[K-Drama Review] Exo Next Door (2015)

I'm a member of a few Drama groups on Facebook. In need of a drama to watch, I received a few recommendations after posting the following:

Hiya everyone, it's been a while since I've last popped in, hope everyone is doing well.

In a bit of a slump, feeling restless, bored, and a little sad, but not really? Lol Dunno.
Anyway, currently watching Fated to Love You, but I read ahead on dramabean and now cannot proceed with episode 11 because I know it's devastating. (Haha dunno why I did that.)

Can anyone recommend a SUPER light hearted drama with no more than 7% angst. Haha Korean, Japanese, and/or Taiwanese all welcome.

Thanks for listening and your help in advice!

 I decided to go with EXO NEXT DOOR because of the super short episodes. I liked the idea that I could finish it in a few hours. (Also recommended: Itakura na Kiss variations, Let's Eat, Marriage Without Dating, Stand Up!, King of High School, and You're Beautiful.)

 

 Synopsis:

A 23-year-old girl named Ji Yeon has never been in a relationship because she is super shy and blushes intensely when faced with a boy she likes. Imagine the turn her love life takes when the members of K-pop boy band, EXO, move in next door to keep a low profile.

 

 

Thoughts:

This mini-series most likely drew EXO fans, but since I'm not particularly a fan of EXO, they didn't immediately appeal to me as actors. Even as purely eye-candy they're not to my taste, but I continued watching anyway.

The lead character is Ji Yeon, who freeloads ungratefully off her mom and blushes intensely when faced with an attractive boy she likes. I didn't find her endearing or cute, simply annoying. Her actions in the beginning were aggravating and impolite. She's such a SNOOP! I also found her blushing weird and unattractive, maybe even a little creepy. Yet, she started to grow on me in the last few episodes.

Though, there were a few moments where I chuckled a bit,  I wouldn't consider this show funny.
I did thoroughly enjoy Sehun and his bromance with Ji Yeon's oddball younger bro. It's actually my favorite aspect of the show. The scene during and after "The Big Secret Reveal" was also quite endearing. There was an attempt to get melo-angsty with Suho's character in one, longer-than-usual episode towards the end has some effect.

Also, SPOILER-ISH RANT: Don't get all dolled up for a date when you haven't even received a confirmation text! "No news is actually just no news." But it was pretty sweet how he came running over immediately when he was told that she was waiting.

The ending was cute, I guess. But not very satisfying, at least not on the romantic front. It was actually a bit cheesy. And I usually enjoy cheesy.

In sum, it was enjoyable in a way, but not particularly memorable. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to anyone or re-watch it. However, if you're all caught up on dramas, happen to be an EXO fan, or want to imagine what life would be like if your fave kpop band moved in next door, then give EXO NEXT DOOR a try. It'll be only 3.5 hours of your life.

[Kdrama Review] Flower Boy Next Door (2013)

What's it about:

Flower Boy Next Door is an early 2013 romantic comedy that aired from January 7th to February 26th and is based on a webtoon called "I Steal Peeks At Him Every Day." It has Park Shin Hye as Dok Mi, a young woman who has hidden herself away from the world. A past hurt has made her unwilling to interact with the outside world and other people and she spends her time editing manuscripts and peeping at her neighbor across the street. One day, her neighbor's cousin--Enrique Geum of Spain (played by Yoon Shi Yoon) catches her, while eating a Popsicle and wearing boxers and a panda-hat! That is the beginning of their weird relationship that results in her coming out of her shell and finding love. (Intrigued?)

What I thought about it:

Flower Boy Next Door is a gem of a drama that hasn't received as much attention as it deserves, overlooked probably by its early release date. However, it's a definite must watch.

At first glance, this seems like a fluffy, lighthearted drama, but the hilarity and weirdness hides a deeper plot that is engaging and draws viewers completely in. The core of that powerful draw is with the eclectic group of characters and the sweet storyline. Dok Mi is horribly lonely and separated from the world. Her neighbor Ji Rak is working on a webtoon that is based on the one-sided love that Ji Rak has for Dok Mi and her developing relationship with Que-Geum. There is also Ji Rak's roommate and assistant Doon Hoon and Watanabe who is in Korea from Japan to learn Korean cuisine. Each of the characters are unique and entertaining, real and wacky. However, they're not just funny. There is depth to each character, a history and a past that makes them who they are. The reveal of each character's past is what makes viewers fall for them and keeps viewers hooked on the drama. The secondary characters are also pretty unique and my fave character is the crazy editor.

More things that I loved about this drama:

• The love confession was refreshingly direct. Actually, the entire drama is refreshingly direct. It's a simply story about a woman who is drawn back into the world of the living by love. But it is that simplicity that makes this drama a gem. Even without sudden amnesia, evil ex's or mothers, rich chaebols, servitude or separation, there wasn't a single part of the series that was BORING or less than interesting. There also weren't any of the typical Kdrama misunderstandins that last several episodes either. I really did enjoy the directness of the characters in Flower Boy Next Door.
• The male characters were really in touch with their emotions and not afraid to cry. There were a lot of excellent, heartfelt tear scenes. 
• Another drama that showcases crazy fans. This seems to be a thing in Korean dramas lately.
• The ending episode was a really great wrap-up and left viewers with a lot of feel-good feels. I was smiling so much throughout the entire episode that my cheeks hurt.
• I almost couldn't take how cute Dok Mi and Que Geum were together. I nearly died from cuteness overload! And Ji Rak's was freaking freaking adorable as well! It was sooo hard to choose who I wanted her with.
• Best lines in any drama. Ever! (in episode 9): (The English major in me grins and agrees wholeheartedly.)

Doon Hoo: Ji Rak's phone 
Editor: Is the phone talking?! You should say 'This is Doon Hoon askwering Ji Rak's Phone'! Why doesn't anyone use proper grammar?!

Other related comments:

•  I've always heard such harsh comments about Park Shin Hye's acting ability, especially in connection to Heirs. While I've yet to watch Heirs, I felt that Shin Hye's acting in this drama was pretty good. She was well-suited to the role of Dok Mi. Was she absolutely amazing? Not particularly, but certainly not horrible. I think she's definitely growing as an actress And plus, she was Go Mi Nam in You're Beautiful and Lee Gyu Won in Heartstrings--two dramas that I really enjoyed
• I was surprised at my feelings of wanting to immediately rewatch Flower Boy Next Door. I've never rewatched a drama. While other kdrama fans rewatch their fave dramas 10, 20, even 30 times, I cannot compel myself to spend time rewatching a series that could be time spent watching a new amazing drama. With that being said, I think I have to watch Flower Boy Next Door again one day and that's certainly saying something about how much I enjoyed it.

Last words:

Go. Watch. This. Drama. Now!
Watch it over on Viki: http://www.viki.com/tv/11165c-flower-boy-next-door
Or if DramaFever is more your style: http://www.dramafever.com/drama/3851/Flower_Boy_Next_Door/

[K-Drama Review] Reply/Answer Me 1997 (2012)

Reply 1997 (aka Answer Me 1997) needs to be added to your Planning to Watch list, if it's not already on your Completed or Currently Watching lists, because . . . 

IT'S PERFECT, I SAY, PERFECT!

But if that's not a good enough for you, here are 30 more reasons why that will surely convince you:

1. The story that keeps you guessing: I loved the storyline. The screenwriters did an amazing job of creating a story full of such nostalgia about the 90's, life as a high school senior, first loves, friendships, family, following your dreams, and being happy. It immediately made me think of my own high school days, even though I was born in 1991, and so only 6 in 1997. That's what's so great about this drama, anyone can relate to it. The feelings were authentic and believable.
2. Seo In-guk as Yoon Yoon-jae: I absolutely adored the many facets of Seo In-guk's character. Angry Yoon-jae, pouty Yoon-jae, shy Yoon-jae, jealous Yoon-jae, sweet Yoon-jae . . . I loved them all!
3. Jung Eun-ji as Sung Shi-won: Shi-won, Shi-won, Shi-won. This girl wass a total crock-pot and I loved her. She's as crazy as they come, but so much fun. And her relationship with her friends, especially with her childhood friend, Yoon-jae, was a joy to watch. I was also awed, even impressed by her extreme fangirling. You go, girl!
4. Hoya as Kang Joon-hee: He was so adorable. And he's character was unique and well-played. He was sweet, conscientious, and very intuitive.
5. Mo Yoo-jung: She was adorable and I loved her with Hak-chan.
6. Do Hak-chan: Hahaha. Man, he's character was absolutely great. How can you not loved a huge pervert who also happens to be shy around girls?
7. Bang Sung-jae: Or a loud-mouth who speaks as if he's running on six Energizer batteries.
8. Yoon Tae-wong: Yoon-jae's brother, who annoyed me for most of the series, but then redeemed himself at the very end.
9. Shi-won parents: If I could find a way to ditch my own parents and take Shi-won's, I wouldn't give it a second thought. They provided great moments of comic relief.
10. The most passionate confession of feels you'll ever likely see: It was honest, raw, and beautiful to see.
11. The cutest, fluffiest puppy ever: So damn fluffy. But then the poor thing disappears! Completely forgortten. Bad scriptwriters, bad.
12. The amazing, never-play-the-same-song-twice soundtrack: Omg! The soundtrack was pretty dang impressive! Each song was perfectly suited to the scene, whether serious, funny, or loving. And there was such a variety of songs played!
13. The laughs, giggles, guffaws, and chuckles: This drama is seriously funny. Like Hahahaha, LOL, ROFLMAO kind of funny. Yet, it's heartwarming and emotionally in a few places as well.
14. The _onata: Gonna watch to understand, but it holds sweet, significant meaning for our lead couple.
15. The 1st kiss: Hilarious! And surprising.
16. The 2nd kiss: Yes. Sigh... So perfect.
17. The 3rd, 4th, 5th . . . (oh who's counting, let's just enjoy 'em) kisses
18. Extreme Fangirls in their natural states: I watched these scenes with my jaw hitting the keyboard most of the time. Who knew fangirls could be so terrifying?
19. Domestic abuse (kind of): While not funny in real life, the characters showed love and affection in unique ways.
20. The granny who lives on the other side of Korea and needed a bulb change: Just smile-worthy.
21. The super catchy song/beat that introduced each episode:
22. An instance where a Kdrama character actually DOESN'T remove the battery to ignore a call: I was actually shocked! A viki-commenter actually pointed it out.
23. Mr. Comic Relief Goat: Hahaha, I'm sure you'll love this as much I did.
24. Mr. Comic Relief Sheep: This too.
25. Brothers competing for lurve: Man, so many conflicting feelings. For both viewers and the brothers.
26. Refreshingly blunt honesty: All of the characters in this series are refreshingly blunt with one another. It showed viewers authentic interactions between friends and family, as well as provided comic relief.
27. Writer f***king with viewers up until the VERY end: They just wouldn't quit. Even when you were fairly sure how things were going to end up, they made you doubt just the littlest bit.
28. Most hilarious fighting couple scenes: Yes, these were actually kind of amazing. I was both in awe and laughing hysterically.
29. The 90's were awesome and the struggle was real: Amen.
30. The most perfectly satisfying ending!

You should be properly convinced, now off with you. Go watch. Here's a link for you: REPLY 1997.

[J-Drama] Itazura na Kiss: Love in Tokyo

After a bit of a drama drought, I started and finished Itazura na Kiss: Love in Tokyo (even though I didn't finish A Gentlemen's Dignity yet. Oops.)

It's a more recent Japanese version of the ever-still popular manga Itazura na Kiss. I'm sure most Asian drama lovers know the story. A highschool girl, Kotoko, falls in love at first sight with the handsome, but cold Naoki on the first day of highschool. After two years of unrequited love, she decides to confess, but is publicly rejected. Her house collapses. Her dad and her Naoki's dad happen to be childhood friends who lost touch and they end up moving in which them. Cue romance, tears, tension, and drama!

Strangely enough I've yet to read the original manga series, but I first watched the Taiwanese version, It Started with a Kiss, and the Korean version, Playful Kiss. And decided to give the Japanese one a try. (Can't remember whether I've watched the original Japanese version. Should remedy that.)

In the end, I prefer the Taiwanese and Korean versions to this one. While Kotoko is endearing in all three versions, I prefer the Taiwanese and Korean versions of Naoki a lot more. The Naoki in this version was bland and drab. Portraying no personality whatsoever. Sure he was cute, but his acting left much to be desired. Also, the plot was less dramatic than the Korean and Taiwanese versions, but then again I find that often the case for Japanese dramas. No one seems to know DRAMA more than Koreans! I found myself skipping a lot, bored, simply wanting to see how it ended. Also, I was annoyed that it took until the very last episode for Naoki to pull his head out of his butt. I believe it happened a little earlier in the other versions and viewers had the chance to see them "dating." I could be wrong though; it's been a while since I've watched either version. The ending was really freaking adorable though! Gotta love Mama Irie.

Itazura na Kiss: Love in Tokyo is worth watching because the core story remains a good one, but only after you've watched the Taiwanese and Korean versions, which I believe to be better.

[Kdrama] I Do, I Do (2012)

I Do, I Do

Korean - 2012

Romantic Comedy

16 Episodes

 

Viki Synopsis:

Hwang Ji An is the top shoe designer in a major shoe company. She is in her 30s, successful and single. One night, she makes a horrible mistake and sleeps with Park Tae Gang, a good-looking new employee in her company, and she finds out she is pregnant. Ji An’s hard-earned career and her stylish lifestyle threatens to implode as a result of her one-night-stand mistake. Will Ji An be forced to give up everything and live with the consequences of her mistake?

Click below to read my review. May contain minor spoilers. Sorry!

[Kdrama] Manny (2011)

Manny

Korean Drama - 2011

16 Episodes

Romantic Comedy/Family

Plot/Synopsis:

Lee Han (Seo Ji-Suk) is a single man who becomes a nanny on a whim. He also happens to live with divorced single mom Do-Young (Choi Jung-Yoon) and her 2 kids. Janice (Pyeon Jung-Su) is a rich single woman who does not want to get married. They all end up living together.

Click below for review. may contain spoilers. Sorry.

Personal Taste/Preference (2010) - Korean Drama

Personal Taste/Preference

2010 - Kdrama

Romantic Comedy

16 Episodes

Synopsis:

Personal Taste is a drama, which is based on a novel "Gaeinui Chwihyang" by Lee Sae In. The story is about a man pretending to be homosexual in order to become roommates with a woman who wants to live with a gay male friend. Jeon Jin Ho (Lee Min Ho) is a straight guy who pretends to be gay in order to become a roommate to his female friend, Park Kae In (Son Ye Jin). His hobbies include organization and ironing, and he’s known for his stoic poker face.

Review:

^___^ Ahhh...Personal Taste.

This was a GOOD one. I've been meaning to watch this for a long time, but I kept putting it off. After watching City Hunter, I wanted MORE Lee Min Ho, so I finally got around to it.

What I've been missing all this time--is a pretty good drama. Personal Taste had all of the makings of a good drama. It has an interesting, original plot, a great cast of lovable and believable characters, strong, pure chemistry and love between the lead couple and tons of hilarious moments. For 16 episodes, I laughed, smiled, teared-up, snorted, rolled my eyes and cried. The OST was also really good!

Yet there was still something missing throughout. My main issue is that the pacing was really slow.  I found myself fast forwarding quite a bit about half way through as the series kind of lost its steam. While I will not miss the series itself, I WILL miss Jin Ho and Kae In.

Personal Taste is a drama that I really enjoyed and believe to be worth watching.

P.S. The BEST place for watching dramas, is over at Viki.com. Users can leave comments as they watch. It's like watching with your friends--crazy, very unique friends! The comments are usual hysterical and totally random!

Here's the link: Get your taste of Min Ho here!

Down With Love (2010) - Taiwanese Drama

Down with Love

2010 - Taiwanese

16 episodes

Synopsis:

Shiang Yu Ping, a divorce and inheritance lawyer, is seen by others as cold, selfish, and ruthless. He had taken in his brother's orphans and was in need of a nanny. But after he exhausted his supply of nannies, he still couldn't find one who doesn't fall in love with him or gets scared off by the kids. Fed up, Yu Ping asks his secretary, Yang Duo, to find a nanny that meets his requirements. She recommends her younger sister, Yang Guo, for the job; assuring Yu Ping that her tomboyish sister will not fall in love with him by lying that she does not like men at all.

Review:

What I loved most about this drama was the lead couple! Yang Guo and Yu Ping were the one of the cutest couples I've seen. I loved watching the two of them together. I also loved the side characters, especially Yang Guo's family , her sister and father. This drama would have gotten a "very good" rating if not for the dang ending! It was HORRIBLY done, essentially false advertising (you'll know what I mean after watching, but keep the image above in mind)! The rest of the series was so well done and then to botch it up so much at the very very end was kind of unforgivable! :/ 

**Did you love Yang Gui and Yu Ping as much as I did?! Do your gushing in the comments! I'll join you! xD

Wild Romance (2011) Korean Drama

Wild Romance

Korean Drama

16 Episodes - 2012

Synopsis: Everything starts on the birthday of Eun Jae's dad. Eun Jae ran into Park Moo Yul, who is the 2nd baseman of 'Green Dreamers', when she is drunk. Eun Jae who is a fan of 'Blue Seagulls', starts a fight with Moo Yul who led the 'Green Dreamers' to victory. The next day, internet is on fire with the video called 'Humiliated Park Moo Yul'. Because of this video, career of both Moo Yul and Eun Jae, who recently got a job as a bodyguard, are in danger.

In the end, they decided to put on a show against the public! They lie that Eun Jae is Moo Yul's private bodyguard and the video was recorded when Eun Jae was giving a self-defence demonstration to Moo Yul. Like this, Eun Jae becomes real bodyguard of Moo Yul. It seemed like everything worked out just fine, but the problem is that they can't stand each other's existence...

My Review: I really enjoyed this one! It didn't end up being anything like I was expected.

From the synopsis, I thought it would be a nice, funny fluff series, but man does it get crazy as you keep watching!

And the lead couple is sooo flippin adorable, and I loved the second minor couple too!

Definitely worth a watch!