---> 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^^

---> DEKICHATTA KEKKON (Shotgun Marriage)

When Chiyo met her sister’s friend Ryu for the first time, they had a one night stand and she ended up pregnant.  Immediately after learning of her condition, they decided to marry despite the objections of her father and both of them not really knowing each other very well.  Of course,  reality follows and problems arises between the two and to the colorful characters around them.  Welllllll, that’s basically the premise of the story ^^

Common sense dictates that we shouldn’t commit to spend the rest of our lives with someone we barely know.  SO,  do people really do that in real life? i would like to say OF COURSE NOT but, we all know not everybody in this planet is... sensible... let's leave it at that ^^ Anyway,  if you’ve read my reviews in the past, this review will not be a surprise for you.  For some reason, I’ve always been very forgiving of romantic comedies… specially Japanese romantic comedies.  To the average viewer who’s not familiar with them,  doramas are more often than not ridiculous and absurd and out-of-this world but what the heck,  to me they are anime/manga pretending to be a live action drama. 

As odd and weird some of the lines and it’s delivery may be,  the characters, the actors that portrayed them and the message of the story are good.  When Chiyo said that… to women marriage is their ultimate goal and happiness while men regard marriage as the end of their life…  what struck me was that… hey,  there is a huge amount of truth in that statement.   Ok, ok, before the other half of the population protests,  or, lest I be accused of being overly cynical,  im not saying all men and women think that way but, let’s face it,  most think that way right?

I dunno exactly what it is but individually,  im “in like” with the 2 main leads.  Is it their,  “no make up” look?  On him, more like scruffy/rugged looking, on her, it’s the fresh face appeal.  Is it the relaxed natural way they tackled and portrayed their roles?  Or, was it the characters Ryu and Chiyo itself that I liked?  Hmmm… I think, its all of the above ^^ you all know how I feel about those scruffy looking, casual and carefree bad boys that play lead roles in dramas… well… I equally like sleek, rich and snobbish bad boys too *bad boys being the common denominator^^* … anyway, I love ‘em, and when I saw how unconventionally cool Ryu gave that ring to Chiyo… i was more than “in like” with the actor and the character^^ I also like how 20 year old Chiyo is sooo adorably young and childish and cute sometimes and she has this elusive chemistry with her onscreen love interest, 30 year old Ryu that is delightful to watch.  I’ve always love this particular game that couples play,  you know when the girl in a fit of anger or tantrum decides to go home to the parents and all the while anxiously waiting if or when her boyfriend will fetch her.  Its silly and cute all at the same time ^^

yet another simple dorama for you to watch even if it was aired ages ago... almost 13 yrs ago... still relevant, well acted and entertaining enough.

---> the MAN from the STARS

yes peeps, i'm still watching asian dramas.  not as often nor as excited in doing the exercise, but STILL watching 'em.

i felt the need to write or at least update when i checked and found out that people are still visiting and  reading.  so, lemme gather my thoughts and write a few words *and i mean it this time* about what i remember watching these past few months. let's start with a mega blockbuster... The Man Who Came From The Stars.

i cant for the life of me remember korean names very well*except for a few* so please excuse my "her" and "him" and the "his" and "hers" and "he" and "she"...  anyway, we all know who im referring to, right?

love the leads stars, specially her but im sorry... although it seems like im the only one with a contrary opinion on this but i still want to say that there's something "off" about this onscreen pair for me. they just dont' do it for me*even if they recently just received an award in korea as best pair in a drama*.  she is just way too good at what she does and kept me entertained for the most parts that i didn't find myself eventually abandoning the drama.  but the idea of her and him... specially with him being an alien and all... aaahhh... why did i love My Girlfriend is a Gumiho and i cant get past this one when they are practically on the same league?

im a bit disappointed in him actually.  it was a lackluster performance.  his role was in all intents and purposes that of a superhero and yet i wasn't inspired, charmed nor impressed by him.  in fact, the male character that stood out to me is that of the main villain... maaannn,  that guy with just one look gives me the creeps... he spells pure evil!!!  sooo effective as an actor *clap, clap*

other than what i have written above what more can i say about this drama?  it did so well when it was aired so it goes without saying that it is still entertaining for your average kdrama fanatic but as for me... i'm moving on to write my next piece...

---> FYI - 2 <---

It’s been a looong time…

I think this is the longest that I’ve stayed away from watching asian dramas…

Lemme  just explain why…

Dramas has become sooo uninteresting to me lately…

There seems to be an over supply of Korean drama productions but most seems all gloss and no substance…

There’s not enough hardsubbed Japanese dramas out there,  at least not enough for me to judge if they are any good…

Mediocrity in scriptwriting is all over the place…

Plots have become sooo predictable and boring…

 I kept seeing the same cinematic shots over and over and over and over again… poor sakura/cherry blossom tree,  how many times have you been used as background when in bloom. I know its breathtakingly beautiful and a sight to behold but hey,  even beautiful become ordinary when you it is in your face all the time…

A dime-a-dozen girls acting cute and sweet and virginal and slutty at the same time while screaming “oppa!,oppa!, oppa!” every 5 minutes is not cute, sweet and virginal but definitely slutty to me…

Too many prime roles ending up in the hands of non-actors, more often than not sporting a “perfect” overhauled face that drive me to insanity  each time I see their perfectly uneven nostrils.  Ahjussis and old ahjummas that would you believe wears a fringe/bangs at their age,  or worse, permed bangs that doesn’t move.  Oh and I forgot to mention their botox and collagen infused faces and boobs loaded with silicon that looks totally out of place in those skinny bodies, looking as round as a ball.  Everything screams, fake, fake, fake!!!…

…ok imma stop the rant now,  or this entry may end up in my main blog ^^  but really,  am I the only one with such thoughts?  I’ve talked to someone a few months back and he told me he is taking a holiday from dramas ‘coz nothing seems good to him.  Halleluja, im not alone ^^

I took a breather so to speak… well… aside from personal  issues that kept me busy… what I wrote above is basically the explanation for my absence in Asiandramadom.   No worries though.  I’m currently writing the review for Shut Up Flower Boy Band and soon,  I’m planning to watch A Gentleman’s Dignity.   

Until then,  I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this two dramas will not disappoint,  otherwise, I may decide to go on hiatus again. 

---> FLOWER BOY RAMYUN SHOP

Broadcast period: 2011-Oct-31 to 2011-Dec-20

well, this sucks, just read the reviews for this drama and it is not too rosy. my own sister who's more of a kdrama expert than i am gave this a BIG thumbs down. some people from The Site *Yes, they are STILL alive^^* says the same thing... that the leads have no on-screen chemistry. how am i suppose to enjoy a romantic comedy when they say the leads dont look good together??? now i'm in a dilema, To Watch Or Not To Watch, That Is The Question ^^ hmmm, but then again, isnt that the best frame of mind to be in when youre about to start on a drama... when youre expecting the WORST... it has no way to go but up^^ to give it credit, this drama did very well in the ratings considering that it was aired on TVN, a cable channel. Korean entertainment media explained and speculated that it must be the “IL Woo Effect” *he’s really THAT popular there? ok, im not gonna say anything EXCEPT, please loose the Bieber hairstyle oppa, I seriously want to brush the uber long fringe/bangs off ur face ^^*
lately, its becoming increasingly difficult to write an extensive drama review. REASON: because good dramas are a rarity these days. I just find no inspiration to fuel my literary/creative juices into writing something worthy enough to be read by anyone. Nevertheless, im writing this to give you an idea what to expect from this drama.
the first few episodes are very much like the usual korean rom-coms but then it slowly defined itself and suddenly im seeing something new^^ i wonder if this was done by a new and young director? … Chi Soo and Eun Bi, the spoiled brat student and the intern/trainee teacher. expectedly, as the usual practise in TVdramas, the rich guy's family threatens to ruin the girl and her family... well, the same twist and turn in this kind of story applies here too, no surprise there but definitely its an entirely different approach. its a version where you will not hate anybody, where no blood was lost nor lives needed to be taken, where no buckets of tears needs to be shed, where no screaming and hysterical dialogues needs to be uttered^^

RANTS. Chi Soo’s highschool “girlfriend”… THAT GIRL!!! ughhh, each time she utters the korean word "oppa!", trying to be cute and “feeling” pretty, when as far as im concerned, CUTE and PRETTY are the last adjective i would use to describe her! she reeeally gets on my nerves. what i cant stand about the two-timing b*tch is i have this feeling that she actually believes that SHE IS PRETTY... hello, just have a close look at her freakin' nose_ _ _! nvm ^^dear lord I’m sorry for being mean *Orz* …
finally, i told myself i wouldnt rant about this but i cant help it, i have to... just a little... not the 6 year age gap of our leads but the fact that he's a high school kid!!! *ORZ...look, he's still in his high school uniform* hello, hello, hello, i dont care how in love you think you are but if youre a freaking HS student,anything can happen to that love you think youre feeling after a few years. Sure, in some cases it “may flourish” but of course more often than not, it actually “vanishes”!!! i'm not saying it never works, i'm only saying, let the statistics speak for itself! *haha, sorry for being a cynical b*tch ^^
RAVES. This is the first time I’ve seen him in a drama but… i think... im seriously becoming a Cha Chi Soo/IL Woo fangirl^^ why, because i find the absurdities of that character totally CUTE^^ the lovesick rich kid is totally in denial that he likes the "intern". he didnt know what hit him, when in fact its very simple... he cannot get the object of his affection out of his system... hmmm, this is like the high school version of hyun bin's character in secret garden^^ for HIM I guess the attraction stems from the fact that for somebody who get his own way at all times to be confronted by a some sorta dominatrix like HER, HIS world got a major shake-up! For HER, what could have been the attraction? The money perhaps… the flower boy looks and charm… or the fact the HE follows her around like some lovesick puppy… its prolly… all of the above ^^ im in total "like" with both characters^^
...and here's one of my fave scenes when he was sooo frustrated with his heart, literally and figuratively, because he thinks its sick and wont listen to him. ahhh, Cha Chi Sooo, youre just in love boy ^^
i really like chi soo's dad, i like the character and how it was portrayed. first time i've seen that kind of an appa/aboeji in kdramaland. there are a lot of notable scenes but one that stands out to me is when chi soo's dad had a talk with ramyunshop president and all of the boys came out including Eun Bi surprising both of them. in that scenario you'd think a big dramatic/action scene is about to unfold and yet that was the last thing that happened... nicely executed ^^ the cute lovestory of eun bi's bestfriend and the love confession of the coach on her wedding day...hmmm, kyopta^^

i have come to like the lead girl here from the 2 movies i've seen where she was the lead. I have to say though that from fan comments that I’ve read, she’s the reason why they don’t like this drama. they feel no chemistry from the main leads, hmmm… I may have to agree up to a certain degree. To me she did a pretty decent job portraying that role but then I also wonder… would another actress look better next to Jung IL Woo, I can only speculate. Its enough for me that I don’t hate this particular girl^^ the girl can be cute too, see...
To sum up what I think of this drama… its ridiculous and silly and yet highly entertaining, quite stupid and yet makes sense, its juvenile and yet mature, at times can be predictable and yet be unexpected, nothing extremely complicated just a plain and simple… romantic comedy for you with a stupid *ok, erase that word its too harsh* with a shallow title that has little to do with noodles/ramyun^^
Let me leave you with a pretty cool statement from the resident brat Cha Chi Soo… "LOVE CAN'T BECOME COOL" ^^ so I take that he meant…love has no pride. Don’t ask me if there’s truth in that *what do I know :p* BUT I have strong feeling that it is indeed true^^ *credit to the uploader: luchiaichigogirl *

now im off to download and watch the next drama of the “Flower Boy Series” of TVN… Shut UP, Flower Boy Band *looks very promising^^* which incidentally is STILL being hardsubbed by our friend Jlink from The Site, and that inspite the huge mess created by the whole Megaupload brouhaha… oh well I never for one moment doubted Jlink’s “never say die” attitude. I knew a “tiny” incident like the closing of the biggest file hosting site on the planet can get in the way of her love for Asian Dramas and sharing that love with us. ^^ Sending my virtual hugs to the awesome SD-AD peeps, TQ, CHARLDGREAT, JLINK, ARWA & DRAMACRAZES *hugs, hugs* fighting!