---> MY SUNSHINE (Silent Separation)

Broadcast date:   January 10, 2015

 

Short Synopsis:  While studying at university, Zhao Mosheng fell in love at first sight with law student He Yichen. Through various incidents where Mosheng "stalked" Yichen on campus, Mosheng's cheerful personality charmed Yichen, and they slowly became college sweethearts. When Yichen's foster sister Yimei challenged Mosheng for Yichen's attention, Mosheng turned directly to Yichen for clarification, but did not expect to receive a cold response from him. Mistaking that Yichen and Yimei are a couple, Mosheng followed her father's arrangements and moved to the United States to continue her studies. Seven years later, Mosheng - who is now a professional photographer - returns to China, and coincidentally bumps into the unforgettable Yichen. Since the seven years they broke up, many people stand in the way of these star-crossed lovers: Foster-sister Yimei; Mosheng's marriage in United States; the unrelentingly infatuated ex-husband Ying Hui; as well as the financial grudges between the couple's fathers. All these situations continue to affect the two former lovers, but instead, these misunderstandings and challenges give them a better comprehension of the love they have missed over the past seven years. *taken from wiki*

young Yichen and Mosheng

SO... i feel that this Chinese drama deserves a place in this blog.  in the hopes that whoever may stumble upon my drama reviews, they will be encouraged to watch chinese dramas for a change.  i have to admit that liking dramas from mainland china is slowly creeping up on me.  there is something about their productions that are distinct and different from other asian dramas... which is a good thing. they may speak the same language, but it is different from Taiwanese dramas in style and approach even if their artists oftentimes collaborate with each other.

Yichen is hands down my fave character.  Wallace Chung*photo above*earned my respect after seeing him in this role*i'm now scouring the web for his other dramas*  he is the classic "one-woman-man".   and this is even when he believed loving Mosheng is against his better judgement.  he so loves her and he cant' do anything about it... but give in to that love.  aaahhh,  episode 20 is just... just... just... looove.   it was when he gave up all pretension of being indifferent and mean towards her.  basically, it was an admission of how weak he was and still is to the love he felt for her in the past and at the present.  and when he apologized and clung to her*photo below* that's a picture of a vulnerable man totally devoid of his pride. 

the adult Mosheng on the other hand seems pretty dull and ordinary, in sharp contrast to the bright like a burst of sunshine*hence, the title* young version of the female lead.  you really wouldn't understand Yichen's devotion to her if you don't know the young Mosheng and her relentless pursuit of him.

 

if i have one complaint against this drama, it's the repeated flashback scenes. i just don't understand why they have to repeat the same flashback over and over again!  oh, and Mosheng's hideous wig is an eyesore... i feel you Yichen :)  but other than those petty complaints and a few others,  everything else is perfect.  it was beautifully written *this is based on a chinese novel* and directed,  you would sympathize  and become attached to the characters and the story.
this is a 32 episode drama but what i have downloaded was 36, only to find out that the last 4 were actually a summary of the entire series *Orz* so don't be fooled. here's a 15 minute trailer of My Sunshine *cto of vid*

---> KINKYORI RENAI (A Close Range Love)

so basically the plot of this movie is a student who fell in love with her teacher and the teacher loving her back.  eeewww right?  i am not being prudish people... in fact i take pride in having liberal views most of the time.  but still, a high school teacher and his student,  im a little bit skittish and uneasy about that particular scenario if only because he is in a position of authority and she is an impressionable teenager.  no matter how i think about it, it is a totally inappropriate relationship. but then again, give her a couple more years to experience the reality of life and i may be ok with two of them being together. "may" being the operative word.

BUT of course you may ask,  for lil 'ole me who always drags her feet when writing,  some extraordinary inspiration may be present... there must be a pretty good reason why im investing my time writing about this.  that reason is because, this movie(based on a manga) is so well made and handled,  soon enough, it totally won me over. 
i knew i was safely and securely on board when i found myself wanting to stop that first kiss... aaahhh,  i wanted to stop him and scream... "don't even go there, a-ah. otherwise, there's no going back!" and i was right.  he really shouldn't have done that, of the two of them, HE was the adult.  but then again,  we are talking about L O V E people, so, nuff said!

his rationale why he did not avoid and lie about his feelings for her maybe because of what happened to his father, you see, he hates lying.  haaay Yamapi,  whatever your reasoning is, it doesn't alter the fact that she is your teenage student.  i'm just gratified that you know what you're getting into...that there is a very high possibility and probability that the kind of love a young teen may have is only temporary.  at the very least, let her date some handsome bloke for a while and see how that goes. but then again, you might say,  that's only delaying the inevitable.

he was sooo smitten with her that at some point he was becoming impulsive and his thinking is waaay far ahead... she was like... hold your horses teacher!  aaahhh love, the more you try and find a reason,  the more you'll find there is none!  that date on the beach... omygattt... one minute he was impetous, another minute he was profound but always so sweet... i was grinning from ear to ear. 

aaahhh, i'm just ever sooo grateful that this is a movie therefore the struggles are short and not dragging.  there is a drama production for this manga but i have yet to see it.  i will update this particular post if and when i decide to watch that.

as you can see and read, there's way too many "aaahhh and haaay and but" in this review.  it's a testament on how torn i was between disapproval and approval of the whole situation.  while im still at loggerheads with myself about this issue, in the meantime, please take the time to see this film. its is certainly worth the watch.

---> OUROBOROS

Toma Ikuta, Oguri Shun and Ueno Juri are the main leads of this drama... so is it any wonder why i am watching this even if it does not exactly have the happiest of endings? *sorry for the very early spoilers... "forewarned is forearmed" peeps :p*
i saw the posters and i was like... wait a minute... is that who i think it is?... no way... they are not together in a project... but all thanks to the drama gods, they are indeed together in a dorama *fireworks and confetti everywhere*

*cto of pic

short synopsis:  Ikuo and Tatsuya grew up like brothers in an orphanage where they found love and care from their teacher Yuiko.  one day, Yuiko was killed and there was a conspiracy to cover-up what really happened. from then on, Ikuo and Tatsuya became the dragon brothers *ouroboros is a snake or dragon biting it's tail, it is the design of their teacher's pendant*  who vowed to avenge the murder of their beloved teacher and unravel the mystery surrounding her death. fast forward... Ikuo is now a police investigator and Tatsuya is a yakuza boss,  both are still committed to the childhood vow to make the killers of their teacher pay for their crime. and then there's Mizuki, a police investigator and Ikuo's partner and her influential father... *that's all i'm gonna say, no more spoilers*

Yuiko and her Ouroboros pendant... *cto of pic

Ikuo and Tatsuya as children in the orphanage... *cto of pic

Oguri Shun as Tatsuya and Toma Ikuta as Ikuo... *cto of pic

Ueno Juri as Mizuki... *cto of pic

judging by the dramas that i have reviewed so far,  you can tell that i generally favor love stories, romantic comedies in particular.  in this case, i'm making an exception of Ouroboros because it is an action packed suspense, mystery drama... a far cry from the drama genre i always favor. why? because i almost always watch the dramas the 3 main cast are in, no questions asked!

Oguri Shun~~~Toma Ikuta~~~Ueno Juri    *cto of pic

Since this drama is more of a suspense/mystery, it would be totally unfair of me to cite particular scenes that would only lead to unwanted spoilers for those who are yet to see it.  So i'm gonna stop myself right here, right now from writing... well, maybe my one and single complaint... For somebody with a gunshot wound, this somebody certainly is one hell of a tough person to be able to go through sooo much, and i mean soooooo much!  Ok, imma zip it now *Orz*  suffice it to say, for me it was a case of ~ Just when i thought i had everything figured out by episode 4, turns out that i was so wrong ~ it's a beautiful drama with an equally beautiful cast.  Ouroboros everybody...  *cto of vid

---> SECOND LOVE

Broadcast period: 2015-Feb-06 to 2015-Mar-20

aaahhh... just realized i haven't written anything in a while here.  i assure you that its not because i have not watched any asian dramas lately, it's just that nothing i have seen so far has inspired me to write... anything! Actually, i have seen all sorts of dramas and tv series these past few months, from british to american to chinese dramas and that's apart from my usual korean, japanese and taiwanese drama productions and yet nada... not a single word to write about... until... this came into my drama radar...

Kamenashi "KAME" Kazuya as Kei

German trained contemporary dancer Kei certainly drew my attention 'coz Kame is definitely sporting the "sexy vibe" in this character.  There's something about Kame and the way he carries himself, like there's an inner "coolness" in the guy *spazzzzzz*  you have to see the look he gave the lead girl Yui when he slipped a piece of paper in her hands... now THAT was pretty intense, totally capable of making you melt from where you're standing... yes indeed!

his attraction to the lead girl can only be classified as a classic "love at first sight" , while to her and the rest of the school where she works as a teacher, he was mistaken for a dangerous stalker...

the impromptu dance he performed for her, i guess in an effort to convince her that he is indeed the famous dancer he claims to be both mesmerized and scared her. she thought it was all a scam... pretty amusing :)))

They had the right love at the right time.  They found each other... wait... the more apt word is SAVED each other at a time when their personal lives are slowly spiralling downwards.  HE,  the reality of a disappointing career that he so loves marred by a rejection he cannot bounce back from.  HER,  an illicit love affair that she has gotten herself into against her better judgement and despite what happened to her parents.   I just love their kind of loving... rash, impetous, illogical yet emotional and  passionate.

'id like to write about a whole lot of things about this drama but i'm afraid it'll give too much away and part of it's charm is it's not predictable.  let me just say that sometimes 'id like to slap some sense into Kei's head, sometimes at Yui's head.  there are times when i want to cheer them on and yet there are times when i want to tell one or the two them, good riddance!  this drama is realistic in a good way and not just for the sake of it!  it is safe to say that Second Love has become one of my fave drama for 2015... or maybe even of all time. 
ladies and gents... Kei and Yui..

---> the 1st shop of COFFEE PRINCE

aaahhh... COFFEE PRINCE,  revisiting you has once again reminded me why i love and adore thee...

and because i just saw the blog stats and surprisingly, there are still people reading my random thoughts... no matter how belated this one is written...as some sorta tribute to the two lead actors that did an exceptionally awesome job here ...this drama needs at the very least, a few choice words from me to encourage viewers to check it out and spread the the word about how awfully nice this drama is. 

Short Synopsis: The life of Go Eun Chan (Yoon Eun Hye or YEH) is not easy; she works many jobs to pay off debts and even gave up her feminine image. Choi Han Kyul (Gong Yoo or GY) is the heir of a big food company, but his grandmother wants him to settle down, so she arranged many dates for him. After Eun Chan bumped into Han Kyul and was mistaken for a boy, Han Kyul decided to hire Eun Chan to be his gay lover in order to avoid the arranged dates. Desperately in need of money, Eun Chan had no choice but to accept. Han Kyul's grandmother also made Han Kyul in charge of a filthy coffee shop in danger of being bankrupt. Eun Chan begged to work at the coffee shop, and not long after, feelings start to spark, except, how would Han Kyul accept his "homosexuality"? *credit to DramaWiki

YEH, why oh why are you sooo good in this drama?  you have set the bar so high as far as portraying a gender-bender character is concerned. all the other actresses that i've seen in similar roles have become a BIG letdown in my eyes *cough... Park Shin Hye in You're Beautiful and... *cough... Park Min Young in Sungkyungkwan Scandal...
GY oppa,  i felt your inner and emotional struggles in this drama.  He was exceptionally good in that confrontation scene after he found out the truth... his tears,  his indignation, his frustration,  he was so angry and bitter and felt so betrayed... all those feelings was well conveyed to the audience you can't help but commiserate with the guy.  a romantic love that goes beyond gender is sooo touching to see... i feel you oppa... and i don't blame you, YEH is an adorable "boy".

ok, so i'm debating/arguing with myself right now on how to better write this.  since there are so many wonderful scenes, i was initially inclined to write a per episode review, but then again that would be way too long and would be a major disaster for your average reader. a general overview without the details on the other hand would deprive you of the chance to decide for yourself if it is indeed as good as i say it is.  for now, the plan is to just write about the really good scenes and turning points in the drama.  but then again, i'm not fully decided yet and i sometimes have the tendency to write about the most trivial of things so, i'll just write as i watch and see how it goes... hopefully this will not turn out to be another novel :p

Lemme get the ball rolling with one of my fave episodes,  ep2... when she rode on his car on the way to the train station, you could tell, a certain fondness was growing between the leads... at that time he only sees her as his male dongsaeng.  but if you look at his smile... from then on, he wouldn't know what hit him... HE WAS DOOMED... waaahahaha...
 ...in the same episode, when YEH first played the part of GY's young male lover to scare away GY's blind dates... wow... she's a total guy...  the walk, the talk, the bearing... YEH, i'm sooo impressed.

...again in ep2, when they were in a chinese resto,  the way YEH was stuffing her mouth with food and booze and using her "dog nose", she's all sorts of adorbs.

 Now, ep6 is when all the swoon-worthy scenes abound.  Here, you can see the1st time he looked at her differently... when she blew air to lift the fringe off her forehead and the way he stopped himself when he was about to touch her face while she's asleep,  that was an "aaawww" moment:)))

it's ALWAYS in TheSmile when he makes fun of her that tells the story of how it all began from fondness to affection and then from attraction to sexual tension, and eventually love. before the episode ended he was seriously questioning his sexual orientation.  of course you have to see TheHug people... it's a must! you cannot miss how he requested, okay, practically begged her for that hug and their reaction and facial expressions specially his*it sez, "wtf, i'm screwed! *.... when she closed her eyes and gave in to the moment, add to that the background music... omaigggaaaddd... hands down,  one of the best love scenes from a kdrama, ever!  great episode, great scene that continued until ep7.  they were both struck by Cupid's arrow straight to the heart!  weeeeeeeeee :)))

credit should also be given to the ensemble cast.  most notable the 2nd male and female lead.  how the relationship of these 4 developed and evolved was so well crafted, i was totally sold to the idea that it could really happen in real life.

at this point i realize i shouldn't enumerate all my favorite scenes here 'coz that would be too much of a spoiler for you guys.  judging from what i wrote above, my pattern of writing excessively long drama review when a particular drama is really good is rearing it's ugly head, so, i have to stop myself now and just let you discover for yourselves all those wonderful awkward skinship, flirtations, jealousy, all the uncomfortable/tricky situations our leads get themselves in at the time when he still thought of her as a he because those were SOOO fun to watch when you least expect it. what made those scenes so effective and special was the fact the i could feel they were both always "in character"... YEH is Eun Chan and GY is  Han Kyul and their story was unfolding right before my eyes.

is there anything more that i should say without giving out spoilers?  ...nothing except for you to start watching so we can all spazzz together!
*spazzing to no end, after all these years is AWESOME!

---> REPLY 1997

so i'm watching this drama just because of Seo In Guk.  i thought he did extremely well in King of High School and checked out his other works.  true enough, the guy is a naturally gifted actor even if he is originally a singer*he won in a singing contest*. as far as his acting career is concerned,  i learned from the net that he gained prominence in this particular drama and boy, now that i have seen it, i can understand why...

there's really something about this guy that draws me to HIM*lead guy*.  is it those tiny swollen-looking slits oriental eyes and the full lips that looks like it is forever pouting... i'm not gonna lie and say that good looks doesn't help but honestly,  it's the depth of his acting... You have to understand, this is his 1st starring role, the guy has onscreen "presence" in abundance ... that is the main attraction!  it is something that i rarely see, but i know a real gem when i see one^^ someday i hope to see him in a heavy drama, i feel like he's a guy that can hack those kind of roles and pass any acting test with flying colors^^
SHE*lead girl* did really well in this drama too.  for an idol,  she is a natural and i did not see any awkwardness in how she portrayed her role. impulsive, blunt that borders on violent, straightforward, brutally honest.  

the 1st thing i like about this drama is the story.
Short Synopsis:  the story of 6 former high school friends from Busan who met again in 2012 and brings back memories of the 1990's... a time when extreme fan culture emerged and Kpop was blossoming and idol groups take center stage.

the 2nd thing i like about this drama are the relationships... the high school friends,  the lead girl and her parents,  the lead guy and his brother, the brothers and the lead girl's parents, the lead guy and his gay friend, and even how the lead girl's parents relationship is sometimes odd and loud and loving...  all these are not always harmonious, oftentimes dysfunctional but definitely loving^^ 

what i love the most about this drama is the love triangle... sooo sweet, and yet there's also a tinge of tragedy >.<   usually,  i want to beat the crap out of those characters that are written to be oblivious to their feelings for each other.  you want to smack some sense  into them and say "she likes you, you like him... so get on with it!".  but here i love how they went about the struggles and  the sacrifices,  until the 2 finally got together. the 3 of them,  it was not an easy path but it helped a great deal that they have the elusive CHEMISTRY^^

everything else considered... i think this is the best TVN production that i have seen so far.  although i'm sometimes confused what year a particular scene is*it's sometimes 1997, 1998, 1988 even 1968*,  i wasn't lost for long.  the relationship between characters are beautifully written and executed,  it's like were happily reminiscing about things that really happened in the past... heartwarming ^^ 

Let me leave you with this one picture below, it took awhile to get here but it got there alright ...

---> CUNNING SINGLE LADY

Short Synopsis: Ae-ra is a local beauty that took her mom's advise about the kind of man to marry seriously by falling in love and marrying Jung-woo, a geeky computer engineer studying to enter civil service. She happily kept home for her husband but at their 100th day wedding anniversary, Jung-woo resigned from his job and set up his own business. with Jung-woo's business struggling,  Ae-ra made ends meet by working multiple jobs. After suffering a tragic event from the stress of being the sole breadwinner and living in poverty, Ae-ra divorces Jung-woo after four years of marriage. Three years after the divorce, Ae-ra finds out that Jung-woo became successful and wealthy, while she is still paying debts. The fun begins when Ae-ra schemes for revenge, while Jung-woo believes that Ae-ra wants him back because he has become wealthy.

given the storyline that you read above, we all know that even if they are already divorced in the story, they would eventually get back together and live happily ever after.  and that's the reason why i'm in this, any romantic comedy that has something to do with marriage then i'm in!  i'm already looking forward to seeing jealousy,  rekindling of attraction and desires, being drawn to each other against their better judgement... aaahhh*spazzing*... love always finds a way... i'm too cheesy it's giving me goosebumps*toinks!*

this drama could do without some of the characters*a tad too many if you ask me*, they seem unnecessary in the story but the second lead guy and girl are a very welcome addition. Their own issues added more drama, fun and excitement in the lives of our ex-lovers*as if dont have more than enough of that as it is*.

And what about Ae-ra's family, now they're an interesting bunch ^^ her mom... so capable and wise and yet so putty in the hands of her aging lothario of a husband*we all have an Achilles heel*.  Back to mom... one of my fave scenes was when she lashed out at Jung-woo for the way he treated her daughter... so fierce, like a lioness protecting her cub!

i love Jung-woo and Ae-ra and the actors that portrayed them.  HE is so dashing as a CEO and so funny and dorky when he is with Ae-ra and lets his guard down. Behind his cool, polished and sophisticated exterior is still the same awkward geek.   The storyline and these two leads are the reason why i have a very strong feeling that this is one of those very few dramas that i will watch over and over and over again! In fact, i have already revisited it twice!

im happy that issues did not drag for too long to affect the flow of the story and they were able to wrap-up all the loose-ends nicely... well, except for one... Ae-ra's in-laws and their opinion of her.  where's the justice in that? Apart from that, i give this drama a two thumbs up 👍👍