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It is time to update the Monster Drama List! New entries are underlined for your browsing convenience, and I’ve updated my notes a bit.


J/TW/K: What’s The Difference?
Here’s the thing about nationality: romcom kdramas tend to start off cracktastic and devolve into utter angst before pulling back up in the final episode and slapping on a happy romantic ending, possibly after a timejump. I flat-out avoid the melodramas. All jdramas, on the other hand, have an inexplicable aversion to emotional resolution, while twdramas tend to be full of pointlessness and/or excessive weeping without the delicious cinematography of kdrama tears. However! There are exceptions in each category.

Secondary Love Interest Syndrome
Here’s the other thing. Asian dramas in general, but especially kdramas and shoujo manga-adapted jdramas, tend to feature primary male love interests (Guy #1) who are utter jerks on the surface but giant dorks on the inside, and nice, sweet, adorable, devoted secondary love interests (Guy #2) who NEVER GET THE GIRL. EVER. You must know this going in or your heart will hurt even more. Sometimes characters resolve things like mature, responsible adults (My Girl, Buzzer Beat), but... usually not. (See Delightful Girl Choon-hyang for extreme secondary love interest crazy.) If you know Hana Yori Dango or Hanakimi, you know what I’m talking about. (Damn you, Hanazawa Rui! To say nothing of NAKATSU~♥)

Girl #2
Girl #2 is usually an ex-girlfriend determined to re-insinuate herself into Guy #1’s life despite the primary couple’s obvious OTPness. She’s usually bitchy, immune to Earth logic, and not as pretty as Girl #1, though always richer.

Again, About Kdramas
In kdramas it’s standard practice for people to die, have terminal illnesses, be pseudoincestuous siblings, and generally ruin their lives through an inability to act rationally. (I try to avoid these, but it’s a tendency you should be aware of.)

We put up with it all, though, because (with a few exceptions) kdramas have the best makeout scenes.

You’ll be pleased to hear at this point that even though these are standard, widely-found kdrama elements, not all kdramas are like this. This is important to keep in mind.



TWDramas

Black and White (2009, Vic Zhou, Mark Chao, Ivy Chen, Janine Chang, Xiu Jie Kai): AWESOME. Not just my favorite twdrama but one of my favorite dramas, period. Someone described it as CSI: Taiwan. Where the police and the local triad princess team up to fight and/or commit crime and go head-to-head against secret government military conspiracies while negotiating epic love triangles. It’s glorious. All the acting is fantastic, but especially the two male leads. (This is especially hilarious since Vic Zhou is also Guy #1 and #2 in MARS and Meteor Garden, respectively. He’s fantastic here--outrageous, bewildered, and badass by turns. His partner-in-crimefighting, Mark Chao, is extremely impressive--especially considering that this was his first drama ever. THANK YOU TAIWAN.) Also starring strong, interesting, badass female characters, which are something of a short commodity in Asian dramas. Here? ALL OF THEM ARE AWESOME. NO, REALLY.


Devil Beside You (2005, Mike He, Rainie Yang): Stepsiblings in love! ...nope, that’s seriously it. One of the weepier ones. But I stole a line for a paper title once. No lie.


Fated to Love You (2008, Chen Quiao En, Ethan Ruan, Baron Chen, Bianca Bai): AUGH MY EYES DID THEY REALLY DO THAT IMAGERY IN THE FIRST EPISODE YES THEY DID. Plain Jane and Rich Boy accidentally have a one-night-stand. (Yeah, that should tell you everything you need to know about this drama.) She gets pregnant; chaos, heartbreak, and copious weeping ensues. Featuring the most annoying Girl #2 EVER, except maybe the one in My Girl.


MARS (2004 Vic Zhou, Barbie Xu, Xiu Jie Kai): Vic Zhou and Barbie Xu from Meteor Garden have epic motorcycle chemistry, plus really REALLY screwed-up personal histories. ANGST ANGST ANGST HELLO SEX SCENE ANGST ANGST ANGST ANGST MOTORCYCLE ANGST d’awww, OTP.


Meteor Garden (2001, Barbie Xu, Jerry Yan, Vic Zhou, Ken Zhu, Vanness Wu): The Taiwanese Hana Yori Dango. My very first drama! *nostalgic* It was the first of the HYD live-actions, and pretty obviously so. But while Makino’s unrelenting anger gets old, it’s refreshing in contrast to the second half of the Korean version. Also, Vic Zhou’s first drama. For the record. In case you wanted to know. For, um, science! (He gets better.)


JDramas

1 Litre of Tears (2005, Sawajiri Erika, Nishikido Ryo): The slow and heartrending death of a high school girl with spinocerebral deterioration. The special is a good way to get all the highlights without watching the rest of the series. I compared it to What Katy Did once, but that’s not really fair. Our heroine doesn’t submit to illness and become an insufferable goody-goody; she fights her terminal disease every step of the way. She also has a hell of a tragic backbone: she sends away a beautifully angsty Ryo because they have no future together and she can’t bear to be in his presence because he reminds her that she has no future, and it's really sad and OOH LAB COATS. LAB COATS ARE AWESOME

...right, back on track. It’s rather good. But SO DEPRESSING.


Akihabara@Deep (2006, Kazama Shunsuke, Ikuta Toma): A bunch of misfits open a problem-solving agency. I watched it for Toma after I saw Hana Kimi. ♥TOMA~


Anego (2005, Shinohara Ryoko, Akanishi Jin): She’s an office lady so experienced and competent that the entire office calls her “big sister.” He’s a new recruit ten years her junior. She should be a good senpai to him! But he keeps wanting to kiss her! And everybody else is an ex, or having an affair with somebody else, or a dirty cheater! Their love is not as hilarious as Kimi wa Petto’s, but Jin’s prettier than Matsujun. I tend to forget how much I like this one, but counting the special it has one of the more satisfying endings I’ve seen in romantic jdramas. (Nota bene: this is not saying all that much!)


Atashinchi no Danshi (2009, Horikita Maki, Kaname Jun, and what feels like the rest of the cast of Hanakimi): One girl on the run from debt collectors. One mansion. Too many ikemen to count (okay, four, plus the token unattractive one and the 10-year-old). And they’re all her stepchildren. Family secrets! Sauna scenes galore! And I’m still convinced the housemaid is a robot. Stupid, mindless fun.


Attention Please (2006, Ueto Aya, Nishikido Ryo, Maya Miki): A girlrocker decides on a whim to become an airline stewardess. She’s ready to serve drinks in the sky, but is the JAL training facility ready for her? Very stupid, but I still enjoyed it. I have lots of appreciation for airplane safety now. My first Maya Miki drama, and she’s consistently awesome!


BOSS 1 (2009, Amami Yuki, Toda Erika, Takenouchi Yutaka) & 2 (2011): She’s a criminal profiler. They’re her team of misfits. Together, mentorship, dramatic shenanigans, and badass women! ILU BOSS.


Buzzer Beat (2009, Yamashita Tomohisa, Kitagawa Keiko, Maya Miki) Yamapi the struggling-to-bud basketball star meets Riko the struggling violinist. OTP ensues! What I really, really like about this drama is that both of their dreams and ambitions are celebrated; both their stories are equally important, even before they coincide, and after as well. It aired when I was exactly the same age as the characters, and the totally legitimate twentysomething angst of it all really hit home for me. Upon re-watch, it took me all of 30 seconds to realize that Buzzer Beat is basically an AU of my and cadragongirl’s lives. XD It also overturns a number of drama character tropes--the Nice Guy, the Evil Ex-Girlfriend, Guy #2, Guy #1’s Mom--which I always enjoy seeing. Also it has the best kisses in the entire universe of twenty-first century jdrama makeouts. (Nota bene: this is a very, very small universe.)


Dare Yori mo Mama wo Aisu (2006, Tamayama Tetsuji, Abe Sadao): Family drama! Featuring the antics and travails of stay-at-home dad, lawyer mom, directionless big sis, gay hairdresser middle bro, baby bro, and mysterious neighbor as they navigate and celebrate their unconventional lives.


Dragon Zakura (2005, Abe Hiroshi, Nagasawa Masami, Yamashita Tomohisa): Ever wanted to know how to get into Japan’s top university? Now you can. Featuring Yamapi's crazy hair and the most addictive theme song ever.


Ganbatte Ikimasshoi! (2005, Suzuki Anne, Nishikido Ryo): A drama about crew! I skipped most of the middle, and got very confused when Uchi Hiroki’s character was suddenly played by Taguchi Junnosuke. I decided it must have been a different character, only to look it up, and behold, there was in fact an actor switch. Oh, 2005. *sigh*


Gokusen 1 (2002, Nakama Yukie, Matsumoto Jun) & 2 (2005, Nakama Yukie, Akanishi Jin, Kamenashi Kazuya): At last, Yamaguchi Kumiko lives her dream of being a high school teacher! Alas, she gets assigned to be homeroom teacher to the worst class in the worst school. All her students are delinquents and don’t trust teachers. But unfortunately for them, Yankumi is perfectly capable of keeping an iron grip on a bunch of tough guys. Just ask her family--the local yakuza clan. I haven’t been able to watch 3 (2008) or the movie yet-- there’s only so much of the exact same show a person can take in a given time span. 1 and 2 are very enjoyable individually; it's just that they're identical in almost every respect. 2 is slightly better done, but 1 is hilarious if you recognize half of HYD’s F4 as Class 3-D delinquents.


Hana Yori Dangoaka Hanadan or HYD 1 (2005, Inoue Mao, Matsumoto Jun, Oguri Shun, Matsuda Shota, Abe Tsuyoshi), 2 (2007) & movie (2008): A classic. WATCH IT ALREADY. Plucky girls, outrageous boys, and more insane fashion than you can shake a stick at.


Hanazakari no Kimitachi e aka Hana Kimi (2007, Horikita Maki, Oguri Shun, Ikuta Toma): CRACK. UTTER CRACK. And cross-dressing. My love for Nakatsu (the heartbreaking Guy #2 to end all Guy #2s) is true and undying. Mizuki disguises herself as a boy to get close to the Sano and push him into returning to the world of competitive high-jump. But that’s not really the point. The point is, UTTER INSANITY at the girliest boys’ boarding school ever. IT’S GLORIOUS. You really, really don’t watch for the plot. You watch for the cross-dressing beauty contests, the cross-dressing maid cafe, the sabotage, the yakiniku mishaps, the beach shenanigans, and Nakatsu. Jerk Nakatsu! Sexually confused Nakatsu! Scheming Nakatsu! Hilarious Nakatsu! Woobie Nakatsu!And then you watch everything else Ikuta Toma has ever been in. And then you watch for Nakatsu some more. &heartsNakatsu~


Himitsu no Hanazono (2007, Shaku Yumiko, Sakai Masato, Kaname Jun, Maya Miki): She’s a fashion editor reassigned to babysit the country’s top-selling shoujo manga artist. The twist? The manga artist is actually four brothers with enough personal angst to fill a small lake. Behold: shenanigans!


Honey and Clover (2008, Ikuta Toma, Narumi Riko): A group of art school students undergoes friendship, heartbreak, and personal growth against a background of stunning cinematography and marathon woobiefacing by Toma.


JOKER Yurusarezaru Sosakan (2010, Sakai Masato, Anne, Nishikido Ryo): Mild-mannered bumbling detective Sakai Masato uses his black-clad nightstalker alter ego to hunt down those who escape justice. He’s supposed to be mentoring Anne, a strong-willed rookie, but mostly she yells at him and bashes windows and insists on believing in the due process of the law. Nishikido is the entire forsenics department, and can I just say, the man was born to play a scarred maniac-grinning forsenics dude with a Hawaiian shirt fetish and a flexible sense of morality. A suspense thriller that kept me guessing and totally delivers; highly recommended.


Kamen Rider Kabuto (Mizushima Hiro, Sato Tomohito): HOLY CRAP IT’S MIZUSHIMA HIRO. Um... basically he plays Tendou, who fights space aliens while wearing a masked superpower outfit. And sometimes he fights other dudes in masked outfits. There are government conspiracies, goofy rich boys, makeup-wielding badasses, alternate universes, and epic food showdowns. The good guys all giant doofs, and Tendou’s little sister rules them with an iron fist.


Keizoku 2: SPEC (2010, Toda Erika, Kase Ryo): I don’t really know how to describe this. They’re a three-person police department...for investigating paranormal crime. I’m not sure what the hell happened in the end, but it was awesome. It’s so nice to see Toda Erika in these hardcore smart roles (see also: BOSS) instead of being the annoying clueless girl who needs to be rescued by Matsuda Shota and his hair.


Kimi wa Petto (2003, Koyuki, Matsumoto Jun): She’s a career journalist who adopts him as her pet. This is a bold, nuanced exploration of gender politics and power dynamics in a changing cultural climate--masquerading as utter crack.


Koishite Akuma (2009, Kato Rosa, Nakayama Yuma): A teenaged vampire, brought to Japan for his initiation i.e. first independent bloodsucking, is in love with his homeroom teacher. And he looks exactly like her ten-years-dead first love. HMMMM I WONDER WHY THAT COULD POSSIBLY BE. It takes them way too long to figure the mystery out. Also, vampirism will never not be a metaphor for sex. NEVER. Which makes it really hilarious every time he feels up his mouth to see if his fangs have grown in yet. The best part of the drama is actually tiny Nakajima Kento in the friendship role. Nakaken!


Kurosagi (2006, Horikita Maki, Yamashita Tomohisa): Yamapi the angsty swindler! He swindles money back from other swindlers... for a fee. She’s studying to become a public prosecutor. Together, debates over the effectiveness and purpose of the legal system! Sadly the first episode is probably the best, though I retain a certain affection for it, and for what it could have been.


Liar Game 1 (2007, Toda Erika, Matsuda Shota) She’s a naive, trusting college student tricked into participating in the Liar Game. He’s a swindler just released from prison. Matsuda Shota’s hair gets them through a twisted competition of gambling and deception, until she thinks up another way to beat the odds.


Long Love Letter (2002, Tokiwa Takako, Kubozuka Yosuke): She’s an ex-teacher turned florist. He’s a high school teacher. Their love is a story of fateful meetings and missed opportunities until, one day, they are transported to a post-apocalyptic future with his homeroom class. Now they have to survive-- and try to warn the past to recycle for heaven’s sake. Not so much full of crack as full of Bad Science and failed Robinsonades. But cute, bizarre, and ambiguously hopeful.


Love Shuffle (2009, Tamaki Hiroshi, Karina, Matsuda Shota): It’s exactly what it sounds like. A bunch of couples and singles switch it around and play mind games with each other, sometimes hilariously. Actually, genuinely good, with moments of hilarity and not-overdone angst, despite the rampant misuse of Freudian concepts. Worth it for Tamaki Hiroshi the everyday-Joe-turned-budding-politician, Karina the badass, and Matsuda Shota’s hair OTP.


Majo Saiban (2009, Ikuta Toma): Japan has instituted a brand-new trial-by-jury-of-peers system, and somebody’s manipulating it and threatening the jurors. Meanwhile, Toma just wants to make it in the world of fashion t-shirts.


Maou (2008, Ohno Satoshi, Ikuta Toma): INTENSE ANGST. It’s kinda complicated. "Angel Lawyer" Naruse Ryo is secretly out to avenge his younger brother's tragic death ten years ago. Mostly he does this by sending people mysterious tarot cards and hanging around his darkroom staring intently at photos of Toma. (Oh, and also by getting people systematically killed off in a spiraling trainwreck of tragedy and angst.) Naoto (Tomaaaa!) is a police detective suffering from selective amnesia about the events of ten years ago. Shiori is an angelic figure, who offers psychic help with the tarot cards and spiritual redemption all round. (She's actually kind of awesome.) Together, they are embroiled in a tangle of murder, revenge, redemption, and creepy picturebooks! (The picturebook is The Tunnel by Anthony Browne, if you want to know.)


My Boss My Hero (2006, Nagase Tomoya, Tegoshi Yuya, Aragaki Yui, Tanaka Koki): A yakuza heir is forced to re-attend high school in order to inherit the clan leadership. No-one must learn his true identity! Sometimes it’s good, and sometimes it’s so bad it’s good. If only Tegoshi could act. (He’s one of the few idols who can actually sing, and if he were good at acting too, the world would probably explode, so there’s also that to consider.) You’ll never look at pudding the same way again.


Nobuta wo Produce (2005, Horikita Maki, Kamenashi Kazuya, Yamashita Tomohisa): She’s the misfit new girl at school. They’re the bored popular boy and the quirky rich boy who decide to “produce” her into popularity. The plot meanders, but the relationship between the trio is what makes it all worthwhile. Yamapi should have stuck to weird, quirky roles, but then we would be denied the locker-room scenes of Buzzer Beat and the world would be a sadder place.


Nodame Cantabile (2006, Ueno Juri, Tamaki Hiroshi) and movies (2010): They’re musical geniuses with vastly different styles and ideas about music. Together, they “flail, fly and faceplant their way into the formation of a new orchestra at their music school. ... It’s a very... special... orchestra.” (rainscene) By the time I got around to watching this, I was really fed up with jdramas’ fear of emotional commitment. But. This is AWESOME and full of crack and rock violin and classical music and did I mention the satisfying ending? BOTH OF THEM?! The series ending was so satisfying that I couldn't bring myself to watch the two specials for a few days. But they ended well too. I KNOW. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT EITHER. Some people--okay, many people--find Nodame annoying, but I love her to bits, and haters can see the door on this one. It’s really hysterical to see what else the actors have ended up in--Voice, Love Shuffle, Orthros no Inu for starters. You’ll never look at Voice the same way again when you realize that the main character once ran around with sparkly rainbow barrettes in his bleached hair wielding an electric violin.

...actually, no, that would explain a lot about Voice. *facepalm*


One Pound no Fukuin (2008, Kamenashi Kazuya, Kuroki Meisa): In which Kame is surprisingly likeable as a Rumiko Takahashi sports manga hero. (Usually I find him kind of repellent, but he’s pretty adorable here as a gluttonous boxer.) He falls for her as she hovers over his exhausted, featherweight body offering him water. The problem dooming their love to a frantic series of ridiculous boxing matches and attempts to starve Kame into nothingness? She’s a novice nun. Luckily, the drama is full of people Unclear On The Concept of nunnery, including her.


Orthros no Inu (2009, Takizawa Hideaki, Nishikido Ryo, Mizukawa Asami): A suspense drama about the mysterious connection between two idols regular if unusually attractive short dudes, each with an opposite and equal power. Ryo can kill with a single touch; Takki can heal. Their meeting sparks a twisted game of government manipulation and psychological power plays. Meanwhile, the lady cop who introduces them is just trying to catch bad guys and make sure her daughter doesn’t die of asthma. The first few episodes are entertaining in that specific way idol dramas tend to be, and then it got good FOR REAL while still being ridiculous. I was in rabid, obsessed shock for weeks. At last, a Ryo drama that’s not profoundly stupid, about someone else’s sports career, tear-jerkingly tragic, or completely insane in all the wrong ways!


Proposal Daisakusen (2007, Nagasawa Masami, Yamashita Tomohisa): Yamapi is given the chance to travel back in time in a series of last-ditch attempts to make his childhood friend love him. I’ll be honest, it’s incredibly stupid. I can’t believe I watched it.


Ryuusei no Kizuna (2008, Toda Erika, Ninomiya Kazunari, Nishikido Ryo): This drama is an oddball attempt to combine tear-jerker murder mystery drama with comical swindling antics. It probably should've stuck with one or the other, but it was written by Kudo Kankuro, so apparently the crazy comes with the territory. Featuring halfhearted but hilarious pseudosibling incest (I mention this as a point of academic curiosity. No, really). Highlights of glorious cracktasticity include episodes 1, 6 and 8.


SP aka Security Police (2007, Okada Junichi, Tsutsumi Shinichi): An elite squad of police bodyguards attempts to do their job in the face of uncooperative charges, understaffing, and lack of funds. Okada has a Mysterious Past and Special Powers of Observation, which are great for business but tend to upset his blind dates.


Sailor Fuku to Kikanjuu (2006, Nagasawa Masami, Tsutsumi Shinichi): The head of a yakuza clan dies, and it’s up to his faithful henchdudes (all four of them) to find his heir. Who turns out to be... a sixteen-year-old schoolgirl. Antics ensue. It’s good, but it starts out awesomely hilarious and spirals into angst and tragedy, so be warned.


Uta no Oniisan (2009, Ohno Satoshi): After Maou, Ohno plays a young would-be rockstar whose band ditches him to sign up with a fancy agency. He finds employment and grudging personal growth as a side character on a children’s television program. Everyone enjoys his pain far too much.


Voice (2009, Eita, Ikuta Toma, Ishihara Satomi): Kind of a cross between a medical drama and Ghost Whisperer, only with less Jennifer Love Hewitt and more Toma running around helping investigate things. Lab coats + Toma = WIN. I liked it a lot, but it was an even bigger hit with mousapelli when introducing her friends and family to jdramas.


Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge aka YamaNade (2010, Oomasa Aya, Kamenashi Kazuya, Uchi Hiroki, Tegoshi Yuya, Miyao Shuntaro): The drama adaptation of the awesomely weird manga. Four pretty-boy students are offered a year’s free rent in the mansion where they board--if they can turn the owner’s “horror girl” niece into a lady. Things... do not go as expected. The anime is a much more faithful adaptation, but there’s something incredibly satisfying about watching Kame get headbutted. By Yamapi’s little sister from Buzzer Beat. Every five minutes. Yeah, the “horror girl” niece? Is awesome.


Zettai Kareshi (2008, Aibu Saki, Hayami Mokomichi, Mizushima Hiro, Maya Miki): She’s a nice girl. He’s a love robot prototype. In which there are robot boyfriend shenanigans and cream puffs! Some of the antics are hilarious, but I sobbed my way through the entire finale. NIGHT! Wah.


KDramas

Boys Before Flowers (2009, Lee Min Ho, Gu Hye Sun, Kim Bum, Kim Joon, Kim Hyun Joong): The Korean Hana Yori Dango. It’s great for the first twelve episodes, after which there’s a time-jump and any awesomeness on the part of the heroine goes right out the window. Also, Kim Hyun Joong can’t act but makes up for it by being ridiculously pretty. (He’s great in We Got Married, but I will understand if nobody wants to watch that.) On the plus side, LMH is the only one of the three Domyoujis I’ve seen to really rock the perm in a good way (sorry, Matsujun). And it really is pretty great up to the halfway point. Just pretend the rest of it doesn’t exist.


City Hunter (2011, Lee Min Ho, Park Min Young): How do I describe this? It’s like if Kurosagi were a kdrama, but funnier and with better female characters. It reminds me of Black & White, with Lee Min Ho as BOTH Mark Chao and Vic Zhou’s characters. XD It has pretty much nothing to do with the manga on which it’s supposedly based. I completely and utterly don’t care. A;LSKDJFSLKDJFALS; This is the show that got me on the Lee Min Ho fanwagon. *falls over* He plays Yoon Sung, and his backstory would take way too long to explain but basically he’s Batman and the Scarlet Pimpernel in leopard-print sweatpants. Yoon Sung~♥ Park Min Young is both adorable and steely as Nana, the presidential bodyguard with the heart of gold and the arm of judo beatdowns. Nana~♥


Coffee Prince, aka The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince (2007, Yoon Eun Hye, Gong Yoo): This is an excellent first kdrama! If you like genderbending, cross-dressing, and coffee, this is the drama for you. Nobody dies or even has a terminal disease! I repeat: CROSS-DRESSING. COFFEE.


Delightful Girl Choon Hyang (2005, Han Chae Young, Jae Hee, Uhm Tae Woong): Spunky heroine, doofy love interest who grows up to be inexplicably awesome, and historical parodies! Warning: Guy #2 goes completely overboard, and it’s kind of sad because he starts out so awesome. But that’s partly because it’s a re-imagining of a popular folk story, which gets remorselessly, lovingly parodied in brief historical-style snippets. Plus the soundtrack’s great. I used to write papers to it a lot. Also, the couple has a hilarious cameo in My Girl, so watch this one first.


Dream High (2011, this is what they mean by “ensemble cast”): DELICIOUS KPOP DANCING CAKE. Who would have thought a drama about an idol factory high school--produced by a Hallyu star and starring, well, idols--would have solid writing, pitch-perfect pacing, nuanced character development, and...make so much sense?


Last Scandal (2008, Choi Jin Shil, Jung Jun Ho): When her husband goes to jail for debt, a mother moves in with a spoiled movie star as his housekeeper. But omg! twenty years ago, they were each other’s first love! Will she escape the shackles of an unrewarding, soul-killing marriage to an utter jerk and assert herself as an independent woman? Will he grow up and convince her their love can have a second chance? Sweet and emotionally rewarding.


Legend, aka The Four Gods (2007, Bae Yong Joon, Lee Jia, Moon So Ri, Yoon Tae Young, and a Cast of Thousands): EPIC HISTORICAL FANTASY. DID I SAY EPIC? BECAUSE IT REALLY IS. Chock-full of badassery and pretty costumes and political scheming and flowing hair and love polygons. I’m a little fuzzy on what exactly happened at the end, but I know it was epic.


Mary Stayed Out All Night (2010, Moon Geun Young, Jang Geun Seok, Kim Jae Wook): Moon Geun Young is a terrifically versatile actress. She went from playing the cold, emotionally damaged stepsister in Cinderella Unni to playing Mae Ri, an adorable drama-watching bundle of long hair and fuzzy scarves and sunshine with a will of iron and a little problem of being married to two men at once. Whoops? She’s torn between the rich drama producer her father picked out (aka Waffle Guy [Coffee Prince] aka the Gay of Demonic Charm [Antique Bakery]) and the ragtag indie musician who was the lead singer of idol boyband A.N.JELL in a past drama incarnation. Well, we all have our problems. The writing loses its fool mind about halfway through, but the cute remains.


My Girl (2005, Lee Da Hae, Lee Dong Wook): From the writers of Choon Hyang comes a tale of swindling, impostors, and... nope, that’s pretty much it. Suffers a bit from Is Their Love Really Worth It?, but everyone’s really pretty and our heroine pwns everybody with her trickery and swindling skillz.


Secret Garden (2010, Ha Ji Won, Hyun Bin): Okay, so in hindsight, this is not a great drama. It’s not even a particularly good drama, taken as a whole, though parts are great on their own. The whole setup is completely pointless. The male lead is an ass. But I need to re-watch it, because I think I might really like the secondary love story if I actually watched it instead of rabidly fast-forwarding to any screentime the two leads have together, subs be damned. I really need to watch more things starring Ha Ji Won, because she was very, very impressive as the dedicated badass stuntwoman reluctantly falling in love with the neurotic businessman with a penchant for sparkly tracksuits. THEN THEY BODYSWAP.


The Story of Hyang Dan (2007, Seo Ji Hye, Choi Siwon): A cheeky, rather sweet two-episode fusion sageuk re-imagining of the Choon Hyang story in which Lee Mong Ryong (played hilariously by Super Junior’s Choi Siwon) falls not for Choon Hyang but for the servant girl Hyang Dan.


Sungkyunkwan Scandal (2010, Park Min Young, Micky Yoochun, Song Joong Ki, Yoo Ah In): My favorite kdrama of fall 2010! OH MY DARLING FUSION SAGEUK IDEALISTS! It’s perfection until the last five minutes of the last episode, and then I tell myself that they all become Joseon-era secret agents and that’s why the last five minutes even exist. Cuteness! Cross-dressing! Political intrigue! School spirit!


Tamra, the Island (2009, Seo Woo, Im Joo Hwan, Pierre Deporte): Also known as Tamna the Island, Shipwrecked, and Tempted Again (which is what you’ll find it called on most streaming sites as well as dramawiki). How do I describe this? It’s like an anti-Robinsonade buddy comedy. If you can watch the 21-episode version you should do that, because the broadcast company cruelly cut it short and therefore a lot of things in the 16-episode version make less sense than they could. PARK KYUUUUU! I find Seo Woo kind of annoying, but she’s adorable when she’s being competent or plucky and not crying. Though really, props to her for not being afraid to look ugly when she cries: her crying looks real and young and heartbroken and not at all like your usual kdrama single diamond tear of cinematic perfection.


Triple (2009, Min Hyo Rin, Lee Jung Jae): From the writers of Coffee Prince. A high school girl moves in with her stepbrother and his doofy friends. She’s trying to chase her dream of becoming a professional figure skater. They’re trying to run their own ad company. Featuring the most hilarious cameo by a Twilight book EVER. Nothing much else happens, but it does so ADORABLY!


The Woman Who Still Wants to Marry (2010, Park Jin Hee, Wang Bit Na, Eom Ji Won): Hurray for friendship and subverted Evil Mother tropes (and Kim Bum)!


You’re Beautiful (2009, Jang Geun-seok, Park Shin-hye, Lee Hong-ki, Jung Yong-hwa): Also from the writers of Choon-hyang and My Girl. A bumbling (some might say utterly brainless; they’d be right) novice nun poses as her twin brother as idol band A.N.JELL’s new vocalist. Shenanigans ensue, along with hilarity, cross-dressing, and more eyeliner than you’ve ever seen in your life. Also starring the cast doing their own singing and a totally addictive soundtrack. Warning: CRACKED OUT TO A HUNDRED AND TEN.


Dramas I Haven’t Seen All Of, Or F-Forwarded through More that Actually Watched, But Might Revisit Some Day (or Not):

Cinderella Unni (2010, Moon Geun Young, Seo Woo, Chung Myun Jung, Taecyeon): Moon Geun Young went from playing stone-cold, fierce, damaged Eun Jo here to sunshine-and-puppies Mae Ri in Mary Stayed Out All Night. One can only imagine the psychological relief.


Code Blue (2008, Yamashita Tomohisa, Aragaki Yui, Toda Erika, Asari Yosuke): Hospital drrrrrama! Introducing the revolutionary new “Doctor Heli,” a medical helicopter that transports doctors to emergency sites. Four newbies compete to be on that helicopter. I watched the first ep, and it didn’t really appeal to me. Neither did Yamapi’s perm. Seriously, some people were just not meant to have perms, ever. Even the lab coats couldn't keep me interested. And you know how much I love lab coats.


Dong Yi (2010, Han Hyo Joo, Ji Jin Hee, Bae Soo Bin): I just couldn’t deal with the thought of a 60-episode straight-up sageuk, even one as cute and funny and angsty and political as Dong Yi. I stuck it out for six episodes or so before I realized what I was getting into. SOME DAY. Worth noting, though, is young!Dong Yi actress Kim Yoo Jung, who also plays the adorable little sister in Tamra the Island.


Kamen Rider Kiva (2008, Seto Koji): Seto Koji, you stop that. Stop that RIGHT NOW.


Last Friends (2008, Nagasawa Masami, Nishikido Ryo, Ueno Juri): ANGST ANGST AAAAAAANGST. I watched the first episode and decided I couldn’t/didn't want to take the angst. Of which there is a lot. ANGST. Seriously though, Ryo is so good as the creepy character with something fundamentally wrong with his moral compass. Why do drama producers keep putting him in charge of children? Though here that’s part of the creepy...


Misaki Number 1 (2011, Karina, Kitayama Hiromitsu, Fujigaya Taisuke, Oomasa Aya): Like Gokusen, but with hostess clubs instead of yakuza, less beating up of bad guys, and more sparkly charm.


My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho (2010, Shin Mina, Lee Seung Gi): Korean mythology meets The Little Mermaid. Supposedly it ends well.


My Name is Kim Sam-soon (2005, Kim Sun Ah, Hyun Bin): Should probably watch for the fat politics alone... but don’t want to.


Personal Taste (2010, Sohn Ye Jin, Lee Min Ho): Lee Min Ho’s highly anticipated post-BBF project. Frankly I found it unwatchable. Luckily, City Hunter is here to soothe the pain. And bring the suspense.


Scrap Teacher (2008, Nakajima Yuto, Yamada Ryosuke, Chinen Yuri, Arioka Daiki): It’s like Gokusen in reverse. Four tiny but badass students are sent to a sub-par middle school t

Comments

[hakusa-tegami.livejournal.com]

Oh, but now I'm curious... what imagery in Fated to Love You?

The Health Class Reproduction video metaphors? Or the every-drama's-romantic-moment-ever in pity sequence?

XD


That's a show that killed my love, I think all for an extension. :(((

I would like to compile a Best Parts version of Personal Taste, which would include the Besties and all the good kissing parts. Because Lee Min Ho was really quite good! And the sets awesome! And the Besties, the Most Cutest Not-Helping-Things sidekicks ever!

But a lot of the beginning stuff and ending stuff was a drag.

[timeripple.livejournal.com]

Yeah, those. Both. Ugh.

I would watch the heck out of Personal Taste: The Good Parts Version. It would be like Tamra the Island, only in reverse. Somebody make this happen!

flooding your notifications, lawl

[hakusa-tegami.livejournal.com]

How far did you get? Because it becomes more good parts versions after the first couple'a episodes...

Also, shame on you for giving me the idea to do this as a project in service to the world. D:

Re: flooding your notifications, lawl

[timeripple.livejournal.com]

Uh, just a few eps. I did read recaps for the rest of it, so I know pretty much what happens. I thought the dignified treatment of the gay museum gentleman might be interesting, but the rest of it just didn't hold my attention.