Dorama of the Year 2006-IV Fall - Tatta Hitotsu no Koi

No masterpieces and could not even finish anything this time, doh. If I try to chose among decent original jdrama this season, I'd say Tatta Hitotsu no Koi is preferable for me.

1. Sera-fuku to Kikanju [セーラー服と機関銃] (Finished 1/7) Tags: Action, Drama High school student Izumi Hoshi loses her father suddenly in an accident. One day, Sakuma, the waka gashira of a small and weak Yakuza gang in Asakusa - the Medaka Gumi - pays Izumi a visit along with the gang members. The death of their former kumicho (Boss) puts Medaka Gumi on the verge of a breakup. Therefore, Sakuma begs Izumi, the former boss's only distant relative left, to succeed in the kumicho position. Izumi is taken by surprise and keeps refusing at first. However, she ends up becoming the 8th kumicho of the Medaka Gumi! The police tell her that her father's death may possibly be a homicide case. There's also Mayumi, a mysterious woman staring closely at Izumi's father's photograph at his funeral. The situation becomes complicated when the drug-dealing vicious yakuza, Hamaguchi Gumi, comes into the picture, as well as Sandaiji Hajime, a politician whose public stance is to eliminate drugs. Remake for so-so story that was fine and did not need a remake.   Overall Rating: 5/10

2. Angel Lover  [天使情人] (Finished 1/40) Tags: Romance At a time when Angelina was at her emotionally lowest, a wonderful man showed up and cured her of her broken heart. And as timely as he appeared, he left shortly after she became ready to love again just to find out he was an angel. To remember the kindness he had shown her, she opened up an agency named "Angel Lover" to help others like herself who was hurt in love. Taiwanese production is still poor. Angel is super cringy here. 40 episodes of such agency is too darn long.   Overall Rating: 5/10

3. Anna-san no Omame  [アンナさんのおまめ] (Finished 2/10) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Drama Anna is everyone's dream; beautiful, intelligent, kind and elegant. But in this drama, she is not the heroine... it is her best friend Lily. Lily is a girl who is overly confident of her own beauty and fantasizes that the whole world is in love with her. She even feels sorry for Anna who is always chased by the boys... as she believes that they are using Anna to become acquainted with her own self. Super annoying.   Overall Rating: 5/10

4. 90 Days of Love  [90일, 사랑할 시간] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Romance, Drama, Melodrama A fate that surpasses taboo, a love that surpasses morality... Hyun Ji Seok is at the peak of his life at thirty-one year old as he is fated to leave this earth in three short months. He is married to Park Jung Ran, but it's not her who is his true love. The one and only thing this man wishes for is to find his one true love and spend the remaining 90 days that he has left with her. Hyun Ji Seok was fated to meet Mi Yeon, but their hearts were destined to be broken in the end. Through an unexpected turn of events, Mi Yeon turns out to be his first cousin. They are now desperately pleading for 90 days in which to love each other for the last time on earth. Will their love be able to overcome the harsh realities of society? Terminal condition love to cultivate sadness is not what I enjoy.   Overall Rating: 5/10

5. Freeze (2006)  [프리즈] (Finished 1/5) Tags: Horror, Romance, Drama, Supernatural This is a story involving vampires. It goes back to 350+ years when Baek Jeong Won saved the vampire I Wha from being burned at the stake in his village. He fell off the cliff while they escaped, and Lee Hwa had to give him her blood in order to save him from dying, and thus Baek Jeong Won was transformed into a vampire also. In modern-day Seoul, they opened a bar. One day, Baek Jeong Won received a letter from his former lover, who was dying and entrusted him to look after her daughter, Jang Ji Yun. Baek Jeong Won fell in love with this woman some 20 years ago but broke up without telling her the truth about himself. After her mother's funeral, Jang Ji Yun found a picture that her mother treasured a lot with someone looking like Baek Jeong Won in it, and she set out to look for him. When she finally found him, she thought he was the son of her mother's long-lost lover, as Baek Jeong Won's appearance didn't change as a vampire. They start to fall in love, and Lee Hwa has difficulty dealing with that. At the same time, a serial killer who sucks blood from the victims is on the loose. Vampire bs.   Overall Rating: 5/10

6. Hyena (2006)  [하이에나] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Mature A quirky male version of Sex and the City, this drama is about four single 30 year old men and how they live their daily lives. Horrible setting and realization.   Overall Rating: 5/10

7. 14-sai no Haha  [14才の母] (Finished 1/11) Tags: Youth, Drama The drama concerns 14-year-old Miki Ichinose, who becomes pregnant with her boyfriend's child. After struggling with the fact that she is pregnant, she decides that she will keep the baby and raise it by herself. The show follows what this means for her, her family, her school life, the life of her boyfriend and his family, and the society in which she resides. Just as expected with no surprises.   Overall Rating: 5/10

8. Lovers  [연인] (Finished 1/20) Tags: Romance, Drama Kang Jae is a wealthy businessman and gangster and Mi Joo is a plastic surgeon. These two meet after Mi Joo mistakes Kang Jae as being her sleazy brother-in-law. Kang Jae just happens to be the boyfriend of Mi Joo's pregnant neighbour, Yoo Jin. Sae Yeon meets Mi Joo and falls in love with her feisty attitude. Kang Jae works for the father of Sae Yeon who is a gangster. Mi Joo and Kang Jae fall in love. Guess Lovers trilogy was a success since this is very much series continuation, especially catching vibes of Lovers in Paris. Lightweight, but at least not repulsive.   Overall Rating: 6/10

9. Hwang Jin Yi [황진이] (Finished 1/24) Tags: Historical, Romance, Drama This story is about the life of Joseon dancer, musician and poet, Hwang Jin Yi, who seeks perfection in her art relentlessly and the hardship facing women due to their lowly social status.  No idea why this is supposed to be interesting.   Overall Rating: 5/10

10. The Snow Queen  [눈의 여왕 ] (Finished 3/16) Tags: Romance, Drama At 17, Tae Ung, a mathematical genius, meets two people who will later become the people he loves. One becomes his best friend and the other his love. Tae Ung's best friend, Kim Jeong Gyu, also classified as a genius, competes for academic accolades. After Tae Ung beats him in an international math Olympiad, Jeong Gyu commits suicide. During this same time, Tae Ung meets a little girl who develops a crush on him. However, he loses touch with her without finding out her name. These tragic events take their toll on the rest of Tae Ung's life. At 25, eight years later, Tae Ung is now a third-class boxer and, through unexpected events, finds Bo Ra, the little girl he once knew. Although this winter will be very cold and scary, winter is not the end of the seasons but the beginning of the hope for greater love. Watchable, but when at least one lead is unreasonable it's hopeless to go on.   Overall Rating: 6/10

11. Couple or Trouble  [환상의 커플] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Comedy, Romance Anna Jo is a rude, feisty, and audacious American-bred heiress who can never be satisfied. She returns to Korea only to continue being a controlling wife to her already cowardly husband, Billy Park. When her yacht gets stuck for repairs, she hires local handyman Jang Chul Soo to fix her shower, but when they have a heated spat over her dissatisfaction and non payment, she pushes him overboard and dunks his tools into the ocean right along with him. Later, after a quarrel with Billy that threatens to end their marriage, she herself gets drunkenly pitched overboard and falls victim to a bad case of amnesia. When one lead is crazy, the whole work can't attain good status for me.   Overall Rating: 5/10

12. What's Up, Fox?  [여우야 뭐하니] (Finished 3/16) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Life Single 33-year-old Go Byeong Hee works as a reporter for a sex magazine. She wants more romance and a more respectable life but isn't sure how to get it. 24-year-old Park Chul Su, mechanic and world traveller, is the younger brother of Byeong Hee's best friend. He's free-spirited and not concerned with what the world thinks. One night, the two old family friends get drunk and wake up in bed together. Go Byeong Hee wants to forget it ever happened, especially since a good marriage prospect has just made an appearance. Unfortunately for her, Chul Su has other ideas. It's all pretty silly and with according characters, but for some reason quite watchable.   Overall Rating: 6/10

12. Nodame Cantabile [のだめカンタービレ] (Finished 1/11) Tags: Music, Comedy, Romance Megumi Noda or "Nodame" is a piano student at Momogaoka College of Music. An extremely talented pianist who wants to be a kindergarten teacher, she prefers playing by ear rather than reading the music score. She is messy and disorganized, takes baths several days apart and loves to eat, sometimes stealing her friend's lunchbox when it is filled with delicacies. Shinichi Chiaki is Momogaoka's top student. Born into a musical family, he is talented in piano and violin and has secret ambitions to become a conductor. An arrogant multi-lingual perfectionist who once lived abroad in the music capitals of the world as a young boy, he feels mired in Japan because of a childhood phobia. They meet by accident. Nodame quickly falls in love, but it takes much longer for Chiaki to even begin to appreciate Nodame's unusual qualities. Their relationship causes them both to develop and grow. Because of Nodame, Chiaki got the opportunity to lead a student orchestra and began to have a broader appreciation of people's musical abilities. Because of Chiaki, Nodame faces her fears and enters a piano competition. Opportunities open up as both begin taking risks, stretching themselves far more than they ever thought possible. Well, it can't beat anime. Nodame is associated with a smile, so actress is especially important, but not seeing smile here.   Overall Rating: 6/10

13. Hana Kimi  [花樣少年少女] (Finished 1/15) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Youth, Sports After watching a high jump competition on TV, Lu Rui Xi was so inspired by a jumper named Zuo Yi Quan that she decides to transfer to his school, which happened to be an all-boys school; therefore, she disguises herself as a boy to get accepted. At the school, Rui Xi befriends Jin Xiu Yi. One day during a friendly soccer match, Rui Xi is knocked unconscious by Xiu Yi. Quan carries her to the infirmary and realizes that Rui Xi is in fact a girl! However, Quan keeps her identity a secret. At the same time, Xiu Yi starts to question his own sexual orientation when he finds himself having feelings towards Rui Xi. Taiwanese spokon trap manga adaptation... instant no.   Overall Rating: 5/10

14. Roy Adeed Hang Ruk  [รอยอดีตแห่งรัก] (Finished 1/31) Tags: Romance, Drama Bie, a successful businessman, blames Mew, a nursing student, for his girlfriend's death after a car accident. Hurt by his accusations, Mew leaves the city to live with her parents. Their paths cross again when Bie hires Mew as a nurse for his grandmother. As they grow closer, Bie struggles with guilt over his deceased girlfriend. Meanwhile, Bie’s secretary, Pei, manipulates the situation, framing Mew for company losses. Mew is fired, but with the help of her friends, she uncovers Pei’s betrayal. Will Bie forgive Mew and expose the truth in time? Typical lakorn.   Overall Rating: 5/10

15. Tatta Hitotsu no Koi  [たったひとつの恋] (Finished 2/10) Tags: Romance, Youth, Drama The setting is in Yokohama. Hiroto Kanzaki works hard every day and night for the survival of a small ship repair factory (inherited from his father) as well as the survival of his mother and younger brother, who are suffering from health problems. Living such an underprivileged life, Hiroto has forgotten how to smile. Nao is the daughter of a popular jewelry shop owner. She attends a prestigious exclusive women's college and grew up cheerful and blessed with affluent love. From the moment Hiroto meets her, his closed mind slowly opens up to Nao, who is so innocent that she utters whatever she thinks. Not fond of these actors and not finding theme of constant misery based on poverty interesting.   Overall Rating: 6/10

16. Kon Rak Game Payabaht  [กลรัก...เกมพยาบาท] (Finished 1/13) Tags: Romance, Drama Vud was in love with Kompai (Kob) but didn't have the courage to confess his feelings so he became close to her sister, Rodsarin, hoping that he would have a chance with Kompai. But when he realized that Kompai was not interested in him at all, he became engaged to Rodsarin before leaving to study abroad, along with Rodsarin's friend, Thitha. Thitha and Vud ended up starting a relationship while studying abroad. Vud sent a letter to Rodsarin, telling her that he was ending their engagement. Rodsarin became heartbroken and passed away. Kompai vowed to get revenged for her sister. She used Panin (Chakrit) as her tool to get back at them. Kompai planned for Thitha to fall for Panin, with the intentions of never letting her being with him. Typical lakorn that's moreso blackened by revenge.   Overall Rating: 5/10

17. Jigoku Shoujo [地獄少女] (Finished 1/12) Tags: Horror, Drama Somewhere in the vast sea of the Internet, there's a website that can only be accessed at the stroke of midnight. Known as the Jigoku Tsushin, rumor has it that if you post a grudge there, the Jigoku Shoujo will appear and drag whoever torments you into the inferno. Very little is known about the girl - all we know for sure is that she lives with her equally enigmatic grandmother, that three magical straw dolls accompany and serve her, and that whenever a posting on the Jigoku Tsushin moves her, she becomes the Jigoku Shoujo. Never liked even anime which was a lot cuter, but I'm not a fan of suspense horrors.   Overall Rating: 5/10

18. Someday  [썸데이] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Romance Someday is about four different people's story about love. Hana Yamaguchi was a successful young cartoonist in Japan. Abandoned by her parents and brought up by her grandma, she was cold and aloof and did not believe in love which to her was only a simple biological response. When the elderly neighbourhood street sweeper died, she discovered the affection between him and her neighbour which lasted 60 years. Hana could not understand this kind of love, so she decided to trace her neighbour's footstep to Korea when she disappeared with her lover's ashes. Go Jin Pyo was a doctor who was a comic book fan of Hana. He was overjoyed in meeting Hana and believed that he was in love for the first time in his life. He decided to help Hana in fulfilling her wish to look for her neighbour and enlisted the help of a private eye, Lee Seok Man.Lee was the sole survivor of a car accident whereby his parents and brother were killed. He carried a lot of guilt towards the parents of the other victim and did his best to help out even at the expense of owing money to the loan sharks. Hye Young was a PD of animation projects and a close friend of Jin Pyo. she didn't realize that she was in love with him till Hana appeared. In bringing her neighbour's love story to fruition and published in print, the process changed the lives and outlook on love for these four people. Four leads is more difficult to manage, so writing and story must be superb to succeed. This one has none of that.   Overall Rating: 5/10

19. A Game about Love  [剪刀石頭布] (Finished 1/27) Tags: Comedy, Romance Two sworn brothers, Chen Ke Luo and Wei Qi Xiang, fall in love with an ordinary yet kind-hearted girl – Ye Duo Li. They are both willing to sacrifice their love in order to save their friendship but in the end, they play the rock-paper-scissors game to determine each other’s destiny. This may sound ridiculous, but when it comes to love, when is it ever logical? Taiwanese drama tends to simplify everything, so simple plots like this become silly primitive.   Overall Rating: 5/10

20. The Young Warriors [少年杨家将 / 少年楊家將] (Finished 1/43) Tags: Historical, Romance, Drama, Family This drama focuses on the earlier days of the legendary Yang Clan when most of them were not yet soldiers. It tells of how their parents, their enemies, and the women they loved shaped their characters, influenced their lives, and motivated them to become the patriotic warriors their clan is revered for. For some reason, whenever I see Chinese historical drama, it always means crappy wuxia in reality.   Overall Rating: 5/10

21. Snow Flower (2006) [눈꽃] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Romance, Drama When she was young, Yoo Da Mi was forced to move in with her grandmother. Unknowingly, it was then when her father disappeared from her life, and since then, she had always thought that her father was dead. As time wore on, her mother became one of the country's best-selling authors, but due to this, she had never found the time to be with her daughter. Suddenly, one day, Da Mi accidentally intercepts a phone call from her father and realizes that her mother has lied to her about her father's whereabouts. Angry, Da Mi decides to infuriate her mother by deciding to not to attend university and chooses to become an actress instead. Surprisingly, the first film she stars in is based on one of her mother's novels. Meanwhile, Ha Yeong Chan - her boss's step-brother - is a friend who secretly loves Da Mi though gets turned away by her. Can't stand imbecil characters.   Overall Rating: 5/10

22. Pinmook  [ปิ่นมุก] (Finished 1/18) Tags: Romance, Drama Pinmook's mother was a maid for her father, So one day her father got her mother pregnant, and the grandmother wasn't happy. Her grandmother then make Pinmook's father marry 3 wives to get rid of Pinmook's mom but never succeeded. One day Pinmook's dad went on a bussiness trip, so the grandma and the 2nd wife assaulted Pinmook's mom and lock her up because she was pregnant with Pinmook and she wouldn't leave Pinmook's dad. Later on, Pinmook's mom left and then her dad came home and they lied to her dad that she had another men and no one had seen her since. 20 years had passed and Pinmook later found out about her family background. She then go back to the house as a servant by the name of "Pin" to reclaim her will. When she got there she found out about her father's death. The 1st wife is now the head of the house and she had adopted Atiya, and wanted to Atiya to steal the assets of the family. Stupid fuss, little essence.   Overall Rating: 5/10

23. Legend of Star Apple [星蘋果樂園] (Finished 1/30) Tags: Comedy, Romance Fifteen years ago, a boy is saved from drowning by a girl on a farm, and they make a promise under the Star Apple tree to meet again after 15 years. Fast forward, Tao Si, heir to Tao Enterprise, manages the farm to avoid an arranged marriage. There, he reunites with Cao Ke Rui, the girl from his past. However, she's now in love with Lu Tian Qi, Meng Xin's ex-boyfriend. Amidst tangled feelings, they must navigate obstacles to discover the true nature of their love. Typical Taiwanese drama.   Overall Rating: 5/10

24. Cupid no Itazura  [クピドの悪戯] (Finished 2/11) Tags: Comedy, Romance A man who's still a virgin, has a very very rare disease which allows him to only have sex seven times in his life. After he has used up all the seven chances, he will never ever be able to have sex again for the rest of his life... and so far, he has wasted two times on 'self gratification'. Now he only has five times left, and he wants to choose carefully and save himself for that someone special...but at the same time he desperately wants to lose his virginity... It's almost impossible to mend a ridiculous concept, and in this case no one even tried to.   Overall Rating: 5/10

25. Taikoki: Tenka wo Totta Otoko Hideyoshi [太閤記~天下を獲った男・秀吉] (Finished 1/6) Tags: Historical, Comedy Another view on Hideyoshi life. Why watch this supercut version until coming to power when there are so many full taiga with better actors? Would not want to promote such series as this.   Overall Rating: 5/10

26. Boku no Aruku Michi  [僕の歩く道] (Finished 1/11) Tags: Life Autism is not easy to understand because if there are ten autistic people, there are ten cases. You have to learn each case otherwise, you'd be lost completely. Here's a 31-year old autistic man whose intelligence is only of a 10-year old child. Due to the lack of understanding, people around him get confused and sometimes mad at him. His family watches over him warmly, and with the help of his childhood friend, he opens up his world little by little, but basically, he just keeps on walking his own way. This heartwarming drama follows his life and how people around him change their views and actually learn from him. Sorry, just can't enjoy drama about mental disabilities or conditions, and nothing with this actor hit for me.   Overall Rating: 5/10

27. Yakusha Damashii  [役者魂!] (Finished 2/11) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Life, Drama Life is often likened to a stage of a play. And you are the star of your life. Everyone should have a story or two to tell. But some people just don't realize it and stay out of the limelight choosing to live in someone else's backstage just like our heroine. Since she lost her parents when she was only 3, she just has been accepting what life gives her instead of trying to get more. But when she starts working for a seasoned Shakespeare actor who has his own problems as his manager, she finds a strange bond with him and develops a special relationship like with a family. his is a heartwarming comedy with full of struggle, humor, witty conversation, and love Dumped it in the past. Reminds me Love Story from 2001 as there's again a famous grumpy male master and young female manager who has to somehow make master cooperate. There have been good works with this concept, but this time it and actors aren't right. It's not entertaining, not clever and not fun.   Overall Rating: 6/10

28. Queen of the Game [게임의 여왕] (Finished 1/20) Tags:  Romance, Drama, Family, Melodrama 23 years ago, Kang Eun Seol's father, Kang Jae Ho, stole the position of Lee Shin Jun's father. This led Lee Shin Jun's father to commit suicide with his wife and son. Now, 23 years later, Lee Shin Jun, now known as Chase, wants revenge and isn't going to stop until he gets it. He makes Kang Eun Seol fall for him so that he can get to her father. But there is a twist: Lee Shin Jun has also fallen in love with Kang Eun Seol, but Lee Shin Jun's partner, Park Joo Won, loves him too... Later, Eun Seol finds out about Shin Jun's revenge plot against her father. Wow, it looks like it aimed to collect royal flash of banalities and tropes - melodrama, revenge, love triangles, toxic MCs, stupid long looks...   Overall Rating: 5/10

29. Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora [半分の月がのぼる空] (Finished 1/13) Tags: Romance, Drama, Medical, Melodrama During the winter, Yuichi was hospitalized due to hepatitis. Randomly he would try to escape from the hospital but would get beat up by the nurse. One day, he happened to meet Rika, a girl of his age, in the next building. He was fascinated by her beauty, but she was very selfish girl. Although she led him by the nose, he began to be attracted by her. However, when Rika told him about her illness, he knew why she acted so selfish; she didn't have long to live. Terminal condition stories are just not for me to judge as I'm severely prejudiced against such concept.   Overall Rating: 5/10

30. Dicey Business [賭場風雲] (Finished 1/35) Tags: Business, Drama A talented card player, Chai Foon Cheung, entered a worldwide poker tournament when he was 18 years old and was regarded as a favorite. However, due to the follies of youth, Cheung was seduced by Lam Siu Yan, who was his rival competitor, Kiu Ching Chor's girlfriend. Due to the distraction, Cheung also became separated from his three-year-old younger brother. In the final tournament, Cheung could not concentrate on his game and forfeited the competition. Since then, Cheung's life has turned upside down, and he became a gambling addict in the Philippines. Fate decided that Cheung was able to bring his life back up and become good friends with him, being united by Chow Fook Wing. Cheung works as a gardener at the Onisac casino and discovers that Chor is the casino's CEO. Hong Kong drama is still low quality and cringy, but concepts built around luck are the worst.   Overall Rating: 5/10

31. Nogaremono Orin [逃亡者おりん] (Finished 1/21) Tags: Action, Historical It is the Edo period during the ninth Shogun Ieshige's reign. Orin's father was falsely accused of attempting to assassinate the former Shogun Yoshimune and in accordance with her father's wishes, Orin joins the secret assassination group Tegusari-nin, headed by Uemura Doestsu. In the organization, Orin fights through many dangers. But one day, she realizes she is being used by Doetsu in order to advance his ambition. Two seasons of assassins, kunoichi and intrigues aren't what I'm going to stomack especially because did not find pilot of any interest.   Overall Rating: 5/10

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