RouteVenus

I only watched the first 4 episodes - I need to catch up and I am looking forward to it :). (glad to see that the general rating remains high so far)

Since the series is finished already, please tell me in advance: is there any noble idiocy or unnecessary break-ups? (you don't have to spoil much, I just need to mentally prepare myself) (after Touch Your Heart, I became wary of noble idiocy plots again)

The thing is, from the little we know about the incident, it didn't seem to be explicitly a porn movie (or is it stated somewhere and I missed it?). She seemed to beg the director to cut just one scene. If it was a porn movie, wouldn't he have to cut, like, all of it? Would she even agree to do the filming in the first place if it was a porn movie (with fully knowing the consequences it presents for her child?). And if she WAS a porn star before having a child, wouldn't she willingly abandon her career before filming yet another porn movie? Look, maybe I am just overthinking it, but the situation was really not well explained in the show and the reactions of other characters to her situation weren't clear either. Great series, but this left me really confused.

I just finished this drama and I am kinda confused and angry at the whole Mother plot? Did I miss something?

So, the mother/landlady was an actress and in a relationship with Ae Ra's dad (and maybe with some other guys - Dong Man's dad - as well?). They weren't married, they had Ae Ra together. The actress was in a movie that had naked scenes and the director refused to edit them out. Afraid of how her "scandal" would affect her daughter's life, she left Ae Ra, changed her name, moved to Japan and only sent money to her child ever since. The local community (Ae Ra's dad, Dong Man's parents, Seol Hee's mom) were all ok with this, maybe they didn't hate her, but they didn't try to stop her from disappearing either and told Ae Ra she died.
So, for all those years, Ae Ra was missing her mom, the mother missed her daughter but because the mother had naked scenes in a movie, they couldn't be together for nearly 30 years...

What kind of shitty reason is that? What does it say about Ae Ra's dad and Dong Man's dad who were genuinely surprised that the mother returned and wanted to see her kid? Or about Seol Hee's mom and Dong Man's mom who were appalled/horrified at the very same idea?

I really hope I am missing something here because the way I understand this backstory, I am disgusted by the people's behavior towards the mother/landlady.

Yes to all this! And you are absolutely right that we don't know much about Kwon Jung Rok either. I was happy when they introduced his father but it fell a bit flat since we didn't learn much about their family anyway (did they fight a lot? was there some incident that drove them apart?).

The honorifics bother me a lot too. I find it strange that she asked him to call her Jin Shim-ah in one episode but neither of them ever acknowledges that she consistently calls him "Mr Lawyer"... Is this a Korean thing, I wonder, do Korean people often speak to each other so formally when dating?

What I meant about the sidestories/legal cases is this: in the earliest episodes they used the interesting sidestories to develop the main couple's relationship. During the bullying case, the stalking case etc. Jung Rok and Jin Shim got closer and learned about each other. Then the sidestories disappeared for a couple of episodes, the main pair still got enough screentime - but any progress in their relationship abruptly stopped.

Something similar happened to Secretary Kim, if you watched it, but at the very least, the main couple in WWWSK progressed with their skinship :P (legendary end of EP 13).

I surprisingly enjoyed episodes 13-14. The break-up arc was annoying but on the other hand, I was happy they returned to case-of-the-week format and re-opened the murder case from earlier episodes. I wish all the episodes were like that, with legal cases and sidestories...

I enjoy this drama...but I have to admit I am unsatisfied with the main couple's relationship - or rather, the lack of it. They are two consenting adults who are in love with each other and are dating, but they are. just. so. awkward. ... She cries and he awkwardly pets her shoulder ... They go out, they don't even hold hands. Their skinship in general is minimal, their kisses are rather chaste. They talk...but I don't get the feeling they are really getting to know each other. E.g. does Oh Jin Shim/Oh Yeon Seo have any family? Her life seems so lonely but the main lead (or anyone else) never asked her about her parents or siblings...
Anyone else feels the same?

Hi! From the interview with the writer:

Q: I'm curious about Young-Shin's missing memories of her childhood, including the man with an iron pipe in his hand.
A: I'm not curious about them at all. One of the things I absolutely can't stand is child abuse, so I tried to be as symbolic about that as possible. I didn't want to think about the details there.

Source: http://morumoruisland.blogspot.com/2015/02/writer-song-ji-nas-q-backstories.html (all the parts of the interview are very much worth reading, as the screenwriter clears up and explains some things)

Hello pandalla008!
Thank you for your informative answer! I am sorry if I spoiled the ending of I Will Never Let You Go for you, it wasn't intentional, I presumed you watched it already, so sorry!

I recently finished my first C-drama Meteor Garden 2018 which had like 49 episodes and I was surprised at how quickly it passed, I was really afraid at first that I wouldn't finish it, but it was ok (except like the last 5 episodes...they were a mess). So I think I am prepared to delve into the world of longer C-dramas :).

Thank you so much for your sum-ups of the drama recommendations! I will definitely try both "Eternal Love" and "Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms", it seems that both have happy endings, so yay! :)

I personally, would really appreciate an article on beginner historical/wuxia/fantasy C-dramas. There are so many of them and some seem to be so controversial that it's really hard to choose where to start. With most of them being really long series, you want to invest your time into something worthwhile and satisfying....

To pandalla008: great article, very informative, thank you for writing it!

I really wanted to try this drama but now when it ended, I see from the comments on the drama's profile, that the ending was...controversial to say the least (SPOILER: many characters dead, not certain if ML lives or dies) and not well-received by fans. It surprised me too, because from your article it sounded like a lighthearted show with a granted happy ending, but it seems that the creators had other ideas.

My question: I want to try C-historical dramas. Can be even wuxia or fantasy - as a beginner I don't really have a preference yet.
Do you think you could recommend some dramas to me please?
My only requirement: I need satisfying happy ending. I just can't watch a show that ends in tragedy or bittersweet ending.
I thought maybe recent Story of Ming Lan or Eternal Love* could be good starting points?
*I know there are two C-dramas with this title, both were made in 2017 and both are actually well-rated!

So...happy ending, bittersweet ending or sad ending? :)
(considering to watch this but I hate sad endings)

Very informative series of articles! I can see you put a lot of time and effort into it, thank you for your hard work!

I dropped it after episode 3, I didn't like the characters, the flashbacks and the cartoonishly evil villains... I felt it was cheesy, but not in the good, self-deprecating way. I don't think I'll come back to this one.

Personally, I find the product placement hilarious :D.

I am actually the opposite :). I like that they toned down DMS's violent tendencies. But I wouldn't say he's just "a spoiled brat trying hard to be a bad boy". I do believe that the writers of MG2018 gave him the depth by emphasizing his unusual upbringing (he was more or less brought up by his sister who had no idea what she was doing and blames herself for how he turned up), lack of love and care from his mother and zero social skills he's trying to compensate for with aggressiveness and childish pranks. These are parts of his personal history and character that were never really explored before (e.g. if I remember correctly, in HYD 2 Tama only states that no-one could stop Tsukasa's agressive behaviour, without further explanation). But MatsuJun's portrayal is still strongest acting-wise, no argument here.

I totally agree with you about Shancai though - they fleshed her character out very nicely and she gives strong Inoue Mao vibes. I know she's getting a lots of hate for her supposed "indecisiveness", but I think it's portrayed very realistically and goes hand in hand with her self-reliance and concern for others (she makes her feelings clear from the beginning, never leads DMS on, when she believes he cares about her more than she about him, she tells him so). Not everyone knows his or her own heart after only one meeting like DMS :).

Sorry about the long rants, I can't seem to stop talking about this show <3.

I just want to highlight some of my favorite creative changes they made in this adaptation:

- Making Shancai's parents actually cool and loving parents (remember how embarassing and insensitive they were even in HYD? And from what I've seen they are even worse in BoF).

- Making XY's betrayal and kidnapping incident (ep 7) two separate events, thus making XY more redeemable. (hey, I want to be spoiler-free!)

- How do I put this? Making Shancai more pursued by the opposite sex than Daoming Si. Like, I never understood why he was so wanted by every single random girl in HYD, even though he was mostly terrible to everyone except Shancai (I was like: your school is full of rich guys who are actually nice, why don't you choose someone else?)

- Of course, making Daoming Si much less violent and agressive person. Dear fandom newcomers, you might think DMS is still pretty problematic - and you are right - but you have NO IDEA how badly he behaves in other versions. (remember how his lackeys nearly raped Shancai/Makino in Japanese HYD and he was ok with that?)

- Making Shancai actually GOOD at cooking - and making the competition in the end of first arc the cooking competition. (In HYD, she got through mostly with sheer luck and some good ideas; here she is showing real skill and dedication to something she loves)

- Highlighting that F4 are first and foremost exceptional students, not just rich eye-candies.

Feel free to add what creative choices YOU liked in this version!

I don't think anyone will hate you for this, Shancai/Makino+Lei/Rui is one of the fandom favorite ships for like twenty years now :D.

Thank you, jah433 and Macy for your responses!

I actually totally forgot the NY arc! Probably because they kind of skimmed through it in HYD - Tsukasa simply left to NY, didn't let Tsukushi know how he's doing, she came after him and he broke up with her. Not something I want them to replay... But at least we know that it will possibly end happily in MG2018 since they are hugging on Tower Bridge in the opening sequence (I think).

So...the employee's faked suicide is not in the manga and other versions? That's a relief, it was kind of nonsensical plot in HYD.

Amon arc sounds a bit crazy XD. But if you say you like it the best, Macy, I am not afraid.

Yuuki and Nishikado! <3 You're so right, how could I forget! I hope they will make them endgame in this version and make Yuuki less obsessive (she was terrible in HYD).

Looking forward to the deserted island arc, sounds fun, I hope they'll include it!

Let's mentally prepare for the amnesia arc...hopefully it won't last for more than 4-5 episodes! Reminder: it lasted for like 1 episode and half in HYD2 (and made us all hate Toda Erika's guts)!

For those of you who read the manga and/or seen the other adaptations: I've only seen HYD and HYD2 and honestly, I can't imagine what the second half of Meteor Garden 2018 will be about, considering they more or less covered all important points in the first 25 episode or so already.

Any ideas what plot points/scenes they might use from the other versions?

From seeing only HYD and HYD2, I can think of:

- Tsukasa befriending Tsukushi's younger brother - here it could be the neighbor's kid?
- The Mother trying to destroy Tsukushi's life by having her dad fired, causing troubles to her workplace etc.
- The Mother trying to cut off Tsukasa's financial means.
- The Mother making Tsukasa break up with Tsukushi by manipulating him into thinking that he is responsible for his employee's suicide.
- Of course, the dreaded amnesia arc (creators, please please please, don't drag this).
- It could be actually fun if they used themes from HYD Final movie :D. (Fanservice. I am asking for fanservice. And for a deserted island trip.)

Anything major that I forgot or could be used from other versions?

And note on Czech locations used: the ruined castle where robot!Shin hugs his Mom in episode 1 is Castle Hartenštejn (https://tinyurl.com/y98nslk6), which is some 20 km from Karlovy Vary, a popular Czech tourist city (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karlovy_Vary), where the first two episodes were shot.

I wonder where the Mom's Czech house (where human!Shin was hidden for the first couple of episodes) stands. Considering how isolated the house is, it could stand in Czech Republic as well as in Korea... Does anyone know?

No problem, some notes on Czech in AYH :D:

1) The Koreans spoke in a very accented Czech - honestly, I don't think that in real life, the Czech people would instantly understand them, there would be a lot of "Excuse me, could you say it again?" They would eventually be understood, but it wouldn't happen right away.
So, the dialogues with the people on the street were in a way unrealistic. That being said, I am not holding it against the actors in the least - they did their best considering that Czech is not an easy language!
(Also, worldbuilding-wise, there is no reason why NSIII wouldn't speak perfectly any language - being a robot and all that :))

2) I could tell right away that the Czech people cast a) weren't trained actors AND b) the most of the Czech exclamations/dialogues sounded...off. Unnatural, clumsy. As if the dialogues were just translated from Korean to Czech and no-one considered if Czech people would actually say it that way.

3) The blonde girl, who was flirting with NSIII in a flowershop, definitely wasn't Czech. Russian, maybe, I don't know, but her Czech was accented, it definitely wasn't her first language.

4) The merchant trying to cheat NMIII's Mom...lol XD Not flattering to Czech people, but accurate, in a way.

If you're coming to the Czech Republic as tourists: be prepared and be careful. My country is certainly very beautiful and worthwhile, but there is a lots of stealing from unsuspecting tourists, many cases of taxi drivers charging more than they should and swindlers who exchange currency on the street (your real money for their fake money, the best deal ever!), so beware! :)

I will definitely finish it, I invested too much time into it by now to abandon it :). For me, it's a visually rich show (pretty actors, visual effects, stunts...) with decent writing that presents some not-so-original points (I am sorry but an android being more human than an actual human is not exactly a new and/or inovative concept). Overall, it's interesting to watch because the sci-fi theme is unusual in kdramas, but simply said, I am not invested in it emotionally. I hope that NSIII and So Bong will live happily but that's about it.
(also, yay for setting the first couple of episodes in my home country, aka the Czech Republic, that was hilarious)

...oops, sorry for the rant, I guess I needed to get this out of my system.