The acting of the ML and FL are the only thing that saved this series for me. I know the Chinese dramas tend to deviate from the novels, so I expected some changes, but goodness, they butchered it! This is one of my favorite novels and I can't believe how badly written the drama was in comparison. There was enough drama in the novel, there didn't need to be all this extra evil plot mess.
FMA just needs to be redone like brotherhood. That was how they should've done it in the first place.
As for Bleach, I'm really really hoping they make another movie based on the rescue arc. Then after that skip the whole bount arc and jump to Aizen and all that comes with it for another movie or two.
My favorites are: When a Snail Falls in Love When He Comes, Close Your Eyes (aka Love Me If You Dare) One Smile is Very Alluring Really Really Miss You Come & Eat Shan Shan One Life One Incarnation: Beautiful Bones (I hope they make a drama of this one day)
Right now I'm reading Princess Wei Yang - which I surprisingly like though period novels/dramas aren't really my cup of tea, The Heartbeat at the Tip of the Tongue (which I am in LOVE with), The Healing Sunshine, My Darling, Tea of Summer, and Pristine Darkness.
My favorite villains tend to be the creepy psychopaths...especially the ones that look so gorgeous and charming around others yet turn out to be these horribly evil people and the stories behind what made them what they are.
Mo Tae Goo - Voice Lee Jae Kyung - You Who Came From the Stars Mok Jin Woo - Tunnel Oh Jae Won - Bad Guys
My other fave are the anti-villains. The ones that are pegged as villains but do good things, are likable, or turn out not to be villains at all.
Kim Min Joon - Mad Dog Jung Tae Soo, Park Woong Cheol, Lee Jung Moon - Bad Guys
So true! I'm a long time fan of the manga and both anime, so the movie was, as a whole, disappointing for me. There were some good things...Ed, Al and Hughes were protrayed well.
However, in their defense, it has to be extremely difficult to take a long series and try to cram it all into one 2 hour movie. That makes it impossible to tell the entire story and flesh out the characters to the point of making me interested in or care about any of them. Besides the fact that some of the most important characters and storylines in the series were either completely left out of the movie *cough* Scar, Ishbal, the original Homunculus*cough* or relegated to side character status *cough* Mustang *cough*
I really wish - and think it would've made for a much better experience and better understanding of the story - if they had broken it up in parts, like what was done with the Rurouni Kenshin movies.
But I guess the movie probably did leave those new to the series with so many questions that it would make them investigate the manga/anime, which, I guess in the long run, would create more fans of the series. So yay for that!
So disappointed! The CGI was great. But the story was a mess! I know it's only a two hour movie, but everything was so rushed that you couldn't really become emotionally invested in any of the characters. Some of the most important characters weren't even in it. And there wasn't enough action to show how awesome Ed and Al, or even Riza, really are.
On the good side though, Ed, Al, Mustang and Hughes characters were spot on!
I think they should've done it in parts like they did with Rurouni Kenshin. I think it would've turned out much better if they didn't have to rush the story into just 2 hours.
Now it makes me want to re-watch FMA Brotherhood again so I can feel better.
I try not to drop dramas usually. I pretty much know what I'll like and dislike and I won't start anything that - just from the description - seems like it's going to be something I'll dislike.
Of course, there are those that either someone recommended to me or just from the cast you thought would be great and it doesn't turn out that way (Big, for example, was very very close to being dropped...only my love for Gong Yoo made me stick with that convoluted mess) But even then, most of the time I'll end up fast forwarding thru eps or just skipping to the last couple of eps to find out how it ends.
Then there's those that when I can't deal with it anymore, I'll put it on hold hoping that maybe at some point I'll change my mind or get really bored one day and finish it....
Usually my biggest pet peeves in dramas tend to lean toward gigantic plot holes or plots that just don't make sense (Big), ones that are overly melodramatic, slapstick-ish, irritating and annoying lead characters or ridiculously cruel leads (I made it through Hana Yori Dango thanks to the other guys....I could not make it through Boys Over Flowers), absolute lack of chemistry between the leads, rehashing the same plot device constantly (Kim Sam Soon drove me nuts at times but I made it through by sheer will), and one of the worst - flashbacks and filler episodes just to stretch the amount of eps (It drives me crazy when the ep before the last ep a drama decides to review everything that happened over the course of the drama...I usually end up skipping that ep.)
That takes me back! Gokusen and Gokusen 2 have great bromance. And when I watched Bad Guys a few months ago, I absolutely loved the tough guy subtle twisted bromance between the guys. There seriously must must be a Bad Guys 2! And the bromance in Sungkyungwan Scandal was awesome! It was the only thing that kept me watching since I really didn't care about the romance between the leads. I have School 2013 on my list...I just haven't gotten to it yet.
1. Futatsu no Kuchibiru by Exile (Tokyo DOGS)
2. Planetarium by Ai Otsuka (Hana Yori Dango)
3. Endless Game by Arashi (Kazoku Game)
4. Love yourself by KAT-TUN (Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge)
5. Kiss Kiss Kiss by Cyntia (Itzuara na Kiss 2)
SOUTH KOREA
1. Breath by Mad Soul Child/Jinshil (Special Affairs Team TEN)
2. She Is by Clazziquai (My Name Is Kim Sam Soon)
3. Farewell without Farewell by Ji Sun (My Name is Kim Sam Soon
4. Every Single Day by Echo (I Can Hear Your Voice)
5. Love Lies Dear by Tearliner ft. Zitten (Heart to Heart)
TAIWAN
1. Ling by Alan Kuo (Mars)
2. Say U Love Me by Jason & Lara (It Started With A Kiss)
3. There is No If by Fish Leong (My Queen)
4. Fly With Me by Landy Wen (Murphy's Law of Love)
5. Ai Mei by Rainie Yang (Devil Beside You OST)
THAILAND
1. Oh Baby I - Mike D. Angelo ft Aom (Full House)
2. Let Me Be The Man To Love You by Mike D. Angelo (Full House)
Alan Kuo's Ling is what got me to watch Mars. I very distinctly remember starting the first episode, hearing that song and thinking "I am going to love this series", which I did.
The entire Ghost ost is amazing. Normally I don't put many songs without lyrics on my ipod (because I'm the sing-along type) but it was so good, it made the cut anyway.
Ling - Alan Kuo (Actually I love the whole Mars soundtrack)
Every Single Day - Echo (I Hear Your Voice)
Kizuna - Kamenashi Kazuya (Gokusen 2)
Mei You Ru Guo - Fish Leong (My Queen)
Futatsu no Kuchibiru - Exile (Tokyo Dogs)
I agree with everything on this list. Although I've got to add one more. Moon Jae Shin from Sungkyunkwan Scandal! Lee Sun Joon treated Yoon Hee like crap one week, then nice the next, then back to treating her like crap. To this day it still irks me that he didn't get the girl!
I used to be addicted to anime before I discovered Asian dramas. For me, all it took was Coffee Prince to hook me in. After that I saw Secret Garden and Nobuta wo Produce and have been addicted to Asian dramas ever since. I haven't watched anime in about a year because dramas have taken over my life lol!
Nice article. It's all so true. I've been dying to go to Japan and Korea so I can try all the food I see. Between watching dramas and anime I've learned quite a lot of Japanese and Korean words and phrases. And now I'm trying to learn enough Japanese so I don't have to use subs all the time.
As for Bleach, I'm really really hoping they make another movie based on the rescue arc. Then after that skip the whole bount arc and jump to Aizen and all that comes with it for another movie or two.
When a Snail Falls in Love
When He Comes, Close Your Eyes (aka Love Me If You Dare)
One Smile is Very Alluring
Really Really Miss You
Come & Eat Shan Shan
One Life One Incarnation: Beautiful Bones (I hope they make a drama of this one day)
Right now I'm reading Princess Wei Yang - which I surprisingly like though period novels/dramas aren't really my cup of tea, The Heartbeat at the Tip of the Tongue (which I am in LOVE with), The Healing Sunshine, My Darling, Tea of Summer, and Pristine Darkness.
Mo Tae Goo - Voice
Lee Jae Kyung - You Who Came From the Stars
Mok Jin Woo - Tunnel
Oh Jae Won - Bad Guys
My other fave are the anti-villains. The ones that are pegged as villains but do good things, are likable, or turn out not to be villains at all.
Kim Min Joon - Mad Dog
Jung Tae Soo, Park Woong Cheol, Lee Jung Moon - Bad Guys
However, in their defense, it has to be extremely difficult to take a long series and try to cram it all into one 2 hour movie. That makes it impossible to tell the entire story and flesh out the characters to the point of making me interested in or care about any of them. Besides the fact that some of the most important characters and storylines in the series were either completely left out of the movie *cough* Scar, Ishbal, the original Homunculus*cough* or relegated to side character status *cough* Mustang *cough*
I really wish - and think it would've made for a much better experience and better understanding of the story - if they had broken it up in parts, like what was done with the Rurouni Kenshin movies.
But I guess the movie probably did leave those new to the series with so many questions that it would make them investigate the manga/anime, which, I guess in the long run, would create more fans of the series. So yay for that!
On the good side though, Ed, Al, Mustang and Hughes characters were spot on!
I think they should've done it in parts like they did with Rurouni Kenshin. I think it would've turned out much better if they didn't have to rush the story into just 2 hours.
Now it makes me want to re-watch FMA Brotherhood again so I can feel better.
Of course, there are those that either someone recommended to me or just from the cast you thought would be great and it doesn't turn out that way (Big, for example, was very very close to being dropped...only my love for Gong Yoo made me stick with that convoluted mess) But even then, most of the time I'll end up fast forwarding thru eps or just skipping to the last couple of eps to find out how it ends.
Then there's those that when I can't deal with it anymore, I'll put it on hold hoping that maybe at some point I'll change my mind or get really bored one day and finish it....
Usually my biggest pet peeves in dramas tend to lean toward gigantic plot holes or plots that just don't make sense (Big), ones that are overly melodramatic, slapstick-ish, irritating and annoying lead characters or ridiculously cruel leads (I made it through Hana Yori Dango thanks to the other guys....I could not make it through Boys Over Flowers), absolute lack of chemistry between the leads, rehashing the same plot device constantly (Kim Sam Soon drove me nuts at times but I made it through by sheer will), and one of the worst - flashbacks and filler episodes just to stretch the amount of eps (It drives me crazy when the ep before the last ep a drama decides to review everything that happened over the course of the drama...I usually end up skipping that ep.)
1. Roll the Dice by Gao Shan (Boss and Me)
JAPAN
1. Futatsu no Kuchibiru by Exile (Tokyo DOGS)
2. Planetarium by Ai Otsuka (Hana Yori Dango)
3. Endless Game by Arashi (Kazoku Game)
4. Love yourself by KAT-TUN (Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge)
5. Kiss Kiss Kiss by Cyntia (Itzuara na Kiss 2)
SOUTH KOREA
1. Breath by Mad Soul Child/Jinshil (Special Affairs Team TEN)
2. She Is by Clazziquai (My Name Is Kim Sam Soon)
3. Farewell without Farewell by Ji Sun (My Name is Kim Sam Soon
4. Every Single Day by Echo (I Can Hear Your Voice)
5. Love Lies Dear by Tearliner ft. Zitten (Heart to Heart)
TAIWAN
1. Ling by Alan Kuo (Mars)
2. Say U Love Me by Jason & Lara (It Started With A Kiss)
3. There is No If by Fish Leong (My Queen)
4. Fly With Me by Landy Wen (Murphy's Law of Love)
5. Ai Mei by Rainie Yang (Devil Beside You OST)
THAILAND
1. Oh Baby I - Mike D. Angelo ft Aom (Full House)
2. Let Me Be The Man To Love You by Mike D. Angelo (Full House)
The entire Ghost ost is amazing. Normally I don't put many songs without lyrics on my ipod (because I'm the sing-along type) but it was so good, it made the cut anyway.
Some of my other faves:
Ling - Alan Kuo (Actually I love the whole Mars soundtrack)
Every Single Day - Echo (I Hear Your Voice)
Kizuna - Kamenashi Kazuya (Gokusen 2)
Mei You Ru Guo - Fish Leong (My Queen)
Futatsu no Kuchibiru - Exile (Tokyo Dogs)