The Legend of Mulan 花木兰传奇

Alright, Hua Mulan is that hero that Disney made a film about. Disney just changed the last name to Fa. However, when I first heard of this drama, I was interested. I wanted to watch it. I knew there would be romance involved since this is a television series. But seriously, knowing that it's a drama and they'll choose a pretty actress, but I expected her to be like a tomboy which would explain how she was able to fight on battlefields. So when I first started watching this, I didn't understand why they made the girl have so much make up on at the beginning of the drama. Thankfully, it was only in the beginning. 

       Also, in most movie or drama adaptions of this story, Mulan usually falls in love with the captain of their side. However, in this drama, they twist it so it's a love story between enemies at battle and lovers personally. This drama did have flaws, no doubt, and parts that could've been improved. However, overall, it wasn't too bad and was interesting to watch to see their feelings of having to fight with one another and how it'll harm the other if they won. 

Synopsis:

          Hua Mulan's village was well known for stitchery and embroidery. Hua Mulan was extremely good at sewing. However, even just sewing, she faced a lot of problems where it seemed like someone was personally trying to attack her. Their village was responsible for making the Intermarriage Image to prevent a war from breaking out. She was part of the project but it seemed that someone was trying to prevent them to get the job done. One woman working there died and Mulan was also targeted.
        She went through issues where her hands trembled and she couldn't sew. Thankfully, with the help of many, she learned a technique that helped heal her hands. Then at one point, she was targeted and it caused her to go blind. Thankfully, she overcame all that. During the time, she fell in love with a prince named Duo Lun who was part of the enemy's family. He was kind and loved Mulan and tried so hard to convince his father not to start a war. But his voice in this matter wasn't loud enough. So despite offering his father a bride and a peace offering, the war still started. 

        Since the Hua family didn't have a son, the father was expected to go. Mulan made the decision to go in his place. The night before the men were supposed to register themselves and arrive for attendance call, she poured her dad a couple of drinks and he went to sleep. Because of the drinks, he was bound to wake up later. So she took the time to prepare herself to go in his place. She tied her hair up and wore her dad's armor. When her father woke up to find his armor missing, he knew exactly what his daughter did without even reading her note that she left behind. He went out to go find her but the army had already set off. And her father seemed to just have this feeling that she won't be coming back as he knew how brutal war was.

        The prince came by a few times in search of her. He had wanted to marry her but since the war started, he wanted to take her someplace safe. Her father wouldn't reveal information because he was angry at how the war still started despite everything. He said things like how she might never come back and told him to leave over and over again.  Many of the villagers didn't know Mulan left. The only people who knew the truth was her father and some of the people she knew from the village who had also gone to fight. She was kind to people, helpful, just, and that allowed her to make quite a lot of friends. Her courage, bravery, and skill made her a brave fighter who was praised by the captain. Over time, her success even became known to the emperor. 

        However, during this process, the prince realized she was a soldier and that they were on opposite sides. They constantly met on battlefields, both not willing to hurt the other yet still having to complete their duty. They were both conflicted and the prince was constantly thinking of ways to not hurt her, how to help her, and he didn't care about the throne his father was offering to him to be next in line. He only cared about Mulan. During this time, the two suffered emotional turmoil and they were also conflicted on whether they fight for their country and family or for their love. During this entire time, many people on the enemy side were trying to get rid of Mulan and Mulan had also became very close to certain people on her side. Thankfully, the people she knew from her village helped her keep her secret and offered her help often.Whether the characters died or not, they were all heroes and brave people. It was nice to see how in the end, everything seemed to work out for Mulan. She was recognized as women in front of the army she led and in front of the emperor, the emperor excused her from punishment as she helped the country and offers her the status of being a general, and she ends up giving up her status as a general to go home. Going home meant returning back to the life she once knew and she could focus building on the relationship she has with that prince.  

Flowers in Fog

                                    

This drama was absolutely amazing. It had an amazing plot with twists and an absolutely touching ending. It was a great drama to watch with so many cute moments, funny scenes, sad scenes, and a lot of drama. It was a great drama to watch and I would recommend for all of you to check this drama out. 

Synopsis: 

       This story would start many years ago at an orphanage when our four beautiful ladies were just children. At that orphanage, four orphans got to know one another very well and became so close that they were like sisters. The oldest orphan was older than the other three by many years and so she took on the role of the big sister and the three's parents in a way. She cared for them and loved them. She taught them things and she sang for them when they were sick. They sang a song called Hua Fei Hua Wu Fei Wu (which is the title of this drama) together. The oldest orphan was known as Xue Hua (snowflake). She had said that since they were orphans, they were flowers without roots. So she gave each of them a name and they called each other that. She chose Xue Hua for herself. Xue Hua means snowflake, but when you write it in Chinese, the hua means flower. So it's basically a flower without a root. 

      She named the others Huo Hua (fire spark, the hua meaning flower), lang hua (wave flower, like the foam in the ocean when a wave crashes), and yan hua (smoke). They didn't really know each other's real names as they only used these names for one another. Then Xue Hua is taken away to live with her aunt. The four promised that they would one day meet again and the three little ones sent their big sister away, unwillingly, promising to come and find her when they are older. Xue Hua goes and continues to learn and develop her talent of singing and acting and later falls in love with a man named Qi Yuan. She is later known as Angel. Together with Qi Yuan, they acted in this play and sang and acted. The two became quite famous and they really loved one another. 

          Huo Hua was adopted by the Ye family and named Ye Fan. She always played the violin well ever since she was a little kid. Many years later, she sets out to find her Xue Hua and heads off to a school called France Art Institute of Oriental and she goes there to study violin. In that school, it was made a rule to speak Chinese. This school was opened by the Qi family and therefore Qi Yuan was a professor there. He was cold and bitter and never smiled. He had a little brother named Qi Fei who was kind, lively, happy, and free-spirited. She went there in hopes of finding more about the whereabouts of Xue Hua who went there. However, she found out that Xue Hua had been with Qi Yuan and rumor is that she committed suicide. The rumors from then said things like Qi Yuan was cheating on Snowflake and so forth. So Ye Fan goes there to find out more and in a way, get revenge by dating Qi Yuan's little brother, Qi Fei. However, as their relationship progressed, she found herself loving him more and more.
            Trouble starts occurring as they start finding out that Huo Hua had been blackmailing them about Xue Hua's death. When they found out why Ye Fan was here, they reveal the truth to her. Due to her blackmailing, Qi Fei became very distant. She also found out that the rumor about Xue Hua committing suicide was actually made up because they wanted people to think she had died when she was actually suffering from a crippling disease. She was very depressed, refused to talk, and only cried. She could only move her eyes. However, when she saw Ye Fan and realized it was her Huo Hua, a part of me came back to life as she actually said a few words and smiled. In this process, Ye Fan was hoping to get back together with Qi Fei because she actually loved him. However, he still couldn't get over the fact that he was used and so forth and so they never really got back together. Then due to a situation back home, she went left without a word begging her friend to let her borrow money. However, overtime, since they both loved one another, Qi Fei went to go find her and try to start afresh together only to find that there were more obstacles ahead of them.

        Lang Hua and Yan  Hua were adopted by the Bai family. They were together all these years. Their names are Bai Hai Hua and Bai Meng Hua. Bai Hai Hua (Lang Hua) is now a nurse and is appointed to be the special nurse of a cranky, old man. She's very strict with him and she's also kind at the same time. She has enough power in her to be able to deal with this old man. She later gets caught up with this family as she tries to get his son to come and actually visit his father instead of always sneaking around asking her about his father's condition. She managed to get a father-son reunion and ended up falling in love with that man. The man has a very fiery personality, gets mad easily, but he loved her and she was able to control him in many ways. They were very happy together for a while. But of course, they also faced troubles and problems with the company in which the old man had owned. However, they were able to get over it together, helping each other. 

       Meng Hua/Xiao Meng (Yan Hua) works at a company that distributes metal nails. She works as a secretary. She meets a worker there named Xu Hao who constantly helps her and who begins to like her. As they develop feelings, Xiao Meng gets caught in a love triangle when Han Li and Xu Hao. Han Li was the head and she couldn't really be rude to him. However, she chose Xu Hao in the end. She had a really cute relationship with Xu Hao and he really took care of her and treated her really well. There were a lot of moments when Xu Hao was jealous due to Han Li. It was also very humorous when Xu Hao's mother came to visit them from the countryside and kept feeding them chicken. It was really cute how Xu Hao kept trying to keep his girlfriend happy as well as not hurt his mother's feelings. 

          Han Li, sad and brokenhearted from when Xiao Meng chose Xu Hao, came across Ye Fan who was back in China due to family financial issues after her father's death. They got to know each other and Han  Li helped her pay a family debt and he began to like her. However, when Qi Fei found out that she had problems back home and he actually still loved her, he goes to China to try to find her. He tries looking for her in all her past homes and so forth and finally finds her and tries to win her back. But now Han Li is there as a love rival. However, it was very clear that Ye Fan still loved him also and Han Li  is kicked out of this relationship also. During this process, Ye Fan finds her Lang Hua and Yan Hua. Then the three flowers got to video chat with Xue Hua in France. Afterwards they got to have their little reunion and it was very sweet. However, as all these couples face their problems and overcome them, they face a happy future and their own happy ending. And thankfully, Han Li also found his own happily ever after. The ending was so touching for it showed that love can overcome anything. And I think many of you would enjoy this drama. It was the cutest drama and absolutely thrilling. You never knew what was about to happen and it was nice to see. So I would definitely recommend this drama. 

Seven Something (Movie)

                                              

This was a Thai film featuring 2PM Nichkhun. I actually watched this on the plane and it wasn't too bad. This movie was basically split into three parts, each part being about a different couple. I just read that this movie was shot by three different directors which is the reason for three different couples in different parts of the movie. So, I'm going to do a synopsis on this film because it was interesting showing different sides of different relationships.

Synopsis: 

       First love story: It is titled "14" and it is about two teenagers who started dating. They both were very attracted to one another but the main thing that caused problems between them were social networks. The boy thrived on them. The internet and social networks were his life. He would make tons of statuses, ask for help online on what to do, ask for suggestions online, and make many youtube videos. The girl started getting upset for whenever they went on dates, he was always carrying his camera. Every time they wanted to do something, it was always pictures first and so forth. She was annoyed but she put up with it and didn't really complain. However, things started really getting worse and I could understand why she was so angry. He first started uploading videos on youtube and even made a music video of her. She was angry for just a little while because she didn't know why he wanted to publicize their relationship so much but got over it...because, let's face it...he made a music video of her. He was kind of upset that she had disliked the video online and when she got rid of it, she decided to sing him a little song to make him happier. They did this on video chat and he recorded the whole thing. Then he ended up posting it on youtube. She was not happy. She was wearing clothes that kind of revealed the bra on the side and she was being goofy and she did not mean for it to go online. And then it got so many views and inappropriate comments. She was angry and he got worried and deleted it. The problem was not gone as others had downloaded it and put it back online. So this was basically about the social network causing the boy to hurt the girl's feelings. However, he went to apologize to her and I believe (if I didn't remember this wrong) they got back together.

Second Story: This is actually about a former actor and actress who acted in a movie called Sea You Again. This movie that they acted was about the boy being the least popular member of a boy band and the girl being a member of some rival group. They hated one another and somehow got stranded on this island. Before they got rescued, they fell in love and it ended as them being saved and brought to shore without knowing if they will be enemies or friends back home. So that was the sort of movie they had filmed together. In the filming process, the two began to bond and they ended up dating. They had a lot of fights together and a lot of ways to get revenge. However the relationship started going downhill when the girl started having these cheating scandals and the couple started fighting more and more often. Then he totally insulted her at an awards ceremony when he got his award and the couple just split. Now, originally this guy was just going to act in this one film and then work at the aquarium or something like that, and he did. The girl however wanted to continue on as an actress and be famous. Now, there is going to be a part 2 of Sea You Again. So she comes to find the boy at the aquarium to get him to work with her at the movie. He doesn't want to and in the end the roles are given to different and younger actors. However, they did practice the script and revealed their true feelings in a way and in the end, you see them asking each other if they can love each other again.

Third Story: This is the story starring Nichkhun, just to let you know. He plays a young runner who runs despite having asthma. He plans on running in the marathon and practices every day. This is because, last year, he joined the marathon, but because he had no preparation whatsoever, he ended up collapsing and going to the hospital. The girl, who is older than the boy, had lost her husband in a plane accident. She's still recovering and she promised her past husband that she won't marry anyone. But as she gets to know this boy and they start running together, preparing for the marathon together, she begins to start falling for him. He constantly encourages her and says what she wants to hear. He helps her often and taught her that she can change her life as long as she sets her heart to it. So she begins to run with him, developing feelings that she thinks she shouldn't. So she is torn with guilt of not staying faithful to her past husband and falling for this young man. So there was a moment where she pushes him away and she cried a lot too. However, as she begins to move on and actually manages to finish the marathon with him. She succeeded in leaving behind her past and begin to look forward towards a new future.

My Lucky Star

This drama had an interesting story line. Though it is similar to many other dramas, such as the guy being rich and the girl being poor and kindhearted, it was still interesting as it was slightly different. I actually enjoyed the drama. It came out in 2007. I liked how the girl was very outspoken and loud and that they loved each other for their personalities. The one thing that ticks me off in almost every drama, is voice dubbing. Yoo Ha Na plays the main lead. Since she's Korean and this is a drama that uses Chinese, it was a dubbed voice. I couldn't stand how high pitched the voice was, especially the laugh that sounded kind of fake and not very real. But other than that, I watched it for the story line. Also, some of her facial expressions that she made was kind of awkward for me to watch.

Synopsis:

     In the beginning of the drama, Xia Zhi Xing made fake jewelry and tricked people into buying the jewelry. She was a liar and a con-artist. She lied often also. Her nickname, which is mostly used, is Ah Xing. At this time, she was with her boyfriend Shi San. They were going to get married and they were conning this one woman together when the cops appeared. Shi San wanted her to con this woman to earn more money for their marriage. So they ran away, as quickly as possible. Ah Xing covers up for Shi San and is put in jail for a year. She was in contact with her boyfriend for six months, then afterwards, Shi San didn't contact her. She was still very naive, believing that he is waiting for her to get engaged. She kept thinking of the possibilities waiting for her when she's released. When she is released, she crosses paths with Zhong Tian Qi. They had met before on the day that she got arrested.

      Zhong Tian Qi is the second master of a jewelry empire known as E-Shine. He was dating a girl named Ou Ya Ruo. However, she ended up dumping him for his brother. It was because his brother would give her more power and stuff. When he gets invited to the wedding, he shows up after resisting many times. He finds out that his past mother's necklace, Queen Mary, was being auctioned off. Upset, he goes to find Ou Ya Ruo who has it in her possession and steals it. So when he runs into Ah Xing, the gem fell and the people running after Tian Qi assumed Ah Xing was a part in stealing the gem. They put a cuff on one of her hands before Tian Qi frees her. She immediately cuffs him with the other saying that she needs him to prove her innocence. So they basically walk around like that for a while, then she demands to go and find her boyfriend.

        However, to her shock, Shi San was actually found to be married with another woman and that woman was pregnant. This broke her heart and she tried to act like she was okay. They went through a lot and Tian Qi also saw a bit of her personality, the way that she treasured ten dollars worth of star stickers over an expensive jewel. Tian Qi, not wanting to go home and give up his mother's gem, follows Ah Xing to her village. Only to find the entire village angry as they demand for her to return money. After many events together, they come to fall in love with one another and care of one another. The entire time, Ah Xing did not know that Tian Qi was the second master. She assumed that he was a thief with a drunk father ordering him to do so. She knew about his ex-girlfriend who chose the brother over him. But they fell in love with one another for their personalities, disregarding status. 

         However, trouble occurs when her past of jewelry fraud was exposed to the public due to her relationship with E-Shine's second master. She's shocked at his identity and was heartbroken at the fact that he said that he didn't have a relationship with her at a press conference. After they came over that obstacle, more troubles came. For one thing, Tian Qi's father doesn't approve of their relationship and when Tian Qi leaves, his father tells him not to return. In order to make money, Tian Qi makes a bet and does a racing competition resulting in him getting injured. They didn't have much money and Shi San was begging her to give him money because his daughter had a heart problem. So when Tian Qi's father made a deal of giving her money and telling her to leave so that he can take care of Tian Qi, she agrees unwillingly. 

          When Tian Qi wakes up, his brother offers to help bring her to him. However, they were faced with a horrible accident resulting in Tian Jun's death. Five years later, the two meet again. He is angry at her because he thought that she was the one who caused the car crash. However, he still loved her and she still loved him. Slowly, they begin to rebuild their relationship and start their own happily ever after. 

This had comedy, romance, misunderstanding, love, other relationships, ex-boyfriends, ex-girlfriends, family drama, a lot of life-threatening moments, and it had basically everything. Thankfully, this drama does not have any sad endings or memory loss episodes. 

Female Prime Minister/ Legend of Lu Zhen

This drama was really good and I enjoyed the chemistry between our main characters. The main characters did a great job in acting and they seemed to really love each other. The main characters are also very close in real life, so it was nice to see them act together in this drama. I felt that this drama had a lot going on and you worry, you watch with awe when lovers in this drama help one another in every way they can, and there are also some humorous moments. 

          In this drama, the guy really respects Lu Zhen (the girl) and it was nice to see how they treated one another as equals, which is rare based on the fact that this was a historical drama. So I really liked that. I also liked how they made me change minds about certain characters. It allowed me to like some characters overtime such as the emperor's wife who he called Gui Fei. There were a lot of situations where people tried to harm Lu Zhen, which is normal considering it is within the palace. It kept you on a edge a lot of times. 

This drama had a great cast who knew how to act, I just wish there were more scenes allowing us to fall deeper into this story. It was a good drama and I enjoyed watching the amazing chemistry between the main couple. I would've liked more characterization of the more important characters allowing the drama to reach full potential. Mainly because this drama was captivating in its own way but the actors can act and they all do a great job at it. I would've liked them to be able to show that a bit more. However, I got to say, I was pretty satisfied with this and the chemistry was crazy! The main characters are just so likable. 

Synopsis: 

       Lu Zhen is the daughter of a wealthy merchant. She helps her father around a lot and is doted on. Her stepmother despises her although her stepsister looks up to her. When her father passes away, she runs away to escape her stepmother and tried to flee into the palace to hide from assassination attempts. She's a smart, well-taught girl and enters the palace as an attendant through much trouble. In this process, she meets a guy named Gao Zhan. In episode 3, she throws a fit to make him take care of himself since he was upset about an injury on his arm. It was that moment that he was caught off guard and began to fall for the kind-hearted Lu Zhen. They help one another. They later on meet in the palace, where she is a palace maid. 

         She has a lot of skills including making pottery, making clothing and stitching, and she has a great personality and attitude allowing her to make friends. However, she gets promoted often and climbs up the palace hierarchy causing some problems. For one thing, she is watched over by Gao Zhan. She does not know who he is for he lied to her saying that he's only someone minor in the palace but has relations. She falls in love with him as he is in love with her. However, she refuses him to help her wanting to take care of things herself. But as she faces problems, he comes to her rescue over and over again. 

         The emperor only has one love which is his beloved "Gui Fei." Gao Zhan is his brother in a way and is next in line to the throne. However, Gao Zhan and the emperor have a great relationship. The emperor, Gui Fei, and Gao Zhan had a history together. When they were little, they became acquainted with one another. Gui Fei was a princess and so the emperor's mother constantly pushed him to approach her. The emperor and Gao Zhan both liked her. However, the princess (Xiao Guan Yin) liked Gao Zhan and so the emperor only watched from afar. The Princess and Gao Zhan become lovers but Gao Zhan is heartbroken when she marries his older brother. However, she still loves Gao Zhan and doesn't quite understand when he says that he loves Lu Zhen. Gao Zhan explains everything to Gui Fei to let her understand. The emperor, knowing Gui Fei didn't love him, gave her everything. He only married others because he was forced to but showed them no interest. That sort of devotion was extremely sweet to see and eventually Gui Fei gave in.

            There were many people causing problems. One person, Ah Bi, liked Gao Zhan and did everything to make Lu Zhen miserable. Gao Zhan was also heartbroken as he only loved one woman and that was Lu Zhen. The emperor's mother also did a lot of things, sending people to do dirty work, and doing horrible things that the emperor couldn't believe his mother did. The emperor and his empress were happy now and she was now pregnant with child. But his mother wants to continue to use her son for power, and in her desperate attempt to reach her son, she ruined their starting family. She also ruined Lu Zhen's chances to be with Gao Zhan due to political reasons that came up in the future. 

            Lu Zhen and Gao Zhen were devoted to one another. However, due to many opposing parties and situations not working in their favor, Lu Zhen could not be with Gao Zhan as his wife and empress. There was a social status difference and many political issues from before that did not allow Gao Zhan to claim her as his wife, who he did wed with only the emperor and empress present. For political reasons, they were not allowed to be together or let him bestow her any title such as the empress.So he appoints her with the highest position in land, as the female prime minister. And their love story continued on this way.

I found this drama interesting, mainly for the chemistry between the main couple and for the emperor and empress love line. The chemistry between characters were amazing whether it was hate or love. I was a bit frustrated with the ending, because like always, I wanted a particularly happy ending since Lu Zhen and Gao Zhan went through so much and suffered to be together. However, I was a bit upset with the ending. But I was happy, that at least, they were together. I feel sad scenes were portrayed extremely well between the main couple and also the way Xiao Guan Ying (Gui Fei) portrays sorrow when she realizes the man that she loves will never love her again. And the way she portrays her new-found happiness as she falls in love with the emperor. 

This is a drama that I think would be a good choice to check out.