Dorama of the Year 2005-II Spring - Tiger & Dragon

Tiger & Dragon really shined this season. 

1. Aikurushii   [あいくるしい] (Finished 1/11) Tags: Romance, Drama, Family Yuki, mother of the Mashiba family, is the grease that keeps this well-oiled machine running and its seven members happy and healthy. But when Yuki herself falls ill and needs to be hospitalized, the rest of the family must cooperate and make sacrifices in order to keep everything running smoothly and make ends meet. Family drama are rarely outright bad, but also can't remember one that would excel. Did not grasp me, and theme of misery is far from my favorites.   Overall Rating: 6/10

2. Ame to Yume no Ato ni  [雨と夢のあとに] (Finished 1/10) Tags: Horror, Family, Supernatural Based on a novel by Akutagawa Prize-winning author, Yu Miri, 'Ame to Yume no Ato ni' is a story about the supernatural and the bonds between a father and daughter. Sakurai Tomoharu is a single parent who has an extremely close relationship with his daughter. One of his hobbies is catching and collecting butterflies, and he has traveled to Taiwan to catch a very rare butterfly, the Troides magellanus. It's so rare it's been called the "phantom butterfly." The legend goes that whoever catches this butterfly will become a phantom themselves. Back in Japan, Tomoharu's daughter, Ame, hasn't received a phone call from her father in days and begins to worry. However, when Tomoharu does return, he has no recollection of how he got back to Japan, or what happened at all. Ame notices strange things beginning to happen all around her. With the help of his neighbor Akiko, Tomoharu begins to piece together what happened back in Taiwan and comes to a horrifying conclusion. Horrors aren't my thing, but this one is probably as good as it can get being based on a novel and not just about screamers. Only feeling I get from this creepy supernatural stuff is that I'm wasting time.   Overall Rating: 6/10

3. Anego (2005)  [アネゴ] (Finished 2/10) Tags: Business, Romance, Drama Naoko Noda, who works in a trading company, is called "anego" by her younger co-workers. What is "anego"? It means "older sister", but in this case, it is given as a nickname to Naoko because she is like a big sister to her co-workers, who depend on her to give them advice about everything. This drama depicts realistically how Naoko lives her everyday life, including her love life, the problems she faces, and her uneasiness about the future. For a bland concept like this I need at least to like characters to go on, and it just does not happen.   Overall Rating: 5/10

4. Biscuit Teacher and Star Candy  [건빵선생과 별사탕] (Finished 2/16) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Drama Na Bo Ri is a 25-year-old woman who desperately wants to be a teacher at the high school she was kicked out of due to a misunderstanding with her teachers over injuring a group of male classmates. After getting her GED, she rejects job offers from other high schools and works on becoming a teacher at her old high school so she can work side by side with her high school love interest, the art teacher Ji Hyeon U. However, the only thing that enables her to get the coveted job is signing a contract to essentially babysit Park Tae In, a troublemaker student who attends the same high school. Tae In, a lonely youth, quickly becomes the "jjang", or "king" of the high school and enjoys playing mean tricks on Bo Ri, whose easygoing personality attracts the attention of the majority of her students. No Jem Ma is jealous of the relationship between Bo Ri and Tae In and goes out of her way to get Bo Ri kicked out but she's not the only one against them. Finding both concept and characters so-so. Trying second episode was a wrong move - even more stupid than pilot.   Overall Rating: 5/10

5. Loveholic (2005)  [러브홀릭] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Romance, Drama It's a love story between the disobedient student Kang Wook and his teacher Yool Ju set in a high school in Chuncheon. Before meeting Kang Wook, Yool Ju has been dating Tae Hyeon, a public prosecutor. But over time, Yool Ju and Kang Wook fall deeply in love despite social prejudices, an age gap, and a teacher-student relationship. One day, Yool Ju accidentally kills Kang Wook's classmate, who intentionally harasses Kang Wook. But due to narcolepsy, Yool Ju doesn't remember what happened, she fell asleep during the incident. To protect her, Kang Wook goes to jail in her place. Five years later, when Kang Wook is released from prison, he meets Yool Ju again, but she is now engaged to Tae Hyeon. Learning what sacrifice he has made for her, Yool Ju wants to go back to Kang Wook, but this time Kang Wook is not alone - Ja Kyung, his former classmate and currently a radio program host, is by his side. Their circumstances hamper Yool Ju from loving Kang Wook, but she is desperate to help him recover the lost five years and become a top-notch cook Such melodramatic concept alone makes me roll my eyes already. Pilot has so irritating males, and it's supposed to be the best part. Can't imagine how low it gets further on.   Overall Rating: 5/10

6. Meibugyo! Ooka Echizen [名奉行！大岡越前1] (Finished 1/10) Tags: Historical Ooka Echizen is the commissioner of the two-acre Minami-machi Magistrate’s Office, located in Edo Castle. He keeps order within the town. Edo police detective story just can't be interesting for me, sorry.   Overall Rating: 5/10

7. My Lovely Sam Soon  [내 이름은 김삼순] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Food, Comedy, Romance, Drama Kim Sam Sun is a baker who has a talent for making pastries and cakes. On Christmas Eve, she catches her boyfriend, Min Hyeon U, cheating on her and breaks up. On that same night, she meets Hyun Jin Heon, the owner of a restaurant called Bon Appetit. By sheer coincidence, Jin Heon needs a baker for his restaurant, and Sam Sun is unemployed. Sam Sun is hired as the restaurant's chief baker, and the two fight like cats and dogs. This gourmet show is lousy, too.   Overall Rating: 5/10

8. Only You (2005)  [온리유 ] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Romance Eun Jae was a stubborn and head-strong girl who had a passion for cooking. She did not have any interest in going to college and with the help of her highschool friend, Jung Hyun Sung ran away to Italy to enroll in a cooking school. Jung Hyun Sung who loved her dearly went along with her. Han Yi Joon came from a wealthy family. He travelled to Italy looking for his mother and there he ran into Eun Jae, who had also been seeking the same person to learn the secrets to making great pasta. She comforted Yi Joon, who was distraught over his mother's remarrying, and they ended up making love. Yi Joon left Eun Jae the next morning over some misunderstanding. Eun Jae became pregnant and had no choice but to give up her dream and to return to Korea. 6 years later, Eun Jae was working in low paying restaurant jobs, Yi Joon started to take over the operations of his family's business, and Hyun Sung was working as a chef for one of the restaurants owned by Yi Joon and managed by Ji Soo Yeon. Hyun Sung was good with Eun Jae's son and he was helping out Eun Jae's whole family financially as they had fallen on hard times. Yi Joon found out that he still had feelings for Eun Jae as they ran into each other when he was looking for a new chef for his restaurant. The dramatic tension unfolds as the four main characters worked out their feelings for each other. And another gourmet show to the dumpster.   Overall Rating: 5/10

9. The Prince Who Turns into a Frog  [王子變青蛙] (Finished 1/20) Tags: Comedy, Romance Shan Jun Hao, the CEO of a large hotel chain, is the stereotypical heir - spoiled, coldhearted, and ruthless. He meets Ye Tian Yu, a schemer and somewhat of a gold-digger and after a series of events, Tian Yu "accidentally" runs Jun Hao over. Turns out, Jun Hao has lost all of his memories and became a kindhearted and loving person. Just when love is in the air, Jun Hao's family came looking for him and he has a fiancée who loves and misses him. Some more "accidents" occurred, and Jun Hao lost all of his memories of Tian Yu and went back to being a spoiled heir. However, Tian Yu fights for their love even though Jun Hao thinks of her as a lying schemer. Will Jun Hao remember his love for Tian Yu? Who will Jun Hao choose? And who is the person causing all the "accidents"? Really afraid of Korean and Taiwanese comedies as it means even higher than usual level of silliness and craziness. Cringy as hell.   Overall Rating: 5/10

10. Next (2005)  [환생 - 넥스트] (Finished 2/14) Tags: Drama Kang Jung Hwa is a promising young stage actress who has a chance encounter on the subway with Dr. Min Ki Beom, a brilliant young neurosurgeon. Soon after, she collapses for reasons no one can explain. This event starts a cascade of memories of past experiences from previous lives. Jung Hwa then undergoes treatment by hypnosis for insomnia with psychologist Dr. Lee Soo Hyeon at the suggestion of fellow actor and boyfriend, Min Ki Soo. Unexplained also is the powerful attraction between Jung Hwa and Ki Beom. Things are further complicated for them all by the fact that Ki Soo is Dr. Min's brother and Dr. Lee is Dr. Min's fiancee. Jung Hwa chooses to delve into her past life memories and discovers that all four, herself, Soo Hyeon, Ki Beom and Ki Soo have lived past lives of intertwined fates. She searches for the answer to why these four are reborn over and over only to find each other again and continue the cycle of misfortune. I consider this experiment a failure. It develops too slowly and not in an interesting way while leads don't fancy.   Overall Rating: 5/10

11. Resurrection  [부활] (Finished 3/24) Tags: Thriller, Romance, Drama Yu Gang Hyuk was only 7 years old when his father was murdered in a car "accident" and separated from his identical twin, Yu Shin Hyuk. He forgot his name and family and given the name Suh Ha Eun by his adopted father Suh Jae Soo. He falls in love with his adopted sister, Eun Ha and tried to be very honorable about it. He was led to become a cop because of his father's badge. While investigating an alleged case of suicide, he eventually learns of his twin brother. Against the warnings of his peers, Ha Eun becomes more and more involved in this suspicious case. As a part of a larger scheme, Ha Eun is targeted for a hit by unknown individuals. And when Ha Eun and Shin Hyuk finally meet for the first time in twenty years, the murderers kill Shin Hyuk accidentally mistaken him for Ha Eun. As a result, Ha Eun vows to get revenge by giving his enemies psychological torture and takes on his brother's persona as an undercover cop and that is where the drama begins. There's too many melodrama tropes that it feels like overkill. I'm glad that show manages to stay decent with all that, but I also happen to dislike detective and revenge drama. I'm definitely not enjoying this.   Overall Rating: 6/10

12. My Bratty Princess  [刁蛮公主] (Finished 2/33) Tags: Adventure, Comedy, Romance Situ Jing, a mischievous free-thinking lady, and her companion, A Ling, go on a series of adventures. She does not know that she is a princess of the former royal family. To protect her family's reputation outside the home, Situ Jing dresses as a man and calls herself Xiao Long Xia. Concerned about the plight of the refugees, which the officials have been ignoring, she comes up with various schemes to help them. Emperor Zhu Yun has been steadily working on consolidating the empire that his father had left him. A monk once gave him a puzzle, telling him that whoever solves it will help him with the problems of the empire. He escapes from his palace to wander around the city with his companion. He befriends Xiao Long Xia after he realizes that the money she has conned and stolen from others is being spent on the refugees. When Xiao Long Xia solves the puzzle, he decides to maintain closer ties with her. The Lord of Yunnan's sister was the previous queen who drank poison and died when the last dynasty was attacked. His son, Bai Yun Fei, is betrothed to Princess An Ning, the sister of Emperor Zhu Yun. An unlikely friendship develops between the Emperor, Xiao Longxia and Bai Yu Fei, each pretending to the others to be someone else. Palace and court intrigue, rebellion and assassination plots abound. It's not a total bore like most palace intrigues old drama, but it's still palace intrigues and reusing the same concept for 33 episodes which makes it rather episodic endless show rather than story-driven one, and that does not suit me.   Overall Rating: 6/10

13. Tiger & Dragon  [タイガー＆ドラゴン] (Finished 11/11) Tags: Comedy, Crime, Life, Drama A young yakuza thug apprentices with an indebted comic rakugo performer, whose not-so-fashionable son runs a clothes shop in the Harajuku backstreets. Great inventive drama that I watched before and gladly rewatched now, but for a perfect masterpiece it must have a lingering impact on me, and I totally forgot that I watched it, took half an episode to remember. Otherwise, almost perfect.   Overall Rating: 9/10

14. Tokyo Friends  [東京フレンズ] (Finished 1/5) Tags: Comedy, Romance Small-town girl Rei moves to the big city to pursue her dreams. In Tokyo, she finds work at a pub and befriends the three other girls who work there, art student Maki, opportunistic Ryoko, and aspiring actress Hirono. Their pub's name is Yume no Kura, or "Dream Warehouse", and indeed each girl is in search of her dreams. Such shameless self-promotion. FL is a singer and not an actress, and she feels like a dead fish. "Friends" are just coworkers at bar who happen to hang out later too. It's totally cringy and immature, so deserves the lowest score.   Overall Rating: 5/10

15. Fashion 70's  [패션 70's] (Finished 2/28) Tags: Romance, Drama, Family, Melodrama Fashion 70's focused on the lives of four young people, from their childhood during the Korean War, to their careers and love lives within the booming fashion world of the seventies. When Joon Hee was young, she befriends a little girl called Kang Hee, these two girls always get into trouble because of Kang Hee's greedy mother. At the same time, Joon Hee also makes friends with two boys, Dong Young, the son of a military general and Jang Bin. But when North Korean forces invade their town, both girls are separated from their parents and Joon Hee's mother is killed in an explosion. Believing his daughter to have died, Joon Hee's father adopts Kang Hee and raises her as his own daughter. Joon Hee is discovered at an orphanage by Kang Hee's mother and is also adopted. The trauma of the events causes Joon Hee to block out her childhood memories and she grows up on a small island as Doe Mi, unaware of her true identity. Years pass and their paths cross again, with complicated and destructive results. Doe Mi dreams of becoming a fashion designer, and petty criminal Jang Bin helps her move to Seoul to chase her dream. In the process, he falls in love with her, but his feelings are unrequited. Melodrama, fashion and length of 28 episodes are three red strikes. Can't even break through obligatory children drama. It all feels really bad and worthless, such a waste of time for creators and viewers.   Overall Rating: 5/10

16. The Gentle Crackdown [秀才遇著兵] (Finished 1/20) Tags: Historical, Comedy, Romance, Drama Sup Yee Moo is a slow-paced police and her mom, Sup Yee Ma, is the villain 'Chivalrous Flying Hawk'. But Sup Yee Ma kept that identity a secret after she left the martial arts world. Sup Yee Ma would look after Sup Yee Muo because Sup Yee Muo would always run into trouble. One day, Sui Dong Lau shows up and becomes the righteous magistrate in her city, and they would work together with Si Kei Wong to solve funny mysteries. Korean historical comedy as usual means silly parody, and again with martial arts (again not in the tags so that I could block it outright) buffonry. Totally horrible.   Overall Rating: 5/10

17. Devil Beside You  [惡魔在身邊] (Finished 2/20) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Youth After finally getting the courage to confess her feelings, Qi Yue was handing her love letter to Yuan Yi, but by a stroke of bad luck, he did not see and walked passed her. The person standing in front of her was the troublemaker of the school, infamously known for his devilish ways - Jiang Meng. The devil will get what he wants, and the object of his desire was Qi Yue. Although having a cruel exterior, Jiang Meng's heart is kind and caring, which truly touched Qi Yue. The big problem remained - Jiang Meng is the son of the man Qi Yue's mother is going to marry. ~~ Adapted from the manga “Akuma de Sourou” (悪魔で候) by Takanashi Mitsuba (高梨みつば). Feels like a copypaste of previous Taiwanese comedy - also college, also hooligan is director's sun, several boys around shoujo'ish FL. Immature and exaggerated.   Overall Rating: 5/10

18. Engine  [エンジン] (Finished 3/11) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Life, Drama Jiro Kanzaki is an F3000 driver blessed with acute sensitivity and breathtaking driving techniques. He's a daredevil who feels no fear driving at speeds that even top racers dare not attempt. But unexpected trouble forces this racer to leave his team and return to Japan for the first time in years. Until he finds a new job as a racer, Jiro decides to stay with his family. What awaits Jiro there is his hardheaded father, his nagging sister, the 12 children of the foster home his father runs, a snobbish male teacher, and a stubborn female teacher who likes to daydream about her life. Jiro's return home brings a breath of fresh air that influences the people around him. However, he is still unaware that he too will eventually be influenced to change the way he thinks and lives. With 12 children it becomes family drama, and I still can't find family drama that I would deliberately like. Kimutaku is fine and professional, but I can't stand Koyuki as main heroine. Can't do anything about it. Overall it feels better than average.   Overall Rating: 6/10

19. Yagyuu Jubei Nanaban Shoubu  [柳生十兵衛七番勝負] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Action, Historical A story of Yagyu Jubei, master swordsman from the well-known Yagyu-Shinkage school in the Edo period. Even decades after the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate, many were framing plots to topple Tokugawa's political system. The master of Yagyu-Shinkage school, Yagyu Munemori who serves the third Tokugawa shogun Iemitsu is commissioned to keep an eye on Daimyo lords all around Japan. Munemori's eldest son, Jubei starts a stealthy trip to fight against those who engage in secret maneuvers. Enjoy sword fighting actions between Jubei and his rivals. Just recently I complained about too long format and lots of water in such duelist life, but this concentrated format is not great either, mostly because it's done in travelling ronin endless story way where first part is detective and then action. I'd prefer more human-like approach.   Overall Rating: 6/10

20. Ruri no Shima  [瑠璃の島] (Finished 1/10) Tags: Life, Youth, Drama On Hatomi, a small island in Okinawa state part of Japan's southern sea frontier, the social environment is suffering. With the last student of the elementary school leaving the place, the closing of the school is a virtual given. Mr. Nakama decides to do something about it and heads for Tokyo to recruit his grandson. Rebuffed by his daughter, however, he decides to adopt another child. He finds Ruri, a mature girl of 11 who distrusts people due to the fact that her mother doesn't care much about her, but after seeing Mr. Nakama's true intentions, allows him to take her to the island. Unfortunately, the local teacher, Ms. Sanae, who was banking on the school's closing to be able to go somewhere else, is resentful of Ruri and makes light of her city fashion (including permed hair, fake curls, and miniskirts), which leads to a big showdown between her and Ruri and the people who were enthusiastic about her suddenly begin to have their doubts, and only Mr. Nakama and his wife Megumi take Ruri's side strongly. Following into the island is Mr. Kawashima, a mysterious man who saves Ruri from drowning following the fight and who becomes her conscience and friend in her daily life in the island. But is Kawashima what he seems? Or did he come to the island to run away from Tokyo and possibly a crime he may have been involved in there? Katsumura and Nishiyama play a local married couple of neighbors, Kashu and Igawa a local unmarried couple of neighbors, all of them willing to help Ruri in their own way. Slow rural stories don't fancy me. It's just depressive, and no actor work can save it.   Overall Rating: 5/10

21. Sad Goodbye  [슬픔이여 안녕] (Finished 1/60) Tags: Romance, Drama This is a story about the unconditional and all-forgiving love of four brothers who after years of fighting and hatred pull together and reconcile to revive their father's business. The four brothers, each representing different generations, symbolize ordinary people living in today's world: Han Sung Jae, the soft-hearted but incapable oldest brother in his 50s, who shoulders the heavy burden of being the head of the family; Han Sang Kyu, the accomplished but selfish second brother in his 40s, who only thinks of getting rid of his family responsibilities; Han Sung Min, the third brother in his 30s who lost his job due to corporate restructuring; and, finally, Han Jung Woo, the youngest one who has just graduated from college and is yet unemployed. The lives of these four siblings represent the hardships of the unemployed of various generations. This series also asks the question about the genuine meaning of marriage by showing how married couples of various age groups work on their relationships to avert divorce. Traditional Kdrama scheme is to take a huge family and milk it for abyssmal number of episodes. Contents is also not outstanding in any way from the average.   Overall Rating: 5/10

22. Ice Girl  [그녀가 돌아왔다] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Romance, Sci-Fi Before the marriage to fiance, a young lady Kim suddenly suffered a heart attack. She was moved to her father's hospital, but her father Dr. Kim was not able to save her. So he took her body and froze her until he could find a way to save her. And 25 years later, in 2005, she is revived. But she cannot remember her fiance... and she falls in love with his son. Weird sci-fo concept, but the gist is pretty typical korean flow and far from realism.   Overall Rating: 5/10

23. Neung Nai Suang [หนึ่งในทรวง] (Finished 1/17) Tags: Historical, Comedy, Romance, Drama Poom and Neung, childhood enemies, reunite as adults. Poom resents Neung for mocking her in the past, while Neung, unaware of her identity, is immediately drawn to her at a party. After discovering who she is, Neung's initial attempts to tease Poom evolve into a deeper attraction. Despite their complicated history, Neung becomes determined to win Poom's heart. Absolutely horrible, talentless and primitive fantasy on cinderella. Super irritating to watch, so can't even finish pilot.   Overall Rating: 5/10

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