HOWEVER, this show wasn’t bad. In the beginning the audience believes the Kahoko is horribly backwards and out of touch with reality with no clear understanding on what is important in life. By the end of episode 10, we realize that we misjudged poor Kahoko and its everyone else and maybe even ourselves that doesn’t have a clue. Kahoko’s priorities and determination become startlingly evident before half the episodes are completed and we come to love her character.
STORY
Kahoko is a pampered and spoiled almost college graduate (or is she really spoiled?) who’s mother and father take care of everything for her including picking out her clothing and waking her up every day. Kahoko is brilliantly played by Takahata Mitsuki and boy howdy did she do an incredible job. By far, this woman is a phenomenal actress with her characterization of Kahoko. If there is any reason to watch this show, it is for her performance alone.
Kahoko starts out as the odd man out amongst a throng of family and one friend Hajime played by Takeuchi Ryoma who does an okay job but doesn’t knock it out of the park like Takahata Mitsuki. Hajime is billed as the one who is honest with Kahoko and helps her move from mama’s little girl to eventually a family matriarch. Of course, a romance blossoms between Kahoko and Hajime. It was definitely unique.
CHARACTERS
Kahoko of course is the best developed character but we shouldn’t discount Hajime who goes from friend, to boyfriend, to someone who realizes how much he needs her in his life. Their progression was really quite lovely. Its Kahoko’s parents that will push your buttons the most. They are responsible for the predicament Kahoko is to begin with. Her father realizes his mistakes but her mother…..I’m torn between hating her for her over-protectiveness and feeling sorry for her when she realizes what her life is all about. Neither do a whole lot to change their ways. Kahoko has to do ALL the work.
Kahoko’s aunts, uncles, and grandparents and one cousin who needs a good spanking are all interesting characters that have a lot to learn and to grow and we get to see some of it over the ten episodes. Their stories are developed enough that its difficult to hate them or be bored because they are growing right along with Kahoko.
CONCLUSION
This was a nice first try at a J-drama. I do recommend it if you are looking for something not too violent or too depressing. It has just the right amount of humor to keep it interesting, even when it gets all artsy with all the family drama. The production value isn’t as good as many k-dramas and certainly the special effects aren’t as well done as the average c-drama. Kahogo no Kahoko is a nice piece of work that makes you think about family relationships and laugh a little along the way. Its worth watching, just not over and over and over like some of the c-drama and k-dramas inspire us to do.
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STORY:
The story is of Ling Ling Qi (a veterinarian by education) who falls in love with a TV personality Bo Hai (Deng Lun) who owns a florist corporation. The two are linked by a faulty sleep bracelet which causes their dreams to intermix – clearly the best part of the entire show. Ling Qi (played by Dilraba) finally gets hired by Bo Hai’s company and proceeds to chase him, then be horribly disappointed by him……hijinks ensue aided by her good friends Lu Bao Ni and Mo Nan. There is a bad guy named William and a nasty female character named Zhou Xin Yan (played by Eternal Love’s Bambi Zhu) that is more annoying as a conniving female in this show than in Eternal Love.
CHARACTERS:
There are 48 episodes and plenty of time to flush out all the characters which they do….but none are exciting in the least. Dilraba is still breathy and slightly whiny but I find her character interesting because she doesn’t stay the same for all 48 episodes and same goes with Deng Lun’s Bo Hai. After watching him in Ashes of Love, I just love him…..if you liked Ashes of Love, this is a good watch…..less stressful but plenty of Deng Lun screen time with a reasonable ending and a tremendous wardrobe.
Mo Nan and Bao Ni were likely the most tortured of all the characters and Chen Yi Long and Wang Rui Zi did a splendid job portraying one half of the lover’s square (not triangle because there were 4 people that made up that sad situation).
By far, Chen Mo played by Zhang Hao Wei was my favorite character as the right-hand man to Bo Hai and love interest to Xin Yan. He was funny and engaging and a superb comic foil to the seriousness of Bo Hai’s character and the lame evil machinations of Xin Yan. When the love story between Ling Qi and Bo Hai dragged a bit, he could be counted on to keep the show lively. I especially loved the situations when he and Ling Qi conspired together.
MUSIC:
Deng Lun sang one of the songs and he did a great job (bias: I love his song from Ashes of Love too), but truth be told, I didn’t download this song like I did his Ashes of Love one. The rest of the music was forgettable and happily not annoying as some songs can be overused in dramas.
OVERALL:
I wrote an article about how this show is a good one to watch to detox and relax and I still believe it. Deng Lun and Dilraba are interesting (especially those dream sequences) and the supporting characters are appropriately tormented enough to keep me entertained but not overwhelmed with emotion. Watch this when you need a break from other Chinese dramas like Ashes of Love or Eternal Love or Legend of Fu Yao. Your brain and your heart will appreciate the respite.
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Story:
This is a morality play with people portraying virtues or as in this case the faces of God. In episode 1 we are introduced to Jang Man Wol (portrayed perfectly by IU) who is revenge happy and is killing everyone she comes in contact with. With an interesting altercation with the grandmother persona of Ma Go Shin (stunning performance by Seo Yi Sook), she thrusts her angry sword into a tree and becomes the owner of a hotel for ghosts remaining on earth to deal with unresolved issues before moving on to the next step.
Flashforward 1300 years and the Hotel Del Luna is a gorgeous hotel with the anti-hero Jang Man Wol and her interesting employees still helping or not the dead. The hotel requires a human manager to deal with the mortal world and Goo Chan Sung (sigh….Yeo Jin Goo) gets the job (through some interesting back and forth between him and Jang Man Wol). Each episode deals with different guests and their afterlife needs. This show has it all, horror, romance, bromance, suspense, comedy, fantasy, and more. It does tackle the serious subject of holding grudges beautifully
Characters:
There wasn’t one actor that didn’t do a “kick butt” job in this show from IU’s performance as Jang Man Wol to Lee Do Hyun’s insane second male lead story line to the cameo performances from such greats like Candidate #1 and #2 played by Lee Shi Un and Lee Joon Gi (both were amusing). I wrote a couple of articles on the show, so I won’t go into detail nor will I give any spoilers just to say, every character was well written and acted….although I would have loved a little more screen time and lines for the grim reaper because he was just delightful. And the cameo of Kim Soo Hyun at the end…..well worth it just for that scene alone!
Music:
Wow…the music was just exceptionally good, so good I even downloaded a few songs. The Done for Me and Can You See My Heart songs are used in key scenes that just made me cry or shiver in dread. They were my favorite, but the rest were wonderful as well.
Re-watch-ability:
Needless to say, I have already re-watched this all the way through once and picked up a few more key insights that I missed the first time thru. I recommend it because it is just as good, if not better, the second time thru.
Overall:
I JUST LOVED THE MORALITY PLAY! There is something about symbolism and stories of right and wrong that I just adore…I can’t get enough of. HDL really hits it out of the park with the what is good and what is bad question. Hotel Del Luna blends the morality play and the other genre’s beautifully…if you didn’t like it as much as I did…sorry. All I can say is this show speaks to my sensibilities. The writers obviously had me in mind when creating such an awesome show. (Ok not really but it felt like it!)
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