Panda and Hedgehog

I watched this drama on Hulu

Panda and Hedgehog was a light and fluffy, sugary treat, not unlike the cakes the show is centered around.  Though it is not going to make my top 10 list (which is in dire need of updating), it definitely had its strong points.

I was actually very surprised to find that hidden in the dime a dozen plot of a patisserie rising to stardom and dealing with the issues of his troubled past, was the beautiful gem of a love triangle not based around misunderstandings and evil plotting by second leads, but three old friends, who through Panda, are reunited again.

There are no dastardly plans contrived by the second male lead, and there really isn’t any other girl seriously vying for Hedgehog’s affection. So instead of spinning in dizzying circles created by the traditional kdrama love triangle, these three join forces and become an unstoppable example of the power of friendship.  Of course hilarity and adorableness ensue :D.

I really enjoyed how this show did not so much center around the romance, but the bonds between family and friends.  I have to say that Won Il’s (the second male lead) little sister Won Yi was one of the best characters I have seen in a long time.  Full of vibrant  life, and of course a tom boy, which we all know I love, so much so that she even calls her brother and close male friends “hyung” rather than the traditional term “oppah” that is usually used by women.  I also have to give a shout out to the fact that it brought back the old school kdrama contract, except this time it was technologically enhanced since Panda kept it on her smart phone 😛

Panda and Hedgehog was definitely full of flaws, being draggy in some parts, having an adorable but unfortunately robotic male lead, and having a really overused underdog challenges the chaebol plot (not to mention all the birth secrets LOL), however it had enough redeeming qualities that I feel it is definitely worth a watch.  I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars, a nice sweet treat after a sour melodrama!!

For a cast list and more information visit http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Panda_and_Hedgehog

Currently Watching Update-Missing You and Panda and Hedgehog

Panda and Hedgehog

• Well I happened to have been watching what have to be two of the most depressing dramas in kdrama history, A Love to Kill and Missing You at the same time.  Understandably I needed a little more sweet and less sour to recover from A Love  to Kill. So I decided to watch Panda and Hedgehog because how could a kdrama be anything but happy with a name like that?   I am now on episode 11 and it is indeed as light hearted and cutsey as I expected.  It is a predictible, enjoyably slow stroll in the park, which is just the spoonful of sugar I needed to make the medicine go down.   It may not be winning any grandiose awards anytime soon, but it is a drama to smile at.

Missing You

• While so many people cannot seem to stomach the sheer depression of this drama, I for one am still majorly on board, in fact I am entirely wrapped up in it and loving every tear jerking moment.  I will sum up how I feel about it in a comment I left on another blog-

“I actually really love this drama, given I am a huge YEH fan, otherwise I probably wouldn’t have given it a second look, but nonetheless I began watching it with serious apprehension because I normally run away immediately from melodramas. This one is different though, it has a very distinct feel from other melos. Rather than it being psychotic spoiled rich people blowing their ridiculously stupid problems out of proportion, it actually feels like gritty real life drama, which I am all about, even if it is twisted and difficult to watch sometimes. The feel of it reminds me of the movie “The Crucible” starring Gong Yoo, which actually was so tortured that it makes this show look like a box of fluffy kittens. But nonetheless I ate up the dark, gritty, indie feel of that movie just like I’m eating it up in this drama. But all that being said, I can definitely understand how this is not everyone’s cup of tea. However, I am very happy to see that Yoon Eun Hye is taking on a much heftier role that will maybe allow her to bring out some of that much loved depth of character and earnestness that we saw in Coffee Prince, though something tells me that we are not going to see the level of cuteness of Go Eun Chan…”

• I was super excited to see YEH this week!!   I think she is doing a great job so far and I can’t wait to see more interaction between her and Yoochun.  Speaking of Yoochun, he is actually really surprising me, I think this is going to be the big role where he really taps into that inner actor.

A Love to Kill

I watched this drama on Hulu

I chose not to write this review right after I finished watching it last night because all I could think of was WTF… SERIOUSLY WTF!!!  I was really enjoying this drama despite the fact that the entire plot was centered around revenge based on misunderstandings and ridiculous overreactions by  seriously psychologically impaired characters.  For some reason it was just like one of those guilty pleasure dramas for me where I knew it was bad, but I liked it anyway and didn’t care.  Hell, even the music was way off the deep end with its dramatizations.  And Shin Min Ah, let’s just say that as much as I love her, she’s come a long way with her acting abilities since ALTK.  Rain on the other hand was impressive as always, even having the nastiest snotting fits ever during his sob scenes (really, it was SO GROSS!!  But touching nonetheless…)

Even despite all of this I found myself totally sucked in and overlooking its many many faults and just enjoying the very tumultuous ride.  I think maybe it was just Rain’s whole bad boy aura that captivated me, I mean he was really working it to his advantage. But whatever it was that kept me coming, I was totally entertained.  That is until the last few episodes, during which I found myself hurling pillows at the TV and screaming the word idiot and its many synonyms at the leads.  The last episode may possibly be my least favorite ending ever.  I don’t care how dramatic and artistic they were trying to make it, I HATED it.  It was like a snowball with a big hidden chunk of ice in it.  You think you’re having a good time and then WHAM, you have big fat black eye.  Anyway, my point is that most of this drama is fun to watch despite the hairbrained stupidity, however if you watch it, brace yourself for a frustrating and severely depressing end.

For a cast list and more information visit http://wiki.d-addicts.com/A_Love_to_Kill

Faith Vs. Arang and the Magistrate-A War of the Big Fall 2012 Sageuks

Faith

Synopsis-A captain of the king’s guard in the Goryeo era is sent to bring back “God’s Doctor” from “heaven,” however Heaven’s Door turns out to be the future and he brings back a plastic surgeon from Seoul, 2012.  The story is mainly about Goryeo’s fight against Yuan and the captain’s relationship with the king, queen, and “God’s Doctor.”

Ratings out of 10 (0 being the lowest and 10 being the highest):

Plot-4

Setting/Costumes-10

Music-7

Romance-10

Hottie factor-8

Likability-6

Cinematography-6

Fight scenes-5

Overall Rating-7

For more information and a cast list visit http://asianwiki.com/Faith_(Korean_Drama)

Arang and the Magistrate

Synopsis-A man who can see ghosts crosses paths with a dead woman who is trying to remember how and why she died.  The man is searching for his missing mother and they look for answers together.

Ratings out of 10 (0 being the lowest and 10 being the highest):

Plot-9

Setting/Costumes-8

Music-6

Romance-7

Hottie factor-7

Likability-10

Cinematography-10

Fight scenes-10

Overall Rating-8

For more information and a cast list visit http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Arang_and_the_Magistrate

Thoughts:

I saw Arang first, and my breath was really taken away by the beautiful scenery and cinematography.  It also had a really attention grabbing plot and movie level fight scenes.  However, I felt like there could have been a little more substance to the relationship between Arang and the Magistrate, he really gave his all on his end, but I never really felt the depths of Arang’s undying love despite whatever shananegin’s she pulled to protect him.  Maybe it was the acting, maybe it was a lack of character development by the writers, maybe a little of both, but she just didn’t quite have the “it” factor on her end of the relationship.

On the other hand you’ve got Faith that had certainly an amazing set and some of the most beautiful costumes I’ve ever seen, but was definitely lacking in the plot department.  There were many wasted opportunities and let downs along the way.  However, the relationship between the leads was a truly beautiful romance.  The kind that just makes you sigh with happiness because you’re just so wrapped in the emotional ooze.

So really it just depends on what you’re looking for.  I personally preferred Arang a little more because it was just so spectacularly beautiful to look at and very different from other sageuks that I’ve seen.  Either way you go you’ll get something worth while out of it, so it’s up to you!!

Currently Watching-Faith and Missing You (Mostly Spoiler Free)

Faith

• I will admit I was not a huge fan of this show for the first few episodes.  I felt like the story was not well pieced together and I wasn’t overly fond of the female lead’s high strung personality.  But as time has gone on, the show has gotten a lot more interesting to me, mainly because I’ve become invested in the OTP.  There is just something really sexy about an aloof and emotionless soldier suddenly falling hard for a girl and even being willing to forsake his duties towards the king for her.  As far as the rest of the story goes, I still don’t care too much for it.  I feel like they really wasted an opportunity to do something truly awesome with the super powered villains and heroes, but chose to only display them every now and again in little short lived tussles.  Also, is it just tradition that the kings in saeguks all have to be ridiculous idiots?  They must not be fond of the kings in their history to continually portray them like this over and over again.  Ah well, every drama has its flaws, but Lee Min Ho definitely made the show worth finishing for me.  Nobody pulls off the sexy aloofness like he does lol.  5 more episodes to go!!

Missing You

• I went into watching this show with a lot of apprehension.  Yoon Eun Hye in Coffee Prince is the reason I started watching kdrama in the first place.  I fell completely in love with the show, but especially with her portrayal of Go Eun Chan.  After CP, I watched every single drama and movie I could find that had YEH in it.  She just really has something charismatic about her that draws you in and makes her fun to watch.  However, I feel that her last two dramas were not the most well scripted and kind of put a damper on her ability to shine like she did in CP.  I have been holding out hope that she would be choosier in her next project and really pick something that was going to rock my socks off.  When I first read the description for this drama I was like “Oh God not one of THOSE dramas…” but I have been pleasantly surprised to find that it’s really totally the opposite from what I thought.  So far the child actors are incredible, it is well scripted and emotionally charged, but in a way that is compelling rather than making you want to rip your hair out, and the cinematography is absolutely gorgeous, on par with Arang and the Magistrate which it replaced. I am still a little apprehensive about Yoochun, but maybe this will be the script to make him break out of his usual robotic performance.  We still have yet to see YEH and Yoochun, but I suspect we will next week and I think with this script she’s really going to shine, I just hope that Yoochun can shine along with her.  Come on Yoochun, don’t let the child actor show you up!!!

Missing You-Without Subtitles

So I was so anxious to see the first episode of Yoon Eun Hye’s new drama “Missing You” that I just finished watching it without subtitles.  Of course I plan on rewatching it with subtitles hopefully tomorrow because I’m sure I will be able to find it somewhere by then.  Anyway, I was still able to piece together what was going on and double checked that I understood correctly by reading a recap afterwards.  My initial thoughts are that this drama is so much better than I expected it to be.  I was thinking Spring Waltz, but this is much higher qulaity in every way than Spring Waltz was, and much more mature.  Watching it without having to read the subtitles really allowed me to pay attention to the finer details and I have to say the child actors kick butt and the camera work is superb.  I am so sucked in already.  I really hope that this drama can keep up the momentum instead of starting off with a bang and then fizzling out like so many dramas do.  We didn’t get to see YEH in this episode except for a glimpse in the opening, but I believe she makes her first appearance in episode 2.  I do have one question to ask, what’s up with yellow umbrellas in kdramas?  Is there some kind of cultural significance to the umbrella being yellow?  It just seems like the most popular umbrella color ever…

General Update

My life has been crazy this past week, and I have actually not been able to watch much kdrama, so I don’t have any reviews this week.  I am going to review Arang and the Magistrate soon, but I want to rewatch a few parts over before I do (watching a drama over so many weeks leaves you forgetting details from the beginning).  Anyway here is a general overview of my life and my thoughts on kdrama:

Currently Watching

I am currently watching Faith, which I am enjoying, but I really wish I had seen it before Arang.  I feel like Arang was so visually spectacular that it has almost made Faith seem kind of draggy and on the boring side at times.  The fight scenes also seem incredibly fake in comparison to the dazzlingly choreographed fights in Arang.  However, I am not far into Faith, only on episode 5 because of the business of my life this week and the fact that my husband really wanted to watch something that we would both really enjoy, so we caught up on season 3 of The Vampire Diaries and have begun watching what has aired of season 4.  After having been so incredibly disappointed with American T.V. during the week I spent with no internet, I was pleasantly surprised to find season 3 of Vampire Diaries to be suspenseful and satisfyingly entertaining in a very cracktacular way.

Halloween

So part of my business this week was all of my Halloween fun.  Since Halloween is my all time favorite holiday, I had to of course have a Tim Burton movie marathon day, a haunted house and pumpkin carving day, a Halloween social gathering, and haunted karaoke.  It was all fabulous fun!!  Here are some pictures and videos of my Halloween escapades, I’m the Katy Perry impersonator lol.

Ignore my bad singing in this video.  I’m posting it because of my hilarious husband in the modern “The Tick” suit that he made himself and our friend Bob who is someone from Mortal Combat.

In Other News…

I am in the process of buying my first house!!  I picked out a house this week and have been working out a deal with the owner to buy it.  He has agreed and I am just waiting to hear back from the private investor!!  I am so excited!!  We are returning to our hometown since we are both working down there now and will probably be starting a family sometime in the near future and would like to be close to our parents.

An American Horror Story-A World Without Internet

Some of you may have noticed that I have not been particularly active on my blog in the past week.  This is because I was house sitting for my in laws, which turned out to be much like an American Horror story.

To begin with, they live in the woods in the middle of nowhere in a log cabin house with a bazillion windows that consequently have no curtains.  How do you sleep in a place like that?  Second, my cell phone got no 3 or 4G signal.  My provider is Verizon, how can this happen?  Third, and the most terrifying bullet to my list, I was not able to access the internet AT ALL.

Why would this be so significant?  As I access ALL of my drama through various internet sources such as Hulu, Drama Fever, and Viki, I was rendered completely unable to watch any kdrama for an entire week.  Oh nightmare of nightmares!!  What a terrible ordeal this was for me to go through!!  Never in my entire year and 4 months of obsessing over kdrama have we been separated for more than a day.  I swear it felt like I had lost a limb!!!

I kept reliving Coffee Prince scenes over and over in my head and listening to the soundtrack on my ipod until I felt like I was going to burst.  I have not been through a break up in eight and a half years, but this is precisely what it felt like to have my true love ripped out of my hands as I waited helplessly for the pain to be over… okay maybe that is a little too dramatic, and it is quite possible that I have been watching way too much drama and I am starting to act like the crazy characters I love so dearly.

However, as in all situations there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  I believe two good things came from my temporary delve into the primeval world of internetless wonder.  One, being that I actually read quite a bit in order to find surcease from my incessant grief and boredom.  This is a pastime that I neglect far too often.  The second being that I realized something important as I was surfing through the tiresome Dish Network guide, praying desperately for something decent to watch on T.V.  I will not be made to feel ashamed of my kdrama addiction, because quite frankly American T.V. SUCKS, Honey Boo Boo being my case and point.  Thank the Lord for Korea and the wonderful additions they add to the world of television, where would I be without you?

Wild Romance

I watched this drama on Hulu.

Sorry guys!!  I have been house sitting this week in the middle of nowhere and have not had access to the internet or a 3G or 4G network for my phone, so I’ve kind of gotten behind with my blogging.  I am temporarily visiting my parents today though so I am going to write this post while I am here and catch up on Arang (last 2 episodes!!).  Anyway, I watched Wild Romance last week because I have heard people say good things about it and I have not watched just a straight up rom-com in quite a while.  However, to my surprise it did not turn out to simply be a rom-com.

Now the first few episodes are straight out of the kdrama rom-com handbook.  The leads meet under bizarre circumstances which lead them to hate each other and then get forced to work together and continue to insult and pull shenanigans to annoy the other person and then have one misunderstanding after the other that lead to continually awkward situations.  I was even strongly considering dropping this drama in the first few episodes because it was so typical that it was boring and annoying, however once I made it past like the first 4 or so episodes a sudden twist occurs in the plot that turns it from a typical rom-com, to a suspense/mystery rom-com (weird right?).

The sudden change in plot definitely made the show a little more unique and interesting, though still not an award winner in my book.  It doesn’t take too keen of a Scooby Doo sense to figure out who the culprit is, though there is a little twist towards the end that I wasn’t expecting.

Though I would not say I was in any way enamored with this drama, it kept me curious enough to want to know what was going to happen in the next episode.  I think part of my dissatisfaction also lies in the fact that I found the lead female to be utterly obnoxious and she probably had the worst hair in the history of kdrama (Yes, I think she actually beats Joon Pyo’s ridiculous hair in BoF).  Overall, I would give Wild Romance a 3 out of 5, entertaining enough, but not a must see.

To read a synopsis and cast list fro this drama visit http://asianwiki.com/Wild_Romance

 

Answer Me 1997

I watched this drama on Hulu

What goes around comes around, and the 90s is back with a vengeance.  Acid wash, high waisted jeans, keds, and Furbies *shudder* are all back in the limelight.  This considered, it seems this was the perfect time for the already nostalgic 90s generation to enjoy such a lovely trip down memory lane as Answer Me 1997.

Though we didn’t live the 90s in Korea, and may not have swooned over the same boy bands, the teen dream bands they sported in AM 1997 had the same exact 90s sound and look as ours, only in another language.  If you lived the 90s, boy band fandom was universal no matter what corner of the world you may hail from.  And as it stands we seem to have not ever fully recovered from this tsunami that hit the air waves in the late 90s as Korea has as many boy bands as ever and with the emergence of One Direction they are once again being popularized in the Western world.  Reliving this part of the 90s as I watched crying and screaming teenage girls make complete and utter fools of themselves produced many laughs and smiles on my part.  It took me back to the days when my walls were covered in Backstreet Boys posters and I refused to buy or listen to an N’Sync album until the day I died.

More than just the nostalgia however, Answer Me 1997 really makes you feel its characters.  They are so real that they seem like they could be you and your best friends bumbling through your teenage years, making mistake after mistake, but still being able to love and appreciate each other for all you’re worth, because that’s what real friends do.   I am blessed enough to still be close with all of my dearest high school friends and we have floundered through the teenage and college years together and are now to the point where we are in our careers, married, and some having children.  Sometimes we still love to get together and laugh about all of the ridiculous stunts we pulled in high school.  If you have this kind of relationship with your friends, you can’t help but appreciate the beauty of it in AM 1997.

The way that the story was told bouncing back and forth between flashbacks and the present made it really interesting to watch.  You never knew where it was going to flashback to. and each time you saw a new memory and then it jumped back to the present it made you look at each character with a pair of new eyes, always adding a new dimension to who they were.  In this way the writers are really able to develop your personal connection to the characters and curiosity about their pasts and futures.

Answer Me 1997 definitely stands out as one of the most uniquely executed and well written dramas I have ever seen.  It also has an unusual amount of emotional depth that is deeply satisfying in a way that shallow, formulaic, surface dramas cannot be.  I give 5 out of 5 stars!!  It will definitely be in my top 5 when I get around to the much needed rewriting of my top 10 favorites.

For a synopsis and cast list visit http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Answer_Me_1997