This is the latest in my series of "Dangermousie ranks all the kdramas she has ever seen" posts. I have seen over 70 kdramas and, being addicted to ranking, have decided to rank them all. (For previous posts go here.) Below the cut are dramas ranked 50-41: these are entertaining dramas worth a look: they are flawed but a nice time investment nontheless. All the dramas behind the cut are dramas I like. Some of them I like a lot. Once again, I have either finished these dramas entirely or finished enough to make up my own mind.

( Generals, gigolos, gangsters and gun runners under the cut: my 52-43 dramas )

Until next time, amigas!

With everything else, I did manage to get some drama viewing in. YES. It pays to be an insomniac.

Finished Loveholic and Taiyou No Kisetsu finally. Loveholic required a lot of ffing on my part. Ultimately, it was an OK drama, but I adored eps 1-5 and then it somehow all dissipated. The pace slowed from scamper to a crawl, and the story tropes shifted. Oh well. It was still worth it to see the incredible hotness of Kang Ta. TnK was likewise a flawed drama with some excellent moments. Surprisingly, I was happy with the ending. Takki's character deserved to lose something crucial to him, after making others suffer. I have to admit his friend and OTP were a lot more forgiving than I would have been. Kudos to him for playing an unsympathetic character through. I ended up liking Shinji the best. He really was a nice guy. Also, anyone who's seen it: did Yuki (the girl who Takki seduced, Shinji's fiancee) ended up going insane and Shinji is visiting her in an institution at the end?

I also watched more of Yoshitsune which I really like. The child!Yoshitsune is not only adorable, he really looks like he could be mini Takki. Good casting job. I also adore Yoshitsune Mama. It takes nerve to show up at the stronghold of the man who killed your bf and is the top enemy of the clan to which your three kids with bf belong, and ask for their lives. And to be willing to offer herself to him as a mistress (the man who killed your OTP!) in exchange without flinching. She is made of STEEL. Yoshitsune!Papa we didn't get to know much, but from what we saw, he was sword-loving and hot. So plusses there, too.

But anyway, this is not what the post is about. This is a picspam of the promised manpain of awesomeness from Time between Dog and Wolf. Lee Jun Ki in all his angsty glory.



( Ginormous picspam here )

With everything else, I did manage to get some drama viewing in. YES. It pays to be an insomniac.

Finished Loveholic and Taiyou No Kisetsu finally. Loveholic required a lot of ffing on my part. Ultimately, it was an OK drama, but I adored eps 1-5 and then it somehow all dissipated. The pace slowed from scamper to a crawl, and the story tropes shifted. Oh well. It was still worth it to see the incredible hotness of Kang Ta. TnK was likewise a flawed drama with some excellent moments. Surprisingly, I was happy with the ending. Takki's character deserved to lose something crucial to him, after making others suffer. I have to admit his friend and OTP were a lot more forgiving than I would have been. Kudos to him for playing an unsympathetic character through. I ended up liking Shinji the best. He really was a nice guy. Also, anyone who's seen it: did Yuki (the girl who Takki seduced, Shinji's fiancee) ended up going insane and Shinji is visiting her in an institution at the end?

I also watched more of Yoshitsune which I really like. The child!Yoshitsune is not only adorable, he really looks like he could be mini Takki. Good casting job. I also adore Yoshitsune Mama. It takes nerve to show up at the stronghold of the man who killed your bf and is the top enemy of the clan to which your three kids with bf belong, and ask for their lives. And to be willing to offer herself to him as a mistress (the man who killed your OTP!) in exchange without flinching. She is made of STEEL. Yoshitsune!Papa we didn't get to know much, but from what we saw, he was sword-loving and hot. So plusses there, too.

But anyway, this is not what the post is about. This is a picspam of the promised manpain of awesomeness from Time between Dog and Wolf. Lee Jun Ki in all his angsty glory.



( Ginormous picspam here )

OK, girl, stop MOPING.

The heroine of Loveholic, while freakishly pretty, and charmingly fragile, makes me want to pull her shiny hair out sometimes.

Seriously. Your former, then current, now-ex-again boyfriend has dumped you TWICE. First time was when he went to jail for manslaughter, and in a fit of drama-nobility, ditched you from behind bars. Brutally. Did I mention he was your high-school student, lady, so you are clearly not too stable to begin with?

Fine, fool me once and all that. Then he got out and you came across him, with a leggy thing his own age. And he was pushing you away again, and then you finally hooked up again anyway. And then he dumped you out of the blue, not only smooching the Other Woman in front of your face, but literally going down on his knees asking to break up.

Grant his wish and don't forget to kick him on the way out.

Granted, he is going through a Circus of PAIIIIIIN, because he is doing all this to protect you, as you are the one who is responsible for the manslaughter death (for which he took the fall) and he doesn’t want you to remember and he realized that by being with him you would. So he is a v-neck-shirt-wearing, hot-arms-carrying self-sacrificial romantic saint. (Also known as ‘typical dorama male.’) But you do not know that. All you know is that the guy is ditching you repeatedly!

Fine, he is hot, and has cheekbones of doom, and devours you with his eyes or what not. He can also prepare a mean pasta. However, since you are not watching this drama and thus are not privy to his tragic MANPAIN, he should come across to you as a Grade-A hot, cheekboned, eyeballing JERK. So stop weeping at him and waiting on his doorstep, and calling his cell.

Or maybe don’t stop, he angsts beautifully.

If you do angst at him, at least wear better shoes than those little pointy heels which look hellishly uncomfortable, and stop wearing pastels because sitting on the stones would ruin them.

You are engaged to a charming DA who has much better career prospects than an ex-con, and has also not dumped you repeatedly. Come on, you know you and your OTP will end up together eventually after more artful weeping and revelations, so seriously, just enjoy being married to someone who is gainfully employed for once.

ETA: Good. Good. Deciding to marry the guy with a good job and the one who has not publicly kissed other women in front of your face, is a smart choice. But why do you need to inform your OTP in person? A brief, collegial voicemail will do. Just don’t send him a wedding invitation by mistake, as he won’t be able to afford a wedding present on his construction job salary.

In my quest to lessen my scary drama backlog, I've finished Return of the Condor Heroes (yummy till the end) and am now finishing Something Happened in Bali. Currently I am in middle of episode 19 of 20. I see myself finishing it soon.

This was a drama I stopped watching three episodes before the end not because I got bored or because it wasn't good, but because (rather like with Silence and The Outsiders) I got so attached to the characters and I knew it couldn't end well. The angst got a little too much for me and I needed a break.

Because it's been months since I posted about it, a quick refresher: SHiB was a phenomenally successful kdrama a couple of years back that revolved around Ha Ji-Won, a poor girl who attracts the intense but somewhat unstable rich scion of an abusive family Jo In-Sung (after this and A Dirty Carnival, JIS just might be one of the best Korean actors I've seen, but if I never see him angst again, I'll be happy). There is also Plucky Poor Man who is into Ha Ji-Won and an Annoying Cow, PPM's ex and JIS's intended.

I adore SHiB for a number of reasons but mainly because of Jo In-Sung (whom I haven't seen in anything before). His character is totally messed up and totally irresistable. Think a grown-up early Logan or (as lesbiassparrow pointed out, of SHiB as a very dark Hanadan). Plus, he's got the mad unsverving love of the heroine going which is a thing I love. Every time he and Ha Ji-Won are on screen, sparks are a mile high.

You know what I don't love? JIS's father? In fact if I had to pick the most abusive drama father I've ever seen, he would win hands down. JIS is a pretty messed up individual, but he is miraculously adjusted considering his horrifc family (there are no nice families in this one, are there?) I thought I plumbed the depths of character hate, when his father literally beat him half to death with a golf club and threatened to do the same to Ha Ji-Won if he didn't marry the girl the family picked for him, and then went 'business as usual' manner.

I was mistaken. There is an absolutely awfully painful scene in ep 18. JIS went and married the girl and he is a mess: he is turning into an alcoholic, he and his wife are both miserable and everything is falling apart. And of course he is still tormented by his feelings for HJW (who he finally got to love him only for the above to happen). And his father visits him in theoffice, and this totally horrible scene follows, where his grown-up son grovels, literally grovels, begging to be allowed to have Ha Ji-Won and saying he tried to be with his wife but he can't and she is miserable too, and he doesn't want anything else, doesn't need anything else, just Ha Ji-Won. And he is on his knees, sobbing 'Father' and holding the man's knees and the old man is hitting and he won't stop. And he is totally trying to protect Ha Ji-Won sobbing 'it's my fault, I pursued her' and the Old Man finlly responds verbally by 'I am going to kill her for making you be like this' and basically reiterates that he will kill her (and he is powerful and evil enough to do so, no question about it) and OMG, Jo In-Sung is all (awfully transparently) tries to collect himself and backtrack and is all, desperately, still on his knees repeating 'I was mistaken, I misspoke' and bsically saying he was confused and he didn't mean what he said earlier. To protect Ha Ji-Won, of course.

And the Old Man stalks out, and JIS is just left sobbing on the carpet.

God, there are no words for the HATE I have for the evil guy. This thing will not end well in a million years so the only thing I want is for the horrible father to suffer. Please. I hope the old guy will have a heart attack.

I have never hated a fictional parental figure like this before.

ETA: finished it.( spoilers )

So, now I restarted Loveholic. I like it a lot, but it's one of those things I can't binge in but enjoy in small dozes. And OMG, Kang Ta=HOT.

In my quest to lessen my scary drama backlog, I've finished Return of the Condor Heroes (yummy till the end) and am now finishing Something Happened in Bali. Currently I am in middle of episode 19 of 20. I see myself finishing it soon.

This was a drama I stopped watching three episodes before the end not because I got bored or because it wasn't good, but because (rather like with Silence and The Outsiders) I got so attached to the characters and I knew it couldn't end well. The angst got a little too much for me and I needed a break.

Because it's been months since I posted about it, a quick refresher: SHiB was a phenomenally successful kdrama a couple of years back that revolved around Ha Ji-Won, a poor girl who attracts the intense but somewhat unstable rich scion of an abusive family Jo In-Sung (after this and A Dirty Carnival, JIS just might be one of the best Korean actors I've seen, but if I never see him angst again, I'll be happy). There is also Plucky Poor Man who is into Ha Ji-Won and an Annoying Cow, PPM's ex and JIS's intended.

I adore SHiB for a number of reasons but mainly because of Jo In-Sung (whom I haven't seen in anything before). His character is totally messed up and totally irresistable. Think a grown-up early Logan or (as lesbiassparrow pointed out, of SHiB as a very dark Hanadan). Plus, he's got the mad unsverving love of the heroine going which is a thing I love. Every time he and Ha Ji-Won are on screen, sparks are a mile high.

You know what I don't love? JIS's father? In fact if I had to pick the most abusive drama father I've ever seen, he would win hands down. JIS is a pretty messed up individual, but he is miraculously adjusted considering his horrifc family (there are no nice families in this one, are there?) I thought I plumbed the depths of character hate, when his father literally beat him half to death with a golf club and threatened to do the same to Ha Ji-Won if he didn't marry the girl the family picked for him, and then went 'business as usual' manner.

I was mistaken. There is an absolutely awfully painful scene in ep 18. JIS went and married the girl and he is a mess: he is turning into an alcoholic, he and his wife are both miserable and everything is falling apart. And of course he is still tormented by his feelings for HJW (who he finally got to love him only for the above to happen). And his father visits him in theoffice, and this totally horrible scene follows, where his grown-up son grovels, literally grovels, begging to be allowed to have Ha Ji-Won and saying he tried to be with his wife but he can't and she is miserable too, and he doesn't want anything else, doesn't need anything else, just Ha Ji-Won. And he is on his knees, sobbing 'Father' and holding the man's knees and the old man is hitting and he won't stop. And he is totally trying to protect Ha Ji-Won sobbing 'it's my fault, I pursued her' and the Old Man finlly responds verbally by 'I am going to kill her for making you be like this' and basically reiterates that he will kill her (and he is powerful and evil enough to do so, no question about it) and OMG, Jo In-Sung is all (awfully transparently) tries to collect himself and backtrack and is all, desperately, still on his knees repeating 'I was mistaken, I misspoke' and bsically saying he was confused and he didn't mean what he said earlier. To protect Ha Ji-Won, of course.

And the Old Man stalks out, and JIS is just left sobbing on the carpet.

God, there are no words for the HATE I have for the evil guy. This thing will not end well in a million years so the only thing I want is for the horrible father to suffer. Please. I hope the old guy will have a heart attack.

I have never hated a fictional parental figure like this before.

ETA: finished it.( spoilers )

So, now I restarted Loveholic. I like it a lot, but it's one of those things I can't binge in but enjoy in small dozes. And OMG, Kang Ta=HOT.

Help me!

I am already watching half a dozen dramas, but my Snow Queen is just lying there, all shiny and new. I am terribly fickle you know. I love Loveholic but after 9 eps, I sort of know what's going on so I want a new shiny (also, I know a new angst storm is about to hit). But at this rate I'll never finish any dramas.

So, what should I do? (Let's not mention that I still haven't finished Kimi Wa Petto, Nobuta Wo Produce, or Green Rose, either). Should finish Loveholic first or give in to temptation and Snow Queen?

Oh Battlestar I am so your bitch. In a sense of being a shippery weathervane, and in loving everything you throw at me with the exception of quadrangle of doom and Fat!Lee and Gaius Jesus Baltar.

Why?

I bring you spoilery pics from some upcoming ep (3.17) and they are just so shiny.

( Read more... )

In other news, spent some time browsing manga in Borders. Yum. Did you know that the manga on which Devil Beside You is based has been licensed? They had volumes of it there (called Devils do Exist). I flipped through it and very cute. I can see why they picked Mike He as the lead because the manga hero is yummy. (Though once again, proving that manga hairstyles work only in manga).

I have also flipped through Tramps Like Us (the manga on which Kimi Wa Petto, which I so need to finish stat, is based). You know what is so weird? The casting people are scary as the drawings of Sumire and Momo look a lot like MatsuJun and Kyoko. Eeeek! Though the way the author draws the mouths (very lush) makes it look almost Korean-manhwa style.

Speaking of Korean manhwa, I flipped through the first volume of Goong (yeah, I read scanlations earlier but it's different seeing it in print). It's delightful (and I can see why they cast Joo Ji Hoon as manga!Shin=uber!hot) but I prefer the drama. It's more nuanced somehow, more complicated (like Mars drama v. Mars manga). This made me think about Snow Drop and the discussion vierran45 and I had about the casting for this, if it ever got turned into drama. JJH would make a totally perfect lead in that one (though I might be biased because heeee, want to see him as a nude model). OK, this is really stream of consciousness.

I also flipped through the third volume of Absolute Boyfriend, which I of course love. Read it before and all, but so funny and off the wall and hot. I think it should totally be made into a twdrama (it has a twdrama cracky vibe) and Mike He should play Night (because hello! Inhumanly gorgeous android) and Joe Cheng should play Souji, the nerdy-yet-hot next door neighbor who is in love with the heroine. And Ariel Lin should play the lead. Because that way they both have psycho chemistry with her and Mike He could have another angsty ending and there will be Mike He/Ariel Lin make-out scenes and the whole thought of this is just filling me with glee. Not that it will ever happen, but whatever.

In other news, I've been rewatching Hanadan's ep 4 and eee! I love Yuki and Makino being all girly, dissecting what happened with Rui. And I love Soujiro being all hot and speaking about love and I am totally embarassed but giggling about Domyouji in the cafeteria scene and ( cut for unspoiled speculation )

I have also watched a bit of Smiling Pasta (the very beginning, as I watched the first eps so long ago) and yup, still delightful. And finished ep 9 of Loveholic, and as predicted, there is more dooooom. ( Ep 9 spoilers )

Oh Battlestar I am so your bitch. In a sense of being a shippery weathervane, and in loving everything you throw at me with the exception of quadrangle of doom and Fat!Lee and Gaius Jesus Baltar.

Why?

I bring you spoilery pics from some upcoming ep (3.17) and they are just so shiny.

( Read more... )

In other news, spent some time browsing manga in Borders. Yum. Did you know that the manga on which Devil Beside You is based has been licensed? They had volumes of it there (called Devils do Exist). I flipped through it and very cute. I can see why they picked Mike He as the lead because the manga hero is yummy. (Though once again, proving that manga hairstyles work only in manga).

I have also flipped through Tramps Like Us (the manga on which Kimi Wa Petto, which I so need to finish stat, is based). You know what is so weird? The casting people are scary as the drawings of Sumire and Momo look a lot like MatsuJun and Kyoko. Eeeek! Though the way the author draws the mouths (very lush) makes it look almost Korean-manhwa style.

Speaking of Korean manhwa, I flipped through the first volume of Goong (yeah, I read scanlations earlier but it's different seeing it in print). It's delightful (and I can see why they cast Joo Ji Hoon as manga!Shin=uber!hot) but I prefer the drama. It's more nuanced somehow, more complicated (like Mars drama v. Mars manga). This made me think about Snow Drop and the discussion vierran45 and I had about the casting for this, if it ever got turned into drama. JJH would make a totally perfect lead in that one (though I might be biased because heeee, want to see him as a nude model). OK, this is really stream of consciousness.

I also flipped through the third volume of Absolute Boyfriend, which I of course love. Read it before and all, but so funny and off the wall and hot. I think it should totally be made into a twdrama (it has a twdrama cracky vibe) and Mike He should play Night (because hello! Inhumanly gorgeous android) and Joe Cheng should play Souji, the nerdy-yet-hot next door neighbor who is in love with the heroine. And Ariel Lin should play the lead. Because that way they both have psycho chemistry with her and Mike He could have another angsty ending and there will be Mike He/Ariel Lin make-out scenes and the whole thought of this is just filling me with glee. Not that it will ever happen, but whatever.

In other news, I've been rewatching Hanadan's ep 4 and eee! I love Yuki and Makino being all girly, dissecting what happened with Rui. And I love Soujiro being all hot and speaking about love and I am totally embarassed but giggling about Domyouji in the cafeteria scene and ( cut for unspoiled speculation )

I have also watched a bit of Smiling Pasta (the very beginning, as I watched the first eps so long ago) and yup, still delightful. And finished ep 9 of Loveholic, and as predicted, there is more dooooom. ( Ep 9 spoilers )

I overslept Veronica Mars last night! I was so exhausted, I sort of collapsed and that was it. Dammit, it sounds like it was a great episode too. Oh well, will obtain it ASAP.

How pathetic is it that I am excited it's Wednesday as it means only two days until the new Hanadan ep. My life is saaaaad. And speaking of Hanadan. Everyone should head over to tatterpunk's LJ and read the best damn ep 2 and 3 (and Domyouji) meta I've yet come across. Go here.

Am continuing with Loveholic (it's my emo drama and Hana Kimi is my fluffy one) and still love it, though I am still on ep 9. Mainly because ( spoilers for the ep )

Oh, according to folks at soompi, Kang Ta is going to star in a twdrama (or is it cdrama?) Which makes me gleeful as Chinese/Taiwanese dramas are my fave.

In my push to get more of my friendslist interested in checking the 'Best Drama Ever' aka Mars, I bring you an utterly unspoilery (unless it's a spoiler that the leads in Mars kiss a LOT) mv of it which is basically just four minutes of Ling and Qi Luo making out. Come on, don't you want to see a drama with THAT much physical affection going on? Yeah, yeah, I'll post good intro MVs later :)

( MV behind cut )

And on Vic Zhou note, oh Vic, what are you making me do? As soon as I finish with one of my dramas, I am going to start Love Storm. Look at what you are making me do! The damn thing is entirely unsubbed! I am going to watch 20+ hours in Chinese! Grah.

Clearly, since Silence was the first drama I tried unsubbed, Vic Zhou=dangermousie going insane.

If you ask me why this is so weird, considering I am mainlining Hanadan raws, well how about this:

1. I know Hanadan plot from the manga/other adaptations so can figure out what's going on. I know nothing about LS except the really general premise.
2. Hanadan subs come out soon after. Love Storm is NEVER going to be subbed.
3. 20+ hours, people!

If only there was some website with even detailed summaries of the thing. But oh well, my previous scan-through of the drama indicated that there is spinny kissing on the beach and Vic getting shot protecting the OTP with his body, so language comprehension is not necessary for enjoyment :)

Oh, and while we are on subject of dramas and owning? Oh my. Hana Kimi. I love you with love surpassing that of women (or however that Biblical quote goes. Though seeing that I am straight, that is perhaps not much of a comparison).

You are so light and funny and cracktastic and perfect. ( Brief rambles on ep 5 )

Seeing Jiro be so awesome in HK made me go looking for KO One which is on youtube, but no subs. Boooo. I adore Jiro but he is no Vic Zhou so I think I'll be skipping KO1 for now. I did found this awesome MV for it from the KO1 sountrack with his character and what I assume is his OTP (it's the same set up as the Hana Kimi MV. It's their KO1 characters but not in scenes from the drama, but a separate little story). Anyone see KO1? Does he really fall for the teacher? It's an awesome MV in its own right, so check it out:

( KO One MV behind cut )

In other 'Hana Kimi has eaten my brain news,' the fact that Wu Zun (Quan in HK) has a blog should not make me so gleeful but it does. And there are pictures and he posts in English (as well as Chinese) and I am glad to see that netspeak has spread everywhere. Of course, it's rather lowering to one's self esteem to see that he gets over 6300 replies to his messages while I've never gotten much above a hundred. Just because he is famous and hot and a star doesn't mean it makes sense :D Anyway, if you want to check out the crack for yourself go here.

To continue the 'yes, am still obsessive' theme, I found some awesome Wu Zun and Ella pics from some interview or other. I've also found the translation of that interview which amused me because I think it set off a new RPF frenzy (probably deliberately) :D

( Awesome pics )

( Interview translation )