Tokyo Juliet: fashion never seemed so fun!

[dangermousie]

I found this wonderful Tokyo Juliet MV (can't embed it) and now I have this huge yen to rewatch it. Seriously, just watch that MV!



TJ was one of my earliest dramas, one I followed as it was being subbed, and actually was the one which made me learn downloading - there was no way I could be satisfied with watching on youtube. I had had had to have it for my own. Objectively, it's not "good" but it's a hella entertaining, shippy, funny, and pretty. Also, wins any competition of "most kisses per drama" competition hands-down (with only They Kiss Again as a close contender). I was fairly new to dramas at the time and I didn't realize what a rarity that was.

So, what is TJ? A Taiwanese drama (based on a manga) starring Ariel Lin as Sui and Wu Zun as Liang, our drama's star-crossed lovers. Set in a world of fashion, the story follows the trials and tribulations of our protagonist, Sui, as she attends fashion school after deciding to become world's most famous designer, her vendetta with a famous, established and evil designer Chu Xing who stole her design, her mother, and is just generally evil, and oh yeah, her star-crossed OTP with Liang, another design student (who is shockingly a straight male!) who is her childhood OTP. Oh, did I mention who his father is? Yup, the aforementioned evil designer guy. It's shockingly less angsty than you'd expect with this set up, in fact it's rather fluffy instead but with yummy delicious nuggets of angst interspersed throughout. It gets a bit repetitive in its pattern sometimes - Liang and Sui are happy, an OTP interloper (of either gender) appears or his father schemes, angst, then they triumph, lather rince repeat, but it's entertaining anyway and full of cheesy goodness.

So, why watch? As I posted earlier - the premise of the thing (Sui is a genius college design student trying to make it to the top and get revenge on the evil designer who stole her design and broke up her family) is a fun, soapy bit providing some delicious cheesetastic crack, but that is not why I love it. The real story (and TPTB thankfully understand it as much as we do) is the gorgeous, angsty-happy OTP Sui has going with Ji Feng Liang, my one-time dorama boyfriend, and the estranged son of Sui's nemesis.

Sui/Liang is not only one of my OTPs, but they are also probably one of the healthiest OTPs I've seen in a drama (or anywhere). They fall in love with each other at the start, get together early on and stay together. They have ups and downs, temporary fights or setbacks, potential interlopers in the relationship and of course his evil father, but the OTP itself is so shockingly normal, surprisingly real. If they have problems, they talk about it and don't let misunderstandings pile up. They laugh and play around as much as they angst. The dorama is full of little real moments that make me go 'couples SO do that.' I can really see the two of them spending the rest of their lives together, and feel their everydays together, not just not able to imagine them outside the confines of the story.

It is also one of the more feminist dramas out there. Liang loves Sui precisely because she is so professionally driven and he is proud of her every success. Told you he was my one-time drama boyfriend! Add to it the fact that Wu Zun who plays Liang is drop dead gorgeous, that it's Ariel Lin being adorable, that he towers over her (kink!!!), that they have psycho chemistry and that there is plenty of kissing and I am set.

All that, and a sex scene involving handcuffs (on him). What are you waiting for? :)

ETA: here is a MV I can embed:

Comments

[uisceros.livejournal.com]

I started watching TJ, and will eventually continue with it. However I was put off by the falling in love so fast thing they did. I really don't like it when dramas (or books, or whatever) do that. Also, Wu Zun's dubbed voice freaks me out a bit...

That being said, I will totally continue because it has some of my favoite people ever; Ariel, Rui Jia, Wu Zun, Tang Zhi Ping, and ALIEN! It's like my dream cast (except in my dream cast, Qiao En and Zai Zai would be there too).

And uh! Sex scene? Handcuffs?! You just TOTALLY sold me, Wu Zun's weird dub voice be damned! I am going to go home tonight, and start watching it again, because OMG!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I am exactly the opposite - I love stories where the couple gets together early on and then has to face obstacles (therefore my love for Mars and my glee at the prospect of watching TKA). But never fear, Liang and Sui get plenty of angst and obstacles and hideous outfits :)

And uh! Sex scene? Handcuffs?!

Heeee. It's funny, it was such an early drama for me, I never realize how rare bed scenes are in dramas, even if no skin was shown :) (This, Mars, TKA and FtLY are the only ones I can think of, plus a couple of kdramas and jdramas).

[uisceros.livejournal.com]

Hehe! It's good to know that the angst does not interfere with their choice of horrible clothes.

I started on jdramas, so I got used to the weird sexlessness of jdramas. And then I watched ISWAK (followed by TKA), and was utterly amazed by the intimacy of it. So yeah, the same thing happened to me... I assumed that it was normal for twdramas (though twdramas don't disappoint me overall, they're a lot looser on intimacy than any other dramas).

DBY has one too! So do Love Scar and The Rose. (... I'm not keeping track... not at all...)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

You'd think for fashion designers they'd have better clothes. But nope.

Black and White also looks like it will have a bed scene or two :) (One weeeeek!)

The bed scene (the first one) in TJ is adorable - they are sharing a room and he asks her to put them on so she'd be secure he'd keep his hands to himself and puts them on. And she just gets this look on her face and tells him: 'Has it ever occured to you that I might be the one needing the handcuffs?' etc etc

[uisceros.livejournal.com]

I don't remember disliking Ariel's all that much, but Wu Zun's were horrible! I cannot understand why dramas have such bad fashion all the time.

Hopefully! Though I don't think it was a Zai Zai bed scene (from the preview). Oh, I know! Can't wait! (Intangible is doing them, right? I don't know if I'll be able to wait for the good subs, but I hate to watch it streaming. It seems like there will be a lot of dark colors / shadows, which never show up well on streaming)

Aww!! So cute! I so can't wait to see it now!

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

However I was put off by the falling in love so fast thing they did. I really don't like it when dramas (or books, or whatever) do that.

I am the same - may be this is why we seem to have like the same things. I prefer the long falling in love periods, with much angst "oh, what am I doing!", unacknowledged feelings, UST and all such things. Like in Goong.

[uisceros.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the falling in love part is infinitely more interesting to me. It's horribly irritating, with all the misunderstandings, etc, but I think that's what makes it interesting for me.

Granted I do occasionally like the dramas that show what happens AFTER falling in love (I liked TKA for that reason), but never as much.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I think I am with uisceros - I don't like when couple fall in love quickly and then all we get is their life together, tos and fros and usual obstacles (often contrived). I don't know why, but I find it rather boring. I prefer long periods of doubts and unacknowledged feelings. Like Goong., ISWAK, etc.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I think it's because I have a short attention span, when it takes too long I get bored (doesn't happen with dramas because even the longest of them are fairly short, but happens with tv shows - if it takes them that long, the feeling can't be that strong :))

I really love the "OTP against all obstacles" trope for some reason - when they are together and prove their love over and over when facing down bad things :)

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I am more inclined to "I shall conquer this" because "my brain tells me so, I am endangering her, etc." and then not being able to conquer. I think this difference might be why I liked Korean BoF and you didn't.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I think it's a personal thing for me - I get so impatient because to me it comes across as waffling and if it lasts more than a bit I am all "make up your mind, conquer it or don't but pick one!" I am more forgiving of something like ISWAK where the guy just doesn't realize his feelings. I must bring rl experiences into it - Mr. Mousie and I exchanged mutual ILYs less than three weeks after we started dating, moved in together a week or so after that and have been together ever since, almost 10 years now :) Granted, we don't have drama parents :)

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

It was the same for Mr.Alexander and myself - we met for 4 weeks, fell in love completely, exchanged letters, he came to propose, we married, the end. But I think I often like dramas about something I don't go for RL . I am pretty practical in RL and don't suffer nonsense and decide things pretty quickly. Majority of the main male characters I adore in fiction I would never touch with a big barge pole in RL. I mean - Domyoji, gosh , the boy belongs to a mental institution!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

main male characters I adore in fiction I would never touch with a big barge pole in RL. I mean - Domyoji, gosh , the boy belongs to a mental institution!

LOLOLOLLLLL! Even worse, I adore the main male character in Bali and I certainly don't approve of murder-suicide. Hello, jail! :P

But often, the types I go for in dramas are the ones which remind me of Mr. Mousie (if said characters appear in dramas eg) - reserved workaholic types :)

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

But often, the types I go for in dramas are the ones which remind me of Mr. Mousie (if said characters appear in dramas eg) - reserved workaholic types :)

This is so cute! I think I go for a variety of types. Aloof and arrogant is my favourite and so is workaholic. Mr.Alexander is more like the guy in "Flower shop" - a man is a saint for putting up with me and a good father to the bargain. I go for this type too.

my less favourite is the "girly" type - Ji Hoo is great but I just "don't see him a s a man". :D

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Ji Hoo is great but I just "don't see him a s a man". :D

Is your name Jandi? :)

It's funny because uisceros posted a youtube clip of Kim Hyun Joong and he is nothing like Ji Hoo at all, but was (at least in that clip) all boy. I was shocked :P

I like aloof and arrogant in fiction only if the girl is warm and pesky (basically iswak in a nutshell) just to see how she'd melt him :P

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I like aloof and arrogant in fiction only if the girl is warm and pesky (basically iswak in a nutshell) just to see how she'd melt him :P

Exactly. I think it is "This would never happen in RL" thing. In RL the guys like Domyiji end up tyrants who bully their hosehold and everyone around. But it is sooooooo nice to see in a drama that they can be changed! I think the change part is my favourite bit and this is may be why I like long falling in love stories. Changes are hard and it is nice to see the process.

[aliaspiral.livejournal.com]

All that, and a sex scene involving handcuffs (on him)

....i..i..i very clearly NEED THIS. i had seen a couple of the kisses from Tokyo Juliet and it piqued my interest, but dubbing over Wu Zun sounded like it would bother me, but HANDCUFFS?

Downloading NOW.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Heee. I think it's ep 6?

[mishane.livejournal.com]

WHAT? Sex scene with handcuffs? Gahhh, what episode? Wu Zun is my tw boyfriend and this is something I need to see!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Ep 6 I think (or 5 or 7)