usagisaiko

Sadly sexual assault perps often get out of deserved punishment in many countries, much more than in Korea. But I'm glad some of that is beginning to be addressed more publicly. I haven't been yet been able to keep up with it, but the drama Witch's Court is supposed to address this topic...have you seen it?

I was shocked too, even though it wasn't 1st degree (premeditated), which I think was translated in English as 'homicide,' which is usually comes with a vastly different sentence. But still, just wow. And they didn't even prosecute him for attempted assault/etc on a child...

I feel the same, the earlier story arcs were so much stronger and utilized the dream/future element so much more creatively. There was so much more tension and suspense. It's almost like the main character conflicts were resolved so long ago (romance, backstories) that they had to drag it out. Then again, I guess it's better to have cases rather than a super-dragged out single arc. But the script has definitely faltered, unlike the writer's past dramas. I too thought the early episodes were brilliantly written/executed!

Thanks for your reply, you're probably right! He didn't recognize her inner qualities until she had a visually attractive mask for it...that's a whole other topic!!

But yeah, even a month later, I actually thought of this movie the other day when I was thinking about how crazy it is that most celebs in ROK (including guys) get plastic surgery...but then deny it even when it's obvious, and not merely from picture comparisons! (And interestingly, Kim Ah Joong is known for having lots of procedures done...although she was pretty to begin with!)

There were two dramas I recently was watching where the lead actor had such a dramatic Euro-looking nose job I was totally distracted every episode!! And of course it seems like nose jobs and that eye-widening surgery are a given for women celebs...but none of them will admit to it, which I think is sad, because it sets this Western standard of beauty that most people in their audience (esp kids) can't compare with, as if normal Asian features aren't good enough. I was just watching a drama with Gong Hyo Jin the other day and found it refreshing just to see a normal looking nose! (^_^)

If you didn't find it a year ago, you can find it here...thought I would give you the link b/c it doesn't show up in search results b/c the site has the same listing for this season that's messed up. I'm not sure, but I think the other seasons may eventually get subbed sooner than later on fansub sites ...stay tuned. (it's better to download from those if you can as these streaming sites don't do their own subs, but if you can't, here is easy access. Just don't click on any links!)
https://watchasian.io/drama-detail/honcho-azumi

Especially in photos, they really do resemble each other! I often think Matsuoka Mayo could be her younger sister

This is a fun post! You should consider doing more of these!
Something else I'm wondering what people think: while not necessarily relevant for all these actresses, I recently noticed a discussion about how someone's nose looked exactly like someone else's nose. That led to me finding out why so many actresses (and actors/other celebs too, though many fans hate to think of it) have bigger eyes than everyone else (I didn't know about that surgery, just the double eyelid one) and thinner more European looking noses than everyone else and similar proportioned features...

I guess I was naive since I don't read up on celeb gossip, but I was kinda shocked to find out how few celebs, including more and more younger male celebs don't go under the knife...but then deny it until experts or early photo comparisons point out undeniable details (and an expert can easily make these deductions). I wonder how many actresses/actors use similar surgeons, who have their own ideas about how to make a face more 'perfect.' And that leads me to wonder if fewer celebs would have similar looks if they didn't all get eye widening surgery and nose jobs etc. I sometimes hear comparisons by non-Asian fans (who understandably aren't surrounded by Asians) and I'll think um, ok not sure I'm seeing this!, but I am Asian and I certainly see the similarities between many of the celebs that I often hear pointed out.

It's like there's this standard of beauty that's becoming more and more narrow...almost typical for me these days...drama I recently saw, I kept getting distracted by the actor's overly skinny nose (not the one he had when younger) reminding me of Michael Jackson, and admiring another actress for keeping her clearly original Asian nose! How lame am I?!! But really, while surgery is obviously a personal choice (or maybe not, I've heard stories of women in the industry getting pressured into it), I love seeing unique faces/shapes, that make people unique. And the actors who keep their monolid eyes, reminding the larger percentage population that that can be beautiful too!

Sorry for the long comment, this was just something your post made me think about and wonder what others thought!

UGH! Getting so sick of canceled dramas b/c of the ridiculous ban!!!!!

Yes, you probably already figured this by now, but the movie is just mistakenly marked here as 'prequel' ....fixed it. There are actually 2 parts to the movie, haven't seen them, but they've both released in Japan.

What did you like better about the anime adaptation?

I'm not even seeing any raw video of it beyond the first ep. anywhere...anyone who didn't see it while it was airing but found it elsewhere know anything about this?

Did you see him in Beautiful Mind? He was a more minor character, but I thought he was a stand-out in that too. (Although instead of a villain he's a really funny, good-natured doctor.) I had hoped he'd get more prominent roles. Looks like there's something coming up called Nothing to Lose in which he's part of the main cast.

To not be too spoilery for anyone who hasn't seen the whole thing:
I'm trying to understand why 'the killer' didn't just wait for BH to come back and kill her too if it was just about him thinking she witnessed something. Because wouldn't she testify to that if she did, in hopes of building a case for her innocence?

If his only motive had to do with making sure there were no witnesses, this seems rather weak. Especially when thereafter, when he found out they were on that case too, he didn't try to immediately off her. Since the whole story kind of hangs on that initial false conviction, it just seems too weak for words. Or am I missing something here?

Yeah, it was so dragged out in an unnecessary way. But Dong Ha, did you see him in Beautiful Mind? He was a more minor character, but I thought he was a stand-out in that too. I almost didn't recognize him at first as in that drama he's this really funny, good-natured doctor.

Ha, me too, even in the end I had a hard time disliking him! Did you see him in Beautiful Mind? He was a more minor character, but I thought he was great in that too.

Not sure why a female protag can't be a jerk in the beginning or have personality flaws she has to deal with when there are a freaking zillion male protags who are utter jerks for a good bit of their respective dramas...people just accept that there will be a character arc!

(Not sure why there aren't more characters like this anyway in Kdramas...look at My Love from the Star and I Can Hear Your Voice, both of which had female protags with 'bad personalities'...those dramas did pretty okay for themselves...)

So how far did you end up watching? Are you saying it gets bogged down after ep 10?

I don't think any season of Aibou has ever been subbed...am I wrong?

The first half was so good! Definitely lost steam though in terms of character development, emotional impact, and plot, but still worth a watch. It was impressive to see the four 'kids' play their roles from high school through their 30s.

Hmm. I was looking forward to this drama for awhile b/c of TT and WA....but wow what a dull script and mediocre direction. Just dull! So cliche, and the characters are just meh. I felt nothing for them, at all.

Like, you can tell the writer wants Muto to be this dark brooding character but instead the motives and conflict give him nothing but melo to work with (and omg the casting of his wife and daughter...so bad!) Tamaki is supposed to be shady and maniacal but is just boring. I know this isn't WA's fault as he's played characters like this and totally nailed it. He just gets lame scenes of staring at his photo wall smirking or generic lines. And the family conflict, what?! Just not very believable or emotionally compelling. A waste of talented actors. T_T