Ninja’s Drama Roundup #67

Midsummer is Full of Love (C-Drama, Viki)

Tricked by her friend, our heroine loses the beloved house her deceased father had built. Dismayed to find out that the new homeowner is actually the arrogant top star she just had several unpleasant runins with, our heroine convinces/blackmails our hero into letting her stay at the house. Our two leads will eventually enter into a contract marriage…which of course leads to them developing real feelings for one another.

This one is C-remake of 2004 K-drama classic Full House with Rain and Song Hye-kyo. I am not really the type to watch remakes (that came after watching my share of Itazura na Kiss and Boys Over Flowers remakes) and the first episode of Midsummer is Full of Love wasn’t enough to convince me to make an exception here. That wasn’t meant to be a criticism of the show. Anymore, there are SO many shows out there that I tend to have less patience for remakes.

Alice (K-drama, Viki)

Joo Won’s new sci-fi suspense thriller where he plays a man who became a detective to catch his mother’s killer. Unbeknownst to our hero, his mother is actually a brilliant scientist and a time traveler from the future. Puzzled by his mother’s dying words that hinted at the danger if he ever sees her again, our hero’s journey to search for the truth finally begins when he does meet a woman who looks just like his dead mother.

This one is fast paced and intense yet the first episode was able to entice the viewer with plenty of mysteries without making the story feel jumbled. I was also impressed with the character depth already shown just in the first hour of the show.

Missing: The Other Side (K-drama, Viki)

Go Soo’s new fantasy thriller where he plays a modern-day Robin Hood con artist who accidentally finds himself in a village full of spirits of dead people that had suffered violent deaths. 

Lots of mind twisting fantasy thriller in K-drama right now and this one looks like it will be able to hold its own against the other competitors. The casting looks awesome with a solid story and acting all around. The show is only 12 episodes long so I imagine the pacing will be super fast. 

Do You Like Brahms? (K-drama, Viki)

As a fourth year violin student who had put aside her business degree to pursue her passion, our heroine should’ve been the poster child of how one can be successful if one just follows his/her dream… Unfortunately, our heroine has seemingly instead become proof that sometimes passion and hard work are simply not good enough. On the surface, our hero, as a very successful pianist who has won countless competitions seems to be the complete opposite of where our heroine is in life. Yet, when an internship brings our two leads together, they slowly realize they have a lot more in common they would’ve ever imagined.

First episode actually started a bit depressing since it is always difficult to watch someone deserving of success getting kicked down instead but thankfully the story didn’t stay in that mood too long. Unrequited love is a big theme in this one and it’s the one thing (among many others) that also connects our two leads. I am also really liking the chemistry between our two leads. It’s not the sizzling sort but it’s the kind that makes you relieved two people who are perfect together have finally found each other. It’s probably a bit too early to make a call on this one, but I definitely enjoyed it and am eagerly looking forward to the next week’s episodes.

Maiden Holmes (C-drama, Viki)

Set in ancient China, our heroine is a female detective whose keen observation skills impressed our hero at their very first meeting. On her part, our heroine is not impressed at all with our hero but assumes him to be a rich playboy dandy who wastes his time in the brothel. What our heroine doesn’t know is that our hero is actually the famous young general she idolizes but has chosen to hide his identity while investigating a disaster fund embezzlement case. 

I haven’t been too interested in the string of historical crime investigating shows that have been out in the last year and there have actually been several that looked promising with great production quality but I just couldn’t gather enough motivation to watch them. Strangely, for some unknown reason, Maiden Holmes is actually keeping my attention and I am finding it an easy watch. I can’t quite pinpoint the reason for my interest since I really can’t say this one is superior (in fact I know it’s not) to the predecessors of the same genre but it has a cute enough romantic storyline mix with fairly stress-free crime cases that makes this one an easy watch for me. 

My Unfamiliar Family (K-drama, Viki, Finished) 

I wouldn’t normally recommend let alone actually finish a show that made me cry from the first episode to the very last one but My Unfamiliar Family has accomplished just that. Despite my aversion to crying, I really did enjoy this drama because I came to love and appreciate the characters in the show with their strength AND flaws. Other than the heroine’s male best friend who remained charming and likable throughout the whole show, every single one of the main characters has flaws or make dumb mistakes that makes you cringe. However, it is those very real flaws and mistakes that make this “unfamiliar family” seem so realistic and lovable at the end. As the characters in the show come to understand and forgive one another, we as the viewer goes through the same transformation…and perhaps some much needed self reflection.

To Dear Myself (Chinese Drama, Viki or Youtube Eng Subbed)

This one’s set up is quite like the just finished C-drama of “Nothing But Thirty“, the story follows three 30 something girls as they try to balance love and career. Compare to Nothing But Thirty where the story is more or less equally spread amongst the three female leads, To Dear Myself seems to be more focused on one female lead’s (Cecilia Liu) storyline.

I struggled to get through the first episode because none of the characters seem likable. To be fair, it’s just the first episode so I am sure the characters will eventually grow on us but it sure makes it difficult to get the motivation to keep watching for now. Cecilia Liu is doing a good job portraying our spunky and very driven heroine. Moreover, the story will cover some fairly realistic mature issues that women face as they struggle to find their self-identity while walking the delicate balance of work and love so I think this is still worth a try if you enjoy this sort of story.

Lie After Lie (Korean Drama, Viki)

Gathering up her courage to seek a divorce from her abusive chaebol husband in order to protect her unborn child, our heroine’s attempt to gain freedom goes terribly wrong when she wakes up from being unconscious to the sight of her husband’s dead body and a bloody knife in her hand. After serving her time in prison for a crime she didn’t commit, our heroine desperately searches for her daughter whom her evil mother-in-law had purposefully abandoned. Eventually discovering her daughter had been adopted by a sharp reporter with a strong sense of justice, our heroine decides to hide her real identity and pretends to fall in love with our hero in hopes that he would marry her so she could be her daughter’s step-mom.

If you are willing to suspend logic, enjoy makjang plot twists and very hateful villains then this show is for you. This one is not a daily so the pacing is pretty fast.

Stranger (Korean Drama, Netflix)

Season two of Secret Forest! I loved the first season so I am glad that it looks like the second season will be just as solid. I would REALLY love a love line between our two leads…but that’s probably won’t happen. Oh, well, I love their stoic yet somehow hilarious exchanges even without the romance.

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