myweithisway

Haven't written for a while, mostly because I no longer have wifi at home.

Watching What's Up and CYHMH as my primary dramas right now. Both will be done by next week. Thinking of picking up Shut Up Flower Boy Band next, I need something a bit darker right now.

Busy with school right now, once this quarter's done, I'm going to be doing weekly marathons =D

Fall quarter has ended, only two quarters left till graduation!

Been catching up on Tree With Deep Roots. The caliber of acting is truly amazing.

Waiting for Vampire Prosecutor to finish next weekend before I marathon all the eps I haven't watched. So excited to do this!

Been catching the odd episode or two of Can You Hear My Heart, and it's now officially on my to watch list. It's so heartwarming like hot chocolate with whipped cream!

Also going to start Vampire Idol if I can find it streaming somewhere along with What's Up =)

2012

• Bachelor's Vegetable Shop

2011

• Flower Boy Ramyun Shop
• Vampire Idol
• Can You Hear My Heart
• Thousand Day Promise
• Me Too Flower
• The Princess's Man

Pre-2011

• Full House
• Conspiracy in Court

As many a drama watcher know, sometimes the most excruciating part of watching a drama is waiting for the subs to come out. The wait is made worse by the fact that people want to watch with high quality subs, not something that makes sense only half the time.

Unfortunately subbing is a long and arduous process. Fortunately there are a lot of fans who volunteer for the job. 

Personally, I'm a member of Fighting! Fansubs, working as a translator. It's been lots of fun and a great learning experience. I just wanted to get the word out that we exist.

Our subtitles are found at Fighting! Fansubs

We regularly update our subtitle status so you know how subs are coming along. All our subs are free and there is no membership needed. (We do gladly take donations!)

One of our most popular series has been our English subs for White Christmas, but we have many other projects too.

We're also on Twitter @fightingfansubs =)

Enjoy!

Currently watching 3 dramas.

Life Special Investigation Team: Eom Ki Joon. Need I say more? I'm only a few episodes in but it's adorably wacky and fun with some surprisingly emotional points. So far, loving it. Hopefully the end won't kill my love for it.

Tree With Deep Roots: Adore this drama because the acting is mostly pitch perfect for me. Love the mystery, the intrigue, the revenge plot, and the bromance. This drama is like all the historical YA novels I used to read obsessively except it's also kdrama cracktastic! Also, it's pretty! (Sometimes I'm very shallow, such as when I'm watching Mu Hyul be all flustered and trying to defend himself)

Vampire Prosecutor: Now this is my kind of vampire. He doesn't sparkle but he sure is easy on the eyes. With those intense eyes and smirky smile, he totally wins your heart. That he's doing good while bent on revenge also makes him much more appealing than a certain stalker vampire.

Looking forward to:

What's Up because there is Im! Joo! Hwan! Forever Team Park Kyu!!! Also because I like my musical centered dramas but I really can't stand The Musical because of Gu Hye Sun. 

Also, planning on finishing Joseon X-Files when my brain is less crowded with Kant and Milton because that show is intense and smart. I am determined to fully enjoy it instead of just breezing through it.

NOTE: Something new to try out: a lyrical look, where I examine some translated lyrics to see how a literary allusion fits (if it ever actually does).

Watching Boys Over Flowers was excruciating torture at times (namely whenever Lee Min Ho was off screen) but it did have its perks, in fact, it was almost paradise every once in a while, particularly when SHINee's OST track played (especially if you listened with your eyes closed). But all snarking at BOF aside, I do really appreciate that the drama introduces me to several new kpop groups, namely T-max, SS501, and SHINee. SHINee is one of my favorite groups and definitely my favorite SME group. Their songs are catchy, their choreography is always slick, and best of all, their voices are good. They deliver solid vocals even when dancing live (and we all know how rare that is in kpop). While I prefer their older releases (such as Y Si Fuera Ella), I do enjoy their newer tracks including Lucifer. I have listened to Lucifer enough times that whenever I encounter the word Lucifer, the chorus of the song starts playing in the back of my mind. This normally would amuse me except for the fact that I've been reading Paradise Lost for class and Lucifer/Satan tends to pop up a lot. By the umpteenth time of the chorus replaying in my mind, I'm sick of it. To convince myself that Lucifer need not be the soundtrack to reading Paradise Lost, I thought it would be interesting to take a quick glance at the lyrics and see just how much of it may or may not reference/connect to the Lucifer/Satan in Paradise Lost.

( Read more... )

 
I don't think many people watched this drama since it was on cable and had some tough competition from other shows. I had watched it mainly to see how Uee would do in a drama where she played a character that isn't associated with the entertainment industry, unlike her character from You're Beautiful. I thought she was likable in You're Beautiful despite the fact that her character was the typical second female lead plotter. Her acting may not have been stellar but it was more than tolerable. I think I was pleasantly surprised in the beginning episodes of Birdie Buddy by her acting. Once again, it wasn't stellar but her screen presence is very likable and grounded. So I kept watching.

( Spoilers Inside )

I've been reading the recaps for Thousand Day Promise at Dramabeans...and loving it. But I don't know whether I actually want to watch it (now or ever) because I'm not a fan of the melodrama genre in general. However, Su Ae plays such a kickass, strong female protagonist that I really want to watch the show just for the sake of watching a strong female protagonist. Also have you seen her in 9 Ends 2 Outs? She was awesome in that drama too!

But since I'm pressed for time these days, I'm definitely putting this off until winter break at the earliest. Also maybe more recaps will change my mind. Meanwhile, I'll stick to Tree With Deep Roots because I love seeing Mu Hyul run! *snerk* If the ending of Tree With Deep Roots doesn't disappoint (Yes, I'm looking at you Warrior Baek Dong Soo), it might be my all time favorite saguek, not that I watch many of them. History is always so interesting, but fictional history looks even prettier (Team Park Kyu!). 

In conclusion, I wish I had more time. 

When quotes fit in the oddest context...

"Awake, arise, or else be forever fallen" --Satan in Paradise Lost by J. Milton

Back in Milton's day, kdramas didn't exist. Satan rebelled against God. And today, when reading that line, I thought how fitting! It describes perfectly the situation of many a kdrama addict lover. Surely we've told ourselves at least once somewhere along our descent into madness that we should "awake" else "arise" from this obsession love ere we are "forever fallen." But I think I must agree with Satan, if I'm already in the pit, I might as well stay and rule there.

I spent a good part of my afternoon downloading the OST of Warrior Baek Dong Soo and then proceeded to listen to it on repeat, for three hours straight. Since getting into kdramas, I've largely switched to listening to kpop along with a healthy dose of cpop. What I've discovered is that I almost always immediately love songs that have a strong bass sound and/or if the singer sings in the lower octaves (Prime example: Super Junior's Superman--which I listened to ad nauseum for two weeks). Most songs on the soundtrack of Warrior Baek Dong Soo has that deep bass sound, especially the songs 야뇌 and 고여, which mesmerizes me. That's a good thing because if it were not for the music, I would be much more angry about the way WBDS ended. 

( Spoilers Inside )

Watching the finale of Warrior Baek Dong Soo tomorrow, at home, with ice cream. WBDS is not my first (fusion) sageuk by any means but there's something enticing about its set up that just really has me hooked. It feels epic not so much because there is a juxtaposition of evil and good setup amongst the characters spanning all the generations but because of the sincerity of the friendships, especially the friendships between "enemies" such as the Sword Saint and the Sky Lord. 

The way I am drawn to all the characters instead of just the titular hero Dong Soo reminds a bit of the stories of King Arthur where it is Arthur's knights who are the stars in individual stories. Except Dong Soo is much more kickass than King Arthur (from the old romances that is, not the new BBC Merlin show). 

I think I need to watch more sageuks, I haven't watched one that I didn't like. Granted both The Return of Iljimae and Tamra the Island were highly acclaimed (if not in ratings, then at least in fan fervor). But even the first two episodes of Tree With Deep Roots have me completely hooked, which is bad because I only have so many hours in a day. I guess I'll have to figure something out, we kdrama addicts always do!

I figure writing about kdramas will be better than simply just watching them. 

So here, in this little corner, will be my scribbles about kdramas, occasionally with references to whatever books I'm reading at the moment because there is no reason to leave Milton out of Story of a Man or Pride and Prejudice out of Coffee Prince.

I make no promises of intellectual banter or even basic coherency, this will simply be my thoughts on dramas and books I love.