Drama Watch: RESCUE
by Katrina
No. of episodes: **
Cast: Nakamaru Yuichi, Masuda Takahisa, Yamamoto Yusuke
One has to be a sadomasochist to fully enjoy this drama. Also, one should be able to restrain from linking the term Super Ranger to sentai rangers. And lastly, if you can get through the first episode title, Pride of Orange, then I guess, nothing else can stop you from watching.
Brash and impulsive, Kitajima Daichi (Nakamaru Yuichi) wants to become part of the super elite Yokohama rescue force called Super Ranger. Inspired by an incident where he was rescued by a Super Ranger when he was young, Daichi aims to return the favor by being able to save lives himself. Together with his best friend from the fire department, Tetsuka Yutaka (Masuda Takahisa), he enters the training program where limits are pushed, death is an every day matter, and the concept of saving a life may just mean losing yours.
Clocking in at almost two hours, the first episode of RESCUE is like one adrenaline rush after the other. There’s fire, explosions, landslides, and lots of pain and suffering whether physical or psychological. However, it’s not without the occasional dose of humor and fanservice. But most of the time, if it’s not accidents or calamities that the boys of RESCUE are facing, it’s their own fears and weaknesses as they learn the importance of independence, teamwork, life and death.
Verdict: If you like your dramas like rollercoaster rides, you’ll enjoy this one. Not for the faint of heart though. Especially if you happen to be a fan of one of the boys of this drama. They get hurt - a lot.
In Drama Watch, Katrina watches the first episode of popular dramas and gives you her first impression.
Drama Watch: Kami no Shizuku
by Katrina
No. of episodes: **
Cast: Kamenashi Kazuya, Tanabe Seiichi, Takenaka Naoto
Clearly, the best thing about Kami no Shizuku is the wine. After that comes Takenaka Naoto, who steals half of the show even if his screen time is hardly one-third of it. Then there’s Kamenashi Kazuya to spark up the screen. And you know the drama is treading onto dangerous waters when the lead actor is only the third-best thing. But such is life for Kami no Shizuku.
Kamenashi Kazuya plays Kanzaki Shizuku, a young salary man who is estranged from his famous wine critic father. When his father dies, leaving a large fortune and wine collection in his will, Shizuku finds himself in a whirlwind of events that involve battling his stepbrother for the inheritance, putting up with a fanatic’s romanticism of wine and discovering the real message behind the challenges left to him. At the same time, he reconciles his feelings for his father and his overall perception of wine.
Like I said, the best thing about Kami no Shizuku is the wine. If you are a wine enthusiast, you may just find yourself drawn to this drama as wine is represented elegantly, even getting the best angles possible in scenes. I know it’s just the first episode, but it’s so easy to predict that the story is pretty much about Shizuku’s journey to self-disovery as he realizes that something he hated all this time may actually be the key to understanding and forgiveness. But really, judging from the initial telecast, the protagonist of this drama might as well be the wine.
Verdict: Only for wine lovers. Also, this is not for those who steer clear of female characters that are too exaggerated.
In Drama Watch, Katrina watches the first episode of popular dramas and gives you her first impression.
Drama Watch: Voice
by Katrina
No. of episodes: **
Cast: Eita, Ikuta Toma, Ishihara Satomi, Endo Yuya, Sato Tomohito
Voice is like Galileo meets Code Blue…sort of. At some parts it is very cerebral as it deals with the subject of forensic science. And with other parts it shows a philosophical, if not romantic, view of a person’s life and death.
Five medical students from different backgrounds enter the forensic pathology seminar in their university. Of these five, Kaji Daiki (Eita) is singled out early on as the most reluctant to enter the said seminar, wanting to be in the heart surgery seminar instead. However, the seminar professor sees him as a very promising in the field of forensic pathology and challenges him to use this study in listening to the voices of the dead. With Ishimatsu Ryosuke (Ikuta Toma), Kuboaki Kanako (Isihihara Satomi), Kirihata Teppei (Endo Yuya) and Hanei Akira (Sato Tomohito), Kaji Daiki journeys into finding out just how medicine can still help those who have already died.
Although the first episode was more devoted to establishing the backgrounds and intentions of the medical students, there is promise that the drama would take the steady and sure course of delving more onto the study of forensic pathology. I guess the big question one should anticipate to be answered in Voice is if Kaji Daiki will eventually realize his talent for hearing the voices of the dead. And with an actor like Eita portraying this character, it surely would be worth the watch.
Verdict: No need to be an Eita or Toma fangirl in order to enjoy Voice. Although if you are, you’re more than welcome in joining me in an obligatory fangirl girl scream for this much anticipated team up.
In Drama Watch, Katrina watches the first episode of popular dramas and gives you her first impression.
Drama Watch: Mei-chan’s Butler
by Katrina
No. of episodes: **
Cast: Mizushima Hiro, Eikura Nana, Sato Takeru
I told myself I have to be sober while writing this review and remain objective. But how could one get out of a dream-like state after having just watched Mizushima Hiro as the perfect butler, who waits hand and foot on his mistress with that look of love in his eyes? If you got any ideas, do let me know.
As far as I can make out of the plot, daughters of rich families are sent to a prestigious school called Saint Lucia’s Academy where they learn to be proper ladies. But that’s not all. Each lady is required to have her own butler who serves, protects, and obeys her, short of treating her like a goddess who stepped down on earth. Every lady in Saint Lucia’s Academy finds this the normal decorum. Except for one.
Enter Shinonome Mei (Eikura Nana), a girl who’s already very happy with her ordinary life. Unfortunately, a turn of events has made her into the heir of a big corporation and so she must attend Saint Lucia’s Academy in order to protect herself and the people around her. Of course she gets her own butler too, a popular one at that, in the form of Shibata Rihito (Mizushima Hiro). Meanwhile, Mei’s friend who also happens to be Rihito’s brother, Shibata Kento (Sato Takeru), decides to enroll in the butler school too in order to enter Saint Lucia Academy to help her.
From an objective point of view, there seems to be a lot of things recycled from other dramas in Mei-chan’s Butler. But while a couple things do feel familiar such as the common girl theme, the set, the ikemen faces, this drama cannot help but be very entertaining. Eikura Nana is really cute in her protrayal, without being overbearing while Mizushima Hiro maintains a dashing demeanor even when his character calls for robotic acting. And when the two of them are together, a reluctant mistress and loyal butler, how can one not enjoy every moment of it?
Verdict: Over the top story - check. Ikemen boys - check. Mizushima Hiro in amazing suits - check. Common girl with a fighting spirit - check. What are you waiting for?
In Drama Watch, Katrina watches the first episode of popular dramas and gives you her first impression.
Drama Watch: Boys Before Flowers
by Katrina
No. of episodes: 24
Cast: Goo Hye Sun, Lee Min Ho, Kim Hyun Joong, Kim Bum, Kim Joon
With so much hype surrounding Boys Before Flowers, it wasn’t a surprise that its debut episode became one of the most anticipated as 2009 rolled in. And with epexctations totally high, there’s only one question in everyone’s mind: Did it deliver?
Well, I could tell you that Lee Min Ho certainly did. Whereas the other actors playing F4 members had been on a few hits and misses for the first episode, Lee Min Ho’s portrayal was spot-on. Actually, he wasn’t just playing Goo Joon Pyo, he is Goo Joon Pyo. And as the leader of F4, he made me want to leap into the screen and slap him myself. But I guess I’d have to wait for Goo Hye Sun’s Geum Jan Di to do it for me - if she can toughen up some more, lose some of the unnecessary cuteness, and be the hard to kill grass that’s she’s supposed to be. Don’t get me wrong, she wasn’t bad playing the part and I did find her cute. But she could be better.
Fabulous settings, remarkable supporting characters, and the timeless Cinderella-like story pretty much complete every remake of Hana Yori Dango. But I would have to say that if there’s something the Korean version got right, and at the very least looks-wise, it was the casting of F4. I couldn’t picture a better bunch except characters from the manga literally leaping into life. And if the initial episode was any indication, I could already see fangirls from all walks of life being charmed against their wishes.
Verdict: There’s probably no other story that enjoyed so much success across Asia and this remake promises its own share of lovability. Complete your Hana Yori Dango experience - watch this!
In Drama Watch, Katrina watches the first episode of popular dramas and gives you her first impression.
A Letter to Dong Bang Shin Ki; 5 Years Together
by Krissy at system_chaos
A fan whose been by their side since debut… A fan whose grown up with them for half a decade… A fan whose seen her boys at their best and their worst… A fan who has something to say to them, from her heart.
Recap of 2008
by Kara
(I’m a day late on this, for which I apologize!) As 2008 winds down to an end, allow me to look back and enumerate the various things that happened in C/K/J entertainment industries that made this a memorable year.
In Korea…
- Super Junior fandom erupted in controversy as SJ-M debuted in China, despite protests from Only13
- Big Bang expands like crazy, releasing a Japanese album, and branching off in solo activities
- Dong Bang Shin Ki makes it to #1 on both Japanese and Korean charts with their 4th album MIROTIC
- Celebrities try to make it into the U.S. industry, notably Bi (in movie Speed Racer) and BoA (with her song ‘Eat You Up’)
- Notable Debutantes: JYP’s AM/PM, SM’s SHINee
In China…
- Edison Chen takes his computer in for repair and as a result gets all his private (read: sexually explicit) photos of himself with various celebrity girlfriends posted on the web; he leaves the business indefinitely
- Kelly Chen gets married to boyfriend of 16 years
In Japan…
- Kanjani8 makes it to #1 on Oricon charts for their 47 DVD
- Leah Dizon gets married and announces that she’ll be having a baby girl; Sawajiri Erika announces her upcoming marriage
- TOKIO’s Yamaguchi Tatsuya announces during their 2008 live tour that he’s gotten married and became a father in the summer
- Johnny’s Entertainment expands into Korea with Arashi and KAT-TUN
Before my bias becomes too obvious, I will stop here! This list is obviously not comprehensive, and consists only of things I could think of off the top of my head.
Comment below and let us know what events of 2008 had the greatest impact on your fandom!
Drama Watch: Miss No Good
by Katrina
No. of episodes: 14
Cast: Rainie Yang, Will Pan, Dean Fujioka
How can Miss No Good make love work for a no nonsense stylist and a human Christmas tree?
Evidently, that question is not answered in the first episode of the drama. What we do get is a couple of glimpses of Tang Men (Will Pan) as he struts around, the poisoned-tongue stylist that he is; Jiang Xiao Hua played by Rainie Yang in her most over decorated role ever; and Jia Si Le (Dean Fujioka), who is dreamy but suffers from too many concussions. Fifteen minutes into the show and I find myself actually liking it, even with the first encounter between Xiao Hua and Tang Men being irritatingly cute and manufactured that I can’t help but laugh.
But my laughter was short-lived. One by one, the reasons why I shouldn’t be watching this drama started surfacing. There was Jiang Xiao Hua who was a totally annoying, if not unrelatable protagonist. Two, the show’s being populated by female characters with illegally tiny voices just made my ears burst. Three, even at the beginning all signs already pointed to the usual love quadrangle I’ve seen far too many times in Taiwanese dramas. Four, the cutesy-ness level of just about everything here treaded too close to overdose.
To survive the show, I had to repeatedly convince myself that these reasons weren’t so bad and everything would get better later on. That it’s still cute - annoyingly cute despite the absurdities that were presented right from the start. I started watching and couldn’t stop, even if the wiring in my brain already told me that it’s the logical way to go. Or maybe my brain had been too fried by the first episode I couldn’t even reocgnize logic at this point.
Verdict: It’s a good thing this drama is sometimes funny AND I have free time this holiday season. There’s no other way I’d subject myself to this kind of pain.
