[Anime] Say "I Love You"

Say "I Love You"

Shojo, Romance

13 Episodes, Fall 2012

Synopsis:

Tachibana Mei has had no boyfriend and couldn't even make friends. One day she injures Kurosawa Yamato, the most popular boy in school, and for some reason Yamato takes interest in her...

Click below for review. May contain spoilers.

[Kdrama] History of a Salaryman

History of a Salaryman

South Korea - Winter 2012

22 Episodes

Comedy/Romance/Business Crimes

Synopsis:

One night Yoo Bang (Lee Bum Soo) enters a dark, mysterious villa with nothing but a flashlight, only to find an executive of the Chunha Medical Group, Ho Hae slouched in a chair, dead and Jin Ho Hae's niece, Yeo Chi (Jung Ryu Won) hiding behind a curtain. At Ho Hae's funeral, Yoo Bang and Yeo Chi are suddenly taken into custody for his murder. We're taken three months into the past to reveal what led to this murder and exactly who was responsible. During this flashback we meet Choi Hang Woo (Jung Gyu Woon), a director from Ho Hae's rival pharmaceutical company, who is undercover to steal the formula for their new drug and the Chief Researcher from Chunha Group, Cha Woo-Hee (Hong Soo Hyun). The lives of these individuals will all be intertwined within these three months to reveal exactly just who murdered Ho Hae, and why.

Review:

Plot: 

History of a Salaryman is definitely one of the good ones. You get 22 episodes of the most convoluted plot ever of business crime, treachery, murder, forged wills, crazy secetary ladies and more. You are on the edge of your seat as you hold your breath to see if the traitorous bastards get caught or not and the victims get revenge. It was fasciniating.

Characters:

If you've been following my blog, then you should know that for both dramas and books, it's the characters that either make or break a work of art for me. I am a firm believer that it is the characters that are at the center of any storyline. In History of a Salaryman, the characters get 5/5 points hands down! I have never, in any korean drama, seen such a mix of highly developed characters with such depth. There were NO flat, one-dimensional characters in this scene. There were also no traditional caricatures of character. Yoo Bang and Yeo CHi are NOT your traditional/typical lead characters and provided tons of comic relief. God, the two of them were absolute riots! Director Mo is not your typical antagonist and her acting was absolutely superb (and creepy as hell). All of the other secondary characters were just as well done. The first sign of great characterization and acting? When you can't decide whether or not you like or hate a particular character!

Soundtrack:

Meh. Soundtrack was pretty good, but nothing extraordinary. Each track was well suited to the scene, but I'm not feeling a compulsion to go download the OST.

 

Overall:

History of a Salaryman is a one-of-kind drama. It's not like your typical corrupt business dramas, becasue the characters are too ridiculously funny for that level of seriousness. It's also not your typical romantic comedy, becasue the romance isn't in the forefront and again atypical characters that stray away from the norm. Though I wish that Yoo Bang and Yeo Chi's romance had a bit more air time, This is a drama series you DO NOT want to miss. I mean, how can you resist giving a drama with a lead character named "Breasts" a try? 

Looney Express awards History of a Salaryman a 4/5.

Heartstrings (2011) – Korean Drama

 Heartstrings

15 episodes + 1 special (2011)

Korean Drama

Romantic, Music

Synopsis:

Lee Shin is a university student majoring in modern music. He is also the vocalist and guitarist of the band "The Stupid." Shin is known for his good looks and strong passion for music, but in reality he is cold, lacks interest in anything unrelated to music and has neither dreams nor plans for the future. He initially likes Jung Yoon Soo, a dance professor at university, but this all changes when he meets Lee Kyu Won.

Lee Kyu Won is a bright and outgoing student who was born into a prestigious family and is majoring in traditional Korean instruments, especially the gayageum. Kyu Won's grandfather, Lee Dong Gun, is one of the top 3 traditional musicians of his age and his biggest wish is to see his granddaughter become a traditional music prodigy. Trying to live up to her grandfather's expectations, Kyu Won immerses herself in training and becomes a university student who knows nothing outside of her studies. As her friends are fans of "The Stupid", she was forced to go to the band's concert with them. There she saw Lee Shin performing live, and is immediately captivated by him.

Review:

I’m totally shallow, I admit, especially when it comes to my fave pretty korean boys. I decided to watch Heartstrings because I love love love Jung Yong Hw!. I first fell in love with him in “You’re Beautiful”, then I fell in love with his band CN Blue.

I think it’s lovely that Shin Woo (Yong Hwa) and Mi Nam (Shin Hye) from “You’re Beautiful” got a chance to star in their own romance! 

So, Heartstrings…. I like the characters. Yong Hwa plays his role as Lee Shin, a student majoring in Western Music very well. At the same though..it’s sort of who he is in real life, so I don’t think we can attribute much to his acting skills. That is NOT to say, I did not love his role and how he portrayed it..I DID! Lee Kyu Won was meh… I liked her A LOT more in “You’re Beautiful”. She does okay in Heartstrings, still pretty cute and did a okay-pretty good job acting. The character I really loved though was Cha Bo Woon, Kyu Won’s BFF4EVER! She was so adorably funny and such a great friend--always interrupting Lee Shin and Kyu Won’s couple moments and getting punished as a result by Shin! LOL

As this is a Music drama, we have to talk about the soundtrack. It’s pretty obvious what I think of it..it’s CN BLue’s Yong Hwa, after all! The soundtrack was GREAT! I really loved it. I paid more attention to the performances than to the plot to be honest.

The plot was a simple one…Music school, a performance, some jealousy, attempts to sabotage said performance etc etc Yet, I found myself fast forwarding..A LOT. In addition to the performance scenes, only parts I didn’t fast forward were the romantic scenes.

Overall, I give Heartstrings a "good" rating. While the soundtrack was Amazing, it alone cannot make a drama. Problem is that I can’t quite put my finger on what was lacking…the drama simply didn’t leave much of a lasting impression. I don’t have the feeling of lose one usually feels after a great drama and I certainly don’t see myself re-watching it a million times in the near future.

**Love CN Blue too? Leave your favorite song in the comments!

“Chasing Fire” by Nora Roberts

 

Title: Chasing Fire

Author: Nora Roberts

Year Published: 2011

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons New York

Pages: 472

 

Synopsis/Blurb: 

Little else in life is as dangerous as fire jumping. Flying past towering pillars of smoke, parachuting down to the edge of an all-consuming blaze, shoveling and sawing for hours upon hours, days at a time, all to hold the line and push back against the raw power of Mother Nature.

But there's also little else as thrilling - at least to Rowan Tripp. The Missoula smoke jumpers are one of the most exclusive fire-fighting squads in the nation, and the job is in Rowan's blood: her father is a legend in the field. She's been fighting fires since her eighteenth birthday. At this point, returning to the wilds of Montana for the season feels like coming home - even with reminders of the partner she lost last season still lingering in the air.

Fortunately, this year's rookie crop is among the strongest ever - and Gulliver Curry's one of the best. He's also a walking contradiction, a hotshot firefighter with a big vocabulary and a winter job at a kid's arcade. He came to Missoula to follow in the footsteps of Lucas "Iron Man" Tripp, yet he's instantly more fascinated by his hero's daughter. Rowan, as a rule, doesn't hook up with other smoke jumpers, but Gull is convinced he can change her mind. And damn if he doesn't make a good case to be an exception to the rule.

Everything is thrown off balance, though, when a dark presence lashes out against Rowan, looking to blame someone for last year's tragedy. Rowan knows she can't complicate things with Gull - any distractions in the air or on the ground could be lethal. But if she doesn't find someone she can lean on when the heat gets intense, her life may go down in flames

My Thoughts:

As always Nora Robert s writes a beautiful love story with awesome, interesting, lovable characters, and equally interesting plot backdrop. I really liked this one as I like all of Nora's work, but this doesn't get 5 stars because of the ending. I feel that it ended too abruptly. Almost like Nora thought "Oops, don't wanna pass the 500 page mark, let's wrap this bad boy up". The pace of the last chapter was fast forwarded 8X compared to the rest of the novel. But still, did I say that I really enjoyed it? Rowan and Gull made the best couple! I loved them together. And the supporting characters were equally fun. Guess you gotta be a lil nutty to be a Zulie!

Sweet 18 (KDrama)

Sweet 18

Also known as: Sweet 18 / Little Bride / 18 Year Old Bride
Episodes: 16 

Synopsis: Kwon Hyuk-Joon's grandfather, the head of the traditional Kwon family agrees to an arranged marriage between his grandson (Lee Dong Gun) and Yoon Jung-Sook (Han Ji Hye) when Yoon Jung-Sook is born. 18 years later, the two families lose contact because soon after the contract is signed, Jung-Sook's family encounters financial issues and is forced to run away.
Meanwhile, Jung-Sook has grown up to be a rebellious and strong-willed girl who just wants to live her life as she sees fit. With little aspirations, she is the direct foil of her achievement-bound counterpart, Hyuk-Joon. When the two meet each other, they clash horribly; Jung-Sook thinks her fiancee is nothing but boring, and Hyuk-Joon believes Jung-Sook to be nothing but an immature child. Despite all this they do marry. The rest of the series follows their life living together as a couple, and the obstacles they are faced with.

My Review: ^___^ This drama was so damn sweet, it made my tooth ache!!! It's such a cute story  about true love that has everything a gal can want in a series! Lovable characters: You not only find yourself falling in love with the lead couple, Jung-Sook and Hyuk-Joon, but also with the supporting characters who all have such unique personalities that makes the drama even more endearing! What I liked most about this drama, other than how adorable the lead couple were with one another, is how REAL the characters were. Unlike alot of dramas out there, the actors/characters weren't these perfect mannequins, that had it all: looks, smarts, money, that makes you want to hate them. Jung-Sook is spunky and childish and doesn't give a damn. Hyuk-Joon is mature and very serious and that's what makes it so much fun for him to be teased by both Jung-Sook and his friend Jung-Chan! You even end up liking Hyuk-Joon's manipulative sister and ex, because they're just so interesting and I ended finding his sister Sun-ah cute as she found her own love interest. This is a sweet, simple story of true love, the very best kind, with none of the angst and psychotic exes and other love interests!!! Give it a try!

The Circle Trilogy by Nora Roberts

Hey Guys,


Today is a Book Review:

The Circle Trilogy which consists of Morrigan's Cross, Dance of the Gods, and Valley of Silence is one of the best love stories of all time, in my opinion ( until I read something better that it =D) Nora Roberts's genius is clearly shown as she entertwines romance with fantasy, death and loss.

There is a powerful vampire by the name of Lilith whose only goal is to end humanity by Samhain Day (Halloween). The Gods give the duty of protecting humankind to a circle of six: the sorcerer, the witch, the shifter of shapes, the warrior, the scholar, and te one who was lost. There are 6 months left to the day of battle and the circle must gather.

Each book in the trilogy not only shows the progress of preparing for the big battle, but also focuses on a relationship between two of the six. Morrigan's Cross was essentially Hoyt (the sorcerer) and Glenna's (the witch) story. Dance of the Gods was Larkin (shifter of shapes) and Blake's (the warrior) story. And Valley of Silence was Moira (Scholar) and Cain's (one who was lost, also a vampire turned by Lilith) Story.

This seies was definitely an AWESOME read. I recommend it to anyone who's into romance and fantasy. It is very emotional and easily tugs at your heartstrings. You find yourself rooting for the circle of six and hating their enemies. When their friends die, you feel it and cry with them.


This Trilogy gets a 5/5 from Looney Express Reviews!