Rants and Weekly Raves #248/9 (RAWR)

kakashi: Hi everyone, Jo is too busy to watch anything, which means: We'll just post very short RAWRs in Jo's absence :) I hope everybody is doing well.
Trotwood: Well this is going to look very different without her since she's the one watching all the popular stuff while I mainly watch Trot stuff.
SakiVI: I'm not watching anything except dailies these days, and they are a little hard to describe, unless you have strongly delineated characters like Perfect Boyfriend or HoeJo. SBS has yet to top Happy Sisters!
Panda: Hi everyone! Hope you had a great 4th weekend. My neighbors started the fireworks on the 1st and have continued every. single. night. since. I heard they are going to do so for another 2 weeks. I swear, I feel like strangling them. Especially since they don't start till its dark which is around 10pm!!! Urgh.

KOREA

One Spring Night 

I need Jung-In's dad to end up alone and miserable. There's nothing else to say really. I ff and read recaps a lot because I'm so angry watching this show. I merely keep up because I want to be present when the weasels get their comeuppance. I do love our OTP but what I really love is the sister solidarity in this show. They have to stick together since their dad basically has been willing to sell them to the highest bidder. I hope the mom sticks to her guns, but I'm not holding out a lot of hope and will not believe any redemptive arc they try to give him if that's in the plan.

Search: WWW 

I didn't watch much else this week because I was trying to catch up with this show since everyone has been talking about it and my recommended kept showing me awesome clips of women being awesome. Tam Mi says lines that I wish I could think to say in moment rather than in car ride home from work when no one is around. And Scarlet? Scarlet is basically the character that I've always cast myself as when I put myself into stories. And can we talk about how evil the MiL is here? She's like a freakin' James Bond villain! The whole idea of having her do tattoos on people because she didn't like drawing on paper anymore because the paper "doesn't react" is villain gold. Update: I want Ka Kyung to divorce her husband and then secretly date him until his mom dies.I want Scarlet and her actor "friend" together as a couple for real; his description of how they met from his perspective made me melt. 

Arthdal Chronicles 

Season 2 of the Perm Chronicles is airing, I think. 
Sigh, I should start season 2. I heard Saya is fab, and twitter reviews seemed very impressed with the finale. I guess I will use the 2 months break between season 2 and 3 (Seriously though Netflix, STOP THIS!) to catch up.

Designated Survivor: 60 Days

This is apparently an adaptation of an American show starring Keiffer Sutherland. I never watched that show, so I'm not going to comment about comparisons. I do know that the first two episodes were fantastic. I did feel a bit sick because it reminded me of September 11 and watching my officemate not being able to get in touch for hours (he was on a flight heading from Boston to DC) and seeing the news of what was happening. However, the characterization was well set up. Oh yeah, and Ji Jin Hee in glasses is looking like a snack.
Jeonhaaaaaaaaaaa! How could I resist JJH in glasses? I am truly not that strong. Fortunately, I really enjoyed the first 2 episodes. i watched the original DS cos hubby is a hardcore Keifer Sutherland aka Jack Bauer fan, but season 2 was so boring! Hopefully, the 1 season format (?) here will keep things thrilling.

CHINA/TAIWAN 

Before We Get Married

This is taking Taiwan and China by storm. I've put it on hold because I can't stand waiting in between episodes, so I will watch once it's all over.

Untamed

This is an adaptation of a Wuxia novel, Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, and has so many characters that I have my wikipedia page with character list tab open while I'm watching. People love this novel, and it's already been adapted into a very popular anime. It is a BL novel, but we know what Chinese sensors do with such works; they make them into grand bromances. What's funny about this one though is that the directors are completely obvious about the real feelings of the two main characters. I'm watching because it's just so pretty and I'm interested in some of the other characters and because I know that if I skip and watch after Wu Xian stops being an annoying puppy (lots of people find him really cute and devoted. I would want to hit him despite his brilliance), I'd be lost plotwise.

THAILAND 

Theory of Love

Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE is done with Third pining away for the asshole Kai, and if I didn't know that we had 60 chapters worth of Kai groveling to pack into 6 more eps, I probably wouldn't be sticking to this drama. I want cold Sassy Third for a while. I loved how he called Kai a whore because it's true.
Frustratingly, the writers have decided that we need to have love lines for all the friends in this group (even though in the novel, all of them are players), so we spend far too much time with Bone pining for an instructor at his college and Too pining for a girl he's had a crush on since high school, which looks like will turn into him being consoled by the girl's boyfriend's best friend. Yes, you got that right. I feel like the company wants to give Earth something to do. Hard to complain since I too want Earth in more shows.


2Moons2


Finally, the 2Moons reboot aired to surprisingly little fanfare. I mean the international fans were ready--Phillipines, Malaysia, Russia, US, etc. but not very much promotion in Thailand or at least not as much as other shows of this type. The original 2Moons was very very popular, but behind the scenes drama caused that whole cast and crew to be replaced with a completely new cast for what many thought would be a sequel. After all, the original was based on a series of novels and first version only covered lot in first novel. However, they are doing a reboot, which I think is smart (giving people chance to see new cast covering the beginning material), and this first episode flies through what was covered in like the first 3 episodes of last version. The story starts with Wayo getting into the university that his long-time crush attends and follows his and his best friend's adventures in said school. Mello knows that international fans are watching and had English subs up at the same time as the original broadcast--or at least it seemed like it.


This is NOT a good show and neither was the first. These actors are a better but that isn't saying much either. However, it's fun, squee-inducing froth, which is perfect for heat of summer. And I'm not ashamed to admit that I've already watched the first episode more than once.Update: And yes, I have now rewatched the 2nd episode more than once.

JAPAN 

Trot started Recapping Crisis!

So stay tuned! Panda will comment, Kakashi is doing gifs. 

Kinou Nani Tabeta/What Did You Eat Yesterday?

No subs yet for episode 11, but I'd recommend reading the interviews of Hidetoshi Nishijima (Shiro) and Seiyo Uchino (Kenji) that kinounaniresource translated on her site.
Update: I was able to watch with subs before this Rawr gets posted and another love of an episode which will make you laugh at loud and get teary. This episode is about family, parents more so and what they expect and want for their children. Shiro has constantly made assumptions about his parents motivations, so is suspicious and uncomfortable when his parents ask him to bring Kenji home for New Years. However, discussions with his boss and his neighbors about their children make him realize the similarities between parents and that what they really want to see is him happy.

Anime -Attack on Titan & Naruto

kakashi: I couldn't help myself and watched all of Season 1 of AoT on Friday. Which is a disaster because I was doing home office and REALLY had stuff to finish. The result is that that stuff is not finished and I REALLY want to continue watching so desperately... Damn.
Naruto: We're at Pain's assault and if you've seen Naruto, you know who dies (well, doesn't, but still). I'm so sad. 

WESTERN

Fleabag

I really don't know if this has been discussed here but based on Disco's recommendation, I watched Fleabag's 2 seasons on Amazon. I mean, trust the Brits each season was only 6 episodes long so it was a fast watch. Season 1 was okay, but guys Season 2?! Whooosh. It was sooooooo good. I just have to say though, this new theme of making priests hot with INSANE chemistry is making me feel both thrilled and icky (Am I going to Hell?). We had Fighter priest with KNG, we have the ridiculously hot Priest here and I just saw stills of Park Seo Jeon playing another priest while also being a MMA fighter and its just not fair! *weeps* Anyway, Fleabag comes highly recommended. 
Priests? A problem ever since The Thorn Birds