Surprise-Lobotomy

Wow, 133 episodes.. thats close to 100 hours. Phew. Off-topic, but I never noticed that in your profile you mention being an otaku. Are you following any currently airing anime?

I prefer to watch things on my tablet because I can watch it anywhere, so it works out better. Headphones + small screen and I think I melt into the drama a little better. It's all about that escape, and I think maybe I feel more personal with that set-up. What were you doing in London? Anything exciting?

Any suggestions for one of those? I don't always have the greatest patience, especially with kdramas. The longest drama I have watched was 30 episodes, but it was from Hong Kong and it was wonderful all the way through. I could watch a longer twdrama (very fond of the "serious" twdrama romances) but I don't know about kdramas. I have an open mind and am always up for having my biases shattered

Anything you are in the mood for, other than romance of course? Lighthearted? Serious (no or very little comedy)? Tearjerker (I wouldn't recommend anything with a sad ending, though.)

So you aren't currently watching anything?

I'll take your word on it since I haven't seen anywhere near as many dramas as you have. Most of the kdramas I have seen have 1-2 kisses, a piggyback ride scene and a few hugs, if that much.

I want to slap the hairstylist. I'm petty like that, haha. At least Cha Seung Woo has his act together and is incredibly handsome. Things like OST/wardrobe/makeup/hairstyle are the first things I notice if they are off because it's pretty much instantaneous, unlike the plot/acting which can take time to form a solid opinion. I'm just being silly, though.

Not sure a better version exists. Doubt there is a very big market for remastering old shows like that. I watch most of them on a tablet, so the lower resolution might look better if you usually watch it on a bigger monitor.

I can agree with you on that. I thought the secondary characters were boring and the main conflict was rather uninspired (evil guy does evil things just because) but I loved it because the romance was very good for a kdrama. I go into kdramas knowing what to expect, it didn't surprise (other than having more skinship) but it didn't disappoint either. Jun Ji Hyun is also excellent, I have a fancrush on her now.

Oh man, MARS is a must watch! Unfortunately it's in the same situation as Orange Days, you probably won't find a high quality version to watch since it is from 2004. I stream all of my dramas or download them from gooddrama.net or viki and I don't remember the quality being that bad when I watched MARS.

I'm glad! I see you also love The Princess' Man and Nine: Nine Times Time Travel so I know you have great taste as well. High-five

Long time no talk! I saw your comment a few days ago on You Who Came From the Stars and was meaning to leave a comment on your profile. I take it you didn't enjoy it very much?

You're completely wrong and should feel ashamed of yourself. Just kidding, we are all entitled to our opinions. If you read over some of the reviews/comments, you definitely aren't the only one that didn't like this drama.

I love science fiction, but I don't really see a korean drama delving into sci-fi as anything but a light gimmick. The fantastical is usually akin to "magic" and is explained as such. Even Nine: Nine Times Time Travel (which I love) took a traditional sci-fi theme and turned it into something mystical. In YWCFTS, the fact that he is an alien has very little to do with the movement of the plot. It's just a clever way to create a little bit of conflict, but it isn't the main source and the plot moves without it. I think there is a good distinction between magic and science fiction, and in the case of kdramas magic is used because it doesn't need an explanation. "Why is it happening? Magic."

It's just my opinion so don't read too much into it, but I felt the OST (especially the main score) undermined the weight of several scenes that were meant to be emotional. K-dramas are really the only ones I have had this issue with (particularly the really popular ones) because they tend to re-use songs and use songs that are hard to distinguish from each other (at least for me.) I also am pretty against using songs with heavy vocals in the background of scenes with important dialogue because it's distracting - hence undermining. On top of that, the song placement was an often mismatch for the mood. Nothing sells a somber scene better than dark music and nothing ruins it faster than something a little too upbeat.

Most kdramas are pretty generic as far as the OST goes, though. Usually nothing too offensive, but nothing that really stands out either.

So I've only had a chance to watch through 3 episodes of City Hall so far since it's not available in HD on my tablet and finding time to watch a show at my desktop is a challenge, but please tell me they do something about Kim Sun Ah's hair at some point in the drama. It's not enough to keep me from enjoying it (I like her character quite a bit) but what is it about Kim Eun-sook dramas featuring a lead girl with a terrible haircut? Mi Joo also suffered a similar fate - both are very pretty actresses that have really bad haircuts. Kim Sun Ah's character in the first few episodes looks like she hasn't had a shower in weeks. I feel like that might be intentional, though, but I thought I'd ask. I just want to spray her with a garden hose right now..

The only reason I have put off The Greatest Love is because im not always in the mood for romcoms with love triangles. I liked Gong Hyo Jin in The Master's Sun so I would try The Greatest Love out sometime.

If you're enjoying chuu2, you'll enjoy the second season as well. It's really sweet.

That's some serious dedication. I don't remember the clannad or after story OSTs but it has been a little over 3 years. I'm sure it would be nostalgic. I like so many anime OSTs compared to, say, many korean dramas that use identical or similar scores. The main score of YWCFTS (You are my destiny by LYn) was like nails on a chalkboard with as frequently as it was played. I think I still hear it in my nightmares..

That's cool! While we are talking about OSTs, I thought the YWCFTS OST was pretty bad. It's a shame because the music can make scenes so much better. Take Rich Man, Poor Woman or My Girlfriend is a Gumiho. Both of those OSTS really stuck with me and made the drama memorable when perhaps it wouldn't have been otherwise.

The best part about the MARS OST is that Barbie Hsu (Qi Luo) and Vic Chou (Ling) did the ending theme together, and Megan Lai (Qing Mei) did a song as well. I realLy loved the OST, especially because the actors performed on it.