Taiwan Dramas vs HK Dramas
Taiwan Dramas vs HK Dramas
I wanted to know if you thought that Taiwan and HK dramas are different, and how so?
This is based on because I think I've read that Japanese dramas are more plot-driven with more diversity of topics where Korean dramas are more driven on the actors/actresses and basically stick to the regular formula of a triangle love relationship and/or/with illness/death.
This is based on because I think I've read that Japanese dramas are more plot-driven with more diversity of topics where Korean dramas are more driven on the actors/actresses and basically stick to the regular formula of a triangle love relationship and/or/with illness/death.
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Yea, I agree with what Puppet Princess said. I watch waaay more HK shows than Taiwanese shows, but I find that Taiwanese dramas have more cute love stories while there's more drama in HK shows.
Off the top of my head, popular Taiwanese shows like Meteor Garden focus on younger stars in a love story. HK shows, like Heart of Greed and Off the beat, has more action/adventure in it.
Off the top of my head, popular Taiwanese shows like Meteor Garden focus on younger stars in a love story. HK shows, like Heart of Greed and Off the beat, has more action/adventure in it.
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taiwanese shows are not that bad...the story line of some shows are really good....but the same actors seem to be poping up in every show possible...
one more thing..taiwan female actresses have really bad teeth...when they smile or talk u can see that it is brown(i mean really brown) and very messy....
hong kong shows now very boring..once a while got good shows that are made...
one more thing..taiwan female actresses have really bad teeth...when they smile or talk u can see that it is brown(i mean really brown) and very messy....
hong kong shows now very boring..once a while got good shows that are made...
What bugs me about Taiwanese dramas is the quality of acting.
I find the way they "talk" is a bit awkward. It's like they overemphasize their pronunciation or something so the dialog just doesn't seem natural.
When I watch HK dramas--which are dubbed in Mandarin--I feel that the dubbing/voice actors do a much better job than the Taiwanese actors.
And even when I watch some Korean dramas that were dubbed in Mandarin the acting/voices in it sound much better and natural!
I find the way they "talk" is a bit awkward. It's like they overemphasize their pronunciation or something so the dialog just doesn't seem natural.
When I watch HK dramas--which are dubbed in Mandarin--I feel that the dubbing/voice actors do a much better job than the Taiwanese actors.
And even when I watch some Korean dramas that were dubbed in Mandarin the acting/voices in it sound much better and natural!
Hm, I actually grew up watching HK dramas exclusively, until I was recently introduced and became addicted to TW dramas several months ago. I don't really have a preference, as I think both have their merits.
One of the main differences for me is the image quality. To me, HK dramas display more vivid colorings, and the films exude a professional image quality that TW dramas seem to lack. However, I've actually come to appreciate TW dramas more because of this. The visuals make the scenery/people seem more realistic, since they aren't overly enhanced, and thus, eliminates the fictious feel I usually get when watching movies.
Acting-wise, I agree that TW actors, in general, are not on par with most HK actors who've started out their careers in acting. A lot of the actors in TW are usually singer-turned-actors, whereas it's usually the other way around in HK. However, I think TW still has their fair share of good actors, and I actually find the guys to be better looking.
Plot-wise, as some of the previous posters have already mentioned, HK dramas tackle more serious day-to-day issues, contrary to TW dramas which are more cutesy/fantasy based. Personally, I like to switch it up every once in a while, so I'll watch both types of dramas as long as I feel the series are worthy of my time I'd hate to watch cutesy dramas all the time, but likewise, it'd be tedious to watch serious dramas all the time, so a mixture of both is ideal for me.
One of the main differences for me is the image quality. To me, HK dramas display more vivid colorings, and the films exude a professional image quality that TW dramas seem to lack. However, I've actually come to appreciate TW dramas more because of this. The visuals make the scenery/people seem more realistic, since they aren't overly enhanced, and thus, eliminates the fictious feel I usually get when watching movies.
Acting-wise, I agree that TW actors, in general, are not on par with most HK actors who've started out their careers in acting. A lot of the actors in TW are usually singer-turned-actors, whereas it's usually the other way around in HK. However, I think TW still has their fair share of good actors, and I actually find the guys to be better looking.
Plot-wise, as some of the previous posters have already mentioned, HK dramas tackle more serious day-to-day issues, contrary to TW dramas which are more cutesy/fantasy based. Personally, I like to switch it up every once in a while, so I'll watch both types of dramas as long as I feel the series are worthy of my time I'd hate to watch cutesy dramas all the time, but likewise, it'd be tedious to watch serious dramas all the time, so a mixture of both is ideal for me.
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i kind of agree...lexuos2006 wrote:taiwanese dramas are not cute ok...depends on the show u watch...at times they can be very fierce especially when they dun use mandarin..
taiwanese dramas in recent years have definitely gotten lighter and bubblier, but i absolutely hated the older ones (15-20 yrs ago) because they were all so high strung and melodramatic designed for maximum scream-fest effect...
but that was a long time ago, so...
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i grew up watching a lot of hong kong dramas and only recently (within the last year) started to watch taiwanese, korean and japanese dramas. i actually loath hong kong made dramas now..they all seem to revolve around the same storyline/ plot just placed in a different setting/theme. i swear i've seen the same story with the same character relationships in at least 3 different dramas in recent years and many times its because the script writer is the same person so i personally believe hong kong dramas (especially the tvb series) have no creativity in respect to story lines. whilst there are some very good hong kong made series they all have very intense and dramatic storylines usually revolving around a police/gangster themes or fighting over inheritence themed shows. all in all i feel hong kong dramas have just become too predictable.
the only taiwanese dramas that i watch are the idol dramas and i choose to watch them because their light and airy and cute which gives me comedic relief after stress from reality. so i have no problem with the 'cuteness' of taiwanese dramas.
the only taiwanese dramas that i watch are the idol dramas and i choose to watch them because their light and airy and cute which gives me comedic relief after stress from reality. so i have no problem with the 'cuteness' of taiwanese dramas.
HK drama all the way, tw drama's its just so boreing and the way they act is like.... eeek for example, Meteor Garden its suppose to be a very good series based on the japanese anime and the original japanese series was sooo much better, when taiwan re-maked into the taiwan version, i was like OMG.... its soo long and boreing and stupid at times......they killed =/
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Having now seen my FIRST HKdrama "Triumph in the Skies" which I was assured by many people was a REALLY great drama, one of the best ones, etc. I have to say that I like the Taiwanese ones better. WAY more romantic, way more emotionally involving and yes, way more entertaining!
Watching TITS was like watching an infomercial for the airline industry <yawn>. No drama whatsoever. Everybody was a nice person behaving sensibly; everybody was friendly, everybody got along...where's the drama in that??? Boring...
IMO.
Watching TITS was like watching an infomercial for the airline industry <yawn>. No drama whatsoever. Everybody was a nice person behaving sensibly; everybody was friendly, everybody got along...where's the drama in that??? Boring...
IMO.
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Out of curiosity, IS there an HK drama that is all about love and nothing else? I'd like to watch one of those and see how it stacks up against the TW dramas. This comparison was not quite fair since I really only watch dramas for the romance, so since TITS fell short in that dept, so did all HK dramas by proxy. I'd like to see one I'd have a better chance of liking.alexander the great wrote:I prefer to watch HK drama because the plot is more intellectually created. It just makes more sense. A majority of the popular taiwanese series are made for girls it seem. They make the whole story about love and nothing else.
Suggestions?
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You might want to check out Sunshine Heartbeat and Heart of Fencing, but im in no way saying these are good series.yenchan69 wrote:Out of curiosity, IS there an HK drama that is all about love and nothing else? I'd like to watch one of those and see how it stacks up against the TW dramas. This comparison was not quite fair since I really only watch dramas for the romance, so since TITS fell short in that dept, so did all HK dramas by proxy. I'd like to see one I'd have a better chance of liking.alexander the great wrote:I prefer to watch HK drama because the plot is more intellectually created. It just makes more sense. A majority of the popular taiwanese series are made for girls it seem. They make the whole story about love and nothing else.
Suggestions?
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Try Under The Canopy of Love and The Seventh Day.yenchan69 wrote:Out of curiosity, IS there an HK drama that is all about love and nothing else? I'd like to watch one of those and see how it stacks up against the TW dramas. This comparison was not quite fair since I really only watch dramas for the romance, so since TITS fell short in that dept, so did all HK dramas by proxy. I'd like to see one I'd have a better chance of liking.alexander the great wrote:I prefer to watch HK drama because the plot is more intellectually created. It just makes more sense. A majority of the popular taiwanese series are made for girls it seem. They make the whole story about love and nothing else.
Suggestions?
They have on thing on common: the casting, the four leads of The Seventh Day are also in Under The Canopy of Love.
I recommend you to watch The Seventh Day first and even if it's was aired after UTCOL it's not a sequel at all, TSD is one of my favorite Asian dramas, the story is beautiful and the four main characters are so interesting.
(And now after thinking of this drama I want to watch it an another time )
By the way, HK drama for me too .
Thanks for the tip! Will go download!!Valentine_rose wrote:Try Under The Canopy of Love and The Seventh Day.yenchan69 wrote:Out of curiosity, IS there an HK drama that is all about love and nothing else? I'd like to watch one of those and see how it stacks up against the TW dramas. This comparison was not quite fair since I really only watch dramas for the romance, so since TITS fell short in that dept, so did all HK dramas by proxy. I'd like to see one I'd have a better chance of liking.alexander the great wrote:I prefer to watch HK drama because the plot is more intellectually created. It just makes more sense. A majority of the popular taiwanese series are made for girls it seem. They make the whole story about love and nothing else.
Suggestions?
They have on thing on common: the casting, the four leads of The Seventh Day are also in Under The Canopy of Love.
I recommend you to watch The Seventh Day first and even if it's was aired after UTCOL it's not a sequel at all, TSD is one of my favorite Asian dramas, the story is beautiful and the four main characters are so interesting.
(And now after thinking of this drama I want to watch it an another time )
By the way, HK drama for me too .
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I've never watched a HK drama. For TW, I've only seen some episodes of It Started with a Kiss (want to finish!!), the first episodes of Hana Kimi Taiwanese version and Meteor Garden, and up to episode four of Romantic Princess. I'm more of a Japanese and occasional Korean girl myself. Taiwanese dramas are more...cute and fluffy. Yeah. Cute and fluffy.
TW drama seems to have an overdose of cutesy. One thing I can't stand about TW dramas is about how the simplest stuff, the most trivial thing ever encountered, can be made into something as big as if hell on earth. And their tendency to make things funny kinda have the opposite effect. I swear, no TW drama has caught my attention for more than 5 minutes, whereas HK dramas, no matter how bad they make it, I still come back for more.
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Both TW and HK dramas have repetitive plot - but the plot in top notch HK dramas are more awesome. The one about a thieves syndicate was scripted well. Heart of Greed II was similar to the first, but it was written well so that everyone loved the hate the evil second wives. There are HK dramas full of newbie actors - they are more similar to TW dramas ----- the same fantastical friendship/ cutesy/ never-mind-the-quality-just-try-to-look-cool style of acting, and they are horrid compare their prime-time counterparts.
Both types have series that work, and others that goes painfully wrong (Legend of Demigods anyone?)
But TW dramas rely on the ~~idol-aura~~ which doesn't attract the wider audience. And the popularity only lasts as long as the hype of the drama.
On good looks: maybe I should get plastic surgery and be an idol - just kidding. As long the actors don't look repulsive, that's fine for me.
Both types have series that work, and others that goes painfully wrong (Legend of Demigods anyone?)
But TW dramas rely on the ~~idol-aura~~ which doesn't attract the wider audience. And the popularity only lasts as long as the hype of the drama.
On good looks: maybe I should get plastic surgery and be an idol - just kidding. As long the actors don't look repulsive, that's fine for me.
I would of said I liked TW dramas more a couple of months ago but I have to admit to watching and enjoying HK dramas.
I guess I grew bored of TW "Idol" dramas and so a friend suggessed I watch Seventh day and well I loved it
I then kind of moved on to Hearts of greed, Love Under the canopy, Forensic heroes, there was one about gambling with Bosco Wong in it but can't for the life of me remember the name all great dramas!!!
I guess if you watch a drama for good looking "boys" your not really going to like HK dramas the actors all seem to be abit older then the average TW actor.
I guess I grew bored of TW "Idol" dramas and so a friend suggessed I watch Seventh day and well I loved it
I then kind of moved on to Hearts of greed, Love Under the canopy, Forensic heroes, there was one about gambling with Bosco Wong in it but can't for the life of me remember the name all great dramas!!!
I guess if you watch a drama for good looking "boys" your not really going to like HK dramas the actors all seem to be abit older then the average TW actor.
their older, but actually still not that bad looking too XDD i actually grew sick of TW too!! although i still watch, but i liked HK better now XDDxxemz19xx wrote:I would of said I liked TW dramas more a couple of months ago but I have to admit to watching and enjoying HK dramas.
I guess I grew bored of TW "Idol" dramas and so a friend suggessed I watch Seventh day and well I loved it
I then kind of moved on to Hearts of greed, Love Under the canopy, Forensic heroes, there was one about gambling with Bosco Wong in it but can't for the life of me remember the name all great dramas!!!
I guess if you watch a drama for good looking "boys" your not really going to like HK dramas the actors all seem to be abit older then the average TW actor.
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Taiwan Dramas are the ones to catch if you feel like looking at young fashionable teens involved in love affairs.
Hong Kong Dramas also have genres like that, but in my opinion, they fare much better with the serious, intense, suspenseful genre. That's not to say Hong Kong series are better. Some series are just horrendously boring. I also get tired of the fact that TVB promotes a certain actor/actress by putting him/her in every subsequent series.
Not sure about TW series. I don't watch most of them. I did see Hua Mulan with Anita Yuen and Vincent Zhao. It was really refreshing to see a show in a non TVB way.
Hong Kong Dramas also have genres like that, but in my opinion, they fare much better with the serious, intense, suspenseful genre. That's not to say Hong Kong series are better. Some series are just horrendously boring. I also get tired of the fact that TVB promotes a certain actor/actress by putting him/her in every subsequent series.
Not sure about TW series. I don't watch most of them. I did see Hua Mulan with Anita Yuen and Vincent Zhao. It was really refreshing to see a show in a non TVB way.
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Taiwanese people have their own accent when they speak Mandarin. It's not your Mainland Chinese/Hong Kong Mandarin.jess22 wrote:What bugs me about Taiwanese dramas is the quality of acting.
I find the way they "talk" is a bit awkward. It's like they overemphasize their pronunciation or something so the dialog just doesn't seem natural.
When I watch HK dramas--which are dubbed in Mandarin--I feel that the dubbing/voice actors do a much better job than the Taiwanese actors.
And even when I watch some Korean dramas that were dubbed in Mandarin the acting/voices in it sound much better and natural!
The generalization of Taiwan drame as more cute love story centric may be correct. But we should not overlook that drama like "It started with a Kiss" and "They Kissed Again" have a really good story line. If you remove the teen love romance and cute stars appeal on the surface, underneath it has a very deep moving story about growing up, about living with different people, about finding out who you are, about handling pressure and expectation. Of course it was aided by the excellent original work of the Japanese author Tada Kaoru. But the adaptation into a Taiwan drama is done extremely well.
The Taiwan TV/film industry had come a long way since the 70s when Taiwan drama was first introduce into HK. I cannot remember which drame was the first one but I can remember that after watching a few episodes of that drame, I would be switching channel before a Taiwan drama series started for quite a few years after that. So let not just dismiss Taiwan drama as cute love flicks, there will be more quality drama from Taiwan in the future.
The Taiwan TV/film industry had come a long way since the 70s when Taiwan drama was first introduce into HK. I cannot remember which drame was the first one but I can remember that after watching a few episodes of that drame, I would be switching channel before a Taiwan drama series started for quite a few years after that. So let not just dismiss Taiwan drama as cute love flicks, there will be more quality drama from Taiwan in the future.
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Mandarin Dub, Eng subs
Does anybody know where you can find HK dramas dubbed in Mandarin, and with English subtitles? (either for download or to buy?)
I am trying to learn Mandarin and love HK dramas, so was wondering if anybody knows of a place to get them with both.
(Crunchyroll has "Lost in Love" but I've yet to find many others.. )
Thanks!
I am trying to learn Mandarin and love HK dramas, so was wondering if anybody knows of a place to get them with both.
(Crunchyroll has "Lost in Love" but I've yet to find many others.. )
Thanks!
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@brycerice
Learning a new language like Mandarin is good but I don't think watching from a dubbed HK-Drama do you any good and in my opinion slanders the drama. Why? First, you need to a fair foundation of Mandarin to learn. If not you will only catch a word here and there, just not enough for you to use it in a daily conversation. Second, I am quite sadden by the fact you want to learn a language from a dubbed HK drama when it is originally Cantonese. Get a drama that is Mandarin-spoken, please -_-"
Learning a new language like Mandarin is good but I don't think watching from a dubbed HK-Drama do you any good and in my opinion slanders the drama. Why? First, you need to a fair foundation of Mandarin to learn. If not you will only catch a word here and there, just not enough for you to use it in a daily conversation. Second, I am quite sadden by the fact you want to learn a language from a dubbed HK drama when it is originally Cantonese. Get a drama that is Mandarin-spoken, please -_-"
Re: Mandarin Dub, Eng subs
the YesAsia.com Banner up top should have quite a bit of HKDramas w/ English Subs for sale : )brycerice wrote:Does anybody know where you can find HK dramas dubbed in Mandarin, and with English subtitles? (either for download or to buy?)
I am trying to learn Mandarin and love HK dramas, so was wondering if anybody knows of a place to get them with both.
(Crunchyroll has "Lost in Love" but I've yet to find many others.. )
Thanks!
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@GAMA_SENNIN I already speak some a little bit of Mandarin already but no Cantonese, so that's why I'm looking for any Mandarin dubbed HK dramas with Eng subs. I prefer HK dramas instead of TW ones/Mainland because I find HK dramas have the best acting/stories.
The dubbing on HK dramas is quite well done actually... I'm not always a fan of dubbing, but the Mandarin dubbing is usually quite professional and well acted for HK dramas. (often coming from Singapore Mediacorp, I believe)
If anybody knows of any, please let me know. (either for download or for sale) I wonder if this sort of thing is for sale in HK.. ?
Thanks!
The dubbing on HK dramas is quite well done actually... I'm not always a fan of dubbing, but the Mandarin dubbing is usually quite professional and well acted for HK dramas. (often coming from Singapore Mediacorp, I believe)
If anybody knows of any, please let me know. (either for download or for sale) I wonder if this sort of thing is for sale in HK.. ?
Thanks!
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I grew up watching HK dramas and so watched them exclusively for a long time. Probably just in the recent years I've picked up a few Taiwanese dramas from here to there starting with Meteor Garden.
I agree with some of the previous posts that both have their merits and both have areas that need improvement.
For HK dramas, I do feel that they have more experienced actors for the most part (from time to time they try to promote new actors but I think the large roles may be given prematurely). I think that HK does action/police based dramas pretty well and also some professional based dramas such as the File of Justice and Healing Hearts. And once in a while, they'll come out with a period drama that is really good like War & Beauty or A Step into the Past. But they do also produce a lot of what I consider to be throwaway dramas, that are so predictable that the only reason that you watch it is because you like a certain coupling.
For TW dramas, at first I would have to say that I liked the storylines that focused on the younger generation and their stories. I loved Meteor Garden when it first came out and more recently I watched Black and White. I do think that the TW dramas are more focused on the love relationships and it seems like career takes a back seat in most of the stories. That also has to do with the fact that they are basing a lot of the dramas on successful Japanese shoujo manga which are almost always love stories. I don't like watching all manga-based dramas though, because they tend to be a little far-fetched and exaggerated. I think Black and White is a good step towards more creativity for TW and hope they continue in that direction.
I agree with some of the previous posts that both have their merits and both have areas that need improvement.
For HK dramas, I do feel that they have more experienced actors for the most part (from time to time they try to promote new actors but I think the large roles may be given prematurely). I think that HK does action/police based dramas pretty well and also some professional based dramas such as the File of Justice and Healing Hearts. And once in a while, they'll come out with a period drama that is really good like War & Beauty or A Step into the Past. But they do also produce a lot of what I consider to be throwaway dramas, that are so predictable that the only reason that you watch it is because you like a certain coupling.
For TW dramas, at first I would have to say that I liked the storylines that focused on the younger generation and their stories. I loved Meteor Garden when it first came out and more recently I watched Black and White. I do think that the TW dramas are more focused on the love relationships and it seems like career takes a back seat in most of the stories. That also has to do with the fact that they are basing a lot of the dramas on successful Japanese shoujo manga which are almost always love stories. I don't like watching all manga-based dramas though, because they tend to be a little far-fetched and exaggerated. I think Black and White is a good step towards more creativity for TW and hope they continue in that direction.
This is unfortunately a physical constraint for any Hong Kong production. If you ever visit Hong Kong, you will realise how small is the whole of Hong Kong and how many people live in such a small area. Doing on site shooting in many case will cause major disruption to people and car traffic and hence most production crew will try to avoid doing it as much as possible. Not a very good excuse but it is a fact of life.aznlilboiz wrote:if hk drama use real background scene than it will be a win allllllll
look at TVB...90% of the time they build the set inside a warehouse....also tvb storyline are getting boring and boring
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100% agree!!!!!Paddy501 wrote:This is unfortunately a physical constraint for any Hong Kong production. If you ever visit Hong Kong, you will realise how small is the whole of Hong Kong and how many people live in such a small area. Doing on site shooting in many case will cause major disruption to people and car traffic and hence most production crew will try to avoid doing it as much as possible. Not a very good excuse but it is a fact of life.aznlilboiz wrote:if hk drama use real background scene than it will be a win allllllll
look at TVB...90% of the time they build the set inside a warehouse....also tvb storyline are getting boring and boring
i, of course, like hong kong dramas better (grew up in HK) coz it's not all just rich boy falls in love with poor girl type of deal. i especially like the period pieces, there are just more depth in their storyline than taiwanese dramas.
let me say this, taiwanese dramas, i can have it on, and go clean the house, even if i skip an ep, it's not the end of the world.
with that said, i still like taiwanese dramas sometimes to satisfy the "fairy tale" thirst.
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