Algernon ni Hanataba wo (2015)

Japanese title: アルジャーノンに花束を
Other title: Flowers for Algernon

10 episodes
Aired on TBS
From 2015 April to June

Main cast:

• Yamashita Tomohisa as Shiratori Sakuto
• Kuriyama Chiaki as Mochizuki Haruka
• Tanimura Mitsuki as Kawaguchi Rio
• Ishimaru Kanji as Hachisuka Daigo
• Kubota Masataka as Yanagawa Ryuichi
• Kudo Asuka as Hiyama Kosuke
• Hagiwara Masato as Takebe Junichiro
• Oomasa Aya as Koide Mai

  

Screenwriter: Nojima Shinji, Ikeda Natsuko

Producer: Han Choru, Sato Atsushi

Director: Yoshida Ken, Sakai Masahiro, Matsuda Ayato

Notes: Based on Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (which I haven't read).
Hey little sister from Buzzer beat, you're all grown up now.

Review: -

Title: It comes from the book. I like it, it's poetic and relevant. Algernon is the name of a mouse, who's been given a new substance that develops its intelligence.

Boy: He has the intellectual development of a child. He wants to be like everyone else and he is very persistent. He is good-natured and usually defuses the fights between his co-workers who are young offenders.

Girl: She is a researcher. She is impulsive and good-hearted.

Other girl: She is a student, nice and shy, but also brave.

As you can see, I'm not really inspired...

Plot / relationships: I don't know if this comes from the source material but I didn't care for the pacing. It felt like it took forever to get to the premise and then raced through the consequences. Moreover, it doesn't use that time to make the characters more dimensional. And I didn't really believe in the main love story. It got too intense too fast.

Other characters: I was more interested in the circle of friends around Boy. The character of the mother which is super important (according to the Wiki article) was not convincing. She was everything and its contrary.

Funny factor: Not at all.

Bottom line: The premise was not my jam but I went into it open-minded. I was not convinced. Though there was an interesting twist leading to a dilemma, it was not enough. It didn't even make me want to read the book.

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.

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. + !

Drunken to love you

Taiwanese title: 醉後決定愛上你 (醉后决定爱上你)
Other title: Love you

18 episodes

Aired on TTV

From 2011 April to August

Main cast:

Rainie Yang as Lin Xiao Ru / Lulu

Joseph Chang as Song Jie Xiu

Tiffany Hsu as Tang Ai Wei / Ivy / Sandy

Huang Hong Sheng as Di Shuo Huai / Daniel

Tom Price as Xiang Ting Wei / Ricky

Kingone Wang as Ren Yi Xiang

Zhong Xin Ling as Cai Meng Jun

Renzo Liu as Li Da Fu

Di Zhi Jie as Tony

Bu Xue Liang as Paparazzi Jack

Jessica Song as Shen Hui Qin / Kelly

Wang Juan as Cai Mei Ling / Samantha

Lin Mei Xiu as A Sang

Deng Jiu Yun as Guan Pei Shan / Peggy

Note: I watched the very last episodes weeks after the first ones.

Review: -

Title: I'm not sure it's proper English but I like it. The premise is that Girl and Boy end up marrying each other despite being strangers, while drunk.

Girl: Rainie Yang chooses great roles. Girl is really great. She's selfless but still fun and strong-willed.

Boy: He's an interior designer with control-freak tendencies... at first. Like in Down with love, these just disappear. He's a very good boyfriend but I didn't really connect with him. He was a bit bland.

Other girl: The selfish actress, you know, like in Down with love (again) and other dramas, I'm sure. I didn't care for her at all. I really like the Other girl that Tiffany Hsu played in Autumn concerto but this character, nope. And the traumas that are thrown at her to make me care just worsen my dislike.

Other boy: He's a pilot and we don't see much of him. I guess I should see him as a good guy that made a mistake. But his motivations aren't so clear and he doesn't act consistently.

Other other boy: His backstory is interesting but again, don't care about him.

Other boy for Other Girl: He's too good for her. And he insta-loves her for the second laziest reason (the first one being no reason, and the third one, saving one's life) that is... she's the doppelganger of his previous great love. It's creepy and unhealthy. He doesn't love her for her but because she looks like someone else.

Plot/relationships: I talked about the secondary couple, let's talk about the main one. I liked how their relationship developped and the rapport between them. I believed they were suited to each other and that they were what they were looking for: a family. But I was less convinced by the obstacles between them and the very last act that depended on a series of big coincidences whereas it could have happened in a more logical way.

Other people: I liked Girl's loyal and funny best friend as well as Boy's coworkers.

Funny factor? Let's say yes.

 

Music: YES. Opening song and insert songs.

 

What the... ? I just remembered that the fat jokes at the expense of Girl's best friend are a bit too much.

Bottom line: I wasn't sure why I felt like it was a minus. Actually, for most of the drama, I couldn't decide between a + et a -/+. But then, I stopped watching before resuming for the last two which means it didn't hold my interest enough. Moreover, writing this review, I realised there were a lot of characters I didn't care for. And the last episodes sealed it: -

Hi My Sweetheart

Taiwanese title: 海派甜心


14 episodes
Aired on CTS / GTV
From 2009 Nov to 2010 Jan

Main cast:

Show Lo as Xue Hai 薛海 / Lin Da Lang 林逹浪

Rainie Yang as Chen Bao Zhu 陳寳茱

Lee Wei as He Yan Feng 何言風

Maggie Wu as Mo Li 莫莉

Nikki Deng as Wang Ye Qian 王野倩

Fang Fang as Xue Bo 薛波

Xiang Yu Jie as Xue Pei 薛沛

Notes:
Hi, third Wheel dude from My Lucky star!
The drama starts in Hangzhou; its sights look interesting.

 

Review: +/-

Title: Sounds generic but the use of "sweetheart" has a significance in this drama so pass.

 

Girl: I think I usually start the reviews with Boy but Girl makes the drama. She's badass, she's loyal and Rainie Yang portrays her perfectly. The character is too good for this drama and for this Boy.

 

Boy: As I said, he doesn't deserve Girl. The potential to be refreshingly different was there with a meek Boy, whose appealing traits were not his wealth nor his coolness nor his good looks but his good heart.

 

Other Boy: The take-a-hint guy, the perma friend. Not a fan of him.

 

Other girl: Girls are the most interesting in this drama.

 

Plot/ Relationship: My opinion: bad pacing killed this drama by emphasising the wrong sides of Boy. I liked the beginning. It's very important to establish the connection between the couple and I wish the part after they got together has been more developed so as to deepen their relationship. But then, so much time is spent on unfunny shenanigans that show Boy as a stalker committing moral harassment, using his position as a boss. Girl says no. And I say with her: no, no, no. Just stop. But he won't stop. I still believe in their connection, but that's thanks to the commitment of the actors.

 

Another issue I have with the plot: over-reliance on clichés to advance the plot. I don't mind near-death experiences in my drama but not when it's used as a cheap trick to get oneself out of a narrative corner.

 

Other characters: Boy's family is really prominent. I didn't really connect with his sisters. His friends from uni are quite funny. But friendship is not this drama's strong suit. I actually mind that Girl has no friends after uni except for Other boy. I don't see why she wouldn't have been able to make friends.

 

Music: I like it, especially the closing theme song.

 

Funny factor? Mixed. At first, yes, due to Boy's cluelessness and his friends. And the Pink Panther, where does it come from? Hahaha. Then, no due to Boy's harassing not being as funny as the drama thinks it is.

 

Clichés: Rich person pretending to be poor + Near-death experience. Spoilerish: (like in My Lucky star but less effective) + Revenge makeover + Spoiler (and please retire this one): Amnesia.
Yeah, there are a lot.

What the...? : Again, drama writers seem to not care at all about a somewhat realistic depiction of running a company. I don't ask for 100% accurate but I'm not running a company and I haven't studied business. Still, I can tell some stuff is stupid.

 

Bottom line: I will need to vent in the spoiler space after the jump because: waste of potential.
- Girl is great, never compromised
- An awkward Boy who is not as off-putting as in The Accidental couple.
- at some points it seems that the drama was trying to say something interesting with this Relationship But: whatever unconventional point it may have had, it didn't come through to me, with added malus of overused twists.
Rainie Yang and Show Lo's performances are the only things I'll remember. -/+

After the jump, *Spoiler* *Spoiler* *Spoiler* *Spoiler*

Down with love

Taiwanese title: 就想賴著妳 (就想赖着妳)

16 episodes
Aired on CTV
From 2010 January to May

Main cast:

Jerry Yan: Xiang Yu Ping 項羽平

Ella Chen: Yang Guo 楊果

Kelly Huang: Yang Duo 楊朵

Michael Zhang: Qi Ke Zhong 齊可中

Chen Zi Han: Ding Hui Fan 丁卉凡

Amanda Chou: Xu Yan Ling 徐雁玲

Gu Bao Ming: Yang Bo Tong 楊伯通

Yan Yi En: Liang Zhi Hao 梁志豪

Notes:
Many familiar faces: Hello Vicky Chen and Amanda Chou who I had seen in The legend of Brown sugar chivalries! Hey Renzo Liu who is always playing lawyers and the cutest little boy ever Xiao Xiao Bin... both of them were in Autumn's concerto.

Review: +

Title: Generic. Shared with a movie starring Ewan McGregor and Renee Zellweger. No relation, storywise.

Girl: You know the drift. Plain, not particularly smart or educated but nice and energetic. She's passive -but that can be explained by her always having been bossed around by her sister (passive!)- and insecure -but not in an annoying way.

Boy: I won't put Jerry Yan on that list but he would top a list of actors with the best facial expressions. Actually, he would BE this list. I could go to tumblr and find some gifs to illustrate my point but I'm afraid I'd fall into a rabbit's hole and come out tomorrow morning...

Ok, I just went and I'm already back because... there's nothing! How is it possible? Internet, you have failed me.

Um, let's go back to his character. I labelled him "Arrogant jerk" because that's what he's supposed to be but real quick, it's obvious that he's a marshmallow. He's a lawyer, if you care about his occupation.

Other boy: He's an interior designer. He's so charming and how can he be so perfect?

 

Other girl: Narcissistic actress. I didn't like her, in case you were wondering. It was intentional, I think, but why does he like her?

 

Other girl: The aforementioned Girl's older sister. At first, she was a caricature but in the end, I liked her the best. Though she's throughout a very funny character, her personality is straightforward and really strong. She would be terrifying in real life. As a non villain, she's an unusual character.

 

Plot/ Relationships: I was watching the 14th episode and thinking: "How can they be two more episodes?" I have no idea how they managed to make 16 episodes out of this story without ever boring me. So that's a good point. Another one is that the drama doesn't commit the two cardinal sins I've been complaining about recently: out of place parallel story and overstuffed finale. However, I wish the drama hadn't rush that much at the beginning, taking a very cliché narrative shortcut and dropping in a cavalier fashion what I thought was a promising premise.

Romantic, friendly, family connections are mostly well done. The characters don't evolve but they reveal more shades.

 

Other characters: They are everything: Girl's best friend, Other Girl's manager, coworkers, the kids... even one who grated on me at first turned out to be a good addition.

 

Music: WANT.

 

Funny factor? Yes. That may be a reason why this is a Plus. This drama is funny till the end, thanks to its characters.

 

Most egregious cliché: Kids scaring away nannies.

 

What the... ? People coming in and out at during work hours. Super busy lawyer not working at all.

Bottom line: I hesitated between a + or a +/-. In the end, it's a + because I didn't hate anything too much. The good weighted more that the bad. Faint praise, I know. I guess I'm tired of +/-.

The Legend of Brown Sugar Chivalries

Taiwanese title: 黑糖群俠傳 (黑糖群侠传)

Aired on StarTV
From 2008 June to October
13 episodes

Main cast:

Wang Zi as Linghu Cong

Albee Huang as Ren Ying Ying

Ah Wei as Guo Jing

Yako Chan as Lu Jian Ning

Wang Jing Qiao as Xiao Long Nu

Ah Ben as Wei Xiao Bao

Xiao Yu as Chu Liu Xiang

Xiao Ma as Yi He Cang Tai

Mei Mei as Guardian Sheng Nu

Zhang Ke Fan (張克帆) as Lu Da You

Wang De Sheng (王德生) as West Side principal

Amanda Chou as Tian Shan Tong Lao

Ao Quan as Hong Shi Ba

Christine Fan as Dong Fang Bu Bai

Notes:
- Like Brown Sugar Macchiato, it features members of music bands Lollipop, Hey Girl and Choc7 in the main cast and in cameos.
- It's a spoof of modern wuxia novels.
- Warning: Special effects are really bad. Since they are aware of it, they don't use them that much.
- Rewatching!

Review: Fav!

Title: "Brown Sugar" is a callback to "Brown Sugar Macchiato"

Boy: He's an orphan who was brought up by the principal of a magical martial arts school. Naturally gifted and hard-working, he is the strongest of his generation. Besides that, he's also a great leader.

Girl: She's an outcast because her father worked for the big bad. Moreover, she's quite shy so she seems cold and stand-offish.

Boy: He's a particularly clumsy and selfless guy. I didn't really care.

Girl: She's the only daughter of a teacher. She acts like a spoiled kid but she is not annoying as she is prompt to recognise her faults.

Plot: So there is a big bad who is threatening the balance of the land. He's currently ill so he needs a magical thingie in order to restore his powers. There is also a traitor inside the school.

Relationships: We follow three couples and there is no insta-love. Everyone has his agenda, his personnality with qualities and flaws. I was invested in the romantic relationships, but also in the friendships and the family bonds.

Other characters: I will single out the bad guys and especially The bad guy who is really scary. We don't see him much but these scenes are effective at conveying his evilness.

Funny factor? Yes, silly but funny.

Music: Good.

What the... ? One might say "the entire drama". But I give a pass to a lot of things (beggars society?) because I suppose it comes with the genre. However, I don't think a character's deafness being played for laugh can be excused. It only happens at the beginning or it would have ruined everything.

Bottom line: Under the silliness and bad special effects, I like the characters and care about what happened to them. Though its resolution was lacking, the plot was interesting, progressing steadily. Fab!