The Weasel Grave (Chinese Drama, New)

Wow, it has been a long time since I have seen Taiwanese actor Ethen Juan on the small screen (his last one was T-drama My Queen in 2009).

This one is a web drama adapted from a novel series called Ghost Blows Out The Lights that follows the adventure of our hero and his friends as they go trekking through tombs filled with danger …often the supernatural kind.

For those we remember Jin Dong’s 2016 Candle In The Tomb with Joe Chen, that one was also based on the same novel.

 

Spring Breeze Ten Miles or Shall I Compare You To A Spring Day (Chinese Drama, New)

A coming of age story about our two leads who finally get their happy ending after first meeting at a military school in their youth, separating as young adults trying to find their own way in the world, then finally meeting again years later.

Episode one didn’t really catch my attention but I might give this one another chance once the plot is further along.

Kurokawa no Techo (Japanese Drama, New)

Thanks to a black leather book filled with dirty little secrets of the rich and powerful, our heroine managed to go from a boring bank employee (a temp at that) to opening a glamorous night club…which of course just allows her to fill more pages in her little black book.

The first episode was engaging and intriguing but with so many good J-drama out right now, I am not sure if this one will make it on my watch list.

Wanitokagegisu (Japanese Drama, New)

After a rather traumatic childhood where all the kids treated him like a plague, our hero wishes upon the star that he could finally have a friend at the ripe age of 37. Unfortunately, the heaven has an interesting idea of “friends” and soon our hero’s life is filled with unexpected “friends”.

This one is pretty funny…in a pretty disturbing kinda way. You know, one of those shows that make you laugh at the most inappropriate moments and makes you doubt your own humanity for laughing…

Falsify (Korean Drama, New)

In Namgung Min’s new drama, he plays a reporter that teams up with a prosecutor (heroine) to find out the corruption that his older brother discovered then died for.

I would usually be interested in this one just for Namgung Min’s sake…but for some reason I feel a bit burned on conspiracy/crime dramas lately so I am probably going to pass on Falsify for now. By the way, Namgung Min’s hero used to compete in Karate championships before his older brother was killed so judging by the first episode, we should get lots of fighting scenes from our hero.

Criminal Minds (Korean Drama, New)

“Cough” I know I just said I am not in the mood for crime dramas… but…but…this one has Lee Jun Ki in it so I am afraid I might have to eat my words. This one is based on the US TV show Criminal Minds so the story set up should be fairly familiar to those who were fans of the original. I checked out the first two episodes and was hooked right from the start. Granted, I have not watched the original which allowed me to treat this show like a normal K-drama without any preconceived expectations.

The First Half of My Life (Chinese Drama, Finished)

There are a lot complaints on the net about how this one ended. I personally thought the ending was not terrible and left some room for the fans’ imagination but I could certainly understand why there were so many angry rants. By the way, despite or because of the angry fans, The First Half of My Life’s last episode broke quite a few viewership rating records so maybe we will get a season 2??

I was pretty amazed how the TV show really has no resemblance to the novel at all. In the novel, our heroine eventually became an artist, her ex-husband was actually a doctor not a business man, heroine’s parents are both alive. The BFF’s fight over the hero didn’t exist, our heroine’s best friend married her boyfriend and was pregnant by the end of the story. The heroine herself meets her own Mr. Right in the last few chapter of the book and remarries again. As for the hero? Jin Dong’s character didn’t exist in the book and was a character created by the script writer because she needed a hero that would be involved in the heroine’s life from beginning to the end.

As the TV version of the popular novel, I think The First Half of My Life obviously failed miserably but as a stand alone drama about a clueless divorced woman forced to grow up I think the show did a decent job and Jin Dong’s mermoble performance as the hero certainly propelled my opinion of the show even higher. All in all, a VERY flawed show but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

 

 

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