PrettyCarEye

Yes, you've mentioned that before ... that you used to like them. And I understand your reasoning about having them already downloaded so you might as well watch them so as not to waste your MBs.

I was just curious because there are some genres/themes/actors that I don't like as well & if I know they're in a drama I don't watch it because it would seem odd to then criticize the show for something I already knew existed, going in. I haven't seen you done this so I'm just speaking in broad terms here.

I have grown to dislike pure romance shows too, as I've mentioned before. I agree with everything you said about them. But being ever the optimist (or masochist depending on how you look it) I'll get excited after reading a good synopsis of a romance drama & then be completely shocked & disappointed when it turns out to be exactly as I knew it would be. Cliched ridden, frustrating & many times unnecessarily tragic. I think it was Einstein (or was it Freud?) who said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again & expecting different results.

So now I prefer to watch shows where the romance is secondary, but significant to the plot because it's hard to find one like Lovers where the romance is a central theme, but superbly done with a good ending.

I haven't seen Knife & Flower. I've been wondering if I should add it. I'm undecided. But I've heard that it is indeed a pretty gorgeous production.

'Catching an echo of that person's experiences' ... that is indeed what it is. You have such a way with words. Forget about film criticism, you should consider screenwriting! :) Or come to think of it, your talent would suit both perfectly. You're already some sort of writer, aren't you? I think I read a comment of yours to another MDLer confirming this? Am I right or did I mix you up with someone else?

I read your review of Who Are You? This is a show I've had my eyes on since it started airing, but sadly word on the street is that it's pretty sub-par so now I don't know if I want to watch it anymore. Your review makes it an even more difficult decision. At the moment I'm thinking I should pass.

What else are you watching? Recently I completed Aishiteiru to Ittekuru. LOVED it up to the 8th episode, then it became a disaster from eps 9-12 :(

Now I'm watching Can You Hear My Heart & plan to start Golden Empire alongside it. I have a good friend here who's totally over the moon about this show. Usually dramas about corporate take over & espionage are not my cup tea, but she's got me totally convinced! lol

Morning, dear Edinaa.
Can You Hear My Heart is off to a slow start for me. At the moment the first 3 episodes show us the childhoods of our 3 protagonists. I'm still waiting for the actual story to start. It's not that these establishing episodes are bad or boring, I'm just impatient to see the characters all grown up & to see where everything goes.

I'm thinking of starting Golden Empire soon & watching it alongside CYHMH. It's got my chingu, Nina, bouncing off the walls with excitement so I HAVE to see for myself what all the fuss is about! lol

Who Are You? has wrapped, you were watching that one, weren't you? What did you think, did you like it? What non-airing drama do you plan to watch next?

Have a great day, chingu friend! :)

They were pretty random, chingu! :) But that's why they cracked me up. As I read them my boyfriend kept looking at me funny, as if I were nuts. lol

Anyway, yeah, I read Cheerful's review. I know Cheerful, she and I are friends. These type of shows are her preference so if she liked it, it's probably okay. And don't worry, I already know it has no romance. A show doesn't HAVE to have romance for me to watch it, but it's preferable.

I don't have any expectations either. Since this is not a genre I'd normally watch, I'm totally indifferent going in & I'll leave it up to the show to impress itself upon me. So we'll see how that goes! :)

As for Lovers, I really need to watch that show again because many people have complained that it dragged, but I didn't expect that AT ALL when I was watching! So now I'm wondering if I was just too caught up in Lee Seo-jin & the wonderfully angsty romance to even notice it's other flaws?
I'm glad you like it in general, though. I love Kang Jæ (man, he's so hot!) & I love the female lead too. I've already explained why. She's just awesome.

Lovers made me an instantaneous fan of Lee Seo-jin. That has only happened once before, with KimuTaku in Pride. Generally it takes about 3-4 shows for me decide if I like an actor. I've been taking my sweet time going through Seo-jin ssi's filmography because it isn't very long & the guy doesn't make shows fast enough to suit me. In fact, I've heard he's somewhat semi-retired from acting. ::facepalm::..

I have a question for you though, Cheerful, just out of curiosity! Hope you won't mind that I ask. I know romance is somewhat of an anathema for you, but you still choose to watch a lot of romance influenced shows. Why?

There seems to be an abundance of shows from other genres, and particularly genres/sub-genres you like such as detective/police procedurals and revenge. Moreover, if you cross lines over into Japan, it seems your prospects of finding shows to your liking are endless. I love the way the Japanese do their shows, but it's hard to find exactly what I like in Japan. Sadly.

I, as a romance lover, often struggle to find a good show with romance done the way I like it ... in any of the countries. Sometimes I'll find the perfect show only to have it ruined by an awful ending, as was the cased with Aishiteiru to Ikketuru. My point is you seem to have a lot more options as a non-romance lover than me, a tireless fan of the genre. Or would you disagree? I don't really know the overall state of affairs for the genres you like.

As for Lovers ... the short answer to your question really is the title. Yes, it is quite romance focused. It's the most well done romance I've watched in dramaland. I mean it's pretty grown up and pregnant with delicious sexual tension. None of this cheesy, juvenile stuff dramaland is known for. Having said that, it is equal parts business & crime/gangster drama, but you will not be able to avoid the romance. It is a big part of the show & next to the awesome fight scenes & bromances, the romance is really the best thing about it. So if you don't like romance it's probably not a show for you, though you WOULD be missing out. Lee Seo-jin is just totally badass, hot, smexy ... every kind of randy adjective you can think of, he's it! :)

Yes, all the things you mentioned about Cruel City (action, cinematography, badass Doc Son) are what I loved about the show too. But the writing, gah, disappointing. I've been struggling to finish my review of that show since I watched it. I can't seem to find the right words that really pinpoints my issues with it. English is my native language, but since I haven't used it on a daily basis for 12 yrs I do forget more nuanced vocabulary that gets to the heart of the points I want to make. But maybe you already understand my gripes since you also had feelings toward the script.

When A Man's in Love has been universally panned by critics everywhere I read. For now it's still on my list mainly for Song Seung-hun (ah the things we do for criminally hot men! :) & because I want to see how bad it is for myself. But you never know, maybe the writers WERE on crack. LOL! I work in showbiz & drug addled creatives aren't so far fetched. It's usually the norm, rather than the exception.

Between Korea, Japan & Taiwan I've been the least impressed with the overall quality of productions from Taiwan. Of the ones I've seen, which admittedly aren't very many, they don't have that professional look & feel down pat, neither technically nor in terms of story, plot & character development. Closest I've come to being satisfied with a Taiwanese drama is MARS. Perhaps that's why I watch them the least.

Haha reading your comment (ALL four of them about Golden Empire!) made me smile. It's great when a show sucks us in & gets us so thoroughly invested! I've only experienced that on the rarest of occasions.

The ending seems to be a sore point for many, though. I'm a big ending person myself. Endings can make or break a drama for me. Should I be worried?

I see another review has gone up & it explains the virtues of the show a lot better than the first.

I shy away from shows like these usually (everything I watch must preferably have some romance in it), but based on your reaction I'm dying of curiosity here! he he he
I tend to watch only one drama at a time, but I may start it & watch it in between Can You Hear My Heart.

Hehe ... there's no need for you to be embarrassed! :)
When you do well in life, by the sweat of your own labour, you deserve to be praised! And the fact that you're in the top 10 of your class shows that you're doing not only something good & right, but something that you love as well! It's great! :) But, arasso, arassooo, noona will stop making you blush now he he he.
Oh and it's nice having a bunch of hyungs ... I guess ! :)
You should really check out Brother Beat, it will make you smile.

Ok, ma'am. :)

I am a fan of A Gentleman's Dignity, but it was never on my favourites list.

Now why did you mention the article if you didn't want me to read it? Now I'll have to read it.

49 Days, I hear that one's pretty good, but I won't watch it anytime soon for reasons I'll refrain from saying so as not to spoil you.

LOL, rant away. I know you really hate her. Poor girl. lol
But I know how you feel. I kinda have similar feelings of apathy toward Ha Ji Won and a few others.

As for me I started watching Can You Hear My Heart. After watching Aishiteiru to Ittekure I was in the mood for another hot, deaf hero so I decided to go for this drama. Everyone's been telling me it's good so I'm hoping they're right. Have you seen it? What do you think?

I should be catching up on some movies too, but for the first since joining MDL I'm more interested in watching dramas than movies! Unbelievable how dramaland totally uproots one's life ... haha

Omo, are you blushing?!? hahaha

I'll watch Beautiful Life for sure, but not all the way if the ending is tragic. Please tell me your opinion of where you consider a possible cut off point.

Yes, sorry, I meant Love Story. Thx for letting me know about Long Vacation. I don't know why, even though I added it to my list I've not been really convinced it's for me so your comments have certainly put things into context. You & I like a more solid emotional experience so if it didn't work for you it probably won't work for me either. I'll take your word for it and not prioritize watching it for now.

Re Sunao ni Narenakute I read the synopsis & wasn't really drawn to it. I was actually planning to skip this one altogether. What do you think? If you say I should give it a go I will. Does it have a happy ending?

Based on my research I've gotten the impression that, in Eriko's repertoire, only OD & Tatta have happy endings...

What is your personal interpretation of the ending? Were you able to write / see in your mind's eye that they end up together? Or you tried to but didn't manage to convince yourself, is that what you're saying?

As for me, I try to be optimistic but it's hard. The fact that they meet up again at the same place they met for the first time. The fact that Hiroko is 2-3 yrs older and hopefully a bit more mature. The fact that I'd like to think they're still in love with each other. I hope that these events would make them want to try again. But man, I dunno, I dunno. I can't determine what became of them based on what we were shown.

Moreover, I'm wondering the same as you, if they DID end up together why not show us? Or even give us a more concrete hint that they likely ARE or will be together? Sure, they were smiling at each other but those smiles looked very poignant to me, as if they were mourning what might have been! Heck I'm not even asking for a nice, neat ending with a big red bow. Just something more tangible, optimistic...

Definitely if the ending was better Aishiteiru would have been an absolute 10 for me too. Buuut, they just had to ruin a good thing. I wish I was less emotional about these things like you are. I like to think of myself as an optimist, but I'm not really, not when it comes to love at least. I can't forget endings like these. Over the last few days since I watched the show I have thought of those wonderful moments between the characters, they put a smile on my face & warmth in my heart. But then the ending is always there in the back of my mind ... like a dark cloud. Once I've seen it, I can't unsee it. I can't forget. :/

Congratulations to my dongsæng, the smartest on MDL. Well done. Proud of you, sir! :)

Since you're performing so well in school I'm going to lay off hassling you in my annoying ahjumma voice! See, you have a really nice noona! :)

Otherwise I have an intense compulsion to finish everything I start whether I'm liking it or not! BUT having said that, I have made a decision.

I've decided to watch all of Eriko Kitagawa's (the screenwriter of Aishiteiru) dramas that appeal to me. She also wrote Orange Days which was absolutely AMAZING. It's similar to Aishiteiru but with a younger cast & it's the girl that's deaf this time around, not the guy. Nevertheless just like Kohji in Aishiteiru the disability makes her vulnerable and you just want to give her hug the entire time you're watching the show.

I've also seen Tatta Hitotsu no Koi, it's main theme is experiencing love for the first time. I didn't like it as much as Aishiteiru & OD, but it’s perfectly okay. It's on many people's favourites list.

Anyway Eriko Kitagawa writes romance far too well for me to skip out on the rest of her shows. Usually Japanese romances are half baked and bland, but Eriko infuses her romances with sweet, heartwarming moments & sexual passion. So I've decided that I'm going to check out her other works, but I'll only watch the good parts and then drop the drama before it turns tragic. You see I hate watching romances that end in tragedy. Absolutely hate them. They depress me. Romance in real life is hard enough & in its own way tragic enough, I want an escape from that in my entertainment. You know what I’m saying? Not that my personal romance is bad in any way. I have a really nice bf & we get along. I just want things to work out for my all my drama couples in the end.

It’s going to be really hard for me to drop, I know it. I don’t even know IF I’ll actually be able to do it, but we’ll see. This is going to be a true test of my mettle for sure! :)

I can't stand the 'aegyo' type heroines either. They just seem so childish to me & only on the rarest of occasions are they actually cute, imo. Seeing them stir the latent feminista in me who wants to rail against the patriarchy for infantilizing women. Men succumbing to women's wishes when they act like errant children. Sigh ...

On the other spectrum those cold, bitchy, prideful heroines make me want to bitch slap them thru the TV screen. The female lead in World's Within comes to mind. Ugh. I wonder how is it that writers (often FEMALE writers) can write such likeable, sympathetic 3-dimensional male characters, but are a total failures with the females? Since I’m an independent filmmaker who sometimes write my own scripts, will I fall into this trap as well? Have I? The thought makes me shudder.

As for Pride, you'll be missing out. I’m telling you, there's hot guy overload in it. The hockey is there, but it doesn't take over the show I promise. You’ll be too caught up in the story to be irritated by the hockey. That's my last ditch attempt to convince you, but if your mind's made up I guess my work’s done. :)

I know what you mean about wanting to see how a show ends no matter what. I'm the same. I can't drop anything. Certainly not dramas, and only in very rare occasions movies. I have some dropped items on my list, but those were extreme cases in which the overall production was so utterly bad, dreadfully unwatchable that it permanently killed any and all interest I had in the show or movie. Besides, Queen In-Hyun’s Man is not really dropped. I intend to finish that last episode at some point. It’s more for a symbolic reason why it’s on my dropped list. :)

First let me apologise for the smoker's comment! I was at work today & the thought struck me that maybe SHE (that would be you) is a smoker. ::Facepalm moment::.

I don't mean to insult smokers. My point was actually that *I* personally wouldn't want to kiss one, not that smokers are bad people or anything like that. Kohji is an awesome guy, even if he (chain) smokes! :)

With that out of the way, I'm really looking forward to your feedback once you watch it. It should be interesting to hear your opinion as we learn more about each other's tastes and preferences.

I hear you about good female leads. Trust me, the good ones with a nice combination of vulnerability & spunk are few & far between. I can only think of a handful that I absolutely 100% loved, in particular Mi Joo from Lovers. That woman to me is a true woman's woman. She's cheerful, she's nurturing, she's practical, she's sensible. AND she acts her age.

None of this 'aegyo' BS. Or misplaced pride or noble stupidity that you see too often in female leads. I hate when in serious situations, sometimes life or death, the male lead tries to help out the female lead & she throws a hissy fit about him interfering in her affairs. I'm like, what?! Ok, so exactly what is he supposed to do, you idiot? Saddle back & just watch you go thru whatever hardship you're going thru & not try to help you?? What the hell kind boyfriend does that?

Or when she’s sooo selfless she's willing to sell her left foot for the sake of everyone else BUT herself or her man. I mean they show grit at all the WRONG moments, but don’t have a backbone in situations where they should. Do you know what I mean? These type of female leads really piss me off.

Morning Edinaa, you're up early! :)
I started watching Can You Hear My Heart because after Aishiteiru I wanted another drama with a deaf hero. I've only seen 1 ep, but I liked what I saw.
How about you? Golden Empire has wrapped, did you finish it? Or dropped it?

Hey, sorry for the delay in getting back to you!
I hear you on Who Are You?
Now that its aired I might start it. I'll wait for a couple more reviews and see, just to make sure it's something I want to invest my time in.
I read your encounter with the Koreans on feeds. Awesome. If you like that cute guy you should totally give him a hint that you're into him and maybe he'll reciprocate. You never know! :)
Unfortunately where I live there isn't a large community of Koreans. I started Korean classes a few weeks ago, but had to quit because it collided with work. I didn't see any cute guys there, but I enjoyed meeting the people that I did. Hopefully I can start back up with the classes in January. And in the mean time? Self study! :)