Rants and Weekly Raves (RAWR) #330

Trotwood: I have been trying lots of shows, but I just don't have patience for things I used to have patience for. Like I have no patience anymore for the hate-turned-to-love trope. I'm finding that they are making some of the people--more often the male lead--so hateful that I know I'm not going to be able to get over the mean, often cruel behavior, no matter how much I learn about why he's hateful. Also, those characters that people find cute that are silly and always end up in people's houses or apartments or such, eating their food, leaving messes, but people put up with them because they are cute (I guess). No. Why would anyone want to date someone like that? Just get a dog. And those eager workers--usually heroines--who keep messing up at work, but we are supposed to like them because they are cute (I guess) and earnest? NO. They need to be fired. They just make more work for the rest of their team.  I'm just a cranky drama watcher this week.

Kakashi should never let me be in charge. 

I have no reason to post this but that it made me think of Jo.

See, told you that she should never let me be in charge. Kakashi posts beautiful shots of scenery, and I post random pictures of Paing Takhon.

kakashi: You are forgiven. I feel like this week destroyed me. I have been busy day and night with writing an application and now I'm done for. I need a break from everything.  

I realize I have never posted about the cooking shows I'm watching every lunch together with my husband. Some of them German formats like Küchenschlacht, but most recently, so much fun! Masterchef Italy. I'm completely addicted and my Italian feels so polished right now.

KOREA

The Uncanny Counter (finale)

So, I'm going to say it, the final episode was a bit "meh" but was I mad? No. I was happy to have some relief after all the angst and suspense of episode 15 and the first half of episode 16. I was so worried that Mun's parent's would leave and not recognize him after all of that, but that was resolved quite nicely, and so was everything else. Although, I'm not sure what the function was of bringing in a new Counter at such a late date although I suppose it does show the bigger Counter world. I'm going to miss seeing this show every week and not for the fight against evil--which I thoroughly enjoyed because the evil people were also interesting with gradations of bad that you don't often get in the bad guy side--but more than that, I'm going to miss this team and Mun's friends and his grandparents. I'm also going to say that I'm going to miss their red track suits. The new "uniform" looks cool, but will it be comfortable to fight it and are they machine washable? This show has set a high bar for 2021 dramas.

Marriage Lyrics for Divorce Music

I wanted to watch this because Sung Hoon is in it, and I heard the first episode got good reviews. Lee Tae Gon, who is always delicious but often plays characters I don't like is also in it. No time really this weekend for anything heavy. Anyone watching?

She Would Never Know/Sunbae, Don't Put on That Lipstick

I was so ready to like this show. I eat up noona romances like catnip--though they tell you that the heroine is only one year older than the lead very early on, she's just had more work experience than he has. They have good chemistry together, too. I also have a major (major) soft spot for Ro Woon and have liked him since he played the star baseball player (that I picked) in Click Your Heart, the 2016 web drama where you got to pick your own ending. Watch it, if you haven't. It's fun. This show isn't fun. I found myself not liking anyone enough to watch, except for Ro Woon's character, but it seems like he's going to suffer for awhile. And the man she is dating doesn't seem worth it even if he wasn't engaged to be married to someone else.

Color Rush (series review)

This is a (too) short drama, and if you read reviews by people who watched it, they all say the same thing: too much story for such a short show. It takes place in a world where there are certain people, Monos, who can't see color. They only see gradations of grey. Each of these people have a Probe somewhere in the world. This person is the person who can help them see color. The problem is once they see this color for the first time, Monos sometimes become obsessed with their Probe to the point of kidnapping and even murder. This would be enough--to follow a Mono and a Probe who fall in love and the concern of one the Mono that he will become a monster and hurt the person he loves. However, we also have the case of the main lead's missing mother and the seeming conspiracy behind missing Monos, a case on which his aunt (a detective) is working. And did I say that his Probe is a Kpop trainee? See what I mean? Too much story for eight 15-minute episodes. Everyone wants a sequel.

JAPAN

Shichinin no Hisho (finale)

Just a quick note. I finally have access to the subs for the final two episodes, so I will review it for next week's RAWR. This is the fate often with Japanese dramas. I can't wait to see all these woman again and to find out how they triumph over the big bad now that one of them has to work for him.

Attack on Titan - The Final Season

Oh my ffffoooking gad, what an episode! This manga is so clever in blurring the lines between good guys and bad guys and you ask themselves - what are they even fighting for? Such sadness in destruction and war. But it all looks so inevitable...

THAILAND

Manner of Death

We begin episode 8 with betrayal and end with a death, which is fitting for the title of the show. Neither is at it appears on the surface, but is anything in this show? The direction isn't that good--questionable order of scenes and shot choice, but still compelling. What I find interesting is that we already know who the bad evil leaders are, but it is really the middle people who are in doubt. What does Pued really have to do with everything? How linked is the business with the brothers? We know multiple people have reason to want Bun dead, but who cut his brake lines? At this point, I just want Tat and Sorn to date and find out the material of Inspector M's uniform to figure out how he can move in it because I know I will find out everything else eventually.

Don't cry, Tan. It's too early in show for Bun to die.

PHILIPPINES

Win Jaime's Heart (series review)

People who watched this show might think that like Color Rush, I'd want a sequel. The end is not going to satisfy people who only want a conclusion to the romance, but I think it was actually a very mature ending because our main character, Winston, really needs to deal with his trauma first. And the friendship becomes more about supporting him through that rather than about romantic entanglements. The show starts out with a cute best friend premise. Winston's best friend Heart gets her heart broken by her boyfriend, and Winston--who is a vlogger--decides to do a contest to to find her someone to help her get over the heartbreak and to film their first date. He interviews various candidates and selects Jaime. The three go to Winston's cousin's resort house for the weekend for the show. However, it's obvious from the beginning that Jaime is more interested in Winston than in Heart. I think the show is better than the promotion materials make it look. The promotion materials make it look like a bad 70s porn movie. So don't be scared off from them.

Your Home: The Series (series review)

The scenes in the countryside are beautifully shot and much more realistic for countryside than most shows that always show beautiful, large, new houses rather than the kinds of places regular people live in. Our hero, Bart, and orphan lives in the countryside alone, his only companion is childhood best friend. He dreams of going to Manilla just to get away and see the bigger world. He meets Bryce whose car breaks down in their village. The two become friends because despite their life differences, they are similar--both young and living alone and having to take care of themselves even though they really wish they didn't have to. Bryce tells Bart that he can help him if he ever decides to go to Manilla. The show is short: 8 episodes, 20 minutes each. You do get to know the characters, not just the main ones but also the people who feel left behind.

VIETNAM

Follow My Sunshine

I sometimes get access to Vietnamese movies but never Vietnamese drama; however, the popularity of BL and production studios who have discovered the power (and profitability) of Youtube has gotten Vietnam into this genre. There is nothing new here in this story about two best friends who end up rooming together and falling in love. Everyone else sees their love growing and deepening except for one of the main the main couple, who of course says some horrible things when confronted by his feelings and can't break out of definition of himself until he sees a rival. Still, it is beautifully shot, and one of those shows where I fell for their tiny house more so than any of the characters.