Heartstrings ep 1 - romance as a moodpiece

[dangermousie]

Short version - I am obsessed.



I love its freshness, its colors and the way it feels.







I think it's the magic of this particular PD because it is reminding me of Worlds Within with his ability to just give the story the space to breathe, to make the world in it feel so real I can imagine being in it and meeting these people. I don't care whether this story will have a plot and what it will be because I feel as if I am bathing in a cool stream watching this.






(I do think there will be some sort of conflict because her grandfather is fixated on purity of traditional music but I bet PSH will try to go fusion. And seeing he kicked PSH's father over that riff - oy. Not to mention I don't think he'll like her dating a rocker of all things).

I really love both Park Shin Hye and Jung Yong Hwa's characters and their chemistry is as strong as ever. It's kinda ridiculous how good it is.













The angry chemistry in the final scene - whoa!



















I especially love that Gyuwon is lively and optimistic but no overly chirpy dummy but is kind and smart. I have an extra soft spot for her character because she reminds me of myself at that age.




And I like that Shin is more reserved and brusque and odd than any sort of arrogant or jerky or ice-princy.




I am a little confused by his family relationship - the young girl is his sister (and I love that he's really good to her), but where are their parents? That woman we saw is clearly not his mother. I wonder if his parents are typical kdrama parental deadbeats.




One of the biggest sources of fun in this type of story is seeing the cold and disinterested guy become all rabid and madly and helplessly in love with the heroine. Cannot wait because he was being kinda a bastard to her in that 'sulky young dude trying to be cool' way. And then asking her very concernedly, if she was OK, when she tripped.



Ahhh, the fun of adolescence - clearly his brush-off earlier is all part of his put-on armor, not his real self.




By the end of the ep it's clear his rudeness is his defense mechanism to keep people out. (I mean, any normal, well-adjusted person would explain at the end why he didn't show up for the gig - he had the best excuse. But not him because that would be letting someone in).

Though I confess I could go for Shin and his teacher BIG WAY if I didn't find Gyuwon so adorable and her chemistry with him so hot. I kinda wish there was an AU drama about them. Don't judge me, I watched Majo No Jouken in my formative drama years!















I like the secondaries but we barely met them so not much to comment on that front.





I do admit to already adoring the band-member who has a food obsession.



Oh, and did I mention the music? Between this, Buhwal drama, and Mary Stayed Out All Night, I am beginning to get why girls go crazy for musicians. I love the soundtrack with a ridiculous degree of love. For once, a drama cast real musicians as musicians and it shows. I confess I never heard much of C.N.Blue because I usually don't come across stuff unless I hear it in connection with something but if their stuff is anything like this, I am gonna seek it out.







On a random note, when Park Shin Hye jumped on stage to sing with the all-male band, I was getting YAB flashbacks. Only this time, Jung Yong Hwa gets the girl :P



So yes, I am utterly in love. However, I am someone who considers Worlds Within (a drama which had as many people passionately loathing it as it had obsessed adoring fans like me) the pinnacle of kdrama-making. And someone who normally isn't fond of (a) romcoms (b) youth stories (c) idols as stars. So take my rec with a grain of salt - what appeals to me may not necessarily work for you, especially if you are a fan of the proper romcom or youth romance - my tastes in those genres tend to not really align with fandom in general (not that one taste is superior, they are just different).

Comments

[calixa.livejournal.com]

I just watched the first ep too! I really liked it, to me it is everything that makes shoujo manga good put into a kdrama format. WELL DONE.

Her grandfather is going to loathe him.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

If she tried to find someone who'd piss off her grandfather the most, she couldn't have done better. Good. I think the old guy should go jump off a roof.

[calixa.livejournal.com]

I'm really excited for her to develop as a musician, too - like you said I also think she's going to go into fusion and it will be awesome to see them grow together.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I am curious what will give grandpa bigger coronary - her dating a rocker or doing fusion. I think the latter :P

I really want them to eventually collaborate on something. Synopsis said something about him not having any goals or dreams and I wish some of her go-getter persona would rub off on him.

[iheartkleenex.livejournal.com]

Ok, maybe I am thinking my download copy was super crappy and pixelated and I didn't see things properly. Did you not find the camera work shaky and blurry at all? Was it just me?

Apart from that, I loved everything. Their Chemistry is amazing (I was kinda secretly rooting for him in YB)and I love the youthful feeling to it, and the plot is not terribly bad either.

I remember I tried watching Worlds Within one time and I gave up. I am so temped to give it another try. I know it took me two tries to warm up to Full House.

[calixa.livejournal.com]

Did you not find the camera work shaky and blurry at all? Was it just me?

I THOUGHT SO TOO. It made me dizzy at first :/

[iheartkleenex.livejournal.com]

I know!!!! So it wasn't just me!!! That was my only problem with it. Stupid MBC, they need to get better cameras. What are they using, a video one?

[calixa.livejournal.com]

I downloaded a 700mb file and the watermark says MBC HD but if this is their idea of HD... man, I hope it's just the encoding. My City Hunter ones are the same size and those are perfect.

[iheartkleenex.livejournal.com]

This is so strange. I mean, I remember when MBC used to be the top of the line, but recent years most of the hits have been on SBS or KBS. MBC seems to go downhill. They really need to invest in better equipment.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Oh, it was sometimes shaky and blurry at times but I am so used to 'shakycam' beloved of American movies and shows, it didn't bother me at all.

I was rooting for him in YAB mainly because I thought he was way nicer than Tae Kyung (you have no idea how relieved I am that his character here isn't immature or a jerk even if he has issues).

WW has a mega-chaotic first ep and I was totally lost (on rewatches, when I know who is who, it works, but thrown into it not so much). By ep 4-5 I was obsessed.

[cleobulle.livejournal.com]

I've started downloading but I'm waiting until City Hunter is over to watch. It's sucking up all my obsession and emotions. Plus I'd like to see where this drama is going before jumping into it (kind of like I did with 49 Days and boy, was I glad I did! I spared myself a huge rant and frustration). I was very excited about Heartstings but the hero being in love with another woman at the beginning put me off big time. What did you think of his feelings for the teacher? Is it some kind of puppy love that will go away pretty soon in the drama or do you see the writers pushing that storyline past the halfway point?

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I think it's not 'OMG I am going to die for you' love. She's pretty and needs a caretaker and you can see how with his personality that would appeal to him. Plus, I don't think it will last long because (a) his chemistry with PSH (b) more importantly, teacher is supposed to have complicated angsty love story with secondary guy.

[cleobulle.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the info! I'll wait and read your posts about the drama to see when they'll drop that storyline. Then I'll make the decision whether to watch it or not.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'll be posting about it a lot, I am sure :P

[timescout.livejournal.com]

The 2nd epi will be mostly about fleshing out Kyu Won and Shin. We also see more about Shin's background. He's got issues, LOL! The kid's also have a connection, other than music (guessed that, hah!).

I think the Broadway Producer (SCU's character) will stage a fusion piece for that anniversary production he's there to do and get both's bands to co-operate. He seems to be thinking upon those lines. The harabuji will get an apoplexy for sure.

You should check out CNB - their music is a lot like in Heartstrings. Their Korean pieces are more poppy and the Japanese one's more indie rock. The band members, especially Yong Hwa and Jong Hyun are totally or partly responsible a lot of the songs. Another thing I like about CNB.

I've seen several mentions of shaky and blurry camerawork. Maybe I'm blind or just oblivious to that sort of stuff but I didn't notice anything. Hmmmm.... could be I got used to that while obsessing over Band of Brothers. Now, that's a shaky cam for you.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I've been checking out some of their songs and I do like.

There is plenty shakycam but I am used to it with American tv, it doesn't bother me at all.

[sisterjune.livejournal.com]

I saw the first ep and I liked it! IMO it started out kind of slow but it really hit its mark by the end. I was kinda iffy on jung yonghwa cause he's hella cute and all but he's not really a great actor that said he is improving and in the second ep he's better. he's not terrible at any rate. This drama actually has so many elements i like, romcom, youth story, MUSIC. THIS is what I wanted from mary stayed out all night! A story focusing on the struggles and triumphs of youth and also a focus on music styles. The second ep is better too cause they have great musical performances. subs came out for it yesterday and myasiancinema (which I thank you for directing me to)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I don't think he'll sweep the awards or anything but he's doing fun.

And yeah, that's what I was hoping from Mary.

[princesagr.livejournal.com]

I liked it a lot as well.
(I love World's whitin)
Fresh, young and cute, and not rom-com like (though i like romcoms).
Just waitin what to see. I also like the secondary male, the teacher/broadway

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I really think how much one liked WW is a good indication for whether Heartbeats will be your thing - this PD has quite a heavy imprint.

Yeah, I hope the Broadway director and his ex get back together.

[moth5dream.livejournal.com]

Aw, crap, now I'm going to have to add this to my list. I can't stay away from music, though I did skip Dream High. Still hoping for What's Up! *sigh*

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, this is gorgeous!

[vert-gazon.livejournal.com]

It was a bit slow in the beginning like people have said, but I think I might stick around for it. The colors are quite 'vintage' looking which works well in creating a hazy nostalgic effect. Love, love, love the fact they are combining traditional music and contemporary.

I really did need a youth drama to watch and Dream High did not catch my attention. It was too illogical and the drama was a bit forced. Also, thankfully the heroine isn't a ditzy character which I was a bit afraid they would go for. She's a bit spoiled, headstrong, but has a good heart.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I've realized I don't mind slowness in kdramas (at least every time people complain about it, I don't notice) as long as it's not annoying 'plot going nowhere' slowness of middle parts of some kdramas.

Yes, happy heroine isn't spineless. I enjoyed some of YAB immensely but the PSH's heroine there - eeeeeek.