ACE's Recommendations of incredible AAPI TV shows, dramas, and movies!
*Updates every other week!
We will typically do a mini discussion of the contents at the next meeting :)
Eight hundred years ago, Xie Lian was the Crown Prince of the Xian Le kingdom. He was loved by his citizens and was considered the darling of the world. He ascended to the Heavens at a young age; however, due to unfortunate circumstances, was quickly banished back to the mortal realm. Years later, he ascends again–only to be banished again a few minutes after his ascension.
Now, eight hundred years later, Xie Lian ascends to the Heavens for the third time as the laughing stock among all three realms. On Xie Lian's first task to solve the mystery of missing brides, he meets a mysterious ghost who rules the ghosts and terrifies the Heavens, yet, unbeknownst to Xie Lian, this ghost king, Hua Cheng, has been paying attention to him for a very, very long time
Tags/Genres: Anime, Animation, Drama, Xianxia, Action, Comedy, Romance, Adventure, Fantasy, Supernatural
Mahito, a young 12-year-old boy, struggles to settle in a new town after his mother's death. However, when a talking heron informs Mahito that his mother is still alive, he enters an abandoned tower in search of her, which takes him to another world.
Tags/Genres: Anime, Animation, Fantasy, Adventure
Fun fact: The Japanese title directly translates to "How Will You Live"
Funfact: Hua Cheng waited 800 years for Xie Lian! Imagine waiting 800 years and willing to sacrifice yourself 3 times for your idol (true dedication right there...)
Han Yi Joo suffers miserable treatment by her family, and her world collapses around her. But when time rewinds and she finds herself several one year in the past, she's able to plot a different marriage for herself that will allow the perfect revenge for the wrongs she's suffered.
Tags/Genres: Romance, Drama, Revenge Drama
Fun fact: This K-drama is based off a Korean webcomic (WEBTOON) of the same name.
Le Ying (played by Jia Ling) has been staying at home for many years, doing nothing in particular. After graduating from college and working for a while, Le Ying chooses to withdraw from society, closing herself off from social circles, which she believes is the best way to "reconcile" with herself. One day, after several twists of fate, she decides to live life in a different way. In cautiously venturing into the outside world, Le Ying meets boxing coach Hao Kun (played by Lei Jia-Yin). Just when she thinks life is about to take a positive turn, the challenges that follow far exceed her imagination, and her vibrant life is just beginning...
Tags/Genres: Humor, Boxing, Sports, Drama
Fun Fact: Jia Lin (贾玲) is one of the most famous comedian in China. She is the director + main lead in this movie! Her debut movie: Hi, Mom was 3rd grossing non-English film of all time & the highest-grossing film by a solo female director until Barbie in 2023!
Fun Fact: The manga for ' Your lie in April' won the 37th Kodansha Manga Award in 2013, for the shonen category. By June 2017, ' Your Lie in April' had over 5 million copies in circulation.
A piano prodigy who lost his ability to play after suffering a traumatic event in his childhood is forced back into the spotlight by an eccentric girl with a secret of her own.
The story follows Arima Kousei, a skilled pianist. However, he hasn't played since he played for his mother who died a few years ago.
Tags/Genres: Drama, Romance, Shonen Manga
The queen of department stores and her small-town husband weather a marital crisis —until love miraculously begins to bloom again.
This series follows the dizzying crisis and miraculous rekindling of love between Hong Hae-in, a third-generation chaebol heiress of Queens Group, and Baek Hyun-woo, the son of farmers from Yongdu-ri, and their three years of marriage
Tags/Genres: Drama, Romance, Comedy
Fun Fact: This drama includes 2 of the most popular K-drama actors for their lead roles- Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Ji Won. Their chemistry adds an extra layer of depth to the series, making their on-screen romance all the more captivating.
As the skies turn red and the planet trembles, Japan stands on the brink of disaster. However, a determined teenager named Suzume sets out on a mission to save her country. Able to see supernatural forces that others cannot, it's up to her to close the mysterious doors that are spreading chaos across the land. A perilous journey awaits as the fate of Japan rests on her shoulders.
Fun Fact: In April 2023, Suzume became the most successful Japanese animated movie of all time at the Chinese box office, and the second most successful Japanese movie.
Tags/Genres: Action, Adventure, Sci Fi, Drama
In 2008, during the last month of summer before high school begins, an impressionable 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy learns what his family can't teach him: how to skate, how to flirt, and how to love his mum.
Tags/Genres: Comedy, Drama, Coming of Age
Fun Fact: ACE held a bonding event this summer where we watched Dìdi in theaters! Everyone enjoyed the movie very much :)
Fun Fact: This movie is an adaptation of a 1989 novel written by Amy Tan.
Four Chinese women along with their mothers delve into their past and try to find answers. Slowly, this search helps them to understand the complex relationship they share with each other.
Tags/Genres: Romance Comedy, Drama, Family Drama
When an interdimensional rupture unravels reality, an unlikely hero must channel her newfound powers to fight bizarre and bewildering dangers from the multiverse as the fate of the world hangs in the balance.
Tags/Genres: Drama, Sci-fi, Comedy, Action
Fun Fact: Everything Everywhere All at Once was shot in less than 40 days.
Gong Yoo, his estranged daughter, and other passengers become trapped on a speeding train during a zombie outbreak in South Korea.
Tags/Genres: Action, Horror, Thriller, Zombie
Fun Fact: Train to Busan is the sixth highest-grossing domestic film of all time in South Korea.
Po might be the laziest, clumsiest panda in the Valley of Peace, but he secretly dreams of becoming a kung fu legend. When the villainous snow leopard Tai Lung threatens Po's homeland, the hapless panda is chosen to fulfill an ancient prophecy and defend the Valley from attack.
Fun Fact: The animators who worked on Kung Fu Panda took a six-hour kung fu class to get an idea of the movie's action.
Tags/Genres: Action, Comedy, Adventure, Animation
