Very good story ... good consistent writing ..... not much filler (a lakorns plus) ... No Unnecessary Craziness…
Yeah, I saw raw the lakorn they were talking about, I wasn't too impressed w/ Johnny..
Off Pongpat on the other hand, I watched a raw slap/kiss and he's an excellent actor!
Btw, I watched raw, but the girls at asianfuse explained many scenes and dialogue
As for Ra Rerng Fai: did u find it subbed? .... I am waiting for Ken's version w/ Noon ... but not too excited since his wife produced it .... She played Nang'ek in the original u saw.
I like:
-- Characters ... well-developed .... interesting ... even the evil characters have something likable
-- Their relationships and interactions.
-- It concentrates on the family dynamics of what makes the Yang Clan human, not just historical heroes.
-- The original historical story of General Yang, his sons and the Yang Clan is tragic and compelling <3
I don't like:
-- Guan Hong -- female blacksmith., annoyingly stubborn and feisty ... Yelu Xie is too good for her!
-- Bad fight scenes ... bad special effects .... bad dubbing .... and sometimes bad acting.
-- writing is not very good .... sometimes needless dialogue slows the pace... not continuous flow.
-- Contrived plot ... general plot and progression is good ... but details seem Irrational and forced just to fit the story arc ..... ---> Worst thing about this show.
I Love:
-- The strong clever women ... Even little 8th Sister Bai Mei is clever (and very cute.)
-- Madam Yang! <3 .... Love her character, her strength and resilience ... Love her relationships w/ each of her sons!
-- the actors XD ... Peter Ho, Justin Yuan, Eddie Peng, Hu Ge, Liu Cecilia, and all the others .... I even like the actor who played Pan Bao ..... Not just eye candy, but sentimentality for the All-Star cast!
--->> Eddie Peng ... Love his acting and charisma!
--->>> Yelu Xie and how Justin played him ... The most romantic (sometimes outrageous) gestures out of this very clever, sometimes brutish, bad-guy ...lol.... Love him !!! .... and a major reason to watch <3<3<3
I want to rate it higher for the characters and actors, but contrived writing and old-style production .... However, due to the power of the Yangs' story and the memorable characters I rated higher: 7.5/10
Welcome back Ahjummas!....You were missed!....Welcome newbies, Nihon and City Ahjummas, great answers!
@Bookish Ahjumma --- Wonderful reply to a complicated question ... beautifully said, and well balanced, walking a fine line ....
@AmandaMarta...and @City Ahjumma --- changing countries and/or genres is good for getting over a slump ... Or switching to movies for a while....
If you are in a romance genre slump, and more specifically, a "cheesy romance" slump, I suggest to switch to Drama or Melodrama Romance instead of Romantic comedies ...
Also, Chinese tend to do Romance very differently ... Still idealized true love like K-dramas but more realistic development, complimentary personalities .... Chinese historical dramas tend to have strong and smart female leads, not the dumb doormat types.
Although if you like cheesy, C-dramas have plenty of that too, especially in productions of last 2-3 years.
Love the idea of an "Actor Spotlight" article .... and this is so close to being a Stalker's guide... Just add a few more facts and you have an official guide!!
I agree w/ everything you said ...Hard to believe you still found it enjoyable after all that ...
Not enough depth, too many annoying characters and couplings that didn't make sense... all lead to weak writing!
IMO, main female lead's character was written as interesting and intelligent, but her actions and the acting showed the opposite ..
Sena and Shinji were interesting to watch .... wish they had more interactions!
One exception... u say Takenouchi was a scene-stealer ... I think w/out even trying, he attracts attention! .... he exudes cool charm naturally ... XD
I wish I had dropped it ... Alas! I watched it all and rated it 3.5 ..... completely irrational plot and lead actress was absolutely terrible ...ughh! ....
She's written as a smart character but her actions and the way actress played her, she's a clumsy stupid girl that gets others in trouble w/ her stubborn and irrational optimism!
Lee Soo Hyuk and Kim So Eun are the best things in here, especially KSE's character, smart and brave!
I believe Japanese fashion and beautiful is slightly better. - http://mydramalist.com/discussions/japanese-actors-actresses/27751-japanese-beautiful-actresses-and-singers-j-pop-and-j-drama
IMHO, Japanese have more natural beauty and gorgeous eyes ... both men and women ... I also find their actresses in general are more voluptuous than the Koreans.
But Koreans are doing amazing things w/ skin care especially.
Koreans have discovered some wonderful secrets to beautiful, clear, radiant dewy skin!!! .... I notice the difference just by looking at the same actors from 5 yrs ago and now, I notice dramatic improvement in their skin!
Also, I noticed they have really advanced in actors' eye make-up last few years , for both men and women ! .... far beyond the blue eyeshadow to make lids recede .... they use brown liners w/ tricks to make eyes look visually longer and deeper ... More advanced than other Asian countries in this technique.
Thanks for the article... Nice perspective ... Glad you pick such uncommon yet interesting topics!
I agree w/ @Humbledaisy's review.... This lakorn was actually surprising in how believable the story is, not typical outrageous non-sensical revenge .... no typical lakorn crazies (well a few cat-fights at first)
For once I could understand his need for revenge ... immature, yes, but believable ... as a cruelly abandoned child, for his mother to still deny his existence out of selfishness must be very frustrating . Since her daughter liked him first, it makes the revenge even more plausible b/c at first he just went along waiting for the mother to admit he's her son.
Anyway, a believable story ... May Davika did a wonderful job .... Dome fails to show the complex emotions of Pakaphong, but he's not too bad.
Main problem is that the story dragged in second half, due to the script writing and/or director not picking up the pace w/ the story telling.
I love your guides... As always, you do your research and provide lots of insight!
He has recently become a fave after I saw him in Long Vacation .... I just added few more dramas and movies to my PTW...Thank you :)
2 
Off Pongpat on the other hand, I watched a raw slap/kiss and he's an excellent actor!
Btw, I watched raw, but the girls at asianfuse explained many scenes and dialogue
As for Ra Rerng Fai: did u find it subbed? .... I am waiting for Ken's version w/ Noon ... but not too excited since his wife produced it .... She played Nang'ek in the original u saw.
I like:
-- Characters ... well-developed .... interesting ... even the evil characters have something likable
-- Their relationships and interactions.
-- It concentrates on the family dynamics of what makes the Yang Clan human, not just historical heroes.
-- The original historical story of General Yang, his sons and the Yang Clan is tragic and compelling <3
I don't like:
-- Guan Hong -- female blacksmith., annoyingly stubborn and feisty ... Yelu Xie is too good for her!
-- Bad fight scenes ... bad special effects .... bad dubbing .... and sometimes bad acting.
-- writing is not very good .... sometimes needless dialogue slows the pace... not continuous flow.
-- Contrived plot ... general plot and progression is good ... but details seem Irrational and forced just to fit the story arc ..... ---> Worst thing about this show.
I Love:
-- The strong clever women ... Even little 8th Sister Bai Mei is clever (and very cute.)
-- Madam Yang! <3 .... Love her character, her strength and resilience ... Love her relationships w/ each of her sons!
-- the actors XD ... Peter Ho, Justin Yuan, Eddie Peng, Hu Ge, Liu Cecilia, and all the others .... I even like the actor who played Pan Bao ..... Not just eye candy, but sentimentality for the All-Star cast!
--->> Eddie Peng ... Love his acting and charisma!
--->>> Yelu Xie and how Justin played him ... The most romantic (sometimes outrageous) gestures out of this very clever, sometimes brutish, bad-guy ...lol.... Love him !!! .... and a major reason to watch <3<3<3
I want to rate it higher for the characters and actors, but contrived writing and old-style production .... However, due to the power of the Yangs' story and the memorable characters I rated higher: 7.5/10
@Bookish Ahjumma --- Wonderful reply to a complicated question ... beautifully said, and well balanced, walking a fine line ....
@AmandaMarta...and @City Ahjumma --- changing countries and/or genres is good for getting over a slump ... Or switching to movies for a while....
If you are in a romance genre slump, and more specifically, a "cheesy romance" slump, I suggest to switch to Drama or Melodrama Romance instead of Romantic comedies ...
Also, Chinese tend to do Romance very differently ... Still idealized true love like K-dramas but more realistic development, complimentary personalities .... Chinese historical dramas tend to have strong and smart female leads, not the dumb doormat types.
Although if you like cheesy, C-dramas have plenty of that too, especially in productions of last 2-3 years.
Thanx for that list ... Good OST <3
Not enough depth, too many annoying characters and couplings that didn't make sense... all lead to weak writing!
IMO, main female lead's character was written as interesting and intelligent, but her actions and the acting showed the opposite ..
Sena and Shinji were interesting to watch .... wish they had more interactions!
One exception... u say Takenouchi was a scene-stealer ... I think w/out even trying, he attracts attention! .... he exudes cool charm naturally ... XD
She's written as a smart character but her actions and the way actress played her, she's a clumsy stupid girl that gets others in trouble w/ her stubborn and irrational optimism!
Lee Soo Hyuk and Kim So Eun are the best things in here, especially KSE's character, smart and brave!
But Koreans are doing amazing things w/ skin care especially.
Also, I noticed they have really advanced in actors' eye make-up last few years , for both men and women ! .... far beyond the blue eyeshadow to make lids recede .... they use brown liners w/ tricks to make eyes look visually longer and deeper ... More advanced than other Asian countries in this technique.
Thanks for the article... Nice perspective ... Glad you pick such uncommon yet interesting topics!
For once I could understand his need for revenge ... immature, yes, but believable ... as a cruelly abandoned child, for his mother to still deny his existence out of selfishness must be very frustrating . Since her daughter liked him first, it makes the revenge even more plausible b/c at first he just went along waiting for the mother to admit he's her son.
Anyway, a believable story ... May Davika did a wonderful job .... Dome fails to show the complex emotions of Pakaphong, but he's not too bad.
Main problem is that the story dragged in second half, due to the script writing and/or director not picking up the pace w/ the story telling.
He has recently become a fave after I saw him in Long Vacation .... I just added few more dramas and movies to my PTW...Thank you :)
Willie is dashing in white uniform.
Best fairytale lakorn!