HanaKimi JDrama and Coffee Prince
Well...it is time for my confession.
I just can't get into the Japanese HanaKimi drama.
I tried. I have really TRIED. I've downloaded and watched every episode out so far (well, right now I'm attempting to download episode 4), but I just can't seem to love it. I suppose maybe I should give it some more time, since there's only 4 episodes out so far, but aren't Japanese dramas usually around 11 episodes, often times less? So it's almost halfway through already and still...nothing. Maybe I was spoiled by the Taiwanese version and now I can't accept this one or something. All I know is that I'm never excited about it, I often don't care about what's happening, and I *gulp* don't particularly like a single character. Right now I'm indifferent to most of them, and those I'm not indifferent to I just actively dislike (like Nakao).
It's disappointing because I was looking forward to this drama but, to be completely honest, from the moment I saw the first commercial I began to get disappointed (I don't even know why). I even feel guilty because I love Shun Oguri and he finally gets a leading role and all, but so far his character is just really boring to me. I even KNOW that Oguri is a better actor than Wu Zun, and yet Wu Zun's Sano/Quan was much more endearing to me.
I think part of it is how much they changed the story and the events. That shouldn't even matter becauseI hear Hana Yori Dango did this too (though I never read the manga, just watched the anime), but it seemed to work in Hana Yori Dango.
The things I seem to dislike so far are:
1. Nakao (he just doesn't SEEM like Nakao! WHY DO I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH NAKAO!?)
2. Umeda (same here)
3. Nanba (well, sometimes I'm like "I guess he's ok" and then I'll have a sudden fit of "No no no!!")
4. Himejima (I REALLY dislike the way he's portrayed here and I don't even know why because he is this weird in the manga, but for some reason he really annoys me a lot more here)
5. The St. Blossoms girls being around so much (it gets irritating)
6. Akiha being a weirdo stalker woman photographer creature.
7. The weirdo, preachy principal and her weirdo helper guy
8. Sano and Mizuki's room (it seems so...ugly)
9. That girl that keeps telling Komari to shut up. -_- I get that the joke is supposed to be that it rhymes when she says it ("Odamari, Komari!"), but it gets on my nerves.
10. The opening sequence is really boring, just all of them standing there. I get that maybe the opening is sort of actually the ending sequence but...still.
10. The new explanation of how Sano and Mizuki met (It seemed really contrived and lame. I liked it much better when Mizuki was just a random fan).
Things I'm fairly ok with are:
1. Sekime? (I think that's who he is. He's a lot cuter here than in the manga, hah! But...at the same time, not very Sekimeish)
2. Um...the dog? He looks just like the dog does in the manga. ^_^;
3. Tennouji (I think he's pretty close to Tennouji and does a good job)
4. Hibari (well, the girl who plays Hibari plays her well, I think. However, this doesn't matter much since I hate Hibari anyway -_-)
5. The school uniform seems pretty close...? ^_^;
6. I like the opening song!
Things I'm indifferent to:
1. Mizuki (I guess she's ok. I still don't feel like she's upbeat enough to be Mizuki, but I can deal with it and she does LOOK like Mizuki...)
2. Nakatsu (Poor Ikuta never had a chance beating Jiro Wang, in my book, but I suppose he's doing the best he can)
Yeah, I'm making it sound like my main problem is that it's not how it is in the manga, but, really, it's not! To be honest, I lost interest in the manga years ago, and I still enjoyed the Taiwanese version of HanaKimi so much that I put it in my top 3 Taiwanese dramas. It's this...certain charm that is missing, to me.
However, I DO like the background music (though I continue to dislike the "Peach" ending theme, another thing I can't understand since I usually like cutesy music like that).
How did this HAPPEN~!? T_T I should have been ECSTATIC! I mean, Oguri is one of my favorite Japanese actors and Maki Horikita was in my top 3 Japanese actresses since I saw her in Nobuta wo Produce, but there is no magic for me~! So...sad...
So, in the end, I can see how many people might enjoy it but, sadly, this drama did not connect with me at all. However, I actually plan to keep watching it the whole way through in hopes that I will begin to like it at some point. ^_^; Maybe when the relationship between Sano and Mizuki becomes deeper...?
Edit: Episode 4 had some funny parts, so things might be looking up!
So there you have it. I'd been feeling like this for a while, but I just didn't want to admit it. >_<
However, there IS a drama I am currently madly in love with. It will probably beat My Name is Kim Sam-Sun as my favorite Korean drama ever if it keeps on like this (well...maybe be tied with it ^_^; ). That drama is Coffee Prince.
Basically, it's about this girl named Eun-Chan who looks like a guy (short hair, dresses like a guy, flat chest, etc). There's no particular reason why she's this way, she's not hiding her gender or anything for any reason; she just seems to be a tomboy and people mistake her for a boy on their own. Her father is dead and she's pretty much the breadwinner of her family, which includes her frivolous mother who seems to spend their money on useless things, and her younger sister who dreams of becoming a singer, though she apparently bombs every audition.
Poor Eun-Chan has to work lots of odd jobs, delivering food, etc. just to support her family.
Meanwhile, Han-Gyul is this rich guy who is the heir to some sort of food company, I think (ahahaha, it's always like that, isn't it? The guy is the heir to some sort of company and- anyway!). But he seems to be a carefree playboy type of guy who doesn't want to take over the company. His grandmother and mother (or is it just the grandmother...?) keep setting him up on these blind dates trying to get him into an arranged marriage and he doesn't want that either. After meeting Eun-Chan through some weird circumstances (and mistaking her for a guy, like everyone else), he asks her if she wants to pretend to be his boyfriend. Han-Gyul figures that if he pretends he is gay, all his arranged marriage dates will become disillusioned and will spread the rumor, and he'll avoid having to go on anymore dates. Poor Eun-Chan needs money, and so she accepts.
Han-Gyul's plan (hilariously) works (and it reaches his grandmother's ears). She gets mad and sics this grody old coffee shop on him. I believe she tells him he has to make the coffee shop make 3 times the investment he (or she?) put into it in 3 months or something. If he fails, he has to take over the company, I think. If he makes it, he can go back to the US.
Look, man, those details are unimportant! ^_^; The IMPORTANT part is the relationship that develops between Han-Gyul and Eun-Chan! At first, Han-Gyul doesn't want to do the coffee shop thing, but Eun-Chan convinces him to not only do it, but hire her as well. The problem is, the coffee shop (renamed "Coffee Prince")'s draw is that the people who work there are all MEN. Cute men, too (except for that weird old manager guy). Eun-Chan fits the bill perfectly...except she's not a guy, but she's not about to let that little detail keep her from working there. The only thing is that now Eun-Chan has to actively conceal her gender or she will get fired. Along with Eun-Chan, Han-Gyul recruits three other cute guys: Ha-Rim, who is Han-Gyul's playful and apparently gay friend (sometimes I think he's just kidding around), Min-Yup, who is Eun-Chan's little sister's super strong, well-meaning, and blockheaded stalker/suitor, and Sun-Ki, the mysterious half-Japanese waffle-making pretty boy.
There's also a secondary plot about Han-Sung (Han-Gyul's cousin) and his beloved Yu-Ju (Han-Gyul's crush of 9 years). Of course, Eun-Chan has a crush on Han-Sung at first while Han-Gyul likes Yu-Ju and whatnot, but that is unimportant to me. ^_^; Back to Eun-Chan and Han Gyul's relationship, they start out as these weirdly-friendly acquaintances, then become boss-and-employee, and wind up becoming friends. Whenever Han-Gyul is down he'll call Eun-Chan over to have pizza or something. They fight a lot, but they make up quickly. Instead of just jumping into a romantic relationship, the writers seem to be giving just as much time/importance to Han-Gyul and Eun-Chan's friendship and it's really sweet and endearing.
Of course, there's a problem. Han-Gyul begins to develop feelings for Eun-Chan and is turmoiled by it, since he thinks Eun-Chan is a guy. Eun-Chan, too, develops feelings for Han-Gyul, but feels she can't tell him she's a girl since a.) she'll lose her job, and b.) I imagine she's scared he'll be mad that she's "lied" to him (though she never did say "I'm a guy").
Anyway, it's an AWESOME AWESOME drama, so, for those interested, you can find summaries of every episode so far at this website. It's AWESOME~! Gong Yu is seriously trying to take Hyun-Bin's spot as my favorite Korean actor.
Oh! Here's a neat sample video of it.
I just can't get into the Japanese HanaKimi drama.
I tried. I have really TRIED. I've downloaded and watched every episode out so far (well, right now I'm attempting to download episode 4), but I just can't seem to love it. I suppose maybe I should give it some more time, since there's only 4 episodes out so far, but aren't Japanese dramas usually around 11 episodes, often times less? So it's almost halfway through already and still...nothing. Maybe I was spoiled by the Taiwanese version and now I can't accept this one or something. All I know is that I'm never excited about it, I often don't care about what's happening, and I *gulp* don't particularly like a single character. Right now I'm indifferent to most of them, and those I'm not indifferent to I just actively dislike (like Nakao).
It's disappointing because I was looking forward to this drama but, to be completely honest, from the moment I saw the first commercial I began to get disappointed (I don't even know why). I even feel guilty because I love Shun Oguri and he finally gets a leading role and all, but so far his character is just really boring to me. I even KNOW that Oguri is a better actor than Wu Zun, and yet Wu Zun's Sano/Quan was much more endearing to me.
I think part of it is how much they changed the story and the events. That shouldn't even matter becauseI hear Hana Yori Dango did this too (though I never read the manga, just watched the anime), but it seemed to work in Hana Yori Dango.
The things I seem to dislike so far are:
1. Nakao (he just doesn't SEEM like Nakao! WHY DO I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH NAKAO!?)
2. Umeda (same here)
3. Nanba (well, sometimes I'm like "I guess he's ok" and then I'll have a sudden fit of "No no no!!")
4. Himejima (I REALLY dislike the way he's portrayed here and I don't even know why because he is this weird in the manga, but for some reason he really annoys me a lot more here)
5. The St. Blossoms girls being around so much (it gets irritating)
6. Akiha being a weirdo stalker woman photographer creature.
7. The weirdo, preachy principal and her weirdo helper guy
8. Sano and Mizuki's room (it seems so...ugly)
9. That girl that keeps telling Komari to shut up. -_- I get that the joke is supposed to be that it rhymes when she says it ("Odamari, Komari!"), but it gets on my nerves.
10. The opening sequence is really boring, just all of them standing there. I get that maybe the opening is sort of actually the ending sequence but...still.
10. The new explanation of how Sano and Mizuki met (It seemed really contrived and lame. I liked it much better when Mizuki was just a random fan).
Things I'm fairly ok with are:
1. Sekime? (I think that's who he is. He's a lot cuter here than in the manga, hah! But...at the same time, not very Sekimeish)
2. Um...the dog? He looks just like the dog does in the manga. ^_^;
3. Tennouji (I think he's pretty close to Tennouji and does a good job)
4. Hibari (well, the girl who plays Hibari plays her well, I think. However, this doesn't matter much since I hate Hibari anyway -_-)
5. The school uniform seems pretty close...? ^_^;
6. I like the opening song!
Things I'm indifferent to:
1. Mizuki (I guess she's ok. I still don't feel like she's upbeat enough to be Mizuki, but I can deal with it and she does LOOK like Mizuki...)
2. Nakatsu (Poor Ikuta never had a chance beating Jiro Wang, in my book, but I suppose he's doing the best he can)
Yeah, I'm making it sound like my main problem is that it's not how it is in the manga, but, really, it's not! To be honest, I lost interest in the manga years ago, and I still enjoyed the Taiwanese version of HanaKimi so much that I put it in my top 3 Taiwanese dramas. It's this...certain charm that is missing, to me.
However, I DO like the background music (though I continue to dislike the "Peach" ending theme, another thing I can't understand since I usually like cutesy music like that).
How did this HAPPEN~!? T_T I should have been ECSTATIC! I mean, Oguri is one of my favorite Japanese actors and Maki Horikita was in my top 3 Japanese actresses since I saw her in Nobuta wo Produce, but there is no magic for me~! So...sad...
So, in the end, I can see how many people might enjoy it but, sadly, this drama did not connect with me at all. However, I actually plan to keep watching it the whole way through in hopes that I will begin to like it at some point. ^_^; Maybe when the relationship between Sano and Mizuki becomes deeper...?
Edit: Episode 4 had some funny parts, so things might be looking up!
So there you have it. I'd been feeling like this for a while, but I just didn't want to admit it. >_<
However, there IS a drama I am currently madly in love with. It will probably beat My Name is Kim Sam-Sun as my favorite Korean drama ever if it keeps on like this (well...maybe be tied with it ^_^; ). That drama is Coffee Prince.
Basically, it's about this girl named Eun-Chan who looks like a guy (short hair, dresses like a guy, flat chest, etc). There's no particular reason why she's this way, she's not hiding her gender or anything for any reason; she just seems to be a tomboy and people mistake her for a boy on their own. Her father is dead and she's pretty much the breadwinner of her family, which includes her frivolous mother who seems to spend their money on useless things, and her younger sister who dreams of becoming a singer, though she apparently bombs every audition.
Poor Eun-Chan has to work lots of odd jobs, delivering food, etc. just to support her family.
Meanwhile, Han-Gyul is this rich guy who is the heir to some sort of food company, I think (ahahaha, it's always like that, isn't it? The guy is the heir to some sort of company and- anyway!). But he seems to be a carefree playboy type of guy who doesn't want to take over the company. His grandmother and mother (or is it just the grandmother...?) keep setting him up on these blind dates trying to get him into an arranged marriage and he doesn't want that either. After meeting Eun-Chan through some weird circumstances (and mistaking her for a guy, like everyone else), he asks her if she wants to pretend to be his boyfriend. Han-Gyul figures that if he pretends he is gay, all his arranged marriage dates will become disillusioned and will spread the rumor, and he'll avoid having to go on anymore dates. Poor Eun-Chan needs money, and so she accepts.
Han-Gyul's plan (hilariously) works (and it reaches his grandmother's ears). She gets mad and sics this grody old coffee shop on him. I believe she tells him he has to make the coffee shop make 3 times the investment he (or she?) put into it in 3 months or something. If he fails, he has to take over the company, I think. If he makes it, he can go back to the US.
Look, man, those details are unimportant! ^_^; The IMPORTANT part is the relationship that develops between Han-Gyul and Eun-Chan! At first, Han-Gyul doesn't want to do the coffee shop thing, but Eun-Chan convinces him to not only do it, but hire her as well. The problem is, the coffee shop (renamed "Coffee Prince")'s draw is that the people who work there are all MEN. Cute men, too (except for that weird old manager guy). Eun-Chan fits the bill perfectly...except she's not a guy, but she's not about to let that little detail keep her from working there. The only thing is that now Eun-Chan has to actively conceal her gender or she will get fired. Along with Eun-Chan, Han-Gyul recruits three other cute guys: Ha-Rim, who is Han-Gyul's playful and apparently gay friend (sometimes I think he's just kidding around), Min-Yup, who is Eun-Chan's little sister's super strong, well-meaning, and blockheaded stalker/suitor, and Sun-Ki, the mysterious half-Japanese waffle-making pretty boy.
There's also a secondary plot about Han-Sung (Han-Gyul's cousin) and his beloved Yu-Ju (Han-Gyul's crush of 9 years). Of course, Eun-Chan has a crush on Han-Sung at first while Han-Gyul likes Yu-Ju and whatnot, but that is unimportant to me. ^_^; Back to Eun-Chan and Han Gyul's relationship, they start out as these weirdly-friendly acquaintances, then become boss-and-employee, and wind up becoming friends. Whenever Han-Gyul is down he'll call Eun-Chan over to have pizza or something. They fight a lot, but they make up quickly. Instead of just jumping into a romantic relationship, the writers seem to be giving just as much time/importance to Han-Gyul and Eun-Chan's friendship and it's really sweet and endearing.
Of course, there's a problem. Han-Gyul begins to develop feelings for Eun-Chan and is turmoiled by it, since he thinks Eun-Chan is a guy. Eun-Chan, too, develops feelings for Han-Gyul, but feels she can't tell him she's a girl since a.) she'll lose her job, and b.) I imagine she's scared he'll be mad that she's "lied" to him (though she never did say "I'm a guy").
Anyway, it's an AWESOME AWESOME drama, so, for those interested, you can find summaries of every episode so far at this website. It's AWESOME~! Gong Yu is seriously trying to take Hyun-Bin's spot as my favorite Korean actor.
Oh! Here's a neat sample video of it.