kura2ninja

I won't lie, I have experienced some of these :D

And because I'm a petty, terrible person sometimes it's like this. Say, I'm not sure about my rating. Should I give a drama a 7, 7.5, or an 8? If it's highly rated here on MDL, chances are I'd give it a 7 or 7.5. But if it's low rated, it's more likely for me to give it an 8.

I know it's been a while and you might already find out, but in case you haven't, there's no connection between the two. Both are novel adaptations, written by different writers.

I'm pretty sure everything that SuperDrama mentioned are available online, since they're all well-known movies; but legally? I don't know.

I legit almost screamed when I saw this article on MDL homepage! I had a big crush on Tony Leung growing up (who am I kidding, I still have a big crush on him even now). Every time he smiled on screen, I think I might spontaneously combust. For some reason, I never got to watch his newer movies, but that shall be remedied immediately.

Thank you for writing this article, DragonAlien. I love it so much!

Yes to everything you guys said! I watched the TVB adaptation of Journey to the West as a kid and I loved it so much. (And I think it's pretty faithful to the original?)

Reading the synopsis of Hwayugi, I had the impression that they're going to make a loveline between this drama's version of the Monkey King and Tripitaka, and I was like NO! Forgive me if I'm wrong, but by making a romantic love a focal point in this new adaptation, I feel like they're betraying the central theme of JTTW somehow? And anyway if they want to add some romance, why does it have to be between those two characters?

I'm a sucker so I'll still watch it, but I do hope that I'm mistaken in my impression.

I think it's different for each drama?

With Stranger and Prison Playbook, I think Netflix released the episodes a week after they're aired in South Korea. With other dramas like Argon and Night Light, they're only available months after they're finished airing in Korea, but for these dramas, Netflix released the episodes all at once.

For Hwayugi, I hope it's the former and not the latter.

I think it's not licensed yet. And it seems that the fansubbers at badguys2 dot weebly don't want their work being uploaded anywhere else.

You know how illegal sites take people's works for free without crediting the source (and earning some money from ads, when they don't even pay for the content or even sub the dramas themselves), and some fansubbers simply don't want their work being commercialized in any way.

Thank you. Faking their own death and working freelance as spies for hire are my headcanon now. (I'm still hoping for a TV special or a movie, though :D)

Just like HermanFassett said, try downloading the subtitle file (.srt) and video file without subtitle (.mp4 / .mkv / .flv) separately. Make sure that they're in the same folder and have the same name (eg. okusama1.srt and okusama1.mp4), and then open the video file (okusama1.mp4) with media player. That should do the trick.

re: babbling nonsense with serious face. Yup, I'm with you. It didn't really bother me until ep.15, when it became obvious that they created unnecessary conflict and out-of-character move. It was then that the monologue started to grate on my nerves.

Overall, like you, I still enjoyed this drama immensely, but to think that it could've been better . . . oh, I'm so bitter.

And I second coval's rec: Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu presented the same topic (contract marriage) but in a better way, IMO.

The thing is, she's not like that in the earlier episodes. I blame the screenwriter for such an out-of-character move on Ji-ho's part in the last two episodes :(

I thought I was weird for being pissed off when everybody loved it. So glad I'm not the only one!

I can't agree more with what namopanik said. I think the screenwriter was trying to generate more tension and angst, at best, or simply being pretentious, at worst.

What bothered me the most about Ji-ho's decision on ep.15 was how out of character it was. She doesn't play games, so for her to say that she wanted to break the contract and then left all of a sudden--without explaining that she wanted to make a new connection with Se-hee, one based on genuine love rather than just mutual need and compatibility--didn't make any sense.

And since she had come to understand to seriousness of marriage, it also didn't make sense for her to announce to everybody that she's getting a divorce. Why not just talk it out with Se-hee, and thus spare their parents distress?

Sorry for the word vomit. It might sound like I hate this drama, which is not true at all. I still rated it 7, but if it's not for the last two episodes, I would've rated it higher.

Better than I expected. Kinda wish this a drama and not a movie, though; then, it'd have better character development.

I'm reading this list and based from your score, I think we might have different taste in that hotness thing? Which means I really need to watch stuff that you rated highly here and I have yet to watch. (Sorry for the convoluted sentence).

Anyway, great list! :)

This sounds absolutely riveting. Too bad documentaries are seldom available in English subtitles.

Thanks for your hard work, guys :)

I'm with you, but seriously, Johnny Kitagawa (Matsumoto Jun's boss from the agency) is weird. Who knows what he's thinking?

So, has anyone watched this? Do you guys like it? Is it better than Miike's cockroach movie last year, or is it fun to watch, at least?

Thank you for writing this :).

I generally prefer to read the original novel (or manga) rather than watching its adaptation, if I can get my hand on it. And sadly, I'm one of those boring types who is never satisfied with a cinematic adaptation once I read the original work, complaining that such and such is not faithful to the original, bla, bla, bla :D

Thank you, this is such a great article! I've never watched Asian dramas ironically, but I'm really tempted now, with Super Star Academy. I mean: "Harry Potter meets Percy Jackson on acid" and "by the last episode, she reaches Nirvana". How can I resist that?