r/asiandrama • • Jul 23 '25

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

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18 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 • • 8h ago

Discussion just saw they are doing a signed photo giveaway for Khom Khlang leads (NA only sadly)

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1 Upvotes

r/asiandrama • • 1d ago

Discussion Wrong Answers Only: Why she (suddenly) fainted?

12 Upvotes

GIF Source: FM Korea


r/asiandrama • • 16h ago

Discussion Attempts to take Doctor X off the air over Episode 6's Gwangju plot completely backfired into free promo. Now Kim Ji-won’s SBS drama is sitting at a record 21.3% peak rating.

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2 Upvotes

r/asiandrama • • 1d ago

Question Help! Song ID request: heard this in a video clip, anyone recognize it?

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21 Upvotes

“Hi everyone, I came across this song in a video clip and haven’t been able to identify it. Could anyone tell me the song title and who sings it?”


r/asiandrama • • 1d ago

Recommendation Request Looking for a PG-16 drama

6 Upvotes

I love K and C-dramas, and I’ve seen a few so far that have just slightly more elevated kissing scenes and hotter relationships. Nothing crazy, but along the lines of “What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim” and “Nevertheless”.


r/asiandrama • • 1d ago

Question Alguien que busque kdramas

2 Upvotes

Tengo links para ver gratis varias de ellas


r/asiandrama • • 2d ago

Discussion Best Korean thriller of all time?

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53 Upvotes

Reddit has discussed The Man From Nowhere a lot, but I just can’t get over how good it is.


r/asiandrama • • 1d ago

Video AI Drama channel

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0 Upvotes

r/asiandrama • • 1d ago

Recommendation Request K-drama recommendations needed

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7 Upvotes

r/asiandrama • • 1d ago

Discussion Parallels between The Glory and Is It My Fault That I Got Bullied

1 Upvotes

I watched Glory and read the bullied manga and holy shit there's a lot of parallel's I can draw from this.

Moon Dong-Eun and Yuichi Aizawa share a very similar history with critical differences.

Similarites

-Both bullied by a high status group of students, brutally even (both have visible physical scars that stay with them permanently). They both had to drop out of school because of this.

-Both tried to get help, but they didn't help them

-Both spent years plotting revenge against their former bullies

-Both are calculated and cold individuals, you can't tell if they're good or not

-Both are methodolical

-Both destroy their bullies lives by taking everything away from the, leaving them completely alone, creating the same hell they were once in.

-Both became teachers for the purposes of their plot. They also use that position to get close to the ringleader's daughter.

Differences

-Dong-Eun was not just alone. The people closest to her didn't give a damn about her. Not much is known about Aizawa's family

-Dong-Eun at least had a friend in Kyung Ran before it ended (though she had the school nurse to console her), whereas Aizawa had no friends

-Dong-Eun's homeroom teacher knew the bullying was going on and turned a blind eye, even abusing Dong-Eun himself. Aizawa's homeroom teacher was negligent at worse.

-Dong-Eun comes across as cold and distant, view it necessary to keep her hatred alive. Aizawa was similarly cold, but showed more warmth to Shiori

-Dong-Eun's main journey is getting her revenge on her bullies. Aizawa only focused on his revenge near the end of his story as he mostly kept an eye on Shiori

-Dong-Eun's bullying was arguably more brutal than Aizawa's, which is hard for me to say since they tried hitting aizawa's face with a baseball.

-Dong-Eun's master plan was on systemic destruction of their lifestyles, while Aizawa focused more on gathering evidence and posting personal information online.

-Dong-Eun recruited allies to help her in her revenge, whereas Aizawa went solo

-Dong-Eun eventually has her own romance with Yojeong, whereas Aizawa never got involved romantically

-Both were willing to do illegal things, however, the nature of it differs. Dong-Eun considers framing people for murder by planting evidence, while Aizawa tampered with technology to install both a monitoring gps and spyware so he can see online activity.

Then there's the bullies, Yeon-Jin Park and Shinji Suzuki

Similarities:

-Both left physical scars on their victims

-Their cronies send fake apologies to their main victims

-Both had flimsy reasons for bullying their victims

-Both come from influential backgrounds (Yeon-Jin comes from wealth, Shinji was a popular class president)

-There's romance within their friend group (Yeon-Jin and Jae-Jun, Satake and Takano)

-Both feel no remorse for their bullying behaviour

-Both work highly respectable jobs and have the perfect family

-Both cheated on their spouses

-Both love their daughters

-In the end, both end up alone and isolated

Differences:

-Yeon-Jin was more sadistic, breaking into Dong-Eun's house and burning her with the curling iron. Shinji has not shown to break into Aizawa's house (but he burned his body with cigarette scars), and he tricked Aizawa into believing he wan gonna pour acid on his face.

-She bullied multiple girls, whereas Shinji only had his eyes on Aizawa.

-Shinji really love his daughter, whereas Yeon-Jin sees her daughter as somewhat an extension of herself

-Yeon-Jin bullies people out of boredom, whereas Shinji made Aizawa's life a living hell over getting a better score than him, preventing him from getting a video game.

-Yeon-Jin's cheating only served to benefit Dong-Eun's plan, whereas Shinji's affair with Yazaki is what started Shiori's bullying and nearly drove his wife to suicide.

-Their endgames are different. In the Glory, Yeon-Jin and Sa-Ra are in prison (Yeon-Jin now being a bullying victim of inmates), Jae-Jun and Myeon-O are dead, and Hye-Jeong loses her voice. In IIMFIGB, Satake and Takano are still alive but have their reputations ruined, whereas Shinji gets a taste of his own medicine before being killed by one of his present victims.

Now we get to the daughters, Ha Ye-Sol and Suzuki Shiori

Similarities

-Both are daughters of the ringleader, whom love them very much

-Both have their parents bullying victim as their homeroom teacher

-Both are incredibly kind, sweet, and empathetic

-Both disowned their parents after learning of their bullying history, choosing to spend the rest of their lives with the other parent instead.

Differences

-Ye-Sol was just in elementary school and lived a normal life. Shiori got subjected to bullying in middle school

-Ye-Sol is a product of an affair between Yeon-Jin and Jae-jun, passing her off as Do Yeongs child. Shiori is the direct biological daughter of Shiho and Shinji Suzuki

-Ye-Sol is color blind, whereas Shiori has perfect vision

-Ye-Sol hasn't developed much to be conscious of outside things, whereas due to her bullying, Shiori is watchful of her surroundings

-Ye-Sol's friend is afraid if she's gonna start bullying her, whereas Shiori's friend, Yumi, eventually joined them.

-Ye-Sol immediately disowned her mother after seeing her bullying past publicly exposed, whereas Shiori was coming to terms of who her father really is before finally disowning him.

-Ye-Sol was never really that close to Dong-Eun, only seeing her as her mom's "friend", whereas Shiori was initially skeptical of Aizawa, grew to trust him and have more of a close bond with him to the point discovering her dad bullied him led her to disowning her dad.

Then there's the bully's spouses, Ha Doyeong and Suzuki Shiho.

Similarities

-Both are married to bully characters without knowing their history

-Both have spoken with their spouses victims

-Both were unsettled when they dig deeper about their spouses

-Both got cheated on by their spouse and then eventually divorced them at the end of the series

-Both vowed to take better care of their children after their spouses horrific actions have gone public (this also highlights Do Yeongs character considering he found out the truth about his daughter)

Differences:

-Do Yeong was in a transactional relationship with Yeon Jin from the start, only valuing her for her looks and being a trophy wife. Shiho believed she had a loving relationship with Shinji and did everything she could to make herself and her daughter the perfect wife/mother and daughter (though Shinji believed she baby trapped him)

-Do Yeong is a CEO of his company, whereas Shiho is a house wife.

-Do Yeong was very attentive to his daughter Ye-Sol, whereas Shiho was critical of Shiori despite being a loving mother

-Do Yeong had more personal interactions with Dong-Eun, while Shiho spoke to Aizawa where it was socially expected for a homeroom teacher.

-Shiho is a kind soul who stood her ground against Shinji, while Do Yeong took drastic measures to take care of Jae Jun so he doesn't come near Ye-Sol

Then there's another parallel, but just one similarity. Son myeong-o and Choi Hye-Jeong are resentful lackeys of yeon-jin, sa-ra, and jae-jun, betraying them for their own benefit. Takano and Satake also resented Shinji for his success and worked to bring him down.


r/asiandrama • • 1d ago

Video IRYU MEDICAL DRAMA S3 and S4 pls

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1 Upvotes

r/asiandrama • • 2d ago

Discussion wait, Meng Ziyi and Li Yunrui are doing a second pairing already?

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36 Upvotes

ngl, I still have Dou Zhao and Song Mo in my head whenever I see these two together lol.

Now they're back in Tigers Sniff the Rose and the setup looks pretty different. She's a princess and he's a scholar with his own agenda, so hopefully this isn't just Blossom 2.0 with different costumes.

I saw the trailer on Tencent Video and the chemistry looks promising so far. I'm always a little nervous about second pairings because sometimes the magic just isn't the same the second time around 😭

but I'm definitely curious. give me a couple who can scheme together AND fall in love.


r/asiandrama • • 2d ago

Question Trying to Find a Movie

2 Upvotes

I'm trying to figure out a movie (or possibly a show? I'm pretty sure it was a move) I watched ages ago. The problem is, I only remember plot points. I've been googling around for years to no avail. I finally had to ask Gemini to help narrow it down, which helped iron out the plot points, but kept detouring to the wrong titles.

  • The Accidental "Murder": The main character is a low-level, rough-around-the-edges gangster who gets into a brutal street fight. He knocks his opponent out completely cold, panics, and flees the city—fully convinced he is now a wanted murderer.
  • Hiding as a Background Extra: To stay off the radar and blend into a crowd, he sneaks onto a massive television studio lot and registers as a nameless background extra.
  • The Stuntmen Fight: During a scene where he is dressed up as a generic thug supposed to get easily beaten up by the show's "hero," his real criminal paranoia takes over. Believing the stuntmen closing in on him are actually real plainclothes police officers or rival mobsters coming to arrest/kill him, he abandons the script and brutally beats up the professional stuntmen for real.
  • The Romantic Lead Rewrite: His terrifying, raw street-fighting intensity blows the director away. Instead of calling security, the director falls in love with his "unprecedented method acting." As the show's ratings explode because of his viral raw energy, the writers continuously rewrite the script on the fly. He gets upgraded from an extra, to a recurring villain, and finally into the lead romantic role directly opposite the show's glamorous female star—leaving him trapped playing a heartthrob on national television while secretly terrified the police will recognize his face.

Movies Google is convinced I'm talking about, but are not it:

  • Change of Gangster (2019)
  • Too Cool To Kill (2022)
  • The Magic Hour (2008)
  • Where is Jung Seung-phil (2009)
  • Shinsukki Blues (2004)
  • A Bold Family (2005)
  • Rough Cut (2008)

Somebody please help, this has been bugging me for years!


r/asiandrama • • 2d ago

Question Would you like to be a guest on YT channel?

6 Upvotes

I want to start a series where drama fans get together to debate characters, relationships, controversial storylines, and unpopular opinions.

Think discussions like:

  • Is this male lead actually a green flag?
  • Which popular drama is genuinely overrated?
  • Are we too forgiving of toxic fictional relationships?
  • Which second lead deserved better?

I’m looking for regular drama fans, not necessarily content creators. You don’t need a YouTube channel or any previous recording experience.

The idea is to have a relaxed conversation over an online call that I would record for my YouTube channel. We’d agree on the topic beforehand, and I’d explain how the recording would be used.

If you enjoy analysing dramas and defending your opinions, I’d love to hear from you!

Please note: This would be a recorded conversation published on YouTube, so you’d need to be comfortable appearing in the recording.


r/asiandrama • • 2d ago

Question Plss find me this kdrama

6 Upvotes

hi i saw this edit loooonng time ago. it think it was a k or j drama that it shows a man bringing his wife into a movie set, i believe. And asks the actor/director who is a women to take care of her and the actor/director says sure i will then later it shows the husband seeing his wife and actor/director doing a intimate scene in a big screen and he is shocked smthin like that....pleaseee find it for meee..... i just cant find itt


r/asiandrama • • 2d ago

Recommendation Request Any kdrama or thai or cdrama recommendations?

2 Upvotes

Cdrama- yung maiklo lang episides (kung meron)

Kdrama- yung chill lang/funny/romcom(no toxic character if possible)

Thai- adventure/actions


r/asiandrama • • 2d ago

Discussion I liked this. Just saying.

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4 Upvotes

r/asiandrama • • 2d ago

Question Kdrama site

0 Upvotes

Anyone know where I can watch English dubbed kdramas


r/asiandrama • • 3d ago

Video Small Town Remedy | Novel

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5 Upvotes

r/asiandrama • • 3d ago

Video The Blue Road Trailer (airing Nov 20 on Netflix) Japanese Korean co-production series

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2 Upvotes

r/asiandrama • • 3d ago

Video AI drama

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r/asiandrama • • 4d ago

Discussion Is It Just Me, or Is the Production Quality in The Pursuit of Jade Absolutely Stunning?

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246 Upvotes

I only watched few C dramas and ever since I watched The Pursuit of Jade, I genuinely can’t get over the scale of production in C dramas. The sets, cinematography, costumes, visuals, and overall attention to detail are just INSANEE🔥

Even the leads, second leads everybody do a great job.

Top Notch quality!!!

C-Dramas Really Don't Hold Back When It Comes to Production Value

The way they create these grand sets … it’s not just the visuals, the pacing, transitions and overall presentation are so good too.

Like, these productions really go HARD 😭 The amount of effort that goes into creating these worlds is something I can’t stop appreciating😍

I’d love to hear your thoughts🤓


r/asiandrama • • 3d ago

Question Does anyone happen to know the title of this drama? I believe the actress is Takako Tokiwa (常盤貴子).

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2 Upvotes