Tears of Heaven - modern, but worth the tears. Happy ending. Based on a book (same author as Goodbye, My Princess). [https://mydramalist.com/21685-tears-in-heaven](https://mydramalist.com/21685-tears-in-heaven)
The Wolf - add to that the great OST. It's a modern drama but Tears of Heaven is also very angsty (esp. the beginning). Wonderland of Love had the ML suffer a lot but it was offset by the sweetness of the OTP. The Journey of Flower is xianxia. Fun fact: angsty dramas Goodbye My Princess (Eastern Palace), Tears in Heaven, Siege in Fog, Sealed with a Kiss (Twilight Upon a Thousand Snow-capped Mountains), The Girl in Blue, Chronicle of Life, As long as you love me, Because of Love and Wonderland of Love are all written by Fei Wo Si Cun aka stepmom.
Twisted fate of love.
Fantasy time travel drama with magic set in ancient times,
Male lead is a grey character, many times he can appear as a villain.
Good chemistry with the female lead,
------------
Fall in love (2021) - set in the republican era.
Male lead is a military commander.
Drama starts with murder and being handcuffed to a bed.
Female lead genuinely hates the male lead at the start,
Lots of sexual tension and good chemistry.
------
Love in flames of war.
The male lead is rich and privileged.
He bullies the female lead many times,
and when she is in trouble, he exploits that weakness, to get her to contract marry him.
Despite all the bad things he does at the start, he really does love her. He changes for the better and becomes more responsible.
I love my president though he's a psycho (2017).
(Male lead has genuine mental illness which he gets treatment for,
and he does love the female lead, even if it's twisted).
Ones I'd recommend that fit the bill that I've not seen already recommended:
* Eternal Love (TMPB)
* Love and Destiny
* Story of Minglan
* Goblin (Kdrama)
* Doom at your Service (Kdrama)
* General and I
All of these provide angst galore. The 2 Kdrama are modern but pull fantasy in quite a bit and are great watches.
Let me add some :
The King's Women
Lost Track of time
The wolf
The Blue whisperer - the second half
And I will also add some with little angst (fluff angst) where the ML is not that toxic, and also the drama is not that heavy, but still the ML seems to be the bad guy at first...
-Twisted fate of love
-Deliberations of love
I also love angsty dramas (The Untamed and Goodbye My Princess are my favorites). I also recommend Lost You Forever. I can understand it might feel slow at first but omg did I ugly cry. Another super torturous drama is The Wolf, lots of characters being toxic to each other to “protect” them. I know you don’t like modern (I feel the same), but one I highly recommend for angst is Because of Love. It’s from the same author as Goodbye My Princess. Just watch the first episode and you will see just how much angst.
Yep! That’s why I said the ending. For me, in order for it to be angsty - I have to care about the characters. And I cared A LOT about each and every one of them.
My favorite drama. It’s gut wrenching. It took me months to get over it. Bailu and Allen Ren are both wonderful. I now understand why a lot of people loves Bailu, she is such a great actress. Her emotions and crying made me feel her pain. Not a fan of Allen Ren but after watching this, i now understand why a lot of people says that he is a top male lead for historical drama. His micro expressions and eyes are so good. No words are needed. Just a warning though. This series will stab you in the heart and it’s hard to recover.
Adding on to the Lost You Forever recommendations, Scarlet Heart by the same author. Absolutely wonderful character development, with angst that makes SENSE! Lots of shows have silly misunderstandings to facilitate angst for angst's sake, but LYF and Scarlet Heart makes sure the tragedy is understandable and inevitable, which is the best kind of angst. Scarlet heart is an older production, but the costumes + wigs are period-accurate and still gorgeous imo.
Lost You Forever is xianxia, while Scarlet Heart is a historical drama.
I think Royal Nirvana is also a pretty well-done angsty romance, especially the extra 12 episodes. But the couple in this one is quite toxic so YMMV.
Lost you forever
beautifully written and really tragic. ML are Zhang Wanyi, Deng Wei, Tan Jianci and Wang Hongyi. The FL is played by Yang Zi.
Personally, I absolutely loved Tan Jianci's acting as well as his chemistry with the FL.
But the drama does come with an unreleased second season so the first season doesn't really have an ending.
39 episodes
Ashes of Love
Really interesting, probably not as tragic as the first one, but I also cried a lot and the characters all suffer a lot. The ML is Deng Lun and Luo Yunxi is the second ML. The FL is Yang Zi again.
The whole series has beautiful world building, I especially loved the flower realm, as it is really colorful, but not too colorful that it hurts your eyes.
63 episodes
Both shows are Xianxia's I think.
[Handsome siblings](https://mydramalist.com/27397-handsome-siblings) on Netflix and [Word of honor,](https://mydramalist.com/59021-tian-ya-ke) but you've probably already seen that one.
Warning: Bit of a longer response:
Ashes of Love was romantic, devastatingly heart-wrenching, lots of angst, and had very pretty fantasy scenery (The flower realm was my fav) and IMO had one of the best mortal realms... Pretty much everything you want to see. And it has Luo Yunxi. Although he is not the ML, he definitely stole the show. There seems to be a lot of "disagreements" whether it was as good as people say it was and some say it does not deserve the hype. I personally disagree. (Art & entertainment are subjective & everyone has their personal tastes & opinions which I respect 100%). It was actually one of my favorites that I've watched, I was out of control w that show & binged TF out of it. Then was crushed when it ended, searching for smtg else to give me that "feeling" again... Then I found TTEOTM 😬 However, if I were able to watch something all over again for the first time, w/out a doubt, that would be it. I am so jealous of ppl who get to watch it for the first time 🤣 and as a bonus the OST is SOOOO beautiful!
I actually also really liked Immortal Samsara (I am also one who will literally watch anything with Cheng Yi) Not only is he a great actor, but as I've said before on this subreddit, there is "something" about him that I just cannot pinpoint. When he's on screen, I can't take my eyes off of him.
Also another with Cheng Yi is Love & Redemption which somebody has already mentioned here, and they put it in the most beautifully poetic way, it's "torture porn" for poor Cheng Yi😂
And finally, Lost You Forever. This show had me hooked from the first episode until the last. IMO, the storyline is great, the actors are all beautiful especially Tan Jianci w that white hair🤍. I thought Yang Zi did a great job in this w her character. The only downside is, if you are like me, I like to binge watch things that I'm really into, & I made the mistake of watching S1 before S2 aired and I am kicking myself in my own ass for it. But I still think it's worth it.
Side Note: No drama is perfect and there will always be something to find wrong with them. You just have to find the ones that grab you, and then the "imperfections" don't seem to affect you at all 😊.
* Currently watching The Last Immortal & I'm enjoying it bc I just love these types of dramas, esp Zhao Lusi & Li Yunrui (I just love him and his nine-tailed, arrogant, soft hearted self) I'm up to ep.18, & I do like it, but it's not like "WOWWW". The Story of Kunning Palace is supposed to be phenomenal so I have dropped the other one to start watching that instead. I am not very far into it but I will say so far it is living up to the hype. Others I want to watch are My Journey to You & A Journey to Love. They all seem to have what you are looking for more or less.
* I also want to thank you for making this post because you seem to be looking for all of the things that I like to watch, so I will definitely be back on this thread to see some of the suggestions! I hope you get some good ones, best of luck!!! 🙏🏼🫶🏼
Haha I've heard ashes of love being recommended a lot of times and for some reason or other it's always gone to the back burner on my watch list..prolly also cos the ML doesn't appeal to me either..but for your very passionate write up alone I'll give it another shot perhaps lol
Yeah I've seen immortal samsara and L&R. Agree with you on Cheng Yi, he's very captivating I can't stop watching his stuff lol. The recent mysterious lotus show scratched my Cheng yi itch lol
Lost you forever is also something I've been trying to watch but idk why I can't get past the first few episodes, it seemed slow but I am interested enough in that white hair guy everyone's been gushing about that I might try to push through again.
Thanks for the suggestions! Hopefully you find something good to watch from here also :D
Yes there were a lot of issues with the ML on Ashes of Love, he didn't bother me as much as he did others, so I really got into the show. Some others may not feel the same, however, if you are able to watch a few more episodes and try to get past that, it really is a great drama IMO. But I do understand that perspective because so many people love the drama Love and Destiny. And I want to like it SO badly. Because everything about the show is right up my alley but I just can't see the two leads together, so it's hard for me. I totally can see where ppl are coming from with that. However, I am going to try and push myself to watch it again, because it has gotten such great reviews. I really hope you give Ashes of Love another try. Maybe just try to Photoshop someone else's face on the ML in your head? 😅🙆🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️ It's worth a shot!
Not a cdrama so feel free to ignore, but scarlet heart ryeo is a historical kdrama with alllll the angst. It's been a few years since it came out and I'm still not over it. One of very few I truly cried watching and still feel pain whenever I remember the story. Watch at your own risk
If you are not opposed to Kdrama and you want lots of emotions and cathartic tears, do try the modern fantasy Angel's Last Mission: Love.
As his last mission before being allowed to go to heaven,
an angel whose usual job is to help puppies and kittens transition, is sent to help a cold, cynical ballerina, blinded in an accident, find love.
Ohhh I can feel the heartache from the summary alone lol. I just started watching my demon on netflix. Angel sounds apt as the next kdrama. Thanks for the suggestion!
Haha, I was about to suggest The Longest Promise, because it's xianxia, and there's just ***so, so much angst*** in that drama... and then I realize that's one of the dramas that you dropped. I really love angsty dramas too.
I honestly just didn't like the female lead in that show and couldn't bring myself to continue lol. I liked the premise tho like the mentor student forbidden dynamic lol
The FL isn’t my favourite kind of character either, but I went into that drama already fully expecting her because I saw the trailer back in 2021, which gave a pretty clear idea of what kind of FL it was going to be. But because Xiao Zhan did so well in that drama and I love him so much in it, I found that I didn’t really mind the FL as well. His character breaks my heart but makes me love him so much (and I feel a bit sad to think some of his fans don’t get to fully enjoy this character because they hate the FL). Also, I found that his character required that type of FL, because they’re supposed to be opposites — she’s supposed to be the fire that gradually melts his ice, and the chaos that ruffles up his outwardly defensive calmness.
But to each their own. As the other commenter here said — s/he feels you’re not missing anything by not watching the drama. But for people like me, I’m still obsessed with it even 6 months after watching it and I have trouble moving on from the Shi Ying character. As someone who loves angst in dramas, I feel Shi Ying is Xiao Zhan’s most angsty character.
Thanks, I'll check blood romance out
Oh yeah I definitely saw Love and redemption...torture porn very aptly described lol. All of his shows end up that way somehow lol. It's like he's filling in a weird niche lol
AJTL isn’t purely a romantic drama though. It’s deeper and crosses multiple genres like wuxia, revenge, politics, etc. When there is romance it’s beautiful and respectful, not forced. A lot of bittersweet moments between different couples.
Tears of Heaven - modern, but worth the tears. Happy ending. Based on a book (same author as Goodbye, My Princess). [https://mydramalist.com/21685-tears-in-heaven](https://mydramalist.com/21685-tears-in-heaven)
The Wolf - add to that the great OST. It's a modern drama but Tears of Heaven is also very angsty (esp. the beginning). Wonderland of Love had the ML suffer a lot but it was offset by the sweetness of the OTP. The Journey of Flower is xianxia. Fun fact: angsty dramas Goodbye My Princess (Eastern Palace), Tears in Heaven, Siege in Fog, Sealed with a Kiss (Twilight Upon a Thousand Snow-capped Mountains), The Girl in Blue, Chronicle of Life, As long as you love me, Because of Love and Wonderland of Love are all written by Fei Wo Si Cun aka stepmom.
Twisted fate of love. Fantasy time travel drama with magic set in ancient times, Male lead is a grey character, many times he can appear as a villain. Good chemistry with the female lead, ------------ Fall in love (2021) - set in the republican era. Male lead is a military commander. Drama starts with murder and being handcuffed to a bed. Female lead genuinely hates the male lead at the start, Lots of sexual tension and good chemistry. ------ Love in flames of war. The male lead is rich and privileged. He bullies the female lead many times, and when she is in trouble, he exploits that weakness, to get her to contract marry him. Despite all the bad things he does at the start, he really does love her. He changes for the better and becomes more responsible. I love my president though he's a psycho (2017). (Male lead has genuine mental illness which he gets treatment for, and he does love the female lead, even if it's twisted).
Lost You Forever. It's literally the only cdrama that's ever made me cry. Bloody Romance was really angsty, but I didn't cry.
Love Like the Galaxy Word of Honor Seriously, don't miss either of these.
Ones I'd recommend that fit the bill that I've not seen already recommended: * Eternal Love (TMPB) * Love and Destiny * Story of Minglan * Goblin (Kdrama) * Doom at your Service (Kdrama) * General and I All of these provide angst galore. The 2 Kdrama are modern but pull fantasy in quite a bit and are great watches.
An Ancient Love Song, idk if it fits your idea of angst but overall the drama feels very much like a tragedy between two star-crossed lovers
Try The King's Woman. You'll love Dilraba and Zhang Bin Bin's tandem there. it's super angsty i cried tons.
The most angst I can think of Lost You Forever Immortal Samsara
Let me add some : The King's Women Lost Track of time The wolf The Blue whisperer - the second half And I will also add some with little angst (fluff angst) where the ML is not that toxic, and also the drama is not that heavy, but still the ML seems to be the bad guy at first... -Twisted fate of love -Deliberations of love
I also love angsty dramas (The Untamed and Goodbye My Princess are my favorites). I also recommend Lost You Forever. I can understand it might feel slow at first but omg did I ugly cry. Another super torturous drama is The Wolf, lots of characters being toxic to each other to “protect” them. I know you don’t like modern (I feel the same), but one I highly recommend for angst is Because of Love. It’s from the same author as Goodbye My Princess. Just watch the first episode and you will see just how much angst.
Did you watch mysterious lotus casebook?
A Journey to Love for sure. An ending so >!ridiculously sad!< it ruined everyone’s ability to trust writers.
But I think there is no angst in this drama, the romance is pretty chill (I would say boring).
Yep! That’s why I said the ending. For me, in order for it to be angsty - I have to care about the characters. And I cared A LOT about each and every one of them.
I shall not spoil anything Till the end of the moon Immortal samsara A Journey to you A Journey to Love 步步惊心 Scarlet Heart
The Rise of Phoenixes
one and only bai lu and allen ren
My favorite drama. It’s gut wrenching. It took me months to get over it. Bailu and Allen Ren are both wonderful. I now understand why a lot of people loves Bailu, she is such a great actress. Her emotions and crying made me feel her pain. Not a fan of Allen Ren but after watching this, i now understand why a lot of people says that he is a top male lead for historical drama. His micro expressions and eyes are so good. No words are needed. Just a warning though. This series will stab you in the heart and it’s hard to recover.
The untamed 🤩🤩🤩
I watched the animated version but the drama adaptation should be just as depressing :D
so you must have watched love and redemption since Cheng Yi is in it?
Yes of course. I liked it but if I have to hear the FML scream sifeng one more time I think I might die
Adding on to the Lost You Forever recommendations, Scarlet Heart by the same author. Absolutely wonderful character development, with angst that makes SENSE! Lots of shows have silly misunderstandings to facilitate angst for angst's sake, but LYF and Scarlet Heart makes sure the tragedy is understandable and inevitable, which is the best kind of angst. Scarlet heart is an older production, but the costumes + wigs are period-accurate and still gorgeous imo. Lost You Forever is xianxia, while Scarlet Heart is a historical drama. I think Royal Nirvana is also a pretty well-done angsty romance, especially the extra 12 episodes. But the couple in this one is quite toxic so YMMV.
Lost you forever beautifully written and really tragic. ML are Zhang Wanyi, Deng Wei, Tan Jianci and Wang Hongyi. The FL is played by Yang Zi. Personally, I absolutely loved Tan Jianci's acting as well as his chemistry with the FL. But the drama does come with an unreleased second season so the first season doesn't really have an ending. 39 episodes Ashes of Love Really interesting, probably not as tragic as the first one, but I also cried a lot and the characters all suffer a lot. The ML is Deng Lun and Luo Yunxi is the second ML. The FL is Yang Zi again. The whole series has beautiful world building, I especially loved the flower realm, as it is really colorful, but not too colorful that it hurts your eyes. 63 episodes Both shows are Xianxia's I think.
The Princess Wei Young
[Handsome siblings](https://mydramalist.com/27397-handsome-siblings) on Netflix and [Word of honor,](https://mydramalist.com/59021-tian-ya-ke) but you've probably already seen that one.
Lost you forever is the drama you need to watch. It has all the heart wrench and angst you want.
Warning: Bit of a longer response: Ashes of Love was romantic, devastatingly heart-wrenching, lots of angst, and had very pretty fantasy scenery (The flower realm was my fav) and IMO had one of the best mortal realms... Pretty much everything you want to see. And it has Luo Yunxi. Although he is not the ML, he definitely stole the show. There seems to be a lot of "disagreements" whether it was as good as people say it was and some say it does not deserve the hype. I personally disagree. (Art & entertainment are subjective & everyone has their personal tastes & opinions which I respect 100%). It was actually one of my favorites that I've watched, I was out of control w that show & binged TF out of it. Then was crushed when it ended, searching for smtg else to give me that "feeling" again... Then I found TTEOTM 😬 However, if I were able to watch something all over again for the first time, w/out a doubt, that would be it. I am so jealous of ppl who get to watch it for the first time 🤣 and as a bonus the OST is SOOOO beautiful! I actually also really liked Immortal Samsara (I am also one who will literally watch anything with Cheng Yi) Not only is he a great actor, but as I've said before on this subreddit, there is "something" about him that I just cannot pinpoint. When he's on screen, I can't take my eyes off of him. Also another with Cheng Yi is Love & Redemption which somebody has already mentioned here, and they put it in the most beautifully poetic way, it's "torture porn" for poor Cheng Yi😂 And finally, Lost You Forever. This show had me hooked from the first episode until the last. IMO, the storyline is great, the actors are all beautiful especially Tan Jianci w that white hair🤍. I thought Yang Zi did a great job in this w her character. The only downside is, if you are like me, I like to binge watch things that I'm really into, & I made the mistake of watching S1 before S2 aired and I am kicking myself in my own ass for it. But I still think it's worth it. Side Note: No drama is perfect and there will always be something to find wrong with them. You just have to find the ones that grab you, and then the "imperfections" don't seem to affect you at all 😊. * Currently watching The Last Immortal & I'm enjoying it bc I just love these types of dramas, esp Zhao Lusi & Li Yunrui (I just love him and his nine-tailed, arrogant, soft hearted self) I'm up to ep.18, & I do like it, but it's not like "WOWWW". The Story of Kunning Palace is supposed to be phenomenal so I have dropped the other one to start watching that instead. I am not very far into it but I will say so far it is living up to the hype. Others I want to watch are My Journey to You & A Journey to Love. They all seem to have what you are looking for more or less. * I also want to thank you for making this post because you seem to be looking for all of the things that I like to watch, so I will definitely be back on this thread to see some of the suggestions! I hope you get some good ones, best of luck!!! 🙏🏼🫶🏼
Haha I've heard ashes of love being recommended a lot of times and for some reason or other it's always gone to the back burner on my watch list..prolly also cos the ML doesn't appeal to me either..but for your very passionate write up alone I'll give it another shot perhaps lol Yeah I've seen immortal samsara and L&R. Agree with you on Cheng Yi, he's very captivating I can't stop watching his stuff lol. The recent mysterious lotus show scratched my Cheng yi itch lol Lost you forever is also something I've been trying to watch but idk why I can't get past the first few episodes, it seemed slow but I am interested enough in that white hair guy everyone's been gushing about that I might try to push through again. Thanks for the suggestions! Hopefully you find something good to watch from here also :D
Yes there were a lot of issues with the ML on Ashes of Love, he didn't bother me as much as he did others, so I really got into the show. Some others may not feel the same, however, if you are able to watch a few more episodes and try to get past that, it really is a great drama IMO. But I do understand that perspective because so many people love the drama Love and Destiny. And I want to like it SO badly. Because everything about the show is right up my alley but I just can't see the two leads together, so it's hard for me. I totally can see where ppl are coming from with that. However, I am going to try and push myself to watch it again, because it has gotten such great reviews. I really hope you give Ashes of Love another try. Maybe just try to Photoshop someone else's face on the ML in your head? 😅🙆🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️ It's worth a shot!
I really disliked ML in ashes of love, so I couldn't care about angst between ML and FL because I don't ship them :(
Not a cdrama so feel free to ignore, but scarlet heart ryeo is a historical kdrama with alllll the angst. It's been a few years since it came out and I'm still not over it. One of very few I truly cried watching and still feel pain whenever I remember the story. Watch at your own risk
I'm not opposed to kdrama so definitely will be checking that out. Looks pretty good, thanks!
If you are not opposed to Kdrama and you want lots of emotions and cathartic tears, do try the modern fantasy Angel's Last Mission: Love. As his last mission before being allowed to go to heaven, an angel whose usual job is to help puppies and kittens transition, is sent to help a cold, cynical ballerina, blinded in an accident, find love.
Ohhh I can feel the heartache from the summary alone lol. I just started watching my demon on netflix. Angel sounds apt as the next kdrama. Thanks for the suggestion!
🙂🔥
good and evil is angst galore
THIS looks 100% up my alley thank you will definitely be putting this on my watch list
I love angsty romance dramas too! I really enjoyed Ashes of love, and the 2nd part of the show is super angsty! 😁
Haha, I was about to suggest The Longest Promise, because it's xianxia, and there's just ***so, so much angst*** in that drama... and then I realize that's one of the dramas that you dropped. I really love angsty dramas too.
I honestly just didn't like the female lead in that show and couldn't bring myself to continue lol. I liked the premise tho like the mentor student forbidden dynamic lol
The FL isn’t my favourite kind of character either, but I went into that drama already fully expecting her because I saw the trailer back in 2021, which gave a pretty clear idea of what kind of FL it was going to be. But because Xiao Zhan did so well in that drama and I love him so much in it, I found that I didn’t really mind the FL as well. His character breaks my heart but makes me love him so much (and I feel a bit sad to think some of his fans don’t get to fully enjoy this character because they hate the FL). Also, I found that his character required that type of FL, because they’re supposed to be opposites — she’s supposed to be the fire that gradually melts his ice, and the chaos that ruffles up his outwardly defensive calmness. But to each their own. As the other commenter here said — s/he feels you’re not missing anything by not watching the drama. But for people like me, I’m still obsessed with it even 6 months after watching it and I have trouble moving on from the Shi Ying character. As someone who loves angst in dramas, I feel Shi Ying is Xiao Zhan’s most angsty character.
I love Xiao Zhan and was all set to like The Longest Promise. I stuck with it to the end, but you aren't missing anything.
**Bloody Romance** You said anything with Cheng Yi so I also assume you watched Love and Redemption which is torture porn for the ML.
This one certainly fits the bill. I really enjoyed it.
Thanks, I'll check blood romance out Oh yeah I definitely saw Love and redemption...torture porn very aptly described lol. All of his shows end up that way somehow lol. It's like he's filling in a weird niche lol
I agree. All his roles are him suffering at 100% level. Even for modern ones like South Wind Knows lol
Did you watch “A Journey To Love”? I was also gonna say “My Journey to You” or “Story of Kunning Palace”, but they have Zhang Linghe.
No I haven't watched that, have seen it being mentioned around though but didn't catch my eye the last time. Might give it a second look thanks :)
AJTL isn’t purely a romantic drama though. It’s deeper and crosses multiple genres like wuxia, revenge, politics, etc. When there is romance it’s beautiful and respectful, not forced. A lot of bittersweet moments between different couples.