astromantic

毎日grind, 毎日rhymes

Category: 30×30 (2014)

  • Day 30: Favorite Drama

    Day 30: Favorite Drama

    And with this post, this blog challenge is finally complete! Hopefully I was able to introduce you to some dramas you’ve never heard about! And trust me, there’s actually a lot more where that came from. You can find the rest of the posts in this series through this tag here. Master list coming soon… (maybe). Thank you for following along!

    I don’t have a favorite! Seriously, I don’t have one. This is the most difficult subject for me to rank because out of the handful (LOL) that I’ve watched, I have more than twenty as my top ranking. It’s a bit of a cop out, but if you pressed me I could probably pick one. The problem is that I wouldn’t want it to be indicative of my taste in dramas (I promise I’m not into destroying my heart/mind/soul with these heartrending shows), and that’s where I run the slippery slope of naming different dramas that I love for so many different reasons.

    For example, I love “Hero” because it was the drama that set the bar (haha) for what a GOOD drama could be like, and it was a total game changer. I love “Mother” because it was the first emotional and character based drama I ever took a chance on, “Keizoku 2: SPEC” for the high concept and theories that had everyone talking, “JIN” for marking a change in the types of dramas I watched (hint, I got pickier), and “49 Days” for being the first edge-of-your-seat and hardcore melo I’ve ever witness. Or I’m just indecisive.

    I’ve already talked about quite a few favorites of mine in this blog challenge, but I will talk another one that I love for being another “first”. (more…)

  • Day 29: Favorite Ending

    Day 29: Favorite Ending

    I’ve never watched an ending I’ve completely loved, and I’m usually left feeling like there was something missing or could have been left out to avoid ruining an otherwise flawless run.

    Maruyama Ryuhei was one of those Johnny’s I didn’t know I liked until I watched Strawberry Night and finally, “Boys on the Run” (TV Asahi / 2012). The latter was a drama I tacked onto my year-end to-watch list, and I actually got really into it! The ending was surprisingly sweet for how much Toshiyuki had been crapped on by people over the course of the drama. Even better was that everything was resolved, and that’s something that a lot of dramas can’t do — nicely or not.

    . . .

    (More) Reasons to Watch: I think Maruyama Ryuhei is an adorable goofnugget, and I loved him Nakuna Hara-chan. He’s also leading this year’s Jigoku Sensei Nube, which looks ridiculous. Not sure if good or bad, but it’ll probably be right up his alley.

    Honorable Mention: “49 Days” (SBS / 2011), “Vampire Prosecutor” (OCN / 2011), and “Loss Time Life” (Fuji TV / 2008). It’s an omnibus drama, but the last episode was the perfect send off for the series.

  • Day 28: Most Annoying Character

    Day 28: Most Annoying Character

    Choi Jin-chul is just the kind of mustache twirling villain I don’t need in dramas or my life. It’s difficult for me to pinpoint specific reasons as to why Choi is so terrible, aside from being a smarmy, manipulative, and greedy SOB. He was my least favorite part of “Nine: Nine Times Travel” (tvN / 2013), but I loved that drama and I try not to let it color my opinion too much. I took some notes on certain episodes, and I remember writing this for episode 15: “It goes without saying that Choi Jin-chul is a cockroach!!!!”

    Jung Dong-hwan has the market cornered when it comes to playing stubborn, scrupulous old men in positions of power, and I have to hand it to him for being so damn good at it.

    Honorable Mention: Koyurugi Souta (“Shitsuren Chocolatier” – Fuji TV / 2014), anyone Inagaki Goro plays but especially Makihara Shuichi in “Nagareboshi” (Fuji TV / 2010), EVERYONE (Mitsu no Aji – Fuji TV / 2011), Kang Tae-yoon (“I Need Romance 3” – tvN / 2014).

  • Day 27: Favorite Comedy

    Day 27: Favorite Comedy

    If you’re following along with this blog challenge, then I hope you’ve made good and watched my suggestion for Best Concept! If you have, then rejoice in the fact that the director of that series came back this year with “Aoi Honoo” (TV Tokyo / 2014), which is a love song for anyone who has ever watched and enjoyed anime or manga classics, and anything retro.

    I’ve had a lot of free time lately, so I went ahead and finished Aoi Honoo, which has been floating around in “currently watching” purgatory for the past few months. Aside from the history lesson in learning about GAINAX before they were GAINAX, Aoi Honoo provides the lolz. I wasn’t sure I was going to like it because it was hella slapstick and Honoo Moyuru (Yuya Yagira) did so. much. screaming, but midway through it became very difficult for me to hide my laughter. (more…)

  • Day 26: Favorite Cast

    Day 26: Favorite Cast

    It wasn’t a drama very big on story, but what made “Let’s Eat” (tvN / 2013-2014) a winner for me were the characters, natch. There’s something really appealing about each of the “living single”/officetel tenants living their lives as normally as possible, without any of the typical k-drama histrionics. Because it was so down-to-earth and very slice-of-life, more time is spent on character development which was a big plus!

    (more…)
  • Day 25: Best Villain

    Day 25: Best Villain

    From my viewing experience, villains are two dimensional and just meddlesome. They don’t serve any purpose other than being annoying at what they do and thwarting the hero in any annoying way possible. Min Joon-gook (“I Hear Your Voice”, SBS / 2013), however, is a name that strikes fear into the hearts of many — and he’s actually menacing enough to be a proper villain. When he says he’s not going to rest until he kills you for putting him behind bars, he will do just that. Relentlessly! His vengeance is both emotional and violent and it’s legitimately terrifying to watch.

    (Shortest post ever, or shortest post ever?)

    Honorable Mention: Oda Taisei (“Double Face”, WOWOW x TBS / 2012)

  • Day 24: Favorite Couple

    Day 24: Favorite Couple

    I first heard about “Queen In-hyun’s Man” (tvN / 2012) soon after it had ended, when Ji Hyun-woo (Kim Boong-do) admitted in front of everybody, AT A PRESS CONFERENCE, that he had fallen in love with his co-star, Yoo In-na (Choi Hee-jin). I mean !!!! but then they started dating, he went off to military service, and they broke up sometime after. Still, my interest was piqued! If a real relationship was the endgame, the must in-show chemistry have been bonkers, nah mean? (more…)

  • Day 23: Favorite Kiss

    Day 23: Favorite Kiss

    (Well, where there’s a worst kiss, there’s a best kiss!)

    Gong-shil (Gong Hyo-jin) is able to see ghosts and on occasion, they’re able to take possession of her. In episode 9 of “Master’s Sun” (SBS / 2013), the dead wife of a famous pianist clues into the fact that Gong-shil likes Joong-won (So Ji-sub), her sort of boss. Before ghost wife can reveal this fact to him (isn’t he curious?), Joong-won tells the ghost to “watch carefully, and get lost”. And how does he ward off this ghost? With “contact”* of course! (more…)

  • Day 22: Favorite Romance Drama

    Day 22: Favorite Romance Drama

    “Secret Love Affair” (JTBC / 2014) was unlike any romance drama I’ve ever watched. The age gap is no joke (twenty! years!), but I like to think I’ve been steadily preparing myself all year by watching a ton of dramas with younger men and older women involved in romances, haha. Let’s Eat, I Need Romance 3, High School King of Savvy, Witch’s Romance… (more…)

  • Day 21: Favorite Title Sequence

    Day 21: Favorite Title Sequence

    Naturally the show with the best concept would have one of the best openers! (more…)