October Korean/Japanese Drama Reviews 2016 November 15, 2016

The first drama that I have finished is Love in the Moonlight/Moonlight Drawn by Clouds. This drama had 18 episodes and was completed on October 18, 2016. This apparently had become a really popular drama and had really good ratings. Honestly I am not sure why it became so popular, this drama kinda reminded me of To The Beautiful You in some ways. It seemed like a typical drama of a girl dressing up like a boy and then falls in love and of course has a rival that supports her. It had more interest with the aspect of the Court as the backdrop and all the politics that go along with that. I found the love story line a bit fluffy and for some reason it didn’t really reach to my heart. I think I would have preferred it more if they stuck with more of the comedy side of the story line instead of bringing in rebellion and death into it. I also think they did not explore more of the funny side of her being a eunuch and the trouble that it could cause and different funny scenarios. I did enjoy about the first 8 episodes but then I just didn’t find it making an impact on me. I am lots of people would disagree with me but I found it to be an okay drama not the best of the year or anything. I also found it hard because Scarlet Heart Ryeo was airing at the same time and I found this drama much more interesting and it was also a historical drama and this could cause some comparison. I found the ending to be okay but it didn’t leave me with a big impression. I did think the actors did a good job with their acting and I did enjoy the crown prince. I expected it to more a lighthearted comedy but was a bit surprised they went to a darker story line with rebellion and things so I mainly liked the first half of the drama. I also think that the moment with the characters fall in love but haven’t realized it, to be the best part of any drama!

The second drama that I finished watching is a Japanese Drama called Please Love Me which is based on a manga which I haven’t read. I haven’t watched many J-dramas because they are harder to find and aren’t subbed very fast. I also find that they do a lot of crime and police dramas which don’t really interest me. I decided to watch this drama because it sounded interesting. It is about a 30-year-old woman who is jobless and has a problem of supporting men because they are good looking. She is easily convinced and therefore she is taken advantage of and has become to be in debt. She meets her ex-boss one day and he decides to help her in exchange she has to work at his cafe which he has newly opened. I have to say after watching a lot of K-dramas I am surprised about how J-dramas are more open about talking about sex when it is almost never mentioned in K-dramas. It is mentioned much more in this drama but nothing is ever shown. I find J-dramas are a bit lacking compared to K-dramas. It may be that they only have ten episodes to tell a story and often the episodes are even shorter. It can a bit more theatrical or cheesy as well but I don’t really mind after a while. I really liked the main leading lady as an actor I thought she did a really good job. This drama kept my interest and enjoyed a lighthearted drama.

I really enjoyed Moon Lovers Scarlet Heart Ryeo. So this drama was one of the most exciting dramas I have watched lately.It had all the elements that I love in a drama.First of all it had fantasy,love triangles, tortured hero,so much mystery and intrigue. Something exciting was happening in every episode. It wasn’t a perfect drama and most particulary the ending was definitely disappointing. There is even a petition online to ask for a second season because they want more because of the unsatisfactory ending https://www.change.org/p/sbs-make-scarlet-heart-ryeo-season-2-possible. Apparently the drama didn’t become as popular as compared to an international success. I loved that there was such a large ensemble cast, it kept everything interesting and it was fun to see everyones relationship with each other. The problems with the ending stem from the fact that it is based on a book and there probably is more of a story that they could tell but just wasn’t sure how to fit everything in. I am not sure if they were thinking that they wanted to do a second season but the ending sure made it seem like they wanted to do more and so maybe they wanted to leave room for a second season. I find that there is rarely a second season in Korean dramas so I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for one.There were some unanswered questions that bothered me.

SPOILER DON’T READ IF YOU HAVEN’T FINISHED THE DRAMA!!

So first of all, things got confusing around the time when Woo-Hee committed suicide, I’m not really sure why she had to chose that option to stop the rebellion.

Second, it kinda bothered me that Hae-Soo didn’t let us see her find out she was pregnant and didn’t let us in on her plans with the baby.

Thirdly, the astronomer meets haesoo in present day and is he from the past? Does he have the memories from the past? I thought the astronomer was the bum she met before the eclipse!

Lastly, I am sad I can’t see what will happen to hae-soo next!!! Overall I think the acting was pretty good in this drama, I felt everyone was sincere in their acting and I was really impressed how every character was memorable and had so much depth. I really enjoyed my time watching this drama, even if you aren’t fond of historical drams I think everyone would find this one interesting.

The third drama that I finished was Hapi Mari a Japanese Drama based off of a manga. This drama aired in summer so it is a bit older but I find that it is harder to find subbed Japanese dramas. I read some of the manga so I was expecting more from this drama and I found it somewhat disappointing. The storyline is that Chiwa has a lot of debt from her father and a stranger offers to marry her and that he will pay her debt. Suprisingly it stars the same male lead as Please Love Me who is Dean Fujioka and it was interesting to watch him in different roles. This drama had a bit of a strange ending and took interesting turns. I didn’t love it like it really didn’t get fleshed out. I still found it entertaining but I don’t think I really felt like I was invested in the characters. It could be because the episodes are shorter or because there are less episodes so they have to fit a lot in a short time frame. It had an interesting concept but it fell a bit flat.

The fourth drama I watched was an another Japanese Drama called Kounodori or Dr. Storks. This is a medical drama which I was always a fan of but this one is even more interesting because it follows ob-gyn doctors as they navigate the waters of pregnancy and births. I have to say that I learned a lot about babies and birth while watching this drama. This was a very well made drama and isn’t that gimmicky or silly. It is based off on the manga with the same title. It is about a doctor Sakura who also happens to be a well known pianist called Baby. I have to say though that the piano playing is a bit silly and doesn’t like very realistic but other than that I think it was a good drama. It follows the route of having new patients every time and emergencies come up and the staff have to also deal with the decisions of the patients. One thing that came up throughout the drama is that pregnancy isn’t a disease but yet doctors need to be involved and everything is unpredictable and sometimes it can be seen as a disease. There isn’t any romance in this drama it is more of a human drama. I wish there was a second season of this drama!

The fifth drama that I watched was Shopping King Louis. This drama stars Seo In-Guk and he plays a rich heir that loses his memory and gets help from a girl from the country that has come to the city to look for her brother. This was a really good drama. I didn’t have much expectations for this drama and I thought that it was going to be really typical and not that much fun. I was wrong this is such a good romantic comedy. I really like that it was funny, the humor was really good in this drama. If you need a lighthearted drama this is a very good one. There are some serious parts to this drama too but I really loved Seo In-Guk in this drama, I wish I had someone like that in my life! lol!! Even the “bad” guys in this drama are not treated as evil instead they are treated like a human that made a mistake. Even the bad guys are pretty funny and humorous. I would say get past the first two episodes and you will be hooked on this drama.

The drama I am watching now is My Wife’s Having an Affair This Week. This is about a guy who finds his wife’s text message saying that she is meeting up a man at a hotel and he doesn’t know what to do. I have watched a few episodes and you have to get past a couple of episodes to find it more interesting. I found the main guy somewhat whiny and annoying but I have grown to like this drama now and I am interested in how everything will turn out.

The second drama is Romantic Doctor, Teacher Kim which is about a doctor who wants to change the privileged hierarchy of the medical system after his father died and he met a wise doctor that encouraged him. He comes back as an adult to the same hospital and meets a female surgeon who he falls for and then loses contact with her. He later meets her in strange circumstances. I have only watched two episodes but I am already hooked on this drama. Again it is a medical drama which you may know by now is my favorite.

The third drama I am watching now is Sweet Stranger and Me, which is about a woman who finds out her mother has passed away and her home and land has a young guy as the owner. She tries to find out his secrets and how he has gotten the land. I have to say the few episodes I have watched have been really fun and silly.

 

The fourth drama I want to watch is The Legend of the Blue Sea. This drama is about a mermaid from the Joseon era surviving in modern day. It also about a con artist. I mean it has mermaids I will be checking this one out for sure! Also it stars Lee Min Ho so I think it will draw a lot of viewers!

The fifth drama I will be watching is Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo. This drama is inspired by the life of real life South Korean Olympic weightlifter gold -medalist Jang Mi Ran. This drama focuses on college athletes who are fighting for their dreams. I think this will be a fun drama to watch!

Did you guys watch any of these dramas? Are you planning to watch any of these upcoming dramas? Any drama you think I should be watching?