---> IN TIME WITH YOU

SO... i'm writing this review just about the same time i'm watching it*eps2 to be exact!*, which is so not me, can you guess why? ........ohmygattttttttt......... i'm sooooo into the lead guy, big time!  i i i i i... sometimes, i just dont get me at all, i usually prefer the bad boys in dramas and this one is like, the boy next door and he's not "always" particularly handsome*by conventional standards*,  well, on second thought,  his smile and dimples, they're the killers*kill me now please*^^ and guess what else... i dont even know his freaking name!  anyway*breathe in, breathe out*... i just had to let this intro out... let's see if this excitement will hold. in the meantime, imma check Li Da Ren's real name first....tada...

ladies and gentlemen,  his name is CHEN BO LIN and oh... he just happen to snag a best actor award for this role in the Taiwan version of the Emmys.  watch out for the scene at the farewell party given by his colleagues... that tormented look...wooooo.... he was so sad at the thought of leaving her *well done, clap, clap*  Did i live in a cave that i don't even know the existence of this outstanding actor and have never heard of this awesome drama that has been aired like centuries ago?*please excuse the slight exaggeration^^*  that's what i get from being out of the drama loop for extended periods of time :(

is it the actors?  their roles? their chemistry? WHAT?  what is making me fall in love with this drama with every episode that i see?   for me, its Chen Bo Lin and Ariel Lin! SHE is always a delight to watch and particularly good in this one.  even if sometimes i want to seriously hurt the both of them for being sooo oblivious to how the other one feels, i still want to watch them make a fool of themselves ...yeah, frustration and sweet torture is still sweeet. just look at the gif below... gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa....

here's our lead's dilemma ...he is so and i mean SOOOOO in love with his best friend BUT he is afraid and i mean SOOOOO afraid that he might lose even her friendship in case he tells her how he feels and she doesn't return his feelings. for short,  to him any relationship with her is better than having no relationship with her at all.  Her feelings for him on the other hand is more vague.  aside from her family, HE was the one constant person in her life. boyfriends come and go but her bestfriend Li Da Ren remains.  always at her beck and call, ready to listen, ready to help, always available for her. I read some peeps describe Li Da Ren as a doormat... aaahhh, i'd say, close to being a doormat but not exactly a doormat ^^ 

When and how the two of them finally get together is a joy to watch.  nothing hurried, realistic and again, sweeet^^  what a lovely onscreen pair. 

lemme end this by leaving you a screencap of Chen Bo Lin as Li Da Ren in episode 2 AND his heartbreaking song for Ariel Lin as You Qing*the beautiful lyrics below* ...let us all collectively spazzz... waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...

🎶 i think i should not, should not fall in love with you  🎶 because i'm trying hard, trying hard not to love you  🎶 that's why i told myself to just like you, so this way, you wont have the heart to part with me  🎶 i think i hate, i hate the arrogant you 🎶 i also hate the beautiful, wonderful you  🎶 that is why i let myself pretend to hate you. So you won't have the heart to part withme  🎶 i needed to say that... I really, really won't love you  🎶 i don't like you occupying all my waking thoughts 🎶 even your mocking smile seems like encouragement  🎶 from breakfast in the morning to saying goodnight after dinner  🎶 stop laughing, stop laughing... I will never love you 🎶 i tried to let go, to set myself free  🎶 you are still in my eyes  🎶 i've loved and i've hated ...but i can't change the way i breathe  🎶 as it is, i can no longer free myself  🎶 i've secretly fallen in love with you  🎶 ...from the sun until daybreak, to the moon in the deep of the night  🎶 don't think about it, don't think about it anymore... i will not love you. 🎶

---> 1% of ANYTHING

Broadcast period: 2003-Jul-06 to 2003-Dec-28

This is one of the few Korean dramas that i often re-visit.  For a drama to warrant a second look... a third look or even more than that from me is quite simple...i have to love the leads and the storyline.  'Coz i'm a self-confessed shallow fangirl,  it really doesn't matter if the overall production and script is mediocre or even bordering on being bad.  i can even forgive that stupid turn of events when someone was kidnapped and letting the person go scot free that easily *Orz*  i'm only looking to be entertained and have zero illusions that watching asian dramas will benefit my intelligence quotient! ^^

The bad-tempered CEO,  the simple but sassy grade school teacher and the manipulative but very wise grandfather that played as their matchmaker.  I've been a fan of Kang Don Won since i've seen him in the movie Temptation of Wolves and since he rarely accepts acting jobs these days, i'm ever so grateful there is at least, 1% of Anything. I would have to agree with grandpa, Da-hyung*dont know the actress' real name Orz* is so adorbs, a perfect match for ill-mannered, posessive and the always jealous-stricken Jae-In*KDW*.  Their constant bantering... i mean their verbal clashes are like what i look forward to at every episode.

there are 2 other love story in this drama, Jae In's younger sister and his lawyer bestfriend, and Da-Hyung's bestfriend and Jae-in's cousin*i would have preferred Da-hyung's elder brother for her tbh*.  while their own stories and situations are noteworthy for some if not for most viewers, im afraid for me, im only ever interested in our main leads and their journey towards the altar^^ i think i also need to mention her family, the parents in particular, such principled lot, them all.  i love the scene when our cunning old grandpa manipulated all of them into agreeing to let our leads marry... the hurried engagement and wedding... aaahhh... harabeoji*grandfather in korean*, you're the man!

good script,  good acting and  awesome ensemble cast... funny, witty and a lovely chemistry from the main leads... and more importantly,  there's the 2003 version of Kang Dong Won... so what are you waiting for? watch, watch, watch ^^

---> RICH MAN POOR WOMAN

finally got to watch this popular dorama 2 yrs since it was first broadcasted.  watching online and/or downloading with a super slow internet connection prevented me from seeing this much earlier than i wanted but with patience and more patience and oh, did i forget to add, more patience... the deed is now done ^^

can i get this irritant out of the way first... why the h*ll is this dorama titled "Rich Man Poor Woman"???  wae?  granted, there is a rich man AND a poor woman in the story BUT, their being rich and poor is NOT the focus of the story!  i wont even go as far as try and read the mind of the person responsible for this, coz' that would only result in my mood turning sour but,  I JUST HAVE TO ASK! movin' on...

in a nutshell, i believe the story is based slightly? largely? but definitely not wholly, after the story of Steve Jobs and Apple Computer.  Hyuga is Jobs... the eccentric visionary computer geek masquerading as a mean but very casual CEO of Next Innovation. Even the companies, Next Innovation and Wonder Wall could be based on Apple and Mac!  of course, Asahina is not Wozniak but the fact they were the guys behind the larger-than-life frontmen in the company adds to the accidental?... incidental?... or is it, intentional comparisons. i just have a slight problem with one part of the story of Hyuga and Asahina... how could a supposedly mean guy in the person of Hyuga just let Asahina's betrayal pass?  it was a treachery of the worst kind by a best buddy... i mean... all is forgiven, come back home? wae???

as i mentioned earlier, the "rich and poor" title comes from the love angle of the story.  in fact,  Hyuga may be rich, but he was not born rich and Natsui is definitely not dirt poor!  movin' on...but yeah,  i was sold to the idea that their characters did fall for each other, specially him*'coz she was sold to the idea from the get go*  aahhh, what is it about Oguri Shun... the guy really carries himself well. Here he's such a bad boy and i love it. he was sooo cute when he excitedly waited for Natsui at the train station to tell her a good news and yet when he saw her he turned into a shy boy hiding behind a wall... cuteee^^  there maybe people who doesn't like Natsui because half the time she's a hysterical dork who talks too much but hey, i think it's intentional to try eccentric Hyuga's patience...well, she succeeded on a number of occasions... and i dont blame him^^ How they resolve their issues is well written, believable, well acted and wonderful to watch, specially in the SP*special episode* aaahhh...  love^^

on a last note before i end this...  while the story of Next Innovation and the journey of Hyuga and Asahina are ok to watch too,  im afraid for me the attraction is Oguri Shun the actor and... Hyuga and Natsui the characters.  what can i say, for me it's always been about... love love love^^