Rants and Weekly Raves #324 (RAWR)

Kakashi: What I did this week: 1) Fixed our rowing machine, which included buying a new bungee cord and attaching it. 2) Finished a chapter for a textbook. I should only have updated it but I ended up completely rewriting it. I think it is marvelous. 3) Lived life. That is not an easy feat these days, right?  Brava!!

:)

Panda: What I did this week: 1) Read more romances. 2) Tried (and failed) to ignore the news. 3) Eat my weight in cake! 

Trotwood: What I did this week: 1) Established COVID testing protocol for winter break. 2) Took a Korean language placement test with no time to prep. 3) Rewatched Yuri on Ice instead of the new dramas I planned to watch.

My first thought was, "Oh how pretty!" and then my second thought was "is that deer pooping Christmas lights?"

KOREA

The Uncanny Counter

This show continues to deliver and delight. I'm so glad it's doing so well in the ratings. It's now OCN's highest rated drama ever. There is so much to muster through: the real reason the evil spirits seem to be getting stronger, the connections between the evil spirits and the evil that seems behind all the corruption going on the town, the truth about Moon's parents and their connection to Mo-Tak, and now how their tragedy seems to get worse and worse at the hands of one of the scariest psychopaths I've seen on the small screen. And yet the show, still made me feel sorry for him even when he's about to kill someone else. I still think his friends are the best friends there ever were, and their unfailing support and such natural behavior between all three is really a testament to the script and their acting. I have not seen Jo Byung Kyoo in anything before (or remembered him from Money Flower), so he is a revelation to me. He is really nailing the role here. 

Mr. Queen

This was another show that had really high ratings this weekend, which isn't surprising for the first episode since I haven't seen such great promotions for a show in a really long time. However, this is one of the shows that actually lived up to the hype and actually increased viewership in the second episode. It's the Korean version of the Chinese drama Go, Princess, Go about a womanizing chef who dies (?) and ends up time traveling back in time to the Joseon era only to find himself in a woman's body and engaged to be married to the king. To be honest, I was prepared not to like it. I was one of the few people on the planet who didn't really like the original. But this was actually funny, and I'm hoping that our hero/ine ends up working with our sort of dim king to figure out who the real bad guys are.

Handmade Love 

I had heard nothing at all about this show. Absolutely nothing, so I am thankful to what kin a algorithm made this web drama be recommended to me in YouTube. The synopsis is at odd as the visuals are lush, and we were able to get full-fledged complex character set ups for our lead and a great cliff hanger in ten minutes. Yup Each ep is ten minutes. Lee Soo Hyuk plays Woven, a being who has been punished to the human realm for eternity for daring to touch a fairy's clothes. But this isn't like the woodman story. He just loved the clothes. In his current form, he makes clothes for people that will help them live out their desires. Unfortunately for him, this latest person wants to murder her ex boyfriend. Seriously, watch it. I think you'll like it. I mean it's only ten minutes.

JAPAN

30sai made Dotei dato Mahoutsukai ni Narerorashii/Cherry Magic! 30 Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard

No access to ep ten this week not even without subs. But there has been lots of pictures of Machida Keita all over the internet because he's also in Imawa no Kuni no Alice/Alice in Borderland, which dropped all it's episodes on Netflix last week and has caused a stir. But really this man . . . 

Marry Me! (Finale)

I'm going to miss this show. It was just smoothly delightful the way this program worked out for these two lonely people. The way it as so clear that they became completely committed to making it work and to each other was just a joy even during some of the painful reckoning with abandonment issues and fear of being good enough for the people you love. The show was exactly the kind of soothing I need at the end of each week. I love them and wish they were my neighbors. 

Neechan no Koibito/Our Sister's Soulmate

I purposely avoided watching the nest episodes because I was sure it was going to be painful. I think I may wait and marathon the rest once the holidays start just so I don't have to wait from one week to the next.

Shichinin no Hisho/Seven Secretaries

I though we were going to finally be focusing on an evil woman in this episode, and we do in a sense, but I also feel as though this episode, in following the pattern of the show to focus on each one of the "secretaries" and how they became part of the group also revealed more of the overall background of the group and hinted at how the group got started and the long-term target. I just finished episode 5, but episode 6 and 7 have been subbed on various sites and the last episode has been released. 

Attack on Titan

Man, this is bleak. War with deadly weapons is even worse than fighting ugly monsters who eat you honestly with canons and swords. Can't they all be friends? 

And... ......... where's Levi? I bet you he looks gorgeous after the time jump.

It seems time to pimp my Fanfiction project (LeviHan --> cause adults) over at AO3. 14 chapters up. Only for 18+ readers of course.

THAILAND

Manner of Death

Episode 2 frustrated me to know end by the behavior of our coroner. Why is he telling everyone and his brother about being threatened to lie about the autopsy? Why not go to police directly to warn them about the threats? And then he's surprised that he gets attacked in his home. Geesh. I remember being frustrated by this in the book, too, but even more so when watching. So many people are shady in this, so I guess it makes sense to go live with the least shady person for (cough) safety?

WESTERN

The Mandalorian

Poor Mando had to take off his helmet! I thought he'd die right there on the spot, hahaha. First his kid gets taken, then his ship gets blasted to nothing, then this!!! Nice that the series has finally found its storyline. But why are they under using Clara Dune?! Also, confession... I'm not at all into Star Wars.