October marks the start of many interesting kdramas, cdramas and doramas that I can already foresee problems juggling all of them at once. I still have “A Hundred Memories,” “Shim’s Project,” and “Mantis” to carry over from October.
Forgive me if I don’t get to write as often or as in-depth as you expect me to. Autumn is the perfect time to explore small towns and back roads up and down the East Coast. Not only does the fall foliage evoke nostalgia, but the harvest festivals bring so many fun memories to me. My husband and I already have our weekends booked with various activities: from apple-picking to winery hopping to pumpkin judging. (I didn’t volunteer to chaperone kids at the Haunted House, though. Lol.)
Here’s what I have on my list.
1. Genie, Make a Wish
Ha! Bae Suzy must be filling the pressure to approximate or even beat Lim Yoona’s success in “Bon Appetit, Your Majesty!” My gut feel tells me it’s not gonna happen because Kim WooBin won’t have the same attraction as Lee ChaeMin but I’ve been known to be wrong before.
One thing going for her, though, is the screenwriter. It’s the nonpareil Kim Eun Sook (“Goblin,” “The King: Eternal Monarch,” “Descendants of the Sun,” “Mr. Sunshine,” and “The Glory”). Let’s see if she can enthrall Korean and international audience with a good old-fashioned romcom, instead of a melodrama.
Central idea: Suzy’s character is a psycho who finds an evil genie who intends to corrupt her by granting her three wishes.
Cast: Bae Suzy and Kim Woo Bin
Episodes: 12
Start Date: Friday, October 3
Airs on Friday (I don’t know if all will be released on the same day. Probably not.)
Where to Watch it: Netflix
2. Would You Marry Me?
Central idea: It’s a marriage of convenience trope. Jung SoMin’s working girl character and Choi WooShik’s chaebol character agree to a pretend marriage so she can win a new townhome.
Didn’t we just have Shin MinAh in a pretend marriage in “No Gain, No Love”? Oh well. Let me see if Jung SoMin can amuse me better and longer than Shin MinAh. I got pretty tired quickly of Ms. Shin’s aegyo (and dimples) in NGNL.
Cast: Jung So Min (“Alchemy of Souls 1”) and Choi Woo Shik (“Our Beloved Summer”)
Episodes: 12
Start Date: Friday, October 10
Airs on Friday and Saturday
Where to Watch it: Disney Plus (uh oh, there it goes then. I don’t have Disney Plus)
3. Typhoon Family
One word: Lee JunHo. Do I need any more reasons to check this kdrama out?
Central idea: Lee JunHo chooses a drama. Who cares about the plot?
Cast: Lee JunHo and some girl who reminds me Moon GeunYoung when MGY was young (what happened to MGY, anyway??)
Episodes: 16 (hurray!! See that? Even producers are willing to invest in 16 episodes for Lee JunHo.)
Start Date: Saturday, October 11
Airs on Saturday and Sunday
Where to Watch it: Netflix
4. Romantic Anonymous
This is remake of the French movie, “Les Emotifs Anonymes.” But I think this version will be more interesting than the original because it’ll star a Japanese actor and a Korean actress. The Japanese actor is Shun Oguri. I already told you: for me, before Takeru Satoh, there was Shun Oguri. Watch it and you’ll get what I mean. The Korean actress is Han HyoJoo. I like her in “Happiness” and “W.”
The central idea: Both characters have crippling anxieties that, for one reason or another, they can mitigate and overcome in each other’s company.
Cast: Shun Oguri and Han HyoJoo
Episodes: 8
Start Date: Thursday, October 16
Airs on Thursday (I don’t know if all episodes will drop simultaneously.)
Where to Watch it: Netflix
5. Moon River
Central idea: Remember Mark Twain’s “The Prince and the Pauper” where two look-alike boys swap places? Well, in this drama, the swapping is 10x more convoluted. The depressed Crown Prince swaps SOULS with an amnesiac female peddler who looks like his late crown princess.
Cast: Kim Se Jeong (“Unfinished Business”) and Kang TaeOh (“Tale of Nokdu” and “Extraordinary Attorney Woo”)
Episodes: 14
Start Date: Monday, October 31
Airs on Mondays and Tuesdays
Where to Watch it: Viki???
I’m also keeping an eye out for cdramas this month.
I saw that Cheng Lei (“Legend of the Female General”) has a 36-episode drama with Wang ChuRan (“Are You the One?”) but I don’t know when it will be released on IQIYI.
What about you? Any shows on your list this October?
Wow! I’d watch all of those if I have all the time. Let’s see. 😄
Seriously, I’d like to check all those kdramas. I agree about Lee JunHo. It’s a given that you need to watch his drama. ☺️
Thanks for the list and thank you for telling us in advance that your weekends are fully booked. Enjoy all of it. 🥰
Oh I forgot to say that Lusi and William Chen have their drama out yesterday, Love Ambition.
It’s a given too that I have to watch because it’s Lusi especially since it’s the last drama that she has.
Looking forward to Genie Make a Wish and Typhoon Family but with crossed fingers. Loyalty watches for me bec of Junho and Bae Suzy.
Excited about Romantics Anonymous.
Wang Churan and Cheng Lei — oh my! a must-watch!
I will also be watching Ms. Incognito on viki.
Thanks @pkml3. Your no. 2,3 and 4 were sort of on my radar already (for a change). Normally I don’t bother until they start airing properly, but this time I read their sybopses and thought I’d like to try to watch them if I can. Maybe give myself a bit of a birthday-halloweeen treat LOL. I may even try the Bae Suzy one, out of curiosity.
The only Kim Eun Sook drama I love is “Mr. Sunshine.” The others have either been meh for me or I did not watch.
Junho – I lasted 2 episodes of “King The Land,” so my enthusiasm is somewhat dampened.
I will keep an open mind about both dramas and will jump in if there is positive word of mouth.
Meanwhile I continue to watch “A Hundred Memories” and rewatch “The Crowned Clown.”
KIng the Land was truly a disappointment. I will forever give Junho’s shows a try because of Just Between Lovers and The Red Sleeve. I think the director and script make a bigger difference with Junho’s acting than with other stars.
@IB, Yes I loved Jun Ho in Just Between Lovers and Red Sleeve.
I did not want to finish King the Land.
Snaky Lee YB is interrogated but he absolves himself of all responsibility when he actually fed the info in such a way as to provoke the Old Man Shooter to take action.
Who’s Snaky Lee YB, @GB? Lol.
Hi @pkml3 Oh Dear that Snaky Lee YB comment ended up in this thread??? It was meant for the Rewatch thread last night LOL. I must have hit Reply at the wrong email. Sorry!! 😬🤪☺️
I can’t make my mind which season I like better: fall or spring, @agdr03.
I always check out Lee JunHo’s dramas but I don’t necessarily finish them. He’s an intense actor.
I started another show “Shim’s Project” because I like the actor, too. He plays an ace crisis negotiator. No love interest (I hope) so it’s straightforward negotiation after another. This kdrama isn’t to be found on viki, netflix, or amazon prime so I don’t want to recommend it for now.
How’s Zhao Lusi doing nowadays? Didn’t you tell me that she and management company were butting heads over her contract? I hope whatever dispute they have gets resolved soon so she can resume her activities.
Thank you! 🥰 Lusi is a survivor, trying to move on with everything. I’m happy she’s got her family and friends that love and support her for real.
I really do pray that her company and her will part ways amicably. 🙏🏼
I’ll say fall because our spring here has given me such bad hay fever. 🤒 I’ve never had it this bad before. Maybe I’m just getting old. 🤣
@agdr03 – I just started the new Lusi show. I assume this was the show that got interrupted by her illness? You have followed her story in greater detail then me. She looks tired and drawn in some scenes despite make-up. That would make sense given the timing – either heading towards illness or in recovery from illness.
Despite that discomforting awareness, I have enjoyed the first episode and the premise of the show thus far. It is a light drama with some comedy elements -described as a Romance Drama on Viki which suggests it will deepen and darken – possibly? It moves at a good pace and seems to suit Lusi’s acting style. In places, I find her a bit wooden or posed in this show, but it doesn’t matter too much at this stage because she is acting the actress. A story with this pace and premise and some comedy and sharpness suits her very well. I am trying to think of parallels and cannot at the moment. In some ways, minus the escort agency story, she is a kind of Holly Golightly with a self-created family background. Not a tight comparison because this is a series that has the capacity to get darker if it chooses to. The Audrey Hepburn comparison – though – may not be far off for Lusi herself.
I imagine you will enjoy the meeting of the two families (FL’s and ML’s) in preparation for their marriage. Hilarious, evoking those fun heist movies, and precarious because it introduces the way the FL has re-designed and presented her life and the unswerving professional commitment she has to her new identity. I am laughing at her attention to detail in preparing and backing up her meeting with the ML’s parents. I am also mock horrified and anticipating the collapse of the whole house of cards.
It’s in the early part of Episode 1 – great fun for anyone who likes this kind of set-up + poignant because we know the truth of the FL’s beginnings. I hope the whole show has something of this flavour and energy.
I am also struck by the conspicuous wealth and snobbery of the ML’s family. This does seem to be classic aspirational Chinese upper classism as expressed in its media. The grilling that the FL’s family get – down to their detailed knowledge of the menu of the ‘in’ restaurant in their area is indicative of the narrow gateway into these upper echelons and is on a par with any social snobbery we may have in the UK, for instance. Anyone who has enjoyed some of the recent Chinese costume dramas we have discussed will recognise the ML’s mother in another scary patrician woman role! She is one of the Chinese actresses who has cornered the market in depicting icy, controlling mothers and is also a worthy opponent for the FL – the strategist and actress.
The ‘meet cute’ – for which read greatly planned for tv show research meeting – tells me that we may be in for a twisty turny story of who knows what between the ML and the FL. Interesting. Like his Mother, the ML is not at all stupid. This scene gives me the vibe of those scenes in films by Hitchcock, for instance, where the lead characters are as clever as each other (North by Northwest for instance) and it is not clear who is being outwitted.
Double-posting @ibisfeather’s comments from the “A Hundred Memories” Ep 5 thread here. –pm3
******
@GB — I dropped my comment and went charging off, sorry not to reply. I watch crime dramas and worse, so I dont want to take up people’s time here. Especially because as with romance I start plenty and only finish the best ones. There are several spy/assasin/crime things coming up in october, but in november I will refuse all gore for Lee Jae Wook’s Last Summer and the Hong Sisters’ Can This Love Be Translated.
Anyway, as an example (after which I may not get any more lunch invitations), Queen Mantis if you like serial murders was daebak. Do you remember Im Si Wan’s character’s mother in Run-On? She was a famous middle-aged actress whose std role was of a bloodspattered murderer, if I remember correctly, and they had cozy coffee-drinking visits perched on the edge of something near the filming scene, she in her bloody slicker…In QM Go Hyun Jung as the serial murderer Mom did a bang-up dreamy-weird job, and as her cop son, Jang Dong Yoon (tale of Nokdu) was excellent.
Speaking of Im Si Wan , he is in the Kill Boksoon film spin-off, but its not as stylish so far as that show.
Ive never actually watched Trolley, so I am doing that, and in English just watched two seasons of the Diplomat (created by the West Wing team) because season 3 is coming (on the same weekend as romantics anonymous, wah).
This may be TMI.
*****
Urgh, I cant believe I am adding to that last…Not to be misleading, it may be immaterial but in QM, the Mom helps her son catch a copycat killer, and the whole thing is a remake of La Mante, a French series from a few years ago, but of course it stands on its own as a solid piece of work and all about Korea.
@IB, I do like some murder/thriller/mystery in my watching. Not so hot on gore (I FFD to skip the worst of them) however I don’t deliberately seek out such shows.
I only really watched Im Si Wan in non-gory shows like Misaeng and Summer Strike.
Yes, please let us know more about Queen Mantis.
I watched the first 4 episodes of “Queen Mantis.” I do like a good mystery, although the serial killer angle is not my favorite. I dropped the show because it was difficult to suspend my disbelief any longer. The police team is not very competent.
@Snow Flower, hi! I hadnt thought of the team that way…I was annoyed that Captain Choi kept them out of the loop so much, it really wasnt fair and the team felt it…
@GB, I am not sure what to say without spoilers. I have already finished the show, so I can say a few things.
Referring back to La Mante is not helpful but a way to start; as much as that show was SO french in dialogue and crispness and landscapes and the way French cops talk and all the things that make the noir crime genre full of the sense of a particular place and time…a sort of Hammett/Chandler-esque enjoyment (the smell of dried eucalyptus leaves in LAs canyons..?)…
just as much so is this series full of sad landscapes in the Korean provinces somewhere.
Capt.Choi was present for the original serial murders committed by Mom, and helpless to prevent them in the face of weak laws and weak policing and the usual clear-eyed vision of k-crime of ‘village’ life. He raised La Mante’s son, under a different name as part of the eventual plea deal with Mom.
The relationship of son to Mom, of the many abused children to Mom, that way in which intimate relationships are solidly located in a place and time, in injustice and corruption, SO Korean.
I am probably belaboring a point that you all agree on, that remakes stand on their own in their country of production and its a waste of time to refer back to any ‘original’.
Also of note, which you may all not agree with is that the director of this mainstream show is one of the new more prominent female directors. She is also associated with women’s issues. This is the first time I have seen the reality emerge of the vigorous way women in cinema are pushing against their invisibility.
Because she directed this the question of motivation and morality is considered from the different character’s perspectives. I was pleased with it from a moral perspective as well.
Not sure if this is TMI. I could mention the really well-shot conflagrations, the car chases, the gore which is not bad for this sort of show. No spray and slashing.
The worst were the police and their Baggies holding body parts. (Yuck)
Sorry for some punctuation mistakes, I always forget there is no edit button.
ooh, just read a good review — mdl, by Dg457, now siting on the front page of the reviews. It is balanced, more than I am, on the plot. I think the police team are realistic Korean characters, though. Not childish, anymore than some people in any normal group of grownups are.
I am usually strong on atmosphere and on the eventual stature of a piece, intuitions and intangibles which sometimes rise above things which can be annoying, so annoying that some viewers will change the channel. For some genres I too cant stand the smaller problems and in others i am over-generous. So check out the reviews. (It will be a classic series nevertheless imh)
The Dg review I rec’d needs a caveat (SPOILER sort of), the transgender guy isnt the ultimate killer, cant say more.
Thanks @IB for all the information and trying not to spoil QM for us. I don’t mind spoilers so I went off to read the reviews. It does sound darkly intriguing. One of those shows where we root for the criminal. If ever I’m in the mood for something heavy and complicated, I’ll give it a look-see. 🙂
@agdr03 (and anyone else who plans to watch the show)- Love’s Ambition Part 2 Impressions
I am on Ep 6 and this show is clearly one of those slightly far-fetched, glossy, visually luxurious melodramas with more plot than character depth. I am awaiting twists and turns.
Lusi is very nicely dressed for her rich girl aspirant role.
There is quite a cool feeling to the show – where is the emotional soul? – but from time to time we get glimpses into the FL’s past and that gives some emotional heart to her ambitions. Without the glimpses you would not wish to follow her story.
People are saying that Lusi is great in the role. She looks wonderful and does good emotional scenes but it is the ambiguous space she inhabits for much of the time that I am not sure about. She has this fixed, empty ‘I am a mysterious woman who is hiding my past’ look at times!
That’s all from me. I’m interested to see what you think. I will continue to watch because I signed up to WeTV for a month!
Ms. Incognito….
looks good so far! (2eps)
@ibisfeather,
Thanks.
I’m 30 minutes into the first episode of “Ms. Incognito.” So far, it’s moving pretty quickly and I haven’t identified major tropes yet. But then, I don’t often get to watch pseudo-thrillers like this.
My only complaint is the lead actor. Jin Young has never given me the “male lead” vibes. If the camera hadn’t been following him in the scenes as he went along his business, he’d look like an “extra” to me. His ordinary face and bearings make him disappear in a crowd. The title of this show should be “Mr. and Ms. Incognito.”
Yes, I agree on the title. The ML is a bit idol-cutesy, true. I am hoping the actress can drag him along in her wake. The soundtrack makes sense and I feel safe, trusting the show to point the way. I like the clear colouring so far.
I loved the relatively tiny fortress-in-the-woods dark chaebol-house with all its wood and its modern cave underneath, and the idea that the village is practically worlds away, in short, symbols and myths of the modern age. Will strawberry farmers be a thing?
There is a weird repetition of scenes patterned with a classic vanishing point right behind important characters heads. It reminds me of pundits’ Zoom corners. I began to look for asymmetrical scene patterning for relief.
@ibisfeather,
I doubt it.
Farming is a hard life. I think the other kdrama “My Liberation Notes” is a more realistic portrayal of farming in SK.
That said, there’s such a thing as “hobby farms” here in the US where the owners just farm for pleasure/leisure/recreation, and for a change of pace from their real day jobs. They don’t rely on the income their farms make.
To me, strawberry farming/farmers/living as a trend is like Marie Antoinette playing peasant in her “Hameau” by Versailles. It’s out of touch with reality. 🙂
@pcml
Yup I meant exactly Marie Antoinette. As in professionals sitting around a table hashing out the production, “oh, lets make him a strawberry farmer, that’s ‘in’ lately?”
The strawberry farmer in Our Unwritten Seoul. He was not very competent as a farmer. Definitely a hobby farmer too. But more realistic farming than our new guy in the pink truck.
Now we get very pretty strawberries in perfect circles on nice plates.
Oh, I see, you mean a ‘trend’, like visiting Dali after Li Xian in “Meet Yourself”. Or having a craft in a little shop, since there are no corporate jobs…
@Kate 👋🏻 thank you for watching Lusi’s drama. 🥰
It was another drama called Almost Lover that she didn’t get to finish because she fell ill. Looking from how thin she is here, maybe she was already having some stress of some sort. But from the bts of the show and the comments from the livestream of the cast, it was a happy set. ☺️
I have only watched 2 episodes. The first thing that I thought was the drama was really showing the ML’s richness. 😄
I wasn’t sure as well as to how much Xu Yan earns to be able to hire her fake parents. 😬 She really covered the details, you’re right. I actually liked the opening where she changed her name at the ID card office. It was all about how she wanted to change her life. At least how she wanted it to be.
I feel that she really loves Hao Ming but I’m not sure about him loving her. She should have realised that something is amiss when he said he has eyes watching her. That should really open her eyes.
From what I see from X posts, they’re heading for a divorce now. Hopefully they’ll show a good grovelling of Hao Ming. ☺️
I’ll just enjoy the drama without over thinking @Kate. 😉 Lusi said she can’t film for awhile still. I really hope she can be free soon. 🙏🏼
HI @abdr03,
Agreed — I’m enjoying this as a light watch too and watching quite rapidly too. It doesn’t really call for heavy discussion.
Yes re the ML’s lifestyle – from the FL standpoint – intimidatingly opulent!
How did she afford the actors? Hadn’t considered that. I laughed at the way she trained them for their roles— comedic touches there — though as an academic and ex-publisher, I winced at the way she obtained the signed academic books!
Yes, she’s clearly looking for love and security, and Hao Ming ticks all the boxes but doesn’t give much away and it doesn’t feel sincere from him.
Lots more to come – plenty of twists and turns. I’m on Ep 12 now – enjoy the show!
* @agdr03 *
@agdr03 and anyone else watching Love’s Ambition,
You will enjoy the show if you like Zhau Lusi in style icon mode. The show is taking every opportunity to show off and have fun with this.
In Episode 12, for instance, the style and trim of her dress, together with her sixties style make-up and hair colour and updo are an homage – I am pretty sure – to Barbra Streisand in Hello Dolly. Fascinating to see the cultural references in a contemporary Chinese drama.
Groveling??
Did you say that there’s groveling in Zhao Lusi’s “Love Ambition,” @agdr03?
You know how much I love a good grovel. 🙂
@Ibisfeather,
I binged the first two episodes of “Ms.Incognito” and I am on board. I just hope Attorney Lee is loyal. Also, how could the Chairman eat a couple of boxes of strawberries before they went bad? Unless he was secretly making strawberry jam or wine?
Yes Queen, grovelling! And yes! I know you love grovelling! 😂
Hopefully it will be a great one. I liked that even though she did scheme etc, she never meant any harm to Hao Ming. She loved him honestly. The best bit was she let it all go once they divorced. ☺️
I’m only on episode 2. 😄 Thanks to the people that posts at X. I didn’t mind the spoilers.
I’m glad you’re still enjoying it @Kate 🥰
I’m not sure when I’ll be able to catch up. But hopefully soon. Thank you Chingu! ❤️
@agdr03,
You’re most welcome, Chingu 🙂 — I’m racing ahead so no hurry to catch up.
Enjoy when you can!
I see that it’s on viki, @agdr03.
@ibisfeather and @Snowflower,
Finished the 2nd episode this morning. Will write my First Impression on this kdrama.
I think the Chairman was sharing the strawberries with the staff, too. At least, the ballerina/assistant maid was helping herself to it.
Yes it is @Packmule and on WeTV.
Hi @snow flower — RE Ms. Ignognito, I am so impatient for next week!
Yes I do hope Attorney Lee stays loyal. I have to watch again, to be sure but he did say that the strawberry farm is in his home town — was the strawberry farmer his cousin? But he didnt seem to know who she is…
Yes, at first I thought that the strawberries had something to do with a product at his campany, but not. Good question!
OH dont hate me the way I hate myself at the moment — I swore, swore, no more long cdramas.
Not a xianxia!
I swoon like a fool for visuals/symbols/music/CGI/duels, and show me a magic animal or a cute child, its all over.
Love in the Clouds: the opening credits have amazing visuals, two blue butterflies, a gorgeous song and a dragon and a magic cat in the background.
The ML, the magnetic Hou Ming Hao, is from one of my secret tacky favourites, a dragon story, Back from the Brink.
Again the story of a warrior princess disguising herself as a man. And what a battle she fights against the ML in the first 15 minutes.
Definitely only for wuxia/xianxia fans although it looks like a romance, so this comes out of left field. Just in case someone has infinite time during October.
But if you have a moment, and a sturdy chair to catch you when you are slammed back against the headrest, watch the first 15 minutes to see what people talk about when they talk about the chinese mastery of CGI.
ps. not a recommendation exactly, since I have just started it, just sharing the thrill.
In my role as the occasional alternative-er.
Thanks, @ibisfeather, for helping me decide what I’ll watch tomorrow while donating platelets at Red Cross. The process takes 2-1/2 hours, and I’ll need something to keep me entertained. I noticed Love in the Clouds on Netflix, which is one of the streaming services Red Cross provides on TVs at each recliner. I don’t want to start something on Disney+ or Hulu, since I don’t have those at home. Last time I donated platelets, I watched Kpop Demon Hunters, but finished it before my donation was complete, so I need something longer. A good xianxia may be what I need to get my blood pumping fast!
(And no, I am not sick. I donate platelets because there’s always a need for them, as their shelf life is only 5-7 days.)
@welmaris. Enjoy!
Some watchers seem upset at the mildly comic aspects, but I laugh and like it augmenting the mutual deception of these two warriors.
I am a platelet donor too bec who needs ABpos?
I loved the first episode of Typhoon Family. It was a perfect setup for a story about resilience and redemption. I am looking forward to the next episode.
@ibisfeather, I also don’t mind the occasional humorous tone of Love in the Clouds, but find the cartoonish sound affects annoyingly cutesy. They give me the same sense of impatience as a person who tells a joke, announces they’ve told a joke, then is compelled to explain the joke.
Watching Love in the Clouds fit well into my platelets donation appointment. I finished three episodes, then only had three minutes left before I was done. The only problem is that staff kept trying to take the remote out of my hand, and I had to beg them each time to leave it with me so I could rewind to catch subtitles. I promised to not move my arm, or let the remote leave my hand. They decided to trust me, and all went well.
Would You Marry Me
Oh dear, that was a painful meet-cute!
@welmaris ..Yes, announcing the joke after it is made…what is that whoopsie sound made with? Some antique and faded visual keeps chasing around in my mind, where one pulls something out of a tube….
I am actually happier now by ep9 where the FL has begun to speak in a normal voice (or the voice actor has begun to, whatever), because the sound effects have disappeared.
It was annoying — did the point that both she and he are totally faking their personal relationship need to be so belabored?
Good morning for Romantics Anonymous!
Oh! I forgot about this! Thanks for the reminder. 😂😂
For any non-Netflix/Youku Lurkers who have been thinking about trying LITC, it just started slowly on Viki-akuten, with very good reviews so far, but only 3 or 2 eps at a time.
Dear Friends, how have you been?
Here in Caracas we are blessed both by María Corina Machado’s Peace Nobel Prize and in about two days we will have our very first Venezuelan Saints: Saint Carmen Rendiles and Saint José Gregorio Hernández who was a Medical Doctor.
We are also very interested in our actual situation, but that is News and with the exception of what is happening here in the country, you have much better information than me.
This feels like a very long, life-and-death, version of the [Lions of] Caracas and Magallanes[‘ Navigators] Baseball show-off. Even the climate has been crazily erratic these days, but in that unsettling way that precedes Change, hopefully for the better.
——-
Have the pleasure to recommend “Chihayafuru: Meguri (2025)” if you are into High School Dramas or if you loved the three Live Action Movies plus connecting episodes around a decade ago. This is a Sport Series about the traditional Karuta Sport.
What it makes a great watch is that it is centered about Oe Kanade’s students. If you watch the movies you will find her as the Literature lover that is firstly appalled about a sport where cards with poems are battled over.
She represents what Literature can be: a vessel and a medium to pinpoint, heal and reframe our Human Experience.
Will leave you at that, spoiler free 😀
Also watching “Suika (2003)” about the middle age crisis of the inhabitants of a Board House. Our first character discovers that her only friend at work has embezzled Company Money and is on the run. It is a comedic sit-com with a lot of heart and full of these situations that robs our hearts and makes life difficult, for a mind cannot really do what well-tuned emotions should.
“Kanako’s Killer Life (2025)” about a depressed Office Lady that discovers her true calling as a Hitwoman is a hoot. This is slapsticky and wacky so it might not be your cup of tea.
Dear @Ibis, “Queen Mantis” sounds like an incredibly well-thought thriller. Regrettably I look for more relaxed shows, but maybe in the future…
@Kate, hope you are well in England!
@PackMule3, Hope you enjoy your family travels, thanks for the synopses and on the fence of a new Hong Sister’s Dramas!
@GB, it is always a pleasure to read you! Hope you are well. Will consider Halloween as your Birthday unless you say otherwise!
Hello my dear @FGB, I’m always glad to read you, to know that you’re well and watching some good shows.
I looked up Maria Corina Machado but she’s not linked to the Nobel Peace Prize. However with regards to saints, it’s great to know Venezuelans who have or are attaining sainthood. They can be considered more modern day saints, I believe. This brings to mind that we are approaching the feast of All Saints’ Day in a couple of weeks.
Thanks for your show recommendations. If you read the Romantics Anonymous thread, you’ll see that I’m having a blast with that jdorama. 🙂
Hi @FGB! Hope all is well. Thanks for the rundown, maybe Kanako’s Killer was for me? (dark chuckling in the background)
Dear @GB, ending Episode 2 of “Romantics Anonymous”. These two and their weird version of the Hedgehog Dilemma! So far they are cute together, but for some reason learning that their Therapist’s comfort relationship is the Jazz Bar owner was kind of funny… and human. She is broken like anyone else but does her best to guide their charges.
@Ibis, watching Kanako mentally creating an animal friend out of onomatopoeia and said animal voicing her inner thoughts is a hoot! It is a pleasure watching that lovely extraterrestrial that is Ms. Non.
@FGB, Hah! You’ve started watching “Romantics Anonymous”?!? It was so much fun. If ever there was a ‘cute’ show with good messages that unfolded through the confounded and silly, this was it!
Dear @GB, starting Episode 4. Episode 3 with all that situational conversation was incredibly deep. The ML confessing the difference of what people thinks of him vs. the emotional he carries and how it mainfests was an eye opener.
We see difficult people around, a lot of times they are carrying a lot of suffering and it does not let them see situations clearly.
Hi @FGB, this is about Romantics Anonymous? Yes I love the deep conversations, the truths that can be applied to most of us, and how Show opens our eyes to many things we don’t think about, about how we judge or what we take for granted.
BTW, there’s a separate Open Thread for Romantics Anonymous. You can come over to read and add your thoughts there!!!
Anyone watching Typhoon Family? It has the feel of a classic underdog story. I like the FL.
I watched the first 3 episodes of “While You Were Sleeping” and will continue. Also debating whether to start “Extraordinary You.” Never watched it back in the day and I am curious.
Hi @SF! I am watching Typhoon family happily.
I like the comment “classic underdog story”, the show does carry off unselfconscious straightforward narrative storytelling with skill and panache.
I loved ep4, the trip to pusan was full of energy.
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@pkml3
I hope you saw my gentle reminder for the Rewatch thread!!
Would You Marry Me
Up to Episode 5 with MILD SPOILERS
We’re inching towards the mid-point of this series (fortunately only 12 episodes long) and I see that not only do we have the cute-funny, but also the darkish-murderous in what I thought would be a light-hearted rom-com.
It’s good that we already have at least the ML cognisant of who Me Ri is and with the start of being aware of how he feels about her. I was hoping for more scenes of co-habitation by now, but we do get the ‘couple-together’ scenes regardless.
Now that Jerk Woo Ju is back in the picture, will the OTP realise how they feel about each other or enter a stage of denial?
Will the much abused Secretary Baek of Jerk Manager Lee end up liking the friendzoned Dr Yun Jin Gyeong? They might be our secondary couple. He was also a bit of a jerk towards her, but isn’t that how these drama romances start… never a smooth sailing beginning. The sparring between them might be fun. If that happens we can juxtapose that against what goes on with Woo Ju and Me Ri.
Will Aunt Kim’s thoughtless blabbering lead to discovery of how funds are being siphoned off by hubby Jang? I don’t think she has a clue what he’s doing, but she might naively spill some beans. I want to see her face when the nephew she’s vilified is exonerated in the face of the guilt of the real villain.
There have been several who have died and it’s possible that the same killer is behind all of them to hide the evidence of his guilt.
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Dear Friends, will probably Post it again in November, but I can say that “Suika (2003)” is a great Japanese Drama about getting stuck, how our past marks us but don’t define us, and how future is an undiscovered place… even if we think it will be a repetition of the current lives we lead.
Even if the dialogue is aloof, it still point to the sky for us to turn and see the Moon. A lot of messages are hidden in the script and how it is acted, which makes for a beautiful, deep storytelling.
Hi @FGB, thanks for the tip!
I like to have jdoramas to watch while live watching the currently airing dramas.
Seems to be on Apple TV, so if you have it, you are in luck!
Personally watched the first 9 episodes in DC9 (sorry for the site coding) and the tenth one was in Daily Motion in Japanese (had to use Google Translate to get the proper Hiragana/Kanji) and used VLC to synchronize it to subs I found in D-Addicts.
Subs showed a little later than when characters spoke, but I felt like a genius… and a man with not a lot to do on a beautiful Sunday ^_^U .
Maybe you have Apple TV or have a better grasp on where to find the proper RAWS. Anyway it was a lot of fun and Oh so worth it! 😀
SOS @pcml3! November is almost here?
October will be over on Friday! One final burst of short spooky shows and we are off to a new slate of shows’
For Halloween I will rewatch Sell Your Haunted House (Yonghwa of CNBlue, Jang Na Ra) — short sweet and non-gory.
OOps, not-short, 16 eps.
Short after this late dousing in Cdrama.
If anyone needs a midweek short filler until November really gets going, try Spiritfingers! (4 out of 12 eps dropped on viki)
A webtoon remake with classic rom-com vibes about a student/street art club, with a cast of most of the younger up and coming actors, looking their best and being well-directed. Charming, not cheesy, and worth the watch.
Dear Friends, just finished “Yuube no Curry, Ashita no Pan (2014)” dealing with grief, loss and finding a new path. I can wholeheartedly recommend it.
It is 7 episodes, 46 minutes each… so not a long watch by any stretch.
A young widow lives with her father in law, also a widower. Their interactions are hilariously family-like with a mama-hen doing her best to take care of her charge’s bad habits. Lovely interactions between family, extended family including friends.
And a lot of food for thought. It is a beautiful and well-thought script.
Given the theme, it is not a surprise that there are lovely ghosts in the plot, which comes handy nearing Halloween. These ghosts love and uplift their family, and does their best to give the message that even in Heaven there are lots of details that they miss from when they were alive, so the scare factor is none.
Hope to read you soon!
@FGB
Yuube no cury…Wow, I am looking up the actress Naka Riisa, the FL. She has had an amazing career. She is doing some short film directing this year, as well as starring in a really interesting-sounding Netflix drama about plastic surgery (and surgeons).
Dear @Ibis, I have seen her in a few roles, and have loved her natural cheekiness. There is a very special kind of relatable clumsiness and humanity in her roles.
I might be wrong, I think some of the best dramatic actors are also great comedians.
“In Yuube no Curry, Ashita no Pan” she can be a riot, burned out of grief, a sad sack and one of the boys. She is great!
@Snow Flower! What an episode of Typhoon Family today! It was great, wasnt it? Excellent and quietly original writing of Miseon’s character.