Summer is OVER! Hello darkness school, my old friend.
[white_box] Overall thoughts on Life on Mars, Hito wa Mitame ga 100 Percent, anone, and Life (!!!) after the jump — very light on spoilers. [/white_box]
Finished
Life on Mars / … committed the cardinal k-drama sin of making promises they may not be able to keep, which kept the ending from TRULY being great IMO. Aside from that, and I’m still processing everything, this drama is just as good as Signal. The only other k-drama I’ve finished this year is Prison Playbook, so this has pretty much cemented Jung Kyungho’s status as a reliable favorite. He’s 2 for 2 this year! And this had to have been the role of his career. This was not a performance I expected from him, but he continued to impress me every single dang episode. Despite never having watched the original, I think this was one of Korea’s best remakes of anything. There was just the right amount of culture to make it a standout, standalone drama. (And can I just say that I love who they cast as Taejoo’s mom? She was also the owner of Belle Epoque in Age of Youth, and I just love her vibe!!)
Hito wa Mitame ga 100 Percent / It has been a very long time since I’ve watched a drama that’s made me laugh like this one… the last one was probably Producer? I think the humor takes some getting used to, and some gags go on for way too long, but EVERY. EPISODE. I just had something to laugh about. I’ve been trying to finish this drama for a year now, and whenever I came back to this I was like “haha, this is so funny” and just… forgot about it. LOL. I’m so glad I decided to power through it this time.
I also appreciated the little twist at the end because it’s such a j-drama thing to forsake so-and-so after the protagonist has realized what is truly important to them: personal growth and friendship. I MEAN. It’s so wholesome and sweet! If it’s not something that doesn’t help you grow as a person and turns you into something you can’t recognize, then it ain’t worth it. At least that’s the message I got from this light and fluffy drama, haha. That alone gives it a * ½ for me..
Other reasons to watch: Blouson Chiemi’s acting debut, cute glasses guy and his love of cake, Mizukawa Asami (“plain”? LIES), breaking character.
anone / When I started watching j-dramas in high school (heol), I just sort of watched whatever was poppin’ at the time — usually a drama featuring the most popular Johnny’s talent of the moment and/or Oguri Shun… and I have no regrets, because those were some of the most fun dramas. A few years later I started college, watched JIN over winter break and thought: “THIS is prestige television.” I started diversifying my portfolio, so to speak. Somehow I stumbled upon Mother the following summer and it completely changed the game for me.
I watched Soredemo, Ikite Yuku later on and was convinced that Sakamoto Yuji could do no wrong. And for a while, he couldn’t; I liked ALL the dramas he was writing during this period, even the ones I never finished (Woman). Then, a shift. His Oyaji no Senaka episode wasn’t very memorable. Mondai no Aru Restaurant had flashes of greatness, but it clearly wasn’t his best work. ItsuKoi? Couldn’t get past the first episode. It wasn’t bad, just uninteresting. Quartet eventually reeled me back into his work, but the first episode of anone left me feeling very indifferent… again.
The first 3.5ish episodes were really rough, and I considered dropping it altogether. It wasn’t until we got to Aoba (well, “Aoba”)’s backstory that I kind of had an “oh!” moment and felt like I could stop hating and really empathize with people who were not Harika or Anone. This show is SUCH a slowburn, and I think these very important character details were dragged out for way too long. But it did get better. So much better!
I was thinking Eita’s character (Nakaseko) would be the type of mysterious supporting character who came from Harika’s past, but he turned out to be way more compelling and a lot more detestable than I expected. Sakamoto Yuji and Eita are just MAGIC, y’all. Eita’s whole aura changed — it was as if he became Nakaseko. And I didn’t know/expect much from Hirose Suzu either, but she really impressed me and held her own among all the heavyweights.
While I really enjoyed episodes 4-10, I don’t know if I’d say this is a drama I could recommend without reservations… it really depends on how much you can stomach the slow paced nature of the first three episodes. I think Sakamoto Yuji is a much better writer when he’s not writing about young women who have been trampled by the world. Hopefully this break he’s taking from writing does him some good, and I eagerly await his return to dramas!
Current
Life / Do I like medical dramas? No. Did I, against my better judgement, start and catch up with all episodes of Life? Yes. I did. Do I regret it? NO!! I do like what I’m watching so far, and I’m a fool for Gu Seung-hyo (Jo Seung-woo). He’s a ruthless asshole with convictions, but we love an asshole with a heart of gold. He loves dogs. He lives with his parents. He wears three piece suits. WHAT IS NOT TO LOVE.
I also respect that Lee Dong-wook chose to do this drama after Goblin; it’s so easy to go back to doing hallyu blockbusters/mega dramas and ride off of that success (see: Lee Minho), but he chose something more… challenging, I’d say? And I think he’s doing a great job. Jinwoo is probably the cutest character he has ever done. His awkwardness around the cute reporter and proudly saying that he doesn’t have a girlfriend is the BEST thing. SO CUTE.
Unlike Forest of Secrets, which was plot driven, Life is all about the characters… and I have to say, I really do love a lot of the dynamics and relationships between them. Jinwoo would literally die/choke out a man for his Sunwoo, but I don’t know if he realizes just how much his actions have suffocated his brother, who is just a man FULL of secrets and pain. And nothing broke my heart more than Jinwoo’s reaction to Sunwoo’s confession to someone-who-will-not-be-named-because-spoilers. It was something along the lines of, “who needs her, we have each other, I’ll take care of you” and… ugh. JINWOO. DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING. :(
I also looOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooved the dynamic between Sunwoo and Seung-hyo because of how they clearly understand and respect each other. I could watch them interact all damn day.
The only weak link so far is Lee No-eul… who I adore btw, don’t get me wrong — she’s sharp as a tack. I think there’s room for compassionate characters (see: Yeo-jin), I just think I’m expecting MORE. Sometimes it’s like she’s there for the male leads to interact with and react to. I feel like I know more about “Sunwoo Chang” than No-eul. I wouldn’t go as far as saying Lee Seo-yeon can’t write female characters though, because Oh Se-hwa is formidable, prideful, and not to be messed with. Maybe it’s just a case of the actor not being able to elevate what’s been given to them. I DUNNO.
Anyway. Life. A drama that makes hospital politicking interesting. WHO’D HAVE THOUGHT?!
DNF
Misty / I know, I know. I doubt I’ll get to it until winter break, tbh.
Samurai Gourmet / So the tea is that I don’t have Netflix (I already pay for so many other streaming services!), so this will be unfinished until I can borrow a family member’s credentials or something lmao