Murasaki no Bara no Yume  - Glass no Kamen  * Il Grande Sogno di Maya * Anime, Manga, Drama, World e Fanwork

Drama Recommendations, Recommend drama or ask for recommendations

« Older   Newer »
  Share  
view post Posted on 24/3/2012, 02:50

Advanced Member

Group:
MnBnY - MOD
Posts:
1,394

Status:


Ask for drama recommendations or recommend drama shows in this thread.

Last weekend I finished watching the Korean drama Hotelier starring Song Yun Ah, Kim Seung Woo and Bae Yong Jun. I liked it well enough. I think what I enjoyed most about this drama were the interactions between the hotel staff and the hotel staff and the guests. Heh. Anyway, here's part of Wikipedia's synopsis:

SPOILER (click to view)
President Choi, hotelier of Seoul Hotel, died from a heart attack hours after Kim Bok-Man, his old friend, informed him of serious plans his company, Hankang Distribution, had to buy over shares of Seoul Hotel. He was succeeded by his wife, Yun Bong-sook, who had never assumed any positions in the past to run the hotel. The reason for Yun assuming the position was to carry on the works of her late husband. Her son, Choi Young-Jae, was a dissolute man who refused to work and was capable of taking drugs.
Yun was confronted by pressures from Kim, who was making his way to buy up Seoul Hotel's shares. To fend off the competitor, Yun sends one of the hotel managers, Suh Jin Young, to America to try to rehire Seoul Hotel's former Head Manager, Han Tae-Jun, who was forced to resign after a scandal involving the hotel. Han was taking care of a drug-addicted, dissolute Korean-American girl who was nearly forced to take drugs.
Kim was looking forward to make his attack and hired Attorney Frank Shin Dong-Hyuk, a wealthy Korean-American takeover businessman, to assist him in buying over the hotel's shares through various means.
Frank Shin agrees to the job only after meeting Suh Jin Young when she travels to America (to find Han) and learns that she actually works at this "Seoul Hotel" of Bok-Man's proposal. Travelling to Seoul Korea for the first time since he left as a child, Frank and his loyal business assistant Leo move into a "Seoul Hotel" chalet to purportedly conduct their secret business with Bok-Man.


Currently I am watching another Korean drama called Last Scandal starring Choi Jin-sil as Hong Sun-hee, Jung Jun-ho as Song Jaebin/Jang Dong Chul and Jung Woong-in as Jang Dong Hwa. I like it a lot. I think it's the first K-drama that I've watched that made me laugh so much. I'm only on episode 7 though. Here's a plot summary:

Hong Sun-hee is a strong, happy go lucky housewife who accidentally meets her first love, Jang Dong-chul, again. But now he is known as Song Jae-bin to the whole entire world. Dong-chul became a famous star and doesn't recognize Sun-hee the first time that they met because she looks like an old housewife. But back in high school, she was the prettiest girl. Sun-hee is already married to a man who always lands their family in debts. Her husband cheats her to divorce and marries a richer woman. When Hong Sun-Hee works and stays as a nanny in Song Jae-bin's house, they rebuild their former relationship; the love they had for each other 20 years ago is not completely gone.
 
Top
pcm18
view post Posted on 24/3/2012, 14:57




Thank you Taylor, I'm so glad you've opened this thread.

I had seen Hotelier advertised before on dramafever.com. So, I'll check where I may be able to watch it online because on this particular website is only for viewers located in United States and Canada.

I had never watched any Asian drama before until I came across this Korean period, romantic drama called "chuno" slave hunters. As soon as I finished watching it I ordered the complete series.

Chuno is the kind of drama that stays with you days after you've finished it, it's got such a deep, emotional and compelling story, so well written, breathtaking scenery, the acting is amazing, beautiful music, the fighting scenes are so well performed. I was really disconcerted at first to see how amazing this was and I couldn't stop watching it until the end. overall, it's a very well made drama and i wished they made more like this, it was very refreshing!

Synopsis from Dramawiki

Chuno follows the story of Lee Dae Gil, a man of high birth whose family was ruined when Won Ki Yoon, a slave, burnt down his house and escaped with his sister, Un Nyun, who was in love with Dae Gil. Driven by his desire for revenge, he survived his harsh years on the street and made his name as a slave hunter, dedicated in his pursuit to find Un Nyun, his first and only love. Song Tae Ha is a General of the Army who became a slave after being falsely accused of a crime he did not commit, and finds himself on the run from Dae Gil's relentless pursuit. Both men become entangled in a love triangle with Un Nyun, who is no longer a runaway slave, but Kim Hye Won, a nobleman's daughter.
 
Top
view post Posted on 24/3/2012, 15:25

Advanced Member

Group:
MnBnY - MOD
Posts:
1,394

Status:


Thanks for that recommendation, pcm18. I'll definitely look it up. It sounds like it will be an interesting watch and I'm extra curious about it since you liked it well enough to purchase the series. :D

I find that a lot of the Kdrama are very dramatic and I often get mixed feelings about them so I normally just go with my overall impression. Take for instance, Hotelier. I liked it overall but there were just some parts of the story that didn't make sense but I allowed it to be so because they didn't bother me too deeply. However, overall, I liked the interactions between the members of the hotel staff mainly because they really did portray the good, bad and ugly of human nature and it was interesting.

I watch drama through this website call Crunchyroll. It streams through a box that is connected to my tv so it's very convenient. The website has Japanese, Chinese and Korean drama but the one or two Japanese shows that I've watched, I didn't really like the acting. I have to give more Japanese shows a try though. The actors in the Korean drama are really good, in my opinion. I was pleasantly surprised to see how well they act.

My first Korean drama was Winter Sonata and I really enjoyed the love story but I couldn't stand the third wheel guy. He was too hot headed and emotionally abusive for my taste...so much so that I almost dislike watching the drama because of the character.
 
Top
pcm18
view post Posted on 24/3/2012, 16:46




Hi Taylor,

Crunchyroll seems to be very good, they have everything, unfortunately, there's always a problem with licensing restrictions in my region.

I get bored easily and with chuno I was hooked from the very beginning, it's very exciting and unpredictable. My only criticism is the female protagonist was always immaculate clean when she had no amenities available, but that teeny bit doesn't bother me. I felt constantly nervous to see what happened next, sometimes hopelessly in pain to see so much suffering........

it's wonderful! I also loved the language they used in that era 1648, the leading male actors are so good looking, the main actress is a real beauty, amazing costumes and even a good sense of humor. This drama has everything. In my opinion, it's a must see, I'm glad I didn't miss it.

Taylor, you once mentioned, you love period dramas, you might like this one. Please share your views if you ever watch it.
 
Top
view post Posted on 24/3/2012, 18:16

Advanced Member

Group:
MnBnY - MOD
Posts:
1,394

Status:


Oh, I definitely will let you know my thoughts on Chuno. If you know of any other good dramas, please share as well. :tič:

EDIT: I just realized that Chuno is on Crunchyroll but it's called Slave Hunters over there. :happy:

Edited by Taylor_elle - 24/3/2012, 12:59
 
Top
pcm18
icon3  view post Posted on 24/3/2012, 20:05




QUOTE (Taylor_elle @ 24/3/2012, 18:16) 
Oh, I definitely will let you know my thoughts on Chuno. If you know of any other good dramas, please share as well. :tič:

EDIT: I just realized that Chuno is on Crunchyroll but it's called Slave Hunters over there. :happy:

Apparently, Chuno means slave hunters.

You're so lucky to be able to watch a lot of "stuff" on Crunchyroll!

If I come across any good drama, worth watching, I will certainly share the news!
 
Top
view post Posted on 24/3/2012, 21:22

Advanced Member

Group:
MnBnY - MOD
Posts:
1,394

Status:


QUOTE (pcm18 @ 24/3/2012, 14:05) 
You're so lucky to be able to watch a lot of "stuff" on Crunchyroll!

Yes, having Crunchyroll is nice especially since it does streaming.

SPOILER (click to view)
However, I get to watch a lot of shows on the tv through streaming from various sites like Netflix and Amazon. I watch several British shows through them. Shows like the new Sherlock, A Touch of Frost, Foyle's War, MI5, Being Human, Doctor Who, Robin Hood, Midsomer Murders, Poirot, Mrs Marple, Inspector Lynley, Torchwood, etc. I wouldn't be able to see them otherwise because most of them don't show on American tv or if they do, it's rare like in the summer only for a short time.
 
Top
pcm18
view post Posted on 25/3/2012, 15:08




Hi Taylor,

From those Uk tv series you just mentioned, I've only watched Robin Hood, can you believe it?

My most recent one is Downton Abbey and Merlin last year.

SPOILER (click to view)
I believe most American programmes are shown in Uk. To be honest, what American shows are NOT shown in Uk?

Even when I visit family in Spain or Italy, USA series are in every tv channel.


I'm also glad that we get to see other nationalities series (Danish, French, Indian etc), unfortunately, not often enough.

I think it's always interesting to enter into other people's culture, customs, psychology and language.








 
Top
pcm18
view post Posted on 29/4/2012, 18:51




I've just finished watching this fabulous Korean drama. My Girl (2005), it's a 16 episode comical romantic drama, it's absolutely hilarious! Although the story seems a bit slow at the beginning, it picks up really quickly, the characters and acting are great. I think this is another must-watch.

it can be watched on the following link www.mysoju.com/korean-drama/my-girl/


Synopsis from Wikipedia

Joo Yoo Rin (Lee Da Hae) is a tour guide in a small company in charge of running mini tours in the Jeju Island of South Korea. Her father is a gambling addict, but despite all the debts that he runs up, Yoo Rin always finds a way to help repay them. She leads a below-average life but is happy as long as she has her dad around her. Because of her father's gambling ways, she has had to move from country to country whenever her father runs from one place to another to avoid their debtors. This has in turn brought her the ability to converse fluently in Chinese and Japanese, which are of great help as a tour guide whenever she has to entertain tourists from China and Japan.
Seol Gongchan (Lee Dong Wook) is the only heir of the owner of L'Avenuel Hotel, which is one of the top hotels in Korea. His grandfather, Seol Woong, charges him with the duty of finding his granddaughter, who is also Gongchan's cousin. Seol Woong had disowned his own daughter, Gongchan's aunt, when she decided to marry a man not of his choice. However, when Seol Woong had a change of heart and wished to accept his daughter back, an earthquake struck where his daughter lived, and since then, he has lost all contact with his kin and perhaps the chance to make amends for his own stubbornness, to take care of his granddaughter and hopefully make things right.
Kim Seohyun (Park Si Yeon) is the girlfriend of Seol Gongchan. A rising star in the tennis world, she returns to Korea to look for Gongchan as she cannot forget him.
Seo Jung Woo (Lee Jun Ki) is the son of one of the main shareholders of L'Avenuel Hotel and also the best friend of Seol Gongchan. Unlike Gongchan who is responsible and hardworking, Jung Woong is a flirt who is known to have many girlfriends.
The story starts with Yoo Rin rushing to the airport. She is helping her friend delay a flight so that the tourists of her friend will not miss their flight. Out of ideas, she plays a damsel in distress, who is apparently mourning her impending death and her dying wish to see her boyfriend who is apparently on the flight. And so after much crying and the entire airport empathizing with her, she gets to get on board the plane to look for her boyfriend who never really existed. As she walks, she realizes she cannot find anyone and pretends to faint. Alas, she faints beside the seat of our male lead, Seol Gongchan, who knows a liar when he sees one. Although their first encounter is weird, it doesn't leave much of an impression in each other's mind.
Later, however, when Gongchan has to entertain a bunch of Chinese visitors and realizes he has no translator, he engages the services of Yoo Rin coincidentally and through Yoorin, his potential Chinese investors have a great time at the L'Avenuel Hotel branch in Jeju, and Yoorin has much credit to claim for it.
After a series of comical events including Yoorin staying at his hotel lodge without paying, and Yoorin selling his hotel fruit-yard's oranges to make a small profit (to clear her father's debts again), Gongchan's impression of Yoo Rin is one of a cheat and he would want to do anything to distance himself from her.
But then word from mainland Korea is that his grandfather is dying and at his bedside, Seol Woong, through his respirator, can only meekly repeat that he must not and cannot die until he sees his granddaughter again.
Driven by desperation and his love for his grandfather, Gongchan will do anything to ease his burden. When pointed out by his secretary that Yoo Rin bears a resemblance to his aunt, Gongchan hatches a plan to pass off Yoo Rin as his grandfather's long-lost granddaughter whilst he carries on searching for the real one.
Yoo Rin, who is desperate for money to repay her father's debt, is unwilling to do the job as it involves lying to a dying man, something that she staunchly refuses to do. But when Seol Gongchan desperately begs her and she realizes she is somewhat indebted to him for not bringing her to the police after her little business in his hotel, she caves in and pretends to the long-lost granddaughter.
And so things seem to be going well, with the search for Gongchan's long-lost cousin making progress and perhaps more importantly, the improvement of Gongchan's grandfather's conditions thanks to Yoo Rin. As Yoo Rin spends more time with Gongchan's family, she gets showered with the love she never received as a child and finds herself drawn to Gongchan. She finds herself changing from the liar that she once was to a person who tries to tell the truth when she can. She knows all too well that her one-sided love will never materialize as the difference in social status between Gongchan and herself is too big.
But unknown to her, Gongchan is also slowly being drawn to her...

 
Top
view post Posted on 29/4/2012, 22:43

Advanced Member

Group:
MnBnY - MOD
Posts:
1,394

Status:


That "My Girl" sounds interesting. I chuckled a little when I read the part where the summary said that the main girl fainted on the plane by the main guy, who knows a liar when he sees one. lol
 
Top
eugeunia
view post Posted on 30/4/2012, 13:01




I've seen the first eps of My Girl and that scene on the plane was indeed hilarious :D but I didn't watch the series till the end mainly because I felt the story going so slow and perhaps I'm just not that interested in Lee Da Hae & Lee Dong Wook pairing. :sweatdrop: Pcm18, there is this K-Drama called Partner which also starred Lee Dong Wook. He played the role of an attorney and personally I like his character here better than the one in My Girl and he also looks more appealing with a shorter hair in Partner :D I think you should check that out. Perhaps you could find the series on mysoju as well. Here's some infos about this drama

And also if you enjoy that type of drama like My Girl perhaps you would also like Full House starred by the beautiful Song Hye Gyo and Rain/Bi. That one is also sweet and hilarious. Here's the synopsis

And Taylor, do you know that Skip Beat has been adapted into a live action drama ? :D I was very surprise when I went to the Dvd store yesterday and saw there is a drama adaptation of Skip Beat (starred by Ivy Chen and Siwon and Dong Hae from the Super Junior Boyband). Initially, I thought of you :D and apparently the series is currently airing on one of the tv channel here due to the Super Junior Boyband's concert in Jakarta but since it is aired during my working time and I'm not even a fan of Super Junior, I have no idea about this series until I saw it yesterday :P Anyway, from what I gathered, the main lead casts were supposed to be Taiwanese actors (Jerry Yan, Ariel Lin and Joe Cheng) but then the production had been postponed over and over again due to a budget's problem and all these three actors were involved in another project by then. The production team then wanted Wu Zun :ehi: to play the main lead character but since the Japanese publisher of the manga (this series is a production of Taiwanese and Japanese PH btw) felt that he didn't fit the image of Ren Tsuruga, so they replaced him with Korean celebreties.

I'm not that really into Skip Beat, so I might say pass ^^ . Nevertheless, I'm sure you can find some previews on youtube if you are interested with the drama version :happy:
 
Top
pcm18
view post Posted on 30/4/2012, 13:17




QUOTE
there is this K-Drama called Partner which also starred Lee Dong Wook. He played the role of an attorney and personally I like his character here better than the one in My Girl and he also looks more appealing with a shorter hair in Partner I think you should check that out. Perhaps you could find the series on mysoju as well. Here's some infos about this drama

Thank you Eugenia.

Because I liked this Actor in My Girl, I checked some of his previous and recent work , and i came across Partner, which seems very interesting, so, I will keep on my "to watch list". I would also like to see Full house into other things, I just wished I had more hours to spare!!
 
Top
eugeunia
view post Posted on 30/4/2012, 13:31




Pcm18, you are welcome ^^

I also like to watch K-Drama series but since I didn't have enough spare time, I' ll just have to content myself with movies that were on theaters. My watch to list of K-Drama are The world they live in and East of Eden. I heard that they were quite good.
 
Top
view post Posted on 30/4/2012, 14:32

Advanced Member

Group:
MnBnY - MOD
Posts:
1,394

Status:


I watched the first two episodes of My Girl last night and I think I understand what you mean Eugeunia when you say things were moving too slow. They spend too much time padding the episodes but that's one thing I notice about Kdrama. They waste a lot of time to stretch the series into many episodes.

Anyway, I really like to see the actress' face in My Girl. I think she's really lovely. I'll continue to watch it but I also don't find the male lead too appealing. I'm growing accustomed to his looks though.

I was also glad to find that I can watch this drama through the tv rather than on the computer. That really helps since I grow tired when I watch the computer.

Eugeunia, thanks for the other drama mentions. I'll look them up. Also, I'm sending you a PM to ask about translation to Indonesia for a little part of Sezion S. :D

Oh, and how could I forget the Skip Beat part. I watched the first two episodes and absolutely HATED them. I don't think Skip Beat is meant for a drama. The comedy is too high flown for it to translate into drama. Anyway, I pretty much ignore that drama although I think the Siwon guy looks good.

WuZun. :imbarazzo:
 
Top
pcm18
view post Posted on 30/4/2012, 17:20




QUOTE
I watched the first two episodes of My Girl last night and I think I understand what you mean Eugeunia when you say things were moving too slow. They spend too much time padding the episodes but that's one thing I notice about Kdrama. They waste a lot of time to stretch the series into many episodes.

I did say it was a bit slow to start with but it will pick up quickly, please give it a chance.

Have anyone watched "Personal Taste" Kdrama? it seems interesting, I think I'll add it to my list.
 
Top
67 replies since 24/3/2012, 02:50   670 views
  Share