#yer2024

[kdramalands]

year-end drama recommendation

Good year to you all! I hope you all had a great winter break, that you were all smothered with love, and crushed by the weight of the presents you all dreamt about. I smell the end of the year, so here I am, crawling out of my dark cave, ready to send you all into our annual Japanese drama heaven. Welcome! I hope 2024 was kind to you.

As you are getting ready to say goodbye to 2024, making plans, buying party accessories, and cooking, so am I, reminiscing and compiling some notes to get this yearly reviews out to ship them right under your thumb! You will be served 4 wonderful J-dramas I watched in 2024 and deemed worthy, like a 4 course meal, and our dining will start today, on the 28th of December and end as usual, on the 31st of December!

Now, let's start with an appetizer. I proudly present

1. Tsukuritai Onna to Tabetai Onna (2022) & Tsukuritai Onna to Tabetai Onna Season 2 (2024)

1st season: 10 eps, 15 min each; 2nd season: 20 eps, 15 min each

How clever am I, sprinkling food metaphors to smoothly show off my first pick — She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat Season 1 and Season 2. As you can see, it's a two for one deal, and I truly believe that one cannot go without the other, like bruschetta and tomato.

Season 1 of She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat shows us the sweet beginnings of our two main characters, Nomoto and Kasuga. The girls are neighbours and they coincidentally start a routine. Nomoto's passion is cooking, and she tends to cook too much when she doesn't control herself. She believes that good food comes in big portions and her dream is to serve big family plates of home made dishes. Is it a coincidence or fate that Kasuga loves eating? Kasuga appreciates good and hearty portions, so when Nomoto proposes to share leftover food with her, she's more than happy to take her upon that suggestion. And, as the saying goes in my native language, "przez żołądek do serca", which would loosely translate to "the way to someone's heart is through their stomach".

We watch Kasuga's and Nomoto's relationship bloom in an inconspicuous setting and I believe it's a good foundation for season 2 to dive into their dynamic.

In season 2, we see how Nomoto and Kasuga come to terms with their feelings for each other, and how both of them bravely confess. The second season is also heavier, because it delves deeper into a mature relationship, and what comes with it. The main characters reveal more of their insecurities and issues, and we see how they deal with them alone or how they overcome them together. We are also introduced to new characters, who give us even more trials and tribulations, expand the representation of the drama, and help our main couple get together.

I believe that most of the 1st season's setting is around Christmas, and the final episode is happening on New Year's Eve, with Nomoto and Kasuga watching together the first sunrise of the New Year, which is quite perfect for the season.

This series is not only a good watch, but a good source of inspiration as well. I cannot count how many times I cooked or prepared something just like in the drama or something that was inspired by it. Prepare a good snack before you watch!

Part 2 || Part 3 || Part 4

[kdramalands]

year-end drama recommendation

2. Brush Up Life (2023)

10 eps, 55 min each

At the age of 33, Kondo Asami suddenly dies in a car accident. Immediately after the hit, she shows up in a white room, void of anything besides a desk and a clerk sitting at it. We learn that it's some kind of an in-between place for reincarnation purposes, weirdly reminiscent of a real life mundane visit at the City Hall, but this time it's a room with a clerk of the afterlife that keeps on filing the documents and guiding lost souls onto their next step.

See, our main character doesn't really regret anything she did, but there's one thing that keeps bugging her. She finds out that her next reincarnation is supposed to be a giant anteater in Southeaster Guatemala, because, apparently, she didn't earn that many "kindness points" during her lifetime to deserve anything better. Kondo realizes that she doesn't want to spend her next life on ant munching, and asks if there is anything she can do at this point. Well, no, not really. You can redo your life from scratch as Kondo Asami though, if you'd like to. Just enter the door on the right. If she has an opportunity to fix things and maybe get another chance at reincarnation after she redoes this life, to bump up those points to get a human reincarnation next, how could she not take that offer? But it's not that simple, it never is.

This drama was pure insanity, and I mean that in a good way. If I could compare it to anything, it would be probably Groundhog Day, but stretched from one day to years. The way those 10 episodes encapsulated the feeling of that movie with the similar nature and a unique spin should be studied. The comedic nature of it significantly lightened serious topics and lifted some of the weight that comes with death, tragedies, and (as abstract as those are) never ending hopeless time loops. It was genuinely so funny, I think I could watch Asami figuring her life for the nth time again and again and again, and... I won't spoil that much.

Brush Up Life is like a gift that keeps on giving. At the surface level, it shows us a pretty straightforward objective for the main character, but it only takes a second to realise that it's not that straight after all. This simple concept blooms into a beautiful and touching story, heart-warming like a bowl of steaming hot soup on a cold day. This jdrama wields the tools it has in store so skilfully with a precise timing, showing us intricately constructed story about determination and friendship, with the hint of mystery and foreshadowing. Truly, there are so many carefully planted elements that are coming back to kick you in the ass in the most hilarious way when you least expect them, you will feel the reward of paying attention and engaging with the story.

Part 1 || Part 3 || Part 4

[kdramalands]

year-end drama recommendation

4.Ayaka is in Love with Hiroko (2024)

8eps, 24 min each

Ayaka is in Love with Hiroko is about Ayaka who is... in love with Hiroko! Ayaka fell in love with her senpai at work, and went trough a transformation from a corporate suit to a frilly and romantic style to seduce the senpai with short skirts, crop tops, and off shoulder blouses, but Hiroko doesn't even budge. What's going on and why none of this works?

This jdrama is super cute and super sweet with a rich filling like a chocolate lava cake! I giggled through the whole 8 episodes, it was so lighthearted and comedic. True, it's not the most advanced plot, but I immensely enjoyed the trials and tribulations of Ayaka's seduction project. For me, it was a breath of fresh air in the wlw genre, with light, funny scenes and healthy representation of desire in lesbian relationships.

It's been so fun guys! 2024 ended with a fanfare and so did my yearly review. It's been a great year, I gave it my all, and I'm ready to start a new year with new resolutions. I hope my list has been helpful and maybe one of the positions peaked your interest a bit. This is all from me! With this last recommendation of this year's project, I wish you all an even greater year. Less drama and more dramas in 2025! Happy New Year!

Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3