The K-Drama Meta.
I HAVE EXAMS ON IN A FEW, WOULD YOU BELIEVE. PRAYER CIRCLE FOR MY CONTINUED ACADEMIC EXISTENCE. And in the meanwhile, I don't even believe this myself.
Female (Second) Leads: Narratives vs. Tropes:
[In Defence Of] Coffee House.
When do I suggest reading this:
- If you're not planning on watching Coffee House , because you should. I think it's ( Read more... )
Female (Second) Leads: Narratives vs. Tropes:
[In Defence Of] Coffee House.
When do I suggest reading this:
- If you're not planning on watching Coffee House , because you should. I think it's ( Read more... )
Also, everything you've said just aligns with what I've heard of the other versions; I've never seen Hana Yori Dango or Meteor Garden etc., but from what I know, the Rui/Tsukushi ship is good, but it's definitely second lead. Or, at least, that the Tsukasa/Tsukushi ship gets the best narrative and it actually feels like they fight to be together and that their being together is worth fighting for.
In Boys Over Flowers? NOT SO MUCH.
The thing is, as I mentioned in this post, I was really, really new to drama viewing when I started BOF so I didn't really have a conception of the tropes. But EVEN NOW, after I've seen some twenty odd dramas and get most of the tropes that typically occur, Ji Hoo/Jan Di is STILL pretty much OTP narrative according to those tropes? LIKE, HOW CAN ANYONE ARGUE WITH THAT WITH THE WAY THEY'RE CONSTRUCTED? THEY DO ALL THE THINGS TYPICAL KDRAMA OTPs DO. Even at the start of the series, when you have Jan Di crushing on Ji Hoo, they tend to spend time together, and while Jun Pyo/Jan Di still takes some strides in the first half, by the second half it is COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY GONE. They barely spend any time together (except maybe three or four episodes in the middle). Besides what is even more frustrating is that you never really get the impression these two even want to be together, since their entire relationship, almost beginning to end, is dictated by other people telling them to "not give up". That is so un-OTP-like, I can't.
But it's also stuff like Jan Di and Jun Pyo having nothing in common except their grand love. They literally spend no time together to actually understand each other or have common interests etc., which usually is a huge deal in kdramas where the OTP is literally forced to spend time together some or the other way. Instead, here, you have moments like Jan Di hurts her arm saving Jun Pyo, who then disappears, and it's Ji Hoo who kneels beside her when she's miserable at the swimming pool, having lost her one dream and tells her that starting now, she's going to get a new one. They share so many subtle, quiet moments even apart from their clearly romanticized one, moments where they talk about their dreams or future or visit places and see things (and make stick drawings on the wall, bcz how adorable is that), and they actually understand each other better than anyone else (and don't even get me started on the whole soulmate/husband thing).
But I'm addicted to watching them interact, so I can't help wanting to see more. Meh. I just need to figure out the perfect place to stop, so I can fanwank my own ending.
Y'know the greatest thing about this ship is that it is totally an OTP ship, like, I always say that the only way I'd have been even madder at BOF than I was was if I'd actually OTP-shipped because they definitely got the shorter end of the stick. I kept thinking they'd ease up on the secondary romance as we got deeper into the show, but yeah, no. So, I can legitimately tell you that the best point to stop so you can fanwank your own ending is TEN MINUTES BEFORE THE SHOW ENDS. Like, I'm not even kidding, they're legitimately a strong ship ten minutes before the show ends. I don't even know what the PD was thinking with this one.
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