Dorama of the Year 2007-II Spring - Seito Shokun!

Nothing great for me spotted again. Seito Shokun! was the most worthy.

1. Jodan ja nai!  [冗談じゃない！] (Finished 1/11) Tags: Comedy A forty-year-old man has married a pretty woman 20 years younger than he is. However, with their marriage as a turning point, his fate dramatically changes. The mother of his newly-wed bride is his old lover! What is worse, the mother voluntarily moves herself in with the newly weds. Their newly married life, which would have been honey-sweet, is becoming a roller-coaster ride. This is a comical drama portraying the triangle with reason of these three people. Strange, but I'm feeling nothing with this concept or actors and I definitely don't want to see it play out further.   Overall Rating: 5/10

2. Tokkyu Tanaka 3 Go [特急田中3号] (Finished 1/11) Tags: Comedy, Romance After two years of preparation, Ichiro Tanaka finally enters a university disdained as a third-class one. Out of his ardent desire to become popular with girls, he by chance steps into the world of the railroad "otaku" (commonly called "tetsu"), getting deeply involved in the fascinating railroad world. This drama portrays Ichiro who, together with those lonely "tetsu" guys he meets there who "want to be popular so badly but are not," develops love and friendship and grows mature as a person.  I'm very far from train fans, and besides that there's only so-so juvenile comedy with akin actors.   Overall Rating: 5/10

3. Hanayome to Papa [花嫁とパパ] (Finished 2/12) Tags: Comedy, Romance Uzaki Aiko a new 20-year-old daddy's girl works in the apparel company of her dreams. Her father, Kentaro, loves his daughter excessively to the point that he compels her to follow his house rules: 7:00pm curfew, no socialising with the opposite sex. Nevertheless, she falls in love with her colleague, played by Taguchi, and begins a mission to "graduate" from her father. Gave it a second chance, but it remained same super irritating with obsessive overprotecting father and daughter with constantly tilt in apology face.   Overall Rating: 5/10

4. Kid Gang [키드갱] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Comedy Adapted from the Manhwa of the same name, "Kid Gang" is about the once most powerful crime organization in Korea. The 'Bloody Tuesday Gang' was entrusted with taking care of a baby by their former leader six months before their parole ended. Ku Bong Son Chang Min was the leader with two other members Hong Lu Lee Jong Soo and Kal Nal Lee Ki Woo. This comedy focused on the task faced by the members who have to take care of the baby.. Mafiosi taking care of a kid happened too often in anime recently, and I never liked it. Can't say I like comedy or anything else here either.   Overall Rating: 5/10

5. Watashitachi no Kyokasho [わたしたちの教科書] (Finished 1/12) Tags: Mystery, Law Tamako, an elite lawyer with a promising future, works for a reputable law firm. She is recently given an opportunity to take a case involving a young child who has been bullied at a local elementary school. Fully aware of the difficulties uncovering the truth in cases involving schools, Tamako is reluctant to proceed with her new client. Tamako is romantically involved with one of her colleagues, Naoyuki, and is hoping to further develop their relationship. However, Tamako's seemingly happy life comes to a sudden halt when she learns the news of an accident involving a young female high school student named Asuka. Asuka had apparently fallen from a classroom window on campus and suffered serious injuries. Tamako takes a strong interest in Asuka's case and immediately launches her own private investigation. Not a fan of detective mystery investigation, and this one does not look great.   Overall Rating: 5/10

6. Modern Housewives [신 현모양처] (Finished 2/10) Tags: Drama Kim Ho Jin will play Heo Myung Pil, an elite newspaper reporter but an immature and irresponsible husband. Kang Sung Yun will play Gyung Gook Hee, a bright and valiant wife. Along with the two, Kim Tae Yun will play Lim Tae Ran who is a successful scenario writer who possesses both fortune and fame, she is considered an ideal female figure in today's society, and Kim Nam Jin will play the college student, Seok Doo, who receives the love of many wives. There's way too much toxicity and misogyny in a drama about modern women.   Overall Rating: 5/10

7. Snow in August [8월에 내리는 눈] (Finished 1/20) Tags: Mystery, Romance, Melodrama A 27-year-old single man with a six-year-old son falls for Oh Ban Suk, a thirty-three-year-old divorcee. Her husband cheated on her, and she suffers from the pain of losing their son in a car accident three years ago. This drama is about how the two meet, and through a child, they heal each other's wounds Way too many red flags - mystery, melodrama, misery and lack of rationality.   Overall Rating: 5/10

8. Seito Shokun! [生徒諸君!] (Finished 2/10) Tags: Youth, Drama Students who do not trust teachers, teachers who give up faith in education, parents who blame schools for their children's misbehavior... Naoko was at a loss when she was assigned as a new high school teacher. Times have changed and students are no longer easy to control, but she chose not to look away. Instead, Naoko reaches out to try and discover the various issues hidden in the modern education system. Did not expect to see so many GTO imitations. Such works are generally above average, but - again - it's literal copypaste of GTO in many moments, and I'm sick of it tbh.   Overall Rating: 6/10

9. Elite Yankee Saburo [エリートヤンキー三郎] (Finished 1/11) Tags: Action, Comedy, Youth "Elite Yankee Saburo" tells the story of Ookochi Saburo, a plain and shy boy entering high school. Unfortunately for him, his two older brothers had built a reputation as legendary troublemakers at that school. When Saburo arrives, he is immediately misunderstood and treated as an "elite yankee". I'm more shocked to see that manga was not from 90s. Weird goofy action comedy just as expected.   Overall Rating: 5/10

10. Money's Warfare [쩐의 전쟁] (Finished 1/20) Tags: Business, Romance Geum Na Ra is a ruthless private moneylender. Seo Joo Hee is a righteous woman. When problems with her family's debts arise, Joo Hee was supposed to marry a divorced man to solve her family's financial problems. But on the day of the wedding, Geum Na Ra shows up to collect the debts and ends up ruining her plans. Joo Hee vows to take her revenge on him but she falls in love with him instead. Ha Woo Sung, also a moneylender, is a handsome young man who seems to have no worries in life. He and Geum Na Ra are rivals, in business and in love. Lee Cha Yeon is a money banker. Hating concepts about debts immensely, but this time we also have shitload of misery as addon.   Overall Rating: 5/10

11. Air City [에어시티] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Action, Romance, Drama Han Do Kyung, specially scouted by the Incheon Airport Director, willingly accepted 1/3 of the pay she was receiving when working in Singapore to come back to Korea as the chief of operations of Incheon Airport. She speaks five different languages. However, Do Kyung lives with an uneven wound of her family and a regret of leaving her sister behind. She met Kim Ji Sung, a National Intelligence Service agent and gets entangle with him. Kim Ji Sung is very passionate about his work to the extend that he is willing to bend the rules to ensure the security of the country even if he is only acting on his instincts... Again Korean secret agent action and again cringeworthy.   Overall Rating: 5/10

12. My Man's Woman [내 남자의 여자] (Finished 1/24) Tags: Romance, Life, Drama, Melodrama A woman is having an affair with a married man. She is Lee Hwa Young, a woman who doesn't feel guilty even after stealing her friend's husband. I'm still under impression of Japanese infidelity drama from last season Konshu Tsuma ga Uwaki Shimasu. This is pure waste of time in comparison.   Overall Rating: 5/10

13. Calling Love [麻雀愛上鳳凰] (Finished 1/24) Tags: Romance, Drama Tiffany, a runaway bride from the countryside, was at the wrong place at the right time. She had picked up an abandoned cellphone outside a hotel window and answered a fateful call from Steven. As it turned out, the phone belonged to Li Hui, who had been kidnapped. Steven sought Tiffany's help in rescuing her, as he was too far away to save Li Hui in time. Through this twist of fate, two of them became friends over the phone despite having never met each other. Absolutely ridiculous artificial Taiwanese story imitation.   Overall Rating: 5/10

14. Proposal Daisakusen [プロポーズ大作戦] (Finished 1/11) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Youth, Supernatural Iwase Ken and Yoshida Rei have been friends since elementary school. Ken is obstinate and unskilled in love, but he fell long ago for the lively and cheerful Rei. But Rei is about to get married to another man. While Ken and other friends from high-school attend the wedding ceremony, a fairy appears and sends Ken back in time, giving him a second chance to win the girl he loves. Can't stand supernatural time travel to fix relations stories too much.   Overall Rating: 5/10

15. Life  [ライフ] (Finished 4/11) Tags: Psychological, Youth, Drama Ayumu passes an entrance exam of an elite high school with help of Yuko, her best friend, but Yuko fails and blames Ayumu for her failure. Broken hearted from the broken friendship, Ayumu shuts down and gives up on making new friends in high school. But Manami, the most popular girl in her class, is more than happy to accept her as her friend, so she starts to enjoy her new life. But when Manami misunderstands that Ayumu is trying to steal her boyfriend, her insidious bullying of Ayumu begins. With nobody to turn to, as her mother is more concerned about her weak brother, and her teacher is preoccupied with her own problems, she is pushed to the limit of losing herself. It's a work about bullying. Tried to stay longer here, but not sure why endure this torture.   Overall Rating: 5/10

16. Capital Scandal [경성스캔들] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Historical, Comedy, Romance, Drama This drama is set in the 1930's when Korea was under the rule of Japan. Na Yeo Gyeong was the owner of a book store and she was also a freedom fighter. Seon U Wan was the playboy son of a rich family, and he became involved in the independence movement through a bet with his co-workers to win Na Yeo Gyeong's heart. His father paid for the education of his worker's son, Lee Su Hyeon, and was disappointed to find him working for the Security Branch of the Japanese government. Cha Song Ju was a famous gisaeng who ran a high-class brothel. Pre-wwII years don't strike me as interesting. All this parody of liberation movement and absolutely evil in the entirety Japanese make me sick. Watching it feels like a chore.   Overall Rating: 5/10

17. Mackerel Run [달려라 고등어] (Finished 8/8) Tags: Comedy, Youth, Drama Cha Gong Chan was able to enter the top private high school in the affluent Gangnam District, Myoung Mun High, because of his soccer skills. But when he quits the sport, he finds himself an outcast and starts cutting class. One day, a beautiful new girl transfers to the school, and when she walks into his class, Gong Chan falls for her instantly. He is finally enthusiastic about going to school, but the school administrator informs him that he will be expelled if he misses one more day. Gong Ghan vows that he won’t give up on either his school life or his love. School kdrama is generally more sincere than grown-up one. Only finished it because it's short since it became repetitive buffonade vast.   Overall Rating: 6/10

18. Bad Couple [불량커플] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Comedy, Romance Choi Gi Chan is a University Botanic Professor with the "perfect genes". The drama is about an editor of a fashion magazine, Kim Dang Ja, who suddenly develops an urge to have her own baby despite opposing the idea of marriage. The story will talk about Dang Ja striving to look for a man with perfect genes to accomplish her mission. Gi Chan happens to be her "target" in order for her to accomplish her mission. The story later develops as Dang Ja must persuade him to do it without any commitments, which is a problem because Gi Chan doesn't believe in the idea of sex before marriage. Can't find anything fun here. There's nothing special about concept or actors. Capitalizing on a preschool child is cheesy.   Overall Rating: 5/10

19. Hua Jai Sila (2007) [หัวใจศิลา] (Finished 1/31) Tags: Romance, Drama Tor is the illegitimate son of a millionaire and his mistress, treated harshly by his stepmother and half-brother, Ae. His mother dies from abuse when he's young, and he befriends Mintha, a fellow stepchild. Tor's life takes a turn when a confrontation with Ae and Mintha's sister, Kwan, leads to a severe beating. Tor escapes and is presumed dead after jumping into a lake, but is rescued by his aunt, Mam. She renames him Sila, and he grows up to be a wealthy pimp under her care. Years later, Sila reunites with Mintha at a hospital but keeps his true identity hidden. He plans revenge on those who made his childhood a nightmare. Reading synopsis like this makes want to drop hopeless Thai drama forever. Rotten through and through with omnipresent zero acting.   Overall Rating: 5/10

20. Golden Bride [황금신부] (Finished 1/64) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Drama, Melodrama Jin Joo is a half-Korean and half-Vietnamese girl who marries a Korean man, Kang Jun Woo, in order to come to Korea to look for her biological father who abandoned her. The drama is not only about her searching for her dad but also about the cultural differences between her and her husband's family. There is bad blood between the two families, Kim and Kang. The rivalry is even more fueled because Jun Woo's mother used to date Young Min's father but Young Min's mother stole him away from her. Kang Sae Mi is Jun Woo's sister and Kim Young Soo is Young Min's younger brother. They want to get married but both families oppose their marriage which leads to the two young lovers running away and living together It must be hell of a show to justify 64 episode length. But it's just a typical soap opera with a bit of Vietnamese culture mix.   Overall Rating: 5/10

21. Klin Kaew Klang Jai [กลิ่นแก้วกลางใจ] (Finished 1/37) Tags: Romance, Drama Mesa gets married with Orachun and realizes later that he is in love with Jitta. Orachun and Jitta had an affair, and she gave birth to a daughter. Mesa is vengeful and jealous of them, so she switches Jitta's baby with a prostitute's baby. Many years later, Apo, the prostitute's baby, grows up in the noble and rich family while Prapai, Jitta's real baby, grows up in the orphanage. With hatred, Mesa gradually poisons Orachun and he dies. When Jitta knows, she sends someone to exchange his ash bottle and brings his ash to spread under the Orange Jasmine tree near Klin Kaew House on the island that Orachun had built as a symbol for their love. Mesa adopts Prapai and treats her as a servant. No matter how many times Mesa is mean and cruel to Prapai, she still loves Mesa as her mother because at least Mesa supported her to study and to graduate from Nursing school. Later, Mesa befriends Jitta and sends Prapai to be Apo's servant because she wants to see Jitta's real daughter to be treated as a servant in her real mother's house. Jitta's family and Akkee's family are bound by business, so they want Apo, Jitta's daughter and Asanee, Akkee's son to get married. Apo tries to oppose it because she has a boyfriend named Johnny. Same with Asanee, he refuses this marriage and is very angry at his father. They quarrel until Asanee gets into a car accident. Akkee dies and Asanee becomes blind. Panu, Asanee's uncle, wants to possess their property and business, so he plans to make Asanee sign the document to assign authority to him. Panu also forces Asanee to sign the marriage registration with Apo and sends him to Klin Kaew House on the island. Apo resists to go to take care of a blind man like Asanee, so she conspires with Mesa to send Prapai to go there and pretend to be his wife instead, and Apo sneaks away to be with Johnny, her boyfriend. I refuse to watch this melodramatic silly mess with constant random emotional outbursts.   Overall Rating: 5/10

22. Liar Game [ライアーゲーム] (Finished 1/11) Tags: Thriller, Psychological, Drama College student Kanzaki Nao, known for her honesty, receives 100 million yen and an invitation to join the "Liar Game", where players deceive each other for the prize money: losers end up in debt. Her first opponent is her former teacher Fujisawa Kazuo, who tricks her out of her money. With no help from the police, she turns to recently released swindler Akiyama Shinichi for assistance. Liar concepts are quite popular. They are usually quite sophisticated, but for me it's just variations of Danganronpa, so only fun at exceptional cases. This is rather a simpler starter case.   Overall Rating: 6/10

23. Why Why Love [換換愛] (Finished 1/15) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Youth Tong Jia Di needs a life besides work, paying down family debt, and more work. So her best friend Jiang Xiao Nan sneaks in a "Love" coupon in Jia Di's raffle box, praying that the lucky guy who draws it will sweep Jia Di off her feet. As it so happens, Huo Yan, the compassionate manager Jia Di has a secret crush on, is the lucky guy. But, tho' the prince can exchange the coupon for Cinderella's love, it doesn't mean he will, especially when his devilish younger brother is determined to exchange his "Master/Angel" coupon for her servitude. The Taiwanese borrow simpleton romance genre from the Koreans and downgrade it even further. Ridiculous.   Overall Rating: 5/10

24. Rak Leh Saneh Luang  [รักเล่ห์เสน่ห์ลวง] (Finished 1/20) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Drama Phuwit and Piwat are brothers with the same father but different mothers. Though they look like each other as twins, their personalities are very different. Phuwit has been raised by Pao, his uncle in the farm, so his personality is rough, hot-tempered and outspoken while Piwat has been raised as a polite gentleman in Bangkok. Piwat's parents engage Jarulin to marry Piwat because they want her family to help their bankrupting business. However, Piwat can't marry with Jarulin because he gets in an accident and becomes blind, so he and his family ask Phuwit to marry with Jarulin instead, and Piwat goes to stay at Phuwit's farm. Even without extreme themes lakorns are still just ridiculous childish melodramas. I was seriously thinking of dropping all Thai drama altogether, but acting in newer lakorns is a lot more natural, so my torment goes on.   Overall Rating: 5/10

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