bojojoti

It's Good Until It Goes Horribly Bad, But I'm Not Mad

I don't expect as much from itty-bitty series, so I grade on a curve. The drama started well, and I thought I was going to be pleasantly surprised. Midway through, it began to meander and not always make sense, but I was still entertained and rooting for the beleaguered couple. I considered it one of the better itty-bitty dramas: the leads were appealing, and the story was engaging. Then the last episode hit, and things got bizarre in a hurry. I can only speculate that drugs and a preschooler were involved with coming up with that finish.

Director: "Hey kid, what would make a cool ending?"

Kid: "Make a lady eat centipedes! And she'll grow Wolverine claws. Her name is BLACK WOLF. Good, huh? She's a bad guy and will fight the good guys with her claws and ninja powers!"

Director: "Sounds super cool! There's no budget for a fight scene, though. How about I do a story time with Black Wolf instead?"

Kid: "Boring! Does Black Wolf die in the fight?"

Director: "For some reason unknown to anyone, Black Wolf must have been defeated, and now she is the Story Time Lady."

Kid: "That's stupid."

The kid is right. That was stupid. Stupid ending for a drama that started out well. The leads deserved better.

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Dental Hygiene is Obviously Important, But There is a Limit!

I'm accustomed to product placement in Asian dramas, but great googly moogly, this was beyond obnoxious. I think this was supposed to be a censored boy love story about overcoming mental blocks, but it was really about dental hygiene: floss, toothbrushes and their sanitizers, mouthwash, and breath spray. I recommend this for people in the dental industry only.

I added an extra star, because my Rewatch Value was extremely low (I would never rewatch unless I was incarcerated with no other entertainment; hence, the one star), and the leads didn't deserve such a low score, being such sweet boys.

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Kiss the Cousin, Married Man, or Your Student?

Harumi Junko became 32 without going to the university of her choice, getting a good job, or finding a husband. As often happens in dramaland, she went from a complete dearth of romantic partners to three, all with Western taboos: a married man, a cousin, and a 17-year-old student she was teaching. The drama is highly rated, but I couldn't cheer on any of the relationships, even though I liked all three MLs. They were decent people as rivals, which is rare to find in dramas. The problem, for me, was with the heroine. She was exceptionally dense and used noble idiocy as an excuse to lie and use people. Yes, she was fairy beautiful, and I realize men are sight stimulated, but 32 is a bit late in life to have the awareness of a potato.

I've allotted an extra star for a love square involving sweet, kind people.

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An Engaging Fairytale about a Dragon and a Spunky Girl

The leads were anime-pretty, especially Hou Ming Hao's eyes. The story suffered a bit from too many episodes, loose ends, and unanswered situations. The ending made little sense. It had been 15 years, yet when ML met Xian Ge, her oldest child was about seven years old; she'd been heavily pregnant the last time he saw her! This could have been an 8.5, but it lost its way.

Still, it was worth the watch to see Hou Min Hao as a baby dragon in an adult male's body: the look of innocence mingled with indignation and ire, culminated in tiny spurts of dragon flame shooting from his mouth. I'd watch the drama just for that. I've awarded a half star for that cute baby dragon.

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Light, Funny, and Sweet

I needed a short, funny drama, and this fit the bill. Was it silly and nonsensical? Absolutely. And I enjoyed nearly every minute of it. I realize my rating is too high, but I derived that much pleasure from it, so judge away (or wait to judge me further, because I'm going to discuss Bruce as one of my cats again).

Bruce Hung played the merman, and his performance was delectable. I'd seen him as a sweet, adorable romantic figure in Hello Again! As a merman, he was fierce, irritable, and clueless. Excuse me, while my brain goes wacky here, and I reveal I think he's the embodiment of my cats. My review for Hello Again! stated he reminded me of my most beautiful cat. As a merman, he evoked memories of my most simple-minded cat, S. He, too, didn't understand human actions or interactions. He didn't understand personal space or respectable behavior. He'd walk across the back of the sofa and decide my head looked like a good spot to land, or he'd jump up next to me and stick his butt an inch from my face (my cat, not the merman). So when the merman climbed on the back of the ML while he was at his computer, I had flashbacks of my cat S doing the same. I could never stay annoyed with S, because, like the merman, he was so adorable. The scene where the merman was eating hotpot in the bathtub with the anticipation and enjoyment of each bite was exactly like my S looking forward to his treats.

Besides the merman's dimples and attractive torso, watch for the wonderful chemistry between the MLs. The story arc had them both growing and learning, and the bond they forged was pleasurable to watch. The supporting cast was warm and supportive. All in all, a life-affirming drama.

I've added a half star for the sweet memories Bruce evoked of my ridiculous cat.

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All Wet

I didn't find this light and fluffy, on the whole. It started well and with promise, but it devolved into stupidity, misunderstandings, love triangles, despicable second leads, noble idiocy, and nonsense (employees take off whenever and no one complains or seems to notice if they're gone for several days). Too much angst for me. If the middle dozen or so episodes had been discarded, I would have enjoyed it more.

Look, it's not "love" if you don't trust the other person. It's infatuation or admiration. Love believes. It was tortuous to have the leads mistrust and misinterpret one another's actions. I like the actress, but the character of the FL drove me out of my mind with her naive, blank stares, inability to have a rational thought, and the stupidity to keep liars/saboteurs in her life and allow them to manipulate her. Naturally, the liars/saboteurs were unscathed, forgiven, and flourished.

I gave an extra half star because I love swimming competitions (I spent last evening at a meet cheering on a favorite swimmer who won both her events), and I liked the supporting characters (except those duplicitous, scheming second leads).

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Obsessive Detective and Mysterious Woman Carry the Show

A maverick detective and a mysterious woman with an organized crime background joined together to take on cold cases. The detective was haunted by the brutal death of his junior partner; the woman was working towards an unknown goal, which maintained tension, as no one was sure whose side she was really on.

The leads were exceptional in their parts. I'll look for more of their dramas. The criminals were over the top, like comic book villains. The poor police force seemed inept and perpetually late. But it was a well-paced paced show, and I was never bored.

Added a half star for Takahashi Issei and Shibasaki Ko's acting.

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Bad Wigs, Worse CGI, and Icky Ending

For the most part, it's a lighthearted romcom with a cold man and lively girl: perfectly fine for a mindless romp. Both leads were enjoyable to watch, especially their interactions with one another.

The wigs were bad—think Halloween costume quality. I would buy that when a person gets a shot of magic that her hair could turn silver, but I find it hard to believe her bangs would grow six inches into a really bad wig where I can see the cap beneath the thin tresses.

The cat in the story was cute but, obviously, not a compliant actor, so much CGI was needed. Such bad CGI. I'm usually not one to complain about sets being really phony (like that ridiculous peach tree that had "fruit" year 'round), but, even I couldn't overlook such cartoonish CGI.

The ending? It nearly sucked all the joy out of the show for me. I've rewritten it in my head as two adults reuniting for a happily ever after. I suggest skipping the last minute of the show as it makes no sense and is unnecessarily stupid. If time travel makes sense, we can choose at which point in time we want to arrive, can't we?

I'd subtract an entire star off for that ending, but I like cats and the leads, so I'm letting it slide.

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Smart Women Face Their Fears

A modern story about women and their relationships isn't my usual fare, but Viki showed this as a "leaving soon,"; it had high ratings and was short, so I gave it a try after a long, heavy drama. I used it as a palate cleanser of sorts, and I was pleasantly surprised.

In a limited amount of time, the drama introduced characters, set up the story, and came to a satisfying end with a healing journey taken by both FLs. The leads were attractive and intelligent (and dimples galore) and played their roles well. The shots of the cocktails were enticing; I wanted to try them all! It also had an OST that suited the vibe. Can't ask for more than that in such a short offering.

As I said, this isn't generally my cup of tea, so let me give an extra half star for enjoying something outside of my comfort zone (I generally avoid anything tagged with "infidelity").

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Striking Cinematography, Perfect Leads, and Powerful OST

Sometimes I just want an story with an elegant vampire, don't you? Even better if it was set in the Republican Era—dramas I've just recently discovered. I love so much the look of them: the clothes, hair, cities, interiors, and cars (oh, those cars!). Such style and class.

I can't say enough good things about the FL. She was charming, sweet, brave, and such a nice change from the silly, ineffectual girls that are often portrayed in Chinese dramas. The actress did an amazing job depicting an abused girl slowly being transformed by love. The ML was mesmerizing as he transformed from cold and aloof to cautiously looking forward to a future filled with happiness.

There were some cheesy moments and exasperation that some people refused to die and stay dead, but I overlooked all that because the main leads were so charismatic, the visuals were stunning, and the music was fitting. It's worth watching just for those alone.

The drama was hampered by censorship. The word "vampire" was never uttered, no fangs were shown, and no direct feeding was depicted. The romance was greatly hampered. I realize there was a theoretical age gap of 82 years between the two leads, which could be problematic for some. It didn't bother me and I was rooting for them (they both deserved love and happiness in their lives and were optimally suited to one another due to their damaged psyches), but the censors downplayed the romance due to the age difference. Even so, the chemistry was deep and strong. I'm left to wonder how amazing this drama could have been without censorship.

The last episode was rushed and unsatisfying. I wasn't happy with the ending, but it made sense, and I've made peace with it. I wasn't the only one displeased: after the drama ended, there was so much vitriol directed at the production team that the director had to disable his Weibo, and the screenwriter posted a happy ending epilogue on hers to placate the viewers.

An extra half star was awarded for beautiful images and lovely music.

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=kHrHfFAqfpc&list=PL_cn955nlB8Tsq16mP_RBZIYoOLvHqbkM

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Odd But Entertaining

I was immediately drawn in by two scenes shown in the intro: a beautifully dark, rainy night with the lovely FL bending down to "shake hands" with a young man sitting on the concrete and a dynamic, dancing shot of ML in a suit. Sadly, neither one of those featured in the drama! Maybe that's par for the odd drama I just watched.

The concept was having a young man as a pet. I totally bought the ML as a dog! He had puppy dog eyes and shaggy hair. He was pretty adorable. Also appealing was the way ML and FL filled in the empty spots of each other's lives. There were warm moments between the two that were a joy to watch.

This could have been a very sweet, fluffy romcom, but it made me uncomfortable that the FL kept having sex with her boyfriend, the 2ML, when it was evident she wasn't that into him and felt closer to the ML. Too much time was spent on FL/2ML's relationship to the detriment of the drama. Judicious editing could have eliminated at least two episodes of FL's endless waffling between the two men. Also, the 2FL was a horrible person. I can't see an accomplished man falling for her, but love is blind, as they say. If she'd been edited out, the drama would have probably lost another two episodes. Twelve episodes would have made a tighter, better story.

ML's dance scenes were awesome and worth an extra half star.

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Per Murphy's Law, It Went Wrong

After two enjoyable Taiwanese romcoms, I was looking forward to another. Murphy's Law should have warned me against high expectations, as this drama inevitably went wrong.

The FL was a psychologist who was the least self-aware individual possible. Even when people told her in specific words how they felt, she had no clue what was going on. One would think with her training, she'd have a handle on personal relationships, but she didn't even know her own mind. Imagine a psychologist who can't communicate.

Why do older, professional FLs in dramas act like toddlers? Please stop continual pouting before the teen years.

Then there were the oddities that didn't make sense. In the beginning, the viewers were introduced to the FL as an extremely unlucky individual: it would rain when she didn't have her umbrella, plans would fall through, and Murphy's Law of "anything that can go wrong will go wrong" wreaked havoc. Later episodes mentioned Murphy's Law, but, all of a sudden, it didn't figure into the FL's life. She had two rich, handsome men vying for her attention, and her career was on fire. That's the kind of bad luck to be dreamed about! Also, FL's sister featured prominently early on. She divorced and moved in with the family, where FL resided, but then she was never seen or mentioned again.

Misguided noble idiocy, stupid misunderstandings, and an incomprehensible break-up rounded out a mediocre drama. I liked the actors, but the story needed help.

An extra half star for the cute Shiba Inu. He wasn't a particularly good actor, but he stole the scenes he was in.

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