Why is beauty so important?

Ever since I started watching asian dramas just over two years ago, I noticed, and for my european mentality rather odd, the importance put on being pretty, beautiful, handsome, cute! Every time people met for the first time, the next phrase after introduction would be "You are so pretty!" (or something similar!). Where I come from, commenting on person's looks/esthetics is considered rude(and used ONLY for children!) so these phrases I often heard in dramas were and still are so disconcerting and extremely superficial in my book!
So, imagine my wonder when I started this jdrama where all everyone talks about is being cute! It is a story of a 29 year old man who has been successful in life only because of his cuteness . One day he meets an mysterious man who warns him that he'll stop being cute when he turns 30. That shakes him up and he starts unwittingly changing also under the influence of a new coworker! She is his complete opposite: serious, rigid and robotic but he falls for her. And he discovers, as well, that he is a competent professional and a caring person, which he never really considered himself to be!
The actors portrayed the characters beautifully. The office drama was not too heavy and even the loosing cuteness plot was not to dramatic: the main character accepted it as a fact and moved on! I have one little casting problem: the mysterious older man is supposed to be the ML's version from the future but the actor playing him is taller than the ML. People usually shrink not grow taller as they age!
In any case this drama is not to be taken seriously: it is a bit of lightweight fluff, fun to watch and very enjoyable and though it mentions the effects of beauty in the work environment, it is not really considered as a major problem!
I would just like to know where this obssession with the outside beauty in asian cultures comes from. I guess I'll need to do some serious research! In the meantime, let's all enjoy this sweet drama!

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Nothing new under the sun

Having watched and mildly liked 2Moons 2 some time ago, I wanted to check out the sequel. I was entertained though not by the drama itself but by the english subtitles that were most of the time gramatically so wrong ; I have discovered a new language! Amazing!
NB.Recently I came upon a tip which told me how to make the subs better on youtube(if there are better subs in another language, you can auto-translate that into english and they are much better!)

The story takes place a couple of years after the previous series! The three couples from it are living together and enjoy their relationships! Pha's cousin Lom (often translated as LOL!) is chosen as his college's Moon but loses the beauty competition. There is another contender for the Moon position, Tatch. They meet, sparks fly, a wannabe girlfriend stirs trouble, a wannabe boyfriend is acting up because disappointed! You classical enemies to lovers trope!
The series is mainly about Lom & Tatch. The three couples (Pha&Yo, Beam &Forth, Ming&Kit) from 2Moons2 are just there in the background and their main and only story is jealousy: fighting and making up!

There is absolutely nothing new about this series (maybe the introduction to the Agriculture College!). The screenplay is all over the place, nothing happens really, it is just moving along.
As for the actors...what to say? The guy playing Lom (Mark Vachara, who reminds me of Earth who played Wayo in 2M2!) is bland, charisma free, single facial expression and cannot act to save his life. He has absolutely no chemistry to speak of with the actor playing Tatch, who also is constantly wearing the same expression: raised eyebrow and a ironic smirk! The rest are hardly any better!
And the worst part were the obligatory trans comic relief characters! Why, oh why are they still doing that??????

What makes this series stand out is the amount of steamy skinship in these consensual relationships! This is so very new in thai bls! Moreover it was surprisingly tastefully done accompanied by gentle music! But there was too much of it! I guess they needed to fill up the episodes so every one of these four couples had their turns(more than one) in showcasing their love for each other in slow motion. And there was a lot of slow motion scenes of them taking their shirts off, swimming etc.

I have been wrecking my brain trying to find something positive to say about it! Still haven't found it! 7/10 for the effort, not the worst bl out there but far from good!

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Korean gl cc. 2017.

A RANT
A high school story, not really a romance, about three girls and secrets and the consequences of betrayal. The story is well written, the actresses are excellent, the cinematography, all in the cold grays and pale blues filmes with a shaky handheld camera which conveys urgency and doom! There is no music whatsoever!

I loved it until the last 5 minutes ruined the whole film for me! Teens are impressionable but here it was taken too far for my liking! The girl is ostracized by the whole school because of a scandal, she bravely comes back and accepts to give an interview which goes haywire. So she cannot deal with a stupid little secret being revealed when the first time around it was even worse?

Why oh why oh why do they keep doing this? Why do we need to have things end tragically like this? Because real life is like that I guess but can't we just have a little bit of optimism in entertainment industry? Because queer stories are not the society norm so they should have the appropriate ending as a warning to those who veer of the right path?

Oh, give me a break!!!!!

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Food banalities done ok

Two lonely people meet and bond over food. The end!

"No problem is too big that cannot be solved by sharing a meal." "The magic of food that brings people together." "The healing power of food preparation." These are the banalities repeated in every food drama I'd seen.This is a synopsis of a big number of japanese dramas. Japan excels in these. They are always interesting to watch but oftentimes the food preparation takes such a huge part of the drama that the plot is kept to a strict minimum. This can be a double edged sword. Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not!

I love dramas where food takes the front stage: they are usually fun to watch. Nevertheless, I am not blind to their flaws. And while I love food dramas, I also need some drama in the dramas I watch.

This is a wholesome, heartfelt and kind drama with a star child actor. Here there is barely any conflict and when there is, is just people misunderstanding and making themselves miserables or sacrificing their own future. One is troubled because of a misunderstanding from childhood (he was adopted, he misunderstood a remark, retreated from any contact with the family who apparently never noticed it let alone talked with him about it) . The other one is looking after his kid brother full time (after the death of their mother he dropped out of college, their father is there but seems like a stranger) not daring to dream about a future for himself. Both these situations are rage inducing where parents pay no notice to their children who feel abandoned whether it is true or not. The two men are wasting their lives being unhappy but not knowing how to escape the trap they were forced into..

They bond over food and help each other heal. The actors are good and the child actor has a well written role, which is so rare, the kid is not overly annoying and whiny but cute and smart! It is worth the watch only for him. Beside these three characters, we barely see anyone else. There is the father going aimlessly in and out of scenes. There is a coworker helping by teaching one of the characters how to make a bento. Everyone is nice, kind and helpful. There is not one single evil character in this drama.

This is a very sad drama trying to be uplifting. The two men have not lived well until they met, their lives are true tragedies. The fact that they help each other in spite of their innate pessimism is a sign of character development and that was nice to see.

The drama is a nice watch if you do not pay attention to all the darkness surrounding the main characters. I was sad and angry when I expected fluff and good food. There was not much of either!

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Magic, martial arts & abs....

I am probably cheating a little bit for my A-Z Watch Challenge since this is the second short episode drama I chose to complete the list. None of others starting with Y, took my fancy so I picked this one: it is short so even if I don't like it, I'll finish it.
The good news? I loved it! I'd compare it to The Killer is Also a Romantic but better. The stories are similar!

Two assassins who work for the same temple, meet maskless and fall in love. The woman is supposed to kill the man but finds it difficult since he does not resemble the evil person she was told about! He reminds her of the person who saved her life three years earlier. While investigating, they both stumble upon a court conspiracy. But even after getting rid of the main conspirateur there seems to be another one.

I am not particularly knowledgeable about xianxia/wuxia lore nor do I know the difference! This one is about princes, some special powers and martial arts. The beginning is funny and maks you think it is a comedy. It took me some time to get used to characters with their many names and titles. Then it gets serious as the conspiracy becomes more obvious and secrets are revealed. But, that said, it was an entertaining ride, without a draggy moment, no time was wasted on superfluous plotlines. The main couple had great chemistry and their romantic moments were swoonworthy!

The woman assassin was so fun to watch when she eventually fell in love and started batting her eyelashes and behaving like a little wife she definitely was not. He immediately put stop to it. He respected strong women and did not want her to change. What a great message to send! For such a short drama, major characters are well drawn. Surprisingly, I did not find anything annoying!

Production value is high: sets and costumes were stunning, direction and fights choreography slick, the music was appropriately uplifting ballads and editing mostly smooth (I managed to notice a silly continuity error: sleeve moving up and down the arm depending of the camera used. There are probably others but I did not notice them, the plot was moving fast forward so I did not have time to notice details much!!!).

Well, this is the kind of c drama I like: short and without time to waste. An excellent and fun watch....

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Love & Obsession

Actually, there are two different dramas in one here. And they do no mix well! I wanted so much to drop this but I kept watching since it had turned into a hate watch after 3 episode only to become more interesting in last two episodes.

The first story is a usual student/teacher forbidden romance. It was bad! Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against this theme in a drama if it is done correctly. Unfortunately everything was wrong about it here starting with the cast of the main roles: both actors are too old and it is very much obvious so the story is not convincing. They are supposed to be 17 & 27 but the actors are both 10 years older and it is jarring. The only credible moment these two had were the very last couple of minutes of the drama! Another jarring point in this love story was the teacher's behaviour. Why is it that when women fall in love in dramas they completely lose every brain function and become lovelorn idiots making one wrong decision after another until the hell breaks loose? The student was behaving his age; a hormones raging teen who first jumps and then looks! I was really annoyed with the love story more so since the couple had no chemistry to speak of! For a long time I was convinced that the teacher was fooling with the kid to take revenge on his mother who ruined the teacher's family long ago! No such luck! I kept wishing they would not end up together. No such luck!

I almost dropped it but the second story was much more compelling...

The second story is a crime story. The couple is being talked and bullied on the internet with growing violence. One of the suspects is the student's mother. Her character is very interesting. As the story progresses and we find out more about her life, she becomes more and more human and likable. At the start of the show she's just that tiger mom, controlling and fierce. We find out the reasons for her behaviour and suddenly our appreciation of her changes completely. Really, she is the best character in this drama and actually makes it worth the watch.

The rest of the characters are not worth the mention. They are there just to be a soundboard for the three main ones.

This drama does nor know if it wants to ba a romance or a crime drama and that is bad. The romance part is extremely badly written: the kid is a brat playing cruel pranks on the teacher who falls in love with him instead of punishing him? What?!?!? The stalking crime part was much better structured and the final search was suspenseful as they managed to keep the mystery until the very end!

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Two can keep a secret if one of them is dead!

A soapy mix of friendship, lies, death, sex, family and abuse. And secrets! It is very difficult to watch because it is relentless in a negative way: bad things are happening all the time and nothing good happens to anyone. Ever! There is no time to breath, to rest and it did take me almost a week to go through first eight episodes. The rest I finished in a day. The pace got a bit slower and the suspense a bit lighter as the secrets were starting to be revealed one by one. Just like in any drama, the misfortunes have to keep on piling up for a long period in order to have them sorted out slowly.

This is a story of five best friends whose friendship was put on a test and eventually destroyed by the sixth girl. All characters are flawed, trying to survive in a jungle they were thrown in. They are all controlling and trying to manipulate each other with more or less success. They also thought that knowing each other's secrets protected them but it actually made them more vulnerable. And the secrets kept coming to the very last minute of the drama where the grand manipulator was revealed. There was not a dull moment or any major inconsistencies or plot holes. Everything was wrapped up nicely. The only shiny moment in this drama is the cute bl couple who had too few scenes for my liking but luckily for them they were not too important for the plot so they survived.

The acting was perfect. The writing and production flawless: I particularly liked the short pauses between the scenes with a few seconds time lapse views of the city.

PS I Hate You was an excellent single watch , but I do not wish to watch something like this again for a certain amount of time. It is just like korean makjangs: one revenge melodrama every six months is more than enough.

SPOILERS BELOW

WATCH DIARY
The plot: with friends like these, who needs enemies!
Question: who is the Narrator of the series?
So after three episodes here's what I see: on the surface best friends, but really hate each other immensely. The girls cannot stand Meen. She was in love with Pitch but his sister told her friends he was off bounds so they broke up. The sister is dead. Pitch is still in love. Meen has been dating Non for years (since high school) but refuses to be intimate with him. Non sleeps with Wan a rich entrepreneur. What I don't understand is why does not Non break it off with Meen? Does she have something on him? Does not look like it!
The hatred the three girls have for Meen is rather impressive. Why do they hate her so much? Because she's kind and honest (at least so far!)?
There was a 6th girl in their group who dated Wan's brother Win but died and shortly afterwards Win had an accident which left him a vegetable!
Each on their own, Meen and Pitch are investigating what happened at Prae's wedding and why?
The series is amazing: there has not been a dull moment so far as they are hitting us with one revelation upon another constantly! I realized I cannot multitask while watching this!
Can someone explain to me one thing: why are there two women hell bent on keeping Non? Have they actually looked at him? He is a sleazeball, ugly, squishy and at a first glance not worthy of trust. He is not even a handsome bad boy, so why? He looks like an incompetent mob offspring! And squishy! In those godawful tiger & leopard shirts!
And why is Saras scared to death of her grandmother?
Questions just keep on popping in my head while watching but for the moment, no answers!
Ep 5 and Meen is slowly starting to get on my nerves with her self righteous attitude; she's been dating Non for years, barely letting him kiss her let alone more, not really in love with him but refusing to let him go. And then she cries because he cheats on her?!?!? Non is a wimp. Why is someone like Wan in love with him, go figure! Meen is not a nice person behind her sweet attitude!
We found out that Saras has a rich grandmother from hell who never accepted her and who has been abusing her and her mother for years. She is so creepy!
Thank god for Khun and Phu: they are comforting each other. After the initial jerk phase, Phu turned out to be just a little boy lost! Maybe there's more than meets the eye between those two?
Ep 6 and I am starting to feel sorry for those four women: unappreciated and abused by their families and the society: it is no wonder why they turned out to be so hard and unforgiving!
Ep 7 slowly but surely the cracks are starting to show and the girls' real personalities are coming to light! Meen is the first one. She does not love Non, does not want to sleep with him in spite of dating him for years and has the audacity to feel hurt when she finds out he'd been sleeping with her friend. What does she do? Goest to see her ex sleeps with him and then cuts him off because he slept with another one of her friends before they knew each other! Get off of your high righteous horse, Meen and feel the real life!
I am impressed by the way the rape storyline was presented and victim's position made clear. But also, the whole thai society's position on rape and the obligatory woman's fault! It was clearly stated that it is wrong!
Ep 8 and I want to drop this so hard! I cannot stand the creeps surrounding the girls using the fact that they are weaker physically to threaten them and to abuse them. The worst, so far is Wee. He was a charmer but he is actually the most venomous snake.
I know I am only halfway through, and the drama needs to reach its peak for the things to start getting sorted but this piling of misfortunes and extremely frustrating and instead of wanting to match more I want to watch less! The balance in the events is missing!
When they are together the girls are invincible and they managed to save May but it is not enough. Definitely not over yet!
Ep 9 and Prae's mother hears some home truths but does not accept responsibility. What a surprise! And of course she goes off and blames Prae's friends, Meen in particular! What a horrible mother!
Sidenote: maybe I should make a list of others from hell?
Thai men are such machos: they fall for the "damsel in distress" play every single time. I guess the women have learned how to use the downsides of being females in a very traditional society to their own profit. And the men eat it up and ask for more! Goody!
Ep 10 They ALL hate Meen. Why so much hate? Everyone seems to blame her for everything since high school. Prae's death was just the last drop. But...Nothing that she's done so far justifies such amount of detestation. So why? We do not know everything but so far Meen seems to be an honest and a nice person.
And that Wee is a sleazy creep still going around and threatening Wan mostly!
Is there anyone nice in this drama beside the bl couple who is there just to look happy? What's with Wan's mother and her scheming by keeping her son sick? She's a real snake! Just look how Wan recoils when her mother hugs her! Motherly love is hard to find in this drama! The richer they are the worse they behave! The amount of abuse the characters are subjected to is insane! I guess this is a lakorn, right? And this is just 10min into ep 11! Insane!
And don't get me started on incompetent and corrupt police! It is in every single asian drama: a lone wolf policeman fighting against against the entire organisation which is corrupt !
Ep 12 seems like calm before the storm. Some secrets came out in the open. Suicide, abortion...what we need now is a little known trope called amnesia even though it does not fit with the plot here. Maybe the brother when he wakes up will remember nothing.
With the following episodes more and more secrets keep being revealed: drugs, addiction, sex, blackmailing and everything wrapped in dysfunctional parenting with young people trying to break free but using the wrong tactics.Prae was obviously in love with Meen, of the unrequited kind unfortunately. Meen and Pitch are in an on again off again kind of relationship: one secret: we get together, another secret: we break up, the next secret, get together again and so on.... Pal seems to have been a deeply unhappy girl who searched for love and friendship by blackmail. Saras's secret (fake name she gave the policeman boyfriend!) is also about to be found. The final showdown is approaching but the pace of the drama is somehow slowing down. Which is good: I can binge watch it now!
Ep 15 does not matter the circumstances but murder is a murder so how are they going to get away with it? Because they certainly will....
PPL: for the last couple of episodes or so, we are seeing a lot of ads for Suzuki cars which are nicely fit into the plot: a getaway car!
Another thing I need to mention is the short city view time lapse intermissions between scenes: really pretty scenes of Bangkok skyline at sunset or sunrise!
Back to the ep15: they are not getting away with anything, it's impossible!
Ep 16 and Wan's mother is shedding crocodile tears because she messed up and the company is going down the drain so no more money for a lazy drunk like her!
So people are dropping like flies. But Saras managed to tell her grandmother from hell to go to hell. Poor May. But we get to see our cute bl couple bickering at a funeral. We definitely need some light relief because this drama is relentlessly throwing complications and revelations at us.
And again in ep 17 flashback there is that girl with glasses watching them. Who is she? A red herring! In present, in spite of everything that's happened, they are all moving on with their lives, unafraid of any consequences for their actions (dead people keep piling up on their path: they just keep stepping over them going forward!) WOW!!!
What a mother! Stealing her son's inheritance, framing her daughter for murder...Well she's not their real mother! But the kids' father is the worst of them all, taking the easy way out in order not to deal with the toxic family he created!
The only character here with a bit of conscience and naivety is Saras. Though what's with her hair in the end: frizzy but coloured and with visible roots.....
Meen is on her high horse but it somehow seems to good to be true! She's being lied to as well by the person she trusts the most.
The Narrator was finally revealed to be Palana writing a suicide note to her father but ending up changing her mind when she saw the Blossom Squad and decided to create the mayhem which resulted in a number of deaths. All the time looking like an innocent child with a lollipop: Lolita!

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Fluff & loan sharks

With a final, post credit, oh so unexpected revelation, this little bl is over! It was a cute watch a bit draggy in the second part and full of tropes but still enjoyable.

The story is about a younger son of a well off family, overprotected, a bit spoilt but kind and sweet who has a crush on a chinese influencer in Thailand. So he wants to learn chinese. He meets a chinese investor who needs a thai partner to open a shop. Their interests converge so...They meet, clash, become friends and more....

The series reminded me a lot of Ai Long Nhai for the main couple in which one is grown up and serious while the other one is apparently silly and childish. With a gorgeous smile that literally lights up the screen!!! So they open a convenience store which takes some time to take off but still they employ the full staff who spend their time endlessly mopping the floor! No customers to speak of! But the staff keeps growing as the series moves forward!

This series is pure fluff even with the loan sharks who turned out to be businessmen and not too evil in spite of their looks. Everyone is kind and nice (reminds me as well of a number of japanese dramas in that respect!), not a big baddie in sight and the biggest evil doers are they to themselves! It is not cringy either: surprisingly so with a shrieking trans character who was actually bearable (or are we getting used to it?!?!?).

The music is awful! I presume that the songs are original but they sound just like the songs in every other thai bl: there is one with finger snapping (or something sounding like that) for rhythm, then another one which begins a capella before the music is introduced usually used in highly dramatic scenes post big revelation/confession, some instrumental piano pieces to set the mood...BORING!!!!

The amount of product placements was annoyingly high: from square loaves of bread (taken to a date as a snack), to ramen, porridge, skin care and so on and so forth. I guess the square bread PPL were actually a joke: they were so ridiculous so it must be second degree. Right?

The actors are very much at ease with each other and their chemistry is more than correct though it does not light up fireworks! The supermarket make out scene is legendary as are the morning after reactions and explanations: hilarious!

All in all, a correct though forgettable watch. On second thought, maybe not so forgettable: that smile is ......swoonworthy!

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Exciting turns to boring but beautiful

Well this was an interesting experience. This short drama was beautifully crafted, acted and produced. It was a pleasurable watch.

The story revolves around two antagonists: Nie Zhe the son of the most powerful man in the county and Xiaodie, a maid. When her mistress dies after being assaulted, Xiaodie decides to avenge her death. She takes her place and introduces herself into Nie Zhe's house. Immediately the sparks fly and they clash until they do not anymore. That is the moment that Die's mistress chooses to reappear after being brainwashed by the neighbouring county's spy.

The drama has an amazing first third: enemies to lovers trope is my favourite. Watching the main couple spar, bicker and fall in love, chemistry lighting up the scene like fireworks, was perfect. Smart female lead and tsundere male lead were just a joy to watch. And there were some hot scenes, let me tell you! Barechested Nie Zhe is worth the watch. I am shallow, sue me! LOL

Until they became a boring couple in love. Love in dramas really means death to brain cells. So they are in love and keep wanting to die for each other when facing the bad guys! But, fortunately, heavens protect people in love from their own stupidity, it seems here!

The rest of the drama is quite boring frankly! Being held hostage, poisoned, threatened, held at gunpoint, faked death etc. etc. you think of it, they did it! Spies, crazy doctors and revenge of revenge of revenge or whatever was boring and annoying.

The actors did a wonderful job, they were perfect for these roles. The cinematography was stunning and the sequences filming details (flying pen, sloshing drink, breaking glass, falling petals...) were a feast for eyes! And songs were amazing: they gave the drama this century ago feeling,

It could have been a perfect drama had not the second part got lost in the ridiculous spy story. Bi=ut it is still worth the watch: if only for the main leads. They were extraordinary!

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Magic, martial arts and secrets

And on to another short c drama gem! And this one was fun to watch: a complex plot, excellent writing and acting, boring already heard kind of music and a cliffhanger!

It is a complicated story of palace conspiracies and hidden identities. The soul of a murdered girl enters into the body of a general's daughter slated to marry the fifth price considered silly and idiotic. But she finds him sweet and kind and naive and falls for him hook line and sinker without realizing he is a master martial arts warrior. When she discovers the truth she is mad and angry. The end.

The acting was superb. The ML was excellent going from silly to hearthrob in a blink of an eye, changing character so smoothly that the fact she could not recognize him was rather believable: that different attitude and the white hair were a perfect deception combo. She hides a secret as well: that she actually is not the general's daughter. She is a strong brave woman, competent warrior and an expert pharmacist (or poison enthusiast!). Only one person finds her change of character intriguing. It goes to show how a woman is practically invisible and brought up only to serve men and disappear behind them. When she shows that she actually does have a brain, the men are scared and intrigued.

The best and most entertaining episode was ep 10 when they had to deal with a plague hitting the kingdom. It was thinly, very thinly, veiled exposé on COVID in China and it was hilarious (from my point of view!) though that funny part had nothing to do with the drama just a personal appreciation!!!!

The only problem I had with this drama was the ending. So she finds out he has a secret identity and is all huffing and puffing angrily and jumping in the water and disappearing etc. But she also is not who she claims to be so what gives her the right to feel hurt and offended and angry?

The drama is chock full of plot so there is not a moment wasted on the unnecessary side plots: we have martial arts, flying fans, poisons, music, ghostly possession, zombies, magic and crazy good chemistry!

So on to the sequel!

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Tasty food is the path to love

Being a woman in a male dominated society has never been easy moreover in rigid rules' dominated Japan in the 50s. Unfortunately, the war had left ryoten without a male head so the young woman needs to get a husband in order to make the business operational. Her younger unmarried sister having eloped, Ichika, a widow, is forced to marry young Amane whose family promised to help them save the restaurant. Ichika is an exceptional cook working in a western hotel (Japan is still under US rule) and manages to blend western and japanese cuisines and make delicious food. Amane, realizing his wife's talent, pushes her to become restaurants chef in spite of customs formally forbidding women to be in the restaurant's kitchen.

Knife and Green Pepper: Ichika's Cookbook is a heartwarming tale about a 34 yr old widowed woman realizing her own worth with the help of a 19 yr old husband.It depicts the society still set in its old ways but shaken gently by the american presence and their customs.

Japanese excell in these cooking dramas and this one is no different: dishes bring people together be it by making them together(Ichika & Amane) or by serving them to "hostile" customers (americans or old respected men). We are privy to food preparation and can witness the pleasure and joy Ichiko derives from cooking. That joy is reflected in tasty dishes bringing happiness to whoever tastes them.

Everything is soft and muted in this drama: the cinematography, the music, the characters. The final song is really good and it plays over credit scene which is a must watch since it shows a scene already seen in the episode but from another point of view which brings additional depth to the characters.

The only problem I had with this drama is a total lack of chemistry between the main leads: their dynamics is more of a mother/son nature than lovers which they were supposed to have become by the end. I could not feel it. And even though Amane is oftentimes assertive and making decisions, as is expected from a sole male member of the house, and Ichika is demure and submissive as she is supposed to be with her husband, as the drama progresses their roles slowly reverse. Never completely, mind you, but they end up at the same place, looking eye to eye. I was not that much bothered by the age difference but even on the first day of their marriage, Ichika took the initiative to protect Amane from unnecessary intimacy when she realized he was ill at ease. Ichika herself had much more chemistry with the hotel chef and I could very well see them having a thing.

But this story was never going to be a conventional one: if you are going to break customs, do it completely and break every interdiction placed upon the characters. They seem to be doing this. Hopefully we will get another season of this drama and see how the characters evolve. This is based on a manga and apparently the drama covers 4 first books out of 10 published (never translated in english though). So there is more from where this came from!

PS Thanks to fansubbers for translating this drama. Such a nice watch!

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Mental health & recycling

I've been sitting here trying to figure out what to write about this webdrama.

Let's start with the plot. A boy and a girl meet at the hospital. He's been severely depressed since he found out his father blamed him for his mother's death. He already felt guilty about it but that was the last straw which pushed him deeper. The girl suffers from bipolar disorder and is on medication. They both do not talk to their parents, spend too much time alone and therefore consider themselves trash. One day in hospital they come upon a poster announcing a recycling class "We are not trash!" They participate and learn to recycle.

This drama was sponsored by Korean ministry of environment so I fail to grasp the relation between mental health and recycling. I do not know if other people with mental health problems consider themselves trash like the two main characters here. So I guess they want to say that everything (one) is useful even the things (people?) who are broken.

The running theme in a big number of dramas is the lack of communication between teens and their parents. And even though eventually the boy's father tells him how important it is to say things to other people, to tell them about feelings, he himself is reluctant to do it. It seems that everything needs to be brought to the brink of destruction, in order for people to realize that the communication is the clue!

This is a typical short web drama, with a lot of narration, as usual. The pacing is correct, the actors are talented and had chemistry while portraying teens looking for answers. And again, as always, so much drama could be avoided if people only talked to each other.

Nevertheless, this was a nice short watch, not too heavy and rather cute!

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Creepy not cute meals

I started watching this only knowing that the episodes were 15min long and I needed something short to watch.

She loves to cook and she loves to eat is the self explanatory english title (thank you Furritsubs!) about two 20 something young women, neighbours and who bond over food. One likes to cook huge amounts of food for the other one to eat under the fascinated smile of the first one.

And that is what I found creepy. Maybe it is a cultural thing so I should not pass judgement but when someone invites you to a meal, wouldn't you expect them to eat with you not just watch you eat? I would but I do not know about Japan!
But it was fun to watch them cook, go grocery shopping and have fun together. Was there a need to bill this as a romance? No!!! Both characters (backstories told) seemed like persons who have never been interested in romance or for that matter ever understood the meaning of being attracted to another person. At one point the cook looks up the meaning of attraction and love between women as if she had never heard of the concept before.

The drama also manages to insert a slight criticism of japanese society and the way the women are viewed: tiny appetites and there only to satisfy men's needs. Both of these women never felt comfortable in such roles and therefore they always felt excluded by friends and family. They found the understanding they needed in each other.

There is deep friendship and understanding between two women but romantic love? I am not so sure! They have no chemistry and I really could not imagine them being more than just friends.

This is the third food love japanese drama I've watched and it left me with feeling confused: where is the romance here? The love of food not the love through food!

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Just AWFUL

How to ruin a perfectly fun and quirky series? Make the main character into a child: complete with making faces, squealing, walking bent over forwards, constantly breathless, googly eyes....and apparently that is considered cute and appealing! The more the FL behaved thus, the more her sex friends wanted her! Really Japan? WTF?!?!?!The body builder sportsman was close second: just as bad. I do not remember they were grimacing as much in first two seasons!

This was the continuation of Momoe/Ken love story. They decided to stop being sluts and date only each other but slowly. The running gag in this season was coitus interruptus: every time they wanted to kiss, something happened to stop them. We went from an adult japanese drama to a classical korean one: full of tropes, unnecessary characters (the sister?!?!?) & storylines and zero skinship. Don't get me wrong, it can be done without but here it was just ridiculous!

We did get some story development about every major character but mostly it was just temporary filler! The whole season could have been done in half the episodes.

There is probably going to be a season 4: they left everything unresolved! Talk about slow burn romance: this one is going nowhere fast!

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Cliché, so what?

I guess, I watched this at the right moment for me: I needed something light, fluffy, with minimal angst and drama. And I got exactly what I asked for. And liked it a lot finding it almost perfect until they hit us with the last episode. This is a story of second chances at love, rectifying past mistakes, repeating the same errors, learning from others, growing as a person, accepting one's flaws, getting better.

Four years ago, they were poor but in love, he had big dreams, she worried a lot. Until she could not stand it any more and she broke up with him. He went on to become a successful internet producer while she stayed down in the doldrums, trying to find a way out and failing, repeatedly. She has a big chip on her shoulder, huge inferiority complex and refuses to accept kindness and help from others. They meet again, sparks fly and in spite of past unresolved conflicts they start dating again. But it is, again, a disaster! Until she finally realizes the error of her ways and mends herself and her relationship. He is a saint basically! He loves her and forgives her all her mistakes and wrong judgements while she holds him responsible for making her feel inferior. All he wants is to help her achieve her dreams, be there for her. She gets it wrong every time. He asks to talk everything out, while she keeps saying he does not understand her without explaining anything. Talk to him so he can understand you, you idiot!

I liked the story. It is nothing new or groundbreaking just a story of second and third chances at love. The first five episodes were extremely well paced and the story flowed nicely with them bickering and fighting, him trying to push out gently the other man in the picture, nice and caring friends (who of course crush on each other!). And then they almost ruined everything with the last episode which was rushed, illogical and unnecessary! So halfway through another one of her depressions, she has an epiphany, gets aware of all her errors and gets back with him! She definitely needs therapy! This is where dramas go so wrong: being in love cures all ills! No! She was traumatized by her injury which stopped her from playing the piano professionally but she never addressed the problem!

This is more of a disappointed rant than a review. I still enjoyed it but it could have been much better!

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