Dramabeans' book launch!!

Available at:

Amazon

Smashwords

In an entirely biased opinion, I will read anything that these ladies write (whether or not I like or agree with them is a different story), so when I learned that they were pushing out a book about their opinions on K-drama pop culture, I was pretty ecstatic.

So here it is, and so far, it's been pretty informative and lots of fun.  Available in e-book format only, here's a quick post update from them about the book itself: 

Why Do Dramas Do That?: The Book Launch

If K-dramas is also your thing, here is a link to their blog that I may or may not follow a little too religiously... sometimes... or almost every day... 

Dramabeans

news: Drama Bites

Asian drama land has been a bit promising lately.  Not that it’s been completely down in the dumps, but if I’ve read about sixty books to the one (or maybe two) drama series I’ve watched in the past few months, then either I’m really just a professional book nerd (which I am, I don’t deny that) or drama land has been a bit bland since the year started.

Going back and trying to review the first half of this year, it seems like I’ve really averaged about one drama series (from South Korea) per month, if even that many.  And if my viewing stats on MyDramaList.com is any indication, I’ve really only watched two full drama series all year to completion, both from South Korea.

Hong Kong has long since dropped off of my radar (or well, let’s just say that I still pay some attention, but I’ve been avoiding them like the plague), and Taiwanese series are hit-or-miss for me since I finally grew out of all that “Idol Drama” stuff after immersing in it for so long.  Japanese dorama was really only a one time Ikuta Toma-sama fangirl phase...

In fact, aside from being oh so excited about a new book release, my wall of anticipatory drama series looks like child’s play.  The ratio comparison:  I’m anticipating the release air date of two drama series as compared to the eight books I’m looking forward to reading for the rest of the year.

Yea... I think drama viewing has been quite bland.

The last week, however, has proven to be a little different for me, and I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve burned out on books (pfft, as if that could happen!), or because there are actually some series that are catching my (overly snobbish) eyes... finally.  In total, I’ve been hooked to one K-drama that will be ending this week, and I’ve picked up several other dramas (both Hong Kong and Taiwan) which are in their debut weeks right now.  And I haven’t been excited about several Asian dramas all at once in a long time.

It may not sound like a big deal, but this is very big for me.

I mean, yes, I get excited about one or two series every so often, and they’re usually from South Korea and there are usually less than two.  All year, so far, it’s been like that, with Gu Family Book, with Flower Boy Next Door...  (which are the only two series I’ve actually watched ALL of...)

Anyway...  This is in no way a return to regular drama blogging for me.  I think I always try too hard to make things structured in my own logic that I get overwhelmed and start to sway.  Which explains the extended hiatus.  So I’m just going to treat this like my own personal blog now (which, technically, it is), and just chit-chat dramas, movies, and general entertainment industry galore and news whenever I feel like it.  Seems simple enough.

Moving along to the Drama Bites part:

Accordingly, I have listed three series I’m currently watching.  I usually only do this if I have the intention of continuing to watch the series.  Whether or not I finish them is something entirely different.  And as opposed to reading books, I can drop a drama series so quickly that you don’t even realize I’d even started watching at all.  (Books, I tend to try to give more of a chance and will very rarely drop unless I’m just really NOT getting into it and realize that I have no idea where the plot is going.)  In fact, I had never liked the idea of dropping drama series before and will trudge all the way until the end so that I don’t miss the opportunity for a series to get better and prove me wrong.  As a lot of other bloggers out there point out, I don’t go into a series expecting it to fail; I would rather go into a series hoping that it’s excellent.  But there’s nothing worse than always expecting a series to fail because things just aren’t up to standard anymore.

So I remain hopeful.  

Just as I continue to remain hopeful that one day I can revive my love for Hong Kong TVB’s productions.  I grew up with TVB and they are my life; I used to know all the pop culture surrounding everything that had to do with ANYTHING in TVB.  I knew all the actors and all their roles, I knew who was a newbie in improvement, I knew who attracted the best ratings, I knew whenever a newbie was being promoted heavily (as per TV politics).  But lately, I can’t even tell a newbie from someone who’s been acting for a full year in TVB productions and who is just a singer trying their luck as an actor... and vice versa.

So with Triumph in the Skies II, I really continue to hope that my love can soar (terrible pun intended, don'cha know) again.  The last time I even made mention of a series from TVB, it was Three Kingdoms RPG, and well... since I don’t blog as often anymore, let’s just say that that experience was a major heartbreak for me.  And I don’t like heartbreak when it comes to TVB because I love TVB so much that it hurts to be disappointed over and over again.  I had all my hopes set on that series because it was an interesting concept, and it starred my all-time favorite TVB artists of my generation: Raymond Lam and Tavia Yeung.  The disappointment still stings a bit.

I get my TVB sampling snippets from my parents whenever I’m randomly wandering around the living room.  My parents are still avid TVB fans, if only because it’s more preferential to them to watch drama series in their own native tongue.  They are of the “I hate having to read while watching television so I will sit through crappy dubbing as long as it’s in my language” camp.  I’m in the “I would rather see the series in its original glory and so would prefer subtitles” camp.  Besides, after you watch enough series in a foreign language, you start to pick up recycled phrases and a pretty hefty vocabulary, even if you can’t quite string together a proper complete sentence.

But nonetheless, I digress...

Whenever I see a TVB series that strikes me as potentially good, I read up on it and consider watching it.  But that’s really as far as it goes, because it doesn’t strike my fancy enough to actually take the time to watch it.  After all, there are so many drama series to watch and so many books to read and so little time to accomplish both that I’ve become pretty picky about my viewing standards.  Each episode of a series is approximately one hour long.  I’m sleeping at least six of the twenty four hours daily and I’m working for eight hours.  It takes half an hour for me to drive to and from work.  I need to filter out time to eat and shower and take care of household chores.

So in essence, I may be left with little less than four to six hours of drama series viewing time.  And that’s assuming that I actually feel like watching an episode at that moment.

There just aren’t enough hours in a day for everything I’d like to be doing.  Unless I’m hooked and I end up doing a marathon and get no sleep over it.

So what finally drew me back into a TVB series after so many years?  I’m going to be totally honest about this, but it was a rather superficial reason: In the second episode of Triumph in the Skies II, Chilam Cheung’s character Jayden Koo says the following line with all of his charm, smarm and witty delivery:  “I might be a pretty boy, but I’m not an idiot.”  And it wasn’t just the line itself, since the words are rather mundane.  It was the way in which Chilam delivered his line along with the perfect facial expression (even behind a freakin’ hot pair of shades) and the tone of voice that does it for me.  In that one line alone, I already pegged his character and fell in love with him.

I mean, it’s freakin’ Chilam Cheung (Julian Cheung for those of you not familiar with his Chinese name), and not only is he eternally baby-faced and handsome, but he’s never failed to be a good actor, in my eyes.  He’s of the older generation level of actors (which to me, means that I’ve been watching him since I was a tween back in the good ol’ days of Condor Heroes glory and the like, as opposed to the actors I started watching when I was in college who were more my age, such as Tavia and Raymond), and to be honest, sometimes these guys just do it right.

Anyway, I’m only three episodes into this series, but it seems promising so far and I intend to continue on.  The chemistry and witty banter between the characters (yes, I’m in it now for more than just Chilam’s smarmy charm alone) is so much fun and hilarity that I’ve been doing a lot of laughing out loud.  I haven’t done a lot of laughing out loud in a long time to certain drama series and I honestly appreciate a series with heart that can also make me laugh out loud due to witty banter.  

As an added bonus, one thing that Hong Kong definitely DOES do properly is their research and their attention to detail concerning their television drama series.  When they latch onto a specific profession or a genre as the central theme of a series, they put so much attention to detail into it that it isn’t outrageously obvious that the central theme is just there as a background.  No, in Hong Kong series, the central theme has enough footing to stand on its own and you don’t find yourself questioning the integrity too much, even if a few flaws tend to surface every so often; which is more than we can say about some other series’ (**coughcoughKdramacoughcough**) and their handle on certain professions in the drama world.  Because in K-dramas, even if I love the series, sometimes I still end up questioning the dramaverse background professional logic; but in TVB dramas, I don’t think I’ve ever truly had to question their dramaverse background professional logic as much.  In fact, Hong Kong is also known for their brief “informercial” material at the end of certain series that are based on some present-day issues, so we know they’ve put a lot of effort into making the series as realistic as possible without actually putting their writers and actors through the true professional training.

As an example:  I Can Hear Your Voice is a K-drama I’m obsessed with right now.  However, our professionals, the public defenders as well as the rest of the legal system makes me a little worried for South Korea as a country if THAT is how law enforcement really proceeds with their work.  I mean, a murderer who is only given ten years in prison?  Police officers who treat proper citizens like they’re the criminals and don’t take threats seriously and who lose their guns?  Criminal court cases that aren’t thoroughly investigated properly before going to court?  I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a criminal case in real life that was completed within one day and I’m not sure I’ve seen criminal cases in court where the investigating detective wasn’t involved.

But I digress...  again...

As far as TVB goes, I’m still setting a probational eye on their productions.  But my parents have informed me of the series they think is where TVB “got their groove back”, called A Change of Heart starring Michael Miu, Bosco Wong, and Niki Chow.  And the premise sounds intriguing, and Niki and Bosco are both also two of my favorite TVB artists of my generation... so I’m considering.  Otherwise, that’s all there is right now.

As for the Taiwanese front, I’ve recently taken interest in two particular series.  I’ve always been on the lookout for something in the Idol Dramas arena that would catch my eye, cause something always does.  You can’t say no to an interesting, light, breezy rom-com even if you tried, and when all the right elements line up, I will most certainly cave and give the series a chance to entertain me.  Yes, I’m still extremely biased against Idol Dramas because they are exactly as they are depicted: Idol Dramas have always been light fare, showcasing beautiful people in beautiful romance stories, meant to hook the fangirls.  They recycle the same formulas (although I will argue that the love lines in Taiwanese dramas have thus far been more desirable than what I’ve been seeing in Korean dramas) with the same types of plot twists.

BUT, they are enjoyable in a lot of their stilted glory.  I watch them for fun, not for inspiration, but I become quite elated when I DO get inspiration.  And to be totally honest, with the exception of few, Taiwanese idol actors are some of the least natural actors I’ve come across.  I haven’t been able to pinpoint why, but sometimes I can’t quite take them seriously because they’re either too over exaggerated, or way under emotive.

I’ve picked up Just You starring Aaron Yan and Puff Kuo.  And yes, my main reason for picking up this series might be due to Aaron Yan.  I mean... Aaron Yan!  I love him.  He’s so cute and adorable, and now he’s all grown up out of his initial Fahrenheit, baby idol role.  But his small eyes and his small mouth... and his cuteness...  And now I’m gushing!  But I’m not going to deny that his acting is still a bit wooden at times and over-the-top at others, and all around a bit unnatural..  I mean, he’s as natural as the rest of the Taiwan acting standard; he’s decent enough to lead a series with great facial expressions every so often... but I’ve seen better.  He knows what he’s doing and he knows how to do it, and yet I still get the feeling that he’s too over-conscious about his own acting.  Like, you can actually see the gears turning in his mind trying to figure out how to look handsome and act well at the same time (which sometimes doesn’t mesh well).  

Just... OMG!  So cute!

But still... Aaron... sigh...  

I don’t know who Puff Kuo is, but I’m sure to find out soon, though this series may possibly be one of the worst examples of good acting representation since it’s a standard rom-com and girls are always expected to be cutesy and over-the-top and loud and excited... as she is proving so far.  It just bugs me a little bit with the loud baby voice in a lot of the girls... though I suspect it’s a “thing” in Taiwan right now.  I will reserve other comments for after I’ve watched a few more episodes.

Also, what's up with that bowl cut-do?  O.o

The other series I’m considering picking up is Fabulous Boys, which is the Taiwanese remake of K-drama You’re Beautiful.  I’m conflicted.  You’re Beautiful was so much fun despite the standard rom-com stereotypes.  And I love Park Shin Hye!  And the best parts of You’re Beautiful had been the comedy, honestly.  And Taiwanese drama series tend to lack a distinct laugh-out-loud humor factor (with few exceptions) and instead end up being kind of tacky, half-assed humor.  And of the first few minutes of the first episode I watched so far, my first chuckle came about due to Park Shin Hye’s guest appearance as the girl in the church listening to loud music; and then her sad puppy declaration of “This isn’t how You’re Beautiful starts.  Hyung-nim...”  Again, I’ll reserve my criticism of the series for when I actually start watching it officially.

But until then, I’m just commenting as someone who is familiar with Jiro Wang acting (I’ve watched three of his series so far).  And to be honest, out of the four member boy band Fahrenheit, he has the best acting skills.  But that really isn’t saying much in terms of “in comparison with the rest of the acting community just in Taiwan alone”.  I mean, in his defense, he knows what he’s doing and he does it properly, much like his fellow group mate, Aaron.  He exhibits the emotions he requires and he becomes the character he’s playing -- unlike Aaron, I don’t see as much of the gears turning to calculate the best acting tacts.  But that’s pretty much it, because in the end, I really still only see his characters as “Jiro Wang playing such and such character”.  I’m not seeing the character by himself (something that an extremely talented actor is able to do is bring a character so much to life that you no longer see the actor anymore and sometimes forget that this guy also played so-and-so in that other drama series; awesome example: Chilam Cheung in Triumph in the Skies II who so thoroughly becomes Jayden Koo and brings Jayden Koo to life that I forget that he’s really Chilam Cheung).  And unfortunately, I haven’t gotten that vibe from Jiro yet.  Now, the girl, Su Li Wen, who gets to be our cross-dressing heroine seems rather promising (in fact a lot of the Taiwanese female artists seem more promising when paired with a really popular male idol) and I’m interested to see her take on Gao Mei Nan (Go Minam’s Taiwanese alter ego).

So... we’ll see how this goes.

Finally, in the K-drama front... well, I’ve always followed K-drama news ever since I first started watching them like an addiction.  So there’s really little news except for a brief shout out to Lee Jung Seok and the series he’s currently headlining, I Can Hear Your Voice (which I used in an example above).  This series is so seriously awesome that I have no words.  It’s almost over, and I can’t contain my excitement for the finale week since we’ve got conclusions and promises and reveals and an end to the ongoing conflict.

There are other series that seem promising, for instance I’m interested in Who Are You and Master’s Sun, both with the same premise of the female lead being able to see dead people.  This will be interesting, cause as much of a weenie as I am when it comes to horror, I love me a good ghost story... always!

Anyway...

Asian dramaland, here I return!

You're welcome.

news: Upcoming dramas and my current reality

My Anticipation

So I know I haven't really been on the Asian drama scene in a while. Well, I sort of have and sort of haven't. For one, I'm not pushing myself to blog regularly, only because it keeps me from being able to actually enjoy watching certain series without wondering what I want to write about it. I guess I'm really not cut out to be a drama series blogger, but I'll try to keep things going as long as I can. I just really like to write and I have opinions about certain series, scenes, celebs, actors, idols, etc... that I can't seem to NOT share.

For example, I actually have a LOT of opinion pieces written (as a rough draft, a final draft ready to be published, random thoughts on a piece of paper or WordPad file...). It's a matter of formalizing them to my standards so that they can be published for all to read.

It's just unfortunate that I have such anal perfect standards that it keeps me from publishing because I'm not sure it's good enough. Well, I know it hasn't kept me from posting some terrible articles in the past (look at me talking like I've been drama blogging forever), but I have my moments of spontaneous "I want to share with the world!" bloggings.

But anyway, it IS true that I haven't quite been in the Asian entertainment scene very much in the past couple weeks. While I have managed to view to completion some series (The King 2 Hearts, Rooftop Prince, Crime Squad, The Locked Room Murders, etc...) I have also stumbled across many series that I haven't been able to get into enough to finish (Kimchi Family, I Do I Do, Three Kingdoms RPG...). And while I've been at it, I've been watching American television series dated back to a 90s premiere (Charmed, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) as well as American series that aren't that old (Supernatural, How I Met Your Mother). And surprisingly, reading books hasn't quite been my thing in the past month, which really bugs me since I have a Reading Challenge to finish within the next five months.

Aside from all of that, I have also had a lot of REAL LIFE situations come up that take precedence over silly little Asian entertainment obsessions... Yea. I'm a grown adult and real life DOES take priority and I can't ignore my responsibilities and duties. That's life, I guess; and that's why I like to indulge in the fictional world so much.

As of present, the only "most recent" Korean drama series I've been able to finish watching was Big, the romantic comedy body swap plot device created by the infamous Hong Sisters who are well know for their quirky rom-coms (Delightful Girl Choon Hyang, My Girlfriend is a Gumiho). And to be totally honest, it had been a while since I was able to follow a series so intently, because a lot of them have been kind of boring, while others I just started watching when they were already finished broadcasting, so I didn't have to wait for the next episode as I'd done with Big. But I may give a post about this one a lot later when I can collect all of my thoughts. But as a teaser, let's just say, some series are decently executed and you find yourself loving everything about them; then something goes horribly wrong with the script and, well... sometimes the quality of an ending can either make or break a good series.

Moving along into my next big watch... well, if flopped from the beginning. I should have known better than to expect anything too extraordinary out of Hong Kong's TVB. Three Kingdoms RPG has been on my radar since the very day that it was announced two years ago in preview presentations (as I have already mentioned again and again). I even wrote a first impression of it to emphasize my excitement... or rather, I guess my disappointment at what's taking place. After so long of anticipation, the series was a flop from the beginning... or maybe I'm too demanding because my parents seem to be enjoying it. What little snippets I've seen of it while walking through the living room while Mom and Dad are watching... well, none of it makes much sense to me. For one, our main character is able to use his cell phone to communicate with his sister through this space-time lapse thing. So we're fairly certain that there's some mystical, non-scientific explanation to this entire deal. But still, it doesn't seem to make any sense, even as far as the series' story line logic goes. It feels as if the writer/producer team just decided "This is going to be a possibility, but we won't give any explanations as to how cause we'll cover that later. It will be so because we say so." And thus, Sze-ma Shun is able to change history by using modern historical textbooks via communicating with his academically nerdy sister from the future. Um... what about repercussions about changing things for the future? Do you think that if you don't put your two-cents into the ordeal, things will will just screw over? So... no, the dramaverse of Three Kingdoms RPG isn't working very well for me.

On the other hand, I've found that I DO like the Hong Kong series Tiger Cubs, which gives focus on criminal investigation, crime thrills, and the Special Duties Unit of Hong Kong police, which is akin to a SWAT team in America. I have a first impression post in the works, so hopefully I can get that one written and posted soon. The series is coming into its last few weeks and I haven't quite gone back to watch it even though I'm certain I won't be disappointed too much.

My most recent Asian entertainment forays have actually been more into an area that I regret not having discovered an obsession for until now. I stumbled upon TVXQ a while back and thought that their music was really good. And at the time, the only thought that came into my mind was: "I guess I get why they're so popular." But no... that wasn't good enough. A few weeks ago, I finally TRULY discovered why the infamous and widely celebrated Dong Bang Shin Ki (aka DBSK, TVXQ, Tohoshinki, etc...) are so popular and are the Korean group with the largest fan base in the world.

As my sources have come up, these five guys began their career in 2003 as an A Capella group. So while they all have great voices and perform well on their CDs and the like, they can also perform live, acoustical, and still sound wonderful. And all I could think of was "Wow!"

It's only unfortunate that I only now know of them after their big split due to legal issues and the like. Currently three of the former TVXQ members have formed their own group called JYJ, and the remaining two members have had their comeback as a two person group, still going under the name TVXQ. It's fine and all for me since I never followed them from the beginning. So the split doesn't affect me as much as it does a lot of their other long time fans. I like them as a five-member group, and I still like them as two separate groups; and mostly, I also like them individually doing their own things.

So yea... my past couple of weeks have been wrapped in perusing the online communities about these guys, listening to all their music (together, apart and individually) and watching some variety programs they have been participating in. I have a large desktop wallpaper on my computer of Xiah Junsu (who has become my favorite of the members), but I've found that the rest of the group all have their own charms as well. Maybe, like the Lee Seung Gi article, I might write something as a tribute to them as well.

***

And now to explain the last item on my list: The opening picture for this blog. Here it is again:

Clicky for larger image... or just look at the one at the top.

This little picture could have been explained earlier, but I get carried away (as I always do). Basically, I have a couple K-Drama series I've been looking forward to. And courtesy of all Asian media blogs and websites, the hype is just getting higher every time I see more news about them. Those of you who follow Korean drama will know all four of these series. But for those who are as sporadic in K-drama viewing as I am (and I don't have posters or anything, but I'll include some links:

Faithis Lee Min Ho's (City Hunter, Boys Before Flowers) newest drama series. It is blurbed as a time-skipping, historical fantasy with an epic level mystic telling about it. For more information, click on the link to see all of Dramabeans' articles about it (and same goes for the rest of the series mentioned below.

Arang and the Magistrate stars Shin Mina and Lee Jun Ki (in his come back drama after army release!!) in a retelling of a classic Korean folktale about a ghost named Arang who haunts magistrates of a certain village in order to get someone to hear her story. In legend, Arang was the daughter of a magistrate who was murdered, but everyone, including her father, believed that she had run away with a man, bringing shame to her family. As Dramabeans mentions in news articles, there are some quirky new twists that are going to be incorporated that might make this series intriguing. For one, Arang will not remember why she is dead and so we've got ourselves a nice little mystery going on here. Fun stuff and exciting!

Nice Guy is Song Joong Ki's first ever main lead role in a drama series (he's been a main lead in films before and a rom-com at that!). However, I have my reserves about watching this series despite it also casting Moon Chae Won (Princess' Man, Brilliant Legacy) as the female lead opposite Song Joong Ki and Park Shi Yeon (Coffee House, My Girl) as the other main female lead. It's a melodrama; and if it's one thing I truly do not like, it's melodrama. I prefer my romances happy and funny or exciting and action packed. Crying vehicles that involve a lot of pain and suffering... really not my thing. Of so many rising young actors out in K-drama land, every time I think: "I can't wait to see this guy lead his own rom-com as the main character!" I end up getting him for a main character... but in a melodrama. Song Joong Ki gets Nice Guy and Yoo Seung Ho had gotten Operation Proposal (which was also categorized as a melodrama).

But anyway, the other series listed on my "I'm looking forward to this" list is Ma Boy which I just saw on Dramabeans today. It sounds interesting enough and it's only 3 episodes long about a guy cross-dressing as a girl. Yes, if you are tired of the girl cross-dressing as guy cliche (something I've never gotten tired of), then there's some fun to be had here with a role reversal.

***

Anyway, this news post got a bit long (as they always do). I'm hoping to get back into a more regular blogging routine, but I promise nothing. I've been making notes and editing articles and the like, but I just don't know how dedicated I can make myself. I have phases and unless the Asian drama blogging phase brings me back into that first "giddy drama viewing" attitude, I'm not sure if I can promise two or three posts a month even.

Here's to hopes with all the new anticipated series that I've got lined up. Otherwise, you know I'm probably just watching some old-school American series or the newest season of How I Met Your Mother (which premiers on September 24).

***

This is my current desktop wallie!  :D :D!!!
Excuse me as I become less than professional....

first impression: The Moon That Embraces the Sun (Korean)

What better way to start off a series than with a short legend about the moon and the sun, some assassin killings in the night, a dash of political intrigue, a few significant deaths, a tragic prophecy, and some juicy court conspiracies? It's always a good sign when the first few minutes of a series manages to rein you right in, living up to all the hype that we've been hearing about over the past couple weeks. It's exciting and you get that spine-tingling thirst to keep watching (much like I had had when I was watching Tree With Deep Roots). While it's not the most original of plot devices hovering the first episode, it's really the atmosphere, the actors, the premise, and the tragic romance that's reeling me in (it's all about feel for me, really).

And yes, I know that I'm probably way late in putting out a first impression post for The Moon That Embraces the Sun, but I guess the term to use would be: "Better late than never." Right?

I DO apologize though (and we may skip the next two or three paragraphs if no one cares to hear my excuses and rantings) -- I had been planning on watching The Moon That Embraces the Sun since the very moment I heard about it. I mean, who could forego a series that was slated as a "from the makers of Sungkyunkwan Scandal" type of series? I loved Sungkyunkwan Scandal in all it's insightful, witty, beautiful and idealistic glory (shoddy ending included). And then after boarding the Dream High train and riding it all the way through to the end within two nights, I was hooked on the next Kim Soo Hyun project (because Song Sam Dong rules, doncha know!). Add the ever awesome Jung Il Woo into the mix right after I finished falling in love with him from Flower Boy Ramyun Shop.... I'm totally and permanently onboard this one!

And so it was unfortunate that so many factors had made it so hard for me to even start touching this series. And now I regret that I hadn't tried harder. The first English subbed online streaming version didn't even show up until about five to six episodes into the series. By then, I was in the middle of wrapping up thoughts on other series (which doesn't show since I've finished my articles and have yet to "complete" them enough for publishing). On top of that, I had this really overwhelming feeling that settled on my shoulders the moment I thought about watching The Moon That Embraces the Sun after I had already chosen to pick up Wild Romance, Color of Woman and Skip Beat! (none of which I have bothered to touch for a few weeks now).

I was under the impression that if I started watching The Moon That Embraces the Sun, I would have to blog about it (at the very least, a first impression post and some random thoughts as the series progressed). By the time I was resigned to start watching this series, the girls over at Dramabeans as well as all the media about ratings on this series had raved so much about the grandness of it all that I was worried I wouldn't know WHAT to write about it for myself. For me, it was a matter of: What good would I be if others are already putting such great recaps and thoughts on this series out for the public to bask in? Nonetheless, I still wanted to put my own two-cents in anyway and so I conflicted over how I would approach the series as a blogger. (Ultimately, I may end up rounding up the first impression post followed by random discussion articles, much like I had done so for Warrior Baek Dong Soo which was completely finished airing by the time I decided to get back to it.)

And then the following three series decided to start airing, all at the same time: Dream High 2, Shut Up: Flower Boy Band, and Operation Proposal. All three of these, I had been anticipating just as much as The Moon That Embraces the Sun; and while only two of them are really showing good promise to the series' progression and the story line development, I still had my plans to blog about them.

Finally, I told myself, I should just jump into this and not really think about it (it also helps that I've already gotten my first impression posts for the above three series posted). I'm not a professional critic -- I just write about drama series, movies, etc., because I like to write about them. The reason I stopped writing in my anime blog was BECAUSE I overwhelmed myself by trying to get too serious and too "professional" about posting regularly and in specific form. I told myself before that I would NOT do that with this drama zone blog and I intend to stick within my comfort zone.


***

So what did all of that above really mean?

It meant that I wanted to make sure I had enough filler to meet my "articles should at least be this long" quota. That way, I'm not tempted to reiterated in different ways how much I'm enjoying just the first episode of this series already. Vague phrases such as: "I really love this series!" or "The series is onto a good start." or "I will totally continue to ride this exciting train of mysticism and wittiness!" type of redundancy can tell just about anyone what I'm thinking so far. But that only gives me so many sentences to include in the article and then what good would it be for me to have a blog. Because we ALL know that I'm going to continue watching The Moon That Embraces the Sun, no matter what.

But anyway... enough about me and back to the actual series now, no?

On a side note, the scenes are all really pretty, from the interior scenes of the palace, to the outside references to the moon, etc.... Sungkyunkwan Scandal had the same feel to it as well, sometimes giving even the most hilarious moments a beautiful backdrop.

As an introductory, we start off strong with a nice little court conspiracy. The dowager queen tasks her court lacky, Lord Yoon Dae Hyung to get rid of the other "Sun" who may threaten her emperor son, Seongjo's position as the current (fictional) king of the Joseon era. And so the Prince Uiseong's death is planned along with some framework set to make the death out to be an act of suicide via guilt of treason. Our first encounter with a shaman, Ahri shows us a woman who senses "murder in the air" and rushes off to Uiseong's only to witness his death; escaping her own imminent demise at the hands of assassins, Ahri rushes off and ends up falling off a cliff. We cut to Seongsucheong, the Office of the Shamans wherein the Chief of the Shamans seems to sense something amiss in the air, confirming her discomfit with the absence of Ahri. We learn from a conversation between the dowager queen and Lord Yoon that Ahri may have been in a forbidden romance with Prince Uiseong since she used to be his slave and so decide to throw her into the conspiratorial framing of treason as well. Since the Chief of Shamans (for whatever reason) serves the dowager queen loyally, they task the woman to confirm that Ahri had part in wanting her "lover" to become king and had created talismans for this to occur.

We learn a whole lot of things within these first ten minutes of introductory story building (which is really nice because there would be a lot of questions otherwise). And the best part is that there is no dragging moment and we get through it all rather quickly; it doesn't seem rushed either since we're in the midst of WANTING to move onto the "present-day" story line (even IF the next part involves the kids instead of the anticipated "adults" of the series).

And so what else happens? Ahri escapes the assassins with the help of a noblemwoman, Lady Shin who is pregnant and kind. But it seems that the fate of Lady Shin's unborn child has already been written. Ahri foresees a tragic end to the noblewoman's unborn daughter, but cannot say anything about it. When we get flashes of the future, our suspicions are confirmed: the unborn child will be the future Wol (Han Ga In) who is known as Heo Yeon Woo until she is stricken with tragedy and loses her memory. Her life plays a huge role in the lives of two boys, Crown Prince Lee Hwon and his brother Prince Yang Myung, as the "moon" to both "suns".

With this event set in place, the story line takes off with a strong, solid foundation that I'm sure will continue to satisfy and fascinate (according to reviews and ratings) as the series progresses. While this wasn't exactly the best of the best in crop of pilot episodes, it had its attractiveness, though it feels as if it'll take another episode or two for the rest of the story line's excitement to pick up. Granted, there was enough excitement to kick-off the build-up of our world and our story, it doesn't stray far from standard historical court conspiracies and talk of fate and destiny and the like.

What I like about this first episode are the characters and a slight feeling of the mysticism, set up for all that symbolism of the Moon and the Sun references. Of course, I really DO hope that we don't overplay the Moon/Sun symbolism; because, well, I get it and there's no need to keep hammering in the connection of the Moon's (Wol) fate with the two Suns (Lee Hwon and Yang Myung). Don't get me wrong, the symbolism is excellently set in place, but too much harping about these Moon/Sun connections and it could get to be too annoying.

For the latter half of the first episode, we very quickly meet our three main leads in their "childhood" versions: Kim You Jung as Heo Yeon Woo, Yeo Jin Ku as Lee Hwon, and Lee Min Ho as Yang Myung. The three quickly become stand-out characters (of course with the excellent acting talent behind them, we've never had a doubt). More symbolism comes into play as each of the three have their own thoughts about each other's encounters: 1) Lee Hwon wonders if he'll ever get to meet Yeon Woo again; 2) Yeon Woo, upon learning that the boy she met is the Crown Prince, is relieved she'll never have to meet him again; and 3) Yang Myung watches Yeon Woo from afar, thinking to himself that it's great to be able to meet her again.

So it's another play on a forbidden romance in standard tragic rom-com glory with a couple who are fated to fall in love but cannot be together. All the while, we've got our third and fourth wheels diligently standing off to the side playing their parts. Of course, somehow I feel like Yang Myung's part will be much more significant than the part of the "other girl" who has yet to make her presence in the story line. But then again, what do I know since I've just started watching. I'm just going by simple standard romance tropes to make my predictions.

Other kids are also introduced as well, but not as in depth such as the teenage version of Seol, who is to become Wol (Yeon Woo)'s bodyguard in later story progression; Yeon Woo's brother Yeom, and the last boy to make up the best friend group a boy named Woon.

And already I'm loving the interaction between these kids. If I hadn't been anticipating this series in the beginning, after the appearance of these kids, I would be totally sold on this train. For instance, Yeon Woo starts off quiet and all-noble-like so I didn't have much of an impression of her. But then she starts talking and I'm taken aback at how spunky and brave she is. She's a young girl filled with ideals, wit, logic, and tons of spunk to boot (and she kind of reminds me of a younger version of Kim Yoon Hee, only with less bitterness and pride). Lee Hwon is showing us how quickly he can go from Crown Prince mode, to "just another young boy with his own ideals" mode and I'm sure it will be intriguing to continue following him. As for Yang Myung, he's created very much for the role of the good man -- I'm already feeling kind of heart broken for him because of all the "illigitimacy" issues he's had to go through as well as all the hardships he will be incurring for the sake of his beloved little brother.

The kids are so much fun and so in depth already that I know I'm going to miss them when they're gone. I look forward to seeing the appearance of Kim Soo Hyun and Jung Il Woo, but the "kids" of this series are already laying such a great foundation that it'll be hard to decide what I prefer to be watching more.

Again with the common phrase: "This series is starting off on very solid ground." And I mean it too. And seeing as how people have been raving about the rest of the series, I know I won't be disappointed for its progression at all. Of course, I only hope that I will have more thoughts to come soon (and that I can find a healthy balance between five different drama series and a book I'm trying to finish).


On a side note, there is a fascinating connection between two of our Moon/Sun cast members. My parents had just recently finished watching Giant which featured Yeo Jin Ku and Kim Soo Hyun playing the childhood versions of two of the main male roles, a set of brothers. And so it comes as a surprise to me that these two were actually cast as a set of brothers in one series, but now, in Moon/Sun, Yeo Jin Ku plays the child version of Lee Hwon while Kim Soo Hyun gets to carry on the "adult" version. The age difference is NOT at all that big between both boys, so it's kind of interesting and I wonder what type of basis the production staff used for this casting. I mean, I'm not complaining since both are excellent actors; I'm just wondering how this happened. Yeo Jin Ku, while able to pull off many child versions of main male leads, I would have never placed him as the child version of a character who's "adult" version is played by Kim Soo Hyun, just because neither of them look like they're passed the stage of young adult-hood anyway.

No biggie though; just a connection that I found amusing.

Anyway, I'm now off to finish the rest of what I can for The Moon That Embraces the Sun with high anticipation for its glory.

***

Props to Ahri (Jang Yeong Nam) who turned in a really creepy awesome performance in her dying  moments during torture.

first impression: Operation Proposal (Korean)

As many would expect, I have been looking forward to 'Operation Proposal' since the first time I heard news of it from Dramabeans. For the record, while I haven't seen everything that had cast Yoo Seung Ho in it, I have most definitely picked up two drama series and one movie because of him. And one of my thoughts for the future of this talented young one was that I hoped he would star in his own romantic comedy sometime in the future when he gets older (he's currently only eighteen... oh, so young!). And so I was fairly ecstatic when I learned about Operation Proposal because, while it isn't listed as a rom-com, it's close enough and Yoo Seung Ho gets to be center stage.

The first episode starts off with a little monologue/feel-good moment of sorts with a bunch of kids bullying a young boy. Not soon after, a girl shows up and chases the other boys away with a broom. The two then walk away hand-in-hand after one of the bully boys gets pelted in the head with a snowball, promptly cueing him to run off bawling. And then we get a little voice over by the man who's been watching this introduction; we later learn that this man is the Conductor played by Ki Tae Hoon who will give our leading man the chance to travel back in time.

Currently, there is a bit of speculation that the Conductor may or may not be Kang Baek Ho (Yoo Seung Ho's character) at a later future come back to help his younger self redo his past. Of course, there are a lot of flaws in that theory, because if the Conductor really were Kang Baek Ho from the future, why on earth would he come back to tell Kang Baek Ho to go back in time? Why not just go directly back to his high school self to redirect the future's turn of events? Or are there a lot more rules to time travel than I actually understand? I mean, setting aside the obvious fantastical elements, of course.

But anyway, back to the series...

"Miracles. Extraordinary events that occur without explanation. We call these miracles. A miracle could also be our urgent desire ringing like a bell. All of us have the chance to ring that bell at some point in our lives. Whether the bell rings or not depends on our choices and effort." This is what we hear as the scene ends, which cues in that we will be seeing a LOT of the philosophical ideals based off of fate, miracles and whether or not one would take the chance to change his or her life given the chance. But it also emphasizes that even with miracles, people do not necessarily have it in them to take that chance to change anything.

The series is already starting off on solid ground, with witty, meaningful dialogue and exchanges between the characters. The interaction between the characters are done very well from the group of friends to our main couple, and also between Baek Ho and his love rival. It also helps that the characters are presented wonderfully by their respective cast members. The story line is already headed where we expect it to go and the pacing is keeping time with the story line. The cast are doing great with their line delivery and timing of emotions and comedy. I especially like the interactions because, in this sense, it isn't just two people talking to each other to narrate event. Instead, you actually see more than just dialoge through Baek Ho's conversations with various people; we get a feel for both his own repressed feelings as well as a glimpse at the ideas that could have been.

The conversations that Baek Ho has with Yi Seul's father and with the groom, Kwon Jin Won, separately really speaks loads about what the present could have been if Baek Ho had acted differently in the past. Because Ham Yi Seul (Park Eun Bin) and Baek Ho had been best friends since they were young, probably everyone who knew them thought that they would end up together. Yi Seul's father even says as much. Kwon Jin Won voices his insecurities as well, telling Baek Ho that he'd always been jealous of the best friends' relationship and history: "If you had liked her too, I would never had had a chance."

It realy puts into perspective the entire situation within those two simple exchanges coupled with Yoo Seung Ho's emotive melancholy and his narration throughout the first episode. There is just so much hinged on these conversations that make us realize how much the present would have been different. Yi Seul would probably be marrying her best friend instead. Baek Ho wouldn't be saying the words: "I had twenty years to make up my mind. In those twenty years, I kept looking for that right moment. The perfect time to confess my feelings to her."

Because it is a frustrating situation at best. On the one hand, we feel bad that Kang Baek Ho just lost his first love to another man and had to watch as they got married right before his eyes. But on the other hand, we wonder what the heck he's been doing all this time pre-wedding that he still couldn't decide to at least let Yi Seul know how he felt about her.

And THIS is what I've been worrying about for our main male lead. A lot of people have voiced scrutiny about the main male lead being a non-ideal man for the fact that he happens to be too wishy washy about his feelings. Why had he never bothered to say anything in the past? And so now he's hoping to go back in time and try to win back the girl he loves? So what about the man Yi Seul is marrying? What happens to him? Just push him aside and give a half-hearted apology? And so, yes, I feel like the main male lead pretty much dug his own grave and has no one to blame but himself for losing his first love. And so this main male lead (despite being Yoo Seung Ho) already has a pretty disadvantageous character trait going for him as the series opens on the first episode. So we are under the impressio that: A) Either he develops greatly into a much better person that we don't care that he'd lost his chance already and should just live with his non-decisions; or B) He DOESN'T get the girl in the end and learns a valuable lesson about not taking what you have for granted. Since this series is categorized as a melodrama, I have a feeling tht the conclusion can go either way.

Nonetheless, being Yoo Seung Ho, I DO hope that the story line works in his favor, because there is still so much vagueness to the relationship between Baek Ho and Yi Seul. We have only seen what is on the surface: Yi Seul gets married and Baek Ho laments the fact that he never told her that he loved her despite being with her for twenty years.

This set-up (upon following the story through to the end of the episode) is done in such a way that you cannot completely condemn Baek Ho for having been too late. Because what I started to understand is that even Yi Seul had been in love with Baek Ho, but had never had the courage to confess her feelings either. And so basically we have a set of best friends who love each other, spent twenty years skirting the issue, and finally just letting what could have been a traditional romance slip out of their hands. And so this isn't simply a journey of Baek Ho returning to change the fate of the future, but we also are given a chance to see how their friendship had progressed to the point of no return. Why did neither party ever attempt to take that initial step? How could two best friends, in love with each other, never feel the other party's feelings despite knowing each other so well? Somewhere, something must have gone wrong. Or was it truly just the plain and siply mutual misunderstanding propelled by the entire "falling in love with my best friend" taboo wherein the two individually worried about ruining their harmonic best friendship?

This is a very touchy subject and I guess that only through the rest of the story line will we be able to see how things turned out (or rather, how things will end up changing, hopefully for the better). It's probably better that we've set up the relationship between Baek Ho and Yi Seul in this way so that we don't feel that Baek Ho was the jerk who should have stepped up earlier; or that Yi Seul was the one who chose to leave Baek Ho in the dust. There may have been more to the story than what is being let on and I'm interested in knowing what that story is.

By the end of Episode One, we've successfully brought Baek Ho back to his freshman year in high school. The cars are all out on the table now and he needs to figure out how to play them properly. And maybe if he redirects his fate (as well as the fate of others around him, I'm guessing), we might be enticed to feel a little more resolute in rooting for him to win the girl. Because I'm feeling a tug-of-ship-wars pending due to the fact that Baek Ho had been indecisive about his feelings and because Kwon Jin Won seems to be created as the perfect husband type (with money, education, status... and all that Prince Charming jazz that we get to see in every rom-com male lead). Lee Hyun Jin is a recent favorite of mine ever since seeing him in Heartstrings as a side character with more substance than the main characters; so it'll be a slight fangirl crisis for me if I find that I can't be completely devoted to Yoo Seung Ho's main male lead.

So we will simply just sit back and wait and see how the love triangle dukes it out. I've been playing hopscotch with ships lately and I really hope I don't have to do so with this one too much. I could drown really easily and it doesn't help that I don't know how to swim.

But anyway...

On a side note, the high school setting is really a part of the series that I am really looking forward to; as always, those dratted, all-too-dramatic teenage years are some of the most amusing, exciting story lines to follow along with. Youth going through growth and developing into young adults, loving, dreaming, fighting and just plain having fun with all of their friends and their frenemies and their rivals... It's a nice little innocent change from watching adults lament over crises that they know better can be easily fixed with some control. But watching a bunch of teenagers make mistakes and go through their high school turmoil -- somehow, this is where the fun is always at!

It really DOES help that our cast are young enough to actually play high school kids (because watching those twenty-four to twenty-seven year olds TRY to pull off being sixteen is sometimes a bit painful). The cast is young enough to pull it off which helps in the asthetics department. And as far as acting goes, I'm really loving it; everyone pulls off their characters very well and I haven't had any complaints about any of the cast or characters yet. The series is already showing a lot of promise and substance in just the first episode alone. We don't dilly-dally around with filler material; it's all straight up: wedding, regret, reminiscing, crying and then BAM! Time-travel and we are back in high school! And by the time you realize what's going on, the main basis of the story line has already begun. As far as pilot episodes go, this is probably one of the better ones I've seen in a long time, getting the set-up and the backstory taken care of all in one episode without any lag or drag and it also doesn't even feel too rushed either.

Yoo Seung Ho defintely lives up to my expectations (and anyone else's who happen to love him and picked up Operation Proposal because of him). His range is so great that he can go from emoting depression, to full-out bawling, to comedically exaggerated expressions, and then to that young, high school boy excitement. He truly does not disappoint.

As for Park Eun Bin, I don't have previous series to refer to for her, but as far as I can see, she's presenting her character quite well. The only unfortunate thing about Ham Yi Seul, as far as I can see, is that she was created as a perfect and flat Mary Sue type: giving, loving, caring, smart, pretty... I hope that there's more depth to Yi Seul as the story progresses through their high school years because I have issues with Mary Sues and tend to check out of their plights rather early (especially if the actress pegs the Mary Sue character too well, because then I don't even have anything to complain about aside from the character BEING a Mary Sue). Then again, if this series is fully Kang Baek Ho-centric, then maybe it won't make too much of a difference whether or not Yi Seul is a perfect princess type; this formula certainly seems to work for a lot of people when the genders are reversed...

I'm interested in seeing how the relationship between Yi Seul and Kwon Jin Won might start as well. Because as we are given backstory, Kwon Jin Won is a teacher at the high school that our kids attend; a young coach of sorts (I'm almost hoping that he's just a student coach or something cause Lee Hyun Jin standing next to Yoo Seung Ho in this first episode looked like two same-aged kids hanging out more than a teacher/student combo). And no matter which country you're from, a teacher being in a romantic relationship with a student has always given off a squicky factor that many people cannot accept. So even with Baek Ho trying to change his future, I'm still wondering how a student would end up with her teacher and everyone be able to accept this type of relationship. Then again, the kids from present-day are supposed to have graduated from college and all, so the idea of Kwon Jin Won still being at teacher-status might be a moot point by the time the wedding came around.

But anyway, I guess we just kick back and see how things will develop and unfold. Whether it'll be worth rooting for Kang Baek Ho to win his best friend's heart, or whether we'll continue to think that this journey of his is just a big, glorified, fantastical lesson on life for him will be up in the air for another fifteen episodes. At this point as the very beginning of the series starts the story, I think I'd be able to accept the conclusion either way. This series is labeled as a melodrama after all, so I'm sure the ending may not necessarily be all flowers and sunshine (my typical preferences).

Finally, as much as I don't really like narrated voice overs, the one that occurs through out main male lead's point of view isn't too awkward. Yoo Seung Ho meanders around in thought very naturally that makes it easy to follow rather than seem like a distraction from the rest of the series (like action, dialogue, and the like). While I'm hoping that there isn't too much of the first person narration, if it's done adequately, I don't think I'll mind too much.

The series is shot in what I feel is sort of a melodramatic, comedic flair, which is doing very well in setting the mood from the random flash-back scenes to the background music. The computer effects for the time-travel sequence was a little weird, but it's not like there would be other ways to make it happen. Otherwise, direction, setting, lighting... it's all done very well.

As far as this series is concerned I'm on board and ready to conquer the next episode. I don't know if I'll ever be disappointed in a Yoo Seung Ho project (even God of Study had it's good points; Warrior Baek could have been grand if the story line was tweaked a little; and Blind was just extraordinary). I haven't seen the Japanese version Proposal Daisakusen, so I won't be doing any comparisons; and I've seen Yamapi acting before, which was always a bit flat at best, so I'm not too bothered about seeing the Japanese version or anything like that. So I'll be able to watch this series without too many biases (the only big one being my admiration for Yoo Seung Ho which will probably ultimately cause me to lean in his favor).

Here's crossing my fingers and hoping that we aren't too disappointed with the outcome!

***