It Only Takes Three

Let’s face it. We all know watching Asian dramas is an addiction to last a lifetime, but how many does it take to be so deep in your blood it’s stuck forever? ... Three. More specifically:



The first drama I ever watched I did so grudgingly. My best friend/roommate in college had been reading a manga called Hanazakari no Kimitachi e and stumbled across a live action version produced in Taiwan. I was so not interested. However, she begged and pleaded and I found myself laid out on our living room floor watching the drama on a small laptop screen.

Nothing could have prepared me for the insanity. A cross-dressing girl living in a boys dormitory, a poor soul who’s in love with his best friend...who’s a girl that he thinks is a guy but wishes were a girl, and a high jumper more or less just along for the ride. My first drama was a doozy, and I thought it couldn’t be any more compelling to watch... until we found the 2007 Japanese version. And I give you two words: Ikuta Toma. This man’s portrayal of Nakatsu had me captivated from episode one. He had me laughing outrageously, falling in love with his Nakatsu vision, and wishing for the first time in my life that I could hug a fictional character. Out of all the cross-dressing dramas I’ve seen, Nakatsu is still the reigning champ for best reaction to the “I’m not gay, she’s really a girl” realization. I learned my first Asian drama lesson from Hana Kimi. Sometimes the male lead isn’t the one to make you fall in love. Sometimes it’s the runner up who loses the girl but wins your heart.

I loved Nakatsu so much I decided I’d look at other dramas Ikuta Toma’s acted in. “Oh look! Oguri Shun’s in this one too. Hana Yori Dango. Ikuta only guest stars, but it looks interesting.” Being college students, my best friend and I were up at 2 in the morning and thought, “We’ll just squeeze in one episode before bed.” ... 5 hours later she’s rushing off late to class and I’m texting her what happens with code names like “Cherry” and “Tea Guy” since we still hadn’t gotten the hang of Japanese names yet. I think it’s safe to say we finished the whole first season in one sitting. I found the best way to describe this drama in the comment section of one of the best blog posts I’ve ever read. According to the author aliaspiral, “Hana Yori Dango is Japanese HEROIN. If you start watching it, you will end up in a downward spiral of never ending Asian television and boy bands.” Never have truer words been spoken, and it’s all because of Matsumoto Jun.

The character of Domyoji Tsukasa had me hooked instantly. His passionate nature was portrayed so beautifully by Matsujun. The arrogance and sense of entitlement, the slightly off the hinge violence he needed to deal with his emotions, the heartbroken little boy who was possessive to the extreme of the people he loved. Something inside him was inexplicably drawn to Makino Tsukushi, and I loved him for it. Hana Yori Dango threw the whole book at the main couple, between the two seasons and a movie; there wasn’t a single obstacle that didn’t cross their path. This leads me to the second Asian drama lesson I learned. There is little out there in all of space and time with more evil than a woman’s potential mother-in-law. SHE HAD HIM WHEELED INTO HER OFFICE GAGGED AND IN A STRAITJACKET!!! I understand the over-protective mother thing, but holy cow does Domyoji Kaede take it way overboard.

 
Now it’s nearly impossible to love a drama that much and not look into it more. And so I discovered there were a manga, a movie, and three other drama versions. I have since watched/read them all, but the one I was directly drawn to could only be Boys Before Flowers. The Japanese and Korean versions of this drama will always be the best for me. None of the others comes even close in my opinion to the true Domyoji character. While Matsujun’s is passionate and raw with his almost uncontrollable emotions, Lee Min Ho’s Goo Jun Pyo is so passionate but childlike in the way he’ll do anything to have Geum Jan Di by his side. Domyoji and Jun Pyo are two sides of the same coin. Fierce in their own right, but each having a capacity to love that knows no boundaries.


Now the third and final drama to solidify my addiction (yes the previous only count as two) is You’re Beautiful. It was my first Korean drama, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. One of my other roommates had been watching the drama as it aired, but never had the time to finish it so she invited us to watch it with her. Enter in my first exposure to KPOP. They may have been a fictional band, but A.N.Jell really knows how to rock.

The sheer emotion portrayed in this drama was incredible. Park Shin Hye, Jang Geun Suk, and even Lee Hong Ki gave such heart-wrenching performances. The laughter and the tears made me love this drama so much I’ve watched it seven times in two years...a bit excessive I know. I became completely swept up in Go Mi Nam’s struggle to find her mother, and Tae Kyung’s struggle to avoid his. That doesn’t even begin to touch on the romantic aspect. You’re Beautiful taught me my next Asian drama lesson. Love triangles are for sissies. Try a love pentagon! 

It’s pretty much guaranteed that if you get a group of women together watching an Asian drama there will be lots of fan-girling. It’s something that sort of breeds when we’re together. For the three of us it culminated in the epic Tae-Kyung vs. Shin Woo debate. It was two against one but I can safely say I won in the end. And don’t worry, Jeremy wasn’t forgotten. A general consensus was reached early on that it’s impossible not to love him...but he really had no chance in the beginning anyway. He does hold the runner-up for the best “I’m not gay, she’s really a girl” realization though.


So those are the dramas that led me to be the drama addict I am today. It was a crazy ride, and has been even crazier since. These dramas taught me the most important Asian drama lesson ever. Dramas will take you on a roller coaster of emotion. They make you laugh, cry, hate with every fiber of your being, and fall in love so deep it steals a little of your heart each time. Finishing a drama leaves you in such a state of emptiness it can only be filled by another drama, which is where the addiction comes in. However, I find I don’t mind it much. 


Which drama made you realize you were in too deep? Did it take a couple, or were you hooked from the first?