Tee hee, your PoT obsession is awesomely cute. I can't think of Ryoma Echizen without thinking of Hongo Kanata and you know how much I adore that kid!
I've gotten a lot choosier about what Asian dramas I'll watch. I used to watch anything with pretty people and a cute story (which is like 99.9% of all Asian dramas) but now the show has to be singular and something different for me to watch all of it. Last Friends was that because it had some of Japan's most talented young actors in it and explored issues rarely seen in Asian dramas. Bump Off Lover was special too because it was a superlative murder mystery, almost Hitchcockian in its style, with amazing psychological depth rarely seen in Taiwanese tv shows.
Spring Waltz stands out from most Korean romantic drama fare because the obstacles faced by the lead characters don't feel artificially constructed solely for the sake of keeping the lovers apart, the romantic tension and angst feels very true to life, and again, the characters are complex -- the romantic hero is perfectly imperfect and his artistic temperament never comes across as bratty or pretentious. Also, the show is special because it has a is anti-trendy, classical in construct from tone to the abundant use of classical music, whereas a lot of Asian dramas are very trendy and slick, and it is visually stunning since it was shot on location in Austria and a small Korean island (the production value looks a lot higher than most dramas). If it looks that good on my computer, I have to get the dvds to watch it in full glory on my tv screen.
I haven't seen it all the way through, episodes are somewhat difficult to find online right now because YA Entertainment recently licensed it and it got yanked off crunchyroll. All the video links for the episodes are broken on mysoju although I hear the mods are trying to fix that so hopefully they'll be operational soon. YA decided to license it for dvd distribution after it was aired in 8 countries in Asia and was a monster hit. The fan meet and greet last year with the lead actor sold out in half and hour, all 5,000 tickets.
All the episodes I've seen were after hunting on veoh and youtube. I've watched a lot of the fanmade music videos on youtube so I spoiled myself but I'm glad I did because it doesn't really ruin the story for me and thank God there is a happy ending (a very happy ending) which is rare in Asian dramas which usually end with one or both of the leads dead (Asian and their Thanatos obsession!). To wit:
I actually specifically wanted to spoil myself because I love the characters so much that I wasn't sure I wanted to continue watching or buy the dvd set if there was a tragic ending -- I'm rather fed up with those in my Asian dramas.
The Agency signed one of the actors in Spring Waltz a couple months ago, Daniel Henney -- not the male lead, sadly, but the other guy, the Eurasian one with the shorter hair who plays his manager -- and got him a part in the Wolverine movie. I hope he comes into the office soon and I run into him so I can pick his brain about what it was like to work on the show.
Oh, good! Yay, happy endings. But now how am *I* gonna watch this...darn it woman.
I'm about to buy Wolf's Rain, because the episodes are all effed up on Netflix, out of order, on the wrong discs. It's driving me nuts. Anime gets no respect!
I think youtube does have most of the show, it just takes a bit of searching. In any event, once I receive my dvds maybe the fellows in the video duplication dept at my work can burn some copies for me to send to you if I ask them nicely.
That sucks about Netflix...I've been thinking about subscribing for ages, but I don't know how worth the money it would be since I don't really watch American film or television any more.
Wolf's Rain is a smart investment, I think, because it's a very good show and considered one of those benchmark ground-breaking animes.
Netflix has a pretty good selection of foreign films and anime, but maybe since you're in L.A. you could find a better service for that. I don't have a lot of options where I live. And I don't watch much American stuff anymore either, I just have no interest in it. But Netflix is generally reliable and fast. Plus I like the "recommend" feature which is how I ended up watching Bleach, Air Gear, Wolf's Rain, and Bloood + to begin with - they're my OTHER crack dealer. :D
Netflix has a pretty good selection of foreign films and anime, but maybe since you're in L.A. you could find a better service for that. You would think so, but not really! Well, maybe I could find Asian entertainment stuff more easily if I lived in the San Gabriel Valley or Koreatown but the former is out of the question since it is way too far from work and the latter because I don't wanna get mugged or jacked although the rent is so much cheaper, there are so many good Korean restaurants there, and my friend who lives there informs me that there's all these gorgeous Korean boys walking around -- I never see any of these mythical gorgeous Korean boys she speaks of whenever I'm in K-Town so I think she lies.
I'm weird about what I'll spend my money on...like I've debated about Netflix for ages but I don't blink an eye or hesitate a second at dropping anywhere from 80-100 bucks for a dvd set. I guess that's the collector in me -- I'm picky about what dvds I'll buy but if it's something I really like or think I will really like, I snap it up. Don't even get me started on clothes and shoes...it's kind of scary how much money I'm willing to drop at one time on that stuff. But stuff like groceries and other things people consider essential, I don't mind scrimping on. Yeah, I'm not normal.
Hee, nah, I'm the same way. Or I guess we're just both not normal.
Netflix is a good value. My plan is under $20/month for unlimited 3-at-a-time rentals, pretty reasonable to me, given how much I watch. Maybe you should browse selections first before committing, though you can also cancel at any time. (Also if you joined I could friend you on there if you didn't mind, and then see your ratings and what you're watching, vice-versa. It's just another way to stalk you from afar. :D)
I've gotten a lot choosier about what Asian dramas I'll watch. I used to watch anything with pretty people and a cute story (which is like 99.9% of all Asian dramas) but now the show has to be singular and something different for me to watch all of it. Last Friends was that because it had some of Japan's most talented young actors in it and explored issues rarely seen in Asian dramas. Bump Off Lover was special too because it was a superlative murder mystery, almost Hitchcockian in its style, with amazing psychological depth rarely seen in Taiwanese tv shows.
Spring Waltz stands out from most Korean romantic drama fare because the obstacles faced by the lead characters don't feel artificially constructed solely for the sake of keeping the lovers apart, the romantic tension and angst feels very true to life, and again, the characters are complex -- the romantic hero is perfectly imperfect and his artistic temperament never comes across as bratty or pretentious. Also, the show is special because it has a is anti-trendy, classical in construct from tone to the abundant use of classical music, whereas a lot of Asian dramas are very trendy and slick, and it is visually stunning since it was shot on location in Austria and a small Korean island (the production value looks a lot higher than most dramas). If it looks that good on my computer, I have to get the dvds to watch it in full glory on my tv screen.
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Spring Waltz really sounds interesting. Have you seen through to the end? I don't want a sad/tragic ending (you seem to like those!).
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All the episodes I've seen were after hunting on veoh and youtube. I've watched a lot of the fanmade music videos on youtube so I spoiled myself but I'm glad I did because it doesn't really ruin the story for me and thank God there is a happy ending (a very happy ending) which is rare in Asian dramas which usually end with one or both of the leads dead (Asian and their Thanatos obsession!). To wit:
I actually specifically wanted to spoil myself because I love the characters so much that I wasn't sure I wanted to continue watching or buy the dvd set if there was a tragic ending -- I'm rather fed up with those in my Asian dramas.
The Agency signed one of the actors in Spring Waltz a couple months ago, Daniel Henney -- not the male lead, sadly, but the other guy, the Eurasian one with the shorter hair who plays his manager -- and got him a part in the Wolverine movie. I hope he comes into the office soon and I run into him so I can pick his brain about what it was like to work on the show.
Reply
I'm about to buy Wolf's Rain, because the episodes are all effed up on Netflix, out of order, on the wrong discs. It's driving me nuts. Anime gets no respect!
Reply
That sucks about Netflix...I've been thinking about subscribing for ages, but I don't know how worth the money it would be since I don't really watch American film or television any more.
Wolf's Rain is a smart investment, I think, because it's a very good show and considered one of those benchmark ground-breaking animes.
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You would think so, but not really! Well, maybe I could find Asian entertainment stuff more easily if I lived in the San Gabriel Valley or Koreatown but the former is out of the question since it is way too far from work and the latter because I don't wanna get mugged or jacked although the rent is so much cheaper, there are so many good Korean restaurants there, and my friend who lives there informs me that there's all these gorgeous Korean boys walking around -- I never see any of these mythical gorgeous Korean boys she speaks of whenever I'm in K-Town so I think she lies.
I'm weird about what I'll spend my money on...like I've debated about Netflix for ages but I don't blink an eye or hesitate a second at dropping anywhere from 80-100 bucks for a dvd set. I guess that's the collector in me -- I'm picky about what dvds I'll buy but if it's something I really like or think I will really like, I snap it up. Don't even get me started on clothes and shoes...it's kind of scary how much money I'm willing to drop at one time on that stuff. But stuff like groceries and other things people consider essential, I don't mind scrimping on. Yeah, I'm not normal.
Reply
Netflix is a good value. My plan is under $20/month for unlimited 3-at-a-time rentals, pretty reasonable to me, given how much I watch. Maybe you should browse selections first before committing, though you can also cancel at any time. (Also if you joined I could friend you on there if you didn't mind, and then see your ratings and what you're watching, vice-versa. It's just another way to stalk you from afar. :D)
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