Webnovel Review: Perfect Fiance (完美未婚夫)

Webnovel Review: Perfect Fiance (完美未婚夫)

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Since this is the first Saturday of the year, I did not want to miss the review. I had stopped reading this short novel when the translator had to take a break halfway through. For the review purposes, I ended up binge reading it today itself.

Personally, I am a bit conflicted about this novel. Should it be a review or a recommendation, I still can’t decide. Let me try penning my thoughts here once and I might change my mind.

This is a very cheesy, very corny, full of fluff, short romance story about two people, Su Jin and Lu Xi. Su Jin transmigrates into a novel she was reading while on an airplane when the airplane gets into an accident. Originally an orphan, Su Jin finds herself in the body of a girl who was switched at birth and was supposed to be a rich young lady. Her original parents in the novel had just acknowledged her as their daughter and thus, for original Su Jin, her wealthy life had just started.

She also finds that she had been betrothed to a young mysterious young master of another influential family by her grandfather some time in the past and now she might have to honor that arrangement. The young master turns out to be Lu Xi, an award winning director of movies. Since Su Jin knew the plot of the novel, she knew that she would become a villain and the girl who was switched at birth had feelings for Lu Xi as well. She had, thus decided to remain far away from the guy.

By twist of fate, Lu Xi actually falls for Su Jin and rejects the other girl much to the surprise of Su Jin. From there on, starts Lu Xi’s chase of Su Jin, trying to break the hard shell she had over her heart.

It is initially revealed that Lu Xi might have connections with Su Jin from her original life which adds a really great mystery element to the plot.

Within 59 chapters, I would not really bother about character development as such. Su Jin starts as an aloof girl who doesn’t want to ruin the plot of the novel she was reading and hence, has the door to her heart closed off. But along the way, she starts depending on Lu Xi. Lu Xi, on the other hand, has been shown your typical handsome, breathtaking cold person who only dotes his lover. Other characters are all really likable and there are no villains in the plot. May be one person in the beginning but I don’t even understand what that one incident’s purpose was.

But this novel does pack a bunch of surprises plotwise. You might find some sci-fi stuff later on. Moreover, it is very good at tying all the loose ends at the end.

The thing I like the most about the novel is how it explores different kinds of love; love at first sight, gradually developed love over lifetimes, childhood love and love that is just not there anymore. I would say, the author has used some profound language to describe some of the most mundane things in life. Plus, translator has done really well in conveying those words.

My only complaint was that I had really gone out of touch with it once it stopped updating. As I read some 30 chapters today, there was not as much thrill as there was when I had just started following it. Not that I’m blaming the translator, life happens to everyone and I understand that. Anyway, I am slowly beginning to get bored of webnovels since they all just keep repeating similar plot lines. This one is definitely a bit different and half a day read, so that’s good.

In the end, I still can’t decide if I like it or not. It has its plus and minuses. I will keep it as a review only.

Conclusion: I’ll probably give it a 8/10 and recommend it to those who don’t really get cringed with cheesy dialogues. I liked the mystery part and how it was unraveled, although it was a bit predictable as well but the sci-fi part was something I could not even imagine in my dreams would be woven into it.

Final feelings: ⊙.☉

Read Here: Perfect Fiance on Meraki Translations

Personal Section: Happy New Year Readers. I am still stuck with weekend work in the new year but hopefully that will be over soon. I will definitely lose my overtime but who cares. I will have normal weekends and I would be able to work on my personal projects.

It had been long since I had some time to myself, without the need of going anywhere. And suddenly finding free time today was both surprising and hilarious in the sense, I had not planned on what to do with it. Nonetheless, I will go to bed early.

Did I tell you guys I became an ordained minister two weeks back and now can sign marriage licenses of couples? If you are in NJ (USA) and are looking for a person to officiate your marriage, contact me, lol. I did it on the request of a very dear friend of mine. I was really honored and elated when he asked me to officiate his marriage. This is for you my dear friend, very many congratulations!

Today’s song: Well, since I posted SKZ song last week, I ended up revisiting the whole playlist again and now they are the only artists in my playlist once again. I guess I’ll post another song from them, hopefully I haven’t posted this one before:

Love the lightness of this song ❤

Year 2019 in Review; Welcome 2020

Year 2019 in Review; Welcome 2020

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Time to change the schedule as usual lol. I just felt like writing this since it’s the last Saturday of the year, of the decade. Dayum, time sure flies.

There is not much to review as such but as I reflect on the past year, I do think I have grown quite a lot. And made dozens or so more friends. And solidified some previous friendships while cut out a few people from my life as well.

Moved places, learnt to thrive under pressures. Still don’t have any stable place to be at but tackling one thing at a time. Set up a new home, including buying all the furniture that I never bought when I was a student. Also realized that all those years I spent honing my listening skills for Korean and Japanese might not have been as much waste as I have always thought, since I can actually understand conversations. I shall take it to next level now and practice for real. 2020 resolution.

Another resolution I have is to save more money. I have been working towards a debt free life and well, I still need to take an account of where I stand right now. Guess, that’s what I am doing on the only holiday that I get on January 1st, 2020.

Also added a few anime and dramas under my belt. But cut off from manga altogether. Did read quite a bit of webcomics including Korean and Chinese, but that’s about it. Discovered Stray Kids as artists. We all lost a few artists to mental health and a few left their respective groups.

2019 was also a year of scandals in K-pop world, not that it’s not normal. But a few persisted with their love, and few just went out of their minds. Happens with most of us, nothing new.

All in all, it was a year of major tragedies. Our beloved animation house went through a major fire too. All the hard-work lost and so many people came together to help them. Does restore your faith in humanity, does it not?

In terms of learning, I have been learning much at my new job. Yet again, I am not even sure if I will be able to stay in this country to begin with. Anyway, we will enjoy while we can. Then it’s all up to God or whatever entity you believe in.

With this, we will close the year and the decade with much blessings and love to everyone who has supported and read this blog through all these years. The new website is still in plan and I have few more things under works. Hopefully I get them to finish and showcase next year.

Webnovel Review: Trial Marriage Husband: Need to Work Hard (试婚老公，要给力)

Webnovel Review: Trial Marriage Husband: Need to Work Hard (试婚老公，要给力)

by eastasianlover ♥ 3 Comments

Since I did not have any finished webtoons to review today and I did miss my first week’s post, I am going to change the things a bit and review a webnovel today.

Again, I did not want to review popular stuff. But given that I am being very picky about webnovels these days, I gotta start with the completed ones which I actually followed and finished reading myself. For now, this is the only completed one in my list. So, I’ll go with this.

It’s a story about a couple, Tang Ning and Mo Ting who marry each other because Tang Ning’s fiance cheated on her and Mo Ting’s fiancee never showed up for marriage. Tang Ning proposes Mo Ting to marry her, given their similar circumstances and Mo Ting agrees. Then it’s all about exacting revenges on her family, her fiance, making and eliminating more enemies and striking forever friendships along the way.

From the plot and the title, you would understand that this is a review and not really a recommendation. Having spent countless days, waiting for the chapters to be updated everyday, I can safely say that it was not worth it. Why I even finished it, is beyond me. Although I understand, it’s from the title of the novel itself, but damn that’s suspicious circumstances of marriage.

Would you, in real life, in your right mind, go to the nearest man you find near a marriage bureau coz you overheard them saying that their fiancee never showed up and be like, marry me? Okay, you were heartbroken at that point, you might have taken that step. But would you, in your right mind, just accept the marriage proposal from a random stranger, without any background information just like that? If you said yes to any of the questions, I am judging you very hard right now. 👀

Everything screams generic about this novel. Tang Ning was a model, got cheated by her lover, lost her international career for him, married Mo Ting who happened to be the king of entertainment industry and he launches her to become an actress. She takes on the role of producer and director later and that’s how her character grows. She also has the generic motto of I don’t make the first move. You attack me, I destroy you.

Mo Ting is your usual wife doting husband who grows from CEO of the best entertainment company in China to an actor and a scriptwriter because of his wife. Their friends and family have their own struggles and growth moments. Oh btw, Tang Ning also has a generic family with a step sister who wants to control the Tang business and is defeated by our female lead badly enough to not be able to make a comeback.

Am I happy having have read the whole thing? Nopes. By the end I was feeling like it was same thing being repeated again and again and again. A new enemy would appear, try to harm her or her family or her friends. And then she would make sure they don’t appear in her life again.

Perhaps the only good thing about the whole novel is the portrayal of netizens and how fickle minded they are. How they change their opinions about their idol in a moment and the hardships the people in entertainment industry have to go through, especially because of their so-called fans.

This is also one of the reasons I chose to review this novel. The recent incident with Sulli, Goo Hara and Cha In Ha was just sad. Like however one looks that they don’t really care, somewhere if people keep bashing you for being yourself, then you can’t help but go into deep depression. Poor people, how much they would have been suffering to finally take that step.

Apologies to have deviated from the review. Anyway, it is rather medium length per Chinese webnovels standards with 1274 chapters in total. The original story ends at chapter 1190 and then the story of Mo Ting’s and Tang Ning’s three children continues, which is more refreshing than the main plot tbh. Translation is of great quality and while the releases were happening, the translator was the most punctual of all the translations I have seen so far. I can name only one other translator this punctual.

Conclusion: All in all, I’ll give it 6/10 out of which 4/5 are for translation quality and rest for raising the issue of netizens in the novel and perhaps how it seemed interesting in the beginning.

Final Feelings: ┐(￣ヘ￣)┌

Read Here: Trial Marriage Husband on webnovel
PS: If you want some Spirit Stones (now coins) to begin your Qidian journey, you can sign up with this link: Qidian Referral Link
Or if you’re looking for a code, here is mine: B6UfgVFS

Personal Section: My apartment building had a broken boiler last week and it was just so hard to be using washroom early in the morning in -7 deg C cold. Damn these guys.

Anyway, another anime season is coming to an end. Most of the anime are ending next week and I am pretty sad. But I am also excited about Haikyuu’s new season coming up in January. Ugh, I wish I had more holidays like all my friends but all I am getting is just the Christmas day and New Year’s day. Anyway, I did manage to complete a lot of big tasks this weekend and am really looking forward to the one day off. Wishing all my readers a very merry Christmas and a warm, safe and happy new year 2020.

In today’s world, it’s very important to have proof of everything, so stay vigilant as well people. And with this, I’ll close out and start preparing for the work I have tomorrow. (Yes, I do work on Sundays!)

Today’s song: I am back with Stray Kids. I don’t know what songs I have already posted though. Let’s see, hopefully this I did not

C-Drama Review: The Tomb of the Sea (沙海)

C-Drama Review: The Tomb of the Sea (沙海)

by eastasianlover ♥ 2 Comments
Tomb of the sea 1

So, I just finished this disaster yet the answer to the whole Mystic Nine/ The Lost Tomb series, that I had to review it right now, no matter what. The two reviews of prior series are very popular on my website and I’m pretty sure my readers have been looking for a closure to the whole thing. I won’t delay anyone and just dive right into it.

For sure, this review is not for anyone who has not watched Mystic Nine and The Lost Tomb. If you’re yet to watch those series, please refrain from reading this post. I am assuming here that people who want to start The Tomb of the Sea have already watched at least one of those two.

As you know from the previous series, the whole Daomu Biji series is about nine clans famously known as “The Mystic Nine”. Mystic Nine was an introduction to the nine clans and how the whole tomb raiding saga started. The Lost Tomb dealt with heir of one of the clans and how he came to know about the existence of this old thing. The Tomb of the Sea is about an outsider, who is a chosen entity to help the Nine Clans deal with a fake tenth clan that has been wrecking havoc in their lives.

Initial expedition where both Li Cu and Wu Xie go together. But how do they get to charge all the devices they have?

To be honest, I don’t have any good views on this drama. Visual effects and such have definitely been improved. There were not many to begin with, unlike the Mystic Nine where there were all kinds of bugs and creatures. There were some here too, but nothing ‘mysterious’ about them.

The plot is a hodge podge of 5 different things happening at the same time. I just can’t imagine how the author wrote the whole story. It follows Wu Xie from The Lost Tomb who is now somewhere in his late 30s early 40s? He has been chasing after a few people who claim to be the tenth clan. Not only the tenth clan has been creating feuds among the nine clans, they also have some beef with the Zhang clan of Mystic Nine.

Wu Xie recruits a high school student called Li Cu who is similar to younger him but otherwise, has nothing to do with the Mystic Nine or even their business. Why he was chosen, we have no idea. He sends Li Cu to the desert to uncover the secrets of an ancient city called GuTongJing.

Side by side, Li Cu’s friends back home keep getting weird ancient stuff from the caves and the delivery people claim it to be coming from Li Cu. His two best friends, Wang Hao and Su Wan also get embroiled into the whole thing.

The couple that never happened

On the other hand, we are introduced to still alive Zhang Rishan, Zhang Qishan’s (Fo Ye’s) lieutenant (played by Zhang Ming En in both Mystic Nine and this series) who is now heading the nine clans. He is helping Wu Xie take care of the tenth clan while trying to maintain order in the organization. But since he is not directly related to the Zhang clan, people don’t really like to listen to him. What’s more puzzling is that Zhang Rishan has developed some real good powers and he has got the Zhang clan’s tattoo too. Truly bewildering.

Now, to the already initiated, all this is still understandable. But, as usual, the plot is full of holes. Actually, I would go as far to say that the plot is a big hole in itself. After watching it, I’m just left with so many questions, I don’t think I am getting any sleep tonight. Also, the disconnect between The Lost Tomb and this series is so infuriating.

Their interactions are just such sugar moments

The only thing this series is good for is answering some questions left by the other two series and the movie. I don’t think I have reviewed the Lost Tomb movie yet. But anyway, this series brings them all together. Which is why, I say, you won’t be able to make any sense out of it unless you watch first two series and the movie too. There are enough references of past characters that you just can’t watch it as a stand alone series. And just for that, I thank the writers to take it up till the end.

What’s more annoying is that the series has majorly been shot in dark. Half the times, you don’t know what is happening. Half of the series is lost in translation because no one has officially taken it up for subbing as far as I know. The official channel had left it open for fans to translate and someone did try. I personally think they are more of a machine translation and it’s hard to be making any head or tail of it, especially on the YT channel. The place where I actually watched had decent subs in later episodes. I will post the official link in subsequent sections.

Okay, I am being really biased here with posting the pics of Zhang Ming En and Yang Rong lol

The best thing to happen in this series is Zhang Rishan getting a love interest. And it’s so similar to how forward Zanilia Zhao’s character was towards Fo Ye in Mystic Nine. OMG, I just love the couple. In the name of romance, it’s the only one there. And perhaps the only segment I really looked forward to.

In summary, the only pro to the series is getting to the bottom of unanswered questions from previous series. And of course, watching three cuties namely, Zhang Ming En, Li Cu and Yang Rong. And also, perhaps reliving the memories of Mystic Nine because I still find it the best among all four.

❤

Conclusion: The only reason I would recommend it to anyone is for the closure it finally provides to the fans of Daomu Biji. We, the people who cannot read Chinese, would never really know how true it is to the novels. But at least it’s something.

Final Feelings: ಠ╭╮ಠ

Watch here: Official YouTube Channel
You can also watch it at dramacool.movie (search in the search box).

Personal Section: It’s another year end time eh. I missed a few weeks again but I genuinely have been so busy with work, that I don’t even get enough rest these days unfortunately. Even on Thanksgiving, I did not really get to sleep. Finally took two days off to make an important trip but ended up sleeping the whole time and missing the trip lol.

Anyway, I feel a bit recharged finally but unfortunately I still can’t promise writing regularly. And, so, I won’t promote my ko-fi page because I am not producing any special content for people who are buying me coffees, not as of yet at least. But I will definitely update everything once the project the I work on weekends for ends and my routine returns to normal.

In other news, I finally got to taste the consulting overnight travel. Got to travel to upstate New York for a project. It was a great experience, a small quaint town, slow life and tons of snow. Been a while since I have loved snow so much. I will stop here and hopefully meet you guys next week.

Today’s song: I finally got to listen to Double Knot from SKZ and really liked it. Too bad, I had already posted it in one of the previous posts. Gotta find a new one then. Let’s see. I like this one, a bubbly cheerful song:

Webtoon Review: Ecstasy Hearts

Webtoon Review: Ecstasy Hearts

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Well, although the author’s name sounds Korean (SilentMaru), it seems the webtoon is originally English, so no original Korean name this time. It’s a complete webtoon, with 101 chapters and available for free to read on webtoon. Please note that this a review and not really a recommendation. Then, let’s dive into it right away.

Shimizu Anya is the child of world’s best two tennis players. And hence, she carries this weight of expectations around her to be the best in tennis as well. She might not have been as passionate about tennis as her parents might have wanted her to be, but provoking from this kid called Axel Koizumi ignites a fire within her to conquer him and become the best. The guy Axel, on the other hand, seems to be an effortless genius in tennis, who doesn’t need much effort to overpower Anya, much to the chagrin of the girl. And thus starts a journey, of the girl, to show everyone how her genes and hard work can lead to her taking the crown of tennis queen of the world.

I love the art tbh. And it evolved overtime to become even better.

If we go into depth a bit, Anya is your everyday girl and I relate a lot to her, especially as an Asian kid. This excelling in every field in school and developing rivalry with your classmates hits home too hard.

And Axel is that guy who doesn’t seem to be working as hard as you but still winning at life more than you. He has his own past and problems for sure. But, you can’t help but feel jealous. He helps Anya become better overtime. Oh man! This takes me back to my school days.

Again, the backdrop of the story is quite common. To sum it up in one line, it’s just a girl’s one sided rivalry dating back to her childhood days which leads to a lifelong love. Now that we have got that out of the way, let’s talk about the plus points of the webtoon. I just love the art of this one. Aesthetically pleasing, amazing use of colors, as close to real world as it could be. Sometimes can be too shiny but still lovely.

Plot starts great, there is good character development for Anya and Axel both initially. A lot of chapters come with background music on the official website, so that’s a plus too, gives another dimension to the whole thing. For people, who are interested, there are too many pictures to drool over, it’s got that great an art.

Hot dudes everywhere

Too bad, oh, too bad. The author fell ill towards the end of the webtoon. They might have fell ill earlier but I guess the pressure of releasing the chapters each week took a toll and apparently an old injury came to haunt them back. The abrupt ending of the webtoon led to a lot of complaints and frustration from readers.

The plot reduced to a bunch of unfinished story lines, deviating from the tennis arena altogether and just focusing on the relationships between the characters. Which might not be that bad but departing from the whole premise is just, basically, crumbling down the whole thing. None of the characters got their deserved ending (actually any ending), and we readers were left with hundreds and thousands of questions.

However much high rating I wanna give this webtoon, I just cannot bring myself to give it a good rating nor can I bring myself to rate it too poorly. Now that I think about it, I probably actually vested myself into it. So, if you come across this webtoon, and find yourself enjoying it, just tread with caution. I’ll warn you against the disappointment you’re in for.

I just hope, as every other fan, that the author gets well soon and provides us with an alternative ending, may be a season 2? But who knows. For now, it is what it is. The unfortunate thing about this webtoon is, there is no one to blame for. It was great at the beginning. It had unlimited potential to become one of the best webtoons out there. But well, unfortunate things happen, this is life.

So, there you go.

Conclusion: Great art, awesome characters, cliche story, poor ending. I will rate it 5/10 just because I put so much time into it. In terms of number of chapters though, it is, well short. And I like it that way, so I shouldn’t be complaining much about it.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention but there are too many hot scenes in this one, so I would suggest reading it with discretion.

Final Feelings: ╮(╯ _╰ )╭

Read here: Ecstasy Hearts on Webtoons.com

Personal Section: Nothing much to write here. It has been truly hard to juggle everything with my lack of sleep. But I am finally getting Fridays off, so I have something to celebrate lol.

I’m heading out to my Sunday work after finishing this post real fast. Everyone, let’s look forward to Thanksgiving holidays where it is celebrated.

Tis the season of winter, a chill is running down everywhere, including my relationship with some people. Hope, spring comes soon 😀

Today’s song: Let’s go with this guy, I don’t even know why I chose it:

K-movie Reco: Innocent Witness (증인)

K-movie Reco: Innocent Witness (증인)

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I changed the drama reco of the month twice for different reasons. First I was going to review a K-drama called Partners with Justice. I changed it because I saw another drama which I couldn’t recommend enough and wanted everyone to watch as soon as they can. Realized I don’t have any pictures for that post.

I saw pictures for this one on my desktop and now I am writing this post because I cannot recommend this movie enough either. Anyway, I’ll get started.

Innocent witness tells the story of an autistic child Ji Woo (Kim Hyang Gi) who, inadvertently, witnesses the murder of an old depressed man living next door. His maid Mi Ran is charged with his murder but is acquitted thanks to her defense lawyer, Soon Ho (Jung Woo Sung). Later he realizes that he might have committed a mistake in disregarding Ji Woo as a witness because of her ‘disability’ while the girl might actually be speaking the truth. He takes initiative to get to know her, enter her world and finally reveals the truth behind the murder.

This is Soon Ho’s dad, such a liberal mind

Now, not to give out spoilers but it’s very apparent from the beginning who the actual murderer is. That is not even the main premise of the movie I would assume. What the movie does the best is to raise the awareness about these incredibly gifted people who had autism. Ji Woo has great hearing and can decipher even a whisper from the other corner of the courtroom.

And, so what?

Another thing it highlights is, how autistic people are regarded in the society. The girl’s statement was declared invalid because she was ‘mentally unstable’ during the first trial. Just goes on to show how much pain it must have taken the lawyers to prove her testimony as credible. And, as you might have already realized, I really love media which raises social awareness. And this movie does it ever so subtly, that you will empathize with the characters without even knowing it.

You might think it’s a thriller or action movie but it’s just a simply heart-warming movie with a focus on interaction between the two main characters. And darn, it manages to deliver it perfectly. What I loved the most was Kim Hyang Gi’s acting. It wasn’t awkward or deliberate. She executed her character with such finesse, that you just need to watch it.

Soon Ho developing friendship with Ji Woo be like

Once again, my high praise for this 129 minutes movie makes this post a recommendation. Some might find the first half a bit slow but it’s just two hours. Trust me, if you dig slice of life stuff, by the end, you will be melting. Ahhhh, can’t wait for you guys to watch it and comment on the post.

Conclusion: 10/10. Another interesting part is how the character of Soon Ho makes a 180 deg turn in his opinions about Ji Woo at the end. Dang, I’m gonna go watch it again now. Oh btw, this movie, in no way, is a mystery. I had taken it up because I thought so too but there were no regrets watching it. Just a heads up though.

Final Feelings: 😍

Watch here: I could not find the official streaming site for this. So, putting this link here: Innocent Witness

Such innocent yet powerful question!

Personal front: Aaarrrghhhh! I’m so sorry for missing posting for last three weeks. I did miss them because I was working on weekends but I had this notion in my mind that last weekend of October was fifth weekend of the month and only a personal update was due. I shall admit that I did not even try because of that, and I apologize for the delay.

Well, I finally got a Saturday off, although I need to work tomorrow. And now I do have some stock of posts since I didn’t post last three weeks. Let’s see how long can I maintain the streak this time. And I also need to finish these two short webnovels with 50-60 chapters each. The shorter ones are the best tbh.

Also, a patron of mine decided to buy me multiple ko-fis this week which is a very welcome thing for me. But, the transactions happened in various amounts on the same day. I refunded the amount thinking that it was a mistake, either your card got charged multiple times by mistake or it was an error on ko-fi’s behalf.

I have resolved this issue with ko-fi and apologize if you felt that my step was rude. I had no way to confirm if so many transactions on the same day were a mistake or not. I would not want my patrons to lose their money because of me. I know how hard it is to earn monies in this day and age. Once again, I thank each and every person here for your support.

Today’s song: Since I have started this job, I haven’t really listened to anything. Not old songs, not new ones either. It’s like, I’m just racing towards something, leaving behind other things that I have always loved. Let’s just post some song I’m hearing for the first time too today:

Drama Reco: Watcher (왓쳐)

Drama Reco: Watcher (왓쳐)

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

“Why should I be righteous? That’s what makes us kill each other. I’m just trying to do the right thing for myself.” – Do Chi Hwang

Damn. My plan was to review another drama that I finished recently but once I started this gem of a series, I just could not wait to share this with my readers. Change of plans, the drama of the month is “Watcher”.

I have, previously in numerous posts, praised cable TV networks for their high quality dramas. Too bad they don’t get enough traction. This one is pretty recent, so some might have heard of it.

Watcher 1
Yes, listen to this pretty lady pliss and watch this drama!!

Watcher is a crime thriller where three different people come together to solve a case and catch a murderer they are all related to. This also involves corruption within police and prosecution department. And now you will say, but all the crime thrillers from Korea have this exact same story line. You are definitely correct.

What stands out here is how the plot has been executed and the mystery of who that murderer is, you just cannot put one name to it. By even ep 12th, you would know people who are involved in the corruption, you would know who has been doing what all this while but you would just not know who that mystery man is. This, is what I call, a successful plot. Makes the viewers keep guessing.

I am on 12th episode while I have started preparing this post (remember I told you guys last week that I will need to prepare buffers for my posts since I might start working on weekends starting next week?) and I just feel like directly going to last ep to know who the person is. The suspense is killing me!!!

Watcher 2
Always to the point Do Chi Hwan

Phew! After a few hours, finally finished it. I would hate to give out spoilers though. Here is the plot. The story follows a cop named Do Chi Hwang (Han Suk Kyu), a traffic policeman named Kim Young Goon (Seo Kang Joon) and a prosecutor turned lawyer called Han Tae Joo (Kim Hyun Joo). They are embroiled in one case 15 years ago when Young Goon’s father is arrested by Chi Hwang for murdering his own wife, Young Goon being only witness and Tae Joo acting as the prosecutor for the case. 8 years later, Tae Joo manages to procure some evidence deeming Young Goon’s father innocent but is attacked by someone in the police breaking her family apart too. The story is set in the present where these three form a team to find the corrupt police officials and prosecutors and reveal the mystery behind all these incidents around these guys.

As I mentioned before, not only the plot has been executed flawlessly without many frustrating points because you are just so busy guessing who the actual perpetrator is but the acting and OSTs are top notch too. But I am sure I haven’t praised anything this much for the plot. Plot itself can carry this particular drama, other things are just icing on the cake.

Watcher 3
The minion doing all the dirty work ❤

The only thing that might be lacking is character development for Do Chi Gwang. You get to know his story, you come to know his POV but he still remains stubborn old man and that actually is his charm. Other characters really see great development, especially Young Goon. Seo Kang Joon also provide some comic relief to otherwise very serious drama. The struggle between what’s right for you, your emotions and what’s the greater good is real in this one though.

The one question they keep asking throughout the series is “Where does our humanity come from? What’s different between a human and an animal?” OMG, I have become such a big fan of this writer’s writing. I will go and look for more dramas from this writer or source material for this drama. In the meantime, you should go check the series out. It’s usual 16 episodes with 1 hour runs. You won’t be disappointed.

Conclusion: Good series need more watchers (Do you see what I did there? :P). I give this series a solid 10/10. 16 episodes, no romantic melo drama. Perfect for people interested in only crime thrillers. I personally also loved the wardrobe of our female lawyer. Those dresses are goals in life.

Final Feelings: ( ＾◡＾)っ ♡

Watch here: Watch Watcher for free on Viki

Personal Front: Nothing much to tell this time. I did get my first ko-fi last week. Thanks to the anonymous person and subsequent people who bought me some, I could prepare this post. I worked more than 40 hours this week and am going to work tomorrow as well. Gotta earn that extra monies lol.

Anyway, I am looking for animal shelters to volunteer for around my area. I could try the library too but I wanna work with animals. Not been very successful so far but let’s see.

Today was also the last day of my boss and a senior whom I had come to be great friends with at my current company. I’ll miss them both. Those last hugs TT_TT.

Today’s song: This new song this time coz haven’t been listening to any lately. Still dunno my feelings about this song from Stray Kids

Disclaimer: All images and videos belong to their respective owners and none of them are mine.

Webnovel Review: Demon Wang’s Favorite Fei (鬼王的金牌宠妃)

Webnovel Review: Demon Wang’s Favorite Fei (鬼王的金牌宠妃)

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Bringing you another completed webnovel, here I am. I think it would be a good start to the whole review spree that I am beginning again. I should actually start reading some novels geared towards males. I have literally read so many so-called female webnovels, I should give the male ones a try.

Anyway, this is another novel from volarenovels and I am thankful to them for translating stuff which are not your typical stories. I mean, all the C-webnovels still have same tropes but when you want something different, however slight, just go to volare.

So, this novel is about a transmigrator called Murong Qi Qi, who, at the beginning of the novel has already been in this historical world for five years. Her background story is similar to all other transmigration stories; original owner is legitimate wife’s child but born with weak constitution, bullied by her own family member, ousted from her own home, dies and she, from the modern world takes over. In modern world as well, she was killed by either an organization or her lover or someone who was unusually obsessed about her.

While many novels rely on the growth of the female lead’s power since the time she migrates and as the plot goes on, what’s different here is that the our female lead is already an OP (overpowered) girl. She has been in this world for five years, plenty of time to develop her skills. She has acquired enough experience to be one of the best in martial arts as well as the art of poisons in this world. And then the story starts.

So, Murong Qi Qi goes back home on account of her pre-arranged marriage, takes revenge for the previous owner of the body and serves justice to each and every family member and other bullies. Another way this novel is vastly different from similar novels is that they lose their purpose once the revenge gets over. This novel trumps that and continues in the second half where she marries the “Demon Wang” Feng Cang, her male counterpart.

Now this Demon Prince has his own background story. He’s as powerful as Qi Qi, so he complements her very well. But he has a poison in his body since birth. And he is infamous for having his previous eight wives die on the first night of wedding. Murong Qi Qi is also wed to the guy as a sacrificial lamb for her country. But ultimately, she falls in love with him and helps him cure and solve the mystery of his poison.

What I really like about this novel is that it’s short (206 chapters and 2 extras) and there is tons of character development for not just the two lead characters but the people important in their lives, including their servants and family members. And it’s a happy ending for people who deserve it in the story.

Murong Qi Qi is a no non-sense eye for an eye girl who values her relationships with even her servants of many years. She would move mountains for people dear to her and I relate a lot with her in that sense. Feng Cang, on the other hand, is the usual, oh most handsome guy who dotes on his wife like anything. When it comes to power, he does complement Qi Qi but the major role in devising strategies is played by Qi Qi herself. All in all, he just supports her from behind or executes her ideas when required, but does not really interfere with/ take over what she is doing. I really like how they have actually given importance to the female lead here.

There are definitely some loopholes. There is absolutely no connection of how the Demon Wang came to love Qi Qi so much, why he was really doting on her from the get go. Like fine, he was attracted to her headstrong personality but he wasn’t aware of her martial arts or medical skills or even her beauty. Which reminds me, this is another one of those novels where female lead’s beauty can make nations fall. I don’t know why Chinese people are so obsessed with making the girls fairest and prettiest, like normal girls exist, okay?

The translation is very high quality except the translator has added the meanings of certain Chinese terms right after their use in the chapter, which sometimes is annoying. Rest is great in terms of grammar and choice of words.

Conclusion: It’s not the best out there but in terms of plot and tying lose ends, I would actually give it 7/10. OP female and male MCs are too cliche but I like the stories of side characters which has been given good amount of importance. The names are sometimes confusing for English audience but those are unimportant characters to begin with, so it should be not too bad. I do recommend it for one time read.

Final feelings: (⌒▽⌒)♡

Read here: Demon Wang’s Favorite Fei free on volare

Personal front: I finally started a ko-fi page for the starters. So, if you guys enjoy reading my posts and would like to buy me a coffee, this is where you go: http://ko-fi.com/eastasianlover. Thank you in advance!

I’m thinking of revamping this website and would need funds to have some custom domain may be and more features to explore. I’m still learning how this thing actually works but yeah.

Apart from that, I might have to start working on weekends starting next week, so I’ll start preparing a buffer for my posts so that the schedule remains and posts go out on time. I was looking for more webnovels and I might have another one finishing soon, so I will be able to review it.

Anyway, anyone following any anime this season? I have not looked at the fall anime list yet, nor read any synopsis. And there is no on-going drama or anime that I am watching right now, except Black Clover of course. Any recommendations?

It’s also starting to get colder here in northeast US. The temperatures early morning today dropped below 5 deg C. Sad that winters are coming. Now I have blabbered too much and it’s time for me to take my leave. See you guys around!

Today’s song: Been a while since I listened to any songs but I really like OSTs from Doctor John which I might review in the future. Here is one (the video will have some spoilers):

Another Personal Update

Another Personal Update

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Hello everyone,

How are you guys doing? After disappearing for around half a year, I am back. I was looking for a new job and finally did get one. Might have to move countries next year, if US decides to kick me out. But, that’s for next year.

Although, sometimes when I reflect back on all this time, I can’t help but feel two extremes. While I count my blessings in the sense that I was able to get a job in this period of uncertainty and volatility in US, I also envy my friends and acquaintances who are in bigger and better companies. “If only I had put more efforts earlier.” “If only I had not been complacent then, I would be in much better place now.”

Anyway, I’m planning to make a comeback with regards to the review spree I started earlier this year. I am also thinking of finally introducing Patreon or ko-fi over here but am still in the planning phase as to what extra content I could offer the regular readers. I couldn’t put ads on my blog anyway since it’s a free plan from WordPress. I am also working on revamping this blog, will update when I am halfway through.

In other news, since I have shifted to New Jersey, it’s so hard to do financial planning in this expensive state. Income taxes are higher and everything is just so expensive, including housing etc. The state is trying to leech off of people earning big bucks in NYC and making poorer people suffer. Just so sad.

And also, as soon as I joined the company, my project manager is leaving. Now this could be considered a double edged sword. Since it’s a small company, either the company ends up shutting down because of lack of good project managers, or I get to take over, instantly boosting my skills. Let’s see where it will go.

Despite everything, I’m loving the part where I can be out of office the whole day, drive to the clients’ site and work there. I don’t like office at all. My screen time also reduces that way. All in all, except the stress that all the good people I could really learn from at the company are leaving and that the salary I’m earning might not be enough due to expenses being increased, I think I am okay for now.

This was a short update and I’ll hopefully see everyone starting next weekend with new reviews.

Till then, stay happy, stay blessed!

K-Variety Reco: Stray Kids (스트레이 키즈) and Mix & Match

K-Variety Reco: Stray Kids (스트레이 키즈) and Mix & Match

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment
Such handsome bois up and down XD

Okay, totally different from what I usually do. Perhaps my recommendations of variety shows till now have been for laughs and lifting bad mood up. And I usually do not review two programs together either.

But this time I decided on these two because they have very similar formats and both programs are very inspiring. I personally do not like survival shows. Apart from showing idol lives and their hard work, they’re just full of tears. And big productions at the level of Produce 101 end up being plagued with issues like evil editing and stuff.

Well I did recommend Idol Producer to my readers a while back. But that was again because it was funny and inspiring at the same time. I did end up not finishing 2nd season of Idol Producer. Anyway, through these two programs, I will probably try to introduce to people two of the iconic boy groups that I love wholeheartedly: Stray Kids and iKon.

Now, Mix & Match is a 2014 9 episode reality show where the Team B from a previous survivals show, WIN: Who is next, are pitted against each other to see who’s up to par to form a new YG group. Stray Kids is, similarly, a 2017 show of 10 episodes where these YG trainees compete against as a team and against each other to determine who is good enough to debut.

Mix & Match Bobby
This precious kid OMG!

It seems that the leaders in both the groups had already trained and formed a team with the other members. So, their bond was good to begin with. Add to that the stress of possibility to lose some of your teammates you have trained with for years, I guess it’s their recipe for a successful survival program?

It was so sad to see the people who initially left, but audience digs friendship and stuff including me, so well, it teared up me too and I prayed hard for people to return back too. Was it successful is something you’ll have to find out through the programs. The missions these guys went through were kind of similar as well.

The differences between the two would be addition of three new members in Mix & Match to already 6 member Team B. Three of the original 6 were fixed to debut at the beginning of the show and remaining three had to fight with the new three members for their places.

Stray Kids did not have any additions because it was a team formed by the leader Bang Chan on his own. From the premise and further interviews from JYP, it seems that JYP did not have any hand in putting the guys together since the beginning. Bang Chan did it all on his own and hence, it was crucial for JYP to see their teamwork and chemistry and determine if they’re worth putting his time and money in.

I don’t think it’s from the survival show though :rummaging the brain hard:

People would ask me what’s good in a bunch of kids fighting to debut as an idol group? My answer is, one I see them working hard till like 5 am and then to attend school at 7 am and so they’re going without sleeping for so long just to achieve their dreams. I cannot forego my sleep no matter what circumstances and these guys are putting in so much hardwork, of course I am damn inspired. Not that I endorse the lifestyle these guys follow, it’s just too unhealthy. But if they’re happy, I am happy too.

Second is, you actually see them achieving their dream, at least most of them. Plus these guys produce such good songs for 15-20 years old, based on their dreams, their hardships in life. That’s talent right there. Don’t you relate with them? Ah, there are people out there going through similar things like normal us and they’re giving their best to change that. I should do it too. No, I can do it too.

That’s inspiration right there. To think bunch of kids would help me in my down time and help me get up and rise and shine.

Conclusion: I highly recommend these two series, because they’re short; you get to learn a lot about SK’s idol industry and idol lives; they’re inspiring, at least to me; there is quite a lot of entertainment and emotions and last but not least, there is a bunch of unexplored and unreleased but amazing music there.

Final feelings: ୧☉□☉୨

Watch here: Mix & Match; Stray Kids

Personal front: Finally a weekend where I am not going out. Unfortunately, I got so addicted to my friends in past two weekends that there is a major missing happening here. I did not meet them this frequently when we were in college together, but I actually traveled 5 hours one way to meet them, that too consecutive weekends. Wow, I am surprised at myself, wouldn’t have imagined doing that 2 years ago.

It’s funny how people around you change you. People, I know you are not reading this, so I can write it peacefully, but I am missing you guys too much, like ‘I wish I could fly and meet you guys right now’ missing.

Anyway, I don’t have much to write about here. I guess I’ll be writing about my friends for next month or so coz no other topic to discuss. Lol. I’ll stop boring you guys with my friends’ details. But they’re the best group I have found till now. I might have said this for more people before and that might have been true till then. But these guys are gold of a different level. Anyway, peace.

Today’s song: Another Stray Kids song? This song talks about their aspirations and how they’re in hell doing the survival show and their training period in general but now they only have one way to go, up. IN first two listens, the music makes you a bit tipsy for some reason but it’s still interesting and grows on you very easily.

I guess I’ll post one more from iKon. This was done while they were doing WIN: Who is next, but it’s a really inspiring one too. I still cry when I read the lyrics. Their performance was legendary at that time though. Linking both performance and studio version, coz the feels are best in the live version:

Disclaimer: None of the pics and videos belong to me. They belong to their respective owners. Thank you for letting me borrow them.

Webnovel Reco: Zi Xinyu’s Short Stories

Webnovel Reco: Zi Xinyu’s Short Stories

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Hello everyone,

I am suddenly running out of webnovels to review, because I haven’t finished many yet, lol. This week, I bring you some short stories I stumbled upon yesterday while traveling. This will again be a short post because I am out with the same friends again as last week.

So, these are 5 short stories from an author called Zi Xinyu and translated by timebun on volare novels. Three of them deal with life after death and reincarnation. All five of them are set in different time and background and they are disconnected from each other.

You also get to dive into Chinese folklore and beliefs a bit. Especially what happens once a human being dies. I wouldn’t delve into each one individually because they are just that, short stories. I will end up giving away the spoilers very easily.

But they’re so realistic, that you can totally relate to the characters. The stories are very well set, and you don’t feel lost while reading them. You don’t feel like you need to know any background about the characters to really understand the plots. I really want to appreciate the writing style of the author here. Simple and clear.

The best part however is, how touching the stories are. I really cannot describe the emotions but one or two of them made me cry, others made me ponder over life. It’s so intriguing how Zi Xinyu has weaved these plots on the simple aspects of life. Uhh… I think I am praising them too highly here but I think anyone can give them a try and see for yourself.

Conclusion: Just 5 chapters, 5 mins reading each. Perfect to read while traveling in a bus or maybe just wanting to take a break. Highly recommended. However, be warned that if you’re already down in life, you might not handle them well. They’re sad for sure.

Final feelings: (｡•́︿•̀｡)
These feelings reflect how I feel after reading the stories but not the stories themselves. I am quite glad I got to read them.

Read here: Read on Volare for free.

Personal front: I am back to NJ to my friends. One of my friends is getting married and since these are last bachelor days of his, I want to spend as much time as our own group as I can. Anyway, congratulations to my bro and sis-in-law. I hope I’ll be here when my sis-in-law arrives here in US.

Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed my two weekends with my friends. Sometimes I regret the missed love and friendship in these 24 years when I didn’t know them and the 1.5 years here during MS when I wasn’t as close to them as I am now. Regrets about that? Yes. Regrets about CMU or US or MS? No. I always say that only because of these relationships I have formed here.

Anyway, too much sentimental talks. I guess, I’ll take a break here. The stories above were already making me sad, now I am more sad. Congrats to my bro again.

Also, I am sorry about the short reviews recently. Have been busy and exhausted a bit. Will start right length as soon as I settle back down, which should be starting next week I guess.

Today’s song: Another Stray Kids song. This has been my life line for some time now. The only thing inspiring me these days. Plus that abs flashing, OMG (❤ω❤)

Disclaimer: The pics above belong to the author and volare novels. The song belongs to JYP Ent and Stray Kids.

Anime Reco: Mahjong Legend Akagi: The Genius Who Descended Into the Darkness (闘牌伝説アカギ 闇に舞い降りた天才)

Anime Reco: Mahjong Legend Akagi: The Genius Who Descended Into the Darkness (闘牌伝説アカギ 闇に舞い降りた天才)

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment
Akagi

Long ass title, took half of my screen. Anyway, I thought really hard about what anime to review this time. I wanted to do something other than slice of life and youkai and ghosts and spirits. While racking my brain, I realized you can take everything out of me but slice of life.

I actually had to look at my MAL list to see if there was something else. And I found this. This anime is something I have been trying to make people watch. The manga is by same author as that of famous gambling manga called Kaiji. Unfortunately, while a lot of people know about Kaiji, very few people know Akagi.

Akagi is about our OP thirteen year old protagonist who doesn’t even fear death if he can get better bet out of it. The anime starts with a small fry called Nangou losing huge sums of monies at a mahjong parlor to the mafia. Of course, he wants to get back his money at least, but he keeps losing. Enters Akagi, running away from police who’re after him in another gambling case. In the last ditch effort, Nangou gives his turn to Akagi and realizes that he has found a genius who’s going to become a legend in the game of gambling.

He doesn’t look like 13 years old but whatever

I wouldn’t want to compare this anime with Kaiji but since both are written by the same person, I can’t help it. For the anime, there is no that weird “zawa zawa” sound in the back as in Kaiji. And the anime ends in one season with 26 episodes.

Animation will definitely put some people off. It took me some time to adjust with the characters and animation. Those exaggeratedly pointed chins are not my cup of tea. But cannot complain coz the mangaka makes all their characters like that.

Also, the anime is old (2005-2006), so the video quality you might find right now might not be as good. And, it is intense. Also, note that it’s rated R – 17+. There is quite some profanity and violence in there.

If you can move past all this, there lies a gem. As I said, the lead is just too OP, unafraid in the face of death. He would gamble even his life away just for kicks. Of course, I don’t endorse gambling myself.

Do not fear, Akagi is here

But I did get so much confidence in myself for some reason after watching the anime. I think I should watch it again. You realize that absolute confidence in yourself (not empty narcissism just to be clear) makes other people falter before you. And I love these types of anime for that. One outs is another one but that’s for some later post.

Oh, the OSTs. Well, the OP’s mellow tone doesn’t really suit the anime but the lyrics are so philosophical and suit the anime well. Oh the irony in one sentence. The ED is definitely better.

You’ll also get to learn the real mahjong. Not the tile matching game we play on our PCs, but the one you see old ladies playing in K and C dramas.

Conclusion: This anime is definitely not for kids. Watch at your own risk. But enjoyment and plot and suspense and thrill and everything else is 100 out of 100. The ending is very satisfying too.

Final Feelings: ¡¡¡( •̀ ᴗ •́ )و!!!

Watch here: Crunchyroll / Youtube (Full 26 eps run)

Personal Front: I am sorry guys, I am out on this weekend and couldn’t really prepare much. So, if you spot some mistake or grammatical error, please do not fret (and leave me here all alone TT_TT).

Anyway, I am happy that I am going out with my friends, but I am pretty sure the weather is not going to favor us much. I would definitely like to use this chance to collect myself. And work harder after I come back. I hope things work out for me.

Oh btw, did I tell you guys this? I received my t-shirts and hoodie from the company? I did say I would do a separate post but doesn’t look like it. Anyway, they’re just company’s t-shirts and not anime merchandise. That was disappointing. On the other hand, they’re so soft and comfortable OMG. I am glad to get them after all. Definitely high quality stuff.

Today’s song: OP from the anime

Disclaimer: All videos and pics belong to their respective owners. None of them belong to me.