Hana Yori Dango 1 & 2

oh wretched me. i've lost the zest to blog. it took me such a long time to start this post.


properly now, After 1 year a few months, I've finally finished Hana Yori Dango 1 & 2. It took me such a long time to start Hana Yori Dango 2 because after the manga (a long one), and a few episodes of the Taiwanese version (featuring taiwanese boyband F4) I've felt i've had enought with Hana Yori Dango.

side note: i'm watching Zettai Kareshi currently and Hiro Mizushima is so cute! HEHEHEHE. he's a dead ringer for Jun Matsumoto at certain angles but wayyyyy cuter. When I first saw Hiro on Hana Kimi then Jun on Hana Yori Dango previews, I was so certain it was the same person.. one of the reasons why i started this series.


Season 1

I enjoyed it so much even though some parts were from the manga, they did not follow entirely. Thats what I love about JDramas, they don't just copy directly from the manga yet keeping the storyline. I hate to say that I was more of a Hanazawa Rui (Shun Oguri) camper instead of Domyoji Tsukasa (Jun Matsumoto). Comparing sShun Oguri's role in Hana Kimi and him as Hanazawa Rui, I felt he fits perfectly into both roles despite the characters being different miles apart. Season 1 scenes were much sweeter compared to Season 2. Moving on...

Season 2
I brawled like a baby in the first few episodes. It was too sad, I was screaming inside "JUST GET TOGETHER WILL'YA!" I gave them 3 episodes to be together.. NOOOO i was wrong! Domyoji lost his memory about Makino in episode 9 when there were only 11 episodes in the series. I stopped crying at episode 5 because it did not get any better. However, last episode was really touching when he ran out to save her in the cold. OKAY, enough of spoilers. The ending dance was real cheesy and I'm having doubts with watching the new movie. WHY DO THEY HAVE TO MAKE SO MANY!!!!!

UPCOMING DRAMAS TO LOOK FORWARD TO!

Drama :SBS Tazza (타짜)
Casting : Jang Hyuk, Kim Min Joon, Han Yeh Seul, and Kang Sung Yun
Schedule to be broadcasted : 8th September

Jang Hyuk and Han Ye Seul! It would be so interesting to watch. Jang Hyuk where you would see him in Dance of the Dragon with Fann Wong (One of the most terrible movies ever!) not a big fan of him, but well, nothing about him to dislike anyway.

HAN YE SEUL - if you've watched Couple of Fantasy, you can't possible miss her. One of my favourite Kdrama. I've been anticipating for her new dramas! She speaks fluent English and plays the Piano. Sigh, Jong Hun(see FT island post) loves her like I do.

Quote from DramaWiki: " The drama is about someone who is good at cheating in gambling."

Short and sweeet.

Drama : KBS The World They Live In
Casting : Hyun Bin ,Song Hye-kyo
Schedule to be broadcasted : Nov 2008



This would be really good. Just look at the cast! (I know, i select my dramas based on who were casted. It's important to look at the cast at times)

Song Hye kyo- whom Honggi (see FT island post again) likes. Her last drama was Full House I believe..

Hyun Bin- gonna look unshaven and rugged again? please do. His last drama was Snow Queen.

Quote from wiki: "This drama is about the process of a television drama production. Jung Ji Oh(Hyun Bin) is a charismatic drama PD whereas Joo Joon Young(Song Hye-Kyo) is a PD who is direct and confident. "

I'm not entirely convinced by the plot, but I wouldn't miss it for Hyun Bin and Song Hye-Kyo. That is like putting Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks together (I hope this is a good example).

But anyway, It might be until year 2009 that I would be able to watch these. Not released yet, still got to wait for subs, worse still, I might have to watch with Chinese subtitles with my ma ma if I can't find it online.

The OC

The OC has got to be my favourite english tv series of all time, and it was also influential- I started saying "eeew" ALOT(Summer), the way they dress. Yes, I know also a guilty pleasure of mine as its bad influence, high school kids getting into fights, drugs, lesbianism, sex and whatsnot. I loved the bands that were featured, like Death Cab for Cutie!, Subways!, the Killers!. I followed season 1 and 2 religiously but after I heard that Marissa was going to die, I lost interest.

Music! Music from the OC was amazing, I found myself listening and trying to recall which scene did they play this song. Sigh, I miss those times. Mix-tape 6 was my favourite .

General favourite tracks played on the OC:

"Float On" (Modest Mouse) - Goldspot
"I Turn My Camera On" (Spoon) - Rock Kills Kid

"California" (Phantom Planet) - Mates of State

"Smile Like You Mean It" (The Killers) - Tally Hall
"Rock & Roll Queen" – The Subways
"Reason Is Treason" – Kasabian

"Forever Young" (Alphaville cover) – Youth Group
"California 2005" – Phantom Planet
"Hide and Seek" – Imogen Heap "Na Na Na Na Naa" (Credited as "Na Na Na Na Naah") – Kaiser Chiefs
"Goodnight and Go" - Imogen Heap
"Fortress" - Pinback

"To Be Alone with You" - Sufjan Stevens

"Champagne Supernova" (Oasis cover) - Matt Pond PA
"Smile Like You Mean It" - The Killers
"A Lack of Color" - Death Cab for Cutie
"Specialist" - Interpol

"Walnut Tree" - Keane

"Move On" - Jet

"We Used to Be Friends" - The Dandy Warhols

My favourite couple- Adam Brody/Rachel Bilson or Seth Cohen/Summer Roberts

On-screen and off-screen. I was really sad to find out that they broke up in Dec 2006. Currently, Rachel Bilson's dating Hayden Christensen and I kinda like him too.

Can't possibly ignore their outfits. I'm still obsessed with Seth's shoes, Seth's Penguin polo tees.

Ratings: 8/10 (for season 1 &2). Usually I hate long television series, but the OC is an exception.

p.s Alex the lesbian is HOT HOT HOT!

Rainbow song

Rainbow Song (虹の女神, Niji no Megami) had long been in my want-to-watch list ever since it was released in 2006. Of course it was because of our dear boy Hayato Ichihara and it was released soon after I became all fan-girly after watching WaterBoys II. Sad to say, I never got to watch it until two weeks ago on crunchyroll, after a long 2 year wait. I remembered googleing 'rainbow song' every now and then, but nope, couldn't find it anywhere.

It wasn't really all that great but I still cried with my sister exclaiming, " WHAT! WHATS THERE TO CRY ABOUT! WHERE? EXPLAIN TO ME WHAT HAPPENED?"

It stirred my interest in filming. Not digital filming, but film filming(old school kind). After all, I'm a film enthusiatic but it had always revolves around my manual cameras (I probably own 20+ manual cameras).

In love with each other but never gotten to confess and be together was sure a bummer. I was screaming, "WHAT! thats it?!?!"

Unlike in Rookies, whereby Hayato was the leader whom everyone fears. In Rainbow song, he was a timid, soft-spoken, weak guy who was always bullied which i must say I love Aniya in Rookies.

There is a lesson to be learnt in this movie, that is to be brave and never hold back your feelings, thinking that he/she would be there forever. It would be too late to regret when he/she's no longer around.

Ratings: 6.5/10 It's hard to be un-biased against Hayato when he's so cute.

Goong S

Goong S is a spinoff of huge-hit Goong. I think they did a bad job. So bad that I couldnt recall who acted in Goong S except for Se7en. He's probably the main reason why i managed to finish it(almost). I could remember fast-forwarding most parts just to watch se7en and those romantic scenes. The actors and actresses never made it big after this show unlike Goong. Goong was phenomenal, it was so good that the main cast's popularity sky-rocketed.

The storyline is vaguely similar to Goong, obviously trying to ride on the popularity waveline of Goong that they did this in a hurry and failed terribly. Ratings were at its pits, quite a sad thing as it was se7en's debut on acting.

I'm not going to bother about the story line, just think, this is the prince version of princess hours in Goong.(if you watched that, it's a MUST-WATCH).

Se7en's cute and hot on a skateboard. Though I've been wondering where has he disappeared to, I heard he was trying his luck at the States and I missed his long hair. His moon-dance was pretty impressive and .... hmmm, can't you tell i'm racking my brains as to what I can write.

Ratings: 4.5/10. Just watch Goong.

Lovely Complex Live Action

Lovely complex Live Action movie, released in 2006 was just major cuteness! Everything in the movie screamssss KAWAII.

The cast was perfect, needless to say, I loved the story. From manga, to movie, to anime, loved them all. Although the manga has not yet been fully released and still maybe still drawing (i think? correct me if i'm wrong, havent been following)

Teppei Koike as Otani

Standing at 156cm (wahaha, shorter than me!), he's the star player of his high school's basket ball team. Teppei's simply just PERFECT for this role! Well, though he isn't really 156cm, his image somewhat belongs to the cute-sunshine-boy-next-door category. He sings, plays the guitar and you would know him from WaT with Wentz Eiji(mixed jap). CUUUTTEEEEE!

Koizumi-unknown actress

She did a great job portraying Risa Koizumi though she's probably a model instead of an actress. Risa's a klutz, silly and ackward because she's 172cm tall. Quite a giant for a girl in Japan, most are petite. And she's got a major crush on Otani! 172cm, 156cm, naturally, they look really funny together.

So, the storyline revolves around how this funny pair falls in love with each other and the super cute stuff they did.

Ratings: 8/10. You would enjoy it if you love comedies. There were some really creative ideas in this movie, pretty brief, but nothing important was left out.

Hanazakari no Kimitachi e - Hana Kimi Live Action Jap

You guys would probably be familar with this drama if you caught the taiwanese version. Featuring Wuzun, Ella, Jiro Wang, was aired before this version. But you can't miss the Japanese version because unlike the taiwanese version, it wasn't entirely the same as what happened in the manga.

Here's the wiki link: Hana Kimi Live Action

Another reason why you should catch this is because, the guys in there are sooooo cute! Taiwanese version, you just get 2 of them (quite alright, for wuzun and jiro). For the Japanese version, you get a handful of them! CUTEEE.

Chinese Sano(wuzun) might be better-looking than japanese Sano (Shun Oguri), but in terms of acting skills, and that sexy mysterious aura of Sano(manga), who can beat Shun? With a string of impressive dramas and movies like Hana Yori Dango, Gokusen, GTO, Densha Otoko, Crows Zero 2, Ghost Train. He would not disappoint and always delivers his role superb-ly. But not drool-worthy. HAHA

The cuter lots.

Nakatsu- Toma Ikata

he looks weird in some angles, but you can't possible hate him. Another Johnny boy.

Namba!- Hiro Mizushima

Loved him even though he wasn't a major character. Looks like Jun of Arashi to me at first, but he's definately wayyyyy better-looking than Jun. I'll watch him in Absolute boyfriend after i finish Hana Yori Dango 2. My sis's going to have exams and i've got to wait for her *roll eyes*. And he speaks fluent English. sigh, i saw it on youtube. He was in Lovely Complex Live too, but minor role.

Ghost Guy- Yusuke Yamamoto

he's appearing ALOT in japanese magazines. Never really acted, but he's so popular. Actually, he reminds me a little of se7en, those thick lips.

Shirota Yuu

HAHAHA. HOT! he's in Rookies as well. Of course, he's more outstanding in Rookies. Half spanish, half Jap. I think I've talked about him before.

oh gosh, totally neglected the main female character. Well, she's the one who acted in Nobuta Wo Produce. Really pretty compared to chinese Mizuki(Ella), but I personally find her acting wooden and exaggerated.

Ratings: 7/10. good for comedy and non-serious stuff. i found it to be too brief.

Save the last dance for me

Haven't found time to blog, or rather, I can't decide on what movie/drama/anime to blog about. So, here's a really old one and one of my favourites. Save the last dance for me is probably my very first korean drama that got me started on the rest.

The cast doesn't seem so attractive but the story line is gripping! However, its another one of those memory-loss sappy romance story.

From the title, you'll presume its got some dance scenes. Noooo, they only semi-danced in the last few minutes of the show. Misleading, but that aside, here's a brief storyline.

After a major argument with his father over wishes for Hyun-woo to take over his company, Hyun-woo drove out and met a thief who stabbed him. Almost ran over by Eun-soo, she brought him to the hospital and was told that his injuries were so severe that he lost his memories. So, Eun-soo and her father decided to bring him back. Meanwhile, the thief who drove Hyun-woo's car, met with an accident and caused the car to explode. Hyun-woo's family received news that their son died.

One year passed and Eun-soo and Hyun-woo fell in love and under a pine tree, they exchanged lockets where he promised that whatever happened, even if his memory would return, he would love Eun-soo forever.

The day of their engagement, Eun-soo's father passed away and that night, someone back home wanted Hyun-woo dead but an accident caused his memories to return, but could not recall a single thing that happened over that year, even Eun-soo's existence. (STUPID!)

A year later, Eun-soo visted her friend at Seoul who worked at Hyun-woo's company and saw him.

And here's where the story actually begins....... watch it to find out.

Taiwanese drama, Prince turns to frog did a rip-off of this. It wasn't that bad, but I couldn't stand the cheap sound effects and what they wore. Not to mention, badly dyed hair.- black roots sprouting out of cheaply dyed hair. yucks.



Ratings:
8/10 ! I watched it 3 times and i teared each time i watch it.

Time between wolf and dog

The title of this Korean Drama sounded lame to me. The time between wolf and dog. What? It makes absolutely no sense to me. But it wasn't what I had anticipated and Lee Junki amazed me so much. I didn't really like him in My Girl, or i should say he looked too sissy plus I don't see why his popularity sky-rocketed after the show. My mom's got a weakness for guys with small eyes (think Rain) and loved him since his My Girl days. I'll soon make a post on the korean stars she likes. So, mommy's the reason why i even watched this show.

I only started from episode 6 and was hooked. Mom did alot of explaining and it surprised me that it's a breakthrough from the typical korean love story. It didn't make my heart tingle, infact I would gauge the love-meter of this show 1/10.

I've started to see why is he so charming and it was good to see him all bloody, bruised, and with his long hair gone, he looooks good for a change.

The only part which got me tearing was the last 5 minutes of the show (it wasnt even a romance scene) when mao realised Soo Hyun's his best friend son he killed years back.

If you were to like mafia, killing, fighting, detective-based plots, you'd probably enjoy this show.

Ratings: 6.5 for rubbish ending.

FT Island

Note: This post would contain bandwidth-killer amount of pictures.

Decided to take a break after marathoning Hana Yori Dango 2 from 9.30am until now. That's almost more than 7 hours and i think that would be my utmost limit.

I'm a phaedophile. (1990, 1991, 1992; damn) KYAA. But they're too cute and talented to resist. Musically wise and looks wise, they're a killer. What's sexier than little boys who plays their own music and sounds so good.

My favourite leader, lead guitarist and pianist- Choi Jong Hun

He sings too, but concentrates on playing for the band.

Lead vocals, Lee HongKi

I know it bothers you how girlie he looks. The first time i saw him sing, i was swept off the moment he opened his eyes. I went "Pretty!" and was so amazed at the high notes he could hit.

Guitars and vocals- Oh Won Bin

Hot bod rapperwho likes to act macho .

Drummer and youngest of the lot- Choi Min Hwan

Don't you think he looks like rain? But probably tonnes cuter. Speaks like a kid. Just go watch his clips on youtube.

Bassist - Lee JaeJin

I think he's got the widest fanbase but well, he's my least favourite member. (secret okay. i don want his noonas to assassinate me)

Sorry dude, I don have your lone picture. But I gotta say that he's really quite photogenic.

Ratings: I'll definately be biased and rate them 10/10. Their live performances are wayyy cooler than most asian bands out there.

Snow Queen

crap. I can't find a better picture with better quality. It's not doing any justice to the show. I stayed up till 3am almost everyday to finish marathoning Snow Queen. I love the story line and how it makes my heart tinge. It didn't make me cry alot, but it made my heart tingle most of the time!

Here's the relations tree diagram. I love how it all links up. Plus, there're three really good-looking guys in here. Love the doctor. Best friend's good too but only appears in ep 1 & 2 (i think).

The story revolves Tae Woong (Hyun Bin from My lovely samsoon, Millionaire's first love) who's a mathematics genius. He met a rich little girl when saved her from bullies and became friends. When she ran away from home, they spent a day in an amusement park but he never he got to know her name. His bestfriend(Cute, but not famous guy) commited suicide because he couldn't live to his fathers' expectation when he lost to TaeWoong in a prestigious competiton(he's a genius too). Tae Woong, extremely depressed and guilty of winning, disappears, leaving his single mom and school to be a boxer-bestfriend's dream. (this part i find ridiculous)

8 years later, unexpectedly, he met the girl (little girl then), Na Ra, and worked as his driver. She's got a terminal disease and fell in love with Tae Woong 8 years ago.

I really loved the part when she realised it was him, and much later, he realised she's the girl. Falls in love and.. Alright, i'm a sucker for these kind of scenes. *get your tissues ready!*

Ratings: 8.5/10 . Typical korean plot traits but it worked for me. Ratings would have been higher if the ending did not suck.