amrita828

And I couldn't agree more with your comment. :)
The feel, as you rightly say, is different every time, that's the secret of its success, I think.

Hahahahahahaha, oh dear.

Now I don't know if I should hope you get that boring assignment very soon, or if I should have mercy on you. ;-)

And I have NOT forgotten! Believe it or not, that out of wedlock sibling has been on my mind all the time while writing the article. I almost caressed the idea of a special mention.

Luckily, the human brain supposedly has 86 billion neurons. There's room for some loss... XD

Dear Lumi,
you express yourself so well and with such a delicious candour, that I have nothing to add. :D

I can, however, give you my two cents regarding the "new incarnation". It's a joy for the eyes only. The brain refuses to be involved, even if one tries. The premises are all mixed up, the female lead gets on my nerves every second episode, the acting could be improved, second unrelated characters pop out of the blue and invade the screen for hours, the dubbing grates on my ears... and I'm still watching. :P

It's all due to the pretty faces (and hair). Really, this Dao Ming Si is ridiculously gorgeous, even when my mature self keeps on whispering in my ears he left kindergarden yesterday - and given the F4 looks are my only reason to watch, I belong there too. :S

I will complete it, sooner or later. Clearly, doing so with a partner in crime would be fabulous. It's such a neverending source of involuntary laughter! ;-)

Thank you for your comment, Hanah.
I've come to the conlusion, that we all turned to Asian dramas at some point in search of something, be it the convoluted plots, the lack of sex, the exotic setting and customs, the piggyback rides, the ramen... whatever. They are the tropes that made us into addicted in the first place, so it's hard to let them go. I for one would hate it if Asian dramas started looking and feeling like western products, if they were robbed of those traits, even clichès we complain about. that were and still are so distinctive of them.
So I think I am one of those neophilic and neophobic viewers, really. :D

Couldn't agree more on that trainwreck called Innocent man. :P
So happy you listed You're all Surrounded! :D

Very nice article, very relatable! :D

I'm not much of a hater, really, but I too have a few things I truly dislike in dramas:

- when a girl is repeatedly called ugly or fat (with 45 kg, right!) by the male lead or, even worse - by friends/family. Even if she were, I don't see why it should ever become a subject of entertainment.
- when all the compliment paid to a female is that she's pretty. It usually leads to silly conversations with no substance or spark, and love stories simingly based upon looks.
- when someone stumbles, falls on the pavement, cries in the middle of a crowded street or square and NOBODY bothers to help or at least ask: "are you all right?". The alternate version of this is also frustrating: people you love (lover, mother, child, best friend) cry their heart out in front of you and you don't even give a comforting hug: you pat their back!
- when they put too much stress on someone's unbelievable IQ (usually the male lead, 'cause the female's the pretty one from above) - also note how the one with the highest usually acts dumb and the supposedly "stupid" one solves the problems.
- aegyo. *shivers*

I love it when one or all the aspects I hate are overturned or ridiculed.

I know the feeling. Even though it's an old trope and possibly overused, I too have a soft spot for... "crab-like" people. Perhaps we like to observe that hard shell slowly cracking and revealing what's inside. :)

You're right. :)
What I find especially interesting about this drama is that detractors have their sound reasons for their dislike, but so have the lovers. In its excessive way, the plot raises a few stimulating moral issues which are more mature than the whole shoujo genre suggests.
I admit at always having great fun reading comments about any of the adaptations, whenever I come across them. XD

Wow, the Lee Minho antifan club is growing... ;-)

Ahhh, don't tell anyone, but I don't like Lee Min Ho either. Now, this could actually earn us both the title of aliens. ;-)

P.S. The Itazura Na Kiss soup is another thing entirely for me. I hate that story with a passion, for the simple reason that it begins and ends with a super idiotic girl. I can't possibly relate.
It sure is popular, but I gladly let someone else try to analyze why. :S

Don't worry, you're not going to be judged in any way, not on my article comment section! :D

In fact, I kind of understand your complaints. At the cost of repeating myself, I think you've chosen the wrong adaptations to be introduced to this story.
The Korean version was just another K-drama advertising good-looking young men and love triangles, and this newest Chinese one turned a strong-willed, corageous female lead into an indecisive quack who's constantly in trouble and can't even bring herself to say I like you. In trying to tone down F4's bullying, they deprived the female lead of her reason to be a "tough weed". I'm not moving much forward with it either, because by the middle of the drama I started wishing Dao Ming Si would settle down with the girl his mother had chosen for him. :P

But back to the point of my article: far from me to say everyone likes or must like this story. It has some questionable traits and it certainly isn't the most mature and sensible entertainment product out there. Which only reinforces my curiosity as to why this one became more popular than other similar dramas. Who knows, perhaps it was just the right story at the right moment and the remakes simply rest on its laurels.

Thank you so much for your kind words! :)
I honestly feared I was going to be called childish for addressing this topic.

Applause for you!
I'm a professional translator and I know very well how hard and at times underrated this job is. Furthermore, your doing it with such dedication without any monetary compensation is commendable, all the more so if you're surrounded by people who don't even know what you're talking about.
You did well in coming here: we understand! :D

I didn't know that. Thanks for the clarification, Hikari. :D

lol
I can't and don't want to convince you otherwise, but at the very least you have to admit it was a source of culinary inspiration! :P

Ahhhhhh, thank you!!!!
I felt so lonely with my overall "4".

I proposed to my now husband. Luckily he said yes. :P
So, obviously I have absolutely nothing against the woman being the first to confess her feelings.
What I don't like is neverending insistence when the other party has said no multiple times. Infamous ISWAK is the best/worst example of a man who says yes out of exhaustion. There's a huge difference between having the courage to confess our feelings and having no pride whatsoever to accept the other party's an individual and not a figment of our obsession.

Lovely article with an interesting topic. Thank you!

Try with a punch. lol
;-)

Thank you so much for reading, liking and taking part, kura. :)

Yes, that's it: the magic of HYD. Despite racking my brain and writing a whole article on it, the reason for that spark still eludes me, Your experience makes me think that a small part of its allure is connected to how we felt the first time we sat through it. It may explain why I for one use it to prevent my falling into a slump - and why for me it works.

And no, no... we are NOT crazy, obsessed fangirls! :S