What's wrong with Secretary Kim ?

 Korean title: 김비서가 왜 그럴까

16 episodes

Aired on tvN from 2018 June to July

Main cast:

• Park Min Young as Kim Mi So
  
• Park Seo Joon as Lee Young Joo
• Lee Tae Hwan as Lee Sung Yun
• Kang Ki Young as Park Yoo Shik
• Pyo Ye Jin as Kim Ji Ah
  
• Hwang Chan Sung as Ko Kwi Nam
• Lee Yoo Joon as Jung Chi In
• Hwang Bo Ra as Bong Se Ra
• Kang Hong Suk as Yang Chul
• Kim Ye Won as Sul Ma Eum
• Baek Eun Hye as Kim Pil Nam
• Heo Soon Mi as Kim Mal Hee
• Kim Byung Ok as Chairman Lee
• Kim Hye Ok as Mrs. Choi

 Production credits:

• Production companies: Studio Dragon, Bon Factory
  
• Director: Park Joon Hwa
• Screenwriter: Jung Eun Young (ep 1-4), Baek Sun Woo, Choi Bo Rim
• Based on the 2013 novel of the same name by Jung Kyung Yoon  

Notes: 

• I don't know why but I'm less motivated to write reviews for dramas I actually like! It's easier to rant. Hence why this review is belated. And from memory.
  
•  Hwang Chan Sung is a member of 2PM, a K-pop group.
• This drama was my introduction to all these actors, including Park Seo Joon and Park Min Young. I get the hype now! (edit: after putting the labels, I realised I already had a Park Min Young one because she was Girl in Sungkyunkwan Scandal! Oops. and Kim Hye Ok was in Bad Guy too. Her character is really different here).
  

 

Review: +

Title: A good title! A bit long but catchy and intriguing. And for once, it's really satisfying to hear it in the dialogue.

Girl: She's a great protagonist. Though she's an insanely competent secretary, she's relatable.

Boy: A chaebol heir! How original! His narcissisim is actually funny and when we get to know him more and the layers of his character are revealed, we appreciate him even more. I feel bad saddling this review with the "arrogant jerk" because he's not really a jerk but he's definitely arrogant so yeah.

Other boy: Yeah no. I have some degree of sympathy for him because I'm not a monster but the character was really one note and annoying. Also, it's a bit random but he's supposed to be the older brother and the actor is 6 years younger than the actor for Boy who is playing his age. His behaviour tends to feel more immature too, so there was some disconnect every time we are reminded that he's supposed to be older.

Other girl: Look, there isn't one !

Plot: There is vaguely a mystery about something that happened in the past but the twist is quite obvious so I was just waiting for it to be revealed. However, the gradual revelation of what happened was quite well-done.

Relationships: There wasn't any B-couple but two C-couples among their coworkers. I'm not complaining as there were both very different but still cute and funny.

Other characters: his parents, her sisters, his best friend and their coworkers. 

Funny? Yes. It's a big part of why I like it. Special mention to his best friend (and his disaster of a secretary) and to Bong Se Ra.

Clichés: Office romance. Childhood connection.

Music: I don't remember it so it must have been fine.

Bottom line: I'm surprised that I remember so little of this drama, besides liking it. The mystery is hit or miss and the brother character is annoying but there are some genuinely funny moments and characters, Girl and Boy are strong characters and their relationship is believable. +!

Bad guy

Korean title: 나쁜 남자
Other title: Bad boy

17 episodes
Aired on SBS
From 2010 May to August

Main cast:

Kim Nam Gil as Shim Gun Wook

Han Ga In as Moon Jae In

Kim Jae Wook as Hong Tae Sung

Oh Yun Soo as Hong Tae Ra

Jung So Min as Hong Mo Ne

Kim Hye Ok as Mrs. Shin

Jun Gook Hwan as President Hong

Shim Eun Kyung as Moon Won In

Kim Eung Soo

Notes:

- Hello Paper fan teacher from Nodame cantabile! It's funny because Shim Eun Kyung who plays Girl's sister in this drama is playing the Nodame role in the Korean adaptation.

- Hello cute little girl also seen in Rooftop Prince!

- Hey guy from Coffee Prince in a major role!

- Strong feelings about that one. I'm going to have a spoiler space about it. It could have been a Fav but nope. It's been a few days so I'm not mad anymore, just bitter.

- Finally, I decided to start putting the production credits from Drama Wiki because these people are even more responsible for the end product than the cast.

Production credits :

Producer: Goo Bon Geun

Director: Lee Hyung Min

Screenwriter: Kim Jae Eun

 

Review: +

Title: I get it but it's hard to be more generic. Just "Guy" maybe?

Boy: I don't think you can go more mysterious-loner-dude-y than that. This drama lives or dies on his Boy. And he is SO good. He can do the single tear, the goofy smile, the smirk, anything. I read that actor Kim Nam Gil stole the show in another drama and I'm not surprised since I found him very charismatic. He had to, since the drama relies a lot on his character being that way. To sum up, all the pluses in the world for him.

Girl: All the pluses for her too. She is a art consultant (I had to get past the fact that it's a rom-com job despite not being on that list) from a poor background. She wants to be a social climber. Like Boy, she has an agenda, she drives the narrative. She is smart and level-headed but not boring. She's someome you'd like as a friend and it's the first time I wrote that about a drama's character.

Boy: The black sheep of his family. I'm not in love with him but he is touching. I feel for him.

Girl: A young spoiled girl but not the annoying brat type. She is cute and lively, passionnate and open-hearted. 

Girl: She's an unsatisfied married woman who always puts her duty to her family first. She could have been a cliché but she's a strong character and her story was well-handled.

Plot/relationships: The plot was so good. It was hard to see where it was going. It's driven by the characters' motivations, it makes you care about the characters, the pacing is great, revelations are dished out progressively. Fab! Triple Fab... But, triple but, at one point, characters act in stupid ways just to allow a plot point that makes no sense. And the end is completely botched. I was so mad. I've never been so mad... it doesn't ruin everything, I'd still recommend it but no to the end.
I'm just going to paraphrase one of my favourite reviews ever: "For about nine-tenths of the drama, this is perfect. The drama is tense, there’s a palpable sense of mystery, of trying to figure out along with the characters what the next move is, what the next layer is, how the disparate pieces that don’t make sense fit into a cohesive picture.
And then the bottom falls out catastrophically.
The last two episodes in which we get "resolutions" are just so terribly written that I think the screenwriter should get an MRI, because I think he had a stroke on page 85 and then ignored the smell of burnt toast to keep typing."

Funny factor? Nope.

Bottom line: It should have been a Fav! I'm mad it's not a Fav because of [spoiler].

But watch it! Just don't watch *first degree spoiler* the last two episodes and imagine it's the end.

However, I still need to dish on what I hated, so full blown spoilers coming  after the jump. You should really watch the show before reading this because, for one thing, you won't understand what I'm talking about and second, it will colour your experience of the show and you don't want that. Anyway, you will probably binge-watch it in days like I did so you're coming back soon.

Monsters

Japanese (Original) title: MONSTERS

8 episodes
Aired on TBS
From 2012 October to December

Main cast:

Katori Shingo as Hiratsuka Heihachi

Yamashita Tomohisa as Saionji Kousuke

Yanagihara Kanako as Takano Emi

Endo Kenichi as Kaneda Hajime

Notes:
- The official poster is so awful that I can't use it. So instead, you have this ->
- I'm more Without a trace/Criminal minds than CSI. And I don't like Detective Conan. So, if you do, don't listen to my opinion on detective series.

Review: -

Title: All murderers are monsters but this title implies more horror or disturbing whereas the drama is actually very clean. The voiceover says something about the ones who track murderers being also monsters...??? I didn't get it

Boy: He's a detective with mad deductive skills. He gathered all clues and in the third act, puts everything together. He has no consideration for anything or anyone. His only motivation seems to arrest murderers. His social behaviour is rude though he is extremely civil spoken.

Other boy: He's the Watson, the Hastings. He's an enthusiastic young policeman.

Plot: Every episode, a murder case is resolved. If the series wasn't only 8 episodes, I would have quit it because it's really repetitive. Except for the first and last episodes, there are always two suspects with one of them telegraphed as the murderer. The motive is established easily. The question is how it was done and the answer always revolve around manipulating the place or/and time of death.

Problem is I'm pretty sure the police can tell if it's a real crime scene and tell quite precisely the time of death when it happened a couple of hours ago. Especially if the victim has been stabbed... What about blood spilling?

So the structure of the episodes, the murder weapons, the motives (career advancement or preservation) are nearly identical episode after episode. Moreover, all victims are men, and only four suspects are women (including two in the first episode which have four suspects), an imbalance that I can't explain.

Other characters: Of course, the narrow minded police officer who's always wrong. Other boy's girlfriend that we only see in the first two episodes.

Most egregious cliché: Genius detective paired with naive sidekick.

Funny factor? It's trying.

Bottom line: This isn't my cup of tea. What I like in detective stories, it's being kept guessing, uncovering secrets and motivations. Focusing only on the how is intellectually interesting (superficially because it often requires suspension of disbelief) but doesn't get you as much emotionally invested as the who and why.

Akumu-chan

Japanese title: 悪夢ちゃん

Aired on NTV
From October to December 2012
11 episodes
(A movie seems to be planned for 2014).

Main cast:

Kitagawa Keiko: Mutoi Ayami

Kimura Manatsu: Koto Yuiko

Gackt: Shiki Takashi

Yuka: Hirashima Kotoha

Kohinata Fumiyo: Koto Bannosuke

Update: Akumu-chan The Movie is to be released on May 2014.

Review: + !

Title: Akumu-chan is the nickname that Girl gives to a little girl who has predictive nighmares (akuma = bad dreams).

Girl: She's an elementary school teacher and pretends to be smiling all the time even though it's all fake. Her character is different from all the naturally nice girls in drama and the evolution of her character is really interesting. I love her (but I love Kitagawa Keiko).

Boy: He's a scientist and his true intentions are never clear. I was confused by his character who was nice but also slightly creepy. Maybe I would've been more interested in him with a different actor.

Plot: There is romance in this drama but it's in the backseat. The real stories are the story of Girl and also the stories of her pupils. One episode typically revolves around a pupil's problems and Little girl's dreams about it. There are interpretations of symbols in the dream and the stories are varied so it's really compelling. It's also slightly creepy and... really NTV? This is not a family drama. Though the mediocre special effects aren't scary, the themes can be disturbing for kids. The nighmares are really nighmares: there is physical and (more unsettling) emotional violence committed by children and/or on children. For grown-ups however, no problem.

Other characters: Little girl! So, so cute!! Can I adopt her (legally)?The other school teachers are typical comic reliefs. The nurse starts off weird but she becomes a real character later on.

Funny factor? See other characters.

Music: Serviceable.

Bottom line: At first, I stayed for the stand alone stories and the enigma of what these dreams are about. Then, I got engrossed in Girl's story as well. Though the finale was grandiloquent, I was impressed by how the stories told managed to make sense (I mean, once you've accepted that you can watch dreams in a TV). In the end, a + without question.

Love Shuffle

Japanese title: ラブシャッフル

Aired on TBS
From 2009 January to March
10 episodes

Based on a manga

Main cast:

Tamaki Hiroshi: Usami Kei

Karina: Aizawa Airu

Matsuda Shota: Sera Ojiro

Tanihara Shosuke: Kikuta Masato

DAIGO: Oishi Yukichi

Yoshitaka Yuriko: Hayakawa Kairi

Kojima Hijiri: Kamijyo Reiko

Kanjiya Shihori: Kagawa Mei

Hello Karina! I'm watching your last drama Summer nude!
Hey Ceramic boy from Hana yori dango!
Hola Girl's best friend from Buzzer beat, you're quite different here!

 

Review: +

Title: So four strangers meet in an elevator, bond, realise they live on the same floor and decide to “shuffle” their partners every week. As you do.

Boys and girls: Therefore, there are eight main protagonists.
The four floormates:
- Shining loser
- Sassy interpreter
- Sweet dark photographer
- Mysterious psychiatrist
And their respective partners:
- Innocent fiancée
- Desperate billionaire
- Sexy older lady
- Strange painter

As you can see, a lot of these characters are weird and at least complicated with secret motivations for going into the love shuffle. Therefore it’s interesting and different. They are likeable but not really relatable.
 

Plots and relationships: The plot is relationships and learning about the characters, their past, their motivations for the shuffle or for life in general. Problem is: it is weird and therefore, it feels almost surreal at times, like it does not take place in our reality. So, just go with its atmosphere to enjoy. Actually, one of the most enjoyable parts is the friendship between the four floormates: it’s playful but they also really care for each other.

 

Funny factor: Yes. Also, lots of plays on words. YAY PANDA!

Music: Good. Enjoy these familiar songs.

Bottom line: I wasn’t forcing myself to finish this drama and I was not cringing so it’s a +. It’s original and different but also weird. Try the first episodes and see if you get into it!

Kurosagi

 Japanese title: クロサギ

Aired on TBS
From 2006 April 14 to June 23
11 épisodes + a movie (2008)

 Main cast:

Yamashita Tomohisa: Kurosaki (Kurosagi)

Horikita Maki: Yoshikawa Tsurara

Ichikawa Yui: Mishima Yukari

Yamazaki Tsutomu: Katsuragi Toshio

Okunuki Kaoru: Hayasa

Aikawa Sho: Kashima Masaru

Tayama Ryosei: Momoyama Tetsuji

Kato Koji: Shiraishi Yoichi

Note: This drama is based on a popular manga that I haven't read.

Review: +

 

Title: Kurosagi is the nickname of the main character, it means "black swindler" which is to say, the ultimate swindler, the swindler of swindlers.

Boy: He's like a super hero. Dark origin story: check. Disguises: various. Super power: being incredibly clever and self-controlled. Motives: taking revenge and helping victims. He is lonely, has turned off his emotions due to a tragedy and in order to devote himself to the destruction of swindlers but you can see glimpses of kindness. Glimpses. (+)

Girl: She wants to be a prosecutor so she's at odds with Boy's occupation which consists in breaking the law. She's very normal but I found her a bit bland. It's weird because she has her own agenda and expresses herself but I didn't find her interesting. I feel like she was more a token character because someone had to point out that there are laws etc. Besides, I didn't get why she loves him, just because he's hot and mysterious. She should be intrigued, maybe attracted to him but he's so indifferent to her, she ends up acting like a doormat. (-)

Relationship: Weak. Were the relationship between the two main characters a lot more compelling, it would have been a Fav but... as I said, Girl is boring, and there is no chemistry. The romance subplot isn't organic, it seemed like they had to add it. You know there is a problem when you ship another girl with Boy. (-)

Plots: Each episode, Boy takes down a swindler. Each time, it's a different scheme, with fake(s) identity(ies). It often requires suspension of disbelief but it's entertaining. (+) I just wish it would have been a bit more serialised.

 

Other characters: - Girl's best friend: I like her though she can be mean. We have some backstory, she's lively, she’s way more energetic than Girl. (+)

 

- Foe: A policeman who wants to arrest Boy. I just can't with him. His characterization is all over the place, his backstory is the least credible thing in the drama and he laughs maniacally for no reason like a villain in a C-movie. (-)

 

- Allies: I didn't really get them. There is a old man who is very important and I warmed to him in the latest episodes but in the first ones, he's just disgusting, kind of creepy, like he was supposed to be mysterious but ended up as annoying. There is a woman who cares for him and I didn’t really get her either. (-)

One backstory is dropped for each character and then almost never heard of again, except for Boy. Even for him, we see the same images again and again and only at the end, we get some additional flashbacks fleshing out the origins story.

 

Funny factor: Hmm no.

Music: I liked it.

 

Bottom line:

 

Two things saved this drama for me and made it compelling to watch:

1) Yamashita Tomohisa is magnetic in this drama, I just can't take my eyes off him in this drama. (Corner of superficiality: his hairstyle in this drama suits him and his character perfectly. Look at the picture above! It's actually promo for the movie but I like it better -except for the tear...- and anyway, it's closer to how he looks in the drama, since his movie hair is less black.) 

2) Swindling plots: original, interesting guest characters, new and distinctive challenges.

However, I can't deny the shortcomings: Most characters are uninteresting and you feel like you don't know them and can't understand them. A romantic subplot is shoehorned.

It also feels like they wanted to keep stuff for a second season that never happened.

But a movie happened. I was hoping resolution, Boy finally taking down the big boss that ruined his family and I was disappointed. It was like a random episode of the drama stretched to two hours (so too long) only with less Girl (she has maybe 5 minutes of screen time but she doesn’t do anything), an obsession with Julius Caesar by Shakespeare I didn’t totally get and an added emphasis on Old Man which would have been interesting if I, you know, was interested and not grossed out by him.  Movie:  -

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...