We’re moving right along through the new year! I only got in two dramas this month, but they were good. They included the older romantic comedy I Do, I Do and the makjang crime melo Woman of 9.9 Billion:
I Do, I Do
We get a nice little noona romance with the classic drama I Do, I Do. It is fairly straight forward in premise, but there is plenty to explore within that framework, and it does so very well. It has wonderful characters that are well-written and brought to life by a group of wonderful actors.
Kim Sun Ah’s character is on the prickly side, but she gives her a strength while showing a touch of vulnerability underneath. Lee Jang Woo’s character is very fun and lively while being all kinds of sweet and adorable.
There is a solid love square and plenty of relationship complications at play in this one, but I Do I Do stays solidly in rom-com territory and remains fun throughout with a nice helping of heart. (I Do, I Do Review)
Woman of 9.9 Billion
Woman of 9.9 Billion is a crazy, over-the-top makjang style crime melo which is a genre I tend to really like. There are some really interesting morally grey and bad characters going after a large sum of money.
The first half of the drama was the best since it was totally crazy with great pacing and plenty of new plot developments happening along with some fun twists and turns. Things get pretty intense!
The second half settles down a bit into more of a catch the bad guy situation and loses a bit of steam as a whole. Logic stretches and convenient plot devices abound too. Even then, it was still a good watch and took some interesting turns. So as a whole, Woman of 9.9 Billion was a decent watch. (Woman of 9.9 Billion Review)
So how was February for you?
Happy drama watching to everyone!
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Didn’t finish anything in Feb as the only drama I’m truly following each week, is still ongoing. That being a cdrama Guardians of the Ancient Oath, which I’m enjoying quite a bit. I also speed watched all available episodes of Miss Truth. Totall fluff that but quite well made and I like all the leads. The 2nd ML looks like Lee Joon Ki’s long lost little brother, ha. Honestly, it’s uncanny how similar they look. He won’t get the girl of course, being an assassin. Only the ‘righteous’ are rewarded in most cdramas. 😉
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We all need a little fluff sometimes. Helps to balance out all of that serious 🙂 Ooh, Lee Joon Ki’s long lost brother?! I’m going to have to look him up ASAP!
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Ummmm.. here’s a MV dedicated to SuFu the Assassin. 😀
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I’ll be checking that out ASAP! Thank you 🙂
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Dramas I completed in February:
My Holo Love – such a nice little surprise! The drama was full of tropes, but they felt fresh. Add to that an appealing OTP and satisfying ending, and the result is the perfect bowl of comfort food.
Be Melodramatic (Melo is My Nature) – another pleasant surprise. The show follows the daily lives and struggles of 3 female friends who work in the entertainment industry. The drama is character-driven slice-of-life where the poignant and the hilarious share a harmonious co-existense. The music is catchy, too!
Crash Landing on You – destined to become a classic! Not perfect (one of the writer’s choices for the finale made me upset), but full of endearing characters and swoony romance. The sympathetic portrayal of ordinary people in NK meant a lot to me, because it reminded me of my own childhood in a totalitarian country.
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Looks like you had a great month! I just started My Holo Love and so far so good 🙂 Still need to give Be Melodramatic a go. I’m hit or miss with slice of life though, so I’ll just have to see. Crash Landing was a good watch. I didn’t love it as much as everyone else, but I still enjoyed it. I also really liked how they portrayed the regular NK people. I can imagine that was nice for you since you since you could relate to it 🙂
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Therefore February 2020 has been progressive to me when it comes to K-Dramas. 🙂 🙂 🙂
I have finished three historicals: Mr. Sunshine (7/10), Shine or Go Crazy (7.5/10) and The Tale of Nokdu (8.5/10), and the cute socially-designed coming-of-age My ID is Gangnam Beauty (8.5/10).
*Mr. Sunshine (7/10) – While I enjoyed most of the times, there were those times that it really bored me out. This is the kind of drama which I believe very great but just wasn’t into my drama taste buds. I liked Ae Shin and Captain Choi, but I never really rooted for them sincerely. I’d hope more that things would go well for those other leads like Gu Dong Mae, Kim Hee Sung and Kudo Hina especially. 🙂 There were fun times but most of it were too serious that couldn’t really appreciate the humor it was trying to tell. I was sad that it took me more than 2/3 of the drama to really ‘feel’ it. And when I did, I cried my heart out especially to that piggyback-hiking-by-the-sea moments of Hina and Dong Mae. HUHUHU. That was so so sad. TT So I would especially appreciate the show more if they’ve shown more of those kinds of moment rather than those very lengthy ‘deafening silence’ scenes. But nonetheless, I did enjoy the show irregardless of those I’ve noted, because again I say Mr. Sunshine (7/10) was one great drama that is not into my taste buds! 🙂
*My ID is Gangnam Beauty (8.5/10) – So I was quite late watching this famous drama, but at least I did make up. First time seeing Cha Eun Woo and I think he portrayed his character as Do Kyung Seok so well, despite being new to the acting industry. And yes, he’s so so cute and handsome! The character of Kang Mi Rae, on the other hand, is I think hard to like. Yes, I did understand her, yes I did sympathize for her, but gosh there were many times when she acted so negatively, so cowardly, that made me hope her to go back from her old self – that brave fat little girl. 🙂 And there were these two second leads; I don’t really know what to say about these two, except for those angers I had for Hyun Soo Ah, that only means she’s very effective in her portrayal. HAHAHA. Another remarkable things in the drama are those supporting characters that I really like. They added more fun in it. So what I was so curious of is how Koreans were into that particular subject the show were trying to discuss – looks, beauty, glamour, and the like. I like it! Hope to see more of these kinds of drama. Any suggestions?
*The Tale of Nokdu (8.5/10) – Could have been an easy 10 if the mood and the flow of the show didn’t change midway. HAHAHA. I admit, I did hope the show (SPOILER ALERT) didn’t ruin the Village, because it was special for me, and there were so many fun moments there, and in one bit, the Village is gone. 😦 Tsk tsk. But actually I wasn’t lost in the drama, I still had the fun (but not in the same level), I still rooted for everyone. Especially for Yool Moo. I was very sad to what happened to him in the drama. I did not expect, really. But my love for him never changed. And he’s so far one of my best SL syndromes. 🙂 The story of Nokdu and Dong Jun and their journeys to finding themselves and the truth were so unique and fun. But it turned out to just the typical historical drama in the second half. That finale too is so special (SPOILER ALERT: and so familiar. Quite similar with that of Marriage Not Dating (10/10) HAHAHA)
*Shine or Go Crazy (7.5/10) – Credits to the writer, for that one-of-the-most-catchy titles ever in the Dramaland. HEHEHE. It was one big reason that drove me to watch it. And I didn’t regret. The drama was good so as with the actors. But I have to say again, I don’t like it when a drama came very fun from the start, then shifted the entire mood in the later part. Tsk tsk sad. And I’ll say the very long 24 episodes is not really necessary (I believe). I think they could capsulize it into 16-18 episodes. While the drama had many revelations and surprises, there were also many dull and too-dramatic moments which contributed a lot to its becoming a 24-episode drama. I also concluded that i am not into Jang Hyuk’s acting (my second drama of his, after Fated to Love You (7/10)) I am so sorry to disappoint you. 😦 🙂 😀 V And just like what I have commented with Mr. Sunshine (7/1), I hope to see more scenes like that of Go Crazy’s last two episodes. Those were great and heartfelt! That scene wherein Wang So shouted and declared in front of those slaves, that he will protect them, it made me remind of Dog-Bird in Hwarang (9.5/10). And I’ll say too the royalty story is similar to that of Moon Lovers (9/10), right? It’s that kind-of-history? Goryeo days? So I just also hoped they utilize the characters of those other princes.
So that was what February looked like for me. It is full of hearts, full of both love and hate (to my watching huh, not to my actual life) HAHAHA.
Sorry for the very very long comments and to those wrong usages of grammar. V
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And I almost forgot, I also finished two K-movies, the one was good and the one was an epic. 🙂
*Ash Fall (7.5/10) – It was good. And I really am into tragic/disaster stories. I also had fun in its little humors.
*Parasite (10/10) – All I have to say is AMAZING! Hehehehe. It is worth all of its awards and nominations. 🙂 🙂 🙂
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What a fantastic group of dramas! I enjoyed all of them 🙂 Mr. Sunshine’s eps were a bit too long which created some draggy parts for sure. It’s grand scale and unique plot were great though. My ID is Gangnam Beauty was also such a fun watch and very moving and heartwarming.
And Tale of Nokdu was amazing! I watched that one right at the end of last year and just loved it so much. Absolutely loved Shine or Go Crazy too (and I agree, definitely a fun title!). It’s one of my favorite historicals. Haha, yeah, I know a lot of people don’t like dramas starting out fun and getting serious later. That’s pretty standard in historicals though. Luckily, I like that progression a lot 🙂
I also watched Parasite a couple months back and also loved it! I was so happy to see it win so many awards all across the world 🙂 And don’t worry about the longer comments, I enjoy reading your thoughts on dramas 🙂
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I also finished two this month. Tale of Nokdu and Crash Landing On You. I really didn’t like tale of nokdu at all. I fast forwarded most of the episodes to get to the end. I felt that there was no chemistry between the leads. The reason behind the king killing his son makes no sense. Overall, I found it boring. CLOY on the other hand was a 10 for me. I loved it so much. 🙂 I can go on and on about all the reasons why I loved it so much. 🙂
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It looks like we were a bit opposite in our feelings for those dramas this time around, hehe 🙂 I felt about Tale of Nokdu like you did about Crash Landing On You. It was one of my favorite dramas last year, and I loved it from start to finish 🙂 The reason the king wanted to kill his son was because it was prophesied that the son would eventually dethrone the king, and the king didn’t want that so he tried to get rid of him. A bit of irony in the ending though, lol
And although I didn’t love Crash Landing, luckily, I still liked it for the most part. I thought it was quite draggy, but all of the other elements were good, and I always like a grand romance. It’s so great that you found such a wonderful drama to add to your favorites list 🙂
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Lol it’s funny we are total opposite on this. Usually our tastes are very similar. 😀
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Yep, they typically are very similar 🙂 That’s one of the beauties of life though, no two people are exactly the same. So no matter how similar, there will always be differences. I’m glad we’re usually pretty close in tastes though, hehe 😉
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That’s so true. It truly is the beauty of it. 😀
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Nice to hear that you’re enjoying it, I mean my comment, hehe.
Could you suggest too any dramas with the similar topic like Gangnam Beauty? Because I remember back then I also enjoyed Birth of a Beauty (9/10) very much.
And for Parasite, that one topnotched my list of favorites for K-movies (and even non-Korean ones). Such a very nice and conceptual one. The symbolic way the movie tries to tell was spot-on. And I just love everyone’s acting there.
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Ooh, that’s hard. Depends what exactly you liked. I think you’ve seen most of the dramas I would recommend though because you watch a lot of dramas just like I do, hehe. For body transformations with a little thoughtful commentary, I would say She Was Pretty, Oh My Venus, and Perfume. For a similar university atmosphere with an insecure lead, Weightlifting Fairy.
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Among the drama you mentioned I only not haven’t watched Perfume. Hmm, for some reasons, I ain’t ready to see Shin Sung Rok to be the protagonist yet. 😀
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And also take note I just started my K-Dramatic life last 2017, so I still has a very very long list of dramas I badly want to see!
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You may have just started in 2017, but you sure have got a lot of dramas in during that time 🙂 My list is still incredibly long too. It seems that no matter how long we’ve been watching, some mystical force prevents us from ever getting caught up! 😉
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Haha, it’s definitely a bit of a shift to see him go from villain to main lead. He’s great though and has such good comedic timing. Perfume is a fun drama with some very thoughtful messages and the transformation aspects have some similarities to dramas like My ID is Gangnam Beauty 🙂
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