Good witch

•  Korean title :  착한마녀전
• Other title : Nice Witch
  
• 40 episodes (but same length overall as 20 episodes)
• 
  Aired on SBS
  
• From 2018 March to May

Main cast :

• Lee Da Hae as Cha Sun Hee / Cha Do Hee
• Ryu Soo Young as Song Woo Jin
• Ahn Woo Yeon as Oh Tae Yang
• Shin Hye Jung as Joo Ye Bin
• Bae Soo Bin as Bong Chun Da
• Ahn Sol Bin as Bong Chun Ji
• Yoon Se Ah as Oh Tae Ri
• Shim Hyung Tak as Chae Kang Min
• Lee Han Seo as Bong Cho Rong
• Lee Duk Hwa as Oh Pyung Pan
• Geum Bo Ra as Byun Ok Jong
• Yang Geum Suk as Lee Moon Sook 

Production credits :

• Director : Oh Se Kang
• Screenwriter : Yoon Young Mi

 

Review : -/+

Title : It's actually referenced several times in the drama. Sun Hee and Do Hee are twins with different personalities and lives. Do Hee has become a flight attendant and the face of the company, but she's known as the cold-blood witch. Sun Hee has to take her place and, as she can't help being kind, changes her image. She's now the good witch.

Girl : I thought she was interesting. She's the super kind girl character but the drama showed how being too nice can also be a flaw she has to overcome while still being true to herself.

Boy : He's good looking, smart, kind, courageous, honest, understanding, loyal, funny. I could go on and on. He basically has every quality there is and no discernable failing (apart from a quirk in the beginning which was his only original trait). The problem is that his character didn't change at all. Now that I think about it, he's like the one-dimensional love interest in action movies, except that he is a main character.

Relationship : I wasn't invested at all in Girl and Boy's relationship since Boy was such a non-entity.

Plot : So I kept watching because of the plot. I was curious to see where it was going and how everything would fall down. Also because of the antagonists. Basically, they were 50% of the reason why I didn't DNF this drama. I was really intrigued by their dynamic.

What the... ? There are some stuff that didn't make sense and instantly took me out of the drama. The first is the whole housemates situation. The second is Girl's daughter. There are precocious child character and then there is this perfect life coach confidente child character. It's like they didn't want to add another character and thought "why not give the role to the 5 year-old kid ?" (I have no idea of her age but the point is that she's way too young to be giving life advice to her mother, expecially about her relationship to her father... yikes).

Funny : Yes, some moments are funny but this drama goes to dark places. There are some heavy betrayals.

Music : Not memorable.

Cliché : See the premise of the drama in title.

Bottom line : If I don't care about the romance and the Boy in a romantic drama, I can't rate it more than a -/+. Besides, the mix of stupid and of well-done stuff was confusing. Still, it wasn't a minus because the plot and most of the characters were interesting. In the end, I don't think I can recommend it : -/+

 

2020 October 24th update : From commentary about Red Velvet Irene's scandal, I've just learnt about the "nut rage incident", which I think inspired this drama. More after the jump (spoilers, though it's about something that happens in the first episodes). 

Alice in Wonder City

Taiwanese title: 給愛麗絲的奇蹟 (给爱丽丝的奇迹)
Other title: Give Alice a miracle

15 episodes
Aired on CTS
From 2012 May to September

Main cast:

Aaron Yan: He Ting Yu 賀霆宇

Xiu Jie Kai: Chen Hai Jie 陳海傑

Lara Veronin: Lan Die Fei 藍蝶菲

Tracy Chou: Alice

Yang Gui Mei: Jin Li Sha 金莉莎

Lin Li Yang: Tang Jin Cang 唐晉滄

Cherry Hsia: Lan Yu Shu 藍語書

Review: -

Title: A character is named Alice but she is no more prominent than the other three main characters so I don't know why she gets to be in the title. There are references to Alice in Wonderland but it doesn't amount to much.

Boy: He's kind of a manic dream guy.

Boy: He's a famous violonist who has been groomed by his overbearing mother to be the best. I think he was the character I was the most interested in.

Girl: She's the most ordinary. Later, there is something about her that comes from nowhere but I wish it could have given her some agency.

Girl: The aforementioned Alice. She's an interesting character trapped in a storyline that doesn't deserve her. See below.

Plot: I'm going to cover plot before relationships because here lies the explanation for the minus review. For once, the problem is easy to pinpoint: half of this drama is a terribad Lifetime movie in which nothing substantial happens but that still manages to take up so much screentime. Moreover, the gist of it is basic (McGuffin! Suspicious men in black!) but one part (Alice's identity) is needlessly confusing. Moreover (yes, that's the second one, I'm piling on it), the two "halves" don't feel organically or tonally or thematically related. It's like watching two dramas smashed together. By the way, the better half is about music, having talent and succeeding in the industry.

Also, some subplots just end abrubtly (no mention of Boy's sister's drama and barely any mention of Siren) and the ending drag.

Relationships: This is the drama's strongest suit. Friendship between three characters, family relationships, romance... I like how they were handled, people reacted like normal people. There are also some unusual reversals. If only the drama had kept focusing on these!

Funny factor: Not really.

Music: I love the theme songs by Lara Veronin. But I disagree with stripping this song from its powerful message. Finally, though I was not enamoured by the classical music pièces performed, I still appreciate hearing something different.

What the...: I could mention a lot of things but, to avoid spoilers, I'll just say that the timeline makes no sense, in a way that is distracting.

Most egregious cliché: Japanese baddies

Bottom line: Excising the storyline that sidelines Alice and thus making the drama more consistent, the drama could have taken advantage of the potential of its setting, of his characters and their relationships. Alas, it was not to be. (-)

Star no Koi

Japanese title: スタアの恋
Other titles: Star struck / Love with a super star

11 episodes
Aired on Fuji TV
From 2001 October to November

Main cast:

Fujiwara Norika: Kirishima Hikaruko

Kusanagi Tsuyoshi: Nakata Sosuke

Ukaji Takashi: Saegusa Eiji

Katsumura Masanobu: Koganei Akira

Kakei Toshio: Jiya Yoshitaro

Furuta Arata: Ushiyama Mamoru

Hasegawa Kyoko: Koizumi Tsubomi

Anzai Hiroko: Hyuuga Reiko

Toda Keiko: Tatsukawa Midori

Morimoto Leo: Kinanaka Torao

Azuma Mikihisa: Ichikawa Ryutaro

Notes:
- Hello Father from Nobuta wo Produce AND Oh! My girl!! Also hi, Boss from Oh! My girl!!
- This is the oldest drama I've watched. So you know it must be good to keep me watching till the end despite the weird image quality (and bad fashion).

 

Review: +

Girl: She's a megastar and has been an actress since her childhood. She sometimes acts like an entitled child but she's been very sheltered and used to get whatever she wants. However, she's also not afraid to take risks to prove herself. Fujiwara Norika is, I gathered, quite a star herself, and she really has something that's not showy but that makes you believe she's so famous and has all these guys around her finger. (+)

Boy: It's like they did eveything they could to make him look sub ordinary. He's short, floating in his clothes so, you know, not your usual drama lead. But again, he makes you believe that women would fall for him. He works at a company specialised in selling ham and he's dedicated to his work. He's also good at Japanese archery. He's quiet but not timid and has self-confidence. (+)

Plot/Relationship: It's all about how their lives intersect though they shouldn't. It manages to keep my interest and though the Relationship between Girl and Boy is the focus, Girl's growth as an person and an actress is also part of the story as well as some development for secondary characters. (+)

Other characters: His co-workers, an eccentric director, her agency's employees and some boyfriends.

Main cliché (New category alert!): the star and the commoner. It's interesting to note that it's often the woman who is the famous actress. As always, the drama is inconsistent as to whether people recognise the famous one. When it's convenient, all bystanders recognise her and sometimes, they just don't.

Bottom line: I care for these characters and their struggles. +

The Accidental couple

Korean title: 그저 바라보다가
Other title: That Fool

16 episodes
Aired on KBS2
From 2009 April to June

Main cast:

Hwang Jung Min: Goo Dong Baek

Kim Ah Joong: Han Ji Soo

Joo Sang Wook: Kim Kang Mo

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.

Summer Nude

Japanese title: SUMMER NUDE
(Yeah, I know, it's not very Japanese)

Aired on Fuji TV
From 2013 July to September
11 episodes

Main cast:

Yamashita Tomohisa: Mikuriya Asahi

Toda Erika: Taniyama Hanae

Karina: Chiyohara Natsuki

Katsuji Ryo: Yaino Takashi

Kubota Masataka: Kirihata Hikaru

Yamamoto Mizuki: Horikiri Aoi

Takahashi Katsunori: Shimojima Kenji

Itaya Yuka: Shimojima Setsuko

Nagasawa Masami: Ichikura Kasumi

Note: I watched this drama mostly week to week but sometimes with two weeks in between.

Review: +/-

Title: Drama, you have disappointed me greatly. I thought I would finally be able to make fun of a title and then, you went in the 6th something episode using a voiceover reminiscent of Buzzer beat to say stuff about summer and emotions bared nude. But even with a Miley-Cyrus-like explanation, it's still a ridiculous title.

Boy: He's a photographer who lives a quiet life in a seaside little town. He is confident, very nice and always keeps his promises. Problem: He's obsessed with an ex-girlfriend to the point of stupidity.

Girl: She's a successful cook. She's nice (everyone in this drama is), energetic and strong-willed. She and Boy like to tease each other.

Other girl: She's been in love with Boy for ten years but hasn't made any moves. She is sad and hurt to watch Boy being obssessed with his ex girlfriend's unlikely return. She's a bit of a tomboy and very nice (of course). She and Girl become fast friends.

Other girls and boys: They should get their own mini description given their prominence but I'm too lazy and there is nothing special.

Plot/relationships: A new person gets incorporated into a group of friends who live in a small seaside town and have known each other almost forever. She brings change: new relationships, new endeavours.

Romantic relationships are gradual except for one ridiculous case of insta-love (You know, the dreadful "Wow, with this white shirt on/ without a beer in your hand/ riding an elephant, you're so good looking that I want your babies!")

Funny Factor: Throughout the drama, two teenagers live their own love story, quasi completely disconnected from the main characters, hitting all the hallmarks of "epic" love. It's totally WTH, and funny.

Music: I really like one of the insert piece, full of nostalgic feelings. Overall, it was good.

Bottom line: This is a quiet drama, with decent people who are nice to each other. I like that and I wasn't bored watching it but at the same time, I wasn't dying to watch the next episode. It didn't have glaring faults but I think the pacing was off.

I'm sorry, drama, but I have to come to terms with the fact that I love over-the-top too much and that I can't appreciate quiet anymore. +/-

Hotaru no Hikari (season 1)

Japanese title: ホタルノヒカリ

Aired on NTV
From 2007 July 11 to September 12
10 épisodes

Based on a manga by Satoru Hiura (2004-2009)

Main cast:

Ayase Haruka: Amemiya Hotaru

Fujiki Naohito: Takano Seiichi

Kuninaka Ryoko: Saegusa Yuuka

Kato Kazuki: Teshima Makoto

Takeda Shinji: Jinguuji Kaname

Itaya Yuka: Yamada Sachiko

Yasuda Ken: Futatsugi Shouji

Review: Fav!

Title : It means « glow of a firefly », a play on words since the main character is named Hotaru.

Girl : She’s a “himono onna”, meaning that she prefers lazing around at home rather than going out. As a result, she’s totally clueless in her relationships. But while she does absolutely nothing at home, she works hard at her job. Some will find her too much but that’s what is funny and  I can relate to her. (+)

Guy : Not « boy » because he’s older than Girl, he’s her boss and he’s mature. A serious, good-at-house chores man, he’s capable of silliness and can be sarcastic. (+)

Boy : Love interest of Girl. He’s really shy but really sincere. He’s a talented interior designer. For some reason he’s popular amongst girls. He’s cute but of the silent type, and not the charismatic one. So… wash.

Relationships : Interesting, progressive, with emotion. (+)

Other characters and plot : the plot is basically relationships but I want to underline the fact that the workplace is central in this drama. All the characters work together, in the interior design department of a building company, except Guy’s best friend who is in another department. Girl begins as an assistant but she earns responsibilities as a planner thanks to her good work. Though it’s unrealistic that everyone would be so friendly, I really enjoy the workplace dynamics . (+)
Update: Now that I have a job, I'm happy to say that, yes, relationships with co-workers can be really friendly. Without the drinking beer together. That should be cultural.

Funny factor: Yes. Funny characters, starting with Girl. Plus Guy’s sarcasticness. (++)

Music: Okay.

Bottom line: It’s really funny, we get to know the characters, their relations are interesting. Fav. No hesitation.
I was looking forward to the second season (2010) because you don’t want things you like to end. Unfortunately it wasn’t as good (a + maybe or gasp! even a +/-, I don’t remember enough of it), that’s why I distinguish the reviews. I have yet to see the movie (out in 2012) but I will if I can. Update: Ugh! The movie is a big minus.

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.

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.

Marrying a Millionaire

Other Title: To Marry a Millionaire
Korean Title: 백만장자와 결혼하기

Aired on SBS - Winter 2005 - 16 episodes

Main cast:

Kim Hyun Joo as Han Eun Young

Go Soo as Kim Young Hoon

Yoon Sang Hyun as Yoo Jin Ha

Son Tae Young as Jung Soo Min

Jung Jin as Jung Sung Shik

Rating (from memory): -/+

Title: Makes sense. It's the name of the real-TV show that is prominent in the drama.

Girl: For me, she's the biggest weakness of the drama. I hated her the first time I watched it. It was better the second time. On the paper, she's good: she works hard to support her loser family but I think I have a problem with this actress because even when she's supposed to be nice, I get mean vibes. (-)

Other girl: (Hello love square!) I like her. She's doing bad things to prevent the main couple to get together but she's soft and I buy her love. She knows what she wants.

Boy: He manages to be cute and hot. He's a rare type of lead and I want to praise the actor (Go Soo) for making him work. He's hard-working, loyal to his family but he also lacks confidence. He has a complex for not being intellectually bright. But he's so eager and yes, charismatic that you can't help but cheer for him. (+)

Other boy: I don't really like the actor so it's harder to like his character. And... I don't remember much about him so...

Relationships: The building to the love square is good. (+) But I have some qualms about the main relationship. His love seems childish and it makes him kind of childish too and her appear as a meanie. Why does he love her again? (-) I wasn't as struck by it on a second viewing and that's why this drama is not a Minus. Also it gets better.

Other characters: Her family is annoying but then her step-mother gets some depth and her step-sister is a comical relief. The sidekicks are pretty funny too. His family... well, I want to slap his older brother but his younger brother is cute. His relationship with his family is slightly interesting. The bad guy is a good sneaky bitter rival (the actor helps too)- I don't like him but I'm not annoyed by him.

Music: It hasn't stuck with me.
Funny factor: Apart from some minor character, not really.

Other points: Parts of the drama take place in France and they really shot there so it's nice!
It's also interesting to see the world of behind-the-scenes in the drama.

Bottom line: Plot is good, there are some clever ideas, Kim Young Hoon is a great character BUT I found myself more engrossed in his story and growth than in his relationship with Han Eun Young. It's still enjoyable but when a romance drama doesn't make you root for the main couple, it can't be a Plus.


Some more thoughts (not much) after the jump!