Wherein Shin Woo becomes a rock star and Minam gains a talent beyond gluing her fingers together.
Two eps into Heartstrings and I think it's a win! It won't change the face of Korean television or anything, but it's fresh and funny and just the right amount of ridiculous.
THE HEROINE: Part of an all-girl troupe who plays traditional instrumentals!
THE HERO: Part of an all-dude rock band more known for their tight pants than talent!
THE RESULT: Very serious music battles!
There's even fusion music. Oh my god, I love fusion music.
This is Kyu Won. She's a tiger-wrestling badass who fights demons in her spare time and lets her gayageum double as both an instrument and a deadly weapon... okay, not really. She's a plucky heroine. Because we never tire of that one, right?
Her saving grace is that she's actually, legitimately talented, which is exciting for me and I really hope it goes somewhere. I love girls doing stuff! Especially girls doing stuff competently! And seeing Kyu Won in an all-girl classical band was pretty fucking cool. MORE OF THAT, DRAMA.
This is Shin, another student at her school. He fronts a rock band.
He's handsome and cold, rejects all flattery, hates his own fangirls, etc etc. Part of his attitude is because he wants people to take his music seriously, which of course is why he named his band The Stupid.
Imagine, if you will, a hundred teenage girls waving signs and chanting "STUPID! STUPID!"
Then know this actually happens.
OTP wise, Shin and Kyu Won get along as well as you'd expect, which is to say not at all.
He claims her music puts him to sleep. She scorns him as a pretty boy ("like a girl") and says his fanbase is nauseating. Together, they have MUSIC BATTLES!
I'm sorry, I still can't get over that. MUSIC BATTLES. They stomp out like opposing generals on the battlefield The spectators cry for blood.... or at least a good rhythm.
"Take me seriously as an artist! I am The Stupid and I should be respected!"
"Oh my god, I am literally with Stupid."
This is one of Shin's bandmates (played by his real-life bandmate!) and he's pretty much THE MOST ADORABLE THING EVER. He has wild hair and big glasses and is constantly grinning and bouncing around and asking for snacks. He's a puppy in denim and hipster shoes.
ISN'T HE ADORABLE?
Then he goes on stage and becomes a sex god.
????!!! I DON'T KNOW EITHER. But it's already causing alter-ego hijinks, because he's fallen for a dancing student and she doesn't know he's actually part of the hottest rock band on campus - she just thinks he's a weirdo who keeps following her around and offering her snacks.
Did I mention she has an eating disorder? Which means they deliberately created an overeating character to fall in love with their bulimic dancer. Jesus. Korea's idea of romance.
OTP faces! No reason, I just think they're hilarious.
They also have emotional moments while she's in a bunny hoodie.
Their friends ditch them to walk home together, and maybe it's the dark or the quiet, but they actually have a moment of peace. They apologize for some misunderstandings, clear up a few things in an awkwardly adorable way, and he even asks her which direction her house is in.
"Oh, no, you don't have to walk me home."
"I want to go the opposite direction."
"I could walk you home, I guess..."
"No need."
Then comes the twist: despite their total, absolute, unbridgeable musical gap that sets their destinies apart forever... their parents used to hang out!!! There are secret pictures to prove it! WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?
Were their parents starcrossed lovers? Are we looking at a "secret siblings" plot? Or did their families just have an awful split? COULD THIS OTP BE A FLOPPY-EARED ROMEO AND JULIET? Stay tuned for further developments (and hopefully more fusion music).
THE HEROINE: Part of an all-girl troupe who plays traditional instrumentals!
THE HERO: Part of an all-dude rock band more known for their tight pants than talent!
THE RESULT: Very serious music battles!
There's even fusion music. Oh my god, I love fusion music.
This is Kyu Won. She's a tiger-wrestling badass who fights demons in her spare time and lets her gayageum double as both an instrument and a deadly weapon... okay, not really. She's a plucky heroine. Because we never tire of that one, right?
Her saving grace is that she's actually, legitimately talented, which is exciting for me and I really hope it goes somewhere. I love girls doing stuff! Especially girls doing stuff competently! And seeing Kyu Won in an all-girl classical band was pretty fucking cool. MORE OF THAT, DRAMA.
This is Shin, another student at her school. He fronts a rock band.
He's handsome and cold, rejects all flattery, hates his own fangirls, etc etc. Part of his attitude is because he wants people to take his music seriously, which of course is why he named his band The Stupid.
Imagine, if you will, a hundred teenage girls waving signs and chanting "STUPID! STUPID!"
Then know this actually happens.
OTP wise, Shin and Kyu Won get along as well as you'd expect, which is to say not at all.
He claims her music puts him to sleep. She scorns him as a pretty boy ("like a girl") and says his fanbase is nauseating. Together, they have MUSIC BATTLES!
I'm sorry, I still can't get over that. MUSIC BATTLES. They stomp out like opposing generals on the battlefield The spectators cry for blood.... or at least a good rhythm.
"Take me seriously as an artist! I am The Stupid and I should be respected!"
"Oh my god, I am literally with Stupid."
This is one of Shin's bandmates (played by his real-life bandmate!) and he's pretty much THE MOST ADORABLE THING EVER. He has wild hair and big glasses and is constantly grinning and bouncing around and asking for snacks. He's a puppy in denim and hipster shoes.
ISN'T HE ADORABLE?
Then he goes on stage and becomes a sex god.
????!!! I DON'T KNOW EITHER. But it's already causing alter-ego hijinks, because he's fallen for a dancing student and she doesn't know he's actually part of the hottest rock band on campus - she just thinks he's a weirdo who keeps following her around and offering her snacks.
Did I mention she has an eating disorder? Which means they deliberately created an overeating character to fall in love with their bulimic dancer. Jesus. Korea's idea of romance.
OTP faces! No reason, I just think they're hilarious.
They also have emotional moments while she's in a bunny hoodie.
Their friends ditch them to walk home together, and maybe it's the dark or the quiet, but they actually have a moment of peace. They apologize for some misunderstandings, clear up a few things in an awkwardly adorable way, and he even asks her which direction her house is in.
"Oh, no, you don't have to walk me home."
"I want to go the opposite direction."
"I could walk you home, I guess..."
"No need."
Then comes the twist: despite their total, absolute, unbridgeable musical gap that sets their destinies apart forever... their parents used to hang out!!! There are secret pictures to prove it! WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?
Were their parents starcrossed lovers? Are we looking at a "secret siblings" plot? Or did their families just have an awful split? COULD THIS OTP BE A FLOPPY-EARED ROMEO AND JULIET? Stay tuned for further developments (and hopefully more fusion music).