Love’s Lies (Chinese Drama, New)
Puzzled when she received a package from her ex-boyfriend who disappeared from their wedding 7 years ago, our heroine’s boring life is suddenly turned upside down as the police show up and find the package containing a package of drugs. Suddenly accused of being a drug dealer, our heroine makes a daring escape from the police, tracks her ex-boyfriend (hero) down and begins a dangerous adventure of discovering his true feelings for her. Don’t worry, our hero is not a bad boy. He is actually working undercover for the police.
Luo Jin looks super slick here. Actually, the whole show looks slick so that is a good sign, especially for an action drama.
Suddenly This Summer (Chinese Drama, New)
Based on a novel of the same name, this one follows our two leads as they fall in love in high school, to vowing to stay together despite going to college in two different cities, to breaking up due to our hero’s insecurities, and finally, to the realization that they still can’t forget each other. Um…I guess the official synopsis probably just described the whole show, but this one does have Bai Yu (Memory Lost) as the hero and judging by the first few episodes, the high school portion is very cute…and that’s from one who is usually very impatient with the “youth” portion (also played by Bai Yu and Bu Guan Jin).
Women Document Detectives (Japanese Drama, New)
Upon finding herself transferred to the “grave” keepers of the police station, the young and passionate detective Tomo Yashiro can’t help but want to solve the cold cases to give the victims the justice they deserve. Forced to admit that despite her rather impressive fighting ability, her detective ability falls short, Tomo Yashiro soon realizes that her senpai in her new department…the one everyone calls mad, is the one the has what it takes to solve the cold cases…as long as she acts as her mouthpiece.
Monte Cristo Haku ~ Kareinaru Fukushuu (Japanese Drama, New)
Based on the French novel Le Comte de Monte-Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, this one is a Japanese retelling of the popular classic. Dean Fujioka plays our hero who was dragged away on his wedding day and sent to a foreign prison for 15 years. Thanks to the skills he learned from another prisoner during incarceration, our hero will eventually be able to reappear in front of the three men (his best friend, a trusted senior from work, and a detective) who had conspired against him 15 years ago as a rich and powerful stranger.
Episode one looks very promising. The writer (Tsutomu Kuroiwa who wrote Liar Game 2 and Samurai Sensei) did a good job in keeping the general structure of the original story but added a lot of great creative details that make this story feel like a refreshing retelling of the beloved classic. Dean Fujioka of course looks great as always, so I am pretty excited for when our character can eventually make his grand entrance in front of his enemies.
Daisy Luck (Japanese Drama, New)
Reunited with her three childhood friends at her friend’s (one of the three) wedding, our heroine, Kaede goes home and excitedly tells her boyfriend of two years that she is ready to get married. Stunned when her boyfriend promptly dumps her, Kaede’s life seems to have hit rock bottom especially since she also found out earlier that day the jewelry company she was working for had just gone bankrupt. Out of a job and a boyfriend, Kaede starts reflecting seriously over what she has done for the last 29 years. Coming to the conclusion that it is now or never, Kaede decides to pursue her dream to become a baker, but of course that’s easier said than done.
Based on the manga of the same name, Daisy Luck will not just focus on our heroine but will also follow her three childhood friends’ life as well as they each face their own challenges unique to their circumstances. Episode one was spent mostly on character intro but I am still feeling very hopeful about Daisy Luck because it looks like we will have a few love lines in this one.
Hotel on the Brink (Japanese Drama)
As the general manager of the once glorious hotel her father built, our heroine, Sana Sakurai feels deeply inadequate for the job especially when even her own employees are pushing her to close the hotel. Unsure of how to fix the hotel that means so much to herself and many others, Sana finally sees hope when one of the guests turns out to be a famous hotelier and agrees to help her make her father’s hotel glorious again.
With so many good J-dramas out this last two weeks, this particular one, unfortunately, didn’t stand out. Episode one couldn’t keep my interest and the comedic scenes were more awkward than funny.
Cinderella Chef (Chinese Web Drama, New)
This one is a time traveling romance. As a talented chef who dreams of one day letting her food shine in the eye of the public, our heroine is stunned when she unexpectedly finds herself transported back in time to ancient China. Getting over the shock of being a time traveler rather quickly, our spunky heroine’s first order of business is to free herself from the hands of a bunch of robbers who apparently had kidnapped her to be one of their leaders’ new wife. Her eyes sparkling with excitement when she spots a good looking man (because in our heroine’s logic, a super handsome guy =the hero…which is of course always true in my book too…), our heroine throws herself at our hero and is stunned when the man says “The first rule of survival is not to interfere in other people’s business.” Thankfully, our hero, being a hero, ends up saving our heroine anyway and our two leads will have to face various challenges from palace intrigue to being separated by time itself.
Suits (Korean Drama, New)
The Korean remake of the US television series Suits, Jang Dong Gun plays a well known lawyer of a top law firm who ends up forming a “golden” team when he hires a rookie lawyer (played by Park Hyung Sik) with an excellent memory. I have never watched the US original (American tv show? What’s that?) but this one does sound interesting. I do wonder how they will handle the romance plot though since American shows usually drag love lines out for many many seasons.
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Thank you for this roundup! I began watching Cinderella Chef today and was surprised by how much I enjoyed the laugh out loud moments (heroine – hero) and the bromance (hero – Black Wind’s leader).