Last week, one of my non-drama watching friends (scandalous!) asked me which version of Itazura na Kiss I liked better (after hearing me talk about it for the umpteenth time) and to provide 3 reasons. After rambling on for a long time, I finally came to a concise list of reasons as to why I enjoyed each version, and why I didn’t enjoy each version. So here they are (I tried to keep them short…)!
At long last, in last Wednesday’s episode, we have come to the highly anticipated and famous ITAZURA NA KISS KISS SCENE. For those who have watched the anime, any previous drama adaptations, or read the manga, this is one of the best (if not BEST) scenes in the entire story. For all of us watching, this is the moment we’ve all been waiting for, the climax, the buildup, the long awaited grandiose gesture and confession by the always cold Baek Seung Jo. This is supposed to be the most moving part of the entire story. And yet, for some reason, I felt like Wednesday’s scene fell flat. Sure it was good and sweet, but I felt that it could have been done so much better. There could have been so much more emotion, more passion. The scene in itself had so much potential that I think Wednesday’s scene wasn’t able to tap into. Perhaps it’s because I’ve seen other versions before, so I wasn’t particularly amazed by the scene (it’s identical to all the other versions… only with less oomph). So, I’m going to provide a comparison of this scene to scenes in the other adaptations!
In the last few months, Taiwan has shown a sudden interest in casting popular Korean stars as the main leads in Taiwanese dramas. Actually, more accurately, GTV, a Taiwan cable network that produces dramas, has suddenly decided in this marketing strategy, resulting in the casting of Korean celebrities as the main leads in the last three dramas that they’ve announced. Additionally (this is just a neat tidbit), all 3 of these dramas are drama adaptions of popular Japanese mangas. So now we’ve got truly an pan-Asian production: Taiwanese production company and drama, Korean actor/actress, Japanese anime plot.
Hey everyone!!
I apologize for being a bit behind on this news, I hadn’t known about this remake until yesterday, when I suddenly had a desire to find out what Taiwanese dramas were going to be aired next year. That’s when I stumbled upon news that Gu Hye Sun (Boys Over Flowers) would be starring in a Taiwanese drama adaptation of the popular manga/anime Absolute Boyfriend (Zettai Kareshi) along with Wu Chun. Recently I had been wondering with whom Wu Chun would act with after he had gone through all the Taiwan female leads (he’s basically acted with every famous Taiwan actress there is…), but this? This is unprecedented.
I’m just bursting with excitement! I know, I know, I’m a little behind on the news, but I’ve just discovered that Hulu has been uploading episodes of Mischievous Kiss. I had realized that they were starting to include Korean Dramas on their site (yay for korean dramas crossing over in the American society!) but I didn’t realize that they were going to be including Mischeivous Kiss as well. Of course, for die hard fans, this may not be the BEST solution, since they can barely wait for the next episode to come out, let alone for Hulu to upload the video. Nevertheless, I was shocked to discover the steps that Hulu has taken to embrace the world of Korean dramas, and they’ve been uploading the episodes at an acceptable speed (they’re 2 episodes behind). KOREAN DRAMAS ARE PERMEATING INTO MAINSTREAM AMERICA!!! Time to celebrate!
And so, right now, I’m completely in love with Hulu. You have no idea how excited I am!! Asides for Mischievous Kiss, Hulu also has some of the classics, including My Name is Kim Sam Soon, Coffee Prince, and Boys Over Flowers (it’s not really a “classic”, but it was a worldwide phenomenon). And they’ve also uploaded many recent dramas, including Pasta (so cute, but so boring!) and Bad Guy (what’s with the mustache?). Anyways, be sure to check out Hulu if you’re looking for a place to watch some of your old classics, and don’t want to go through the hassle of weeding through broken links or dealing with Viikii’s subs. Have fun!
Edit: In my excitement, I forgot to mention this, but Hulu is currently only available to US viewers. Sorry!
Hey everyone! Or… maybe it’s just… me. J
Anyways, as I’m sure most people (or at least those that follow Asian/Korean entertainment) have heard, Group Eight (yes, the same company that was behind Boys over Flowers) is doing a (Korean) drama adaptation of the famed manga, Itazura na Kiss by Kaoru Tada. I’m not really going to go in depth explaining what this drama is going to be about, instead this is just a quick post on my feelings about this drama adaption. As far as casting goes, so far Kim Hyun-joong and Jung So-min have been cast as the leads, with Lee Tae-sung playing KHJ’s rival for the girl.
So I remember when I first heard the news about the remake a few months back, I was really excited about this. Why? Because I am a huge fan of Itazura na Kiss and all of the adaptations. Granted, I’ve never actually read the manga, but I have seen the anime, which followed the manga plot quite closely, as well as the Taiwanese drama adaption, It Started With a Kiss 1 and 2. And let me just say, I LOVED them. Oddly enough, it was the anime version that I watched first, and I just fell in love with the series. The anime was so well written, funny, and adorable. The characters were extraordinarily cute, and the plot was so heart-warming. It is an amazing romantic anime series, and I highly recommend you to watch it. Afterwards, I watched ISWAK and They Kiss Again, and those 2 were wonderful as well. The chemistry between the two leads, Joe Chen and Ariel Lin, was amazing, and they really brought to life the characters that Kaoru Tada had created. Unlike how book-movie adaptations usually end up here in America (Twilight, anyone?), the drama adaptation was a great addition to the Itazura na Kiss series. It brought its own twist to the story and instead of sabotaging the characters that you had imagined, the actors fit their characters perfectly and added an extra spark. I’m not saying the drama was perfect, it had its flaws for sure, but it was definitely highly enjoyable and a great overall watch. So, now I guess I’ve given you a brief overview of my history with this series (it holds a special place in my heart…the reason I got into dramas!) and why I was looking forward to it.
You may be asking, “Well, what’s changed?”. Continue reading
Rants about Dramas = Dramarants 
