T-shirt ga Kawaku Made | Tシャツが乾くまで | Until the T-shirt Dries | [2026] | Episode 01 - Part II

I was not planning on watching E02 until I had gotten in an episode each of The East Palace and Human Vapor but I had to pivot.  I saw that there are new episodes on Thursdays, which oddly enough, I like.  Maybe it's because I'm from the days when you were forced to wait a whole week to see the next episode of my favorite show.  Or maybe I have some kind of "binge burnout".  I do like when there are shows that have their whole season available to stream when they drop but sometimes, I miss the anticipation of the next day the show is on.  Imo, it seems like releasing 2 or 3 episodes a week works out better for those of us who are drama addicts.  I like that I can watch 2 or 3 episodes and then move on to the next drama for 2 or 3 episodes.  Going this route, I am always up to date and I don't miss anything.  Having all episodes available and leaving it up to me to pace myself is a terrible thing (for me).

Since the next episode isn't until next Thursday, I'll watch E02 and then I will go catch up with Human Vapor.

When I opened up Netflix and saw this as the first drama, I saw an actor I thought I recognized.  So I looked at the details and I didn't see that he was listed.  I also did not click on where it said "more".  I have had a light fascination with Matsuyama Ken'ichi for a while.  I can't remember where I first saw him.  My first memory is having heard he was going to be L in the Death Note movie.  I had to look up what else he had done and one of the dramas he did was Gokusen, which I am also watching now.  I watched half of the first episode a couple of weeks ago. I don't recall seeing him in that though I have to admit, my focus was purely on Matsumoto Jun.  I am not worried about going back to watch the rest of this because I've seen it before so it's less urgent for me to watch it.

The 2 couples in this drama, which took me a minute to sort out in my head, are The Seos and The Sonodas.  The Seos are Sakiko, the magazine editor and Mitsuru, the café owner.  The Sonodas are Miki, part time bookstore worker and Itsuki, well, I haven't figured that out yet.  But I will and when I do, I'll report back.  They probably mentioned it but I'm good at missing some details sometimes.

So, when I first see Mitsuru, I thought he looked just like Matsuyama Ken'ichi but I didn't think it was him because (mostly) he wasn't in the immediate credits.  As I was looking online to see if there was a better summary of this drama, I saw he was in it and he IS Mitsuru.

Another reason I am going to watch E02 now instead of going back to it later after I've caught up on 2 other dramas is because of the cliffhanger.  OMG.  I'm on my way to watch it now.  I've yapped too long and I am dying to watch it!

T-shirt ga Kawaku Made | Tシャツが乾くまで | Until the T-shirt Dries | [2026] | Episode 01

Once again, I pulled up Netflix to watch The East Palace (Before going back to Human Vapor) and I got the ad for Until the T-shirt Dries as soon as I opened it.  This was already on my watchlist but I felt compelled to start it because, of course, why not?  I have room to start another one.

I am just under 20 minutes into this first episode and for 15 minutes of it, I was a little confused until I realized there were 2 couples being shown.  I'm really bad with faces and worse with names.  This is one of the reasons for my "Three Episode Rule".  On the first episode, I'm just trying to learn who is who and it's usually pretty easy because there's a main guy and a mail girl.  When the episode starts they either know each other and are already interacting or they don't know each other so we get to know them separately and eventually, they will meet.  Either way, it's not confusing because we know who they both are and it's even easier when one or both are bigger stars that I've watched before.  None of the actors in this drama are a big star to me.  I've been gone from J-dramas for many years now so if one of these actors is actually a big star, I don't know it yet.  It will take me some time to figure that out again.

Okay so, the show starts with a couple.  They seem to be okay.  The woman is drying clothes "again" because they have a "wash & dry" machine and the dryer part has not been drying the clothes well so she has to do it a second time.  Her husband comes down the stairs and says he's done cleaning upstairs and she thanks him.  Then there is another couple with a child.  I hadn't seen the first couple long enough to remember them so when the next scene happened, I thought it was the same couple but now their son was there getting ready for school.  I thought, okay, this is a different day.  Ten minutes later I realize there are 2 couples.

One of the women is a fashion editor at a bridal magazine, I think and her husband is a manager at a coffee shop.  I'm not sure yet what the other couple does.

The woman with the dryer issue goes to the laundromat to dry a few clothes and the husband of the other couple is there doing his laundry.  The woman looks confused as she walks in.  She goes to the "wash & dry" machines and asks the guy if he is there drying clothes.  She tells him she just needs to dry clothes.  He points her over to the dryers and she puts her clothes in.  She then realizes she doesn't have change so she pulls out money to get change but the guy gets up and tells her he'll take care of it.  She wants to pay him back and he tells her it's fine.  So she tells him it's hot in there so she will get him a cold drink.  He tells her he's fine but she walks out the door to go to the store and she returns with 2 bottles of water.  She puts the change and a water bottle on the table and says thank you.  She says she accidentally bought 2.  They do a little small talking and realize they both live in the same area.  When their clothes are done, they walk back together.

When they reach the woman's home, she points out that's her place and says goodbye.  The guy keeps walking and then stops and looks over (towards the house i assume).  He had a creepy stalker look on his face but I could be wrong how this is about to go.

The woman is in the kitchen when she tells herself she supposes she'll fold the clothes.  She sits down and her phone rings.

The man is also at his home about to fold clothes when his phone goes off and he answers it.

The woman races out of her home and tries to flag down a taxi.  A taxi zooms by her and you see that it is the laundromat guy and he's asking someone to pickup his son.

They are both on their way to the hospital where you find out there was a bus accident where the woman's husband and the guy's wife were passengers.

Laundromat guy is sitting in the hospital looking a a dirt covered wallet he's taken out of a bag when his sister arrives with his son.  The guy starts talking about paying back his sister for the sushi the kid ate and the ride they took to get to the hospital.  The sister says to the child that his father is busy and maybe he would like to spend the night with her.  The boy says yes and she takes him to her home.  As he's walking away, he tells his father to tell his mother he ate 5 plates of sushi.  When they are gone, the guy starts sobbing.

The woman is in a room with 2 police officers.  There's a table with some items in baggies and one officer asks her if any of her husband's belongings are there.  She spots 2 items and asks if she can take them home.  They tell her she can.  There's a bit of silence and then the woman asks "when will you be able to recover my husband?  Tomorrow?  The day after?..." and she starts to cry.  The officer said they will search for him with all their might.  The woman asks if there were any survivors and they tell here there were not.

So, I will watch the end of this episode and then I'll go watch The East Palace and go back to Human Vapor before going back to this one again.

Summary from mydramalist.com that they go from dramawiki.  From what I have seen so far, this summary is not correct unless I have not yet gotten to the part where it makes sense.  For now, this is wrong but mostly correct imo.

Sakiko is a 40-year-old editor working at a publishing company.  While she is competent at her job, she can be a little lazy and absent-minded in her personal life.  The story unfolds with Sakiko and her husband get involved in an accident with another couple.  This incident causes the happy lives of both couples, which they had taken for granted, to suddenly crumble.  Moreover, the "third Friday secret" involving her husband, comes to light.

The East Palace | 동궁 | 2026 | Episode 01

The drama starts with the death of the crown prince.

I am assuming the woman who said the king should be told is the woman who "hears the dead".  She marches off to the palace to tell him, but it seems he already knows because he is instructing the court to proceed with funeral rites when she arrives.

The woman arrives to tell his majesty that an incident has occurred and asks him if he is aware of it.  He says he is and the woman yells at him, "And yet, how can you remain so unperturbed?".   She states that the crown prices are all dying one by one and the king tells her "That is enough".  He tells her there is no such thing as spirits.  The woman reminds him that 30 years ago the crown princes died one after another as they are dying now.  The king reminds her that his first 2 sons died of illness and his 3rd son took his own life.  He tells her spirits do not exist and to speak no more of them. He tells her such talk would not do his majesty any good "...would it, mother?".  She tells him if that is how he sees things, then he should do as he always does and take no action.  In the meantime, she will see to the safety of the princes herself and she will find a way to ward off the spirit.

I have to say, he is pretty damn calm for a guy who just lost his 4th son.  Whether it was my 1st or 4th or last, I would be apeshit crazy.  I know he didn't give birth to them so it's different but he is way too calm for a father.

The king's mother has someone cleanse the palace and the king is attacked by a spirit while in bed.  He is told it is going to eradicate the royal bloodline.  The king reaches for his sword to fight off the spirit.  Just as the spirit disappears, someone comes to tell the king that Prince Yeongan has suddenly gone into a convulsion.  The prince, writhing in pain, suddenly stops. He sits up and says "Did you see?' and then screams, "Did you? I will take this one as well." and he reaches for a pair of scissors and holds it up to his eye as everyone around him tries to stop him.  He lets go and convulses again, screaming, while looking as if he's gone mad.  He then screams, "I will wipe out every last seed of the East Palace!".

So far, pretty good.  Only 10 minutes in and in a short time, they are able to quickly tell you what is going on. 

The king goes to seek the help from a monk who tells him he is too old to help but tells him about a boy named Gu-cheon.  His mother was a shaman who had a curse put upon her by a diety that was angry at her.  She was so agonized, she threw herself and her child into the river.  The mother died but the child, who had been underwater over 15 minutes, survived.  They thought that the fact that he could see spirits was because he had died and come back to life.  

The old monk brings over Gu-cheon and he does not recognize the man before him as the king.  The monk explains why the man is there.  Right out of the gate, Gu-cheon is rude and insolent.  He wants nothing to do with helping the man and tells him he should have lived a better life.

The king has Gu-cheon kidnapped and brought back to the palace to the spot where the crown prince was attacked and killed.  The king tells Gu-cheon he wants him to ward off the spirit.  Gu-cheon asks the king "What is the nature of the spirit?" and he is told it is none of his concern.  The king asks him if he can find the spirit and get rid of it.  Gu-cheon stands up, his hands tied in front of him, and he looks out on the water.  He tells the king that the spirit is no longer there, that it has gone elsewhere and that he would have to look at other places. 

They take him around the outside of the palace and at one point, Gu-cheon tells them they should wait there.  He explains that the spirit will flee if there is anyone around with strong energy so he will go alone.  His hands are untied and he is told not to do anything foolish.

As expected, he tries to escape.  All the while bitching about how the monk sold him.  He goes over a wall only to run into all the palace guards he had just left behind.  Then he finds himself right back in front of the king.

The king places his sword over Gu-cheon's shoulder and tells him that if he attempts to flee again, he will sever both his feet.  If he tells anyone that he hunts spirits in the palace, he will sever his jaw. If he fails to capture the spirit and his son dies, he will sever his head.  The king tells him, "They say that once you enter the palace, you leave only in death.".  He tells Gu-cheon that if he wishes to leave the palace alive, he needs to capture the spirit and get rid of it.  If he is successful, he will grant Gu-cheon whatever he wishes.  The king then says he is now a feng shui master of the palace and he will assign him someone who may be useful to him.  

A young woman enters and the king comments that she looks almost unrecognizable and she replies, "It has been ten years". He asks her if she knows why he called for her and she replies that he must have needed someone trustworthy to keep a secret.  She makes another comment that I won't repeat so you'll have to see for yourself as this just got a little bit more interesting.  The young woman is the teen schoolgirl that gets pregnant in Our Blues.  Her face looked familiar but I couldn't remember which drama I saw her in.  Turns out Our Blues was her first drama.  I need to add her to my list of actresses I need to make sure I am watching what they are in!

The king tells the young woman he as brought a spirit-catcher into the palace and he wants her to be his eyes and ears. He wants to know if he can trust him with the task he has given him or if he should be put to death.  He will base his decision on what she reports back.

The young woman goes to where Gu-cheon is staying and she calls out but he doesn't answer.  She finds him under some blankets mumbling nonsense.  He removes the blanket and asks who she is and she tells him the king has sent her to assist him. He rudely replies "What am I to do with someone like you?".  He complains that he asked for a different room so he could sleep and not for a useless person because he hasn't slept a wink. She scolds him and asks if he has no manners.  She explains that his living quarters were chosen so that nobody would see him so he should not complain. He continues to complain and be rude and says he is going back to sleep.  She remarks, "Once cannot expect courtesy from a brute."  Ouch.   She tells him, since it's their first meeting, they should exchange greetings.  The young woman is Saeng-gang, an inspecting court lady. 

I'm going to stop here because the action is about to start.  I love this drama so far.  It was just a matter of time before I started this one because I'll watch anything Nam Joo Hyuk is in and now, it's even better knowing that Roh Yoon Seo is in it too!  10/10 for me so far!

[2026] The East Palace | 동궁

I wasn't planning on watching anything new until I was done with Human Vapor but I opened Netflix to watch and The East Palace was right there.  I clicked to see if I had placed it on my list and I saw I had not so, I did and then I read the summary...

When decades of unexplained deaths haunt the police, a spirit slayer joins a guarded court lady who hears the dead and drives out evil.

Now I have to watch an episode of this before I go on to Human Vapor.

Catching Up With What I'm Watching (Determined to Finish These)

I've been pretty bad with keeping up with everything I'm watching.  I am literally all over the place right now.   This is a list of shows I have started and have not gone back to for some time.  I may need to come back and edit this list.  I will have to start posting about them as I watch.  I started a new one today and I am planning on starting another one later (which I really shouldn't do).  As I write this, I am not sure how many I am in the middle of but I'm going to go check my watchlists and see where I am.

2026 Human Vapor
Netflix - Just starting today

2026 Pursuit of Jade |  逐玉 | Zhu Yu
Netflix - Can't recall when I started this but I'm halfway though E13

2026 My Royal Nemesis | AKA Wicked World / Brave New World | 멋진 신세계 | Meotjin Sinsegye
Netflix - Can't recall when I started this one either.  A few minutes into E02.  When I do go back, I will have to watch E01 again because I have no idea what has happened.

2018 The Last Empress | AKA An Empress's Dignity | 황후의 품격 | Hwanghuui Pumgyeok
Netflix - No idea when I started this either.  A few minutes into E01.  I may have gotten distracted and never went back to finish.

2016 The Princess Weiyoung | 锦绣未央 | Jin Xiu Wei Yang
Netflix - Already watched this one and I loved it.  I think this was my very first Cdrama.  I don't have to watch this one again but since it was my first one and it was spectacular, I want to re-watch and enjoy it all over again.  I don't need to finish this one again so I plan to watch whenever I need something familiar and I don't need to pay too much attention to.

2019 Hotel del Luna | 호텔 델루나
Netflix - Started this one when I was using someone else's Netflix account.  It's been about 2 years since I got my own and I have been lollygagging to watch this because I don't remember where I was when I stopped and I will have to go all the way back to E01.  It's fine because... IU.

2008 Gokusen | ごくせん
Netflix - One of the first Jdramas I ever watched in almost real time.  This is one of the shows that I had to wait for English subs from a dedicated fansubber.  Those people will never fully understand how much I appreciate their dedication and hard work for no money.  It was sheer love of the drama world that they wanted to share that drove them to doing it.  I am forever grateful to them for feeding my addiction and allowing me to love the Japanese people and culture as much as I do today.

2023 What Will You Do Ieyasu | どうする家康 | Dou Suru Ieyasu
The only reason I even started this show after trying to find it somewhere online was because of Matsumoto Jun.  The first actor I ever fell hard for when watching Hana Yori Dango.  Another drama I stumbled upon that I ended up loving.  It's the reason I cannot stand the Korean version and I refuse to watch any other version.  Don't get me started with my opinions if they ever attempt an American version.  I'll admit, I am not loving this one and I wasn't sure if I was going to bother to go back but I decided I need to stick to my 3 episode rule before I decide if I should abandon it or not.  This used to be on Amazon Prime but when I went back to give it another go, it was no longer available.  Further research showed no longer available in my region.  So now I am left to try and figure out where else I can watch this.  It kind of sucks because there are about 48 episodes to this drama and there's no way I would have finished all of them before they yanked it away.

2016 Fukuyado Honpo - Kyoto Love Story |  福家堂本舗-
Amazon Prime - I don't know when I started this one but I'm almost done with E02.  Another one that I will need to start back from E01 because I don't remember a darn thing about it!

2017 While You Were Sleeping | 당신이 잠든 사이에 | Dangsini Jamdeun Saie
Viki - Another one I have already watched.  I was re-watching this one because after all these years, I am not only still in love with Lee Jung Suk and Bae Suzy, but with Henry's song, "It's You".  I won't be going back to this one for a while.  I was not able to renew my subscription because I didn't have the funds but once I can afford it, I will go back.  Probably won't be until some time in 2027.

2024 Perfect Propose | パーフェクトプロポーズ | Paafekuto Puropoozu
Viki - I'm not sure if I was done with this one.  I remember the story but I don't remember the ending so I may have either been done and don't remember or almost done lol.  Another one I won't go back to until I can afford to subscribe again.

2026 Perfect Crown | AKA The 21st Century Grand Prince's Wife | 21세기 대군 부인 | 21Segi Daegun Buin
Hulu - Started I don't know when and just didn't go back.  I have to go back for this one because I love IU.  Looks like I was just minutes in on E01 so I probably started it to get on my "Continue Watching" list.

2022 Because We Forget Everything | すべて忘れてしまうから | Subete Wasurete Shimau kara 
Hulu - Abe Hiroshi.  I saw he was in this and it's the only reason I started it.  It's a good enough drama that I do want to go back to watch and finish it but it's not as great as other dramas he's done.  Still, I love his work and I'll watch him in anything.


So, I have a lot of catching up to do and while I may want to finish these all before starting new ones, that likely won't happen.  I will do my best to make sure I am posting when I start and when I continue to watch those in progress.  It will take some time for me to update the sidebars though.

Recently, I found that Paramout+ also has a few Asian dramas available.  These are the ones that are on "My List".

2024 Pyramid Game | 피라미드 게임 | Pilamideu Geim or Piramideu Geim
Synopsis from Webtoon edited by Mydramalist.com:

Once a month, students at Baekyeon Girls' High School cast their votes in a popularity poll. The result? A brutal ranking system that determines the entire social hierarchy of the school.

Seong Su Ji has just transferred and scored a zero. After starting at the bottom and becoming a target of school violence, can Su Ji make her way to the top of the pyramid? Or will she topple the game altogether?


2022 Bargain | AKA Ransom | 몸값 | Momgabs or Momgap
Synopsis from AsianWiki:

No Hyeong Su visits a motel room to see Park Ju Yeong. He is pleased with her appearance and happy to pay for her services, but a surprise is waiting for No Hyeong Su. He is soon surrounded by people who have come to buy his organs. They bargain over the price of his organs, with Park Ju Yeong conducting the auction, but an earthquake suddenly occurs. Within the collapsed building, they struggle to survive.

2024 A Bloody Lucky Day | AKA A Very Lucky Day or Unlucky Day |  운수 오진 날
Synopsis from AsianWiki:

O Taek works as a taxi driver. One day, he had a dream where a lot of pigs appeared. This type of dream is thought to bring about good luck. On that same day, he earns his usual amount of money. When he thinks about calling it a day, a man named Geum Hyeok Su asks O Taek to drive him to the port city of Mokpo. He offers a million won (~$1,000) to drive him. O Taek accepts the drive, but O Taek is not aware that Hyeok Su murdered a man, and he is planning to stow away on a boat. Meanwhile, Hwang Sun Gyu is the mother of the man who was murdered by Hyeok Su. She chases after her son's killer.

2022 Yonder | 욘더
Synopsis from Allkpop:

Set in the 2030s in the large city area of South Korea. It depicts the story of a man who lives in agony, unable to forget his wife who died of cancer. Then one day, he receives an unknown email and chooses to abandon his body to go live with his wife. It will portray a world where one can live forever without death, and will question the meaning of eternal life, death, memory and oblivion, and happiness and misery.

2024 Dreaming of a Freaking Fairy Tale | 나는 대놓고 신데렐라를 꿈꾼다
Synopsis from Mydramalist.com:

Moon Cha Min, a wealthy and arrogant CEO, has no interest in fairy tale romances. Sin Jae Rim, hoping to escape poverty and find her Prince Charming, becomes manager at his social club. As she grows more independent, their clashing worlds lead to an unexpected romance.

2024 Queen Woo | 우씨왕후
Synopsis from AsianWiki:

Woo Hui is the queen of Goguryeo. A crisis ensues when her husband, the king of Goguryeo, dies suddenly. Woo Hui becomes the target of princes and the 5 tribes who all want to gain more power. To protect her family and her tribe, she uses marriage as leverage. She struggles to marry one of her late husband's younger brothers and set them upon the throne. Woo Hui has to accomplish everything within 24 hours.

 I'd love to list my watchlists from all the other streaming sites but that's just way too many and I don't have time right now to do it.   Maybe if I take some vacation time...

[2026] Human Vapor | ガス人間 | Gas Ningen

I hadn't planned on watching this one today.  I was actually going to keep on watching Pursuit of Jade (Netflix) but I saw something about this on Facebook earlier and it sounded interesting.  I was going to add it to my watchlist and then I saw Shun Oguri is in it so I had to abandon my plans and watch at least 1 episode so it would stay on my "Continue Watching" list.

I didn't post that I was starting Pursuit of Jade because I had not intended to start that one yet.  I was again, going to watch only 1 episode so I could go back after I was done with whatever I was watching.  But I got hooked and I forgot to come and post.  I will have to go back to do that later.

When I saw the post on Facebook about Human Vapor, I had not heard anything about it.  It was purely the small summary that sounded good.  I'm not really a huge fan of Sci-Fi shows but I'm always willing to try to watch one if it sounds interesting.  The only reason for this is because I was even less of a fan of Sci-Fi shows when I stumbled upon Bloody Monday many years ago.  I think it was a year after it had already aired.  The only reason I had even bothered to read the synopsis on THAT show was because I had fallen in love with Miura Haruma when I saw him in Crows Zero 2. I ended up loving Bloody Monday and decided I'd have to start giving those kinds of dramas at least a quick look before rejecting them!  

So, once I saw Shun Oguri was in Human Vapor, I moved it to the top of my list.  Synopsis from Wiki below.  Let's go...

"A mysterious man who can turn into a gaseous form appears and calls himself "the Human Vapor". The Human Vapor kills a professor on live television and announces that he intends to kill everyone involved with an organization called "the White Center". Detective Kenji Okamoto is tasked with investigating the murders. Meanwhile, Kenji's ex-girlfriend Kyoko Kono runs her own investigation into the White Room's connection with a meteorite crash 27 years in the past and the cleanup of the contaminated crash site. Kyoko and Kenji find themselves crossing paths during their investigations as they unravel the conspiracy."