We are now in July, and you know what that means. WE ARE LOOKING BACK AT THE FIRST 6 MONTHS OF 2026! Now, normally this blog post would be split up between Kdramas and then Cdramas/every other drama/movie from all the other Asian countries. That COULD NOT happen this year. I have only watched 15 dramas so far in 2026 and only 2 of those have been Kdramas. OF COURSE, 2 is not large enough to do a fav Kdramas of 2026 especially since both of those Kdramas are not 2026 Kdramas and were both rewatches for me. So, this is going to look a bit different for 2026. Hopefully by the end of 2026, we can split this out again and I know in 2027, these posts will definitely be split out again. If you don’t see a favorite of yours on this list, probably means I have not watched it because let’s be honest, I have been ALL OVER THE PLACE in 2026.
This will just be a list of everything I liked in the first half of 2026 and would recommend watching if you have not seen it yet. This list might change by the end of 2026, but it also might not, WE WILL SEE! This list also is the dramas/movies that I completed in the first half of 2026 (January to June), so it does not just mean these dramas had to premiere and/or air in 2026. Let’s be honest, if I did just include the dramas that did premiere and/or air in 2026, we would not have a list because I have not been watching on air dramas in this first half of 2026. It will also not include any dramas I have completed this month (July) because this month is in the 2nd half of 2026. This list is also in NO PARTICULAR ORDER and NOT RANKED!
We know FULL WELL how 2026 is going for me. SPOILER ALERT – It is going better than 2025 but could be a lot better. My mental health is WAY BETTER so, thank you for checking in and asking. My drama watching has improved but still is not great. This list will be on the shorter side because there is just not a lot to choose from. I talk about the dramas and movies that are not rewatches first and then at the end of the blogpost, I talk about my rewatches. I listed them by their rating from me, and I only chose dramas/movies that I gave 9/10 or 10/10. So, this list may seem short to you guys. Again, if your favorites are not on this list, it honestly probably means I have not watched them yet.
ALRIGHT HERE ARE ALL OF MY FAVORITE DRAMAS AND MOVIES THAT I WATCHED IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2026!
I have been wanting to watch this move for a very long time and just never got around to it. Due to a podcast episode on the InfatuAsian podcast, I watched the movie FINALLY and I am SO GLAD I DID! This was a hard movie to watch but it was incredible. I went into the movie knowing nothing and did not expect it to have crime. The acting was phenomenal even the villains. The story was impactful, hard to watch but also heartwarming. A very memorable movie. I can see why it was nominated for an Oscar. I don’t want to reveal to much about the plot and give spoilers so, just go and watch it if you have not seen Better Days yet.
RATING: 10/10
Episodes: 10
I knew I was going to like this Jdrama because it is right up my alley BUT I LOVED THIS JDRAMA! I loved the message. I loved the characters even the ones I disliked at the beginning. I had 1 character that I disliked for the first couple of episodes but even he grew on me, and I ended up liking him in the end. The cases were impactful and thought provoking. I LOVED THE FOUND FAMILY and there was a lot of it. I loved that this Jdrama explored found family and gave us multiple examples of it. I literally loved everything and I need a 2nd season! I do wish there was some romance in it. You could see potential, but it never happened.
RATING: 10/10
RUROUNI KENSHIN MOVIES (JMOVIES) (2012 – 2021)
I am going to round up all my thoughts with all these movies into one instead of going through every movie. I do have a podcast episode reviewing all of these movies and diving into them on the podcast. Here is the blogpost for that. My OVERALL review for all of these movies is that they are 10/10 with some minor nitpicks. I won’t call out the nitpicks because you can go listen to the podcast episode for that, but I can ignore the nitpicks and still give these movies a 10 out of 10. They are definitely worth the time to watch them. You do not have to have watched the anime beforehand. The movies have a stylized anime look that doesn’t come off as cheesy at all. As I said, there is a reason why these movies are the standard when it comes to anime live adaptions. The fight scenes STAND OUT for sure! If you are not a fan of violence, these movies are not for you. The movies are emotional and impactful. I love that the movies explored the topic of PTSD. The older movies do show their age. BEAUTIFUL cinematography and memorable OSTs for all of the movies. These movies are shot very well. It is not a waste of time to watch this franchise AT ALL!
RATING: ALL RATED 10/10
CULINARY CLASS WARS SEASON 2 (KOREAN COOKING SHOW) (2026)
Episodes: 13
I may be VERY bias in this review and with this show BUT I CAN’T HELP IT! I LOVE THIS SHOW! I CAN’T WAIT FOR SEASON 3! It will switch things up a lot and I am excited to see how that will play out. I love cooking shows in general, but this one is probably one of favorite Netflix ones. Season 2 did not disappoint. I loved the changes except that the Black Coats didn’t seem as underdogs as they were in Season 1. I thought that since the show allows very skilled (famous) chefs to apply to be black coats, the underdog label was sort of watered down in Season 2. I still cried at parts. I LOVE that my favorites went so far in Season 2, but they again did not win. I did like the winner in Season 2 so, I was happy to see the winner at the end. I AM SO SURPRISED I WAS NOT SPOILED ON THE WINNER! I did a longer review of this show over on the NoSleep4Dramas YouTube Channel so, you can go check it out now.
RATING: 10/10
LOVE BETWEEN LINES (CDRAMA) (2026)
Episodes: 28
I have a FULL podcast episode review for this on the podcast BUT MAN THIS CDRAMA HIT ME AT THE RIGHT TIME! If you want to hear/watch my full review of this Cdrama, check out the episode on the podcast. You might look at this rating and think is Caitlin ok? Normally this is not my type of show, but I must have been in a different mood while watching this Cdrama BECAUSE I ATE IT UP! I LOVED THIS CDRAMA! This Cdrama will definitely be on my end of the year list FOR SURE! A near perfect drama for me except for some minor issues. I hated all of the parents. They were forgiven too easily with no real conversation. The Secrets should have been revealed earlier. I LOVED the main couple and their relationship – lots of sweet moments. They had a great, mature relationship. I loved the mix of reality and VR. I just gushed about the male lead on the podcast review so, much BUT MAN HE WAS GREAT! There is just so much to love about this Cdrama but the romance and the lead’s relationship really stand out as a highlight.
RATING: 9.5/10
LAST SAMURAI STANDING (JDRAMA) (2025)
Episodes: 6
If you liked Squid Game/Alice in Borderland, you would love this. I loved that it kept that manga feel. I love that you learned about a character’s backstory with each episode BUT I NEEDED MORE EPISODES! The fight scenes were SPECTACULAR! The cinematography was AWESOME! I am so excited that it was confirmed that this jdrama is getting a Season 2. It needs one. It was a little predictable especially if you have seen dramas from the same genre as Squid Game, but I still enjoyed this Jdrama.
RATING: 9/10
CORONER’S DIARY (CDRAMA) (2025)
Episodes: 38
I did a review of this cdrama on the Tea and Soju Podcast so, you can go check out my full review of coroner’s Diary over on that podcast now. If you want a historical crime cdrama with great chemistry & multiple couples – watch this! Some cases were better than others but lots of good twists. Some cases lasted an episode to long & I wanted some different endings with some villains BUT couples were great! I liked that the main couple really had no angst and were a smart pairing together. MALE LEAD HAD IT BAD and he was smitten immediately. I was really surprised that romance was a key part of this crime cdrama because I was not expecting it. This cdrama was a lot better than I expected it to be and I am happy about it.
RATING: 9/10
Episodes: 24
I WISH MORE PEOPLE WOULD WATCH THIS CDRAMA! I think this cdrama is SO UNDERRATED! This cdrama is probably one of my surprise favorites of the year. Yes, it isn’t high budget, and it shows. The acting is good but not great. The best part is the story. It is tight and well done with lots of twists. The mixing of genres was fun. I LOVED the main group and found family. You got attached to these characters for sure. It DEFINITELY needs a Season 2 because of the unanswered questions at the end. It is just a unique cdrama and I wish more people knew about it and would check it out. It definitely flew under a lot of people’s radar when it aired.
RATING: 9/10
REWATCHES
CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON (CMOVIE) (2000)
This was another movie that I watched to talk about on the movie review podcast episode with InfatuAsian podcast. I may be bias with this movie because it is one of my favorite movies of all time, but I LOVED rewatching this movie. There is a reason why it is considered a classic. I cannot tell you how many times I have watched this movie at this point. I even owned the soundtrack on CD as a kid. Are there flaws? Probably but I don’t notice them because I love the movie so much. I love the acting. I love the story. I love the fight scenes. There is a reason why this movie is a classic. This is another movie that if you have not seen it, you should at least one time in your life. You can go listen to that episode with me and the rest of the drama trio over on InfatuAsian Podcast now.
RATING: 10/10
COME AND HUG ME (KDRAMA) (2018)
Episodes: 32
Now, this Kdrama is one of my favorite Kdramas OF ALL TIME! So, when Jess from the Daebak K rambles Podcast asked me to review – OF COURSE I SAID YES! That episode is up now on her podcast, so, you can go listen to our deep dive now into this Korean Drama. Since this is one of my favorite Kdramas of all time, Needless to say, I loved this rewatch and this mini review will be very bias. I also LOVE Jang Ki Yong. I actually think this was my first Kdrama I ever watched him in. His acting in this is FANTASTIC! I mean you got a crime mixed with romance scenario which I have said countless time is an AWESOME combo for me. There are some great, sweet moments in this Kdrama but it is also VERY DARK! Huh Joon Ho knocks it out of the park with his role as well in this. (I don’t want to give too much away because that would spoil everything). Think of this Kdrama as the precursor of Flower of Evil. If you liked that Kdrama, you will probably like this one. If you have not checked out this crime Kdrama yet, PLEASE DO!
RATING: 10/10
Episodes: 12
I also recently rewatched The Bad Kids for a crime cdrama review over on the Tea and Soju Podcast. So, check out our deep dive into this crime cdrama over on that podcast. I also am very bias with this review because this is one of my favorite crime cdramas and the rewatch was still good especially since I knew what happened in the book when I rewatched this. It still holds up 6 years later. I had forgotten some of the plot points so, I still enjoyed rewatching this rediscovering this crime cdrama. One of the best crime cdramas in my opinion. It is still one of my favorite crime dramas that I have ever watched. The acting is amazing-especially the child actors. Crazy that it has been 6 years and these child actors have grown up. The story is slow, but it builds beautifully to the climax. The villains are standouts. You need to watch this if you want to check out a good crime cdrama. You need to watch this crime cdrama if you have not taken the time to watch this crime cdrama.
RATING: 10/10
THAT IS THE END OF THIS LIST AND THIS BLOGPOST!
I know this is a little different than what I normally do for July, but I am happy I was still able to recap the first 6 months of 2026. It definitely has been different for me. Maybe not as different as 2025 but it still has been a weird year for me. I hope that changes a bit in the second half of 2026. We will see how this list looks at the end of 2026 and how I feel about the entire year as a whole. I feel like I am still trying to figure out my groove after how bad 2025 was for me. I also had some unexpected things come up in the first half of 2026 that affected what and how I watched dramas. I am hoping things will calm down after this month a bit.
EITHER WAY – I HOPE THIS BLOGPOST FINDS YOU HEALTHY AND WELL! Thank you for checking out the blog or the podcast or the YouTube channel. This would not exist without you and I appreciate all of you who check out my content. I do this for my love of dramas but also for you guys!
LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS WHAT SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE DRAMAS/MOVIES THAT YOU WATCHED IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2026!
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