TAIWAN: "Fall in Love With Me" First Impressions

(photo credit to owner)

I spent a week watching nothing but Just You just so I could watch this show. When news of Fall in Love With Me broke, there was some backlash from fans because Aaron Yan's love interest wouldn't be Puff Guo. The pair played opposites in the show Just You and fans couldn't stand to see another pair in romantic situations. This is what sparked my interest in Just You and consequently in Fall in Love With Me. First, I wanted to know what was so great about Just You and then I wanted to know who Aaron Yan was. I achieved those goals well before the show aired so I'm proud.

Anyway, when I saw the teasers for the show I have to say I was worried. It reminded me so much of Just You. A hardworking sweet girl juxtaposed to a staunch boss of an advertising/marketing firm. The similarities are hard to ignore but I didn't want to count the show out because of that.

After watching the show I am happy to say that it seems to be doing a decent job of separating itself from Just You. It's just as funny and endearing as the other show but the concept is a bit different.

Overview:
There's a snobby CEO, Lu Tian Xing, of a popular advertising firm in Taiwan who has a short temper and there's a spunky girl, Tan Le Si, who is working hard to take care of her brother's advertising company after his death. They bump into each other and are instantly at odds. Though Lu Tian Xing owns a very successful company he's lost his spark and creativity and declares that he's taking a vacation in order to get his mojo back. While on his vacation he becomes Xioa Lu who helps Tan Le Si and her company in their advertising efforts. Though Tan Le Si can see that he looks exactly like Lu Tian Xing she believes that he is Xiao Lu. From there all kinds of stuff starts to happen. I don't want to give away anything.

My Thoughts:
I've only watched the first two episode but I think I may enjoy the show. It was funny, sweet, and has a touch of mystery that gives the show a bit more depth. I'm most interested to see the development of the characters. Right now they are the typical Asian drama archetypes so I am hoping that they surpass that in interesting and fun ways.

If you're watching you're in for a long ride. The show is 30 episodes and since it's only 1 episode a week it'll take quite a while before we get to the meat of the show. However, being accustomed to Taiwanese dramas now I am ready for the ride and really excited to see Aaron Yan in something else.

Monday Marathon: Another Parting

A return to the miniseries. Another Parting is strange but really good.

Overview: "This miniseries is about a man and woman who decide to spend their last day together." Many of the descriptions went like this so I didn't exactly know what to expect when I started the show. I'm going to give just a touch more background so you will have a better idea of what's going on in the show. The main guy is an alien who takes over a humans body. He must carry out a mission on earth. He meets the woman (Hana) and spends the day with her in order to fulfill his mission.

Why It's Worth Marathon-ing:
1. It's really short. It'll take like an hour to watch the entire series which frees up time to freak out over how great it is.

2. SEO IN GUK! He's really great in this show. It is a different side from his usual sweet best friend roles.

3. The story line. It's a weired show, but it's a good weird. I don't want to spoil the show but I can tell you that after it's over you'll be like "That's was so off...but I liked it."

4. The OST. "Melody Day" is a sweet sounding song that fits the mood of the series.

You can watch it on YouTube!

Monday Marathon: Nail Shop Paris

Nail Shop Paris was my very first K-Drama and I'll never forget it. After discovering the K-Drama fandom, it was nice reading the reviews on the show. Although most of the reviews weren't positive I was still tempted to watch the show again and found a few good reasons why others should watch it too.

Overview: This show is about a young female author that is accused of plagiarism. Because of this, an offer to publish her work is rejected just as she is about to sign the contract. In order to get "original" material she follows a mysterious man she sees in the subway. She thinks he is some sort of spy/gangster but finds out that he is actually a male manicurist at "Nail Shop Paris," a high end nail shop which only has male employees. In order to get closer to the hero of her next story she pretends to be a guy and joins the staff. From there, hilarious and sometimes annoying high jinks ensue.

There are 10 episodes, each about 50 minutes long.

Why It's Worth Watching:
1. You don't have to think too hard to watch the show. Let's be honest some of us spend way too much effort thinking about the show we're watching instead of just watching it. This is a very light story so there's no need to over analyze every little bit of it. In fact, it's better that you don't try to analyze it at all because the moment you do, you'll probably stop watching and you may miss out on some funny stuff.

2. The cast. There are 2 idol/actors (Park Gyulee from Kara and Cheon Dung aka Thunder from MBLAQ) in this show and though their acting isn't all that great they're cute enough that I'll give them a pass. Besides them there is also Song Jae-Rim (Two Weeks, Inspiring Generation), Jun Ji-Hoo, Byeon Woo-Min (Tamra, the Island), Kim Chae-Yeon, and Han So-Young. 

3. The characters are a bit different from your usual line-up. There's a love triangle between the girl/guy and two guy/guys so that part is typical. However, the main guy isn't a jerky chaebol who falls for the girl and wants to force her to fall for him. And the second guy isn't that nice doormat that most second male leads tend to be. He expresses his feelings quickly and often. I didn't realize how refreshing that could be until I watched more dramas and saw how little that happened.

3. SPOILER ALERT: Second male lead gets the girl! If that's not a good enough reason to at least watch the first episode then I don't know what is.

Though I enjoyed the show I could clearly see the flaws in it, especially the second time around. The ending was a complete mess, the nail art was hideous, the lead female character's interjecting story line for her book got worse with every episode, and the fact that no one could tell was a girl was crazy because she wore tight pants and wedge sneakers all the time. Despite it's problems it was fun to watch and I have no regrets.

REVIEW: Medical Top Team Korean Drama

photo source: asianwiki.com

Medical Top Team is about a group of doctors at Kwanghae University Hospital coming together to form the best team of doctors and surgeons in the country. Their plan is to operate on complex surgeries and research rare illnesses, but all that idealism gets muddied by harsh hospital politics between the illegitimate son and the first daughter-in-law of the hospital's president.

It wasn't the best show or even the best medical show I've ever seen, but it wasn't the worst either. A lot of comments said that it was boring, but not every show can be a fantasy romance between a rich guy and a poor girl. It was a very realistic show in a lot of instances and that made it a little less entertaining but it had some enjoyable elements.

What I Liked:
1. The cast. The cast was full of great actors and great up-and-comers. It's lead? Kwon Sang Woo, who plays the kind hearted but straight forward Dr. Tae Shin Park. The second male lead, Dr. Seung Jae Han was played by Ju Ji Hoon, and the second female lead is Choi Ah Jin played by Oh Yeon Seo. The other cast members worth recognizing is the maknae (youngest member) of the group, Kim Sung Woo played by Choi Minho,  Shin Hye Soo played by Kim Young Ae, Jang Yong Sup played by Anh Nae Sang, and a whole bunch of other people. You can view the full cast list HERE. Anyway, the cast was pretty great and they're all really great actors that I would like to see in more things.

2. The couples. When I think of this show, I think about is all the adorable couples and the long amount of time that it took to establish them. I have no problem with a show being devoid of romance, but if there is the promise of romance then there needs to be romance! We kept getting close and then they kept pulling back. Talk about frustrating. Eventually, we did get some romances and thankfully it was the couples that I wanted to see.

What I Didn't Like:
Though I don't regret watching, not many people found the show to be worth the 20 hours. Here are some of my ideas why.

1. Lack of romance. As I said above there is nothing wrong with a show lacking romance but if you're going to constantly suggest it then make it happen already. It took almost the whole show for the couples to form. It was painful to watch them give each other those longing looks and then do nothing about it.

2. Heavy on Medical jargon. This show was definitely a medical show, there's no doubting that. It seemed as though half the script was made up of medical terms which makes sense but it dragged down the dialogue a bit.

3. No accomplishments, at least not really. There was a lot of fighting and battling going on but I don't think either side really came out on top. In the end, all of Dr. Han's clawing came out to the Medical Top Team disbanding and there being a battle within the team. Thankfully everyone made up in the end but the team had to start all over again making all the previous battling kind of pointless.

Though I was unsatisfied with the lack of romantic situations, it wasn't a bad show. It was a pretty standard show, not bad but not great. I don't regret watching it but I don't think I'd suggest it to other people or watch it again.

KPOP: HIGH4's Debut Song

I just have to talk about this because I have only heard the song like four times and I'm already in love with it. I'm so excited about this group and anxious to hear more from them. This is my first time being super excited about a new group so I definitely felt a need to talk about their debut song "Not Spring, Love or Cherry Blossoms."

Background on the Group:
The group is composed of four members. Kim Sung Gu, leader and a vocalist; Kim Alexander aka Alex, rapper and dancer; Baek Myung Han, vocalist; and Yim Young Jun, rapper and maknae. "HIGH4 is currently preparing to release an album in May, and will proceed thereafter with various television promotions, acting projects, and musicals," as reported by Soompi.com.

Background on the Song:
The song was written by IU who is also featured in the song. It's a soft song with a great beat, a good mix of R&B and pop that many KPOP artists are great at doing. The chorus is catchy, too catchy. The video already has over 500,000 views on YouTube and it's only been 2 days. It has also accomplished an "all kill" on music charts (Read More About It). It is about how lonely they are during spring which we all know is the season of romance, so no spring, love, or cherry blossoms, they're having none of it.

My Thoughts:
After my first listen, I thought the song was good but I wasn't that impressed however the song is super catchy and that made me return, and once I returned I was hooked. The voices of the vocal talent shine and make for a song that is easy to listen to on repeat. The rap after the second verse was not a distraction nor did it mess with the flow of the song, I approve. Overall all it's a sweet sounding song that doesn't have that sweet of a message. The entire song is springtime perfection but my favorite part is when Kim Sung Gu sings. Ahhhhhhh! Daebak! His voice is deep enough and soulful enough to get me to fall in love with him. Compared to the other vocalists his voice is just ahskajhdjshdijdhfihfdu. So, I can't really explain it but I'm sure some of you know what I mean. And the little bit of choreography at the end was so cute! The whole video was good. I have completely fallen head over heels for the song and really really want to hear more from the group.

HIGH4 Fighting!

Monday Marathon: Last Cinderella

This Monday's Marathon is for Japanese drama Last Cinderella. 

Overview: It is about a woman who is a bit unkempt, but has a passion for her job and is always good to people. Despite her positive attributes she's 40 and single. Soon she finds herself in a love triangle with a much younger man and her boss. There are 11 episodes, each about 45 minutes or so.

Why it's Worth Marathon-ing:
1. This Japanese drama is for those looking for a more mature drama. If you're tired of the PG Korean love scenes then this show will shock and please you.
2. It's fun to root for which good looking man you want to win most. Both of the male leads are attractive and have good qualities so it's very enjoyable watching them fall for the female lead.
3. Miura Haruma! If you just so happened to watch Hours of My Life (I haven't yet) and want to see him in something light then this is the show for you.
4. It's funny and touching. The show has plenty of comedic moments particularly between the female lead and her boss, however there are a lot of endearing moments for all the characters.

Hope everyone has an awesome Monday!