KDrama Review 7 [Full House]

Hello everyone, today I'm reviewing an old school K-Drama, one which features Rain. Have you guessed it yet, todays review will be over Full House.

BE WARNED THIS POST WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS

SYNOPSIS:  The story revolves around Han Ji Eun who is a struggling writer. She lives in a large house named Full House which was designed by her late father. Han Ji Eun is a bit naive and very trusting, so when her two friends tell her they are giving her an all expense paid trip China she takes it. While she is gone her friend sale her house and take the money. On her trip Ji Eun runs into a famous actor Lee Young Jae. The two have a less then charming first meeting, however when Ji Eun finds herself stranded in China with no money to get home. She goes to Young Jae and lies that she is a friend of his friend's. Young Jae gives her the money she needs so she can return home to Korea. Ji Eun soon discovers that her troubles have only doubled as she discovers that her house has been sold to none other then Young Jae. Thus crazy events follow and the two end up not only living together but married.

MAIN CHARACTERS:

Rain as Lee Young Jae [A famous actor who is a tad bit OCD when it comes to house work and not very good at showing his feelings. He is in love with Hye Won, however he finds himself slowing falling for Ji Eunl.]

Song Hye Kyo as Han Ji Eun [A struggling writer, who is naive and too trusting of others. She at first hates Young Jae and his odd ways, and believes she holds feelings for Min Hyuk. However she can't help that her heart can't seem to forget Young Jae even when loving him hurts her.]

Han Eun Jung as Kang Hye Won [A designer who has been friends with Min Hyuk and Young Jae since they were nine. She has always had feelings for Min Hyuk, however he has not respond to her feelings and says he only viewers her as a younger sister. She then decides she will try and steal the attention of Young Jae as he is more then willing to give her his attention since he has been in love with her for a long time.]

Kim Sung Soo as Yoo Min Hyuk [He is a business man who has been friends with Young Jae and Hye Won for a long time. He is known as the man that all women want but never get, including Hye Won. So when he comes across Ji Eun he finds her innocent and naive nature refreshing and decides to pursue her even though she is married to Young Jae.]

SUPPORTING CHARACTERS:

Jang Yong as Dr. Lee [Young Jae's father]

Kim Ji Young as [Young Jae's grandmother]

Kang Do Han as Dong Wook [Ji Eun's male best friend]

Lee Young Eun as Hee Jin [Ji Eun's female best friend]

ACTING: The acting was ok, nothing amazing, some characters were lacking and others were down right confusing. To me the most noticeable would be Young Jae who is first introduced as this player who jumps from bed to bed. He also has this great love and longing for Hye Won. However as the show goes on he seems a bit bipolar because one moment he is cool then he is childish, then he is angry the next he is caring. I guess it speaks to Rain's amazing acting skills, however I find the character to be a bit all over the place. I mean at the very end his character is shy, which kind of makes no sense to me since he had no problems sleeping around. Also Min Hyuk is a character who seems mislabeled from the start. He really seemed to give off this player type vide a true heartbreaker, however he never really shows anything to that effect in his personality. In truth if he really was that big of a creep he would tell Hye Won to continue liking him just to get the attention. However he tells her frankly and flat out that he see her as nothing more then a friend. On top of that he take very good care of Ji Eun and is patient with her. So even though they claim him to be a player I really never seem to see any evidence of that. Also don't get me wrong he hot as all hell and really can act but Kim Sung Soo's acting can seem a bit flat at times. I did like that Ji Eun's character was straight forward most of the time and said what was on her mind, most of the time lead female characters won't yell at the lead male or stand up for themselves but she had no problem putting her foot down.

PLOT OVERVIEW: The plot at first was nice, however as the show went on it really felt like they were simply re-hashing the same plot over and over again. First Young Jae would go spend time with Hye Won and leave Ji Eun to wait for him, she would get depressed and he would end up having to make it up to her. Or Ji Eun would meet with Min Hyuk and Young Jae would get mad and she would have to make it up to him. I was also really disappointed with the lack of romance between the two main characters. I mean even though they clearly were resisting each other for their own reasons, would it really hurt for them to have an accidental kiss or a hug every now and then. Also the whole thing with why Young Jae left school and his family really isn't well explained nor is his whole hang up with his little sisters death I mean it somewhat makes because it shows that he replaces taking care of his sister with Hy Won, however it just feels thrown in there. And another thing, what is with never showing Hee Jin progress in her pregnancy. Also I had a problem with was the supposed time-lapse that happens after they divorce, just because you straighten a characters hair does not mean it shows the passage of time lol. Lastly I want to address the major elephant in the room and that is the lack of sexual tension. Now I understand that this was shot in 2004 so I know that back in the day they use to be really strict on what could be shown on tv, but I mean come on. These are two characters who are clearly attracted to each other and live in the SAME house and are married, yet their seems to be no notice of each other. Now i'm not some kind of perv, just as a human-being I know that when you like someone you would to physically interact with them (not always meaning in a sexual way, just touching someones hand or a hug can be enough).

ENDING: Where to start, first off let me say I really didn't like the last episode. It made no sense for Ji Eun to suddenly have this drastic change in personality where she is no longer forgiving and a lot more cold. I understand that the writers were trying to make it seem as thought Ji Eun and Young Jae had switched places from when the series began, however I simply found it annoying to suddenly make her less likable. I really felt it was unnecessary to show a flashback of the whole series at the end. However I will say that I did like the scenes where they were finally acting like a couple, though it did make me sad that I had to wait until the very last episode to see it. Also the fact that Min Hyuk was so supportive of Young Jae after he not only hurt the girl he like but stole her away from him really confused me.

SOUNDTRACK: Once again I have a case of the music in the show and the soundtrack not matching up. I actually liked the OST, however in the show they would often play these random and quite annoying English songs in the background which seems so out of place.

RATING: Ok time to rate this show, on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being the worst show i've ever seen and 10 being a show I could watch ever day for the rest of my life I give it a 7. The plot after a while became to repetitive, the vast change in the characters at the end was a little annoying and the utter lack of romance between the two lead characters is what made me rate this a 7. It not a bad show by any means, it simply not my type of show since I like more romance over the span of many episodes, not all the romance crammed into one episode.


As always I encourage everyone to form their own opinion about a show or movie, these are simply my   views and reflections of what I felt about this drama.

KDrama Review 6 [Queen In Hyun's Man]

And i'm back again. So after I watched Rooftop Prince, many people in the comments were comparing Rooftop Prince and a show called Queen In Hyun's Man. The two have similar plot lines, since a male character comes from the past and ends up falling in love with a women in the future. However honestly, that's about all they have in common so it's not really fair to compare them. Allow me to tell you a little more about Queen In Hyun's Man and hopefully you will see what i'm talking about.

BE WARNED THAT THIS POST WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS

SYNOPSIS: The story revolves around Kim Boong Do, a scholar from the Joseon Dynasty who is working to help reinstate Queen In Hyun. Since his job is so dangerous, Yoon Wol a gisaeng gives him a talisman that she says will protect him. Later Kim Boong Do finds himself fighting for his life when an assassin aims his sword at Kim Boong Do's heart. Just as the sword is about to pierce his heart Kim Boong Do suddenly disappears and is transported to present time South Korea. There he meets a struggling actress Choi Hee Jin. As Kim Boong Do learns more about the future from Hee Jin, he starts to look at the records in at a library to learn about how things will play out in the past. Using the talisman Kim Boong Do jumps back and forth through time. Both to help the Queen reclaim her title in the past and to see Hee Jin who he has begin to fall in love with.

MAIN CHARACTERS:

Ji Hyun Woo as Kim Boong Do [He is a smart scholar and one with a great sense of justice. He is able to stay calm when presented with a problem and able to adapt quickly when in the future.]

Yoon In Na as Choi Hee Jin [She is a lovable yet sometimes foolish women who tends to give her heart too easily to others. Though she goofs around a lot in life, she is serious about her acting.]

Kim Jin Woo as Han Dong Min [He is an actor and ex-boyfriend of Hee Jin, whom he cheated on and then left. The two end up working together on a new TV show and Dong Min decides he wants to give it another try with Hee Jin. He is often childish and full of himself, however there are times when he does show genuine care for Hee Jin and wants to help her with her career.]

SUPPORTING CAST:

Ga Deuk Hi as Jo Soo Kyung [She is Hee Jin's roommate and manager. She is often the voice of reason for Hee Jin and constantly threatens to quite because of how random Hee Jin tends to act and her sometimes lack of care for her career. She is very cautious of Kim Boong Do because she does not want Hee Jin to suffer another heartbreak.]

Jin Ye Sol as Yoon Wol [Is a gisaeng (Gisaengs are performers and sometimes prostitutes) who holds a deep affection for Kim Boong Do. She has been with his household since she was little and cares greatly for him though she knows they could never be together due to their difference in status.]


ACTING: I have to say this is probably the most well rounded acting from a whole cast I have ever seen. From the extras, to the minor characters, to the main characters I was really blown away. The villains are really so conniving and evil, King Sukjong just seems so hot headed and really makes you worry about his rash decisions. Ga Deuk Hi did a great good as Hee Jin's manager. A lot of people were saying she was mean or annoying however I never once though that about her. Anything and everything she did was in the best interest of Hee Jin. As for the the main characters, Yoo In Na's acting was really great, she made the character feel like a real person. Her cute bubblyness made her endearing and the scenes where she cried I swear I shed a tear as well because you could really feel her characters sense of lose. Ji Hyun Woo's acting at first wasn't really anything impressive to me, because he was playing a character that I had seen many times before. Which is the noblemen from the Joseon period with a sense of justice and pride. However it was his interaction with Yoo In Na's character that really made him shine. To see him act oblivious and curious about things around him in the future. To see his character pick up phrases and actions like a smirk were just great. I would have to say that my favor performance of his was the last episode. There were just so many emotions for his character and he displayed them so well. Lastly there is my favorite character from the show and that is Han Dong Min who was played by Kim Jin Woo. Wow was all I could say when I first saw his character. It was refreshing to see an ex-boyfriend/arrogant actor who had some depth. Though Dong Min's character is a player and cheated on Hee Jin in the past, he really does come across someone who secretly wants to see her succeed and perhaps has seen the error of his ways with how badly he treated her. I love that he is childish and at times in his own little world since he really does seem to believe that the whole world revolves around him.

PLOT OVERVIEW: For the most part I don't really have that many complaints about the plot. When I first finished the show I felt somewhat underwhelmed by the whole thing. However it only took me a few seconds to realize that the reason I felt that way was because the plot was so simple. The writers didn't feel the need to create unnecessary drama for the characters by adding in a long lost relative or beating us over the head with a love triangle. They presented us with the problem of the two main character being in love, however they are from different times. Kim Boong Do also has to deal with the problem of taking care of things in the past and deciding if he can leave it all behind to be with Hee Jin in the future. Also a major and big plus for me, was they were quick to get to the romance. The only big issue I have is with the very first few minutes of the first episode when they showed the two of them meeting. I let it go hoping that they would explain it in future episodes or wrap it up in the end how they never addressed it again and frankly would have been better just leaving it out. Also another small complaint would the way they shot the first couple of episodes. They shot it like an action movie with slow-mo and whatnot and it just didn't seem to fit. They also shot it from really odd angles and had a number of split screen that really did not add to the show. In my opinion the worst thing you can do is remind your viewer that they are watching a show through fancy camera work. The best k-drama's I have ever seen are ones that draw me into their world and make me forget i'm watching a show.

ENDING: The ending I have almost no complaints about except one. What they did with Yoon Wol's character I felt was unnecessary and kind of thrown in there. However I loved the way they solved the final problem and found the ending very satisfying.

SOUNDTRACK: What a lovely soundtrack. I'm a sucker for instrumentals that use old school Korean instruments. Also the singers all had lovely voices and they complemented the storyline.

OST Part 1

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artists	Length
1.	"그대가 왔죠" (You've Come)	정호규, Pabaki, Mr.Sync	정호규, Pabaki, Mr.Sync	김소정 (Kim So-jung)	03:10
2.	"지금 만나러 갑니다" (I'm Coming To See You)	노는 어린이	노는 어린이	덕환 (Duk Hwan)	03:18
3.	"그대가 왔죠(Inst.)" (You've Come(Inst.))		정호규, Pabaki, Mr.Sync		03:10
4.	"지금 만나러 갑니다(Inst.)" (I'm Coming To See You(Inst.))		노는 어린이		03:18

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artists	Length
1.	"꼭 한번" (Just Once)	영재, 민연재	영재, 배기필	영재 (Young Jae of 4Men)	03:35
2.	"꼭 한번(Inst.)" (Just Once(Inst.))		영재, 배기필		03:35

OST Part

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artists	Length
1.	"같은 하늘 다른 시간에" (Same Sky, Different Time)	조현주	김도형	주희 (Joo Hee of 8Eight)	03:40
2.	"같은 하늘 다른 시간에(Inst.)" (Same Sky, Different Time(Inst.))		김도형		03:40

RATING:  Ok as for the rating. On a scale from 1 to 10 with 1 being the worst drama I have ever seen and 10 being a show I could watch every day of my life I give it a 9. I simply cannot really come up with a complaint about this show. I love the characters, I really liked the plot, it really is a board-line 10, however it just did not give me that 10 feeling that Secret Garden gave me. However I would like to state that Queen In Hyun's Man has one of the hottest kiss scenes I have ever seen in a k-drama and I believe it also have the first scene in a k-drama (that i've seen) where the characters shot the middle finger and it was freaking hilarious.

EXTRA: Ok I felt like giving my opinion on the whole Rooftop Prince vs Queen In Hyun's Man thing. Honestly I feel like you can't even compare them. Rooftop Prince is a murder mystery with a lot of action and suspense with twist and turns at every corner. Queen In Hyun's Man is a love story, that is complicated by the troubles in Kim Boong Do's past. So which one would I suggest watching, my answer is both. They are both really amazing with great acting, good plot-lines. Though Rooftop Prince had a lot of serious themes and you often worry if things will turn out all right for the main couple. It still has a lot of comedic relief and sweet couple moments, it just takes a while to get to the romance. With Queen In Hyun's Man it really does not take that long for the main couple to realize their feelings for each other and act on them. However I really don't find the plot that suspenseful, honestly the whole show just has this feeling that everything will turn out all right, which there is nothing wrong with, it's just things began to feel expected.


As always I encourage everyone to form their own opinion about a show or movie, these are simply my   views and reflections of what I felt about this drama.

Feature [10] Shinhwa

Hey guys, I have a new feature for you, however with this one I will break one of my own rules that I follow when I write features. And that rule is, that I never feature a group/solo artist that has won first place on M! Countdown or similar shows to M! Countdown. If they have managed to win first place on shows like that then that group/solo artist is clearly not unknown by kpop fans. However i'm going to make a special exception for Shinhwa, because I know that there are people out there who like myself, were introduced to Kpop later in the game and are not very aware of who Shinhwa is and what they have accomplished in the world of Kpop. So sit back and relax and allow me to introduce you to The Legends.

(Shinhwa Early Days)

 (Shinhwa Now)

(The Real Shinhwa lol)

MEMBERS:

Eric (Leader, Main Rapper)

Minwoo (Main Dancer, Lead Vocalist)

Dongwan (Lead Vocalist)

Hyesung (Main Vocalist)

Junjin (Vocalist, Visual, Lead Dancer)

Andy (Lead Rapper, Maknae)

This is going to be a long bio since this group has been together for fourteen years, so there's a lot to talk about.

BIO: Shinhwa (which means Legend) debut in 1998 under SM Entertainment. Their first album did not perform well and SM Entertainment was greatly considering disbanding the group, however the they was saved by their second album T.O.P which helped move the group away from a cute image and helped establish them as a fierce and edgy group with amazing dance skills.
     As Shinhwa grew in popularity they were not without problems. For their fourth album Hey, Come On!, Andy did not take part in this album leading the media to speculate as to why he was not involved and leaving fans to worry that he had left the group. However Andy returned in time for their fifth album Perfect man.
     In 2003 when Shinhwa's contract expired with SM Entertainment it is rumored that SM only wanted to resign a few members of the group and not all of them. So the members that were offered contracts turned them down and the whole group signed with Good Entertainment. However Shinhwa did not have an easy transition to Good Entertainment. SM Entertainment claimed they owned the rights to the name Shinhwa and the members of Shinhwa had to bring SM Entertainment to court for use of their name. They won their court battle and started their new life at Good Entertainment.
     Under Good Entertainment Shinhwa began having more control over the songs they sang and the concepts they put out. The year 2003 also marked when members began pursuing different solo projects, such things as acting in dramas, making their own solo singing debuts, and solo CF's.
     In 2007 after releasing very well received albums under Good Entertainment, Shinhwa members decided to branch out and sign individual contracts with different companies. However they were very adamant that they would still preform together as Shinhwa even though they were under different companies.
     At their 10th anniversary concert the members made what came to be known as "The Promise" which they stated that they would return after all the members had finished their mandatory military enlistment. In 2008 Eric and Dongwan enlisted in for military service, Junjin enlisted in 2009, Andy and Minwoo 2010, Hyesung was exempt from military service due to a knee injury he had sustained in 2001. Minwoo was the last to be discharged from the military in March of 2012, setting in motion Shinhwa's return.

(It's ok if you feel like skipping the top part this next part is what you should read because it talks about what they are doing now.)

Shinhwa created their own company, rightfully named Shinhwa Company in 2011, with Eric and Minwoo being co-CEO's and the rest of the members as share holders. In March 2012 Shinhwa announced their comeback, they released their 10th studio album The Return that same month. They have since participated in various variety shows in which they are more open about past experiences and troubles they've gone through over the years. They also have their own TV show named Shinhwa Broadcast, with the theme of the show being that each week they try out different TV show formats. Shinhwa is the longest running boy band in Korea, and truly are legends.

OFFICIAL WEBSITES: Website: http://www.shinhwacompany.co.kr/
                                          Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shinhwacompany
                                         Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/shinhwacompany
                                         Youtube:http://www.youtube.com/user/SHINHWACOMPANY

Shinhwa Broadcast:

(Shinhwa has released a totally of 25 videos over the years so i'm just going to pick my favorites.)
MUSIC VIDEOS:

T.O.P-

Wild Eyes-

Brand New-

Throw My Fist-

Once In A Life Time-

Run-

Venus-

They really are an amazing group, not only are they talented but they are so much fun to watch on variety shows. If nothing else watch the first three episodes of Shinhwa Broadcast and you will fall in love with them I'm sure of it.

Please support Shinhwa by purchasing their music legally you can find it here at their itunes page http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/sinhwa-shinhwa/id398937836

KDrama Review 5 [Boys Over Flower]

Oh wow, i'm writing these K-Drama reviews faster then they can make k-drama's lol. But in all seriousness, I will be reviewing one of the most highly reguarded k-drama's in k-dramadom. That's right, the one, the only, Boys Over Flowers, and let me just say this, it's not gonna be pretty...

BE WARNED THAT THIS POST WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS

SYNOPSIS: The story centers around a group called the F4, they are four rich young men, who enjoy all the finer things in life and know nothing of the struggles of the common people. Enter Geum Jan Di, after saving the life of a student at the renowned Shinhwa High School where all the rich people send there kids. Jan Di is given a scholarship to attend Shinhwa High School. There she meets the F4, Yoon Ji Hoo, So Ee Jung, Song Woo Bin and their leader Goo Jun Pyo. At first Jun Pyo tries he's best to make Jan Di leave school after she stands up to him. However slowly he finds himself falling in love with her, the only problem is that Jan Di has started to fall for Yoon Ji Hoo.

MAIN CHARACTERS:

Koo Hye Sun as Geum Jan Di [Jan Di is a normal girl who finds herself thrust into a world of the rich and famous and no quite sure what to do with herself. At first she is a butt kicking girl who stands up for what she believes and refuses to let the F4 bully others. However after she gets to know the F4, I find that her character becomes really dependent on them way to much, especially Ji Hoo. She also has a very odd love-hate relationship with Jun Pyo.]

Lee Min Hoo as Goo Jun Pyo [Jun Pyo grew up never knowing the word "No" everything he has ever wanted he's gotten. The only thing his life seems to lack is a supportive and loving family. He really is a child in a man's body at first, however after certain serious events his character matures.]

Kim Hyun Joong as Yoon Ji Hoo [Ji Hoo is very talented musically, however he lacks warmth in his personality and never really opens up to other people. That changes when Jan Di comes and begins to help break him away from his icy ways. He eventually falls in love with Jan Di, however he is willing to not pursue her as a favor to his best friend Jun Pyo.]

Kim Bum as So Yi Jung [A handsome pottery making playboy, Yi Jung always seems to have a new woman on his arm. However he does care deeply for his friends, and through a course of chance meetings begins to have feeling for Jan Di's friend Ga Eul.]

Kim Joon as Song Woo Bin [The fighter of the F4, he has connection to the underground and always has thugs ready at his disposal. He is a very underutilized character who unfortunately is given very little back story or love interest.]

SUPPORTING CAST:

Kim So Eun as Cha Ga Eul [Ga Eul is Jan Di's best friend and works with her at the porridge shop. She often finds herself being dragged along with Jan Di whenever the F4 wants to go somewhere and she often helps the F4 out when they are trying to better Jan Di and Jun Pyo's relationship. She is very innocent yet wise girl, and frankly her relationship with Yi Jung is by far the healthiest in the whole series.]

Kim Hyun Joo as Goo Jun Hee [Jun Hee is Jun Pyo's older sister, she loves her brother very much and is a big supporter of Jun Pyo and Jan Di's relationship. She helps the two of them fight against her mother, hoping to prevent Jun Pyo from being forced into a loveless marriage like she was.]

Lee Hye Young as Kang Hee Soo [She Jun Pyo's mother and is also the chairman of Shinhwa company. She despises the fact that Jun Pyo would like a poor nameless girl like Jan Di and does every thing in her power to separate the two. The vast majority of problems the main characters face stem from something caused by her.]

Lee Min Jung as Ha Jae Kyung [She is the wealthy daughter of the a company which Chairman Kang wishes to form an alliance with the Shinhwa group. Jae Kyung actually meets Jan Di by chance and the two hit it off. Jae Kyung is forced into an arranged marriage with Jun Pyo at first, however after a while she begins to form feelings for him she is all for the marriage even though she know that Jun Pyo does not love her.]

ACTING:

The acting was hit and a miss, Lee Min Ho deserves a lot of credit, he manages to really show his characters inter-struggle and express his sadness and love very well. However Koo Hye Sun really seemed to be lacking for me, I felt like at first she was on the right path, acting righteous and self assured, and its like permeant depression stayed over her character the rest of the show which really did not give her character much depth. At first Kim Hyun Joong I found disappointing, however as he character slowly became a more open and loving person (and he smiled more) I changed my opinion and I would he actually did quite well. Kim Bum and Kim Joon were great at their parts I have no complaints. Also Lee Hye Young as Jun Pyo's mother was brilliant I really hated her character so she portrayed her well.

PLOT OVERVIEW:

The plot really was one big mess, honestly the show should have been just fifteen episodes at the most twenty, but by making it twenety-five episodes they ended up having way to many internal plots that they would start and never finish.

For those who don't know, whenever I watch a k-drama I have a note pad next to me and each episode I will write little comments about what I like and don't like. The very first thing I wrote was how I liked that Jan Di was going to be a strong female lead, boy could I have not been more wrong. The second Jun Pyo left the country she lost all character depth and was then left with the fate of being a character who constatnly had to rely on Ji Hoo, and even worse the fact that Ji Hoo really never gets over that he's in love with Jan Di is just torture. Mainly because (as I know many people think this way) that Jan Di and Ji Hoo seem like they would make a much better couple. However I think that's only because they 1. Spend more time together and 2. Act lovingly towards one another. With Jun Pyo and Jan Di it's like the first half of the show Jan Di hates Jun Pyo so whenever he tries to be nice to her or be romantic she shots him down, and then the second half of the show is Jan Di loving Jun Pyo and Jun Pyo acting indifferent towards her and it gets so damn annoying.

Also what is with the randomly having half the cast of supporting/minor characters just disapear. For instants, the Master at the porridge shop, Jan Di's father, the trio of mean girls, Butler Lee, Min Seo Hyun(Ji Hoo's first love). Many of these characters just never show up again, some are kind of given a reason for leaving, however they way they portray it makes with seem like there was a fight with the writers or director and so they just replaced them with someone more famous or no one at all.

Ok so here are the last of my random observations, 1. If she first got to attend school under a swimming scholarship, then won't she not be able to attend anymore if she can't swim. 2. It's not played up in the drama but in the manga Ji Hoo has a fear of driving cars since the accident yet he's shown driving a car very early on in the series. However when it comes time for him to race Jun Pyo they end up making it a big deal like he's afaird to drive out of the blue. 3. Honestly I feel like Jun Pyo put a lot more time and effort into the relationship then Jan Di, it really does seem odd that she says she like him so much yet they did not have all that many times together when they weren't fighting with each other. 4. I really hated the appearance of so many "Love Rivals" I can bear the men who chase after Jan Di, however adding Ha Jae Kyung and later  Jang Yu Mi (chic from the hospital) just made two many problems, I really wished they would have just focused on the lead couple standing up and fighting against his mom. 5. Also to have Jun Pyo go from completely ignoring her and telling her their whole relationship was a lie and then to turn around and pretty much act like nothing happen when he got back to Korea made no sense. 6. Losing his memory of her at the end was way over the top and totally not needed. 7. There was no point in her meeting Jun Pyo's dad since they never ended up interacting with each other.

ENDING:

I really didn't like the ending I felt like it left so many thing unresolved, which for a twenty-five episode show that should never happen. The show should have ended with her graduating from med school, him purposing, and them getting married. Instead they make seem like she will flunk out of med school they don't even get to get married, and Ga Eul and Yi Jung never even got to kiss. Also I had hoped they would have at least shown that Ji Hoo got over his feelings of love for Jan Di and only wanted to look after her as an older brother, yet they left the poor guy without a love interest and still looking very much in love with her. Also did anyone else feel like his mother got off way to easy, because I certainly did.

SOUNDTRACK:

The soundtrack at the beginning of the show made me want to pull my hair out, I swear if I hear Paradise one more time i'm going to lose it! It got better in the second half of the series when they started adding in ballads. But I swear just to piss me off they had to add Paradise in at the last seconds of the last episode.

RATING:

Ok time to rate this, now when I rate a show I try and be completely objective and look at the show for its many different elements. So on a scale from 1 to 10 with on being the worst drama i've ever seen and 10 being a show I could watch ever day of my life I have to give it a 6. I really felt that Jan Di's character went from being a strong willed woman who protected those who were being taken advantage of, to a really weak character who had to have other fight her battles. Also the constant "I love you, then I hate, and then I love you again" between Jun Pyo and Jan Di was just to much to bare, and lastly not giving a satisfying ending for all the main characters really bugged me.


As always I encourage everyone to form their own opinion about a show or movie, these are simply my   views and reflections of what I felt about this drama.

KDrama Review 4 [Rooftop Prince]

I've got another K-Drama review for you guys and this is a first for me. What I mean by it's a first is that this is the first k-drama I started watching while it was still airing. Wait that's a lie I started watching City Hunters while it was airing but never finished it, this is the first one i've finished. Anyway today's review is over Rooftop Prince.

BE WARNED THAT THIS POST WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS

SYNOPSIS: The story center's around prince Lee Gak from the Joseon era in Korea, who after the mystery death of this beloved crown princess seeks to find out the events that led to her death. He is aided in his efforts by Song Man Bo, a brilliant man for his time who can memorize anything almost instantly, Do Chi San, man who is pretty enough to cross-dress which helps him discover all the gossip around town, and Woo Young Sul, a man with amazing fighting skills who is trained to fight with both weapon and hand to hand combat. Together they are all transported 300 years into the future where they land on the rooftop of Park Ha. Together with Park Ha, Lee Gak and his crew learn how to survive and act in the year 2012. They soon come to discover that the crown princess was reincarnated, so Lee Gak goes to extreme lengths to be by her side believing that the only way to return them to the past is to once again gain the heart of the now reincarnated princess.

MAIN CHARACTERS: 

Micky Yoochun as both Yong Tae Yong/Prince Lee Gak  [Lee Gak is nobility in every respect, meaning he knows only about the finer things in life and is used to everything being done for him and everyone following his every command. This becomes one of his biggest trial when he's in the future, where he must step out of his comfort zone and do things for himself. Tae Yong is easy an going artist who has no interest in running his families business. He also happens to be Lee Gak's reincarnation. When Tae Yong goes missing due to Yong Tae Moo's actions, Lee Gak pretends to be him in order to be close to Se Na and later to protect Tae Yong's claim to his inheritance]

Han Jin Min as both Park Ha/Bu Yong [Park Ha is a young lady who has not had an easy life, yet has somehow managed to always look on the brighter side of life. After a car accident when she was young, she lost her memories and was adopted by parents in America, where she stays until she is grown and is able to learn who her birth father in Korea is, and returns to Korea to seek him out only to find that he has passed away. She then comes in contact with her step mom and her step sister Se Na. Bu Yong is the younger sister of Hwa Yong, and was first chosen as to marry prince Lee Gak when they are children, however after her face is burned badly by Hwa Yong, Bu Yong's name is withdrawn and Hwa Yong marries the prince leaving Bu Yong in a the shadows.]

Lee Tae Sung as Yong Tae Moo [Tae Moo is Tae Yong's cousin who puts all his effort into helping run the family business, however he is constantly frustrated by the fact that their grandmother prefers Tae Yong to take over the family business over him. When he meets with Tae Yong in New York there is a confrontation and Tae Moo ends up knocking Tae Yong overboard into the water leaving him to believe he has killed him. So it is a total shock when Lee Gak shows up and claims to be Tae Yong, and not only that but Lee Gak is out to prove that Tae Moo had a hand in Tae Yong's disappearance.]

Jun Yoo Mi as Hong Se Na/Hwa Yong [Se Na is a beautiful secretary who works at the Yong's families place of business and is in a relationship with Tae Moo, the only problem is that she is constantly weaving a web of lies. Having been none to happy that her mother wants to join families with Park Ha's, Se Na even at a young age is constantly bullying Park Ha eventually she is given a chance to once and for all get rid of Park Ha when she leaves her in the back of a truck which later gets in an accident and is the reason for Park Ha's memory loss. Se Na is ashamed of the fact that her mother is lowly fish seller and so she lies about almost everything in her life and finds great pleasure in trying to steal everything away from Park Ha.]

SUPPORTING CAST

Lee Min Ho as Song Man Bo [A brilliant man, who can memorize anything almost instantly he is the brains of the group and also the maknae of the group]

Choi Woo Shik as Do Chi San [man who is pretty enough to cross-dress which helps him discover all the gossip around town.]

Jung Suk Won as Woo Young Sul [A man with amazing fighting skills who is trained to fight with both weapon and hand to hand combat. His a man who very rarely smiles and is very protective over the crown prince] 


ACTING: I was very pleased with the acting in this show, from the main actors to the supporting characters and even the minor characters I was very happy with. I was actually a little more impressed with the villains of the show then the main good guys, both Tae Moo and Se Na had such complexity to them and you simply wanted to see them pay for every bad thing they did to the main characters. Micky as a crown prince was fun to watch but I also enjoyed him as nice guy Tae Yong. And of course I can't forget about the trio they were so cute and such a good element to have. Also I really loved Lee Moon Shik's character Pyo Taek Soo, who was in charge of helping the trio and protecting Tae Yong from Tae Moo's evil intentions.

PLOT OVERVIEW: I tend to shy away from K-Drama's that are set in the past for two reasons, 1. I'm still brushing up on my Korean history so sometimes when they make a gesture that would seem sufficient to a Korean viewer it's lost on me, 2. Historical drama's often do not have happy endings. However I was really happy when I learned that the majority of the show take place in present times. I though it was a good plot theme to have the group of four travel to the future because it was humorous to watch them try and learn about cellphones and whatnot that they don't have in their time.

With that being said I was not a fan of how they began the show, having the events so out of sequence. Instead of first introducing the characters and giving us a backstory they did it really out of order and I was really confused. Also another problem I had, was the time lapse in the show, they did not transition well to show that two years had past since Tae Yong went missing. Also a big thing I found odd is that it is considered very scandalous for a man and a woman who aren't married to live together in Korea, yet Park Ha lived with four men and no says a thing. However over all I really did enjoy the plot, it had just enough mystery to make me want to watch to the end, had a good amount of romance, and a good amount of drama but didn't over do it like some shows I know *cough*Boys Over Flower*cough*.

ENDING: Now as a hopeless romantic I always want an ending where the main couple ends up together and gets married and has kids, you know the whole nine yards. However this ending went a different route which I found surprisingly refreshing. It truly spoke to how much they loved each other. The only thing I wish they might have done is when Tae Yong and Park Ha are both unconscious if they might have met each other in their dreams, but maybe that's me wanting a bit of a Secret Garden element to the show. Also I felt that Se Na should have been punished more for everything she did to Park Ha throughout the show.

SOUNDTRACK: Such a lovely sound track and at first they were slow to utilize it how they finally started to use and it really added to the show.

RATING: Ok so on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the worst drama i've ever seen and 10 something I could watch everyday of my life I give it an 8. I really loved this drama and I will be buying it when it comes out on DVD, however there were a few elements of the show that left me wanting and the beginning was a bit confusing.


As always I encourage everyone to form their own opinion about a show or movie, these are simply my   views and reflections of what I felt about this drama.