Tag: Drama

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 ❤

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

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.

Webtoon Reco: My Letter (연의 편지)

Webtoon Reco: My Letter (연의 편지)

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment
Your letter ch 2

O.M.G. Like how can one person write such a wholesome and most importantly complete story in just 10 chapters? And a while back I was talking about a good story line in less than 50 chapters.

You read that right. Just 10 chapters. Not novel chapters but webtoon chapters. This week I bring you guys a story which would make your hearts full. It started publishing back in Feb. I think I started reading this webtoon in March, but never realized that it would finish so soon, and I miss it. I truly miss it. Another Wednesday webtoon came to an end. And it had such an impeccable timing too. I can recommend it to my readers this week.

The webtoon, written by Cho Hyeon A tells the story of a girl called Sori. Kind and caring, Sori stands up for a girl being bullied in her middle school and becomes a victim herself while her friend transfers away. Ultimately Sori has to transfer from her middle school as well and she finds herself traumatized from her past experience and hence, a bit difficult to interact with people in new school.

Your letter ch 1
I don’t know how many times I have asked that question to myself till date. It’s so relateable…

Afraid that she might face similar situation again, she decides to keep to herself. And then she finds a letter under her desk in the class. This results in a treasure hunt where the guy who previously used to sit in Sori’s seat, takes her on an amazing discovery of magical places and new friends.

Apart from its pros of great art and amazing plot line, that you usually might find in my recommendations, this webtoon has an unusual charm to it. It takes you on a ride of nostalgia of your school days where you might or might not have formed great relationships, not with just classmates but people around, may be gardener or janitor. Also, the special corners in your school you might have shared only with very precious friends.

Your letter ch 3
Special friendships and special places 😌

Of course it raises the ever rampant issue of bullying. And I certainly am a fan of media that raise social issues or inspires one. So, it gets more points for that.

Regarding the art, the use of only 2-3 colors in each panel gives it a unique flavor in my opinion. It’s like finding happiness in really dull life/moments. And so, for me personally, the colors represent the dullness while the plot drives towards a happy ending. It gives the webtoon a dark vibe and fits really well with the overall theme of the webtoon.

As for cons, I don’t have any. It could have gone all wrong given that it’s just 10 eps but its delivery is just fantastic. By the time you even start to try to find any flaws, it gets over. It certainly gives Ghibli Studio productions like feeling. And it’s not even a 15 mins read, so I don’t think anyone reading this has anything to lose. Below is the official trailer from webtoons.com

Conclusion: It’s a really heartwarming story and while it’s a shame that it ended so soon, it doesn’t feel that bad. It was a nice ending and the webtoon truly deserves the rating it has on webtoons.com. I cannot recommend it enough. It’s just so precious that my heart warms up just thinking about it. I guess I’ll go read it again.

Final feelings: (づ ◕‿◕ )づ

Read here: Your letter on webtoons for free

Personal front: This is the first time I have finished writing the whole post before personal section, since I started it. I was perhaps dreading writing it? But right now I am going through really bad phase of my life. Without delving into much details though, I just hope it passes soon.

Anyway, a friend of mine earlier this week introduced me to two new boy groups called The Boyz and Stray Kids and OMG, I am finished. They’re such precious boys. I have officially become a noona fan (although I would be a noona fan to iKon too ;-; ).

I guess they would be my solace for now as Infinite and SuJu were in 2015? Or Exo were in 2017? Wow, I see a pattern here, odd numbered years. Hmm, that’s sad. Anyway, I’ll leave it at that.

Today’s song: Being a new fan I guess it will be songs from these two groups for a long long time. I am not going to lament on lack of songs to post now lol. Below is the song from Stray Kids which I have been listening non stop for some time now, on loop. Also, shout out to my friend who introduced me to these groups. It’s actually so much fun having fellow k-pop lovers.

Disclaimer: All the pics above are property of webtoons.com and Cho Hyeon A. Nothing here belongs to me. Today’s song is the property of JYP Ent.