Ok I am officially in Cha Seung Won obsessive mode now. Hahahaha! Went to goggle and realised he was part of T-Ara's music video for their 4th album.
The MV is surprisingly good and I couldnt believe it went under my radar for a year! The 2nd part when Seung won was dying and she was screaming at him not to close his eyes was so freaking touching!
He is so freaking sauve and charismatic, not to mention those hot 6 packs abs, and it's amazing how a hairstyle can change a person'slook. Saw some of his older pictures with longer hair and he didnt look as good as he is now. *drool*
Anycase, now my head is bobbing with Cry Cry (both versions) and Lovey Dovey.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
K-drama: The Greatest Love
Right after Cityhall, I started on "The Greatest Love" series, primarily due to Cha Seung Won.
Personally, watching Cityhall and The Greatest Love back to back, I still prefer Cityhall though The greatest Love is more lighthearted but somehow the lead actress Gong Hyo Jin isnt very appealing to me, so it somewhat muted the likeability of the show for me.
Storyline
In The Greatest Love, Cha Seung Won starred as Dokko Jin, a top korean movie star at the peak of his career but has a egoistic personality. His life started to change upon a chanced encounter with Ae Jung (starring Hyo Jin), a non-likable artist who used to be from the most popular girl band The National Treasure Girls 10 years ago. However, after the band disbanded, Ae Jung bore most of the blame and was disliked for the last 10 years despite her caring and sincere personality.
Although Dokko jin was eager to rid any encounter with Ae Jung initially, yet through a series of accidents and incidents, Dokko's heart started to react strongly to Ae Jung esp through one of her hit songs.
As he got to know her, Dokko jin slowly started to fall for her and got jealous of Pil Joo, a Traditional oriental medicine who happened to be on a "Couple Making" program with Ae Jung.
Truth is, Pil Joo had liked Ae Jung from the start and he too fell for her good nature in real life and wanted to protect her from all the sadness and (internet fan) viciousness that accompanies the entertainment industry.
Ae Jung had a secret to keep for the reason of the disband but was unwilling to spill the beans. So for the past decade she suffered alot of hate but she continued to look forward to fight for airtime to survive in this industry. After her encounter with Dokko, her luck seemed to get better but with occasional sabotage from her ex bandmate and ex manager, Ae Jung couldnt seem to shed the series of bad luck and misunderstanding that plague most of her career.
Personally, watching Cityhall and The Greatest Love back to back, I still prefer Cityhall though The greatest Love is more lighthearted but somehow the lead actress Gong Hyo Jin isnt very appealing to me, so it somewhat muted the likeability of the show for me.
Storyline
In The Greatest Love, Cha Seung Won starred as Dokko Jin, a top korean movie star at the peak of his career but has a egoistic personality. His life started to change upon a chanced encounter with Ae Jung (starring Hyo Jin), a non-likable artist who used to be from the most popular girl band The National Treasure Girls 10 years ago. However, after the band disbanded, Ae Jung bore most of the blame and was disliked for the last 10 years despite her caring and sincere personality.
Although Dokko jin was eager to rid any encounter with Ae Jung initially, yet through a series of accidents and incidents, Dokko's heart started to react strongly to Ae Jung esp through one of her hit songs.
As he got to know her, Dokko jin slowly started to fall for her and got jealous of Pil Joo, a Traditional oriental medicine who happened to be on a "Couple Making" program with Ae Jung.
Truth is, Pil Joo had liked Ae Jung from the start and he too fell for her good nature in real life and wanted to protect her from all the sadness and (internet fan) viciousness that accompanies the entertainment industry.
Ae Jung had a secret to keep for the reason of the disband but was unwilling to spill the beans. So for the past decade she suffered alot of hate but she continued to look forward to fight for airtime to survive in this industry. After her encounter with Dokko, her luck seemed to get better but with occasional sabotage from her ex bandmate and ex manager, Ae Jung couldnt seem to shed the series of bad luck and misunderstanding that plague most of her career.
Monday, January 7, 2013
Cityhall Drama
After "Kim San Soon" and "You are beautiful", Cityhall is gonna be the next Korean drama I want to rush out and get the retail DVD copies after finishing the drama.
Damn! This will a series I will want to watch over and over.
I started the drama without high expectations honestly and when I was done with it, I couldnt bear the thought it was over and filled with such a vaccum that I had to go google MVs to satisfy my itch.
The plot isnt new, but both the lead actor and actress brought the series alive with their chemistry, witty expressions and solid performance.
Cha Seung Won isnt the sort I would say strikingly handsome at first glance but he sure hell grew on me over the last few days with my obsessive complusive gluing myself to the screen just to see his cheeky smile. And for a 42year old actor, he is freaking well kept and i love the manliness about him that sends my veins throbbing with excitement. I love a manly man and a dash of charisma...damn that hotness!
If you havent watched Cityhall, and you liked Kim San soon, you should watch this. It took me a while to come on board but there is no regrets. As I am typing this, I am wishing for morn to come soon so that I can dash out to buy the DVD.
I'm gonna stop typing and just gonna rewatch the MV below to tame my urge for now...
Damn! This will a series I will want to watch over and over.
I started the drama without high expectations honestly and when I was done with it, I couldnt bear the thought it was over and filled with such a vaccum that I had to go google MVs to satisfy my itch.
The plot isnt new, but both the lead actor and actress brought the series alive with their chemistry, witty expressions and solid performance.
Cha Seung Won isnt the sort I would say strikingly handsome at first glance but he sure hell grew on me over the last few days with my obsessive complusive gluing myself to the screen just to see his cheeky smile. And for a 42year old actor, he is freaking well kept and i love the manliness about him that sends my veins throbbing with excitement. I love a manly man and a dash of charisma...damn that hotness!
If you havent watched Cityhall, and you liked Kim San soon, you should watch this. It took me a while to come on board but there is no regrets. As I am typing this, I am wishing for morn to come soon so that I can dash out to buy the DVD.
I'm gonna stop typing and just gonna rewatch the MV below to tame my urge for now...
Tags:
K-Drama
City Hall OST: Loving, Loving You
>
My current fav song in my playlist - Loving, Loving You (CItyhall OST)
My current fav song in my playlist - Loving, Loving You (CItyhall OST)
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Manga/ Anime: Tonari no Kaibutsu-Kun
One of my current fav manga and anime is "Tonari no Kaibutsu-Kun" (Alternative name: My Neighbor is a Strange Classmate, The Monster Next to Me)
Basically the story revolves round Mizutani and Yoshida Haru. Haru is a weird guy that has no friends because of his violent nature (troublemaker) and was convinced that Mizutani is his first friend when she was obliged to pass him his assignment during his school suspension.
Haru is surprisingly innocent in the way of life but highly intelligent, which annoys Mizutani who is a very diligent student but always fall behind Haru who never seemed to study.
The two formed an unusual friendship which seemed to evolved into liking each other after Haru confessed to Mizutani. Mizutani was was also innocent in the department of love had to find out how to deal with this confession and her own feelings about Haru.
However, both of them will have to deal with a secret past. What is the exact relationship between Haru and his brother. Why did Haru turn out to be so violent? What was his past and how will their relationship turn out?
Missing Piece Vid - Theme Song for Piece Drama
For some unknown reason, I kept laughing when I watched this music video. It somehow strike me as very corny and the dance moves they made him do it was so "Sissy" and so 80's boyband, with the hands waving and those slow butt swishes around movements...lol! It's so OMG! I was laughing so hard coz it's like "Oh I wanna shit...i can feel it coming now! oh yeah!"
I dont think he is very comfortable in his skin as an artist yet given his young age, you could almost see him trembling at the end, and his very awkward "should I smile or not" in one of the close up...
I'm sorry to upset any fans of his but its's really funny...i watched this video like 5 times and I am still chuckling away...
I dont think he is very comfortable in his skin as an artist yet given his young age, you could almost see him trembling at the end, and his very awkward "should I smile or not" in one of the close up...
I'm sorry to upset any fans of his but its's really funny...i watched this video like 5 times and I am still chuckling away...
Matchbox Twenty - Parade [2012][Lyrics]
If you are wondering what is the the English insert song in the recent Piece Japanese drama, look no further :)
Lyrics
From the new album "North".
Lyrics:
When the slow parade went past
When it felt so good you knew it couldn't last
And all too soon the end was gonna come without a warning
And you'd have to just go home
And the way it all went by
And somebody said "come on its getting late"
And you thought the world might end if you just looked the other way
And now you wish that you had stayed
And there's so much more that you could see if you just stick around
And all the street light secrets whispering for you to come back out
Oh no
There's so much more that you need to work out
Oh no
You don't want that parade to leave you now
And the days are all the same
And the town so big and no one knows your name
And the people fade away
And all stars are just a flicker
And you're left there all alone
When there's so much more that you could see if you just stick around
And all the street light secrets whispering for you to come back out
Oh no
There's so much more that you need to work out
Oh no
You don't want that parade to leave you now
When the music's over
But the song stays in your head
Oh no
There's so much more that you need to work out
Oh no
You don't want that parade to leave you now
Yeah
There's so much more that you need to work out
Yeah
You don't want that parade to leave you now
Lyrics
From the new album "North".
Lyrics:
When the slow parade went past
When it felt so good you knew it couldn't last
And all too soon the end was gonna come without a warning
And you'd have to just go home
And the way it all went by
And somebody said "come on its getting late"
And you thought the world might end if you just looked the other way
And now you wish that you had stayed
And there's so much more that you could see if you just stick around
And all the street light secrets whispering for you to come back out
Oh no
There's so much more that you need to work out
Oh no
You don't want that parade to leave you now
And the days are all the same
And the town so big and no one knows your name
And the people fade away
And all stars are just a flicker
And you're left there all alone
When there's so much more that you could see if you just stick around
And all the street light secrets whispering for you to come back out
Oh no
There's so much more that you need to work out
Oh no
You don't want that parade to leave you now
When the music's over
But the song stays in your head
Oh no
There's so much more that you need to work out
Oh no
You don't want that parade to leave you now
Yeah
There's so much more that you need to work out
Yeah
You don't want that parade to leave you now
J-Drama: Piece Drama review and Synopsis
Have just finished watching PIECE drama...good!
Started on the series without knowing a thing about it and it was decent enough to keep me glued till the last episode.
Acting wise is still pretty raw and amateurish. It's not that bad but just that you can tell that they are more like delivering the lines than an actual conversation. That said, the drama was shot in a slightly more manga love scene-close up approach than the normal TV manner and I like it, as well the plot was riveting to keep me guessing. What's more, I loved the Matchbox Twenty song they inserted throughout the series. It's such a mood enhancer with the "Parade" playing through...
I havent read the manga, so I do not that know if there are alterations to the actual story but not having known anything, it's a good series to follow and watch.
The video below has more scene highlights from the video which prob goes hand in hand with the spoiler synop.
"Piece" Story Summary (Spoiler)
The whole story revolved around these two protagonists - Narumi and Suga who were classmates back in senior high when they were still 17yo, with the scene starting at a funeral of a common classmate-Origuchi, when everyone is already in uni at 19yo.
Back in high school, Narumi is an "playboy" in school who obviously do not care for anyone's feelings and oblivious to expectations. He did what he liked and always has a cool demeanour. He is known to change girlfriends rapidly as if they were a change of clothes but the girls were strangely all still attracted to him, despite his notoriety.. A girl who got dumped once confronted Narumi in the school corridor about his attitude, but all Narumi offered to her was that he never once said he liked her. He only went out with her because she was willing to sleep with him.
Suga on the other hand is a diligent, and prim and proper gal who is completely opposite in character with Narumi. Suga deliberates about every action of hers, and never stray out of line. However, on a chanced incident where she had forgotten her text, that began her encounter with Narumi and their journey together.
The truth was, Suga was strangely attracted to Narumi and his inexplicable nonchalance. Narumi had a way of seeing through her and it bothered her that he seemed to read her well. So one day during the start of their summer break, she decided not to be a "good girl" and decided to do what she like instead, to head out and eat curry rice instead of eating what her mum had already prepared for her. By chance, Narumi saw her joy of delight and the two of them ended up together for the afternoon after Narumi offered a choice to go on an unplanned trip to nowhere in particular. "To go, or Not to go. Which is it?"
A hesitant Suga gave it 3 secs thought but decided to go along with Narumi, thoroughly enjoying herself and realising in one moment that both she and Narumi, are alike in someways. Their inability to relate to other people. During the bus ride, Suga told Narumi that she loves bus ride when she was a kid because she got lost once and relish the freedom and new unexpected wonders of the ride. When she turned around to look at Narumi, he was sleeping and didnt seem to hear her.
Towards the end of the trip on a beach, a bunch of hooligans approached Narumi but Narumi told them they had mistaken him for someone else. Yet when they started to harasses Suga, Narumi turned violent and punched the guy to the ground and Suga thinking Narumi might actually kill the guy shoved him away to stop the fight. When Narumi kissed a shivering Suga, he looked at her and asked "Why do you always have an expressionless face when I kissed you?"Suga didnt know what to say even though in truth, her heart was leaping when he kissed her.
In reality, Narumi has built a barrier round himself to prevent anyone getting close to him, while Narumi has an intrinsic appearance of being cold and non caring, making her unapproachable to many. Yet, around Narumi, Suga was happy and intrigued by him.
After the summer break, Suga bumped into Narumi at the bustop after school. Narumi at the bus entrance gave Suga another choice "To Board, or Not to Board? Which is it?" Suga recalled the wrong bus ride which she had taken when she was young. She realised there are 4 types of people in this world: 1. The type who never board the bus wrongly. 2. The people who always board the wrong bus. 3. The type who board the wrong bus and got off immediately and turned back to the right direction, 4. The type who boarded the wrong bus but persist on continuing the journey in the wrong direction.
(Note: I believe this is in reference to the choices and mistakes that people make in life)
Suga realised then that she was the 4th type. She boarded the bus, knowing the full implication and held Narumi's hand.
IN Narumi's room, he started to kiss her and proceeded to take off Suga's clothes. However at the last minute, Suga backed out and told him she couldnt go through with it. She offered instead only kisses and hugs and Narumi groaned out loud that wasnt fair. Then Narumi walked out of the room saying he is going to sleep in the living room now.
Suga discovered with shock at the mess the living room was. Apparently Narumi lived alone and a Kaseifu comes in once a week to clean up the mess. Narumi's mum has never lived with him. While enjoying the afternoon with Narumi, Suga made a deal with Narumi to come back again. Narumi said ok but not Fridays. Suga asked why not and Narumi said that was the day the cleaning lady will come. Suga then grinned and told Narumi that in that case, that will be the day she will come.
Came the following Friday, Narumi was waiting for Suga at the busstop near his place. When Suga got off, he asked her why did she have to take the later bus and Suga told him candidly that she didnt want others in school to find out that she was hanging out with Narumi the notorious playboy.
Back at Narumi's house, Suga greeted the Kaseifu but was met with a cold reception, warning her that a girl should treasure her old body and not regret it as her body will "remember" who it has been with. Suga smiled and politely told her that she will not do anything that she will regret, in a way assuring the cleaning lady that she will not be having sex with Narumi.
Instead, every Friday afternoon, Suga goes to Narumi's room and they both just hugged each other to sleep. Apart from the kissing and hugging, Suga was content and happy that nothing further progress. One afternoon, Narumi told Suga "I have gotten use to you sleeping by my side that I cannot sleep soundly without u now."
In school, Narumi continued the act of flirting openly with other girls. However, he drew the line when it comes to requests from girls to going to his place. Suga overheared that he would tell the other girls that his place is under renovation and so it wasnt possible for them to come over.
However over time, Suga started to fall in love with Narumi and it was getting harder for her to let everything stay as it is. So she told Narumi one day she couldnt go to his place anymore. There are too many things she wanted to know about Narumi but his wall was steadfast. It was hard on her to be away from him and so one Friday she decided to head to Narumi place but no one was in. She found the locked room opened and peered inside to find out the secret inside. To her horror, it was rows and rows of report and video on Narumi since he was a child. His mother, a renowned pyshcologist had used Narumi as an experiment and placed him under surveillance and controlled environment to study him, resulting in the weird distrusting character of narumi over time.
Narumi angry with Suga for digging into his secret told her he do not need her anymore. With that, it ended their secret dates.
To present day, Origuchi mum at the furneral requested Suga to find out the truth about her daughter. The mum revealed that Origuchi had an abortion and she wanted to know the father. Suga was reluctant at first but conceded in the end. The journey to discover the truth begins.
In the end, Origuchi wasnt the one who had an abortion, and Suga finally met Narumi's brother Hiro who was also placed under the same controlled monitoring by their mother. Hiro was the guy that Origuchi had fallen for but because of the experiments, Hiro could never be physically intimate with a woman. Narumi delivered the letter from Origuchi before she got sick and died. Hiro cried reading it. It said "I really like you."
After the mystery was solved, Narumi told Suga that their paths will never cross again probably and walked off. Suga however ran after Narumi and hugged him , telling him that she liked him and had loved their times together and she will wait for his return to see her again. With that, they went their separate ways.
Started on the series without knowing a thing about it and it was decent enough to keep me glued till the last episode.
I havent read the manga, so I do not that know if there are alterations to the actual story but not having known anything, it's a good series to follow and watch.
The video below has more scene highlights from the video which prob goes hand in hand with the spoiler synop.
"Piece" Story Summary (Spoiler)
The whole story revolved around these two protagonists - Narumi and Suga who were classmates back in senior high when they were still 17yo, with the scene starting at a funeral of a common classmate-Origuchi, when everyone is already in uni at 19yo.
Back in high school, Narumi is an "playboy" in school who obviously do not care for anyone's feelings and oblivious to expectations. He did what he liked and always has a cool demeanour. He is known to change girlfriends rapidly as if they were a change of clothes but the girls were strangely all still attracted to him, despite his notoriety.. A girl who got dumped once confronted Narumi in the school corridor about his attitude, but all Narumi offered to her was that he never once said he liked her. He only went out with her because she was willing to sleep with him.
Suga on the other hand is a diligent, and prim and proper gal who is completely opposite in character with Narumi. Suga deliberates about every action of hers, and never stray out of line. However, on a chanced incident where she had forgotten her text, that began her encounter with Narumi and their journey together.
The truth was, Suga was strangely attracted to Narumi and his inexplicable nonchalance. Narumi had a way of seeing through her and it bothered her that he seemed to read her well. So one day during the start of their summer break, she decided not to be a "good girl" and decided to do what she like instead, to head out and eat curry rice instead of eating what her mum had already prepared for her. By chance, Narumi saw her joy of delight and the two of them ended up together for the afternoon after Narumi offered a choice to go on an unplanned trip to nowhere in particular. "To go, or Not to go. Which is it?"
A hesitant Suga gave it 3 secs thought but decided to go along with Narumi, thoroughly enjoying herself and realising in one moment that both she and Narumi, are alike in someways. Their inability to relate to other people. During the bus ride, Suga told Narumi that she loves bus ride when she was a kid because she got lost once and relish the freedom and new unexpected wonders of the ride. When she turned around to look at Narumi, he was sleeping and didnt seem to hear her.
Towards the end of the trip on a beach, a bunch of hooligans approached Narumi but Narumi told them they had mistaken him for someone else. Yet when they started to harasses Suga, Narumi turned violent and punched the guy to the ground and Suga thinking Narumi might actually kill the guy shoved him away to stop the fight. When Narumi kissed a shivering Suga, he looked at her and asked "Why do you always have an expressionless face when I kissed you?"Suga didnt know what to say even though in truth, her heart was leaping when he kissed her.
In reality, Narumi has built a barrier round himself to prevent anyone getting close to him, while Narumi has an intrinsic appearance of being cold and non caring, making her unapproachable to many. Yet, around Narumi, Suga was happy and intrigued by him.
After the summer break, Suga bumped into Narumi at the bustop after school. Narumi at the bus entrance gave Suga another choice "To Board, or Not to Board? Which is it?" Suga recalled the wrong bus ride which she had taken when she was young. She realised there are 4 types of people in this world: 1. The type who never board the bus wrongly. 2. The people who always board the wrong bus. 3. The type who board the wrong bus and got off immediately and turned back to the right direction, 4. The type who boarded the wrong bus but persist on continuing the journey in the wrong direction.
(Note: I believe this is in reference to the choices and mistakes that people make in life)
Suga realised then that she was the 4th type. She boarded the bus, knowing the full implication and held Narumi's hand.
IN Narumi's room, he started to kiss her and proceeded to take off Suga's clothes. However at the last minute, Suga backed out and told him she couldnt go through with it. She offered instead only kisses and hugs and Narumi groaned out loud that wasnt fair. Then Narumi walked out of the room saying he is going to sleep in the living room now.
Suga discovered with shock at the mess the living room was. Apparently Narumi lived alone and a Kaseifu comes in once a week to clean up the mess. Narumi's mum has never lived with him. While enjoying the afternoon with Narumi, Suga made a deal with Narumi to come back again. Narumi said ok but not Fridays. Suga asked why not and Narumi said that was the day the cleaning lady will come. Suga then grinned and told Narumi that in that case, that will be the day she will come.
Came the following Friday, Narumi was waiting for Suga at the busstop near his place. When Suga got off, he asked her why did she have to take the later bus and Suga told him candidly that she didnt want others in school to find out that she was hanging out with Narumi the notorious playboy.
Back at Narumi's house, Suga greeted the Kaseifu but was met with a cold reception, warning her that a girl should treasure her old body and not regret it as her body will "remember" who it has been with. Suga smiled and politely told her that she will not do anything that she will regret, in a way assuring the cleaning lady that she will not be having sex with Narumi.
Instead, every Friday afternoon, Suga goes to Narumi's room and they both just hugged each other to sleep. Apart from the kissing and hugging, Suga was content and happy that nothing further progress. One afternoon, Narumi told Suga "I have gotten use to you sleeping by my side that I cannot sleep soundly without u now."
In school, Narumi continued the act of flirting openly with other girls. However, he drew the line when it comes to requests from girls to going to his place. Suga overheared that he would tell the other girls that his place is under renovation and so it wasnt possible for them to come over.
However over time, Suga started to fall in love with Narumi and it was getting harder for her to let everything stay as it is. So she told Narumi one day she couldnt go to his place anymore. There are too many things she wanted to know about Narumi but his wall was steadfast. It was hard on her to be away from him and so one Friday she decided to head to Narumi place but no one was in. She found the locked room opened and peered inside to find out the secret inside. To her horror, it was rows and rows of report and video on Narumi since he was a child. His mother, a renowned pyshcologist had used Narumi as an experiment and placed him under surveillance and controlled environment to study him, resulting in the weird distrusting character of narumi over time.
Narumi angry with Suga for digging into his secret told her he do not need her anymore. With that, it ended their secret dates.
To present day, Origuchi mum at the furneral requested Suga to find out the truth about her daughter. The mum revealed that Origuchi had an abortion and she wanted to know the father. Suga was reluctant at first but conceded in the end. The journey to discover the truth begins.
In the end, Origuchi wasnt the one who had an abortion, and Suga finally met Narumi's brother Hiro who was also placed under the same controlled monitoring by their mother. Hiro was the guy that Origuchi had fallen for but because of the experiments, Hiro could never be physically intimate with a woman. Narumi delivered the letter from Origuchi before she got sick and died. Hiro cried reading it. It said "I really like you."
After the mystery was solved, Narumi told Suga that their paths will never cross again probably and walked off. Suga however ran after Narumi and hugged him , telling him that she liked him and had loved their times together and she will wait for his return to see her again. With that, they went their separate ways.
Tags:
J-Drama
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