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Drama Diary

Skip Beat! the drama

September 13, 2014 by Anna N Leave a Comment

I recently marathoned 14 episodes of the Tawainese live action version of Skip Beat! which is airing now on Dramafever. This production has been stalled in development previously, with Jerry Yan aka the Tsukasa role from Meteor Garden set to play the Ren Tsuruga character. Instead in this version we have some amazing stunt casting with two members of Super Junior playing the roles of Sho and Ren. My love of Korean entertainment generally starts and ends with k-dramas, so my awareness of Super Junior is just that they are the group that does the Sorry, Sorry song.

I’m always curious to check out live adaptations of manga that I enjoy, because when done right it gives me an opportunity to enjoy a story I’ve liked in a different way. I have a couple quibbles with the casting, but overall I think that most Skip Beat! manga fans will be happy to check out this drama.

skipb

Skip Beat! is the story of Kyoko (sorry, I’m going to just stick with the original names from the manga), a young girl without a family who is raised alongside Sho Fuwa, whose main ambition is to become an idol. She follows Sho to the big city and works multiple jobs to support him while he pursues his music career. When she finds out that Sho has just been using her all along, she takes a vow of revenge to punish him by eclipsing him in the entertainment industry. She manages to join a top talent agency, LME under the “Love Me Program” where she has to slowly work her way up in the industry by acting as a gopher while wearing a humiliating pink jumpsuit. She meets and makes an impression on Ren Tsuruga, a leading young actor and Sho’s senior in the industry. As Kyoko progresses in her journey towards celebrity, she gradually finds the craft of acting more and more rewarding.

I was wondering if a live action adaptation of the manga would manage to capture some of the frantic energy in Yoshiki Nakamura’s illustrations, and I was pleasantly surprised by the appearance of Bo the Chicken in the credits, along with some low budget cgi versions of Kyoko’s grudge spirit creatures. The first episode showed Kyoko’s superspeed as she frantically races to get to a store to grab a promotional poster of Sho. You can get a general feel for the show in this trailer, which shows a few moments from the first few episodes:

Ivy Chen is a good Kyoko, angry and vengeful when needed, and then innocent and enthusiastic when she gets her first chance to transform into the princess of her dreams at the hands of a makeup artist.

On the whole, I was very pleased with how closely the drama followed the manga in terms of plot, handling Kyoko’s unconventional entrance into the entertainment industry, where the skills she perfected by growing up helping out at a traditional Japanese inn coincidentally come in handy during her first acting jobs. The choice to dub Siwon’s and Donghae’s voices as Sho and Ren is a bit distracting at times, but since I don’t understand either Korean or Mandarin, I guess I shouldn’t be too picky. As Sho, Donghae basically has to act petulant and spoiled most of the time.

Petulant and Purple

Petulant and Purple

I had some issues with Siwon as Ren, mostly due to the fact that there wasn’t really a noticeable age difference between the actors, when I expect Ren as a character to appear much more mature than Kyoko and Sho. On the acting side, Ren in this drama is as reticent and inner-focused as I’d expect Ren to be, with the pleasant and professional mannerisms starting to be derailed a bit due to close proximity with Kyoko.

Tiny Grudges!

Tiny Grudges!

One thing I was very happy about was that the relationship between Kyoko and Kannae had plenty of time to develop. I was worried that the drama would push things too far in the direction of Super Junior Love Triangle, but Kannae and Kyoko’s gradual friendship forged in the adversity they face as fellow “Love Me!” Section comrades got just the right amount of screen time.

Besties Forever!

Besties Forever!

At 14 episodes in, this series is getting up to the point where Kyoko appears in Sho’s video, and I expect the series will be heading into the Dark Moon storyline soon as well. It’ll be interesting to see how they decide to wrap the series up, since the manga hasn’t ended yet.

Carrying a girl in a pink jumpsuit around. As you do.

Carrying a girl in a pink jumpsuit around. As you do.

Putting aside my quibbles with live action Ren not seeming older and manly enough, this is a very solid adaptation of Skip Beat! that should please fans of the manga. My only problem is having watched so many episodes at once, the main song for the title credits is now seared into my brain.

Filed Under: Drama Diary, FEATURES

Drama Diary: IRIS Episodes 1-5

June 11, 2013 by Anna N 1 Comment

I tend to watch mostly romantic comedies when I am viewing k-drama, but IRIS is a bit different. This is a decidedly action-oriented series, and while there is a little bit of romance and comedy, more than anything else this series resembles a k-drama take on the Bourne Identity. Iris is also notable because it stars Byung-hun Lee, who is currently making a crossover bid to Hollywood movies this summer with his roles in GI JOE: Retaliation and Red 2. This series also has some interesting shifts in timeline as the plot unfolds. While in my more cynical moments I might think that the circular nature of the first few episodes was designed to provide an excuse to reuse footage of an expensive location shoot, the opening of the series certainly caught my attention.

iris

A young Korean agent in Hungary is given a solo mission, and told that it is very important. We see him scouting everything out and positioning himself to carry out an assassination. He carries out his mission, killing the North Korean Prime Minister. But he’s shot by a North Korean agent as he makes his getaway! He manages to get back to his safehouse and requests assistance, only to be told that he’s on his own. All of this happens in the first eight minutes of the episode!

Much like Superman, Kim Hyun Joon uses glasses to hide his true identity.

Much like Superman, Hyun Joon uses glasses to hide his true identity.

Our hero is injured again in a confrontation with North Korean agents, and he passes out. The episode flashes back to the past, where we meet a slightly younger and more idiotic version of Kim Hyun Joon, training as a member of Korean Special Forces and attending college classes, where an attractive woman, Choi Seung Hee, basically makes him look stupid over and over again. Our hero is the type to relentlessly pursue any woman who seems disinterested in him, but she’s able to fend off his advances and drink him under the table.

Not distracted by his handsomeness at all...

Not distracted by his handsomeness at all…

Hyun Joon trains with his best friend Jin Sa Woo aka “Second Lead Guy”. Sa Woo goes out for drinks with a man from his hometown, who brings along a beautiful female colleague, who just happens to be the student Kim Hyun Joon is crushing on. They talk, and Sa Woo also decides that he’s met his ideal woman.

Sa Woo, often confused about life.

Sa Woo, often confused about life.

Hyun Joon and Sa Woo are inducted into a secret branch of the Korean government, but not before they are subjected to some cloak and dagger shenanigans. Hyun Joon isn’t having any of that, and ends up proving his value as a secret agent due to his ability to resist the effects of mysterious injections, throw chairs against interrogation glass windows, and look like a seething badass in a wifebeater. It turns out that Seung Hee is actually an extremely gifted profiler and her interactions with the two men were part of a process to evaluate their suitability as secret agents. To make things even more complicated, Seung Hee is now their superior officer.

No one to take rules about fraternization between agents very seriously, Hyun Joon pursues Seung Hee relentlessly. They have a successful first mission and take off on a secret vacation together to Japan. The blissful lovers are called back to duty though, and Hyun Joon is given the solo mission that introduced the whole series at the start of the first episode. Hyun Joon is stranded, wounded, and accused of being an enemy agent by his country and a target of North Korean agents!

IRIS

IRIS has much better production values than the typical k-drama, and the action scenes are well-directed. IRIS also inspired two related series, IRIS II, and Athena: Goddess of War. If you’re looking for an action-filled drama to enjoy over the summer, you can’t go wrong with IRIS.

IRIS is streaming on Dramafever

Filed Under: Drama Diary, FEATURES & REVIEWS Tagged With: IRIS

Drama Diary: My Princess Eps. 8-16

March 24, 2013 by Anna N 3 Comments

Here’s my first My Princess post covering the beginning of the series, if you haven’t read it before!

The second half of My Princess becomes more serious as the political machinations pick up and everybody has to deal with Events From The Past, as one does in kdramas. The restoration of the Monarchy is going to go up to a public vote, so the President and other politicians are very interested in the outcome. The President supports the Monarchy on the surface because he owes Hae Young’s Grandfather a great deal, but in reality he is not thrilled about a new ceremonial Korean Monarchy pulling focus from the elected government. The toppling of the Monarchy is aided by the evil Yoon Joo, who gets a willing accomplice in Seol’s sister Lee Dan. Lee Dan manages to steal a royal artifact from Seol’s house and starts claiming to be the real princess. Professor Nam tries to head off Yoon Joo, but isn’t entirely successful. While most of the time in kdramas the evil second woman isn’t particular sympathetic, I thought that Yoon Joo was so irredeemably bitchy that as a viewer I wouldn’t really be satisfied unless she was somehow seriously maimed by a runaway truck at the end of the series. Unfortunately, no maiming of Yoon Joo actually happens.

Please die in a fire, evil lady!

Please die in a fire, evil lady!

Seol and Hae Young are pushed apart by the rumor that his father persecuted her father and caused his death. Seol is dedicated to bringing back the monarchy in order to restore his reputation, and the idea that Hae Young’s father might have caused her tragic early life is very painful to her. One of the repetitive aspects of this kdrama that actually gets a bit wearying as the series goes on is the sheer number of times that Seol runs away from Hae Young, only to be reunited with him a half hour later. Also, it seems like the South Korean government just places travel bans on people willy nilly, as everyone is always fleeing to the airport only to be told that they are unable to leave the country. Seol’s constant fleeing might have decent motivations, but it does make me question her sanity in avoiding a brooding rich diplomat who clearly adores her.

Seriously, would you run away from a man with this face!?

Seriously, would you run away from a man with this face!?

As things begin to get worse for the would be Monarchy, Professor Nam and Hae Young begin to grudgingly work together. One of the most amusing things about this series are the random displays of alpha male posturing when they start arguing over ridiculous things like cuts of meat in an attempt to establish who is doing a better job looking out for Seol.

Who is more handsome!  I am!  No, I am!

Who is more handsome!
I am!
No, I am!

This series manages to last for 16 episodes purely because Seol and Hae Young are each determined to suffer in silence and not burden each other with their problems. While this might be noble, it is a bit infuriating that Seol never comes out and tells the Professor or Hae Young how badly Yoon Joo is bullying her, although both men figure out what is going on. Hae Young ends up solving many problems through his sneaky diplomatic skills, but by putting the Monarchy first, the Princess and the Diplomat might have to put romance aside.

So cute, I can't stand it.

So cute, I can’t stand it.

Hae Young and Seol are one of my favorite couples out of all of the kdramas I’ve watched so far. The actors have great chemistry. The relationship between them has an amusing dynamic, because while Hae Young tends to act in a very high-handed manner most of the time, when Seol decides to get back at him by doing something like pretending to go to a marriage meeting he immediately drops his arrogant pretenses and starts acting overly concerned. I enjoyed rewatching this series, because I was reminded of some of my favorite moments, like Seol trying to erase her slightly perverted internet history and Seol and Hae Young bonding by sitting together in an antique car museum exhibit. The final episode pairs everybody off nicely, and while I would like to see the villains of the series be punished even more, there’s something to be said for the comfort found in happy endings.

Watch now at DramaFever!

Filed Under: Drama Diary Tagged With: dramas, kdramas, my princess

Drama Diary: My Princess Eps. 1-7

February 4, 2013 by Anna N 4 Comments

I don’t often rewatch dramas simply because there are so many other shows out there that I haven’t seen. I have watched bits of Boys Over Flowers more than once, and I seem to need to rewatch You’re Beautiful every couple of years. My Princess is a show I’ve been meaning to write about for some time, and I planned to only watch the first episode, but promptly got addicted to the series all over again.

My Princess

My Princess
has one of the better opening scenes that I’ve seen in any drama to date. There’s a dramatic procession and ritual going on in a historic building. A traditionally attired princess sits in a throne to watch the festivities. Soon some details start appearing that make the scene look a little bit off. The princess is fidgety and bored in a most unprincess-like way. An alarmingly handsome man in a modern suit is talking in an earpiece about ensuring the safety of a “Princess Stella.” Soon we realize that the whole scene is taking place in the modern world, in a very lavish historical tourist trap. The girl playing the fake princess is Lee Seol, a flighty student who has far too many part-time jobs. The alarmingly handsome man is Park Hae Young, a diplomat and third generation heir to a giant Korean corporate conglomerate.

Are they the most adorable couple in Kdramas ever?

Are they the most adorable couple in Kdramas ever?

Hae Young induces Seol to work overtime, but doesn’t carry small enough bills to pay her which causes her much consternation. Seol is like an extremely charming steamroller, somewhat relentlessly relying on being cute to sail through life, but she carries on in such an amusing manner it is hard not to be captivated by her. Her main focus is her obsession with her archeology professor Nam Jung Woo, as she entertains elaborate Indiana Jones style fantasies of how their romance will kindle when they meet in Egypt. When Seol realizes that Hae Young intends to marry her professor’s first love, museum director Oh Yoon Joo, she decides that she has to help the young man with romance by making Yoon Joo jealous. Seol claims to be Hae Young’s girlfriend. Seol treats Hae Young like a slightly dimwitted older brother, but she doesn’t yet realize how their lives are about to be intertwined. In the meantime, things between the professor and Yoon Joo are tense, because evidently museum directors lack basic academic integrity and she has poached on her knowledge of the professor’s research to create professional triumphs for herself.

The proper response to male nakedness....

The proper response to male nakedness….

is to cover one's eyes with produce.

is to cover one’s eyes with produce.

Love rectangle firmly established, My Princess moves into thought experiment territory as it explores what would happen if modern day Korea tried to bring back the Monarchy. Hae Young’s grandfather established his fortune with funds from the royal family, and as he is nearing the end of his life he has decided to give all his money and the royal family back to the country. It turns out that fake princess Seol is actually the last living member of the Royal family! She was abandoned when she was five years old and adopted. Seol’s early childhood memories are fragmented, but she does confirm a few details that show her to be the true princess. Despite her tendencies towards materialism, Seol isn’t actually that interested in becoming Princess, only agreeing to accept the position when she sees false press reports about her dead father. Hae Young is decidedly unhappy about his anticipated inheritance being taken away from him and tries a number of strategies to prevent Seol from entering the palace. Yoon Joo maneuvers herself into a position of Executive Director of the Royal Foundation.

Seol should be Hae Young’s enemy, because if she’s voted in as Princess his life will be taken away from him. With his background in diplomacy, he manages to get himself assigned as her etiquette instructor and goes to live in the palace too. Seol’s only ally in the palace is a young chef who keeps looking out for her. Yoon Joo is a master at passive aggression and goes out of her way to make Seol feel uncomfortable when they are in front of other people, only to come out and calmly discuss her hatred when they are alone. Hae Young isn’t without compassion, and Seol can be terribly charming.

Seriously, how cute are they!?

Seriously, how cute are they!?

There are so many cute touches in this drama. Seol and Hae Young are falsely linked romantically before the truth comes out, and Seol’s mother is almost giddy with excitement over the idea of a chaebol son-in-law. Seol’s dogged pursuit of her Professor is hilarious, but she spends more time on the run with Hae Young, watching the movie Roman Holiday in an open air theater and charging him a fortune to say in her family’s bed and breakfast. My Princess manages to balance the frothy aspects of a modern day fairy tale with plenty of realism as Seol deals with her tough past and the politicians conspire to derail the efforts to restore the royal family. As a couple, Seol and Hae Young are one of my favorite pairings in drama. The actors have an undeniable chemistry that makes watching them so much fun. I highly recommend that you check out My Princess if you are looking for a fun romantic comedy drama to enjoy with Valentine’s Day coming up!

Watch now at DramaFever!

Filed Under: Drama Diary Tagged With: kdramas, my princess

Drama Diary 1-30-13: Guy #2

January 30, 2013 by Melinda Beasi 17 Comments

If you’re a fan of romance, you know the guy I mean. He’s the primary rival of the story’s cold, brooding, and/or unreliable romantic hero—the guy who is kinder, more understanding, and who offers significantly more emotional security than Guy #1. He is also undeniably, irretrievably doomed to lose the girl. He is Shin Woo in You’re Beautiful or (for manga fans) Takeuchi in We Were There. And though sometimes his story may be more nuanced (Nobu/NANA) or perhaps even genuinely satisfying (Yuki/Fruits Basket), Guy #2’s lack of potential as leading man material is predetermined from the start.

As romance tropes go, I have a sort of hate/slightly-more-hate relationship with the fate of Guy #2. For one thing, I’ve never personally gone for the cold, brooding, and/or unreliable type, and not even a lifetime of devotion to romantic fiction has succeeded in changing that fact. Kindness, understanding, and emotional security ftw! Yet, with rare exception (sorry, I still root for Duckie every single time), a good storyteller can win me over to Guy #1, slowly but surely, right alongside the story’s heroine.

Then came Fated to Love You.

I was introduced to the Taiwanese drama Fated to Love You by the incomparable Sara K., whose post on the series promised me a smart, irreverent romantic comedy with a genuinely moving story—and indeed it has delivered on those promises in every way. But I’ll admit that, ten episodes in, I’m having some real difficulty with the heroine’s obvious romantic trajectory.

Meet Guy #1:

cunxi

Cun Xi is the wealthy, young director of Magic Cleaner Enterprises, a corporation that makes soap and other cleaning products. He’s also the company’s sole heir. He lives with his overbearing grandmother and wears shiny suits. Though Cun Xi has at times been both kind and tender towards our adorable, selfless heroine, Xin Yi, he has also spent much of the series’ first ten episodes whining, throwing tantrums, yelling at women, taking calls on his cell phone at inappropriate moments, threatening layoffs, and playing golf.

And yes, he has the ability to look both handsome and mature, but this expression is not as rare as one might hope.

Meet Guy #2:

dylan

Dylan is renowned expert in Chinese ceramics whose unassuming personality (and one wacky misunderstanding) initially leads Xin Yi to believe he is a priest. Despite his self-made fortune, he spends most of his free time caring for children at the orphanage that raised him and teaching them how to paint. He is insightful and soft-spoken, while also being a total badass. He was last seen (as of episode ten) urging our heroine to believe that she could actually be a strong, whole person, independent of a man. He’s the only person in the entire series who has demonstrated that he values Xin Yi for something other than her future as a mother, wife, or perpetual doormat. And seriously, you guys, HE TAKES CARE OF ORPHANS.

Guy #1 who??

Though it’s absolutely clear, even less than halfway through, that Xin Yi’s heart belongs to shiny-suited Cun Xi, it’s going to take a herculean effort on the storytellers’ part to get me there with her. And at the moment, all I wish for is that Xin Yi would cast off her attachment to Cun Xi’s emotional torture (it’s a long, spoilery story and his position is not unsympathetic, but man does he torture her) and run off to Shanghai with Dylan. (Please do not tell me if this actually happens.)

Oh, Guy #2, I’m on Team You. If only you had a chance. Who’s with me?

Watch now at DramaFever!

Filed Under: Drama Diary, FEATURES & REVIEWS Tagged With: Fated to Love You

Drama Diary 1-24-13: Love Rain

January 24, 2013 by Melinda Beasi 2 Comments

With cold weather stubbornly setting in here in western Massachusetts, most of my daily outdoor activity has been grudgingly moved indoors. For the most part, I consider this a negative (the seat on my exercise bike is seriously unforgiving), but on the plus side, it’s given me a great excuse to indulge myself in an exclusively indoor addiction: Korean television dramas.

I haven’t watched any dramas for a while, and it was our recent discussion of the Korean manhwa series Chocolat for Off the Shelf in which Michelle inadvertently got me in the mood by bringing up Jang Keun Suk’s character in You’re Beautiful. With that on my mind, I decided to try out another drama featuring him as the romantic lead, Love Rain.

Love Rain opens at a university in Seoul in the 1970s, where art student In Ha falls in love at first sight (in exactly three seconds) with Yoon Hee, a quiet family health major who is known as the “madonna” of her class. In Ha is painfully shy, but after accidentally coming into possession of Yoon Hee’s diary, he learns enough about her to realize that they are very much alike, which gives him the nerve to pursue her.

In Ha awkwardly shares a broken umbrella with Yoon Hee.


In Ha awkwardly shares a broken umbrella with Yoon Hee.

Unfortunately, his best friend, Dong Wook, has also fallen for Yoon Hee, and being a much more confident guy, is way ahead of In Ha. Though it’s obvious throughout that it’s In Ha whom Yoon Hee really likes, In Ha’s deference to his friend’s needs causes him to push Yoon Hee away, until things are finally so far out of whack that there’s no way to rectify the situation without alienating all their friends, including Hye Jung (who loves In Ha) and Chang Mo (who loves Hye Jung). It’s a big mess, and through a series of unexpected events, Yoon Hee leaves for America and In Ha for the army, unlikely to see each other ever again.

In Ha and Yoon Hee’s story spans the first four of the series’ twenty episodes, and it’s actually rather stunningly well done. The time period is captured beautifully, down to the soundtrack and color palette, and social/political issues of the time are used to great advantage. My first thought about these episodes is that they were feature film quality in pretty much every way. And it doesn’t hurt that we get to see Jang Keun Suk looking natural and radiant in a way that could never have been granted to his character in You’re Beautiful.

I mean, just look at that smile.


I mean, just look at that smile.

Episode five opens with a time-jump to the present, in which we meet Joon, a young Korean photographer traveling in Japan for a shoot. As Joon gets off the train in Sapporo, he collides with a Korean college student, Ha Na, whose phone falls into his pocket. Joon is a cynical, arrogant guy, with a reputation of being able to pick up any girl in three seconds, and he makes Ha Na’s life hell as she desperately tries to retrieve her phone. She’s self-possessed and feisty, and not about to take any of Joon’s crap, but she needs the phone in order to make contact with her mother’s long-lost first love, who is visiting the school in Sapporo where she studies gardening. Jerkiness and misunderstandings ensue, ultimately leading Joon and Ha Na to a location famous for “Diamond Snow,” which supposedly has the power to make two people fall in love. Oh, and in case you haven’t figured it out, Joon and Ha Na are the children of In Ha and Yoon Hee, respectively, set up to relive (or not?) their parents’ doomed love story.

This setup sounds hokey, but it actually really works extremely well… for about five episodes. To begin with, Joon and Ha Na are played by the same actors who played their parents earlier on, and honestly, their range is vastly more impressive than I expected. There’s not a moment where they actually seem like the same actors, and though obviously their characters are written very differently, much credit must be given to the actors themselves.

This change in character is also an interesting relief. Though In Ha and Yoon Hee’s story is beautifully melancholy, it’s a genuine relief to be able to throw off the restrained tone of the first four episodes and see this new couple rage openly at each other. Of course, what really works so well for the story here, is that it’s made obvious that while the older, more restrictive social norms that helped keep In Ha and Yoon Hee from expressing themselves freely are no longer in place, people are just as capable as ever of getting in their own way.

Doomed love: The next generation?


Doomed love: The next generation?

The look of the series changes drastically as well—not only in the necessary ways, such as clothing styles and so on, but the entire tone is suddenly modern, visually and otherwise. Colors are cooler and less muted—as though we’ve gone from matte to glossy in moving video. This extends, of course, to the soundtrack as well.

Oh, and if Jang Keun Suk was radiant in the first section of the series, that role now falls to Yoona (of K-pop group Girls’ Generation), whose portrayal of Ha Na is glorious to behold.

True radiance, no?


Who wouldn’t fall in love with this face?

Other highlights include Kim Shi Hoo who, in dual roles as Dong Wook and his son Sun Ho, is like a breath of fresh air every time he hits the screen, and Kim Young-kwang, whose portrayal of Ha Na’s unfortunate college almost-boyfriend is surprisingly nuanced throughout.

After the first seven or eight episodes of this series, I was ready to cry out to the world about its sweet, quirky loveliness! Unfortunately, somewhere around episode ten or so, things just begin to drag, in just about every way possible. Complications arise, as they must, of course, but the re-emergence of In Ha and Yoon Hee’s original romance, which sounds romantic on the face of it, ends up just dragging the plot into an endless, soap-opera spiral of doom, from which there ultimately is no escape. Not only does it feel like the writers of the series had to deliberately drag things out in order to reach twenty episodes (seriously, there are several episodes which almost feel like repeats of each other, so little changes as they go), but all the life is sucked out of the main characters, despite the actors’ best efforts.

That said, I watched feverishly until the end (okay, I skipped episode 12 and went straight for the recaps at K-POP! rage, because I just couldn’t take it), desperately seeking a happy ending, and honestly, I’d recommend it despite its weak second half, just for the beauty and craft of its beginning. In fact, I may just go and re-watch the first ten episodes right away. They’re that good.

Watch it now at DramaFever.


Now that I’ve finished Love Rain, I need new fodder for my hours on the exercise bike. Any recommendations?

Filed Under: Drama Diary

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