mysecretsoul

Didn't it seem like this drama was gravitating slightly away from cliche before? Even Zheng Er had a decent side before, ugh. Perhaps they were trying to cater to audiences with romantic tension, since it seemed Fourth Lord and Xue Wu were strong from the beginning. I'll forgive this if we get some good airtime with His Majesty later, but only then. <.<

I'll probably stop for tonight at 24 and start the climb up again tomorrow. Tell me if the mood lightens, because this girl...ugh.

Ah, and you added Empress Ki! Do you plan to follow it as airs?

Ah, I love Samurai movies too. Though I do try to stand back from watching them; every time I do, my obsession kicks in and I end up spending big bucks on books and other research materials. I'll definitely keep that in mind! Perhaps a vampire drama would be good to round out October, haha.

I tend to dislike episodic stories in general. They only seem to work when there's some overarching plot-line hanging over each case. Well, unless the detective is charismatic.

No idea what to start next, really. Because I enjoy Ito Atsushi, I was thinking Apoyan, but Soratobu Kouhoushitsu apparently has a similar feeling and is well-liked. Choices, choices.

Thank you so much for the friend request and your kind words! I'm glad you enjoyed the review. Kazoku Game seems like it will end up being one of the better J-dramas this year :)

I really miss Xiao Dong already; hopefully his prediction (that when he returns, Zheng Er will be gone) is right. I'm about to start episode 22, and share your opinion already. Hopefully this irritating turn with the evil meddler will dissipate soon, because too much will drive me crazy ;A;

Oh, so you like vampires? Have you encountered many interesting vampire stories in dramas? My attraction to royalty and knights is similar, which leads to lots of historical dramas (and in western media, adaptations of fantasy novels, etc).

I definitely love detective stories, though the mood must be right. Nothing beats a strong investigator and a fine mystery. Fusions work for me too, since I rather enjoyed the medical-detective pairing in Team Batista. Are they something you enjoy as well?

Just completed Kazoku Game, and I must agree. Definitely a fine watch. My mind is spinning a little from the final episodes though. Processing my feelings on this drama may take some time, haha.

Unfortunately, the title and premise used to make me laugh too hard to even try it. "Why must he be a prosecutor AND a vampire?!" But the more I've heard/read about VP (and because of the network) my views have shifted.

Oh, definitely! Arashi and, similarly, SMAP both have that talented idol dynamic. I must agree that Sakurai-san is definitely not overacting; after all, the character is supposed to be cheerfully unnatural and a little "off." I'm actually about to finish the last three episodes, so your words have me expectant.

Ah, God's Quiz! I plan to watch them the next time my mood swings toward procedurals; with shows with multiple seasons, I enjoy knocking it out all at once, haha. It's interesting to hear it's funnier, though. After how heavy the characters could be in Ten, that should be refreshing. I'll need to pick up Vampire Prosecutor too, for that matter....

I like Kazoku Game; it has a quality of disturbing fascination about it. Though personally I find it a little hard to watch, the perspective and cliche breaking are interesting. And Sakurai-san is terrifyingly brilliant as the tutor! I was surprised, as I rarely hear much about his acting as opposed to say Nino or Ohno-san.

I know right?! I was so shocked to learn their ages, they look so young! Especially Daniel Chan; I could have sworn he was only 20. They must bathe in the tears of fans to keep so youthful, haha.

That sequence you have a gif of in your profile with Fourth Lord made me laugh so much, oh my gosh. And also the scene when he first sees Xue Wu's hair up in the married style. His cute faces are priceless, haha.

Ah, your avatar is so beautiful! Look at that profile, my goodness. I think I'll change to a black and white one as well, so we can match. The Lan Ling Addicts. XD

Xiao Dong is the best sidekick. So loyal, and more than happy to defend the people he loves. It was great to expand him after that first incident at the inn. And Zheng Er, ugh. I wanted to pity her, but it's like she doesn't understand much of what happened was her own fault.

I miss His Majesty too ;-;. His scene at the beginning of ep 20 broke my heart a little.

Oh wow! O.O I had no idea he had so much in the abs department! I opened it before your disclaimer so the shock was very real and very welcome, haha!

Working together on guides would be wonderful. I'm always up for collaboration, so we should! I think we have good back and forth as well, so readers should enjoy our insight (and madness, but mostly insight). XD

I took the plunge and switched, though I'm very torn on which picture to use. Darn photogenic actors....

Ah, yes! Despite knowing of Vampire Prosecutor, the Ten series marked my first actual encounter with their programs. Funnily enough, the entire time watching that, I noted how distinctly Japanese everything felt. And such a clean focus on the procedure and investigation, as opposed to shoe-horned romance! That was refreshing, since I've come to expect (or dread) at least one romantic focus from everything Korean.

I'm also rather interested in OCN's ghost seeing detective drama coming up, pushed back or no. Though, admittedly, I am a little wary of this ghost trend. Who Are You scared me away single-handedly, and not in the spooky way, haha.

Those are so beautiful! It always makes me jealous when I see such immaculate talent, my gosh. After reading this comment I finally took a peek at Feng Shao Feng too; usually I wait to check out the actor until after a historical ends (since the look can be so different). Holy cow, he's just gorgeous like the real thing.

If you do end up changing your avatar, I'll make mine Daniel Chan. We can have both male leads, as we chat back and forth. XD

Perhaps the artists of the time were too in love with Fourth Lord to draw him, haha? Though, seriously, it's possible he avoided being drawn to fully hide his appearance from the enemy -- that sort of thing might have allowed him to pull off "miraculous" strategies like we saw late in Queen Seon Duk with that General of Baekjae. This history seems like it's clouded by the passage of time and full of mystery. Really tempting @_@

I haven't read any yet, but I know a tiny bit about the time period. Eventually I'll probably end up devouring all the information I can, but likely after the series ends. This is too good to spoil, haha!

Oh, are there fan drawings? If you find any nice ones, feel free to show them to me. I love art and well...Fourth Lord is definitely fun to look at. I wonder if there are any sketches of him from his time as well? He seems like a relatively important figure.

Love Around is light and airy fun until around episode 16, with the usual romcom stretch in the middle. After this point, there were two unnecessary extensions which startle the flow of the drama. Generally, almost all of the characters are likable, and George Hu is positively dreamy. It feels like a better marathon piece than week to week, too.

I know right? When he spit up the "blood," I wanted to scream. Somehow it makes me a little happier that Zhen Er is his niece; it makes his affection even more sweet, due to his filial loyalties.

17 feels like the closer to an arc. With everything concluded, I wonder what might follow next. Have you read the history behind Lan Ling yet? Because of possible trajectory spoilers, I've been too afraid to touch it, haha.

And definitely! I thought of you when that decoy kid interrupted their kiss. It was like, seriously? They're engaged, it's time now XD

It's good to hear that quantity is directly linked to good performances in Hong Kong, haha. Sometimes I'll look at an actor or actress and wonder just how they get so much work.

Recently I've been deeply addicted to Prince of Lan Ling. Though the first episode was somewhat cheesy, the quality and pacing only increases as time goes on. Daniel Chan is just fantastic as Yu Wen Yong; I unexpectedly fell for him despite William Feng's understated charisma in the lead. I've recently started Virus as well, having found an appreciation for OCN dramas.

And you? How did Doubles fare?

I know right? The writers also have made up so many other cases, I'd love to see what else their minds could wrap around -- if they did another season, that is. OCN has made some really interesting projects, so I'm actually also trying their thriller Virus at the moment.

Almost every time until Ten seeing Sang Wook has been an accident for me, too; eventually I just ended up liking him. Might as well, if he's going to show up anyway, ne? But seriously, he's a really talented, interesting kind of actor. It's nice to see a handsome guy that can actually act.

I did see that! They were all so cute, and I was surprised to see that older actor so funny and charismatic. All of his characters have been so smarmy! Seeing him fight for attention with playfully hammy Sang Wook was fun. also.

Ah, I see! I am planning on it, though some time might pass until then.

I have actually never seen Chinese Ghost Story. Daniel Chan is definitely on my radar now, so thank you for alerting me to it. It's just strange to me that he's nearly 40! He looks so much younger.

Ah, I read your episode review on episode 17; totally agree with all of your points. Episodes 16 and 17 are among my favorites so far, because political posturing is too fun. And well, Yu Wen Yong, haha. I was actually scared he'd lose there for a bit, especially with the poison. And then there's the jealousy, because well, how cute is Fourth Lord that way? <.<

It's just too bad there couldn't have been more mystery about the OTP; I like both of them, ugh.

Ah, I have! In the Mood for Love and Red Cliff constitute my only experience with Tony Leung. Although, because of my inexperience, I didn't know him in Red Cliff... So shameful >.<

From what I've garnered from his list, he's very versatile. I'll probably pick up Lust, Caution as well as the others we chatted about! Are there any actors or actresses you'd warn me against? I trust your taste, haha.

Ah, I feel that way about Korean sometimes. It's nice to be able to watch without subtitles, since it allows you to focus more. Hopefully the subtitles for Grand Tribe have been cleaned up -- or even redone, in that case.

Oh, which actress do you like? Many were excited about Erika Toda, but could it be you enjoy the lead? I'm glad the pilot episode was good at least. Lots of shows get sunk by bad ones.

I *adore* Prince of Lan Ling so far, haha. It has such a good pace, and all the actors are relatively solid. The Yu Wen Yong character interests me in particular, since Daniel Chan has just been wonderful.