walkwithheroes: [The Princess Bride] ([Kiss Again] Love Across Cultures)
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This past week I finally got around to watching the first two episodes of this new Korean drama. I was a bit worried about this one, not because of the horrible ratings, but because the last time Group Eight did a Japanese manga adaption, it was Boys Before Flowers. And, I think we all know what a train wreak that drama became during its second half. Of course, it did have one thing going for it: the director, Hwang In Roe, who directed The Return of Iljimae and Goong. Still, my flist has been buzzing about it, so I gave it a go.


And the verdict. . .it's kind of adorable and awesome. Seriously, this is a very underrated show!






There have been several adaptions of this classic manga:

Itazura na Kiss from Japan. It aired it 1996 and stared Aihara Kotoko and Kashiwabara Takashi. It was a fairly short drama (just 9 episodes) and aired while the manga was still going on. It wasn't very true to the manga in terms of storyline, but the characters were spot on with their manga counterparts. I really enjoyed it: Kotoko was simple but sweet; Naoki was cold and distant. They worked well and I adored it.


It Started With a Kiss and They Kiss Again from Taiwan. The first part aired in 2005 and the second in 2007. Together the two dramas last forty episodes and go thru the entire manga: from high school to post-marriage. The thing about this adaption that really bothered me was Kotoko/Xiang Qin was so painfully unintelligent. At one point they state her IQ as about 80 or so. She was a sweet girl, but she was just too stupid. And, I hated that her whole life was Naoki/Zhi Shu. Also, this one was a bit too fantasy-ish. So, this coupled with the crazed Ariel/Joe fan girls made this one my least favorite.


Itazura na Kiss from Japan. It was an anime that aired in 2008 for twenty-five episodes. It also covered the whole manga: from high school to post-marriage; it even showed the couple having a little girl, and showed all their friends and family older. (I laughed when Kinnosuke and Christine were shown to have about seven kids.)I thought this was adorable and well written.


Now. . . we have the Korean adaption of this manga: it was meant to be twenty episodes, but has been cut to sixteen.


The drama stars Kim Hyun Joong (Boys Before Flowers) as Naoki/Seung Jo and Jung So Min (Bad Guy) as Kotoko/Hani. It co-stars several other great actors: Lee Tae Sung (Time Between Dog and Wolf) as Kinnosuke/Joon Gu; Jung Hye Young (East of Eden, The Return of Iljimae) as SJ's mother; Oh Kyung Soo (Dal Ja's Spring) as SJ's dad; Kang Nam Kil (The Return of Iljimae)as Hani's dad. Other actors in the project include: Lee Si Young (Boys Before Flowers, Birth of the Rich); Yoon Seung Ah (Death Bell 2, Hero) and Jang Ah Young (Take Care of the Young Lady).


After watching two episodes, I have a few thoughts:


1. The show has a very 'real' fell to it. I watch this show and it's very "slice of life" to me, because there are no "evil" parents or horrible secrets. It's just two people slowly getting to know one another and slowly discovering themselves as they grow up. I like that nothing is overly dramatic: their biggest issues are making good grades and finding out what sort of things they like.



2. Kim Hyun Joong has really improved as an actor. I don't know if it was just me, but he was a bit flat in Boys Before Flowers, but here he's a bit better. He's emoting and he's smiling and saying his lines with affectation. I also want to say that I think Jung So Min has a lot of potential as an actress and I look forward to her future projects.



3. I love how closely this adaption is sticking to the original manga! The storyline, the characters, even the feel! I think of all the adaptions, this one is the most true to the manga. Which is why the low ratings make me so sad.


4. With only eight episodes left, I'm wondering just how far they'll go into the storyline. Will SJ nearly marry someone else for the good of his father's company? Will Hani become a nurse? Will the two marry? Will Christine show up? Will Hani's friend get pregnant? I've decided that I love all these characters, so I want them all to have a happy ending. I really really want Joon Gu to find love, because he's spent years loving Hani. I hope it at least ends with the wedding, and then maybe a brief flash forward to check in a couple of years down the road.
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