Beanie level: Rooftop room dweller

As soon as Extraordinary You came out, I wanted to talk to everyone about a great piece of existential fiction it is. I couldn’t find the words back then, so now, three years later, I’ve finally written something about it! I don’t expect anyone to care, but this was my passion project 😂
It’s mostly for me, but I really hope someone else enjoys it too!
https://crabbyfordramas.wordpress.com/2022/05/14/the-existential-brilliance-of-extraordinary-you/
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    I do care about your writings and I do enjoy them! 😉

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    I found your page ages ago, read the link for this post but messed up by not pressing the back arrow so I couldn’t find this page again until today weeks later! It didn’t help that I had remembered your wallpaper as being full of cats so I kept searching for cats featured on wallpaper🫢
    Great post really interesting perspective on how the messages in the drama reflect the variations of approaches to real life e.g. destiny verses agency and all shades in between.

    I will try to find you again to read the other posts because I am too tired to do it tonight. I am realising that accessing specific Beanie fan walls only happens if you get a comment like etc from someone then you can click on their name or you have to wait for the Beanie to be promoted on the Beanie page or have their comment show up there.

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      Hahahaha, cats?? 😂

      Nice to meet you, and thank you for liking my things. Yeah, you’ve gotta remember people’s real handles if you wanna be able to find them easily. To make it easier to you to find me again, here: https://crabbyfordramas.wordpress.com/

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        Thank you for saving me from myself and ineptness. I will be able to read at my leisure now.😊

        Yes, I never did find the person with the cat wallpaper so it’s just as well I found your post again by chance.

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Hey guys, I wrote a thing desconstructing some classic second male lead archetypes! It was really fun and I actually learned a lot while putting it together. It’s here if you’re interested!

https://crabbyfordramas.wordpress.com/2022/04/22/second-male-lead-archetypes/
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I realised it’s been a while since I shared how much I love Kim Ji-suk, so:

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I heard that some people here have been watching F4 Thailand too! Because this is predominately a Korean drama site, I wasn’t sure if it would be worth putting them here, but I’ve analysed episode-by-episode about half of the show! If you’re interested, I’m linking my final review here, and you can look at the other posts if you’re so inclined: https://crabbyfordramas.wordpress.com/2022/04/15/f4-thailand-review/

Man, this was such a good show.
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    It was such a good show! Like I’m already ready to rewatch it!

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    Did you watch Wit and Folly podcast/videos on Youtube?

    Today, they will make a livestream show to talk about the whole show, if you are interested!

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      Ah, I saw them on Twitter, but no, I never watched their podcast! Perhaps when I rewatch, I’ll do that!

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        They’re big fan of the original manga and watched the different adaptations. They really liked this version.

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          I’ve seen… six versions now, I think? 😂
          And I would agree that this version is right up at the top.

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            Officially. There was Let’s Go Watch Meteor Shower in 2009 (a Cdrama), but the PD said it was inspired but not a veritable adaptation.

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            That’s one I’ve seen! It’s not completely faithful, but It’s also definitely Boys Over Flowers 😂

            It’s very much implied that they just couldn’t be bothered to get the licence

            It’s good! A slow burn though – I’m not sure I’d have the patience to watch it again?

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            I didn’t watch it. Did you watch the both seasons?

            Yeah, clearly they didn’t want to pay for the licence :p

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            I only watched the first season – when I realised the hero was going to have amnesia for the whole second season, I thought that was even more amnesia than I can cope with, and I like that trope! 😂

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I feel like I have a duty, to myself and to all you wonderful people, to ensure this is never forgotten.

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I realise it\’s February, but I just finished writing about my favourite dramas of 2021! The general theme is \”don\’t worry, we\’re gonna be fine\”.

https://crabbyfordramas.wordpress.com/2022/02/03/my-favourites-of-2021/

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If you want another opinion on Hospital Playlist – *checks calendar* – FOUR MONTHS after it ended, I wrote a review!

https://crabbyfordramas.wordpress.com/2022/01/26/hospital-playlist-review/

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    Oh, I really liked your review!

    My issue with this show, it’s the characters are the same. They didn’t grow at all during 2 seasons. The love stories weren’t well written, I couldn’t really root for those couples. They didn’t really make sense.

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    Nice review! I think you got to the heart of why it was hard to connect to these characters–we werent seeing things from their pov necessarily. And I think that makes feeling connected to thw romances even harder when you think about it that way. Im not a teacher or a prof but it seems to me that one of the big no nos is that you arent supposed to have a romantic relationship with a student and if the attraction is there and mutual you should at least wait until they arent your student anymore. These are teaching drs–actively teaching the upcoming drs in their departments. Their teaching styles, the way they relate to their students (and vice versa) have all been important parts of the drama. So….it would seem that they would have learned the dont date students thing. And they are all excellent top of their field drs/profs so it never made sense and never sat well with me that 2 of the 4 men all dated women who they (or their friends) were actively teaching. Since the drama wasnt from their pov we werent invited in to see how they thought they never explained WHY or how these men fell at this time. Theyve been teaching and working for a long time so this couldnt have veen the first time that they were tempted by attractive students. I dont know. I became bored and dropped it at the midway point of season 2 (winter garden girl having imposter syndrome and overstepping when the one doctor I did like (the one who wound up with their one female friend) was trying to get help for the abused woman) so maybe they explained all of that stuff in the back half. I doubt it though.

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      Sorry I’m getting back to you so late, you’ve brought up a really valid point!
      I’m torn, because Min-ha and Seok-hyung were easily my favourite characters, but as a ship they’re a little questionable. The Winter Garden Ship isn’t so bad because Jeong-won wasn’t part of Gyeo-eul’s department, so you could assume that he didn’t have the same sort of teacher’s authority as Seok-hyung had for Min-ha. I wanted so badly for them to make a cute couple, and they did… except Seok-hyung occasionally comes across like an older brother trying to be patient with his impatient and energetic younger sister 😅
      Not the BEST dynamic for a romantic pairing, must say.

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    Thanks for your review. I think the issue you raised has to do with the drama format in that it is actually an episodic sitcom / sitdrama developed for multi-seasons. It is not a conventional drama with any central plot to drive a story or an intent for characters growth per se. I love it all the same but when ranking a year’s dramas, HP is not comparable for these reasons.

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I felt I had to share this beautiful video of Lee Dong-wook and Lee Su-hyun singing City of Stars! The gentle waves in the background make it so comforting.

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If anyone remembers Orange Marmalade or thinks about how faithful adaptations should be, I wrote something you might like!

https://crabbyfordramas.wordpress.com/2021/07/25/orange-marmalade-and-the-question-of-adaptation/
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    No emoticon or gif exists for my expression when this show turned randomly into a Sageuk.

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    but when drama aired, fans did not like it

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    This is a really interesting analysis. I went in cold to the drama and didn’t go past episode 2, partly because I’m not into recent vampires (only very, very old ones) and it was pretty clear the central message was about discrimination and I’d already got it by episode 2. Also I find school kids and their “complications” a bit, “same old, so what”. Having read your analysis though, I’d begin again and I wouldn’t mind reading the webtoon. I like that you like both for different reasons. I guess I should read the webtoon first?

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      I know what you mean about recent vampires – I got into vampire fiction lately, and it’s so interesting seeing how the vampire has changed over time. First the vampire was a sexy woman tempting a decent man off the path of goodness, in everything from Don’t Wake the Dead to Lucy in Dracula, then it was a hideous monster like in Nosferatu, and then you’ve got modern sympathetic depictions like in Twilight that are reallyyyy underwhelming. Vampires work best when they’re a metaphor, I think – Twilight had no deeper intent with the vampires (except in that they represented idealised conservative values 😂), but Orange Marmalade really tries to have the vampire represent minorities who deal with prejudice everyday.

      Oooh, that’s a good question, should you do the drama or the webtoon first?
      Because I read the webtoon first, I found the drama really underwhelming… so maybe it would make more sense to watch the drama first? Then you would have nothing to compare it to, and it would be nice, and then you could introduce yourself to the more complex and challenging webtoon. Of course, if you don’t like it or you’re still bored, then skip the drama (I like it, but it is a pretty 6/10 show) and just read the webtoon, it’s definitely not boring!

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        I remember coming upon a book on vampires and something in it really stayed with me: the spiritual vampire!! No outward indication but after you’d been with one, you were exhausted, drained, walking dead. I’ve met a few in my time. I agree that metaphoric vampires are best, and referring to prejudice and marginalisation works very well. Thanks for the advice. I’ll locate the drama first up. I’m always happy to watch YJG too.

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So the Annarasumanara (a brilliant surrealist webtoon) adaptation cast Ji Chang-wook and I can\’t decide how I feel. Once again his character is a grown man paired with a schoolgirl.

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    There’s something inherently unsettling about a mysterious nameless man showing up and teaching a young girl magic tricks, right? The webtoon is sober with all its uncomfortable themes, but now that Ji Chang-wook has been cast, I’m concerned they’re going to play the relationship between the main characters as a romance.
    Plus in its favour: Hwang In-yeob is going to play Na Il-deung, which is SO EXCITING. I doubt the drama will play with the big head imagery of the webtoon, though.

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      Why is Wookie so wedded to being skeevy?

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        Honestly, LT, do his people like that he has this image of creeping on girls now? He doesn’t even suit the character. Like, I can’t imagine him walking up to a girl and asking her, “Do you believe in magic?” without irony. I wouldn’t have cast him – I would have cast Jang Ki-yong or something (it’s been ages since he had a good role anyway), someone who would better handle the nuances of the magician.

        Prove me wrong, Ji Chang-wook, I miss liking you!

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      I don’t think romance will be shoved in because that will deviate from the whole purpose of the story.

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        Well, exactly, that’s my worry! When the drama for Happy If You Died came out, it basically ignored the messaging of the webtoon entirely. LT wrote a thing that explains it better than I could:
        https://invisibledragon.home.blog/2019/03/23/very-very-happy-if-you-died/

        I think that this story in the wrong hands could be a disaster.

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          Thanks for sharing this. I enjoyed watching the drama but was quite disappointed with the love line. I assumed it was the same in the manhwa but that does not appear to be the case. It’s too bad they completely missed the point of the original work.

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        I highly doubt that the that romance will be played up either. I think they are more likely to play up the romance between Na Il-deung and the FL. He was set up as a type of tsundere who learns better cause of the influence of the FL and the magician, though he had more layers than most. And, the webtoon hinted more at their relationship which I could see a kdrama running further with.

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      The big head imagery was the interesting part of the webtoon. But now that we know a good looking actor will play the role, it takes away the imagery the webtoon had. I wonder if the drama will be as interesting as the webtoon without all the imagery the webtoon had.

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        They would have had to ugly-fy him or pretty him up one way or the other, so the actor isn’t really telling until we get character posters.
        But yeah, I didn’t really get how they are going to translate the imagery. It was the more interesting part of the webtoon.

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    I UN-adopted him already and now crossed out his name from my list of babies. 🥺 Now when I think of him I get some creepy vibe.I hope he proves me wrong in his next projects; I won’t watch, no, but I’ll always read the comments about them.

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    The webtoon is actually really good – but I was stressed out until it became clear that there was no romance between the magician and the girl. But yes, I only want to watch it as a drama if they get that out of the way really quickly

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    AGAIN???

    Istg is he TRYING to set up his image as a creep? This is becoming almost a deliberate pattern and I am extremely uncomfortable.

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Mad respect for the money and effort KBS is putting into River Where the Moon Rises! I hope the staff are getting proper compensation.

https://mydramalist.com/article/kbs-decides-to-re-shoot-the-first-6-episodes-of-river-where-the-moon-rises-with-na-in-woo

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    Na In Woo is doing so well too!! Was already expecting the show to experience a car crash, but well, they got out of that unscathed! Hope the prod company is taking care of everyone, they’ll overworked for sure 🙁

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    Now, even if the drama is a complete mess but for hot and hot (at least to me), I’m watching because all this effort and hard working deserves so much respect!!

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This mv is so gorgeous!
(Spoilers for Love Alarm 2)

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I’ve been listening to this on repeat all day, send help!

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If anyone is interested, I wrote a review of The Uncanny Counter (yes, it’s pretty late, and no one cares now, but still):

https://crabbyfordramas.wordpress.com/2021/02/24/the-uncanny-counter-review/
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If there\’s anyone here who likes Nobunaga Concerto, I wrote a thing:

https://crabbyfordramas.wordpress.com/2021/02/15/rewriting-history-in-nobunaga-concerto/

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    @munie2812, thank you for recommending it to me! ❤️

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      Awwww…u made it 🤗🤗🤗😉…hehe..I read those in your website as well. I love how Oguri have chemistry with everyone eventhough there is not much kiss/romantic scene 😅😅. And yes even is RMPW…Currently Im watching his old drama Tokyo Dogs & the bickering with his partner is funny as hell lolll..My other Jdrama Ive finished last week is Hitaru no Hikari & Tantei no Tantei…I feel like I’m into the jdrama more than kdrama since last year…& just taking time watching their old dramas ^^. Still, this website has been my home for kdrama addict for 10 years…I love to come bck here once in a while & read whats new in kdrama i guess. Congratulations on your own blog & keep on writing ^^

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I realise it’s a few months late, but I wrote a Year In Review thing!
https://crabbyfordramas.wordpress.com/2021/02/08/my-favourites-of-2020/
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It’s Queen Cheorin Day! Woohoooooo!

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Happy Boxing Day, everyone! Here’s my review of the KBS Drama Specials – there are some really good ones this year!

https://crabbyfordrama.blogspot.com/2020/12/kbs-drama-specials-2020.html
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I finished my scathing review of Was It Love!

https://crabbyfordrama.blogspot.com/2020/12/was-it-love-no-it-was-not.html?m=1

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    Crabby for Drama is a great URL name

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    Great writing, but seeing No Ae Jung’s contorted face again almost made me sick. I could even hear her screaming. 🤢

    If we had a vote for Worst Drama of the Year I’m giving WAS IT LOVE all my votes.

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    I really want to read this, but I am going to have to fortify myself for the journey back into something that made me so angry it drained all of my psychic powers.

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    This is great, Frabby @frabbycrabsis loves KBS Drama Specials and cathartic too. No one could have said it better. I had to eat some comfort food as I read it (it’s too early in the day for alcohol). It was so bad in so many ways. Ae-jung’s character was monumentally stupid, and more than that, grossly insensitive and damaging to her child. The children were wonderful, and Pa-do and Dong-chan’s moment had truth in it. I wonder about the writer. Was he a middle-aged man? It makes sense to me if he was. Not that I want to dump on middle-aged men, but the whole drama smacks of someone who only sees women through certain stereotypes. Enough said. I do not want to waste anymore of my life on this total waste of space. It’s good that you put up a warning sign.

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      Thank you for reading it, despite your physical aversion! Now that I’ve written this, I never have to talk about it again 🎉

      Because you said that about the writer, I went to MDL to see who it was… No one was listed 😂
      If no one wrote this drama, I guess that explains why it was so bad!

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        Funny. I looked it up some time again and it was some middle-aged man. I guess he’s gone into hiding. ROFL

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But seriously, WHERE IS THE REST OF LOVE ALARM?

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