Gaksital

Other title: Bridal Mask
Korean title: 각시탈

Aired on KBS2
2012 May 30 to Sept 06
28 episodes

Main cast:

• Joo Won: Lee Kang To
• Jin Se Yun: Oh Mok Dan
• Park Ki Woong: Kimura Shunji
• Han Chae Ah: Ueno Rie
• Chun Ho Jin: Kimura Taro
• Kim Eung Soo: Konno Goji
• Jun Noh Min: Dam Sa Ri
• Ahn Hyung Joon: Jun Katsuyama
• Song Min Hyung: Governor Wada Ryo
• Son Byung Ho: Jo Dong Joo

Note: Apparently it's based on a famous manhwa.

Review: + (from memory)

Title: Appropriate since it's about a hero who fights injustice and protects the Korean people during the Japanese occupation, wearing a traditional mask representing the bride. I don't remember why he chose this mask.

Boy: Ha! You're handsome, smart and passionate. You also have lots of resentment in you and it makes you cruel on occasions. In real life, you would be way too intense but you are interesting. Unfortunately you become a little bland in scenes when you act sweet.

Other boy: I don't know how to treat him. The fact that it's really hard for me to describe his personality here is, I think, a problem. I can just say that he's loyal, obstinate and passionate too.

Girl: so. So. SO brave. And kind. If I were to be cynical, I would say that she is too perfect. Anyway, I just have to admire her.

Other girl: She acts like a psychopath. She disgusted me at some points. But other times, I felt for her because she sold her soul and she's paying the price for that.

Plot: It was good, the stakes were high and you didn't know what was going to happen. But maybe fewer episodes would have been better because it was dark and heavy and I need some "light" from times to times in my series. But the bigger problem was...

the Relationships. Fortunately, the plot didn't need the characters to be dumb but it sometimes relied on the relationships in a way that isn't very credible. My other issue is that most romantic relationships started in the past which makes them pretty static. I can understand that developing the romantic relationships is not the most important in a drama in which life-threatening situations happen at every turn but these relationships are accomodated to serve the plot so they are not as powerful as they should be. They feel like plot devices which undermines the characters.

Other characters: There are mAAAny characters. The big bads are really interesting and chilling which makes up for one or two annoying cartoonish villains. I'll also say that while it's pretty much good against bad, there are more nuanced characterizations.

Funny factor: Nope.

Music: I don't remember it.

Other points: Period! Action! Elaborate fights!

Bottom line: It's a plus because: Good plots. Interesting characters. Heroism. Extreme backdrop. It's not a Fab because of other boy and the love relationships (both issues are linked).

A discussion of what happens after the jump so stop here if you haven't watched it yet.

Rebound

Japanese title: リバウンド

Aired on NTV, April/June 2011
10 episodes

Main cast:

Aibu Saki: Oba Nobuko

Hayami Mokomichi: Imai Taichi

Kuriyama Chiaki: Mimura Hitomi

Katsuji Ryo: Kazami Kensaku

Hankai Kazuaki: Kamiya Takayuki

Wakamura Mayumi: Morinaka Ran

Nishiyama Maki: Naito Yuki

Ito Kazue: Oba Tomoe

Ishizuka Hidehiko: Oba Mutsumi

Note:
Aibu Saki and Hayami Mokomichi who were in Zettai Kareshi are reunited in this drama. Also present is Ueno Natsuhi who has a small role here but was Riiko's "best friend" in ZK.

Review: +

Girl: Nobuko has always been overweight but recently with the help of a dietetician she slimmed down and got a job in a fashion magazine, something she wanted for a long time. However, she must be very careful with what she eats because she can rebound (gain a lot of weight) very quickly. We really get to know her in the drama (though sometimes the characters sum it up for us): she's meddling, always wants to help, gets into impossible situations because she can't tell the truth for fear of disappointing people and she's cheery and really expressive. (+)

Boy: He's a pâtissier and inherited the shop from his father. He's really impulsive, has a somewhat bad character, feels easily down especially when it comes to his shop but he's also very talented, dedicated and loyal. (+)

Plot/relationship: The relationship between those two is the main plot but it is intertwined with her job at the fashion magazine and relationship with her boss as well as with his quest to make delicious cakes, with her help. The series starts with a lot of talk about her weight and it remains a big element of the story but episode after episode, the focus shifts to issues like what path to choose for one's life, big dilemmas, happiness. The answers are kind of similar to what I've seen in most dramas but the ride is interesting. (+) I could see the resolution in the last episode from miles away but it was cute.

Other characters: I didn't really care for her parents or Kenzaku, an ex-boyfriend of hers. (-)
But I really enjoyed her boss who is a well-done cliché of a fashion magazine editor-in-chief and her best friend who is the introvert to Nobuko's cheery and is a character I'm less used to see though I think there are a lot of people like her in real life. (+)

Funny factor? Again, especially at the beginning but it's quite funny.

Music: Two days later, I don't remember it.

Bottom line: This drama is a good surprise. This premise is tricky but it managed to tackle some topics about life choices. The characters are all likeable but still flawed, something that is acknowledged in the drama itself. It rings true. I couldn't wait for the next episode. It's a (unexpected) +!

Absolute Boyfriend

Taiwanese title:  絕對達令 / Jue Dui Darling
Aired on FTV/GTV - April/July 2012
13 episodes

Main cast:

• Goo Hye Sun (dubbed): Guan Xiao Fei 官筱菲
• Jiro Wang: Wan Ni Te 萬奈特
• Kun Da: Yan Zong Shi 嚴宗史
• Cherry Hsia: Luo Mei Jia 羅美佳
• Na Wei Xun: Lei Wu Wu 雷霧霧

Notes:
- Still haven't read the manga.
- I will compare to the Japanese version.
- I DID NOT watch this drama entirely, I stopped at episode 4. So I'll review up to this point. I don't know if it gets better but this drama didn't hook me.

Review: DNF (episode 4 included)

Girl: Typical Taiwanese drama main character. She's earnest but dense when it comes to relationships (a bit too much in her case). She's likable but boringly standard: she doesn't have anything that stands out.

Boy: He's a robot. It's not as obvious as in the Japanese drama in which Night's moves are mechanical, we see him recharge, we see through his electronic eyes. However, Nai Te is socially awkward and too upfront about his love for Girl and it creates problems for her, more serious than in Zettai Kareshi in which they were mostly embarrassing. This Nai Te is more handsome than cute.

Other Boy: One of the biggest difference with ZK, he's actually closer to his manga counterpart, from what I've heard. He's a childhood friend of Girl and has a crush on her which he tries to hide by making fun of her. It's so obvious that I wanted to scream at Girl to get it already. I didn't really care for him at first because he was too serious and not fun at all but he grew on me by being good at his job and assertive.

Plot/Relationship: True triangle. But since Other Boy is in love with Girl from the start and Girl is more accepting of Boy than in ZK, I feel that there is less building to it. (When I stopped, I still didn't know what were Girl's feelings).

Subplots include how to earn money to pay for the robot (that leads to Jiro Wang cross dressing if you're into that kind of things ;) )and shenanigans at work (different from the manga in which they are in high school). Contrary to ZK, I'm not sure what their firm is into. Girl wants to be part of the pool of Secretaries but I really didn't care about this plot since it came out of nowhere and the actual secretaries were a cliché trio of meangirls.

Compared to ZK, I actually prefer the best friend storyline in this drama.

Other characters: I liked Other boy's brother and a random co-worker who played almost no role but who stood out because she seemed like a cynical person who walked into the craziness of a drama. I should also note that the inventor of the robot is more ostensibly extravagant.

Music: I remember that the opening theme song is quite good and I like the closing one which is... intense.


Bottom line: I haven't spend enough time on this drama to feel strongly about it (in a good or bad way) so this review must be boring. But there wasn't any character or story I care enough about. SO DNF.

Big

Korean Title: 빅

Aired on KBS2 - June/July 2012

16 episodes

Main cast:

Gong Yoo as Seo Yoon Jae/ Kang Kyun Joon

Lee Min Jung as Kil Da Ran

Shin Won Ho as Kang Kyun Joon

Suzy as Jang Ma Ri

Yoon Hae Young as Lee Jung Hye

Jang Hee Jin as Lee Se Young

Ahn Suk Hwan as Kil Min Kyu

Baek Sung Hyun as Kil Choong Shik

 

 

Review: -

Title: Big. Because the mind of a 18 years-old gets into the body of a 30 years-old man, I guess. But the drama is not about what it is to be "big" (an adult). Apart from the aging aspect, no relation to the Tom Hanks movie.

Girl: She's a high school teacher. She's normal. She's fine. Boy is too. The characters were better than the drama. The actors are good (I even like her father played by someone I complained about in a previous review) and Special mention to Gong Yoo! They were not the problem, the...

Relationship/Plot was. I wanted to DNF this drama but since I am writing this blog, I finished it to review it properly. So I kept watching but I kept comparing it to Zettai Kareshi and Rooftop Prince, and I kept wanting to rewrite the drama, instead of being drawn into it.

Big tries to sell us a controversial couple: a teacher and the 18 years-old boy who found himself in the body of her serious boyfriend. Yep. I think that if you decide to do something controversial, you have to be confident to own it and pull it off. But the drama is inconsistent in the way it deals with this premise. Sometimes ignoring it, sometimes flaunting it (He always calls her "Teacher", Kang Kyun Joon really looks like his age in his real body), sometimes trying awkwardly to say "it's okay". Anyway, I wasn't sold, I didn't want Da Ran and Kyun Joon together.

That's not even the only problem. Others include a mystery that takes way too long and too many fakeouts to be discovered and is not totally resolved, two characters who are transparent plot devices  (I felt really bad for one for how he was (not) treated), and a cop-out of an ending.

Other characters: Their family. Nothing particular but I want to mention some characters I really like: her brother and Ma Ri ("double double crazy"!).

Funny factor? D-stories involving C-list characters. Kind of funny but pointless. Funny moments at the beginning then none (as it's often the case).

Music: Okay.

Bottom line: There were cute bonding ideas, decent characters that were sadly wasted because it was too hard to enjoy when I was cringing at the couple and at the plot.

After the jump, discussion of the plot and of the ending. What I want to change... For those who watched it... and if you haven't, you can still read on since you won't watch it anyway, right? ;)

Zettai Kareshi

Other title: Absolute Boyfriend
Japanese title: 絶対彼氏。

Aired on Fuji TV - Spring 2008
11 episodes + Special

Main cast:

Aibu Saki as Izawa Riiko

Hayami Mokomichi as Tenjo Night

Mizushima Hiro as Asamoto Soshi

Sasaki Kuranosuke as Namikiri Gaku

Maya Miki as Wakabayashi Fujiko

Ueno Natsuhi as Ito Mika

Nakamura Shunsuke as Asamoto Masashi

Minemura Rie as Yoshioka Tetsuko

+ in the Special:

Kuninaka Ryoko as Kamiya Ayumi

Uchida Asahi as Nanase Jun

Notes:

- I haven't read the manga this drama is based one.
- Since I watched it just after Buzzer beat, I couldn't help but notice that Aibu Saki and Maya Miki star in both, and that they have characters called Kamiya and Riiko (Riko in BB).
- I want to watch the Taiwanese adaptation to compare but I haven't to this point.
- I watched this drama twice and I didn't remember much from the first time. I have to say that I liked it better the first time maybe because I had such low expectations.

Review: +/-

Title: Makes sense since 01 or Tenjo Night is a robot conceived to be the Ultimate boyfriend.

Girl: She's more of a relatable character. She doesn't have confidence in her skills and in one episode, she was a bit too defeatist (which is realistic but rarely makes for a nice viewing experience). However, she is energetic, funny-cute but not in a grating way. She was well-acted too.

Boy: He's a robot. That's the premise. The actor and the sound made a good job of making us aware of that. So Night was designed to love Riiko but he is totally clueless and keeps doing embarrassing stuff. However, he is very earnest and we end up caring for him. I also noticed that he doesn't have many facial expressions but still we know what he's "feeling".

Other boy: His family owns the company for which Riiko works as a temp. At first, he's slacking, seemingly not caring about work. Then we realise that he is actually caring about his grandfather's legacy. And writing this part of my review, I realise that I don't have much to say about him. Although we see that he is loyal and perseverant, he's kind of bland in my mind.

Relationship/plot: I have a problem with the premise. It's tragic. When I first started to watch, I thought: "This can't end well." It's also a problem with love triangles. Real love triangles which are the ones where the two love interests have equal chances with the one in the middle. Some dramas take the easy road and make one love interest less interesting or make us know from the beginning which one we should root for. But the main problem is that Night is a robot and it raises deep issues. It's really hard to pull off putting these issues in the center of a light drama. That's why, the first time I watched, I was worried and then pleasantly surprised by how it was dealt. But, the second time, I couldn't gloss over the seriousness/wrongness of what happens.

Apart from that, the relationships between people and how they progressed are believable.

The B-plot, which at first bored me, then made me think I'd like to see more of it, unravels slowly. The company where they work made pastries and the plot is about Riiko gaining confidence in her talent as a pâtissier and Soshi pushing for a return to the roots of the company (valuing taste over aspect) and working towards a goal. We learned of Riiko's dream of becoming a pâtissier some episodes into the drama and I wish it was more prominent before because it seems to come out of the blue.

The Special takes place three years after the final. It goes deep into the ethical issues by making a storyline with new characters. Which requires to care about them but it's hard to because they are new characters that we don't see much and were "antagonists". We're also too busy caring about the original characters. Speaking of which, I was disappointed not to see more of the Asamoto pastries plot. It felt like it was ditched in the middle of the special to make place for the "new" storyline. Of course, this new storyline has a point and is linked to the main one but for me it felt artificial. Now that I think about it, it feels like an after thought. "Oops! We forgot to deal with these issues! Let's do a special."

Other characters: There is the crazy landlady, the wise women who owns a bar. Most people are good people. One is perfect, like she is not jealous, not envious, she is confident, gracious... Does this kind of people exist? Well, not all characters are like these, some are "enemies" but they have clear motivations that make them complex and not total cartoons.

Funny Factor? Yes, at the beginning. Comes from some characters and Night's embarrassing actions.

Music: I liked the music but it was more of a background music. This isn't a criticism since I think some dramas go overboard with their use of music.

Bottom line: I'm sorry I can't get past the premise.
It's still not a minus because I give minus to dramas that triggered deep annoyance in me or caused me an bitter shock.

Wow, that was hard not to spoil! Hope it makes sense!

Buzzer Beat

Japanese title: ブザー・ビート

Aired on Fuji TV
July-Sept 2009
11 episodes

Main cast:

Yamashita Tomohisa: Kamiya Naoki

Kitagawa Keiko: Shirakawa Riko

Kanjiya Shihori: Ebina Mai

Ito Hideaki: Kawasaki Tomoya

Aibu Saki: Nanami Natsuki

Mizobata Junpei: Hatano Shuji

Kaneko Nobuaki: Yoyogi Ren

Maya Miki: Kamiya Makiko

Oomasa Aya: Kamiya Yuri

Nagai Masaru: Utsunomiya Toru

Review: +

Title: "Buzzer beat" is a basketball term. It is explained several times and what it describes happen several times in the drama. There is also some link to love attempted at one point. They could have called it "Love makes you stronger" because this is something expressed a lot in the drama and this slogan is prominent in the form of an ad.

Girl: I like her very much. She's passionnate about her music (and I always admire it because it requires a lot of work and perseverance). She knows what she wants and she's honest so we don't have lame misunderstandings and moping around. She's lively and charismatic. I do not really how they insisted on her not having much beauty products but still, it's a big (+)

Boy: He is a less common male lead in romance since he lacks self-confidence. He lost his mojo since becoming a pro basketball player but he is still passionnate about his sport. He isn't arrogant but on the contrary, he is very nice and doesn't speak much. However, he is not boring. (+)

Relationship: Cute and believable. The pacing is good. The only unnecessary cliché I noticed was the piggyback ride (Oops, I forgot waiting under the rain!). There are a number of it's-fate coincidences happening but the thing is that they are bonus and not used to propel the plot so they're just a nice, cherry-on-the-cake touch. One of the issues to be resolved in a drama is how to force these two people to interact and meet. Especially here since at the beginning, the two characters evolve in two parallel worlds. But they manage to find ways to slowly fuse their worlds so their meetings are not far-fetched coincidences. The obstcles thrown in their ways are common but they do not drag the story. The romance is intertwined with what is happening in their respective careers. The last act (last episode) is not as successful as the rest of the drama (I could have done without a last cringe-worthy utterance of "love makes you strong" but it's not on the mess level of the last act of Heartstrings. (+)


Other characters: As you can see from the people I chose as the "Main cast", they are many supporting characters that are quite important. I could describe and discuss at length each one of them and they have nuances with are good things. (+)

But (and this is a big but), there is a character I didn't understand at all. Like, at all. I don't understand what they want to say with her, what she's supposed to be. It's confusing. Seriously, it looks like she has a split personnality. I can't blame it on the actress, I don't know if it's a directing or writing issue. But her voice actually changes when she drops the mask/changes personnality. I know that we act different when we're alone but here it borders on creepy. Moreover, her motivations are mushy. She's not a nice but unfulfilled girl who made a mistake and then had nothing to lose. Which it sometimes looks like it should be. No, she rather appears as a mean and cold person who pretends to be warm and kind around some people for reasons that are never clear. She could have been as interesting and three-dimensional as the other characters but instead she is twice one-dimensional. (-)

Music: Very nice. Complements and enhances the drama. (+) However, I have to say that I liked the direction (some shots were inspired though sometimes a bit too on-the-nose) but that the editing was sometimes weird, like the cuts between scenes at times cuts the music in the middle (and I'm not talking scenes in which the music stops).

Funny factor: Yes! Not LOL but still nice. It's more romance than comedy.

Other points: Bonus for female friendship! It felt real. I enjoyed one conversation in the bus (first episode) in which they talked about random things like you do in a bus with a friend. There is also another moment that felt real to me when the guys are comparing their body in the locker-room... which brings me to another bonus:

Male nudity! Well, of course, not full nudity, but between the locker-room scenes, the bath ones and the beach trip, there are plenty of eye-candy.

I was reluctant to see it because I'm not into sports and I didn't want to watch endless basketball matches but it's not how it is. It's not a "sport" drama.

Bottom line: This is a Plus! I recommend it. Watching it, I wondered why it was not a Fav and I'm not sure why. I watched it many times but it just doesn't feel like one to me. I watch it with pleasure but it doesn't have that subjective thing that makes me fav a drama. I don't know if it's because of that one character. If it is, it's really too bad because almost everything else is so solid.

Rooftop Prince

Korean title:  옥탑방 왕세자

Aired on SBS
March/May 2012
20 episodes

Main cast:

Micky Yoochun as Yong Tae Yong/ Lee Gak

Han Ji Min as Park Ha / Bu Yong

Lee Tae Sung as Yong Tae Moo

Jung Yoo Mi as Hong Se Na / Hwa Yong

Choi Woo Shik as Do Chi San

Jung Suk Won as Woo Yong Sul

Lee Min Ho (not the BoF one) as Song Man Bo

Ban Hyo Jung as President Yeo

Ahn Suk Hwan as Yong Dong Man

Lee Moon Shik as Pyo Taek Soo

Song Ok Sook as Gong Man Ok

Na Young Hee as President Jang

Note:
I watched this drama week-to-week (starting from around the 5th ep), something I rarely do. I usually wait till all the episodes are out. I hate waiting ;) and the experience is more intense. But it also makes inconsistencies more glaring. I hope I would have liked Rooftop Prince as much if I had watched it in less sittings.

Review: Fav!

Title: I shouldn't have made fun of dramas titles because again this one is appropriate. I like it.

Girl: OK. Han Ji Min is in two of my favourite dramas and I don't especially like her. But let's talk about her character. She's a very generic drama girl lead. She's kind. She cares about her family. She's hardworking. She's brash at first but that is toned down quite quickly. More problematic: she does the DUMBEST action in the drama which stalls the plot. Plus she's a bit of a damsel-in-distress at some point.
However, she's brave. Like, a lot. In many ways. She faces whatever is going on.

Boy: Asian dramas are really good with male lead characters. They pretty much have to if the romance is a big part of the story. Here, Boy is just the right kind of arrogant and cute. But what I liked the most is that he's really smart. In a lot of dramas, Boy runs a big company usually thanks to his family and it is implied or mentioned that he is clever. But here, since it's a plot driven drama, we can see Boy using his brain to try to understand what is going on and what he should do. And he has good ideas. (+)

Other boy and girl: They have a lot of screentime so they deserve to be singled out. They are the "enemies" and I liked them. I think they are developed beyond the "they are just evil" theme (though it wouldn't have hurt to pad their motivations- I did that in my head) and their path is really interesting. (+) I can't say more without spoiling and I really don't want to spoil you on this drama because...

the Plot is the Number one reason this drama is a Fav. The threads were generic, especially the 'I want to take over a company" but :
I was seriously impressed by how many balls the drama throw in the air and how it managed to catch all of them. I like how everyone act mostly rationally (except for the DUMBEST action in the drama and it made it stick out even more). I like how expertly the plot and the characters interconnected. I like how it progressed steadily, almost never stalling (except after, you know, the DUMBEST action ever). I like how at any given point, the drama could go on many different directions and I had no idea which one it would take and it would end up one I hadn't even thought about. I didn't even like the end for many reasons but that couldn't spoil the enjoyment of everything that happened before.

Relationship: It worked well with the plot (though it could have been even more integrated). I like how it was built, the obstacles were natural. However, I don't know if it's because I'm lukewarm about Girl or... OK, I know. I think their characters don't match, for whatever reasons. (I would develop more but I'd need to heavily spoil what happens). Still, I'm willing to buy it because I love this drama!

Other characters: You see from the "main cast" that there are a lot of them. I like all the older ones except for the father of Other boy. The actor also played Geum Jan Di's father in Boys over flowers and he overacts. It was annoying. Other important characters are Boy's companions. They each have a distinctive strength and they are a treat. The way they react, the way they evolve... They are adjacent to the plot but at the same time, they are totally necessary.

Funny factor: A little. As many dramas, especially at the beginning since the premise of the drama is a huge opportunity for comedy.

Music: Plays its role. I grew to like it but it was sometimes distracting instead of enhancing what is happening.

Other points: There are historical parts and fantastic elements. Both are a Plus for me.

On another note, I have to mention the shameless product placements. At this point, the cars are a given (though I have no idea which brand they were using since I had never seen that logo before) but now, it's the phones. If you watch the Vampire Diaries, you know the scene where Klaus writes with a stylus "I will" instead of typing it. This (not exactly for the same app) happens twice and it's so obvious. Product placements are sometimes necessary but in these cases, they are litteral ads and become distracting. End of rant.

Bottom line: This is the first Fav I featured so I want to reiterate that this does not mean that the drama has no faults. I mentioned some of them in this review but in the end, the good was great enough to make me overlook its failings. Maybe on a second viewing, it will be different but for now:
- The storylines are strong. There are high stakes.
- The relationships between the characters are compelling.
- Events unfold naturally and logically. Actions have consequences. Nothing sticks out as totally unnecessary.
- It has heart.
FAV!


Developments after the jump: BIG SPOILERS ALERT! And I think that the surprises are important here...