Un-reviewable Dramas 5: Heirs and Two Weeks

One I live-watched, the other I pseudo-marathoned. The first 5 episodes at least, and then I got overwhelmed and simultaneously bored. Is that even possible? Turns out it is. I watched Heirs and Two Weeks purely because I knew everybody else was. Oh, and maybe for their casts. All of Heirs was going to be a golden mixture, even if the drama turned out ill, and Two Weeks - well, as an occasional Lee Jun Ki fangirl, I try to at least sample every project he's done, even if I never finish *coughs*Arang*coughs*.

Moah? It's the second drama of mine Rosie hasn't liked..
I'll have to try harder next time.

Sadly, neither grabbed my attention so much- and now that they're over and done with, it's kind of annoying me that they're sitting in my 'Recently Watched' box all happy and content, surrounded by other more well-deserving dramas. Stricly my opinion of course. And since I haven't been in a frame of mind to write up brilliant and stunning reviews for Flames of Desire and Que Sera Sera, I'm going to start by knocking a few little things off my tally of things-to-discuss. This is what I call productivity. Oh yes, Rosie's being so productive right now. 

Read on for the lamest reviews ever of Heirs (2013) and Two Weeks (2013).

Year In Review: What I Missed 2013

Rosie hasn't watched WHAT yet?!?

Another year nearly gone, and you know what? I feel I've watched less airing dramas than I did last year! I blame this partly on the overall lack of interesting dramas. But the truth is I think I've become a tiny bit more jaded, and therefore way pickier when choosing what to watch next. Also, mid-year I tackled about 5 airing dramas at a time and that burned me out. More often now I will wait until a series has aired and then marathon it (or drop it..) Maybe it loses some of the excitement that way? Oh well- I like a duller lifestyle. :P

Comparing my stats from 2012's Year In Review, let's line up my progress this year.

Approx Total Dramas Watched (or sampled): 55   (65 last year)

Dramas Watched (or sampled) from 2013: 20   (12 last year)

Verdict so far? I have watched LESS dramas, but attempted more from this year... How did I fair keeping them up though?

Dramas Watched AS THEY AIRED that Weren't Dropped: 9   (6 last year)

Marginally better. However if I could generate a stat for the number of hours spent watching shows, all these numbers would be significantly lower; my trend for 2013 was to actually watch less Kdramas and more of the offerings from Japan and Taiwan. Jdramas = shorter and easier to watch. Kdramas = more time/dedication necessary to complete. Cheating much? Maybe so. 

I'm no longer hiding out in a little drama bubble - having reached out to more people in the community, and made more drama friends. (Hooray for drama buddies!) Also- my mom and sister are now dedicated drama addicts (Hooray for my conversion rate!) and my husband is always watching at least one drama with me (I made him watch Nine about 1 week after I marathoned it by myself, and we completed the rewatch in 3 days flat. My eyes were burnt red and watery for a week after). 

But being more aware of the blogger community, and general drama world means I have followed the progress of more dramas than I've cared to watch.  And the list* includes a shocking amount of crowd favorites that for whatever reason, I refuse to try at this time, or this year. Some are already on my Plan To Watch list; others may need a little persuasion... 

*Kdramas only. I'm not qualified to even note how many grand and/or atrocious Jdramas or Twdramas I may have missed this year. 

Halfway Report: The Pursuit of Happiness (2013)

The Pursuit of Happiness
愛的生存之道

Episodes Seen: 7/16 ♥♥

I’ve been on a small Taiwanese drama binge of late – part of my broader plan of self-education. And what I’ve discovered is that when it comes to the Twdrama, I usually love it, or hate it. And when I find one I love, I think ‘That’s it. There’ll never be another one just as good!’ - Says me upon finishing In Time With You. So wait, the currently airing Pursuit of Happiness is produced by the same team?!? I’m in!

Read the rest of my halfway impressions on Mydramalist.com

"Currently Watching: The Pursuit of Happiness"

Kdrama Review: Nine: Nine Times Time Travel (2013)

Nine: Nine Times Time Travel
나인: 아홉 번의 시간여행
10/10 ♥♥♥♥

Poor Nine. Poor me. When I heard months ago there’d be yet another time travel drama (with such an obnoxiously long title), I wrote it off instantly. As a favor to a fellow editor, I then found myself proofing a single mid-drama episode recap, and while reading it on a grammar/spelling only basis, I couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on and it sounded utterly ridiculous. I fully planned on it being included on this year’s upcoming “Dramas I Skipped” post.

Then it ended, and the blogosphere exploded.

And I suddenly thought, “Did I just miss out on something spectacular??”

You really had to ask yourself that question??

For those of you who’ve seen it, you’ll probably scream out YES. And now, so will I.

What’s the Story?

Lee Jin Wook (I Need Romance 2012) plays Park Sun Woo, a super sexy news anchorman with a super cute, though not sexy almost girlfriend Joo Min Young (Jo Yoon Hee). When his older brother is found dead in the Himalayas, Sun Woo go to retrieve his belongings. Amongst the items is an incense stick and his brother’s diary, claiming the stick can send you back in time. And if such a thing is possible, maybe Sun Woo could finish his brother’s dream and change a few things… like their father’s suspected murder 20 years ago.

And, I seriously can’t say anything else about the plot unless you want to be ridiculously spoiled.

Just know that this time travel story is one of the most tightly-woven stories I’ve ever seen, full of mind-blowing plot twists that no one, and I mean no one could’ve seen coming. I wouldn’t even call it a Kdrama except that it’s, you know, Korean. And the cast is perfect. My favorite character might actually be Dr. Han (Lee Seung Jun) as Sun Woo’s best friend and well meaning mischief maker/mischief fixer. And the find of the year has to go to ZE:A’s Park Hyung Sik who plays the younger Sun Woo. Who knew an idol (other than TOP) could act?!? 

Who is this guy (he says) and wow - I'm gonna look hot in 20 years.

Since I finished the drama, I can’t let it go. Hence I’m going to go ahead and keep analyzing it just to keep things straight in my head. Or my brain might just explode.

More Up on my thoughts of time travel, parallel dimensions, a timeline of events and how they are altered, and other wibbly wobbly stuff like that. Also, if you want my general thoughts on it, skip down to the end. I seriously wrote a ton!

Super Major Ridiculous Giant Spoilers Beyond! 

DRAMA CLUB: The Master's Sun, Episodes 9-17

The Master's Sun
주군의 태양
7/10 ♥

Well, well, well - so the Master's Sun is over, and you know what? The Hong Sisters didn't make me hate them this time around *coughsbigcoughs* So I give them a splendid round of applause.

I won't try to write a full review anytime, because looking at it on an episode per episode basis was already stretching the amount of analysis I wanted to put into it. Could a person find more detail in the drama to disect? Sure. And therefore it'll probably be done by many others around the blogosophere. Me, I enjoyed watching each week on a fluff-level basis, and between moving to a new home, being internet-less for over a week, and then having surgery and a slow-as-hell recovery, I'm still glad that I found the time fangirl a little with my two other Drama Club members Drama Debussie and Vivi and write a few episode reviews for DramaFever. 

• Episodes 9-10
• Episodes 11-12 Discussion Post (I was conscious that week just long enough to write a short paragraph)
• Episodes 13-15 and Discussion Post
• Episodes 16-17 and Discussion Post

Kdrama Review: Jang Ok Jung: Live in Love (2013)

Jang Ok Jang, Live in Love
장옥정, 사랑에 살다
7/10 ♥

I’m not a huge sageuk fan, nor have I been entranced by or enticed to watch too many fusion sageuks of late, which is a tiny bit surprising considering I was a history major and 70% of the books on my shelf are historical non-fiction. It’s not that I don’t like watching history unfold on the small screen, but in my youth I spent a great amount of time reading historical fiction. Unfortunately, I was a huge fan of medieval European history at the time, and the majority of fiction about that era is written by women for women, which means that your heroines were almost always the same. 

You can get:

1. Royal women who are badgered and pestered by men whether or not they make good marriages, 
2. Minor noblewomen who by chance get to interact with (male) greatness, or
3. Mistresses, the latter of which is usually the most depressing and utterly exhaustive subject of storytelling. 

I got so burned out by the genre that I haven’t touched historical fiction in nearly a decade.

Bring it on Jang Ok Jung, concubine of an age! I wasn’t going to watch this one, I swear. But something about its pitch got a hold of me. I love a good ‘what if?’ historical retelling. What if, Jang Ok Jung (posthumously known as Jang Hui-bin) wasn’t the evil, conniving woman that history paints her as? What if she wasn’t totally about greed and power. What if it really was all about love between Lee Soon and herself, to hell with all else…?

Pshh.. This is well documented Korean history.

But that doesn’t mean there couldn’t be more to the story than history has to say. Or that the inner motivations of these highly visible personages were ever truly known by more than themselves or a few other people.

In other words, history always gives us this much leeway to make a romance out of nothing. If you want to approach Jang Ok Jung, Live in Love as infallible history, don’t. But if you’re in the mood for a sweeping epic love story set in historical period based more or less on real people– this might be a good drama for you.

We’re certainly not working with highbrow historical revisionism here, so I’m going to just go ahead and review it as historical fiction. The 2013 drama Jang Ok Jung, Live in Love is based off a 2008 novel of the same name by Choi Jung Mi. It’s basically chick lit, so don’t say you weren’t warned. In our drama version, Kim Tae Hee plays the titular role, and her lover is none other than Yoo Ah In who is finally back in hanbok (Thank you Drama Overlords! Thank you!) as the Crown Prince Lee Soon and later King Sukjong.

More mostly-non-Spoilery thoughts on Joseon History, the fictional world of Jang Ok Jung, and why it almost works.

Jdrama Review: Kazoku Game (2013)

Kazoku Game
家族ゲーム
9/10 ♥♥♥

As usual, I make sure I receive good recommendations on Jdramas before I watch them – and supposedly Kazoku Game, or The Family Game, is one of the year’s best? I think can understand why now this drama was winning awards left and right, particularly with respect to its casting and the myriad of complex characters.

I looked into the plot as little as I could before diving straight into this, but it might be worth knowing that Kazoku Game is no easy breezy drama. At its heart is the character building, or un-building, of those who would be bullied, and those who would be bullies. Granted, the theme of school bullying is hardly unheard of in Asian drama (it’s basically got its own genre), but what sets this apart is in the unique perspective of family life and how it effects not only the children but the parents themselves.

Meet the ‘home tutor’ of a lifetime, Yoshimoto Koya (Arashi’s Sakurai Sho) and his charges. 

He’s going to help the Numata boys Shigeyuki (Uragami Seichu) and Shinichi (Kamiki Ryunosuke) do better in school, and train their parents to help them become a more loving and caring family. 

Or is he?

Welcome to the mystery, and the ride – whatever it is.

What’s crazy about Kazoku Game is that we really have no idea what’s going on, or what’s going to happen from minute 1:00 to the ending scene. What’s real, who’s genuine? Starting with Yoshimoto, the biggest creeper of the entire drama – I should admit that he scared the shit out of me. What’s his story and what’s his game? No one knows, and no manner of digging ever seems to unearth the real personality underneath. It’s a great thriller. Is he a psycho teacher/tutor or just a really unconventional do-gooder? And just how much will he push his charges until they become just as psycho as he is (if they weren’t already before?)

Spoilers Beyond + Thoughts on Character Relationships 

Un-reviewable Dramas 4: I Hear Your Voice and Monstar

Today's dramas aren't un-reviewable because I didn't like them.  On the contrary, I enjoyed I Hear Your Voice and Monstar immensely, probably because I live-watched both and they fit my weekly heart-racing quota of intoxicating thiller romance and homey school-age romance respectively.

Truth is though, without the romance and the eye candy, these dramas would've been nothing to me. I found that out when I tried to write a full review of I Hear Your Voice and realized I had nothing to say. "Cute characters, great romance, lagging plot devices, melo and comical all rolled into one."  There's only so many times I can repeat the same cliche phrases before I get annoyed at my own prose.

Don't give me that look, Jong Suk - you know I still love you for your acting skills!

I also dislike reviewing dramas right after air because A- Everyone's talking about them and I'm usually ready to put a drama to rest after so much time, or B- Sometimes dramas hit me differently after I've let them sit for a while. Either I'll change a rating or general opinion, for better or worse. Because sometimes it's posterity that determines which dramas we remember, which we love, and which we never want to see or hear of again. I suspect that in time one of these dramas will drop a point in my ranking factor, and the other will rise when I start to get nostalgic, but for now I'll stick with my 8s and move on to the 'review'.

Not to be forgotten, I bring you: I Hear Your Voice (2013) and Monstar (2013). 

Un-reviewable Dramas 3: Last Cinderella and Otomen

Oh please save me from these boring dramas... 

Just so I can say I’m done with these, I bring you two more “un-reviewable” dramas. Translation #1 – I didn’t like them, and I briefly want you to know why. Translation #2 – I need a soap box for a moment, and an audience to rant to. Translation #3 – I don’t actually need to rant, because neither of the dramas really got to me emotionally, but still, here I am. 

On the chopping block this week: Last Cinderella (2013) and Otomen (2009)

DRAMA CLUB: Mischievous Kiss, Episode 7

So, who's excited about tomorrow's episode? 

 Kotoko must be excited! That's practically a date! Woot! 

But first, check out my episode 7 reviews here and here on DramaFever

Other members of the Drama Club (Jdrama Reviews and MyDramaTea)

DRAMA CLUB: Mischievous Kiss, Episodes 5-6

Walking... stalking... Score! 

Annyeong! Yes, I've been a little quiet of late. Busy life, being sick, having company, and most of my writing time devoted to what is gearing up to becoming [hopefully] one of my favorite dramas this year! Itazura na Kiss: Love in Tokyo, or Mischievous Kiss as DramaFever is calling it. 

Here are a couple of my latest posts from the last few weeks. Btw, can I just say: Thank you, Japan for seriously testing my patience by making me wait TWO whole weeks between eps 5 and 6? If you wanted to kill me, it nearly worked. Yours Truly, Rosie. 

• Episode 6 Review

• Playful Kiss vs. Mischievous Kiss (Only a slight comparison through ep 5) 

• Episode 5 Review

So who's watching this [totally awesome!] drama?

Kdrama Review: That Winter, the Wind Blows (2013)

That Winter, the Wind Blows
그 겨울, 바람이 분다
6/10

I suppose I should address it, because after all this drama did capture the attention of most drama watchers I know – for better or for worse. In my case, it’s definitely the latter scenario. Perhaps I’m just not feeling the melo these days. Innocent Man captured my heart, and then I was done. By the time I Miss You came around, it was an automatic skip. I actually thought skipping one Kdrama ‘season’ would be enough, and was ready for a new dramatic show – ready to be swept away by the atmospheric wintery landscape and stunningly gorgeous leads. Jo In Sung wasn’t someone I’d seen before, but Song Hye Kyo still gives me fond memories from her performance in the tragic makjang of 2000 Autumn in My Heart. On top of that, she’s so beautiful it almost makes my eyes hurt. (He is too, for that matter.) What’s not to love?

The Plot, oh – Lord the plot. In a reverse rich girl poor man situation, add a blind girl, and… not much else. And what do you get? Loan sharks and mobsters more dangerous than most, mistaken identity and enough fauxcest to get your feels all in a tangle (until you start feeling the ick factor). Jo In Sung as Oh Soo wheedles his way into tricking Song Hye Kyo’s Oh Young that he is actually her long lost brother. His aim? To cheat her out of money, of course. In a nicely done drama set-up though, Oh Soo isn’t just a bad guy with aims of making it rich. He’s desperate and his life is literally on the line if he doesn’t pay back a serious debt that an ex-girlfriend (that b****) managed to invent. 

Heads up - I'm going to make some weird decisions in the drama.
그래요? I'll count myself as warned. 

Seems legit, right? It’s actually a plotline that I bought for a while. However I think I was just mistaken by the beauty of the scenery and leads into thinking the writing would hold up to the end. What started out as a nice, romantic melodrama ended up annoying me to no end. I guess it’s just a case of the drama wanting to take itself so seriously, for too long. 16 episodes of does-she-know/doesn’t-she-know and I just want everything to be revealed and have them kiss for real! Get on with it already! – says me with a not so enthusiastic tone. 

Spoilers Ahead! 

Note: This isn’t really a great review. It’s just me showing some appreciation for the good stuff, and ranting about the rest. /End Note

DRAMA CLUB: Mischievous Kiss, Episodes 1-4

Hello everyone!

Just a heads up - starting today I am participating in a new 'round table' discussion with two other bloggers, to be published over on the DramaFever Blog. If you are watching the new Jdrama Mischievous Kiss, or Itazura na Kiss, keep an eye out for us weekly!

Read my First Response: 

Mischievous Kiss Episode 4 - Part One - Part Two

**My fellow writers will be Heisui from MyDramaTea and Cherry from J Drama Reviews, both of whom are really fun to work with and have great blogs, so go and check them out too!**

Un-reviewable Dramas 1: Joseon X Files and Flower Boy Next Door

"What do you mean, I'm un-reviewable? Eh??"

I find myself in a bit of a personal dilemma. I started this blog to occasionally take part in discussing my views of the K-Entertainment community, but mostly to keep a chronicle of all the dramas I watch (mainly for myself and just in case anybody wants to tag along). Usually this means I write a review of everything I’ve recently watched or re-watched, and in the meantime I update the sidebar accordingly. Currently watching, recently finished, and the unfortunate list of recently dropped dramas. 

It makes me angsty when I think I’m watching too many dramas. Any more than 5 at a time, and I almost feel like I’m stretching myself too thin. It also makes me angsty that I finish dramas more frequently than I review them. And then, I almost refuse to review something I’ve just finished – because of course I should deal with the pile that’s already sitting there… just waiting to be pulled apart in great (or not so great) analytic detail. 

What to do… when the list of completed dramas grows? And I don’t even want to bother. A great show, needs a great review. A horrible show needs an appropriately snarky review. But for those dramas that aren’t either or? Bleggh. Welcome, to the first of what’ll probably be many: this is my throw-up review list. Just to get them out of the way, because they’re just not worth giving a whole post in dedication of such mediocrity (in my humble opinion of course). 

This week is a Kim Ji Hoon edition, as I look at K-Dramas Joseon X-Files (2010) and Flower Boy Next Door (2013)