Javabeans,
Who does your open thread images? They're very nice.

Happy 4th of July!

Enjoy the 4th as well Javabeans!!!!

It's definitely all about drinking, eating, and doing nothing :D

Happy 4th of July to you too!
I waited for this thread to ask you, are you watching Iljimae?
It's pretty good, so you should give it a try.
I might be biased though, because I like Lee Jun Ki lol.
Anyway, have fun today :)

Jonatha Brooke sounds a little like Liz Phair, no?

Lee Ji Ah was in a dream last night. She and I were driving to a rave and we were trying to annoy each other by naming out many more trance artists we knew/liked. She didn't like my music. I hate her (no not really, but please don't hate Sasha!)

Illjimae is pretty entertaining, especially if you treat it as live action anime. You can tell the original source was a live action boy's comic. The storyline is mostly episodic, emphasizing missions that teaches immature brat Illjimae lessons. The humor is primarily slapstick. There's not a lot of actual interaction between the different main parts, so you don't get a sense of friendships/relationships/rivalries building. I don't feel a lot of emotional connection with anybody except Ja Dol; Shi Hoo is upstaging Lee Jung Ki here.

Watching You Are My Destiny on KBS-LA, and I'm stunned how well Im Yoona is acting. Her emotional responses and line deliveries are crisp (especially her timing on her lines), and she doesn't overract in the screwball bits. There's some May-December implications that are kinda "ehhhh", but her chemistry with the other leads is really good. Drama is a lot lighter than I'd thought it be.

Even though, it's belated...HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!^_^

Hapy 4th of July and Happy Belated Canada Day to you, too, K-lover!

Just out of curiosity (cus my friend and I have wondered this for a while):

How many of you that visit this site, come to the site to see what Dramabeans wrote, before actually viewing your episode of interest?

i read the recaps before if i am using your recaps instead of watching a drama with subtitles, i read the recaps after if i really love the show and dont want to ruin the suspense, and i read the recaps instead of the drama if the drama sucks but you manage to make it hilarious (Chil Woo). (you didn't have a choice in your poll for choosing all three..)

I usually read it before because I find Dramabeans tends to point out things that I would have probably missed. Not huge plots gaps or the like, just like the small moments that DB notices. I found that happened a lot with Coffee Prince.

I stumbled upon your site recently and have become addicted to your excellent recaps. I prefer to read your recaps esp. for Chil Woo and When It's At Night = they are more entertaining than the dramas ;-). Time Between Dog & Wolf was excellent, I stopped watching after the first episode but revisited after your comments!!!

Have a good 4th and keep up the excellent writing. BTW - Iljimae is getting better but I here that YAE has licensed it so I'm not sure if you can finish the series unless you actually buy it.

Hey! Delurking to say that the recap thing really depends on what series we're talking about. For a completely new one that wasn't on my to-watch radar, I will check out what you write (Who Are You would be one). If it's something I am already interested in, then I watch it and come back for your insights.

And then some are just fun to read... I almost wish you'd continued recapping Iljimae.

:D

For me it depends on how much I like the show.

If I really like it, I'll watch it first and then read the recap.

If I'm ambivalent about the show, then I'll read the recap first and from there decide if I want to watch that specific episode.

And if I don't like the show, I'll still read the recap because I love the way you write :) And sometimes because you make it seem so funny, I'm actually tempted to watch the show!

bah i can't vote because my answer is:

e. sometimes before, sometimes after.
recaps after watching episodes - for series that i definitely want to watch. i.e. i'm interested to watch it, had planned to buy it, etc. i'm spoiler phobic just like you.
recaps before watching episodes - for series i do not know whether or not to watch it.

if it's before, then if i'm interested after reading the first 1-2 episodes, i will then switch to after - just because i'm so keen to know your opinion (sometimes i'm disappointed if you just focus on recaps and not a lot on your opinions).

however, on a couple of occasions i must admit i changed from after to instead. (midway on witch amusement; and around the end of hong gil dong)

btw you like beachboys - do you like their song "don't worry baby"? i love it and it was featured in the movie "never been kissed" and i thought it was perfect for the scene.

I usually look at the caps for the first episode or two before viewing show, usually skimming the top and the bottom just to get a opinion without digesting too many spoilers.

Oh and in J-drama news . . . HanaDan The Movie had a monster opening w/end, pulling in 1.6 billion yen or about $9.5 million. (And it managed to unseat Indiana Jones!! Beat that Han Solo!) The people at Golden Rock's predicting that it may end up grossing similar numbers to last year's movie of adaptation Hero (the one that Lee Byung Hung appeared in.)

Oh and in other news (okay, not really) , Takuya Kimura is definitely NOT going to have the #1 J-drama of the spring season. Somehow, an era has ended. We will never be the same!

I usually just read the recaps for the first few episodes to see if the drama's worth the watching. Then I'll save the rest of the recaps for after watching (:
But I haven't been watching any dramas lately. School sucks =/

That's a lovely cover of 'God Only Knows'. I thought there was a typo, but the singer's name is really Jonatha. It's my first time to encounter that name.

I voted in your poll (choice#2) but sometimes I also check out other dramas w/ or w/o your recap. I love your recaps and I agree with most of what you say but sometimes I want to see for myself if I will like a drama or not.

饿~ 不错的网站 不过不熟呀 哎~~~~~~~~~~

^ That's a funny comment.

I read the recaps before for Hong Gil Dong, i read the recaps after for Coffee Prince, and i read the recaps instead of the drama for Who Are You. (My answer for the poll was option 2.)

Thank you Javabeans for all the wonderful recaps! =)

I usually read your recaps before I watch the episodes because I rely on subs ( which always takes longer) and I have zip patience. But after I finish an episode, I come back and reread the recap. Btw, I absolutely adore your recap of Who Are You?

Actually, one of the things I love to read is the comments by the readers. It's almost as good as the post itself. This applies to most blogs I read.

It depends on how much I'm looking forward to the drama. If it's a drama I have high expectations for, then I'll watch the drama then read your recap. For dramas I'm feeling ambivalent about, I'll read your recaps on the first two episodes first and decide whether to watch or not. For those dramas I'm pretty sure will not interest me, I'll just read your recaps to humour myself. :)

@belleza

*gasp* I know! Poor Takuya Kimura, his reign has ended it seems. Then again, politics is hardly an easy topic to attract high viewership i.e. teens - the main tv watching demographic in Japan nowadays. So maybe it's too early to write Kimutaku off yet....he deserves some kudos for attempting a new genre at least, instead of sticking to his Kimura 'cool-romantic-hero' schtick. lol

Also, the highest rated dramas of this Spring season- Atsuhime and Gokusen 3 -are not really worth their hype. Atsuhime is sorely lacking a gripping storyline, while Gokusen 3 is just a rehash of Gokusen 1 & 2, only with new pretty boys. Yawn. And Last Friends turned out to be lukewarm for me. It could have been so much better.

@Felicity,

Oh I love love love Atsuhime! I think I got tired of recent taigas covering sengoku (though never tired of Gackt "playing" a samurai . . .) Atsuhime seems very, very slow paced for a taiga, but they're covering the Bakamatsu, and I like how they're blending a girl's coming-of-age story with the end of the Tokugawa. (Uhh Atsu is going to have a rough time . . . ) My mum and I debated over Aoi Miyazaki's performance. I think we both agree that she's not a bad actress, but I think sometimes I find her grating. Eita is just wonderful though . . .

Yeah, when Gokusen 3 debuted with a 26.4, I think all of us went "EHH?!!?" It's also baffling because these JE idols weren't as "hot" as Arashi or Kat-Tun when those other shows debuted. Gokusen 3 finished first, but it ended up scoring mediocre-to-low on approval polls. I actually like Gokusen 3; it's like the Law and Order of J-drama. At 35th minute, Nakama cries over her poor student of the week. At 45th minute, Nakama beats everybody up in a warehouse. At 50th minute, Nakama runs through the fields with her JE boys. Fighto!!!!

Last Friends . . . I think about halfway, I accepted that the DV melodrama/thriller bits would dominate the coming-of-age narrative. And that it wouldn't be this spring's Bara No Nai Hanaya . . . I loved Ueno Juri's performance, just as I did Eun Hye's in Coffee Prince. But in both shows, it's really the male leads that carry the emotional weight of the story. Eita was just wonderful here. I liked the ending. It's a bit of a cheat, yes (guess they couldn't get Ueno Juri to agree to testosterone therapy . . ), but it was already clear a few episode before that Last Friends wanted a pat solution to everything. I wanted them to be happy.

I haven't started on Change yet (uhhh backlogged with too many K-dramas. . . ) I like that Kimura's still improving his emotional range and even showing humility (I really liked him in Bushi no Ichibun) in his roles now. I think one thing that bothers me is, after Arashi, there's a major acting drainage among the JE staples.

As for summer . . . Arakagawa Yui and Toda Erika as doctors? Really? I mean, seriously?!?

too bad "BOTH" wasn't an option on the poll. I read before and after especially if I like the drama. There's a lot of nuances that Sarah points out which makes the drama even more enjoyable to watch like Who Are You, Dal Ja Spring and Coffee Prince. And for the snarkfest alone in Strongest Chil Woo and WItch Amusement he he!!
Sometimes I wish you did recaps on J-dramas. I would love to hear your take on Nodame Cantabile and My Boss My Hero, among others. But I know you're blogging your KDRAMA obsession he he.....maybe once in a while? Please?

I try so hard NOT to read the recaps before I watch the episode, but 9.5 times out of 10 end up doing it.. simply due to lack of will power. But your recaps don't spoil the episode b/c they are very well written.

Thanks dramabeans!!

My laptop was infected with a virus...ugh. No access to internet for a few days.

Did anyone watch the Wimbledon finals? Dang, King Federer lost his thrown to Nadal. :( Does this signal the dawn of a new era in tennis?

@belleza

Yes, the Bakamatsu is a very good piece of history to cover, turbulent times. Makes for good drama...on paper, but Atsuhime seems to move at a snails pace that makes me want to tear my hair out. I blame the writers for not having a well thought-out plotline. So how is Atsuhime going to bring about a revolution in shogunate Japan? By using her dainty smiles to charm the powers that be? It feels like I'm watching a Disney heroine rather than a true-to-live charismatic influential character in history. Dae Jang Geum, she is not. Aoi Miyazaki is alright for me. She's more suited to play cute bubbly characters like Nana but Aoi lacks the conviction, or rather steely reserve and wily cunning to play a woman of substance that will change history.

Haha, you're spot on about the magic formula of Gokusen. Why fix it if it ain't broken? Gokusen's high ratings just highlights everything that is wrong with Japanese tv industry these days. The tv dramas are targeted primarily at teens or those with mentality of teens. Formulaic dramas with no fresh creativity like Gokusen scores mid to high 20s ratings easily, so why bother trying something new? *rolls eyes* All we need is more JE boys + gratuitious yaoi scenes + slaptick situations and there we have another runaway hit - ala Gokusen/Hana Kimi!!

Yes, isn't Eita wonderful in Last Friends (hehe, you called him wonderful twice in your post)? I love Juri Ueno's performance too and I think she is one of the brightest young stars of this generation (yes, I think she's even better than Eun Hye). Even though the second half of Last Friends failed to resolve the issues of each individual character and the ending felt too pat and neatly tied up to be realistic (like in real life, will every important person close to Ruka be so accepting of her condition? I don't think so), it is still one of the best dramas to come out of Japan this year, IMHO. The topics covered were daring and envelop pushing...I don't even see US tv programming showcasing a same-sex relationship so prominently with a main lead role being genderqueer (except for 'The L word' maybe). If only the writer Asano had the nerve to follow through with the resolution we all were looking for, instead of going the safe way. Bleh. Sousuke was not so much a contradiction. Rather, he was a flat, boring character and Nishikado Ryo wasn't the main highlight of the show (despite what the Ryo fangirls may tell you, lol). Juri Ueno and Eita stole the show, hands down. Whatever relationship they had, it was the most endearing relationship/chemistry and they kept me watching through to the end. :) The scene of Eita holding little Rumi and going "papa desu yo" and Juri beaming at him just makes me laugh. I kinda wish Michiru died while in labour so that our Will & Grace can raise up baby Rumi together. lol

@Felicity,

Federer's my current favorite player, so I definitely felt like this was really end of an era. And apparently so did McEnroe, who gave him a big hug as Mighty Fed was about to start crying. And it was really poetic that it was about 15 minutes from darkness when the match ended. Federer was just clouded in darkness . . . It's also a defining moment in the world of clay court tennis. Now every junior who grew up on clay knows they too can win at Wimbledon. Oh and The Heath Ledger of Tennis (Marat Safin) decided he wanted to take tennis seriously again.

"By using her dainty smiles to charm the powers that be?"

Of course not. She will use her dainty *crooked* smiles to charm the (lunatic) powers that be!! Hime fighto!! :D

Yeah there was healthy discussion about Last Friends over D-addicts, and I think it was largely agreed that Sousuke got off WAY too easily. He wasn't a Contradiction (*cue* best opening sequence ever!); he was more like a Violence Bot preprogrammed to beat up poor Michiru whenever he was let out of the house. Well at least Nagasawa seemed to lose her double chin in the process . . . Ironically, it's also agreed that Ryo's regular uhhh MMA sessions with Nagasawa were what drew the ratings in the show (not Ruka's quiet anguish, Takeru's love declaration, ), and that Sousuke wasn't "that bad." Fangirls of Japan, I know you love your Johnnies, but how can love be so blind?!?

Juri's brilliant performance is going to change her career; she's going to be promoted as the next Shinohara Ryoko (i.e. an actress who is a draw because she can act.) She's really the first drama actress from her generation that's broken out of the idol game.

@belleza

Federer is my current favorite player too, both on and off the court. He is the perfect gentleman and a great role model to the young uns. It must really hurt him to lose this final, what with his recent thrashing by Nadal in the French Open final just 4 weeks ago, and losing the chance to surpass Bjorn Borg's 5 consecutive Wimbledon titles (Borg must be happy with Nadal's win). :( Somehow Fedex seems to have an inferiority complex when he plays Nadal (can't blame him though - Nadal beat him in 12 out of 18 meets. Ouch!) and he made so many unforced errors. He should've won the second set....*sigh* I really hope he can hold on for awhile and win two more grand slams to equal Pete Sampras' record of 14 career slams. It's getting harder and harder for Federer to do, with young players like Djokovic, Murray and Davydenko fast catching up on hard court and Nadal reigning supreme on clay, and now even grass. o_o

Juri as the next Shinohara Ryoko? I can see that...heh. :) Ryoko caught my eye when she played Nagase's sister-in-law in Mukodono. She definitely has acting chops and that something extra which appeals her to women. Did you see Unfair with Ryoko and Eita? Eita is wonderful in that too.

I heard there might be a Gokusen movie in the works. The only way I'd watch that is if they brought back Sawada Shin from Gokusen 1 for some rabu rabu sessions with Yankumi. hehe. Yup, even the Kat-Tun boys in Gokusen 2 were nicer looking than this new JE batch in Gokusen 3. Though I think the main draw in Gokusen 2 is Miura Haruma and not those JE boys. haha. Did you catch Rookies? It's also choked full of pretty boys with a pretty (boy) teacher, but the humour is fresher than Gokusen. It's my mindless fun Jdrama this past couple months, and Zettai Kareshi. The ending for Zettai Kareshi was fitting....Night and Riika had more amorous action in the manga than in the live-action. lol

About your earlier comment, I have to agree with you about the acting drainage in the JE staples. They're never going to find another SMAP with such overwhelming such for more than a decade. Well, Arashi may come close to their senpei's in future but still....those are big shoes to fill. At least 3 out of 5 SMAP boys can actually act, and they have their own charisma. I've always like Matsujun since his Momo-chan days, lol. Nino can act too, he's proven that. Now let's see how Ohno fares in Maou. ;)

As for Yamapi, uggh. The boy is pretty bad in the acting department. He was horrid in Kurosagi, quite cute in Nobuta, hopelessly outclassed by Tsumabuk Satoshi and Yamada Takayuki who played fellow students in Long Love Letter. Now with Code Blue's 21% opening rating, Yamapi's fangirls are hailing him as the second coming of Kimura. Yikes. Pi, Erika Toda and Gakki look like high school kids playing dress-up. If they were acting as nurses, it'd be more believable. But doctors? Nah. They don't even look old enough. *roll eyes*

@Felicity,

Yeah, I mean, Federer was like the Kimura Takuya to Nadal's Tomoyo Nagase. Nah, not at all, but I just wanted to put the words "Nagase" and "Takuya" in the same sentence.

Yeah, I'm actually one of the people who support the "Pi is next Kimataku" brigade. But I think that expectation kinda got to him too, because he nowawdays self-consciously tries to be cool and uhm . . . cool that it's physically painful to shed a tear. Or really smile. It's physically not possible to be as cool as Takuya. The dramaverse cannot handle two of him. Also, I've had to get off the "Masami Nagasawa is the next Matsuhima Nanako" army (not bad in Last Friends, but it's like she stopped developing as an actress when she turned the ripe old age of 18!), so I needed to find another cause. (Seriously, I think Nipon is so deeply in love with Matsushima that any actress who vaguely looks like her or gives off the same vibe becomes the Next It Girl.)

I like medical dramas and Code Blue looks Iryu-ish, so I'm looking forward to it. But, uhhm Erika Toda as 26 year old medical doctor? Yamapi as 29 years old? As they say in Taiwan, n****a please!!! O_o

I'm looking forward to Maou. I don't think Ono is really in Uhm Tae Woong's league as an actor (could be wrong, I know he prefers stage acting), but I kinda prefer Toma over Joo Ji Hoon. Actually when Lucifer/Devil came out, I was waiting for Joo Ji Hoon to be like reincarnated dead man or a warlock (you know, like the Korean version of Charmed!) It kinda disappointed me that JJH was really just starving for somebody to feed him.

@belleza,
enjoyed reading your posts. Always amusing.

*sigh* Federer. What a match. It's the end of an era, I have nth against Nadal, but he's just mere super talented, hardworking mortal next to the effortless godly genius. We had a taste of how elegant and effortlessly artistic tennis can be, but now we're back to gritty non-whimsical reality. Yes, Federer = godliness in tennis. *sigh**sigh**sigh*

I wont even bother with the fasination with Matsuhima Nanako as an actress, so Masami's holiness is very beyond me. She is wholesomely beautiful, but that's almost the bulk of her talent. Read she's considered the next very revered Sayuri Yoshinaga... um...She's at best a wallflower that we know was going to just get beaten literally and figuratively in LF. LF was promising at first, lost me by the middle. Ueno, Eita firmly established themselves as promising actors, no surprise. But the drama was lacking for me, watching it, I was in a mix of frustration, boredom and restlessness. it tried to dealt with DV, homosexuality but like many characters in the show, it was treated like some icing or ornamentation and dealt without any thought provoking depth. It's still a decent drama, but when it just missed being endearing, it's a shame.

P can never ever be Kimura. Never. I do find him fr a better gene pool physically, but he's like a piece of glossy cardboard on screen. He totally gave up on honing on his acting. In Code Blue, he's chipping in his posing as some model cosplaying a doc, so though I'm a med drama nut, I stopped and delete after 10 min. It may be good, but not that good for me to endure posing as a substitute for 'acting'. Kimura, he's aged not as fine as wine and currently with instant noodles as hair, still commands your eyes to be on him, and hypnotizes you enough to not really be critical as to whether he's that great an actor to begin with. (my jury's still out, but I watch on) Who cares, he's Kimura.

Absolute Boyfriend was my guilty pleasure (with very unexpected tears). Monster Parent may be my next guilty pleasure, Tomorrow for my first love Yutaka.

Nothing seems to be easier than seeing someone whom you can help but not helping.
I suggest we start giving it a try. Give love to the ones that need it.
God will appreciate it.