Who are the drama hero, heroine, and couple you like LEAST?

[dangermousie]

OK, the hiatus?

So did not happen. I am addicted to LJ.

Anyway, I have a lot of posts I want to do: (a) more on Resurrection; (b) one on secondary guys and gals who got promoted to leads (who doesn't love an underdog?); (c) one on my favorite OTPs (nobody does romance the way Asian dramas do it); (d) teflon hero phenomenon (the thoughest of the tough seem to reside in Asia and emerge miraculously undeformed).

But ehhh, I don't feel like being positive so instead let's do this:

Who are your LEAST favorite hero, heroine, and couple in dramas.



Heroine:



Yi Sheng Xue from Bull Fighting (played by Hebe Tian). One of the things I love in dramas is that I rarely come across heroines I don't like. I am pretty male-centric in my fiction and mostly have men as POV characters. Dramas are the one big exception, especially Korean dramas - there I view everything through the female lens. If the hero is lackluster, I can still persevere if I like the heroine, but the other way around and I am gone. Luckily, most dramas have heroines who range from cool to supremely wonderful. Alas - the Taiwanese drama Bull Fighting does not fall into that category. In fact, it contains one of the very few drama heroines I dislike and, actually, the only drama heroine I have ever hated.

It's a 'perfect' combination of the actress and role - the role as written is pretty abysmal but Hebe is a new actress with no charisma or much ability so any nuance a more experienced/talented actress could add is lacking. Hebe plays a spoiled, shrill, violent, selfish daughter of a Mob Boss. Now, that in fact, would not automatically make her hated - I adored Sung Yuri's character in Snow Queen, and her character was...well 'rich bitch' is the only way to describe it. But that's the thing - Sung Yuri was able to show the desperation and vulnerability which led her to be such a horrible person at first and a big part of the story is her growing and learning. Not here. We are clearly not meant to see Sheng Xue as anything but charming and adorable even as she disregards anybody's wishes, puts her followers into jeopardy (her bodyguard, who's been serving her since childhood, gets severely whipped repeatedly because of her and it stops her not one bit), and lives in the world that revolves just around her. It's as if the drama was made not about Makino but one of the girls from the Trio who try to make Makino's life hell. Ooooh, look at her stand up to students who dislike her (with good reason) - how brave when she has mobster goons literally at her back. Her dislike of the hero is also beyond absurd - it hinges on the fact that he lost a basketball match with a team she was rooting for. (The hero is no picnic but I would not wish her on him in a million years). It got so bad I had to quit because I did not want either hero (who I was indifferent to) or secondary guy (whom I loved) to pine after her - it got so bad I was actually happy my favorite character was not going to end up with her even if he loved her because she was an affliction I would wish on no one.

Hero:



Zhao Guan Xi (Ming Dao) from Knock Knock Loving You. What a way to go! If a girl you keep chasing like a sick stalker and do your best into maneuvering to have no choice but to marry you (or else!) prefers her first love instead, what's a little bit of almost-rape to show her who's boss.

I'd rail more but railing about the gent below (in 'couple') took all of my energy.

Couple:




Myung Hun (Park Hae Jin) and Ji Hyun (Han Ji Hye) from East of Eden. First off, let me put a giant disclaimer: I actually loved both PHJ and HJH as actors in this drama - they were both incredibly excellent and pulled off their not-so-easy characters with aplomb.

This said: WTF! How a drama that gave me Dong Chul/Grace, one of my Top 10 ships from anywhere, could also create this horrific mess is beyond me. Let me modify this: I loved their story until about halfway through but then I could just peer through my fingers. Why? Let's start with this: Myung Hun is a violent, highly unstable son of a man who is as evil as he is rich (and he is very very rich). He was fine enough as a child but living in that horrible household, understandably, turned him into rather a psycho. His one link to sanity and one obsession since childhood is Ji Hyun, a granddaughter of the railroad master who wants nothing to do with him. Not only is she in love with someone else, but Myung Hun's personality is not such to endear him to any woman - for some reason she does not find a man who declares she is his with no foundation (after kidnapping her), breaks up peaceful protests with goons (resulting in the death of a child), and taunts her boyfriend and his family, very desirable. I know, I know, she's insane!

Well, Myung Hun decides to do the only thing left to a good man like him: that's right, get the police to take her in for severe torture for days on trumped-up Communist charges (it takes place in 1970s) and have her tortured for so long that she finally can't stand it and does what the police (a.k.a. Myung Hun) want her to - denounce her boyfriend as a Communist, so he can be taken and tortured as well. Having achieved his goal, and happily leaving the boyfriend to be literally tortured to death (he only is saved through intervention of his older brother), Myung Hun drags her away from there (she is still wounded!) and rapes her. And then when her suicide attempt fails, he is all weepy and psychotic and, because it's all about his pain, begs her to marry him so she can make a human out of him. (God, just thinking about that makes me see red). Ji Hyun hates him with every fibre of her being but she finds out she is pregnant and in a conservative society she is in, she has no choice - she refuses to marry her boyfriend (who begs) because she does not want to wreck his life further, and marries her rapist.

So far, so "good" - it was a dark, horrific story. And then we get the time jump. I was willing to buy that Myung Hun, so struck by the unforgivable deed he's done, would try to change himself into a better person. Fine, go ahead, work on your soul, bastard! I was even willing to believe he could change and become better (though I wish it was shown better). What I was, and still am not, willing to buy, is that Ji Hyun finally reciprocated his 'feelings' - even if it took her a decade plus. We are supposed to feel touched that he is willing to go to jail instead of her, we are supposed to buy that he will fit into the hero's family as the long lost prodigal son - no. I can't buy it. Not ever. He got her tortured. He wrecked her life. She is still in love with the man she was forced to give up and has been in love with him for years without seeing the guy. HE BRUTALLY RAPED HER. The thought that they end up together makes me sick to my stomach. I only console myself by the fact that now that the 'couple' are a part of the same family as Dong Wook, the man she loved, she and Dong Wook are totally going to have some ridiculously awesome adultery going on. Nobody can tell me they don't still love each other, Dong Wook's little detour into law'n'order obsession notwithstanding (after all, he detoured about his brother too and he clearly loved him).

Bonus (because I need to calm down and contemplate that not every guy in EoE was like that as this part of EoE invokes such rage). Here she is with her boyfriend in the torture chamber:




"Bonus" points to the fact that this lovely pair of MH/JH had a LOT of shippers on soompi who thought Ji Hyun was a bitch for not loving the poor woobie back - after all, she married him! And he was so patient with her! *barf*

Who are yours?

Comments

[scanky-chops.livejournal.com]

I finished Capital Scandal a bit ago. THE LAST TWO EPISODES! T_______T I swear, i'm taking a break on the kdrama angst front 'cos yeah. Angsty!

Lead characters i hated? Oh god, Riiko from Zettai Kareshi. I don't know if it's because i'm not a fan of Aibu Saki or what but i spent most, if not all, of the drama disliking her with a passion. And well, now that i think about it i wasn't fond of Maki in HanaKimi and Nana Eikura in Meichan for the same sort of reason - they were pretty wishy washy in character and i just didn't like them with the hero.

Although Maki has somewhat changed that with Atadan.

[issy-chan.livejournal.com]

"with the hero" or with Hiro? hehehehe
but i am with you on hating Aibu Saki in ZK. and with passion too. she just did not set well with whole lead/heroine in the story. some actors/actress just can't pull of the lead role whatever they do for me.
also did not like maki in hana kimi and after that i just gave up on watching her in lead role all together.
but somehow, I LOOOOOOOVED Nana as mei-chan with Hiro. i just can't imagine another actress in her place in that role.

[mishane.livejournal.com]

I agree with Riiko. The drama did not do a good job establishing the relationship with Riiko and Night. I mean, she was annoyed with him for the first 3/4 of the drama! She really did not deserve him and because of the crappy way the relationship was set up, I didn't buy the ending, when she all of a sudden started to care about him.

Thankfully I was advised to read the manga which set it up much better.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

CS was wonderful, wasn't it????

I never got far enough into ZK to hate anyone - it was not my thing at all so I just turned it off. Ditto for HanaKimi and Meichan.

[uisceros.livejournal.com]

Hehe, haituses never work for me either :P

My views follow yours, actually. I HATED Sheng Xue in Bull Fighting. HATED. I very rarely stop watching dramas (it's happened only three times), but I had to stop Bull Fighting. I felt so bad for Lee Wei's character, and even Mike's character bothered me. But yes, Sheng Xue was amazingly annoying and horrible. I got the same feeling, like we were supposed to like her, but when Zi Cong got whipped because he was protecting her, and she didn't even look at him, that was it for me.

I think my least favorite Hero would be Hiro from Koizora. Everything he did grated on my nerves. The way he treated Mika was horrible; being super possessive, strong-arming her to get her to date him, ETC. I was also beyond pissed by the way he just walked up to Tatsuya (the one played by Eita's brother!) when he was on that date with Mika, and just like, punched him for no reason, and dragged Mika off. THAT was when I started hating him.

As for my least favorite couple... they weren't canon OTP, but they were together for awhile so I'm counting it; Wu Shuang and Yun Hao in My Queen. Wu Shuang was an amazing character, she was kickass, and strong, and didn't apologize for ANYTHING. And Yun Hao was a really nice guy. But together they just spelled trouble. Wu Shuang turned into a shadow of her former self (paying less attention to her career, becoming soft and domestic, which DID NOT suit her), and Yun Hao became a jealous jerk. I was very very glad when they finally broke up, and they both turned back to normal.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Thw whipping thing? Yes, that's where I lost it, too. Because when your self-absorbiton begins to seriously hurt other people and you see the results in front of your face and you still keep on? DIE!!!! Apparently ZC got his own OTP in BF, thankfully.

Re: Koizora. I just laughed and laughed at Hiro - he was such a wannabe coolster. Heh. My fave scene was when she told him she was preggers and he just lit out of there. That was the most realistic thing in that drama. But sadly he came back with a present.

[ambergold.livejournal.com]

OH GOD I FEEL SICK just reading about the second one. In fact, that is one ship that I wish I didn't even know EXISTED, because it's another of the lose-fail-in-the-human-race ones, not just that someone was actually sick enough to WRITE that but also that people actually supported it. WHICH PART OF brutally rape and torture do you not understand???

I almost watched Bull Fighting a long time because of Mike He, but then I came across so many negative comments(I think uisceros hated the heroine too) that I decided not to.

Hmmm, I'd have to think about mine, but the hero of Fated to Love You is pretty up there- he's pretty much directly responsible for his wife having a miscarriage, among a long list of other despicable actions and flaws. I didn't like the heroine in it either but mostly I just despised her for being a dishrag and always falling in with him, particularly since it was one of those cases where secondary guy was ten billion times better. I'd have to think about the other two.

[ambergold.livejournal.com]

aha. started to write this before I saw uisceros's post but turns out I was right.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Re: EoE. I wrote a really long reply down below to meganbmoore which explains the EoE thing and it makes sense within the story that she ended up staying with him (she is traditional, they have a child, she got worn down, and did not confess undying love) but the thought of him being rewarded for his behavior makes me sick. Not as sick as all the people on soompi who thought she was horrible and didn't deserve him - he was so kind to her. Barf!

In my head, once the drama is over, Dong Wook and Ji Hyun are going to get together. DW will be in a pit of self-loathing and JH has been messed up for years - they should get together and console each other.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

You were updating LJ while in labor. I had no faith at all in the hiatus.

Did EoE really go into making her eventually love her rapist?

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

LOL - true. I posted the day she was born, too :) Clearly am doomed.

Re: EoE - sort of. Basically, at the end, she called off the divorce she initiated and they 'reconciled' but she didn't smooch him all over or told him she loved him or anything. Which, actually, made character sense to me - she entered the marriage out of desperation but she became dedicated to her child and would do anything for this child and also she did get 'used' to her husband and even developed pity for him as he desperately tried to get to be a better person - 10+ years is a long time to live with someone. Not to mention that living in that soulless environment for so long made her rather ruthless and shut off herself. So the ending - I did not find it out-of-character, especially for someone as supremely traditional as she was (the other two main heroines as well as the Mother figure were not like this) but I still loathed it. I found it realistic but it still grated.

The thing that bothered me even more than that, actually, was that Myung Hun basically got off for all his horrific behavior so scot-free.* His wife that he won through rape stays with him, and he even acquires a new and better family, while having done precious little to deserve it. Once again, it made sense in context as his new family is basically the lead, who is totally Gangster Jesus and is the most self-sacrificing drama lead in history, and Lead's Mother who is such a believer in bloodlines, that unless she killed herself after finding about the baby switcheroo, she'd have to take him in. Once again - makes sense but I still hate it.

One of the themes of the drama that they did well was that environment, not blood, shapes you - Myung Hun was after all birth son of the angelic Union Leader and Dong Wook was the son of the satanic boss who grew up quite wonderful (except for a brief understandable detour into craziness occasioned by finding out the birth thing). And when the angelic Ji Hyun enters the horrible environment of Myung Hun's house, she becomes ruthless herself. But I really wish they took this logically further - not just through hero and Mom still loving Dong Wook best even after finding out he is not biolgically related to them, but also through rejecting Myung Hun even if he was related.

* Except for the awesome evilness of his sorta-father who basically has him tortured when he needs info and earlier, when he needs to dispose of an inconvenient witness, goes ahead with the hit even if his son will be collateral damage. Oh, and the whole bit earlier where Myung Hun himself gets relieved of his virginity against his will through Daddy's machinations. Lovely family. Still, he had to pay a lot lot more than that! It's just that he is the only one who got a happy ending (or as happy as it gets) out of the bunch drives me insane. But not as insane as the thought that Ji Hyun is trapped with him forever. Like I said, I am not normally or adultery but here I really hope she and DW totally get it on.

[kitkat-cat.livejournal.com]

I am going to go all old school here, but my least favourite, most hated male lead, hero, ever, EVER, was the husband in Qiong Yao's Mute Wife.

He starts off by being a shouty whining brat because he's a forward thinking educated man, who *has* to marry this backward woman, who's done nothing with her life other than how to be the perfect wife and daughter-in-law of a rich family, so that she doesnt shame her own parents. And oh, btw, the fact that she's mute, and deaf, means that she's got to be even more perfect.

But does he recognise her value and her strength? does he heck!? he does eventually come round and 'falls in love' with her, producing a daughter. But when he realises that their daughter is also deaf and can't speak, he goes into shouty bratty mode again, and then forces his wife to undergo 2 abortions, yep, that's right, 2 abortions. then, cos he can't live with that fact, he f***s off to Japan, where he shacks up with another woman, producing a 'normal' boy.

Anyway, he does eventually return to China, and (this is where my memory is a bit hazy), he brings his son with him, and his wife, takes him back (i know, i'll have his guts for garters, but what can i say, she's a product of her upbringing), looks after his son, and then dies. And he is all remorseful and crying. Well, you know what...he can take a long walk off a short pier! Ack! I have never hated another male character like him.

My most hated couple is another Qiong Yao couple. Xin Yue Ge Ge (Princess New Moon) is all about trying to convince us of this grand lurve story between a prince and princess. He's married, old enough to be her father, and i think *is* the father of her best friend. YUCK! Yeah, i don't like cheating stories. And crap about 'the heart wants what the heart wants'!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

OMG - they sound beyond atrocious. Yikes.

[darkeyedwolf.livejournal.com]

I gave up Thank You because I couldn't stand the hero. I know he's your drama boyfriend. Sorry. XD

[ambergold.livejournal.com]

whaaat?? why not? which part of him didn't you like?

[mishane.livejournal.com]

All three spots can be filled by ONE DRAMA. And sorry, it's one of the ones you like. :( *cringes*

It Started With A Kiss

I couldn't STAND Ariel Lin's character (so weak willed and everything she did was only for the love of a guy who barely showed her any interest).

I couldn't STAND Joe Chen's character (just stuck up and only after losing her he realizes he needs her? Whatever).

And as a couple? They were slightly less irritating as a couple as they were individually.

I think a close second would be Goong, which I think is another one you like. :(

I really grew to dislike Yoon Eun Hye's character, mostly because she deteriorated as the drama went on and it was like Ji Hoon's character sucked the life out of her. That's a perfect example of people who were better off without each other. She was so fun and happy before they got married and it took way too long for him to change to be good for her. I don't know, maybe I need a rewatch because it was a long time since I've seen it, but that's what I remember from it.

But I skimmed your description of the East Of Eden couple and that's pretty damn ridiculous. I. . . I don't get it. I'm really thankful I didn't start that drama.

Also, I just realized that I had watched the first episode of Bull Fighting and I remember being so unimpressed with it. Not even Mike He could get me to watch it. Good choice I guess!

[ambergold.livejournal.com]

hahaha. don't feel bad - after much persuasion by fanatic ISWAK lovers, I have come around to not hating this drama(never seen it, only a few minutes here and there) but I still don't really LIKE either of the two man characters or their pairing, and I think for dangermousie this drama is not a dealbreaker but rather a personal favorite.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Heh - I don't mind. I adore ISWAK but can see how people do not ad I did find Ariel annoying in spots (I was amused at how she got Joe to do whatever she wanted anyway, though).

BF - ughughugh. And I am a Mike fangirl.

Goong - I loved it to bit and do on rewatch maybe because I started out hating Shin but ended up adoring him and feeling sorry for him (I know you don't share the sentiment) and I love dramas which can make me change my mind about hero/heroine like that (see Snow Queen, Brilliant legacy etc).

Re: EoE. It made sense in character context but I still hated it. But what I hated even more were the deranged shippers. I agree that the actors had psycho chemistry and if they were in a romance I'd love to watch them but with those facts? Give me a break, how can anyone ship them!

[mishane.livejournal.com]

ALSO

I'm totally looking forward to the post on (c) favorite OTP's.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I dare you to guess my favorite OTP of all time...

Hint - it involves reincarnation of Korean Gandalf...

[sodahands.livejournal.com]

For me it has to be the OTP of Kim Sam Soon. I hated the leads so much. The guy was an utter jackass who told her that she was fat and ugly and old at every chance he got and that she would never have a chance with such a wonderful, handsome guy like himself. And then if she was ever with any other guy he got all jealous and demanded that she see no other guy but him and she can't like any guy but him. And she went along with all that crap and was sort of dating him even though he got back together with his ex-girlfriend who was a cancer patient or something. I mean, this is supposed to be the wonderful strong heroine Kim Sam Soon? Someone who lets a major arseface jerk her around? And the worst part was throughout the whole thing we were shown how her exboyfriend cheated on her and broke her heart and then she was basically helping another douchebag cheat on his girlfriend. Ugh! God they were so incredibly selfish and inconsiderate.

I also hated ISWAK's OTP. Ariel Lin and Joe Cheng had a ton of chemistry but the characters especially Ariel Lin's annoyed be so much. I just wish she had other goals besides getting the guy.

And then there's BOF's second half with the dishrag heroine who decided to drown herself for her major douchebag OTP. That was the icing on the funguscrap cake that was BOF. *still bitter*

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

how her exboyfriend cheated on her and broke her heart and then she was basically helping another douchebag cheat on his girlfriend.

Yes. THIS. I have never understood why this doesn't bother more people - that is when I went from dislike to loathing.

BOF - sure, drown yourself for a guy who doesn't care for you. Way to go - Darwinian self-selection as you are too stupid to live.

[cranberrysheep.livejournal.com]

Heroine: Bo Ri from Hello My Teacher. I started out thinking I would love her and absolutely couldn't STAND her and her inability to voice an opinion or make a decision by the end of it.

Hero: This is tough, because there is only one heroine I greatly disliked (I wouldn't say I HATED her) and not really any heros. I guess I'll go with In Jae from Exhibition of Fireworks for roughly the same reason as Bo Ri: WEAK.

I can't think of an OTP, but I definitely agree with those who called BOF. Way to screw it up Korea.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I liked Bo Ri. The secondary guy in that one though? Truly spineless.

Re: Fireworks. Not even KJH can make me watch that one.

[village.livejournal.com]

I have to know. What is it about Ming Dao that bugs you so? I don't know anything about the dude but he seems rather harmless so I'm really curious.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

LOL- Ming Dao himself, nothing (though I don't find him particuarly good-looking). His character was OK enough in Magicians of Love though I gave up that drama as it was too insane. But his character in KKLY sounds awful.

[popaddict.livejournal.com]

Woo... I like this.

The worst drama Hero for me is Yoo Joon Suk from 'How To Meet A Perfect Neighbour.' He was soooooo weak; I watched every episode and would call my friend at intervals to bitch about him. I was rooting for the other guy I had initially thought was 'too old'.


Still have a crush on Park Shi Hoo though. One bad one role won't detract from the sexy.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Oh, I thought about watching this because I like PSH but I guess I'll skip

[popaddict.livejournal.com]

Oh and I hated the leads in "You Are My Destiny". Hate.