The beginer's (aka my own) doramas guide
Aug. 3rd, 2006 05:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dangermousieBecause I’ve been talking about doramas so much lately, I’ve decided to make a list of all the doramas I’ve seen, I am watching, or am going to be watching shortly, with a short reason why, plot synopsis and photo. For those who don't know, doramas are Asian (Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese, Singaporean etc) miniseries, anywhere from a few to 30+ eps long, which tell a unitary story. Basically like very long miniseries. And they are addictive. Like crack.
The ones I am currently watching are underlined and the ones I am going to be watching shortly are italicized. Looking at this list, I realized that I really do prefer Taiwanese doramas the best.
Forbidden Love [Japan]: I have two reasons for getting this. One is very shallow (the male lead is beyond hot) and the other less so: I am interested how the rather controversial subject of this one (love between 26 year old female teacher and 17 year old student and the disdain they face from society) is handled. It's supposed to be quite good.
Full House [Korea]: I cannot wait to see this one. It sounds romantic and funny and if Silence is my perfect angsty dorama this sounds like the perfect good-mood one. A famous singer is stuck pretending to be in a relationship and sharing a house with the heroine. Does a relationship develop? Duh. This one is really famous.
Kimi Va Petto [Japan]: I am actually not sure if I’ll be watching this one, though I started, as the concept itself (human pet) is just too weird. I did hear really good things about it, so anyone seen it?
Gokusen [Japan]: I am watching it right now and I am in love. This is a dorama about a new high school teacher who is assigned a dreadfully troublemaking class. The class (and their leader, Shin) are pretty confident they can get her to resign quickly. What they don't know is she is yakuza, standing to inherit, so this is basically as nothing to her. I cannot recommend it strongly enough: it's funny and perfect. And Shin is hot. H-O-T.
Good Luck [Japan]: About an airline, and![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
koalathebear really likes and she is a woman of excellent taste, so I will watch it. However, it seems to be rather angst free, so even though I have a copy, I am in no hurry to get to it.
Goong [Korea]: If Bollywood made doramas, they would make this. It's pretty, it's funny, it's angsty and it's thoroughly romantic. In an AU world, South Korea is a constitutional monarchy and our heroine finds herself in an arranged engagement with the icy crown prince, something neither of them is interested in. Of course, like in any good Bolly story, the elders know better and love blooms but a lot of angst and obstacles follow.
Hana Yori Dango [Japan]: See my write-up for MG below, for plot. This is much shorter (only 9 eps) so the character development isn't as good, and the angst is much less (if MG is a feast, this is a sandwich) but it's very entertaining nonetheless.
It Started With a Kiss [Taiwan]: Our heroine declares her love for the hero and gets rejected, making her a laughingstock. Not only that, but her house is gone in a storm and her father moves the family in with an old friend: her flame's father. Will they fall in love? He is serious and she is madcap, after all. Duh. This one is really famous.
Long Vacation [Japan]: I am watching this rather slowly because it's so low-key, but it's a story about a pianist and a model who end up living together and eventually falling in love. It starts slowly but ends up dragging you in. I am about 3 eps in. This one is really famous too.
Mars [Taiwan]: This was the dorama that started it all. When I first got it, I had no idea about the world of doramas. I wanted to watch this because it was an adaptation of a manga I adored. I am sure anyone even scanning my lj could tell about the plot of this, but to sum it up very briefly: Ling and Qi Luo are both extremely dysfunctional. She is so shy she barely talks and freaks out when touched. He has catatonic fits, violence issues and is haunted by his twin’s suicide. It’s impossible for them to fall in love but they do, and the story goes from there. This was my first, an all the doramas later, it’s still my favorite. All the angst and the restraint and the plot twists!
Meteor Garden [Taiwan]: This one was my second. Once again, I got this because it was an adaptation of ‘Hana Yori Dango’ a manga I’ve liked in every incarnation. Once again,not much need to summarize as I’ve blabbed about it non-stop, but the very short summary is that Shan Cai is a poor student in a very ritzy college and one day she antagonizes F4, the group of four sons of wealthiest families who run the school. Instead of cowering, however, she fights for herself, winning the love of the leader of F4, who she can’t stand. This one is uber famous, and justly so. It has everyone I want in my dorama: angsty hot boys, spunky heroine, bickering, kissing, more angst than you can possibly take in one sitting, and a lot of plot twists that make me glee.
Meteor Garden II [Taiwan]: OK, I’ve seen about half an hour of this (the very beginning and the very end). The reason there is no underlining? I have no desire to see more, as by all accounts, having no manga to go on, the story in this one is a nightmare. So I watched the happy DMS/SC bits in the beginning and the end, and the rest I am content to leave well enough alone.
I don't have any MGII pics, and don't feel like looking for them so here's a nicer pic of the male lead instead:
Meteor Rain [Taiwan]: Boy, those people know how to milk success, don’t they? This is a collection of three vignettes about three of the four F4 members. One’s funny, one’s romantic, one’s sad. They are pretty independent of each other, so I watched two of those but not the third (DMS’) which I plan to do very soon. The other two were fun.
See MGII for explanation, pic-wise:
Peach Girl [Taiwan]: This was the third one I tried, and the first one where I went “uh-oh.” I am going to use Japanese character names here as I don’t remember the Chinese ones, OK? Momo is a girl who has an undeserved reputation for being fast because of her bleached hair and dark skin (this is culturally specific), but she really just tans easily. Her friend Sae always goes for what Momo wants, so when Sae asks her about her guy preference, Momo, who’s always liked the quiet Touji, randomly points instead at Kairi, the biggest flirt in school. I am a huge slave to the anime of the manga and Kairi is my anime boyfriend, so I think I would have liked this more if I came to it from scratch. Vanness Wu who plays Kairi is very hot and very charming, but that is about the best thing about PG. The girl playing Momo cannot act and is not charming, and the whole romantic, funny, angsty, and pitch-perfect throughout feel of this is lost, turning it into somewhat tiresome story. Also, since this was done before the manga was finished (unlike the anime), the ending, which I adore, is replaced by another one. I am planning on giving it another chance, now that I am much more distanced from the anime.
Pride [Japan]: This combines hockey and melodrama. I am not the biggest hockey fan, but I like melodrama. Plus, it was very popular.
Silence [Taiwan]: My current obsession, Silence is the dorama I adore. It is also the dorama that is driving me insane, as not only is it still running, but the subs for it are incredibly slow and uncertain. Yup, it’s the first dorama I am watching unsubbed. In my defence, if someone sat for hours trying to come up with a perfect dorama for me, they couldn’t have hit on a better one. The protagonists are childhood loves who’ve lost track of each other. They don’t know that the other person is their childhood love when they meet again, 10 years later. She is mute and he is dying and they are falling in love all over again. It's very well shot and the hero is gorgeous and the heroine is utterly charming (the thing has a delightful silent movie feel because of her gestures) and I love it. I foresee a lot of bawling on my part when this is over, and not just because of ‘what did he/she say?’
Smiling Pasta [Taiwan]: This is a variation on the Full House premise, it seems. On the day a famous singer is jilted by his love (for his brother, no less) he accidentally ends up in a compromising position with a luckless-in-love girl, and now, for PR reasons, they have to pretend they are dating. This one throws in everything and the kitchen sink: famous singers, student hijinks, family rivalry, haunting exes, love happening in arranged circumstances. It’s totally improbable and totally fun. I am also watching it without subs for a moment (though I know people at d-addicts have plans to sub it), a bit at a time. Since I am not as obsessed with it as I am with Silence, the fact that conversations go over my head don’t bug me as much and I have fun making my own dialogues and reveling in the cuteness.
Spring Waltz [Korea]: This one is famous and supposed to be good. And has angsty star-crossed lovers (who’ve known each other in childhood) and all that good stuff.
The Hospital [Taiwan]: This one isn’t even out yet. It’s going to start airing in August. But it has angsty past love affairs and hot doctors. I am hopeful someone will sub it, but if not, heck, I am already watching two doramas unsubbed. What’s one more?
Tokyo Juliet [Taiwan]: So much love. This is cheesy and romantic and angsty and fun. It’s also currently being aired (but the subs are much further done than Silence’s). Everyone, and I mean, everyone, on this show is a designer. Our heroine is cool and spunky and wants to bring down this famous designer who apparently stole her design and ruined her family (they haven’t explained yet). Oh, and she is also falling in love with a senior in her college, another aspiring designer. Who can blame her? He is arrogant and fun and hot. What she doesn’t know is that he is not only the Evil Designer’s son, but he is the boy who was her first, childhood love (these shows really go for the bonded in childhood thing). This is irresistable. Honest.
Winter Sonata [Korea]: I don’t know much about it except that it’s famous and angsty and involves rediscovering lost love. But I’ll find out.
ETA: More Doramas
1 Litre of Tears [Japan]: A tearjerker to end all tearjerkers, about an athletic girl finding out she has an incurable disease, but also finding love.
A Love to Kill [Korea]: On my really short list to watch, and not just because it stars Rain for whom I've fallen in 'Full House.' The storyline promises to be dark and twisty, with Rain playing a man trying to get close to a woman and ruin her in order to avenge his brother, but falling in love with her in the process.
Orange Days [Japan]: Romantic college stuff. Mute musicians. Yup, sounds cool to me too.
Placeholder for write-ups on Delightful Girl/Sassy Girl Chunhyang, My Name is Kim Sam Soon, Boku Dake No Madonna, Satomi Hakkenden, Devil Beside You, Sapuri, Love Contract and Say Yes Enterprise.
The ones I am currently watching are underlined and the ones I am going to be watching shortly are italicized. Looking at this list, I realized that I really do prefer Taiwanese doramas the best.
Forbidden Love [Japan]: I have two reasons for getting this. One is very shallow (the male lead is beyond hot) and the other less so: I am interested how the rather controversial subject of this one (love between 26 year old female teacher and 17 year old student and the disdain they face from society) is handled. It's supposed to be quite good.
Full House [Korea]: I cannot wait to see this one. It sounds romantic and funny and if Silence is my perfect angsty dorama this sounds like the perfect good-mood one. A famous singer is stuck pretending to be in a relationship and sharing a house with the heroine. Does a relationship develop? Duh. This one is really famous.
Kimi Va Petto [Japan]: I am actually not sure if I’ll be watching this one, though I started, as the concept itself (human pet) is just too weird. I did hear really good things about it, so anyone seen it?
Gokusen [Japan]: I am watching it right now and I am in love. This is a dorama about a new high school teacher who is assigned a dreadfully troublemaking class. The class (and their leader, Shin) are pretty confident they can get her to resign quickly. What they don't know is she is yakuza, standing to inherit, so this is basically as nothing to her. I cannot recommend it strongly enough: it's funny and perfect. And Shin is hot. H-O-T.
Good Luck [Japan]: About an airline, and
koalathebear really likes and she is a woman of excellent taste, so I will watch it. However, it seems to be rather angst free, so even though I have a copy, I am in no hurry to get to it. Goong [Korea]: If Bollywood made doramas, they would make this. It's pretty, it's funny, it's angsty and it's thoroughly romantic. In an AU world, South Korea is a constitutional monarchy and our heroine finds herself in an arranged engagement with the icy crown prince, something neither of them is interested in. Of course, like in any good Bolly story, the elders know better and love blooms but a lot of angst and obstacles follow.
Hana Yori Dango [Japan]: See my write-up for MG below, for plot. This is much shorter (only 9 eps) so the character development isn't as good, and the angst is much less (if MG is a feast, this is a sandwich) but it's very entertaining nonetheless.
It Started With a Kiss [Taiwan]: Our heroine declares her love for the hero and gets rejected, making her a laughingstock. Not only that, but her house is gone in a storm and her father moves the family in with an old friend: her flame's father. Will they fall in love? He is serious and she is madcap, after all. Duh. This one is really famous.
Long Vacation [Japan]: I am watching this rather slowly because it's so low-key, but it's a story about a pianist and a model who end up living together and eventually falling in love. It starts slowly but ends up dragging you in. I am about 3 eps in. This one is really famous too.
Mars [Taiwan]: This was the dorama that started it all. When I first got it, I had no idea about the world of doramas. I wanted to watch this because it was an adaptation of a manga I adored. I am sure anyone even scanning my lj could tell about the plot of this, but to sum it up very briefly: Ling and Qi Luo are both extremely dysfunctional. She is so shy she barely talks and freaks out when touched. He has catatonic fits, violence issues and is haunted by his twin’s suicide. It’s impossible for them to fall in love but they do, and the story goes from there. This was my first, an all the doramas later, it’s still my favorite. All the angst and the restraint and the plot twists!
Meteor Garden [Taiwan]: This one was my second. Once again, I got this because it was an adaptation of ‘Hana Yori Dango’ a manga I’ve liked in every incarnation. Once again,not much need to summarize as I’ve blabbed about it non-stop, but the very short summary is that Shan Cai is a poor student in a very ritzy college and one day she antagonizes F4, the group of four sons of wealthiest families who run the school. Instead of cowering, however, she fights for herself, winning the love of the leader of F4, who she can’t stand. This one is uber famous, and justly so. It has everyone I want in my dorama: angsty hot boys, spunky heroine, bickering, kissing, more angst than you can possibly take in one sitting, and a lot of plot twists that make me glee.
Meteor Garden II [Taiwan]: OK, I’ve seen about half an hour of this (the very beginning and the very end). The reason there is no underlining? I have no desire to see more, as by all accounts, having no manga to go on, the story in this one is a nightmare. So I watched the happy DMS/SC bits in the beginning and the end, and the rest I am content to leave well enough alone.
I don't have any MGII pics, and don't feel like looking for them so here's a nicer pic of the male lead instead:
Meteor Rain [Taiwan]: Boy, those people know how to milk success, don’t they? This is a collection of three vignettes about three of the four F4 members. One’s funny, one’s romantic, one’s sad. They are pretty independent of each other, so I watched two of those but not the third (DMS’) which I plan to do very soon. The other two were fun.
See MGII for explanation, pic-wise:
Peach Girl [Taiwan]: This was the third one I tried, and the first one where I went “uh-oh.” I am going to use Japanese character names here as I don’t remember the Chinese ones, OK? Momo is a girl who has an undeserved reputation for being fast because of her bleached hair and dark skin (this is culturally specific), but she really just tans easily. Her friend Sae always goes for what Momo wants, so when Sae asks her about her guy preference, Momo, who’s always liked the quiet Touji, randomly points instead at Kairi, the biggest flirt in school. I am a huge slave to the anime of the manga and Kairi is my anime boyfriend, so I think I would have liked this more if I came to it from scratch. Vanness Wu who plays Kairi is very hot and very charming, but that is about the best thing about PG. The girl playing Momo cannot act and is not charming, and the whole romantic, funny, angsty, and pitch-perfect throughout feel of this is lost, turning it into somewhat tiresome story. Also, since this was done before the manga was finished (unlike the anime), the ending, which I adore, is replaced by another one. I am planning on giving it another chance, now that I am much more distanced from the anime.
Pride [Japan]: This combines hockey and melodrama. I am not the biggest hockey fan, but I like melodrama. Plus, it was very popular.
Silence [Taiwan]: My current obsession, Silence is the dorama I adore. It is also the dorama that is driving me insane, as not only is it still running, but the subs for it are incredibly slow and uncertain. Yup, it’s the first dorama I am watching unsubbed. In my defence, if someone sat for hours trying to come up with a perfect dorama for me, they couldn’t have hit on a better one. The protagonists are childhood loves who’ve lost track of each other. They don’t know that the other person is their childhood love when they meet again, 10 years later. She is mute and he is dying and they are falling in love all over again. It's very well shot and the hero is gorgeous and the heroine is utterly charming (the thing has a delightful silent movie feel because of her gestures) and I love it. I foresee a lot of bawling on my part when this is over, and not just because of ‘what did he/she say?’
Smiling Pasta [Taiwan]: This is a variation on the Full House premise, it seems. On the day a famous singer is jilted by his love (for his brother, no less) he accidentally ends up in a compromising position with a luckless-in-love girl, and now, for PR reasons, they have to pretend they are dating. This one throws in everything and the kitchen sink: famous singers, student hijinks, family rivalry, haunting exes, love happening in arranged circumstances. It’s totally improbable and totally fun. I am also watching it without subs for a moment (though I know people at d-addicts have plans to sub it), a bit at a time. Since I am not as obsessed with it as I am with Silence, the fact that conversations go over my head don’t bug me as much and I have fun making my own dialogues and reveling in the cuteness.
Spring Waltz [Korea]: This one is famous and supposed to be good. And has angsty star-crossed lovers (who’ve known each other in childhood) and all that good stuff.
The Hospital [Taiwan]: This one isn’t even out yet. It’s going to start airing in August. But it has angsty past love affairs and hot doctors. I am hopeful someone will sub it, but if not, heck, I am already watching two doramas unsubbed. What’s one more?
Tokyo Juliet [Taiwan]: So much love. This is cheesy and romantic and angsty and fun. It’s also currently being aired (but the subs are much further done than Silence’s). Everyone, and I mean, everyone, on this show is a designer. Our heroine is cool and spunky and wants to bring down this famous designer who apparently stole her design and ruined her family (they haven’t explained yet). Oh, and she is also falling in love with a senior in her college, another aspiring designer. Who can blame her? He is arrogant and fun and hot. What she doesn’t know is that he is not only the Evil Designer’s son, but he is the boy who was her first, childhood love (these shows really go for the bonded in childhood thing). This is irresistable. Honest.
Winter Sonata [Korea]: I don’t know much about it except that it’s famous and angsty and involves rediscovering lost love. But I’ll find out.
ETA: More Doramas
1 Litre of Tears [Japan]: A tearjerker to end all tearjerkers, about an athletic girl finding out she has an incurable disease, but also finding love.
A Love to Kill [Korea]: On my really short list to watch, and not just because it stars Rain for whom I've fallen in 'Full House.' The storyline promises to be dark and twisty, with Rain playing a man trying to get close to a woman and ruin her in order to avenge his brother, but falling in love with her in the process.
Orange Days [Japan]: Romantic college stuff. Mute musicians. Yup, sounds cool to me too.
Placeholder for write-ups on Delightful Girl/Sassy Girl Chunhyang, My Name is Kim Sam Soon, Boku Dake No Madonna, Satomi Hakkenden, Devil Beside You, Sapuri, Love Contract and Say Yes Enterprise.
