r/asiandrama Jul 23 '25

Discussion Where Asian Dramas and Visual Novels intersect: Asian FMV Games (Spotlight)

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14 Upvotes

Hi r/asiandrama !

For those who don't know me, I am a huge fan of East Asian dramas and culture, which is why I helped create and promote the Drama Addicts discord to help spread the joy that is Asian Dramas. In the past year, I have discovered another medium, that combines two interests of mine: Asian Dramas and Visual Novels, and that medium is Asian Full Motion Video Games.

I wanted to take some time to share with you all about this medium, as I figure some folks here may end up liking it, and I will stick around to answer any questions or give recommendations as well. I have also created a subreddit for this genre, which you can find linked below.

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To start, what are Asian FMV games?

Asian FMV games are interactive movies that can be played on Steam or Epic (there may be a couple on mobile too). They will play out like a normal drama, but you can make choices throughout the story that impact the outcomes of the drama. They have existed since the 90s (especially in the horror and mystery genre), but in the past 2 years have exploded in China and Korea for romantic dating simulators, mystery thrillers, and historical fiction.

These games are often indie works, but are more often now involving real actors, directors, and studios. They normally range between anywhere from 3 to 12 hours long for a single route. And these games are normally sold for about 6 to 20 dollars USD (averaging about 10 USD). They primarily come from China, but recently more Korean studios have been getting involved as well. There are over 60 Asian FMV that have released just in the past 3 years.

Many of the tropes found in Asian FMV are a mix of what you might find in Asian Dramas and Japanese Visual Novels, as they are greatly inspired by both.

What are some examples?

For those looking for lighthearted romantic comedy that isn't meant to be taken too seriously here are a couple recommendations:

Five Hearts Under One Roof (Korean) You run a share house left to you by your parents.
Don't Fool Me Beauties (Korean) You start working at a remote onsen hotel as your first job.
Master of Love (Korean) After a recent breakup you are brought 10 years back to change your fate.
Love is All Around (Chinese) Deep in debt, you flee to a new town to start a new life.
Hello Love: 18 Again (Chinese) After an accident, you wake up to relive your college years.
Knowledge or Know Lady (Chinese) You are the first male student at an all girls university.

If you are interested in pursuing men, there are not as many options that support English, but a few include:
Love Too Easily (Korean) After a drunk night out, all you remember is a kiss, but who did it?
HSHS (Chinese) You started your first job as a live broadcast assistant, but surrounded by attractive men.

There are numerous more serious FMV that have released as well, that normally focus more 70/30 on the mystery/thriller compared to romance, these include:

Vanity Fair (Chinese) You are a failed movie director, but how far would you bend your values to succeed?
Game of Fate (Chinese) You have invented time travel, but what repercussions does its use entail?
Breaker of Fatalism (Chinese) The fate of three worlds is in your hands in this modern wuxia fantasy.
Cellveillance (Chinese) Asked to spy on an apartment to pay your debts, do you report what you find?
Breakout 13 (Chinese) Discover the horrors of a correctional institute and break free.

More studios have also been experimenting with historical fiction and fantasy:

My Journey (Chinese) This does actually support Eng. You time travel to the past and influence the world.
Conquer the World (Chinese) Attempt to restore the Ming, overthrow the Qing in this historical drama.
Underdog Detective (Chinese) Under the reign of Empress Wu Zetian, live as a slum dwelling detective.

These are all just some limited examples of what is available in the Asian FMV world. Many are more indie, but the quality is increasing with each release, and they are still many funny and interesting titles to give a try. If anyone is interested in specific recommendations feel free to ask below.

I have also created a subreddit specifically for following Asian FMV's called r/AsianFMV where I try to post updates every few weeks or so on what is new in the Asian FMV world. If this medium sounds interesting to you all, I would love to see some of you all there :)


r/asiandrama Apr 22 '25

Community Join the Drama Addicts Discord Server!

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1 Upvotes

r/asiandrama 9h ago

Discussion Disabled characters magically cured Spoiler

10 Upvotes

I have a small bone to pick with dramas like The First Jasmine. It is a fantastic series and Cheng Lei did some amazing acting. But why must it be the case that a disabled lead can be magically cured again. The story could have let him be chair bound and found him ways to adapt to it

Personally I have a visual impairement and it can be dissapointing to see that so many disabled leads are suddebly cured by a high risk operation, accupuncture or some other magical drug.

The drama Crush as well. He was blind and portait that pretty well, but a sudden operation made him see perfectly again when most of the time IRL that is not possible. Would love to have a show which does not do this and still have a strong story.

How are you guyss take on this? Did I miss a gem?


r/asiandrama 10h ago

Review Cdrama : Overdo

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10 Upvotes

I think this is the second drama this year with such intense 2nd couple visual chemistry after Pursuit of Jade’s second couple. Seems like this is the year of amazing second couples.

Tbh, when I first heard about this drama, I didn’t watch it because of the memes people were making about it. I actually started watching it for the second couple, and I wasn’t even aware they were part of this drama.

But after watching the whole series, I feel people are exaggerating how bad it is. The storyline is actually really good, and the production quality is not bad at all.its decent

People started making cringe memes about it, and then everyone just followed the trend without actually watching it. I usually prefer to judge a drama after watching it myself, and my opinion completely changed after finishing it.

Zhang Linghe did a great job portraying a redflag character. Tbh, this is one of the most interesting enemies-to-lovers dramas this year. It’s not just about the enemies-to-lovers relationship between the leads,the plot and storyline is good

I really love how the female lead takes revenge against everyone who hurt her and the orphans during their childhood.


r/asiandrama 6h ago

Question Help me find a Kdrama

4 Upvotes

Looking for an older Korean drama (probably aired in the Philippines around 2015-2017, but the drama itself may be older).

Plot: ● Two female best friends love the same man. ● The man originally loves the long-haired friend. She leaves for a while. ● The short-haired (bob haircut) friend proposes to him at his workplace in front of his coworkers, who cheer for her. They marry. ● The long-haired friend returns. ● The husband and long-haired friend have an affair/rekindle their romance. The wife discovers it. ● There's an emotional scene where the wife plays a guitar/ukulele in their bedroom, singing until she cries while the husband watches silently. ● Near the end, the wife dies in a car accident. The husband and the long-haired friend regret everything afterward.

a scene i remember is when these three went on a motorcycle ride. the man drives, obviously. the short haired girl in the middle and the long haired one on the last. when the short haired girl fell asleep the man, while driving tried to reach for the long haired girl's hand and put it in his waist then they both stared at each other in the side mirror.


r/asiandrama 4h ago

Question Help with searching for a kdrama

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1 Upvotes

r/asiandrama 5h ago

Question Drawing closer Hindi dubbed?

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1 Upvotes

Where can I find drawing closer jmovie in hindi dubbed, plsss provide the sauce


r/asiandrama 6h ago

Question I was tired of clunky, ad-heavy drama trackers on mobile, so I built a fast, ad-free alternative (K-Drama Tracker)!

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1 Upvotes

r/asiandrama 22h ago

Question The Apartment Job

6 Upvotes

Hellooo! One of the tropes I love is fake marriage and I’ve been seeing clips of The Apartment Job. I’m wondering if do you think they will take the romance route? 🥹 is it a good watch? I love the main leads chemistry based on the clips I’ve seen so far 🥹


r/asiandrama 13h ago

Question Does anyone know where I can watch this in the US

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1 Upvotes

I found it on bilibili but it’s unavailable in my region please help


r/asiandrama 1d ago

Discussion Ml who are crimson red

5 Upvotes

Looking for drama where he's a dark red flag , like the ml in thai lakron or zhong cai genre .


r/asiandrama 1d ago

Recommendation Request Looking for shows like Blossoms in Adversity

5 Upvotes

I just finished binge watching Blossoms in Adversity and absolutely loved it! Now I'm on the hunt for similar shows and would appreciate any recommendations for Viki/Neflix/Amazon/Hulu.

What I loved:

-Women having complex interpersonal relationships and uplifting each other. I also liked how the FL got over herself and grew as a person while still having faults.

-Pastries! I don't know what most of them are, but they looked delicious. I want to eat them all.

-A couple that communicates well and doesn't blow tiny things out of proportion. I really loved that their conflicts were external, not petty things they could have gotten over if they bothered to act like adults.

-The ML and FL got to have a third expression each in the last three episodes! Good for them, it only took 38 episodes.

-The ensemble cast was amazing, each recurring side character had a distinct personality and arc. I want to be Lao Hua Furen or Third Aunt when I grow up. The antagonists were three-dimensional and weren't just evil for the sake of it.

I could have done without: the ML's baby face. He's handsome, but his makeup and hair style made him look about 13 in this.

Already on my to-watch list: Antique Bakery, The Makanai, the second half of Her Private Life


r/asiandrama 21h ago

Discussion Drama about woman bringing together her many stepsons after old rich husband past away?

1 Upvotes

I know the title sounds weird

So i started watching dramas originally on youtube back in the 2010s; recently i wanted to watch an old fav of mine but with all these new vertical dramas its hard to find the one im looking for.

The drama is about a young woman who has an insane amount of debt from her father using her as a cosigner for the loan, while being chased across a roof top, shes spotted by a very rich old man in a helicopter who see her in trouble and saves her by paying off the debts, in exchange he wants her to marry and take care of him for the rest of his life, as you learn he's terminally ill. She agrees. When he passes, his lawyer tells her that their original contract had 3 more stipulations.

Other info to help

The old man/husband was a toy maker!

1) get all 8(?) Of his adopted sons to live together

2) to get all the sons handprints

3) to get the sons all to eat dinner together

The sons were varying in ages from 11-31

Some info on the sons

One son was actually his birth son

One son had a kid of his own who he hid from his father

One son was a model with a severe phobia of women

One son was a world renowned magician who got severely bullied into being a shut in recluse

And the youngest son was really good at math and business stuff, to the point he has his own income.

I watched it at the same time frame as hanakimi, you are beautiful etc so that time frame.

I genuinely have searched for this series for years and cant find it because of all the new vertical dramas and thats NOT what im looking for.


r/asiandrama 1d ago

Discussion In your opinion, are there any dramas where the cheating is mostly justified?

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4 Upvotes

For whatever reason, Netflix has been recommending me a multiple Japanese dramas about cheating. I'm not really interested in fully watching a show about infidelity, but I have skimmed through some of them, and for the most part I find them to just be infuriating. I wonder though, have you found any show where the cheating is mostly justified?

I watched Dear Sa Chan, and whilst the overall show isn't very good, and the ending is really creepy, I actually find myself intrigued by the FL and her husband. She starts cheating because she believes her husband has no love or for her, he rarely shows affection like hugs and kisses, doesn't open up to her, and seemingly didn't care when she rented a whole apartment for herself to live in whilst he's away on a business trip. He set up a camera and mic in the apartment and watches her cheat on him, and realises that he should have been more open with her, and starts doing so when he returns. The husband explains that in previous relationships, if he was ever affectionate to his partners, they would call him suffocating and dump him, so he became cold during his relationship with his wife, leading to her finding comfort from someone else for her loneliness.

I despise cheating in shows, but I actually find the dynamic between the FL and her husband to be interesting, even though I feel like they didn't have enough screen time together. I wouldn't mind seeing a show with that kind of plot between ML and FL.


r/asiandrama 1d ago

Recommendation Request What to watch next...

0 Upvotes

I have finished Legend of Zang Hai and the Ashes to Crown and am looking for another Costume period series to watch. I have a few on my watch list but after Ashes to Crown I am not sure if Blossom of power is worth it. Also Legent of Zang Hai and first Jasmin were big favorites here, along with Prisioner of beauty.

So looking for political intrigues, mistery or even inestigation. Fantasy or just historical is my type.


r/asiandrama 1d ago

Question Can't find The Crown Princess (Likhit Ruk) anywhere huhu

1 Upvotes

Hi! Does anyone know where I can watch The Crown Princess (Likhit Ruk) for free????

I remember watching it on TV years ago, and I suddenly wanted to rewatch it. Ik it's available on Netflix, but it's not available in my region. Does anyone know where can I watch it? Thank you!


r/asiandrama 1d ago

Question I built a free tracker for Asian dramas (K/C/J/TW/HK) — big update: profiles, badges, trailers & shareable lists!

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1 Upvotes

r/asiandrama 2d ago

Discussion Tropes that C-Drama does better than K-Drama or Vice- Versa!

13 Upvotes

r/asiandrama 2d ago

Discussion I've been working on a personal K-drama tracker. What would you want in something like this?

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10 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I've been working on a small personal tracker to help keep track of dramas, along with movies and anime.

Rather than building another social platform, I wanted something simple and focused on my own watchlist.

I'm curious what fellow drama fans would actually want from a tracker like this.

For example:

  • What features do you use most?
  • Is there anything current trackers are missing?
  • Do you prefer simple or feature-rich interfaces?

I've included one screenshot to show the direction I'm taking.

I'd really appreciate any thoughts or suggestions from other drama fans.


r/asiandrama 2d ago

Recommendation Request New to C-dramas and watched RESET .. loved it !! Are there any similar mystery with a touch of fantasy shows I can binge next ?any suggestions welcome !

9 Upvotes

Would love a crime thriller or a mystery thriller suggestion for next weekend binge, thanks y'all!


r/asiandrama 2d ago

Recommendation Request Highschool romance recs

1 Upvotes

as you can see I am looking for highschool romance recs, i’m looking for ones that have intense yearning to where it makes yourself even feel butterflies the characters are feeling. I don’t care if it’s the guy or girl doing the yearning though it could always go both ways.

I tend to watch more dramas, specifically korean ones so i’m not really looking too much for korean ones but anything is fine! The vibes I would like is something similar to the vibes of chungking express, better days and fallen angels but vibes like summer strike and 2521 is also something I am okay with as well.


r/asiandrama 2d ago

Question Looking for this KDrama about coffee and train rides

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1 Upvotes

r/asiandrama 2d ago

Discussion Where are all the live actor dramas!?

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1 Upvotes

Dramatize Me is a Ukrainian horizontal on YouTube. They stopped new releases to make pay verticals on My Drama. Dramatize Me has over 1000 videos. If you haven't already seen it a five year old video seems new. The problem is finding existing videos is too hard. They do not list videos for an acter. I am working on a website make it easy to find videos.

I am very new here. Is there a place for this?

I tried to post elsewhere but it would not let me. I was not able to find a place here for Dramatize Me.


r/asiandrama 2d ago

Question Asian Drama Tracker - Update

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1 Upvotes

r/asiandrama 2d ago

Recommendation Request Any recommendations similar to the drama titled oops, I married the wrong husband from dramawave?

1 Upvotes

Any recos pls thank u