mysecretsoul

I believe it is; often with taiga, the subject matter is chosen several years in advance. Probably so that the writer can get cracking straight away. Think of how things might look on the live shoot schedule though. That would be too scary XD

Not quite through with Three Kingdoms. After finding a good place to rest my wings, so to speak, I decided to take a little break. From here, I'll likely complete it in arcs (stopping after every major power shift/action lull). I have started to actively miss Cao Cao, though, which is unexpected, haha.

Oh! How cool~ You did theater as well, then? Did you work with the cast or crew? It's interesting we have this in common, though I'm not surprised, haha. Funnily enough my experience was the opposite; we almost always did classical pieces, rather than contemporary. ;-; Wore many a hard-to-wear dress, but the cloaks were fun.

Somehow, that version remains unseen by me. I think I probably skipped it due to being too busy, and never returned to the idea. If you should watch it, please feel free to tell me how you felt about it! You're making me really want to watch it too. XD

Ah, and also! Have you read/watched North and South? It has a similar feel to Jane Austen's works, but has unique elements -- and a dark, yet secretly gentle hero. Mr. Thornton is too dreamy, haha~

Great review. My experience with Hide and Seek was pretty much the same, right down to the issues you mention. This one kind of disappointed me, having anticipated it for a while. Such a fan of Son Hyun Joo.

From those I've seen, I fully agree with Golden Empire, Cruel City, Shark, and Nine. That Winter, The Wind Blows also. Though in my own list, I would switch out Two Weeks for Sword and Flower; Lee Jun Ki is wonderful, but little about that one worked for me (for whatever reason). I really struggled long and hard rating it. Ditto on both ghost dramas, though primarily Who Are You?

They are, sadly. I think the only accessible one before, say, 2009, would be Yoshitsune; though, that one has copious amounts of magic and fantasy. Understandable, though, as Yoshitsune is just that kind of story. I keep hoping for one about the Choshu (they have so many "romantic" heroes, especially around the Meiji Era), but we'll see. Ryomaden shed light on them briefly, but there's so much more to see.

I believe the other taiga planned is about a foreign woman who married a famous Japanese brewer. When they were casting, I considered auditioning briefly, having had experience in theatre and being half-Japanese myself. But I quietly disqualified myself when one of the requirement was a fine singing voice XD

Oh, no. I'm watching historical dramas a lot lately in general, including film. Though, you're right; the only really accurate one I've seen from China has been Three Kingdoms.

I enjoy them too! Many spare hours in high school were spent drinking them up. We once performed a theatrical version of Sense and Sensibility (which has a wonderful adaptation in the form of the Emma Thompson film). My character was Elinor; at the time, I mostly played serious/dutiful roles and over the top comedic ones :,) Good times.

The thing I loved most about the Gywneth Paltrow Emma was probably Jeremy Northam as Mr. Knightley; so often, the actors chosen for him are totally without charisma. Really refreshing~ If you enjoyed the film, the book has a similar cheekiness. :) There's another Austen called Persuasion, which unfortunately never had a great adaptation -- though the most recent, with Rupert Penry-Jones, was visually perfect.

Also I'm sorry for the costume drama tangent, haha! I love this stuff :,)

I noticed that. Though, I will likely watch The Hours of My Life someday. The paid service I use gauges projects based on views/popularity, so when they actually add Japanese shows I follow them. If they have as much coverage as they do with Korean eventually, that would be great; waiting for fansubs is too depressing.

It appears to be! Though I wonder who would pick it up. The team for Yae no Sakura seems to have fallen behind, so I doubt they'll be game. I'm placing my bets on transcripts first, but we'll see.

I believe they've done one on Date Masamune before, and the others, at least once. There was some uproar from historians, because during that one they were allowed to use the authentic armor from the period. Had someone fallen off a horse, that would have been the end of it all.

Right now, mostly historicals. Chinese dramas in general have my attention, but not sure why.

Yes, it is the Colin Firth version~ Your friend has wonderful taste; that adaptation is probably the best book -> screen ever made. I was wondering though, do you enjoy 18th century costume drama as whole? While chatting about this, I can't help but think you'd also really enjoying reading Jane Eyre (if you haven't already). The romance in it is incredibly stirring *_*

Oh man, there is nothing worse than a bad first encounter with an actor or actress. I seem to be getting lucky when meeting many of these, because otherwise a bad first impression usually sinks it for me too. #_#

I know, right? Funny part is that I was under the impression Korea had started veering away from this line of thought -- but IoM is from early 2013. It makes me a little sad, but pretty much every actor I've not already seen from it has already been struck down by the "bad first impression bug" we're chatting about. XD

Oh! You're reading Pride and Prejudice~ If you continue enjoying it, there's an incredible adaptation of it from 1995 -- it's almost perfect, word for word, scene for scene, and beautifully costumed. Books from that era can be so much fun to peruse.

Mine are pretty much spoiler-free, but I think that almost any review sparks some idea of what to expect. I typically wait to read reviews on this site so as to remain surprised, so no worries; I totally understand, haha. That and well, every time I listen to popular buzz (in regards to Korean shows usually), I tend to get burned. Started Incarnation of Money today based on word of mouth and just no. The sheer amount of cruel fat jokes so far almost made me drop it.

To be honest, Kim Ok Bin bothered me a little too -- though, it was primarily because her lipstick was *fuchsia*. In that era? noooooo way. I think she played well off of her co-stars in any case.

And oh my gosh, definitely. Not that I skip scenes anyway, but in wuxia I don't think you even need to. Short episode length + fast developments, ugh. Japan and China really know how long to make things.

Ah, the new taiga? There are so many, including it, I'd want to see, but I'm holding my breath right now. When subbers start announcing who is taking on which, I'll probably start to get more excited. Pretty much every show in the article from a few days ago got my attention though. @_@

I believe this taiga would be the first Kuroda Yoshitaka has had a drama centering on him, though. Sometimes they remake certain stories, so it's nice to see an important figure come to the forefront.

I'm surprised myself. At first, I tried to limit my watching habits to one currently airing and one completed drama. That quickly degenerated, ne? It has become easier to swing more currently airing shows, especially with Taiwanese shows only airing once a week. I've also been "meeting" lots of new actors and actresses this way, since most of the shows I'm following have unfamiliar stars. And I might have said this, but it's criminal I've only just run into Lee Bum Soo. I'm a little in love with him at the moment, haha!

Guess that means I should watch Giant and enjoy a little Joo Sang Wook on the side. XD

Hopefully you find something you'll enjoy, besides Tenchijin, soon! I actually feared that I'd be totally drama-less this season, but got lucky it seems. :)

Same on all fronts! Between this and LLW, I'm kind of experiencing a new love affair with wuxia. Somehow I just want to watch everything in hopes they're all as fun.

You also added a bunch of great shows to your PTW list today! I utterly adored both Golden Empire and Knife and Flower; one has the best casting and screenplay I've ever seen, while the other presents oodles of incredible cinematography and atmosphere. And lots of leads from Queen Seon Duk on all fronts, of course, haha!

I laughed, because I'm seriously starting Yae no Sakura in the next week or two. Though it's probable I'll be through with Gye Baek before then. Seems my costume drama flirtation has become a full on romance, haha.

As to literature, it's always been my misfortune to live in the United States; English and American authors are stressed, especially in school, so becoming aware of other writers is tough. Twice as annoying is how we never get translated books from, say, Japan, unless they're written by Haruki Murakami. Fine author, but there are so many talents. I hope to become more knowledgeable in foreign literature someday, but keep getting downed in pleasure reading -- I positively adore science fiction and fantasy, haha.

By the way, congratulations on your career decision! That choice truly seems to suit you, and I think that it will be a career that never bores. :)

Qi Xing made me want to scream during episode 27, oh my god. How could he do such a stupid thing with Qi You right there? Keep shooting when only he could be hurt? argh! And poor Qi You, thinking that he'd loved his brother in vain, asdfdssg.

The entire episode was pretty upsetting though, I'm surprised I have any more hair left to pull. Emotional scenes left and right and I don't even know what to do with myself right now. Except continue watching, haha.

And I'm feeling conflicted about our friend Jun Pyo. XD I wanted to slap his face off, yet can understand him at the same time...>.<

I adore Empress Du too, by the way. It's like the actress was born to play royalty. Would be too fun to have that sort of bearing in real life.

Yup! Tae Woong is currently starring in a jTBC romance called Could We Love? I believe it started just this Monday; much as I liked Sword and Flower, it's kind of fun to see him in contemporary clothing again.

Oh, you enjoy French literature? What books do you like? I fear that my knowledge of foreign writers might be severely limited, but I've always loved Victor Hugo in particular. The Hunchback of Notre Dame might be an all-time favorite. I'm glad you've found some time for it, though; reading to learn alone can really burn out the brain.

I'm a little more than halfway through Introduction of the Princess now. It's so strange, but I've found myself totally enamoured of Kevin Yan. The drama focuses much more on his Qi You than Wallace's prince, despite the lead billing.

The funny part is that my second lead syndrome is a recent thing. I blame Daniel for this, haha! It mostly happens in Chinese/Taiwanese titles too, for whatever reason.

So much has been happening these last few episodes, right? Episode 25 should have been more of a transition episode, but so much still happened. The younger brother though--the scene with the throne was almost pathetic. "Mother won't love me again!" eek.

Qi You had me fanning myself for most of the episode, from the scene in front of the armor to the jade! Though, that's nothing new, haha. Now that he's going to war, I'm seriously considering setting aside time for a marathon. #_#

It has a lot of realism in that it wants to capture the spirit of the time; the plot line itself is mostly light and nostalgic. That particular point came into play because the group was out of contact -- and one of the kidnappers was reported to be in the area around the same time, yikes.

I've missed him too, oh my gosh! I've just watched a couple more episodes, and though I like so much of it, I think I'd like it less without him. Sorta like in Deja Vu, when the second lead suddenly appears and I'm suddenly in love with the show 2x XD

Apparently in 1997, three men kidnapped Pai Hsiao-yen (child of celebrities Pai Ping-ping and Ikki Kajiwara). Things ended tragically, so the criminals went on the run. They ran across most of Taiwan, wreaking havoc everywhere; people were terrified to even leave home. Despite eventually being subdued, the media coverage made it as big an event as say, the OJ Simpson trial was in the United States around the same time.

So they're being very thorough, I suppose.

I have never seen Yoona (even on stage), so I'm lucky not to have seen her at her worst. Lee Bum Soo alone is incredibly charming though -- so perhaps I'm blinded to her faults? Hopefully she can learn something of his skill. It's always good for a young performer to work with powerful veterans of their craft.

I love Japanese sci-fi too; whenever I watch anime, that's the genre I go for because it can be so unique.

I've overlooked Yoona until now. Her work rarely interests me, whether it be acting or singing. Her performance seems to be decent in Prime Minister and I; others have commented on her improvement, though I wouldn't know either way. Most of the time, my attention is wholly fixed on Lee Bum Soo.

Definitely understand idol avoidance though. It seems like I haven't quite hit my limit with romantic comedies, so here's to hoping this one restores a little of my faith in the genre. Which is very low. XD

How strange, though! I've been reading often lately too. After receiving a gift card for Barnes and Noble, my shelf has seen an influx of new titles. Those stories are making it hard for me to keep up with anything that isn't airing week to week, so others suffer. X,D

I *might* try Let's Eat and You From Another Star in the future. All depends on how good Uhm Tae Woong's new drama is/isn't.