Musings of the Obsessive Kind

I am quite sure I am the sole person among LtM watchers who is shipping Gi Joon with his ex. But not only is their type of story a lot more my thing than the main OTP's story (in general, conflicted pain gets me much more than romcommy cuteness - that scene where Yoon Joo's foot was cut - OMG), I am just not sold on YEH/KJH characters as soulmates - there is much more basis for long-term attachment with Yoon Joo the ex - there is all that long history - they got serious enough to get married! KJH/YEH have a ton of sexual chemistry and I can totally buy them having this amazing torrid fling, but "cannot live without each other?" Not really - they barely know each other, KJH is still conflicted about YEH vis-a-vis the ex, and YEH is in the first throes of a crush, not some fate-defying passion.

( To atone, I bring you the cola kiss )

Oh my GOD!!!



What have I just seen? A real kiss in a kdrama?

Whoa.

Combine it with YEH and KJH's insane chemistry, and Mousie was fanning self, emitting barely human noises, and cursing fates which require her to delay the next ep until the evening.

Nooooooooo!!!!! I want more! I want to rewatch!

( Anatomy of a kiss - a few too many caps )

Oh my GOD!!!



What have I just seen? A real kiss in a kdrama?

Whoa.

Combine it with YEH and KJH's insane chemistry, and Mousie was fanning self, emitting barely human noises, and cursing fates which require her to delay the next ep until the evening.

Nooooooooo!!!!! I want more! I want to rewatch!

( Anatomy of a kiss - a few too many caps )

Unlike the majority of drama fans, I don't have any problems with Yoon Joo, a.k.a. secondary girl, as of six eps in (yes, I woke up early to binge, why do you ask?). Tbh, even if she tackled Gi Joon to the ground and smooched him all over while Ah Jung saw it, I wouldn't have a problem with her - she was dumped through no fault of her own by a man she was engaged to and who she still loves and who has some sort of feeling for her still. She doesn't owe Ah Jung anything - she's not her family member or friend. So I would totally get her 'going for it' in anything that happens with Gi Joon.

BUT

Oh, I have no words for how much Sung Hee, secondary male, annoys me and makes me want to tear out his hair. Not for anything he may or may not do vis-a-vis GJ/AJ in the future but for the whole thing with Gi Joon's past engagement. He basically made his older brother dump the woman he loved due to his, SH's, whining about how much SH lurves her and if SH can't have her, GJ shouldn't either (look, dude, she's not an object to 'have', OK, let's start with that?) OK, whaaaaaaaaaat? Because here it is not Ah Jung-Yoon Joo situation where the two have no relationship and duty to each other. SH is Gi Joon's brother - what kind of a selfish, immature idiot does that to their sibling? You keep your mouth shut and you ge drunk with friends and you let your brother get married. Seriously. WTF!!!!And now he is back after 3 years and he has no shred of embarassment or remorse or anything - looking at him, you'd think he asked his brother to give up a used pair of socks.

And in general, he continues to act like a braty three-year-old.

God, I hate him.

I was about ready to write off kdrama romcoms entirely, as a genre.

And then LtM happened.



In both the ratings and fandom love romcom three-way battle this season, Best Love is a clear winner and Romance Town seems to be the alterna-quirky choice. As to LtM, even its few fans find many a flaw in it.

Not me.

Best Love actively annoys me, and while I enjoyed Romance Town's vibe, ultimately it didn't grab me. But when it comes to Lie to Me? I love love love love love love love love it!!! I am currently ensconced in my bed, marathonning it as if the world is ending tomorrow and it's making me so very happy even if my eyes are about to fall out after I watched 5 eps straight.



LtM has the slimmest of plots but it does not matter (since when has anyone watched a romcom for the plot?) because the leads and their interactions are sheer perfection - I could watch those two brush teeth for hours on end.



It really doesn't remind me of any kdrama as much as it does of my favorite twdrama romcoms - with their slim plots, ridiculous co-star chemistry, free physical affection, a certain romantic realism and utter, crack-level addiction. But if I had to pick a kdrama it makes me think of, it would be Marry Me Mary, one of the very few recent kdrama romcoms that clicked for me. At least until it derailed into a flaming trainwreck, which hopefully LtM will avoid, I adored MMM, flaws and all, due to the fact that I felt I was peeking on two awesome, in-love, insane chemistry real people.



Part of my adoration is, undoubtedly, my love for its stars Kang Ji Hwan and Yoon Eun Hye, but that cannot be just it - I like the actors in both BL and RT too. I think a large part of it that unlike wholly artificial worlds and characters of the other two, the world and leads of LtM feel real to me, even if seen through a romcom lens. I can imagine a person like YEH and KJH's characters actually existing and I can imagine the world around them existing too. It helps that neither is immature or incompetent. I am interested and invested in them. More than that, I adore them, adore them to bits, separately and together - I'd love to hang out with Ah Jung and I am crushing on Gi Joon, and together they are pure awesomeness and puppies and rainbows and kittens and snark and a vibe so intense I am surprised things don't combust when they they are within ten feet of each other.



For yes - then there is the chemistry.

Ahhhhh, the chemistry. The insane, ridiculous, 'I have rarely seen the like' chemistry.

So, thank you, LtM, for restoring my faith in kdrama romcoms!

You make me laugh and swoon and, much more importantly, you make me cry - that means I really do love these characters.



Oh, and I do wonder - Gi Joon gave up his previous fiancee because of his younger brother having a thing for her (side note - if I were the fiancee, I'd go on a flipping rampage after that sort of thing. I confess if it wasn't for my YEH love and KJH/YEH chemistry, I'd totally ship him with ex-fiancee because I am a sucker for emotionally messy relationships and angst). But it's being made slowly clear that younger bro really digs Ah Jung now - is history going to repeat itself or is he actually going to fight for her this time? (Honestly - GJ loved the fiancee but gave her up and his bro doesn't seem to have had any problem getting over her - surely that should teach GJ a lesson that his brother is emotionally fickle and that sort of sacrifice is not worth it).

I am through ep 5 (I watched the second half of 1 and then 2-5 in one day (!!!!)) and if it wasn't for the fact that I had to be functional in the morning, I would not stop even now.

Oh, and as always, I am behind on replies. I apologize and will get to them ASAP.

Also, any LtM fans on my flist, if you haven't already, you should check out Ockoala's amazing blog, Koala's Playground, for recaps, fangirling, and utter and amazing meta and squee.

I was about ready to write off kdrama romcoms entirely, as a genre.

And then LtM happened.



In both the ratings and fandom love romcom three-way battle this season, Best Love is a clear winner and Romance Town seems to be the alterna-quirky choice. As to LtM, even its few fans find many a flaw in it.

Not me.

Best Love actively annoys me, and while I enjoyed Romance Town's vibe, ultimately it didn't grab me. But when it comes to Lie to Me? I love love love love love love love love it!!! I am currently ensconced in my bed, marathonning it as if the world is ending tomorrow and it's making me so very happy even if my eyes are about to fall out after I watched 5 eps straight.



LtM has the slimmest of plots but it does not matter (since when has anyone watched a romcom for the plot?) because the leads and their interactions are sheer perfection - I could watch those two brush teeth for hours on end.



It really doesn't remind me of any kdrama as much as it does of my favorite twdrama romcoms - with their slim plots, ridiculous co-star chemistry, free physical affection, a certain romantic realism and utter, crack-level addiction. But if I had to pick a kdrama it makes me think of, it would be Marry Me Mary, one of the very few recent kdrama romcoms that clicked for me. At least until it derailed into a flaming trainwreck, which hopefully LtM will avoid, I adored MMM, flaws and all, due to the fact that I felt I was peeking on two awesome, in-love, insane chemistry real people.



Part of my adoration is, undoubtedly, my love for its stars Kang Ji Hwan and Yoon Eun Hye, but that cannot be just it - I like the actors in both BL and RT too. I think a large part of it that unlike wholly artificial worlds and characters of the other two, the world and leads of LtM feel real to me, even if seen through a romcom lens. I can imagine a person like YEH and KJH's characters actually existing and I can imagine the world around them existing too. It helps that neither is immature or incompetent. I am interested and invested in them. More than that, I adore them, adore them to bits, separately and together - I'd love to hang out with Ah Jung and I am crushing on Gi Joon, and together they are pure awesomeness and puppies and rainbows and kittens and snark and a vibe so intense I am surprised things don't combust when they they are within ten feet of each other.



For yes - then there is the chemistry.

Ahhhhh, the chemistry. The insane, ridiculous, 'I have rarely seen the like' chemistry.

So, thank you, LtM, for restoring my faith in kdrama romcoms!

You make me laugh and swoon and, much more importantly, you make me cry - that means I really do love these characters.



Oh, and I do wonder - Gi Joon gave up his previous fiancee because of his younger brother having a thing for her (side note - if I were the fiancee, I'd go on a flipping rampage after that sort of thing. I confess if it wasn't for my YEH love and KJH/YEH chemistry, I'd totally ship him with ex-fiancee because I am a sucker for emotionally messy relationships and angst). But it's being made slowly clear that younger bro really digs Ah Jung now - is history going to repeat itself or is he actually going to fight for her this time? (Honestly - GJ loved the fiancee but gave her up and his bro doesn't seem to have had any problem getting over her - surely that should teach GJ a lesson that his brother is emotionally fickle and that sort of sacrifice is not worth it).

I am through ep 5 (I watched the second half of 1 and then 2-5 in one day (!!!!)) and if it wasn't for the fact that I had to be functional in the morning, I would not stop even now.

Oh, and as always, I am behind on replies. I apologize and will get to them ASAP.

Also, any LtM fans on my flist, if you haven't already, you should check out Ockoala's amazing blog, Koala's Playground, for recaps, fangirling, and utter and amazing meta and squee.

Thanks to this post on Koala's Playground, I am starting Lie to Me asap.

I don't care if there is plot.

ETA: Halfway through ep 1 and really like. I can certainly see the flaws everyone talks about but I don't care. You know it reminds me of a lot of a twdrama in its characters and its vibe. And twdramas are the only romcoms that work for me.

1. It just occurred to me that Yoochun's character in Ripley is basically a continuation of his character in that mobile jdrama which is so hard to get ahold of - the whole angsty arrogant rich chaebol thing. Mmmmm. I must admit out of all the upcoming May dramas, I am most excited about Ripley. Lee Da Hae is my favorite kdrama actress, bar none, and Yoochun is so freaking yum. Plus, I love my dark dramas.

2. Despite my misgivings, I tried Drunken to Love You despite my loathing of the name and lack of enthusiasm over the cast. Ummm....no. Just no. I am not one of those people who claims that a drama is bad just because I didn't like it (though sometimes the two do correspond - nobody will convince me Vampire Gigolo is a masterpiece), but while this may not be a bad drama, it is very much not my thing in every possible way.

3. Muscle Girl, the jdrama which stars Lee Hong Ki, apparerently premiered a few days ago. I am pretty interested in checking it out. I couldn't stand LHK's character in You're Beautiful, with his blond hair, endless screams of 'Jolieeeeee' and IQ of lettuce, but I think LHK is a decent actor with a gorgeous singing voice, so I want to see him in something else. I'll get back to you on whether it's any good. It has a typical wacky jdrama premise but hopefully he'll be a little smarter in this one than YAB.

4. Any idea when Yuan Hong's period cdrama Mi Wu Shuang Long supposed to air? I've just seen the trailer and it looks like cdrama Indiana Jones with a lot more angst and cool clothes:



5. Speaking of trailers, teaser for Lie To Me is out. It's cuuuuute. Thanks ockoala, for the heads-up!



I am more excited for Ripley and Best Love but that is certainly on my list to check out and squee over.

1. It just occurred to me that Yoochun's character in Ripley is basically a continuation of his character in that mobile jdrama which is so hard to get ahold of - the whole angsty arrogant rich chaebol thing. Mmmmm. I must admit out of all the upcoming May dramas, I am most excited about Ripley. Lee Da Hae is my favorite kdrama actress, bar none, and Yoochun is so freaking yum. Plus, I love my dark dramas.

2. Despite my misgivings, I tried Drunken to Love You despite my loathing of the name and lack of enthusiasm over the cast. Ummm....no. Just no. I am not one of those people who claims that a drama is bad just because I didn't like it (though sometimes the two do correspond - nobody will convince me Vampire Gigolo is a masterpiece), but while this may not be a bad drama, it is very much not my thing in every possible way.

3. Muscle Girl, the jdrama which stars Lee Hong Ki, apparerently premiered a few days ago. I am pretty interested in checking it out. I couldn't stand LHK's character in You're Beautiful, with his blond hair, endless screams of 'Jolieeeeee' and IQ of lettuce, but I think LHK is a decent actor with a gorgeous singing voice, so I want to see him in something else. I'll get back to you on whether it's any good. It has a typical wacky jdrama premise but hopefully he'll be a little smarter in this one than YAB.

4. Any idea when Yuan Hong's period cdrama Mi Wu Shuang Long supposed to air? I've just seen the trailer and it looks like cdrama Indiana Jones with a lot more angst and cool clothes:



5. Speaking of trailers, teaser for Lie To Me is out. It's cuuuuute. Thanks ockoala, for the heads-up!



I am more excited for Ripley and Best Love but that is certainly on my list to check out and squee over.

This season has left me pretty underwhelmed (not that the dramas are bad, they are just not to my taste). Crime Squad is excellent, 49 Days entertaining, and I am back on the New Gisaeng bandwagon but there is no mania drama for me.

OTOH, this May/summer, I am pre-obsessed with Best Love, Festival, Lie To Me and Goodbye Miss Ripley. They are pretty much tied for first place in my anticipation.

I was wondering - would it be fun for me to do a weekly post on each of these where everyone could discuss anything related to these eps as a free-for-all. Sort of the way I used to do watchalong posts but this time for aired dramas and more structured?