Musings of the Obsessive Kind

1. OK, Still Wants to Marry, it's just ridiculous of you to tease me with this:



When I won't get subs for at least a week.

Also, the blatant fanservice for (presumably older lady viewing audience) is pretty amusing. I thought the college badboy rocker fantasy sort of dies with leaving college but it seems not. I mean, yeah, it's OK for a 20-yr-old to want that sort of thing, but for a 30+-yr-old professional heroine? Bizarre. Seriously. How is he going to support you? I am both amused (because Kim Bum = automatic awwww) and a little skeeved out - I kinda want him to hook-up with an age-appropriate college girl instead.

2. I watched ep 2 of Wallflower over the weekend and it is official:

(a) I am really enjoying this drama
(b) They watered down the weirdness/made it more serious than the manga but not badly so
(c) They weakened Sunako a bit but she's still pretty awesome.

As far as adaptations go, it's pretty good. There is not much to meta about this drama but it's a fun watch.

They are going to give me my Takenaga/Noi. YESSSS.



Seriously, you have no idea of my glee that they have Noi in this!



Without weird fringe and bizarro mannerisms, actress who plays Sunako is quite gorgeous.



I am probably heartless but I was sort of LOLing while Kyohei was angsting about being repeatedly sexually harrassed by men and women because He! Is! Too! Pretty! Mainly because I just cannot buy Kame as inspiring any sort of hormonal frenzy in the entirety of the population of Japan. He's not even good-looking, let alone irresistable. Oh well. There there, Kyohei, I am sorry, I do feel bad for you. Now don't head-butt me, k?



I wonder if they are going to bring in the story with Kyohei's crazy mother (and Sunako's solution which is food).

Anyway, it's a great deal of fun.

3. Dear Amazon reviewer, if you start your 1-star review by saying that maybe you've been spoiled "by the literary prowess of Diana Gabaldon", you have just ensured I cannot take anything you say seriously. (Btw, the review was for 'Confessions of an Austen Addict' - no great book but at least it did not have pages and pages of graphic s&m rape meant to titillate the viewers). Gabaldon - archenemy.

1. OK, Still Wants to Marry, it's just ridiculous of you to tease me with this:



When I won't get subs for at least a week.

Also, the blatant fanservice for (presumably older lady viewing audience) is pretty amusing. I thought the college badboy rocker fantasy sort of dies with leaving college but it seems not. I mean, yeah, it's OK for a 20-yr-old to want that sort of thing, but for a 30+-yr-old professional heroine? Bizarre. Seriously. How is he going to support you? I am both amused (because Kim Bum = automatic awwww) and a little skeeved out - I kinda want him to hook-up with an age-appropriate college girl instead.

2. I watched ep 2 of Wallflower over the weekend and it is official:

(a) I am really enjoying this drama
(b) They watered down the weirdness/made it more serious than the manga but not badly so
(c) They weakened Sunako a bit but she's still pretty awesome.

As far as adaptations go, it's pretty good. There is not much to meta about this drama but it's a fun watch.

They are going to give me my Takenaga/Noi. YESSSS.



Seriously, you have no idea of my glee that they have Noi in this!



Without weird fringe and bizarro mannerisms, actress who plays Sunako is quite gorgeous.



I am probably heartless but I was sort of LOLing while Kyohei was angsting about being repeatedly sexually harrassed by men and women because He! Is! Too! Pretty! Mainly because I just cannot buy Kame as inspiring any sort of hormonal frenzy in the entirety of the population of Japan. He's not even good-looking, let alone irresistable. Oh well. There there, Kyohei, I am sorry, I do feel bad for you. Now don't head-butt me, k?



I wonder if they are going to bring in the story with Kyohei's crazy mother (and Sunako's solution which is food).

Anyway, it's a great deal of fun.

3. Dear Amazon reviewer, if you start your 1-star review by saying that maybe you've been spoiled "by the literary prowess of Diana Gabaldon", you have just ensured I cannot take anything you say seriously. (Btw, the review was for 'Confessions of an Austen Addict' - no great book but at least it did not have pages and pages of graphic s&m rape meant to titillate the viewers). Gabaldon - archenemy.

Now that everything has come out, more or less, here is what I will be watching this January-February-March:

SLAVE HUNTERS/WALLFLOWER/PICK THE STARS/THE WOMAN WHO STILL WANTS TO MARRY.

Or as Andy Warhol would put it:




I plan to either give up out of lack of interest, wait until they are fully subbed, or I have more space in my schedule for the rest.

Dramas I might watch if the slate clears/subs appear ASAP/I get bored with one of my watches: Pasta, Jejoongwon, The Reputable Family, Down with Love, Shinsengumi Peacemaker, Tokujo Kabachi, Calling for Love, Saigo no Yakusoku.

Dramas I have no interest in whatosever: Assorted Gems, God Of Study, Will it snow on Xmas, Three Brothers, Loving You a Thousand Times, Creating Destiny, Smile You, Angel Bank, Code Blue 2, Ryoma den, Salaryman Kintaro, The Pink Lipstick.




I don't even know about the existence of the rest.

1. Oddly, after ep 6 of Pick the Stars, I don't hate the hero any more. I don't particularly like him or ship him with the heroine but at least my desire to stab him any time he is on screen is lessened. He let her and the kids stay for a month (which is I was looking for), even signed a ridiculous contract with her, and she totally bosses him around. This I could live with.

2. I checked out Woman who still wants to marry ep 1 - I need subs. It's a dialogue-heavy drama so I am lost without subs (a scene where 3 heroines talk for 5 minutes kinda doesn't do it for you if you don't understand what they are saying, etc). I basically ffed until the last 10 minutes which is where Kim Bum showed up being really hot. His and heroine's meeting was loltastic - she is supposed to film something there but can't because he's playing a guitar with an amp really loudly and refuses to turn it down/off long enough for her to film despite her repeated requests. So she cuts the cord. Heh. That's kind of fearless, because how does she know he is not a gang member/violence fetishist/guy with too many soju bottles inside him/etc and won't punch her or similar? As to the heroine, I am mixed - she hasn't done anything for me to dislike but she plays her character with these 'cutesy' mannerisms that seem de rigeur for any over-30 female single character in a kdrama - and whether in Kim Sam Soon, Dal Ja's Spring, or 9 End 2 Out, these mannerisms always drive me nuts. Cutesy gets old fast when you are out of high school. (One of the reasons I liked City Hall was that the cutesiness quickly stopped). That's not a deal-breaker though and I do like her actions a lot, so the verdict is still out.

3. I have read spoilers for preview for ep 7 of Chuno and I think I may expire from excitement. Also, Mr. Mousie and I had the best time last night trying to come up with cheesy pick-up lines that slave hunters may want to use :)

4. After my last disastrous foray into Thai dramas had a chance to fade from my mind, I thought it would be fun to check out another one. Then I came across this poster:



Princesses in danger, hunky bodyguards etc etc.

YES PLEASE.

1. Oddly, after ep 6 of Pick the Stars, I don't hate the hero any more. I don't particularly like him or ship him with the heroine but at least my desire to stab him any time he is on screen is lessened. He let her and the kids stay for a month (which is I was looking for), even signed a ridiculous contract with her, and she totally bosses him around. This I could live with.

2. I checked out Woman who still wants to marry ep 1 - I need subs. It's a dialogue-heavy drama so I am lost without subs (a scene where 3 heroines talk for 5 minutes kinda doesn't do it for you if you don't understand what they are saying, etc). I basically ffed until the last 10 minutes which is where Kim Bum showed up being really hot. His and heroine's meeting was loltastic - she is supposed to film something there but can't because he's playing a guitar with an amp really loudly and refuses to turn it down/off long enough for her to film despite her repeated requests. So she cuts the cord. Heh. That's kind of fearless, because how does she know he is not a gang member/violence fetishist/guy with too many soju bottles inside him/etc and won't punch her or similar? As to the heroine, I am mixed - she hasn't done anything for me to dislike but she plays her character with these 'cutesy' mannerisms that seem de rigeur for any over-30 female single character in a kdrama - and whether in Kim Sam Soon, Dal Ja's Spring, or 9 End 2 Out, these mannerisms always drive me nuts. Cutesy gets old fast when you are out of high school. (One of the reasons I liked City Hall was that the cutesiness quickly stopped). That's not a deal-breaker though and I do like her actions a lot, so the verdict is still out.

3. I have read spoilers for preview for ep 7 of Chuno and I think I may expire from excitement. Also, Mr. Mousie and I had the best time last night trying to come up with cheesy pick-up lines that slave hunters may want to use :)

4. After my last disastrous foray into Thai dramas had a chance to fade from my mind, I thought it would be fun to check out another one. Then I came across this poster:



Princesses in danger, hunky bodyguards etc etc.

YES PLEASE.

(1) Stalk him in the college library.
(2) Offer to have matching helmet hairdo.



Oh God, why did they have to be in a library? Now I am getting flashbacks to Nanako and Takki in Forbidden Love. Yikes. (Except of course this is much less icky as he is 22/24 and is a college student and she is not in any way teacher/employer/anything of his).

Anywho, I am watching Still Wants to Marry only because of them - I am so sad, I have the first ep raw dled and plan to skim for their scenes.

Anybody who decided the set-up should be:

(a) she is a 32/34 (I've seen all of these ages, no idea which one is correct) yr old single journalist with bad luck with men
(b) he's a 22/24 yr old college student with badboy issues
(c) he coaches one of her exes on how to win her back
(d) then falls for her himself instead (after deciding he would win her over to show off after she rejects the ex only to feel luuuuuurve for her for real)
(e) one of her other exes is helping his mom commit adultery. Heh. Can you SMELL the angst potential?

is someone from my braiiiiiin.

I finally must make this public: I have a horribly age-inappropriate crush on Kim Bum. I mean - the guy is 11 years younger than me. And yet I can't stoooop. I like a number of under-25 actors in the 'I like watching their dramas" sense but he's the only one I'd jump in an alternate universe where I was way younger, such things were possible, and I had no shame. Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa. I sat through most of Dream for this guy and considering the beyond-wooden leading lady and boxing as the drama topic, that was quite a feat.

I am going to heeeeeeeeeellllllll.

*braces self*

Apparently ep 5 is going to go into how Tae Ha was framed and made into a slave. DO NOT WANT. I am sort of irrational about him by now.

In other news, am totally interested in The Woman Who Still Wants to Marry which starts tomorrow. Did any sub group pick it? (It's on viikii but it's one of the licensed ones and waiting a month plus to watch crappy streaming vids is not appealing).



This article about the drama really makes me want to check it out though: ( Article here )

*braces self*

Apparently ep 5 is going to go into how Tae Ha was framed and made into a slave. DO NOT WANT. I am sort of irrational about him by now.

In other news, am totally interested in The Woman Who Still Wants to Marry which starts tomorrow. Did any sub group pick it? (It's on viikii but it's one of the licensed ones and waiting a month plus to watch crappy streaming vids is not appealing).



This article about the drama really makes me want to check it out though: ( Article here )

While I often adore kdrama heroes, it is the heroine who is a deal-breaker for me. A drama does not need to have a woman in a prominent role for me to love it - as long as the relative absence of women makes sense (i.e. if someone made a drama set in the military and had only minor female characters), if the story is good, I will buy it. But if the drama does have a prominent female character, I have to like her or I bail. An unsatisfactory hero I can live with, an unsatisfactory heroine? Never.

Luckily for me, this season of kdramas is full of strong, intelligent, funny heroines. Sometimes all three at once. Here is your primer:

( 2009 January Heroine Roster )

And not related, but because I am a geek, I went and compared all of last week's kdrama ratings.

( Ratings comparison here )

My winter drama slate is almost complete - I am following Chuno, Wallflower, and Pick the Stars.

The rest are either specials (Shinsengumi PEACE MAKER, Saigo no Yakusoku), are something I will watch later when they are done or my slate clears up (Angel Bank, Tokujo Kabachi, The Reputable Family, Pasta, Jejoongwon), dramas I gave up on (Will It Snow of Christmas), or am not interested in (the rest).

The only exception to the above and a possible addition to my viewing slate is The Woman Who Still Wants to Marry starring Park Jin Hee, Kim Bum, Um Ji Won, Wang Bit Na, Choi Chul Ho, and Lee Pil Mo.



(Park Jin Hee and Kim Bum at the press conference)

Woman, which starts this coming Wednesday, revolves around romantic lives of three 30-something girlfriends. Our heroine, Sin Young (Park Jin Hee), is hard-working and nice. She also has a string of relationships that have not worked out and she has given up on finding love until a man appears to sweep her off her feet. The man in question, is a badboy musician but that isn't the real problem - the real problem is that Ha Min Jae (Kim Bum) is a college student 10 years Sin Young's junior. If none of her 'normal' and socially acceptable relationships have worked out, what chance does this one has?

Sin Young's friend (Um Ji Won) has her own romantic problems - her biggest goal is to find a suitable and well-off man to marry, give up her job, and become a high-class society housewife and mother. She finds a suitable candidate - a sweet-natured doctor named Ban Sook (Choi Chul Ho), but she is about to discover that marriage does not necessarily equal an iron-clad happy ending - you have to work on it afterwards as well.

The last friend is a divorcee Kim Buki (Wang Bit Na) - a successful businesswoman who enjoys her freedom, one day she finds a baby on her doorstep. There is also Yoon Sangwoo (Lee Pil Mo), one of Sin Young's former boyfriends who believes he is still stuck on Sin Young but begins to fall for his neighbor instead.

So, why am I interested in this so even though I have 3 dramas on my plate already?

* Kim Bum. I adore that boy. I would likely check out this drama just because he's in it. Playing a bad boy in love with a woman 10 years his senior? Oh yes, please. Especially since at first he is coaching one of Sin Young's exes on how to win her back - and then falls for her himself. YES PLS.

* I like the woman-centricness of this drama. Plus, I have an epic (Chuno), a family-relationship drama (Pick the Stars), and a really off-kilter comedy/romance (Wallflower), this is something different to add to the salte.

* I really like Choi Chul Ho - he's gorgeous. I am shallow, sue me.

* Did I mention Kim Bum? Noona love FTW!