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dangermousie) wrote2010-10-08 09:19 pm
dangermousie) wrote2010-10-08 09:19 pm
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The mysterious case of Korean stars in Taiwanese dramas
Two Korean leading ladies have recently made the news due to their starring roles in Taiwanese dramas. Park Shin Hye (Tree of Heaven, You're Beautiful) is slated to be the leading lady of Hayate the Combat Butler opposite George Hu, and Gu Hye Sun (King & I, Boys Over Flowers) is going to be the heroine of Absolute Darling, opposite Wu Zun (YUM!). Both of these dramas are adaptations of Japanese manga.
The flist seems to largely be unhappy about the news but I have to go again the grain and revel in my glee. Let's take each case separately.
(1) Hayate. I know next to nothing about the manga but I admit that any drama with this title simply begs to be checked out - sort of like 'Vampire Gigolo', just to see what on earth is going on. I find Taiwan makes the best manga adaptations out there overall (much better than Korean and Japanese attempts IMHO), and while George Hu does not set my panties aflame, I like him pretty well (he was awesome as Wallace Huo's love rival in Love at First Fight). And I like Park Shin Hye who has a sweet and fun on-screen presence. Her warmth made me like her YAB character for a lot longer than I would have otherwise.
(2) Absolute Darling - it's an adaptation of Yu Watase's Absolute Boyfriend, which previously had a Japanese adaptation. I AM MADLY EXCITED FOR THIS ONE. Let me explain - I am an unabashed Yu Watase fangirl. Her Ayashi no Ceres is my favorite manga of all time, and the anime adaptation of her Fushigi Yuugi is one of my favorite animes (Tamahomeeeeeeeee! :P) Absolute Boyfriend is a lot shorter, fluffier and weirder than either AnC or FY, but I love it anyway. The main reason I am excited for this adaptation is that the Taiwanese tend to stick closely to the manga and, let's face it, there is no way anyone can make an adaptation worse than the Japanese drama was. I've been permanently turned off the three leads in that jdrama because of it. I did not find the jdrama very good on its own merits, but I suppose if I hadn't read and loved the manga, I would have just viewed it as another mediocre drama. However, if you are the fan of the manga, the jdrama adaptation will make you want to stab out your eyes and eat them. I can deal with them taking out delightful self-referential humor and the yummy and plentiful sensuality (it's jdrama - nobody is allowed to touch! Even if the source manga is about a woman who buys a sexbot!) but they changed the personalities and interactions of the three main characters, not to mention the message of the story. It's like taking a novel about peaceful quakers and turning it into a war film. The drama has about that much resemblance to the manga. So - as I said, I am excited because there is no way twdrama will be as bad, and there is a good chance it will be better - due to Taiwan's tendency to follow the manga and allow people to express physical affection on screen. I actually even like the casting. Wu Zun is not a master actor by even the most liberal interpretation of the term, but he is adequate enough and he's playing a robot, so it's not exactly asking him to tackle Hamlet. And he is ridiculously hot, especially when you compare him to scrawny Hayami Mokomichi of the jdrama. Gu Hye Sun wasn't my favorite person after Boys Over Flowers, what with her overacting, especially evident when she acted opposite someone who was doing a good job (Lee Min Ho) or underacting (Kim Hyun Joong). But her brand of rubber-faced clowning is perfect for twdramas. Think of Rainie Yang or Ariel Lin - GHS does not overact any more than either of those do in twdrama romcoms.
So basically, I am excited for both.
I do wonder why on earth PSH and GHS signed up for this. It is not unheard of a Korean actress to star in a twdrama (Silence, My Lucky Star) but the actresses there are little-known in Korea and take their leading lady chances whenever they can get them. But both the ladies here are bona fide leading ladies in Korea in their own right. So why Taiwan? Twdramas are not as prestigious as Korean ones and surely they cannot pay as much. Hmmmmm.
The flist seems to largely be unhappy about the news but I have to go again the grain and revel in my glee. Let's take each case separately.
(1) Hayate. I know next to nothing about the manga but I admit that any drama with this title simply begs to be checked out - sort of like 'Vampire Gigolo', just to see what on earth is going on. I find Taiwan makes the best manga adaptations out there overall (much better than Korean and Japanese attempts IMHO), and while George Hu does not set my panties aflame, I like him pretty well (he was awesome as Wallace Huo's love rival in Love at First Fight). And I like Park Shin Hye who has a sweet and fun on-screen presence. Her warmth made me like her YAB character for a lot longer than I would have otherwise.
(2) Absolute Darling - it's an adaptation of Yu Watase's Absolute Boyfriend, which previously had a Japanese adaptation. I AM MADLY EXCITED FOR THIS ONE. Let me explain - I am an unabashed Yu Watase fangirl. Her Ayashi no Ceres is my favorite manga of all time, and the anime adaptation of her Fushigi Yuugi is one of my favorite animes (Tamahomeeeeeeeee! :P) Absolute Boyfriend is a lot shorter, fluffier and weirder than either AnC or FY, but I love it anyway. The main reason I am excited for this adaptation is that the Taiwanese tend to stick closely to the manga and, let's face it, there is no way anyone can make an adaptation worse than the Japanese drama was. I've been permanently turned off the three leads in that jdrama because of it. I did not find the jdrama very good on its own merits, but I suppose if I hadn't read and loved the manga, I would have just viewed it as another mediocre drama. However, if you are the fan of the manga, the jdrama adaptation will make you want to stab out your eyes and eat them. I can deal with them taking out delightful self-referential humor and the yummy and plentiful sensuality (it's jdrama - nobody is allowed to touch! Even if the source manga is about a woman who buys a sexbot!) but they changed the personalities and interactions of the three main characters, not to mention the message of the story. It's like taking a novel about peaceful quakers and turning it into a war film. The drama has about that much resemblance to the manga. So - as I said, I am excited because there is no way twdrama will be as bad, and there is a good chance it will be better - due to Taiwan's tendency to follow the manga and allow people to express physical affection on screen. I actually even like the casting. Wu Zun is not a master actor by even the most liberal interpretation of the term, but he is adequate enough and he's playing a robot, so it's not exactly asking him to tackle Hamlet. And he is ridiculously hot, especially when you compare him to scrawny Hayami Mokomichi of the jdrama. Gu Hye Sun wasn't my favorite person after Boys Over Flowers, what with her overacting, especially evident when she acted opposite someone who was doing a good job (Lee Min Ho) or underacting (Kim Hyun Joong). But her brand of rubber-faced clowning is perfect for twdramas. Think of Rainie Yang or Ariel Lin - GHS does not overact any more than either of those do in twdrama romcoms.
So basically, I am excited for both.
I do wonder why on earth PSH and GHS signed up for this. It is not unheard of a Korean actress to star in a twdrama (Silence, My Lucky Star) but the actresses there are little-known in Korea and take their leading lady chances whenever they can get them. But both the ladies here are bona fide leading ladies in Korea in their own right. So why Taiwan? Twdramas are not as prestigious as Korean ones and surely they cannot pay as much. Hmmmmm.
no subject
I've been reading mangas since I was 5, like over 20 some years now.
The biggest manga award given in the manga industry is the Shogakukan, and I always check it out for the "best" manga of the year. Shoujo is the female category, Shonen male.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shogakukan_Manga_Award
Your fave Ceres won one year. I am an okay Yuu Watase fan, but I've read every one of her works, so I'm a Yuu completest.
Some of the winners are the best mangas I've ever read, epic and breathtaking in scope.
I recommend:
Basara and 7 Seeds, both by Tamura Yumi. Her drawing style I've never liked, but her storytelling is Shakespearean and epic-drama in scope. And after a while, I've grown to appreciate her drawing style, it's stark and raw around the edges, akin to sketches in scenes but conveys the viscera so well it's art in a new form.
And Red River by Chie Shinohara is also quite an epic tale. Just some unsolicited manga suggestions. We have a manga room at home with shelves of the mangas we own. I think mangas are definitely my first love. Too bad most of the older stuff is unavailable translated, as stuff from the 70s and 80s are unparallel in quality.
no subject
I adored Red River. I got to the part where Yuri was kidnapped by Ramses and then ran out of all translated volumes. I really must go back, I am sure they are out by now. I have to say the mangaka really stuck close to Hittite history for that one which I liked (I had a book on the Hittites before that which is why I was interested in the manga).
I tried Basara and got about halfway through but the artstyle was soooo offputting. More importantly, I loathed Shuri so there was that. Maybe I'll go back to it someday as I do have all the volumes.
no subject
I actually think Tamura's 7 Seeds, which was her follow up to Basara, and also won the Shogakukan manga of the year award a few years back, may end up being more epic and better than Basara.
7 Seeds does not have a dark protagonist, all the major leads are super awesome people, so that might interest you more. I wrote a little bit about it.
The love lines in 7 Seeds made me weep, and the potential love triangles are sooooo gasp-worthy to consider.
http://ockoala.wordpress.com/2010/06/28/7-seeds/
no subject
no subject
As for Basara - how 'bout I tell you what Shuri does to pay and pay and you decide if its enough.
In Part II, Shuri becomes a slave and has to find a way to survive and make his way back into power. He does, and saves people in the process. When he gets back into power - because the Capital and the monarchy are under seige - he agrees to become his father's successor.
It may have been his goal when he was younger, and it appears he has again taken an antogonist position against Sarasa and the rebels again, this time with full knowledge of who is he battling (the woman he loves). But in the end, its revealed that Shuri has decided to set himself up as the scape goat for the entire royal family.
Even if the rebel's beat the royal family, there may still be supports who then become rebels trying to over throw the new regime. Shuri understands the only way for change to stick is if there is no one longing for the old regime.
So he takes power and proceeds to make the regime even more terrible, and in the final fight, he wants to be cast as the devil incarnate so that when Sarasa kills him, she is ending a regime that no one could possible mourn or try to bring back.
Of course, I won't you how it all ends....
no subject
I may check out 7 seeds if heroine hooks up with wolf-killing guy :) (From your write-up it seemed awfully low on shoujo stuff, sadly).
no subject
It's really a story about humanity, and hope. It's awe-inspiring, and I wouldn't categorize it as shoujo actually.
Basara was much more lovey dovey moments, but also way more hard to stomach shit like what the fates befall some of the awesome characters.
I love that pitcher/wolf man so much, even though the main OTP is sweetness personified, I wouldn't herniate my brain if Tamura split them up.