Divorce Lawyers

Ep: 46
Synopsis:
Two opposing divorce lawyers wind up living next to each other, one a hopeless romantic and the other a bitter cynic. Can they settle their differences at work or home?

Review: 
I really liked this drama for several reasons. For one thing, it is about divorce lawyers dealing with crazy people and their drama. Another thing, they were divorce lawyers going through similar situations in their own love lives. At the same time, it's about divorce lawyers who have a sense of rivalry with one another at the same time living next to each other in the same apartment and bonding through work and rivalry. It was also very humorous with a nagging and exaggerated mother that comes visit every once in a while. The romance was also very mature without a lot of the typical high school giggling and worrying. It was very refreshing to watch. I loved watching the chemistry between Chi Hai Dong and Luo Li. It was hilarious and cute all at the same time.
      At the same time, we had to watch relationships crumble and build up while dealing with irrational characters. For example, Chi Hai Dong's ex was a nightmare for the majority of the drama. Not only did she have this mentality that Chi Hai Dong was still her's after their divorce due to HER cheating on him but she was also constantly running back to him playing victim despite marrying the guy she cheated on Chi Hai Dong with. I did pity her though despite my annoyance toward her behavior because the guy she ended up marrying was filled with jealousy that she might still have feelings for her ex-husband and as a result spurred a domestically violent relationship. It was very awful to watch and it was great to see her fight to get out of that relationship at the very end.
       Tang Mei Yu is Luo  Li's best friend and she used to be a partner at Luo Li's law firm. Upon getting pregnant and then married, she resigns from her job to become a full-time wife and mother. But times are getting tough as her husband Chi Kai Qiang struggles to support his family and keep a job. As stress builds up and his inability to relieve that stress with Tang Mei Yu, the appearance of an old high school friend Shi Jiang sparks his interest and he "emotionally cheats" on his wife with her (whatever emotionally cheating means). Tang Mei Yu finds out and gives him subtle hints that she knows and forgives him time and time again asking him to stop without confronting him about it until she could handle no more. Their relationship gets rocky and divorce battles ensue as well as they drag in their friends (the good old divorce lawyers) into the mess. Though they solved the issue, it just shows that even the strongest relationships can experience turmoils that both parties wanted no part of.
     It was just realistic and hilarious and  I enjoyed it a lot. Some parts did drag and seem unrealistic but it's easy to overlook that. 

Who Are You: School 2015

Episodes: 16 

Synopsis:
The lives of identical girls with very similar names – one who disappears without a trace and one who loses her memory – collide in unexpected ways. Lee Eun Bi (Kim So Hyun) grows up in an orphanage and deals with the relentless bullying from a group of girls at her school. Go Eun Byul (Kim So Hyun) attends Segang High School, a top-notch school in Gangnam, but disappears without a trace during a school field trip. As Eun Bi tries to escape from her miserable life and ends up in the hospital with no memories of her past, Eun Byul’s mother (Jeon Mi Seon) thinks Eun Bi is her lost daughter and takes her back to live her life as Eun Byul. As Eun Bi tries to recover her lost memories, can she discover what happened to the real Eun Byul and why she looks so much like the missing girl?

Review: 

    I really liked this drama a lot. I loved the character dynamics and how differently the twins dealt with situations. At the same time, I did ship both the girls with the two guys. Even though my ship didn't turn out the way I wanted to and Eun Byul ended up staying single, I think in a way it played off in a more realistic sense. Not everyone gets paired off and some people have other aspirations. I did feel extremely upset about the bullying scenes. I did not understand why the dead girl's sister kept bothering Go Eun Byul when it wasn't anyone's fault for the girl's death. That girl died due to health issues. Just because her one and only friend didn't go up to talk to her doesn't mean that she deserves to be terrorized the way she was. 

   The OSTs were on point.

    I loved Eun Byul's friends because they were so funny and I liked how that class was so anti-bullying. The minor characters were a pleasure to watch. It was nice to see how everyone struggled a different way to school pressure and self identity. It was interesting to see how changes were made and how people helped one another out. Eun Bi is more nice but she is emotionally weak so I was extremely greatful that she had Taekwang's guidance and I wanted them to end up together. At the same time, I wanted Eun Byul to end up with Han Yi Ahn. It just seemed so much to me that Han Yi Ahn got over his crush of that many years so soon without even thinking "Ok...Eun Byul isn't acting like herself." And even when he did, he just didn't question it and went along with it. 

    There were a lot of beautiful scenes in this drama that brought on a lot of feels. Also, Gong Tae Kwang dyes his hair from blond to black at some point and he looked good. It gave him a sense of maturity and I preferred it a lot over the blond. However, I think the blond was essential to showing his character in the beginning and making him more distinct. I loved it when Eun Byul finally came back and showed Kang So Young who's boss. Kang So Young's actions seemed very exaggerated and I did not like her. I mean...come on, who likes bullies? 

20 Once Again (movie)

                                       

I watched this movie on a plane ride and enjoyed it greatly. This is a Chinese movie and I really enjoyed it. All of the actors and actresses in this movie were very beautiful and charming in their own way (especially our protagonist). Also it was nice to see Luhan continuing his career in the entertainment industry in this movie. I'm glad that he's doing well since leaving Exo. 

Synopsis: 

        Sheng Meng Jun is now a 70 year old widow. She's extremely prideful of her son who she raised as a single mother for all these years. She's constantly bragging to others about how he's a professor at a top university and placing herself on the pedestal. She's also constantly nagging others while picking at all of their faults. She constantly hangs out with her old friend Li Dahai. Li Dahai used to work for her family when he was a teenager and developed a crush on Sheng Meng Jun since then. However, the two never got together but it is evident that he still has feelings for her after all this time. She lives with her son and his family. Sheng Meng Jun's daughter in law suffers heart problems and her grandkids (twins: 1 girl, 1 boy) are constantly arguing with one another. Sheng Meng Jun shows her bias toward her grandson Xiang Qianjin because of his musical aspirations reminding her of the dreams she had when she was younger to be a singer. 

          Because of all the nagging and pressure she places on her daughter in law Yang Qin, Yang Qin ended up going to the hospital. The doctor recommended that Yang Qin shouldn't be stressed for any reason. After this, the family decided it was best if they send Sheng Meng Jun to a nursing home for the time being until Yang Qin gets better. Feeling hurt, she wanders about until she comes across a photography studio that she had never found before. Upon leaving the studio after taking a picture, she is surprised to find that she has been transformed back into her 20 year old self. The prime of her beauty. 

            She rents a room at Li Dahai's house hiding her identity as Meng Li Jun. As her family and Li Dahai worry about where she is, she finds ways to send messages to them about how she is fine. Then at the senior recreation center, she has a singing battle with her long-time rival. Upon this, her grandson seeks her out to be the lead singer in his band and a music director also begins to search for her. With this, her musical aspirations and dreams take flight while helping her grandson achieve his dreams. As her grandson and music director fall for her, Sheng Meng Jun has quite an interesting adventure. At the same time, Li Dahai finds out that his tenant is actually the young version of Sheng Meng Jun and tries to help her out while expressing his feelings. 

            However, at the end, Sheng Meng Jun must decide what is more important. To go back to her normal age and focus on those close to her or to live life again as Li Jun and experience everything she wasn't able to. With a series of events, she realizes how unnatural it is for her to be so young while her generation slowly dies out and how despite the second chance to relive her younger years, she would still want to live the life she chose back then because there are things she values more. It was a very comical movie but at the same time very deep. But the ending is still confusing to me even though I found it beautiful. 

Emergency Couple

Episodes: 21 

Synopsis (viki.com): 

Some couples marry for love but can’t overcome the objections of their families. Chang Min (Choi Jin Hyuk), a medical student, falls in love with and marries Jin Hee (Song Ji Hyo), a dietitian, despite the objections of Chang Min’s family, which is full of successful doctors. Chang Min’s family cuts him off and he is forced to drop of medical school and go to work as a pharmaceutical sales rep, but the strains and pressures from his family finally wear on the couple, and Chang Min and Jin Hee divorce. After they separate, Chang Min returns to his medical education and Jin Hee also puts herself through medical school. Years later, they meet up again unexpectedly when they both start their internships in the emergency department of a hospital. Can the couple survive their three-month rotation in close proximity to one another? “Emergency Couple,” also known as “Emergency Man and Woman,” is a 2014 South Korean drama series directed by Kim Cheol Kyu.

Review: 

       I really liked this drama a lot. It was really cute and humorous. It was such an enjoyable watch with lovable actors and actresses. I really liked the whole set up for this drama. It was really interesting. All the actors and actresses were absolutely endearing. I loved the interaction between Choi Jin Hyuk and Song Ji Hyo. Especially in the hospital environment, it made falling in love stressful and filled with events. The "evil mother" that always appears in dramas was despicable but at the same time someone you felt sorry for as her own marriage wasn't working the way she wanted it to. 

          There were a lot of flashbacks in the episodes. I think it was a way to make the readers know what happened in the past and also allow us to empathize in that moment. However, it did feel a bit excessive at times. Like, thank you...I get the point now. In a sense, this was very similar to Cunning Single Lady in that two people divorce only to meet again and have their feelings rekindled while understanding previous misunderstandings. The second lead didn't really play too much of a role in this drama. He was an evidently weaker character than Choi Jin Hyuk. It really wasn't that much of a dilemma when it came to falling in love and choosing between one of them. This drama was a very light and fluffy watch. 

My Girlfriend is an Agent (Movie)

        This movie was actually really interesting for me and quite amusing to watch. The two main characters in this drama used to date but faced problems in their dating life when the girl, Ahn Soo Ji, was constantly neglecting her boyfriend to fulfill her duties as a secret agent. Keeping a double identity was hard as it caused her boyfriend, Lee Jae Joon to lose trust and grow suspicious as to what she's doing. After splitting for a while, Lee Jae Joon returns a rookie international agent who was often messing up on his job. 

           Little did the two know that they would be working to stop the same crime. A Russian organized crime group takes possession of an advanced biochemical weapon from Korea with the help of a corrupt Korean scientist and it was up to Ahn Soo Ji and Lee Jae Joon to work with their agencies to save the world. Ahn Soo Ji is skilled at her job while Lee Jae Joon is clumsy and inexperienced. They bump into each other and keep their secret identities hidden. They begin to fall in love again. However, their work often gets in between them causing them to lie about what it is that is happening. This causes them to grow suspicious of one another and even believe that the other was working for the bad side. However, as the truth begins to come out and be understood, they work together to defeat the crime group as well as get back together in a relationship based on trust.

           This drama was actually really amusing for me to watch. It was nice to see the girl be so tough and skilled. It was also nice to see how they balanced each other out. I enjoyed this movie. 

She's So Lovable

16 episodes

Synopsis (viki.com): 

Can music heal all wounds? Hyun Wook (Rain) is the president of an entertainment agency and a music producer who hold emotional scars from losing his girlfriend in an accident. When his dead girlfriend’s sister, Se Na (Krystal Jung), comes to Seoul to become a songwriter, can the two help each other achieve their dreams and heal from their shared pain? Shin Hae Yoon (Cha Ye Ryun), a director in Hyun Wook’s agency, is determined to be the one to stick by Hyun Wook, both professionally and personally. Meanwhile, vocal trainer Sung Jin (Alex) has his hands full trying to keep Kang Rae Hoon (Hoya), the leader of the idol group Infinite Power, in line. “She’s So Lovable, ” also known as "My Lovely Girl" and "My Lovable Girl," is a 2014 South Korean drama series directed by Park Hyun Ki.

Review:

I did not like this drama for many reasons. I had to push through this drama because it was boring and it did not appeal to me as I wished it would. I did start watching it because Rain was in it and also I wanted to see some of the other idols. However, this drama was a mess for me. Here are some of the reasons why I did not like this drama: 

1. It was boring. 

2. Scenes were unrealistic
3. It was kind of creepy considering Hyun Wook was Yoon Se Na's sister's boyfriend. Even though her sister passed away, it is still creepy to me. I have a sister and I can't imagine dating her boyfriend in any scenario.  I asked my friends who were watching this and they agreed that it was unrealistic and weird to have this kind of plot. And to make things worse, they didn't really pull it off very well...like Autumn Tale aka Autumn in My Heart had a similar situation like this that was kind of creepy but they pulled it off well enough that it was still acceptable.
4. I also didn't like that she only found out that Hyun Wook used to  date her sister in episode 12 and it wasn't even from Hyun Wook himself.
5. I liked Si Woo better than Hyun Wook but he isn't a strong character and it didn't help that Yoon Se Na was cold and indifferent toward his feelings.

All in all, I don't have much to say about this drama other than that I didn't like it.  

Mischievous Kiss 2: Love in Tokyo

Episodes: 16

Synopsis (viki.com):

Will life be one of married bliss for Naoki and Kotoko? In one of the most-anticipated sequels, the unlikely couple of the average Kotoko (Honoka Miki) and the brilliant Naoki (Yuki Furukawa) from “Mischievous Kiss: Love in TOKYO” returns for a second season! After the original series ended with the wedding of Naoki and Kotoko, the special episode “Mischievous Kiss 2: Love in Okinawa” follows Naoki and Kotoko on their honeymoon, where a strange couple turns up and meddles in their romantic getaway. As they settle back in their new lives after the honeymoon, can Naoki and Kotoko handle the pressures of marriage and their careers? “Mischievous Kiss 2: Love in TOKYO” is the sequel to the popular “Mischievous Kiss: Love in TOKYO” (2013). It is the fifth live adaptation of the popular Japanese manga “Itazura na Kiss,” following the original in 1996, Taiwan’s “It Started With a Kiss” (2005) and “They Kiss Again (2007), and Korea’s “Playful Kiss” (2010).

Review: 

        Ever since I watched the Taiwanese version (It Started With a Kiss) and the second season of that (They Kiss Again), I fell in love with this show. I have to say that Mischievous Kiss 1 and 2 have not disappointed me. I fell in love with the dynamics of the show and the characters once again. I liked this version almost as much as I loved the Taiwanese and that says a lot. Watching this, it reminded me of why I liked the show in the first place. The first season is the light-hearted high school romance where things just fall perfectly into place for the characters. The second season is college life and the immediate confrontation of the future. It targets so many more issues and it allows the relationship to expand in ways that wouldn't be possible in the first season. They targeted issues as to how the high school love develops into one that thinks about sex, babies, jobs, what kind of future they want, and becoming codependent of one another while becoming more independent.
        However, I feel like Kotoko's character is just exaggerated. I don't think she's honestly slow in learning. She's motivated with a sense of independence. In It Started With A Kiss (Taiwanese version) and even in Playful  Kiss (Korean version), we were more worried about the development of our female protagonist because her goals were solely based on what our male protagonist's goals are. I see it in Kotoko as well but she seemed a little better off...just very incompetent in what she does. She was very ebullient throughout the entire drama and I really liked the scene where she fought with Irie. I loved when it happened in the Taiwanese drama and I still liked it in this version. The reason is that it truly showed that despite the infatuation Kotoko feels for Irie, the two are still very different. Love can be difficult when the people are on opposite ends of a spectrum. However, they worked it out and that little fight was a wake up call to all of us and the characters that they are different and will have to work together to make it work.
        In episode 9, when Irie's cousin visited and was totally open on confessing her love to Irie (which is kind of creepy but okay). My favorite quote of Kotoko from that episode when she said, "You might have loved him longer, but you'll never love him as much as I do." I liked this because it showed that love is not necessarily about the length of time you've been together but about how deep you love one another. In episode 10, it allowed us to see Yuki's mini romance start with a mini Kotoko. Their little romance continued on with an older version of Yuki and that was just very fascinating to watch. History truly repeated itself.
         I really enjoyed this drama. The Taiwanese version stopped at two seasons so I'm hoping that maybe the Japanese version will make up to three seasons? (Though I doubt it because both versions based it on the manga and this was how the manga ended because the author died).