Mars, ep. 01-09
Mars is based on the manga by Soryo Fuyumi, only set in Taiwan. Good girl artist Han Qi Luo (Aso Kira in the manga) and bad boy motorcyclist Chen Ling (Kashino Rei in the manga) meet cute when he asks her for directions and she responds by drawing him a map. He's fascinated by the sketch on the back, and he ends up awkwardly attempting to befriend her by being a pest.
tatterpunk lured me in with the promise that Barbie Xu's Qi Luo is well acted, and that the setting has changed from high school to college. The setting change is a huge plus for me, as certain events at the end of the manga are much easier to take if all the characters are graduating from college. And so far, though Vic Zhou is cute, Barbie Xu takes the cake. It helps that Vic Zhou has incredibly horrible hair, but really, I like how Xu portrays Qi Luo, particularly her body language, which is always very restrained and contained.
So far, the plot has been very closely following that of the manga (it's roughly halfway through v. 5 right now). They've consolidated a few minor characters, and they're foreshadowing some plot twists earlier; both changes work for me. I've also found that though I reread the series last fall for Yuletide, I've forgotten a lot of moments between Qi Luo and Ling. The drama manages to make some of them much more memorable for me, though part of that may just be because I see them endlessly replayed in the opening and closing sequences. But there's a sweetness to the kiss across the subway turnstiles that I adore, and overall, the drama is making me remember why I loved the manga so much when I first read it.
The most striking thing so far is how early Qi Luo and Ling get together; there are very few Big Misunderstandings or love triangles, and the ones that are in the drama are sorted out fairly quickly and sanely. I have an added appreciation for Da Ye (Tatsuya in the manga) and Qing Mei (Harumi in the manga); I particularly love Megan Lai's Qing Mei, who has a bad temper and resorts to violence and swearing as often as possible. Qi Luo and Ling are also just really sweet as a couple. Even though Ling is annoying to Qi Luo in the beginning, there's a sense that it's clumsiness on his part, not actually aggressive behavior. And you see why Qi Luo falls for him; he is actually tries really hard to be considerate, despite his occasional giant blind spot.
The drama's currently at the point in which we're getting eight revelations a minute about Ling's Tragic Backstory, and I wish Qi Luo had more to do than sit there solemnly and listen, but I'm hoping Barbie Xu gets much more to do when we get to Qi Luo's Tragic Backstory.
On a minor note, while motorcycle races are slightly more interesting on TV than on paper, I still find them pretty boring. Also, I hate the drama version of Qi Luo's painting of Ling.
Right now, this is the best tdrama I've watched, and fairly high up there with other loved drama series, though that may also be because I'm already emotionally invested in the characters and the story, thanks to the manga.
Please use spoiler text for any spoilers of the manga! I've read the entire series, but other people may not have.
tatterpunk lured me in with the promise that Barbie Xu's Qi Luo is well acted, and that the setting has changed from high school to college. The setting change is a huge plus for me, as certain events at the end of the manga are much easier to take if all the characters are graduating from college. And so far, though Vic Zhou is cute, Barbie Xu takes the cake. It helps that Vic Zhou has incredibly horrible hair, but really, I like how Xu portrays Qi Luo, particularly her body language, which is always very restrained and contained.
So far, the plot has been very closely following that of the manga (it's roughly halfway through v. 5 right now). They've consolidated a few minor characters, and they're foreshadowing some plot twists earlier; both changes work for me. I've also found that though I reread the series last fall for Yuletide, I've forgotten a lot of moments between Qi Luo and Ling. The drama manages to make some of them much more memorable for me, though part of that may just be because I see them endlessly replayed in the opening and closing sequences. But there's a sweetness to the kiss across the subway turnstiles that I adore, and overall, the drama is making me remember why I loved the manga so much when I first read it.
The most striking thing so far is how early Qi Luo and Ling get together; there are very few Big Misunderstandings or love triangles, and the ones that are in the drama are sorted out fairly quickly and sanely. I have an added appreciation for Da Ye (Tatsuya in the manga) and Qing Mei (Harumi in the manga); I particularly love Megan Lai's Qing Mei, who has a bad temper and resorts to violence and swearing as often as possible. Qi Luo and Ling are also just really sweet as a couple. Even though Ling is annoying to Qi Luo in the beginning, there's a sense that it's clumsiness on his part, not actually aggressive behavior. And you see why Qi Luo falls for him; he is actually tries really hard to be considerate, despite his occasional giant blind spot.
The drama's currently at the point in which we're getting eight revelations a minute about Ling's Tragic Backstory, and I wish Qi Luo had more to do than sit there solemnly and listen, but I'm hoping Barbie Xu gets much more to do when we get to Qi Luo's Tragic Backstory.
On a minor note, while motorcycle races are slightly more interesting on TV than on paper, I still find them pretty boring. Also, I hate the drama version of Qi Luo's painting of Ling.
Right now, this is the best tdrama I've watched, and fairly high up there with other loved drama series, though that may also be because I'm already emotionally invested in the characters and the story, thanks to the manga.
Please use spoiler text for any spoilers of the manga! I've read the entire series, but other people may not have.