Extraordinary You (Korean Drama)

Genre: Friendship, Comedy, Romance, School, Fantasy, Drama

Episodes: 16 (32 half hour episodes)

Main Cast:

Kim Hye Yoon as Eun Dan Oh

Ro Woon as Number 13 / Ha Ru

Lee Jae Wook as Baek Kyung

Lee Na Eun as Yeo Joo Da

Jung Gun Joo as Lee Do Hwa

Kim Young Dae as Oh Nam Joo

Synopsis:

What would you do if you found out that you were, in fact, a character in a comic? And an extra character on top of that? Change the course of the story, obviously!

Eun Dan Oh is a 17-year-old high-school student from a wealthy family who suffers from a lifelong heart condition that inevitably means she will not live past her teenage years. However, when Dan Oh realizes she is experiencing long gaps in her memory as well, she comes into the unhappy inheritance of another fact in her life: she is a character in a Korean webtoon and all of her actions are predetermined by the artist who draws her. To make matters worse, she discovers she is only a supporting character in the cast. With her newfound understanding of the world she inhabits, she is determined to find true love in her own plot-line and circumvent the author’s plans for her character by utilizing the flashes of storyboard she alone is able to see.

My Thoughts:

I chose to watch this drama because of the synopsis, the concept of a comic character being self aware has been used before but it feels refreshing to know that this is an extra who got self aware and not a main character of the comic. I like how the different dramas I watch based on this concept has very unique plots and doesn't intersect in their rules of the game. An interesting here to note is that, this story was based on a successful and popular webtoon, if you think about it, a comic book character inside a comic book got self aware and keeps on breaking the fourth wall in a sense. That's a refreshing perspective to look back on the drama.

This is mostly a high school romance story with a blend of fantasy. My favourite combo. Here we got a character who is hell bent on changing her character setting to just enjoy life as a normal high school girl, and how she tries to use every method at her disposal until she met Number 13, an extra who has no role or character setting who suddenly was able to save her from an accident which she saw on the storyboard. She then constantly finds Number 13 to hopefully have him help her. Another side of the story is the leading characters of the webtoon story, where every character in the universe of the comic has to help them get together unwillingly, which becomes a source of frustration for people like Dan Oh who hates that her life is used to bridge the love between the leading characters. But those scenes by the main characters are also what becomes their gossip to criticize the author for the lack of creativity and going with all the cliches of a typical romance story.

The actors and actresses are awesome even though many of them are rookies. The one playing Eun Dan Oh, Kim Hye Yoon was the star of the show especially with her capabilities to perform and switch between two personalities smoothly. One being her comic book personality and another being her self aware personality. Others who got self aware also has those symptoms but none of them as total opposites as Eun Dan Oh. I salute her for her acting. 

I also love the soundtracks and background music used by the drama. It increases excitement and creates tension with ease. About the plot and storyline, it is not too heavy which is good. Whenever the mood of the story becomes sour or the characters is stuck in a troublesome situation, there is always an injection of side stories or random stuffs to balance the mood. The drama really makes you think about the existence of all the extras you see in other dramas and how their existence is what makes the drama livelier and wholesome. 

The love story between Dan Oh and Number 13 or Haru is just bubbly and cute and sweet ahahah... I love watching the process of them falling in love and being in love. They really complement each other and really makes each other happy. It's kinda no wonder since they've been lovers in a previous story. Then, talking about the ending, I love it kinda, it is not a definite ending, but enough of an ending but also have enough to set the story for a second season with all the unanswered questions. I'm not sure but maybe the webtoon which this story is based from is still ongoing or the drama only covered a part of the webtoon, because the drama is certainly not completely ended. It's a open ending in a sense.

Want to know more? Curious about the story? Do give this story a try! If you already did, do type down in the comments about what you think of the ending with a spoiler alert of course. I gave minor spoilers here and there in this review because I can't help it but hopefully just enough to get you all watching this awesome drama. Happy Drama-Watching!! 😼

Put Your Head On My Shoulder (Chinese Drama)

Genre: Friendship, Comedy, Youth, School, Romance

Episodes: 24 + 1 Special Episode

Main Cast:

Fair Xing as Si Tu Mo

Lin Yi as Gu Wei Yi

Daddi Tang as Fu Pei

Zheng Ying Chen as Wang Shan

Synopsis:

As Si Tu Mo’s graduation is nearing, she is confused about her future plans. She tries out all sorts of things all the time and is unable to make her own decisions. Her ordinary days are suddenly shaken up when the genius Physics student Gu Wei Yi appears in her life. The two accidentally end up living together and chaos begins.

My Thoughts:

It's been a long time since I finished watching this so my memory is a bit foggy but I've been planning to write a post for it since it's such a good drama. This started from YouTube Recommendations and I decided to give it a try. And I enjoyed binge-watching to the point where in some episodes I had to pause many times to prepare my heart for what's coming.

This is a nice and refreshing love story, no angst or evil and jealous second leads. The whole story is mostly about the both of them and how they got through their final year in university. Gu Wei Yi is a genius to say the least in his field but is a little bad at relationship stuffs. He is straightforward and direct, and it is fun to watch him try his best to impress Si Tu Mo. Si Tu Mo is more of a hardworking and honest person, who is probably one of the only people who can handle Gu Wei Yi. 

As I said, there is no angst and heavy love triangle or anything, it is almost really close to reality, how their relationship develops and the struggles and challenges they faced and how they support each other. I find it funny when Gu Wei Yi just doesn't know the right thing to do sometimes and can be oblivious, those times when he wants to cling to her and his plan fails, or those times when he misspoke. 

Another couple is Fu Pei and Wang Shan. Fu Pei was the crush of Si Tu Mo, Fu Pei knows that if I'm not mistaken haahha but he never acknowledged it and kinda always give her false hope until one day when Si Tu Mo became fed up and quits, that made Fu Pei suddenly wants to cling to Si Tu Mo. The Cliche of wanting something when you lost it. Wang Shan was always next to Fu Pei supporting him and had a crush on Fu Pei. I love how their relationship developed and Wang Shan molding Fu Pei into a better and driven person, and also more studious since Wang Shan is a studious type and their relationship kinda first started with Wang Shan tutoring Fu Pei.

I don't know what else to say because usually I make a review immediately after I finished the drama but now the memory is not fresh in my mind but still I can assure you this is a very cute and fresh drama to watch. It is comedic and has good use of sounds to make itself more interesting. Do give it a try and comment down below what you think

Nee Rak Nai Krong Fai ~ Love Debt in A Cage of Fire (Thai Drama)

Genre: Action, Romance, Drama

Episodes: 18

Website to Watch: Neko Meow Meow ~ Nee Rak Nai Krong Fai

Main Cast:

Alek Teeradetch as Kawin/ Mark Reeves/ Nai Noi (Young Boss)

Patricia Tanchanok as Belle

Pop Karnthip as Luk Bpong

Jieb Lalana as Yang Mei Hua

Deaw Suriyont as Chakrit Reeves

Bie Teerapong as Nick Reeves / Nai Yai (Big Boss)

Savitree Samipak as Patcharin

Synopsis:

On her seventh birthday, Chalita's entire family was killed. Kawin/Kevin, was given the option to slay three people in order to protect one. His guilt drove him to distance himself from her.

In her youth, Chalita is adopted by a mysterious stranger who is known as, "Nai Noi (Young Boss):" He turns her life around and is her means of support. Kawin moves next door to Chalita and their lives become entangled. Feelings blossom, and happiness is reintroduced to Chalita's life, but Kawin risks losing her, if his secret were to ever be revealed. If Chalita ever recalled the past, he will lose everything.

My Thoughts:

Let's begin with the reason I wanted to watch this drama, it started from the pretty good trailer but the main point was not the trailer but more so that Alek Teeradetch was the male lead in this drama. I enjoyed the role he played in another romance drama, Sanae Rak Nang Cin which I didn't made a review on yet hahaha... But, nevertheless he was perfect and dreamy in the role that I expected as much here so, I started this. As an added bonus, the actress who portrayed Pawee's mother also acted in here which I love.

I was hesitant many times of starting the first episode because of the mood of the drama from the get go. It was serious and pretty dark at times and super tenseful which to be honest was not really encouraging for me. But I persevered to give the drama a chance. But again to be honest, it was tough to actually finish this drama. It was on the most part depressing to watch. I tried to be satisfied with the sweet and cute scenes to compensate for the all the anguish and scheming but when it gets deeper in, the scenes don't quite make the cut. Though, I do have to mention that the leads were perfectly capable of making really good cute and fun scenes, if there were less pain and sadness, those scenes would make a perfect balance because I really loved them.

Let's talk about the male lead, I think I was too much into his other role, that I felt he was not that suited for the really action and serious style of characters. It kinda really throws me in a loop to really believe him to be a person who grew up in a mafia, the aura he's giving me does not really fit the image of a character he's supposed to be. He was capable of doing all the action scenes perfectly and handles the role of Young Boss pretty well but there's something lacking about his character portrayal as a whole. I don't know if I'm being bias. But on the other hand, his scenes with the female lead felt more natural and in his zone, effortless. I was able to believe him as a person who really cares for Belle because he proved many times about this and was able to deliver the image of a dependable and caring person. 

Belle on the other hand, I really pity her, heck I pity almost everybody in this drama, everyone had their circumstances and shortcomings, everyone had a reason for their actions kinda, even if it can get overboard. There was this line which really struck the heart, first the male lead says, "You don't know how much suffering it is to remember everything" which I can understand very well since remembering everything makes you envy those who remember nothing. Then Belle says, "You don't know how suffering it is to live an empty life, remembering nothing" and when I look at her perspective, it's also true. One wants to forget but couldn't, another wants to remember but couldn't. 

Continuing about the story, it was hard for me to truly invest on the leads since whenever I do, I always get heartbroken by hard facts and the secrets that are slowly manifesting itself. But, I continued to the end and finished it because I felt the characters deserved the chance to see themselves being happy in the end. And they did, fortunately. There were also some characters who I believed was the villain but as the story progressed, I wonder whether are they really a villain only to find out through twists that they were trying to be the good guy in their own way, ways that the leads did not even expect it. And that was why my heart really break during the final episode, when all was revealed, it was so touching. As we reached the end, it gets even better. 

Overall, the leads did a great job at "being in love", I really loved their interactions. The side couples were also a shock hahaha, watch this drama and you will know what I mean, they were hilarious. The villains and so-called villains were also good at making the drama tense and suspenseful. There were some really weird and hilarious characters also so do be prepared for some laughs. This drama is not rewatch-able material but I could rewatch some scenes again especially the scenes of our leading couple because they were great. I wished I had dimples, but humans would always wish for what they don't have....  Do give this drama a try, it may not be 100% my taste, but it could be your 100%. Happy Drama-Watching!!!

King Gor Rah Kah Gor Raeng 2019 ~ Ginger is Spicy, Galang is Hot (Thai Drama)

Genre: Comedy, Romance, Drama

Episodes: 34

Website To Watch: Neko Meow Meow ~ King Gor Rah Kah Gor Raeng

Main Cast:

Ko Vasin Asvanarunat as Pawee

Paparwadee Chansamorn as Nit

Kana Rinyarat Watchararojsiri as PiangPhen

Moo Dilok Thongwattana as Saranat (Pawee's Father)

Savitree Samipak as Rungthip (Pawee's Mother)

Mean Woranporn Patchuay as Nee

Synopsis:

Nit works as a reporter and has a fierce and strong personality and also has a strong sense of justice. One day, she accidentally wrote a wrong news article about Pawee’s father and this angers Pawee. When she tries to ask for forgiveness, Pawee did not give her that chance and instead looks down on her and disrespects her, then he caused her to lose her job. This caused a strong tension between these two strangers as Nit swore vengeance over what he has done to her.

Nit consulted with a nun who she depends on a lot. The nun brought her to the psych ward to meet someone. Here, she met Pawee again and had another misunderstanding which caused them to argue. Then, Nit found out that his mother is in the psych ward, who went crazy from Pawee’s playboy father while young, alive unlike what’s written in the news and was the same person, the nun wanted Nit to meet. Pawee’s mother took a liking to Nit immediately.

Nit also has a older sister, Nee who has a weak personality which was the reason for Nit’s strong personality to protect her older sister. Nee is also a mistress to Phen’s father.

Pawee actually has a girlfriend, Phen who he has dated for a long time and they both liked each other. Pawee’s mother did not like Phen and only liked Nit. Pawee’s parents then made him get married to Nit, which upsets Phen so he promises Phen that he will divorce Nit within two years. But he won’t get married that easily and continues to disrespects her and tries to humiliate her. Their life which is full of arguments and fighting, with more and more misunderstandings and problems, will they ever find love with each other, when Nit is determined to have her revenge on Pawee?  How will the relationship between these two stubborn people be?

My Thoughts:

First things first, the synopsis above is written by me to make sense and be true to the story since the synopsis I found wrote things that were not proved by the story or mentioned in the story. So, I rewrote my own synopsis, if there are any errors, I apologize beforehand. Now that's out of the way, I actually decided to watch this story more because of Pawee's mother because in the trailer she looked like she will be a super funny character and I truly did not made the wrong decision.

King Gor Rah Kah Gor Raeng in fact has three version, the version I am writing this review for is the latest 2019 version, the older ones were released with roughly 10 year gap in between but with pretty much the same storyline and characters. There were some troubles with the subber while watching this drama so I ended up watching a part of the 2006's version until the end because I could not stand the cliffhanger. I was not lost in the story which shows the story's essence is carried forward but this also shows how good the story because I could not stop myself from clicking next after next.

Talking about the characters, as mentioned above, the two leads always argued and it's pretty much their identity, liked the FL said, "The day when we are in harmony, that will be weird". They pretty much hated each other a lot and this kind of constant arguing works because none wants to surrender and are stubborn at that but somehow sometimes both of them are able to make the other surrender on some parts. What I loved about these two leads is seeing how they progressed from hating each other to death and seeing the effect Nit has on Pawee which slowly changed him into a better and sensible person, breaking apart both of their first impressions and then fall in love, though that's the thing I never really saw them fall in love, it's just as ML said, "I don't know since when, but when I knew, I have already fallen hard in love with you". Which kinda made me forgive the writers for not showing specifically how they fell in love. Another character to note and you must not missed out on her is Pawee's mother, my goodness, she was the bomb and the highlight of the show! She was crazily clever and knew well how to use the right methods and of course she's the most satisfying character of all.

On the casting, comparing both versions and also the tone of the story for this version, the casting was perfect. ML has the ability to show cute and clingy sides while the FL was born for the role with her looks that can easily look fierce and then easily be vulnerable. This created an interesting dynamic in their relationship compared to the previous version, though both versions has perfect casting. The most perfect casting would Pawee's mother, as I said I came to the drama because of her, since I have seen the actress in many other dramas so she had a very good reputation in my mind. In this drama, she completely did not disappoint and owned the role. Fun fact, she acted as Nit in the first version so I think this allowed her to perform her given role better. 

Talking about the romance, the two leads were very cute in their role and I really loved whenever there were scenes where they treat each other goodly and with lots of care. Towards the end, their arguements became sort of petty and childish fights and also had much emotional weightage as both have clearly loved each other already. This version was long with 34 episodes but given that much episodes, I expected their lovey dovey scenes were much longer because I loved this couple a lot but they did not gave me that so enjoy their scenes while it lasts, they tried to compensate with the epilogue but that only made me 40 percent happy since it was a cute epilogue, I will give you that.

I don't like the music whenever they have a fierce moment or was going to fight, I will tell you that, it's loud and abrupt. Though I loved the OST, it was nice to listen and truly captured the essence of the leads' story. Enough said.

In conclusion, really give this version or the 2006 version a try, both were great and many has testified to how good these two versions could be. If you want more testimonies on the bad and the good of this drama, head on to myDramalist for more. Both versions were great and also different in their tone and the way they tried to express and progress the story. Some scenes in the older version were cut, characters increased, scenes were revamped and redone better in the current version. I would like to take this chance to salute Neko Meow Meow who was the subber I depended on for this drama, despite her troubles while subbing this drama with her website, she still managed to finish subbing and subbed really fast as well. Go to her website to watch the current version subbed, she's amazing!

Well Intended Love (Chinese Drama)

Genre: Comedy, Romance, Life, Youth, Drama, Family, Melodrama

Episodes: 20

Main Cast:

Xu Kai Cheng as Ling Yi Zhou

Simona Wang as Xia Lin

Ian Yi as Chu Yan

Huang Qian Shuo as Wen Li

Charry Qi as An Ran

Liu Jia Xi as Jia Fei

Yang Hao Ming as Nan Jin Tian

Synopsis:

A third-rate actress with leukemia becomes entangled with CEO Ling because she needs him for treatment.

In order to receive bone marrow transplant sooner and to continue her career as an actress, Xia Lin enters into a secret marriage with Ling Yi Zhou, the CEO of a company. Despite the conspiracies and misunderstandings they encounter, the two find true love. 

My Thoughts: 

Finally, I felt like giving a review and this is one very important drama I just could not not give a review immediately. Finally finished watching this drama after postponing for too long. It was I would say a really amazing and wonderful ride with this drama and just realized the drama's title really speaks for itself throughout the drama. With this drama, I hope to come back to reviewing dramas again after being on hiatus for a while.

Well Intended Love really made me love it from the start but the external problem with this drama as with other C-dramas is finding good subtitles, if you have the same problems, do comment below, I will help as much as I could since I changed subbers many times while watching through this drama. But, thanks to my own Chinese understanding, I could catch their meaning despite the broken subtitles. 

Okay, done ranting now on to the drama. Let's start with the romance, hello, be careful where you're treading, one wrong step and you will be intoxicated with the amount of romance this drama has to offer. It was so damn satisfying to watch, it's almost on the same level as Love O2O, another super great C-drama for the genre. I love the interaction between Ling Yi Zhou and Xia Lin especially when we reach the middle before all the drama happened. In serious fact, the plot is nothing unique but what really made the drama shined for me was the romance and the love between Yi Zhou and Xia Lin or Mumu. I like how he just simply gave her a nickname based on his understanding that lovers always have nicknames for each other.

Their journey in this love of theirs was interesting, there were many twists I wouldn't have expected if I didn't accidentally read about some spoilers. I expected everything to be honestly played out straightforwardly but they were some good twists indeed.

I don't know what else to say about this drama but if you are like me and would love to jump into a drama just because it's romance, then head on in. If you accidentally idolize the male lead then welcome. I just recommended it to my friend once and she completely liked the male lead a lot but once I showed Love O2O, she liked Yang Yang more instead hahahaha.... But still, it showed the impact of this drama's romanticness. 

In short, it is a very good drama, I will list it in one of my top romance Chinese dramas. I highly recommend trying it if you're okay with a lot of romantic gestures. Or if you're like me who can't stand romantic gestures but still like watching it, then go ahead, join the club. If you've already watched and would like to share your thoughts on it, let's discuss in the comments! Do take note, there's a season 2!

Clean With Passion For Now (Korean Drama)

Genre: Friendship, Business, Romance, Comedy, Drama

Episodes: 16

Main Cast:

Yoon Gyun Sang as Jang Seon Gyeol

Kim Yoo Jung as Gil Oh Seol

Song Jae Rim as Choi Ha In

Synopsis:

Jang Seon Gyeol has wealth and good looks but suffers from severe mysophobia. He is obsessed with cleaning and even owns his own cleaning company. However, he meets a carefree and untidy girl named Gil Oh Sol after she enters his company as a new employee.

Oh Sol has worked all sorts of part-time jobs while striving for a full-time job and does not have the luxury to date or be clean. She gave up on being neat after facing the tough reality of the world and is known for always wearing her trademark tracksuit. But she has a bright personality and does not mind getting dirty. With the help of Oh Sol, Seon Gyeol faces his mysophobia and also falls in love with her.

My Thoughts:

What first brought me to this drama is the actor, Yoon Gyun Sang. I've been a little fan since his appearance in Pinocchio back in 2014 and was hoping to see the essence of him that I saw in that drama and also him in a leading role and in a romance drama. Damn, I have so many conditions hehehe... As I watched this, I continued to love it more and more.

This story made me think a lot on how I am always drawn to stories where the male lead has a kind of severe OCD or trauma that makes them unable to make contact with other people. A few other being, I Am Not A Robot and currently watching About Is Love which have similar character settings or is it just there being many dramas of this kind coming out.

So, about the story, it is a pretty simple story in fact. What really gives it attention here is the romance and the comedy. There's nothing complex about the whole drama which made it an easy watch. So, about the big romance factor, I really loved the whole cuteness of it and sometimes cheesy moments and how there are just those serious tense moments mixed in between. Yoon Gyun Sang and Kim Yoo Jung make a good couple, they had good chemistry definitely. 

And regarding Kim Yoo Jung, I just checked and was pretty sure before I checked that this is her first drama role as an adult since she's 20 this year which is the adult, 21 year old age in South Korea. So, it is certainly a change of pace to see her being an adult in the drama. All that drinking and everything hahaha...

It is a very fun drama to watch and I hated when they did not air any episodes for two weeks since this drama's airing time clashes with New Year.... because the story was building momentum and definitely stopped at a huge cliffhanger. Watch until episode 10 and imagine not being able to see the next episode until almost two weeks later. The struggle was damn real!

In conclusion, do watch this drama if you haven't. It is a good drama to watch indeed with excellent casts!! Though they tried to make me like a character by providing scenes to make the character good, I still do not fully like the character. And also, if you did watch the drama, do leave a comment on what you think of the drama! And if you watched the drama live as it airs, giving a Wi-Fi hug for the moments when they did not air any episode!

PS. This is the first post after Google+ being shut down so I'm sad to see comments left behind in other posts being deleted.....

When We Were Young (Chinese Drama)

Genre: Youth, Romance, School, Friendship

Episodes: 24

Main Cast:

Neo Hou Ming Hao as Hua Biao

Wan Peng as Yang Xi

Gala Zhang Yao as Li Yu

Li Ming De as Si Tu Er Tiao

Pan Mei Ye as Yang Xiao He Mei

Dai Lu Wa as Huang Deng Deng

Synopsis:

A nostalgic story that revolves around high school students during the year 1996.

While chasing down a bike thief during the summer, Yang Xi gets injured by a lab explosion that renders her unable to compete in a long-distance run. When school opens, she realizes that the culprit behind her misfortune has transferred to her class and has even taken her position as class president. He is Hua Biao, a hot-blooded, rash and gifted genius of the science department. Hua Biao's arrival immediately puts his classmates on guard and he must prove himself to be accepted by the class. Later on, they go through lots of ups and downs in life.

My Thoughts:

At first, I wanted to watch this drama since the plot seems interesting but when I noticed it's set during the year 1996, I shelved it. But thanks to my sister noticing the drama, I finally got to watching it and I liked it more and more with every minute watched.

The reason I was apprehensive about the time setting is just because it's 20 years to the past. The technology used were so different from the ones now. I was afraid it would feel old and boring. But as the story goes on, it becomes a wonder instead seeing how people used to interact during a time when technology was still starting up. How much it led to people meeting more and communicating more. Technology is convenient but in those days, people lived happier.

Other than that, everything is pretty much similar to modern day, with these teenagers living the final year of their high school life, the most critical moment for all teenagers, full of uncertainty and brewing with troubles and fear. Through them, I got to relive my days as a high school student as well preparing for the most important exam at that point in time, the college entrance examination. This drama is really a coming-of-age story, telling how teenagers start to mature, by learning from mistakes, by exampling others, by being encouraged by others, by just growing up.

About the romance factor which I can't not talk about, I really loved the interaction between the main leads. They just somehow fell in love but they never actually flirted with each other, all they did was spend time together and began caring deeply for each other. And despite all that, they were still worried the other person would not like them and held back from confessing, afraid that doing so would change their dynamic. They were extremely adorable, that's for sure and there was no excessive drama over their relationship which is realistic and good since this drama centered on them living their youth. For the other couples, there were some whom you kinda wish more to happen but suitably, it was best that at that point, it was left as such and there were some who begin to develop beautifully at the end which is lovable.

I also deeply loved the friendship factor here as it was really explored and developed. Their friendship really felt genuine, how they cared and covered for each other, not letting anyone talk bad about them. They were always the first to notice if any one of them were off and even have days where they would skip school together and this is a gang with a mix of smart kids who stereotypically would not want to skip school, which shows how much they value their friendship and their time together. They went through a lot together and would not mind sacrificing for any single one of them. A true definition of the friendship made during youth.

In conclusion, there's lots of words in the world but I can only think of this much. There's a bit of contents that can be developed into a second season but I will not hope for it. I was overall very satisfied watching this drama and absolutely loved reminiscing my high school days which is a determining factor since this drama really showed the spirit of teenagers during that period of their lives which was amazing despite being set in 1996 as it shows that there is no difference between what youths go through even through the changes of time.

So, how do you feel about this drama? Drop down in the comments on how vivid was the experience that this drama had.