Dorama of the Year 2004-III Summer - Tokyo Wankei

Happens rarely , but there's an actual masterpiece this season - Tokyo Wankei .

1. Ireland [아일랜드] (Finished 10/16) Tags: Romance, Drama, Melodrama A westernized Irish adoptee, Joong-Ah inevitably flies back to Korea to confront her past and to see the country she is really from, only to fall in love with her brother, Jae-Bok. Their love is painful, as they are never meant to be together as lovers, but merely as brother and sister. The show's message is that there is no such thing as noble innocent love and that love is adversity itself. Therefore, love mustn't be impeded by so-called "destiny" or family, no matter how ironic or difficult the case may seem. Although destiny is cruel and arduous, the two young lovers radiate pure happiness. The show describes how love survives the tragic bondage of family, destiny and romance. Lee Na Young has too few appearances to brush off any of them lightly. But there's a huge problem with it. It's a direct copycal of previous series with Lee Na Young - Ruler of Your Own World. FL is the same and in absolutely the same role of tender poor girl who falls in love spontaneously. ML is a very similar slacker without any job or money. ML absolutely in the same manner bothers some guy on the street and that guy gives him a very similar physical job - bodyguard vs stuntman previously (both jobs involve countless training sessions and occasional actual job performances shown in both cases). ML in the same manner already has a girlfriend from the start and that girlfriend is also quite psychotic (to a lesser extent now). In totally the same manner there's no room for eroticism in this romance as focus is on kindness. Ireland tries to dig deeper and feels better, plus it has an additional ML who is initial boyfriend of FL, but imact is gone and constant deja vu irritate me. Since there are two pairs of characters, we inevitably delve into typical love square, so familiar melodrama begins with everyone liking everyone of the opposite gender and the corresponding jealousy. What finalized the score for me is the dialogues that are so often surreal and just strange. In the end, I just don't like it enough and don't want to finish it, so can't give it the score that it probably deserves as it's my subjective feelings, not an attempt to evaluate with any objectivity.    Overall Rating: 6/10

2. Last Present (2004) [ラストプレゼント ～娘と生きる最後の夏～] (Finished 1/11) Tags: Life, Drama, Family Hiraki Asuka is diagnosed with cancer with three months left. She returns to her daughter and former husband, both of whom she had abandoned before, in order to spend her last days, especially with her daughter and to regain her love. Terminal condition is such a huge red flag. Pilot could not dissuade me in that.   Overall Rating: 5/10

3. La Robe de Mariage des Cieux  [天國的嫁衣] (Finished 1/19) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Drama It was with much difficulty that Ai Qing was able to save enough money and arrive in her dream place, Paris. As a result, she was extremely happy about this. At the same time, Zi Hao is also in Paris, receiving an international fashion award, the grand prize. They both got into a big argument at a small artistic shop over a small wooden horse that they both fell in love with. In the end, with the owner's consent, Ai Qing is able to obtain the wooden horse. The accidental meeting at the airport and on the plane causes the two of them to have an even more unfavourable impression of each other. Both were rejoicing at the fact that after this trip, they would never have to see each other again. However, who would have expected that these two people's destinies would be forever intertwined tightly together? Both fashion and bike racing are laughable activities for me while romance is too simplistic here to my taste.   Overall Rating: 5/10

4. Magic (2004) [매직] (Finished 3/16) Tags: Life, Drama Kang Jae grew up under a jobless, gangster father. When Kang Jae accidentally meets Lee Dae Hae and his son Sun Mo, he feels more attached to Dae Hae than to his own father. Through Dae Hae and Sun Mo, Kang Jae learns the basics of magic as well as what fatherly love really means. Sun Mo, on the other hand, has a love-hate relationship with his father, who only cares about magic and nothing else. Meanwhile, Sun Mo is heartbroken by Dan Young, who falls in love with Kang Jae. Before that Dan Young was living with Sun Mo, mistakenly thinking that he is her long-lost brother before she was adopted. Yeon Jin, Dan Young's stepsister, instantly falls in love with Kang Jae and Kang Jae decides to marry her, not for love but for the sake of fulfilling his own ambitions at the price of spurning Dan Young. Rather typical kdrama with no likable characters or good moves so far.   Overall Rating: 5/10

5. Mars  [戰神] (Finished 5/13) Tags: Thriller, Psychological, Romance, Melodrama Han Qi Luo, a shy art student, meets popular playboy Chen Ling when he asks her for directions to a hospital. She hurriedly draws a map on the back of one of her sketches, unknowingly catching his attention with the drawing of a mother and child. After Chen Ling saves Qi Luo from a teacher’s harassment, they begin to grow closer, but both have pasts they must confront before they can fully accept and love each other. I appreciate that there's a good directorship since it's based on manga and thus does not waste time. But I absolutely can't stand this FL who features in most early Taiwanese dorama. Both j or k versions of such live action would be better. Would not want to list smaller issues as hope to see it in some other version. Can't go on with this FL, anyway.   Overall Rating: 6/10

6. She Is Nineteen [형수님은 열아홉] (Finished 3/16) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Melodrama This series is about a 19-year-old girl, Yoo Min, who was abandoned after the death of her mother. She lives alone with her adopted brother, Kang Pyo. She accidentally meets Seung Jae, the younger brother of Min Jae. By chance, Yoo Min actually had a crush on Min Jae, a doctor who treats her brother illness for a long time. To fight off his mother demand, Min Jae gets into an engagement contract with Yoo Min and they all end up living at Min Jae's house. Unexpectedly, Yoo Min and Seung Jae are going to the same high school. From there, Seung Jae secretly loves Yoo Min. On the other hand, Yoo Min's father who got amnesia from a car accident is looking for her again when 15 years ago, she had been abandoned by two women who worked at the restaurant. The conflict comes when the people who are living in Min Jae's house are actually related to Yoo Min's abandonment. They are the ones who stole the inheritance and abandoned her when she was four years old. Young age in kdrama title inevitably means high level of stupidity. Several such characters and indigestible Kim Jae Won don't leave it a chance.   Overall Rating: 5/10

7. Nine Tailed Fox [구미호 외전] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Action, Horror, Romance, Fantasy Shi Yeon is a Nine-Tailed Fox living undercover in the human world. By day, Shi Yeon is an employee at a natural history museum. By night, she's a top-ranking woman warrior in the Nine-Tailed Fox clan, charged with preserving the delicate balance between man and fox. But her world is sent spinning when an atrocious serial murder - where the victims have had their internal organs gouged out - is uncovered. Detective Min Woo believes the murders may relate to the organ trafficking trade, and goes undercover in a seedy organ smuggling ring. But Min Woo's cover is blown, and it's only through the intervention Nine-Tailed Fox warriors, Mu Young and Shi Yeon that he's able to survive! But he's seen their true identities as Nine-Tailed Foxes, can he be allowed to live? Horror, detective and martial arts together make it completely unwatchable for me.   Overall Rating: 5/10

8. Oh! Pil Seung And Bong Soon Young  [오! 필승 봉순영] (Finished 2/16) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Drama Oh Pil Seung is a free-spirited, but somewhat lazy regular joe who suddenly finds himself heir apparent to a top-level logistics company! With rivals and detractors simply waiting for him to foul up, will Pil Seung be able to rise to the challenge? Or will white-collar intellectuals and their snobby ways force this blue-collar everyman out? Typical trashy kdrama with no likable actors and lots of noise.   Overall Rating: 5/10

9. Sekai no Chuushin de, Ai wo Sakebu [世界の中心で、愛をさけぶ] (Finished 5/11) Tags: Romance, Youth, Drama "I thought I might be using a lifetime's happiness in a moment. I was that happy, and she was that beautiful." A young boy stands on the red earth of Australia under its blue sky. It is 17-year-old Sakutaro Matsumoto. His time with the girl comes back to him. The colored sand runs through his hands, and a tear appears on his cheek. He wakes up. It's 2004, and he is 34 years old and in Japan. He thinks, "I have been in a world without her for 17 years." Returning home to see his old high school for the last time before it is demolished, Saku confronts anew the loss of the love of his life, Aki, to leukemia 17 years ago. Now a medical researcher at graduate school, he has lived as if half of him died with her since then. Based on the bestselling novel that sold over 3 million copies, the past and present come together in this love story that is both pure and sad. I hoped it would be primarily a story about 34-year old people with some flashbacks, but in reality it's about 17-years old people with rare diving out of flashbacks for a minute. So it's about terminal condition of a girl who majors in running. Three red flags are enough to drop the piece for me, plus I find it rather boring.   Overall Rating: 6/10

10. Second Proposal  [두번째 프러포즈] (Finished 1/22) Tags: Romance, Drama Jang Mi Young was a happily married mother of 2 when she finds out her husband is having an affair. This results in a divorce, and her husband and his new bride gain custody of the children. Mi Young must strike out on her own and rebuild her life and career after many years as a housewife. Fortunately, she has a friend by her side, a handsome younger man named Nam Kyung Soo who finds himself feeling sympathy for Mi Young and wanting to help her get back on her feet again. It's lacks logic and adequate communication, plus I'm not fond of personalities, so leaving early.   Overall Rating: 5/10

11. Tokyo Wankei [東京湾景] (Finished 11/11) Tags: Romance, Drama Mika Kimoto, a successful editor in Tokyo from a wealthy Korean-Japanese family, struggles with her father's demand that she marry only a Korean. After her relationship with her Japanese boyfriend ends due to his interference, she posts a message on a dating service. Ryosuke, a blue-collar worker, replies, and despite their differences, they connect. Mika then discovers her late mother’s diary, revealing her mother's secret romance with a Japanese man before marrying Mika's father. Mika unknowingly begins to follow in her mother’s footsteps. Watching a nice quiet jdrama is such a relief after so many stressful kdrama. First episodes are good, but the real question is how the middle is handled. And, in my opinion, it's handled decently as love square is given little time, and focus instead is on barriers that show up one after another. It deserves to be called a small masterpiece.   Overall Rating: 7/10

12. Immortal Admiral Yi Sun Shin [불멸의 이순신] (Finished 2/104) Tags: Action, Military, Historical, Drama It is late 1598, shortly before the Battle of Noryang, the final confrontation of the Imjin War. The remnants of the Japanese invasion force are desperate to go home but are also driven by the personal motivation to beat their greatest adversary, Admiral Yi Sun Shin, once and for all. Self-serving Ming generals and Joseon officials also fear Yi's growing popularity and its impact on their personal base of power. These incidentally combining ambitions fan King Seon Jo's paranoia and make him eventually fear that Yi might come after his throne, and after a series of what he calls acts of high treason he decides to have Yi arrested. Yi, on the other hand, is determined to teach the Japanese a lesson for the atrocities they committed on the Korean people, and despite orders to remain quiet while the Japanese are to pull out without anymore bloodshed, he rallies his naval force and prepares for the upcoming battle. the battle commences and the Japanese are dealt a crippling blow, but Yi is fatally wounded by an arquebuse bullet. As he lays dying, the plot backtracks important stations of Yi's life, from his boyhood to his military career, his disgrace at the hands of his king and his reinstatement, back to the battle of Noryang, where he succumbs to his wound just as victory is declared. Dread boredom.   Overall Rating: 5/10

13. Shine on You [青出於藍] (Finished 2/30) Tags: Comedy, Life, Drama Due to office politics Ga Jai Choi, a successful business executive, is assigned to become the headmaster of a school. The school (the Samshui Fisherman and Agricultural Workers Union Yin Liang Can Yǐn Endowment Yin Ding Bao Memorial School-WDPS for short), is a failing one having become a sink school for students other schools do not want and is threatened with closure by the education board, however, the school was endowed as a memorial by the parents of tycoon Yin Guo Rong who is unwilling to allow the school to close without doing his best to save it, he is therefore convinced by Ga Jai Choi's rivals to send his most able aide, Ga, to be its headmaster. Ga Jai Choi resents being diverted from his business career but dare not go against his employer directly, he therefore acts to appear to be doing his best to save the school, which he sees as a lost cause, while instituting policies which he hopes will speed its demise. He begins by threatening a clear out of the teaching staff however all he does is to motivate the staff who wish to protect their rice bowls. Ga's efforts are taken at face value by Lam Ying Yun, a teacher straight from college, and Wong Yerk Se, a teacher who because of her own past has resolved never to give up on even the most unruly of students. Beginning a relationship first with Lam and then, when she leaves to continue her education abroad, Wong wheeler-dealer teacher Cheng Zhing Leung is forced to question why he became a teacher. With their teachers acting with new vigour the students are motivated to believe that they can achieve and be more than the failures that society has branded them. Despite his initial intentions Ga's policies actually cause the school's results to improve and see the pupils, their parents and staff pulling together, however the improvement is not so great to make the school's survival certain. Ga realises that he has come to care for the school and its students and joins everyone for a final plea against its closure.  Better than average comedy, but that's it.   Overall Rating: 6/10

14. Minami-kun no Koibito [南くんの恋人] (Finished 1/11) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Youth, Supernatural What would you do if you were suddenly only 16 cm tall? What would you do if your loved one was suddenly only 16 cm tall? A best selling sentimental love story is dramatized for the second time! Everything started when a high school couple, Chiyomi and Minami had a mysterious and ominous fortune cookie at a Chinese restaurant? If you stay close to him, he will become great, and the two of you will be together for a long time. However, when the two of you drift apart, a horrible thing will happen?. Just as the prophecy, on the very day when Minami decided to leave Chiyomi, a magical curse struck Chiyomi. Believe it or not, it shrunk her into a size of merely 16 cm tall! What would happen when a tender boyfriend and a miniaturized girlfriend secretly start living together? I don't understand the point of such fantasy as did not understand in Midori Days, but can't deny that stories based on manga are better paced, directed and overall thought out.   Overall Rating: 6/10

15. Full House [풀하우스] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Drama Han Ji Eun, an aspiring scriptwriter, lives in a house called "Full House", built by her late father. One day, her two best friends trick her into believing she has won a free vacation and sell her house while she's away. On the plane, she meets famous actor Lee Yeong Jae. Through comedic events, they get acquainted during her vacation, and when she returns, she discovers her house has been sold to him. Though they don't get along with each other (because of her messy tendencies, his bad temper and zealous cleanliness), they agree to live with each other. In the beginning, Ji Eun works as his maid in order to buy her house back. They alter their arrangement when Yeong Jae decides to win back the love of his life, Kang Hye Won. In a bid to make Hye Won jealous, the two protagonists enter into a contract marriage with a six-month term. Complications arise when the couple starts to fall for each other. Sadly, plot of FL getting depended from ML becomes very frequent in kdrama, and for some reason all kind of stupidity usually comes as a bonus in such cases. Sadly, it surpassed all my irritation limits within a single episode.   Overall Rating: 5/10

16. Aijou Ippon [愛情イッポン] (Finished 1/10) Tags: Youth, Drama, Martial Arts Tomoe, 17, is an average high-school girl, interested in clothes and guys, but her family life is not so average. Losing her mother at a young age, she lives alone with her father, Shouhei and does all the cooking, laundry, housekeeping, like a mother would do. They have a hard time making ends meet, because Shouhei's only income is from working as a judo teacher to the neighborhood kids. Tomoe can't wait to go to the university to get away from her father, and judo which she hates. But because of her father's unfortunate arrest, she is forced to take over at the dojo. With help from the captain of her high school's judo team, Tomoe begins to teaching the few kids who still come to learn judo, and even start practicing the judo that she gave up as a child. This heartwarming family drama will entertain kids and adults alike. It's primarily martial arts spokon with some uninspiring SOL on the side. Could not even finish first episode as it was surprisingly cringy.   Overall Rating: 5/10

17. Count of Myeongdong [명동백작] (Finished 1/24) Tags: Historical, Drama, Documentary A docu-drama narrated by Jung Bo Suk that tells of the people and history of Myeongdong between 1953-1960, when it was at its height as the cultural centre of the country. It captures both the beauty and incredible tragedy that surrounded that period, with its many artistic innovations as well as the blood, sweat and tears of the people in the years following the Korean War. This historical show absolutely does not captivate, so see no inscentive to continue.   Overall Rating: 5/10

18. Sompong Nong Somchai [สมปองน้องสมชาย] (Finished 1/13) Tags: Music, Mystery, Comedy, Romance Lien and Lin are best friends who happen to get dumped on the same day. While they are out trying to console and comfort each other, Lien and Lin accidentally get rounded up and arrested with a group of prostitutes. As part of their release deal with the police, they have to go undercover to help investigate the recent murder of a Thai country music singer. However, the catch is that Lien and Lin have to go undercover as male dancers for the music company that represented the late singer. Bapoo happens to be a manager/producer for the company’s newest up and coming artist. Because they make such cute looking guys, Lien and Lin are ultimately hired for the new artist’s backup dance crew, against Bapoo’s wishes. And so, comedy ensues as Lin (the man) makes moves on the homophobic new artist and Lien and Bapoo go from friendship to “bro-mance” to full blown romance. All while Lien and Lin try to solve the case and fight off the advances of the female dancers. Not your typical lakorn, but I'm not fan of trap comedies either.   Overall Rating: 5/10

19. Kimi ga Omoide ni Naru Mae ni [君が想い出になる前に] (Finished 1/11) Tags: Romance Nao Saeki is happy with her life. She has a great job as a stylist and also has a very sincere and loving fiancé, Kazuya Yuki. But one day, her sister Miho gets caught up in an incident overseas in which she is tragically killed. The shock of Miho's sudden death causes her husband Mitsuhiko to lose his memory. As a result of all that has taken place, Nao has to look after Mitsuhiko and his son Yusuke. At first, Nao is just trying to help the two, but living together and watching Mitsuhiko try to start a new life plants the seeds of a "new emotion" within her heart. It doesn't take long for those feelings to turn into love. What Nao doesn't know is that her colleague Chihiro Tomita has feelings for Kazuya, as her own feelings waver back and forth between her brother-in-law and fiancé. When Mitsuhiko's memory comes back, the realization that he has lost his wife is more than he can bear - causing him great anguish. Later, Kazuya finds out about Nao's feelings for Mitsuhiko and is torn by jealousy. And as the story reaches its final stage, we learn the real reason behind Miho's death. Wow, this kind of synopsis is an overkill, so there's no more room for plot investigation left. Not finding characters particularly good, so there's not much left to watch if for. Lack of logic or convincing finishes it off.   Overall Rating: 5/10

20. Hong Fen Shi Jia [红粉世家] (Finished 2/38) Tags: Historical, Romance, Drama 1930s. Young artist comes to Nankin in search of fame and riches. Several parallel love lines develop there. Chinese aesthetics too unbearable for me, and all I see here is simplicity and showing off.   Overall Rating: 5/10

21. When a Man Loves a Woman (2004) [남자가 사랑할 때] (Finished 4/16) Tags: Romance, Drama After the death of his mom, Ji Hun moves into the home of Mr. Seo. Ji Hun falls in love at first sight with Mr. Seo's daughter, In Hye. Ji Hun also becomes good friends with Seok Hyeon. But one day, In Hye decides to leave home for Seoul to pursue her dream of becoming an accomplished cellist without telling Ji Hun. Seok Hyeon also decides to move to Seoul after he learns that he is the love child of President Kang, a wealthy hotel magnate. When Ji Hun finds out that In Hye left for Seoul without even saying goodbye, he finds his way to Seoul to find her. One day, while Ji Hun is riding the subway, Jung U takes a liking to him and decides to steal his wallet to get his attention. Through this incident, Ji Hun gets to know Jung U and settles down in Seoul by enrolling in the same bodyguard school that Jung U is attending. The bodyguard training school finds a part-time job for Ji Hun and Jung U, which is an assignment to guard President Kang for one day. Ji Hun protects President Kang at an evening party hosted by Kang himself, and by coincidence, he also meets In Hye and Seok Hyeon. The fates of four young people become hopelessly intertwined after this fateful meeting. It feels like remake of some older kdrama as it's again about deep poverty and ofc with rich evil rival and with some weird obsession dream, and ofc it has to go to extremes each time. But on the other hand, they are getting more professional and manage to find better actors, so it does not pain to watch it, which is already an achievement for such unrealistic concept.   Overall Rating: 6/10

22. In Love With a Rich Girl [愛上千金美眉] (Finished 2/13) Tags: Romance Albee is a pampered, high-class young lady who has never experienced any hardship in her life. On her birthday, just when she expects to be proposed to by her long-time boyfriend Huang Bo Cheng, her life is turned upside down. Her father is forced to flee the country, and she finds herself without a father, home, or even a boyfriend. Soon after she finds herself destitute, she reads in the tabloids that Huang Bo Cheng and her best friend Zhen Zhen have been secretly seeing each other. To make matters worse, she is being followed by a tabloid photographer. What will Albee do? Synopsis cried of being a dreadful show based on contrasts and extremes for me. Reality is better as FL changes  a lot even in pilot episode, and morally ambiguos tabloid follower as ML is funny and  refreshing. Energetic soundtrack, amateurish comedy and ok'ish actors make it watchable, but nowhere near masterpiece level as it's genuinely unserious, non-constructive and directionless.   Overall Rating: 6/10

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