Rants and Weekly Raves #118 (RAWR)
kakashi: Wang Kai in something new! No, there never can be enough Wang Kai.
Shuk: Hot man, hot kiss, Paris umbrella but no ET on it. I call this a winner!!
Oh, and I started Novoland, where is the button that can make me stop watching?!
JoAnne: Even the name sounds worse than Ice Fantasy.
I love it. I'm glad the website or my computer or both crashed last night or I would have marathoned until this morning.
SakiVI: Novoland is fun!
Not enough idols? Not enough romance?
Viki subbers are working on it, but it's not getting done as quickly as others. I'm okay with that as I have plenty to watch, but it does worry me that they'd peter out at the half-way point.
There is a site who has the first two subbed.
I saw that it was subbed this morning. Finally.
So far we've had 1) a brief moment with Kim Ji Hoon, which is basically a KDrama interpretive dance rendition of his career: random and blink or you'll miss him; 2) Lee Joong Gi as a unfortunately too weird tech chaebol oppa who she doesn't remember at all, but he's loved her forever. It just wasn't right, somehow. I love you Joong Gib but no. 3) Park Hae Jin as the gruff but secretly loving and definitely protective boss. He beat Joong Gi hands down. No contest at all; and finally 4) Ji Chang Wook as the secret agent who was a former boss (back when she was a spy) who fell in love with her, thus had to fire her. Now he's back and determined to do whatever it takes to be by her side, just not right this minute, apparently. I'm gonna go with Park Hae Jin still, thanks.
Next up we'll have Kai, who I normally drool over. Right now, with that strange hair color? He looks like the world's most moisturized and face-lifted harabeoji and I 'mma go with NO. Odds are good that at just past the halfway point, Park Hae Jin will retain his lead.
I was saving all my words for this one. I giggle like a crazy person throughout the show because our heroine responds how I'd be responding "Why is Lee jun Ki here?" "Park Hae Jin is our new boss?" She is literally drooling over these guys and who wouldn't and who wouldn't be kind of freaked out that these absolutely hot stars are so into her? I do like her back story in the secret agent one mainly because she was so surprised at herself that she is capable of these actions. I'd like her to ask herself the same question Big asks in the Weight Lifting Fairy show: how will anyone love you if you don't love yourself? I don't know who Kai is (sorry fans), but I also don't understand that hair color either. Can't wait to watch though. It's SO fun even if I know that it's dumb.
Update: I have seen Episode 5, with pretty Kai - or, as I feel I should refer to him now, Weird Grandpa. I'm reminded of the fact that I prefer him when he's dancing, and he doesn't dance much in this episode. Our heroine does seem to have become more comfortable with these interludes, though, and barely bats an eye when Kai shows up as a former student hoping to get closer to his teacher. He sure is pretty, that Weird Grandpa. Next up we have Ok Taecyeon, and it looks like our lucky Lotte lady is going to have to deal with opposition from the family as well as the family-chosen fiancee. How much can they cram into 10 minutes?
She is precious. He is precious. I want to hug them both. It breaks my heart that Bok Joo has begun to doubt herself. Yes, she kept that innocence and confidence much, much longer than most girls do - but watching her struggle right now is so hard. I wish she would have remained fearless and comfortable forever, but since she didn't, I'm grateful that she has both a loving family and good friends to support her, and a man/boy like Joon Hyung who accepts her and appreciates her exactly as she is. I don't think he's been fully aware until very recently that his interest in her is romantic, but he knows it now and hasn't had one moment where he thought she wasn't 'the right kind of girl.' She is exactly the right kind of girl, and he knows it, and we love him for it.
This week the Goblin waffled between wanting to go and wanting to stay. It was very entertaining for me but next week he should make a decision. And I'm still totally okay with the age gap, because what he 'loves' about her is that she is bursting with life, dancing right on the verge of everything - when are we ever so full of promise as we are at 19 or 20? They are two of the loneliest people on the planet, and they found each other. It's a beautiful thing.
Yes, it's a JDrama remake, right? They tend to be short, so it seems they went with short too. Good!
We'll see how this one ends. It might be on my list to recap over my break, but I don't think any is watching but me. Thus, I'm sure anyone would be interested.
Me, me, ohhh, me, pick me, I want to watch! I liked Winner quite a bit, but since what I liked about them was Kang Seung Yoon and Taehyun, I like them about 50% less now that Taehyun is gone. Plus, this just sounds like something I'd like. Gimme, gimme.
I love this show! I'll comment if you recap.
Tuoba Jun. :-) Yeah, I skimmed through it all raw and am done.
(yes, worse than Ice Fantasy Okay, I think it's not worse than Ice Fantasy), but it seems the Chinese always manage to have interesting female characters in their stories. Also, this one has a super shady but oh-so-HOT "Emperor" (Zhang Ruo Yun: he's almost 30, I'm always glad when they're close to adulthood), who obviously is actually nice, but just dares to show this face to the world. And of course he is about to find himself in an epic and very sad love story with the heroine. Looking forward to seeing this one suffer. Oh, and I totally don't like the Crown Prince - his rival from the other clan - because he's ugly.
Is that a fish flying in the upper right hand corner?
Either that or a flying battleship.
There's a lot of steampunk in this. Adds to the fun. And aw, I like the Crown Prince. But he's nothing next to our Wingkind Emperor. I can't understand why the Regent doesn't have blue eyes, though.
Right? I've been puzzling over Wingkind Emperor's eye color from the very beginning. Sometimes it's blue, sometimes it's just brown. He's sexy with any kind, so I don't really care. Only a bit.
I definitely heard a sizzle, and when I got undressed that night, all that was left of my panties was the elastic around my waist. Marcus is deadly, at least when it comes to cotton.
She still thinks the world is populated with unicorns and good people will always triumph. Which is part of what fascinates and infuriates HotFaust. But yeah, she's gotta grow up a little and start some meaningful contribution. Also it seems Yi Ting especially chose Xiao Yue to be Xin Yu's roommate, since he apparently staged the debt clearing agency with workers from the farm. Why her? Is she connected with EvilMom too?
It's really addictive! And our male lead is so good at looking dolorous, just like a basset hound.
That having been said, it is a typical drama. A musical score that demands you feel the particular emotion of the moment. Dramatic dialogue and emotional meltdowns, But the people of the engineering firm are very interesting, as is the scenery in an around Istanbul. Her late husband's family is a laughable mess of greed cliches that I mostly FF through. This is my first Turkish drama. The first season is English-subbed on Netflix and I watched all of the available 49 episodes in less than a week, if that means anything.
Shuk: Hot man, hot kiss, Paris umbrella but no ET on it. I call this a winner!!
Oh, and I started Novoland, where is the button that can make me stop watching?!
JoAnne: Even the name sounds worse than Ice Fantasy.
I love it. I'm glad the website or my computer or both crashed last night or I would have marathoned until this morning.
SakiVI: Novoland is fun!
Korea
Solomon's Perjury (New)
Trotwood: I'm so ready to watch this. No subs are up though.Not enough idols? Not enough romance?
Viki subbers are working on it, but it's not getting done as quickly as others. I'm okay with that as I have plenty to watch, but it does worry me that they'd peter out at the half-way point.
There is a site who has the first two subbed.
I saw that it was subbed this morning. Finally.
The Man in Our House (Finale)
The entire last episode was about 3 minutes long and then the rest was flashbacks. The whole thing, seriously.
Sometimes, they just give up trying...
Everyone ends up happy, even the people who shouldn't, but some people just disappear like they never existed at all. We never find out why marrying Na Ri's mom protected the land which was a HUGE question for me, but then I'm assuming that if you inherit land with a lien on it you inherit the lien, like we do here. Maybe they don't there. Whatever. I loved Nan Gil, that huge, stumbling, mumbling, adoring, and devoted puppy of a man, but I would never, ever, ever argue for one second that this drama was well-written. Oh, no. Definitely not.
Trotwood: One word--weak.
Sometimes, they just give up trying...
Everyone ends up happy, even the people who shouldn't, but some people just disappear like they never existed at all. We never find out why marrying Na Ri's mom protected the land which was a HUGE question for me, but then I'm assuming that if you inherit land with a lien on it you inherit the lien, like we do here. Maybe they don't there. Whatever. I loved Nan Gil, that huge, stumbling, mumbling, adoring, and devoted puppy of a man, but I would never, ever, ever argue for one second that this drama was well-written. Oh, no. Definitely not.
Trotwood: One word--weak.
Seven First Kisses
This is ridiculous but who cares? It helps that I like our lead actress, and of course all the men, and I can laugh at the blatant fan girl pandering. I have no idea what the schedule of the episodes is, I just click when Couch Kimchi tells me to click. It's an easy 10-15 minutes, trust me.
Next up we'll have Kai, who I normally drool over. Right now, with that strange hair color? He looks like the world's most moisturized and face-lifted harabeoji and I 'mma go with NO. Odds are good that at just past the halfway point, Park Hae Jin will retain his lead.
Legend of the Blue Sea
They managed to find the most hideous sweater for Lee Min-ho again. I'm impressed! This must be some special skill.
At some point I stopped giggling over Jeon Ji Hyun's Sim Cheong and started noticing the story and there's actually something cool happening - in the present, Joon Jae is dreaming of Dam Ryeong, a man in the past. All fine, well and good - he's the reincarnation, right? But Dam Ryeong in the past is also dreaming of Joon Jae in the future, and actually doing things that he hopes will help Joon Jae protect their mermaid. That's fun, and I like picking out each reincarnated character as they turn up, and I also like the relationship between Joon Jae and Sim Cheong, and also Sim Cheong and her little friend. So even if the occasional nuclear waste green, fuzzy sweater shows up, I'm okay.
Weight Lifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo
I did not think that this show would make me cry but I was tearing up repeatedly in this week's episodes and not just because of her (though she cries fantastically). The fight between the two brothers really makes so much sense. But wow, am I supposed to hate the doctor friend/who mom wants to be girlfriend as much as I hate her. She was so out of line the entire time. I find it hard that a man like him who is kind or tries to be to a fault would hang out with someone so really callously curious as she is.She is precious. He is precious. I want to hug them both. It breaks my heart that Bok Joo has begun to doubt herself. Yes, she kept that innocence and confidence much, much longer than most girls do - but watching her struggle right now is so hard. I wish she would have remained fearless and comfortable forever, but since she didn't, I'm grateful that she has both a loving family and good friends to support her, and a man/boy like Joon Hyung who accepts her and appreciates her exactly as she is. I don't think he's been fully aware until very recently that his interest in her is romantic, but he knows it now and hasn't had one moment where he thought she wasn't 'the right kind of girl.' She is exactly the right kind of girl, and he knows it, and we love him for it.
Oh My Geum Bi
I might watch some of this tonight. I'm hearing good things so I don't want to let it fade out of my thoughts.GOBLIN
Wang Kai and Novoland have prevented me from watching this in time. BRB.This week the Goblin waffled between wanting to go and wanting to stay. It was very entertaining for me but next week he should make a decision. And I'm still totally okay with the age gap, because what he 'loves' about her is that she is bursting with life, dancing right on the verge of everything - when are we ever so full of promise as we are at 19 or 20? They are two of the loneliest people on the planet, and they found each other. It's a beautiful thing.
This Week My Wife is Having An Affair
Did you know this was only 12 episodes? I may pick it back up. It's done now, of course. Not sure if it ended this week or last week, though.Yes, it's a JDrama remake, right? They tend to be short, so it seems they went with short too. Good!
Father, I'll Take Care of You
I'm watching for Lee Tae Hwan and Park Eun Bin, who are adorable both separately and together. Moderately interested in watching the cousins 'switched at birth' play out, since I think it's a ploy by Uncle Kang to try and get each boy what he actually needs by matching them up to the other family. I could become more interested in the revenge plot with the neighbor, since it now appears that it began longer ago than I realized and he's using a pretty broad net. He really wants to destroy each of them...but why? They aren't bad people at all, despite the women being almost universally annoying.Love for a Thousand More
This is a new web drama that probably most people are watching because it stars the leader of the boyband WINNER, Kang Seung Yoon and another person in band, Kim Jin Woo. I don't know this band at all, so that wasn't the draw for me. I started watching because I wanted something else short (each ep is only 15 minutes) and someone on twitter recommended it to me. I didn't have much expectations, but I'm enjoying it a lot. The show actually stars my favorite "I'm not really a volleyball star but I play one in web dramas" Hwang Seung-eon, as Mi-jo, a woman who is immortal, has lived for a 1000 years, and who doesn't want to love again because men just leave or die or betray you as a witch. (ha ha). She gets into a love square with Seung Yoon's character who has moved in with his very loud band upstairs, a girl in the band, and her over enthusiastic neighbor. It's a lot more poignant than I thought, and the modern hanboks she wears are lovely.
Me, me, ohhh, me, pick me, I want to watch! I liked Winner quite a bit, but since what I liked about them was Kang Seung Yoon and Taehyun, I like them about 50% less now that Taehyun is gone. Plus, this just sounds like something I'd like. Gimme, gimme.
I love this show! I'll comment if you recap.
Not-Korea
The Princess Wei Young
I did not watch one bit this week. I'm sorry, Weiyoung! I'm sorry Tuba Joon or whatever they call you! In my head you are Tuba Joon. I'll be back to watch more of you soon, Tuba Joon.Tuoba Jun. :-) Yeah, I skimmed through it all raw and am done.
Candle in the Tomb (new and highly anticipated by many!)
It might not start before this Rawr is published.
:( :( :(
Yes, it starts on the day this RAWR is published :))))) Whether they will be subs is another question.
I'll cry a lot if there aren't subs. The dumbest shows ever get subs, so why not this one? It's got big stars and action.
Jin Dong is too old.
For what?
Too old for this drama to be picked up by crazy fangirls who sub at lightning speed!!! But who knows. We thought The Mystic Nine wouldn't get subbed and it damn did. Well, there was Lay, but do not despair, lovely people. At least not until you really have to.
You, kakashi, are so cruel! Waaaaah! Sob, sob! Anyway, Joe Chen has fans, darn it! They'd better sub this!
:( :( :(
Yes, it starts on the day this RAWR is published :))))) Whether they will be subs is another question.
I'll cry a lot if there aren't subs. The dumbest shows ever get subs, so why not this one? It's got big stars and action.
Jin Dong is too old.
For what?
Too old for this drama to be picked up by crazy fangirls who sub at lightning speed!!! But who knows. We thought The Mystic Nine wouldn't get subbed and it damn did. Well, there was Lay, but do not despair, lovely people. At least not until you really have to.
You, kakashi, are so cruel! Waaaaah! Sob, sob! Anyway, Joe Chen has fans, darn it! They'd better sub this!
Novoland: Castle in the Sky
Started this one with my girl, since there is only two mermaid episodes a week. It's hard to stop!!! 7 episodes on Sunday... C-drama is so much more fun than KDrama! I realize why: because KDrama is very often mostly about romance, which is boring me. The production value in this is quite terribleIs that a fish flying in the upper right hand corner?
Either that or a flying battleship.
There's a lot of steampunk in this. Adds to the fun. And aw, I like the Crown Prince. But he's nothing next to our Wingkind Emperor. I can't understand why the Regent doesn't have blue eyes, though.
Right? I've been puzzling over Wingkind Emperor's eye color from the very beginning. Sometimes it's blue, sometimes it's just brown. He's sexy with any kind, so I don't really care. Only a bit.
Behind Your Smile
She finally starts learning that perhaps she does not know her mother at all, and she begins to try to make amends, but how can she? What frustrates me about this plot is that she actually has no power to do anything and yet she wants to pay everyone back. Kind thought, but you need a regular job and a plan first. Panty Burning man is suffering from whiplash with how often he has to tell himself not just that he doesn't care for her but that he isn't attracted to her. He practically burned my laptop just by putting a band aid on her shoulder for crying out loud!I definitely heard a sizzle, and when I got undressed that night, all that was left of my panties was the elastic around my waist. Marcus is deadly, at least when it comes to cotton.
Stay with Me (new Wang Kai!)
Another one that's 2 episodes per day for 5 days. It's cute but hard to manage.
Throw off the tyrannical shackles of Chinese scheduling! Watch the episodes when you want to! I like choosing to watch 2 episodes a week but having the option to mini-marathon if we get to a particularly good stretch of episodes.
Yes, why get stressed over drama?! (Do you think Chinese drama recappers have died in the attempt to keep up in real time?)
I start feeling overwhelmed and then dropping the drama when they do this. 4 episodes per week should be more than enough.
Update: Oh my GOD this is bad.
Hahaaaa, extremely untalented Wolf Boy is in this! He is still very untalented, but he gets to show off his biceps (and more) a lot. I've already watched all available episodes. It's not good, but it's also not bad - I find myself in the weird position of disagreeing with JoAnne on this :) I admit to ffwarding the office shenanigans with "evil" uncle etc. But I actually like stories with exes that think they hate each other, even though they're still in love. It's why I liked Birth of a Beauty a lot too. We get to see the usual dynamic - and a pining hero who is Wang Kai, who is pretty awesome in any kind of role, and even more awesome as pining not-quite-but-still-jerk. There are many cliches, but I like that our heroine gives back everything she gets. The male second lead (Qiao Ren Liang aka Kimi) is very good - I feel so sorry for his family, what a loss. It must be hard for everyone who acted with him to deal with his suicide earlier this year.
It's a wacky show, but I don't feel much like watching it all the time. And with upcoming family visits, I don't think I'll be keeping up.
Throw off the tyrannical shackles of Chinese scheduling! Watch the episodes when you want to! I like choosing to watch 2 episodes a week but having the option to mini-marathon if we get to a particularly good stretch of episodes.
Yes, why get stressed over drama?! (Do you think Chinese drama recappers have died in the attempt to keep up in real time?)
I start feeling overwhelmed and then dropping the drama when they do this. 4 episodes per week should be more than enough.
Update: Oh my GOD this is bad.
Hahaaaa, extremely untalented Wolf Boy is in this! He is still very untalented, but he gets to show off his biceps (and more) a lot. I've already watched all available episodes. It's not good, but it's also not bad - I find myself in the weird position of disagreeing with JoAnne on this :) I admit to ffwarding the office shenanigans with "evil" uncle etc. But I actually like stories with exes that think they hate each other, even though they're still in love. It's why I liked Birth of a Beauty a lot too. We get to see the usual dynamic - and a pining hero who is Wang Kai, who is pretty awesome in any kind of role, and even more awesome as pining not-quite-but-still-jerk. There are many cliches, but I like that our heroine gives back everything she gets. The male second lead (Qiao Ren Liang aka Kimi) is very good - I feel so sorry for his family, what a loss. It must be hard for everyone who acted with him to deal with his suicide earlier this year.
It's a wacky show, but I don't feel much like watching it all the time. And with upcoming family visits, I don't think I'll be keeping up.
Back to 1989
I finished it! If you aren't the type to question the math, so to speak - do watch. The OTP is adorable, her family is the sweetest family ever, and while you think you're going to get some lighthearted fluff of a drama, be warned - they get very real on us with his mother's story. I liked this quite a bit more than I expected to. I mean let's face it, I watched it so I could see more of Mr. Down with Panties.
Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu, We Married as Job
I love love love this show. It doesn't cease to surprise me. I'm not even mad at how they keep them apart during this episode. The character that would be a character in any other drama that would add mistrust and angst actually adds the minimum amount of angst to our lead couple and even to what may very well be a new couple. Her entrance proves that they have all changed. And damn it, our man finally got his hug!
Ishi no Mayu and Suishou no Kodou (Japanese)
I told Jo that I didn't have another Japanese show or an update because subber for Pretty Proofreader seems to have gone on vacation. However, I'd forgotten that I was waiting for the sequel to Ishi no Mayu to be completely subbed, so I could talk about both shows at once. Both shows are dark police procedurals and are only 5 episodes a piece, so they are good to marathon. And believe me, you will want to. Both focus on Kisaragi Toko the newest and only female member of the First Investigative Division. She is really a test case, and she has her own burden because her father was a famed officer in the division. She is annoying in the beginning of each series but will grow on you, but what I really enjoyed here is the whole team and how they all work together and protect each other. The poster for the first show is of her.
But I am glad they added the team members in the second one because I really kept watching for them. They really make the show for me. Oh yeah, and her dead father. Everyone who knew him revered him. And I can see why, I was mourning him as much as everyone else before the first show was half through.
Did you watch these on Viki?
Did you watch these on Viki?
Binbir Gece / 1001 Nights (Turkish drama)
I'm going to pop in here with an older drama, but one that several Twitterbeans are watching as buzzing about. It's an award winning three-season series loosely based on the Arabian Night tales, that began airing in 2006. Young widow has a son with a life-threatening medical condition needs a lot of money for his cure. After trying every way possible, she asks her new boss, Onur, for a loan, even though she is still on probation. He is a cynic about love, who believes women are money-grubbing mattressbacks, but he is intrigued by her. He offers her the money with no need to pay it back, but she has to sleep with him for one night. She has never told anyone but her best friend about her son (rightly believing that the company refuses to hire encumbered females). Neither can forget the night, and when the true reason for the money comes to light, he realizes that she is the perfect woman for him.It's really addictive! And our male lead is so good at looking dolorous, just like a basset hound.
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| Picture this scene with dramatic violins in the background. |
Empire (mid-season finale)
Jamal is off to rehab, Dre is complete loony-toons, and Hakeem is hell-bent on finding someone to be in a relationship with him, even if he has to revisit old romances. Lucius is out to destroy Cookie's new playmate, the would-be mayor of NYC, and then there's the FBI probe, and a few different office politics dramas, too. If it weren't for all the sex, this would totally be a KDrama. Actually, with the deaths at the weddings...a Lakorn.The Walking Dead (mid-season finale)
Once again, a bunch of Rick's people have died. Once again, Rick has a plan to get his people out of a bad situation. Once again, that situation? His previous plan put them in it. It looks like next season it might be Ladies Rule, though. Maggie, Sasha, Enid, Carol, Michonne...and that chubby cute one whose name I can't ever remember - they all seem pretty poised to be DONE with this shit and make some changes. We'll see.
Mozart in the Jungle
I'm still on episode 3, but I gather that a romance between La Fiamma and Rodrigo is not to be? That's a shame, I was looking forward to that.
Whatever you have heard, it's not as easy as you think it is. Watch on.
Whatever you have heard, it's not as easy as you think it is. Watch on.