DramaFever Launch Imminent: Your Free Time In Jeopardy

Do you get hot when you think of Asian dramas? Or maybe you’re bored at home with a fever and have already watched all of Magibon’s videos? Whatever your major malfunction, new site DramaFever has your back with their legal lineup of English-subtitled dramas from Asia.

For those not yet addicted to the emotional flurry that is Asian drama, let me start from the top: perhaps the most crucial difference between an Asian and American drama is the number of episodes. As cash-cow shows like Lost or Heroes may get additional “make it up as we go along” amendments in storyline, Asian dramas are typically written with a start and a finish, and stick to it. Most shows are slated for 26 or less episodes (two seasons), many of them in the neighborhood of 13. By keeping it closed-ended, viewers are treated to a well-written story that minimizes filler and prioritizes character development. And because each show actually has an ending, there’s more variety of shows to be had, rather than a season 5 of Lost, season 3 of Heroes, season 58 of Desperate Housewives…

So now that we’ve established the superiority of Asian dramas, how do we go about viewing them? For those who don’t get satellite TV, choices were typically limited to pirated online content with shoddy quality or for those patient few who know how to navigate the labyrinth that is d-addicts.

Enter DramaFever, a sort of Asian drama Hulu, with all legal and licensed content, high quality videos and subtitles. Their current selection encompasses several popular Korean dramas, with the promise of later offering more Korean, Japanese and Chinese dramas, as well as those from other countries in Asia.

But I already get my Asian drama fill from YouTube! What advantage does DramaFever give me?
Well, I’m glad you asked. Ever get to one of those crucial moments in an episode and it cuts off due to the 10 minute video limit? Gotta look in the “related videos” box for the next part, and if it’s not there, gotta search for “xxxx drama part x” and comb the results… ah I already forgot what happened. Nothing worse than a case of dramaticus interruptus - DramaFever dramas are all in a single, high quality video.

More importantly, however, is the legality of the content on YouTube. Long story short, they’re illegal - many of them have been able to stay on YouTube just because the companies haven’t claimed copyright to them, but with recent moves by Japanese companies like Kadokawa to claim their YouTube content, the time for free Asia-licensed content may be coming to a close. Furthermore, YouTube videos with English subtitles are likely to be posted without credit or permission from the fansubber! Nobody wins with double piracy - DramaFever videos are all legal, all licensed and all subtitled, usually provided by the companies themselves.

But what’s this I hear about HD-quality video and subs from d-addicts?
Do you know what h264, MPC, srt, matroska are? Heck, even if you do, do you really have the patience to wait for a 700mb torrent download and have the free hard drive space to store it all? With increasing internet speeds, streaming is the way to go. DramaFever is easy to navigate, easy to use, and videos are all available at any time with fast buffering times.

Is it really a free lunch?
Not quite - at least not for those not in the United States. Videos will only play for those in the US - licensing rights for other countries may come later, but for now, sorry to all the drama fans around the world!

And while the site is completely free to use, the price of having legal content is having to watch advertisements. We’ll make do for the peace of mind~

DramaFever.com is currently taking registrations using the priority code “NINGIN”, so go sign up now!

DramaFever’s current lineup is as follows:

• Coffee Prince
• Couple or Trouble
• Dr. Kkang
• Goong
• Jumong
• La Dolce Vita
• Last Scandal
• My Lovely Sam Soon
• New Heart
• Que Sera, Sera
• Thank You
• White Tower

On a final note, the DramaFever staff is always looking for comments and suggestions for ways to improve their site, and they take requests for shows not yet offered. Get involved and help DramaFever become the Asian drama site you’ve always wanted!