long, long, looong dorama meme.
Loooong. It's longer than most of my fics.
Includes me plotting about twenty million fantasy dramas and other weird stuff.
Special prize for whoever can count how many times I mention Lee Dong-wook in this meme.
Favorite drama overall: My Girl, I guess. It has a few tiny glitches but in terms of a million things, it comes out on top as my absolute favourite. Comedy, hero/heroine, third wheel, parody, execution, secondary OTPs, kisses, emotional involvement... I knew I would love it but it still surprised by being just.so.good. I swear the DVD box is tempting me right on this minute with the rewatching possibilities.
(Japanese): Nodame Cantabile, hands down. Crazy funny, made me listen to classical music for hours, insanely attractive leads (Tamaki Hiroshi, phwoarr), side cast I actually really cared for and even succeeds in making the angst touching and amazing. I want a sequel but I'm also content with just having just this drama as it is so excellent.
(Korean): Hmm, well, I guess it has to be My Girl. With a side dish of Goong (flawed but so good). Yeah.
(Taiwanese): Hua Yang Shao Nian Shao Nu aka Hana Kimi. Uber alles. This is the most amazing feel-good drama ever. Lacks conflict but how can that be a bad thing with the cutest OTP around, the funniest side characters and overall the crackiest, awesomest drama ever? Lovelovelove. I love Taiwan and all but I sincerely doubt they can ever make a drama I'll love as much as this one. I'd like to see them top this one, though - like, let's PLEASE make Hana Kimi 2 have a good ending instead of a sucky one.
Least favorite drama: Least favourite that I finished? Kurosagi - not bad by any standards, just really far from being a favourite. One that I didn't finish? Prince's First Love... I loved the male lead in a movie but just the first episode of this drama made me cringe. Eeeegh.
Drama that everyone loves except for you: Well, I liked Mars quite a lot but towards the ending I began fast-forward the bits with a certain character. In the end, it's not quite that huge love, though I do like it a lot and have positive memories of it.
Drama that you love though no one else does: I suck at this underrated thing. Thus far I've loved mostly well-loved dramas. I know some people hate Goong and some couldn't finish Hana Kimi but generally, every drama I've watched has had a huge deserved fan following. Would be unfair to call them underrated.
Drama you never thought you’d love as much as you do now: Nodame Cantabile. I liked it but I was iffy about jdramas and wasn't sure it'd be my thing and thought the side characters were weird at first but ohmygod. I watched it in a hurry and it became one of my absolute top faves. Such a great drama. I owe Lydzi my life for gently pushing it onto me. :D
Drama you thought you’d love much more: It Started With a Kiss. Awesome, fluffy, but omg omg why was it so draggy and why didn't Zhi Shu melt sooner and graggghhh. I still really like it and sequel plz and all that stuff, but I can't help but feel it could've been better, too.
Angstiest drama: I'm sure there are some that are just all tears and woe but the one I've seen was Mars. Ohh the woes of those two. I liked it, though I so prefer light dramas.
Fluffiest/funniest drama: Hana Kimi, hands down and tied behind the back. This drama is 100% fluff and fun and doesn't pretend to be anything but something to make you smile and make life a bit more fun. <3
Most Melodramatic Drama: Umm... I guess the 2nd half of Goong would fit the definition. Much tears, much evil parents. Boo.
Favorite drama hero: Man, here is where I struggle to name just one. If I'm honest with myself, I guess it'd have to be Gong-chan from My Girl. And not just because Lee Dong-wook is face-meltingly hot (though it helps) but the character is so adorable and sigh, just wonderful and capable and yet hopeless at times and thoughtful and devoted and ..yeah. Special Icy Though Hot Woobie Mention to Shin from Goong, and the Extra Special So Sweet I Could Scrape Sugar Off You Mention to Quan from Hana Kimi.
Favorite drama heroine: Chae-gyung from Goong. She's the reason I kept watching Goong and it's really through similar spunky heroines that I've remained this into dramas. I love her attitude and occasional sweet naïveness. She is just amazing. Plus YEH is gorgeous.
The drama heroine that would rule the world: I don't know about would but Nodame from NC totally should rule the world. She'd be great at it. ;)
Hero I’d take home to mother: I'm an awful daughter so now I'm thinking of ways to freak out my mum the most. Hmm. Cheng Ling from Mars - after he's gotten into a fight with somebody. Yeah, that'd rule. “Hi mum! Here's my boyfriend. We don't speak the same language, he lives dangerously, sleeps around a ton and generally lives a careless life style! He also thinks he enjoys killing people! I love him a ton!”
(Also, hahaha at the fact dangermousie mentioned Ling for “favourite hero” and Gong-chan for “one to take home”. Maybe after you take Gong-chan home, you can give him to me and I'll give you Ling after I introduce him to my mother? ;D)
Evilest drama parent: After re-watching My Girl, I realized how nasty Gong-chan's grandpa actually is.. But I think Shin's folks from Goong still take the cake. Gotta love the combo of cold, dysfunctional AND cruel. Mmm-mmm!
Most awesome drama parent (a small category): Chae-gyung's folks from Goong, or the heroine's family in Smiling Pasta or Yu-rin's hilariously clueless father from My Girl or ..come to think of it, it's usually the hero's parents who're total asses, isn't it?
Worst drama outfit: Whatever that ugly rag was that they threw on poor pretty Kim Jung-hoon (Yul) in Goong that looked like something not even most females would wear. Girly and ridiculous and eurgh. I've blocked out what it looked exactly like, the details are gladly blurry or non-existant. My eyes burned, s'all I remember.
Craziest drama fashion: You know, I think Su-ha's outfits are crazy awesome in Hello! Miss. They're funky and they look amazing on Lee Da-hae, even if they're a tad ridiculous at times. Polka dots and stuff. w00t!
Best drama kiss: Last one in Goong. EASILY. It's a proper making-out type kiss, not just lips brushing. But for some other one, I'll take first one in My Name Is Kim Sam-soon (again, proper kissing).
Best rain scene: ISWAK, plz. Yes yes yes. Actually, I love the final rain scene in ISWAK, what with the ...you know. Yeah. Rocking.
Favorite drama couple: I'm going to say Shin/Chae-gyung here. They made Goong. If it wasn't for that chemistry, those characters coming together, Goong would've just been a huge waste of everybody's time, no matter how pretty and comedic at times. But it worked so well. Special mentions to the two adorable couples who're together even when they're not really together: Rui Xi/Quan from Hana Kimi and Nodame/Chiaki from Nodame Cantabile.
Worst drama couple: Ummm. Rita and whatever He Qun's bro was called from Smiling Pasta. Given, I only saw 3 eps but what an annoying, frustrating couple of people! Gahhh. They're pretty much the reason I stopped watching - though of course they weren't OTP. Then there were couples who I felt lacked chemistry, like Chae-gyung/Yul - so totally just friends IMO.
Most UST couple: Technically this should probably be Tsurara/Kurosaki from Kurosagi because they didn't touch, like, at all. Buuut I also feel like Rui Xi/Quan from Hana Kimi is a strong contender because Quan did all that teasing where he was THIS close to kissing her or something similar and phwoarrrr.
Couple You Never Thought You’d Root For, before Drama: I'm such a pairing whore I'll easily pair anybody with anybody and I've yet to see a pairing that's made me very iffy before I've seen the drama and been totally convinced of the pairing. Hmm. I really don't have one. Part of the problem is that if I'm extremely unsure about some pairing, I just don't watch. I take no risks. :D
Most awesome gang of friends: The gang in Mars was delightful because they were rather realistic and the friendships felt incredibly genuine somehow. What with the casual drinking, the drunk craziness and the fact they visited each other at work and helped each other out... It was just really nice and normal and real-seeming.
Best Guy-Girl Friendship: Rui Xi-Mei Tian. Reluctant mentorship FTW.
Favorite secondary OTP: Hmm, many contenders here. I'm a sucker for smaller pairings and for that reason, it's hard to just name one. Okay, my top three is: 1) Mine/Kiyora from Nodame Cantabile - they rock from start to finish and even made me teary-eyed and shocked and giggly, 2) Da Ye/Qin Mei from Mars because even when the process wasn't showed much, it made perfect sense and rocked my world so hard, 3) Gong-chan's secretary/Yu-rin's friend from My Girl because damn if they weren't the cutest.
Favorite “Third Person” in a love triangle: Xiu Yi from Hana Kimi (hilarious, G-Y-A, I like him just as much as I like the OTP and occasionally more) and Jung-woo (charming, cute, with a realistic attitude and I love he manages to remain friends with Gong-chan) from My Girl.
Least favorite “Third Person” in a love triangle: I'm sorry, I think Kim Jung-hoon is so so so cute but Yul drove me nuts. I'm sorry, he just did. But even worse was Yukari from Kurosagi - I wanted to stab her face over and over and again. GRRR.
Favorite drama actor: Jiro Wang. YA RLY. Because I've never watched anything unsubbed for anybody else. But for him and his 9000 fighting points, I've watched plenty of unsubbed bits of KO One. Plus he's hot and hilarious and can play guitar and that's pretty much my definition of coolness. His talent is a very unique special kind of genius. One of a kind.
Favorite drama actress: I guess it'd have to be Lee Da-hae. I've not really seen any other actresses in multiple dramas but she seems to do a great job in many dramas and I adore her a ton in both dramas I've seen her in. I can't watch Sweet 18 because I don't want to hate her character - or end up rooting for her character when I know she's the “evil girl” in it.
Hottest drama actor: Lee Dong-wook and Tamaki Hiroshi. Not that there aren't about a million others who're fine as hell but these two... I don't want this to turn this all TMI fangirly but let's say, stuff happens. In my pants.
Hottest drama actress: I'd go lesbian for Yoon Eun-hye and Horikita Maki.
Actor/actress you wish would make more dramas: Lee Dong-wook, duhh. He's been in like, My Girl and uhm, some odd ones when he was young and dorky. Sure, he's been in movies (like, 2 of such). Who cares! New drama plz. Oh, and I know Moon Geong-young is a successful movie star and thus doesn't “need” any dramas but I'd LOVE to see her in a drama now that she doesn't look 12 anymore. A part of is asking for a My Little Bride reprise with her and Kim Rae-won but I dunno if that'd work with any story so now I'd take her with anyone interesting.
Actor/actress you pray would make less: Danson Tang. I know you have an album coming up this summer, but it doesn't mean you need to be in EVERY Taiwanese 2007 drama, JESUS H. CHRIST. (He's in, um, Summer x Summer, X-Family, ISWAK 2 and Hana Kimi 2 of course.) And Kim Rae-won because I'll never have the time to see all of his dramas if he keeps making new ones. :(
A couple you want to see paired again (that don’t have an upcoming drama): I want the Kwan Sang-woo (was that his name?) and Kim Ha-neul who were together in the kmovie My Tutor Friend and had EXCELLENT chemistry to make a drama together. They are just simply so insanely hot omg (I had dirty thoughts when I watched the movie, that hot). I believe the chemistry could make even an average drama amazingly worth watching (like My Tutor Friend had a flimsy excuse for a plot but I still cherish bits of it for this pair!). Seriously. This one needs to happen and I dare any kdrama fan to argue against me on this.
A couple you want to see together for the first time: Hmmm. I keep mixing my favourite kdrama actors in my head totally randomly so I'm kind of open to Yoon Eun-hye with just about anybody hot (Lee Dong-wook is high on the list, though this totally upsets the magical 2006 kdrama balance of My Girl/Goong pairings). I wish Kim Jung Kook could act because damn, those two are so cute.
Anyway, non-YEH pairings, I so totally want a drama where Jiro's actually genuinely the lead and paired against some awesome actress. I keep thinking about this drama where he's a totally dweeb and for some reason a badass girl starts pretending she's his girlfriend (ahh, bless the geek-popular girl romance cliché!) and they fall in love and he's disturbed by her badass ways (cue comedy scenes!) but somewhere along the line learns to be badass himself though his true nature will always remain dweeby and geeky. Badass girl, I'm thinking whoever was Qin Mei in Mars - she's got such a pretty face and she rocked the girl-with-attitude role. I'm fully open to other options, though.*
* Wow, thinking about this has totally made me realize why people write those soompi type fanfics. I'm sooo tempted right now but still, eh, weird.
Manga you’d want to see adopted into a drama: I don't know any mangas! BUT as an alternative, my head is full of semi-awesome drama ideas.
First, Heroes is crying out for a drama spinoff where Hiro is in Japan and Charlie (for those who don't watch Heroes, Hiro is an adorkable Japanese geek who can bend time/space continuum and Charlene - Charlie - is a redheaded Texas diner waitress with a big heart and a supernaturally good memory and their romance is one of the sweetest, most touching things on the whole show) comes to Japan because Hiro from the future sent her a plane ticket. She knows Japanese (learns it fast thanks to her skill) and meets current!Hiro and they fall in love. His father (big company owner type, naturally) opposes. And Charlie has an aneurysm that will kill her eventually so there'll be much heart-breaking angst. Ando (Hiro's BFF) and Hiro's ambitious career-minded sister serve as an adorable secondary pairing. Plus, this is jdrama so they only need the story to last 11 episodes. Plus, did I mention she's dying? Because she is. And it's CANON.
Also, I was reading some Korean folk tales and omg some of these would make awesome dramas or drama specials or whatever. Like a story about three brothers who inherit three modest items from their father who dies poor. Then the brothers go their own ways, find success thanks to clever use of the modest items they have inherit and each of them gets a beautiful wife and a big house plus fortunes. Then in a year they meet again and are all, “Wow our dad rocked for giving us these items in his will!”. This could be a comedic, feel-good type drama (okay, that doesn't *sound* Korean but it could TOTALLY happen!) with three hot guys and three fantastic girls. The modern version would have to be inventive since the original tale contains supernatural stuff like spirits and the like, but I think it could work out really well.
Another Korean folk tale was about a wood chopper who saves a deer from a hunter. Turns out the deer is a princess of heaven in disguise and since the guy doesn't have a wife, he asks the deer for advice on how to get one (marriage = everything). The deer advices him and he manages to get a fairy from the heavens to be his wife. Anyway, stuff happens, he does something he shouldn't have and loses her and their mutual children - but he manages to go to the heavens to visit them and he stays there. But then he begins missing his mother, wanting to meet her just one last time - again there's a “you should NEVER do this or everything will go to shit”-type warning from the deer and he's careful not to break it but whoops, does anyway.
He's forced to stay on earth and can never see his heaven fairy wife or his kids. Yeah, this'd be one amazingly trippy and peculiar kdrama but damn, I have faith in the awesome. In the modern version, the deer would be naturally be a human. The fairy would be Lee Da-hae (to quote somebody in her soompi thread, “She's a VEELA!”) and the wood chopper, hmm, well, I did visualize him as Lee Dong-wook (with a sort of rugged look like in the Bye Bye MV) but that's just the batshit My Girl fan inside me. ;)
Oh!! Emma&Daniel books would make a GREAT kdrama. Emma&Daniel books are Swedish YA/teen novels. In the first book they're 12 and get lost in the woods together, find a cabin, become friends.. Second book, they're 14 and dating though they're step siblings (their parents are dating - Emma's mom is dead and Daniel's parents are divorced) and Emma angsts over her mother's death. Third book, they're 16 and sort of fallen apart but she travels to see him anyway (this novel was mostly just confusing).
But basically, the angst, the step-sibling thing, the way Daniel tries to reach out to Emma but she's too wounded to allow herself to be healed by intimacy like that. They should totally alter the odd ending of the books, though. But otherwise, it'd be this awesomely forbidden, can-never-be, hurty love story with realistic, messed up people. Plus there's enough plot for 16 episodes, I feel. I gotta send this idea to South-Korea ASAP, I already got the Korean names - Emma can be Eun-bin (played by the girl who played Chun-hyang - she has the right vulnerability) and Daniel can be Dong-joo (played by, hmm, this one I haven't decided yet). Alternatively, Daniel can just be Daniel Henney. ;) Change Stockholm to Seoul and you're halfway there!
My brain is nuts, I know, I know.
Worst manga-to-live-action adaptation: Gee, I really don't know. I'm not touching the various Peach Girls and Marmalade Boys though, not with a long stick. Or any shonen manga live actions. OH WAIT. Has Love Hina ever been made into a live action? Because I loved that anime. That live action could either suck ass or rock my universe.
Best manga-to-live-action adaptation: Nodame Cantabile, I think. It was manga-ish but seemed very true to the manga and let's face it, everybody was hotter than in the manga. It was just really well made in general, too.
Unsubbed drama that you wish was subbed: KO One's getting subbed, but I wish it was fully subbed already!
ADDED CATEGORIES:
Favourite drama soundtrack: Hana Kimi OST. Yeah, I'm biased but seriously, if a soundtrack can make me a huge fan of one artist (Tank), a fangirl of another two (Fahrenheit and S.H.E) and enormously curious over the other artists on the soundtrack (who's this VENK guy?), that soundtrack has GOT to be a winner. Though best instrumental soundtrack is Goong and the most fabulous USE of music in a drama is undoubtedly Nodame Cantabile.
Favourite tears-your-heart-out angst scene: Lying coin scene in My Girl and the scene after the competition in Nodame Cantabile. Ouch my heart. Ouccchh. But maan, beautiful angst.
Favourite drama cliché/convention: The My Sassy Girl-esque kdrama classic - hero piggybacking the heroine, be she too drunk to walk or otherwise unable to move on her own. Like that parody video said - there are never any taxis around, so you always need to carry her there. ;)
Asian popstar who either absolutely should OR should not start appearing in dramas: I think Tank should absolutely guest star some drama as somebody's little brother or something similar. It'd be supercute! And again, I wish Kim Jung-kook could act.
Most anticipated drama:
Japanese: Nodame Cantabile 2 (PLZ!!), Hana Kimi jdrama version (if it really has Horikita Maki).
Taiwanese: ISWAK 2, Hana Kimi 2 (duhh's), X-Family/KO One Family (need.more.Jiro.).
Korean: YEH-coffee shop drama, whatever the hell LDW's supposed to be filming. To my luck all the Korean ones I looked forward to are currently airing! Mawang! Witch Amusement! Hello Miss! Though technically I only discovered the last one very recently.
This was so fun to fill out but ohmygod, my brain is buzzing with way too many kdrama ideas. :( help
Includes me plotting about twenty million fantasy dramas and other weird stuff.
Special prize for whoever can count how many times I mention Lee Dong-wook in this meme.
Favorite drama overall: My Girl, I guess. It has a few tiny glitches but in terms of a million things, it comes out on top as my absolute favourite. Comedy, hero/heroine, third wheel, parody, execution, secondary OTPs, kisses, emotional involvement... I knew I would love it but it still surprised by being just.so.good. I swear the DVD box is tempting me right on this minute with the rewatching possibilities.
(Japanese): Nodame Cantabile, hands down. Crazy funny, made me listen to classical music for hours, insanely attractive leads (Tamaki Hiroshi, phwoarr), side cast I actually really cared for and even succeeds in making the angst touching and amazing. I want a sequel but I'm also content with just having just this drama as it is so excellent.
(Korean): Hmm, well, I guess it has to be My Girl. With a side dish of Goong (flawed but so good). Yeah.
(Taiwanese): Hua Yang Shao Nian Shao Nu aka Hana Kimi. Uber alles. This is the most amazing feel-good drama ever. Lacks conflict but how can that be a bad thing with the cutest OTP around, the funniest side characters and overall the crackiest, awesomest drama ever? Lovelovelove. I love Taiwan and all but I sincerely doubt they can ever make a drama I'll love as much as this one. I'd like to see them top this one, though - like, let's PLEASE make Hana Kimi 2 have a good ending instead of a sucky one.
Least favorite drama: Least favourite that I finished? Kurosagi - not bad by any standards, just really far from being a favourite. One that I didn't finish? Prince's First Love... I loved the male lead in a movie but just the first episode of this drama made me cringe. Eeeegh.
Drama that everyone loves except for you: Well, I liked Mars quite a lot but towards the ending I began fast-forward the bits with a certain character. In the end, it's not quite that huge love, though I do like it a lot and have positive memories of it.
Drama that you love though no one else does: I suck at this underrated thing. Thus far I've loved mostly well-loved dramas. I know some people hate Goong and some couldn't finish Hana Kimi but generally, every drama I've watched has had a huge deserved fan following. Would be unfair to call them underrated.
Drama you never thought you’d love as much as you do now: Nodame Cantabile. I liked it but I was iffy about jdramas and wasn't sure it'd be my thing and thought the side characters were weird at first but ohmygod. I watched it in a hurry and it became one of my absolute top faves. Such a great drama. I owe Lydzi my life for gently pushing it onto me. :D
Drama you thought you’d love much more: It Started With a Kiss. Awesome, fluffy, but omg omg why was it so draggy and why didn't Zhi Shu melt sooner and graggghhh. I still really like it and sequel plz and all that stuff, but I can't help but feel it could've been better, too.
Angstiest drama: I'm sure there are some that are just all tears and woe but the one I've seen was Mars. Ohh the woes of those two. I liked it, though I so prefer light dramas.
Fluffiest/funniest drama: Hana Kimi, hands down and tied behind the back. This drama is 100% fluff and fun and doesn't pretend to be anything but something to make you smile and make life a bit more fun. <3
Most Melodramatic Drama: Umm... I guess the 2nd half of Goong would fit the definition. Much tears, much evil parents. Boo.
Favorite drama hero: Man, here is where I struggle to name just one. If I'm honest with myself, I guess it'd have to be Gong-chan from My Girl. And not just because Lee Dong-wook is face-meltingly hot (though it helps) but the character is so adorable and sigh, just wonderful and capable and yet hopeless at times and thoughtful and devoted and ..yeah. Special Icy Though Hot Woobie Mention to Shin from Goong, and the Extra Special So Sweet I Could Scrape Sugar Off You Mention to Quan from Hana Kimi.
Favorite drama heroine: Chae-gyung from Goong. She's the reason I kept watching Goong and it's really through similar spunky heroines that I've remained this into dramas. I love her attitude and occasional sweet naïveness. She is just amazing. Plus YEH is gorgeous.
The drama heroine that would rule the world: I don't know about would but Nodame from NC totally should rule the world. She'd be great at it. ;)
Hero I’d take home to mother: I'm an awful daughter so now I'm thinking of ways to freak out my mum the most. Hmm. Cheng Ling from Mars - after he's gotten into a fight with somebody. Yeah, that'd rule. “Hi mum! Here's my boyfriend. We don't speak the same language, he lives dangerously, sleeps around a ton and generally lives a careless life style! He also thinks he enjoys killing people! I love him a ton!”
(Also, hahaha at the fact dangermousie mentioned Ling for “favourite hero” and Gong-chan for “one to take home”. Maybe after you take Gong-chan home, you can give him to me and I'll give you Ling after I introduce him to my mother? ;D)
Evilest drama parent: After re-watching My Girl, I realized how nasty Gong-chan's grandpa actually is.. But I think Shin's folks from Goong still take the cake. Gotta love the combo of cold, dysfunctional AND cruel. Mmm-mmm!
Most awesome drama parent (a small category): Chae-gyung's folks from Goong, or the heroine's family in Smiling Pasta or Yu-rin's hilariously clueless father from My Girl or ..come to think of it, it's usually the hero's parents who're total asses, isn't it?
Worst drama outfit: Whatever that ugly rag was that they threw on poor pretty Kim Jung-hoon (Yul) in Goong that looked like something not even most females would wear. Girly and ridiculous and eurgh. I've blocked out what it looked exactly like, the details are gladly blurry or non-existant. My eyes burned, s'all I remember.
Craziest drama fashion: You know, I think Su-ha's outfits are crazy awesome in Hello! Miss. They're funky and they look amazing on Lee Da-hae, even if they're a tad ridiculous at times. Polka dots and stuff. w00t!
Best drama kiss: Last one in Goong. EASILY. It's a proper making-out type kiss, not just lips brushing. But for some other one, I'll take first one in My Name Is Kim Sam-soon (again, proper kissing).
Best rain scene: ISWAK, plz. Yes yes yes. Actually, I love the final rain scene in ISWAK, what with the ...you know. Yeah. Rocking.
Favorite drama couple: I'm going to say Shin/Chae-gyung here. They made Goong. If it wasn't for that chemistry, those characters coming together, Goong would've just been a huge waste of everybody's time, no matter how pretty and comedic at times. But it worked so well. Special mentions to the two adorable couples who're together even when they're not really together: Rui Xi/Quan from Hana Kimi and Nodame/Chiaki from Nodame Cantabile.
Worst drama couple: Ummm. Rita and whatever He Qun's bro was called from Smiling Pasta. Given, I only saw 3 eps but what an annoying, frustrating couple of people! Gahhh. They're pretty much the reason I stopped watching - though of course they weren't OTP. Then there were couples who I felt lacked chemistry, like Chae-gyung/Yul - so totally just friends IMO.
Most UST couple: Technically this should probably be Tsurara/Kurosaki from Kurosagi because they didn't touch, like, at all. Buuut I also feel like Rui Xi/Quan from Hana Kimi is a strong contender because Quan did all that teasing where he was THIS close to kissing her or something similar and phwoarrrr.
Couple You Never Thought You’d Root For, before Drama: I'm such a pairing whore I'll easily pair anybody with anybody and I've yet to see a pairing that's made me very iffy before I've seen the drama and been totally convinced of the pairing. Hmm. I really don't have one. Part of the problem is that if I'm extremely unsure about some pairing, I just don't watch. I take no risks. :D
Most awesome gang of friends: The gang in Mars was delightful because they were rather realistic and the friendships felt incredibly genuine somehow. What with the casual drinking, the drunk craziness and the fact they visited each other at work and helped each other out... It was just really nice and normal and real-seeming.
Best Guy-Girl Friendship: Rui Xi-Mei Tian. Reluctant mentorship FTW.
Favorite secondary OTP: Hmm, many contenders here. I'm a sucker for smaller pairings and for that reason, it's hard to just name one. Okay, my top three is: 1) Mine/Kiyora from Nodame Cantabile - they rock from start to finish and even made me teary-eyed and shocked and giggly, 2) Da Ye/Qin Mei from Mars because even when the process wasn't showed much, it made perfect sense and rocked my world so hard, 3) Gong-chan's secretary/Yu-rin's friend from My Girl because damn if they weren't the cutest.
Favorite “Third Person” in a love triangle: Xiu Yi from Hana Kimi (hilarious, G-Y-A, I like him just as much as I like the OTP and occasionally more) and Jung-woo (charming, cute, with a realistic attitude and I love he manages to remain friends with Gong-chan) from My Girl.
Least favorite “Third Person” in a love triangle: I'm sorry, I think Kim Jung-hoon is so so so cute but Yul drove me nuts. I'm sorry, he just did. But even worse was Yukari from Kurosagi - I wanted to stab her face over and over and again. GRRR.
Favorite drama actor: Jiro Wang. YA RLY. Because I've never watched anything unsubbed for anybody else. But for him and his 9000 fighting points, I've watched plenty of unsubbed bits of KO One. Plus he's hot and hilarious and can play guitar and that's pretty much my definition of coolness. His talent is a very unique special kind of genius. One of a kind.
Favorite drama actress: I guess it'd have to be Lee Da-hae. I've not really seen any other actresses in multiple dramas but she seems to do a great job in many dramas and I adore her a ton in both dramas I've seen her in. I can't watch Sweet 18 because I don't want to hate her character - or end up rooting for her character when I know she's the “evil girl” in it.
Hottest drama actor: Lee Dong-wook and Tamaki Hiroshi. Not that there aren't about a million others who're fine as hell but these two... I don't want this to turn this all TMI fangirly but let's say, stuff happens. In my pants.
Hottest drama actress: I'd go lesbian for Yoon Eun-hye and Horikita Maki.
Actor/actress you wish would make more dramas: Lee Dong-wook, duhh. He's been in like, My Girl and uhm, some odd ones when he was young and dorky. Sure, he's been in movies (like, 2 of such). Who cares! New drama plz. Oh, and I know Moon Geong-young is a successful movie star and thus doesn't “need” any dramas but I'd LOVE to see her in a drama now that she doesn't look 12 anymore. A part of is asking for a My Little Bride reprise with her and Kim Rae-won but I dunno if that'd work with any story so now I'd take her with anyone interesting.
Actor/actress you pray would make less: Danson Tang. I know you have an album coming up this summer, but it doesn't mean you need to be in EVERY Taiwanese 2007 drama, JESUS H. CHRIST. (He's in, um, Summer x Summer, X-Family, ISWAK 2 and Hana Kimi 2 of course.) And Kim Rae-won because I'll never have the time to see all of his dramas if he keeps making new ones. :(
A couple you want to see paired again (that don’t have an upcoming drama): I want the Kwan Sang-woo (was that his name?) and Kim Ha-neul who were together in the kmovie My Tutor Friend and had EXCELLENT chemistry to make a drama together. They are just simply so insanely hot omg (I had dirty thoughts when I watched the movie, that hot). I believe the chemistry could make even an average drama amazingly worth watching (like My Tutor Friend had a flimsy excuse for a plot but I still cherish bits of it for this pair!). Seriously. This one needs to happen and I dare any kdrama fan to argue against me on this.
A couple you want to see together for the first time: Hmmm. I keep mixing my favourite kdrama actors in my head totally randomly so I'm kind of open to Yoon Eun-hye with just about anybody hot (Lee Dong-wook is high on the list, though this totally upsets the magical 2006 kdrama balance of My Girl/Goong pairings). I wish Kim Jung Kook could act because damn, those two are so cute.
Anyway, non-YEH pairings, I so totally want a drama where Jiro's actually genuinely the lead and paired against some awesome actress. I keep thinking about this drama where he's a totally dweeb and for some reason a badass girl starts pretending she's his girlfriend (ahh, bless the geek-popular girl romance cliché!) and they fall in love and he's disturbed by her badass ways (cue comedy scenes!) but somewhere along the line learns to be badass himself though his true nature will always remain dweeby and geeky. Badass girl, I'm thinking whoever was Qin Mei in Mars - she's got such a pretty face and she rocked the girl-with-attitude role. I'm fully open to other options, though.*
* Wow, thinking about this has totally made me realize why people write those soompi type fanfics. I'm sooo tempted right now but still, eh, weird.
Manga you’d want to see adopted into a drama: I don't know any mangas! BUT as an alternative, my head is full of semi-awesome drama ideas.
First, Heroes is crying out for a drama spinoff where Hiro is in Japan and Charlie (for those who don't watch Heroes, Hiro is an adorkable Japanese geek who can bend time/space continuum and Charlene - Charlie - is a redheaded Texas diner waitress with a big heart and a supernaturally good memory and their romance is one of the sweetest, most touching things on the whole show) comes to Japan because Hiro from the future sent her a plane ticket. She knows Japanese (learns it fast thanks to her skill) and meets current!Hiro and they fall in love. His father (big company owner type, naturally) opposes. And Charlie has an aneurysm that will kill her eventually so there'll be much heart-breaking angst. Ando (Hiro's BFF) and Hiro's ambitious career-minded sister serve as an adorable secondary pairing. Plus, this is jdrama so they only need the story to last 11 episodes. Plus, did I mention she's dying? Because she is. And it's CANON.
Also, I was reading some Korean folk tales and omg some of these would make awesome dramas or drama specials or whatever. Like a story about three brothers who inherit three modest items from their father who dies poor. Then the brothers go their own ways, find success thanks to clever use of the modest items they have inherit and each of them gets a beautiful wife and a big house plus fortunes. Then in a year they meet again and are all, “Wow our dad rocked for giving us these items in his will!”. This could be a comedic, feel-good type drama (okay, that doesn't *sound* Korean but it could TOTALLY happen!) with three hot guys and three fantastic girls. The modern version would have to be inventive since the original tale contains supernatural stuff like spirits and the like, but I think it could work out really well.
Another Korean folk tale was about a wood chopper who saves a deer from a hunter. Turns out the deer is a princess of heaven in disguise and since the guy doesn't have a wife, he asks the deer for advice on how to get one (marriage = everything). The deer advices him and he manages to get a fairy from the heavens to be his wife. Anyway, stuff happens, he does something he shouldn't have and loses her and their mutual children - but he manages to go to the heavens to visit them and he stays there. But then he begins missing his mother, wanting to meet her just one last time - again there's a “you should NEVER do this or everything will go to shit”-type warning from the deer and he's careful not to break it but whoops, does anyway.
He's forced to stay on earth and can never see his heaven fairy wife or his kids. Yeah, this'd be one amazingly trippy and peculiar kdrama but damn, I have faith in the awesome. In the modern version, the deer would be naturally be a human. The fairy would be Lee Da-hae (to quote somebody in her soompi thread, “She's a VEELA!”) and the wood chopper, hmm, well, I did visualize him as Lee Dong-wook (with a sort of rugged look like in the Bye Bye MV) but that's just the batshit My Girl fan inside me. ;)
Oh!! Emma&Daniel books would make a GREAT kdrama. Emma&Daniel books are Swedish YA/teen novels. In the first book they're 12 and get lost in the woods together, find a cabin, become friends.. Second book, they're 14 and dating though they're step siblings (their parents are dating - Emma's mom is dead and Daniel's parents are divorced) and Emma angsts over her mother's death. Third book, they're 16 and sort of fallen apart but she travels to see him anyway (this novel was mostly just confusing).
But basically, the angst, the step-sibling thing, the way Daniel tries to reach out to Emma but she's too wounded to allow herself to be healed by intimacy like that. They should totally alter the odd ending of the books, though. But otherwise, it'd be this awesomely forbidden, can-never-be, hurty love story with realistic, messed up people. Plus there's enough plot for 16 episodes, I feel. I gotta send this idea to South-Korea ASAP, I already got the Korean names - Emma can be Eun-bin (played by the girl who played Chun-hyang - she has the right vulnerability) and Daniel can be Dong-joo (played by, hmm, this one I haven't decided yet). Alternatively, Daniel can just be Daniel Henney. ;) Change Stockholm to Seoul and you're halfway there!
My brain is nuts, I know, I know.
Worst manga-to-live-action adaptation: Gee, I really don't know. I'm not touching the various Peach Girls and Marmalade Boys though, not with a long stick. Or any shonen manga live actions. OH WAIT. Has Love Hina ever been made into a live action? Because I loved that anime. That live action could either suck ass or rock my universe.
Best manga-to-live-action adaptation: Nodame Cantabile, I think. It was manga-ish but seemed very true to the manga and let's face it, everybody was hotter than in the manga. It was just really well made in general, too.
Unsubbed drama that you wish was subbed: KO One's getting subbed, but I wish it was fully subbed already!
ADDED CATEGORIES:
Favourite drama soundtrack: Hana Kimi OST. Yeah, I'm biased but seriously, if a soundtrack can make me a huge fan of one artist (Tank), a fangirl of another two (Fahrenheit and S.H.E) and enormously curious over the other artists on the soundtrack (who's this VENK guy?), that soundtrack has GOT to be a winner. Though best instrumental soundtrack is Goong and the most fabulous USE of music in a drama is undoubtedly Nodame Cantabile.
Favourite tears-your-heart-out angst scene: Lying coin scene in My Girl and the scene after the competition in Nodame Cantabile. Ouch my heart. Ouccchh. But maan, beautiful angst.
Favourite drama cliché/convention: The My Sassy Girl-esque kdrama classic - hero piggybacking the heroine, be she too drunk to walk or otherwise unable to move on her own. Like that parody video said - there are never any taxis around, so you always need to carry her there. ;)
Asian popstar who either absolutely should OR should not start appearing in dramas: I think Tank should absolutely guest star some drama as somebody's little brother or something similar. It'd be supercute! And again, I wish Kim Jung-kook could act.
Most anticipated drama:
Japanese: Nodame Cantabile 2 (PLZ!!), Hana Kimi jdrama version (if it really has Horikita Maki).
Taiwanese: ISWAK 2, Hana Kimi 2 (duhh's), X-Family/KO One Family (need.more.Jiro.).
Korean: YEH-coffee shop drama, whatever the hell LDW's supposed to be filming. To my luck all the Korean ones I looked forward to are currently airing! Mawang! Witch Amusement! Hello Miss! Though technically I only discovered the last one very recently.
This was so fun to fill out but ohmygod, my brain is buzzing with way too many kdrama ideas. :( help