I happened upon a review that said this drama was the best of all time. To me that title isnt given lightly so i decided to watch and see exactly how bad Prince Turns to Frog really was. I was wrong, and the drama is quite good, but not worthy of the best of all time title.
Bad stuff first- the drama really sports every drama cliche you know and have seen. from memory loss to illegitimate children, this drama annoyingly touches every one of them. The music/soundtrack is God-awful, i cringed each time that boy band started singing. Although the premise is cool, its also really annoying how no one and i mean NO ONE ever looked where they were going, i know the director was trying to create "just missed" moments but they "just" got me agitated. Who really pulls up a car and never sees who is on the curb?? A lot of the other things i hated in the drama were really my pet peeves like: the wardrobe was just ignorant, and a lot of the characters just wore the same clothes with different jackets, and only some of the characters were properly fitted. I know the drama aired in 2005, so i didnt expect much on technology but they could have at least shaped a few eyebrows and whitened a few teeth.
Even though i found all this annoying, the drama is addictive and funny. Even though i knew there would be a great ending the characters and their foolishness made me want to stay for the ride. I watched the turn of events with a few surprises, melodramatics, and horrid fake fight scenes to see the end. To its credit there was no super evil mother or a really bad antagonist that upset me to not watch making it really easy to breeze through episode after episode. The first 2 episodes has a really slow start but it got a lot better. Yes it was a good watch, not great but still worthwhile.

Read More

Hello my friends!
I watched Heartbeat love because i love Show (who doesnt?)but i have to say i was sorta disappointed with this mini movie.
The good news is that i liked the cast- rainie and show! i liked their chemistry before and its still good. the scenery was awesome and the film quality seemed to improve as they did more shots of the area, nature, surroundings, ect...
the bad news, clearly supporting tourism to Australia sponsored by Pepsi and the Four seasons (guessing on that one) it seemed like one really big commercial.sad face the story. it is not like personal taste at all. i think the story would have been better if they followed the 100 scene no koi format of being different people in different stories with a common theme. Most stories have a flow, you get a understanding of the characters, you fall in love with them ect... Instead Heartbeat love felt like it was given to the me (watcher) in a wham-bam-thank you ma'm fashion (thats a technical term). i felt like i was watching a one night stand and then was told "get it they are falling in love!" and i am still like "wait- when did they meet?". the webisode format really worked against them but i still gave the story a 6 and not a 5 because it could have been an awesome story that was massacred, thus i do not fault the writer.
overall great for show and rainie fans; it truly is their show. however major warning: some parts are confusing, and the ending is so sweet you will need a tall glass of water.

Read More

I really liked Jotei, so I decided to watch Yeoje to see if it had a better ending or if it fixed some of the things i hated from Jotei. I will admit that I am a bit unfair in my critique because it took forever to finish this, and I ended up having to watch the last 2 episodes on my very limited knowledge of the Korean language.
I did like the updates to the story, some of the characters are older than they were, and some are younger. Yeoje was also way less pervy than Jotei, but the girls in Yeoje created senseless arguments. It was like the writter said, "these two are supposed to be in a conflict here". FOr the age of the girls the conflicts did not make sense like it did in Jotei where they were younger and immature. The use of technology is something that could not have been used in Jotei becasue it was so old, so it was cool to see gadgets used, in some cases i yelled "ha ha gotcha!"
I did not like the acting. It was awful, the actors were in some cases stiff, over emoting, stone faced, and in some cases looked like they came from acting 101. the main offender is the really hot male lead (who gets points for shirtless fan service), he had exactly 2 expressions and a really cute smile. I loved Matsuda in his role and I wanted Kang ji sub to bring it, but he dropped it somewhere before getting to set. The female lead wasnt really compelling either, although she had more expressions, i really hated her "i am strong" facade when she wasnt strong. Oh and her alligator tear scenes are hilarious.
Although the cast is really great looking, Yeoje didnt do something that Jotei was able to; Jotei made you feel for the characters, and even in the absurd situations they were in you rooted for them. Yeoje toyed with the main concept and in the end you didnt care whether everyone went up in flames or not.
Its not worth the work to find the drama (it was on cable tv), learn Korean to translate it, and then watch a over dramatizied version of Jotei. watch the first 3-4 episodes and then skip to the last one. If you watched the original you didnt miss anything.
p.s. the ending is the same.

Read More

who wants eye candy? Yes please!! antique bakery is filled with sublime looking cakes and men, although as in real life the cutest is gay. As you know this is a manga turned anime turned live action turned movie, and still has kept the bishies, yaoi, and of course the cake! Not for those who disapprove of man on man attraction, or sexy situations; and not for those who are on a diet.
I didnt think i would like it but i did. Aside from the afore mentioned facts, and what you may have read in the summary, this movie is about a man moving on from his past. the uber hot and straight lead character Jin-Hyuk is looking to moving on from his past that has stopped him from living his life. while looking to conquer his fears he handles a regret aka Sun woo. The excruciatingly hot Sun-woo is gay and has some fears of his own to overcome. Together they fight, make cake, and form a friendship.
Star of this film is Kim Jae Wook, whom i am now convinced IS gay. He was soooo convincing and played it soooo well. Kudos!
The story moves really fast in the beginning looses some of the charm it had in the anime, but thats to be expected because its a movie. I also felt that the movie version was more grown up and adult like. For the adults there is a bit of suspense and mystery sprinkled at the end.
I didnt like the confusion of the main character, and his indecisiveness, but it was funny. Lastly, I marked it down for the vague musical they performed. literally there was about 15 minutes of them lip syncing to some ridiculous libretto with people popping out of place and singing along. otherwise watch and get a sweet tooth!

Read More

I really liked the live version of switch girl. As a fan of the manga, i was excited that it really followed the manga story line and left the characters the same. First off let me say the Switch girl concept lives in every girl so it is not a novel idea, it is the way the mangaka presented it that made it soooo funny. I have never seen nishiuchi mariya in a drama before nor was i aware that she was really a model, but she was cast perfectly in this role. I totally believed that she was my beloved Nika, her expressions were awesome, her off mode was just as convincing as her on mode. However, on the other hand Kiriyama Ren wasn't that great to me. Hes cute but he really just made me want to watch mizushima hiro play the role (although hes too old to really do it). the supporting characters were awesome caricatures (they were supposed to be) constantly bringing the funny.
It made me sad that the episodes were short and it seemed like they crammed a lot of concepts into under 30 minutes, so the drama did feel rushed. On the upside there is never a dull moment in the drama, the characters are constantly moving. To all the manga fans, the drama is toned down and cool for the 14 and under crowd. Yet, to be honest I dont think i would have found this drama as awesome as i did without being a fan of the manga first (which is not yet completed). I did enjoy seeing real live people act out one of favorite mangas; enough to grit my teeth, rely on my own Japanese skills and finish the series no subs.
Happy watching.

Read More

I am so underwhelmed. This is a cinderella story, and not really a story about office girls. They focus on 1 office girl really and her love. The first half was predictable, funny and kind of cute - but the second half was over the top, not funny and booooring.
What I liked best had to be Roy, he was so cute in everything he did! Not his character but the actual actor.I also LOVED the manager, with all his different languages. I promise he spoke spanish, korean, japanese, english, and a french phrase or 2. He is a complete scene steal-er, but his antics and Roy's face kept me watching. As the majority of the actors only had 2-3 expressions, those 2 were super entertaining(the actress who played Zheng Kai Er was the WORST only 2 expressions!).
The story line is good, but if you have watched more than 4 t-dramas you see where the plot is going. The first half like I mentioned is really good. They shake it up a bit with some of the really cliched schemes you see in dramas. The female lead, Shen XingRen, in the beginning was really driven, positive, and strong. In the beginning, Roy's character was played perfectly, and the characters that were annoying were negligible. In the second half they just go back to the typical drama format, with the misunderstandings, the he said she said, XingRen gets weaker, the typical drama antagonist appears, and lastly lots of personality changes happen for nearly no reason.
I personally called the ending and what would happen in the last episodes around ep17 and I fast forwarded through a lot. I cant say its worthwhile watch because I really felt like they could have ended it around episode 15/16 and I would have been happier. I think they should have named the drama office prince or undercover boss, because that's what its about.
p.s. i want to fire the stylist- they re-wore a lot of outfits, XingRens pants never fitted her correctly, all the office girls had on booty shorts, and Mama Shen's wig was a mess!
p.p.s if you are a sucker for a good ending stick it out! it has a really nice ending.

Read More

this should have been a 4.4 but i rounded up.

I wont say I wasted my time watching the Naked Kitchen because Joo Ji Hoon is hot and the number of times you get to see him topless well makes up for the movie not making sense. Now on to the movie review.
I would first like to poo poo anyone who told me that this was a great watch. It’s a hot watch but the whole movie makes no sense. In the short time span of the movie they attempted to squeeze in too many concepts and did not develop any of them. There was no character growth and instead of the plot progressing forward, more issues were added. I didn’t like how there was no sense of time, you had no idea how much time was passing throughout the film. I also didn’t like how things were not implicitly stated, i.e. Mo-Rae’s final decision. To make things even more complicated, some concepts just didn’t seem too add up. (i.e. if you are going into a gallery to buy something, why would you sneak in? you cant buy anything if the gallery is closed!)

In the end I liked the acting, I liked Ji Hoon topless, I liked Ji Hoon singing (awesome!!), and I thought they had pretty colors and great scenery. I really felt like I was watching a poorly constructed indy film with a great budget. There were so many loose ends left in the story at the end but I really don’t care. I couldn’t feel invested in the characters because they were not written to follow logical or common behavioral patterns, meaning I couldn’t even fathom relating to them. Still to be honest I cant blame Mo-Rae for cheating because if I haven’t mentioned it yet Ji Hoon is hot!!

Read More

Kaseifu no mita is a really cool family drama. I really don’t like family dramas a whole lot but this one was pretty good. A creepy, robotic, Nanny McFee character is the housekeeper who of course teaches the family valuable lessons, and unifies the family all while learning one herself.
The main reason I don’t like most family dramas is because they are really unrealistic. However this one really touches on a dark side of life. Not all smiles and happy times, this drama delves into teenage sex, infidelity, suicide, longing, angst, anger and tragedy. Looking at how a family fell apart and was unconsciously mended back together through individual choices made me want to see each episode. I wanted to know whose turn was it to get “fixed”, and how/where was it gonna happen.
Nanako Matsushima was awesome!! She was not only totally believable but she was the character, and it was played to perfection. Other outstanding actors were Shiori Kutsuna who really did bring out the troubled teenager she was playing.
What I didn’t like was the ridiculous concept that the housekeeper never getting into trouble doing what she did. If they were going to be realistic and dark they should have gone all the way. I found the youngest kid annoying (I think that’s what they were aiming for) and a lot of her parts I fast forwarded through. I really wanted one of the kids to become a yankee but ***** no spoilers here****. The grumpy grandfather never became loveable to me and for some reason I found the longing of the aunt (urara played by Aibu saki) annoying and unnecessary. Each time the kids asked Mita (housekeeper) what to do, she answered the exact same thing, that drove me crazy because they kept looking like she would say something different.
The story was great but I felt like the revelations at the end were rushed and unnatural, almost as if the writers didn’t realize it was time for the drama to end. I would have liked the drama to focus a bit more on the housekeeper throughout and not just at the last 15 minutes. Dot get me wrong the ending was still nice and sweet , but it could have been better. The story itself seemed as if midway they needed new material. Like they ran out of problems within the family to tackle so they moved to the unnecessary neighbors. Still it looked like they have this one primed for a second season and I would watch that one too. However in the next family maybe they could make the family less annoying, because in some episodes 4 whiny, selfish, nosy brats and a spinelessa, cry-baby father were too much to take. Although it doesn't suck you in, and make you a part of the family, this one is an interesting watch.

Read More

Boy and Girl is one of the most predictable, unoriginal, and one of the poorest acted drama that I have watched to date. Somehow I was still drawn to it and watched it straight through marathon style.
What I liked was that the characters had no internal monologues, so they simply said everything out loud. Although it was unoriginal, unlike any other drama the female lead ping ponged between guys so much you could just assume she was dating both. I have never seen a drama where everyone was accepting of the female lead switching guys like underwear, her parents were even cool with it!
What I didn’t like was the lack of hot guys for starters. The little brother was hot but his scenes were way too few. The whole thing was really acted poorly and it was either over acted or under acted by everyone except Chou Genie. Pat Wu was so bad at crying I was rolling on my bed laughing! Genie was actually really good and was cute as a boy (they should have kept that going). The unoriginality comes from the writers employing every concept that you have seen in a drama to date (I wont spoil the story) except amnesia. Because I have already seen the gender bending, becoming a princess, waiting on love themed stories I could literally tell what was coming. In that aspect the writers wrote everything the way you would anticipate the story to go.
There was a lot of comedy in the beginning and to be very honest this is really 3 dramas rolled into 1. This drama would have turned out way better if they cut it after 6 episodes, stuck to one theme and killed all the love longing overacted romantic parts. All in all the ending is good, no surprises and if you watch the intro you can guess what is going to happen through the whole drama. I wouldn’t say I wasted my time because it was entertaining to pause it, tell the characters what they were going to do/say and then watch them do it. I felt like I was the drama god!

Read More

I really didn’t want to like this drama. However somehow the cuteness sucked me in and before I knew it I was totally invested. To me that is a great drama- One that makes you like it and relate to it no matter how different the characters are from you. Essentially this is a great must watch drama.
I can generally see the plot for the whole drama after the first episode or two. I can gather who is going to die and who is the culprit. What I liked about Wild Romance was that I couldn’t tell what was going to happen until the writers gave a hint. Although it is a rom-com there is some really intensive mystery going on, which really kept the plot going and moving. Kudos to the writers for not just relying on the romance to move things along! Although some characters were better played than others I really did like the majority of the characters that were introduced. I felt like the main and supporting characters all had depth that showed as the drama progressed. (I.E. Kim Dong Ho’s role as the Manager). I really fell in love with Lee Si young who played Eun Jae, she was one of those female leads who didn’t change herself for love, she found love just the way she was. I totally loved how really vulnerable she was the whole way through the drama, and how naturally Si Young seemed to play up that aspect.
The main reason I didn’t want to watch Wild Romance was because I was positive the Eun Jae character was going to be all talk. (I was wrong) Next I was sure the Park Moo Yul character would come to love her after some kind of see her naked scene, or she would save a loved one. (I was happily wrong as well) Lastly I didn’t want to watch because I started to feel really embarrassed for Eun Jae, and the more I felt bad for her (ep 4-5) the less I watched. I pushed through it and found it more enjoyable than I thought. Now I will admit to fast forwarding through long looks at each other, some baseball talk (though I learned a lot!) and some of the “searching” scenes. There were a lot of “searching” scenes.
Overall I am glad I watched this one all the way through. I like to see a character who feels like they don’t deserve love, win it on their own terms. That’s what happened with our Eun Jae, and that should give inspiration to many a girls who try to change themselves. Although there wasn’t much eye candy, there were a few bare chested men throughout so I am okay. I hope those who have put this down pick it back up because it certainly gets sweeter, better, and the ending is not what you think!

Read More

Drop was hilarious. Lots of blood and fighting, like Majisuka Gakuen but with ikemen and without that whole pretentious story line of why they fight. Chuck full of shonen comic references, if this was not a shonen comic, it really felt like the target audience is young boys. This movie is literally bare bones boys fighting and protecting their pride.
What I liked was the honesty in the characters. As a true dramanista, I am always looking for the scheming friend, the evil mother, the rat in the group but there was none of that. The characters literally said out loud exactly what they felt, and it was refreshing. Narimiya Hiroki is an awesome actor! This type of character for him is not new (Yankee-kun to Megane-chan) but he is so believable even if you do see his wrinkles. He really brought the main character to life. Although the other supporting characters were to be stereotypical, they played their parts very well and I forgot i was watching actors at times. I must admit that started this because I love Mizushima Hiro. As much as I loved to watch him in this movie, his character fell flat. It could be the fault of the writers, but his character seemed under developed or maybe the character was supposed to be vicious/crazy but Hiro couldn’t commit to it. IDK. I may blame the writers because they introduced a lot of characters that have no development, no story line and then randomly appeared/ disappeared.
The main question on my mind while watching, “Why are they using fully grown men to play middle schoolers?” I know some of those dudes are in their 30’s! I mean these dudes had full facial hair but playing 15-17 year olds??!! I also couldn’t understand how some characters were not getting physically stronger with all the fights, like how are you remaining so weak but you can still run your mouth? Not to mention how cool the parents were with all of this, your son wants to become a delinquent and you say “ok!”?. To top it all off, there is a sudden sorrowful scene out of nowhere that causes major changes. (I had the stupid face on because I didn’t really see it coming).
There were certainly loose ends, unraveled strings, and frayed stitches, but it wasn’t boring. For a story that seems meant to tell young boys “life is short don’t waste it” I think it does a pretty decent job. However it gets a fat F for encouraging ruthless violence for younger ages. I, however am not in that demographic and anything that gives me a little eye candy while entertaining me, I say “bring it on!”. I do recommend the movie for a break from the complex story lines, the plotting and the scheming found in many of the dramas we see. Overall: Lots of cool real fights, loads of excitement.

Read More

Watch at your own risk. A relentlessly tragic but still syrupy sweet story about a older girl still working toward her dreams. Although I skipped a few episodes, and fast forwarded a lot, I still think that this drama made some very valid points in relation to age, viability and attractiveness. Although I wouldn’t really recommend it, it was still a decent watch.
What I did like: The male leads were awesome. Yes Choi Daniel is annoying at first, but then you love him, then you hate him again. Ryu Jin was the perfect second male lead. Although you know how its gonna end, he puts up a good fight and backs out at the right time. I really liked the premise this drama started with episodes 1-8, I also loved how skilled the female lead was.
What I didn’t like: (there is a lot more of this) Idk if watching too many of her Cdramas turned me but it was so hard watching Jang NaRa with that blank stare on her face in a romantically charged Kdrama. I think she was trying to look naive but it wasn’t working, and her chemistry with all the male leads seemed more suited for a sister. (I bet kissing scenes were painful) I blame the writers for a lot of the problems with the drama and not Jang NaRa. The story began great: she’s struggling supporting her family, they have no father and a bratty little sister, but then the tragedy begins. After ep 6 I couldn’t stand watching because of how tragic the character’s life was becoming. It was almost as if the writers needed to beat the point into the watcher that Lee SoYoung was someone to pity. Despite her age, Lee SoYoung was so naive it was like the character was introduced to the real world when we started watching. I took it as SoYoung knew nothing about human relationships before the drama began and that made it more bearable for me. Beware of the romance it has all the sugary sweetness of two middle schoolers falling in love. (making me want to hurl a few times) I have no idea how this went on for 20 episodes! the love interests were set up in episode 2 and the enemies were on the move in around episode 3 or 4.
Every character aside for the main leads, was out for themselves (including the cute kid) making you not want to care about anyone. Its really hard to watch a drama where the sister, mother, father, and all the coworkers are evil. I can only root for characters when I can see hope for them, and I didn’t see hope for SoYoung. Lucky for us the writers took the focus off of her having a baby face despite her age and turned this into a family drama about halfway through. So watch at your own risk, or if you like to see the same situation over and over and over and over again.

Read More

There were no reviews so I thought I would write one. Azumi is a really cool telling of the life of a female shinobi and how she has to constantly prove herself. The character is a very cool and strong girl, who is just finding out what romantic feelings are, dealing with losing her ninja family, betrayal, and revenge. The movie is has some really awesome ninja fighting scenes, great scenery and a bit of gore. Otherwise Ueto Aya is an awesome actress the embodiment of her character - really making you believe this character. Not as long as a drama, but a good watch and there is a sequel!

Read More

Its very rare that I say this - but Yokai Ningen Bem was really not good at all. I do like a bit of science fiction and coming fresh off the yokai high of Nurarihon no Mago, I thought this would be a good live action or at least a funny demon story (think vampire host). However Yokai Ningen Bem is a serious wanna be mystery drama, with poor effects, cheesy lines and some bad acting. Its only redeeming qualities are its really good premise and Kame (Kamenashi).
What I did like was Kame! Although is acting was pretty bad throughout, you cant get tired of seeing that guy shirtless with low rise pants (fan girl faint). That’s what kept me watching every episode! Maybe Kame was overthinking his character but I thought he did an awful job and felt like I was watching Kame pretending to be melancholy. Luckily enough the other cast members helped out a lot; Anne was perfect and that adorable little boy Suzuki was a total scene stealer even with his lisp. The more I watched the less I wanted to see Kame act and the more I wanted to see him shirtless.
The effects are so power rangers 1994. I mean seriously?! The cast as monsters looked liked greased up versions of those old power ranger villains. It seriously annoyed me that they always magically had the same clothes perfectly in one piece after ripping them up, and the body make up did nothing to make them look like monsters who needed to hide in the daytime. As the series progressed I thought the make up jobs started to look better, but the uber fake jumping and flying didn’t add to the dramas charm either.
Speaking of charm, I had a really tough job making myself watch this series. I had to force it down like nasty cough syrup because I like finishing things. To this point I realized that the drama is throwing too many concepts out to the watcher, causing me to become tired of watching. The drama is obviously a little sci-fi, mystery, crime solving, and human drama all in one. The drama doesn’t make you want to care about the main characters at all, it makes you want to care about the supporting characters who had no development in the series. It was so dry with little comedic breaks, no romance, and very little happiness. I don’t think Kame laughed the entire series. Not to mention the cop who seemed more like a clown.
At any rate I liked the story, I just felt the execution was bad. If you are a fan girl of Kame’s or Kat-Tun you will want to watch, he looks good in gray hair (although the jacket and the scarf have got to go). The drama triggered my upchuck reflex too many times with bad eerie music and melodramatics. I do not suggest this drama to anyone but fan girls, because it is honestly scary. (meaning bad).

Read More

I liked Himistu Chouhouin it wasn’t a brain teaser mystery drama, it wasn’t heavily laid with intrigue, but it had some comedy, a little skin showing and a lot of awesome fights. This drama reminded me of Kurosagi, although Himistu Chouhouin is more about doing the right thing than extracting revenge.
I really liked that Erika is practically a chameleon in every situation, shes smart, strong, but still longs for a simple life. She is easily likable because of her backstory , which they seemed to place perfectly in the drama. I like how she seems somewhat awkward as a housewife because it makes the character a little more believable.
I didn’t like how all the criminals seemed to give up the info so easily, it was quite funny though. The family part of the story was gray to me. I felt that the kid was just unlikeable and not cute, and that the husband was weak (although they may have meant for it to be that way). The way the husband never asked questions annoyed me a bit, but towards the end you understand a bit more.
There was some bad acting, and of course you could see the end of each episode coming at the opening scene, but it was still fun to watch it play out. I didn’t think I would like this because it sounded cliché and I saw the female lead in something else where the acting was poor- but I really enjoyed this drama. I thought I was going to do a lot of fast forwarding but I didn’t at all. Because each episode is less than 45 min its quick and easy to watch. There is an awesome twist at the end so if you are looking to get away from the emotional pull of all the romcoms watch secret spy Erika and put your brain on low.
- it didnt get a 10 because I couldnt connect to it, but thats also why i liked it (i know its a contradiction)

Read More