Aryael

All of Jacky's songs are perfect. Pardon the bias but I am his biggest fan ever! Been his fan for over 20 years! :)

Pretend We've Never Been In Love (Ending OST for Absolute Boyfriend) - by Jiro Wang; In A World Without You (Absolute Boyfriend OST) - by Dennis Sun; Perfect Couple - by Li Qi (Perfect Couple OST); I'm Always Here (Pleasantly Surprised OST) - by Victor Wong; Fate (Prince of Langling OST) - by Jia Jia. There are many slow and sad OSTs from recent, old, modern-themed, historical-themes, wuxia-themed dramas and movies that I enjoy. These are just to name a few. :) Besides the melody, I enjoy songs with meaningful lyrics.

As usual, Ams - your review entertains more than the drama itself! How have you been?

I love the TDrama version of FTL - I hope the Korean one lives up to the popularity and success of the original version. I will definitely watch this as I am a fan of Jang Hyuk. This will be the first time though, for me to see him in a role usually reserved for young idol actors. How will a veteran actor perform in such a role? We shall see....*holding my breath*

Kim Nam Gil is my twin's husband. Sorry, Aya97, he's taken! hahaha For me, fav Korean actors are Joo Jin Mo and Go Soo. However, they are not my hubby, merely my concubines. My hubby is not Korean. ;)

I must disagree with Vic Zhou and Vaness Wu in the over 30s category. I consider them as "one hit wonders". With Vaness, his best performance was from Autumn's Concerto and with Vic (Ah Zhai), it was because of his role in Meteor Garden. Their subsequent works are mediocre at best but they have been riding the fangirl wave for a while now.

Excellent mix of movie recommendations. Well done! :)

This drama is one of my favourite ever! A keeper! If you haven't watched it, you are really missing a LOT! Super highly recommended!!! :)

Shing Shing may be anxious for the "dating hell"; I am anxious for the "drama hell" now --- the wait, the excitement, the frustration...!! Otoke! I am hooked!

If you compare Yoona's acting in PM & I against many other idol actresses, she's ok BUT I still dislike watching her act. This may sound shallow but I actually dislike the look of her face. Personally, I do not think she is beautiful and that there is something not quite right with the "feel" of her face. Maybe it has to do with how her lips are thin and slightly tilted up at the ends and the look of her eyes. I think she fits the evil woman role much better with that sort of face, instead of being made the female lead. She just do not have the "kind beauty" look to pull off female lead roles. Sorry, Yoona fans. This is just my opinion.

oh, yes. i did enjoy reading the article. :)

Comparing Western romance against Eastern romance, and Western dating shows versus Eastern dating shows; the most obvious difference is how "romance" is defined. In Western culture, heavy emphasis is placed on sex as being part of romance but in Eastern culture, romance equals doing all sorts of things to show your feelings for each other.In a recent Western dating show, a female participant was asked at which date she will have sex with the man and she honestly replied "If the feeling is good, first date." Most women interviewed answered third date. Still, I am sure many of our Eastern friends will be aghast by this answer!

Last Cinderella is ok but it is over-rated. It'll make top 5 but definitely not number 1 and with topping in so many categories. That is my humble opinion.

How to Use Guys with Secret Tips is my No. 1 Korean Comedy (Movie) of the year. Super funny! Agree with the movies that made it for the C-movies and J-movies. I love action and wuxia too! There are a few of the chinese made wuxia & historical that should make it in the list. Can't comment much re. Korean movies as I have not watched much Korean made movies & dramas in 2013.

Well done! Someone finally wrote on TDramas; and no cityhunter83, you are not alone! I have over 40 years of experience in C & TDramas and although I have 8 languages in my pocket, I have stuck to just subbing C & TDramas. My honest opinion:- 2013 is just a mediocre year for TDramas. There are ok offerings but none that stood out. T/CDramas have a more realistic/"rustic" feel to it and therefore, less 'glamourous' compared with K & JDramas; hence less popular with the younger audience. Endings do not always go the way you want. Middles tend to drag. But still, whenever you are sick of the "candiness" of K & JDramas, you can always count on T & CDramas to deliver a more "solid" fare. P.S: FB is probably the year's most over-rated TDrama. Watch with minimal expectations... but don't just take this aunty's advice. Who knows, it might be your cup of tea.

It's different. smiling pasta is the taiwanese version of Full House. the story revolves around contract marriage/engagement and idol with funny and exaggerated moments, whereas Happy Noodle is more of a family melodrama. Both have their own merits. Depends on what you like - happy, easy-going drama with idol theme (Smiling Pasta) or a more heavy story with struggles involving three generations in a family, greed, business world etc (Happy Noodle)?

I leave translation of modern themed dramas to young fans while I undertake the more difficult and challenging task of translating historical/wuxia type series. Literal translation is unacceptable. One must be at the level of the native speaker with good grasp of the idioms, similes, slangs, sayings, cultural beliefs, historical events/characters etc used. Even when there are times when you can translate the literal meaning of the sentence, you need to rearrange the structure of the sentence due to difference in grammar structure between languages. Not an easy task but a great way to hone & maintain language abilities, especially when you are multi-lingual. Highly recommended if you are thinking to be a translator. Experience helps; so do not beat yourself up if you do not quite get it right the first few times. :) Nice article.

I did not give this drama a single credit from the start. Did not watch it, did not even start it. Not worth my time. This is purely a product for the fangirls. Therefore, not surprised at all the disappointments.

Master's Sun and Gu Family Book... really, people?! Those two belong in the same category as Heirs as the year's most overrated dramas! Although there is better sense in the voting this year in some categories, but the influence of fangirls is still prevalent. Can we get real drama critics on board please?!

Looking at the results and number voted by genre and topic, you can tell that those who voted are young female fans. Ita Kiss and Last Cinde came up tops (likewise their actors & actresses) - thanks to young fangirls. Me thinks these are the two of the most over-rated JDramas of the year! I think it would be good to split the results by age group so that those of us more mature viewers can have a good idea which ones are the really good ones based on recommendations of our peers - actors and actresses not withstanding!