My Gift to You: A Series of TV Show Recommendations

I think I’ve said this a lot of times before, but music is a big influence in my work along with some of these shows. Most, if not all, have changed my perspective of things in some way. Whether it be just a silly animated comedy, or a hearth thumping K-drama, they’ve all changed me and help me to write about experiences and situations I wouldn’t be able to fully capture without them.

 

The Uncanny Counter

There is so much I want to say about this show, but for the sake of time I’m going to try to sum up everything I like about it. So, it’s kind of hard to explain with this show about, because it follows a lot of different plots within the show, all the while focusing on a certain goal. So our main character, So Moon, survived a car crash that unfortunately kills his parents and ends up leaving him with a horrible leg injury that he eventually has to use a crutch for when he gets older. Years later, after another Counter dies the soul of someone ends up entering his body in a hurry to not be eaten by an evil spirit. This soul ends of giving So Moon his powers, fixing his condition so long as he joins a team of more Counters. Counters are humans that take down evil spirits with the help of other souls. An important thing to mention is that you have to be in a coma or close to death in order to become a Counter, which So Moon hasn’t done either. This helps him to gain advantages. There are a lot more information about this, but you really have to watch the show in order to understand. My favorite character would have to be Mo-tak, his character attachment to So Moon is so wholesome.

Itaewon Class

I don’t want to give too much away, but the entire show is basically about determination. There are a lot of factors that play into the plot and a lot of twist and turns that help keep the audience engaged which is something I really love about this show. Park Saeroyi, played by Park Seo-joon, is an ex-convict who aspires to open a restaurant dedicated to his father who was killed by his “bully” in a car accident. But things don’t go as plan when the father of his father’s killer create obstacles and set-backs in order to “teach Saeroyi a lesson of staying in one’s place”. And as much as I should hate the antagonist, I just really think he’s an adorable old man. One of the things I love the most about this Kdrama is inclusiveness. Before this show came out there were rarely, if not none, black people shown in Kdramas. I think the timing of releasing this show really helped to highlight anti-blackness in East Asian media. 

Hilda

This show absolutely got me through the pandemic. The thing I love the most about it was the animation and how aesthetically pleasing everything looked. Hilda will always and forever be my favorite comfort character. I love that she’s brave and willing to put everything on the line for friendship and adventure. 

Steven Universe Future

I love the original Steven Universe just as much as the next person. The plotline and animation were immaculate and it really stood out from other cartoon shows. Not to mention the soundtrack. There is so much to love about this show including it’s inclusiveness and insight to a spectrum to a lot of different things that’s going on in the real world. However, I especially like Steven Universe Future more because it was about healing. You always see these teenage/kids go on the big adventures, battling demons, and making tough decisions  throughout any childhood TV show, but to show the harmful affects of that is so eye-opening. I really love that Steven grew up to eventually deal with the trauma that he went through as a child. Steven taught me that self-care and mental health is just as important than anything else.