30 days of Asian dramas: days 1-6; and reading update
(gakked from in_vulnerable: the 30 Days of Asian Dramas posting challenge... but I'm going to collapse responses, because no way I'd post once a day for 30 days)
1. First Asian drama watched: Although I'd watched bits and pieces of Japanese dramas on KTSF for several years, Yoshitsune, the NHK grand period drama for 2005, was the first drama I watched from beginning to end. It's a loose retelling of the historical legend of Minamoto no Yoshitsune and is full of sumptuous costumes and familial and political intrigues in Heian Japan. And it starred J-pop singer Takizawa Hideaki, who's very, very pretty. ^___^
2. First Japanese drama: same answer as question 1.
3. First Korean drama: After watching a bunch of Japanese dramas, Damo caught my eye: undercover female cop in Chosun era Korea! This sounded cool. And it was cool, actiony, crime-solving, rivetting, tragic, and extremely pretty. It got me over my fear of watching Korean stuff because I didn't understand the language, which was my descent into hell to have far-reaching repercussions in my fannish life later on. *g*
4. First Chinese [※] drama: I watched Wing Chun for Nicholas Tse, and this answer is a bit of a cheat, because I didn't watch it with subtitles so I have very little idea what all the story's ins and outs were. But I liked the leads, they had good chemistry together, and there were some compelling bad guys, and a lot of actiony stuff done a bit on the cheap. And pretty costumes and interesting sets I hadn't seen yet because I hadn't watched any Chinese dramas. :)
The first subtitled Chinese drama I watched was The Legendary Warrior, which I got sucked into one night when I turned on KTSF and saw the pretty Bao Jian Feng. (Hmmm, I think KTSF has a lot to answer for in my life right now.) [※ the original question was Taiwanese drama, but I haven't watched any Taiwanese dramas yet]
5. All-time favorite Asian drama: I have to pick just one?! No, seriously, I don't know if I can pick one. Let me think about it, see what the other questions are, and come back to this one...
6. Least favorite: Hm. Actually, it's a close race between 2 Korean dramas starring K-pop guys I like: Heading to the Ground, with DBSK's Yunho, and Phoenix (a.k.a. Firebird), with Shinhwa's Eric. Heading to the Ground edges to the top for hitting my embarrassment squick too many times. On the other hand, the fact that ultimately it never took itself seriously (so neither could I) works in its favor, and there were some cute interactions among the soccer players. But. *remembers embarrassment squick scenes* Yeah, this has to go first. (Sorry, Yunho.)
Phoenix comes a close second for being the epitome of an over-the-top melodramatic love-triangle soap opera that gives K-dramas a bad rep. It is full of selfish, emotionally abusive characters who hurt each other dreadfully, and when I wasn't hating them, I simply didn't care what happened to them. The only character I ended up liking, somewhat, was Eric's Jungmin, who starts off as an oily, suspicious sleaze. But he was refreshing for making no bones about who he was and what he wanted. Unlike everyone else, who willfully misunderstood each other and treated each other horribly for no other reason than that they could. Eric saves Phoenix from being top of the heap, because he was so good in this, a compelling performance that's almost too good for the material, and it established strong foundations for his acting career. (Alas, something I can't say about Yunho for Heading to the Ground.)
And a reading update: I just finished Bujold's Falling Free last night, and I have to say, when I realized the last page was indeed the last page, I was all like, "But... but... Leo! Silver! ClaireTonyAndyMamaNillaPramodBobbiZaraTi! What happened next?!" Okay. I'd already read Labyrinth, so I knew about Nicol (and hmmm, was her guitar invented by Madame Minchenko?), and (generally) what happened to the quaddies. But I still have questions and concerns, darn it. I cared about those characters, and now I'm left hanging! But in a *good* way, mind you. I love a book that makes me care so much for the characters that when I reach the end, I'm longing to know what happens next in their lives. Isn't this why I was born a fan?
Before this, last weekend I'd finished Memory Dance. HOLY COW. THAT BOOK. At one point I actually had to put it away because it was getting late at night, and I was so *upset* by what was happening to Mark, and I just... couldn't take the anxiety anymore. (As it happens, and of course, if I'd just kept reading for another 2-3 pages, my blood pressure would've stabilized. But overall, I think it was best that I resumed the next day, when it was daylight and I could have cats around me to clutch onto.)
And the point here is that, well, before I read Memory Dance, I'd been kind of unhappy that Mark was still alive. I totally understood where Miles was coming from, but Mark was left to his own devices, and that didn't seem good to me, plus I kept thinking, huh, that's a timebomb waiting to go off and kick Miles in the ass. Ha! Then Memory Dance sneaks in and grabs me by the gut with MARK. But, oh! Mark! OUCH! It hurt so much, so many times, but then I could see, yes, why Mark has to live. Plus there was Cordelia and Aral and Emperor Gregory and Ivan! Oh gosh, I loved all of that. Just. WOW. What a book.
So next is Memory, which I haven't started yet, and NO SPOILERS PLEASE but from what little I saw about it, I have another OMG!BOOK! experience waiting for me, apparently. I'm looking forward to that. But I need to get a bit more distance between me and the quaddies first... I'm still thinking about Leo (competence kink! ♥) and Silver and Claire and wondering if Ti stayed or took the superjumper, and what happened to Dr. Yei.
If you've never read the Vorkosigan books, I do recommend them, though yes, I can see why they're not (why Miles is not) everyone's cup of tea. Shards of Honor is simply worth reading, period. It's an adventure with interesting characters and a great female lead. Then Barrayar is good for follow-up and bit of the heart-racing adventure stuff. If you try and don't like the Miles-focused books, Ethan of Athos and Falling Free are both stand-alones in the same universe. Falling Free's timeline predates all of the Vorkosigan stuff, though I don't know if it's necessary to know about the later universe to get the full impact (since I read it after already being immersed in the universe). And Ethan of Athos, well. What a sly, sly book that is on some levels. But again with the making me care about the characters and wanting to know what happens to them next. *g*
This entry was originally posted on Dreamwidth at http://sakana17.dreamwidth.org/83505.html.
1. First Asian drama watched: Although I'd watched bits and pieces of Japanese dramas on KTSF for several years, Yoshitsune, the NHK grand period drama for 2005, was the first drama I watched from beginning to end. It's a loose retelling of the historical legend of Minamoto no Yoshitsune and is full of sumptuous costumes and familial and political intrigues in Heian Japan. And it starred J-pop singer Takizawa Hideaki, who's very, very pretty. ^___^
2. First Japanese drama: same answer as question 1.
3. First Korean drama: After watching a bunch of Japanese dramas, Damo caught my eye: undercover female cop in Chosun era Korea! This sounded cool. And it was cool, actiony, crime-solving, rivetting, tragic, and extremely pretty. It got me over my fear of watching Korean stuff because I didn't understand the language, which was my descent into hell to have far-reaching repercussions in my fannish life later on. *g*
4. First Chinese [※] drama: I watched Wing Chun for Nicholas Tse, and this answer is a bit of a cheat, because I didn't watch it with subtitles so I have very little idea what all the story's ins and outs were. But I liked the leads, they had good chemistry together, and there were some compelling bad guys, and a lot of actiony stuff done a bit on the cheap. And pretty costumes and interesting sets I hadn't seen yet because I hadn't watched any Chinese dramas. :)
The first subtitled Chinese drama I watched was The Legendary Warrior, which I got sucked into one night when I turned on KTSF and saw the pretty Bao Jian Feng. (Hmmm, I think KTSF has a lot to answer for in my life right now.) [※ the original question was Taiwanese drama, but I haven't watched any Taiwanese dramas yet]
5. All-time favorite Asian drama: I have to pick just one?! No, seriously, I don't know if I can pick one. Let me think about it, see what the other questions are, and come back to this one...
6. Least favorite: Hm. Actually, it's a close race between 2 Korean dramas starring K-pop guys I like: Heading to the Ground, with DBSK's Yunho, and Phoenix (a.k.a. Firebird), with Shinhwa's Eric. Heading to the Ground edges to the top for hitting my embarrassment squick too many times. On the other hand, the fact that ultimately it never took itself seriously (so neither could I) works in its favor, and there were some cute interactions among the soccer players. But. *remembers embarrassment squick scenes* Yeah, this has to go first. (Sorry, Yunho.)
Phoenix comes a close second for being the epitome of an over-the-top melodramatic love-triangle soap opera that gives K-dramas a bad rep. It is full of selfish, emotionally abusive characters who hurt each other dreadfully, and when I wasn't hating them, I simply didn't care what happened to them. The only character I ended up liking, somewhat, was Eric's Jungmin, who starts off as an oily, suspicious sleaze. But he was refreshing for making no bones about who he was and what he wanted. Unlike everyone else, who willfully misunderstood each other and treated each other horribly for no other reason than that they could. Eric saves Phoenix from being top of the heap, because he was so good in this, a compelling performance that's almost too good for the material, and it established strong foundations for his acting career. (Alas, something I can't say about Yunho for Heading to the Ground.)
And a reading update: I just finished Bujold's Falling Free last night, and I have to say, when I realized the last page was indeed the last page, I was all like, "But... but... Leo! Silver! ClaireTonyAndyMamaNillaPramodBobbiZaraTi! What happened next?!" Okay. I'd already read Labyrinth, so I knew about Nicol (and hmmm, was her guitar invented by Madame Minchenko?), and (generally) what happened to the quaddies. But I still have questions and concerns, darn it. I cared about those characters, and now I'm left hanging! But in a *good* way, mind you. I love a book that makes me care so much for the characters that when I reach the end, I'm longing to know what happens next in their lives. Isn't this why I was born a fan?
Before this, last weekend I'd finished Memory Dance. HOLY COW. THAT BOOK. At one point I actually had to put it away because it was getting late at night, and I was so *upset* by what was happening to Mark, and I just... couldn't take the anxiety anymore. (As it happens, and of course, if I'd just kept reading for another 2-3 pages, my blood pressure would've stabilized. But overall, I think it was best that I resumed the next day, when it was daylight and I could have cats around me to clutch onto.)
And the point here is that, well, before I read Memory Dance, I'd been kind of unhappy that Mark was still alive. I totally understood where Miles was coming from, but Mark was left to his own devices, and that didn't seem good to me, plus I kept thinking, huh, that's a timebomb waiting to go off and kick Miles in the ass. Ha! Then Memory Dance sneaks in and grabs me by the gut with MARK. But, oh! Mark! OUCH! It hurt so much, so many times, but then I could see, yes, why Mark has to live. Plus there was Cordelia and Aral and Emperor Gregory and Ivan! Oh gosh, I loved all of that. Just. WOW. What a book.
So next is Memory, which I haven't started yet, and NO SPOILERS PLEASE but from what little I saw about it, I have another OMG!BOOK! experience waiting for me, apparently. I'm looking forward to that. But I need to get a bit more distance between me and the quaddies first... I'm still thinking about Leo (competence kink! ♥) and Silver and Claire and wondering if Ti stayed or took the superjumper, and what happened to Dr. Yei.
If you've never read the Vorkosigan books, I do recommend them, though yes, I can see why they're not (why Miles is not) everyone's cup of tea. Shards of Honor is simply worth reading, period. It's an adventure with interesting characters and a great female lead. Then Barrayar is good for follow-up and bit of the heart-racing adventure stuff. If you try and don't like the Miles-focused books, Ethan of Athos and Falling Free are both stand-alones in the same universe. Falling Free's timeline predates all of the Vorkosigan stuff, though I don't know if it's necessary to know about the later universe to get the full impact (since I read it after already being immersed in the universe). And Ethan of Athos, well. What a sly, sly book that is on some levels. But again with the making me care about the characters and wanting to know what happens to them next. *g*
This entry was originally posted on Dreamwidth at http://sakana17.dreamwidth.org/83505.html.