Saturday, June 23, 2012

Korean Drama - My Girl

My Girl



Rating: 9.3/10


CAST

Lee Da Hae as Joo Yoo Rin
Lee Dong Wook as Seol Gong Chan
Lee Jun Ki as Seo Jung Woo
Park Shi Yeon as Kim Se Hyun

Extended Cast

Jo Kye Hyung as Ahn Jin Gyu
Hwang Bo Ra as Ahn Jin Shim
Lee Eon Jeong as Yoon Jin Kyung
Byun Hee Bong as Seol Woong (Gong Chan's grandfather)
Kim Yong Rim as Jang Hyung Ja (Jung Woo's mother)
Ahn Suk Hwan as Jang Il Do
Choi Ran as Bae In Sun
Jung Han Hun as Joo Tae Hyung (Yoo Rin's father)
Han Chae Young as Choi Ha Na (the real granddaughter, cameo)
Jae Hee as Lee Mong Ryong (Ha Na's husband, cameo)
Oh Ji Young as Se Hyun's assistant / traveling companion


About the Drama



Joo Yoo Rin is a tour guide in a small company in charge of running mini tours in the Jeju Island of South Korea. Her father is a gambling addict, but despite all the debts that he runs up, Yoo Rin always finds a way to help repay them. She leads a below-average life but is happy as long as she has her dad around her. Because of her father's gambling ways, she has had to move from country to country whenever her father runs from one place to another to avoid their debtors. This has in turn brought her the ability to converse fluently in Chinese and Japanese, which are of great help as a tour guide whenever she has to entertain tourists from China and Japan.

Seol Gong Chan is the only heir of the owner of L'Avenuel Hotel, which is one of the top hotels in Korea. His grandfather, Seol Woong, makes him in charge of the duty to find his granddaughter, who is also Gong Chan's cousin. Seol Woong had disowned his own daughter, Gong Chan's aunt, when she decided to marry a man who is not of his choice.

However, when Seol Woong had a change of heart and wished to accept his daughter back, an earthquake struck where his daughter lived, and since then, he has lost all contacts. He thinks that the only chance to make amends for his own stubbornness, will be to take care of his granddaughter and hopefully make things right.

Kim Se Hyun is the girlfriend of Seol Gong Chan. A rising star in the tennis world, she returns to Korea to look for Gong Chan since she cannot forget him.

Seo Jung Woo is the son of one of the main shareholders of L'Avenuel Hotel and also the best friend of Seol Gong Chan. Unlike Gong Chan who is responsible and hardworking, Jung Woo is a flirt who is known to have many girlfriends.

The story starts with Yoo Rin rushing to the airport. She is helping her friend delay a flight so that the tourists of her friend will not miss their flight. Out of ideas, she plays a damsel in distress, who is apparently mourning her impending death and her dying wish to see her boyfriend who is apparently on the flight.

After much crying and the airport crew empathize with her, she gets to get on board the plane to look for her boyfriend who never really existed. As she walks, she realize she cannot find anyone and pretends to faint. She faints beside the seat of our male lead, Seol Gong Chan, who sees through her act immediately.

Although their first encounter is weird, it doesn't leave much of an impression in each other's mind. Later, however, when Gong Chan had to entertain a bunch of Chinese visitors and realizes he has no translator, he engages the services of Yoo Rin and through Yoo Rin, his potential Chinese investors have a great time at the L'Avenuel Hotel branch in Jeju.

After a series of comical events including Yoo Rin staying at his hotel lodge without paying, and Yoo Rin selling his hotel fruityard's oranges to make a small profit (to clear her father's debts again), Gong Chan perceieve Yoo Rin as a cheat and he would want distance himself from her.

But then word from mainland Korea is that his grandfather is dying and at his bedside, Seol Woong, through his respirator, can only meekly repeat that he must not and cannot die until he sees his granddaughter again.

Driven by desperation and his love for his grandfather, Gong Chan would do anything to ease his burden. When pointed out by his secretary that Yoo Rin bears a resemblance to his aunt, Gong Chan hatches a plan to pass off Yoo Rin as his grandfather's long-lost granddaughter whilst he carries on searching for the real one.



Yoo Rin, who is desperate for money to repay her father's debt, is unwilling to do the job as it involves lying to a dying man, something that she staunchly refuses to do. But when Seol Gong Chan desperately begs her and she realizes she is somewhat indebted to him for not bringing her to the police after her little business in his hotel, she caves in and pretends to the long-lost granddaughter.

Things seems to be going well, with the search for Gong Chan's long-lost cousin making progress and perhaps more importantly, the improvement of Gong Chan's grandfather's conditions thanks to Yoo Rin. As Yoo Rin spends more time with Gong Chan's family, she gets showered with the love she never received as a child and finds herself drawn to Gong Chan. She finds herself changing from the liar that she once was to a person who tries to tell the truth when she can. But she knows all too well that her one-sided love will never materialize as the difference in social status between Gong Chan and herself is too big.

But unknown to her, Gong Chan is also slowly being drawn to her...


Comments



Nice drama, one of the chick flick that most girls will like again. Poor little girl, talented, kind and even though a liar due to circumstances mets prince charming and falls in love. Actually Lee Dong Wook not too much of a prince charming at first, but also a kind soul...

This drama has a good balance of hilarious moments and moments that make you tear and wrench your heart. Compared to other dramas, I laughed a lot more than I cried while watching this drama. 

Sadly, Lee Jun Ki is reduced to mere flower vase in "My Girl". LOL who is prettier? Lee Jun Ki or Lee Da Hae? Even though Lee Da Hae was absolutely eye-catching, I keep thinking that Jun Ki has such a pretty face, sometimes I thought he looks prettier then most girls.

Even though I pity Jung Woon since he was unable to win Yoo Rin's heart but I do not think that he deserve her more then Gong Chan.

The last scene when the real granddaughter was found, that was downright hilarious. Yoo Rin and Gong Chan ended up together though I am not sure if they were married in the end since it was not shown or explained, but Yoo Rin ended up living in the house with them again.

Monday, June 18, 2012

Japanese Drama - Hanazakari no Kimitachi e

Hanazakari no Kimitachi e


Rating: 9.0/10


The Cast


Horikita Maki as Ashiya Mizuki
Oguri Shun as Sano Izumi
Ikuta Toma as Nakatsu Shuichi
Konno Mahiru as Hara Akiha
Kamikawa Takaya as Umeda Hokuto
Matsuda Seiko as Tsubaki, the School Principal
Ukaji Takashi as Sawatari
Kobayashi Susumu as Yoshioka
Okada Yoshinori as Ashiya Shizuki
Daito Shunsuke as Sano Shin
Shirota Yu as Kagurazaka Makoto
Moriguchi Yoko as Nanba Io
Harada Natsuki as Tanabe Kanako
Yamazaki Hajime as Ashiya Takumi
Tsutsui Mariko as Ashiya Eiko
Inagaki Goro as Kitahama Noburo
Sugimoto Tetta as Sano Takehiko

About the Drama


Based on a popular comic, this hilarious comedy follows the chaos, troubles and friendship at a boys’ boarding school after a girl-disguising-a-boy joins.

Ashiya Mizuki has just come back to Japan from California where she was raised. Mizuki's primary goal is find Sano Izumi. Many years ago, while training in the US, Sano saved Mizuki from a group of thugs. Even though she manages to escape, the bad guys caught up with Sano and one of them inflicts a nasty slash on his ankle and since then he was unable to jump properly again. Mizuki blames herself for the incident and vows to make him jump again.

Hence she enters the same high school,  Sakurazaki Academy, disguised as a boy! With a short hair, flattened chest and lowered voice, she starts sharing the same room with Sano.



When she arrives at Sakurazaki Academy, she meets Nakatsu Shoichi, a soccer player who is Sano’s good friend, Sekime Kyogo, the captain of the track team, Kashiyama Taiki, who has an ability to see a person’s aura, the beautiful Nakao Senri and Noe Shinji, the president of the manga-anime society. They are all her second year schoolmates.



There are three dorms on campus. The first dorm houses the sporty type, who is led by dorm leader, Tennoji Megumi, the captain of the karate team.

The third dorm houses the arty type who is led by the dorm leader, Oscar M Himejima (Himejima Masao), president of the drama club, while the second dorm has a mixed bunch led by dorm leader, Namba Minami, the school’s playboy.

Mizuki joins the second dorm which Sano and Nakatsu belong, and somehow becomes Sano’s roommate. Meanwhile, Mizuki finds out that the ball game competition that has been a long tradition between Sakurazaki Academy and Tokyo Academy, which Sano’s rival and fellow high jump athlete Kagurazaka Makoto attends, will be cancelled this year. Enlisting the help of Nakatsu, Namba and the others, she runs about to try to make the competition take place.


Comments


Definately a hilarious comedy...nonsensical but funny...I laughed from start till end and Ashiya Mizuki never fails to amaze me. She is so pretty, and lady like, how can these boys not know that she is a girl?! OMG




The Taiwanese version Hua Yang Shao Nian Shao Nu (花樣少年少女) is acted by Ella a popular singer from the S.H.E. group. I have not watched it yet. But a lot of my friends told me that it really nice. I have to watch first before I can compare but the Japanese version as I can say now is really a drama worth your time to watch if you like comedy. A lot of ridiculas parts, especialy the gender detection part....LOL...

I can not imagine that the school doctor who discovered Ashiya's real gender, instead of asking her to leave the school, is actually supportive of her as long as it is to get Sano back into the track and field team.

Ikuta Toma extreme acting makes the show so enjoyable in fact every one of them are so funny...

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Korean Drama - Snow Queen

Snow Queen



Rating: 9.0/10



The Cast:



Hyun Bin as Han Tae Woong/Han Deuk Gu
Sung Yu Ri as Kim Bo Ra
Go Ju Yun as young Kim Bo Ra
Im Joo Hwan as Suh Gun Woo
Yoo In Young as Lee Seung Ri


About the Drama:


The drama starts with Han Tae-Woong (Hyun Bin), a quiet, 17 yr-old math genius, entering a prestigious high school met Kim Jeong-Kyu, who is also a genius in mathematics. Tension and rivalry immediately developed between the two, however they soon became best friends. Through their conversations, we learn that Jeong-Kyu is a big boxing enthusiast.

Meanwhile, Tae-Woong stumbles upon a little girl being bullied in the street and saves her. The girl develops a crush on him and gives him her pager so that she can see him again, but they never exchange names or contacts. They promised to meet again soon, but this never happens.

During a highly anticipated International Math Olympiad, Jeong-Kyu failed to fulfill his father's expectations in winning the first place, and committed suicide in shame. Tae-Woong, who won the gold medal, struggled from guilt, as he feels like he is partly responsible for Jeong-Kyu's death. Tae-Woong quits school, leaves home,
and disappears.





These tragic events take their toll on the rest of Tae Woong's life. At 25, eight years later, Tae Woong is now a third class boxer and in unexpected events, finds Bo Ra (Sung Yu Ri), the little girl he once knew. Although this winter will be very cold and scary, winter is not the end of the seasons, but the beginning of the hope for a greater love.

Eight years later, Tae Woong, now 25, is a nameless boxer, living a completely different life. He abandoned mathematics and pursued boxing in honor of Jeong-Kyu, but he still bears painful memories of his past.





In a chain of events he meets Bo-Ra (Sung Yu Ri), a beautiful, but cold-hearted young lady. She is the daughter of a rich businessman, but has an incurable disease. After a chain of events, Tae Woong is hired as her chauffer. They end up falling in love, but Tae Woong discovers that she was the little girl that he met eight years earlier, and that she is Jeong-Kyu's little sister. Tae-Woong struggles in pain about his relationship with Bo-Ra, and his returning memories of Jeong-Kyu.

Throughout the story the two learn to find true happiness by helping each other. Tae-Woong melts Bo-Ra's heart with love and helps her open up her heart. In return Bo-Ra helps Tae-Woong with his painful memories of the past.


Comments:







Bought this drama cos my brother who's not a drama addict actually told me that this show is nice. OMG... Its should a good plot....I would have felt more touched by the show if he did not tell me about all the different parts of the show that affected him...sigh. So I half guessed what is going to happen next most of the time. Spoil spot...

Anyway its a nicely plotted show.

Catch the Snow Queen subtitle from my favourite forum: Snow Queen [Eng Subs](Complete)

Friday, June 8, 2012

Korean Drama - Foxy Lady/狐狸啊,你干啥呢

Foxy Lady/狐狸啊,你干啥呢


Rating: 8.8/10


The Cast:

Ko Hyun Jung as Ko Byung Hee (reporter)
Kim Eun Joo as Ko Joon Hee (aspiring model)
Yoon Yeo Jung as Choi Soon Nam (Byung Hee and Jun Hee’s mother)
Chun Jung Myung as Park Chul Su (auto mechanic)
- Yoo Tae Woong as young Chul Soo
Ahn Sun Young as Park Seung Hye (Cheol Su’s sister)
Jo Yeon Woo as Bae Hee Myung (urologist)
Kwon Hae Hyo as Hwang Yong Kil (magazine publisher)
Son Hyun Joo as Park Byung Gak (fashion mogul)
Choi Woo Je as Sun Woo (Byeong Hee’s college friend)
Seo Yeong as Joo Hee
Seo Hye Jin as Jo Hyun Jung (Byeong Hee’s co-worker)
Kim Hak Chul as a auto repair shop owner
Lee Hyuk Jae
Han Young Kwang

About the Drama:




Single 33 year-old Go Byeong Hee works as a reporter for a sex magazine. 24-year-old Park Chui Su, mechanic and world traveler, is the younger brother of Byeong Hee’s best friend. He’s a free spirit and not concerned with what the world thinks. On the night after Byeong Hee found out that her first love is actually gay, the two old family friends get drunk and wake up in bed together.

Byeong Hee wants to forget it ever happened, especially since a good marriage prospect has just made an appearance in the form of a Urologist, Dr Bae Hee Myung.

Unfortunately for her Chui Su has other ideas. Unbeknownst to her, Park Chui Su has been carrying a torch for her since young and wants to pursue her. Their courtship attracts the usual cliche of older woman-younger man barks from the public. In one scene, she is mistaken as his aunt on a date.

Meanwhile, Byeong Hee’s sister, Jun Hee, 25, an aspiring model is being ‘sponsored’ by an eccentric widower who is 17 years older. She resembles his late wife. She falls in love with him but he rejects her.

Byeong Hee's mother is troubled by her daughters’ romances and prefers the doctor for a son-in-law. Park Chui Su then decides to break off with Byeong Hee when he receives his enlistment notice.



Comments:




Personally, I cannot understand how she can choose Park over the Dr Bae, who is charming and witty, not to mention rich and successful (money and career do make a man appears more attractive). In comparison, Chui Su  behaves childishly, throwing tantrums.

This is one romance series worth watching because it is fun and hilarious. There many sexual references and fantasies in the drama, the scenes on such are simply hilarious. The ending episodes when Chui Su prepares to leave for his two-year army....very touching...

Monday, June 4, 2012

Japanese Drama - Tokyo Cindrella Story

Tokyo Cindrella Story / 东京爱情故事


Rating: 9.6/10


The Cast


Emi Wakui as Yukiko Matsui
Toshiaki Karasawa as Masashi Takagi
Goro Kishitani as Kikuo Matsui
Mayu Tsuruta as Hitomi Takaki
Katsumi Watanabe as Kenji Ono
Kosuke Toyohara as Shinji Miura
Naomi Nishida as Nakamura
Izumi Igarashi as Hatsue Kanzaki
Susumu Kobayashi as Masayuki Sasaki
Reiko Takashima as Reiko
Shigeru Koyama as Koichiro Takaki
Momoko Kawauchi as Takako Matsui
Choichiro Kawarazaki as Tadashi Matsui
Yoko Moriguchi as Masaki Kahara

About the Drama



A Japanese Cinderalla story where a pretty but poor young girl meets a rich handsome young man. Despite the differences in backgrounds, status and upbringing, they fall in love…

This beautiful Cinderalla story will take you to the world of your dreams and bring hope and faith to all.

Yukiko Matsui works as an accountant for a food company. She came to Tokyo 3 years ago from the small town of Noto where her parents run an inn. Living alone in a humble apartment in the big city, everyday is plain and uneventful.

A fairy tale or a romantic encounter was only a far-away dream. One day, Yukiko goes to the station to welcome her brother, Kikuo who was visiting Tokyo for the first time. At the station, Kikuo is mistaken by Masashi Takagi as his new chauffeur. Realizing his mistake, Masashi starts to walk away in the rain when Yukiko offers him her red umbrella. Their eyes meet and Masashi feels a warmth in his heart as Yukiko reminds him of his long-missing sister. Little did they know that this fateful encounter was the beginning of a fairy-tale-come-true.

Afterwards, Yukiko soon becomes aware of the fact that they have so little in common. Masashi’s father is chairman of the prestigeous “Takagi Corporation” and Masashi will take over his father’s business shortly. When Yukiko and her brother Kikuo are invited to Masashi’s party at a luxurious first-class hotel, they understand that they obviously do not belong there.

Despite her sincere love for Masashi, Yukiko makes the sad decision to leave him. Meanwhile, Kikuo falls in love with a bar hostess who turns out to be Masashi’s missing sister. Masashi on the other hand is forced by his father to marry another woman, which is a "political" marriage which will benefit the company.

The highlight is when Kikuo storms into Masashi’s wedding ceremony leading to an unforgettable dramatic ending.



Comments



Unforgettable story. Even though it has been aired since 1994. Everytime someone takes up a red umbrella, my comments to them will be what??!! Are you trying to reignit "Tokyo Cinderalla Story"?!? The red umbrella is a very prominent and symbolic item in the show.

It is really a Cinderalla story since its only a short 10 episode, how to fall in love with someone in such a short time? How can you fall in love in such a short time? The two love birds has just met each other for such a short time, on top of that seen or even met each other for a few times...Frankly, thats love right? LOL...Pure love...No politics, no business, no monetory involvement...

Who can ever forget the beautiful song that is played in the background by Chage Aska? Meguriai.