To agdr03:
Here are the dramas I’ll be reviewing:
Japanese drama:
1. Koi na Tsuku yo Dokomado mo/Love Lasts Forever (2020)
• 10 episodes
• starring: Kamishiraishi Mone as the female lead, Nanase Sakura, and Sato Tekaru as Dr. Tendo
source: dramacool
As you know, I’m like Captain Ahab looking for that great white whale of a story to replace “Itazura na Kiss.” “Itazaura na Kiss” has several adaptations in different countries. Let me list some of them.
Chinese drama: Miss in Kiss
Indonesian drama: Cowok Impian
Kdrama: Playful Kiss
Japanese retake: Love in Tokyo
Taiwanese drama: Sealed with a Kiss
Taiwanese movie: Fall in Love at First Kiss
Thai drama: Kiss Me
Hmmmm…I wonder if there’s a Malaysian, Vietnamese and Filipino version, too.
While I could never ever rewatch “Playful Kiss” because of that shitty actor who played the hero, the worst offender among the adaptations is that the Taiwanese version, “Sealed with a Kiss.” To me, the director went all the way to create a heroine who was dumb and servile. At least in the other dramas, the actresses were cute and adorable to look at. In the Taiwanese drama, however, the actress was made to look ugly so that the contrast in the social status of her character and her costar’s character was more pronounced.
“Koi na Tsuku yo Dokomado mo” or “Love Lasts Forever” has almost an identical plot, but it’s set in a hospital. The clumsy girl meets the brilliant doctor. But what I like about Koi na blah blah is the conscious effort of the writer and director to make the heroine “win” over the hero. Meaning, at the end of each episode, I’m left cheering for the girl while laughing at the comeuppance of the guy.
So, yes, this is dorama (that’s how they call Japanese dramas) is going on my “To Be Reviewed” list.
I forgot to add this: If you go for skinny guys who look like characters from a manga, then Sato Tekaru is your man. He’s a hottie.
credit: kdram-chjh’s tumblr
Thai drama:
1. My Husband in Law (2020)
• 15 episodes
• starring Mew Nittha Jirayungyurn as the female lead Muey, and Mark Prin Suparat as the male lead Thien
Thai drama or lakorn has always bugged me. Visually, I find Thai actors pleasing to look at — more so than Korean actors. (Okay, I’m racist and shallow so go ahead and bite me.) If I were to pick and choose Asian dramas simply based on visuals of the actors, it would be lakorn for me all the way. Just look at lead characters here.
Simply gorgeous!
credit: fusudrama
My issue with lakorn lies with the script. I’m going to quote wikipedia here so you won’t accuse me of being racist and shallow…lol.
Because Thai soap operas present a melodramatic story line featuring simple one-dimensional characterizations to capture the broadest viewership and commercial sponsorship, they generally do not foster critical insight, reasoning, or problem-solving skills, nor a multi-perspective consideration of the human drama being viewed. (emphasis mine – packmule3) They are simply an attempt to create dramatic tension and a “showdown” between the protagonist(s) and antagonist(s).[9]
Several series adhere to this simple format which, over an extended period, may cause some viewers to develop a skewed view of reality. At least one critic[10] contends that the recent[10] political problems in Thailand may be at least partially attributable to the negative influence of soap operas, surmising that it is the disregard of common sense and common human wisdom that causes people to shy away from thinking critically and, as a result, becoming prone to manipulation. (emphasis mine – packmule3)
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_television_soap_opera
In many ways, I agree with this harsh criticism of lakorn. The few lakorns I had the misfortune to watch were chock-full of questionable tropes. To name a few:
a. The ex-girlfriend is a conniving CURVACEOUS stalker.
Look: since I myself am well-endowed with mammary glands, I find it hysterical that a woman’s cleavage is seen as a force of evil. If a woman is conniving, it has nothing to do with her bra size.
b. The mother-in-law is an irrational social climber.
This stereotype is ludicrous, too. The height of the hero’s mother’s bouffant is proportional to her domineering ways and her assiduous quest to find a suitable daughter-in-law. Should I invest in hair spray?
c. The rapist is just a misunderstood and frustrated lover.
Ugh. I deplore this trope most of all. No means no!
d. The hero is transformed by the pure love of a virgin.
I totally understand when a woman wants to save herself for marriage. (And if I had a daughter, I’d counsel her to wait too.) However, what I dislike in lakorn is the double standards. If a female character, be it the lead or the secondary female lead, is going to be shamed for premarital sex, then so should her partner (i.e., the “hero”) for engaging in it. Do you see what I mean?
e. Hair-pulling and face-slapping are conventional.
This is normalizing physical form of outburst.
f. Sitting and crawling on the floor are a sign of respect.
Just when I thought being a doormat was bad enough, I see heroines on the floor like a mop.
To be honest, I almost dropped “My Husband in Law” because I saw 4 of 6 of these awful tropes in the first episode alone. But now I’m glad I did. But I’ll review this lakorn, and I’ll tell you why I like this lakorn. It’s not perfect but I think it’s a step in the right direction.
Chinese dramas:
1. Mr. Honesty (2020)
• 31 episodes (I might skip some)
• starring Liang Jie, the actress in “Eternal Love,” as Yi Ren, and Xin Yun Lia as Zhi You.
• modern setting
I’m watching this for now because I do so like an earnest and upright/uptight guy. He’ll start compromising his honesty since the girl is so scatty. It’s an office romance.
source: donnaturner.medium
2. Su Yu (2020)
• 20 episodes (this is doable)
• subs still on-going
• historical setting? I think it’s more like a mythological setting because they have superpowers
I almost shied away from this Cdrama because the actor has ears that stick out like a deer’s. lol.
Strangely enough, I’ve become accustomed to his face. And if the camera is focused just right, he looks rather like that other Chinese actor I like, Deng Lun. Go ahead and tell me if I’m mistaken, agdr03.
But like with most Chinese mass-produced dramas, I’m not watching this series for any great philosophical insight or social commentary. This Cdrama is purely for entertainment purposes. It’s about a prince (or is he a demi-god? I’m not sure because I’ve only watched a couple of episodes) whose favorite handmaiden upped and left him. Comments on youtube keep mentioning “What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim,” but since I haven’t watched that kdrama, I don’t have any point of comparison.
I’m sticking around for 10 episodes. I like a story where the heroine gets a chance to teach the guy a lesson after being mistreated. However, to me, the “re-education of the hero” has to be finely calibrated. If the writer goes overboard with the payback, and ends up emasculating the hero, then I’m out of here.
source: viki
3. Miss Truth (2020)
• 36 episodes (oooh. This is one drawback)
• starring never heard of actors so never mind.
• If I was going to watch “Mr. Honesty,” I thought I should balance it with a “Miss Truth.” lol. (I know. I know. Never judge a show by its title.)
I read the synopsis on mydramalist. The story is about a female forensic examiner. I thought this would make a nice change from the other dramas I’m watching since most of them feature women who are mentally inferior (but emotionally superior) to the menfolk.
source: chineseentertainmentnews
4. Intense Love (2020)
• 24 episodes
• starring Ryan Ding (he looks familiar) and Zhang Yu Xi
I struggled to finish Episode 1 last night.
I happen to like arranged marriage plot. I’m aware of the stigma associated with this trope because one, the woman is stripped of her free will, and two, the woman is used as a property. However, I like watching a couple navigate their way through a close live-in situation because I get to see how they fall in love. An arranged marriage trope is essentially the reverse of falling-in-love-at-first-sight. In a forced marriage plot, the couple first discover each other’s flaws, and then they choose to love each other despite the flaws. So it’s a falling-in-DISGUST-at-first-sight, then learning to love at second, third or fourth sight.
However, my problem with “Intense Love” is that the female lead. She annoys me with her antics. She’s too impulsive. For instance, she just suffered a concussion and had to undergo a head trauma medical procedure. But within hours of waking up, she’s already walking, running, and hopping after the guy up and down the hospital corridor. ????!!
So either the heroine is a brat or the writer is stupid for creating such an improbable scenario. But since it’s the first episode, I’ll give it another four episodes.
source: dramawiki
5. Love by Hypnotic (2019)
• 36 episodes (I don’t think the story needs 36 episodes)
• starring…?
• historical
This was recommended by @Growing_Beautifully.
I watched the first episode, and frankly, I don’t find the pale, round faces of the actors attractive. But I watched the last episode, and I saw the kissing. hahaha. Let me think about this.
The girl seems to be annoying, though.
source: youtube
6. Love is All (2020)
• 26 episodes (I skipped episodes)
• starring…Never mind. Their names are all confusing.
Recommended by HEHarry.
I like the hero well enough to persevere with this drama, but the heroine is a pain-in-the-neck. She rushes headlong into a situation and precipitates a crisis. But it annoys me that her nuisance value is just glossed over because she’s cute and “everything ends well.”
Okay, Chinese drama writers, can you please write a female character with more sense? I get it that a “gutsy” heroine is all the trend right now, but when she continually gets herself into scrapes which requires the guy to rescue her and salvage the situation, then her impetuous nature serves her no better than the meek and helpless traits of a damsel-in-distress.
source: remo-ny’s tumblr
7. I’ve Fallen for You (2020)
• 24 episodes (I dumped it after Ep 10)
• don’t-remember-and-don’t-care, lol. I want to erase them from my mind.
This is the dumbest series I had the rotten luck to watch this year.
I didn’t enjoy the slapstick, lowbrow humor, TRASHY hero (he should be checked for sexually transmitted diseases), and childish heroine (she should be checked for arrested mental development). I didn’t see the point of their forced marriage. They were searching for their long-lost childhood playmates but it was no-brainer that they’d already found each other.
Whoever recommended this on youtube, she and I have different priorities. She has lots of time to waste on this sort of pablum, but I don’t.
Quit writing about simpletons, Cdrama screenwriters! 
credit: viki
8. The Romance of Tiger and Rose (2020)
• 24 episodes
• starring Ryan Ding (ah! He’s the doctor in “Intense Love”) and Zhan Lu Ci (she’s the girl in that Netflix show “I Hear Your Voice”)
• costumed drama
The premise of the drama WAS promising. She was a screenwriter who woke up one day and found herself as a character in her own script. Kinda like the heroine in the kdrama “Extra-ordinary You,” she was supposed to play a minor character but she ended up usurping the lead female role.
I don’t know how long I’ll last with this Cdrama because I’ve a seen a few plotholes already.
I’m sticking around until this scene, though.
credit: kdramaxoxo’s tumblr
Dear Chinese screenwriters,
Please choose quality over quantity. A 20-, 30-, 40-, 50-episode drama isn’t any better than a 10-episode drama. Start small but add depth to your story. Your dramas lack soul.
So there you go, @agdr03. I’ve been busy weeding out bad Chinese dramas from my Youtube feed. My top pick is “Koi na Tsuku yo Dokomado mo” or “Love Lasts Forever.”
***************
Updated:
9. Lost Romance (2020)
20 episodes
starring: Marcus Chang and Vivian Sung
A romance book editor finding herself in a romance book where she’s the villain. It’s like “W” with a twist.
souce: viki
10. Count Your Lucky Stars (2020)
34 episodes
starring Jerry Yan and Shen Yue
A picture is worth a thousand words.
Thanks! Thanks Queen! 💐 Give me time so I can do a proper reply. I’ve seen a couple of those cdramas and I’ll tell you what I think of them. 😉
Oh did I type in the wrong email because my post is awaiting moderation. 🤔
Oh my first post is gone 😂
My first post is exactly below:
Thanks! Thanks Queen B for this. 💐Give me a few minutes so I can reply properly. I’ve seen a couple of those cdramas and I’ll tell you what I think about them. 😉
Ok let me get on with. 😊
Japanese Drama – I’ll definitely watch Love Lasts Forever because while that poster is simple, the story sounds fun and yeah I can always replaced Playful Kiss in my mind because of that abuser actor. 😒
This will be my first dorama so it’ll be special. ☺️ Gah! Look at that back hug and yeah a hottie alright. 😄
Thai Drama – I agree about the visuals there. 😆 but I worry about the script like you said. Some of those tropes can be seen in Filipino dramas too like hair pulling, face slapping and social climbing but they don’t forget about the common sense and principles especially for the leads. I’ll wait for your review on this one ok.
Chinese Dramas –
1 – Mr Honesty. I’ve seen a few Instagram posts and I am wondering if it is any good. Liang Jie is good In You’re My Destiny but I’ve never watched the male lead. I’ll watch the first episode and see if it grabs me. 😊
2 – Su Yu. He does look like Deng Lun except for his ears. 😆 I think 20 episodes is nothing if the main leads can do the cute for me. 😁 I’ll try it as well. I don’t think it’s similar to WWWSK is it? I thought it’s the Well Dominated Love that’s similar to it. I’m watching it now and it’s ok so far but the guy has amnesia so that’s where it started.
3 – Miss Truth. I’ve never heard or seen of this one but then again titles can be thrown different too. The FL is a forensic officer too in I’ve Fallen InLove With You. Yeah, 36 episodes is long. I’ll check out the trailer for it and let you know.
4 – Intense Love. I’ve finished it because of Ryan Ding. He’s new to me but for some reason I’m drawn to him especially after watching him in The Romance Of Tiger And Rose. I agree, the FL in here is a bit over the top and I didn’t agree with how she was at the beginning but she’s got a good heart. See how you go after 4 episodes. 😊
5 – Love By Hypnotic. I’ve never seen it and @GB did say the episodes went down hill after episode 13. But there’s lots of kissing and bare chests scenes? 😂 So not sure about this one. Did I say that right? 🤔😂
6 – Love Is All. I finished it. I think they’re a perfect pair and they are sweet together. But I agree again about the FL. She’s a writer and because she wanted a new story she wanted to go out where real life danger lies. 😆
7 – I’ve Fallen For You. I’ve finished it. There really was two boys who she spent time with when she was young but the one she’s looking for was the ML.
8 – The Romance Of Tiger And Rose. I love this cdrama. 🥰 The ML falls in love with her first. They have a lot of cute scenes and they looked real. I’ve watched their interviews and Ryan Ding said that there’s no other lady than can play the FL character except Zhan Luci. She said there were 5 who auditioned for it. 😄 Maybe I got blinded by how good they are and didn’t worry about the plot holes. 😁 Watch till the fireworks episode, please. 🙏
Thanks so much for this update on dorama, lakor and lots of cdrama. Really appreciate it. 😉🍪🍪🍪 I’ll start on Love Lasts Forever. ☺️
Re Thai lakorn, My Husband in Law, I had fast-forwarded to the ending to check if the drama was worth my time.
(spoiler)
I didn’t expect the girl to walk away from him in Episode 12. That was yummy. I didn’t see it coming and neither did the guy because he knew that she was besotted with him.
And I like the girl’s parting words because they were calm and gentle. The guy told her to ask anything of him because he’d give it to her as reward for helping him out. And then she asked for her freedom. lol.
She observed that they didn’t know each other very well, but the guy rejected that idea so she challenged him to play a simple game. If he could answer all the questions she asked of him, she’d marry him in a heartbeat. (They were secretly married, but now the guy wants to be married for real.)
She said, “Listen to my questions carefully. What day is my birthday? And what month? What’s my favorite color? What’s my favorite color? What’s my favorite food? Can you answer any of them?”
The guy looked thunderstruck. She reached for his hand, and said, “Your birthday is on the first day of the month. It’s in October. Your favorite color is dark blue. You eat everything. But it can’t be too spicy. You like to play guitar. Especially when your facing a bottleneck. You like listening to music but you don’t like singing. You’re an architecture major. But sometimes you like sightseeing and city planning. You want your wife to be perfect. Even though we got married, you’re still waiting for that person. But you never wanted to marry me.”
The guy started to fidget so she said, “Did I say something wrong?”
He answered, “Don’t be cruel to me.”
What I like about this scene is she never raised her voice or spoke in rapid fire like a scorned woman. Her tone was gentle and patient the whole time. And that, to me, was more effective than shouting and wailing, to convey her point across that all their time together, he had taken her — her kindness and her affections — for granted.
In this case, cruelty didn’t need sharp weapons nor physical assault.
And that’s when I thought to myself, Aaaah, let me check this out then. 🙂
Why doesn’t Mr Honesty just marry Miss Truth? 😂 THE END. Granted they are from different eras but hey, nothing a time travel wouldn’t fix? 🤔
Oh wow! To calmly say those things and because he knew she’s right, was awesome.
What a way to ask for her freedom. Promise I’ll give it a try too. 😊
Dorama and Lakor, I’m coming for you. 😄
hahaha. Mr. Honesty and Miss Truth marrying? And what will happen to their kids then? They’ll be boring little twits.
@nrllee, there’s actually some cdramas just out like that. 😂 It’s parallel universe too. I forgot the title. 🤪
Right? How could he answer that without looking like a jerk? So he released her. And that was the end of Ep 12.
He had Episodes 13, 14, and 15 to win her back. I was skimming so I couldn’t remember many of the scenes. But when I watched that Ep 12 goodbye, I thought of YOU.
Did you remember me because I like my breakups to be calm and collected? Not like those stabbing rejection ones? 😂
I’ll let you know how I go. It’s good it’s only 15 episodes. 😁
I thought you would like a civilized breakup. No hurling plates and shouting matches.
Here’s Andrew Lloyd Weber’s “Tell Me on a Sunday Please.”
https://youtu.be/QpxuzOJ73Os
I’m compiling the OSTs for “Psycho But It’s Okay.”
Nice! I like Sarah Brightman. ☺️ Thanks!
Yes, it’s always nice to have a civilised break up even if either hearts are breaking into pieces. 🙂
Yes please, PBIO OST. I love 2 songs there. 🥰
Done. 🙂
Which ones do you like?
I’m listening to the last song, “Little by Little” by Cheeze.
Omo! I’m starting on Love Lasts Forever and the guy is hot, hot! 😂 I’m liking the beat of that song, I think my eldest has influenced me on some manga songs. ☺️ He is into it.!
Love love Little By Little and Breath. 😍
Thanks!
With Sato Takeru’s character Dr Tendo, I finally understood the attraction of the male tsundere in Japanese manga. 🙂
He looks like an cartoon… (of course, I don’t mean Donald Duck, Charlie Brown, and Spongebob).
lol.
Exciting! 😁 I haven’t read any manga but heard lots of songs though I saw a little bit of this manga volleyball story. It’s very good. Boys are coming soon, I’m waiting outside school this whole time, parked. 😂
Good night girlfriend, sweet dreams! Kumawo 🙇🏻♀️
@packmule3 I love Tell Me on a Sunday Please. So civilized. I think when partings are civilized it usually means both parties acknowledge that they were personally also at fault to some extent. It takes 2 to tango. Those slinging matches usually means neither acknowledge that they were at fault (in the slightest) and the blame game ensues.
And yes to Little by Little. It’s my fav in the PBIO list.
@packmule3 Thanks for that list😃 i always thought doramas and period C-dramas are not my thing, but I checked out a few clips from ‘Love Lasts Forever’ on Youtube and my interest is piqued. Think I’ll check it out next weekend (I like the ML and an hoping the FL is not too dumb, which usually happens in doramas).
Ooh! I really like “Tell Me on a Sunday”. I just went to YT a week or so ago and sat through Song and Dance again. I shake my head at the girl who’s hanging her hopes and joys on a guy… even a married guy!!! But the emotions and the final decision that she will be just fine by herself always get me. Mr Lloyd-Webber’s melodies are just beautiful, interesting and uplifting.
@pkml3, I wrote under the R1994 thread I think, that the Eps after 12 of The Love By Hypnotic are far from good plotwises. However … Yes, the kisses are a lot, and pretty good. The most I’ve seen ever … like more than 10 kisses!!
There’s also a whole lot of the guy princess carrying the girl around, even when it was not necessary. I began to think he was treating her like a child at times, (like carrying her under her arms and seating her on something that was just a little high) but he did also listen to her, treat her with respect, defend and stand up for her when she was maligned and she did retain her own agency most of the time. I have yet to watch the last 3 episodes, but at least I can say that this OTP loved each other a lot and were not afraid to show it.
Dorama fans abbreviate Love Lasts Forever as KoiTsudu. Haven’t watch this because of age gap.
Already watched Mr. Honesty and Intense Love. I love how their visuals suited each other.
Interested and plan to watch Husband in Law. Can’t seem to find reliable clips with eng sub.
Love by Hypnotic and I’ve Fallen for You fail to keep my interest after 1 episode.
Would like to watch Tiger and Rose but can’t see past the actors and their previous pairings so haven’t watch yet.
All the other cdramas, not planning to watch because of age gap between the actors.
Yes, call me ageist, but I’m still uncomfortable when two actors with age gaps, especially huge ones, act like a couple. The actresses in these (c)dramas are around my age, or even younger than me. Then they’re paired to actors 6+ years older. I can’t see myself be in a relationship with someone 6+ yrs older. Then my mom would reprimand me because she and my dad are 9 years apart 🙃. My ideal age gap would be 2 years but I’ll max it out to 5; except when the guy would be younger than me, then he must be 2 years younger because I would like my younger brother to have an older brother figure in the future.
Anyhow, yeah when a title of a drama piques my interest, I would immediately search on mydramalist to see the profile of the actors. Age gaps really make or break it for me. The only thing this criterion would pass is when the plot is so interesting and intriguing enough + the visuals and chemistry of the actors are so gratifying enough that I would ignore the gap.
I just hope that with time, I can come to terms with the coupling of actors 6-10 years apart. But for now, I’ll stick with this principle 🙂.
Howdy! 😊 Here’s something silly from me. Yesterday I said I started to watch Love Lasts Forever but the introduction shows the main leads in a Cinderella with lots of shoes. And so I checked it again last night and even though I typed in Love Last’s Forever, that’s what YouTube gave me.
It turns out it’s a dorama called, I don’t Love You Yet/I Still Can’t Miss You. 😊 Which only has 16 episodes so I might checked it out after Love Lasts Forever.
I’ve started on it and I can’t really blame Dr Tendo on forgetting Nanase Sakura because it was 5 years since their chance encounter. But he does seem colder and brutally honest too. 😂 She’s got guts to confess that she likes him right after seeing him again. Brave girl! 😆🙅🏻♀️
Check it out on kissasian. Type “Koi na Tsuku yo Dokomado mo”. You may also try out blitzfansub.com
https://blitzfansub.com/category/love-lasts-forever/
This fansite has additional 15 minutes per episode which weren’t included in kissasian. The extra segments for Episode 1 and Episode 10 are good but the rest of them seem to be fillers.
Thanks Queen B! I’ll check that out. 😘
OK. Thanks Packmule. Will check out the japanese drama.
Dr Tendo may be skinny, but he’s hard to ignore.
@Fern! Don’t get me started! 🤣 I love those cream puffs too but our ones here are pastry base not bread base. 😁
What episode are you on? I’m almost on 3! ☺️
Thanks @packmule3, I like the Japanese dorama that you put on the list. I agree, Dr. Tendo is one of those Japanese hottie, very typical snob type of guy in Japan. There’s this aspect of higher being that the female lead relied on which is not common for their culture. Some kind of appreciation too on imperfection of a person can fill in the gap on someone else’s emptiness in life.
My review of Episode 1 is on queue. 🙂 I still have to put a “finishing touch” and it should go out today. Since this is the first romcom dorama for the blog, I want to explain it (relatively) well with details.
Yes, the concept of the “god” was unusual for a dorama. But the character was depicted as a fortune teller/relationship counselor. 😂😂 I wouldn’t have known that he existed if it weren’t for the extra 15 minutes posted on that blitzfansub site. The 15 minutes episodes seem to be additional material for the side characters.
Howdy! I can’t wait for your review. ☺️
Is the higher being Doctor Kisugi-sensei?
Ah no not him, he’s starting to like her too now.
That ambulance scene was intense and then turned funny when they were walking home. I felt she made Tendo-sensei the idiot this time. 😂 You go Sakura-san! That’s awesome treatment for you and now you’ve got a boyfriend! 👏🏻 🤣
I’m excited and looking forward with your review @pm3! It seems like higher being has a different concept than what the standard concept is, @agdr03. I want to know how the other side of the world view female lead’s boldness and persistence in confessing her feelings to Tendo-sensei.
@Eureka, I agree, Sakura-san is definitely bold and persistent. I can’t believe how many times she’s said that she likes/loves him. 😬
You should test Into the Ring (or Memorials, the drama has several names…). It’s pretty fun and I love the camera work.
@agdr03, yes, Sakura-san REALLY likes him. I was thinking that she is foolhardy rather than brave, and like a stalker, but she has a reason and it is that he appeared after her prayer at the shrine. She is brave and she is a problem solver with a big heart. I binge watched to the end. You will enjoy it.
Oh I’m jealous @Fern because you’ve finished it already. I’m on episode 5 and I had to sleep at 12am, you know ajumma sleep time 😂 Now I have house chores before I can even continue.
True at times I feel she’s more foolish than brave but her innate goodness just comes across to the people and it’s so nice to see. 😊
@agdr03, yes, innate goodness is a good description. She is a breath of fresh air, too.
Seeing the ‘extras’ that @packmule3 gave us link to on the 28th at 10:10 makes a big difference in filling in gaps. You will see background you may not get through whichever service you use to watch.
Thank you, @packmule3!
I’m watching on kissasian but I will definitely definitely rewatch at blitzfansub. I did try to watch at blitz before but there was no sound on my iPad. I’ll check it out again. 😊Thanks @Fern! 😉
Definitely lots of thanks to Queen B for this dorama. I’m loving it. ☺️
@agdr03, each episode has little lessons. I liked that the other newbie Sakai told Sakura-san that she had more success at work than SN because she worked and studied hard but SN only wanted to be liked. This tied into the head nurse’s counsel that the best way to Tendo-sensei’s heart was to be a good nurse. Clearly this isn’t the sort of romance where the ML likes the FL regardless of her ditzy, chaotic or unintelligent ways. But Sakura Nanase takes it to heart and revisits the shrine with a prayer for hard work to succeed as a nurse, rather than just get a man.
There’s also the ‘butterfly effect’ of one small action leading on to larger things lesson. Some of those things are pointed out in the ‘extra’ scenes, but other little actions by SN are just by-products of her small observations sometimes transferred into nursing notes or just experienced by the patients and staff. These add up bit by bit to her credit.
When Tendo Kairi has something nice to say to her, my gosh, doesn’t he say it with utmost reluctance? When she saved the little girl, for example? TK forces himself to respond to her efforts at work, never mind in their personal lives. But she keeps improving and improving; and chipping away at his block of ice heart. In the scene where the head nurse’s son Shinji has the ablation, I kept thinking that the little cathethers going deeper and deeper into the boy’s heart to cure him were a bit like SN’s interactions invading TK’s figurative heart.
I thought the funniest scene in the first half was at the end of Ep. 5. SN and TK have a post-op ‘date’ with him giving her the chocolate corone. He actually looked the other way. ‘You did alright for your first time.’ he says grudgingly and then keeps glancing at her to see her reaction whilst she eats. Afterwards she walks, oblivious, past the bakery where the large sign advertises the chocolate corones as a gift to give your valentine. 💗
You’re absolutely right, @Fern! Little life lessons about relationships are embedded in each episode. They’re subtle, though. And both Nanase and TK benefit from their (mis)adventures together. Nanase’s development is overt but TK is changing right beside her. That’s why when he tells his father in Episode 10 that he’s changed, I believe him.
Yes, that Episode 5 “chocolate cornet” scene was lovely! He was trying to date her — as she requested — but when he made the move, she was totally clueless. The expression of his face! He probably thought he had to deal with her lovey-doveyness and fend off her enthusiastic squeals. He was steeling himself against her romantic reactions. But instead, she enthused about the freshly-baked bread. She didn’t get that it was meant to show his love.
To him, it was a “Valentine’s Day” date but to her it was a “post-op” date. 🙂
But it’s his fault really.
One, he didn’t want their dating relationship broadcast so how was she to know that they were doing a “boyfriend/girlfriend” Valentine’s event right there in the hospital quadrangle?
Two, she told him already that she’s never had a relationship before. So how was she to know that the chocolate cornet was a Valentine’s day thing?
Three, she’s really pure-hearted. She’s just grateful for anything and everything.
And I liked that he changed his tune after that. He wanted to take her out on a real dinner date. Yes. This was a cute episode.
If I had a daughter, I’d allow her to watch this dorama.
@packmule3, thanks again for the link to Blitzfansub. None of the extras were on dramacool and so far no annoying adverts, either. I hope that you are well, btw, and enjoying the summer.
In the chocolate corone scene, yes, his understated assessment of her competency and the ‘date’ was enough to send her into orbit so much that she could miss the giant Valentine’s Day poster. 💫🤩
It was predicted how much TK was like his father, but by then Nanase had figured him out. TK’s mother, on the other hand, is possibly quite a bit like Nanase, so both generations seem to have found that person to complement them. Ultimately, his parents are atypical for a chaebol family in that they seem to sincerely want their children to find someone to love and support them. I also liked how TK’s Ruyuko kept him down to earth (Resting Bitch Face and other pertinent insults – ha.)
SN has a boisterous and chaotic family and what else could have been possible? I liked that in the extra, TK reveals to SN’s father that he thinks she is too good for him; a reverse of the earlier episode when he agrees with her assessment that he is out of her league.
TK’s sister Ruyoko, that is.
There was one thing I didn’t like about the FL. Despite her courage, she had low self esteem. By about the 5th time she referred to herself as useless and a boulder, I was ready to scream – both at her and at the ML because he couldn’t/wouldn’t retract that assessment. Finally, she had the courage to tell him that she was upset. But it happened when she misread him for a change, about his decision to take her off the surgery team for the ablation. I believe his reluctance to set her straight was out of discretion to the head nurse – he didn’t want to create discord among the nursing team.
Gosh, she ended up with all of the eligible guys (and one stalker) falling for her, too, because she had a special value, as TK said to the troublemaker chaebol.
💖 Goodness, the breakfast scene kiss and shared bun… 🔥⚡🔥
@LeeDale9198 and anyone else who is interested in My Husband In Law:
This drama is available with English subtitles at legal streaming site dimsum.my
However, dimsum is not available in many countries.
If you can’t access Dimsum, Husband In Law is available at Lakorn Galaxy and also Dramacool. Here are the links;
Lakorn Galaxy: http://lakorngalaxy.com/2019/07/ok-keub-hak-ab-ruk-khun-samee/
Dramacool: https://watchasian.net/drama-detail/my-husband-in-law
I love the contract marriage trope, so I was excited to check this lakorn out, but there were some very disturbing things happening in Ep. 3 so I dropped it. But if the Bitches are going to review it, I may give it another chance.