Another year, another year end review. For me the year end review contextualizes the dramas watched on three levels – its own merits, how it stacks up against its compatriots, and how the year measures up against previous years. If I wanted to add an additional intangible factor, then it would be how happy or frustrating it was for me … Continue reading →
It’s looking more and more like my gut instinct about To the Beautiful You is right. Sulli and Min Ho are likely the closest live-action actors to their manga counterparts in Hana Kimi. She looks feminine but has the masculine swagger and attitude down right, and Min Ho is aloof without coming across as half asleep or robotic. Of course … Continue reading →
Ah To the Beautiful You, still looking cute there! We’re a week out from the scrum next Wednesday when Beautiful You premieres along with Arang and the Magistrate. To say the two dramas are as different from each other as night and day is an understatement, plus Gakistal is still around since it got an extension, which makes the ratings … Continue reading →
To the Beautiful You released three official posters and I thought it would be fun to stack them up against the posters from the previous versions of Hana Kimi. This story/drama franchise really doesn’t get as much cult love out there as HanaDan or Itazura na Kiss, but I think that’s due to none of the previous versions being considered … Continue reading →
To the Beautiful You is determined to make me love it. First it casts Min Ho as quite possibly the most perfect Sano Izumi to date (looks and physique-wise, though acting isn’t that high of a bar to match up to since Wu Zun can’t act his way out of a paper bag and Oguri Shun strangely decided to barely … Continue reading →
I think there is some cosmic drama in-joke somewhere that has resulted in me recapping Oguri Shun’s Rich Man, Poor Woman around the same time Korea’s remake of Hana Kimi is about to premiere. What will original J-flavor Sano Izumi think about his hoobae Min Ho trying on the high jumping champion facing a career bottleneck? I know what I … Continue reading →
I’m going out on a limb here and throwing out the possibility that, despite being pack to the gill with SM Entertainment Idols, the upcoming Hana Kimi remake To the Beautiful You might actually be good. I base my conjecture on two things: (1) this first set of stills between leads Min Ho and Sulli look cute and chemistry-laden, and … Continue reading →
To the Beautiful You just released its first energetic teaser and to my non-surprise, I like it! I have this weird relationship with dramas adapted from mangas, don’t ask. Even the hot mess Boys Before Flowers kept me riveted during its live airing, and I adored Playful Kiss for its slow burn not much happens mellowness. Beautiful You is the K-version of … Continue reading →
The million dollar question is (or billion dollar if we take into account inflation) – will To the Beautiful You (K-version of Hana Kimi) turn out to be a Boys Before Flowers (K-version of Hana Yori Dango) or a Playful Kiss (K-version of Itazura na Kiss)? I’m talking about domestic ratings, of course, as BoF was a surprising hit while … Continue reading →
After percolating for the past year, SM Entertainment has finally finalized the cast for its adaptation of Hanazakari no Kimitachi e (Hana Kimi) which is called To the Beautiful You. The cast is a combination of two idols in the lead, Sulli from f(x) playing the role of Ashiya Mizuki and Minho from SHINee as Sano Izumi, plus two young actors … Continue reading →