gongyoyo

Yes, Western characters in Kdramas tend to be flat caricatures and be really irritating. I don't know if this is intentional or just a product of cultural gaps, but series where foreign characters appear in every episode make me cringe (I hated the minions of the evil guy in King 2 Hearts). I wonder if Western depictions of Asian characters in television and film are equally flat, clichéd, and annoying. I imagine they must be. Why don't they get some consultants to make them more real? They have to realize these dramas are being watched world-wide now, the audience has grown, it would be nice if they took care of these details a bit better. Other secondary characters in Kdramas are fantastic!!!

The thing is HanaDan had great depth in its commentary of social differences, bullying and family relations, and had characters that were complex and developed interestingly through the series. That made it rise above usual rich boy poor girl mangas and dramas. So far, Heirs is pleasant to watch with the great locations and the eye candy, but it seems like the themes are going to be addressed only superficially and that relationships and characters are going to evolve along clichés. So I wonder if I'll get to finish the series, too.

Pity she's going to be the mean girlfriend again, or so it seems. She is a great meanie, but I like her acting so much I wish she got more main roles.

That's a good strategy (I mean just watching airing ones during school). I think I'll do the same, I am taking an online course now and I really can't afford this. I'm also watching Master's Sun right now, I was just OK with it at first but it picked up at lightning speed! Boy I loved those two eps that just came out. Can't wait to see how it ends!!!

That's incredible. I guess I will watch tons eventually, I'm just a newcomer… I've only been at it (the dramas, that is) for a bit over a year. I guess it's bad enough I spent a whole 22 days watching dramas…

Where do you get all your dramas, anyway? I guess you can always download them, but my discs are already full with favorites I don't want to erase. I guess I'm going to ask for a 2TB portable disc for Xmas. :)

Holy crow, 197 dramas!!! You really give most of us a beating!

That's cool. We try to pack so many things in our little 900 character posts, misunderstandings happen very often. But yeah, I agree, it is important not to judge entire cultures--all of them produce really good work. Although ever since I started with Asian dramas I have only sat to watch American shows when my husband forced me, hehe, I suppose in a year or so things will become normal and I'll watch a mix again.

I think the trick if you're going to watch it is to forget that it is supposed to be based in HanaDan and just watch it as an entirely different show. That said, I have a feeling I won't be interested in this new show. But I will give a shot to the first couple of episodes just out of curiosity.

Oh, don't get me wrong--I'm an HBO series addict. My favorite series of all times is The Wire, I love West Wing, and Six Feet Under, and Dexter, and hell, I laugh like crazy with Scrubs. I also like plenty of UK shows. But there are cultural differences, and all I'm saying is that what I like about HanaDan are themes that are quintessentially Asian: the collective vs the individual good, self-sacrifice, aspirational arcs, filial piety, etc. The heart of Asian dramas, to me, lies in their Asian values and how they are reflected. People act differently and for different reasons and that moves me in a way that is different from what I feel in American shows. I wonder what it will look like if you remove the cultural background. That is all.

I think my comment has been misinterpreted. Actually I am speaking from the perspective of someone who's middle aged and loved manga in her youth. Well, there was NO internet and they simply did not publish manga outside of Japan. We've come a long way, many people may not read manga but name me a major city in the US where you cannot find a store with a good supply of manga in translation. I now hope that what has happened with that will happen with Asian series, that they will eventually be aired, and we won't have to download them illegally or watch them in sites that limit your views depending on where you are. Viki.com is super limited if you live in Spain. A successful remake is one of the steps that will pave the way to that… Whether I like it or not.

I love the main actress and I really wanted to like this show, but I did not get past Ep. 1. I liked the characters, but the suspense plot was so poorly done (totally predictable and the kind where things happen too easily--she goes to the art school and bumps into the boyfriend, they go to the hospital and her psychiatrist is there and also happens to be the perp… I mean, COME ON!!!). But does it get better in that regard at any point? Because I really loved the two main characters, but hated the lazy writing of the plot. Pls, those who did not like episode 1, advice if I should proceed...

Well, I personally think MatsuJun was not better looking than Oguri Shun when HanaDan was filmed, but I fell for Domyoji because of the fantastic performance he delivered. I did not expect to feel this way when I started, and then MatsuJun won me over completely. It may happen again if the writers do a good job and the actors complete it with their performances. But I do not particularly expect this to happen… :(

As I said above, I think Americans are good at a different type of series, that is all. I like my emotional series to be Asian and my action plot-driven series to be American, mostly because they usually have a larger budget for them. But the silver lining for me is that if it succeeds it may generate an interest in the ORIGINALS (by that i mean any of the Asian animes, dramas, or the manga itself which is already famous in the US). Hopefully, original Asian dramas will eventually air if the remakes and the original mangas are a success. And then we won't have such a hard time seeing the series that we love...

The Japanese version almost improved on the manga, which I though impossible, because the writers gave Domyoji and Makino both depth and soul. Half of this was lost in the Korean adaptation--with the emphasis in wealthy lifestyle, the removal of the crazy childish streak in Domyoji's character, and Jan Di's weak pouting and highly impressionable behavior. Now I really doubt any North or South American version will do better than either, since this drama can get overly soapy if it's not subtle, and they are not good at subtle emotions. At all. Love American dramas, but this is not what they do well. It will probably just be a story focused on dramatic plot arcs and lifestyle displays with no real character development. But we'll see.

Thanks for calling me a vet, others would go for "old hag". ;)

Yes, that kiss at the party in SG was definitely not a fish kiss at all.

I loved the CP kiss that happens right when he realizes she's come to his apartment to sleep with him before she leaves for Italy. Super yum...

Great list, to be sure. I do get really frustrated about fish kisses too. And those scenes where two people madly in love are in bed under the covers fully clothed and barely touching (I mean, if that's what you are going to do, would it not be better to just skip it???) The kisses that involve face holding make me particularly weak at the knees.
I'd just add the kisses from Last Cinderella just before he gets her in bed <drool>

Yeah, I came to dramaland after a long, long, long stint with manga that started 20 years ago with Candy Candy. I resisted, but now I'm totally addicted to dramas and have not read a manga (other than updates in long series) in over a year.
Tampopo is great, although very bizarre. I recommend it if only because it is unique. I love the actors, the story, the food, and the underlying ideas. Warning: you better watch it with a full stomach. It triggers serious withdrawal symptoms for Japanese food, especially ramen and omurice.

I'll have to watch the J version too. Playful kiss just bored me to death after a while, it was like the same ep was running on a loop. Although can I say I loved, LOVED, *loved* the mom? I hated that even when he was "in love" he just barely managed to smile and kiss her like he would a teddy bear… and then in the end all she wanted to do was be a nurse to be near him! Sweet but a bit pathetic? In real life, she would suddenly find herself at 25-30 married to an iceblock and wonder what the hell she had done. Good thing they don't show post-marriage life in dramas, haha… like Austen, it all ends at the wedding.