FIRST, it was a japanese manga that was produced into an anime ...ITAZURA NA KISS(japan1991)
from there, it was adapted into several tvdramas......the 1st TVdrama franchise ...ITAZURA NA KISS(japan1996)
...the 2nd TVdrama franchise ...IT STARTED WITH A KISS a.k.a ISWAK(taiwan2005)
...and then the sequel to ISWAK ...THEY KISS AGAIN(taiwan2007)
...and now the latest franchise ...PLAYFUL KISS(korea2010)
Did you think I wasn’t going to finish this drama? I only do that if a drama is sooo bad there’s a very real chance that I may loose my sanity and/or commit murder because of frustration and/or its like a freaking tranquilizer that it immediately puts me to sleep when I attempt to watch it :D. When I resumed watching this drama after a pretty long while and after writing that not-too-rosy Episode 1 review ages ago, I was praying to high heavens that it will redeem itself and make me fall in love with it. Really, I don’t mind eating my own words. Although, it doesn’t help when someone tells me the leads have zero chemistry and another one described ep1 to me as an epic failure. BUT, id like to think that im not that shallow as to just go with the flow and join the bandwagon. You will be pleased to know that I HAVE A MIND OF MY OWN and what I write is based ON MY OWN OPINION ALONE.
For the record, there was a marked and significant improvement from ep2 onwards, AND, i did finish this 16 episode drama including the YouTube episodes :)
Lets get to know our drama love team first:
Oh Ha Ni …Hmmm, her character is what one may describe as a warm person and one who’s not afraid to show and acknowledge her own feelings. Normally, you’d really feel sorry and/or want to beat the crap out of a character like Oh Ha Ni because she has practically no pride where Sueng Jo is concerned and she’s also not-so-bright in school, ok, she’s dumb, but the writers of this manga are so brilliant that they gave her character a saving grace in the person of Joon Gu who absolutely adores her, who always comes to her rescue and defence and lifts her spirits when it takes a beating from Seung Jo. Actually, this korean version of this character has been given a little more “pride” than its taiwanese counterpart(who acts and looks even more stupid but way more funny), doesn’t Ha Ni always “try” to stand-up to Seung Jo when he was being mean, which I don’t mind really its just that it took some of the desperation and intensity of her admiration for Seung Jo therefore it also lessened or took something from the prize of her truimph in the end. You know how it is when you work so hard to achieve or obtain something, so each step that leads you to the direction of finally achieving or getting it, makes it all the more sweeter when you do finally get it, that’s what I mean :)
Baek Seung Jo …Hmmm, his character is what one may describe as “cold”, hard to figure out because he hides his true feelings behind the cold exterior. A pure genius academically, not too shabby to look at(ok, he’s a cutee), oh, should I add quite good in sports and knows how to cook too. is there anything that our male lead cannot do? If the character of the female lead in the korean version was given a little more “pride”, the male lead was made to be a little “friendlier” and “warmer” than its taiwanese counterpart. Joe Cheng a.k.a. ZhiShu, the taiwanese Seung Jo hardly ever smile and was a man of few words and I mean very few words and hardly ever made any small talk with practically everybody including his own family much less with Oh Ha Ni’s counterpart Ariel Lin a.k.a. Xiang Qin , nor played around with her like this one did on the beach, unless, he absolutely has to. of course, in They Kiss Again the sequel to ISWAK, its a different story as far as skinship is concerned. That’s why when he lets his guard down and forgets to be his aloof snobbish self, its even more sweet and funny. Again, because this version of the character is “nicer”, it takes away something from the eventual getting together of the two.
Ok, here’s what I like in this version:
^.^ the attempts to give a different take on some of the key scenes that I kinda approve of, ‘coz, it would have been a major disaster if they were to copy everything from a very successful franchise like the taiwan production. So for attempting to be different, 2 thumbs up :)
^.^ Seung Jo’s brother is so adorably cute, good choice:)
^.^ that twist in the story when Ha Ni invited Seung Jo to go to Parang University where she is going, if he wants to make his life more interesting. As early as the first few episodes its clear that he is beginning to notice and like her, don’t they say opposites attract?
^.^ if there was one character that I think was better casted than his taiwanese counterpart, it’s the actor that portrayed Gi Tae, Ha Ni’s 2nd admirer. With his looks and bearing, he is quite believable as a challenge to Seung Jo’s hold on Ha Ni’s affection.
^.^ the small talk about “dreams” between Ha Ni and Seung Jo in ep12. it was an entirely different approach from the same scene on the taiwan version which is 100% hilarious and crazy, this one is serious and more “matter-of-fact”. Nicely done :)
^.^ I like how Joon Gu proposed to HaNi, for once he forgot the exaggerated intonation and delivered some pretty good lines.
^.^ the YT specials are better than the 16eps drama. The episodes are short and sweet, the acting seems more relaxed, the storytelling is more fluid and the storylines are funnier and more exciting.
Now here’s what I don’t like(please indulge me, some are pretty shallow):
:-( I was disappointed at Seung Jo’s reaction to their first kiss. That is one thing they did differently that I didn’t like. ‘coz the realization of who she is to him was suppose to start in that first kiss. I just wished there was a tinie winnie bit of surprise at his own actions in his expression after the deed was done.
:-( What’s up with the naked guy? He was grabbing the headlines in the first few eps then he suddenly just disappears from the story. So what’s the point in putting an annoying character like him in the first place? To simply annoy us? well, you certainly succeeded in doing just that as far as im concerned ;(
:-( Seung Jo’s mom looks way too young when she has her hair down. What kind of casting is that???
:-( how in the world can a mere university student who works as a part time waiter afford a nicely furnished apartment like the one SJ was staying in when he moved out of the house??? Was there a mention of his parents subsidizing his expenses? NO. they don’t even know the location of his apartment.
:-( I was right, Joon Gu did eventually get into my nerves with his over-the-top impersonation of Jiro Wang’s portrayal of the same role, aaaaaaaaahhhhhhh, stop it already. His style, from the hair to the clothes is …ugh… And did you have to throw in a bit of The Fonz in that character too, ugh, annoying. Im not even gonna go in that gas/bike explosion scene, I will let that one slide and pretend that it’s a scene from a typical manga live action comedy. Although, he kinda redeemed himself during the wedding, I thought he looks cool and sleek there, the man sure knows how to work ‘em in that suit.
:-( Seung Jo’s hideous hair transformation. Ahhh, the first hairstyle was already fine, what’s up with the stupid curls. I have not seen the anime nor read the manga, so to make me feel better, I will assume that its written in the story ‘coz there was also a change in the hairdo in the taiwan version. He did loose the horrendous hair in the latter part but why oh why did they have to torture us with a couple of episodes of that???
:-( KHJ really needs some acting workshop. there are some scenes when his facial expressions are flat and or blank , for example, his yawn in the “yawning method” is sooo fake, its honestly painful to watch. Fangirls …and boys, calm down, let us not be blinded by our attraction to the guy. You saw the yawn, did that look anything close to a real yawning to you? KHJ of all people should learn to accept every constructive criticism of his work, otherwise, how can he improve in his craft when he is always told(mostly by us fangirls) what a fine job he’s doing even when it’s a mess, just because we are blinded by his looks.
:-( is Ha Ni really that stupid and or super tired(didn’t she just woke up in that scene) that she wouldn’t even know if she was being kissed specially in that awkward sitting position? Totally unbelievable ! Why didn’t the director just made her lie down on that bench for chrissakes or at least made her lean on the backrest, it would have been more feasible to mistake the kiss as a mere dream if she was deep in sleep in a more relaxed position. That whole twist on the all-important 2nd kiss would have been a complete success if only the director didn’t mess up in that minor detail that could have been solved by a very minor change in Ha Ni’s sleeping/napping position.
:-( when they did finally get together in the middle of that heavy downpour, it was disappointing that the lines and the acting was a bit flat. Her acting was enough BUT I was expecting at least a minor violent reaction from Him and not just that ever sooo slight raising of His voice and some very subtle glaring of his eyes. The way he delivered those all important lines was like soo detached from any kind of strong feelings that made me ask, with that reaction was he really that affected by the whole Joon Gu proposal thing? Man, at least grab her by the shoulders and show some passion for a change. it wouldn’t hurt if he shook her a bit to emphasize what he is saying. Oh and the kiss that followed was like *yawn, ooaahh* and not at all what the whole situation and circumstance called for. Some may argue that it is out-of-character for Him to react in anything but a cold manner but, hello, He is in a desperate situation that calls for drastic measures, so yeah act out-of-character pleeease. A pretty tight hug would have worked wonders for that scene, to capture the intensity of the moment but, what we got instead was a regular friendly hug. I never felt the love between the leads in any of their “hug” scenes. Haaay, who directed this drama again? Isnt it the same director from Princess Hours ? So, what happened here Mr. Director???
The acting award for this drama goes to Oh Ha Ni. Her portrayal of this character sometimes kinda reminds me of the lead girl from Princess Hours, minus the heavy dramatic scenes of course. Im not giving this to her because of her excellent acting prowess, rather, considering the limitations of the role she had to play and the performances of the other leads here, her acting I would say is the best.
And because I just cant escape mentioning bad cosmetic surgery among korean celebs in my every drama review and for my own peace of mind …well, what can I do when they disrupt my viewing pleasure each time they appear onscreen? So please, just let me get it out of my chest :) let me introduce another FIRST in this review. I think from now on, I would call it the, “PLASTIC ALERT”. Celebs that drove me crazy with their glaring(100% sure) and badly done plastic surgery AND those whom I suspect had “something” done along those same lines. Let me limit the scope to only those who are playing important roles in the drama ‘coz there was one there who I couldn’t stop staring at because of the botched nosejob, thank god he’s only on a few times …if you must know, its one of the boys from the tennis club! Well, im quite relieved to report that aside from that one guy, no other member of the cast gave me any major distructions from watching this drama. BUT, I would like to say though that I very much SUSPECT that 1 of the main cast had at the very least, a nosejob. I will let you take a guess who im referring to…haha… AND I will tell you if your guess is as good as mine :) …haha…
And now the question of whether it is worth the watch. Considering that this is from a very popular manga/anime and an even more popular live action production from taiwan, how a viewer may appreciate it may also differ from those who have seen the earlier productions to those who have not. BUT since this is MY review, i’ll tell you what I think. I would recommend it specially to those who have not seen the first 2 versions. WHY? It is entertaining enough specially if you have nothing to compare it with and all that eye-candy is not bad to see at all(love those mini cooper). To those who have seen the taiwan production and loved it, I would caution you NOT to expect to see another ARJOE, the leads here are poles apart from that love team! Ok … hmmm… im not stalling …im going to say it …if you have become a big fan of Baek Seung Jo and Oh Ha Ni the love team, I beg you, please DO NOT proceed with reading this, I don’t want to hurt your feelings. Stop here please.
Here goes …I always judge a romantic comedy on how hard I laughed and how hard ive fallen in love with the love team. With PK, It did manage to make me laugh BUT it made me scowl quite a number of times too. With those very cute and adorable faces of the leads, its also good to see them together here in some of their scenes BUT im afraid, I did not fall in love with them as I should. I just cannot feel their love for each other, the kind of love that would make me forget that it was just a drama I was watching. Its just not quite there. I appreciate the entire production as entertaining enough except for ONE VERY IMPORTANT INGREDIENT, its what you may call "chemistry" …A good heartfelt hug, a loving stare, a slight caress would have made all the difference in this drama and it just never happened. most of time it just felt that they were just going through the motions, way too cold. where' s the passion???
here's hoping that i have not made a lot of enemies with this review. like always, i just call it as it is.
PEACE people <3
*fyi, in case you're wondering because i dont know if ive ever mentioned this in my previous posts but i have seen ALL the tvdrama adaptation of this manga.
