Fall in Love With Me 愛上兩個我

I just finished my second Aaron Yan’s series. And um… mmm… um… I was a bit disappointed. Nothing wrong with the acting. Honestly, the characters portrayed their roles very well. It’s the storyline that’s really messy. 莫名其妙!

The start of the series was really interesting. 路天行 is a famous person in the advertising world. He got tired of doing things the way it is and wants to pursue his dreams of creating heartwarming ads. He wants to find his passion again. On the day of his break, he disguised himself as a commoner to escape his colleagues and got introduced to OZ Advertising. A small advertising company. He helped them out and became part of the team as 小鹿. Later on he would fall in love with  陶樂思, the boss of OZ Advertising.

He does sweet things for 陶樂思 and she fell in love with him. Then problems starts arising. He wants to protect her in any way that he can. She only loves 小鹿 and 路天行 is trying to make her fall in love with him too.

He grew up with the 李 family where the daughter 李歡歡 wants to marry him and would do anything to marry him.

So, basically that’s the premise. A lot of mess happens along the way. And somehow the character of 路天行 became despicable for me. I mean, he can’t protect the one he loves, he’s hurting the one who loves him. And we didn’t get to know the reason why he was acting as a jerk. In fact, there were a lot of unresolved issues. A LOT I mean. Suddenly, the characters are becoming crazy/obsessed. And then it just went away. Why? Why? Why?

Towards the end, it was a bit dragging and uninteresting. I just finished it just for the sake of finishing it. I was expecting 路天行 to have a really strong personality. But he was helpless on a lot of occasion. I was really disappointed. 陶樂思 on the other hand, became stronger but somehow I feel that she is pathetic. At one point, I felt that all the characters are acting weird.

There’s chemistry between the Aaron and Tia. And it was fun watching them at first. Before the storyline was messed up. Somehow, it makes me think, why would your family member hurt you on purpose? Why would someone suddenly can’t fulfill promise? Why would you let go of someone you love so easily? Why? Why? Why? I was really frustrated after watching the series.

Anyway, soundtrack is really good. I like Aaron’s songs. It’s very heartwarming.

The artists in the series are really good. They acted according to the weird story. So if you want to be impressed with their acting. You can go on and watch this series. 🙂

I’m taking a break from TV Series first, and would be back with Just You. After I forget the frustrations I’ve felt in watching this. Off to YouTube to watch Aaron Yan’s performances.

Photo Credits: Drama Fever

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Refresh Man 後菜鳥的燦爛時代

I’ve finished the series in 4 days. Marathon-ing every night until around 5 AM. And it became one of my favorite series. What is Refresh Man? Someone who is already comfortable in any situation and doesn’t want to go the extra mile to improve oneself. Someone with no intention of progression, who does the same things day in and out.

The plot, the main characters are school mates, best friends probably. 鍾雨棠 was the top student of their class and 紀文凱 ranked lowest.They care for each other dearly and would do everything for the other. But because of a misunderstanding, they grew apart. 10 years later, their roles are reversed. He became the CEO and she was the secretary. The CEO forces her to improve herself continuously, helping her along the way secretly.

I love the twists in the story. Although some parts are predictable. But most of the story line amazed me. I like how each problem is thrown to them and they are able to solve each one exceedingly. It’s just amazing.

Storywise, I can relate a bit, it seems realistic to see different kinds of people in the office place. A refresh man definitely is common. I like the story in the flashbacks as well. My heart stops at scenes where they realize what they have been doing for each other. It’s super sweet.

I like 紀文凱’s character, someone who was secretly in love with 鍾雨棠 since they were young. He has been helping her ever since and was trying to make her happy all the time. When they became adult, his love for her didn’t change and continued to support her in any way that he can. I liked how he thinks ahead. Honestly, contingency plan is very important in corporate, and he was able to think about every scenarios. Very much impressed.

I also like the character of 鍾雨棠 and 苗愛莎. They were very professional in working. They would also go all out to achieve something. Very strong personality! Makes me think about office life again. Hehe. I can totally see my office self in them wherein I would persevere to provide the customer whatever they want.

The kissing scenes were amazing! Never thought I would see such passionate kissing scene in a Taiwanese series. So far, the ones I’ve watched were a bit conservative. Here, they seemed to go all out. I can totally feel their love for each other.

This series seemed to be very well thought off. The storyline is superb until the end. The emotions are well shown. Costumes are all well planned. They looked really nice, very professional looking and looks smart as well.

After watching, I’ve converted to Aaron Yan’s fan. It’s my first series of him. I love how he acts. I can feel all his emotions. And the behind the scenes are really funny. He seems to be a nice person. And I love the updates he is giving in Instagram and Facebook. I love artists that shows a bit of themselves. I’m currently watching Fall in Love with Me.

Photo Credits to Wikipedia

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Mary Stayed Out Late, (aka Marry Me, Mary)

[tweetmeme source=”ibethyap”] This is the first Korean series that I am following the story as it is being broad-casted, mainly because of Jang Keun Suk. I absolutely loved him in You’re Beautiful and his teaming up with Little Jenny, Moon Geun Young is simply perfect. It is shown every Monday and Tuesday in KBS. I’m lucky because Chinese subbers are really fast. They can sub the episode a day later, making me enjoy the series more.

Jang Keun Suk plays Kang Mu Gyul, a super cool and handsome singer. Although he’s not Tae Kyung anymore, he still is a knight in shining armor, saving Mae-ri a lot. Moon Geun Young plays Wi Mae-ri. Her dad left with a large debt and in order to pay for the debt, he wants his daughter to marry his rich friend’s son Jung-in. Mae-ri in order to avoid this marriage pretended to be wed to Moo-gyeol. This created a lot of complications for her. Jeong-in decided that Mae-ri would select who she really wants after spending 100 days with each of the guys.

First song heard from Jang Keun Suk is My Bus, since this is a rock song. I’m not much into it, can’t help thinking of You’re Beautiful songs. I think I’ll eventually like it because it’s from Jang Keun Suk.

Some of the scenes in the first few episodes are funny and it’s interesting enough to make you continue watching the series. In just the first episode, there are a lot of cute scenes and pictures of Jang Keun Suk. I might be bias at this point in time, but I really am liking the series. Early on, there are a lot of cute scenes that would make your heart flutter. I like the Keun-Geun tandem. 🙂

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Natsu no Koi wa Nijiiro ni Kagayaku

[tweetmeme source=”ibethyap”] I’m glad to watch this light-hearted series. It’s been a while since I enjoyed a TV series of Matsujun. And I’m glad he took on this role. I can see his personality through Taiga.

At first I was hesitant to watch this series. The teaser was too much for a fangirl to take. Matsujun kept on flirting with Yuko-chan. Argh! It was painful! But the theme song for the series convinced me to try out the series, Love Rainbow by Arashi.

Kusunoki Taiga is a struggling second generation actor. His father is the well-known actor Kusunoki Kotaru. All his life, he just wants to be acknowledged as an actor but everyone sees him as the son of the famous actor. He fell in love with Kitamura Shiori, an older single-mom with a super cute daughter. The story mainly revolves on his struggles to be recognized as an actor, and to get the love of the woman he loves.

I love the character of Taiga mainly because he’s a nice and gentle person. He pays attention to details, to the extent of over-analyzing things. I like him trying his best to achieve what he really wants. He’s not afraid to fail, he keeps on trying. He’s very aggressive when it comes to love, not afraid to show what he feels and what he thinks. But at the end of the day, he’s at a loss on how to react when is is super happy.

Shiori’s character is also lovable. She’s a happy-go-lucky person who just wants her daughter to be happy. She speaks her mind and can act really funny specially when she’s dismantled. But she is sweet and she supports Taiga in her own way. Her struggles in life was also shown in the series. I think she’s a cool mom in Japan standard. The main reason why I can relate with her is she’s a fangirl.

It was hard to stop watching this series, the story is light. Even if Taiga was struggling, he was not pathetic. There were a lot of cute scenes. And I can picture Matsujun as Taiga and Taiga as Matsujun. His acting improved a lot from Hana Yori Dango. He’s getting more and more believable in his role. Arashi members are known to have cameo roles in other member’s series. Nino’s role was so funny. But I think it was worth it for him, since he saw his idol Yuko-chan act. I’m hoping to see more of these types of roles for Matsujun. He was perfect!

Matsujun’s chemistry with the girls still exist. After watching this series, I like Taiga and Shiori, just like I like Tsukasa and Makino, Momo and Sumire, Yori and Iku.

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Hana Yori Dango

[tweetmeme source=”ibethyap”] Being a fan of Meteor Garden, I almost didn’t watch Hana Yori Dango thinking that it would ruin the Meteor Garden series, Part 1, of course. But I was so wrong. Hana Yori Dango turns out to be way better than the original story, may it be in Manga, Anime or the first live action, Meteor Garden. It even outshines the Korean version, Boys Over Flower.

Love Story: This is the best representation of the true love between Doumyouji Tsukasa and Makino Tsukushi. Doumyouji’s love is pure and innocent. He may be childish but you can feel his sincerity. He only have eyes for Makino, this thought can make any girl’s heart melt. Makino’s love, although he was not her first love, remained strong until the end, there was no wavering of mind, not able to decide on who she really wants. And most importantly, she remained faithful.

Cast: For the main girl role, I choose Makino Tsukushi, she’s pretty and really simple. It’s believable for her to portray the role. For F4 leader role, Jerry Yan, Jun Matsumoto and Lee Minho are really handsome and they fit the role. But I choose Matsujun for the role of Doumyouji Tsukasa, his acting is really natural, like he’s an immature child. Jerry Yan and Lee Minho’s acting was a bit similar. So, Matsujun really stood out. For the F3, I choose the Korean version mainly because they are ikemen, and they have more story line than Japanese or Chinese version.

Ending: Of all the version, Hana Yori Dango was the sweetest ending. Of course, the Hana Yori Dango ending was not enough. It was sweet and you would definitely want a part 2. Come Hana Yori Dango Returns, the ending was perfect. Even without the movie, it was already okay. The movie actually came in as a bonus, the ending was even better than the Hana Yori Dango Return’s ending. Perfect way to end the series.

Scenes: Sweet scenes are not common for Japanese drama, that’s why the slightest sweet scenes can make your heart flutter. There were some parts that I like to repeat over and over again. Because that’s when I appreciate Doumyouji. Admittedly, the sweet scenes are lesser than the Korean or the Taiwanese version yet, overall impact of the sweet scenes, I would still choose the Japanese version.

OST: Japanese OST focuses mainly on instrumental music. So comparing with the Chinese and Korean soundtrack, it’s a bit weak. Although the opening and ending songs for the series and movie were good. Opening songs were sung by Arashi. (Disclamer: This is without bias, of course, I started liking Arashi after listening to Wish and Love So Sweet)

After watching all versions available, I would say, the Japanese version is the best version, hands down. It has the best story line and ending. Matsujun and Mao-chan portrayed the role really well. To date, this is the best Japanese TV series for me.

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Personal Taste

[tweetmeme source=”ibethyap”] I find this series funny. Although admittedly, at first, I had a hard time watching the series. I watched until episode 2. And then I fell asleep. So this time round, I’ve re-watched the whole series and I liked it. Not the best but one of the good TV series that I can watch over and over again.

I like both Lee Min Ho and Son Ye Jin because of their versatility. I’ve watched Min Ho in Boys Over Flower and in this series, it’s a total shift of character, you won’t think that Jeon Jin Ho and Gu Jun Pyo is the same person. I feel the same for Son Ye Jin, I saw her in Summer Scent and she was so serious there so it’s hard to think that she can also do comedy acts. She’s one of the good actress who doesn’t care if she won’t look pretty on screen.

Story wise, I don’t like the idea of guys tricking girls and then falling in love with them and would feel bad about the trickery. If it’s not for the cute scenes, it would be hard to tolerate this kind of storyline. What I liked here is Jin Ho helping Gae In to get revenge from her ex who dumped her and was planning to marry her best friend. But somehow it reminds me of Hotaru No Hikari.

Scenes are funny especially when Gae In initially labelled Jin Ho as “gay”, he was so affected. Known from Korean scenes are the sweet scenes. I liked the scenes where they are posing as family or when Gae In found out Jin Ho visited her in the hospital. I’m a sucker for these kinds of scenes where the protagonist would suddenly realize something. That moment! Korean dramas are good at this.

I like the character of Jin Ho. A man of principles, he stood by his words until the end. Tried his best without hurting anyone. The way he tried to keep everything to himself, makes him more lovable.

I absolutely love the ending, all the story line are closed. And it was really sweet. Gen is actually right that the kissing scenes in this series is way over the normal Korean drama kissing scenes. It makes your heart flutters.

OST is also good. I personally like Like a Fool, Touch My Heart, Can’t Believe It, Rain Off.

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You’re Beautiful

[tweetmeme source=”ibethyap”]It’s been some time since I’ve watched a Korean TV Series. I tried watching My Girl and Personal Taste but wasn’t able to complete the whole series. Somehow I stopped after watching a few episodes and it was hard to get back on track. Getting to know this series was a blessing in disguise. Kalvin bought the wrong series, thinking that the damaged CD was He’s Beautiful instead of Personal Taste.

So with nothing to do, I started watching the series with my sister. I found episode 1 hilarious. Specially when Jeremy signed the Anjell fan. Initially, I was attracted to Shin Woo but towards the middle of the show, I started liking Tae Kyung.

I love this series, in fact this is my most watched series, specially the scene that I like. As of today, I’ve watched this for 17 times I think and until now my heart still flutters when I remember the scenes.

Storyline: it’s simple and funny. I’m not a big fan of heavy drama series by the way. That’s why the overall story theme is perfect for me. I like how the story progresses, every episode has a good scene that I end up watching the whole series again when I’m browsing through my favorite scenes. Korean dramas are well known for their “kilig” scenes and You’re Beautiful didn’t fail to make a fangirl happy. There were a few at the start and while the story progresses, the kilig scenes transformed from “awww….” to “kyaaaaaaa!!!” I’m sure a lot would agree with me on this.

Cast and character : the casts were perfect for the roles. I specially liked Tae Kyung’s character. Very similar to Domyouji except he’s over the top obsessive compulsive. He faints when he feels dirty. He’s super sweet and very arrogant. I like his self-confidence and I also love the way he sings during concert, rehearsal and while playing piano. I guess I’m still a sucker for musician. I super like the way he treats a lady. Both sweet and nasty but they all fall in place. At the end of the day, he’s still a knight in shining armor to the girls. He also has tons of hair style, each making him more and more lovable. Not nothing beats this hairstyle. This is where I started to like him when he starting tying his hair this way. Cuteness with matching smile. I crumpled instantly.

Episodes : length is just right. Not too short and not too long. Still makes me want to buy the director’s cut to see which scenes didn’t make it to the actual showing. It’s said that it’s worth 4 episode. How I wish I get my hands on the director’s cut soon. I’m looking forward to see the elevator scene with Tae Kyung and Mi Nam and suddenly there seems to be a problem with the elevator causing Tae Kyung to panic. This is what I thought happened based on the preview. The parody and fantasies are also hysterical. They simply are silly and funny.

OST is super duper good. There were days when I listened to the soundtrack over and over again while working. The music is good as well as the lyrics. Typical love songs that would make your heart flutter. I particularly like Still, Promise, Without Words and What Do I Do?

 

Overall, I give this series a 10! Best Korean Series for me. Toppling Full House, Winter Sonata and Sassy Girl Chun Hyang as my previous favorites. I can watch the series and listen to the soundtrack over and over again without getting tired of it. I’ve recommended it to some of my friends also, so far they liked it as well.

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