Prince + Princess 2

Taiwanese title: 王子看見二公主

16 episodes

Aired on CTS
From 2008 December to April 2009

Main cast:

Annie Chen as Zhao Ke Rou

Dylan Kuo as Ning Huan Yu

Hong Zi Han as Zhao Mu Fan

Michael Zhang as Li Chen Xi

Ma Shi Li as Liu Xiao Yue

Miao Ke Li as Ning Sheng Nan

Zhu De Gang as Zhao De Qiang

Qian Yu An as Money

Ring Hsu as Zhao Xing An

Ken Hung as Xia Kuan

Peggy Tseng as Zhang Qi

Samuel Adam Whitman as James

Notes:
- That poster is terrible.
- I almost did not recognise Michael Zhang. I was wondering why I was attracted to that guy when I realised he was the Other boy in Down with love, with a different styling and attitude. I guess that makes him a very good actor.

Review: +

Title: There's a reason for this title but it has two problems. 1/ It makes it look like a sequel. 2/ It makes it look more cutesy than it is.

Girl: She's a tomboy who wants to be a fashion designer. She's humble but driven, loyal and hard-working. I really liked her. She's also the second of three sisters (hence the title).

Boy: He has no ambition, tends to whine, is immature, has no style... yes I still liked him. First, he is portrayed by Dylan Kuo who's so good-looking and charming that inflicting that hairstyle and clothes on him is criminal. Second, he is actually kind-hearted, quite smart and determined when he puts his mind to it.

Other girl: She could have been a cliché but I like her and felt for her. I wish her the best... yes, I know she's fictional.

Other boy: The nice guy who is in love with his girl friend. I'm starting to know why this drama is a plus because I really liked him too. He doesn't exhibit the traits I hate in this trope. He's not pushy and his life doesn't revolve around her loving him.

Other boy: Arrogant type A but you guessed it... I liked him too.

Relationships: It helps that Annie Chen has the right type and right amount of chemistry with each of her co-stars. The romantic entanglements are believable and the reflection of the characters' personalities. This is also true of their actions in general.

Family: Girl's family is crucial to the proceedings. I enjoy seeing a relationship between three sisters and the dynamics.

Funny factor? Yes. But some "jokes" are terrible. Please do not make a throaway joke about pretending to have been assaulted.

Music: I liked it.

What the...? He worked at Wall Street. Yeah, right. Everything related to how business works. There are a character and a set that disappear at some point, never to be heard of again. There is no excuse for the set, as for the character, it was caused by the illness of the actor/actress but still, they could have written some explanation in the drama.

Bottom line: I like the characters, even despite some questionable behaviour because it is ackowledged in the drama and because we tend to accept more from charming people. Everyone is charming, has an interesting personality, the plot doesn't make them act out of character, I was invested in their stories. + !

Borrow your Love

Taiwanese title: 借用一下你的愛 (借用一下你的爱)

14 episodes
Aired on CTV
From 2013 March to June

Main cast:

Amanda Chu: Xie Ping An 謝平安

Dylan Kuo: Ye Chen 葉晨

Shi Yi Nan: Li Zi Wen 黎子文

Cherry Hsia: Xie Xi Le 謝喜樂

Linda Liu: Bai Ming Li 白明俐

Allen Chao: Li Shi Cheng 季世城

Huang Ke Jing: Ji Li Sa 季麗莎

Chen Qiao Wei: Li Huo Ying 季霍英

Notes:
Hello Mother from Autumn's concerto!
And I totally didn't recognise Amanda Chu from the same drama.
Hey Cherry Hsia! I just watched you on Alice in Wonder city.

 

Review: +/-

Title: I'm glad I have this category so I can say how bad this title is. The title is misleading because it screams romance while romance is not a focus. As for the synopsis from Dramawiki: "Xie Ping An and Ye Chen pretended to be a couple in order to hook up their friends. However, the mismatch duo find themselves attracted to one another instead.", it's just false: this is not the premise of this drama.

Girls: They are two orphans who have grown up together and who share a sisterly bond. Girl is brash while Other girl is sweet and timid.

Boys: Full disclosure, this is the first time I thought that I'd like to have a boyfriend like a Boy. And Dylan Kuo totally deserves a spot on this list. I'm just not sure who to kick out. (Edit: now, I know who to kick out, so he's on it.)

All four main characters are interesting and I cared about them. (++++)

Relationships: I'm going to talk about the relationships first. The drama starts with hallmarks of romance: multiple coincidental meetings, initial dislike, forced interaction... however, it becomes quickly apparent that the focus will be on Girls' relationship. I didn't mind. (+)

Plot: The plot is character-based. It advances briskly (which allows for Boy to figure things out and be smart). One piece of information I thought would last episodes before being revealed turned out to be the premise of the drama. (++)

However, the drama suffers from a fatal case of last episode syndrome. It should be obvious but apparently, it's not (see also Heartstrings). A finale is supposed to wrap up the threads, and possibly give us an epilogue. It SHOULD NOT introduce lame cliché pointless new threads that are resolved in ten minutes. There was something else I disliked but it's more subjective. (--)

Other characters: The villain is after my heart, complex with clear motivations, though crazy in execution.

But, there is another very important character who is introduced as ruthless, not only by other people but we also see them in action. Then, at the end of the drama, they're practically a saint. I mean, I can believe that they're not just a monster but I wish their greyer parts were still acknowledged just so I know I've been watching the same events as the characters. Unfortunately, some secondary characters who had potential are also inconsistent.

Most egregious clichés: Everyone is an orphan. Anyone can be CEO.

Funny factor? A scene made me laugh out loud for minutes. I kind of felt bad about it because it's really really really embarrassing.

As often, it gradually becomes darker, though there are still comedic moments.

Music: Serviceable

What the... ? Boy has the weirdest phobia.

Bottom line: While watching, I couldn't decide between a + or a +/-. I don't know why because the characters, the plot, the relationships, everything was compelling. Maybe it was some details, maybe I miss romance... Anyway, the ending sealed it for me: +/-

Top 10 Drama actors Crushes

So, let's get full-on, unabashedly superficial!

But, first, because we have to do this seriously, a definition of « crushes » for the purpose of this post. Basically, all leads in drama are handsome but for reasons, some appeal to me more and make me want to check out (but not always watch in their entirety) dramas in which they appear. These crushes are based on looks and on the characters portrayed. Obviously, I don't know them. Nor do I want to. In this case, fantasy is better.

Note: I chose pictures in which I could recognise the actor, based on what I know they look like in dramas.

Hum... no surprise for number One.

     1- 山下智久 Yamashita Tomohisa.

Born in 1985.
Lead in Nobuta wo produce, Kurosagi, Buzzer beat, Proposal daisakusen, Summer nude. In his dramography, I haven’t watched Code blue past the 1st episode coz of serious real-life stuff like blood and grim surgeries. [Edit: since then, I've watched and reviewed Monsters, Algernon ni Hanataba wo and From 5 to 9, so yeah, he's still number 1, no contest].

This Google images search just killed my heart.
One hour later:

     2- 郭品超  Dylan Kuo.

Born in 1977.
Lead in Prince + Princess 2 and Borrow your love.

     3- 速水もこみち Hayami Mokomichi

Born in 1984. 

Lead in Oh ! My girl !!!, Zettai Kareshi, Rebound. Also supporting in From 5 to 9.

     4- 藤木直人 Fujiki Naohito.

Born in 1972.
Lead in Hotaru no Hikari, supporting in Proposal daisakusen.
So nice and earnest.

     5- 敖犬  Ao Quan

Born in 1982.
Lead in Brown Sugar macchiato and only guest in The legend of Brown sugar chevalries :(. 
I like his features (especially his ears! :) ) and his character is fun.

    
  6- 주원  Joo Won.

Born in 1987.
Lead in Bridal Mask (Gaksital). Based on one drama but I plan to watch more of him. [Edit: since I've wrote this post, he's played the same role as the next one on this list. Lead in Nae Il's Cantabile. Is it random or do I have a type lol ?] So intense.

Wow, it was weird to see him cheerful in the results of my Googling!

     7- 玉木宏 Tamaki Hiroshi.

Born in 1980.
Lead in Nodame Cantabile and Love shuffle.

     8- Mike He.

Born in 1983.
Lead in Love contract, Devil besides you (DNF) and Love keeps going (DNF), guest in 1 episode of Yukan club. As you see, it's because of Love contract, because he was quite terrible in Love keeps going. I couldn't get into Devil besides you but he was okay in that.

     9- 고수  Go Soo

Born in 1978.
Lead in Marrying a millionnaire.

     10- Jimmy Lin.

Born in 1974.
Lead in My Lucky Star. He's on the list based on this drama I watched years ago so it really left me an impression. After rewatching and reviewing it for this blog... yeah, he belongs on this list.

Honorary : 

(I've had a crush on you but I won't watch a drama because you starred in it.)

- 吳尊 Wu Chun

Born in 1979.
Lead in Romantic Princess and Hana Kimi taïwanais (DNF).
After I started watching Hana Kimi, I got this weird impression that he looks like my brother (He does not !) and got creeped out.

- 김범 Kim Bum

Born in 1989.
Supporting in Boys over Flowers.

And this guy: 고주원 Go Joo Won

Born in 1981.
He isn't in any dramas I've watched but coming across these pictures when I was searching for Joo Won makes me want to check them out.

 

2020 June 16th edit : I changed this list in order to remove an actor I used to like, since his turn in Capital Scandal, one of my early fav dramas. Even his terrible hairstyle in the last part of Coffee House couldn't turn me off. But I just found out he has been convicted of sexual assault so... yeah, now he's just awful and disgusting.