. Thanks!

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    Check this list, and I was struggling to remember *it’s okay that’s love* it’s on this list too.
    http://www.kdramafighting.com/2013/07/10-best-smart-strong-korean-drama.html?m=1

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    Good Doctor maaaaybe fits in this category? They work together to make each other better doctors?
    In Love Cheque Charge and Murphey’s Law of Love there are some storylines of the couple working together, but there were definitely entire episodes that seemed to forget they had jobs at all…
    I am currently watching My Mr. Mermaid (this needs to be a judgment-free zone, I like abs ok), where he is a swimmer and she is a sports reporter. They are helping each other, but so far both are early in their career…

    Best drama that I can think of where two people really work together and make each other stronger was Atlier. It is two women helping each other do their best. Like The Devil Wears Prada, but if the main characters were good people.

    I don’t know if any of this helped. I would have sworn I watched a c-drama in the past 4 months that fit these criteria (I can see their faces and offices in my mind), but I cannot remember the name. I tried to search my watch history, but that is just a disaster zone… If I remember it, I will let you know!

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      This was helpful. Just like Healer–although not nearly as much–I’ve been meaning to check out Good Doctor. That seems to fit the bill. I want to see a couple actually meaningfully help each other out in their careers. So it doesn’t matter if they are just starting out or not like My Mr. Mermaid. Absolutely no judgments there btw. I have done worse and I have quite a few guilty pleasures.

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    They aren’t a romantic couple as this is more as office drama but Ms Temper and Nam Jung-ki has a solid pairing – both are competent although their specialities are different. One has a strong leadership, the other one is like key player of the team.

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    Cdrama “Across The Ocean to See You” had the couple working together, but I think you’ve seen it already. If only the noble idiocy didn’t kick in, it would have been a great drama.

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      If only the messed up sister, sorry excuse of a best friend, and noble idiocy didn’t kick in. That drama really could have been good. The relationship was a bit too one sided in that drama though. Sigh.

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    I’d say Live Up to Your Name fits this bill, but there is the time travel. But I did like that both were really excellent doctors in their own right and that they worked together from the start. Pinocchio also comes to mind.

    King2Hearts has an awesome power couple after Lee Seung-gi’s character stops being an ass. Love and Marriage, though incredibly fluffy, has two professionals who work together wonderfully. (It’s similar to Murphy’s Law of Love but without the stupid angst towards the end. Though I do really like MLL.)

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      Live Up to Your Name is a good example of the way in which K-dramas dip their toes in the water instead of jumping straight in–Temperature of Love comes closest to this, but goes downhill pretty soon after. Whilst I appreciate the changes we saw in Yeon-kyung, I think she lost a bit too much of herself. Sure, we change given our relationship with other people, but the downfall with most K-dramas is that we only ever get 1 season and that season doesn’t get to show us the continuous changes over time of a character–one reason I love Chinese School to Adult dramas. I would love to see the payoff from the events of season 1 play out in season 2 or be given enough episodes and time skips in one season to get there. I think K-dramas aren’t the best place to look for what I’m looking for here.

      I’ve been meaning to check out Murphy’s Law of Love given the love it has on here. You have me super interested in Love and Marriage. I would watch anything Lee Seung-gi is in at this point.

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        I binged Love and Marriage ages ago and while I never revisited it, I always remember it as being really fun to watch. It was really fluffy, the leads are excellent, and the problems always felt really properly adult, and not childish. I also remember it was really low on the angst factor — like once the leads were together, there was no noble idiocy or anything.

        I have to admit, I can’t seem to get into C-dramas no matter how hard I try. The only one that I’ve ever liked is Love O2O. I would gladly take recommendations though. I’ve seen a handful, and have yet to be blown away. I still rage when I think about Les Interprètes. I don’t even know why I watched the entire thing.

        I do really enjoy some of the more mellow, slice-of-life J-doramas, like A Girl and Three Sweethearts and Boku, Unmei no Hito desu. I see Nodame Cantabile was mentioned below, and while I don’t think that is a show of equals as you were looking for, it’s probably one of my favorite shows period. I rewatch once a year or so. It does have the over-the-top humor, but it’s also just a wonderful story overall.

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          Properly adult, and not childish

          You’re nudging Love and Marriage further up on my list.

          I’ve only watched a handful of C-dramas, most of which are bad. Many start off great, and then the go to shit somewhere at or after the middle. The absolute worst offender in this regard has to be Rush to the Dead Summer sooo many things went wrong. Accross the Ocean to See You had a pretty awesome premise but that also went to shit. The only one I might recommend aside from Love O2O is A Love So Beautiful. That drama had issues to be sure–the female lead chief among them–but there was a lot more to like. Funny enough, I’m watching the female lead of Les Interpretes‘ new drama. It’s one of those dramas that’s so bad it’s good. I’m a sad case at the moment. I can’t wait for Monday to come for new episodes.

          I liked A Girl and Three Sweethearts. I think I liked Kento Yamazaki and his character more than anything else. He’s a really good actor I think. I’m generally not a fan of the younger actors, but Kento played that role quite naturally and believably.

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            I like Kento Yamazaki too — I’m waiting (im)patiently for his new drama, Todome no Kiss to finish airing so I can binge it. He seems really versatile, though I haven’t seen him in much, I was looking at his filmography and he really has tried everything.

            I was going to try Across the Ocean but the reviews put me off. I have been thinking of trying Ode to Joy since that seems really female-centric but I just keep getting scarred by C-dramas so they’re low priority.

            I do have a list of J-Doramas a mile long that I want to check out though. I like how they tend to have a very low-key vibe and really simple stories without over-the-top characterizations. Maybe I can fit something in over this weekend…I do have Monday off. Granted I’m also super behind on Hwayugi, so maybe I should catch up on that…

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            @snarkyjellyfish I’m also curious about his new drama. It also features Shison Jun whom I loved in Kimi Wa Petto. I need to check out his other drama Joshi-teki Seikatsu. Subs are out now I think.

            Across the Ocean to See You starts off well enough, then goes to shit, and then tries to catch itself at the end. I remember having to fast forward like crazy just to finish that drama. A pity though given how well it started, the subject matter, and how likeable the male lead was.

            The only other C-dramas I can recommend are Love O2O and A Love So Beautiful. I’m currently watching Negotiator which is purely a guilty pleasure. It’s really really really bad…but good.

            I’m of the opposite opinion when it comes to doramas. I like anime. I like my anime animated. I don’t want to see it in a live action format. 95% of the doramas I’ve seen have over-the-top characterizations in it. Earlier today I was trying to watch ep. 3 of Mischievous Kiss: Love in Tokyo and I just couldn’t take the acting and characters anymore. That and it really really really bugged me how messed up Kotoko’s “friends” are. I would have cut ties after they shared that pic around and came over to the Irie house.

            Hwayugi is my baby.

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            I’ve been so busy with work, and I have another busy week, so my drama watching is pretty bare minimum, but next week I may actually have time. Granted I’m spending today catching up on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend which is a total 180 (and, yet, somehow not…) from drama.

            I really am in the mood for something low-key right now, though. Maybe a sweet romance, or maybe s good office drama. Nothing on my list is jumping out at me though. I just finished Witch’s Romance which really lived up to the hype for me. After you mentioned it here, I looked up A Love So Beautiful and it maybe exactly the vibe I’m feeling right now. Depending on the kind of hot mess Negotiator turns into, I may check it out.

            Did you like Kimi Wa Petto? I’ve debated checking it out. I suspect it’s one of those things that only works if the actors are good. I’ve had both the Japanese and Korean movie versions on my watchlist since forever but I never actually watched them.

            I love Hwayugi but the episode lengths are killing me…hence the falling behind.

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            + Yeah, work can cut into drama viewing time.
            + I liked Witch’s Romance.
            + Hope you like A Love So Beautiful. It has its issues to be sure, but it was still good.
            + Almost if not everyone in Kimi Wa Petto did a bang up job. One of the rare times that I liked the female lead in a dorama.
            + It seems they’ve been reducing Hwayugi‘s eps. by about 10 mins or so. Funny enough, I remember when Goblin came out and I could not handle and complained constantly about the extra 10 mins (totalling an on average 70 mins runtime). I was ok with the ~80 min Hwayugi runtimes. I welcomed it. Reguardless, it doesn’t matter if time does not permit. Thankfully, I’m not too busy at work these days.

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          @snarkyjellyfish So I started Love and Marriage and I just want to make sure we’re on the same page. Is it this drama you’re talking about. I’m on currently on ep 3 and everything is ok except for Kang-hyun. She’s one of these character types that annoy me. I think I’ll watch up to ep 6 and decide if I want to keep going. Hopefully the male lead compensates or she changes enough by then.

          BTW, did you watch this drama before or after becoming a lawyer?

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            Yes – that’s the one. I watched while in law school, so details are hazy, since it was about four years ago? I think she becomes better? I just remember really liking the second half of the drama because when they get together it’s like a proper adult relationship.

            OK, I just skimmed the recaps, and it seems this one took around 4 eps to get it’s footing? But I do recall the female lead being a bit much at first, but I’m pretty sure she chills out after a bit.

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    Nodame Cantabile! My very first drama, and still one of my all time favorites. In the beginning, they are music students. He is the star pupil, she is the goof-off. But they compliment each other so well! He inspires her to push for her full potential and she reignites his joy of music. They have long work sessions together and both come out of them better musicians. By the end, they are both acclaimed professionals, and they wouldn’t have been if they had never met each other.

    Fair warning, though: this is based on a manga, and the roots show. The humor is very is very over-the-top, cartoony, exaggerated, and slapstick. I loved it, but I know it’s not for everyone.

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      So you’re talking about the J-drama version right? I was recently talking with a fellow beanie about how much J-dramas tend to annoy me with the hyper exaggerated acting. Sometimes it works for me, oftentimes it doesn’t. I’ll check it out though. If anything, I might also check out the K-drama version.

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        Yup. I have watched and loved all 3 versions of this story (4 if you count the manga), but the jdorama is my favorite. The anime is my brother’s favorite as it is less cartoony than the dorama. Yes, I recognize the irony of that statement. So you might want to check that out as well.

        The kdrama started out trying to imitate the zany over-the-top vibe of the dorama. It didn’t work all that well. But once they pulled back and found their groove, it was really quite good. Be warned, though, that the final episode was filmed on location in Europe before anything else. So if you get to that episode and discover that everyone has regressed to their early series selves, that’s why.

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    Pinocchio?

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      I stopped about quarter way into Pinocchio quite some time ago. I need to get back into it and finish.

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