@momosan

There was that episode with the old guy, while worse has been seen buy younger. that would defiantly be a red flag for most parents. I would still be comfortable showing this series to that age group with supervision and discussions throughout, but excellent catch I completely forgot about that.

I am so into Giant it's not even funny. I've succeeded in enticing dangermousie to watch, mwahahaha. I think everyone is either watching Giant or Comrades, with a few of us scattered Bad Guy watchers? And serendipity is plowing through Road #1 just to write recaps for us, her sacrifice is deeply appreciated.

@ Leonardswench

I recommend Bad Family as a great family K-drama to watch, totally kid appropriate and has some lovely life lessons and moments. If you don't mind sageuks, then Tamra the Island is one of my favorite sageuks and happens to be age-appropriate and utterly beautiful to behold.

I would stay away from Zettai Kareshi. But Otomen and Yankee-Kun are both stellar J-dramas for kids to watch.

@51 Amg1

Yes...I've seen that before....beautiful and so graceful!

I'm off to watch Definitely Neighbor with english sub on our local station....SBS. :-) Love that drama!

Have you seen your new grand daughter? Love your grand babies with plenty of hugs and kisses!

This question got me thinking. Most of the asian dramas seem so much more tame in both sex and violence to here in the states. Trying to limit them down even further to no sexual situations and minimal to no violence seemed like a challenge.

GOOD series with General Audience family appeal.

Japanese:
Q.E.D.
Yukan Club
Lovely Complex
Waterboys
Nodame Cantabile(Already mentioned in pervious post but can't mention enough)
MeiChan no Shitsuji (the drama only. The manga is pg-13/R)

Korean:
Kangjeok
My Girl
Delightful Girl Choon-Hyang
1% of Anything
Hello! Miss
We Got Married(variety first season)
I can't put down Unstoppable Marriage because Madam Shim says two swear words in english often and as a joke. Otherwise that too.

Anime:
Special A
Tokyo Marble Chocolate
Nodame Cantabile
Itazura na Kiss

Wow I really don't watch that much family friendly stuff :) When I think about the hundreds of things I have watched over the last 5-6 years and this is what I could come up with...sad sad.

Things I would recommend for my own kids but aren't G:

Anime(this list would go on forever so I limited it):
Read or Die
Natsume Yuujinchou
Robotech
Trigun
Gokusen
Ouran Highschool Host Club

Korean Drama:
I am Sam
Sweet 18
Legend of Hyang Dan
Romance Zero
Smile, You

Japanese Dramas
Akihabara@Deep
Himitsu no Hanazono
Sexy Voice and Robo(stupid but oddly charming)
Boys Este(giggly teenagers everywhere should watch it)

Anyway my 3 cents have been added :P

Oops mistake in my post. Kangjeok should be in things that are NOT G but would let my kids see.

@ockoala: What episode are you up to?

@diadda: I don't know, on the one hand I understand tame... but I really don't particularly like dramas with a bunch male guys and one female lead as the center of the universe. It's a weird morale to me.

@ Leonardswench: Generally a show centered around kids will be more tame; but there are some major exceptions you'd probably want to keep away from. When in doubt ask, I'm sure one of us has seen it. I'd reccommend Ruri no Shima, is a good family show based around a not so normal family unit.

@janna

Not that reverse harems are my favorite thing in the world either, but Hana Kimi, BOF, ouran, You're Beautiful and the new Sungkyunkwan Scandal would be not to your liking or interest? Unfortunately most of them occur in a highschool transgender setting which makes it even harder to identify with at times, but (sigh) they exist and they entertain well enough for me in spite of how bizarrely nonrealistic they all are.

@ janna

I'm all caught up, watched Giant ep.24 raw yesterday, will need to re-watch with subs today. I believe WITHS2 is up to ep. 18, so Thundie is a tad behind, I've leapfrogged over her bc I watch with c-subs. :-)

Wow, I go away for a hair appointment and massage therapy and some sleep and everyone answers! LOL! So .....

@ Diadda and momosan, okay, based on both of your recommendations, SS watched the first episode of The Wallflower and said no dice for her younger sister, SDR. (And she's 13 going on 40, trust me, oldest child, has younger handicapped sibling, homeschooled, performance pro ... she's in college classes, so her maturity level is beyond her calendar age, so many things she's had to know for her own protection.) She's not going to finish it, it didn't 'grab' her.

@ okcoala, diadda, momosan, janna,

We are therefore proceeding with your recs, she wrote them down and is going in order, watching on her laptop in my office where I can generally 'oversee' the content. Let me just say, THANK YOU SO MUCH, it's truly a wonderful blessing to be able to ask and just not blindly stumble through 'is this any good?" And as you know, one person's favorite is another person's yuck, so it's good that those with kiddos are pointing out specifics, too, Really, really appreciate it.

This is the girls only week not to have a single rehearsal, performance, or audition, and then, next Monday it is going to pot, so I think they should line up some fun things to watch for while they are waiting during rehearsals, auditions, performances. They both want new manga series to read, so I'm reviewing the notes from the last two OT discussing mangas (I need to decide and order soon or they won't be here by Monday!).

Thanks so much, sincerely, for all the input.

Now, is anyone going to answer my post @ 46, or do I just have to keep guessing?

One more thing about Kangjeok. It does have A-team/Dukes of Hazard violence throughout. It is a Drama about responsibility and features a very strong female lead who fights physically and emotionally through a lot of stuff. There are also some mental health issues brought up and a moving death scene. I did show this to my 13-16yr old cousins and they liked it quite a bit. That is why it made the list of things that are ok even though it is not as sanitized as the rest are.

I know this is going to get lost. but I had to say this.

I have just watched the first ep of I am legend and I am in !
Man! I hope it keeps this level of intensity as a foundation and
builds from there.

Like I said, it is only the first episode but I was/am hooked.

now my little statement will pass into obscurity...but I look forward
to the recaps!

@Leonardswench

I was trying not to be an OT hog and just let someone else respond to #46 question, but fine...

I don't think it is similar to the old Hollywood system for the actors as much as it is for the Idols. Long term contracts with agencies that train you and prep you for a debut then carefully mold and craft your image for the first few years only to change it as needed.

No dating is the one big difference. In old hollywood, they would arrange your date for concerts, movie openings, and other special events. Usually with the same person over and over. X-man, Loveletter and WGM play with that concept but they never actually send them out on official dates together and once again mainly valid for Idols.

The actors(only) I think have slightly more freedom. Yes they can't always openly date but I think that is more of a society thing, where they don't want to be thought of as loose in morals if the relationship fails or changes. Bad enough that they are perhaps kissing and fornicating on screen with different people every 6-12 months. Add on a significant other that may change in the same time frame... things can get weird, especially for women. And especially if they wish to get married to a nice guy and be accepted by his family.

With that I'm going to work and to sleep. Night all.

@ockoala: Oh really? I'm about to watch ep 24 right now. What say you on Min-woo? Are you a lover or a hater? Personally, I can't decide. Hated him at first. Now we're being indoctrined to feeling sorry for him. Poor, pitiful Min-woo-robot.

@Diadda: I watched You're Beautiful, and I read Hanakimi (But I hated the drama version) and yes, one time long ago watched the Taiwanese BOF. I guess I'm not the type for what people like to call "fanservice". I mean, that's cool if it's you're thing; but it's not really my bag. The girls are clueless, the guys are unnaturally mean that only change in presence of the girl.. etc. I've seen one, I've seen 'em all I guess?

The interesting thing is I at the moment almost sound like a bizarre hypocrite. I am watching Moteki, which is a -regular- harem drama. Or so it seems. You're introduced to a loser who suddenly has women flocking to him. But he's 29, and generally that storyline can be boiled down to: Girls aren't getting any younger, and they became desperate enough to find you again. It's actually a pretty soul crushing watch. Reminds me at times of watching (500) Days of Summer (Yes, there is even a dance routine in Ep 3, high fives and all - no marching band or animated bird, but there are cheerleaders) In this case no one seems like the "true love" with the rest just being stand-ins... maybe the main character will just give up and live single forever.

@ janna

Psst, I'll be sharing some Giant thoughts soon. :-D All I can say is this drama builds the plot and tension exquisitely and each episode is as good if not better than the one before. As for my thoughts on entitled, arrogant, and possessive Min Woo? Let me put it this way - he's the tragic anti-hero in this story, no? How can one hate on that?

@ockoala: Entitled, arrogant, and possessive. I get you. ;D
Every villain needs a backstory. (By the way, his dads menacing laugh keeps getting louder, longer and more comical to me.) But forget all about that bro-love, girl-saving, hospital bed plotting, new suit stuff because. . .

Jung-shik you've just outdone yourself again. Man, is the feather boa...thing,,,, going to be the end all - beating the space suit and leopard print coat? This weekend I will definitely have to start working on the Jung-shik fashion bracket. It needs to be done. Then everyone who stuck it through Giant can vote. Only one outfit will be ruled best-worst fashion forever.

@I am Legend 2:
Oh man, it's Miss Sagwa. If you watched Dal-Jas Spring then you get me. For all who don't know I'm just referencing Jang Young Nam, who will always be "Apple" to me. Her character in the show has some crazy going on. People sure like getting slapped on this show. Dang yo, be seriously careful. It took a while for Lee Joon Hyuk to grow that facial hair. He's trying his best to be Cha Seung Won, okay? Be careful on his face!

Meanwhile, I must say that at times in her acting career I found Kim Jung Eun grating. Kind of like when I watched Lovers in Paris and went "wait, how did I watch all of this?" But she is really hitting it out of the park. I also like Hyun Jyu Ni, who cracked me up with all her "omg get me out of here" facial expressions. I didn't know U-Kiss was going ot be such a big part of the show but who knows, I guess it's okay for a B-plot to change things up.

Gigi, nurses in the family, so I figured as much, totally understand. Page 1 of this OT has episode 7.

See you Tuesday, probably on the next OT!

Something else that is bothering me these days, because it is much discussed in a household with dancers, weight. For one, my girls are bothered by the unnatural thinness of Lee Da Hae, and how she is mostly covered over the areas that would give away her (probable) eating disorder. They've been watching My Girl again, and she looks like a stick figure.

I forgot to mention, I am also a wardrobe mistress and designer on the side (I have a line of clothes in a girlfriend's shops), as well as making costumes for my own girls' productions and for a semi-pro football team. So my daughters have grown up around fittings, women's bodies, dieting ... they've seen it all. Even when an actress denies and denies about a disorder, my daughters and I and most others can tell when it's an outright lie, from decades of work within image-rigid women's groups.

Just wonder, why, or how, Hallyu started following the Twiggy trend? Or was it following the Hollywood trend following the Twiggy trend?

About 1 in 40 girls is naturally emaciated, thin to the point of looking skeletal, usually because of a high metabolism or a metabolic disorder or other health problem. Lee Da Hae, for example, is not naturally emaciated. Is the pressure pretty much the same (or less, or more) in Hallyu as Hollywood?

More silliness! A 333-word recap of ep3 of Road No. 1 on Thundie's Prattle

http://thundie.wordpress.com/2010/08/05/road-number-one-episode-3-an-even-shorter-recap/#more-10956

Who is more silly, me or the show? You be the judge!!

@ 69 Leonardswench - Stick figure

The pressure for an extremely slim body is spread out throughout Asia without exception, especially for an actress. I don't know about the direct impact of the Hollywood / Twiggy trend, but most Asians worship the stick thin figure. Daughters will be encouraged to watch their weight since they are young, and one of the first things people notice about someone is their weight. The credo is something along the lines of 'if you are slim, then you are good'. Definitely not true, but that's how it is for the majority of those in my environment (Indonesia).

I belong to the curvy side, a US size 6 (equivalent to UK / AUS size 10). I don’t shop that often here because most of the time I have to forget about the Asian labels --- they hardly cover my 36C bust, which is nothing extraordinary from the Western perspectives yet it's considered big in Asia. As a result I tend to stick to imported clothes, where the price almost doubled once they reach here. Luckily my confidence is good and I am disciplined in my grooming, so I'm fine. But if I were to become an actress, I don't know whether my confidence will stand as strong as it is right now. Either the industry changes itself for me (unlikely), I change myself (likely), or I remain the same (and most probably the job will dry up pretty quickly once the novelty wears off).

I'm interested to read what others have to say about this issue. Out of curiosity, what are the tell-tale signs of an eating disorder? Some girls are just naturally slim and I can’t tell the difference.

@janna

I can't argue too much about your reasons for not liking reverse harems about 99.9% of them are exactly as you say. Dumb and/or plucky girl surrounded by hot but albeit mean-ish/standoffish bratty boys who all turn to her for comfort and change completely because of her.

The one show that is different is Ouran Highschool host club. They openly make fun of reverse harems throughout the story. The girls is smart and could careless about any of the nonsense the boys are up to. She is in the story for the snacks and to pay off a debt. The boys are complex characters but come off really sweet and kind in a dorky almost retarded sort of way. They have every form of fanservice covered. All makes and models of just my type boys. And they mark all fanservice events with flowery borders and melodramatic music. If you have seen one reverse harem you know what they are poking fun at. Currently there is only an anime, but my hopes and dream is to see an adaptation in japan and korea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alfGL29G0PM

Current cast of dreams in Korean version would include:

Ji Yeon as Haruhi
Lee Jae Jin as Tamaki
Taemin(Shinee) as Hikaru / Kaoru
Baek Sung Hyun as Kyouya

Honey and Mori will be more difficult. Firstly, don't know may actors who want to be seen that small(Honey) on screen and next not many are tall enough to play Mori. Any suggestions?...wow how did this degenerate into fantasy casting for Ouran?

Note to self: Must figure out how and where all the trains run in my mind before I start typing.

Addressing the eating disorder thing.

Yes there is a problem, and it is rather large. while US standards of size are much much larger. Our size 2 people would be considered curvy in most asian countries.

Proof:

Uee from Afterschool(You're Beautiful) is called honey thighs because she has noticeable thighs. She also has been called curvy and fat on multiple occasions.

http://twistedstars.wordpress.com/2010/06/15/uee-joins-the-belly-fat-train/

Nicole from Kara also has been called fat for a small belly flap in clothes that too me look too tight. No matter how small you are if your clothes don't fit right you will look bad.

http://www.kpoplive.com/2010/03/23/the-mystery-behind-nicoles-weight-loss/
http://minsarang.wordpress.com/2009/07/29/news-fans-express-concern-towards-kara-nicoles-drastic-weight-lost/

Compair directly USpop star Amerie and 4 minute girls when they perform. Amerie is a dang gum stick figure and she looks about two times their size in this clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgjwkCmQruM

Koyote's Shinji fated multiple times during promotions in 2009 but this year with a new album and attitude about her weight . not a dizzy spell at all.

http://www.allkpop.com/2010/06/koyotes-shinji-has-no-plans-to-go-on-a-diet

I understand body shapes are different and I understand culturally we accept a much larger size here, but I am not blind. I see girls with eating problems. Tell tale signs?..... Bones and joints that stick out are the biggest hint! If I can see your rib cage through your clothes, you need to eat something. If your joints are obviously bulging, gums not quite right, deep groves under and around the eyes that makeup can't hide, it isn't about sleep deprivation. It is starvation! Not all actresses and singers go for this look but sooo very many of them do.

Last comparison is a clip from Star King featuring Brazilian samba dancers. that happened a week ago. Once again I get body types are different and not everyone has the same curves in the same places. Just want the majority of us who watch lots of Asian stuff to be reminded a bit of what a curved dancer's body looks like next to a idol's body. Idol comes on at about 3:20 in the clip. I do not think this idol is suffering from any major disorder as such, just pointing out the difference in what is expected culturally.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKYLNhzg2bA

"Shinji fated multiple times" :P - Fainted is what I, the goofy queen of typos, was trying to say. If I took the time to go back over the rest of this and fix the rest it would be as big as the original post. :)

@Diadda: Dream drama that will never happen but would be kind of cool? Fruits Basket. I'm aware of Honey from Ouran and immediately though of Momiji from Fruits Basket.

I read recently there's going to be a Movie based off of the manga Usagi Drop. I really like that manga. (well, before the time skip. The time skip seemed a little abrupt to me) It's one of the latest mangas I read because I'm getting old and yeah. Haha. It's like a josei manga, even though it's the story of a 20-something guy taking care of his.. well.. aunt? I thought to myself "They're doing Usagi Drop? That should get Mana Ashida." Then they did. I am happy with this~

@janna

whenever I describe Honey to other people I refer to Momiji since most everybody in the world that I live in has seen fruits basket at least. :) As show That I still think is a bizarre "how to" for living a decent life.

The movie based on Usagi Drop is news to me. Thanks for that tip I will look out for it.