I’ll be the first to argue that the quality of mangas has been on a steady decline since the late-90s. But as an addict of the original brand of crack, I can’t help but still read them regularly. Call it a habit, or perhaps just a fervent hope that occasionally I’ll hit on that one jackpot (such as I did … Continue reading →
Ariel Lin is currently starring in the beyond lovely TW-drama In Time With You, but her body of work is about to expand by one more come next month. The long-completed rom-com movie Lovesick (the title is better translated as Love Phobia) is slated to premiere next month in Taiwan. Before Ariel and Bolin Chen filmed ITWY, they actually made … Continue reading →
Bu Bu Jing Xin is a story steeped in gray areas, where right and wrong are not painted in absolutes. The drama nevertheless is a study in contrasts, none more so than the parallel development of Ruo Xi’s relationships with 8th Prince and 4th Prince. I think the seeds were planted at the same time between her and the two … Continue reading →
The PD for Protect the Boss gave an interview this week where he revealed that the ending for the drama will be very “boss-like”, so I take that to mean breezy and charming if we’re going by the first half of the drama. I’m cool with that. I’m pretty certain at this point the two-episode extension was purely for the … Continue reading →
Honto? This I gotta see to believe. A manga I have long held is impossible to turn into a live-action adaptation is finally getting that treatment, albeit via a SP and not a full dorama. Fresh off the precious and warm Zenkai Girl is Aragaki Yui, who joins my small but growing list of J-actresses I adore (the other being … Continue reading →
Wow, that was fast! Bu Bu Jing Xin has officially been picked up for broadcast in Korea, on a network called CineOn TV (click here to see the landing homepage). I don’t think it’s a cable network, but likely an international station that shows a variety of programming. If a decade ago Princess Returning Pearl can be a smash hit … Continue reading →
For the penultimate episode of the live-action adaptation of Ouran High School Host Club, the drama goes full speed ahead in more character backstory revelations, bundling into a wee 23 minutes snippets on Mori and Honey, Tamaki, and even touching upon Kyoya. This was a cute episode that was really more for forward story momentum than about character interaction. Black Honey … Continue reading →
We’re headed into the final two episodes of Protect the Boss, and I’m feeling that warm bittersweet feeling starting to settle in. Sadness at the end of a drama, saying goodbye to characters we’ve grown to care for. But relief that it’s ending soon, so everyone gets their fitting farewells without the story getting prolonged for the sake of plot filler. … Continue reading →
Almost every single relationship in Bu Bu Jing Xin is well-developed, sometimes using very little to explain quite a lot. What’s extraordinary is how well the writer manages to create two equally devastating and viable love stories for the heroine Ruo Xi. As a viewer, both Ruo Xi’s relationship with 4th Prince and 8th Prince are unforgettable, even if in … Continue reading →
The C-news around Bu Bu Jing Xin exploded this weekend with the revelation that Director Lee apparently filmed multiple endings for the drama, and due to the leak of the DVD version, the production has stated that the currently airing Hunan TV version, which ends this week, will have a different ending. What tha what?! Okay, if the alterna-drama ending … Continue reading →
Have you ever harbored a secret wish that Yoo Ah In would be transformed into a really hot hobo? Well your wish just came true courtesy of W Korea magazine. I don’t think there is much of a high brow concept here, other than depicting Yoo Ah In as a wild young thing, as exemplified by being really dirty, bothered, … Continue reading →
It took me awhile to get up the courage to recap this episode of Zenkai Girl, because the first time I watched it a few weeks ago, I was bawling my way through it. It wasn’t sad, it was moving in ways that felt so immediate, like an arrow to the heart. While this episode was all about Wakaba and … Continue reading →
It’s like this weird switch has been flipped on between Kim Tae Hee and myself. I won’t lie about how much she used to annoy me. But after My Princess, pretty much she’s turned over a new leaf in my eyes and I’m so easily charmed by her. It doesn’t hurt that she’s following up one sparkling rom-com with what … Continue reading →