WWW ~ March 2017

I'm very late again this month, but it is still March, so not quite out of date.


KOREAN
~ Father is Strange
Empress: Weekend family dramas, not my thing...
Ambassador: Welllll, Lee Joon is the main but it's a weekend family drama and I don't watch those.  Bye bye, possibility.
Unni: This sounds......boring-ish...I’ll pass thank you much!


~ You're Too Much
Empress: Heh, I like the impersonator angle. But again, nope. What they said. XD
Ambassador: another long family weekend drama.  noooope.  Only long weekend dramas I watch are sageukes, because manes of glory are needed to offset the boredom.  And swords.
Unni: *giggles at Ambassador’s reasons* But I have to agree, I have better things to be doing.


~ Queen of the Ring
Empress: Hm, I might try it with my sister. We're always looking for short kdramas. XD
Ambassador: another fantasy short.  Possibly I'll watch it?  Kim Seul Gi is genius at fantasy shorts if Splash Splash Love was anything to go by.
Unni: Oh! This looks cute! I’ll probably fill in an afternoon or evening with this somewhere along the line.


~ Radiant Office
Empress: I stay away from terminal illness dramas in general...(other than Marriage Contract, which was actually AMAZING).
Ambassador: *barely stumbles through synopsis without dislocating jaw with yawns*  Lordy no.  I'd fall asleep.
Unni: This...could be interesting. I might just peek at an episode before I decide on way or the other.


~ Whisper
Empress: ...Yes....I have to check it out, obviously...
Ambassador: YES.  This plot + Lee Bo Young and Lee Sang Yoon as leads with Lee Se Young as a secondary lead.  HECK YES.
Unni: *pricks up ears* this sounds interesting. I’ll probably see what they think of it before I go for it...but we’ll see.
Empress: *cracking up because Unni clearly knew what I was going to say*


~ Tunnel
Empress: What Unni said - if it's like that I will love it.  And FINALLY, Choi Jin-Hyuk...XD {Even though I haven't managed to finish his drama Pride and Prejudice yet. That is a drama where actually knowing Korean would really help with understanding the plot...}
Ambassador: I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS FOR MONTHS.  CHOI JIN HYUK IS COMING BACK AND I COULD NOT BE HAPPIER.  ESPECIALLY WITH THIS SYNOPSIS.  AND OCN BEING THE NETWORK.
Unni: Hmm...time travel + serial killer= *wondering if this would be like 9 Times Time Travel meets Hello Monster* color me intrigued.


~ The Liar and his Lover
Empress: I watched the Japanese movie because DUH Sato Takeru...I went on a Japanese movie binge following Bloody Monday...it wasn't the weirdest thing I watched because of Sato Takeru, but I spent most of the movie puzzling over why they were pairing up an adult musician and a high school girl and why that relationship was bothering no one. IGNORING THAT ASPECT (like the movie did...), I liked it. Bromance, music, and Sato Takeru's face. What's not to like. Come on.
I really didn't feel like there was enough story there for a /drama/, but I'm going to have to check it out, if only to compare it to the movie.
Ambassador: Lee Hyun Woo lands some pretty interesting roles but this one isn't high on my list.  Not enough to draw me in.  If Unni likes it, I might check it out.  It's based on a manga which can mean a better base for adaptations but Cheese in the Trap apparently showed how that can go wrong.
Unni: Hmm, love and lies, this sounds UTTERLY PAINFUL...but then again it could have cute fluffy semi-tragic romance and a killer OST...which would be right up my ally....or it could be completely idiotic and I’ll be throwing my poor stuffed animals at the screen and screaming shut up in Chinese. I have a feeling I’ll be hooked on it....this could end badly for one of us.
Empress: LOL you guys.


~ Trace of the Hand  (webdrama)
Empress: *grinning* If Truly #short I might try this, just because it could be funny.
Ambassador: I'm snickering so hard.  I might watch it, just because #webdrama and #short.
Unni: HE SOUNDS AWFUL!!!! But isn’t this what we all want to do??????? *glances around* I mean...if we could wouldn’t we...but then we’d be the NSA..... *wonders if NSA agents are in love with people like us* I am digressing. This could be really cute, and I might watch it.


CHINESE
~ House Full of Happiness
Empress: Ufda. Okay, but mistranslated synopsis are frustrating but possibly hilarious, and this one... "yellow peony dusk love" and "suffered a small sister-in-law threat" --I'm cracking up. That said, it doesn't interest me. XD
Ambassador: Well, it sounds like a bunch of family drama and I'm not normally keen on that but I might check this one out for the sister dynamic.
Unni: My head hurts from this synopsis, but it could be....interesting but currently I am only interested in Chinese dramas that are of a historic nature. Chinese dramas don’t have the cute Taiwanese accent, juuuuuust sayin....


~The Name of the People
Empress: I feel like such a show being aired could be of historical note...but we'll see.
Ambassador: A Chinese House of Cards, with Lu Yi?  GIVE ME.  NOW.  Even if it is more of a Communist POV, just GIMME.
Unni: *leaves the Ambassador to her glory and moves on*
Empress: The Unni has only just got me started on a Chinese drama I might actually finish...if the Ambassador loves this one, I'll go for it. XD


~ Razor Edge
Empress: If it's anything like Gaksital, I am in. XD
Ambassador: Sounds like a Chinese pseudo-Gaksital, at least as far as the politics and police sides go.  Absolutely trying this, out of sheer curiosity.
Unni: I haven’t dared to try and tread in Gaksital...so I shall not tread here.


~ The Battle at the Dawn
Empress: *wince* I love the title...I like historical...this sounds very painful. I'll wait to see what the Ambassador thinks. XD
Ambassador: war, Liu Shi Shi, yep, yep, yep, count me in.
Unni: This sounds like....a blood bath waiting to happen. I am not signing up to get my heart broken.


~ Dear Archimedes
Empress: That...sounds intriguing. And it's only 20 episodes. *adds to list whether or not I'll ever get to it*
Ambassador: Sounds a bit like Taiwan's Love Me If You Dare.  Hmmm.  I'll check it out, again because of that ever questing thing called CURIOSITY.  EXO's Sehun is in it, which'll be interesting but makes me think it won't be nearly as serious as Love Me If You Dare.
Unni: *looks at Ambassador’s notes and moves Taiwanese Love Me If You Dare onto my list of things to watch*  *hears the Ambassador's information about it and moves it back off the list FAST*
Empress: Heh, I want to stick the Taiwanese drama on there too....


~ Across the Ocean to See You
Empress: .......that again....if people were actually doing the idea in a new way, that'd be one thing, but when /that/ is the description...
Ambassador: And the Ambassador yawns again!  Rom coms have that effect on me.  Needless to add, no, this isn't going on my list.
Unni: I have enough fluff to keep me busy for the moment, and couples at odds isn’t my thing.


~ Feather Flies to the Sky
Empress: This sounds interesting, but interesting in a I-want-to-read-a-history-book kind of way, and I'm not sure I want to spend my break time in that way.
Ambassador: well, it sounds like it has lots of good research material but since it's not anything I need anytime soon, nope.
Unni: Interesting, but I started to yawn, so a pass from me.


~ Head Above Water
Empress: If Korean I'd be all over this...as is...I like the title and I'll wait to hear the Ambassador's verdict. XD
Ambassador: Yes.  Police espionage thriller is the described genere.  YES.
Unni: I leave this to the Ambassador.


~ Tribes and Empires: Storm of Prophecy
Empress: WOW...okay, I haven't gotten to Ice Fantasy yet, but maybe if I do, then I can put this on as my next Chinese fantasy. Depending on how it's done. XD
Ambassador: FINALLY WE'RE GETTING THIS.  I've been seeing promo stuff for months and it's got me pretty interested.  *scrawls title at the top of TBW list*
Unni: Warrior Princess...Spirit in a stone???..Okay, Novoland has caught my interest, but I haven’t jumped into full fantasy yet...who Knows I might give this a try yet.


~ I Love My President Though He's a Psycho
Empress: That sounds like a TERRIBLE idea in real life...and usually when it's /that/ bad of an idea it wrecks my ability to enjoy even a fictional story...but wow, yeah, I do like the title, and it could one of those I "accidentally start." :)
Ambassador: Definite props to the title for being attention grabbing.  Of all the bizarre plots I've come across recently, this is one of the weirdest.  It could be interesting but I feel like I'd personally get a headache so I'll pass for now.  Who knows though, if the internet buzz is good enough, I might surprise myself by trying it.
Unni: I am so scratching my head over this! WHY WOULD YOU FALL FOR SOMEONE WITH A PERSONALITY DISORDER??? WHY!!!! I think I’ll leave this in the no thank you pile...unless my personality changes.


~ Fox Falls In Love
Empress: LOL I don't think that's enough to make me watch it...
Ambassador: No idea what the details of the plot are supposed to be, but the title and brief synopsis sound amusing.  I might add this to the very tail end of my list.
Unni: I see what you did there Ambassador. This sounds cute. Maaaaaaaybe I’ll try a modern Chinese drama because I love foxes and rabbits, I bought fox and rabbit socks last week. Maybe it’s destiny.Empress: I'll be looking forward to seeing what the Unni and/or possibly the Ambassador thinks of it. XD


~ Because of You
Empress: There's several similar Korean dramas I'd watch before I tried this one.
Ambassador: apparently the Chinese version of Korea's Come! Jang Bo Ri?  Not enough flash and bang for me.
Unni: I remember faintly being interested in Come! Jang Bo Ri....and seeing screen shots and going...I don’t know about this. This does sound semi interesting but I’d go for a Korean version long before I land myself in a tangled modern Chinese one. Empress: ^that.


Feb dramas that weren't listed at the time February's WWW went up:
~ Above the Clouds
Empress: Gah...Somehow this makes me think of Queen In Hyun's Man, and even without time travel, if it's like that I'll love it...but I'll wait to hear what it's like. XD
Ambassador: Palace dramas, secrets across time, opening historical graves... oh yes, quite probably I'll watch this sometime.  Plus, Mabel Yuan is a favorite actress of mine.
Unni: General & I has condemned me to open up my brain about Chinese dramas....this sounds like it could be interesting.


~ The Journey 2
Empress: Intriiiiiiiiguing....I feel like the dramas this month are SO MUCH MORE INTERESTING than last month's...this is seriously bad for my list...um, maybe?
Ambassador: Can I have this power, please?  I feel like I'd be good at making people cry sincerely.  I likely won't watch it right away but definitely some day.
Unni: Oh...this is a cool super power *sigh* whyyyyy does it have to be historical!!!! And look awesome and why is there a person with cool white hair on the cover.... Why GENERAL AND I YOU HAVE CONDEMNED ME!!!! MY LIFE WAS SO MUCH SIMPLER BEFORE I MET YOU!


TAIWANESE
~ Q Series: House of Toy Bricks
Empress: gahhhhhhh...that sounds tragic...and...yes, I have Q Series: Close Your Eyes Before It's Dark on my list, but I'm not adding this one.
Ambassador: No, I don't watch horror. 
Unni: This is just....horrifying. No thank you.


~ The Perfect Match
Empress: It's been a while since I watched a T-drama...I'll wait to hear what the Unni thinks.
Ambassador: Nothing like a challenge to the ego of a man to rouse him.  Not likely I'll watch this, though it sounds amusing.  Unni, it's right up your alley.
Unni: *SQUEAK* A FOODIE, ROM-COM, TAIWANESE DRAMA WITH A NIGHT MARKET!!!! *bounces up and down* YES YES YES YES YES PLEASE PLEASE AND THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!! PLEASE BE GOOD!!! 
Empress: hee. I love how by now drama preferences are pretty clear...XD


CANTONESE
~ Provocateur
Empress: If this were a kdrama I'd try it. But I don't think my list is short enough to pull me into Cantonese dramas.
Ambassador: ummmmm no.  I just don't have time, though it sounds interesting.
Unni: Cantonese dramas almost always sound depressing to me, though if I had to speak with as many tones as they do, I might write depressed stories too.



Which of these dramas will YOU be watching?

General & I

Once upon a time I watched a Chinese movie and it rapidly went from cute......to weird beyond all of my imagination but I was so shocked I kept watching and watching and watching. I banned all Chinese dramas and movies from my life from sheer weirdness and shock.

Then it happened. I was browsing youtube for various dramas and I stumbled upon a Chinese fantasy drama, it caught my interest, but I was still reluctant to commit, another one caught my attention and even though it was only 20 episodes I was reluctant...then one more caught my attention. Instantly I was in love, I checked the amount of episodes and threw caution and everything else to the wind.

Needless to say 62 episodes later I am deeply deeply in love with this historical C Drama. I am going to try and stay spoiler free as possible...but that is going to be difficult. I have a feeling this is going to be more restrained fan-girling than an actual review. 

General and I

PG-13 + (but it's a far from R)
(warning labels)
It's a historical drama so what do you expect? It's an absolute blood bath in certain episodes. Nothing too gruesome, just loss of life which is tragic, lots of blood coming out of mouths, and some spurts which made me wince and look away but nothing that horrified me...that I saw.

There are some intimate shots, no direct nudity, though a few of the guy character are shirtless (a few times) and  one scene the girl character is wearing very little and filming tried to make the most out of  it, also there are a few scenes with girls taking steaming baths, not much more than shoulders and arms are shown.

A concubine is very creepy, and tries to get pregnant with someone who isn't the king, so there is some shadows, but we don't see any of the intimacy thankfully.

One night two characters sleep in the same bed, she passed out, and he was drunk, nothing happened but the still spent the night together.

There are several suicides in this drama and one attempt, if this is a trigger watch with discretion or skip all together.

One character goes mad, and another shows signs of madness, possibly triggered by grief, bitterness and power hunger.

So let's get down to business.

Based of a Chinese Novel: A Lonesome Fragrance Waiting to be Appreciated, we get this beautiful story, that is full of beautiful visuals, beautiful characters...and some green screening.

Costumes and characters are lovely deep, complicated and overall lovable.
The themes of love, forgiveness, bitterness, friendship and loyalty ran very deep in this drama and wove it's way beautifully and intensely through it's story telling.

Characters:

Ping Ting

Beautiful, brilliant, military strategist, orphaned and taken in by the Prince An family, Ping Ting is the picture of loyalty and brilliance.

She captivated me almost instantly with her quiet modesty and yet strategic brilliance and masterminding a brilliant battle strategy. She was treated by He Xia as an equal but a woman still, and you could tell that there was an underlying hint of possible romance for their future.

However, she and He Xia are dealt a hard hand and things go very rapidly from harmony and a future together to utter chaos and being without a home...and separated.

And this is when she meets the enemy of Prince An's Manor and her country Great Yan.

Chu Bei Jie

Well, other than being Ping Ting's enemy. I decided very rapidly to fall in love with him.

Ping Ting took a lot more convincing.

General Che Bei Jie the "god of war" for Great Jin. A brilliant strategist, martial arts master, loved by all of his men.  This man had a heart and soul that is beyond beautiful, the very image of loyalty, faithfulness, and undying love. (I might be a bit of a fan.)
Over and over I had to admire his priorities, and how he placed people as a huge importance in his life, as well as his nation. I could keep going on but I am afraid that would spoil everything.

I loved all of the hand shots in this drama....so may beautiful hand shots

He Xia

Where do I begin.
Intelligent, bright,...and so many spoiler-y things I want to tell you.
But instead I'll just say... look at this face.

Minor Characters and Supporting Cast

Mo Ran

Chu Bei Jei's right hand man....and an amazing one to boot.

Yang Feng & Zi Yin

Ping Ting's childhood friend and husband. These were an amazing pair, the friend was sweet and her husband incredible.

Princess of Bai Lan 

She is beautiful, sweet innocent and a little love blind and sacrificing to a fault.

Ziu Ju

I LOVE HER, she is the best side kick heroine ever. So much love goes to her!

Lady Thirteen

I loved and I hated her just a little bit...but mostly loved her.

Sima Hong

An amazing King....who could have played his game a little better, however was over all incredible and brilliant. The man was king.

Garrison Commander Fan Lu

Sheesh this Mr. Trouble was worth his weight in gold.

Royal Consort Zhang

Fear this woman!

There is so much more I could talk about, but know it has to be a good drama if I am willing to pace myself through 62 episodes in 2 1/2 weeks.

And no spoilers....buuuuuut...

Isn't this face the cutest!!!!!

Nine: Nine Times Time Travel

Title: Nine: Nine Times Time Travel (say that nine times fast) 4.5 stars
Rating: PG-13
For...marriage! The is a couple in here that pledges to love each other, and then kissing and cuddling etc. Also, the marriage isn't in a church so if you don't like the whole I love you, you love me let's get married by pledging to each other...well, that is in here.
 Also there are a few bloody graphics that have to do with surgery like blood spurting in the middle of a surgery, someone getting killed in a phone booth so blood and glass.
A foreigner screaming wrapped up in a towel in one scene towards the beginning.
Repeated fire scene where someone is minorly wounded, and believed to have killed another character.
Brief off screen rape scene, which is confirmed to have happened.
Punching scenes (trust me you want to get in there and do it too).
Drug using is addressed with a minor character, also an attempted suicide by drugs in a time travel scene.


Okay, so enough with all of this said you should WATCH IT!!!!!!! (Seriously!) Even with a terrible thing happening in a phone booth...the first thing I did when I got to Korea and saw a phone booth was run inside and take pictures and think of Nine: Nine Times Time Travel.


I started watching this drama when I had a cold and knew nothing about taking screen shots sooooo I am going to have pinterest help us out a little.

I started watching it because I had loved Lee Jin Wook's performance in The Three Musketeers, and I really wanted to see what other things he had done.

It was love at first episode, actually when he spoke English in the first 5 minutes, his English is really good. (At least from this English Teacher's perspective.) From there it grew rapidly, into a face paced drama, with just the right amount of romance, and suspense that had me watching this drama as if it were a serious part time job that I couldn't bear to be away from.

One of the things I love about 9x's is that it allowed something most time travel stories don't allow characters to do. He crossed his own timeline, in fact, he messed only with his own timeline, and it was amazing, incredible, devastating, beautiful, and perfection to see how it all played out. The writing and acting of this drama were incredible blend.

Watching this drama it asked quite a few important questions. How could fixing the lives of those you love...ruin yours? Oh....sooooooooooooooo many ways.
What happens if you are the only one who remember's the past.
Is the past, really better the way it happened?
What if the people you love, aren't the people you think they were...

There was just the right amount of romance, the right amount of tragedy and the best friend a man could ever ask for.

The couple is sweet and you are cheering for them through all of the up's and downs, and main character that has gripping your chest as your heart bursts along with his...with agony and joy...and so many more things.

Three Little Maids: The Total Sum

On our features page we mentioned 'Three Little Maids' and 'Two Little Maids Remain' posts but have yet to actually introduce them, which I am here to do today.

The titles are derived from a Gilbert and Sullivan song in The Mikado, their comic opera set in Japan.  Aside from the fact that all of us are adults and long past school-age, it aptly represents our group drama watch-alongs and discussions; when we’re squealing in unison over fantastic characters and plot points (as in the case of The Three Musketeers) or booing lousy decisions (coughMoonLoverscough). 

Three little maids from school are we
Pert as a school-girl well can be
Filled to the brim with girlish glee
Three little maids from school

Everything is a source of fun
Nobody's safe, for we care for none
Life is a joke that's just begun
Three little maids from school

Three little maids who, all unwary
Come from a ladies' seminary
Freed from its genius tutelary
Three little maids from school
Three little maids from school

One little maid is a bride, Yum-Yum
Two little maids in attendance come
Three little maids is the total sum
Three little maids from school
Three little maids from school

From three little maids take one away
Two little maids remain, and they
Won't have to wait very long, they say
Three little maids from school
Three little maids from school

Three little maids who, all unwary
Come from a ladies' seminary
Freed from its genius tutelary
Three little maids from school
Three little maids from school

Our tastes are widely varied.  We all love historical dramas, but our favorite subgenres differ: I prefer harem and palace dramas (Empress Ki, Scarlet Heart cdrama, Ice Fantasy), Unni likes hers with a lot of tragedy and romance mixed (The Princess’ Man, Damo, The General and I) and the Empress loves historical adventure dramas (Empress Ki, Warrior Baek Dong Soo).  For contemporary dramas, while we all love action dramas (City Hunter, Healer); Unni prefers rom-coms, especially girls masquerading as boys (You’re Beautiful), whereas the Empress and I tend to prefer mysteries and psycho thrillers (White Christmas, Liar Game).

In a few days you'll be able to see us in action, so to speak, when I post our discussion of what dramas we watched in February.  Prepare for randomness, snark, and a wide variety of opinions.


See you then!