At first I doubted if I should watch this drama since I really love the anime/manga and I don't want to be disappointed seeing the actors/actresses ruin the story. But since I really love the story I watched it... and I made the RIGHT CHOICE!
This drama was definitely a SUCCESSFUL one! For the story, I must compliment that they gave justice to the original story... They haven't made a lot of changes... almost the same, so much like the anime, but still, definitely worth watching.
For the actors, I really love the character of Tsuruga Ren in the anime (Dung He Lian in this drama), and I should say Choi Si Won has portrayed Ren's character well (just don't mind the voice dubbing). And I also did love how Ivy Chen portrayed Kyoko. Dong Hae was not bad as well... I really loved how all the cast portrayed their individual roles...
Music was definitely cool and awesome. Rewatch value (though I usually don't rewatch dramas), I would definitely watch this again after a couple of years... Overall, this was great!
You would definitely laugh your heart out! You'll enjoy watching this and for those who have watched the anime, you would enjoy this as much as you've enjoyed the anime version...
I definitely want to see a second season of this drama where they could include a lot more of scenes/story from the MANGA...
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The story isn't new for me since it's taken from the manga and the anime i've got to admit that i felt extremly good seeing it come to life by this great cast that couldn't be any better, i mean Siwoon and Donghae were good plus i discovered the uncredible actress Ivy Chan i wouldn't find any one better than her for this role.
The music performed by Super Junior M , Donghae and several other chinese singers was nice, i am not even into chinese language but the songs choice was great.
When i was watching Skip Beat i felt that the episodes were so fast and i always wanted more : i am still demanding a second season because i feel there's still a lot to tell and a lot for us to watch, it has been fun watching this drama.
Basically if you're skip beat fan this is a must watch!
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I have not watched Ivy Chen before and I must admit that she kinda irritated me during the first few episodes but she definitely grew on me. Kyoko, which is the girl Ivy was portraying doesn't seem to be as animated as her but nevertheless I would say that I cannot imagine any other actress better fit to deliver this role than Ivy ;D
I was glad that the script writers tried to stick to the manga as much as they can especially for Ren's manager who was definitely very much like the one in the manga and L.M.E's flamboyant president.
If searching for Siwon and Donghae brought you to Skip Beat then I must tell you that the beautiful boys are worth watching ;D
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However, although it's this idea of revenge that sets Gong Xi off on a mission, I would have liked there to have been more screen-time dedicated to her and Bu Po Shang going head-to-head because the scenes where they do are some of the best! I wish I could have had more of those than those of Siwon... Overall, the plot content was really good but the pace slows a bit towards the end. And if you go into watching SB believing it's just about revenge, then you're wrong.
And Siwon. I almost considered knocking a star off because of him. His character may hold a mask over his feelings and his heart but when I look into his eyes, they are unreadable! Not because they're conflicted but because there really is NOTHING there! He really only had about two or three expressions in this drama, which was somewhat of a joke between my sisters and I as we watched it. Even his responses in certain interactions with Gong Xi felt wrong. Oh the irony (and pain) that Siwon acts as the actor who is the top actor in showbiz. Mind you, my sister and I looked up clips from 'The King of Dramas' and almost fell off our chairs to discover that Siwon had lo and behold...EXPRESSIONS.
Meanwhile, Gong Xi was amazing and so adorable! At least in the first half of the drama, I could always expect her character to surprise me in ways that left one feeling very satisfied and even more involved in rooting for her. I think it's the first time I've ever had real FAITH in a character. I heard that people had previously found Ivy Chen's acting annoying but I think she did a great job!
And MR DU. OHMYGOSH I LOVE HIM. Awesome acting right there! I'd have promoted him to a main role. And adorableness? OH YES.
Since there was no love lost there with Siwon, I was also all goods with the minimal romance in 'Skip Beat!' although the ending left a bit, only a tad, to be desired. The best relationship for me was Gong Xi and Qin's girl-mance...sis-mance... (honestly, there needs to be a girl word equivalent for bromance). They were honestly perfect for each other and so cute together. Again I seriously wish there had been more scenes between them towards the end. Real love doesn't just exist between lovebirds.
I could say more about 'Skip Beat!' but I will leave it there. On that note I must most-definitely end by saying, AI WO BA BU!
Gotta love it.
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I know that those many cuts and this style of directing is typical for most T-drama, but to me cutting the drama this often mean cutting the rythm, and in such a crazy comedy that needs slower moments for sweet or sad scenes, rythm is a priority. So cutting the scene in half and repeating them, and stopping a scene to let us hear what everyone is thinking (in an anime kind of way...but even slower), definitely killed the rythm of some very important scenes, and kept me from being captivated by the story and moved by the characters.
Another thing that kept me from being moved : the poor dubbing. Honestly, how on earth am I supposed to judge the acting if the two male leads are dubbed! Be it an extra or a guest star, ok, but the TWO male leads ! But still, Ivy Chen was a convincing Kyoko, so I gave her 5 points.
The music now. At first I liked it, it was fun, but as the drama went on, I realized how unbalanced it was. They really didn't choose well which music suited which scene, and that's too bad, because it sometimes ruined the mood.
Nevertheless, I gave a 7 in rewatch value because some scenes were really funny (no, REALLY! ) and because...well...I love Skip Beat !
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There were a lot of things that I didn't like about this drama, but watching it from beginning to end, (I must note the only reason I kept going was to watch Choi Siwon)I really liked it. The acting was good, considering the circumstances (Choi Siwon and Lee Donghae are not fluent in Mandarin and their parts were dubbed, not to my taste at that) and I have to say that I really enjoyed watching Ivy Chen's performance, though at times I wanted to strangle her character. And of course, Bianca Bai, who I was pleased to say was awesome in this drama.
I enjoyed watching the relationships progress in this drama, granted the circumstances were not realistic, but the progression of the relationships was.
What I didn't like was more that technical stuff, like the fact that there was way too much internal dialogue for the characters and they said a lot of things that seemed obvious, but that's a common thing for Taiwanese dramas, and I did fast forward through a lot of the flashback scenes. There were way too many.
The OST was awesome, I didn't really understand the title song and how it fit into the drama, even with translation, until the end, which you have to watch to find out.
As for my re-watch rating, I don't tend to re-watch dramas, hence the 1.
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With that being said, I believe it is perfectly fair to rate this 8 all around.
It's not ground breaking, it's not idol fluff, so what we get is actually a pretty close live-action to the Manga "Skip Beat!".
Because this is based from a Manga, directing took a more direct approach to the interpretation, meaning Kyoko's evil aura and good and evil spirits come out just like in the Manga/Anime.
Was this a good thing? Yes. Unlike other Manga adaptations where their attempts at showing the Manga-style comedy on screen tended to fall short (Playful Kiss), was badly timed and/or usually made some of us wonder "was that really necessary?", in "Skip Beat!" it felt like you were reading the Manga the whole time. Though I do admit there were some scenes that could have been done better.
Ivy, Siwon, and Dong-hae actually do their respective lead roles justice. Siwon's interpretation of Ren gave me goosebumps.
Mostly because he can get that "shining angry Ren" smile out accurately. As a person who has read, and is still reading the Manga, it was really surprising how dead on he was to it. Even while looking at it, it doesn't look any different than a smile, but the feeling behind that smile was not happy at all.
Ivy's "Kyoko" was actually what sold it for me. She was just as dead on as Siwon's Ren. Wardrobe needed to pay more attention to detail, though, as in a few episodes her hair was longer in some scenes and shorter in others. Her facial expressions were dead on.
Dong-hae's "Shou" was good too, could have been a bit stronger, but really he did a very accurate and sometimes hilariously wacky job.
Yes the show did come off a bit too wacky in some parts but really, that's the best part, when Kyoko goes into crazed fits cus she doesn't want the make-up to come off or the ridiculous bike riding scene in episode one... these are all from the Manga with liberties taken by the director. I don't think it'd have the same appeal if you took them out. Actually, I don't think it would be the same Manga/Anime/Drama if you did.
Now those points is what dropped it down from 10 to 9 for me.
But what dropped it down from 9 to 8 was the dubbing. In the off chance in hell that someone from their production department sees this...
Don't. Dub.
You went and hired Korean actors/idols for your show, the least you can do is not dub them. Pissed me off when you can catch a few of the dubbed areas in episode one.
To summarize: If you haven't read the Manga, a lot of the evil/angelic Gong Xi moments will be lost to you, as you'll be wondering why it's like that, while still laughing at those spirits creeping people out or exacting revenge. If you have read the Manga, you'll be pissed it's only 13 episodes because it's so damn good.
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Now, I know you could fight me on this and say why not get some perfectly capable Taiwanese male actors to play the part of Bu Po Shang and Dun Helian. However, as far as eye candy go and acting i think they did the job well. Not to mention Ivy Chen was simple adorable.The story is great and there wasn't a single episode that didn't leave me looking somewhat stupid laughing my head off.
Also if you're into romance than this is the drama for you. Who doesn't love a good romantic comedy? So all in all with a great story, good acting, music that goes well I can safely say that this is great drama to watch and perfectly good to re-watch.
Watch it!
P.s if you get stuck on episode 1 it gets sooooooooo much better!!!
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The story was still the same with a little bit alterations here and there. One of these is the importance they gave to Mr. Du, Dun He Lian's manager. His character is a truly likable one. He supports his talent in everything and, of course, even Gong Xi. He is amusing because he is the one who always teases Lian and the one who, in a way, became a bridge for them to get closer. In this adaptation, Lian is kinder, though his professional aura is still there. In addition, they threw two characters who are for laughs, but I think they should not have added them because they're just flat characters.
The ending is left open, inviting questions, but I guess it's because the manga was (and still is) ongoing, However, I think it's wrapped up nicely that it isn't irritating that it left the viewer to his imagination of what could have happened to the characters.
There might be exaggerated scenes, but remember that this is adapted from a manga. The scenes aren't even that exaggerated compared to its original source. Anyway, I just wished that they animated the "animated" parts better, like the Gong Xi demons, because they may make some cringe.
With regards to the acting, in my opinion, Siwon and Donghae did a good job portraying Dun He Lian and Bu Po Shang, respectively. I wasn't really expecting much from them since I only saw them as singers and dancers of Super Junior (I love them, BTW), so I was surprised of the act they did. Though Siwon didn't show a menacing or scary enough Lian, at least he managed to deliver the emotions well. Donghae, with all his adorableness, showed a truly likable Shang because of his portrayal, though I thought he didn't have that much air of pride as he should have had. Anyway, it's such a shame that it is obvious that their voices are dubbed.
Ivy Chen, on the other hand, portrayed Gong Xi well, but I feel like it being a live action made it difficult to show fully how and who her character is. Also, she had some expressions which looked unnatural... or quite not right. Another notable character is Qin, who was portrayed very well by Bai Bianca. Her interactions with Gong Xi was pleasant to see because their friendship was clearly seen.
Of course, there is Mr. Du as well. Part of why his character became likable is, of course, because of the actor. The child who acted as Marie was good, as well! The other casts did acceptable to good jobs.
I love all the songs in this drama. The opening is catchy and is giving a good vibe, exactly like a good beginning. The ending song gives me a nostalgic feeling, just the right emotion I feel whenever something is coming to a close. The other insert songs and some instrumentals are placed just at the right moments to enhance the feels of the scenes.
In all honesty, I couldn't remember how many times I've re-watched this series already. I guess I've really became attached to it. Anyway, perhaps this is good to re-watch whenever one just want to feel good or stare at the handsomeness of Siwon and Donghae.
This is fun to watch, especially if you are able to disregard the exaggerations and some poor animation.
I recommend this to:
- those who want some lighthearted/rom-com shows
- fans of Skip Beat! ('cause you may want to give this a try)
- fans of Super Junior (particularly of Siwon and Donghae)
Written: 11/10/12
Edited: 01/01/15
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