My eyeballs will never recover

[dangermousie]

I mainly post about Chuno and Pick the Stars but I am also watching two other dramas - the adorable Taiwanese confection Down with Love and jdrama Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge (i.e. Wallflower). I don't post much about them because neither is too meta-able.



DwL is adorable. Make it ADORABLE. It stars Jerry Yan (who has never looked hotter - that smile and that voice) and Ella (who has never been adorable as a blunt woman prenteding to be a lesbian in order to keep her nanny position. Don't ask). There is also an awesome secondary OTP, 2 cute kids, great OTP interaction (he is so falling for her but he thinks she is a lesbian), some awesome sequences (at one point they get kidnapped by thugs and the scene that follows owned my heart). Jerry Yan's character is totally crush-worthy - a smar lawyer who is also pretty well-adjusted. And Ella? OMG I LOVE HER SO MUCH. The only thing is each ep is an hour-and-a-half long. It takes a while to get through :)

Wallflower isn't bad but it doesn't truly grab me - I enjoy it when I watch it but I promptly forget it the second it's over. Oh well. Considering how few recent jdramas I even like, that's probably a feat in and of itself.

I have also tried the first episode of Let's Go Watch Meteor Shower, the minland adaptation of Hana Yori Dango which was supposed to not be one :) After watching the first ep I can say two things: (a) OMG so bad. I laughed so hard for all the wrong reasons; (b) when they said it wasn't based on Hanadan they weren't kidding - if I ever thought I'd see a well-adjusted, smiley, intelligent Domyouji...





This is our Not!Domyouji. He wears unthreatening cardigans, seems nice enough, is amused and smiles a lot. Hello bizarro world. When a car he was in accidentally hits Not!Makino he offers to pay. The world is ending.



This is Not!Makino. She refuses the money - I am a little confused what kind of justice would be involved as monetary compensation is usually how one deals with car accidents. Whatever. Their first meeting is cute, fluffy and so far from Hanadan I shudder.



And then she gives him a ride on her bycicle. Bwahahahaha.



I am trembling to my tippy-toes!



In this version, N!D doesn't even know the Not!F4 before the drama starts. N!F4 (or I suppose I should call them Not!F3) go to the college N!M just started and wreak mild, unthreatening havoc of the kind even your neighborhood senior citizen would find tame.



Wisdom for the ages:



So threatening. I quiver. From laughter. Btw, the man on the left is Rui. I use the term "man" loosely - he looks like a bulldog. Did I mention that in this version Not!Domyouji is not involved in the bullying-lite at all?





I reiterate. The handsomest man alive. China is the most populous country on earth and they are telling me this is their best-looking man?



(The speaker is clearly blind). The clothes of a killer! I haven't figured out yet if this is Sojiro or Akira but he is acting scarily like Domyouji is supposed too which is...bizarre. Why not get Domyouji to act like Domyouji instead?



Not!Domyouji meets Not!F3. It's like a hair-color ad.



I shiver in terror.





It's been brung!





True love, etcetera.



















I was not exactly sure why they were half-heartedly bickering with each other but the ep ended and I was out. No more. I had my problems with the Korean version but compared to this even the second half of it was a freaking masterpiece.

Did I mention that in this version Akira and Tsubaki hook up? Contemplate that please.

Comments

[boycottbananas.livejournal.com]

The only one that looks somewhat cute is pink!guy. :o

And Akira/Tsubaki? Well, he's the older-lady!womanizer, right? I can see it on his part, yeah.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I think they are all awful. *shudder*

Not!HYD

[lesbiassparrow.livejournal.com]

Why do you do these things to yourself? Whhhyyyyy?

(THE CARDIGAN OF TOUGHNESS. THE SHOE-OFF. THE EXPRESSIONS THAT SAY 'FEAR MY PUNY WRATH OF CARDIGANNESS.')

Re: Not!HYD

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I could bodyslam any of them. And the outfits, the faces! I am going blind.

I saw better-looking people randomly in crowds in Hong Kong than these unfortunates.

[ifruity.livejournal.com]

This drama is completely different from HYD. I couldn't even tell which characters were supposed to be Akira or Sojiroh in the end. (I only figured it out because Sojiroh and Yuki were together.) If you don't compare this drama to HYD, it's a nice and sweet drama, but it fails as an HYD remake.

Akira and Tsubaki had a really boring story-line. Every time she showed up on screen, I'd roll my eyes. Their problem (I can't even remember what it was) was so repetitive.

In Rui's defense, his hair was styled terribly. It gets better later (but not really), and in promo pictures for the sequel, he gets a new haircut. His terrible hairstyle doesn't excuse his annoying character though.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

It just seems so OTT silly and they are all 12 yrs old.

Rui is sooooo hideous, I keep wondering which pond they dragged him from.

[seven-trees.livejournal.com]

QUESTION #1: Who's the guy wearing the pink cone for a hat?

QUESTION #2: WHAT THE HELL IS UP WITH THAT CARDIGAN, N!D?

Also, N!D's sassy shiny black shoes could totally take on that other kid's sneakers. And OH! The lapels of his jacket are flipped up! Know what that means? YEAH, HE'S READY TO RUMBLE. And I kind of love Rui's "Oh snap! Shit just got real!" face.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

A1: Either Sojiro or Akira. I have nooo idea.

A2: it's stylin', yo!

[anenko.livejournal.com]

You didn't mention the big basketball battle at the end! I totally lost it during that scene.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

This is seriously one of the worst things it's been my privilege to watch.

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

I remember wanting to watch this, because it was a HYD remake. But, I was a bit thrown off by the summary - that the F4 were really all smart boys who just didn't want someone else to decide their fate. So, they were acting out, to get thrown out of school, so they could do what they wanted with their lives - without their parents say. This remake suffers from something a lot of Mainland "teen" dramas suffer from - everyone has to be basically good. Especially the leads. For goodness sake, dramawiki lists it as: "Romance, Comedy, and Inspirational"


This is what dramawiki says: With their gorgeous looks, they are the idols of all the girls there. However, they are unsatisfied with the lives that their parents forced upon them. In order to get the principle to expel them from Alistun, they perform a series of pranks. While fighting for the justice of the victims of the pranks, Yu Xun becomes the target of the four guys. Through fighting and arguing, they begin to admire each other and eventually become friends. At the same time, the four guys grow into loving, responsible young men. Through the multiple struggles and hardships, Yu Xun, Yun Hai, Duanmu, Ye Shuo, and Shuangguan mature. They learn to control their own lives, choose their own futures, and strive for their own dreams.


Just - not HYD.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, whatever HYD is, it's not wholesome/inspirational :)

[mishane.livejournal.com]

This is how my shoe apologizes to your shoe. . . .



WHAT?

LOL, so stupid.

Also, I find N!D kind of attractive. Unfortunately, he's the only one.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

He is kinda attractive. And he actually has a good, sweet (if a little bratty) personality. It's sort of scary.

[sodahands.livejournal.com]

LMAO and you haven't even seen my favourite part, the really dangerous, really badass minivan race. In the rain!

I never actually got why Not!Makino hated Not!Domyouji. He wears cardigans and saves puppies.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I never actually got why Not!Makino hated Not!Domyouji. He wears cardigans and saves puppies.

Seriously. He seems like a pretty nice guy (never thought I'd type these words about ANY version of Domyouji, btw).

[kikintae.livejournal.com]

i watched only first ep. I hate makino in here, she is so unreasonable. Can't figure out which one is soujiro and which is domyouji.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Makino is so shrill and weird.

Ugh.

[village.livejournal.com]

LOLOL. For all the reasons you couldn't continue, I couldn't stop watching at first. It really did amuse me for a while there.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

It is so terrifying!

[prettierdanpink.livejournal.com]

LOL this post made me laugh :))

but the Chinese Makino is pretty, I think. But the guys? HORRIBLE. T_T I want to watch it though, just for the sake of watching. XD

And I missed reading your entries! It's been months since I last opened my LJ :(

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Hi! I missed you too!!!!

Chinese Hanadan was horrid.

[kittykatz.livejournal.com]

I was wondering if you were watching DwL. It's my current obsession and o.m.g Jerry, oh Jerry. I've never been a fan but this show has totally won me over. Not sure if you're watching with subs only but I'm up to ep 7 and it just keeps getting better.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, I am. I need subs though so I go by viikii (ep 4? I believe). So amazing.

[kittykatz.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, the subs are up to ep 4 or 5 now. but oh my, I can't wait for your reactions for the later eps. I do hope they will change the ending though (as has been rumored).

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

What happened at the end? *worried now*

[kittykatz.livejournal.com]

Ooh nothing bad at all! In fact I love how Ella and Jerry turned out but I thought it wasn't very complete for the secondary characters. As I said, I've heard a rumor that this isn't the real ending, or else they might redo it since the show has leaked.