I started labelling the posts to make them easier to find and it is pretty amusing to link the dramas to tropes.
I label tropes, actors/actresses and the nationality (Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese)
About actors/actresses labels:
I only label when the actor plays one of the main characters, usually the most important. I also include them when their character is less important if I believe them to be famous or if they appear in several dramas I've watched. Similarly, not all actors/actresses labels appear on the cloud on the left of the page: only the ones I decide are important based on how many reviewed dramas they appear in and how popular they are.
About tropes:
The copyright belongs to foreveryoungadult.com for "Mysterious loner dude". I hope I'm not misusing it!
"Mother-knows-best" was inspired by Tangled.
"Nice guy TM" has acquired a specific meaning, for guys who feel entitled to sleeping with you because they have been nice to you. They are usually the ones who laments being "friendzoned". This not my "Nice guy" label which is in opposition to the "arrogant jerk" trope.
Tuesday 11 March 2014
Monday 10 March 2014
Oh! my girl!!
Japanese title: オー！マイ・ガール！！
9 episodes
Aired on NTV
From 2008 October to December
Main cast:
Notes:
- Hello Little Hotaru! And you, co-worker from Star no Koi! Oh! And from Star no Koi there is also in one episode the manager!
- Rewatching
Review: +
Title : That’s the kind I remember: generic and nonsensical.
Besides, the exclamation marks are ridiculous.
Boy : He works for a magazine writing article but his
dream is to publish a novel. Meanwhile he writes cheesy « cellphone
novels » which is something you write with your phone on an online
platform. He’s an idealist (cynics would say « loser »).
Girl : She’s his 6-years-old niece and before you
think "What’s this drama? That'’s illegal and creepy." this drama is
not romance. I don’t know what this genre is called but it is the one in which
a grumpy old man begrudgingly befriends a neglected cute kid. Except, here,
the man is young and handsome.
Back to girl, she’s a child actress, she’s
spoiled, she’s very poised with people, unfazed by her fame and a true professional. But she’s still very much a kid : she throws tantrums,
sulks and needs to be taken care of.
Girl : She’s Girl’s manager/assistant. Mmm, now that I
think about it, she doesn’t have much of a personnality besides doing her best
at her job. But it wasn’t distracting while watching and she’s a likable
character who felt real. (+)
Plot : Each episode is self-contained while building
the overall story. People grow, learn things, there are real emotional stakes, it doesn't strain plausibility too much. (+)
Other characters: There is a single mother who's a co-worker of Boy and his confident. His boss who's too lenient with Boy considering that he skips work a lot. The enemy, a fellow journalist who takes his job seriously so though his personality is quite bad, you understand his frustration with Boy. Finally, there are Girl's mother who is really selfish and the President of their agency. Oh, I almost forgot the neighbours - I think they're supposed to be funny but they were more annoying to me.
Funny Factor? A little.
Music: Good.
What the...?: Girl and her mother live together and no one has figured out that they are related?
Bottom line: Though I was totally shipping some characters, it's more a family show than a romance. It's an enjoyable drama that delivers emotional moments and did not make me cringe. (+)
Sunday 9 March 2014
Paradise Kiss (film)
Japanese title: パラダイス・キス 116 minutes
June 4, 2011
Directed by Shinjo Takehiko
Main cast:
- Kitagawa Keiko: Hayasaka Yukari
- Mukai Osamu: Koizumi Jouji "George"
- Yamamoto Yusuke: Tokumori Hiroyuki
- Igara Shunji: Isabella
- Omasa Aya: Sakurada Miwako
- Kaku Kento: Nagase Arashi
- Kato Natsuki: Asou Kaori
- Hada Michiko: Hayasaka Yasuko
- Takahashi Hitomi: Koizumi Yukino
- Ogi Shigemitsu: Nikaido Joichi
Notes:
- So many familiar faces!
- I haven't read the manga by Yazawa Ai it is based on nor watched the anime adapted from the manga. However, there is an AMV I've liked that uses the Paradise Kiss anime and I was wondering how the movie would handle some of the contents...
Review: +/-
Title: Paradise Kiss is the name of the fashion brand that Boy's created with his friends. They want Girl to wear their dress at their runway competition organised by their fashion school.
Girl: She's been studying since she was little to get into the best schools. She's actually not very good at it and she doesn't like it but her mother has been pressuring her. She has her own mind but she just doesn't know what she wants to be. (+)
Boy: Of course he's a Genius at fashion design (me? not convinced). He also has a dark magnetism at the beginning of the movie. (+ at the beginning, - at the end).
Other boy: Smart, good-looking, kind... perfect but bland. Girl's had a crush on him for years but he's never loved her back for reasons we learn in the movie even though I didn't care.
Plot/Relationship: The positive first: Girl and Boy have good chemistry.
However, the story really deserved to be told in a drama. Or more storylines/characters should have been cut. As it is, decisions happen too fast, things happen that should lead to developments but don't, characterisations suffer.
Moreover, Boy's character gets diluted so much that he becomes a cliché.
And, technically, it's a SPOILER, but I think it's more of a warning to those who know the manga or the anime: the ending has been changed. Be prepared. (-)
Other characters: They were more background than fully developed characters.
Funny factor? Not really.
Music: I only remember "Everthing gonna be alright" because that scene was memorable.
WTH: I don't know if it's as important in Japan to be tall, but it was hard to believe that Girl could have a career in modelling when she's always the smallest person in the room. + Some designs were quite ugly (my opinion for what it's worth) + you know I'm not really into a movie when I wondered where Girl left her suitcase.
Bottom line: I spend a nice moment watching this movie, Kitagawa and Mukai were good but the story deserved better than whatever the Japanese version of being hollywoodified is. (+/-)
After the jump, I will complain about what happens (or does not happen) in the movie so... spoilers!
Thursday 6 March 2014
The Accidental couple
Korean title: 그저 바라보다가
Other title: That Fool16 episodes
Aired on KBS2
From 2009 April to June
Main cast:
Note:
- There are more important characters, I guess, but I only made it to the 2nd or 3rd episode, some time ago.
- Kim Ah Joong was the lead actress in the 2006 movie 200 Pounds Beauty.
Review: DNF
Title: Appropriate. That Fool is even more appropriate
Girl: She is a famous actress.
Boy: He's... I have no words to describe it. I labelled the review "Nice guy" because I don't want a "Stupid guy" label.
Other guy: He's a rich heir type.
Plot/relationship: I stopped so early that I have no idea what is supposed to happen, except obviously something between Boy and Girl. I remember some politician stuff going on with Other guy.
Other characters: his co-workers
Funny factor and music: not good enough to keep me watching.
Bottom line: I think it is interesting to have a drama that switched roles and features a clumsy and naïve Boy. Unfortunately, he was too much like a puppy or a child and his flaws were more annoying than cute. I have no idea if he turns into a viable love interest at some point in the drama but I know I don't need to stay for the ride.
Autumn's Concerto
Taiwanese title: 下一站，幸福
Other title: Next Stop, Happiness21 episodes
Aired on TTV/SETTV
From 2009 October to 2010 February
Main cast:
Note: I want to issue a trigger warning: sexual harassment and violence on woman. My memories of this drama were so grim that it's only my second viewing though I was remembering quite liking it.
Review: +
Title: That's what I'm talking about! This title sounds good but makes no sense. I have no idea if this drama takes place in autumn and yes, a piece of music plays a role but I don't think it's a concerto (Wiki tells me it's the second movement in an orchestral suite).
Boy: See the label "Arrogant jerk". However, Girl comes to love his sense of right and his passion. He's straightforward, brave and smart (though it's more tell than show, at least we see him at work). (+)
Girl: At first, she's kind of perfect and you understand why guys like her. She's kind-hearted, smart hardworking and she never complains. She goes through so much that you just admire her. Moreover, she's not naïve nor dripping with optimism. She is a caring person who has a sense of self. (+)
Other boy: Typical I-pine-for-years-for-my-girl-friend-even-though-she's-clearly-shown-me-that-she's-not-interested guy. I didn't like this character because he's too good to have been "friend-zoned" so early, he feels a bit too much like a plot device and that much devotion makes me uncomfortable.
Other girl: Her love is not as built as Girl's love but she's so nice and her feelings are so sincere that you feel for her.
Plot/Relationship: The plot consists in obstacles thrown the way of the main characters. But it's okay since their relationship is believable and compelling. Unfortunately, there is a mob subplot which is intertwined with the main story but which is too violent for my taste. Also, the ending was totally rushed for no apparent reason. It seemed like they realised at the last minute that they only had one episode left. But good chemistry and building so (+).
Other characters: Terrible mother and stepmother, wise aviser, over-the-top villagers, over-ambitious rival...
Funny factor? Not really (except Boy's assistant, I <3 you), the Melo factor is high.
Music: Yes!
Bottom line: This is a very good drama with a convincing couple, generally successful characterisations. The pace is excellent (except towards the end and the mob stuff). (+)
P.S.: I advise you not to give up if you're annoyed by the flashbacks in the first episodes. It stops later. But seriously, note to whoever is responsible: flashbacks to an entire scene that happened in the same episode IS NOT necessary (and is not a good way to pad an episode if that was the intent).
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