Drama review: 我和我的十七歲 (Love at Seventeen)

After a long time, finally I can do another drama recap again yeay! This time it's a Taiwanese drama; I found this accidentally and the premise seemed interesting to me. Never saw both main leads' drama before, I decided to give it a try. Lego Lee as He Hao Yi is a guy from divorced parents and he came to Taipei to find his mother after his father died to revenge because he thought his mother didnt care about him and his father anymore. He has a twin sister living with his mother. Nikki Hsieh as Ai Li Si is a humble yet bubbly girl who always do everything to make people around her happy. She has two bestfriends, Bai Su Lei the school's most popular girl, and Liu Xiao Fen who is He Hao Yi's twin sister. He Hao Yi met Ai Li Si through misunderstanding; he thought she was his twin sister so he always tricked her. After everything was clear, he lived with his mother and twin sister and four of them (He Hao Yi, Ai Li Si, Bai Su Lei, and Liu Xiao Fen) became bestfriends. He liked Ai Li Si and vice versa but they didnt have the courage to confess to each other. Something happened; it made their friendship into such a big mess where actually it's another misunderstanding. Ai Li Si hoped her bestfriends could understand her actions but all of them rejected her. She transferred to another school and time jumped to 13 years forward where she is now the cold and strict Ai Li Si. She doesnt even care about others; everything she does is based on her schedule and preference. He Hao Yi meets her again by chance and doesnt want to lose her anymore but she didnt believe in him at all. Then she has amnesia because of her illness and it gives second chance to He Hao Yi to repair his relationship with her. What I like about this drama is that everybody deserves a second chance because maybe the things happened in the past was caused by misunderstanding. It showed us how a misunderstanding can harm someone's relationship; in this case it makes Ai Li Si doesnt believe in human's relationship anymore and doesnt want to have any interaction with others. Thirteen years wasted. Her bestfriends are even worse; how can they dont believe in her when she always thinks of her bestfriends' happiness in the first place? The storyline is cliche, but they execute it beautifully and makes me learn a lot from the drama. Not to mention how much I like Nikki's fashion in this drama. It's only 15 episodes and you should give it a try since this one is refreshing. Ciao!
Note: Im sorry I cant find any eng sub for the trailer but you can watch this drama HERE 

Rate: 8/10

Synopsis:

If you had a second chance to correct the biggest mistake of your life, would you take it? Alice (Nikki Hsieh) is a cold, 30-year-old woman who lives her dull life like a robot programmed to do the same things everyday. But her boring life changes when she wakes up one day to discover that she has returned to her 17-year-old self! Back in high school on the day of an important swim meet for her best friend, Shu Lei (Amanda Chou), Alice literally runs into the moody He Hao Yi (Lego Li), who has just transferred to her school. Hao Yi mistakes Alice for his long-separated twin sister, and because of a grudge against her and his mom, Hao Yi decides to torment Alice at every turn. Meanwhile, Han Ming (Edison Wang) is a nerdy student who has long harbored a secret crush on Shu Lei. After a few mishaps, Hao Yi realizes that Alice is not his sister, but will Alice take this opportunity for her to correct her biggest mistake with her first love and change her own future destiny? “Love at Seventeen” is a 2016 Taiwanese drama series directed by Jou Shiau Peng.

 

Long preview:

Drama review: 必娶女人 (Marry Me Or Not)

This drama ended around two weeks ago yet I didnt have the time to recap it. I really like this drama in the beginning, but the ending was lacking for me. Drama ending has always been a problem in most Taiwanese dramas. MMoN is one of the best Taiwanese drama in recent years starring Alice Ko as Cai Huan Zhen and Roy Qiu as Hao Meng. This is their second time pairing; the first one was in the big hit Office Girl in 2011. Cai Huan Zhen is a successful and competitive carreer woman with her competitor being her ex bestfriend, Hao Sheng Nan who is also Hao Meng's younger sister. They compete for everything: job opportunity, clothes, bags, shoes, and even boyfriend. Both of them meet again at high school reunion and Shengnan brings her brother claiming he's her boyfriend. Huanzhen will be married soon and her boyfriend turns out to be Hao siblings' cousin. Shengnan who knows about this asks her brother, a divorce specialist lawyer, to persuade their cousin and makes him cancel their wedding. The cousin falls for their trap and cancel the wedding; Huanzhen knows Shengnan did it. She vows to steal Shengnan's boyfriend, in this case it's Hao Meng. The story goes on as they start to date without any feeling towards each other. The problems starts when she finally knows he's not her boyfriend but realise it's too late; she's fallen for him and vice versa. Everything was great till the middle but I didnt know why the hype to watch this drama decreased as it approached the end. I thought this drama wouldnt be as draggy as other dramas have been all these days. There were parts where I thought it wasnt necessary at all. I should say the chemistry between Alice and Roy were awesome although I didnt watch their previous drama. The character Alice portrayed here was a strong and optimistic woman which I really like since most dramas tend to have a Candy type main lead (kind, soft, bullied by others woman). Roy was so handsome with his black hair in the drama but he dyed his hair to brown now. Perhaps because of my high expectation in the beginning, Im a bit disappointed. But still, I would recommend this drama since the story is great and unique.

Rate: 7.5/10

 Official trailer:

Drama review: Reply 1988

 

I.LOVE.THIS.DRAMA.SO.MUCH. I should say this is the best drama of the year (2015-2016), more than Oh My Ghostess and Healer. I have zero expectation when I started watching this series. This is the third one, preceeded by Reply 1997 and Reply 1994. R1997 was an awesome piece. Eunji and Seo In Guk were so good in portraying the characters; the drama did bring them to another level of stardom. I skipped R1994; the casts were not my favorite and people said it's the weakest one compared to R1997 and R1988. R1998 focus more in family story, mix with romance and comedy. The story is about five families living in Ssangmundong. The first is Sung family with the children Sung Bora, Sung Deoksun, and Sung Noeul. The second is Kim family and the children are Kim Jungbong and Kim Junghwan. The third is Sunwoo and Jinjoo's family. The fourth is Choi family with the only child Choi Taek. The last is Ryu family with the child Ryu Dongryong. Deoksun (Girls Day Hyeri), Junghwan (Ryu Junyeol), Sunwoo (Go Kyungpyo), Taek (Park Bogum), and Dongryong (Lee Donghwi) are childhood friends and they are really, really close. The only girl in the gang, Deoksun, is the second daughter; she is a bubbly personality and always makes people around her happy. Junghwan is also called as Jungpal; he stays cool most of the time but actually he's very warm inside. He and Sunwoo are the smartest students in the class. Sunwoo is an FM (Field Manual), the one who always stick to the principle and studies all the time. His father died two years ago so he's the only guy of the family. Very obedient to his mother, he is a loving family guy and never complains anything to her. Taek is a 18yo genius baduk player; he quits school and his world is only about baduk. Has a puppy like personality, Taek is very happy whenever his gang gathers in his house after he comes back from the international competition. The last, Dongryong, is the moodmaker of the group; he never study even though his father is the school's principal and dances all the time. This time the story involves not only the main leads and the friends but also everyone in Ssangmundong. There are the father group and mother group and each has his/her own story. I cried a lot this time like almost every episode; Im a sucker for a touching story. Watching R1988 makes me realise how people have changed over time; in the past everyone is close to each other including their neighbours and they can survive without any internet or electronic. People talk and communicate when they meet, not like now where people meet and then focus on their cellphones rather than talking to each other. I also envy Deoksun for having such a great childhood friends like the gang; they are probably the squad goals of life. 

For the romance, it will be about Deoksun-Taek-Jungpal. Jungpal is so frustating. He likes her but why doesnt he have the courage to confess and always miss the timing? If you are not confessing even though you like the girl and she likes you back, she may end up with another guy. Poor him :( There are two group of shippers, #TeamTaek and #TeamJunghwan. Im in #TeamTaek! Taek is an innocent and lovely guy; he may be clueless about life but when he has a goal, he will go for it. That's why I love Taek. I dont know what spell Park Bogum has put on me, but now Im totally fangirling over him. Everytime he smiles, Im done (he smiles A LOT in the drama). At first people also hesitated when Hyeri was announced as the main lead; I read in some news that she wasnt a really good actress. But in Reply series you cant predict anything. Now everyone is praising Hyeri for doing such a great job portraying Sung Deoksun. Park Bogum and Ryu Junyeol are definitely the biggest stars of the series; they are extremely famous right now. If I have to choose which Reply series is the best, it will be R1997 and R1988. Dont tell me to choose between two of them because I cant. It's true they say original is the best but R1988 has all the best things a drama could ever had. Not forget to mention how awesome the ending is. The drama also had the highest rating ever for cable drama viewership, achieving 18.8% for the finale. They also have the husband hunting mystery as usual! Who do you think the husband will be? Im happy that I make the right choice to watch R1988 after it ended and I finished it in 3 days *proud* The only thing I regret is that I watch the ending first when I havent decided if Im going to watch the drama. That doesnt decrease my love for this drama anyway; I already rewatched my favorite scenes like for the nth times. I just love this drama to the bits.

Note: If you are bored that I always say recommended to most of the dramas I reviewed, it's because when I watch a drama and lose interest in the middle of it I will stop watching right away. Dont even bother to make a review about it.

Rate: 9.5/10

 

 

 

I will miss all of you a lot ㅠㅠ

 Official trailer:

Below is my most favorite OST in R1988. I cried twice listening to this because I remembered the scenes. Yes it's shameful I know. Whatever lol

Drama review: Twenty Again

Finally my feels for blogging is back! This time Im going to write about a drama I finished two weeks ago, a day after this drama ended. It's called "Twenty Again" and tbh this drama is not even on my list. The premise is about someone who wasted her twenties and she got second chance to experience her twenty again. Im not excited about this; even after they announced the main leads would be Choi Jiwoo and Lee Sangyoon. None of her dramas were preferences; most of them were melodramas. As for Lee Sangyoon, I liked him since Angel Eyes which was really good in the beginning, flat in the middle, and suck in the end. 

The main character is Ha Nora, a 38yo housewife whose life is only about her husband and son. Her husband, Kim Woo Chul, is a professor and he's really arrogant and overconfidence. They are in the mid of divorce because he has been frustated by her act. She got married at 20 and moved to Germany; he thought she wasnt educated and couldnt chat with her. Her son, Kim Minsoo, is very clever and he looked up to his dad but not his mom. So basically her most important family members didnt even respect her. Before her divorce becomes official in a few months, she decided to enroll in a university secretly since she couldnt do it in the past and that has been her longtime desire. Accidentally her husband and son also enter the same university and she needs to avoid them. There she meets her highschool classmate, Cha Hyun Suk, a well-known producer and aspiring professor in the subject she enroll in. She recognised him but he avoids her making her confused. Turns out Cha Hyun Suk's first love was Ha Nora but he hated her for suddenly moving to Germany and left without any words. She didnt even come back for her grandma's funeral making him hate her even more. The story goes on with how Nora learns to adapt with the new environment in her campus, her bickering relationship with Hyunsuk, and how she finally realises what she really wants to do. We know during the whole drama that Hyunsuk still falls in love with Nora even after 20 years have passed but Nora didnt even realise her own feeling that she's also in love with him. Hyunsuk is the guy bestfriend who everybody wants. I think he's almost like Li Da Ren but of course Li Da Ren is still the best. He keeps on bickering with her; at one time he just got angry on her over nothing and at the other time he's the sweetest person ever. Actually Im so frustated when toward the end of the drama Nora still hasnt realised her feeling but luckily she did in the final episode. Cheers to the writer who did a very good job in this drama; I didnt even complain when the romance appears almost in the end of the drama because it's just in the right proportion of the story. I get many lessons from this drama. One should not give up her dream; sometimes you need someone to make you realise what you really wants to do, and be happy without thinking what others will think about you. No doubt Choi Jiwoo is the most suitable cast for Hanora; her youthful appearance and great acting are perfect combination. Lee Sangyoon did much better here tha in Angel Eyes; he shows us lots of expressions and emotions and makes his character lovable and hateable at the same time. You definitelyneed to watch this!

PS: The rating is very high for cable drama. Not to mention how much I like Na Soon Nam!!

Rate: 8.5/10

 

Synopsis:

Ha No-ra once dreamed of becoming a dancer, but she unexpectedly became pregnant at age 19 and had to quit school and get married. For the next two decades, her life revolved around being a housewife and mother. Now 38 years old and on the brink of divorce, No-ra is mistakenly diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and given a six-month prognosis. So she decides to go back to school and experience college life for the first time.^[11] Among the incoming freshmen are her own 20-year-old son Kim Min-soo and his girlfriend Oh Hye-mi, who are horrified to have No-ra as their classmate.^[12] Unbeknownst to No-ra, her intellectual snob husband Kim Woo-chul recently accepted a job teaching psychology at the same university, and her prickly theater arts professor turns out to be Cha Hyun-seok, who had a crush on No-ra in high school. 

the frustating Ha Nora

student Ha Nora!

Official trailer:

Drama review: Yongpal.

I watched this drama a few weeks after Oh My Ghostess ended because of the withdrawal syndrome I had. I like the casts of course; it's Joo Won and Kim Tae Hee. Joo Won is one of my favorite actor since Baker King Kim Tak Goo a few years ago where he's still a newbie but since then he rised as one of the hottest young talented actor. As for Kim Tae Hee, she's not really my favorite but most of the Koreans love her so why dont I give it a try? It started out with Kim Tae Hee as a princess of Hanshin Group (chaebol), Han Yeo Jin, who was held as a hostage by her own brother. She had an accident three years ago and survived but her fiancee died. When she did a suicide, it's a chance for her brother to made her into a coma and they continuously did a medicine-induced coma to her. She was treated in Hanshin Medical Center where doctors are not doctors but they are only a bunch of people who did their jobs for money. Here comes Joo Won as Kim Tae Hyun who is a doctor for the gangster known as "Yongpal" and also works in Hanshin Hospital; he did it if they mad a housecall. He works for money to treat his sister's illness so as long as you have the money you can call him. Things changed when he was called to "treat" Yeo Jin in the VIP room on the 12th floor but then he helped her to escape because she said she wanted to tear down that floor. She lives her new life like a newborn, started to feel the breeze, how to walk and feel about everything around her. The story continues with her lovey dovey moments with Taehyun and how he makes her back to her throne but then she started the revenge towards her brother and become more and more evil. The story is great because it is mixed with medical things and how we see that people can be really scary when they can be bought by money. Joo Won's acting is marvellous; now I know why he rised more than Yoon Si Yoon who was the main lead in Baker King. He had played lots of characters with different emotions. I watched Good Doctor and too bad the story sucks in the middle. His pairing with Kim Tae Hee is really adorable; they make a really good visual on screen. Kim Tae Hee is not as stiff as she was in My Princess proven by her acting here although the first few episodes she was only sleeping in the VIP room lol The drama itself has a really high rating with average around 20% and then they decide to extend two episodes. It's pretty common for kdramas to be extended when they had a good rating. I didnt have a high expectation towards the ending because I have experienced it when a drama has a very good storyline, they might have a really bad ending. I didnt know why this mostly happens in kdrama but yeah, it happens for real. The ending is still okay for me although it's a bit vague. As for me, I like the middle part of this drama where Yeojin starts her revenge and there is this moment when Taehyun said he regretted to have saved her from the 12th floor. You should give it a try. Not to mention how much I really like the promotional poster.

Rate: 8/10

Synopsis:

Kim Tae-hyun is a talented surgeon. Desperate for money to pay for his sister's medical bills, he adopts the code name Yong-pal and offers his medical skills to those in need of medical attention but who cannot do so publicly, dealing with criminals and corrupt plutocrats.^[6] Joining a team of corrupt physicians Kim rescues "sleeping beauty" Han Yeo-jin, a chaebol heiress, from a medically induced coma, leading to unintended consequences.

 

 

Official trailer: