astromantic

毎日grind, 毎日rhymes

Category: watching

  • Day 9: Craziest Drama

    Day 9: Craziest Drama

    The way I look at it, you need to watch at least one or two dramas that go from 0 to 100 real quick — dramas that are absolutely ridiculous — to make you appreciate that it could be so much worse. Fortunately, “Glass no Ie” was one from last year that fell right into my lap. You have the worst husband (Kazunari) who remarries a beautiful woman named Rei, and his two sons: a naive aspiring lawyer (Kenji) and the politically ambitious Hitoshi who has the hots this new wife. Yep!!!

    To make matters worse, the husband’s jealousy is evident from first glance… and by first glance, I mean when Kazunari glances at Hitoshi sneaking a peek at his wife’s cleavage during breakfast. Ah yes, nothing completes a morning meal like inappropriate and lingering stares.

    Funnier still is that even though Kazunari is deeply insecure and threatened by his son (his ideological opposite, go fig), he didn’t see Rei leaving him or the affair coming. You’re really going to act all brand new when your son was making eyes at your new wife for the past five episodes? OK.

    (More) Reasons to Watch: If you enjoy emotional adultery of the nth degree with a flair for the dramatic… or trainwrecks!
    Honorable Mention: Long Goodbye (NHK / 2014). Classy, yet crazy! (ETA) “Iron Man”. How could I forget Iron Man? I watched four episodes and nah. NAH

  • Day 8: A Drama I Started But Can’t Finish

    Day 8: A Drama I Started But Can’t Finish

    There are so many reasons why I leave dramas unfinished; sometimes there aren’t any subs available, and sometimes they’re being streamed at sites I don’t care for. In rare cases, they’re just shows I need to give a second chance to — I thought I was going to hate PRIDE because I hated hockey. Fortunately I thought wrong, and you should all watch it because it’s wonderful! Hockey is still 100% whatever though. While the list of dramas I’ve left unfinished is somewhat lengthy, none of them bother me as much as these three:

    “Yae no Sakura” (NHK / 2013)
    “Arang and the Magistrate” (MBC / 2012)
    “Deep Rooted Tree” (SBS / 2011)

    Common factor: they’re historical dramas! Jidaigeki or (fusion) sageuk, it’s not happening. It’s a big miracle that I was able to get through the second season of JIN, because while the political intrigue was really interesting at first, I started getting bored. BAKUMATS-WHO?
    (more…)

  • Day 7: Biggest Surprise

    Day 7: Biggest Surprise

    Most Japanese procedurals start in the same way: you have a leader-type who’s been made an outcast for some reason (a failure to perform, bureaucratic sabotage, personal trauma), persuaded to work again by a fellow […]. To ensure their success, they’ve assembled a special ragtag team of misfits with a specific set of skills — at this point, they are very unclear because all they appear to be is incompetent. Of course, there’s a reason for all of this! At the end, they overcome their differences and work towards one singular goal. Or you’ve got an eccentric who comes in to really ~shake up~ the status quo and show their resistant team members the TRUE meaning of justice blah blah blah… sound familiar?
    SEE: BOSS, Doubles, Keizoku series, Ogon no Buta, MR. BRAIN, etc.
    (more…)

  • Day 6: Favorite Character I

    Day 6: Favorite Character I

    What would Anthony Kim do? Well, he’d probably nominate himself as my favorite character, maybe even the BEST character in any drama ever. It wouldn’t be a stretch! Maybe it’s cheating to talk about a character/drama I’ve already spoken about, but I believe it is my earthly duty to spread the gospel of Anthony Kim/”King of Dramas” as much as possible.

    Kim Myung-min is a force. Not even that, he’s a vortex! Starring in a drama with my number one ahjusshi crush means you have to act or be out-acted. How is it that the positively delightful Jin Yi-han was reduced to someone so milquetoast in “A New Leaf“? Add Kim Sang-joong* to the mix and the poor guy never stood a a chance. Dat gravitas…

    However, King of Dramas (SBS / 2012) was fortunate enough to feature a gripping story told through the eyes of a plucky drama screenwriter and charismatic/ruthless producer who started from the top. Then the bottom. (NOW WE HEAH) Not only that, you had an amazing supporting cast that made you laugh, laugh some more, and feel all sorts of warm and gooey on the inside. I appreciate that Anthony Kim/Kim Myung-min was allowed to be so distinct/quirky in his own way without completely overwhelming others — they all had to bring their A-game, which was way more comfortable to take in than watching Kim Sang-joong and KMM steamroll over everyone else by just breathing. I mean, all Kim Sang-joong did was talk and furrow his eyebrow, but dammit if he didn’t do it well.

    But I digress. The reason we have gathered here today is not to talk about how great KoD is (a drama about making dramas, how perfectly meta!), but to extol the magnificence that is the charismatic and riveting Anthony Kim. If at this point you’re still doubting yourself, allow me to explain why I love Anthony Kim. HINT! It’s not just because of the suits.

    Anthony Kim gets up in your business.

    INBIZNESS01 INBIZNESS02

    He’s not a businessman, he’s a business… MAN.
    (more…)

  • Day 5: Worst Kiss

    Day 5: Worst Kiss

    Seeing is believing, and I believe with every fiber of my being that this is one of the worst kisses I’ve ever seen in any drama ever. I mean, what is this? Are you trying to tell me that this is the emotionally driven kiss of a lonely woman who hates the world she lives in and loves the one who gets her? Worse yet is that there was such a hilarious build up the entire episode around Hara-chan being able to kiss Echizen. Some of the greatest romances don’t even need a kiss; conversely we have Amamiya and Kuryu (HERO prime) who did not even share a smooch until the movie. Which was released SIX YEARS AFTER THE DRAMA. I’d rather not have anything at all than bear witness to the following disappointment:

    … (sigh)

    Honorable Mention: “Dekichatta Kekkon” (Fuji TV / 2001). The horizontal samba that lead to the main couple’s shotgun wedding (and baby) took place off screen, but the worst was when they celebrated the birth of their child with a hokey-ass high five. WHAT. EVEN.

  • Day 4: Recently Finished

    Day 4: Recently Finished

    This was a drama rife with problems from the jump. Plagiarism aside, my first issue with IOIL was Jo In-sung’s face. Is that irrational? Some might say yes… either way I was gonna have to get used to it real quick because I’d be seeing it up close very often.

    (more…)
  • Day 3: Currently Watching

    Day 3: Currently Watching

    Omnibus dramas are always very hit and miss! It breaks my heart to say that watching “Oyaji no Senaka” has not been the most enticing of experiences so far. The second episode, whose screenwriter (Sakamoto Yuji) has written not one, not two, but three of my favorite dramas ever couldn’t even do it for me. Heartwarming? Hardly. Just slightly frustrating and mostly confusing. Oftentimes I’m left wondering what the emotional hook is supposed to be, and a little distracted by the concept — fathers and their children (daughters so far) are the only ones who seem to exist in the universe of this show. The first two episodes used time skips that I’ve found to be very lazy devices for character/plot development, and it’s just been a lot of telling and not showing. The running time can’t even be used as an excuse, since there are other omnibus dramas (see: “Loss Time Life”) who have been able to use the ~45 minutes to tell a singular story efficiently. It might sound like I dislike this drama quite a bit, but I’m giving it the benefit of the doubt because 1) I’ve only watched two and a half episodes, 2) I feel like it has a lot to offer, what with future performances by Oizumi Yo, Ono Machiko, Endo Kenichi, and Watanabe Ken.

    (More) Reasons to Watch: I definitely think this has potential, and I remain optimistic. It could be worse! It could be “Higashino Keigo Mysteries“…
    Honorable Mention: “My Secret Hotel” (tvN / 2014), “Aoi Honoo” (TV Tokyo / 2014). Can these even be considered honorable mentions? I’m still watching them!

  • Day 2: Favorite “I Love You”

    Day 2: Favorite “I Love You”

    The relationship between Tachibana Saki and Minakata Jin was never a question of will-they-or-won’t-they; it was clear throughout the first season of JIN that he was pretty devoted to Miki/fascinated by Nokaze and getting back to present day Japan. Also clear is the fact that Saki really admires and respects Jin and his abilities, maybe with a little more emphasis on the admiration. It’s not like there hasn’t been an attempt, however. Jin eventually asks if they could be together and she’s like “nah”, but we all know. WE KNOW!

    Slight spoilers for the “JIN 2” finale. Tread lightly!

    (more…)

  • Day 1: Favorite Miniseries or Special

    Day 1: Favorite Miniseries or Special

    Note: This is a blog series I’ve been wanting to start for a while after seeing it somewhere on Tumblr, so here’s my modified take on it! I haven’t talked about dramas in a while, either — it’s go big or go home, amirite?

    Infernal Affairs was the DVD on my friend’s bookshelf that I had always wanted to watch, but never really got around to. There wasn’t any specific reason I had for wanting to watch it, aside from a solid recommendation and being impressed with the accolades it had collected (Leonardo DiCaprio featuring in the American remake was a nice touch, too). That said, I had no idea what I was getting into when I decided to watch the 2012 Japanese remake, “Double Face”. I had no idea that I was about to get taken to a dreamworld of tragic.

    (more…)

  • “My favorite Korean movie is F4.”

    f4
    A girl I tutor not only revealed to me that she watches Korean dramas, but she also precisely summarized her favorite one (“F4”) for me. I mean — “at the end she fell in love with the boy in the curly hair even though she like[s] the red hair boy.” That accuracy…

    Kids are getting started on the drama game early these days.