Asian Dramas People Forget. . .?

I watch a lot of fan-made videos to Asian dramas, and lately I've noticed something - no one vids, recs, or talks about dramas made before 2005 or so. I recently did a fanvid collab using Strawberry on the Shortcake and was surprised that few people knew what the drama was. Most people vid the things like: Cinderella's Unni, Coffee Prince, Spring Waltz, Baker King, You're Beautiful, Boys Before Flowers, Koizora, Perfect Girl Evolution, among others. Besides vidding these dramas, people usually rec them to others.


This lead me to a couple of questions:


01. Do Asian drama viewers, outside of the countries that the dramas come from, forget dramas a
couple of years after they air?


I'm not sure. Many people still know and talk about "classic" dramas - usually those staring a Johnny - from as far back as 2000. And, there are those that remember and still re-watch dramas that are 15+ years old.


02. Do these same viewers just have a "flavor of the month" type idea about their dramas? Like, they are just rec'ing, vidding, and blogging about certain dramas because they are airing or are still popular?


I'm not sure. While there are some viewers who may only vid the dramas they are currently watching, and while there are some who only rec their favorites, I don't think everyone is "flavor of the month". The thing is, I think in the last three years, a lot of new people have entered the Asian drama/films fandom. They don't want to go "vintage", so they stick to the newer dramas and watch those. Maybe because the video quality is better (another reason people may not really vid older dramas) or because they got into the dramas due to liking a certain actor or actress, and just want to watch their dramas. (I know of a few people who only watch dramas that star a Johnny's actor.)


03. Lastly, what are some "old school" dramas or films you think more people (especially newer Asian drama viewers) should watch?


For me, I think more people should watch dramas written by Nojima Shinji. He's brilliant at writing realistic relationships and human drama. He's the guy that wrote Strawberry on the Shortcake, Love Shuffle, Bara no nai Hanaya, Pride, Hitotsu Yane no Shita 1 and 2, Kou Kou Kyoushi 1993, Kou Kou Kyoshi 2003, Ningen Shikkaku - just tons of great dramas. I'd also rec dramas written by Kudo Kankuro, who writes wonderfully snappy dialogue; he also does really well with writing for a large cast of characters. He wrote Tiger and Dragon, Kisarazu Cat's Eye, Ikebukuro West Gate Park, Manhattan Love Story, among others. Lastly on the Japanese drama front, I'd rec most of Kitagawa Eriko's dramas: Tatta Hitotsu no Koi,Orange Days, Sora Kara Furu Ichioku no Hoshi, Love Story, Beautiful Life, Aishiteiru to Ittekure, plus many more.


In Korean dramas, I'm very fond of Piano from 2001 - staring several top stars; it's wonderfully melodramatic. I also really like Happy Together, a lovely family story about siblings finding one another after a long separation. What Happened in Bali is so dark, and yet addictive. Sandglass and Seoul 1945 are awesome historical dramas about intense times in Korean history. Sons of Sol Pharmacy, I Am Happy, and Family Honor are engaging family dramas.


For Chinese and Taiwanese dramas: Return of the Condor Hero 2006 was brilliantly done. There's When Dog Met Cat and Wayward Kenting for people who like human dramas/romances. My Lucky Star will always be a favorite, because it was a fresh take on the oh-so formulaic Idol drama.


I'm leaving many out, but I just wanted to give a few "vintage" dramas that I think more people should watch.



*Sorry for the long post!