Park Shin-hye (You’re Beautiful, Cyrano Dating Agency) has been busy crossing borders for her latest drama project, a Taiwanese drama adaptation of Japanese manga series Hayate the Combat Butler. Just what exactly is a combat butler? I don’t know, but I can imagine that it’d be handy to have one around. And really, what kind of butler would you be if you weren’t combat-ready?
Taiwanese idol star George Hu (pictured below) will be playing said combat butler, a young man saddled with so much family debt that he has to start taking odd jobs just to make ends meet. Park will play a chaebol, one who is particularly in danger all the time from thugs who want to kidnap and ransom her for her family’s fortune. She hires him as a butler, but I guess circumstances make it so that he really ends up being more like a bodyguard than a butler.
Sigh. Now I just want to rewatch Sandglass and swoon over Lee Jung-jae.
I’m interested to know if Park will be speaking Taiwanese, (which doesn’t seem likely) or just speaking Korean (which means half of the drama will be subtitled for its own domestic audience). I’m supposing the latter, unless everybody’s speaking English, in which case I boycott. Either way, the premise sounds cute as far as the characters go, but I see a lot of damsel-in-distress-saving about to happen, which I’m not so much a fan of. Could potentially be an international hit, if it can manage to grab both country’s audiences.
Filming began last month, and Park will remain in Taiwan until the end of the year wrapping up the series. The drama plans to premiere in Taiwan early next year.
Via Star News
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George Hu is cute. Park Shin Hye is cute. Good enough reason to check out one episode for me!
hehee,
You convinced me.
i agree on that much too :]
same here XD he’s cute XD
Language crossover are rarely a good idea in the typical drama format. And George Hu + acting = why the hell am I watching this???
Well…. i don’t know i thought Tree of Heaven, in which PSH spoke both Japanese and Korean, was great! Plus anything with her in it you really can’t go wrong!
Usually it is a voice over…a BAD, BAD, BAD voice over.
True.
LOL oh sigh.
actually thats not always true
in my lucky star they used a voice over
and it wasnt too bad
just dont try to match her mouth movements to the words that are being said XD
That’s not true! The Taiwanese drama “My lucky star” chose a very good voice over for Ha-na!
I don’t know… I’m kind of interested b’cos of PSH. However, that particular manga that the drama is based off has not really caught my attention. Maybe the drama will be much more interesting to me than the manga…
she probably won’t be speaking korean. They usually try to speak mandarin and then dub their voices over ( they actually do a pretty good job dubbing)
But they ALWAYS pick an annoyingly high-pitched voice… Or at least annoying to me. Sometimes it’s not so bad, but other times the voice actor just gets tooooooooooooooo freaking cutesy for my taste. XP
1000X agreed
i agree too!
Its true. The dubbing of Wu Chun in Tokyo Juliette and Yoo Hana in My Lucky Star was so well done that I hardly notice it.
But other than that, I usually despise dubbing (omg the mandarin dubbing of Goo Jun Pyo was unbareable for me). I hope this dubbing is up to par with Wu Chun’s. Because I am actually willing to give this a try.
agreed.
i usually can’t stand dubbing at all
so that was extremely well done – same with tokyo juliet
but
i actually didn’t even notice there was dubbing in my lucky star until the end of the series
ohhh this is interesting. . .ive watched the anime series about a year ago, i think.
She’ll probably say her lines in Korean but it’ll be dubbed like was done in My Lucky Star. It’s quite common for them to dub foreign actors. It was done in Down With Love and also in Wu Chun’s earlier dramas.
Nah, in My Lucky Star the girl spoke Mandarin the whole time, it’s just that they voice we heard was actually a voice actor. They require the actor to speak Chinese so they can try to match up the lips with the words. Epic fail though because the voice always sounds like it’s being “thought” instead of spoken. XD
Actually, I think she spoke korean. But toward the end, she was more fluent and comfortable with mandarin and started using it during filming but she still relied korean.
Nope, if you watch the behind the scenes, she spoke Mandarin for sure. It’s also why her words pretty much matched her lip movement. Heh, I don’t think I really care at this point since I watched My Lucky Star when I was pretty new to Asian dramas, so I didn’t really notice as much…. Ok, I noticed it A LOT, but I found the story likable enough since you could say it was one of my firsts. And you know how you can’t just how good something is just from one sampling. Ok, starting to sound inappropriate so I’ll stop here. XD
Ok, last post. So I went back to watch the first few episodes and you (and ockoala below) are right, she did pretty much start off speaking in Korean in My Lucky Star. And then transitioned into Mandarin in later episodes. So, I admit pure and utter defeat to you guys, who are most likely my sunbaenims when it comes to Asian dramas huh? XD Oh my, it’s been two years now for me. Time does fly.
Oh geez, continuing to watch My Lucky Star episode 4, and most o the time it looks as if she really was speaking Mandarin. Ok, and the behind the scenes really has her speaking Mandarin. I… give… up. It is what it is I guess.
hahaha….can’t agree more
Dubbing is must for Taiwanese and HK drama i think, coz if they used Cantonese, then it will be dubbed to Mandarin and vice versa. They export their dramas to each of their countries including China.
each of the other chinese speaking countries, i should say.
Ohmygosh, Beng, do you, by any chance, watch Phua Chu Kang, or maybe your name is really Beng…
Anyway.. what if they changed the character’s nationality so she could speak in Korean at least most of the time.
We will most probably hear a dubbed version if Park Shin Hye speaks in Mandarin unless of course they give her an intense crash course in Mandarin.
I would love to hear Park Shin Hye speaking Mandarin.
“I would love to hear Park Shin Hye speaking Mandarin.”
Oddly enough, Korean Mandarin sounds a lot like white American Mandarin. They overpronounce everything, so that the intonation is correct.
Jang Geun Suk’s Japanese BTW is very nice.
Yeesssss!!
I’ve been waiting on more news about this. Apparently Park Shin Hye had to be sent back to Korea because some of her character costuming didn’t go through and she took a break until they figured it out for sure. (so they say)
I’m super excited for George, he deserves a main lead after all the second male leads he’s had to do.
Super excited to hear they’ve already begun shooting and plan on airing next year! Weeee!!
I just hope the language barrier will not dampen the chemistry between the leads. These two look stunningly hot together – can’t wait to see how the story unfolds. Was bummed when PSH didn’t get the leading role in Playful Kiss but I guess she didn’t lose a great deal seeing how the drama was all hype and no substance.
Agree!!
Ah, the anime was super cute. I was kinda looking forward to this. But now I don’t know.
I don’t think this will really help her career. I don’t expect the script to be witty as You’re Beautiful, and most manga- to- drama plots in taiwanese dramas tend to be light romantic comedies for the sake of entertainment, and some plots aren’t very well structured. The acting experience will help her, I suppose, and draw a larger Taiwanese/Chinese fanbase.
It’s time for her to branch out into Chinese circles anyway. And look at it this way, Park Shin Hye is a child actress and a veteran when it comes to acting, so, in a sense, the supporting leads and George Hu himself will benefit from her experience just by watching her. I mean, I seriously think supporting actors in Taiwan need some work on their skills.
i saw the animè and it’s so funny.psh is adorably cute and so talented i’m sure she’ll be great as the mistress nagi.still,im praying she’ll finish filming soon then go back to korea and do another series,kdramas are more well-written and better compared to taiwanese series
OMG GEORGE. I love that boy, he’s adorable. And he’s fluent in English, having grown up in the States, so I love him even more. XD He was totally adorable in ToGetHer and Hot Shot, so this is exciting. About time he gets a leading role. <3
As for PSH, they might do what they did to Yoo Hana in My Lucky Star and dub over her in Chinese. In fact, I'm almost certain that's what they'll do.
Not so sure about the premise either, but if the main girl is spunky and doesn't want protection at all rather than just a damsel-in-distress type, I could go for it.
i’ve seen korean actors in taiwanese dramas where they were just dubbed over.
in other news, i read that some people are criticizing this casting cos they think PSH is too old.
She is, Nagi (the main girl) is a 13 year old in the manga xD
oh ok. thats a reasonable complaint then. cos i read that and was like… “SHES ONLY 20 WHAT IS GOING ONNNNN.”
i wonder if they’ll make the character older then…?
I guess they are. Hayate is only fifteen, and the actor is also twenty something. So yeah, I guess they will make them older..
well i dont mind him saving her if its not so damsel in distress type of saving. Like…this is kinda hard to explain but if shes tough herself but then sometimes he does need to help her…i wouldnt mind so much. but if its some kinda disney damsel lookin for her prince because she cant frekain get herself out of a tower…well i boycott too…actually i would probably watch the first ep hehe but i kinda like this pairing
hope it works out well!! and cant waitttttt!
cant wait to check it out! george hu is one of my favorite taiwanese actors and hesss cuttteeee =]
GTV is dubbing Park Shin Hye in Hayate. Hell, the TW-dramas dub even native speakers if their Mandarin Chinese doesn’t sound TV anchor-ready.
@ Girlfriday – the main language of TW-dramas is Mandarin Chinese, though a some Taiwanese may be spoken by characters playing villagers or poor people. *excuse me while I smash some chairs*
Okay, back now, Taiwanese is a dialect not often heard on TV, 40 years of authoritarian rule by the Mandarin Chinese speaking KMT government can do that to a country.
On a funny aside, Park Shin Hye is learning Chinese on the set, and keeps asking George for help. George’s response is that he grew up in the States, and his Chinese sucks too, so maybe she shouldn’t be learning from him. LOL. It’s like a duck and a chicken learning to be a horse.
Oh, and the first BTS still from the drama came out today! Great timing on this post, Girlfriday.
http://iservice.libertytimes.com.tw/IService3/newspic.php?pic=http://www.libertytimes.com.tw/2010/new/nov/4/images/bigPic/36.jpg
I don’t think PSH looks too old for this role at all. I think all the ages have been moved upward. George isn’t a teenager either.
Same here.
she’s 20. the rest of the hayate boys are 28 or 29, but late 20′s. george hu and benjie wang are american taiwanese and have finished their university degrees.
If the article I read is correct, the writer of the manga did some changes so that it will adapt to the age of the actresses and actors. I think, he has the last sign-off whether to accept or reject the cast.
I am positive that things will go well. Changes are good.
Ah. Mandarin. Of course. Duh.
I am against dubbing, pretty much in all instances. An actor’s voice and line delivery is like 90% of what makes or breaks a performance.
As my Taiwanese friends would say, “Aiya!”
LOL on the chicken and duck trying to horsify.
girlfriday
why not branch-out “dramabeans blog” for those of us who can’t understand a word of mandarin, cantonese, fookien, taiwanese, japanese…LIKE ME.
I’d like to watch this drama. and i’m sure there will be sub-titles in english, BUT oftentimes the sentence structure doesn’t make sense… I always rely on DRAMABEANS for recaps. that’s when i appreciate the Korean dramas.
I highly appreciate if you do this…mwah! muchas gracias!
I actually think Taiwanese/Mainland dramas do a good job dubbing. I watch a lot of Mainland wuxia dramas and they dub almost everyone. Yet the voices always seem to fit. Better than poor PSH having to struggle with Mandarin, in any event.
“I am against dubbing, pretty much in all instances. An actor’s voice and line delivery is like 90% of what makes or breaks a performance. ”
You kinda get used to it if you watch Sino-dramas. Mando audiences have not heard Tony Leung’s actual voice in . . . ever.
It’s actually funny watching 2046 with the original voices, when you realize they’re having lover spats in two different languages, simultaneously.
hahahah……i think so too…. i dont want them to dub PSH voice bcoz they didn’t do well in dubbing the voice of yoo hana in MY LUCKY STAR…bcoz the voice seems very thin (its like pinching ur nose while talking) ……but george hu is really a good actor especially in TOGETHER and K.O 3 ANGUO…….
Ugh, dubbing. I absolutely hate it. It’s what made me unable to watch any old Cantonese movies because when people showed them to me, they were all dubbed over in Mandarin and I just couldn’t get over the fact that the voices didn’t match. One of these days I’m going to try to find un-dubbed versions.
Anyway, even though most tw-dramas use Mandarin these days, I was at a friend’s house the other day and her parents were watching a drama that was completely in Taiwanese, which made me happy =]
Yeah, I’m betting she’ll speak Mandarin… but than get her voice dubbed over by an actual Mandarin speaking female. Examples can be found in Taiwanese dramas “My Lucky Star” which I fairly enjoyed, and a new one with Jimmy Lin about princesses and blind dates, which I can’t get into despite my like for Jimmy because I reaaaaally can’t stand dubbing over voices. Does anyone recall how much they HATED Yu Ping’s exgirlfriend’s “voice” in “Down With Love”? *shivers*
Yes! I couldn’t understand why they went to dub her! (Just because her China accent was too distinctive?) The end product sounds so unnatural!
I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought her dubbing was annoying. I suppose they wanted to make a distinction between her and Ke Zhong’s mother in their accents?
No, Park Shin Hye is speaking her lines in KOREAN, and who knows what Chinglish George and Benji will be spouting during the filming.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they ALL got dubbed. Park Shin Hye’s Mandarin capabilities consist of I Love You and How Are You based on the press conference.
All the Korean actors (minus Jung Woo Sung in Reign of Assassins) speak their lines in Korean (very obvious if you read their lips) and get dubbed Chinese dialogue.
LOL. Exactly why I hate dubbing. Especially when it’s spoken in deep voiced Korean and ended up as a whiny high voiced Mandarin. Not being anything here, I’m very Mandarin speaking myself. Takes away the whole characterization of stuff.
My friend and I watched Beethoven Virus. She watched dubbed, I watched original Kim Myung Min. Guess who hated the character? Such a waste. Tsk tsk.
I’d rather they try the Friends way (Won Bin anyone?) who spoke Korean mix Japanese mix English. That was a pleasure to watch… hehe. Wouldn’t that be great if PSH spoke in broken Chinese with Korean and George speaks in English Chinese? BEAUTIFUL AWKWARD I tell you.
Haha. I wrote a blog post on this exact same subject a couple months ago: http://mystaples.wordpress.com/2010/09/05/park-shin-hye-in-a-taiwanese-drama/
i love park shin hye since tree of heaven,i am waiting for her drama and i like it.
Collaboration is always beneficial. It is high risk, BUT I am very positive that the production companies have action plans to mitigate these risks.
Looking back 10 years ago, who would ever think that Asians will be watching Korean dramas? Now, Korean drama is the “in thing” in Asia. However, these are dubbed in English and other languages. Regardless of our struggles (especially the English grammar) to understand the translation in English, we still manage with the help of “Dramabeans”.
As a viewer, I am challenged in this new trend of collaboration.
I particularly like Park Shin Hye. The child has now grown-up to a lady with oozing appeal.
well,nagi is 13 yrs-old in the animè and ALL main casts,not just psh are too old for the role if they will literally follow the animè.lol gtv said the characters in the live action version are older so no prob with psh age at all.nagi is naughty and spunky and such a brat.lol im really excited how will psh act as nagi
well,nagi is 13 yrs-old in the animè and ALL main casts,not just psh are too old for the role if they will literally follow the animè.lol gtv said the characters in the live action version are older so no prob with psh age at all.nagi is naughty and spunky and such a brat.lol im really excited how will psh act as nagi
I fear dubbing. They dubbed the Korean actress in the Taiwanese drama My Lucky Star. It was painful.
I hope for the best in this drama!
George Hu & Park Shin Hye are adorable. Together they’d be butterflies and puppies!
I saw the anime as well, I wonder how they will do all the oddball things the butler has to fight. And there are plenty. Also it was a cute show and I liked it overall but also could get draggy with the same plot happening each episode. I think a drama format may help it find a better structure. I honestly am looking forward to this. If nothing else but to see the setup for it. Should be very interesting.
i wonder why everytime it has the possibility of becoming english, i also always wanna boycott?! hahahaha…. i must admit hearing vanness wu speak a bit of english was cute… so with daniel henney… but if it becomes too much, i tend to wanna walk away as well…
hahahaha… anyway, hoping something good comes out from this!^^ excited to see it.^^
<3 George Hu
It's cool that PSH and GH are doing a drama together but I'm dreading the dubs… Is PSH fluent in English? Since George is already fluent maybe they should just make it all in English lol. Jk.
I'll be checking this out and see if I like it or not :3
i think park shin hye will shoot the drama in chinese and then fix it with dubbing,that why she’s learning chinese right now… i like george hu, very cute and this is his first major drama..so why not support him…i will watch this drama,shin hye is a great actress…can’t wait….
I don’t like dubbing too, based on my readings regarding this Hayate drama I think it won’t be dubbed.
I particularly like listening to various nationalities trying hard to speak other people’s language/dialect. For instance, I don’t expect Japanese who was born and raised in Japan to have the exact accent of a Japanese who grew-up in the States etc.
I am positive with Hayate. The cast will do a good job.
Well, that’s a weird manga to turn into drama xD It’s more of a comedy/parody than anything else. I don’t know if I’ll watch it (plus, the dubbing is a turn-off).
I wonder if they are going to follow the exact same plot and put the other 246917 girls in love with Hayate (basically the rest of the female cast), plus all the random mecha/Gundam/everything else references.
Anyway, I love Nagi’s character, she’s such a brat.
Well Dramabeans, I think you should start another blog – where you’ll be recapping for us those dramas done in Chinese / Taiwanese to English. How’s that?
I look forward to this drama – Park Shin Hye (Korean, 20 years old) and George Hu (Taiwanese-American who grew-up in New York, computer graphics design graduate from a New York univ, 28 years old).
Plus, Benjie Wang – Taiwanese-American, 28 years old (or 29, not sure), Political Science graduate, Boston Ma., kung-fu expert.
added bonus, the four men of Hayate can also sing.
I am excited. it won’t be perfect, but I always have room for flaws.
but…. we have ockoala’s blog!
maybe we should convince her to do recaps a la Dramabeans?
I know you’re busy enough, and you somehow prefer to watch kdramas.
@djes
Are you trying to kill me?
Uh, I love me some TW dramas at times, but any attempt at honest recapping would involve lots and lots of beer and a free wheeling snark button activated. But thanks for the suggestion. Maybe when I find 48 hrs a day.
Actually, if I was blogging AND watching B&W for the first time, I would absolutely without a doubt recap that. Without a doubt. It’s that good.
you’re the person we need…
Really? B&W is actually good? Most TW dramas make me want to throw the laptop at the wall, even when I’m only half paying attention to the ludicrous plotlines and cheesy acting with wildly differing Chinese accents (although I shouldn’t throw stones, my own Chinese is pretty stilted, but it’s not like I’m being paid to speaj Chinese).
Black & White is DEFINITELY good! Not to mention the hotties in there.. haha xD
Best TW drama in years. Landmark even for the industry.
this is gonna be interesting.i wonder if nagi and hayate will have romantic inclinations in the drama version coz in the animé,it’s just implied.and there are other 3 girls who have feelings for him in the animè version.i think this makes the drama version much more exciting now coz nagi will not be a 13 y/o anymore
not diggin = not watching.
but aww i love her
It’s strange to me that Park Shin Hye is doing a Taiwanese drama…I don’t think it will help her career much. No offense, but to me Taiwanese dramas are way behind Kdramas in the production values, acting, script/storyline, etc. Most Taiwanese dramas I’ve seen (aside from recent good ones like Black and White, Queen of No Marriage, Autumn’s Concerto) have way too much over-the-top acting and silliness. It’s hard for me to really love a Taiwanese drama since they never seem to take anything seriously or they tend to have multiple changes in tone throughout an episode (or too much fluff)….
Btw, I watched My Lucky Star, where Yoo Ha Na’s voice was dubbed and it wasn’t too bad, though sometimes the dubber’s voice bothered me a bit, lol
let’s see how it goes.
who knows, these collaborative-dramas might bridge the gap between countries in Northeast Asia. a vision which has not been achieved by politicians in these countries.
i agree. taiwanese dramas are way way way behind kdramas.
i second that…
please don’t discourage me…. i haven’t seen any taiwanese drama yet.
i disliked asian dramas (in general) in the past, until i watched you’re beautiful and from then on, i’d been busy watching korean dramas…i’m actually 7 years behind. i’m a convert now.
i’m watching this because of go mi nam. i want to be positive!
taiwanese dramas are not so bad…..maybe some just doesn’t fit the taste of the viewers…..but i assure you that many Taiwanese dramas are good….actually i started watching Taiwanese dramas before Korean dramas……..if you want to watch….i suggest you can watch “A PROMISE OF LOVE AT THE DOLPHIN BAY” its a really nice drama and also HANAZAKARINO KIMITACHIHE”…… and also “MY LUCKY STAR”…… but i agree that dubbing isn’t good for park shin hye coz i think it will just make the ratings low…..but who knows……lets just not make a high expectation out from it……
I agree. And i swear all the manga adaptions are killing the Taiwanese drama industry. In fact, the Taiwanese themselves are sick of all the manga adaptions. Two years ago, the Taiwanese idol dramas hit a rut. Ratings was so bad that having ratings of more than 3.0 was considered a great hit back then. It wasn’t until Fated To Love You came along and smashed all records that the drama producers finally sit up and realized that they have an untapped market in working adults and even parents. Now the Taiwanese idol drama industry are starting to turn around and produce better quality drama with more varied storylines.
I am NOT happy that the Koreans are following in the Taiwanese footstep and starting to do all the manga adaptions too. And now Korean stars are heading to Taiwan to do manga adaptions? WHY? We can critcize the Koreans dramas for being full of cliques but at least they tried to write their own story with local favour. And every now and then a gem of a drama surfaced. Script writers in Korea has a higher status than their counterparts in Taiwan. We have famous script writers like the Hong sisters because they rightly recognize the value of good scripts in dramas. Have you heard of any famous Taiwanese script writer? Not a good sign if script writers are being praised for being able to “adapt closely to the source material” and film makers are lauded for being able to “retain the spirit of the original manga”. Why will producers bother to produce dramas with orignal storylines when they can just adapt a manga with its ready fan base and squeling fangirls? Sure one or two manga adaptions is cute and entertaining. Ten of them and you start to vomit. If the market becomes flooded with manga adaptions, then the older audience will stay away and stick to makjang dramas instead.
Sorry for the rant. I just need to get this off my chest.
I don’t see anything wrong with adapting mangas, it’s like a script with pictures (or perhaps a storyboard?)
However if the input’s garb=output is worthless as well. Not all mangas are pure fluff and no substance. So I gather the source of your agony must be from dramas which are adapted from lousy mangas.
Not all mangas are shoujo garb you know.
Oh, and I think It Started With A Kiss (ISWAK) and ISWAK2 are good adaptions of the drama. Meteor Garden (based on Hana Yori Dango) was my first ever twdrama crush. I heard Mars was pretty good as well. Momo Love was meh, but I think that’s attributed to the manga’s flat storyline than the drama.
jeez i made several typos, but you get what I mean right?
Typos are inevitable for me in long posts, sorry!
Manga adaptations are a frequent complaint with both TW-drama and J-dorama industries. TW-drama more heavily dips into shoujo (as well as remaking the “cutesy” K-doramas), and for that reason, there’s a perception that it’s for 13 year old girls.
Most of my guy friends think Meteor Garden single handledly destroyed the TW industry.
Manga adaptations make money sense. Buying rights to most Japanese mangas (and Japanese novels) cost less for Korean or Taiwanese producers that you think, and you end up enjoying a big fanbase. A Tw-dorama adaptation of, say, Beck or NaNa would generate a lot of interest.
TW-dramas do have their strong points. For one thing, they know how to KISS.
I suppose the repetitive storyline is a contributing factor to the weak viewership in Taiwan.
But, surely, you can’t blame it on the storyline also.
There are other factors too.
1.Acting.
There are very few people in Taiwan who can act.
Yes, yes, of course, Joe Cheng, Ariel Lin, Joe Chen/Chen Qiaoen, Ady An, Vic Zhou… Maybe another 10 names.
The point is, Taiwanese dramas also suffer from the weak acting.
2.The editing.
Generally, I’m not impressed with the editing.
It’s just … I mean, you watch some T-dramas, you know what I mean.
I’m sure you can think of a few more factors.
It’s true there are very few good Taiwanese dramas.
They do exist, I know, but there are few of them.
Out of every 20 dramas or so, only 1 stands out.
Korean and Taiwanese dramas have their differences, but I don’t think it’s true at all to say that Taiwanese dramas are “all bad” or “the same.” They have a different style that resonates with some and not so much with others. But boy, there are some TW shows I can rewatch over and over…
Also, I don’t mind shows that use cliches if they provide me with escapism – which is what I was watching them for anyway. So you get your amnesia, terminal illness, poor girl meets rich guy – you get that in both countries. But the acting is what makes a difference for me. A prior comment said there are only a few Taiwanese actors to watch out for – I’ll name all the shows that have stood out to me and rank up with or beyond Korean dramas because of the acting, chemistry, and heart behind each series.
Prince Turns Into a Frog – Ming Dao and Joe Chen – I had to rewatch every scene where these two were together… and then rewatch them again, because they are so adorable. It’s not like the show is logical (particularly when it comes to head trauma or anything) but it’s meant to be a light, heartwarming comedy – and it delivers. For those who’ve seen it: I miss Dang-oh SO MUCH! But Jun Hao/Dang-oh grew on me each time I watched it. I think people have the biggest problem with the episodes/events right before the ending, but those shouldn’t spoil an otherwise awesome show!
MARS – Vic Zhou and Barbie Xu – love love LOVE. For those who want something a little different/darker than the regular romantic comedy. Or a lot darker in parts. Just so great. On all bases – acting, chemistry, the story and the problems both characters faced and how they always resolved them by turning to each other – a must watch.
Silence – Vic Zhou and Park Eun Hye – I know, I know, rich snobby guy meets not rich girl and changes, then the C word – but they play it all so well here. I think what I liked best were the changes and developments in Vic’s character, both from love and from coming to terms with his impending death. Ah, but the coincidences and just-missing-each-other moments annoyed me and I wanted to kill the Other GUY in his sleep – but hey. “I’m Sorry I Love You” is an AMAZING Korean drama that reminds me of this in some ways, if you just need to see some guy faint one day I’d recommend watching one or both of these. “I’m Sorry I Love You” has a deeper plot (but a “yo WHAT?” ending). But since Vic is… (hot…) XD
Devil Beside You and Why Why Love – These are fun, but their endings are a crash course. Great for the MikeRainie chemistry…
It Started With a Kiss 1+2 – I laughed so hard watching ISWAK!!!! I can’t even imagine anything else coming close. Suspend reality for a second and you’ll fall in love with Xiang Qin’s clumsiness and adorableness. Joe and Ariel were so good in this, but the next drama they made “Love or Bread” went totally wrong – who knew Joe could overact… like that? ISWAK is still awesome though!
Autumn’s Concerto – Please, no. Stay away. Far far FAR away. If you want memory loss go watch Prince Turns into a Frog. I think everyone watches this for the kid. So much symbolism and so much angsting and the plot and the couple go nowhere. It’s just got the wrong balance of realism and non-realism – the real life situation is too static to be escapism, and the characters’ stupidity/dishonesty of the Other Girl + Mom, inc. is unbelievable. And flashbacks keep returning to the first five out of 30 episodes? Please don’t watch it to try to see it do something interesting like I did.
I second the MARS nomination. However, it was so awesome that I almost felt mislead about the TW drama industry. I have sense learned not to expect anything of substance. Hence, I only watch TW dramas when I actually WANT to see over the top cuteness in the form of Ella (I’m addicted to that lil’ “meatbun”) and, sometimes, the males she has been partnered with like Wu Zun. Usually, I can’t stand them though unless the girl is just the cutest thing alive. I think that you can access mydramalist watchlog for more comments by clicking on my name. I think. I’m not too familiar with how it works on here.
EDIT: since* I can spell. Really.
I think it’s a good career move. This is beneficial to all parties involved.
Park Shin Hye gets Taiwanese exposure, learns a little bit of Mandarin, hey, why not, the more languages the better.
Supporting actors who are weak in their delivery actually learn from Park Shin Hye.
And.. good tourism for both countries. You know, how it works. Having a Korean actress in a Taiwanese drama. And, this is good for Taiwan too. Fans of Korean dramas and Park Shin Hye might watch this because, well…
Anyway, it’s good for Taiwan.
And, I’m thinking, people will watch the first few episodes for Park Shin Hye, at least, and if the plot and acting’s good, the viewership will rise.
i don’t mind checking the leads out. park shin hye has great acting abilities and first time i’ll be checking out george hu. he is a bit shy, hot and cute.
am sure they tweak Hayate and hopeful for something interesting and unique.
looking forward to this drama, shin hye dubbed or not.
Hoping for the best !
I love Hayate the Combat Butler. I’ll definitely give this a try. I hope it’s as good as the anime.
The dubbing in My Lucky Star was ok….if I had to choose between bad sounding chinese or dubbing I guess I would choose dubbing. Lesser of two evils.
I am pretty worried for this drama actually…comic live-actions don’t usually turn out so well….in my memory only It Started With a Kiss did well. Only japanese live actions are more bearable…I guess it’s because the comic itself is japanese…lol. Then again, I pray for them to make it work of course…
I only saw George Hu in My fair princess with Wuzun. He was …just there. Well it wasn’t a big role and it has been some years since then so I hope he improved drastically.
Still on this topic Gu Hye Sun is also filming a taiwanese adaptation of the japanese manga , zettai kareshi (The perfect boyfriend) with Wu Zun I believe…
So many “international” collaborations. Good luck to all. I shall wait and see…lol. Dunno why, I just have a bad feeling about both dramas…
they will probably dub her. I wonder how they will do this drama. In the anime, the girl is like 13 and the boy is like 16. It looks like the taiwan adaptation will feature characters 10 years older than the story’s characters. There are some things that aren’t as annoying when done by a young teen, but when you’re supposed to be 20+…it just seems a bit juvenile.
Sad that I’m not too fond of George Hu as a lead. He’s likable as a second lead, though.
<3 omo. i am definitly checking out this one. i like both of them! im surprised psh can look so versatile, she looks pretty here too. hwang tae-kyung should be proud. =]
go mi nam might have completed her volunteer work in africa, and she transitted in Taipei on her way to Seoul. she met 4 guys and she decided to get to know them since she really had fun with the anjellls. well, she treated herself to stay in taiwan until December.
meantime, huang tae-kyung became impatient waiting for her (go mi nam), so he did a virtual marriage with Mary. but, he also changed his name to mu gyul.
In january 2011, mu gyul’s marriage was invalid due to falsification of his name. divorce was granted immediately. go mi nam is now ready to come to seoul and be reunited with huang tae kyung…
(joke only…)
i like you joke,you must write more,give you two thumb up
thank you. the scene was started by shu. i just follow through.
but i think go mi nam ,she doesn’t love hwang tae kyung anymore,because george hu more better n more patient waiting her to be femine women,if someone who you love cheating at you,no more love again.n i never forgive you!!!!
so lovable to read. it shd not be a joke. ke ke
Lol. OmG. L.O.V.E.
right another cartoonish drama and they all look the same to me
I believe this is a manga adaptation. In any case, wish her the best in the role. Though yeah, language barrier much?
Meteor Garden and It started with a kiss are good adaptations of japanese manga by taiwan and i’m hoping their version of hayate will also be as good and as memorable. I’m confident in shin-hye’s talent.hope hayate will do well
Since we got BBF and Playful Kiss, is it too much to ask Korea or Japan to remake MARS? The one manga drama that people actually love.
Mars without Vic? Noooooo!
Mars without Barbie? Oh heyall yes. Please remake it, Korea. And import Vic to do it all over again.
Hayate is a harem anime. LOLWOT?
PSH’s the most natural fit for a Taiwanese drama. And the language barrier means nil. Park Eun Hye and Vic Zhou had awesome chemistry in “Silence.” Of course, she almost had no lines but . . .
“Silence”, how apt for a language-barrier couple! Wow, but having chemistry despite that is nice to see. I can think of a LOT of couples with zero chemistry despite same language/same nationality/same friggin’ hairstyles…
It’s surprisingly easy if you’re an emotive actor, because you KNOW you don’t need to deliver your lines well.
Also, when you cast a Korean actress in a Chinese drama, you’ll probably cast them in a “bright girl” role. The reason is partially cultural; because Korean acting is very expressive (or “overacting”, depending on perspective) relative to, say, Mando-acting, it automatically translates to “big-hearted bright girl” in a Chinese drama.
oh I forgot about silence…I loved that one too…esp the recurring english song, How to remember by Four Brothers…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jV-fnarDho
I’m still waiting for my Ouran Highschool Host Club live action. It’s a harem manga too
Or more specifically, reverse-harem (cheers for the ladies) woot!
Just to clarify, it’s Chinese/Mandarin, not Taiwanese (which is a nationality, not a language). The Taiwanese speak Hokkien (a dialect) also known as Min Nan Yu (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Min_Nan).
thanks for this information.
I am learning something. hokkien, is the language spoken in taiwan. correct me if i’m wrong, but is hokkien the same language being spoken in xiamen, southern china?
I’m learning a lot of things. i highly appreciate this.
Just a ‘lil clarification here. Hokkien is not a language, it’s a dialect. Ditto for cantonese (which are spoken in HK dramas), hainanese, fuzhou, teochew etc.
Dialects are only SPOKEN differently, they’re all the same written (which is in chinese). Thus it’s all written the same on paper, but different orally. That’s why stuff in HK is all written in chinese, but when they speak it out loud, it’s in cantonese.
And yup you’re right, all dialects’ origins are from Mainland China. I’m part Hakka part Fuzhou (Mom’s hakka, Dad’s Fuzhou). Therefore my ancestry can be trace to provinces which speak these dialects.
jeez I hope you get this. I got confuse to what I was typing myself.
P/S: The caps are not meant to be rude. It’s just that I dunno how to make it italic :p
Hey, do you speak a lot of Hakka?
The only thing I know how to say is ‘Have you eaten?’
oh, hi again!
Not conversational hakka, but I know enough to know if somebody curses me in hakka.
hey, that’s all that matters right?
Hi!
I can say ‘Good morning’ and ‘Good night’, ‘Have you eaten?’ ‘I’m full’ and that’s it.
So much for being half Hakka. But, my Hainanese is worse. I can only say, ‘I don’t know how to speak Hainanese.’
Learned Cantonese from TVB dramas but it’s a little stilted.
My Mandarin is better.
And people here don’t speak as much Hokkien as the people in Penang do. They speak it like it’s their mother tongue.
I’m envious of those people who pick up Korean and Japanese just by watching dramas and films.
Did you pick up Korean already?
Yup.
Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew etc are dialects, a different way of pronouncing Chinese characters. Of course, there may be words spoken in dialect that do not have an equivalent in Chinese (as in, either [1] there is a Chinese character for that character spoken in dialect, but while the the character makes sense in a dialect context, it doesn’t make sense/have the same meaning when used in a Chinese context; or [2] the character used in the dialect is not even used in Chinese language itself!).
Hokkien is spoken in many place, I believe. Not too sure about this dialect, because I’m a Cantonese…Cantonese is spoken in various places, like Hong Kong, Guangzhou…And then in Shanghai they speak Shanghainese.
Haha am I going off-topic? =P
Hope I’m making sense though.
This could be interesting…I was never drawn to Taiwanese dramas because of the all fluff/no substance quotient, but PSH seems to have the personality to fit.
Haha, but Go Mi Nam romancing a butler in dubbed Mandarin is on my must-see list.
If they change it a lot, it is not an adaptation. It could have been any story with similarities to the manga. Dubbing definitely takes away the uniqueness of the actor/actress. Don’t you find the dubbed voices sound the same?
yey! news about Park Shin Hye! I like her and her upcoming drama sounds interesting;-) I hope she’ll get better and challenging roles once she returns to Korea next year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hNwWTwr82I
the cast of hayate
but why would she choose a project where he voice is being dubbed???……unless its an attempt to earn fame in a new market….as an artist wouldn’t she feel wasted when have of her effort is erased and covered with a new voice
…clearly i dnt like the cross-culture thing unless its a plot point
* meant half of her effort
Speaking of Park Shin Hye and Taiwan . . .
The recent ANSHOW (ANJELL 4 EVA!!) in Taipei. Park Shin Hye doing a fierce Beyonce’s Single Ladies . . .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ad6hvQg_9Bs
huang tae-kyung, go mi nam can really dance!
Wow!her next series/movie project should include singing and DANCING!lol what a talented young lady!
Hmmm… I haven’t found George to be a good actor. But then again, I have pretty low expectations for TW dramas. I doubt that this series will improve PSH’s acting but I definitely think it’s good for marketing and expanding her career to a wider audience.
Dubbing – well, if your mando is decent enough, they usually do not dub you. I have heard a lot of crappy mandarin in TW idol dramas. George’s isn’t all that impressive at all. I don’t think it will be bad if they dub PSH – I think it makes sense.
Good luck PSH. nothing in the tw idol drama world has really peaked my interest lately. Would love to be surprised and pulled back in. I’ve been sticking to the taiwanese-speaking series.
Correct me if I’m wrong but this sounds almost like My Fair Lady minus the gigolo part.
that’s what i thought too.
but which came first, the hayate manga written by kenjiro hata or the “my fair lady” drama?
I’m guessing the manga. After all, mangas tend take forever to get anywhere (I say that as a manga lover myself, so don’t hate!) so it must have been going on for a while for them to have enough material to make a drama out of.