yankumicho
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GTO: New Year Special! Winter Break with A Hot-Blooded Class
5 people found this review helpful
One of the reasons I enjoyed the new special was for its good storyline. Being able to utilize Saejima and Ryuji in a greater role was always a hope for the series as a whole, so bringing those two in more made me appreciate the story more. Also, the story didn't fail in bringing in some rather serious issues but in a relatable way.
Of course, the cast was good as always, but I think that with the more consistent story, Onizuka and co. acted a bit better, and we finally get to see Yamamoto Yusuke and Shirota Yu used to further the plot rather than as caricatures (even if Saejima is a natural caricature).
One thing I enjoyed most about the special was its bawdier moments, which were often brought on more by misunderstandings than anything else. These parts were funny (especially the moments between Kanzaki and Fuyutsuki).
Overall, I enjoyed the New Year's special and cannot wait for the graduation special this spring. I'm certainly going to rewatch this later.
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Dramas-within-a-drama have been around since Shakespeare, but in k-drama, we rarely see the interworkings of the drama world. We don't see the bitter battle of production companies for time slots, the schemes of networks, or the interactions of actors, producers, directors, and of course, the writer. In KoD, we see all of these while focusing on the work of one fledgling writer and the resurrection of the career of one crazy Representative.
A drama like this could have gone south were it not for its acting. KoD's actors stood up to the challenge of producing two dramas at once. Although almost every character is of mention, Kim Myung Min, Jung Ryeo Won, and Choi Siwon were my personal favorites. Each brought such abandon to their portrayal of their characters.
Dramas also rely on good music. I liked every song in this drama, and probably had the songs memorized by the end of the show.
Overall, King of Dramas not only gives a glimpse of the drama world from the production's eyes, it also teaches us the importance of hard work and hopefully exposes to us how dramas work (or how they don't, at times). I can't wait to watch this again!
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Although this drama was on my watch list long before it premiered, I wasn't expecting much. I thought it would be okay and possibly pretty funny. It was both of those things, yet it was much more.
Beginners!, for me, dove deeper than your typical do-your-best, slice-of-life type drama. It included each and every characters quirks and fears; in other words, it gives us the motivations and objectives of each character in full view (even if that reveal is step by step, episode by episode).
Storywise, it was fairly general, but the acting made up for that in my opinion. My favorites in the drama (not that I'm biased) were Taipi and Hiromitsu. They were both strong and had the most convincing characters in the show.
I also felt that Gouriki Ayame's performance as Hiro, though stilted at times, was much more likeable than say her performance in Asuko March! She did have very good chemistry with Fujigaya, at any rate.
I can't complain about the music. Wannabe by Kis-My-Ft2 is a great song for this drama, and it is always stuck in my head.
Overall, Beginners! comes out with a lot of plucky, heart-warming moments (and even a little romance). It's also just a lot of fun.
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I really enjoyed seeing some of the younger up and coming stars and the acting, while green, was cute and it was surrounded by a cute story and love triangle (which are commonly uncute).
Overall, I'll probably rewatch Ma Boy many times, because it just lifted my spirits with its sweetness.
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The story is filled with many twists and turns, and though that may be confusing, I think it was fairly well done. It kept me invested in what was going to happen to both Dae Woong and Gumiho.
I can't say enough about the acting. I had never seen Lee Seung Gi or Shin Min Ah in any other drama before this, but I now wish that I had. They were great together and had so much chemistry! I rooted for them from beginning to end, and every time they cried, I cried. The supporting cast was good as well, especially Ban Director and Min Sook, who were epically cheesy but so sweet together.
The Hong Sisters are always known for their musical prowess in dramas. This drama doesn't disappoint that generalization. I think this might be my favorite OST of any of their dramas.
I will rewatch this drama because I've fallen so in love. If you find yourself debating on watching this, I say give it a try. You'll be pleasantly surprised.
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The story started in an interesting way, but the Hong Sisters' cliched mommy drama and flummoxing machinations ruined it's basic plot of the body switch. What actually began as a decent story with a few flaws ended up being a bad story with very few lights at the end.
To be honest, other than Gong Yoo's Yeon Jae/ Kyung Joon, none of the main characters made me too happy. I liked Suzy as Mari for awhile, until that character got so out of hand that my mind hurt. The supporting characters were much better--I especially liked Choong-shik. Shin Won Ho didn't really get an opportunity to shine at all either.
I will probably never rewatch Big, unless I'm desperate to watch Gong Yoo. All I get from the show is a headache, when rom-coms are supposed to make you forget why your head hurts.
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Coffee Prince did not disappoint at all. The story took me on an emotional rollercoaster just like it takes its characters. The romance is beautiful and I love how it was handled--that issues weren't glossed over, but solved and thought through, just like in real life.
I can't say enough about the cast. They are amazing; all the pairings have great chemistry, both female/male romance and the friendships. Each character plays off the other; without one, the dominoes of this drama would possibly fall. I've fallen in love with this cast and hope that they act together sometime in the future.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Coffee Prince, and it will always have a special place in my heart. I will certainly rewatch this again and again. :D
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Park Jung Min is seriously adorable in this, so if you are a fan, you will enjoy him in Korean (for parts) and in Taiwanese (dubbed). He brings so much to the character of Han Ji/Pu Xi Huan. Even though this is a comedy, he brings a lot of cute expressions that make him that much funnier.
The music for this drama is fairly well done. The opening theme is very cute, and on film, the opening theme is probably one of the most creative and bright in dramaland. The dramatic moment song is also beautiful. Both songs will stick with you.
The story itself is rather light hearted, although there are elements of melo laced within. Like any rich boy/ not as well-off girl drama with brothers, there is also family drama. Those parts are harder to get through, particularly in the earlier episodes. The drama as a whole doesn't really pick up, in my opinion, until episode 5, but the first four episodes are important for story development (so don't skip them.)
Overall, I found in Fondant Garden a much better drama than I expected from the outset. For a pick up drama (not one I wanted to watch initially), I rank it up there. It certainly is one of my favorite Taiwanese dramas, at any rate.
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I wasn't disappointed, either. The Ouran High School Host Club drama truly was the icing on Hunny-sempai's keki for me. I love the drama, the cast, and the entire adaptation of Bisco Hatori's fantastic manga on screen.
In particular, I find that Yamamoto Yusuke plays Tamaki well (I knew he could do it--he is awesome). I don't understand the arguments about his acting ability based on his hair color--which in the manga isn't blonde anyway. A character which surprised me was Daito Shunsuke's Kyouya. Kyouya was my least favorite character in Ouran until the drama. He's still not my favorite, but I like him much more now (that has nothing to do with Daito's suaveness, whatsoever, lol). I also felt that Haruna was a good Haruhi, and Chiba is an awesome Hunny. The Takagi Twins never fail to disappoint, either.
Plot-wise, I feel that the drama did the best it could with the ridiculous time constraints put on it by the network. As the first drama I've ever watched in Real Time, I never once did not laugh during an episode. Everything worked well, and it could not get me more excited for the movie.
Overall, I will rewatch Ouran again because it's that good, it's my favorite manga, and it's a good drama on sad days.
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Another reason that I enjoy Gokusen is its cast. To be honest, my interest in watching this drama started because I like Matsujun and Oguri Shun-being that they were the leads in the first two dramas I'd ever watched. In Gokusen, both of them proved to me even more why I like them; however, I was most moved by Nakama Yukie's performance as Yankumi.
Some argue that a flaw of this show is the similarity in situations of some of the students. I don't see this as a flaw; rather, I find that this use is important to it's message: "You're not alone." As humans, we go through similar things each day, but we think we are alone--that no one else could go through the things we do. The beauty of Gokusen, therefore, reveals the flaw in this type of thinking.
Overall, I would watch Gokusen again and again and again. Also, the drama got me into the manga-which is awesome--and the anime--which is also very good.
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