kura2ninja

Despite everything, I find myself loving this drama very much. I think what really made this drama work for me was the directing. While the acting is solid, the story itself (or a variation of it) is really nothing new. But I just love how it was shot and I love the little details, like sakura petals falling during the title sequence.

Lastly, I love it that the drama is more about how an encounter can change your life and that you can change if you want to than about romantic love, which many people seem to be inferring instantly when they saw the drama's title.

Nope, someone else continues to sub it from episode 3. The translation is a bit clunky, but it's good enough for me.

Well, the red-cloaked gentleman must be the sorceress's henchman, right, since we saw him gave her the heart of one of his victims. Whoever he is, he must be quite an accomplished swordsman, since he managed to hold his own against Seo-ri's bodyguard. At first, I thought he was one of the sorceress's guards, but they're all women, while in episode 5 or 6, I noticed that he had adam's apple--which means, a man. From what we've seen, the sorceress doesn't have any man under his employ. Sure, it might be somebody that we haven't seen yet--or, the only man that we've seen near her so far, the master Taoist, which seems to be unconscious or maybe even dead. My guess is that she kept him alive and animated him with magic.

I almost had a heart attack seeing this article! A thousand thank yous!

You know what, I tried watching Under One Roof three times and never got past 15 minute of 1st episode because I was too busy giggling at Eguchi's beautiful mane (his hair was too beautiful!) and Fukuyama's gigantic glasses, but now I guess I have to try again ;p

(And this: "Hajime Saito is the most impressive character in Kenshin and worldwide." I agree 100%! :D)

Man, I love this drama. It's obvious how much Sakura has changed, from the way she interacts with her coworkers and her boss. The cancer thing is really heart-breaking (why do you have to have cancer in this drama?!), but from what I've seen so far, I believe the screenwriter has what it takes to make a satisfying ending.

Oh my God, the master Taoist/Yoon-hee's adopted father is the red-robed gentleman who killed all those people, isn't he?

One of the best, most versatile actors in South Korea, no doubt. How do you even choose the movies to feature in this stalker guide anyway, with him having tons of movies under his belt? Great job, and thanks for writing this :)

No, there isn't. That poster is misleading :p

I second what bettyboo is saying (or rather, I hope she's right). I remember that Painter of the Wind, which is also a sageuk, is categorized as a romance drama, but there really isn't any romance between Moon Geun-yong's and Park Shin-yang's characters (although I must add that she'd reached the age of majority by the time they shot Painter of the Wind, while in this case Kim Sae-ron is still a minor).

I second khfjan01's suggestion. And really, WhiteGold has given a great sample of good Japanese dramas in her above.

Anyway, since you prefer rom-com, some of my personal recommendation are: Date, Nodame Cantabile (although it might be too slapsticky to some people's taste), Zenkai Girl, Manhattan Love Story (it's weird and fun, and has actual love polygon; it's heavier on comedy than romance, though).

I think it's from Itazura na Kiss

Too bad you haven't found them to your liking. If you hate overacting, I suggest you try something from WOWOW, which is a cable channel that can always be relied on making dramas with high production value. Lady Joker or Kageri Yuku Natsu, maybe--both are crime-thriller types.

From top to bottom (correct me if I'm wrong):
- SPEC
- Death Note (dorama, not movie)
- Legal High
- Rich Man Poor Woman
- Usagi Drop
- I don't know

"Not handsome"? The mind boggles. Yeah, it's too bad that people only watch a handful of dramas, which are popular but might not be the best offering out there, and then decide that everything else would be similar and that they wouldn't like them.

I'm just reiterating what everybody else has been saying, but let me say it again: Excellent Article. I think you've offered nice, varied selection for people not used to Jdramas. Hopefully we'll have more Jdrama converts after your article :)

LG Optimus, perhaps? I think LG is one of the sponsors of the drama.

Noodle is a revenge best served cold (I am sorry)

Somebody famous came out in Japan? I didn't know that. Anyway, since you said *actors*, I thought what you meant was that nobody ever tried making dramas/movies with LGBT characters in South Korea, because somebody did--even though the response wasn't always positive. Speaking of which, I think LGBT characters are more prominent in movies than in dramas (even though it's not as if there are lots of them in the first place), and when they do appear, most of them are male. There's not many depiction of lesbian relationships in J/K dramas and movies, and the only thing I can remember watching with lesbian characters was a movie called I Love You, Jin Yeong. But the upcoming movie from Park Chan-wook called The Handmaid/Agasshi also features lesbian characters, so that's another one.

No, there isn't.

Thank you for writing this. Sometimes a drama is more than the sum total of its parts and that seems to be the case with DotS.

Oh, and I know this is a stupid question, but can anybody tell me why this drama is called "Descendants of the Sun"? What does it mean anyway?