YesHD

The YesHD design

This YesHD is rebuilt from the archived January 2021 capture of yeshd.net/home/, which ran on a dark WordPress theme called Hollymoviehd, in the style many film sites used at the time. Its three style sheets were measured: a deep charcoal page with soft grey text, a slightly lighter charcoal header with a gentle shadow, menu links in the narrow Oswald typeface in capital letters, and a rich crimson for everything that needed attention, from the active tab and the On air tags to the buttons and the thin underline beneath each section title. Quality badges and episode circles were near-black with light grey text.

The original logo image lies outside the archived copy, so this site uses an original wordmark in the same spirit: YES in white Oswald letters beside a crimson block holding HD, with a small crimson play arrow. The typefaces are Oswald for menus and headings and Roboto for everything else.

The header

The header is a charcoal bar seventy pixels tall. The wordmark sits on the left, followed by a thin vertical divider, exactly as in the original, and then the menu in grey Oswald capitals: Home, Movies, Drama / Series, Asian Movies, K-Drama, C-Drama, Thai Drama, Anime, A-Z and My List. Point at a link and it turns white; the page you are on is marked with a crimson line beneath it. A dark search box sits at the right end of the bar. On tablets and phones the menu folds behind a single button, and the menu slides in with its own search box.

The featured slider

The home page opens with a wide featured panel, the equivalent of the original slider. A large backdrop from the featured title fills most of the width, and a dark caption panel with a crimson edge sits in the lower corner, giving the title in Oswald, the year, the genres and the score, a short story and a crimson Watch now button. On wider screens a column of smaller backdrops on the right leads to the other featured titles, such as Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, Train to Busan, Joy of Life, Bad Genius and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, each brightening when you point at it.

Suggestions and its tabs

Below the introduction comes the Suggestions block, which kept the original's best feature. Three tabs sit under the title: Featured, Most Viewed and Top Rating. The active tab is filled with crimson, the others light up grey when you point at them, and choosing a tab swaps the grid of posters below it instantly, with sixteen titles in each. Featured starts with the headline titles, Most Viewed shows the most popular titles of the moment, and Top Rating gathers the highest scores from the Top rated collection. The tabs work with a keyboard too.

Latest Movies and Latest TV Series

The next two blocks follow the original closely. Latest Movies shows the newest films in the catalogue in a grid of eight posters per row, each with a small black HD badge in the corner and the title and year beneath it, in the centred style of the 2021 page. Latest TV Series does the same for dramas and series, with the details that made the original so useful: a black circle in the top-left corner showing the number of episodes, marked EPS, and a slanted tag in the top-right corner reading On air in crimson for a series still broadcasting, or Complete in black for one that has finished. Point at any poster and it dims slightly while a crimson play button appears in the middle.

Every block has a title with a short crimson underline and a View more link on the right that opens the full list. Further blocks follow for K-Drama, C-Drama, Thai Drama and Asian Movies, then the help guides and this guide to the site.

A title page

Every poster leads to a full title page. It shows the poster and the backdrop, the original title in its own script, the year, the running time or the number of seasons and episodes, the genres, the score, the story, the cast with their roles and the director or creators. The viewing panel lets you choose one of fifteen countries, from the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan to India, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Pick yours and press Watch now to open the title on JustWatch, which lists every official service that carries it there. Drama pages go further, with a page for every season and a list of every episode with its air date and a short summary, ideal for following a long drama episode by episode.

K-Drama: fantasy and romance

The K-Drama shelf gathers the Korean dramas of 2016 to 2021, the years when Korean series won fans around the world. Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, better known as Goblin, is the classic of the era: Gong Yoo plays an immortal goblin who needs a human bride to end his long life, and Kim Go-eun plays the cheerful student who can see him. Its mix of romance, humour and melancholy, and its famous soundtrack, made it one of the most loved dramas ever broadcast. Hotel Del Luna casts IU as the owner of a hotel for ghosts, with Yeo Jin-goo as its human manager, and its costumes and sets are dazzling.

While You Were Sleeping stars Bae Suzy as a woman who dreams of the future and Lee Jong-suk as a prosecutor determined to change it, Scarlet Heart: Ryeo sends a modern woman, played by IU, back to the Goryeo court, and Love in the Moonlight is a sunny royal romance with Park Bo-gum as the crown prince. Mr. Queen is a riotous comedy in which a modern chef wakes up in the body of a Joseon queen, and The King's Affection stars Park Eun-bin as a princess who takes her twin brother's place on the throne.

K-Drama: feel-good favourites

Some dramas are pure comfort. What's Wrong with Secretary Kim pairs Park Seo-joon as a vain executive with Park Min-young as the secretary who announces she is leaving, and it is one of the funniest office romances ever made. Strong Girl Bong-soon stars Park Bo-young as a young woman with superhuman strength, Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha brings a city dentist to a seaside village where a handyman, played by Kim Seon-ho, seems to do every job in town, and Welcome to Waikiki is a madcap comedy about friends running a guesthouse. Something in the Rain, with Son Ye-jin and Jung Hae-in, is a gentle love story, Backstreet Rookie is a playful convenience-store romance, and Suspicious Partner mixes romance with a murder mystery.

K-Drama: epics and thrillers

The shelf also holds some of the most ambitious Korean dramas ever produced. Mr. Sunshine, written by Kim Eun-sook, follows Lee Byung-hun as a Korean-born American soldier who returns to Joseon at the start of the twentieth century, and its images of a country on the brink of change are breathtaking. Descendants of the Sun, with Song Joong-ki and Song Hye-kyo, is a love story between a soldier and a surgeon that became a phenomenon across Asia, and Arthdal Chronicles is a fantasy epic set in an ancient land.

For thrillers, Signal links a detective in the present with a detective in the past through a mysterious walkie-talkie, Stranger stars Cho Seung-woo as a prosecutor who feels little emotion and Bae Doona as a detective who feels everything, and Vagabond follows a stuntman, played by Lee Seung-gi, who uncovers a conspiracy behind a plane crash. The K2, Bad and Crazy, Dr. Romantic and Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth complete a shelf with something for every taste. The K-Drama guide gathers the highlights.

C-Drama: courts, clans and immortals

The C-Drama shelf opens with the grand historical and fantasy dramas that made Chinese television a favourite across Asia. Joy of Life follows Fan Xian, a young man with a modern mind in an ancient kingdom, played by Zhang Ruoyun, through palace intrigue, sword fights and sharp comedy, and it became one of the most talked-about Chinese series of its year. The Story of Ming Lan, with Zhao Liying, is a rich family saga about a clever young woman from a scholar's household who finds her place in Song dynasty society, and Princess Agents, also with Zhao Liying, is a tale of a slave girl who becomes a skilled agent.

For fantasy, Eternal Love, with Yang Mi and Mark Chao, is a romance spanning three lifetimes among gods and immortals, and Ever Night follows a young soldier who dreams of joining a mystical academy. The Advisors Alliance tells the story of the strategist Sima Yi in the Three Kingdoms era, and Ode to Joy brings things back to modern Shanghai, following five women who share a floor of an apartment building and become friends. These long dramas are made for following over many evenings, and the season pages list every episode.

C-Drama: donghua

The C-Drama shelf also holds Chinese animation, known as donghua, which grew enormously in these years. LINK CLICK follows two friends who can enter photographs and relive the moments they capture, and its storytelling won fans far beyond China. Scissor Seven is a wildly funny series about a hairdresser who works as an assassin on a small island, The Daily Life of the Immortal King is a comedy about a teenager with godlike powers who just wants a quiet school life, and Soul Land, Perfect World, Swallowed Star, A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality and Full-Time Magister are epic fantasy adventures of cultivation and battle. The Outcast mixes Chinese folklore with modern action, and LEGO Monkie Kid reimagines the Monkey King for children. The C-Drama guide suggests where to start.

Thai Drama

Thai dramas found a huge new audience across Asia in these years, and the Thai Drama shelf gathers the most popular. 2gether: The Series, with Bright Vachirawit and Win Metawin, is a sweet campus romance that became a sensation during 2020, and F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers gave the famous Japanese manga a Thai twist, with Bright again among the stars. Bad Buddy is a funny, warm story of two rival engineering students, SOTUS is set during the first-year traditions of a university, and Theory of Love follows a film student in love with his best friend.

Some of the most beautiful Thai series are quieter. I Told Sunset About You, set in the old town of Phuket, follows two childhood friends preparing for university entrance exams, and its photography is gorgeous. A Tale of Thousand Stars sends a young volunteer teacher to a mountain village in the north, Until We Meet Again is a love story across two lifetimes, and The Stranded is a mystery set on an island after a tsunami. Gen Y, Close Friend, Heart of Stone, Waterboyy and Oh My Ghost complete the shelf. The Thai Drama guide has more.

Korean movies

The Asian Movies shelf is the largest on YesHD, and South Korea leads it. Parasite, from Bong Joon Ho, follows a poor family who talk their way into the lives of a wealthy one, and it won the Palme d'Or and the Academy Award for Best Picture, the first film in a language other than English to do so. Train to Busan turned a train journey into one of the most exciting zombie films ever made, with Gong Yoo as a father protecting his daughter, and Peninsula continued the story four years later. The Wailing is a gripping village mystery that grows darker by the hour.

A Taxi Driver stars Song Kang-ho as a Seoul taxi driver who drives a German journalist to Gwangju in May 1980, and it is both funny and deeply moving. The Outlaws and The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil show why Ma Dong-seok is Korea's favourite action star, Extreme Job is a hilarious comedy about detectives who go undercover in a fried chicken restaurant and accidentally make it a hit, and Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds and Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days are fantasy spectacles about the trials of the afterlife. Space Sweepers, Ashfall, The Call, Forgotten, The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion and Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum complete a shelf full of surprises.

Chinese movies

Mainland Chinese cinema grew into one of the biggest in the world in these years. Ne Zha, a spirited animated retelling of the legend of a boy born with demonic powers, became one of the highest-grossing animated films ever made, and The Wandering Earth turned a science fiction story about moving the whole planet into a national phenomenon. Wolf Warrior 2 and Operation Red Sea are big-scale action films, and The Eight Hundred recreates the defence of a Shanghai warehouse in 1937.

Better Days, with Zhou Dongyu and Jackson Yee, is a powerful drama about a student under exam pressure, nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature. Shadow, from Zhang Yimou, is a martial arts film painted almost entirely in shades of ink, The Mermaid is a Stephen Chow comedy, and Jackie Chan stars in Kung Fu Yoga, Vanguard and Bleeding Steel. The animation studio Light Chaser made White Snake and Green Snake, two lush retellings of an ancient legend, and The Legend of Hei, New Gods: Nezha Reborn and A Writer's Odyssey show the range of Chinese fantasy.

Hong Kong movies

Hong Kong action cinema has its own proud place on the shelf. Ip Man 4: The Finale brings Donnie Yen's Wing Chun master to San Francisco for his last adventure, and Master Z: Ip Man Legacy follows his rival Cheung Tin-chi. Donnie Yen also leads Raging Fire, a thrilling police drama with Nicholas Tse and the final film of director Benny Chan, and Enter the Fat Dragon, a comedy in which he plays a cop who gains weight. Andy Lau stars as a bomb disposal expert in Shock Wave and Shock Wave 2, and Project Gutenberg pairs Chow Yun-fat and Aaron Kwok in a twisting counterfeiting thriller.

Chasing the Dragon, Cold War II, The White Storm 2: Drug Lords, Paradox, Golden Job, Call of Heroes, Trivisa and Limbo show the range of Hong Kong crime and action, and the storm films P Storm and L Storm continue a popular anti-corruption series. The Asian movies guide picks highlights from every country.

Thai movies

Thai cinema brings some of the most inventive films on the shelf. Bad Genius, from Nattawut Poonpiriya, turns an exam-cheating scheme into a heist thriller as tense as any spy film, and it was a hit across Asia. The Medium, directed by Banjong Pisanthanakun and produced by Na Hong-jin of The Wailing, is a frightening documentary-style horror set in a village in the northeast, and Inhuman Kiss turns a Thai folk ghost into a love story. Friend Zone and One Day are charming romances, Heart Attack is a witty comedy about an overworked freelance designer, and Brother of the Year is a lively sibling comedy.

The Con-Heartist is a clever con-artist caper, The Pool traps a man in an empty swimming pool with a crocodile, and Cemetery of Splendor, from Apichatpong Weerasethakul, is a dreamlike art-house film about soldiers who fall into a mysterious sleep. The Legend of Muay Thai: 9 Satra is an animated adventure for the family.

Indonesian movies

Indonesian genre films earned a worldwide following in these years. Satan's Slaves and Impetigore, from Joko Anwar, are two of the most admired Asian horror films of the decade, and The Queen of Black Magic, May the Devil Take You and May the Devil Take You Too continue the tradition. For action, Headshot and The Night Comes For Us show off the astonishing martial arts of Iko Uwais and Joe Taslim, and Gundala launched an Indonesian superhero universe. On the gentler side, Dilan 1990 is a nostalgic high school romance set in Bandung that became a box-office sensation.

Filipino movies

The Filipino shelf gathers romances, epics and art-house landmarks. Hello, Love, Goodbye stars Kathryn Bernardo and Alden Richards as two Filipino workers who fall in love in Hong Kong, and it became one of the most successful Filipino films ever released. The Hows of Us, with Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla, follows a couple through years of dreams and struggles, and Always Be My Maybe and I'm Drunk, I Love You are warm, funny love stories. Aga Muhlach leads a moving Filipino remake of a Korean prison drama about a devoted father, Goyo: The Boy General tells the story of a young general in the Philippine–American War, and The Woman Who Left, from Lav Diaz, won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.

Anime

The Anime shelf gathers the popular series of 2016 to 2021. JUJUTSU KAISEN follows Yuji Itadori into a world of cursed spirits, and its animation by MAPPA made it one of the biggest anime of the decade. Tokyo Revengers sends a young man back in time to save his first love from a gang, Mob Psycho 100, from the creator of One-Punch Man, follows a psychic schoolboy who wants a normal life, and Black Clover is a long-running tale of a boy in a world of mages who wins through with his sword and sheer determination.

Fantasy fans will enjoy That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, The Ancient Magus' Bride, To Your Eternity, adapted from the manga by the creator of A Silent Voice, and Tower of God, based on a Korean webtoon. Kaguya-sama: Love Is War is a brilliant romantic comedy about two student council members too proud to confess, Cells at Work! turns the human body into a bustling city of blood cells, and Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun is a cheerful comedy for every age. The anime guide has more ideas.

Hollywood

The Hollywood shelf covers roughly 2016 to 2020, the years of the original site. The Marvel films lead it, from Captain America: Civil War and Doctor Strange to Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, Captain Marvel and Avengers: Infinity War, and Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse give the web-slinger two very different adventures. La La Land, Arrival, Blade Runner 2049, Get Out and A Quiet Place show Hollywood at its most inventive, Hacksaw Ridge and Hidden Figures tell remarkable true stories, and The Gentlemen is a stylish crime comedy.

For families, Coco, Zootopia, Incredibles 2, Cars 3, Ice Age: Collision Course and Sonic the Hedgehog suit every age, and Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom bring the big franchises.

Western series

The Drama / Series menu of the original included Western shows, and YesHD keeps a small shelf of popular English-language series with every season and episode. Stranger Things follows a group of friends in a small Indiana town who face a mysterious world called the Upside Down, The Good Doctor stars Freddie Highmore as a brilliant young surgeon, adapted from a Korean drama, and The Rookie stars Nathan Fillion as the oldest new recruit in the Los Angeles police. 9-1-1, Yellowstone, Young Sheldon, Lucifer, Marvel's The Punisher and DC's Legends of Tomorrow complete the shelf.

Subtitles and audio

Subtitles are the heart of Asian drama viewing, and the official services do them well. Korean, Chinese and Thai dramas on the major services come with English subtitles, usually within hours or days of the broadcast, and many add Indonesian, Malay, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese and other languages. Many films and anime also offer dubbed audio in English, Hindi, Tagalog, Indonesian or other languages, chosen from the audio menu while the episode plays. You can often change the size and colour of subtitles in the player settings too. The subtitles guide explains the settings.

How Watch now works

Every title on YesHD has a Watch now button, on the featured slider and on every title page. Choose your country and press it, and JustWatch opens with every official service that carries the title in that country, with subscription, rental, purchase and free options side by side. You can see at a glance which service carries a drama in Manila, Jakarta or Kuala Lumpur, and whether a film is ready to rent. The how to watch guide walks through the steps.

Where the titles stream

Asian dramas stream on a family of services that grew quickly in these years. Netflix carries many Korean, Chinese and Thai dramas worldwide, Viu is a favourite across Southeast Asia and the Middle East, iQIYI and WeTV carry large Chinese and Thai libraries, and Viki specialises in subtitled Asian dramas in many languages. The films and anime appear on Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ and Crunchyroll, depending on the country, and Apple TV, Google TV and Prime Video rent or sell many films. Licences change from time to time, which is why the Watch now button checks JustWatch each time. The streaming services guide gives more detail.

Phones, laptops and TVs

YesHD works in every modern browser, on a phone, a tablet, a laptop or a desktop computer. On a phone the menu folds behind a single button and the poster grids shrink to three columns, perfect for scrolling with one thumb. You can add YesHD to your home screen from the browser menu, where it opens like an app. The dramas and films play in each service's official app, installed from Google Play, the App Store or your television's store, and Fire TV, Google TV, Apple TV and most smart TVs run them. The apps and devices guide covers each option.

Free and legal options

Plenty of Asian drama can be watched free and legally. Viu, iQIYI, WeTV and Viki offer free episodes with adverts in many countries, often with the full series, and several Chinese and Thai broadcasters publish complete dramas on their official YouTube channels, with English subtitles. When you press Watch now and choose your country, free options appear on JustWatch beside the paid ones. The free dramas and movies guide lists the best places to look.

My List

Long dramas need a good memory, and My List provides it. Press Add to My List on any title page to save a drama or a film, and on a season page mark the episode you reached, which is handy for long series such as The Story of Ming Lan, Joy of Life or Mr. Sunshine. My List is stored in your own browser, works straight away and belongs to you alone. Export saves it to a small file, and Import restores it on another phone or computer. The My List guide has the details.

Finding a title

There are several ways to find what you want. The search box in the header looks through titles, including original titles in Korean, Chinese and Thai script, as well as cast and directors; press Enter for the full results page, where you can narrow the list to films or series. The menu leads straight to Movies, Drama / Series, Asian Movies, K-Drama, C-Drama, Thai Drama and Anime, and the collections page adds Korean, Chinese and Hong Kong, Thai, Indonesian and Filipino movies, Hollywood, and genres from Action and Comedy to Horror, Romance and Thriller and crime. The A-Z index lists everything alphabetically, and the finding titles guide explains each route.

Top rated

The Top rated collection, which also feeds the Top Rating tab on the home page, gathers the titles with the highest scores from a large number of votes. Parasite, Bad Genius, A Taxi Driver, Better Days and Ne Zha sit there with dramas such as Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, Descendants of the Sun, Hotel Del Luna, Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha and Mr. Queen, anime such as JUJUTSU KAISEN and Mob Psycho 100, and Hollywood favourites such as Coco and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

Recognising YesHD

Many sites have used similar dark themes, so it helps to know the real design. This YesHD has a charcoal page, a header with the white YES and crimson HD wordmark and a thin divider, grey Oswald capital menu links, a featured slider with a crimson-edged caption, crimson tabs for Featured, Most Viewed and Top Rating, and poster grids with episode circles and On air tags. Every Watch now button leads to JustWatch and from there to the official services. Bookmark the home page, or add it to your phone's home screen, and you will always return to the right place. The official site guide repeats these signs.

Streaming safely

A few habits keep streaming safe and simple. Install apps only from official stores, give each service its own strong password and switch on two-step sign-in where it is offered. Before entering payment details, check that the address bar shows the real name of the service. YesHD links only to JustWatch, and JustWatch links to the official services, so every step stays on trusted ground. The safety guide keeps the checklist short.

If a page is slow

If YesHD seems slow, load the home page and then any title; if both appear, the site is working. Refreshing the page, clearing the browser cache, trying another browser or switching between mobile data and Wi-Fi usually solves the rest. Playback itself happens on the streaming service, so its help centre is the right place for any playback question. The site status guide lists the quick fixes.

Privacy

YesHD keeps things light and ready to use at once. My List, your chosen country and the episodes you mark are stored in your own browser, on your own device. Posters and details load from TMDB, and the site fonts load from Google Fonts. The privacy page explains each item in plain words.

How the catalogue is chosen

The catalogue follows the spirit of the 2021 site. It gathers the Korean, Chinese and Thai dramas of 2016 to 2021, films from South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines, anime, and the Hollywood films and Western series of the same years. Every title is chosen by hand for a general audience, and the whole catalogue is drawn from TMDB, which supplies the posters, stories, cast and episode lists.

A short history of YesHD

YesHD grew up in the late 2010s as one of a small family of sites built on the same dark theme, with a strong following among Asian drama fans in Southeast Asia and beyond. By 2021 its pages listed films from more than twenty countries and dramas from four regions, and its Latest TV Series grid was a quick way to see which dramas were still on air. That charcoal-and-crimson design is the one this rebuild brings back, with one important difference: every drama and film now opens on the official services that carry it, in your country.

Where to start with Asian drama

If you are new to Asian drama, YesHD makes the first step easy. Start with a Korean classic such as Guardian: The Lonely and Great God or Descendants of the Sun, which show why the genre became so loved, or a lighter comedy such as What's Wrong with Secretary Kim. For Chinese drama, Joy of Life mixes palace intrigue with modern humour and makes a lively introduction, and for Thai drama, I Told Sunset About You is short, beautiful and perfect for a weekend. Films are a good way in too: Parasite, Train to Busan and Bad Genius are loved by viewers watching an Asian film for the first time.

Stars to follow

A few stars appear again and again on the shelves, and following them is a great way to explore. Gong Yoo leads Goblin and Train to Busan, IU stars in Hotel Del Luna and Scarlet Heart: Ryeo, Park Bo-young charms in Strong Girl Bong-soon, and Ma Dong-seok brings his fists to The Outlaws and The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil. Zhao Liying leads The Story of Ming Lan and Princess Agents, Donnie Yen leads the Ip Man films and Raging Fire, Kathryn Bernardo leads Hello, Love, Goodbye and The Hows of Us, and Bright Vachirawit leads 2gether and F4 Thailand. Search any name in the header to find their titles.

Stories that travel

Asian stories often travel from one country to another, and the catalogue makes it easy to follow them. F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers is the latest version of a Japanese manga already adapted in Taiwan, Korea and China, the Filipino prison drama with Aga Muhlach remakes a Korean hit, and The Good Doctor on the Western shelf began as a Korean drama. Tower of God, on the anime shelf, began as a Korean webtoon, a sign of how Korean comics now inspire Japanese animation. Watching two versions of the same story is a fun way to see how each country puts its own mark on it.

Planning a binge

Asian dramas come in many lengths. Most Korean dramas run for sixteen episodes of about an hour, which suits a week of evenings or a long weekend. Chinese historical dramas are longer, often forty to seventy episodes, and are best enjoyed a few episodes at a time over several weeks. Thai series usually run for twelve to sixteen episodes. The season pages show the number of episodes and their air dates, and My List keeps your place, so you can plan a binge as long or as short as you like.

Ideas for a movie night

If you are planning an evening, a few pairings work beautifully. For thrills, Train to Busan followed by Peninsula makes a gripping double bill, and Satan's Slaves with The Medium is perfect for a brave group of horror fans. For laughter, Extreme Job and Enter the Fat Dragon are a joy. For a family night, try Ne Zha followed by Coco, or White Snake with Zootopia. For something moving, A Taxi Driver and Better Days stay with you long after the credits, and for romance, Hello, Love, Goodbye and One Day are made for a quiet evening.

Watching together

Many of these titles are made for a full room. The battles of Ip Man 4: The Finale and The Outlaws get everyone cheering, the comedy of Extreme Job works for all ages, and the dramas of Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha and Descendants of the Sun bring families together week after week. For group viewing, cast the title to the television, choose the audio language everyone prefers and turn on subtitles in the language that suits the room.

Watching from abroad

YesHD readers live all over Asia and beyond, which is why the viewing panel covers fifteen countries. Choose the country where you are right now, since that is where the services will play, and JustWatch lists the services that carry the title there. Asian dramas are often carried by different services in different countries, with a drama on Netflix in one place and on Viu or iQIYI in another, so it is always worth checking. Your country choice is remembered in your browser for the next visit.

A first visit

On a first visit, let the featured slider catch your eye, then try the three Suggestions tabs to see the featured, most viewed and top-rated titles. Look at the Latest TV Series grid to see which dramas are on air, open a few titles and read their stories. Press Watch now on one that appeals, choose your country and follow JustWatch to the service. Save a few titles to My List for later. Within a few minutes, YesHD will feel as familiar as it did in 2021.

Soundtracks

Music is a big part of Asian drama, and many viewers first fall in love with a series through its soundtrack. The songs of Goblin, sung by artists such as Crush and Ailee, topped the Korean charts, and IU's own voice fills Hotel Del Luna. The theme songs of Chinese historical dramas are often sung by the stars themselves, and the Thai series 2gether and I Told Sunset About You launched hit songs that fans sang across Southeast Asia. Most services let you keep subtitles on during the songs, so you can follow the lyrics as you listen.

Asian horror

Asia produced some of the most frightening films of these years, and the Horror collection gathers them. From Indonesia come Satan's Slaves, Impetigore, The Queen of Black Magic, Suzzanna: Buried Alive and The Third Eye, from Thailand The Medium and Ghost Lab, and from Korea Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum, a found-footage chiller set in an abandoned hospital, and The Wailing. Hollywood adds The Conjuring 2 and A Quiet Place. Watch them with the lights down and a friend close by.

Asian action

The Action collection is full of breathtaking fights. Headshot and The Night Comes For Us from Indonesia are famous for their choreography, the Ip Man films and Raging Fire carry the Hong Kong tradition, and The Outlaws brings the punch of Korean crime films. China adds the scale of Wolf Warrior 2 and Operation Red Sea, and the Thai animated The Legend of Muay Thai: 9 Satra brings martial arts to a younger audience. For anime action, JUJUTSU KAISEN and Tokyo Revengers lead the way.

Romance

The Romance collection, together with the romantic dramas on each drama shelf, is made for the Asian drama fan's favourite genre. Films such as Hello, Love, Goodbye, The Hows of Us, Friend Zone, One Day and Dilan 1990 tell love stories from four countries, while the dramas add long, slow-burning romances such as Something in the Rain, Love in the Moonlight and Eternal Love. The season pages make it easy to see how many episodes remain before the happy ending.

Dramas for every season

The catalogue has something for every time of year. Summer suits the island mysteries of The Stranded and the seaside charm of Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha, rainy evenings suit Something in the Rain, and winter holidays suit the snowy scenes of Goblin and the family films on the Hollywood shelf. The long Chinese dramas are ideal for the months when evenings draw in early, when a few episodes a night of The Story of Ming Lan or Joy of Life become a cosy routine.

Directors to know

A handful of directors shaped the Asian films on YesHD. Bong Joon Ho made Parasite, Yeon Sang-ho made Train to Busan and Peninsula, and Na Hong-jin made The Wailing and produced The Medium. In China, Zhang Yimou made Shadow and Stephen Chow made The Mermaid; in Hong Kong, Wilson Yip directed the Ip Man films and Benny Chan made Raging Fire. Joko Anwar made Satan's Slaves and Impetigore in Indonesia, Nattawut Poonpiriya made Bad Genius in Thailand, and Lav Diaz made The Woman Who Left in the Philippines. Searching a director's name is a good way to discover more of their work.

For younger viewers

Families will find plenty to enjoy. The Hollywood animation shelf offers Coco, Zootopia, Incredibles 2 and Sonic the Hedgehog, China adds Ne Zha, The Legend of Hei and LEGO Monkie Kid, Korea adds the fairy-tale comedy Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs, and Thailand adds The Legend of Muay Thai: 9 Satra. Among the anime, Cells at Work! teaches how the body works in the most entertaining way, and Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun is a cheerful school comedy. Check the genres and the story on each title page to choose what suits your family.

Worth watching again

Some titles reward a second viewing even more than the first. The clues hidden in Signal, Stranger and Parasite only become clear once you know the ending, the jokes of Mr. Queen land differently when you know the characters, and the finale of Bad Genius is just as tense the second time. Keep a few favourites in My List for the evenings when only an old friend will do.

Questions