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dangermousieI finished Devil Beside You last night but forgot to post about it.
It definitely is the cheesiest dorama I've seen. I don't know if I'd rec it as I didn't care for the lead couple (but the leads are cute and have good chemistry) and it had some moments I really liked and some that didn't work for me at all. Too OTT for me, generally.
I ended up really not rooting for Meng/XY, which considering they are the OTP of the show, is rather bad. I liked Meng well enough (though he was always a bit on the bratty side) until last ep, but when he decided to go to Italy with his Mom, I entered into a state of Meng hate from which I didn't emerge so it kinda ruined the thing for me. I have no problem with his wanting to go off and try to live with and get to know his Mom. He clearly has mother issues a mile wide, since not only did she seem to prefer Rang when they were kids, but she also left him after the divorce. Actually, I love the whole dinner he and XY go to with Mom. Meng is completely on edge and walks out all angry but then ends up breaking down in XY's arms, sobbing 'I really wanted to see her' as she tells him to hug her tighter. So yeah, even though he pursued XY and promised her they'd be forever together, I don't have a problem with his wanting to go to Italy.
What made me do the borderline hate thing is HELLO! Go to Italy. Get to know your Mom. But tell XY you'll come back for her, ask her opinion, tell her to wait! Don't announce your decision as if it involves no one but you, don't tell her that maybe you'll come back but maybe not (when all she is asking is to have reassurance that you'll come back to her). That just makes you a horrible jerk. Have your identity crisis all you want, but since it turns you into a selfish bastard...
If all you say is 'sorry,' it's smackdown time. I think they were trying to go for the whole 'he wants to keep her free and not have to wait for him' thing (that's why they had him tell her to be independent and tell her that he won't tell her to not fall in love with anyone else, but just ask as his right to let him love her all is life), but if so, they didn't do the greatest way of conveying it, because by the time I figured that out, I already entered my loathing phase and it was hard to snap back.
I guess the thing I liked least about the lead ship is that he was always in control and she was a dishrag. They weren't equals. And she had to work for him a lot. I don't mind when that happens in doramas that a girl has to work for the guy. But then it has to be a turn-around and the guy has to work for the girl. Both have to sacrifice for each other. He has to do things to keep her etc etc. Doramas like Full House understand that. Mars and Meteor Garden are yo-yos of that kind of emotional shift. Heck, even the secondary couple in this (and my favorite) has this dynamic going, where she is the one who is in love with him first and asks him out and brings him out of his funk etc etc, but he goes spectacularly to bat for her later. But not the main OTP.
I didn't have much sympathy for his angst, as it was self-inflicted (if he doesn't want to go, he doesn't have to).
I do have to say, that the sex scene and the morning after scenes were totally adorable and funny and cute and everything and when she wants to put on her clothes and tells him not to look and he tells her 'I saw it all last night' I cracked up. And then he throws her clothes far across the room and there is more sex. Heeeeee. Made me temporarily overlook the weird u-turn in the plot (see above). Smart TPTB.
His Mom is dreadful. Fancy telling a kid it's his fault she is stuck in a bad marriage.
Much as the main OTP annoyed me, the secondary OTP, Yuan Yi and Qing Zi, made up for it. XY should have stuck with YY because IMO she traded down.
I love the bit where QZ (who is forced to emigrate with her family and knows these will be her last days with YY) makes him take her to his apartment and tries to 'seduce' him but it's clear she is not ready and is forcing herself so he stops her (even though he wants her badly) and tells her 'even good guys have limits, so don't seduce me any more, OK?' and so she just falls asleep in his bed, after asking him to tell her fairy tales and when he tells her he is bad at stories, she tells him 'just tell me the endings' and he does, one after the other, and it's very sweet.
And then he finds out her father is taking her away (and he steps in front of her when the father is going to hit her because they spent the night together. Hey, he protected her, but in similar circs, XY got hit. See why I prefer him?) And he comes to take her away at her house and he and her father have a kendo duel (yes indeed. This show is crack) even though he has no idea how. Bollywood would love this OTP.
And they end up together because they work together to defeat her father and they live together and she makes him lunches and he thinks they are wonderful even though they aren't fancy, because she does them for him.
CUTE.
And he continues to be level-headed and full of common sense and just a good guy in all the ways that count. Should have stuck with him, XY!
It definitely is the cheesiest dorama I've seen. I don't know if I'd rec it as I didn't care for the lead couple (but the leads are cute and have good chemistry) and it had some moments I really liked and some that didn't work for me at all. Too OTT for me, generally.
I ended up really not rooting for Meng/XY, which considering they are the OTP of the show, is rather bad. I liked Meng well enough (though he was always a bit on the bratty side) until last ep, but when he decided to go to Italy with his Mom, I entered into a state of Meng hate from which I didn't emerge so it kinda ruined the thing for me. I have no problem with his wanting to go off and try to live with and get to know his Mom. He clearly has mother issues a mile wide, since not only did she seem to prefer Rang when they were kids, but she also left him after the divorce. Actually, I love the whole dinner he and XY go to with Mom. Meng is completely on edge and walks out all angry but then ends up breaking down in XY's arms, sobbing 'I really wanted to see her' as she tells him to hug her tighter. So yeah, even though he pursued XY and promised her they'd be forever together, I don't have a problem with his wanting to go to Italy.
What made me do the borderline hate thing is HELLO! Go to Italy. Get to know your Mom. But tell XY you'll come back for her, ask her opinion, tell her to wait! Don't announce your decision as if it involves no one but you, don't tell her that maybe you'll come back but maybe not (when all she is asking is to have reassurance that you'll come back to her). That just makes you a horrible jerk. Have your identity crisis all you want, but since it turns you into a selfish bastard...
If all you say is 'sorry,' it's smackdown time. I think they were trying to go for the whole 'he wants to keep her free and not have to wait for him' thing (that's why they had him tell her to be independent and tell her that he won't tell her to not fall in love with anyone else, but just ask as his right to let him love her all is life), but if so, they didn't do the greatest way of conveying it, because by the time I figured that out, I already entered my loathing phase and it was hard to snap back.
I guess the thing I liked least about the lead ship is that he was always in control and she was a dishrag. They weren't equals. And she had to work for him a lot. I don't mind when that happens in doramas that a girl has to work for the guy. But then it has to be a turn-around and the guy has to work for the girl. Both have to sacrifice for each other. He has to do things to keep her etc etc. Doramas like Full House understand that. Mars and Meteor Garden are yo-yos of that kind of emotional shift. Heck, even the secondary couple in this (and my favorite) has this dynamic going, where she is the one who is in love with him first and asks him out and brings him out of his funk etc etc, but he goes spectacularly to bat for her later. But not the main OTP.
I didn't have much sympathy for his angst, as it was self-inflicted (if he doesn't want to go, he doesn't have to).
I do have to say, that the sex scene and the morning after scenes were totally adorable and funny and cute and everything and when she wants to put on her clothes and tells him not to look and he tells her 'I saw it all last night' I cracked up. And then he throws her clothes far across the room and there is more sex. Heeeeee. Made me temporarily overlook the weird u-turn in the plot (see above). Smart TPTB.
His Mom is dreadful. Fancy telling a kid it's his fault she is stuck in a bad marriage.
Much as the main OTP annoyed me, the secondary OTP, Yuan Yi and Qing Zi, made up for it. XY should have stuck with YY because IMO she traded down.
I love the bit where QZ (who is forced to emigrate with her family and knows these will be her last days with YY) makes him take her to his apartment and tries to 'seduce' him but it's clear she is not ready and is forcing herself so he stops her (even though he wants her badly) and tells her 'even good guys have limits, so don't seduce me any more, OK?' and so she just falls asleep in his bed, after asking him to tell her fairy tales and when he tells her he is bad at stories, she tells him 'just tell me the endings' and he does, one after the other, and it's very sweet.
And then he finds out her father is taking her away (and he steps in front of her when the father is going to hit her because they spent the night together. Hey, he protected her, but in similar circs, XY got hit. See why I prefer him?) And he comes to take her away at her house and he and her father have a kendo duel (yes indeed. This show is crack) even though he has no idea how. Bollywood would love this OTP.
And they end up together because they work together to defeat her father and they live together and she makes him lunches and he thinks they are wonderful even though they aren't fancy, because she does them for him.
CUTE.
And he continues to be level-headed and full of common sense and just a good guy in all the ways that count. Should have stuck with him, XY!
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no subject
Date: 2006-09-02 08:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-02 05:30 pm (UTC)On the other hand the secondary relationship had enough legs to have been the primary relationship, and the guy was really hot.
Definitely. I kept wishing the show was actually about them, I would have really enjoyed it. And oh yeah, he is yummy (and is also in Silence. I actually checked after DBY to see if he was a lead anywhere, but unfortunately not).
no subject
Date: 2006-09-02 11:17 am (UTC)Dude.. I can NOT wait for the sequel. Plus, I'm in lowe with that Joe Cheng guy. :p
no subject
Date: 2006-09-02 05:21 pm (UTC)Btw, I finished ALtK (http://dangermousie.livejournal.com/527218.html) and want to discuss the ending :)
no subject
Date: 2006-09-02 02:41 pm (UTC)I still love YY/QZ, and yeah, sure, XY and Meng are alright, I suppose, but I think the fun-cracky aspect of the whole show is what drew me in.
So what's next on your watch list now that you've finished ALTK and DBY? I suggest "Delightful Girl Choon-Hyang" next; if you're ready for more angst after ALTK, I've heard "Sorry I Love You" is ridiculously high on the angst-level.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-02 05:28 pm (UTC)I am actualy perversely eager to see Love Contract now, because Mike He gets to angst in it a lot, and I think that's some karmic payback for Meng (yes, in my weird head it makes sense). But after I watch ep 5 of Silence (I've been putting it off because it's sort of like really nice chocolate, aka I don't get it often so I sort of anticipate each new subbed ep), I am going to continue with Tokyo Juliet (9 and 10 are now subbed). The complete series that I am going to marathon though is It Started with a Kiss. And then either Chun-Hyang or Sang-Doo, let's go to school (though after ALtK I think I need a longer angst break).
I am nevah evah watching 'Sorry I love you' because even though I believe it's very good, it's too angsty even for me.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-02 06:17 pm (UTC)Whoooooo.
I love it, don't get me wrong, but it is quite the marathon. I think the reason I found it a little dragging is because Ariel Lin has a tendency to grate on my nerves. I don't know what it is about her, but I think I can only take her in small doses, which means I could never watch ISWAK for more than a few episodes at a time.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-02 06:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-02 07:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-02 07:11 pm (UTC)she can be ridiculously stupid, especially in comparison to the male lead, which I find very difficult to swallow.
But isn't it the same situation in Goong? I just do the whole 'they compliment each other and he has such and such strengths and weaknesses and she has such an such different ones.' I don't know why, but it doesn't bother me...
no subject
Date: 2006-09-02 09:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-05 08:45 pm (UTC)These are exactly all my problems with DBY. I LOVED the way it began -- with Meng being the one in hot pursuit, but still managing to be the alpha male Asian dorama standards required he be as the primary male lead. It was interesting and different.
But then it suddenly switched, and XY seemed to be the only one involved emotionally, and then the Italy thing. (And oh jeez, the glove he made. Such cheeeeeeeeeeeeeese.)
It's interesting how we were discussing how much we love dramas based on manga/manwha in another thread, because I feel like this is an example where it actually didn't translate. I'm not sure if it was because of script rewrites, or the actors, but after watching DBY I managed to find a very nice translation of the manga, and it's like reading about a different couple. There are subtle dialogue or relationship changes (and not just between the two of them) which makes the whole thing work that much better -- especially when it comes to the Italy segment. I won't spoil it for you (unless you ask), but there's an interaction which pretty much outlines why Meng/Takeru acts the way does, how he feels, and what he wants from her. I had the same reaction you did, but seeing the manga version was like taking a blindfold off and seeing the light.
But still. Mike He? Yes. ;) (Also why I started Love Conract.)
There were some adorable scenes though. I especially loved the birthday cake/chase around the house.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-05 10:47 pm (UTC)I won't spoil it for you (unless you ask), but there's an interaction which pretty much outlines why Meng/Takeru acts the way does, how he feels, and what he wants from her
Spoil, spoil, spoil.
As to Mike He, that's why I started Love Contract too, and so far (a measly ep in), I am loving it.
The bday cake scene was cute. I also adore the scene where she saw 'the full monty' because she walked into the restroom and then bolted out and is all'I didn't see anything, I didn't see anything...should have looked more carefully.' ROFL. And then he drags her into the bathroom but grandma annoyingly interrupts :)
no subject
Date: 2006-09-07 07:37 pm (UTC)*g* I can spoil you, or now that we can meet up some time, I can burn the whole scanlation to disc and hand it to you then -- your choice!
As to Mike He, that's why I started Love Contract too, and so far (a measly ep in), I am loving it.
He's gorgeous AND adorable, which is unfair. One at a time!
Oh, yeah, the full monty scene also rocked. ;) And I loved the entire first two episodes... Mike's unfortunate hairstyle aside.
GAAAAAAAAAAAAAH must watch Love Conract...