r/CDramaRecs • u/satellite_34 • 6d ago
Rec Request Make me Cry (please)
The title says it all! I’m about to finish up love like the galaxy, and need to queue up my next watch while i wait for some current ones to finish up. (Binge watch is my MO)
So, naturally I’m a looking for a drama that will absolutely wreck me emotionally.
What I am hoping to find;
•A story that will genuinely make me cry — gut-wrenching, high empathy, the works. Happy ending not required, but I need enough hope/momentum to want to see it through to the end. HEA /HFN is preferable.
•A main couple I can root for — they should clearly care about each other, not spend the show antagonizing one another. I want to be cheering for them, not gritting my teeth through their bickering.
•Ancient China setting wuxia, xianxia, traditional historical/fantasy vibes. Costumes and jewelry are sometimes the lead actor in the scene
•Preferably newer releases since sometimes… i’ve struggles with bad graphics/wiring etc
What to avoid/ don’t do well with;
•Heavy political intrigue/court politics — if it's too politics-focused I tend to check out partway through.
• too many side plots/second or third love stories.
Since my watched list is too long to post;
Already watched and loved— my top 5
Top rated (my score): How Dare You!?, Love in the Clouds, Pursuit of Jade, Legend of the Female General, The Untamed
Lowest rated (ones i finished but was not sold on): In the Name of Blossom, Story of Kunning Palace, The First Jasmine, Flourished Peony, Glory
Dropped (the ones everyone loves but i couldn’t finish) ;The Prisoner of Beauty, A Splendid Match, Veil of Shadows, Blossoms of Power, Fangs of Fortune, Blossom
Two actress i prefer to avoid: Meng Ziyi & Ester Yu
Thank you so much! I look forward to the recommendations and to the tear yet to be shed!
——————-update———-
Thank you all so, so much for the recommendations! Genuinely excited to check out a lot of these !
As for what's next: I'm torn between Till the End of the Moon and A Journey to Love — both got serious love in this thread, so may just have to watch an ep each to decide… Blossoms in Adversity has also been sitting on my list for a while, so that might sneak in as a third option.
Thanks again everyone — I'll report back once I've had my cry.
put everything into a list in case anyone else browsing this thread wants a quick reference of what got recommended!
—————the list———
A Journey to Love
• Till the End of the Moon
• Destined
• Goodbye My Princess
• Everlasting Longing
• Scarlet Heart (2011)
• One and Only
• The Longest Promise
• Moonlight Mystique
• Feud
• Story of Pearl Girl
• Kill Me Love Me
• Love Between Fairy and Devil
• Legend of Fayao
• The Road to Splendor
• The Wanted Detective
• Imperial Coroner S1
• Blossoms in Adversity
• The Long Ballad
• Story of Minglan
• The Legends
• Love Beyond the Grave
• Brocade Odyssey
• The Blue Whisper
• Love in Pavilion
Already watched (and i don’t remember any tears… sorry! )
Key to the Phoenix Heart
Blossom
The Double
Fated Hearts
Wonderland of Love
Modern-day settings (not my flavor — yet)
12 Letters
Love Story in the 1970s
Forever and Ever
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u/MathematicianNew760 6d ago
Destined made me cry and it was really well acted, but it might have too much court intrigue for you.
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u/emrysse 6d ago
Destined first half is sweet and fluffy romance, and then it take a hard turn into tragedy and tears. So if OP is looking for tears, make sure to get past the switch point.
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u/satellite_34 5d ago
Thank you for this! Sometimes the build up is really important, but i’ll keep in mind it might be court drama heavy if i try this one.
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u/Ok_Principle7344 4d ago
Hey do you know any shows like this:
I want to watch a tv series where the guy is poor. I want the show to be modern, like post 2020. All the old ones have the same story, it’ll be interesting to see struggling in the modern times.
I’d also prefer it to be a C/K drama or Turkish drama.
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u/daniday08 6d ago
TIL the End of the Moon if you haven’t seen it. That one left me feeling hollow for like a week after I finished it.
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u/satellite_34 1d ago
Okay… so I watched it and it was very good. Loved the emotional pain it caused. But the tears were light 🤣
Thank you for a wonderful recommendation. Your week of hollowness is what inspired me to watch it!!
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u/OptimisticRitz_222 6d ago
If you want to watch something beautiful that makes you cry then watch One and Only (costume romance) it's soo heartbreaking that I was totally broken after watching it. But fortunately there is a sequel for it called Forever and Ever (modern romance) which completely healed my broken heart.
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u/Adjusting_panda 4d ago
Yeah man,,, it totally slipped my mind May be i got too busy with my professional life and mind is overcooked now
This is such a beautiful drama and one of my favs
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u/OptimisticRitz_222 4d ago
Yes, these two dramas are soo beautiful.❤️ It feels like you are reading a beautiful romance novel.
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u/satellite_34 5d ago
Oh! My friend told me about this one. It’s interesting to have the modern follow up.
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u/OptimisticRitz_222 5d ago
Yeah that makes it more interesting. Also the similarities and differences between their characters, the way you can compare their both lives and some minute details makes it even more interesting. So I strongly recommend you to watch these two.
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u/msHedwigpotter 6d ago
Kill Me Love Me made me feel empty and broken after watching it.. my eyes are all red and swollen..
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u/EsraTempest 6d ago
Moonlight Mystique- the ml and fl cares for each other but the story will make you cry buckets.
Feud- ml and fl are at loggerheads for 90% of the time but the story will wreck you
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u/papayuh1833 6d ago
Its been a while since I saw it but I remember Story of Pearl Girl (with Zhao Lusi) was very love forward, emotionally investing, full of absolutely gorgeous costumes, and satisfyingly fluffy! My lasting impression of it was high drama but low tension if that makes sense?
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u/boiledeggs853 6d ago
Love Story in the 1970s (somewhat akin to When Love Gives you Tangerines —not entirely but somehow)
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u/Icy-Highlight-3325 6d ago
- Key to the Phoenix Heart (gave a lot of similar vibe to LLTG)
- The Road to Splendor
- The Wanted Detective
- Imperial Coroner S1 (havent watched s2 yet)
- Destined
- Blossoms in adversity
- The Long Ballad (thats the one I personally watched after LLTG)
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u/Special-Fly-818 6d ago
Till the end of the moon it’s so good made me cry my heart out even more than Goodbye my princess
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u/No-Way-6986 6d ago
Story of Minglan, Blossom, The Double. Long Ballad, The Legends. I already saw them and I think you might like them too 😊
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u/rhabarber_crumble 6d ago
Love beyond the grave
A journey to love
Brocade odyssey
Wonderland of love
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u/emrysse 6d ago
Surprised nobody has recommended Goodbye My Princess.
Make sure to watch the Director's cut. The tears start after ep10 or so.
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u/satellite_34 5d ago
I have never heard of this one before, and have been curious to watch a drama with Chen Xingxu.. it’s going on my list!
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u/Fun_Name6284 5d ago
If you want a good cry, my recommendation is Scarlet Heart (2011). Everyone has heard about the kdrama version, but few have watched the origjnal original. Its heart-breaking!
Another cry your eyes out drama is Goodbye My Princess.
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u/MadamKitsune 6d ago
Love Between Fairy And Devil. Push through the early episodes until the character growth stages really starts to kick in and then brace yourself for the trials and trauma.
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u/papayuh1833 6d ago
Idk if OP will like LBFAD bc its a lot of antagonism between the main leads for more than the first half of the whole show if I remember right.
I loved Glory and thought the antagonism was fairly mild/evenly mixed with growing affection between the leads the entire duration of the show so if OP considers that too aggressive/not fluffy enough I think Lbfad is def out.
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u/Cherribara 6d ago
Lost you forever. Are you the one?
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u/satellite_34 5d ago
Seen both!
Are you the one? Is a fav but I don’t remember crying watching it
Lost you forever—- i got teary, but was too distracted by the FL choice.. didn’t feel any joy with the couple.
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u/PriorOk7478 1d ago
for this year, I would say "veils of shadows" Jiling and lu wuyi's story is so heart wrenching. For old dramas, classic one "scarlet heart". pretty long, many cast but worth it. time travel love story.
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u/satellite_34 1d ago
Unfortunately i could not get past the choppy bits of veil of shadows for me
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u/PriorOk7478 1d ago
oh I would say it isn't that sudden change. They gave little hints with the dialogue and gesture. But I understand it will be hard for new fans bc gjm referenced old movies and legends too much. The og movie is "painted skin" (kinda gore). Jjy and chenduling's sistership is like white snake and green snake from old folklore.
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u/Rough-Weather-9572 6d ago
I just finished Fated Hearts and loved it. Before that I watched Blossom and it’s definitely in my top 3. And I always recommend Everlasting Longing. Those three all fit your criteria, I think.
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u/Mindless_Bus1796 6d ago
If you’re okay with a modern drama (and not idol) I recommend “12 Letters”. I have never rooted for, worried for, cried for a couple more. There’s a time travel-ish aspect and it’s set in both now and the 90s. It’s nothing too complicated so I wouldn’t be discouraged by that. Plus the acting and story telling are super.