Addicted to Drama

SUMMARY: K-DRAMA: Cinderella's Sister, Ep. 01

2010-07-30T21:31:00.000-07:00

Title: Cinderella's Sister (신데렐라 언니)
Episode 01

Characters in This Episode (in order of appearance):
- Song Eun Jo
- Han Jung Woo (as a kid)
- Song Kang Sook
- Han Jung Woo's dad (don't know his name...)
- Goo Hyo Seon
- Hong Ki Hoon
- Goo Dae Sung

Summary:
The episode starts of with a shot of the rice cooker and then moves to show Song Eun Jo making a meal. Their soup boiling on the stove while she's cutting up kimchi, which Han Jung Woo steals a bite of.

While she is making this meal, we hear a man and a woman arguing in the background. It turns out to be Eun Jo's mother, Song Kang Sook, and Jung Woo's father. Eun Jo's mother is upset because Jung Woo's father abused her while he was drunk, and she didn't sign up for that. So she's getting ready to leave, while Jung Woo's father is begging for forgiveness and asking her to stay. And while all that is happening, Eun Jo is trying to get in as much food as she can because she doesn't know when she'll be able to have a decent meal again. Jung Woo realizes it's the same for him, if Eun Jo leaves, and starts to eat hurriedly too. Before they even make a decent dent in the meal (which looks pretty good to me), the fighting escalates as Jung Woo's father is threatening Kang Sook with a bat. Eun Jo and Jung Woo abandon there meal and get to the other room just in time to disarm and disable him, and Jung Woo gets rid of the bat.

After that, they have to run away. Eun Jo wants to get away as fast as they can, but her mother is hesitant and actually wants to go back. Of course, Eun Jo thinks she's crazy until she realizes her mother wants to go back because of something...a very shiny diamond ring which Eun Jo happened to swipe before they ran out. So now Kang Sook is all happy and in a rush to get to the train station. They get on the train, and Kang Sook immediately wants to get changed because she likes to look good. She's...quite something.

Anyway, Kang Sook falls asleep and Eun Jo stares out the window as the train pulls into another stop. As she's looking out, she notices gangsters getting on the train and realizes they're after her and her mother, because of the ring. She thinks about abandoning her mother and saving herself, and almost does it, but she chickens out in the end. Instead, she wakes her mother and they run through the train as the gangsters chase after them. They reach the end of the train with nowhere to go except two restrooms...and that is how they meet Goo Hyo Seon.

Goo Hyo Seon is a bubbly, sort of ditzy girl. They left the diamond ring with her for safe keeping, but she's lost it...or so she thinks. We see her talking to Hong Ki Hoon, who she is in love with, and he tells her that nothing is lost forever. She then tells him that she'll believe whatever he says, even if he tell her "the moon is square" or something like that. He drops her off at school, where she gets in trouble for being late and gets punished by having to kneel in the hallway with her hands up. That is where Kang Sook finds her.

Kang Sook has come for the ring, so Hyo Seon takes her back to her house. On the way there, Kang Sook complains often, but when she realizes that Hyo Seon's family is actually very wealthy she stops her complaining and keeps walking. Sometime after they arrive, her clothes get dirty and she has to change. Hyo Seon giver Kang Sook some of her late mother's clothing, and soon thinks Kang Sook resembles her mother. After Kang Sook learns of this, she hatches a plan to get close to Hyo Seon's father, Goo Dae Sung, and marry into the family, so that her and her daughter can have a better life. It also helps that Hyo Seon grows quite attached to her, even so far as being happy to have a splinter so that Kang Sook can kiss it and make it all better. (CRAZY GIRL! lol)

Meanwhile, Eun Jo, who was taken back to Han Jung Woo's father, thinks her mother has abandoned her. She's getting ready to run away and set out on her own, thinking she'll live a better life without her mother. But just as she's about to go, Ki Hoon and Hyo Seon's uncle are there to pick her up and bring her to Hyo Seon's house. But she doesn't go willing, and uses that old "I have to go to the bathroom" trick to try and run away. But Ki Hoon is ready and chases after her. There's a cheesy scene where he pulls at the pencil holding her hair up, which loosens it and causes it to fall, cascading down her back, causing him to stop in his tracks (because it's so beautiful? xD). After he shakes off his daze, he chases after and catches her.

But even when she gets to the Goo house she's still resistant. She argues with her mother and tells her she's not going to stand for this, because she thinks it's the same as always and that this is just another man her mother is going to go through. She tells her mother they shouldn't depend on men, and should just live on their own. Her mother insists this is different, and that this is the last one. After having her mom repeat that it's the last time and promise that, if it ends up like before, she'll let her go, Eun Jo gives in.

UPDATE POST!!

2010-07-30T21:10:00.000-07:00

HI! It's been a very long time since I last posted. Mostly because I haven't been watching dramas, because I haven't had time. Even though it's been summer for the past month and a half, I've been super busy with work and school. But now I'm free! So I've been watching dramas. I just finished You're Beautiful, and started Cinderella's Sister the other day.

In the past, I mentioned that I was going to start doing summaries. Well, they will be extremely detailed, and I'm going to start that with these two dramas. I've actually started writing the summaries for the first episode of both dramas. I just wanted to post a little update, and give a heads up. :)

So look for that...and happy drama watching!

K-DRAMA: Shining Inheritance

2009-12-29T23:14:00.000-08:00

Title: Shining Inheritance (찬란한 유산)
Episodes: 28
Watch:

Cast (mentioned in post):
Go Eun Sung - Han Hyo Joo
Sun Woo Hwan - Lee Seung Ki
Park Jun Se - Bae Soo Bin
Yoo Seung Mi - Moon Chae Won
Baek Sung Hee - Kim Mi Sook
Sun Woo Jung - Han Ye Won

Find more at Drama Wiki:
http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Shining_Inheritance

Summary:
Cinderella, with some twists. Go Eun Sung thought she had a happy life with her father, stepmother, stepsister, and younger brother, until her father died. Then her stepmother kicks her out and takes the insurance money, leaving Eun Sung to fend for herself as well as her autistic younger brother. Eun Sung endures much hardship, including losing her brother, until coming across a Grandmother, who happens to be the President of a food company. She helps the Grandmother after she is injured and has a case of amnesia. In return, when the Grandmother regains her memory, she offers Eun Sung a place to live, a job, and help in finding her brother. But living at Granny's house means living with Granny's grandson, who doesn't seem to like Eun Sung very much. That could be due to the fact that Granny has announced the Eun Sung will be the inheritor of all the Granny has, though. The grandson, Sun Woo Hwan, is also linked to Eun Sung's stepsister, Seung Mi. (They have a more-than-friends,-but-less-than-romantic relationship.) And Seung Mi can't believe what her mother did and tries to help Eun Sung when she can, though she becomes torn on what to do when she realizes that Woo Hwan and Eun Sung may be falling for each other, making Eun Sung her love-rival. Eun Sung also becomes a love-rival for Woo Hwan's younger sister, Sun Woo Jung, when Jung's crush, Park Jun Se falls for Eun Sung. Phew...what a triangle, er...square? Whatever, seems like they're all connected somehow. Oh, and let's throw this in...Eun Sung's dad...is not really dead. Drama, drama, drama!

Review:
I began watching this drama on the recommendation of a friend. It is not what I would consider a hit drama, though it seems to be the hot drama of the season. Most of the characters are not very likable, and I think that's something that contributes to having a good drama. If you're going to have evil characters, fine...it's understandable if those characters aren't likable. But to have your male lead character not be such a likable guy...who's going to root for him? He can be a jerk, but he should also have his moments where he can be a very likeable guy (a-la Goo Jun Pyo, from Boys Over Flowers, or Lee Shin, from Goong). Sun Woo Hwan hardly has any moments where he's portrayed as a likable guy. He just seems like a bratty jerk who has no respect for his Grandmother and throws money around, that he hasn't earned. There is allusion to the reason for why he's like this, but it's never expanded on, so I feel no sympathy for him. Just...disgust and annoyance. His sister and mother are also characters that are annoying, as they are shallow and vapid, throwing around money when they've never worked a day in their life for it. Eun Sung's stepmother is very conniving, and is one of the characters I'm happy with because she plays it well. This is one of those characters I was talking about, that's not meant to be likable and so can be portrayed as so. I have no strong opinions on the other characters, which is not such a good thing, because that means the main female character didn't strike a chord with me like I think she was supposed to. In my opinion, the main female lead character should be able to gain sympathy for her plight from her audience, but still be a strong person. Sure I felt sorry for her, but...sometimes I thought she was way too nice and understanding, way too naive. Oh, but one character I did like was Jun Se...he's a very likable character. He seemed to care for Eun Sung a lot.

Aside from the characters, the plot was pretty good. Some episodes were a bit boring though, and I did skip through some scenes. There's plenty of drama in this one. I found hardly any comedy though. Also, I found the romance to be lacking, and considering that there's supposed to be a love triangle going on, that's a very bad thing. I don't really like watching dramas like this, as I prefer ones with a healthy balance between comedy, romance, and drama. It was an entertaining watch the first time around, but I don't think I'll be watching it again.

Rating: ★★★

Review Rubric of Sorts

2009-12-29T23:11:00.000-08:00

Hello! I'm starting to get back into watching dramas, now that I have more time, so I thought I'd post a little review rubric of sorts. This is basically what I'm looking for when I watch a drama, to consider it a good drama (or anime or movie, but I'll just refer to them all as "drama" to make it shorter).

1. A well-written storyline.
I have no problem with remakes of past dramas or the same basic story being told, because let's face it...most of the dramas are like that. Most of them end with the main male character and main female character getting through all the obstacles and ending up together. Most. As long as the storyline and dialogue is well-written and there are some twists involved, it's all good. Even better if I don't see it coming.

2. Well developed main characters and good side characters.
This is a pretty big one. Obviously, the characters are what make the story happen. They should be well developed and have personality, as well as some flaws. No one wants to watch some perfect person get everything she wants. I know I don't, unless it's Disney and we're dealing with princesses and prince charmings and glass slippers and fairy tales. It's a major turn off from a drama, for me. Characters should be pretty realistic, but I don't mind if they're a little goofier than normal with anime-type expressions and such. As long as it's not overused.

3. Good acting.
I think this is another big one, as the actors are the ones who bring the character to life. Bad acting can totally ruin a drama, even if it sounds like it has a good storyline.

These first 3 points are definitely major ones. They are deal breakers, when it comes to my rating scale. But the last one is also key.

4. Good ending.
Finally, a drama must have a good ending. It doesn't have to be a happy ending, but it must be plausible (unless it's of the fantasy/science fiction genre). I would love it if it tied up all the loose ends. Or, if the creators wanted to leave it open to a sequel, if it was done in a realistic manner with a good cliff hanger. I don't know how else to describe what I'm looking for in an ending...but I can give an example of a recent ending that I was a bit disappointed in: Shining Inheritence. Actually, I was a bit disappointed in the drama overall. It didn't live up to the hype, for me, but that's another story that you can read about in my review!

Which leads me to some of advice: take all recommendations with a grain of salt UNLESS you know you definitely have the same tastes in dramas/movies/anime as the person who is recommending.

And yeah, those are the 4 main things I look at when I review. I also take into account other things from time to time, but these 4 are the deciding factors on whether I'll recommend or not.

Also, as I mentioned before, I will be reviewing one or two episodes at a time from now on, since I hardly have time to watch a drama straight through anymore. This will let me remember the main points of each episode and what I thought of the episode. Then, when I've watched all episodes, I'll go through and write a review of the whole drama, referring to my episode posts and following this rubric.

Look for my next review on...You're Beautiful! :)

J-DRAMA: Hanayome to Papa

2009-12-26T23:36:00.000-08:00

Title: Hanayome to Papa (花嫁とパパ)
Episodes: 12
Watch: VEOH

Cast (mentioned in post):
Ishihara Satomi as Uzaki Aiko
Tokito Saburo as Uzaki Kentaro
Taguchi Junnosuke as Miura Seiji

Find more at Drama Wiki:
http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Hanayome_to_Papa

Summary:
Uzuki Aiko is a 20-year-old woman who has just started working at a fashion company. She's super excited, because she hopes this will help her father realize that she is no longer a child. Her father obviously loves Aiko and is very overprotective, to the point that he makes her follow his house rules, including a 7 PM curfew, which are a bit ridiculous for a 20-year-old to follow. At her new job, she meets and eventually falls in love with her coworker Miura Seiji. But will Aiko's father accept Seiji? And what about Seiji's family?

Review:
Hanayome to Papa is a cute rom-com drama. The characters' antics are almost anime-ish in character. And speaking of characters, I would have to say Seiji is my favorite, though I may be a little biased. His character is very sweet and optimisticc, as well as dedicated. He tries his hardest to get Aiko's father to accept him and give him permission to date Aiko with the intention of marrying her. Aiko, on the other hand, is not a character I liked at times. She gave up way to easily on her relationship with Seiji several times. Also, since she lived a pretty sheltered life because of her father, she is pretty naive, and that can get annoying.

Though it is a romantic comedy, it still has its serious moments. Such as Seiji's parents trying to arrange a marriage for him, even after he has told them he loves Aiko. I think these serious moments definitely give the drama more depth and make it more interesting. The storyline was pretty much about family.

Rating: ★★★

K-DRAMA: Boys Before Flowers

2009-07-12T18:46:00.000-07:00

Title: Boys Before Flowers (꽃보다 남자)
Episodes: 24
Watch:

Cast (mentioned in post):
Geum Jan Di - Goo Hye Sun
Goo Jun Pyo - Lee Min Ho
Yoon Ji Hoo - Kim Hyun Joong
So Yi Jung - Kim Bum
Song Won Bin - Kim Joon
Chu Ga Eul - Kim So Eun

Find more at Drama Wiki:
http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Boys_Before_Flowers

Summary:
I'm sure you've probably already watched Hana Yori Dango or Meteor Garden already, so you probably know the story. But I'm still gonna give you the gist of it. Main female , Geum Jan Di, is poor, but happy. She has a loving family and wonderful best friend. But then, she enters the richest school and meets F4 by way of a red card, which she is given for annoying F4's leader and the heir to the Shinhwa group, Goo Jun Pyo. (Shinhwa group built the school and is the most powerful company in Korea.) Goo Jun Pyo tries to break her, and she finds an unexpected savior in one of the other F4 members, Yoon Ji Hoo. Quiet, but handsome, she forms a crush on Ji Hoo. In the end though, Goo Jun Pyo realizes he can't break her and actually comes to like her. He tries to woo her in his own way, and she eventually returns his feelings. Unfortunately, Jun Pyo's Mama doesn't like this. She doesn't think Jan Di's good enough for the Shinhwa group heir. So she does everything she can to break them up, while everyone else does everything they can to keep them together.

Review:
Okay, it's inevitable that I will make comparisons between this and Hana Yori Dango, as I watched HYD first. So here goes. The way they portrayed Goo Jun Pyo in 꽃보다 남자 is very different from how Tsukasa was portrayed. I felt that Goo Jun Pyo was less harsh than Tsukasa, and in the end a lot more likable. I, for one, really liked his character. He was actually quite affectionate towards Jan Di, in my opinion. I liked Tsukushi better than Jan Di, though. Not to say I didn't like Jan Di...I just liked Tsukushi better.

The storyline was okay. I don't know if it's cuz I already know the story, but I did skip through some scenes that I thought were boring. I didn't skip through any scenes between So Yi Jung and Chu Ga Eul though! Yi Jung and Ga Eul are meant to be! ♥ Their couple name is even called SoEulmates. Hehe. I liked the equivalent of this relationship in HYD, too. But I like it much better in this version. :)

In the end, I felt like the drama dragged on longer than needed. Especially when they tried to add in one last hardship for Jun Pyo and Jan Di's relationship in the form of amnesia and a bakstabbing female hospital patient. I really felt like that was an unnecessary addition, as it was already the last episode so that part of the storyline was very rushed. Another thing I had an issue with was Kim Hyun Joong. I love him as part of SS501, but the man needs to tone down his expressions! Seriously. His eyes get way too big and his expressions are way too intense for some of the scenes that he does.

But even so, I really liked the drama. F4 was great. SoEulmates made it even better. Plus, I love happy endings. I'd probably rewatch this drama in the future. ^^

Rating: ★★★★

K-DRAMA: 18 vs 29

2009-01-17T19:26:00.000-08:00

Title: 18 vs 29
Episodes: 16
Watch: VEOH

Cast (mentioned in post):
Yoo Hye Chan - Park Sun Young
Kang Bong Man (a.k.a. Sang Young) - Ryu Soo Young
Young Hye Chan - Park Min Ji
Young Bong Man - Choi Si Won
Shin Ji Young - Park Eun Hye
Yoo Hye Won - Jo Eun Ji
Kang Bong Gyu - Lee Sang Woo

Find more at Drama Wiki:
http://wiki.d-addicts.com/18_vs._29

Summary:
29 year old Yoo Hye Chan wants a divorce from her husband. She is on her way to deliver the papers to make the divorce official, when she gets into a car accident. When she wakes up, she finds herself in a world she does not know...since she wakes up thinking she's 18. All the memories she's made since she was 18 have been forgotten, including marrying her husband. She doesn't even recognize her now-grown-up sister. So when her (soon-to-be-ex) husband comes to the hospital, she is adamant that she did not marry him. She is even more in disbelief when she finds out she married Kang Bong Man, a guy she once loathed in high school. She gets into a lot of mischief, but eventually lets Bong Man take care of her. They have their problems, but Bong Man tries to be as supportive and caring as he can...and through this, their marital relationship starts to recover, somewhat. Until she regains her memory...

Review:
I will be honest. Though the story line did sound interesting, I really started watching this just to see Siwon. Haha.

Anyway, I don't have much to say about this drama. The story line is interesting, but it's not amazing. I mean, there's definitely lots of drama involved, with Hye Chan thinking she's 18, and trying to come to terms with the fact that she's actually 29 and married to Kang Bong Man. The story plays out well, with many obstacles and misunderstandings in between. One of those obstacles (a BIG obstacle) is Ji Young, who acts innocent around Sang Young and pretends to be Hye Chan's friend, when she learns Hye Chan has amnesia, but really wants Sang Young's and Hye Chan's relationship to end. Sometimes, I really wanted to punch Jiyoung in the face for being such a two-faced bitch. But, ah...I guess that means Park Eun Hye played her part really well right? Another is obstacle would be Noon. He falls in love with Hye Chan, and is basically Ji Young's male counterpart....but, not. Because he is less selfish. He just wants Hye Chan to be unhappy, unlike Ji Young who doesn't really care if Sang Young's happier with Hye Chan. She just wants Sang Young for herself, because she loves him. Noon doesn't get on my nerves like Ji Young does. He's a sweet character, and very protective of Hye Chan. Sang Young gets jealous of his easy relationship with Hye Chan, though they do become friends in the end.

There was also a side story between Hye Chan's younger sister, Hye Won, and Bong Man's younger brother, Bong Gyu. They start to date, but then Bong Gyu has doubts about taking her home to meet his grandfather because he knows his grandfather will have issues with their relationship, since they're already in-laws. They're funny together, and fun to watch. They're both my favorite characters in this drama. And actually, one of my favorite scenes is in episode 11, when Bong Gyu goes to pick up a drunk Hye Won, who was having drinks with another guy, since Bong Gyu had told her earlier (that day?) that he wasn't sure he was ready to get married yet. Bong Gyu takes her home, and then the guy texts her, wondering where she is and that he' sad without her. Bong Gyu gets a bit possessive and replies with "Bong Gyu is the only one for me" or something like that, while Hye Won is passed out. x]

Another favorite scene is one at the end of episode 10, of young Hye Chan and Bong Man. Hye Chan makes a gift that's meant for Bong Man, but her old crush takes it instead thinking it's for him. Bong Man sees this and is mistaken, as well. I must say that Siwon looks really good in that uniform. I really like his hair here, too. Haha.

This is a drama that's good to watch once. I probably won't rewatch it again.

Rating: ★★★

T-DRAMA: They Kiss Again

2008-12-25T22:55:00.000-08:00

Title: They Kiss Again
Episodes: 20
Watch: VEOH

Cast (mentioned in post):
Xiang Qin - Ariel Lin
Zhi Shu - Joe Cheng
Qi Tai - Figaro Ceng

Find more at Drama Wiki:
http://wiki.d-addicts.com/It_Started_With_A_Kiss

Summary:
"They Kiss Again" is the sequel to "It Started With a Kiss." It starts right after the wedding, with Xiang Qin and Zhi Shu going off on their honeymoon. Throughout this drama, Xiang Qin and Zhi Shu still experience problems and misunderstandings, as well as girls who still want Zhi Shu for themselves. Zhi Shu continues towards his goal of becoming a doctor, and Xiang Qin comes to a decision about what career she wants. Along the way, she makes four new friends, including one who wants to take her away from Zhi Shu because he thinks Zhi Shu doesn't really love her. Does he succeed? How strong is Xiang Qin's love for Zhi Shu, really?

Review:
"It Started With a Kiss" and "They Kiss Again" are quite similar to the anime that it's based off of. Of course, it's been altered to fit the culture. The story lines are pretty good, with lots of drama. That is what we watch for, right? But sometimes Xiang Qin's crying and dependence on Zhi Shu can get annoying. But her dedication to him is quite sweet. And at least Ariel is good at crying, so Xiang Qin's crying doesn't look forced. Also, Zhi Shu may be mean to her quite a bit, so that it's unclear whether he really loves her or not, but he does start showing more affection for her. It's different from the anime in that sense, because we can see that Zhi Shu does love her.

Throughout the drama, I just wished Xiang Qin would be a little more independent and do stuff for herself, instead of because of Zhi Shu. I think because of that, Zhi Shu sometimes takes her for granted, knowing she'll always be there for him. It was good when Qi Tai appeared and took an interest in Xiang Qin, because Zhi Shu finally experienced some jealousy and maybe realized he would need to show more affection to her. But still, Xiang Qin just wanted Zhi Shu and thought she was in the wrong, and tried to come up with a way to get back in Zhi Shu's good graces. In that, I think she should grow a little back bone. Whenever she said she would leave him, she would always go back to him and ask if it was all right for her to be with him. I think it should've been Zhi Shu asking her to come back to him, since I can't recall ever seeing Zhi Shu apologize for making Xiang Qin cry. They're love can be sweet, but it can also be frustrating to watch because of this.

I guess I kind of got what I wanted in the last episode. Xiang Qin ran away because she didn't want to be a burden to Zhi Shu anymore, since she found out she had an incurable eye disease that could be passed down to her children. She visited different places that were, I guess, important to the development of her relationship with Zhi Shu. Seeing all those flashbacks really made me want to watch "It Started With a Kiss" again. Haha. When Zhi Shu realized Xiang Qin had left him, he went into a panic and went looking for her, finally finding her in his office. I loved Zhi Shu here. He really showed that he loves Xiang Qin, comforting her and actually telling her that he'll love her no matter what. This episode really shows a lot of love between them. It kind of made me want a Zhi Shu of my own. LOL

Overall, it was an okay drama. Definitely watch it if you liked the first one. But it's not really rewatchable, in my opinion. Except for the last episode. I really like the last episode, even though it's left at an open/unfinished ending because the director decided to stay true to the manga in respect to the "ending," since the mangaka passed away before finishing the manga series.

Rating: ****

Reviewer's Note: This is my first time reviewing a drama, so this review will probably be edited in the future...once I get more experience. Haha. ^^;; Also...I'll probably start to review individual episodes from now on...