Now that Flower Boy Next Door is off to a solid start, the rest of the first half of 2013 is shaping up with a diverse bucket of dramas that I am mostly curious about but not necessarily all that rabid to watch (That Winter, The Wind Blows, IRIS 2, The Incarnation of Money). I’m sure another K-drama will come along to hook me and its probably something I never expected. With that said, the next K-drama I am salivating over is the upcoming fantasy action sageuk Gu Family Book. Starring Lee Seung Gi (LOVE) and Suzy (Love), two singing-acting fresh-faced cutie pies, I foresee tons of chemistry and lots of laughter ahead. Lee Seung Gi recently revealed some tidbits about the plot – he plays the offspring of the union of a human woman and a male god/deity (or maybe a demon like a gumiho). He learns his heritage through a book passed down in his family called the Gu Family Book which explains his condition. Apparently when he’s injured he manifests explosive emotions. Who’s with me in thinking this sounds just like Inuyasha! HOMG, please don’t butcher that Takahashi Rumiko masterpiece manga, though using the general concept of a half-human/half-demon guy and his love story with a regular girl could make for a compelling K-drama narrative. The narrative is about his quest to become fully human and is billed as a fun and fast action sageuk with lots of physical sequences. What worries me is the scriptwriter – earlier works like Hotelier and Dalja’s Spring is promising, later works like Baker King Kim Tak Gu and Man of Honor are not. Please don’t fuck this up, writer-nim. The PD hasn’t done a sageuk before but directed every one of Kim Eun Seok‘s dramas which makes A Gentleman’s Dignity his last work. Gu Family Book airs after Horse Doctor on MBC Mon-Tues nights, which marks its premiere in early April. I cannot wait!
While I adore Lee Seung Gi and Suzy, I’m not blind to their limitations. I thought Seung Gi was ahhhhhmazing in The King 2 Hearts but in truth he never impressed me before then so I don’t know if it was a fluke or genuine growth in acting. Or perhaps the result of him working with a veteran talented sunbae like Ha Ji Won so his acting rose to meet her level. Suzy has always been more charming onscreen presence than actual acting ability, though she really was decent in Introduction to Architecture. With that said, I am a teensy bit worried that putting these two together might result in both just hamming it up onscreen. Let’s hope my worry is for naught and they challenge each other to tackle this new sageuk genre for them.
I’m not a fan sageuk drama but I’am a HUGE fan of Seunggi <3 I'll give it a try, who knows if he could make me like sageuk drama too! 🙂
Is that photo of him decent Koala? He looks so hot (swoon) but also super thin, thinner than usual! Anyhowwww, I am beyond excited at his comeback. I’ve been strangely taken to him that I’ve been rewatching his Budokan concert every night this week 😀
*recent I mean, aha decent doesn’t make any sense !
LSG photo is recent. Photo shoot & interview for Star1 magazine Jan 2013. There are more photos & interview translation at LSG fan’s blogs.
I’m not worried about the acting, more so the writing… so I can see how things could go terribly wrong possibly. But Seung Gi and Suzy are bound to be completely adorable together so there’s that. Still really looking forward to it and Seunggi’s glorious Sageuk mane.
Omg, why is he so darn sexy? That picture…woooof. lol. I’m really excited for this drama. I’m hoping it’s more comedy than melodrama. And while I haven’t seen Architecture with Suzy I think she’s cute and a quick learner so I think she’ll be fine. It’s all about the writing for me. If it’s crappy writing, then there’s only so much actors can do. April is TOO far away.
sounds like INUYASHA, which I loved so much.
suzy-seung gi… cuteness overload…
can’t wait.. and i’m so happy because you wait for that winter the wind blow and iris 2…
i think its not that similar with inuyasha (i’m a huge fan of its anime and manga).. Inuyasha has time-travelling theme rite? And Kagome is a reincarnation of Inuyasha first love.. And i guess there are still more.. IMHO
Sounds a lot like Inuyasha which I adore to pieces..and I’m fine with it if it borrows the general concept.
I adore Seung Gi and I think Suzy is cute so hopefully they’ll be a good match! Am glad to see him acting opposite someone who is a bit closer in age to him. Can’t wait for April! I’m such a sucker for sageuks for some reason (especially fantasy ones)
He’s actually got nearly eight years on her: he’s early ’87 and she’s late ’94. So no, not much less of an age gap here than there was with Ha Ji-won.
Lee Seung Gi is older 7 years & 9 months to be exact with Suzy (WOW) a brother & sister relationship I guess, kekeke…but because Suzy is one of my favorite korean singer-actress & Seung Gi as well I’m very excited to watched this series. BTW, Kim Soo Hyun (Suzy’s leading man in DREAM HIGH) is 6 years & 8 months older to Suzy but their chemistry together is PERFECT! Suzy was paired with Lee Je Hoon in Architecture 101 and he’s older 10 years & 3 months to Suzy, oh my…so I think age gap doesn’t really matter here.
Fighting Lee Seung Gi & Bae Soo Ji!!! (although I am a HyunZy couple fan & Hoi-Hoi couple fan, I will definitely support this two together)
three months is too long!! LSG in his first sageuk ! omg can’t wait~
Not a fan of saguek, even less a fan of fantasy saguek.
But this is LSG whom, like you said, was ahhhhhmazing in TK2H so I am counting down to April.
He looked really smoking hot in the star1 picture.
I am totally anticipating it……super excited not so much worried about the writer becoz you never know with the writer….the writer that wrote shinning inheritance wrote a crap like 49 days if i am not mistaken….there have many instances the writer who have wrote great hits are also writer of some horrible(may sound a little harsh) flicks……but the DIRECTOR PD has a good track record but hoping he does good work with this saeguk which is first time for him and as for the writer BAKER KING had above 40%rating so he she has a good track record in terms of ratings so hoping she produced spectacular peice in terms of the storyline…..knowing seunggi had a meeting with the director before confirming i bet the script was awesome so putting my trust in writer,director and seunggi for making an awesome drama…as far as suzy i was hoping for someone else to be the leading lady as she is too inexperienced for a lead role yet but i guess everybody deserve a fair chance and she can definitetly improve maybe the seunggi effect can bring a radicle change in her and she can give her best performance in the drama…just heard that lee yeon hee also may appear on the series but it is still not clear it is a special appereance or a full fledged role….not sure she is willing to do a 2nd lead role when she has played lead in movies and dramas but never know both suzy and lee yeon hee may have a equally meaty role….so keeping my fingers crossed and wishing all the best for the awesome cast,crew and production and hoping them to make a spectacular peice………..
Doesn’t sound much like Inuyasha(which I am a rabid fan girl of) but there are similar elements. Seriously, if this is a remake or adaptation of Inuyasha that would be freaking awesome!
I think Seunggi has charm and talent in acting. I became attracted to him through Brilliant Legacy. There were times when I was impressed by him and other times bothered. He did well in quieter scenes mostly, he managed to bring me to tears at times and had a great range of expression so he was never flat. But he tends to overact instead.
His performance in K2H was indeed a huge improvement. His acting was more nuanced, more natural and complex with mix of emotions, which I believe was a result from acting alongside great veteran actors and the ability to focus solely in his drama after leaving 1N2D and Strong Heart.
Like you, my worries in this drama lies more in the writer. Her recent works were not my cup of tea – too makjang, cliche and predictable. Besides, like you said the director has only been working with Kim Eun seok and never did a saguek before, so I also have my doubts there.
I love Seunggi so I hope this drama will turn out good against my expectation and his performance will improve even more. So far, his project has always been good, so I want to put my trust in him that he sees something good in this project as well.
Anyway, despite my worries though, I’m beyond excited for this drama. The production needs to release more news and updates!
yay! Seunggi is back 🙂 I expect a lot of k2h fan-turned-airens (just like me! LOL) to be present at the comments section of this one! Gosh, I miss the times when King 2 Hearts was still airing.
Writer-nim, please give us a great drama, jebaaal. I have no doubt that Seung Gi will give his best.
Btw, that picture of Seung Gi is SO HOT!
hoping this one doesn’t disappoint us. “___”
Iam so disappointed when know Suzy is lead actress. And now Lee Yeon Hee >”<
Sounds interesting. I like LSG and think he has exponentially improved in acting since his debut, but Suzy – although adorable – has a really, really limited acting range. They are both lovely and undoubtedly will have great chemistry, but I want to appreciate her character as a person and not only as his match, so here’s hoping she will prove all of us skeptics wrong and do an amazing job.
Can’t w8 to watch lee seung gi next drama,,,,so excited!!seung gi fighting!!
good lord, lee seung gi looks so good in that outfit and I don’t usually find the guy attractive.
I like LSG and Suzy so I’m looking forward to this drama. That said, I mirror your concern about the acting and writer. When I was a newbie watching Kdramas I watched them for entertainment and was more concerned of the plot and acting rather than knowing who is acting. I unknowingly watched LSGs dramas and they were immediately forgotten most likely because the acting or the plot did not resonate with me. That changed with TK2H. He really wowed me. I had to go back to the dramas I watched to verify if he really was in them. I hope that TK2H is an indication of his growth in acting and forge ahead with the same intensity going forward. As with Suzy she is definitely cute and she did show bits and pieces of her acting capacity in terms of a tear-jerker part or humor in Dream High and Big (using these two as reference since I have not seen her in her other dramas). I definitely think she can do better. Now but not least, the writer… a very integral cog in any drama. I do hope the script is good. No matter how good the actors are if the script is a complete bomb, the allure to watch dissipates. I’m reminded of a popular melo running right now,though I don’t watch it just read around…the actors are great, director is admirable, script is contemptible to say the least. Wishing LSG and Suzy a good drama and fine acting.
*Last but not least,…”
hope its not disappointing like Dr. Jin…..
This sounds like a potentially very fun ride.. I’m definitely going to check this out! My affection for Seung Gi has grown a lot since K2H & MGiaG, and I find Suzy likable though limited as an actress 🙂
Suzy is everywhere, don’t really care for her but interested in how lsg can pull this off
According to DCLSG they had their first script reading yesterday WITH THE MAIN CAST which lee seung gi revealed today on his birthday party…….super excited….waiting for script reading session photos of the cast…..hope MBC is listening and they publicly unveil the photos soon…..
Yes, other person who also thought this is Inu Yasha one hehe
But, but, Ms. Koala, do you Think this could be another version of Kanata Kara too?? The explosive when get angry, don’t you think so? Hehe
I m so HAPPY that soon I’ll be able to see Seung Gi on the small screen again. Really LOVE his performance in TK2H n was upset MBC didn’t award him an acting trophy despite his unforgettable performance! Really hope the writer n PD will be able to produce a DAEBAK drama fitting to Seung Gi’s talents. I don’t care about the actresses but just hope this will be an exciting n fun drama to watch. Seung Gi fighting!!!!
I don’t care on the scripts, all i want is to see lee seung gi on tv series again. Dying to see him ^o^
just watched 2 episode and it’s very touched :”) i hope next will be more more and more awesome
I like u seung gi
M yo big fan seung gi