2025 year in review: dramas

[alchemicink]

bluedreaming kindly linked me this drama questionnaire earlier this month. (I have unfortunately misplaced the original source link.) You're supposed to answer one question a day, but I decided to do all of them in one (very) long post. It feels kinda weird to include English language shows too, because I associate "drama" with Asian media. But I figured I might as well include everything.

I made a list for reference, and included some rewatches too if it had been several years since my first watch.

Dramas I've watched in 2025:
☆ Miss Scarlet [season 5]
☆ Choujin Sentai Jetman [did not finish]
☆ Senpai, This Can't Be Love
☆ Mr. Unlucky Has No Choice But To Kiss
☆ No. 1 Sentai Gozyuger [in progress]
☆ If It's With You
☆ Power Rangers Lost Galaxy [rewatch]
☆ Boy Meets World [rewatch, season 1 only]
☆ Kamen Rider Gavv
☆ Candy Color Paradox
☆ Stranger Things [in progress (I'm still on season 4, please do not spoil)]
☆ Whale Store XOXO
☆ Ultraman Omega [in progress]
☆ 10 Things I Want To Do Before I Turn 40
☆ The Big Chase: Tokyo SSBC Files
☆ Seijuu Sentai Gingaman [in progress]
☆ My Personal Weatherman [did not finish]
☆ Kamen Rider Zeztz [in progress]
☆ Punks Triangle
☆ Kamen Rider Amazon [in progress]


1: Which country's dramas have you watched the most of in 2025?

Definitely Japan. (Who is surprised? 😂)

2: Favourite actress you discovered in 2025.

This was hard to pick because everything I watched was so men-focused this year. But among the actresses I was newly introduced to, I think I'd pick Miyabe Nozomi. She was so fun as Sachika in Kamen Rider Gavv. I hope she gets cast in plenty of things going forward

3: Favourite actor you discovered in 2025.

It's hard to choose because there were several with so many good performances, but I think I'm gonna go with Kanda Masakazu from Gozyuger. While the show itself went off the rails, I still think Kanda's acting has been stellar throughout. I always find myself watching what he's doing in each scene, even if he's just in the background. I hope he also gets cast in a lot of things going forward.

Bonus answer: I also discovered that Kondo Shori from Ultraman Omega has amazing arms 👀

4: Favourite original song from a 2025 drama.

The opening theme from Punks Triangle!!

Honorable mention to, like, all the background music in Punks Triangle actually. I really enjoyed it.

5: A visually beautiful 2025 drama.

Zeztz is doing a lot of interesting visual things so far. I especially like the stuff in the dream world, where you can just brush away scenery like it's a curtain, etc. Some of the (non-cgi) Nightmare designs are great! (I especially liked the one with a bunch of eyes in episode 15). And the secret base Baku operates out of has a really interesting design too.

6: A drama you dropped in 2025.

I took a break from Jetman and just... never got back around to watching it. I really liked the show, by the way, but my brain just wholly disengaged from it, so I don't know when I'll get back to it 😭

I dropped My Personal Weatherman because both the lead characters were genuinely unlikeable to me. I don't mind toxic relationships sometimes, but this one just was not fun for me to watch.

I WISH I had dropped Senpai This Can't Be Love 😒

7: Your favourite character of 2025.

Tojo Suzume from 10 Things.

I really resonated with his character in a way I don't really wanna talk about here. But yeah, his journey from being closed off to open and accepting of love was a joy for me to watch.

8: Standout secondary character of 2025.

Incredibly biased answer: Takaki's character from SSBC 😂 he didn't do much of anything plot relevant, but I enjoyed looking at him 🤭

Actual answer: Lakia was the best part of Kamen Rider Gavv. Thank you Mr. Jellyfish Hat Man

9: Did you watch older dramas in 2025?

Kamen Rider Amazon began airing in 1974!!

10: Did you rewatch dramas in 2025?

I do not want to admit how many times I rewatched If It's With You 😅 (it's only 5 episodes so it's basically the equivalent of a movie lol). Genuinely one of my favorite dramas all year because it's just so sweet and simple. It was a very easy watch.

11: A drama that taught you something new.

I'm having trouble thinking of an answer to this one. I probably learned some stuff about Thai culture from Whale Store, but I certainly didn't retain it...

12: A platonic relationship you loved.

I like all the friendships in Stranger Things (maybe Steve and Robin are my favorite?)

Also, I really liked Eliza and Patrick from Miss Scarlet, and I'm still mad they wrote him out of the show. shakes fist at the sky

13: A drama you found boring.

Candy Color Paradox.

Even looking back on it now, I barely remember half of what happened in it.

But also shoutout to the second half of Power Rangers Lost Galaxy which somehow managed to get really boring and still be a hot mess.

14: A writer or director who caught your attention.

I'm gonna be honest. I rarely pay attention to directing and writing credits

15: Favourite drama poster of 2025.

The Punks Triangle poster solely so everyone can see Enaga's silly bucket hat 😂

I don't typically pay attention to posters otherwise

16: Best actress of 2025.

Matsushita Nao as Aoyagi from SSBC. She was so good at playing her character, from comedic moments to very serious ones.

17: Best actor of 2025.

Fujibayashi Yasunari as AE & Enaga from Punks Triangle. It's impressive how he played two characters and really made an effort to differentiate them. I also found myself really focused on his facial expressions each episode.

(Man, I really gotta watch Gotchard soon)

18: Your most-watched genre of 2025.

Unsurprisingly, it's tokusatsu and BL. There's still just so many toku series I haven't seen yet, so I continue to have fun diving around in there. Plus, I just enjoy special effects in general, so they're so fun for me to watch.

I mostly just stumbled into watching BL thanks to all the crossover of toku actors and there's a lot of easily accessible ones on Tubi

19: A drama that made you laugh.

Gozyuger... when it was good. stares into the distance. Ryuugi is just an all-time silly character, closely followed by Fire Candle.

Honorable mentions: there were a lot of adorably funny moments in Ultraman Omega! And the tomato episode of Gingaman is fantastic!!

20: A drama that made you sad or cry.

Parts of Whale Store made me cry. The family drama parts were more compelling to me than the romance.

21: A drama that surprised you.

I expected SSBC to be your typical crime drama (and it still mostly was), but it was genuinely very entertaining too. I had fun seeing all the strange ways they'd gather evidence for each case.

22: A drama that deserves the hype.

I'm so disconnected on what's getting hype and not these days, so uh... idk. I guess I'll say Punks Triangle (Minus the slightly rushed ending)

23: A drama that made you think.

That would definitely be Ultraman Omega. The reveal in episode 22 was such a gut punch, and I have been thinking about it nonstop ever since. I might even write a separate post about it at some point. It's good sci-fi!!

24: Favourite costumes of 2025.

Oh, definitely Punks Triangle. I do love the aesthetics of punk fashion 😍

Honorable mention to Miss Scarlet, because maybe like 75 percent of why I keep watching this show is for the period costumes. I love fancy hats and dresses

25: Sweetest romance of 2025.

Tojo and Keishi from 10 Things 🥹 They're just so cute. This romance was a real slow burn, but that just made it all the more sweet in my opinion

26: Most disappointing drama of 2025.

Whale Store 😞 I had high expectations because I loved the actresses in their previous drama together, but the pacing in this show was just so awful. It ruined my enjoyment of even the good parts. (The actresses still did a great job though. It was the writing...)

27: A drama you want more people to watch.

(whispers Can I say Ultraman Arc even though that aired in 2024? 😂 Please watch Ultraman Arc)

Actual answer: I think I'll say If It's With You because I loved that one so much and it'd be neat to have other people to talk about it with. It's on Tubi! (I don't know where else it's available)

28: An industry change you want to happen.

More women in tokusatsu with roles that are important to the plot!!! Let ladies be the lead sometimes please!!!

29: A 2026 drama you're excited for.

I'm not actually sure what's upcoming in 2026 😅 (Other than Gavan Infinity, which I'm not really interested in unless it's somehow simulcast like Zeztz.) But I'm really hoping for another season of SSBC 🤞

30: Was 2025 a good drama year for you?

I think so! I watched a lot of things I didn't expect, and enjoyed most of them!

31: Your favourite drama of 2025.

My favorite that actually aired in 2025: 10 Things

My favorite older drama that I watched first in 2025: If It's With You


Feel free to tell me about stuff you watched this year in the comments!

Comments

[vriddy]

That Punks Triangle OP is super peppy and catchy, I like it :D The poster is fun, too!