Dating Agency Cyrano

Korean title: 연애조작단; 시라노

Aired on tvN and OnStyle
From 2013 May to June
16 episodes

Main cast:

Lee Jong Hyuk: Seo Byung Hoon

Choi Soo Young: Gong Min Young

Hong Jong Hyun: Moo Jin

Jo Yoon Woo: Ah Rang

Lee Chun Hee: Cha Seung Pyo

Bae Sung Woo: Min Shik

Kim Min Kyo: Young Dal

Ha Yun Joo: Hye Ri

Kim Jung Hwa: Yoon Yi Sul

Lee Min Woo: Go Do Il

Notes:

- I stopped watching at episode 12.

- I said somewhere that I stopped watching to re-watch Coffee Prince and that's because Gong Yoo has a cameo in one episode. Then I resumed this drama and then I stopped again to watch Sungkyunkwan Scandal... so yeah DNF!

Review: DNF

Title: The drama is based at the Dating agency Cyrano which orchestrates elaborate scenarios to make people fall in love with their clients.

Girl: I hated her look. I bet she would look 100% better with another hairstyle. Apart from that, she's okay. She's nice. But she has zero backstory. She's bland.

Boy: I'm not a fan of him as well. He's a director who returns to Korea to take care of the theatre Cyrano. Since he's a director, he's good at creating romantic scenarios. He's arrogant. And that's it.

Other boy: I didn't get him. He's a chef at a restaurant but he has a secret that just muddles his characterisation. And he knew Boy's best friend. Technically, it's a spoiler because it's revealed in a latter episode but it's so obvious.

Other girl: I almost forgot her. She was Boy's best friend's girlfriend. She pops up from time to time and we know next to nothing about her.

Relationships: Girl has more chemistry with a random guy from the first episode that we never see again than with Boy. Seriously, I thought she would end up with this guy (for five minutes until I realised we would never see him again). It's a bit better with Other boy but his character is terrible and hers is boring and there was no conflict so... wash. (-)

Plot: First, there are the stories of their clients that take around two or three episodes. At first, it was quite enjoyable and there was something interesting in the idea of realising the scenarios. But the drama fails in several ways:

- it clumsily clears the issue of lying to these people in the first arc. In a later arc, Girl befriends the target of their client and they become quite close. Then, when they succeed in making her fall for their client, she offscreen tells her she's out of her life. "Bye Bye, I have no moral qualms about manipulating you all this time." That's just bad.

- the scenario takes turns and ends up making no sense.

- one arc directly and emotionally involves a member of the agency but once it has ended, it has no bearings anymore on this character. (-)

Second, there is a kind of ongoing plot about Boy's past, his friend, and Other boy. But it's dished out so slowly, being completely dropped from several episodes, probably because there is not much to it, that I lost interest in that story. (-)

Other characters: Now that I think about it, the clients and their targets are more interesting than the core characters. But we never see them after the agency is done with them. When I stopped watching, the arc was okay but it was starting to drag.

Of course, there are the other two members of the agency. They suffer from the same case of underdevelopment than Boy and Girl. At least, one of them is slightly more interesting and gets to be in a cute relationship. He's also the only one who gets to evolve over the course of the drama.

Most egregious cliche: mouth-to-mouth resuscitation

Funny factor? It has its moments but on the whole, not really.

Music: OK.

Bottom line: The review ended up being more vitriolic than I expected when I quit watching. I thought it would just be: this drama just doesn't retain my attention. But when I analyse a bit more, I find out why it hasn't retained my attention. Boring characters and bad pacing of the ongoing plot first, then failure to properly execute the shorter arcs. (-)

Coffee Prince

Korean title:  커피프린스 1호점

Other title: The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince

Aired on MBC
From 2007 July to August
17 episodes

Main cast:

• Yoon Eun Hye as Go Eun Chan
• Gong Yoo as Choi Han Kyul
• Lee Sun Kyun as Choi Han Sung
• Chae Jung Ahn as Han Yoo Joo
• Kim Ja Ok as Han Kyul's mom
• Choi Il Hwa as Han Kyul's dad
• Kim Young Ok as Han Kyul's grandmother
• Park Won Sook as Eun Chan's mom
• Kim Chang Wan as Hong Gae Sik
• Kim Jae Wook as No Sun Ki
• Kim Dong Wook as Jin Ha Rim
• Lee Un as Hwang Min Yeop
• Yoon Young Ah as Go Eun Sae

Notes:
- This is the very first drama I watched back in 2007! I watched all of it in one day in one sitting after coming back from watching the sunrise, on the recommendation of Korean friends. It's the first time time I've rewatched it since, so it was funny to see what I remembered and what I had totally forgotten.
- It has Wikipedia pages in several languages!

 

Review: +

Title: Most of the drama revolves around reviving and working at "Coffee Prince" so it's appropriate.

Girl: She's boyish looking and acting so Boy thinks she's a boy. She's hard-working, strong-willed but also warm and she makes people feel at ease.

Boy: He's from a rich family but doesn't feel like marrying and working for the family business. He's a bit older than Girl but can behave quite like a child. He's affectionate and intense in his feelings.

Other boy: He's a composer and Boy's cousin. Unlike him, he knows from the start that Girl is... well a girl. He's more laid-back and friendly.

Other girl: She's a painter and she's in love with Other boy. Maybe flighty is too strong a word to describe her but she's a bit of that.

Plot/Relationship: Building the relationships and going through the hurdles. The plot is good but then gets less intense. I was less in a hurry to watch the next episode but I was caring for this couple so I would still watch it to the end. And when it was the end... i felt some withdrawal. The chemistry between Girl and Boy is strong and they feel perfect for each other. They are so cute together. Apart from finding each other, they also both find careers they like.

Families: I appreciate that his family wasn't the typical cold, affectionless rich family. And her sister was less annoying that I remembered!

Other characters: Mostly the guys who work at Coffee Prince. They each have their personality and their interactions are interesting and funny.

Main cliché: Girl pretending to be a boy.

Funny factor? Not really but cute bantering: yes.

Music: understated but nice.

What the...? One character is quite gross (like "please, I'm eating!") and I will never understand why Korean dramas insist on showing us people on toilets.

Bottom line: It's an excellent drama. I actually started watching  Cyrano Dating Agency and I thought of rewatching Coffee Prince. Result: I completely stopped Cyrano Dating Agency to watch all of Coffee Prince. It deserves the success it has had (+)

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. +

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. +/-

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) +!

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!