Kzesl

Pro bono - Korean - A judge has to go back to being a lawyer, working pro bono cases, after some machinations by his colleagues. Some interesting cases based on real events. Feel good type of thing, where good guys win. Good. Liked the ensemble cast. 8/10

Bloodhounds season 2 - Korean - loved it as much as I loved the first season. Great fight scenes. Love the chemistry between the two main actors. 9.5/10

From now on, showtime! - Korean - Magician/Shaman has to fight an evil spirit with the help of his ghost assistants and a police officer. Enjoyable, but not something I would re-watch. 6/10

The last samurai standing - Japanese - Men from the shadows want to destroy all the remaining samurai so they organize a tournament/death game sort of thing. Nice fight choreography. It's a bit more serious than what I tend to watch these days, but good. Will watch the second season once it's out. 8/10

Re: Zero - Starting Life in Another World - Japanese - Anime. Isekai genre. Love. 9.5/10

Jujutsu Kaisen - Japanese - Anime. A secret society of sorcerers fighting to eliminate curses. I am currently obsessed. 9.5/10

Sakamoto Days - Japanese - Anime - A retired legendary hitman gets dragged into the life he left behind. 8/10

If I hadn't met you - Catalan. A man loses his family in a car crash and then meets a mysterious woman who claims to be able to open a portal to different parallel worlds. Good overall. 7/10

Boyfriend on demand - A new dating app appears where all the men are virtual. First few episodes are a bit boring and slow. It gets better, but is never great. I feel like they could have done more with this idea.

Daredevil: Born Again - US - set several years after the events of Daredevil. I just love Daredevil, okay? 8.5/10

Murderbot - US - A cyborg gains free will. All he wants to do is watch his space soap operas, but alas. Short episodes. Dynamic. Enjoyed it a lot. 7/10

Idol I - Korean - An Idol gets accused of murder, and one of his biggest fans ends up being his lawyer. Watched this one sped up, to be honest. There were some interesting moments, but overall a bit mediocre. 5.5/10

My name - Korean - A woman seeks revenge for the death of her father. Good, but I suspect my personal preference has shifted to more fluffy things lately. 7/10

Doctor prisoner - Korean - A doctor seeks revenge. Unlike My name which one is more action, this one is more about people outsmarting each other. Pretty good, but each episode seems to end with a cliffhanger where the protagonist is outsmarted, only to be revealed at the start of the next episode that no actually, he was the one outsmarting everyone. Rinse and repeat. 7/10

The Boroughs - US - residents of a retirement village investigate a supernatural mystery. Great cast and a good start, but fizzles out. 6/10

The Tale of Nokdu - Korean - a man goes on a mission to find out why somebody sent assassins after his family. He ends up pretending to be a woman so he can hide/investigate in a woman only village. Dropped it. 5/10

1. Mobius - Chinese. A detective experiencing something similar to a groundhog day type of time loop. Except the loops happen several times a year, and they end on day 5. It's good. 8.5/10

2. Taxi driver 3 - Korean. I love this series so much. It's intentionally a bit over the top, and often more than a bit ridiculous, but also emotional and sometimes brutal. Good guys fight bad guys to protect the wronged, and they win. It has nice action scenes, lovable ensemble cast, and a badass main character (I love him). 9.5/10

3. Rurouni Kenshin - Japanese. Anime. Former military man/assassin/man slayer type of guy has turned a new leaf and now refuses to kill. Instead, he uses his sword to protect. Has to fight all the time. Dropped it after Season 1. It's okay, but doesn't really draw me in. Main female character is a bit annoying. I like the side characters more. 6/10

4. The longest night - Spanish. Happens in a psychiatric prison. There's an assassin, a prison siege, and a bunch of dirty cops. Cancelled after first season, with quite a few questions unanswered. Overall not bad bad, just not something I'm in the mood for. If it was longer, and if I had known it wasn't finished, I would have dropped it. 5/10

5. Mouse - Korean. This one has many of my favorite tropes. Really enjoyed it. Written by the same person who wrote Black (another one I really liked, and the first ever kdrama I watched), and similarly has many twists. Serial killers, psychopaths, detectives, mystery, and so much more. Good stuff. Don't want to say more and risk spoiling it. 9.5/10

6. The manipulated -Korean. Follows a man sent to prison for a crime he didn't commit, as he sets out on a mission to prove his innocence and get revenge. Good start, but then it gets worse. I had high hopes for it, as it has Ji Chang-wook and Doh Kyung-soo in main roles, but alas. 6/10

7. The secret romantic guesthouse - Korean. The title is a bit misleading. Period drama. There's a rebellion and secret royal heirs, and a woman trying to stay afloat. Love triangle I could do without. The Watchman is a side character and an absolute badass, which means that he is my fave. Overall engaging, but not spectacular. 6.5/10

8. The song of the bandits - Korean. Western, basically. Many action scenes. Fairly short for a Korean series. I suspect I was not in the right mood for it. 7/10 I rated it higher than the secret romantic guesthouse, but I think I enjoyed that one more.

9. Mercy for none - Korean. Brutal action. A former mobster goes on a killing spree to avenge his murdered brother (who was also a mobster). 7/10

10. Poong the Joseon psychiatrist - Mental health stuff. But in Joseon period. Cute, but drags a bit. Found family trope. Nice side characters. Okay, but not great. Probably won't watch the second season. 6/10

11. Cassandra - German. Had to watch this one sped up. Smart house goes mad. Sort of. Don't want to say too much and spoil it. 4.5/10 I wasn't vibing with it.

12. City of Shadows - Spanish. Detectives trying to find a serial killer. Pretty good, but wouldn't call it great. 7.5/10

Bloodhounds - Korean. Two young boxers band together with a benevolent moneylender to take down a ruthless loan shark who preys on the financially desperate. (synopsis snatched of the internet). Looking forward to season 2. Good fight scenes. Woo Do-hwan and Lee Sang-yi are fantastic. I liked the female lead as well, played by Kim Sae-ron, who has since passed away. 9.5/10

Secret royal inspector & Joy - Korean. Joseon period. Secret inspector exposing corruption, with the help of a divorcee woman. Not bad, but not great either. 6.5/10

Awaken - Korean. Murders and detectives, and mystery surrounding a covered up experimentation on children that happened years ago. Some super powers as well. Interesting, but I feel like it could have been better. 7/10

Hellbound - Korean. Supernatural, dark, horror type thing. Demons dragging people to hell (maybe hell? who knows), but giving them a warning and a date when it's going to happen first. A cult. People behaving madly when confronted with their own impending death. Not my cup of tea. 5/10

My girlfriend is a gumiho - Korean. Dropped it. Dragged a bit too much. Also, a bit older, which I usually don't mind, but I just wasn't feeling it. 5/10 but the rating could have possibly gone up if I had continued watching it.

The train - alternate universes and serial killers. Pretty good. 8/10

Apothecary diaries - Japanese. Anime. Court politics, crime, and a poison obsessed apothecary getting dragged into all of it. Also, a pretty prince who's absolutely smitten with her, but who is also pretending to be a eunuch. Sort of feel good, despite all the poison. 9/10

Twelve - 12 angels protecting people from evil spirits. Good cast, but a victim of bad writing. 4/10

The Eminence in Shadow - Japanese. Anime. Beloved. I am so taken with this anime, it's hard to explain. Isekai (I absolutely love this genre). It's a parody, I guess? It might be one of those you either hate or love. The main character is absolutely insane. His goal is to direct the events from the shadows, while trying to convince everyone else that he is just a background character. He doesn't succeed very well. He is ridiculously overpowered and also seems to have acquired a harem, but is unaware of it. 9.5/10

Eternaut - Argentinian. Based on a comic. Deadly snowstorms and aliens. Waiting for season 2. Main characters are older, which was a nice change from teenagers and twenty somethings that usually have the main roles in these type of stories. 8/10

Faith - Korean. A female doctor is dragged by a warrior into the past (Goryeo Period) through a portal. They fall in love. What follows is an adventure that contains court politics, fighting, attempts to avoid war, and bad guys with superpowers. Fun, if a bit overly drawn out. 7/10

Since this is the last list for year 2025, I thought it would be nice to look at all four posts and see which series were my favorites of the year. I wasn't very consistent with how I marked my favorites, but eh.

Absolute favorites of the year, one for each quarter:

Hello Monster AKA Remember you (9/10)

Death Note (10/10)

A dream within a dream (9.5/10)

The Eminence in Shadow (9.5/10)