Nailshop Paris

Nailshop Paris  – 2013 (네일샵 파리스)

Country: Korea

Genre: Romance

Cast: Park Gyulee, Jun Ji Hoo, Song Jae Rim, Cheon Dung

Plot: 

Yeo-Joo (Park Gyulee) writes a love story on the internet about a fox with nine tails (“gumiho”). The story becomes a hit and Yeo-Joo becomes somewhat of an internet celebrity. Then, Yeo-Joo is caught in a plagiarism scandal. For her next story, Yeo-Joo decides to write about something completely new. For inspiration, Yeo-Joo decides to observe real people for her story.

Yeo-Joo goes to the subway station. There, she sees a man save a woman from a drug addict. The hero is Alex (Jun Ji-Hoo). Yeo-Joo thinks Alex would make for good material in her next story. She follows Alex to his place of work, which turns out to be a nail shop named “Paris”. Yeo-Joo decides to work at the nail shop, but it appears the shop only hires men. Yeo-Joo then disguises herself as a man with the help of her friend Ji-Soo (Han So-Young). ( Asianwiki)

 

MY OPINION

Hmmm this is a bit different than I thought. I literally watched last episode just a minute ago and I am kind of shocked? empty? Disappointed? 

Story started rather interesting. Apart of typical girl-pretend-to-be-a-boy thing it didn’t seem bad at all. Of course I wouldn’t have to wear glasses to see that even when you cut your her, you still look like a girl if you are a girl. But never mind. Firstly my eye caught Alex and rest of very handsome characters like Jin and Key. It was different to see that one of so hot guys, who saved a girl works actually as a nail artist. Then how the story went I liked how they have been dealing with people problems, trying t help them and growing within themselves at the same time. Then after Key’s confession I got very frustrated with the story. I must say I did not admire relationship between Key and Bunny as there was no chemistry at all, and Key, supposed to be cold serious guy, suddenly changed into crybaby. Then Alex…. I didn’t sense any interest from him towards Bunny, then suddenly in one episodes he loves her?! It’s like they tried to rush drama to finish ruining very good plot. And then gosh, last episode. What was that about?! In one episode they squeezed at least 5. What with that half Gumiho thing? And how come Alex is one too? Gumiho story is like a shadow in whole series and then at the end BUM main thing….. That made no sense what’s so ever. 

Now let’s check characters. Starting from actual actors, I really like them. They were new to me, fresh and quite good at acting. And I didn’t find anyone to annoying neither. Now Alex. Alex is that kind of person you just have to love. He is handsome, nice and helpful. I hated the fact that he ended up like that. Main female lead was pretty simple but gosh she couldn’t make any decisions. Whole drama she like Alex just to end up with guy she feels sorry for. I seriously didn’t see anything that made me think, she maybe falling for Key. Key is that person I don’t like. He was ok at the beginning but as episodes got further I got so angry with him I cannot imagine. He kind of made Bunny to be with him….. And I didn’t like him as main paring neither. My favorite person in drama was Jin. He was weirdly cute, funny and helpful. His relationship kind of grows, changes etc. I just realized I didn’t catch up how his story ends. He reminded me a bit of Jeremy from You are beautiful….

Overall it was nice drama with totally ruined ending. I am highly disappointed even so I was eagerly watching it every week. Sigh…

Gu Family Book

Gu Family Book  – 2013(구가의 서)

Country: Korea

Genre: Historical/Martial Arts/Romance

Cast: Lee Seung Gi, Bae Suzy, Lee Sung Jae

Plot: 

A melodrama epic about the great deal of trouble Choi Kang Chi, born as a half-human-half-mythical-creature (or human werefox half-breed), who goes through in order to become human and a story of Choi Kang Chi’s journey of struggling in order to live more like a human than anyone else despite not being able to become human.

Choi Kang Chi (Lee Seung Ki) was raised by the Park family after having been picked up from the river. Due to customary restrictions of the era he is adopted by manager Choi instead, however Park Moo Sol takes on the role of being Kang Chi’s main father figure. Choi Kang Chi is the son of Gu Wol Ryung (Choi Jin Hyuk), the guardian spirit (werefox) of Jiri Mountain, and Yoon Seo Hwa, his human mother. Kang Chi is an outspoken character who’s full of curiosity. He realizes that he’s a half-human-half-beast through a certain incident and starts living his second life.

Dam Yeo Wool (Bae Suzy) is a master of martial arts and archery. Yeo Wool is an upright character who really values the Three Bonds and Five Relationships in Confucianism, and becomes an instructor at a martial arts center at a young age.(DRAMAWIKI)

MY OPINION

I should start from the fact that all my drama addiction started from Lee Seung Gi. First ever drama I watched was My GF is a Gumiho where I totally fell in love in him. Therefore me watching Gu Family Book, which is second this type of drama, I watched purely for him. Even so I am a big fan of Seung Gi I will try to stay objective towards the drama. 

At the beginning I wasn’t sure if I will like it due to historical genre but after only first episode I fell in love with it. It was first drama I actually watched week by week as it was aired, not all episodes in one go. my first impression was, WOW really colorful. I mean all scenery used, colors, that blue lights, really did the “magical” thing. It made whole situation believable  and mystical. I was surprised how much I liked a character of  Gu Wol Ryung. Actor, that I didn’t know before, portrayed it so beautifully and I am looking forward to seeing him in future drama’s. 

I really liked the tempo of the story and how everything was building up, changing and characters evolving. I totally enjoyed all funny moments as well as cried on sad ones and got angry, whenever something was not my way. It was totally new for me and story was rather original. 

In the middle of the story I started to get annoyed a bit more. I felt there were parts that shouldn’t be there, or some things that were pointless. Like for example return of Wol Ryung and Kang Chi’s mother. Why put them back to drama, if you will just kill them off? They didn’t bring anything else than few more episodes and confusion. Even so I was a bit happy to see them I was very unhappy for their ending. Seung Gi was doing good job in his new style however I kind of felt like along the way, after first kiss episode, his connection with Suzy got cold and lost. Like all the chemistry suddenly was gone. I hated episodes when he wants to leave her as it was useless episode to me. 

Regarding ending – I did not expect it, that’s for sure. It was sweet, different but I guess not strong enough for me. I thought main story supposed to show Kang Chi to fight of the rights being human, the impact Kwang Woong had. But ending seem to be centred totally on romance which made me left a bit dry on the deeper meaning of the story. Ending of Kwang Wool also wasn’t strong enough for me somehow. Maybe I expected to much. I personally think King 2 Hearts had the best ending from all Seung Gi’s drama’s. And what with the original titled “Gu Family Book”?

AS every drama, this one had their flows too. But I totally loved Gu Family Book. Story is really worth knowing. And considering the ending maybe there will be possibility of the continuation. I would strongly recommend if you like Seung Gi, Suzy, funny but yet emotional historical drama. 

She is Nineteen

She Is Nineteen – 2004 (형수님은 열아홉)

Country: Korea

Genre: Romance/Family

Cast: Jung Da Bin, Yoon Kye Sang, Kim Jae Won, Choi Soo Ji

Plot: This series is about a 19 year old girl, Yoo Min who was being abandoned after the death of her mother. She lives alone with her adopted brother, Kang Pyo. She accidentally meets Seung Jae, the younger brother of Min Jae. By chance, Yoo Min actually had a crush with Min Jae, a doctor who treats her brother illness for a long time. To fight off his mother demand, Min Jae gets in an engagement contract with Yoo Min and they all end up living at Min Jae’s house. Unexpectedly, Yoo Min and Seung Jae are going to the same high school. From there, Seung Jae secretly loves Yoo Min. On the other hand, Yoo Min’s father who got amnesia from a car accident is looking for her again after 15 years old she had been abandoned by two women who worked at the restaurant. The conflict comes when the people who living in Min Jae’s house are actually related to Yoo Min’s abandonment. They are the ones who stole the inheritance and abandoned her when she was four year old.

MY OPINION

So I started watching that rather old drama due to some comments on my twitter list. Someone said they watched it in two days so I got curious. Well it was worth checking it out. There have been some flaws which I will mention in a bit but overall drama was very interesting.

Starting from the beginning. Plot has a right tempo and story is not getting boring at all. It was very easy to get into it and I am glad to say it was one of those drama that I really couldn’t wait to watch. I was a bit surprised about all that time jumps used but in overall it wasn’t bad. Big plus for the romance triangle. I was surprised first time by the fact I couldn’t decided till about 14th episode, who I want main female lead to end up with. Both male leads were portrayed great and characters were so lovely, both had great chemistry with female lead. I loved the connection between two brothers that haven’t been lost even through hardship of love. As per characters I didn’t like, to my surprise was female lead’s father. First thing he wasn’t emotional enough, he was nasty to his daughter as he ignored her feelings and he wasn’t better at all than the woman that left his daughter. 

Story is really great but it may be hard for few first episodes when female leed is nineteen. She reminds me a bit then of Oh Ha Ni from Playful kiss – silly, annoying and overplaying emotions. I was very happy when after time jump she become rather nice and more stable. Also something I mentioned before, why all people in love leaving abroad either for studies or work – that thing was boring. And lastly thing that kind of disappointed me the most was ending. They seemed to squeeze all romance part of story in last episode. Time jump and whole going abroad was totally not needed. And just few minutes before actual end last episode the unfortunate lovers meet again. I hoped for some big accent, tears, kiss and there was nothing. They loved each other, he was gone and then they met after a year being like ” Oh Hi How are you”. Are you kidding me? Also if you hope for some nice romantic kisses – there is not even one! People over 24 apparently do not kiss at all…

Even so I have put few points as dislikes I still really enjoyed the drama. I also liked it more as I liked Kim Jae Won in Can you hear my voice. If you like romantic stories with a bit of family drama this is recommended easy watch. 

1 Litre Of Tears

1 Litre of Tears – 2005 (1リットルの涙)

Country: Japan

Genre:Illness/Family

Cast: Erika Sawariji, Ryo Nishikido, Naohiko Fujiki

Plot: 

This drama is based on the real-life struggles of a 15-year-old girl named Aya who suffered from an incurable disease, but lived life to the fullest until her death at 25. The script is based on the diary Aya kept writing until she could no longer hold a pen. The book that later followed, entitled,One Litre of Tears has sold over 1.1 million copies in Japan alone.

Fifteen-year-old Ikeuchi Aya was just a normal girl, soon to be high school student and daughter of a family who works at a shop that makes tofu. As time passed, unusual things started happening to Aya. She began falling down often and walking in a strange way. Her mother Shioka, takes Aya to see the doctor, and he informs Shioka that Aya has spinocerebellar degeneration – a rare disease where the cerebellum of the brain gradually deteriorates to the point where the victim cannot walk, speak, write, or eat. A cruel disease, as it does not affect the mind. ( Wikipedia)

 

MY OPINION

If you are looking for drama not about romance but full of emotions, tragedy this is a must watch. As usual Japanese creation did not disappoint me and I found this drama as a emotional masterpiece. It maybe related to the fact that this drama is based on true story or maybe to the perfect portrayal of characters by actors. I think the fact that female lead is a young, beautiful student with great grades and sport talent make you even more attached to her. Even so it’s obvious from the beginning that she will be gone at the end the journey you go through make you realize how special you are by being healthy. I must admit I had no idea about any of that type of illness before but watching that drama made me realize how lucky I am. 

I also fell in love with male lead who at the beginning seemed rude, bored of life but then becomes an angel, the one last standing friend for a sick girl till the very end. I like that they didn’t oversweet their relationship but kept it pure till the end. 

I totally cried through last three episodes and couldn’t calm down after I stopped watching. i got really connected to Aya, her family and Haruto. I was in pieces at the end, even so I knew at the beginning how it ends. Even music to this drama was perfect.

Personal Taste

Personal Taste – 2010(개인의 취향)

Country: Korea

Genre: Romance/Comedy

Cast: Son Ye Jin, Lee Min Ho, Kim Ji Seok, Wang Ji Hye

Plot: 

Furniture designer Park Gae-in (Son Ye-jin) is kind, impulsive, clumsy, and a complete slob in her personal habits. She lives in Sanggojae(meaning “a place for mutual love”), a modernized hanok (traditional Korean house) designed by her father, a famous and reclusive architecture professor (Kang Shin-il). Naive and trusting, she has been dating longtime boyfriend Han Chang-ryul (Kim Ji-seok) for years despite the fact that he takes her for granted. One day, without so much as a word of explanation, he breaks up with her and all but disappears. Then Gae-in is invited to the wedding of her good friend and roommate Kim In-hee (Wang Ji-hye) and is horrified to discover that the husband-to-be in none other than Chang-ryul; the two had been cheating on her for some time. When she finally comes face-to-face with them, the wedding ceremony breaks out into utter chaos. Gae-in is heartbroken, and determined to never take a chance on a man again.

Meanwhile, to keep his small firm afloat, architect Jeon Jin-ho (Lee Min-ho) is desperately trying to win a project bid for the Dam Art Center against Future Construction, the prestigious company owned and operated by Chang-ryul’s father (Ahn Suk-hwan). In order to win the favor of the Dam Art Center director, and win the moneymaking bid, Jin-ho has to find a way to dig up more information about the art center director’s favorite building:Sanggojae, which has never even once been opened to the public,.

Knowing that Gae-in would never let a man (let alone a stranger) be her new roommate, the straitlaced (and straight) Jin-ho pretends to be gay to get access to the house — and all the information that he’s sure is hidden within.(WIKIPEDIA)

 

MY OPINION

Hmm What shall I say. I will start from the fact that in general I am not a fan of Lee Min Ho but surprisingly I found him much better than in Boys Over Flowers and even thought he was cute. I must say at the beginning, for about first six episodes I thought this drama is funny, bubbly and captivating.  It was easy to watch. I liked the main female lead even so at times I wanted to slap her for her stupidity. If my boyfriend would cheat on me with former best friend I would never talk to them again… But she is just like… well silly.

I enjoyed all the scenes when he was mean and was slowly opening up to her and they have been friends. it was all cute. But then something happened that made me loose all the interest. For example I would close the drama in ten episodes max. there was many situations that were not needed and I felt that they try to make drama longer. As usual after confession of love they had to have not needed arguments. And why oh why they decided to make Lee Min Ho’s character so feminine near the end. I understand they have been in love but he behaved like a twelve year old with a crush  – it was so sweet I felt uneasy. 

Ending was most unoriginal and least accented I could imagine. It was so obvious that I didn’t want to watch it really. 

In general that drama is not and I did like it – at the beginning. I am not sure why I was so disappointed and was getting bored at times. It may be because I read so many good comments about it drama, or maybe because I expected something different. But at some point I really wanted to drop it. I only watched it to be able to review it till the end. 

I would probably enjoy it if I wouldn’t see all those thirty something drama’s before, but now it didn’t seem so great. if you fan of Lee Min Ho, like comedy I would still recommend to watch it as you may have a totally different opinion than me.