butterfly lovers (the 2008 version)

It's been a while since I actually wrote about an asian drama, so here goes! One of China's most famous legends is that of the "butterfly lovers". A young lady, with an unusual scholarly bent and, even more surprisingly, parent permission, dresses up as a man in order to go to boarding school. Zhu Yingtai is a pretty rich lady, so being able to do this in those times is pretty amazing. While there, she becomes best friends with her roommate, Liang Shanbo, who is one of those scholar type folk who only lives for learning and knowledge. You know, the kind without street-smarts. And in this case, the kind without cash. But he has She falls in love with him, and tries to subtly reveal her identity to him, but he's pretty dense, and doesn't get it. Meanwhile, her parents set up a marriage to a man of their caste - Ma Wencai - and pull her out of school to become a proper housewife. As she leaves, Shanbo finally figures out that his roomie is a girl, and that he is madly in love with her, and decides to follow her home.

Yingtai arrives home, but locks herself in her room rather than marry Wencai. Shanbo ends up dying at Yingtai's hometown (I can't remember how). The girl is devastated, and agrees to marry Wencai - on the condition that she gets to visit her lover's grave on the way to the temple. Her parents agree, and the procession starts. At the gravesite, however, something astonishing happens - Yingtai is swallowed up by the earth, and is never seen again. Two butterflies fly away together...

The star-crossed lovers story is really popular, and there's been a gazillion adaptations of the story. I was really excited about this one, because it stars some well-known Chinese/Taiwanese actors/actresses. Yingtai is played by Charlene Choi (Ah Sa) of the HK band Twins, Wencai is played by the handsome Huge, and best of all, Shanbo is played by Wu Chun of Fahrenheit - one of my favourite bands! AND the adaptation is a wuxia (martial arts) one. Can you say awesome?

But, unfortunately, the movie didn't live up to its hype. Ah Sa was a terrible boy - her scenes as a girl weren't too bad, but her boy scenes were so unrealistic - her voice was pitched too high, her mannerisms were very girly...the only guy-ish thing about her was her clothes. She even drew butterflies on things - if that's not girly, I don't know what else is. Huge and Wu Chun were much better as Wencai and Shanbo respectively - especially Huge, who ended up playing Wencai with the right amount of creepy insanity and fidelity (I know it sounds weird, but it makes sense when you watch it). That could have saved the movie, except that there was no character development. That combined with the Cantonese film technique of abruptly cutting away a scene into the next one, just made the movie very jerky and uninspired. I just didn't feel connected to the actors at all! Two things that were good in the film were the stunt sequences and the filmatography...but unfortunately that wasn't enough to save it.

My current top 6 favourite t-dramas

1. It Started With A Kiss/They Kiss Again
2. Smiling Pasta
3. Hana Kimi
4. Devil Beside You
5. Fated To Love You
6. Tokyo Juliet


Other notable series (not all taiwanese):
Coffee Prince, Goong, Bullfighting, Meteor Garden I, Prince Turned Frog.

Smiling Pasta

Okay a quickie post about my new fav drama "smiling pasta", which i've already mentioned 15 times before I run off to bed since it's ridiculous a.m.
okay, i tried to resize the pic but it's still pretty big! but i guess it just goes to show how much I adore this drama :) An adaptation of the famous k-drama "Full House", Smiling Pasta stars two young taiwanese idols, Nicholas Teo and Cyndi Wang.

A long long time ago, Xiao Shi (Cyndi Wang) semi-dated this boy that she adored named Ah Zhe (Gino). However, on their 3rd month anniversary, he broke up with her, telling her that he allowed her to love him for 3 months, but since he couldn't reciprocate, they were over. Since then, the poor girl has never had a relationship longer than 3 months (neither has she had one shorter than three months though :P). Until today, which is the day that Xiao Shi and her uber-supportive family are sure that she will break the curse - after all, she's dating super nice boy Peter.

Unfortunately, Peter dumps her in the middle of the street. Xiao Shi is heartbroken and just wanders around the streets of Taipei, until she accidentally bumps into famous pop star He Qun (Nicholas Teo). They kind of stumble over each other and fall to the ground entwined with each other so it looks like they are kissing on the sidewalk. Papparazzi take pictures, which are published in the tabloids the very next day.

In order to save He Qun from gossip, He Qun's agent publically declares that the two are engaged (what a leap!). It's a bit of a tricky situation, because up to now, He Qun's girlfriend has been portrayed as childhood friend Rita (Joyce Zhao), who He Qun has liked forever. Unfortunately, Rita has just told He Qun that she wants to go out with his estranged brother, Ah Zhe. Broken-hearted He Qun thus agrees to play along with the ruse...as does Xiao Shi, who doesn't want her family to feel sorry about the 3 month relationship curse anymore.

Over the course of the next three months, the four main leads start to fall in love with each other. Initially, He Qun liked Rita who liked Ah Zhe who was in love with his ex who died tragically in an accident (He Qun was involved, hence the estrangement), and who was also liked by Xiao Shi but was actually going out with Rita. Confusing much?

Anyway, due to the rumor, Xiao Shi and He Qun begin to spend a lot of time together - He Qun is drawn to Xiao Shi's bubbly and optimistic personality, while Xiao Shi falls for He Qun's gentleness. Her status as He Qun's fiancee causes her to get into a lot of scrapes with his fans, but he sticks by her and supports her through this tough time...always a plus in relationships no?

Okay, I'm super tired, so I'm going to sum up...the two fall in love - he writes a song for her, she confesses her love for him publically and kind of pressures him into doing the same (he refuses to say "I like you", though he doesn't mind singing it to her etc). Lots of misunderstandings occur, of course, but the story ultimately ends happily - on their 3 month anniversary, He Qun proposes for real, and is accepted.

I loved loved love this drama - it's an unabashed romantic comedy and doesn't pretend to be anything else. It's optimistic and bubbly, with a great soundtrack. The chemistry between the two leads are also fantastically adorable - how can one not love it?

OST Smiling Pasta

I'm in a "Smiling Pasta" phase! In a couple of days, I'll do my traditional t-drama wrap-up, but I just wanted to post some videos from its OST first - I love love love this soundtrack (and series)!!!



This first video is "小乌龟", or literally, "Little Turtle". It's sung by the main lead, Nicholas Teo. In the drama, he writes it for his fiancee, played by Cyndi Wang, and is pretty much his confession of love for her. Ahhh, I'm getting goosebumps thinking of the series again :)

Okay, I'm a little ashamed of myself for posting this...but here goes! I love this song that Cyndi Wang sings in the soundtrack called "I Do" but I can't find the movie for it on youtube, so to put it up I had to post part of a concert vid. go to the 3:01 in the video and you'll see it!




Haha okay, this is -beyond- pop-py.

Meteor Garden

I finally got around to watching the idol drama classic - Meteor Garden. This was a huuuuuuge hit when it came out seven years ago - within about three months, it propelled F4, Barbie Xu, and the whole idol drama trend to popularity. I was a little reluctant to watch it at first, but I was hooked after the first few episodes (though they were a little hole-y plot wise) and ended up pulling one of my infamous all nighters for it :) It's made it onto my top dramas list.
Based on a famous Japanese manga (Hana Yori), Meteor Garden stars the members of F4, namely Jerry Yan (playing Daoming Si), Vic Zhou (Huozhe Lei), Ken Zhu (Xi Men), and Vanness Zhou (Mei Zhou) as the powerful gang in the richest college in Taiwan. Friends since childhood, the four of them have more money than they know what to do with, and rule the school with an iron fist. If someone gets on their bad side, they deliver a red warning slip - and usually the student quits college, because they know that they'll be ganged up on by everyone else in the chool if they stay. One day, Shan Cai, one of two poor students at the school, accidentally irritates Daoming, and he immediately places a warning slip in her locker. Unlike the other students however, ShanCai refuses to leave college, and endures some pretty horrific things in order to stay at the school. The other kids beat her up, accuse her of cheating, break her motorbike to pieces...but she grits her teeth and bares it in order to stay at the school. During this time, she makes friends with the quietest member of F4, Huozhe Lei. He rescues her from some of the dastardly tricks their classmates play, and she starts to fall for him.

His support (along with the support from her friends Xiao You - very well acted by a young Rainie yang - and QingHe), gets her through the worst of the pranks. Daoming is attracted by her strong-willed character, and asks her to be his girlfriend, offering her all the material goods she could want in the world. She refuses, and begins to pursue Lei. Lei, meanwhile, is heads-over-heels for his childhood friend and mentor Jing, who has just returned from a stint in Paris. Jing was the person who supported Lei when he was growing up. He was somewhat autistic and lonely back then, and she helped him grow past that. Jing, in her own way, loves Lei, but perhaps not in the way that he hopes for. The pursuing begins...Daoming chases Shancai, who tries her best to make Lei happy, who just wants Jing to agree to be his girlfriend. Ultimately, for Lei's happiness, Shancai begs Jing to go out with Lei (and not to return to Paris). Lei is touched by Shancai's act, and after some encouragement by Shancai, follows Jing to Paris.

Without Lei in the picture, Daoming is able to more successfully woo Shancai, with the help of his playboy friends Ximen and Mei Zhuo. The two begin to spend a lot of time together...and share this really passionate kiss. Shancai slowly becomes attracted to Daoming's softer side - but then Lei returns, having decided that Jing and him are not compatible. Lei is heartbroken, and Shancai comforts him...and in the course of this, they kiss in front of Daoming. Daoming is furious, and tries his best to expell Shancai, but can't bring himself to do it in the end. Shancai begins to miss Daoming - he's a warmer human being than Lei, but refuses to admit it - Lei is the boy she chose, and she wants to stick to it. Lei thinks of himself as Shancai's guardian angel, and when he realizes that Shancai likes Daoming, he does his best to get the two together...he sort of succeeds...when disaster strikes again, this time in the form of Daoming's overbearing mother.

As a member of F4, Daoming is from one of the richest families in Taiwan. His mom therefore strongly believes that it is his duty to marry well, and has his fiancee picked out for him. Xiaozi, the girl in question, is a confident and loveable heiress. While at first she is against the marriage, she falls for Daoming at their first meeting, and decides to pursue him. She also meets Shancai, and makes Shancai her "love confidant," to Shancai's dismay. Daoming tries to get along with Xiaozi after being spurned by Shancai, but after a little while, realizes that the only girl he can love is Shancai. In turn, Lei encourages Shancai to come to terms with the fact that she likes Daoming.

After a very exciting trip to Xiaozi's villa, Xiaozi, who genuinely likes Shancai, decides to break it off with Daoming so that the two can be together. Shancai and Daoming get along for a while, but then Daoming's mother forces Shancai to break up with her son using some pretty underhanded methods. Lots of drama happens, and Lei falls for Shancai. But he does the best that he can to get Shancai and Daoming back together...and succeeds!

Having failed to break up the pair, Daoming's really evil mother pays someone to seduce Shancai...the method almost succeeds, until the fake escort falls for Shancai as well (the girl is just racking them up!). This actually ends up having the opposite effect from what Daoming's mother intended - Shancai finally admits to someone (though it's the fake escort) that she likes Daoming, and the two start secretly dating and are happy together, except that Shancai has not yet told Daoming that she likes him. Anyway, evil mother tells Daoming that his engagement to Xiaozi is back on (to Xiaozi's dismay actually - she's good friends with Shancai at this point). Daoming goes into one of his patented furies, and refuses to eat until the engagement is lifted and he can go out with Shancai. Xiaozi begs Shancai for help, and after talking to Daoming, Shancai decides to join Daoming on his fast. Daoming's mother finally gives in, after Daoming almost dies, and Shancai and Daoming are reunited. The story ends with Shancai finally telling Daoming that she loves him.

Meteor Garden is truly a classic - I could see little parallels between it and most of the other popular dramas in Taiwan today. For example - the whole rich successor struggles with family over poor lover plot? It's from Meteor Garden. Angry character becomes gentle with the influence of his loved one? Check. Even little things are lifted off of this story - like in "Why Why Love," one of Rainie Yang's newest t-dramas, there is an adorable scene where the impatient lover boy sets up a date with his girlfriend, only to have a little kid tag along. The lover unwillingly demonstrates his love for the girl by putting up with the kid the whole day...Seriously, the exact scene was in Meteor Garden. And the scene was more well-done in Meteor Garden than in Why Why Love. Actually - in general - things in Meteor Garden are much better. The acting really complemented the story. I can't seem to put my finger on it, but the series just has a much sweeter feeling than in other dramas. I also love that this story doesn't force everyone to couple up - while the main two leads end up together, the secondary leads (of which there are quite a few) don't end up together. There's also something about Jerry Yan that I really like - he manages to portray this amazing vulnerability while being an arrogant and hot-tempered almost-bully. And he and Barbie Xu clicked. And you know how I love dramas in which the leads click :)

I'm about to go to bed, but before I do - the story also has some other sub-plots involving the other two F4 characters which are quite interesting. Though I don't mention Ximen and Mei Zhuo in the story, they play vital roles and add a gentle comedy to the drama. They are a large part in why I was so addicted to the series I think. All in all, a great drama!

Wang Zi Bian Qing Wa (Prince turned to frog)

So one of the most highly rated taiwanese idol drama series ever is MingEn's "Wang Zi Bian Qing Wa" (WZBQW), or literally, the prince who turned into a frog. It's a really interesting concept - the standard is that the frog becomes a prince...but it's rare that it's the other way around. no? Though in the end the frog becomes a prince again...sooo....haha. I guess in the end all girls want their prince right?

Anyway, it was in this series that MingEn rose to fame as a "golden couple." And justifiably so!
So Ming Dao plays Shan Jun Hao, a cynical and arrogant chairman of a famous and well-known hotel, founded by his dad and two friends. He works closely with Xu Zi Qian (played by Sam Wang) and Fan Yun Xi (Joyce Zhao), who he has grown up with. YunXi was taken in by JunHao's family when she was little, and since then, she has loved JunHao. In her memory, he was the first person in the house to welcome her into the family. However, she freely acknowledges that ZiQian is the person who knows her best. What she doesn't recall is that in actuality, it was ZiQian who extended his friendship to her first - but ZiQian remembers, and for his part, has loved YunXi since they were babes. There's a rivalry between ZiQian and JunHao, but they always try and put that aside for the sake of the business and their family. YunXi and JunHao finally decide to get formally engaged, and before the ceremony, JunHao buys a special ring - the maker of the ring tells him that when true love appears, the ring will fit tightly and not come off.

One day, Junhao runs into Ye Tian Yu (CQE), who does everything in his power (including lying and cheating) to get money from him. TianYu comes from a poor family - they scrimp daily to make things meet, and so feel no qualms in extorting money from rich people. Because of this, TianYu's biggest ambition is to marry rich, so that she can help her family. Anyway, JunHao recognizes TianYu as a cheat, and the two have some really heated arguments. In one encounter, TianYu tricks YunXi and Junhao onto a hot air balloon. Junhao tries to put the ring on YunXi's finger, but the balloon kind of collapses, and Junhao accidentally lets go of the ring. TianYu finds the ring, and puts it on. Anyway, the two keep accidentally bumping into each other and JunHao ends up saving TianYu when she falls into the ocean. He performs CPR on her, and she freaks out - she's really proper when it comes to this kind of thing, and thinks its almost as intimate as kissing! Anyway, while saving her, he realises that she has his ring. Later, she goes to his house to return it, but it refuses to come off her finger. They have another argument where he yells at her for being stingy, and she attacks his character by saying that he shouldn't have kissed her (when all he really did was CPR). Junhao gets really upset, and then actually kisses her, saying "now, that was a kiss." That was her first kiss btw, and so TianYu gets even more upset. But during this whole time, TianYu doesn't know who JunHao is really - all she knows is that he's some rich dude.

Anyway, drama happens, and we finally get to the point where this prince will turn into a frog. Junhao is run over by a car, and loses his memory - he remembers most things, but knows nothing about his life, or who he is. TianYu and family find him - in fact, TianYu thinks she ran over him! - and tell him that he is a Chinese immigrant named Dong-ou. Dong-ou only recognizes TianYu, and the two become really close. This is one of the sweetest parts of the movie - JunHao loses his arrogance and coldness but retains the rest of himself, which is actually smart and tender. No one usually sees this side of him. In turn, Dong-ou sees TianYu's inner self, which is determined and loyal. She'll do anything for her loved ones - including lying and cheating. It is so adorable - after the two fall in love, someone asks Dong-ou - aren't you afraid to trust TianYu? He replies - No, not at all, because when she's lying to an outsider, she does it really well. But she can't lie well to anyone she loves - and because I know when she's faking it, I trust her. SO SWEET. Sparks just leaping off the screen at this point!!!

Around this time, TianYu also meets ZiQian - remember him? Childhood friend of JunHao and lover of YunXi? They hit it off and become pretty good friends. ZiQian's been spending his time since JunHao's accident comforting YunXi - and she starts to soften towards him, since she thinks JunHao will never return. But as TianYu and ZiQian become friends, he meets Dong-ou, and realises that JunHao is still alive. ZiQian persuades TianYu that the best thing to do for Junhao is to return him to his family and fiancee, and so, with TianYu's help, ZiQian returns JunHao to YunXi...JunHao freaks out and runs after TianYu, who saves him from this guy who's trying to murder him (part of this drama to do with the hotel, which I don't really care that much about). ANYWAY, JunHao loses his memory again - he forgets that he was ever Dong-ou, but remembers himself from before. He finds out about all the things that happen when he was Dong-ou, but choose to ignore them and return to YunXi. ZiQian and TianYu are crushed. Kind of devastated really. The two both love someone who won't love them back, and so come to an agreement - if they don't find their true loves in 3 months, they'll date each other, and see what happens.

As JunHao settles back into his world, YunXi becomes extremely jealous of his time with TianYu (Dong-ou refused to return to YunXi because of TianYu...long story) and pulls away from ZiQian, who defends TianYu. ZiQian, who at this point genuinely cares for TianYu as a person (well, as a friend), asks TianYu to start dating him...she eventually agrees. ZiQian also gets TianYu a job at the Shan hotel. Of course, this engenders a bunch of meetings between JunHao and TianYu...and JunHao begins to fall in love with TianYu again. Well, more accurately, JunHao gets really jealous when he constantly sees ZiQian and TianYu together, and realises that though his memory from that time is gone, he still loves TianYu. He tries to win her back, but TianYu refuses, and so he gets married (and divorced) to YunXi on the same day. Lots more drama occurs, but eventually JunHao and TianYu find their way back together. YunXi realizes that ZiQian was the first person to help her when she was a child, and that couple comes together too! And so everyone lives happily ever after. There were a bunch of other sub-plots...but we all know I only care about the romance.

WZBQW has the standard love-rectangle stuff and standard t-drama plot twists, but it stands out as a drama because of the amazing chemistry and acting of the four leads. There were real connections between the four of them, and it showed on screen. In "real life", Joyce and CQE are part of the same singing group, 7 flowers, and do a lot of duets with 183 Club, the group the Ming Dao and Sam Wang belong to. And I dunno. Ming Dao is a lot like Ariel Lin in that he can generate chemistry with whoever he works with. CQE is the same way - so you put the two together, and boom! Major heat! Though please never put MingDao and Ariel together in a drama - I think that would not work.

It's interesting though - before this, I watched Magicians of Love (where MingDao acts with Joanne Zeng), and I thought the chemistry between the two of them was pretty decent...but now, after watching this? All MingDao + XYZ interactions have seemed pretty pale. I guess that's the downside about being really amazing when you're acting with someone - it shows when you don't reach that high with someone else...

Ying Ye 3 + 1

So I'm really behind on my drama posts (on all my posts actually). I started work a few weeks ago, and totally underestimated how tired I'd be after work every day...I'm enjoying what I'm doing, but I have to admit that I miss the freedom and flexibility of being in college...of being able to skip a class whenever I wanted, or to sleep in (oh I miss that a LOT).

And of course I have less time to watch my beloved t-dramas! Though I do still make it a point to watch an episode of something every day haha. A drama I've watched recently features one of the most loved couples in the t-drama scene, MingEn, made of Ming Dao, and Chen Qiao En. They've acted in quite a few dramas together, from "Prince turned to frog" to their newest drama together "Ying Ye 3 Jia 1". I saw CQE in "Fated to Love You," and she was really adorable in that. and of course, I loved Ming Dao in "Magicians of Love." I also -just- finished Prince turned to frog...but I saw Ying Ye 3 Jia 1 first, so I'll blog about it first :)

Ying Ye 3 Jia 1 (YYSJY) is about 4 childhood friends who have to use their martial arts skills in order to solve a mystery involving one of the members' father. Literally, Ying Ye 3 refers to the three boys in the group, Yang Jia Jiang (Ming Dao), Bulu (Jason Hsu), and Fang Wei (Huang Zhi Wei), while the +1 refers to the sole girl, Xia Tian (CQE). The three of them have been best friends since childhood, and have grown up doing martial arts with each other (Bulu's dad owns a martial arts school).
Jia Jiang is the leader of the group, and is an upright and loyal guy, who would rather be blamed for any mishaps, than to see his friends punished. When he was young, he covered for Fang Wei and Bulu when they did something wrong, and got severely beat up for it...Since then, Fang Wei and Bulu have been his loyal friends. Jia Jiang and Xia Tian are also best friends - as well as mortal enemies, pretty much. They pick on each other all the time, but stand up for each other against any sort of harm. Their friends joke around that Jia Jiang and Xia Tian secretly like each other, but are both too proud to admit it...which of course both parties heatedly deny.

One day, one of Xia Tian's female friends gets in trouble with the school bully (who is the son of a powerful senator), and Xia Tian rushes to save her. The three boys, in turn, come to rescue Xia Tian. Afterwards, the senator puts pressure on their school to expel the three boys. Xia Tian's father comes to the school to speak up for his daughter's friends - he's a police officer, so his word is pretty respected in the Ying Ye area. That day, there's a bit of a hullabaloo at the school, and his gun goes missing! This is a pretty dangerous thing for a cop...and so the three boys, chastened, agree to spend the next few months until graduation figuring out what happened to Officer Xia's gun.

While solving the mystery of Officer Xia's gun, the four stumble onto a hidden crime scene and various awesomely cool martial arts hyjinks ensue. I have to admit that I never pegged Ming Dao or CQE as the martial arts type - I was pretty impressed! During this time, Xia Tian falls for Jia Jiang, but refuses to admit it. At the same time, Fang Wei confesses to Jia Jiang that he (FW) has liked Xia Tian for a long time. Fang Wei's pretty rich, and usually goes for the sweet and stereotypically feminine type, so Jia Jiang is really surprised at first. And then really jealous. Fang Wei goes to great lengths to confess his love to Xia Tian, but when he finally does, he realises that Xia Tian likes Jia Jiang...and pretends that the whole thing was a joke. Xia Tian and Jia Jiang spend a drunken night together - well she was drunk :) - and Xia Tian tells Jiang that she thinks she might like him. He agrees to pretend to be her boyfriend for the evening...and of course, realises that he's always loved her and can't imagine being without her. He decides to confess his feelings the next day (this scene is really cute), but is involved in an accident and falls into a coma the very next day.

Xia Tian falls apart, and scrambles around Taiwan looking for a firefly to symbolise their love together. On the way, she is helped by DK Hsu (Viter Fan), an undercover cop who she actually knew in childhood. He was the only person that could pull her away from the YY gang when they were little - she even wore a dress for him! DK is a close family friend, and he and Xia Tian renew their friendship. Jia Jiang awakes and finally asks Xia Tian out...they go out all of a week together before they break up - JJ is jealous of DK blah blah. The gun is found (remember that plot line?) and things go back to normal...

...until DK suggests that Xia Tian return to America with him to train as an undercover FBI agent. Xia Tian wants to stay with JJ, but JJ pushes her away for reasons of his own (he's going blind), and so she decides to leave with DK. Right at the end, she decides to stay, and the two reunite. The show ends on the cutest note - the entire gang become secret service agents, and we get to witness one of their missions.

This blog entry is kind of uncoherent (sorry!), but I think that's because I wasn't the biggest fan of this drama. I did like it, and I enjoyed the sparks between Ming Dao and CQE, but I didn't understand the hype! In the Taiwanese drama world, there are a few "golden couples", and I couldn't for the life of me understand how MingEn became one of them (though I did after watching one of their old dramas, which I will try and blog about this weekend). There were a few really touching moments between them - for example, during that drunken night that I mentioned earlier, Xia Tian ends up staying over at JJ's house, and the two of them end up falling asleep together side by side. In the morning, JJ wakes up slightly before Xia Tian, and as he watches her sleep, it dawns on him that he loves her. He plays with her hair (it's usually up), and comments on her features, and reveals a tender side of JJ that we hadn't seen before...now the chemistry in that scene was off the screen! But in general, the bond between the two actors wasn't as strong as I expected it to be - and for me, one of the biggest draws in a drama is watching the relationship unfold...

Plot wise though, this was pretty decent. I loved the stunts in it, and I actually thought that the story line was quite innovative. I actually didn't expect a lot of the plot twists that occurred...but this definitely did not compare to MingEn's first drama :)

Goong

I decided to take a break from the t-dramas to watch a korean drama starring Yoon Eun Hye (YEH) and Joo Ji Hoon (JJH). YEH is my favourite korean actress - really, the only one that I remember the name of! - because of her amazing performance in "The Coffee Prince". Prior to that, she starred in another popular k-drama, entitled "Goong" (Palace) in korean, and "Princess Hours" in english.

"Goong" is set in a fictional 2006, when Korea is ruled by a constitutional monarchy. Everything else seems to be the same. The monarchy is starting to lose popularity, and so its members struggle to thing of a way to regain the people's trust and interest. The King, Queen, and Great Queen (dowager queen) remember a promise that the old King made to his old commoner friend - that the Crown Prince would be betrothed to the commoner's granddaughter. They seize upon this method to regain their popularity.

Now it just so happens (of course) that both the Crown Prince and his wife-to-be go to the same arts high school in Seoul. The Crown Prince Lee Shin (JJH) is a cold, proud creature, very reserved. Unbeknownst to his parents, he has a girlfriend, a dedicated ballet dancer, Min Hyo-rin (Song Ji Hyo), whom he has proposed to. However, she rejects him in order to pursue her dreams of being a top ballerina. The whole scene is overheard by Chae-kyung, the granddaughter of that commoner mentioned above.

Now Chae-kyung (YEH) is a silly but warm teenager in the arts department (Shin
is a film student). She's loved by all, especially her three best girl friends. After receiving the proposal from the royals, she reluctantly agrees, as her family is on hard times. You'd think that everyone would want to be Crown Princess - but that's not the case, because the royal family have to spend their life in the royal palace...they only leave for special functions and trips. Within the palace they have to follow the traditional ways of doing everything, such as wearing the han-bok (traditional costume) and putting their hair up in extravagant detail.

After being rejected, Shin agrees to marry Chae-kyung, and the two begin their life together. It's painful - she tries so hard to fit in and learn everything she needs to, while he mocks her at almost every opportunity. Every now and then he'll do something nice for her (something meaningful), revealing his kind spirit, but within seconds of being revealed, Shin will switch back to his reserved self. At this juncture, Lee Yul returns to the royal family after spending his childhood abroad. Yul was originally the Crown Prince (his father was the current King's older brother), but after his dad died, he and his mother were chased out of the palace. He has returned at the family's behest. Yul and Chae-kyung are in the same class, and quickly strike up a friendship, being the two "newbies" in the palace. Yul falls in love with Chae-kyung and decides to fight to reclaim his Crown Prince title so he can marry her (remember? Chae-kyung is supposed to marry the Crown Prince, whoever he is). Chae-kyung confides all her loneliness and her struggles of living in the palace to Yul, and he eventually tells her that he can't stand to see her like this, that it would be better for her to leave and be free than to stay and be the Crown Princess.

Meanwhile, for the sake of his marriage, Shin begins to break it off with Hyo-rin...though he slips a couple of times to be by her side. Unfortunately, in almost every instance, the two are caught by photographers. Some of these pictures make the local papers - the more dangerous ones fall into the hands of Yul's mother, who will do anything to see her child as Crown Prince. Chae-kyung, who rapidly became attached to Shin since they were spending every free moment together as part of their duties as the Crown couple, and Hyo-rin face off a couple of times, but Chae-kyung eventually lets go of Shin, knowing that he proposed to Hyo-rin first.

But eventually, Shin is captivated by Chae-kyung's warm nature (and is utterly jealous of Chae-kyung's close friendship with Yul), and breaks it off permanently with Hyo-rin. Hyo-rin attempts suicide, and after being rescued, realizes that it is her turn to let go of the Prince.

Yul feels no such thing, and reveals his love to Chae-kyung. She tells him that if she had met Yul first, she could have liked him, but that her heart belongs to Shin now. Shin, still jealous of Yul, crushes that little heart with his icy demeanor - well, actually, he sends very mixed signals. He's really tender to her at some moments, especially when she falls asleep beside him (usually they have separate bedrooms), but at other times...he's a complete bastard...and royal politics makes another foray into the drama. Yul's mother does some pretty heinous things, from blackmail to arson (and then blaming that arson on Shin), in order to get at that throne. Shin's older sister returns to the Palace after a trip to Africa and lends some sense to the crazy situation. In short, lots of bad stuff happens, and the royal situation is even worse than before Chae-kyung married Shin...

...and so the royal family decides to send Chae-kyung abroad to weather the storm. She agrees in order to save Shin's reputation. The most touching scene in the entire drama comes right about now...Chae-kyung declares her love for Shin and tells him that all he has to do is ask her to stay. She's shown that she loves him before, but never as explicitly as this. He freezes, and she begins to walk away, tears forming in the corners of her eyes...but he forces the words out of his lips..."stay with me. don't leave me alone." FINALLY the two kiss, and all is right with the world once more.

Chae-kyung goes to Macau, and has a great life out of the palace. After much debate, Yul and Shin both relinquish the heir position, and it is given to Shin's older sister instead (a better decision was never made - that girl is smart, sensible, modern, and filial. if anyone could turn around the royal mess, it'd be her). Shin goes to Macau and sees Chae-kyung truly happy for the first time...and begins to fear that she will say no when he asks her to really marry him and return to the palace. But after asking for an extension of time to think about it, she agrees, and the two are married in a gorgeous little ceremony.

This was really an addictive drama, and all the main leads were all pretty (though YEH's photo above isn't that nice). YEH was definitely a young young actress at the time - her performance is not nearly as strong as that in the "Coffee Prince", but she still held her own. Now, JJH - he was a new actor too, then, but he manages to portray nuances really well - you can see him struggling between his feelings for chae-kyung with just the tilt of his head (in an early episode at his birthday party when yul and chae-kyung share a plate together). And he's the master of "the look". The drama was also really enhanced by some of the more tender scenes between the two, though I was a little put off by the "cinderella" scene at the party...that was kinda obvious no? but all in all, a very good drama!! Especially for new actors. On my fav drama list, for sure.

Magicians of Love

I'm exhausted, so this is a quickie post about my latest drama, Magicians of Love.
"Magicians of Love" is the cutest drama! It stars Ming Dao, Sam Wang, and Jacky Zhu of the 183 Club (some boyband - though it feels weird calling them a boy band since they're all in their late 20's/early 30's :P) and Joanne Zeng. Bei Ruo Yi (Joanne Zeng) is a fledgling hairstylist with great talent but no technique, and is rudely criticized by Du Ya Si (Ming Dao) and his fellow hairstylists Lin Er Qi (Sam Wang) and Fernando (Jacky Zhu) one day at a competition. The trio of male hairstylists are the top hairdressers in Taiwan, and are called 'magicians of love', for their abilities to transform a woman's appearance and image. Fast friends, the trio opened their own hair salon, Neo-Image, which runs almost as a family. Ruo Yi and Ya Si run into each other again at an old folk's home (Ruo Yi visits there for fun and Ya Si is visiting his grandmother), and he realizes that Ruo Yi has a lot of talent. He brings her into his salon (after lots of drama of course), and she makes friends with the trio, especially Er Qi. One day, after Ya Si and Ruo Yi have a huge argument, she runs out into the street, and is almost knocked over by a car - a man wearing a certain brown jacket saves her. After Ruo Yi's recovery, she sees Er Qi put on the jacket, and begins to fall for him.

Now, Er Qi has his own really really really confusing past, involving Hong Kong gangsters, the mob, violence, etc. He is actually escaping from his godfather, the leader of the HK gang, and expects to die at any time. But as Ruo Yi and Er Qi get closer, he realizes that he wants to have "tomorrow", if only to spend it with Ruo Yi. They go through some pretty harrowing episodes actually, some life-and-death stuff. As feelings deepen, Ruo Yi confesses her feelings for Er Qi to Ya Si, who becomes a little jealous (and confused). Ya Si and Ruo Yi are also spending lots of time together visiting Ya Si's grandmother, who thinks that they are a couple.

Ruo Yi finally gets up the courage to tell Er Qi of her feelings that stem from the day of the accident. He, in turn, tells her that he cares for her too, but that she should know that Ya Si is the one who saved her - Er Qi was only borrowing the jacket. Er Qi tells Ruo Yi that he will stand by whatever decision she makes - she can choose Ya Si or Er Qi, and he will be okay with it. Right then, Ya Si walks in. Dum da da!!!! But Ruo Yi chooses Er Qi (due to their crazy experiences together), and Ya Si walks away broken hearted...but no! more drama ensues! Er Qi faces his godfather for Ruo Yi, and wins the right to walk away from the HK gang. The two get engaged...right at the time that Ya Si decides to tell Ruo Yi about his feelings. Ya Si misses his chance, unfortunately, and decides to shoulder bravely on. His ex-girlfriend returns, and he tries to make a pairing of it. Also at this time, Er Qi finds out that he has a son by his first ever girlfriend, who just died of illness. Ruo Yi's dad freaks out, and breaks the engagement. Ruo Yi and Er Qi decide to stay together anyway, but Er Qi's son disapproves - he wants his father to marry this other lady (who loves Er Qi and his son btw). The whole thing breaks Ruo Yi's heart, and Er Qi decides that for Ruo Yi's sake, he has to break up with her. Fortunately, the lady that his son favors used to be the girl that Er Qi liked before he met Xiao Bei (Ruo Yi's nickname)...so that little family works out well.

Ya Si is about to leave for England with his ex-gf (lot of drama here as well), but at the last minute, he misses the flight to run to his grandmother's bedside - she's really ill. He overhears Ruo Yi telling his grandmother about the broken engagement...and about the fact that she's upset, but also a little relieved, because she has realized that she actually loves Ya Si...eventually, the two of them get together as well. They are the cutest couple - Ming Dao has this great way of acting a little childish when he's with her, and it's very very sweet.

More drama ensues - the ex-gf joins a rival hair salon company in order to get revenge, but Ruo Yi's sweetness of character ultimately triumphs, loose ends regarding Ruo Yi's family history are all neatly sorted, as are the knots regarding Ya Si's family drama. All in all, a really catchy show! A little dramatic, but once you watch the first episode, you can't help but want to watch the rest of it :P

Bull Fighting

So over the weekend I decided I wanted to watch a newer drama (since I'll probably be catching up on some of the older dramas in the next few weeks thanks to my aunt), and picked up "Bull Fighting", the new drama starring Mike He (Love Contract, Devil Beside You, Why Why Love), Hebe Tian (of my favourite female T-pop group S.H.E.!), and Lee Wei (whom I'd not known before but love now).
Hebe plays Yi ShengXue, a fierce, physically weak, but determined heiress to the Yi family. Since young, she has been protected by Jin ZiCong (Lee Wei), who was adopted into their family after the death of his father. ZiCong pretty much is her everything - he's her bodyguard, her best friend, her family - and he in turn treasures their relationship (and her) above everything else in the world. He'll carry her places, fight for her - he even takes her punishments for her when her dad is upset. As ShengXue's adorable stepmom (played by Ariel's mom in ISWAK!) says, "whenever he finds something good, he shares it with [her], when he sees [her] cry, he'll do anything to stop it. if he knows something will hurt [her], he'll bear the pain." Example - when they were little, she was playing with this sharp flip knife. ZiCong told her to stop, but ShengXue, being the stubborn idiot she is, kept throwing the knife up and down until she accidentally drops the knife. The knife looks like it'll cut her foot, so ZiCong grabs the knife with his bare hands, cutting himself deeply in the process, just to save her.

Aside from ZiCong and her family, ShengXue is also passionate about 13th Street, which is a strip of valuable land that her family owns and maintains for the sake of a community there. Her second home, let's say. On this land is a basketball court, that two rival school teams battle on annually - whoever wins that year gets to use the court until the next "bull fighting" match. Shen RuoHe (Mike He) is the star player on the team that ShengXue favors. After an accidental confrontation between ShengXue (plus henchmen) and RuoHe the day of the match, he ends up costing his team the match. ShengXue is infuriated and switches to his college in order to get the court back. RuoHe and ShengXue butt heads as they fight to regain the court, and RuoHe begins to appreciate her honest and determined nature; she in turn falls for his sweet but proud tendencies. Things come to a head when RuoHe's father asks him to get the 13th Street land from ShengXue as part of a deal they need. RuoHe ultimately refuses (after he practically kidnaps ShengXue and harms her), costing his father the company. While this is all happening, ZiCong struggles with his feelings for ShengXue and protects her from evil - oh man, he's the epitome of loyalty and sacrifice. After the first episode, ZiCong became the reason that I watched this drama - he is an amazing combination of devotion - but in a really really tough and manly (hot) way. When ZiCong realizes that ShengXue is in love with RuoHe, ZiCong swallows his love for her and asks RuoHe to take ShengXue seriously...RuoHe realizes what this costs ZiCong, and agrees initially...

But RuoHe is told that he has a chance to save his father's company - if he dates and marries the child of his father's banker, QianNa. Despite his feelings for ShengXue, he agrees, and proceeds to hurt everyone in the process - except for QianNa, who makes him promise that if either of them fall in true love before they actually get married, the other party will agree to relinquish the marriage. Now, I was all ready to hate QianNa at this point - the second female lead is usually not that likable! - but I couldn't do it. QianNa is poised, intelligent, spunky, proud, feminine, and determined. You can't help but like her. And she's agreeing to the engagement for all the right reasons - and wants RuoHe to do the same.

ZiCong moves out of the Yi Family (due to family history drama), and slowly, he and ShengXue learn not to be so dependent on each other - she learns to do things without him (though secretly he's still there smoothing the way), and he takes the time to change his feelings for her from that of a lover to that of an older brother. ShengXue and RuoHe have this whole convoluted plot - but ultimately get together. Meanwhile, QianNa sees ZiCong's strength of character, and falls for him, breaking off her engagement to RuoHe (go QianNa for being strong enough to do the right thing!). Everyone's happy, 13th Street (and RuoHe's father's company) is saved, and ZiCong begins to realize that QianNa is more suited to him than ShengXue is.

I really liked this drama - I think it strayed away from the traditional T-drama stereotypes, which is a welcome change from the "silly naive innocent girl falls for stubborn cold intelligent popular boy" or "strong manly guy falls for the bratty but unique girl". Few of the main leads fit the stereotypical mold - the girls are strong independent characters with minds of their own without being annoying or overbearing to their male counterparts. To be completely honest, ShengXue does lean a little towards the overbearing side, but Hebe manages to portray a sweetness of character that indicates that that's really from being pampered rather than being an inbred character trait. QianNa - now she's a model for what a girl should be! The male characters are still a little on the traditional side, but Mike He and Lee Wei are good enough actors to add a depth and a freshness to their characters. Especially Lee Wei - I definitely am going to look up some of his old dramas. This was also one of the few times that I was more interested in the "secondary couple" instead of the "lead couple" in a series. While Hebe and Mike were adorable together, and would have captured my attention in any other serial, the acting from Lee Wei and QianNa overshadowed them. And it wasn't just in couple format as well - I was sometimes more moved by scenes between Lee Wei and Hebe, and between QianNa and Mike, than in scenes with the two leads.

I really hope to see more shows like this in the future!

Tokyo Juliet

I mentioned that a little while ago, I watched "Tokyo Juliet." I was really excited to watch it - it had both fashion and my favourite Taiwanese actress, Ariel Lin, in it. And it introduced a really cute guy in it - now my favourite actor, Wu Chun. I love both because they give such stirring performances in all the dramas that they're in - when they're on screen, you can feel the chemistry between them and their partner radiating out. This drama is also what started my Fahrenheit craze :) Anyway...to the drama!
"Tokyo Juliet" is about a young girl, Lin Lai Sui, whose goal in life is to become a famous designer - a designer more famous than the leading designer of the time, Chu Xing (Simon Yan). She holds a grudge towards Chu Xing because he stole a design that she had drawn at the tender age of five and turned it into an award-winning collection - a collection that jump-started his career and made him one of the most popular designers world wide. Sui holds particular resentment towards Chu Xing because he wooed her mom away from her dad with this collection, causing an emotionally scarring divorce. In turn, Chu Xing vows to destroy her career in fashion...

One of Sui's physical characteristics is that she has wonderfully straight long black hair that has never been cut. She wears it this way as a tribute to her childhood love, a boy she met at a party right before she drew her design, who comforted her when she couldn't find her mom, and praised her long doll-like shiny hair. This memory is one of Sui's most cherished - everytime she thinks of the boy, she feels warm inside, and realizes that the world isn't a terrible place after all. It's her shield, in a way. At fashion college, which is the starting point of the drama, Sui meets a charismatic upperclassman, Liang (played by Wu Chun <3), who gives her same warm feeling. Of course, being a T-drama, Liang turns out to have been that boy from long ago - he recognizes her instantly, and cultivates a friendship with her. The two become close, and Sui reveals her secret about Chu Xing to Liang. Along the way, she also shares that she's in love with Liang...Liang vows to always protect her from Chu Xing, but says that they can never be together, because he is actually Chu Xing's son. A little family background - Liang hates his father for abandoning his mother and remarrying a female model (Sui's mom) so quickly after his mother's death. Because of this event, he refuses to design for females...until Sui comes along. After some drama, where Liang sacrifices himself to prevent Chu Xing from harming Sui, the two get together, and work hard towards realizing their dreams. There are a couple of love rivals, and a lot of cool fashion shows and exhibitions, but the core of the story centers around the couple's struggle against this powerhouse designer.

Ultimately, Liang reconciles with his father - right when Sui is given the chance by an anonymous backer to confront Chu Xing in a fashion face off. Liang withdraws his support from Sui, and she, realizing that his love is more important to her than her vow, runs away from her work and friends. After a period of solitary thinking, she decides to fly to Rome and pursue fashion there, but Liang goes after her and persuades her to stay. He inspires her to continue designing, but refuses to leave Chu Xing. So they agree to separate until the contest is over. Chu Xing's designs are elegant and refined, but in the end, Sui's passionate designs win out. This is actually one of the saddest parts of the movie - I had a healthy dislike for Chu Xing throughout the entire show, but in that last fashion show, I felt so sad when Chu Xing realized that he had lost both his son and his career to Sui. The series ends on a happy note - Sui opens her own store, carrying her own designs, and the couple live happily ever after.

I really really enjoyed this drama...I know a lot of people don't like the dramas where the main characters get together near the beginning - they like watching the chase and the struggle, but I love watching couples with that intense bond between them. Nothing can break them up (except in Love Contract, and that was only because she was in a coma). Wu Chun is also amazing :) he's so sweet and has the most communicative eyes. Dreamy.

Hana Kimi

So a while back, I was talking to a friend of mine in New York who revealed that he was sneakily watching Japanese dramas to brush up on his language skills. He recommended that I watch this drama called "Hanazakari no Kimitachi". To be completely honest, I didn't really pay that much attention to the recommendation - I am a total T-drama fan and have no time for J-dramas :P

A couple days later, I was looking up dramas that my favourite T-actor, Wu Chun of Farenheit, has been in, and came across a recent drama in the forums called "Hana Kimi". It also starred Jiro Wang of Farenheit, and Ella of S.H.E. - two other people I love, and so I immediately started watching it.
So this drama is based on a manga - as many good dramas are! - and features a fat girl, Ruixi (Ella), who sheds 30 pounds after watching a special feature about a high-jumper in Taiwan whose main characteristics are determination and perseverance. Against her best friend's (Julia) wishes, she returns to Taiwan to enroll in his college so that she can see him high-jump live. The catch? The high-jumper, Jian (Wu Chun), goes to an all-boys athletic college. On her first day at college, Ruixi meets Xiuyi (Jiro Wang), a soccer star and incredibly friendly person, who introduces her about the school and helps her settle in as she tries to fulfil her goal. But Jian has quit high jumping, and looks unlikely to return to it...Meanwhile, within her first week on campus, Ruixi is involved in a small accident; Jian sees her (they're roommates so they're together a lot), and carries her to the doctor's office. He realizes that she's a girl, but decides not to expose her until he figures out her purpose at the school. The doctor realizes the same, and becomes Ruixi's confidant at the school.

As time passes, Xiuyi starts feeling attracted to Ruixi, and struggles with his sexual identity in a hilarious way - is he gay? Jian and Ruixi become close friends, and Ruixi motivates Jian to start high jumping again. Lots of things happen, and we watch how relationships develop. Xiuyi confesses his love for Ruixi (to the doctor's amusement. The doctor is actually gay), and Jian starts becoming extremely protective of Ruixi. Julia comes from the US to stir things up, and in the resulting fallout, Xiuyi falls in love with Julia and Jian admits (to Julia) that he's known Ruixi's true identity since her first week and won't expose her because then the two of them (Jian and Ruixi) will have to separate. After some more drama, Jian and Ruixi decide to reveal their secrets to each other (hers is that she's a girl, his is that he knows and likes her), but in the end, nothing happens. The series ends here. The ending is pretty crappy, but that was because a part 2 was planned and the producers meant to resolve things in the sequel. "Hana Kimi" became one of the most highly rated and watched dramas in Taiwan, and everyone looked forward to the sequel...

But then the Japanese decided to produce their own Hana Kimi - the version that my friend from NYC watched. They strayed from the manga a little more, and ended their Part I with everyone knowing about Ruixi's secret and with Ruixi returning to the US. However, in the last 20 seconds of the drama, they reveal that her all-boys school is coming to California for a field trip, paving the way for Part II. Due to the success of the J-drama and other factors, the copyrights for Part 2 of the manga and script have been denied in Taiwan - resulting in a cancellation of the sequel to the T-drama. NOOOOOOOO! I was absolutely devastated when I found out!!!

So I decided to watch some of the J-drama to see if it was something I could get into - then at least if they made part 2 of only the J-drama, I could still have something to look forward to. But the J-drama is quite different from the T-drama. Storylines are much more condensed, and characters seem barely developed as compared to the T-version. J-dramas are generally much shorter than T-dramas, which is one probable reason for the lack of character development and sub-plots. Character interactions also feel a lot more shallow than in T-dramas and so watchers of J-dramas just don't get to know the characters well. I suppose that if I had started out watching J-dramas, I would feel that T-dramas went into too much detail and had meandering plots, but now I live for the subtleties of T-dramas and am amused by most of the sub-plots. The almost abruptness of J-dramas just don't sit well with me anymore - I am almost more interested in watching the characters live and interact than knowing what happens. Seeing the chemistry of the actors slowly develop heightens the enjoyment in a series, I suppose. And so I am deeply disappointed in the Japanese Hana Kimi, and am extremely upset that there will be no Taiwanese sequel. Even so - Hana Kimi was wonderful to watch, and even faced with no prospect of a sequel, I would watch it again, crappy ending and all :)

Devil Beside You

Gosh, I should just make this a blog about asian drama serials, and be done with it! Luckily, after talking to my aunt, I have discovered that my addiction to these dramas is a genetic thing. The Tangs are naturally inclined to love watching them - it explains why my dad is eagerly following his Korean drama right now, why my aunt has 57 (at least) full drama series at home, and why I have watched like 6 dramas (each around 20-30 hours long) in the past 3-4 weeks :) On the plus side, my colloquial mandarin is improving dramatically - no longer am I restricted to chinese myths and legends when I am conversing. Now I can also say expressions like "oh that's too exaggerated!" or "the road of love doesn't always run smoothly" haha.

Anyway, a bit about the "Devil Beside You." This time I decided to try a Mike He drama - one that made him a taiwanese screen legend pretty much.
Rainie Yang plays Qi Yue, a sincere good-hearted girl who has fallen for the school's resident nice guy, Yuan Yi (Kingone). She decides to tell him so, and presents him with a love letter (funny how many manga adaptations start this way). However, thanks to some miscommunication, Yuan Yi misses this moment. The entire thing is viewed by Qing Zi (Tsai Pei Lin), Qi Yue's best friend, and Jiang Meng (Mike He), a first-year heart-throb admired for his devilish/bad-boy tendencies. Despite their missed connection, Yuan Yi and Qi Yue start dating. However, Qi Yue begins to fall for Jiang Meng, who despite his rude ways, is extremely kind-hearted and cannot resist helping people in pain. Lots of personal back-story there. Yuan Yi and Qi Yue break up, and Qing Zi and Yuan Yi eventually go out. Qi Yue and Jiang Meng fall in love - but (of course) there's a snag.

They're about to become step-siblings.

Which makes their relationship taboo. Other obstacles include Jiang Meng's complex and scarring family history - which involves his mom leaving his dad and taking his younger brother (but not him) with her, Qi Yue's long-standing tendre for her deceased dad's mentee, and various third parties of the oddest kind. Anyway, after the two spend eons working through issues - including telling their parents about their relationship - they come to the main crisis. (Surprisingly, despite all this backstory, the plot of the story stays tight, and doesn't wander off like other Taiwanese dramas. Major props to the director. Back to the story...) Literally less than a month after Qi Yue and Jiang Meng's relationship is accepted by all, Jiang Meng's mother dramatically returns to the scene, and begs him to move with her to Italy. It's a chance for them to repair their relationship - one that Jiang Meng cannot pass up. However, doing so will mean that he has to leave Qi Yue behind, after all that she's sacrified for them to be together (and honestly, she's gone through a lot to be with him). Jiang Meng tells her not to wait for him - he doesn't know how long he'll be. Qi Yue is devastated, but for Jiang Meng's sake, puts on a brave front - she realizes that JM needs to know his mother to ever be completely happy. So Qi Yue numbs herself, throwing herself into work and school. This was so painful to watch, especially since the 19 episodes before this moment all focused on how the two stayed in love and supported each other through emotional obstacles. I was so into how much they meant to each other and how much they had to over come to be a "normal" couple, that to watch Jiang Meng brush Qi Yue off made me bawl like a baby. I started crying about 5 minutes into the episode, and only stopped 10 minutes to the end...it was horrendous.

The climax comes a week before Jiang Meng has to leave; there is a horribly awkward moment when Qi Yue comes across Jiang Meng as he is packing to leave. Qi Yue is cheerful, and tells him to be careful while he's in Italy, but you can feel this numbing emptiness radiating from her as she talks to him. The contrast to their interactions before is heartbreaking. That night, his friends throw him a farewell party, but don't invite Qi Yue, because they're afraid that attending the party will cause her to snap. Qing Zi and Yuan Yi (the other main couple in the story that I briefly mentioned in the beginning) go drinking with Qi Yue that night instead, and Qing Zi rails at Qi Yue for not sharing her real feelings, for being numb. Qi Yue runs away into the night, her control finally broken. Qing Zi and Yuan Yi search for her, and bump into Jiang Meng, returning from his farewell. JM freaks out when he realizes that Qi Yue is alone, and runs all over Taipei looking for her. He finds her and they have this oh-so-awful scene where he suggests that they break up. Qi Yue screams at him, finally, and runs off into the night again. He follows (this sounds so dramatic when I'm typing it), and finally they discuss the whole situation. Qi Yue cries - when you're gone, what if someone else pursues me? What do I do? Jiang Meng finally loses his control and tells her that it doesn't matter, because he will only love her, can only love her. Goosebumps! They reunite. He still moves to Italy. That was probably a lot of unnecessary detail, but I've never had a single episode of a drama touch me as much as that episode did.

I think I'm going to have to go watch it again.

Love Contract

So - I've been (and still am actually) really into this Taiwanese drama serial called "It Started With A Kiss" and its sequel "They Kiss Again." I loved the two main characters and their relationship, so I thought I'd look at some of the other idol dramas each of them has done. I started with "Love Contact," a series made in 2004 starring Ariel Lin (girl from ISWAK) and Mike He (also pretty big in the Taiwanese drama scene). "Love Contract" is about this kind of bossy girl, Xiao Feng, who's a total tomboy. Her friends see her as this really tough, fierce, loyal person - what they don't know is that she is really insecure due to an ugly burn scar that covers her shoulder and back. One night, she reveals that she wants to fall in love and be in a relationship, and so her friends set up a "Love Contract" between her and the captain of the swim team in her college. The captain, Ken, is Japanese, very dedicated to his pursuits, strong-minded, and really fit. He agrees to fulfill the contract if her friends can persuade people to join the swim team...things happen, and eventually the two fall desperately in love. It's really heartwarming to see how the previously independent Xiao Feng softens as she and Ken interact. The two have chemistry, I'll give them that. In one of the sub-plots, Ken's mother dies, and watching Xiao Fong comfort him was pretty amazing. Dramas are built on connections like these. Anyway, in the end, Ken pretty much proposes, but Xiao Fong refuses and tries to leave him because she feels like she isn't worthy of him. Ultimately, she reveals her secret to him...but then discovers the love contract (which is a physical document, sillily enough) and breaks up with him again. Ken falls into another fit of depression, and her friends try to engineer a way for them to get together.

And this is where "Love Contract" confuses and upsets me. On Xiao Feng's way to the meeting site, she has a run-in with a car, and becomes a vegetable. Permanently. There's no happy chance of her recovering. She's comatose and that's how it's going to be forever, it seems. So after grieving for a year, Ken decides to take her to all their favourite places. He brings her to where they first held hands. To the aquarium where they scuba dived and kissed underwater. To the movies, something that they had always meant to do together but never got to. He cooks her dinner - she always wanted to taste his food - and acts out this sad dialogue, revealing his despair that she's gone. Finally, he wheels her to their beach and talks to her about how he never wants to be separated from her, ever, and carries her into the ocean. And that's where it ends. A suicide attempt. There are two other short clips that follow - one where Xiao Fong comes back to life and they play in the waves, and another where they're in wedding gear and their friends (including someone who died in the accident) celebrate with them. I don't understand! These serials are supposed to be funny and heartwarming and happy - and this is not the case at all for this series! I was sorely disappointed - the series started out so well too! I really wanted them to get together - Xiao Fong should have realized that Ken was sincere and they should have lived happily together. I feel cheated of my storybook ending :(

Couch Potato

Last night, I started the very popular Taiwanese drama "fated to love you" which was recommended by a friend of mine whose girlfriend loves the show. She's an ISWAK fan as well, so I assumed we had similar tastes. I watched the first six episodes last night, and while its not the worst drama I've seen, I'm not the greatest fan. Up till episode five, I actually hated it and wondered why I was putting myself through such tv drama (answer: i am an idol drama addict...*sigh*).
The story is about a "sticky note girl," Chen Xin Yi, who is very passive and is always taken advantage of. She's the girl in class who always shares her notes - even with those who skipped class to go out drinking or something silly like that. At work (which is where the drama starts), she ends up doing everyone's projects for them because she just can't say no. She's always dreamed of meeting her prince charming - and thought she had when she met the office stud, Gu Chi. She takes him on a cruise, intending to sleep with him to prove her love, but due to an unfortunate comedy of errors, ends up not only in the wrong room, but also in the arms of the wrong man. This (hot) fellow is Ji Cun Xi, the successor to a business empire in Hong Kong. Madly in love with his long-term girlfriend, Cun Xi intended to propose to his Anna on the cruise and arranged a lavish proposal ceremony. Anna doesn't show - but Xin Yi does. Cun Xi later helps Xin Yi get rid of her money grubbing boyfriend, while Xin Yi pretends to be his bride at the cruise party. They part ways...

Five episodes later, it turns out that Xin Yi is pregnant, a fact that is revealed on the news. Cun Xi's grandmother, who desperately wants a great-grandchild, forces her grandson to marry Xin Yi. Xin Yi agrees so that the Ji family will save her hometown (long complicated business drama). Cun Xi is extremely reluctant to get married but does so when his grandmother threatens to tell his Anna (who is a ballet dancer in NYC) about the whole sordid affair. Illogical to say the least. Cun Xi treats Xin Yi like crap. However, in episode six, he begins to unwillingly fall for Xin Yi - he gets extremely protective when she befriends another guy, and hangs up on Anna to make sure Xin Yi is alright. Which redeems the series....but still.

FTLY seems to be a derivative work of ISWAK. The relationship between the two main leads is similar: the main male character is smarter, wealthier, and more independent in every way, while the female lead is a "sha" (silly/brainless) girl who is tied to the main lead in some random way. I have to admit that I do like the female lead in this show - she's smart except for her doormat tendencies, and I love that she does community service (volunteers at an orphanage). She's a good actress - she's not overly girly, and just really quite lovable. But the male lead pisses the hell out of me! He's arrogant and demanding. This is somewhat due to the direction of the drama - Cun Xi is a decent actor. I feel like the producers/directors of the show should have made us more sympathetic to the character in the beginning so that when he started acting like a complete jerk, we wouldn't be so annoyed. They try to do this by introducing the Anna love story and revealing his romantic proposal idea, but I feel like this isn't enough, especially since they put this sub-plot right after the REALLY REALLY FREAKING ANNOYING intro to the series.

Of course, I still have 75% of the show to go. I'm hoping I end up liking it - I think the actors are all really sincere, but that the direction and script drag it down...but there's still hope right? Off to check out episode 7....

ISWAK 1 Notes

So I'm back to my ISWAK madness - I'm skimming through the entire first season again and summarizing the episodes so everytime I want to watch a specific scene, I know exactly where to go. And this time I'm doing it without subtitles. My Mandarin is going to be so awesome!!!

While rewatching the first couple of episodes - when Xiang Qin and Zhi Shu are still in high school, I noticed a couple of interesting things. Firstly - I LOVE that the cool kids in high school aren't the ones who dress a certain way or act a certain way - the cool kids in this drama are the ones who study hard and follow family values. Zhi Shu is one of the few rebels in the drama, for though he's incredibly intelligent, he has few qualms when facing down his parents. But even so, he values his parents' every opinion very deeply and goes out of his way to make sure they're happy. In comparison, in American TV shows, filial obedience isn't even a factor in many shows.

Family is also a larger part of the Taiwanese TV serial (of any Asian drama series actually) than in shows filmed in the US. In every single Asian TV show that I've watched - and believe me, I've seen plenty! - family is an integral part of the show. While in many serials, the younger characters are the focus of the show, parental drama and involvement is always a given. And in many other drama shows, older characters are given equal footing in the serial. It is implicit in these shows that family will always be involved in each other's lives. Family connections and interactions are the glue that holds most Asian drama shows together (and of course, a love story).

In comparison, family isn't even an issue in most US TV shows - rarely do parents or siblings even appear in such serials. Take one of the most popular comedy shows in the US right now, "How I Met Your Mother". The show revolves around the lives of five fast friends in New York. All are independent and live without their parents. In fact, through the 3-4 seasons that have already been released, the only times family has appeared has been for the holidays or special occasions.

Interestingly, because of their intimacy, younger members of the family don't hide their character or habits from their parents. Xiang Qin and Zhi Shu aren't afraid to go drinking with their parents - even in high school. In fact, it is Xiang Qin's father who is most aware of Xiang Qin's inability to drink. Conversely, in "Friends," Monica tries desperately to hide her drunkenness from her parents at her surprise 30th birthday party. While it is appropriate to share the occasional glass of wine together, American families - at least those on tv shows - do not go out to drink and enjoy each other's company.

I have totally meandered off topic. I guess I'll have to gush about the two later :) I end with one of my favourite Xiang Qin and Zhi Shu pictures. Gosh, I hope Ariel Lin and Joe Cheng get together some day :)

Muah!

For the past week, I have only had one thing on my mind - the Taiwanese drama series 惡作劇之吻 (It Started with a Kiss) and its sequel 惡作劇2吻 (They Kiss Again). I adore the two leads of the show, played by Joe Cheng and Ariel Lin - though I am constantly frustrated with them as well. I think that's what I love the most about the show - it's so human.

So the show is about a girl named Xiang Qin and the love of her life, Zhi Shu. The story begins when they're both in high school - XQ is a somewhat simple and blur girl who is the lowest class in her grade. On the very first day of high school, she falls madly in love with the smartest boy in the school, ZS. She harbors this secret love for two years, but finally decides to tell him about it in a letter. ZS completely rejects her in public, and the two become the talk of the school. That same night, an earthquake rocks the city, and XQ's new house is completely destroyed. Luckily, XQ's father's friends offer to house the forlorn family (the friends are super rich :P).

Surprisingly (not), the lovely couple who houses XQ and her dad are ZS's parents! and so the story begins. ZS is a strong arrogant jerk who values intelligence above all things. XQ, on the other hand, is an open, affectionate child, but lives in constant confusion; she's just a little stupid and slow to understand things. ZS is really really cold to XQ (I seriously almost cried, he was that mean) to XQ...but XQ hits it off with ZS's mother, and the two of them hatch a plan so that ZS and XQ will get married. Several disasters, and many years later, the two of them start unofficially "going out". Despite competition for ZS's love, XQ prevails, and in the middle of their college years, the two of them get married. The scene where ZS finally reveals his love for XQ was -so- touching, though he was a complete bastard up to that point.

I am such a sap.

Anyway, that was the end of ISWAK. In the sequel, the couple explore married life together as ZS studies to become a doctor. After deciding to be a teacher and failing miserably, XQ decides to follow ZS and become a nurse. Separations, harsh words, and love making ensue. The drama series ends with the two re-affirming their love for each other.

Lol, I can feel how stiff that summary is, but its actually really hard to describe this drama without going into too much detail! I loved this drama - at first I thought it was overacted, but after a few episodes, I got really into it. Joe and Ariel have amazing chemistry, and the director does a great job of drawing people in. The show was really well received when it came out, and I give major props to everyone involved in the series for keeping everyone interested, since the "type" of show changed so drastically. It started out as a high school love story, switched into college mode, and was briefly filmed in an office - before the second act! In the second part, the series started with them back in college, and then abruptly switched into a hospital drama.

Screw it, I think I'm going to have to do multiple gushing posts about how amazing this drama is. I learned so much about Taiwanese/Asian culture and values. And I think I got some life lessons out of it too...like how important it is to set goals (and work hard to achieve them). I also relearned how important it is to be open and honest and sincere about everything you do - that keeping your feelings bottled up inside isn't always the way to go. And that brains aren't everything.

I'll gush about some of my favourite moments in the series tomorrow :)