Quick Review: Sungkyunkwan Scandal

Yes, I'm watching the recently broadcasted korean romance-comedy, Sungkyunkwan Scandal. The special edge that this drama has, is that the setting is actually in an earlier era of Korean history, the Joseon. Although, listen for it listen for it - this is a trendy drama, a funny, adorable fusion-sageuk. Yes.

Even though I've definitely seen this raved about all over the asian drama sites, the setting being historic just really didn't appeal to me. Furthermore, the scholar outfits of the students totally wore me out. I thought the series would be boring and tiresome to even get through one episode, but I was so wrong. Partly I blame it on the unspectacular poster and tiresome (though totally unique) drama title. And the fact that I completely confused this with Joseon X Files, which was a mystery drama also set in the same time period, AND not to mention airing at around the same time as this one.

To be frank, it's not like 360 degrees away from my initial indifference. Scandal is full of engaging characters, more than charming guys, and pretty visuals, true that. And the various useage of chinese characters definitely had a beautiful, sophisticated touch. However, one can't overlook the overall emptiness of the plot, having the main focus a) concealing the fact that there is a girl at the prestigious Sungkyunkwan university and b) finding the Red Messenger, which after watching half the series, I still haven't gotten what it is exactly.

Admittedly, I'm still very much invested in this drama, largely due to the light-hearted storyline, the gorgeous cinematography, and the bomb-tastic soundtrack. And the hotdamnsexy boys. And Park Min young's (female lead) engaging portrayal of a self-educated young lady whom is beautiful and has wit at the same time. And this drama is really making me like Song Joong Ki's playboy, cheeky side character more and more as episodes roll on.

Jalgeum Quartet (aka J4)! Does this remind anyone of a certain powerful, adorable group of eye candy? Hmm? Oh, actually more than just one. How about from You're Beautiful, even Coffee Prince? :D Yep, this is one of the gems in this drama. Look forward to it. :)

School Dances and the Jolly Season!

It's been a while.

I'm back, and happy to announce that I've attended my first dance. Yes, like I actually went up to a PERSON OF OPPOSITE GENDER and asked them to a dance! I know, I know, and I would like to give myself a pat of appreciation on the back. Haha. Honestly, it's been like two weeks after the whole dance, and I'm still taking it all in. The whole thing is just a blur. I went to the mall, and located the group. We split into teams for our day activity, which was a scavenger hunt where we'd take pictures of whatever was on the list (ex: team members doing yoga poses in front of a yoga store, a red lipstick). Which was extremely entertaining and fun. Afterwards, everyone gathered to walk to our restaurant, an italian l'restorante in fact, very exquistite looking. Outside, a band was performing on the streets, and fake snow fluttered down. Absolutely breath-taking.

So now it's winter break, and I have work shifts and parties to attend to, and let's not forget, presents i have to go shop for/make! I should really start adding cards along with the presents, I've discovered how much more meaningful just a nice little card adds to a gift.

Furthermore, I want to actually go to the cinema and watch a movie. Not just any movie, but a good movie. Since it's holiday season, I'd prefer something light-hearted, like Tangled. It doesn't really matter if it's like, kiddy, or Disney, I just want something that can sooth all those grades-related stress, and not to mention the pain-inducing SATS.

Happy holidays everyone! (: My new years resolutions will be up pretty soon.

Defining a Crush

So I'm definitely crushing on this guy (from post below). So here's my "definition" of my infatuation in context to this situation...

- you want to text him, but you don't want to sound a creeper, so you end up not texting
- your eyes scan the hallways for him whenever you come out of a classroom 
- just when your hopes are down, he walks by laughing with his friends and your eyes meet each others for a brief moment
- you try to talk to your friends enthusiastically in front of him so that it seems that you are having fun and not looking uninteresting
- you click on his fb profile a bunch of times whenever he's not on chat because you wonder if he's really on, but just not on chat
- you get all happy because he's finally texted you back, only to get "lol yeah"
- dreaming about him (yess I sure hope that's normal LOL)
- when your friend mentions his name with a teasing voice, you freeze, then realise she was talking about your guy friend with the same name

Nervous.

For SATS, for AP testing, for everything school related!! It's only a couple weeks in, and already, I'm feeling the burden. Heavy, heavy, heavy.

Another thing is the hc dance. I've never been to these dances all these years of school and really kinda want to... I'm starting to facebook chat with this guy from my grade, and somehow I think I'm starting to actually like him too! I had liked someone else prior to chatting with him, but I don't know how I'm starting to fall for him too! Crazyy stuff. He's interesting to talk to and stuff, and he's starting to look a little bit..cute too. Yea, I'm grudgingly admitting to all this.

Getting Side Bangs?

Hey!! Long time no... post. Haha. Okay, so today's labor day, which means no school! :) I'm done, like DONE with procrastination, so this means that I've already finished my homework and studying two days prior. This is a major accomplishment for me personally, so I would like to congratulate myself with a round of applause (not the pat on the back kind of crap that they would tell grade school kids to do).
So with the beginning of the second week of the school year coming up, I might do a renovation with my hair, like attempting to cut a side bangs look, similar to the one Raelyni has kindly posted a tutorial for us. My bangs are growing really long now, and reaching the end of my chin, so I'll be considering a side bangs. Yes? Sounds good?

Needa Get Some Time for Drama!!

And you know what I mean by that. Asian drama baby.
Yes, in particular, korean comedy series My GF is a Gumiho. Everything about this drama says "refreshing and bubbly and entertaining". So I must must get some time over the weekend catching up on this gem. I'm even starting to warm up to Lee Seung Ki for just being in this drama. My view for him has changed a lot. Back in '09, I was grossed out when people mentioned his name in the same sentence with the words, 'sexy' or 'amazing'. I thought he resembled a chipmunck. Didn't like him. Now I kinda do from seeing a little bit of his 'cute' side in this role.

It's so fluffyyyy - Playful Kiss first impressions

Playful Kiss number one! I just saw the first episode! I like how the director made the show have almost the same cheery, uplifting vibe as the taiwanese version. Even the songs have similar 'nostalgicy' feel!
Also, I can't say enough good things about Jung So Min's acting as Oh Hani :) She's amazing. I like how she's kind of the person who grows on you in terms of looks and personality, just like Ariel Lin who portrayed the same heroine in the taiwanese version.
On a super shallow note though, I'm also in love with the cute girls' uniforms and Oh Hani's various hairdos (must try them out, note to self haha).

Hey! Short Post about School...

Some classes like marketing or us history, love it, some classes like calculus, hate it. And some classes that should've been good, but the choice of the teachers made it horrible. Yeah, school in a nutshell for this year. Oh, by the way, I got Photography class!! Yes to running around school taking pictures!

EDIT: It's third day already, and I found that I actually find calc okay, and same thing about english class. So far. I'm raising my hand a lot more now, and I'm proud of myself for that! Haha.

Cross Country was killing me off one day at a time, but it seems, I'm hesitating while I say this - I think it's okay. At least the freeway loop (approx 3 miles) seems pretty typical now, like I'm not totally out of breath or anything. And I've learned to pace myself (this is from a girl who can only sprint, not jog)... what I do is I would have my eyes on the ground in front of me, and then count numbers starting from 1 to 1000. It really works, and completely takes out the feeling of my legs that can't go further anymore. Really helps.

Wisdom Teeth Pains and Swelling

My wisdom teeth are killing me. My gums near those teeth are swollen and feel like pillows (not in a comforting way), and I can barely even close my mouth. Especially with my case, my half-erupted wisdom tooth requires a surgeon to slice my gums and then extract the tooth bit by bit, which sounds painful and absolutely undesirable.

First Day of Cross Country practice!

Wish me luck! :) Even though it's only practice.

The original It Started With A Kiss

I'm watching bits and pieces of Itazura na Kiss, and it's not bad! The series just got uploaded to Youtube, so I checked some parts out, and I liked how the Zhi Shu/Irie character is so hot (for a 1996 drama), and the way the japanese was spoken was cute as well. Plus it's chinese AND english subbed, so that was awesome too! Just didn't like how the female lead acts overly cute/stupid, and didn't like how her ears stuck out like a monkey haha. I don't know if that was supposed to be cute or what. Having her hair all pulled behind her ears.

My GF is a Gumiho thoughts.

First impressions. The camera work is fast and the visuals are superb, likewise to all of Hong sisters' productions. Dae Woong is hilarious, and Miho is soo cute! I really like how the story is going, lighthearted and interesting.

Famous chinese fiction written by a 23 year old?

Wow, so I'm excited. It's so close to starting school, but I couldn't help to share some of the new dramas I'm into, as well as relate recent happenings, etc.

Struggle couple reunion!

First things first. I've joined Cfensi's new book club thing, where we read chapters of online version of the same chinese book, and then discuss it in a week's time. This is in our first week, and the book we are reading is Guo Jing Ming's famous Tiny Times 1.0... Interesting read so far, even though I'm usually the type of person who glances at a bunch of chinese characters, then look away because it's too much to take it in all at once. But I do find that reading a chapter a week, and anticipating a discussion every week really gets me going for that chapter-a-week goal! So that's been great :)
Also, on top of that, I downloaded a copy of 步步惊心, which is similar to Yang Mi's new drama Heartlock jade! So I'm excited to start reading that as well, love time traveling stories mixing modern city life with dynasties. Love em.
On a final note, not only I get to see Playful Kiss in less than two weeks, there's an unexpected interesting drama I'm out for now! It's called 婚姻保卫战, and I don't want to translate the title lest the meaning sounds completely awkward, but it has something to do with marriages, guarding, and battles. Best of all, we get to see a Stuggle cast reunion (at least with it's main couple), and Yuan Li (du xiao yue from iconic Qing dynasty comedy, Eloquent Ji Xiao Lan)! Excited yet? I know I am! Especially because the director is the same one who directed Struggle and Who Controls My Youth, which means.. guarenteed witty dialogues and humor!

Playful Kiss and School Anticipation!

How exciting! Counting days until school starts!

     So how do these two relate? Love with school! Not really. But I'm starting to anticipate the new school year as much as I want to watch korean drama Playful Kiss! The first trailer for the drama came out, so cute. Jung So Min is just like a korean Xiang Qin. Yesterday I went to Back to School check-in and that felt pretty awesome, though it was really hectic with all those familiar and new faces circulating about in the commons. Got a great picture for my ID though! So much better than the one I took last year, which was a mom cut, and makeup caked on my face. To be honest, it wasn't that bad, but still lots worse than having straightened, freshly washed hair and an Au Naturel face (minimalist look). Currently, I use a ghd hair straightener that I got on my birthday. I remember being introduced to the world of hair straighteners only last September! I've been using the ghd flat iron for almost a year, and although it's pricey, I do like how it doesn't jerk on my hair, it heats up super fast, and I love how it makes my hair sleek and straight. On the other hand, I've just been introduced to the Sebastian professional flat iron from itsjudytime on Youtube, and from her review, it sounds like a great choice for a quality straightener as well! Now, I'm a little disheartened to know that the Sebastian straightener is actually almost 1/3 the price of the ghd! Maybe I should've waited a year and tried to look at more reviews because that might have been a better investment. But I love my ghd, so it's all good. But for those of you who just want a flat iron that does it's basic functions, then get the Sebastian one.
     On a another note, I am quite certain that choosing to join cross country this year is going to be like jumping into a dark tunnel on purpose. Running is not only not one of my favorite sports, I hate everything about running on forest trails. Especially when the average mileage per day is around four miles. Thinking about it, I can't even run two miles without feeling blood rushing towards my mouth, loose hair from my ponytail waving in front of my face, and needing to blow my nose. I'm so unathletic, yet I can still look skinny and fit. Well that's a good thing in itself, but I hate running, exercising so much and I join cross country just to force myself into getting a little exercise.

From Dork to Hunk - Joseph Gordon Levitt

To be honest, I never cared for 500 Days of Summer until Inception changed my mind. Of course, there was all that hype about the romantic flick, but the guy seemed too boring, and the girl did too. Plus the story didn't sound anything more than a cliche. But oh did Joseph's character in Inception changed my view. Genuinely handsome, nice sexy voice too, is what his character Arthur made me think. So I went to youtube and checked out the trailer to 500 Days of Summer again, and indeed. I'm loving his husky voice. Haha, yes. I will watch it. Along with Julie & Julia.

Interesting Brand-New Productions...

Here are some interesting new dramas to really look out for by this year's end and early next year!

(宮鎖心玉) Heartlock Jade: It's a time-travel series with a girl from the 21st century back to China's Qing dynasty. Stars Yang Mi as female heroine and Yang Kuan as guest, sounds like a must watch for me! Love time travel series.
You're Beautiful: Not the korean drama, China is doing a remake of it in chinese version, and the hot dude from 8090 Jiang Chao might be the male lead here!
Huan Zhu Ge Ge: "Updated version", with some really cute idol stars, and Li Sheng (from Calling Big Star as Xiao yan Zi). Also Er Kang is going to look much nicer! Shallow me, but yay right?
Melody: A Super Junior and Dream of the Red Chamber teen cast collab. The story is modern and supposed to be chic.
Playful Kiss: Everyone should know about this one, Korea's remake of famous Taiwanese idol series, It Started With A Kiss. The new cast looks..adorable, Jung So Min is an exact replica of Ariel Lin when she giggles, it's uber sweet. It seems like they are improving on the original story, so I'm looking forward to cute moments?

My Fu Kang An...

Eloquent Ji Xiao Lan arguably introduced the seven-year old me into the world of asian dramas. It was probably one of the most addictive historical, intellectual dramas, because even at that young age, I marathoned a dozen episodes of it until 4 the following morning. And I fell in love with one of the antagonists of the show, Fu Kang An. He was a young military leader during Emperor Qianlong's reign, and often participated in He official's mischievous schemes against the scholar Ji Xiao Lan. All of what I just said must sound really confusing if you haven't seen this drama yet.

Fu Kang An (R) He's a cutie.

The point of this entry is that one of my first drama crushes was the charismatic and a tad evil, Fu Kang An, played by the now-professor at Beijing's prestigious film academy, Xiang Neng. There's always something about him, his voice, distinctively sharp and his face always alert. He doesn't seem chummy even when he's in love scenes (Pervert! I meant in scenes where he's showing love emotions). I googled this guy up, and found some of his recent idol series he's been in, and went on to preview his idol series from 2008, 凭什么爱你 (where he stars as the main supporting actor). As soon as he's on screen, I instantly flashed back to his Fu Kang An image. His voice, tone, facial expressions all resemble Fu Kang An, back in the day. Actually 8 years ago, in 2000 to be exact. I'm in love once again, haha. But I really dislike the slightly ruffled hair and goatee he sports in this drama. I have a hunch that the director purposely did that so that his true good-looks (minus ruffled hair and goatee) would overshadow even the main guy. Aishhh... such a waste of a true talent. Even though this guy is probably in his early thirties right now, he can still shine as a main lead if somebody gave him a chance! Like say, Peter Ho and Huang Xiao Ming for instance.

He's in love. That fu kang an.

Highly Anticipating Next Episodes of Unbeatable!!

Huang Kai with Ma Jia Li

Unbeatable episode 22 is driving me crazy with it's suspense, and for the first time since starting this series, I'm beginning to feel like I don't know who to trust - God's Hand, Lu Xiao Xiao's memories, or her cousin Ma Jia Li. Also for the first time, it seems like the drama has almost reverted into it's suspense/mystery aspect (just a tad). I want our cuddly romances back!! Huang Kai and Ma Jia Li forever! Yep, my favorite couple in Unbeatable. They're adorable.
And for those waiting for my drama review of this series, please be patient! It'll be up as soon as possible.

On dramabeans today... My Girlfriend Is A Gumiho gets it's first episode recap! I'm off to take a look at the series now!

Announcement of Upcoming Review and Reminiscing Pasttimes

The title says it all. I'm going to be doing a full review for Unbeatable, which I have mentioned several times previously. I love this drama, I'm my addiction is still going strong! :) Everyone should check it out on vikii! I'm one of their translators and we've subbed quite a number of episodes already, so go look for this drama!!

I really miss those days in grade school when it seemed like we had all the time in the world, and those were the times when I could watch tons of dramas, without having to skip any scenes because we had the time and energy to watch them... Now everything is so hectic, even though it's summer break...

Dramas Watched Today: Meteor Shower 2 (ep 1-2) Unbeatable (ep 15-20) Da Nei Di Shou (ep 1)

August Favorites!

Yep, I'm doing a blog version of the famous Youtube beauty guru video - the monthly product picks!
I got these items from my local drugstores and from target when I went to pick up some school supplies, and treasures they were! Now my makeup minimalist routine is just mascara + jelly balm! In case you're wondering, my previous routine was vaseline and eyelash curler, minus mascara because I've always disliked mascara for their bristley application and tons of other reasons - the mascara liquid make my lashes block my vision, and the removing eye makeup part is just icky. But I'm in love with my new Covergirl's lash exact! So I'm actually starting to use mascara again..

Meteor Shower 2 episode one thoughts

一起又看流星雨, also known as meteor shower the sequel, has finally emerged on mainland television and on internet streaming sites, so I got a peek at what's to come. So after watching their episode premiere, three things ran through my mind. First of all, the show is just as exaggerated like I remembered from the original Meteor Shower. Second, I love the hairstyle changes and outfits of the H4 (Duan Mu looks a thousand times better now). Also I noticed that both Yun Hai and Yu Xun's mothers have changed - like they actually switched actresses for both of these characters. I like this change in the sense that these actresses are more likeable, but at the same time, they'll seem a little less "caring" as the previous actresses because they haven't worked together with the leads as long.
       Shang Guan Rui Xi (from the H4) is definitely a character worth investing time to watch, because this dude, he's tricky, cool, adorable, funny, and a bad boy who isn't really bad. I think he is going to be the interesting factor that will get me to keep watching Meteor Shower 2, even though he's not one of the main leads.
      If you were wondering about the new female antagonist, aka Yun Hai's new 'arranged' fiance, I don't like her one bit.
      Finally, I want to point out that the drama makers are getting lazy with their soundtracks because they still kept the same theme song and insert songs. Maybe they just wanted viewers to have nostalgia and familiarity with the show?

Very snippy short post.

As a summary for those impatient individuals who can't even bother to read my 'quick reviews' entries, here's a shorter (even!) gist of dramas/movies I've sampled, and my verdict for them!

• Lover - ordinary korean tragedy, except it's with chinese people. Don't watch if you don't like sad dramas.
• Unbeatable - a MUST WATCH. Not just for the cast, but for good plot, tight pace, stunning visuals, love stories, the works.
• Si Si Xin Dong - It's ordinary, but the girl is super pretty and while the story is bubbly... it's still a bit addictive and entertaining.
• Oishii Man (movie) - Snore-worthy. Boring.
• Heavenly Sword and Dragon Saber 2009 - Good scenery, but just an updated version of the same HSDS.
• Driverless (movie) - Love, love some scenes with Wang Luo Dan and the cute guy, but otherwise, draggy and goes off in no direction.
• Renting a Girlfriend - Seems...interesting. The girl looks korean. :) Haha. 
• Dulala's Promotion - Fun watch, even if it's just for Wang Luo Dan's witty remarks and her love life woes.
• Dwelling Narrowness - Dark, in a sense. Draggy.
• Fashion Kingdom - Old women in wigs and fakey makeup, no thanks. Plus the story is not interesting.
• Youth Stage - Just dancing and another one of those 'my dreams will come true' dramas. Han Geng's fans might want to watch though.
• Always Smile - So idol-drama. Ming Dao's bang curls are annoying too. Not my cup of tea.
• Madam Chin - Enchanting, exciting story. Intricate plot... romance wise.
• Entertainment Has No Circle - Not much plot, but I did like Han Xue's cheerful dialogues and gestures.

Quick Review: HSDS 2009, Dwelling Narrowness, and Renting A Girlfriend

Since school is starting in less than a month's time, I decided to go ahead and do another one of these.

Intro - Heavenly Sword and Dragon Saber 2009. I've seen the 2003 version with Alec Su and Alyssia Chia, so I'm going to compare them a little bit. In the 2009 version, you'll immediately notice 3 things: the backdrop visuals are absolutely stunning, CGI effects for the wuxia fighting have improved, and the story of Zhang Wu Ji is exactly the same as the 2003 version, even specific dialogues. The actors are arguably hotter, most scenes are less ambiguious to the viewer, but this series lack sincerity (and has bad acting), which I had no problems with the previous version. So unless you want to see a different set of actors preforming the same story all over again, I would skip this drama. Also, another thing I absolutely dislike from this version is how they distroyed the epic episode 17 fighting competition of the six sects.

Intro -  Dwelling Narrowness, I'm sure, was advertised as the next Struggle drama to sweep china. Unfortunately, silent, emotionless moments filled up most of the episodes, and the dialogues are sparsely placed, not witty at all. Even though we like how the show does reveal another part of china previously unrevealed in broadcasting series, one thing that really irritated me throughout was that strange, and somewhat haunting male narrator. Would not finish this series.

Intro - Renting a Girlfriend. In the beginning, I thought, wow this drama is quite boring and the guy in the glasses looks ugly, so I'm not going to be interested. Getting through episode one however, I found myself laughing my ass off at the failed blind dates the leads got themselves into. Conclusion... might be interesting, so I'll probably keep watching. By the way, is it just me, or does the girl lead look so korean, and the guy, if he takes off his glasses could possibly look like Deng Chao?!

Quick Review: Lover, Youth Stage, and Fashion Kingdom

So I'm on a roll in my new Quick Review series, so might as well do some more. This time it really going to be short, so I'm not doing an audio version of this post.

introducing... little cute university boy!

Intro - Lover aka 恋人 is a brand-new mainland drama, sort of on the meloromance side of the spectrum. It's been promoted as one of the first mainland-produced "korean drama". Which translates to a beautified

Quick Review: Always Smile, Unbeatable, and Oishii Man

Unbeatable - yes, yes it is.

To listen to this entry... Quick Review #1

Always Smile, with an idol cast including Jenny Zhang and Ming Dao should've been interesting and fun. The premise, especially after seeing the title and poster, should've indicated to a cheerful and light watch. Instead of enjoying the first 2 episodes, I found myself skimming

Si Si Xin Dong...more ridiculous yet exciting?!

I'll name 2 things I hate from this drama, and 2 things I purely enjoy. First off, I think it's really silly that Si Si Xin Dong in particular is so keen on it's product advertisement aka product placement. I mean, really? It just ruins the mood sometimes when Xiao Rou or some guy always points out that she needs to use her 'special weapon' again - which is nothing other than a Rejoice leave-in conditioner. It's practically all over this drama. Another thing is how everyone gets so exaggerated, and on top of that, I really dislike some of the female characters such as the lady boss of the television company. And omg, when the "other girl" Tian er comes into the picture, I know we'll have another character to get annoyed at.
Soem great things about Si Si Xin Dong are that in recent episodes, Chen Ge is already in a relationship with Xiao Rou, and they're super sweet to each other! Also, throw the director (Xiao Rou's filming director) into the romantic loop, and you've literally got a once-solemn and arrogant man getting it on with the female lead. No, I'm kidding, but spoilers ahead. The director went to save a roped Xiao Rou from a 35 feet tree - as she was up there interviewing a tree doctor for a show - and he catches her, they both twirl around in midair, while he kisses her unexpectedly. Outrageous funny, and I'll have to admit, it was the most adorable thing. Gotta love our exaggerated dramas.

Edit: Later, Tian er comes back. She's actually more likeable than I imagined, but Xiao Rou's still the best. So cute, even her hurt expression when Chen Ge goes up to Tian er with a pained look. But the most ridiculous thing in this episode? Xiao Rou confides in Da Mei that she thinks Chen Ge liked her was "only because I have the same long and shiny, straight hair as Tian er. He only liked me because I was like a shadow/mirror image of his beloved Tian er." Stupid! Don't think that omg. I'll bet Chen ge really likes Xiao Rou best, but this sudden encounter with Tian er is just so surprising that he has to first figure out why she left him all these years. Another Rejoice reminder most likely.

Fashion Staples and how to get Hai Lun's look!

Okay, so I'm going to start off with high school fashion. We have a ton of asians at my school, so fashion staples (not really trends) have been: high-waisted skirts, dark skinny jeans, Uggs boots, plaid buttonup shirts, and the lauren conrad bang braids.  

陈彦妃, or Yedda Chen, whatever. So this little side character who is always there for Dulala as a friend at the DB company... has an amazing fashion style! And I love it!

'Hai Lun', the sweet, always cheerful little sidekick to Dulala

I mainly watched the show for Wang Luo Dan (because her acting is so adorable and clever), but I've begun to notice Yedda for her character's fabulous sense of fashion! She appears to be a sweet and girly side character who does not like to get on the bad side of others, and her fashion really pairs that personality well! Kudos for the fashion stylist at the production of Dulala's Promotion! So here, I want to post some of Yedda's (or Hai Lun, her character) outfits I thought were really creative and cute, and then I'll make some fashion pointers for each outfit... so enjoy, budding fashionistas!

Hair Product Commercials

I've always really liked shampoo commercials, especially how chinese, korean, and japanese commercials film them! I know I know, most of the 'perfect' and swishing in the wind hair we see in the commercials are either computer-generated or added special effects for that perfect swish, but I can't help but marvel how beautiful and inspiring those ads made me feel.

a cute Vic Zhou ad to promote Rejoice leave-in conditioners

Often, my favorite hair product cms have been from REJOICE, LUX, Tsubaki, and Pantene among others. I still remember years back when I made my relatives search long and far (through a bunch of markets across our neighborhood in Beijing) to ask for that one special Rejoice shampoo with added sunscreen (for hair)! That was after I saw this beautifully shot commercial of a gorgeous girl holding an umbrella under the sun, and then revealing her shiny, luscious hair as she walked on the beach. We never found a shampoo like that, it turned out it wasn't even out in stores yet.

My favorite Rejoice commercial was the one with Vic Zhou chasing after a girl on a train, he shoots a picture of her gorgeous locks before chasing her and finally thrusting his picture at her and she catches it..somehow, while riding the train.
Lux always featured the glamorous Fan Bing Bing, walking out on stage/red carpet and shaking around her pretty hair to the paparazzi...
Tsubaki is still my favorite go-to shampoos, titling themselves #1 for Japanese females ahaha. Those ads mostly feature 5 current top japanese actresses with beautiful sleek, black hair.
And last but not least, Pantene recently released their newest commerical featuring my favorite Japanese actress Aragaki Yui, and having her apply the leave-in conditioner and skip out into the rainy weather so carefree... wonderfully filmed commericals.

Looks like chinese women love their hair enough, not to just do commericals for hair, but FULL asian dramas dedicated to using the right hair products! Yes, namely... our new hit- mainland idol drama - Si Si Xin Dong! Watching up to their 10th episode already, and blatant Rejoice product placements are everywhere still. Though I do have to say I really want to try out their leave-in conditioner now! Haha. Even Blue Lan's first gift to Xiao Rou boyfriend-girlfriend wise was a shopping bag loaded with an assortment of Rejoice hair products!!

Mainland Dramas On Crack?

I've finally got around to release my first audio podcasts for my blog.
So here's the downloadable audio version of this entry! Get it now while it's fresh and hot ;)


Mainland Dramas On Crack
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I can't help but notice the rapid speed at how dramas are deteriorating in the mainland entertainment industry. First I saw a little bit of it in 娱乐没有圈, but it didn't look too serious then - only a couple of cliches and exaggeration here and there...

Meteor Shower's H4

Main leads of Si Si Xin Dong

Now, china is trying to compete with taiwanese dramas in how exaggerated we can get. I'm serious. Actually, by now, after seeing the first episodes of 丝丝心动, it's beginning to clearly show evidence of taiwanese romantic-comedy madness. Not that I have anything against taiwanese dramas in general - I actually really enjoy them. Fun and always entertaining. But immensely overacted. Formulaic. My complaint now is that chinese dramas are taking that very aspect of taiwanese dramas that I find really irritating - and plastering that over all their new idol dramas. Here are examples of that frustrationadfjklness pulled directly from 丝丝心动, china's most anticipated romantic comedy of this year. From the very start... a grandma with a wig, rapping and dancing.

Let's say I'm wealthy. Dream house. Dream job. Etc. (meme)

Yes, this is the second one in my 'dreamin of having monayy' series of posts. Basically, this entry is going to be a list of all the things I would do if I were rich - for instance, a CEO marketing person, or a famous movie director, or a publicist. Actually just whatever. Pretending I'm rich. That is.

1. Live in a luxurious apartment in the grand city of Beijing... The large apartment complex, or just the building, sits on top of a famous japanese crepe shop. Or cake shop, whatever. Every morning, I would get to order a small, delicious crepe filled with strawberries, frozen yogurt, cheesecake...

2. Go on frequent business trips, and stay at the Park Hyatt hotel in Tokyo, or the Shangri-la in Beijing. Just fancy business hotels would be great.

3. I'd have a fitness room all to myself. With an instructor who motivates me to jog 4 miles every morning and coaches me in tennis and volleyball.

4. I would invite myself in all the movie premieres I want, especially at film festivals in Asia... Maybe even walk on the red carpet!

5. Every time I visit Seoul, I would go to their famous saunas to relax. Instead of feeding boiled eggs to my mother-in-law like in korean dramas, I would eat my favorite icecreams there. Ice cream on freshly-baked, berry pies. Mmm.

6. Film my own music videos! Or even web series. Since I'll have my own studio and crew. That would be a dream come true. I've always thought of doing full series just like in those asian dramas we all enjoy, but the thing with my ideas are - none of them have ever come through fully. Usually the problems that arise are - not having the time to get everyone together, camera not functioning, or my scripts for them haven't been fully completed.

7. Get first class tickets booked for my family every time we travel anywhere! We've always rode economy, so time for a change! Plus, I've always wanted to travel in first class... sounds like you get a lot more space to sit (and not get squashed in your seat!), and just really really comfortable overall.

Okay, that's all, I'm pretty much done with this list as I have nothing else really to add :) Have a great day everyone!

What I would get if I had the money...

Aka What I would want if I was rich enough to not care about my spending. This is a just for fun thing so that I won't get bored. Heh. Yes, they are all material items, I'm not going to write a list like this just to add in 'honesty' and 'reliableness' and all the other crap that I've seen other people blog about... because this is in fact, a material items entry - so I'm going to be direct about it. Plus, I'm not actually asking people to get them for me...
This list is going to look like a wishlist, and I'll have another entry coming right up, and that one is going to be 'If I get rich...' (basically me listing out all of the things I would accomplish for my family, friends, etc).

1. Hermes scarf - after seeing a hk video called Seven Ways to Wear a Hermes Scarf, the halter top looked so luxurious and pretty on the model that I'm falling in love with Hermes a little too! Actually I might not want to get it myself, I'll have a guy get it for me. Puahaha.

2. Adobe Premiere Pro - yes haha, I totally would!! So expensive, but going to be so worth it since I love video editing and I dedicate a lot of time with it. Might as well get Adobe After Effects too, while I'm at it.

3. Unlimited supply of Red Mango - just the original frozen yogurts will do. I will definitely. Get. Them. In. LARGE. Size. Never going to go cheap again. That is, if I were rich, of course.

4. Porsche - porsche cars are absolutely my favorite type of cars. I'm not even that interested in cars, but porsches are just adorable.

5. Airplane tickets to Japan and a personal tour guide - because I love japan. Culture-wise, Drama-wise, Shopping-wise. Oh, while we're on that, I'd like to go shopping at their famous Shibuya 101 location and not be afraid to buy all those pricey cute clothing!

6. The Canon XH A1 - entry level, prosumer video camera!! FOSHO.

7. A luxurious, big shower room with a large shelf - Claustrophobic me. Plus it would be nice if it could come with a soft, fluffy rug so that whenever I step out of the shower, I'd not have to step on the cold, bare floor. Or accidentally slip because the floor's too slippery wet.

8. A library of 'self-advice' books. Or a library of marketing advice books. Love em.

9. My own tennis courts! I'm starting to enjoy tennis a lot, but oftentimes, I don't want to go all the way to the public tennis courts so that I can play two hours of tennis with so many people watching. You know?

10. Personal tutor. Personal trainer (workout person). Personal dessert cooker. If there's such a thing.

Excited for Playful Kiss, My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, and Meteor Shower 2!

First of all, I'm so hyper about Playful Kiss, the new korean adaption of Japanese's cute manga of a dumb-girl-smart-guy romance story... and if you are wondering, yes, this is the same story as famous 2005 taiwanese drama It Started With A Kiss! Starring Ariel Lin and Joe Cheng. What a sweet story that was :)
This version is going to have Kim Hyun Joong (violin guy from Boys Before Flowers) and Jun So Min (newbie gal who played Mo rae in Bad Guy) playing the two main characters, Zhi Shu and Xiang Qin. In this case, they're called Seung-jo and Ha-ni. Hanii sounds like an adorable name already! 
Now here's a little sneak peek at the cute pair...

Yes, I did snatch this, but it was awfully adorable! Credits to dramabeans of course.

 When I first saw this picture of the two, I'll be honest... I burst out in laughter. Hyun Joong looked so awkwardly poised! Almost robotic if you look at his expressions... or lack of any. Bahaha. Sorry, he just looked so funny like that. So Min on the other hand made me go 'awww'. So familar to Ariel's expressions and gestures in ISWAK! Good good memories.
I know this hasn't aired yet, but I predict this will have a ton of fans by the time the drama's finished broadcasting. I hope it's as fantastic as those pictures show!

Now onto My Girlfriend is a Gumiho. I actually wasn't all over this at the start, but dramabeans convinced me to give this drama a chance! Plus I got a little more interested after seeing the mini teaser of this today. This is from the Hong sisters as well (who wrote the scripts for You're Beautiful!).

Meteor Shower 2 is coming right up!! In early August. So exciteddd.

Movie Review: Love In Cosmo《摇摆de婚约》

Yes, I've finally gotten around to doing my first..ever. Full-length movie review.


Love in Cosmo, a pretty sweet and short 90 minute film, starrs Yao Chen and Zhu Yu Chen.
In a nutshell, Shun (Yao Chen), a stylish editor of Cosmo magazine is with fiance two-timer. One morning, she jumps on top of a stranger on her fiance two-timer's bed, hoping to surprise him. He finally lets go of the covers and upon realising a complete stranger, she whacks him with her hair dryer and screams. This stranger turns out to be Jun Hao (Zhu Yu Chen's character!), her fiance's best bud who has no where to stay. Soon after, Shun gets demoted to work as a warehouse admin and her fiance dumps her. In begins Shun and Jun Hao's wacky relationship as pretend husband and wife!

Yao Chen  - Shun Jia
Zhu Yu Chen - Jun Hao
Guo Xiao Dong - the two-timing fiance




The title, with it's creative pinyin insert of 'de' set this movie apart from the others I looked at. Also, the movie poster's unique design was really attractive, bright splashes of color and character placements.
Now, on to the plot. At the start, I found the story a bit unbelievable. Mules in photoshoots running amok.

Fan Bing Bing as Madam Jin is absolutely gorgeous and Vic Zhou is really cute

I looked on Chinese Hulu's right-hand side today, and found a listing of the top rated and 50 of the most popular dramas in mainland entertainment thus far... and guess which gem I've found? Granted, if you've read the title, you'll already know what I mean. One of Fan Bing Bing's 2009 dramas, underrated I must say, The Last Night of Madam Jin (aka 金大班). Dramawiki definitely gave me a heads up on this months back, but as interesting the casting looked, I could never find it on Youtube or any other streaming sites I usually went to. So I gave up, since no one really provided any recaps or incentives for me to see it. But today, I came across this along with a few other chinese shows I wanted to see - so I decided to give my usual one episode chance, and this drama emerged as a winner. In fact, I'm on episode 6 of Madam Jin already, and I'm still hooked, which is quite a feat for a 1940s setting of a drama.

The plot is what get my continuing interest - Madam Jin was actually a daughter in a very rich family, but she was switched at birth with a girl who had a family-inherited disease. Henceforth, her fate with poverty led her to become a dance hostess at an infamous Shanghai club. This story explores Madam Jin's love life and how her whole life could have been different if she was not switched.

Food Lesson...

Never drink honey with hot water again. Or never eat gimbap with honey water again. Or actually, never eat a dozen gimbaps, plus a bag of hoshi ume, plus honey water in one sitting. Sigh. Major stomach bloating. Like a balloon ready to explode. Throwing up. No appetite at all. Even after seeing the delicious chinese snacks in "奋斗" episode 6-7. Omg. After 3 hours. Still a minor bloating and that feeling you get after choking on swimming pool water. My vision is a little blurred still, like a little dazed kind of way. Awful eating habits.

My Snack of the Day

Umeboshi... but I think this particular snack should go by 'hoshi ume' since it's more a portable snack than a seasoning for a meal or onigiri. Umeboshi = dried prune. So hoshi ume is a dried prune snack! I love this stuff. It's tart and reminds me of the chinese hua mei..mm.. I've grew up loving that stuff. Really sour, but tasty. I guess it's not easy to explain, but the taste is asdfjklajfa delicious.

I got this from my local japanese store.

Talk about Podcasts!!

I'm listening to Dramabeans' second podcast right now, as I'm typing these words.

Recently I learned that my friend is a radio dj for a kpop radio!! On an online forum and stuff like that. After listening to her broadcast, I got inspired to try out recording too, not for online kpop forums or anything like that, but doing them instead of my usual video vlogs. I started recording around the 13th of this month. When I started, I was really excited because using audacity to mix my recording with music made me feel like I'm actually a radio show host! Although my voice isn't terribly exciting, I think this is a good way to prepare myself for class presentations in the future, don't you think? No, I'm not thinking about doing radio broadcasts antime soon. But yes. My new obsession. First came journals, then blogs, then vlogs thanks to youtube, and now podcasts! Fun stuff.

What I love to do...

I'm just on a roll with blog posts aren't I? Here, I'm going to talk about the three main things I love doing, and how I think they relate to what I'd like to do a few years from now. Yes, I'm talking about future careers.

1) I love traveling, learning about other cultures, and languages. I love messing with the World Clock converter to see what people from (for instance) Beijing would be doing about....now. It's always exciting when my family plan summer/winter trips to somewhere far from where we live, I think exotic. Culture-wise, I think I would love travelling to Beijing, Tokyo, and Paris... Especially Beijing and Tokyo because both are filled with asians, kind of nostalgic for me personally, and around every street corner, you see handsome asian hunks or a random celebrity poster stuck to a bus stop post. Also, I love the building structures... apartments inside big buildings, the nearby convenience stores selling icecream, the street vendors with their street snackage...

2) I love directing people and telling them how they should feel when they are in one character or the other. Related to this, I also enjoy recording videos of all my memories with my family and friends. Plus, I edit my own videos as professionally as possible, with the given materials and softwares. I would go online and find all the possible tutorials when I want to create a specific video effect, and then go download a trial version of a software that I get recommended. Then, I would spend hours and hours perfecting my video so that the end product would always make me proud.

3) I love designing innovative posters and creating crafts out of what I have. Often, my school projects turn out very decent, even if I procrastinate until the night before to do them. One of the best memories of school, for me, was fourth grade when all the kids were participating in our Econ fair - and my buddies and I grouped together to create an innovative toy to sell to the 3rd and 2nd graders.

2/3/2010 - Koizora Movie Review and rants about asian blogs

Bumbleberri's drama of the day...

"amanda.."
"mm?"
"HA JI MAL GOR GU RE SO..."
"omgsh no bumbleberri no"
(someone else) "Ha. Ji. Mal go reee so! An bo riii. *RAPS*"
"haha that's a good idea! I like it!"
"Thanks!" roflll
"bumbleberri... I don't want to sing that cuz the song gets into my head"
"Tu ne peux pas chante cette chanson parce que tu ne peut pas parle le Coree! rofl."

***
Sina.com/cn - popular mainland chinese blog
Ameblo.jp - popular japanese blog
Naver.com - popular korean blog
***
EDIT: omg haha funny. I've always had a korean Yahoo blog without knowing it. Apparently if you have a registered yahoo email address, you automatically get a korean blog, is that right? I've just posted my first entry in it, fun fun. I wonder how to change the blog background though, not that I dislike it, but it's probably the korean default bg, and I want to make mine unique.

THIS IS PROBABLY THE nth TIME I'M REWATCHING "Koizora the Movie"... but this movie is strangely growing on me, every single time I come back and watch it again (usually more and more hq and with more understanding of japanese).

2/1/2010 - Little Babbling about My Two Favorite Asian Actors, and Goo Hara hairstyle!

Bumbleberri's drama of the day...

Q: What does it mean when you've been upstaged?


A: It means someone has done something more dramatic or interesting or significant than what you have done and drawn attention away from you or from your achievement and redirected the attention to themselves.
 
***
I love Jang Geun Suk, but his fashionista sense is a little...whacked. I guess you just can't have it all. I mean, if you are extremely tall, lean, well-built, have a adorable baby face, a melting smile, and just charming overall...then I guess we can just overlook his unique-but-controversial outfits that he likes to wear. 
Same thing goes for Yamapi, he's dashing, has a down-to-earth personality, pretty/boyish face, well defined body, polite, and of course that little bit of dorkiness that he sometimes shows. Yet. Yet... even Yamapi makes mistakes. And I will have to say that it is the uncountable times he's changed (and colored!) his hair. If you've been a fan of him or followed his magazine pictures/activities/dramas he's done, for EVER new drama, you can expect him to have a radical new hairstyle to match that drama.
 Of course I haven't forgotten Kim Bum! lol, he's actually my second fave after Yamapi keke. But Bummie doesn't have anything like questionable hairstyles/fashion or anything extreme like that. But then again, we don't know as much about him yet, you never know. He might just surprise us lol.

Today, by far was probably the most exciting day in english we've spent this school year. We got in groups and made up allegories/stories, trying to describe this painting of a nude man and woman. Anyways, of course, hilarious things ensued. "And she bounced away on her bubble because she only had one shoe..."
And I'm becoming a little fobby now. With the plaid (yellow/black) bookbag - no, it doesn't look ugly, it's very cute actually imao! ( i say this too many times ahaha) And sporting Goo Hara's fringe ponytail from this video.

1/6/2010 - planning out my drama project

Bumbleberri's drama of the day...
***
Vaseline: Brow groomer, lip-gloss (blended with any color), use on eye lids to make them look bigger, can remove make up, great moisturizer for routh knees and elbows, face moisturizer, use it tame fly always and split ends
• Eye Shadow: Brow filler, eye liner, can be used as a highlighter on your face, use it as a blush, as a lip color.

• Bronzer: Use it as an eye shadow, self tanner, create a little bit of cleavage, as a face sculptor
 - from E.L.F
pretty useful stuff! though I know about these tips already, but it's still good to review them so you don't forget right? 
---
Since yesterday night, I've been doing a lot of thinking (no kidding, XD)...  and I have decided to embark on a brand-new drama project - though the actual filming part will be a few months later bc I have finals atm. This drama currently has a working title, which is called "The Dorama Girl". (I know, very cheesy, but get used to it until I change it!)
 
This is just a simple story featuring a girl who watches too many dramas (hmm..think this sounds familar?) while attending high school in the US. She gets so addicted, she begins incorporating dialogues from various asian/english drama into her own life. Now, folks, this is a girl who also aspires to become an actress herself and make it big in some asian country (ex: Beijing, Tokyo), but her strict asian parents deem it to be impossible to her.
So in a way, this drama sounds like a exaggerated version of my own life, but in fact, it's not. Surprising as it might seem to some individuals, this reflects a vast majority of our large, asian drama-watching population. I'm aiming for this project to be the best scripted, funniest drama you have seen. Definitely not venturing into the serious drama territory. Now, I'm just debating whether I should plan this one out to be a weekend drama (ex: 家有儿女, Assorted Gems) or more of a 'idolish drama' (ex: You're Beautiful, Who Controls My Youth?)

1/5/2010 - Future career options and new drama brainstorming

Bumbleberri's drama of the day...

***
Argh. So much for putting a halt to my long-time pursuit of growing up to become a drama director/ film director. Only a couple days ago, I had finally finally understood why getting a successful career as a drama director would be almost an impossible task in the market these days. And mom and dad were right. I think. So I opted for the next best career, doing something along the lines of Marketing (reminscing my dalja's spring days..her character was a marketing director or smth, just thought I'd fill you in if you didn't know lol). Or advertsing manager, something artsy/creative would be good. But as I anticipate the new Hong Lou Meng mainland drama coming up on CNY, and yesterday's epiphany I had (actually I don't think the word epiphany makes sense here but I can find the words to describe this otherwise haha) - while I was doing my hw notes, I suddenly brainstormed a very original storyline for a new drama series, and the thought totally bugged me until I finally had it down on a piece of index card I grabbed that was lying around. This project is one that I want to begin around spring of this year, continuing throughout this year's summer break (hopefully). And honestly, I'm really hyper and excited about doing this. I remember the last time I had this kind of epiphany (for lack of better words) was one night in October of 2007, whilst I was dreaming. XD
So guess what I did that time? I forced myself awake (it was 2am)...grabbed a giant piece of paper, and begin writing nonstop on it, full of ideas for the story I wanted to write into a fanfiction novel about. I didn't stop until my fingers were cramped, after filling up the whole page - front and back - until 2:30 am. A full, nicely thought out love story about my favorite otp pair at the time, Yamaki. Unfortunately, I never got the story finished. Me and my incompletedness.
However, I don't want to give up and just stop like last time, this time I won't let that idea slip past me. I WILL make it happen :) Watch for this drama, folks! Along with your favorite, anticipated dramas y'all watch, I hope you will support mine as well, I'm confident that this drama will not fail me. Thank you!! And stay tuned for updates! Won't take long! :D

Another note, I think I'm more interested in the cinamatography field than just good ol' scriptwriting. This is just something I'm beginning to notice about myself, I'm more interested in the different camera angles dramas do, where to pose the camera for the best/emotional effects,... etc. But I also wish to do some directing, such as where the actors are supposed to stand/sit, interpreting the script, and imagining how the actors would portray those emotions. I love to have discussing about these sort of things, but I also like to boss people around *ducks away in shame*, maybe I'm cut out for directing? Actually, or not, because I've just remembered having made a bunch of music videos so far (each eating away ~ 5 hours of my day), treasuring them dearly, and wishing for a more professional program like Sony Vegas/Adobe Premiere to edit my videos...

Inspired By:
http://www.dramabeans.com/kdrama-scripts/
http://www.screenwriting.info/
Broke Up Today - younha MV
Seoul Song - SUJU ft. SNSD

I would love starting with short films like Goo Hye Sun (or even entering them into contests...sounds so amazing to me right now)... but I've already done one already, and I really hope to finish my new drama idea and focus on it before I move onto something else.

Ubiquitous Yogurt Drink - the Yakult!

Growing up, these small plastic jugs of the yogurt-like drink showed up everywhere. I've seen them stocked up in asian friends' houses, at local supermarkets, during kids fairs... all the time and just everywhere. One thing I never knew was the name of that darn drink! Even after Lee Minho from Boys Before Flowers filmed a whole commercial for the new "Banana Milk flavor" version of it!

Just this morning, while I went in search of my childhood favorite japanese sweet - I came across - FINALLY, the wikipedia page of that mysterious drink! Yakult. Funny name eh? For those who haven't checked it out yet, you definitely should! It's very detailed for a wiki page, and go there and just have fun with it alright? Maybe someone out there reading this entry right now had the same childhood questions about the name of this yummy drink too! So now you know... :)

5 Best Food Pairings

Okay. Another food post. As you can see, I'm really craving for food at the moment. Haha. So here's another one to make you start craving too! Muahaha.

Again, the pictures in this entry were googled up, so all credits belong to their respective owners.

1. Cookies and milk

 

2. Doughnut and coffee

3. Grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup

4. cake roll and green tea

5. Chinese Doughnut and soymilk (the doughnut isn't sweet btw, so don't be grossed out)

I'm craving for sweets... How about some asian sponge cake with some Japanese-style crepes?

These days, while my dad is the the hospital, I'm stuck around the house, so why not opt for some snacks to lighten up the mood? A few days ago, when my aunt and uncle came to visit, I experimented with Castella cake - which really turned out to be a success. Later, I tried the asian sponge cake that one would find in Asia, usually for birthday cakes - and as luck would have had it - mine turned out just as scrumptuous as those birthday cakes. (Kudos to the recipe) Especially after the whipped cream and fresh strawberries went on. Yumm.

Here's to Asian desserts! Just pick something below and I'll make it for youu... I know I'm far from an expert, but at least I can make decent desserts haha.
(this post is mostly dedicated to my family and friends, but it looks all so delicious right? hope it gives everyone inspiration to make cakes and other yummy snacks.)

Ps. I'm really craving #1 right now...mmm.

Disclaimer: None of these images (below, within this entry) belong to me. I googled them, so all of these pictures belong to their respective owners. Thank you!

1. Cheesecake Crepe

Introducing: recent Chinese dramas and movies

《摇摆de婚约》, 《娱乐没有圈》, and《杜拉拉升职记》.
   (Love In Cosmo)          (Entertainment Has No Circle)             (Dulala's Promotion)

Let's start with 摇摆de婚约. This is a newly released film that combines high-fashion, love, and some really familar characters. The beginning portion really had me hooked with it's quick visuals and superb editing. Plus we have the guy from Who Controls My Youth back as the male lead! Really funny and cute guy. The female lead is best described as spunky. Wacky. Careless. All the same, fabulously clumsy. Yup, looking forward to finishing this film - currently half way through.

娱乐没有圈 starts off cliche. It's almost like a mainland verison of... any idol taiwanese drama related to the entertainment industry. I do like the heroine though, she's really cute and funny and quite an unique character. Editing makes this show go round. They even had all the characters say their introductions to the camera, risking their show to corniness. But since I've only seen the first episode, I'm not here to judge this series...yet. Overall, I've found myself enjoying the series, despite it's downfalls, so try thsi if you haven't, and tell me what you think about it. Might get better as it goes along, it does have potential.

Want to watch high quality dramas online?

I've definitely been to quite a few internet streaming sites to watch my favorite asian dramas before, not a surprise compared to seasoned drama fanatics right? Youtube, crunchyroll, dailymotion, veoh, mysoju, dramacrazy, dramafever... For specifically new mandarin videos or new korean dramas, the go-to places are tudou and youku correct? Well not anymore. Because guess what spending a couple minutes searching for good mainland dramas to watch helped me find? A sohu online video heaven! Haha, yes! It's the videos section of the site, which has an extensive collection of asian tv series (majority are korean, taiwanese, and mainland shows). The best part is that when you click open a video, the first things you notice are it's high quality big screen, Hulu-like features, and no commercial pausing in between!

Actually, I can best describe this site as a Chinese version of Hulu! For instance, high quality, a movie theater function, and a big screen function. Personally, I'm a big fan of watching a video without commerical breaks, so this video site is perfect! Highly recommended for drama addicts. :)

Another reason why I love this site is that it offers full series (so that you don't have to go search up newer episodes)... and it ranges from the very popular dramas to the trickier-to-find-ones that aren't as popular, but ones that you really just about tried everywhere to find! For me, it was Dulala's Promotion, and a ton of other mainland dramas I've always seen listed on dramawiki, but ones I can never find on Youtube, like not even a trace of them sometimes.
I'm currently watching 媳妇的美好时代, translates to "A Beautiful Era of a Bride". At first the acting seemed stiff to me, but then I went back to the first episode, I immediately got hooked. The dialogue deserves praise, not on the same level as the witty Who Controls My Youth, but it's definitely realistic in terms of how Beijingese people would communicate. I guess it's more of a 'housewife' drama series, but the interactions were pretty hilarious, so I would keep a look out for this show. Also simutaneously buffering, are 《杜拉拉升职记》, 《爱在日月潭》, and 《北方有佳人》.

I'm watching a bit of the third one, and it looks very well-made. It stars Lin Miao Ke and Kou Zhun Hai (the famous actor who often plays emperors in dramas). Miao Ke might have a not-so-pleasant rep to people because of the Olympics controversy, but her acting is still decent, and really engaging to watch. Furthermore, the show is set in the 1940s and has a really nice tone to it. After skipping around and watching episode 13 right now, the show does drag on a little, not in the korean drama way, but more so becoming boring because the direction of the plot is getting too ambiquious. Also, the drama and suspense is getting toned down. Although I do want to mention that this drama is rather entertaining compared to the various other dramas set in this period. Now, let's talk about the other two I mentioned.

Du la la's Promotion starts off really light, yet has a distinct 'wang luo dan' drama flair - meaning authentic, mainland drama, with some quirky sides, lighthearted humor, distinctively different from just another idol drama. On the other hand, Love at Sun Moon Lake starring a charismatic pair, Ruby Lin and the cute guy from Struggle, is beginning to remind us of an early 2000s idol drama. Although it's cute and cheery and makes one wonder if Ruby Lin never ages, it's unlikely that I will pick that one up again any time soon. Reason? Cliche storyline. Also, did they really have to put in a theme tune that is 90 percent ripped off of a historical drama - namely Young Yang Warriors' "Farewell Poem"?

A Drama A Day Keeps the Boredom Doctor Away?

For lack of a more clever phrase. I know it sounds corny and unoriginal, but that's not the point of this entry. I'm embarking on a new drama, a japanese drama today. It's called Mioka, and it's about this girl who has a brain illness that shortens her life, and the episodes show her last love story she's about to experience with a boy named Taichi. At the premise, the drama kind of makes you think 2 things: it's a doomed love for sure, and it's going to be a long, tedious ride. But not really. From the very first episode, Mioka really drew me in through it's beautiful voiceovers and weaves in seamlessly how our lead heroine (in this case, is she a heroine) gives no care for anyone else, and she does things however she likes; including swinging poles wildly at another girl's boyfriend (who practically went out and played with the girl's feelings), and randomly jumping into public water fountains just because she's happy. She's definitely not insane, it's just kind of her way of showing the world that she can live her last days to the fullest through her actions.

This drama also touches a lot on the life of the male love interest (played by Kento, sharkboyy) - he lives on top of a restaurant, he looks half-caucasian, he has a cute group of friends, and his sister looks like Shida Mirai. I'm kidding, but you get the idea. After seeing the first episode, I'm going to say, my impression was really good. The storytelling was rather straightforward, the tone was actually really light, to my surprise, compared to the dark mood of the synopsis. Also, another thing that makes me excited is that this is Yoshitaka Yuriko's first main role in a drama! I've seen her in Love Shuffle, Tokyo DOGS, and some other dramas, but she's always been a side character, even though her character shines a lot.

Having Yuriko's character 'doomed' from the start eliminates that driven angst that the melo-kdramas can't get away from. I personally think this is a better idea for a story because people will like how brutally honest the story is, and also just gets the story so that it'll be able to focus on the other purposes of the drama, such as the love story, and the girl's determination, stuff like that.

Favorite japanese drama in over 5 months?

Tumbling has been around for a couple of months already, the main target for the jdrama, being teenagers. The cast includes Yusuke, Seto, and Miura Shohei - a handful of guys from the Seventeen magazine favorite ikemen. Not that I didn't like the plot, the cm and the casting of yusuke put me off a bit. So instead of giving this drama a try, I ignored it whenever I saw the title on mysoju or dramacrazy. Plus the poster showed the guys in what looked like pink and white tutus. Not too appealing.
Today though, I'm currently watching impatiently for the next episode of Calling for Love, meanwhile seeing the words Tumbling in big, bold letters on dramacrazy. So I told myself, since it's almost the last episode (uploading with english subs on dramacrazy is relatively slow), why not just give one episode a try. The reviews for this seems positive as well.
So I tried it, I'm on the first episode right now... and turns out, it IS really interesting, livelier than I had imagined. One of the biggest surprises I got from the drama so far, was the 'pretty' new transfer student, Mari. On first glance, she seemed like one of those 90s beauties. She looked confident, and her voice sounded cute. Strangely, I found her laughing face familiar, and that bugged me, so I did some research on dramawiki. Turns out, Seventeen model Okamoto Azuka plays this character!! Omg. I could barely tell. I had disliked Azuka as a model in Seventeen because she had always seemed so fake-looking and I couldn't get into liking her no matter how I saw her. But here, I had found her likable immediately. So this deifnitely goes to show how different a person's image could be shown in acting as compared to just their face on a magazine spread.
Anyways, I think I'm really going to like this drama, so I'll probably continue watching this!