Dorama of the Year 2008-I Winter - Flower Shop Without Rose

As usual, nothing could satisfy me. Flower Shop Without Rose had at least some mystreies and intrigues.

1. Fated to Love You  [命中注定我愛你] (Finished 1/24) Tags: Comedy, Romance Chen Xin Yi is an ordinary office lady who is termed a 'sticky note' girl because, just as sticky notes are useful for a while and then discarded, she finds herself frequently being used to run errands or to pick up after her colleagues for their own convenience. Ji Cun Xi is the only son & heir to a large family business and has been dating his long-term ballerina girlfriend. He finally decides to propose to his girlfriend on a cruise but after running into a conflict with some local businessmen, he finds himself drugged with an aphrodisiac on his way to his cabin room. Chen Xin Yi also happened to be on the same cruise with her boyfriend but had been feeling unwell. She took some cold medicine which made her drowsy, and accidentally entered Ji Cun Xi's cabin room. Both Chen Xin Yi and Ji Cun Xi spend the night together. Upon waking up the next morning, the reality of what happened hits the both of them and things get even more complicated when Chen Xin Yi finds herself pregnant after that one night stand. Will this unexpected parenthood be the start of their fate together? Taiwanese traditionally shoot drama based on manga first. Despite the fact that stories based on manga are usually well thought, Taiwanese production and acting are again too silly, so can't even take it seriously. Will wait for another adaptation.   Overall Rating: 5/10

2. Hong Gil Dong, the Hero!  [쾌도 홍길동] (Finished 1/24) Tags: Action, Historical, Comedy, Romance Hong Gil Dong was the illegitimate son of a high-ranking minister. A local monk took him under his wing and taught him martial arts. Hong Gil Dong was inspired to fight against the injustice in this society, which divided people into nobles and ordinary citizens, whereby the former enjoyed all the privileges due solely to their birth. The heroine, Heo I Nok, had just returned to Korea from China with her grandfather. They made their living by performing shows and selling their unique brand of medicine in the marketplace. Lee Chang Hwi had been told since he was young that he was the rightful heir to the throne, which had been usurped by his half-brother. He had also returned from his exile in China and was plotting to overthrow the emperor. The three became entangled in love, hate, loyalty, and betrayal, and only one side could win. It was not even farce, but wuxia elements that turned me down. Too much cringe in such short time. Overall Rating: 5/10

3. The Great King, Sejong [대왕 세종] (Finished 1/86) Tags: Historical Born as the third prince, Chung Nyeong, was far from ascending the throne. His early years were turbulent as Korea faced political tensions from both within and abroad and facing abduction as a boy to make matters worse. Eventually, the young prince finds himself living in a private residence outside of the palace and experiences the everyday life of commoners until he is a young man. Later on his ascension to the throne, Chung Nyeong (now called King Se Jong) stabilizes the newly born country and gives rise to the blooming culture of Joseon. In the process, he invents Hangul, the Korean writing system. This king's biography contains not many interesting events, so should have 30 episodes tops to have a good saturated tempo, maybe up to 50 with crippled tempo. With 86 it will inevitably sink in side stories and wasting time.   Overall Rating: 5/10

4. Bicheonmu [비천무] (Finished 1/14) Tags: Action, Historical, Romance, Fantasy This drama depicts the sacrifices four central characters make for love, vengeance and honor as each travels a road of chosen destiny. Again bs wuxia choreography with flights, teleporting, chopping multiple arrows midair and stuff like that. If all Korean historical action like this, it means that I'm not suitable for it.   Overall Rating: 5/10

5. Why Did You Come to My House? (2008)  [우리집에 왜 왔니] (Finished 1/20) Tags: Comedy, Romance A comedy romance drama about potential son in-laws who come finding their way to the doorsteps of their future wives because of fate. Jo Gi Dong is a guy who causes some chaotic situations when he aims to become the son in-law of a rich man portrayed by Joo Hyun. Han Mi Soo is a rich girl who falls for Gi Dong. Kim Seung Soo plays Mi Soo's first love in college. Typical Korean romance with psychotic FL, leads constantly bumping into each other and more stale boring tropes like that seend hundred times already. Comedy is exaggeratedly stupid.   Overall Rating: 5/10

6. Jamloei Rak [จำเลยรัก] (Finished 1/18) Tags: Romance, Drama Harit Rangsiman, a pearl farm owner in the south of Thailand is very angry and vengeful after Harin, his only younger brother, commits suicide because of a woman name Sansanee (she was his girlfriend in college) breaks up with him. Harit wants to take vengeance on the girl who caused his brother's death. He kidnaps who he thinks is Sansanee to torture her, but he doesn't know that the girl that he kidnaps is Soraya, Sansanee's cousin. Soraya lives in the same house with Sansanee and her parents because her own parents died a long time ago. Harit believes that Soraya is Sansanee no matter how many times Soraya tries to tell him she isn't. Soraya ends up accepting all the punishment doled out by Harit due to her wanting to repay her debt of gratitude to Sansanee because Sansanee once save her life from drowning when they were young. Typical lakorn.   Overall Rating: 5/10

7. Last Scandal [내 생애 마지막 스캔들] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Drama Hong Sun Hee is a housewife who accidentally meets her first love, Jang Dong Chul, again. Now he is known as Song Jae Bin and is a famous movie star who didn't recognize her. Sun Hee's husband lands himself in jail for debts and Sun Hee applies to the wealthy Dong Chul for aid. He isn't inclined to help her because she's no longer the beauty she once was but eventually she moves into his house as a housekeeper. The two bicker constantly but slowy they discover the feelings they had at 19 aren't completely gone.  Dependent relations with one lead in powerful position never worked out for me even with much better actors. Impudent FL leads like this should not even be a thing.   Overall Rating: 5/10

8. Who Are You? [누구세요?] (Finished 1/17) Tags: Mystery, Comedy, Romance, Supernatural Cha Seung Hyo is an abandoned child who gets adopted in the United States and grows up to be a cold hearted person. Son Il Gun is a father who died, but he left things unfinished with his daughter. In order to make sure that his daughter is provided for he controls Seung Hyo's body for three hours a day for 49 days. He buys his daughter the things he couldn't do when he was alive with Seung Hyo's money. Il Gun's daughter, Young In, is a quick-tempered girl who meets Seung Hyo during her part-time job. At first she has a bad impression of him but she gradually starts to fall for the lonely Seung Hyo who is unable to open up to anyone else because of his bitter past. Paranormal elements in otherwise realistic drama is a huge red falg while circling around debts and collectors make everything worse. Can't say that I like anything here, anyway.   Overall Rating: 5/10

9. Robber [불한당] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Romance, Crime, Drama, Melodrama Kwon Oh Joon is a swindler who falls for a widow with a 5 year old daughter, Jin Dal Rae. Dal Rae lives with her daughter and mother in law after her husband passes away. Oh Joon is a suave man who can talk women into doing anything. Again debts, fantasy element and endless misery. Horrible.   Overall Rating: 5/10

10. 1 Pound no Fukuin [１ポンドの福音] (Finished 1/9) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Sports Hatanaka Kosaku is a talented boxer who turned pro at the age of 19, winning his debut match with a first-round KO. He is talented, but he has no guts. His uncontrollable appetite is an even bigger problem. He can't put himself in the right weight class, he runs out of energy because of hunger, and he gets knocked out while his eyes are set on food at the ringside. However, Kosaku's life changed when he met Sister Angela, a novice nun in the convent near his boxing gym. She became the source of his power, and Kosaku fights only to win her heart. Spokon based on manga from 80s is a real sentence in my coordinates. And even Kuroki Meisa can't save it.   Overall Rating: 5/10

11. Tadashii Ouji no Tsukurikata  [正しい王子のつくり方] (Finished 1/12) Tags: Comedy, Youth In this school comedy, a girls' high school suddenly goes co-ed, but the incoming boys are far below their expectations. As a result, some of the girls start a project to reform the boys into "princes." Idol trash.   Overall Rating: 5/10

12. Wish To See You Again [這裡發現愛] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Drama Xu Le is a bestselling author who has never left home. After being struck with a case of writer's block, he decides to search for inspiration. He moves into his former classmate, Ma Yong Rui's, five-star hotel and begins a job as a taxi driver hoping that by listening to his passengers, he'll find inspiration for his writing. When he meets Pan Neng Xian, a 24-year-old girl working at the hotel, he discovers there's a spark of inspiration every time he touches her hand. They go from enemies to friends once Neng Xian realizes his writing dilemma and decides to help him. As a taxi driver, Xue Le also encounters another former classmate, Ah Hao, who is also a taxi driver and whom he has not seen for years. Lu Yi, the dream girl that they all wanted in the past, is now a fashion magazine editor and becomes entangled in the friend group. It's suprising that there's no silly elements in Taiwanese drama, but overall impression from pilot episode is that it's increadibly boring.   Overall Rating: 5/10

13. On Air [온에어] (Finished 1/21) Tags: Romance, Drama This drama is about behind the scene in TV drama productions. It also portrays how the whole production team and performers complete a project on a tight schedule as well as how actors, actresses, and entertainment agencies handle rumours surrounding them. Jang Ki Joon used to be a top manager in the business but he went bankrupt as he couldn't compete with other powerful agencies. He was 'rescued' by Oh Seung Ah, a top star, who agreed to join his agency after breaking off with her former one. Lee Kyung Min was a drama PD who got his first chance at being a director. Seo Young Eun is a much sought after scriptwriter, who was divorced and has a young son.  It would be an interesting setting if it was not about kdrama that is in a dreadful state of eternally empty repetative simplistic works based mostly on emotions with only a handful of exceptions. This work moves in described mainstream with its own good share of psychos.   Overall Rating: 5/10

14. Miss No Good [不良笑花] (Finished 1/14) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Drama Jiang Xiao Hua is a funny girl that dresses bad and runs her family's accessories store. When fatty Jia Si Le returns from Japan, he surprises everyone with his lean and thin body. As Si Le asks Xiao Hua out, he also comments her style as a "Christmas Tree". Token offensively, Xiao Hua seeks for some help to change her bad style. She meets Tang Men a stylist, who had dropped his expensive, rare scissor in the cab he was sharing with Xiao Hua. Not agreeing to help Xiao Hua, she uses the scissor as a threat, announcing that she will break them if Tang Men does not agree to help her. On the other hand, Jiang Mi is the arranged fiancée of Jia Si Le, angry that Jia Si La is in love with Xiao Hua, she uses Tang Men to distract Xiao Hua while she tries to get close with Si Le. As Tang Men distracts Xiao Hua, their relationship becomes stronger and stronger. Xiao Hua becomes confused of who she really loves... Tang Men or Jia Si Le! Taiwanese silliness and lousy special effects are back. Best leaving this mess early.   Overall Rating: 5/10

15. Atsu Hime [篤姫] (Finished 10/50) Tags: Historical, Drama, Political The 47th NHK Taiga Drama is a life story of Atsuhime who was born in Kagoshima Prefecture, then called Satsuma, and became the wife of Tokugawa Iesada, the 13th shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate. She accedes to the highest rank in Ooku, the inner palace of the Edo castle where women related to the reigning shogun resided. Iesada dies soon after their marriage and Atsuhime assumes the name Tenshoin at the age of 23. She exerts herself for the Tokugawa clan and for the nation during the upheaval in the Meiji Restoration, headed by those from Satsuma. In 1835, Shimazu Tadatake, head of the Imaizumi-Shimazu family of the Satsuma clan, and Oyuki are blessed with a long-awaited daughter, Okatsu, who later becomes Atsuhime. She grows up as a tomboy, full of wonders, yet warm-hearted. Meanwhile, as the Satsuma clan is undergoing financial reform, headed by chief retainer Zusho, Tadatake is punished for being lenient with farmers. Okatsu, unable to absorb why her father is punished, charges over to Zusho. Since I promised to watch at least 10 episodes of each NHK drama, here we go. Sadly, found nothing here but boredom. For every minute of politics there's an hour of so-so SOL.   Overall Rating: 6/10

16. Love in the Forlorn City  [伤城之恋] (Finished 1/20) Tags: Romance, Drama, Melodrama A poor, pretty and obstinate girl and the playful son of a rich family fall in love with each other. Can their true love overcome the ups and downs of fate, poverty, sickness, death and lies? Banal plot, some misery, unremarkable leads, zero grasp or motivation.   Overall Rating: 5/10

17. Hachimitsu to Clover  [ハチミツとクローバー] (Finished 11/11) Tags: Romance, Life, Youth, Drama Hachimitsu to Clover is a heartwarming tale of youth, love, soul-searching, and self-discovery, intricately woven through the complex relationships between five dear friends. Liked live version more than anime, but it's still a combination of simple plot and relations alongside fooling around.   Overall Rating: 6/10

18. Bomb Bee Men [貧乏男子] (Finished 1/9) Tags: Comedy Koyama Kazumi is a poor but optimistic college student who firmly believes that there are more important things than money. Despite his own poverty, he ends up taking on other people's debts and faces various challenges to pay off those debts. Nonsense about debts and money sharks is among the worst possible cases for me. Can't stand it.   Overall Rating: 5/10

19. Rouge Snow [胭脂雪] (Finished 1/30) Tags: Historical, Romance, Drama Because her father had financial problems, he allowed his only child Wen Yu He, played by Fan Bing Bing, to become the daughter-in-law of the Gu family, the wife of Madam Gu’s third son. Madam Gu’s first son disappeared, and her second son died of a weak body and sickness, so all of her hopes were placed on Yu He and her remaining son. The third son, Shao Tang, is a playboy who spends his time in the brothel and gambles his money away. Madam Gu purposely chose Yu He because she believed that Yu He could change her son for the better. Yun Kai is a school teacher who enters the Gu Household as a groundskeeper. Although he helps to keep track of the accounting and also the Gu lantern business, he hides his identity and lives as a servant. When Yu He enters the Gu Family, she is constantly picked on and tortured by her older sister-in-law, or rather the first son’s wife. Will Shao Tang ever come back home and discover Yu He’s true devotion to him? What crafty tricks will Mo Xin come up with to push Yu He further away from Madam Gu? What is Yun Kai doing by hiding his identity and becoming a servant at the Gu Household? This is just the beginning. The Gu Family has more secrets than you can even imagine. What will happen as these old feuds and dark secrets begin to unravel before Yu He? Not interesting period, horrible Chinese execution. Repulsive in every way.   Overall Rating: 5/10

20. Single Dad in Love  [싱글파파는 열애중] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Romance, Family, Melodrama The love story of a single dad, Kang Poong Ho, who raises his 7-year-old son alone after being abandoned by his first love, Yoon So Yi. By day, he works as a pest exterminator, and by night, he is a martial artist. Jeon Ha Ri is a medical student from a wealthy family who falls for Poong Ho. She secretly teaches Poong Ho's son, San, how to play the piano. Poong Ho's first love is also his son's mother, who is a cold and proud woman who left her family to study abroad as a pianist. She was sponsored by Jeon Ki Suk, who happens to be her fiancee and Ha Ri's father. Silly and not funny at all childcare.   Overall Rating: 5/10

21. Before and After: Plastic Surgery Clinic  [비포 & 애프터 성형외과] (Finished 1/12) Tags: Drama, Medical Han Geon Soo is the young clinic owner who tries to protect his clinic from being taken over by loan sharks. He tries his best to save the clinic when uncollected loans are passed on to him after his father's sudden death. Choi Yong Woo is a talented doctor who joins the clinic to return his thanks to Geon Soo's father. Yong Woo is someone that often gets into arguments with patients who want to undergo unnecessary plastic surgery. Hong Ki Nam is the nurse who forms a love triangle between the two men. Yoon Seo Jin is the manager who obtained her perfect beauty through plastic surgery. Why this nonsense collection of cases is even supposed to be funny or interesting or existing at all.   Overall Rating: 5/10

22. Daisuki!! [だいすき！！] (Finished 1/10) Tags: Drama, Family Yuzu, a 23-year-old mentally disabled woman with the mind of an 8-year-old, falls in love with Sosuke, a man with a similar disability. After Sosuke is involved in a fatal accident, Yuzu's family discovers she is 5 months pregnant with his child. Though Yuzu is intent on having the child, her mother, Miyoko, is immediately against it. After her family comes to terms with her pregnancy, Yuzu eventually gives birth to her daughter, Himawari. With many odds against her, Yuzu does her best to care for the daughter she so dearly loves. Mental disability is a huge red flag. Both leads like this is unbearable for me.   Overall Rating: 5/10

23. Flower Shop Without Rose [薔薇のない花屋] (Finished 11/11) Tags: Romance, Life, Drama Shiomi Eiji is a florist. He is a single man with a young daughter named Shizuku. One day, he invites a blind woman seeking shelter under his shop awning to come in out of the rain. A surprising tale gradually unfolds as the story of their budding love transforms into a complex web of lies and dark motives. Nothing is as it seems at first, and each of the characters is burdened with their own painful secrets. Well, I'm not imressed. We're told that blindness is fake prior to everything. Other "secrets" aren't that great either. Middle is rather dry. My irritation of Takeuchi Yuko persists even though she finally departed from the role of naive parisienne romantic girl she use to play all the time. Basically, there's no romance and whatever we're sold as romance is hasty fake something. In the end it is is a rather cheezy drama with two elementary school kids as tearjerkers.   Overall Rating: 6/10

24. Lobo [Lobo] (Finished 2/118) Tags: Action, Romance, Drama, Fantasy The plot revolves around young lovers Lyka Raymundo and Noah Ortega. Lyka is a young woman aspiring to be a fashion designer, working as a fashion assistant in the House of Elle. She lives with her aunt Clara and her step cousin Anton. Noah is the adopted son of General Leon Cristobal, who took over guardianship of Noah after his real father, Emil Ortega, died in a tragic accident involving an unknown wolf. Noah is a second lieutenant of the Philippine Army, being actively recruited to join the Luna force, an elite team specializing in protecting humans from dangerous werewolves and vampires. First Filippine translated drama? Of course I'm in for a sample of it. It's cringy alright as I forsaw it, but not as bad as lakorns.   Overall Rating: 5/10

25. Yoothakarn Hak Khan Tong [ยุทธการ หักคานทอง] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Drama Nam and Da are best of friends. They live together and work together. Da is feminine and has rather romantic notions of marriage. She is in a long term relationship with Krit, who is a cop. She is, at times insecure, and wants a marriage proposal from Krit. Krit is hesitant because he is a cop and his lifestyle is still unstable. Their relationship meets more obstacles when Krit's old girlfriend returns. Nam on the other hand, is not looking for love. She's a bit of a tomboy, head strong, and is often Da's protector. She's been hurt in the past. Nam was in a relationship in college, but her boyfriend, Keerin, left her without knowing why. Suddenly Keerin returns and he seems to want a second chance, but is held back because he is to engaged to his benefactor's daughter. It turns out that his parents died, forcing him to leave school. He was only able to rebuild his life with the help of his benefactor. Usual yelling mess mixed with police buffonade now.   Overall Rating: 5/10

26. Shikaotoko Aoniyoshi [鹿男あをによし] (Finished 5/10) Tags: Drama, Fantasy Forced out of his research group after conflicts with his colleagues, Ogawa Takanobu takes up an offer to teach at a girls' high school in Nara. When taking roll call on the first day, one of his students, Hotta Ito, sneaks into class late, claiming a bogus excuse--that she got a ticket after trying to park her deer in front of the train station. He makes immediate enemies with Hotta when he tells his superiors about her tardiness and attitude. In the following days, he begins to notice something unusual about Hotta, but he can't seem to put his finger on it. With an odd group of colleagues who live together with him, Ogawa slowly gets accustomed to life in slow-paced Nara, where there seem to be as many deer as people. Walking through Nara Park one day, he begins to befriend the local deer population, feeding them rice wafers. After being confronted by a talking deer who commandeers him to prevent the destruction of Japan, he fails in his first mission, and the talking deer exacts punishment--looking into the mirror the next day, he discovers he has turned into a deer from the shoulders up. Ogawa slowly begins to piece the puzzle together: the talking deer, the mysterious student, and a recent series of earthquakes that could spell doom for Japan... It's all really strange, so need to see where all this deer stuff is going to. It got clear and boring by the middle, so had to skip to final episode, and, hell, it sucked marking just a nonsense story alongside advertising of Nara.   Overall Rating: 5/10

27. Sasaki Fusai no Jingi Naki Tatakai  [佐々木夫妻の仁義なき戦い] (Finished 1/10) Tags: Comedy, Law Sasaki Norimichi and his wife Ritsuko are two lawyers with opposite personalities, who've been married for three years. However, their completely opposite personalities result in heated quarrels that lead them to the courtroom to settle a possible divorce, with the two representing themselves in an amusing legal battlefield. Amusing? It's one of the least appropriate words imaginable for this horrible concept and show.   Overall Rating: 5/10

28. Edison no Haha [エジソンの母 ] (Finished 1/10) Tags: Comedy, Drama The series focuses on Ayukawa Noriko, the teacher of a class of first-graders. One day, a boy named Kento transfers into her class from another school, where he was treated as a problem child. In reality, the inquisitive Kento actually displays the potential of being a prodigy, and it's up to Noriko to figure out how to handle him. The story draws inspiration from the childhood of famous inventor Thomas Edison, who was also considered a problem child by most adults around him. Elementary school childcare means no story and is just not to my liking. Might linger for some outstanding actor, but don't see such one here.   Overall Rating: 5/10

29. Mirai Koshi Meguru [未来講師めぐる] (Finished 2/10) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Family Yoshida Meguru is an English teacher at a cram school. On her 24th birthday, she awakens to a new power - she can see 20 years ahead into the future of everyone around her. Dislike it when supernatural elements are introduced in otherwise realistic setting, so only Fukada Kyoko can make me sample it properly. But two episodes is all I can handle, enough is enough, it's not good in any way.   Overall Rating: 5/10

30. King Kaew Kar Fark [กิ่งแก้วกาฝาก] (Finished 1/13) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Drama Kaew lives near the beach with her parents. Intat is going on vacation to get over his ex Sa who dumped him for Piti. Kaew and Intat meet accidentally when she blocks his way on the road while riding her bike. He almost runs her over causing them to start a comedic duo that bickers every time they meet. The bickering causes Intat to lighten up and slowly get over his ex Sa. In contrast, King, a girl who looks similar to Kaew lives with her father and his family, where she is abused and used like a servant all due to a past incident where her mother was blamed for killing their grandmother, branding her the child of a murderer. Kaew wants to build a home for her parents but because she only finished grade 12, in order to expand her future opportunities to reach her goal, Intat suggests that he will support her and take her family to the city. This opportunity chances the meeting of the two girls. However, they do not know if they are related or why they look similar. But Kaew finds out that King is being abused through Intat's best friend, Panoo who is in love with King, so she can’t help but be curious about the girl and how to help her. Finally, in order to save King and get her treatment for her abuse, Kaew decides to switch places with her. Her involvement with the family continues to reveal family secrets related to King and Kaew's relationship, King's mother Patchanee, the death of King's Grandmother, and King's step-mother Nanta. Since it's based on conflicts and emotional outbursts, not different from usual.   Overall Rating: 5/10

31. Ashita no Kita Yoshio [あしたの、喜多善男] (Finished 4/11) Tags: Life, Drama Can a coward commit suicide? Meet Kita Yoshio, a very unlucky man who has chosen his close friend's death anniversary as his suicide date, which is 11 days away. The number 11 has been quite significant throughout his life: he was born on November 11th; his roll call number at school was #11; and 11 years ago, he and his wife, Mizuho, went through a divorce. Debt-laden and feeling unneeded to the world, he sells off all his belongings and plans for his death date. However, on the 1st day, he meets Yashiro Heita as well as numerous other characters who will cause him to experience the most eventful 11 days of his life. It's not particularly interesting to see an ossan enternained for so many episodes with his only amusing quality for other people being his wish to commit suicide in several days.   Overall Rating: 5/10

32. Loss:Time:Life [ロス：タイム：ライフ] (Finished 1/11) Tags: Comedy, Life, Supernatural What would you do if you knew that your time in life is ticking away by the minute? A mysterious "referee" appears in front of individuals in their dying moments while living their usual lives, and announces the exact amount of time they have left to live. Each individual must make a quick decision on how to best spend the time remaining before his or her time expires. Collection of sport related supernatural terminal conditions is four red flags which means strike out.   Overall Rating: 5/10

33. SAITO-san [斉藤さん] (Finished 2/11) Tags: Family With her husband rarely home because of work, Saitou Masako raises her kindergarten son by herself. With a strong sense of what's right, she is never afraid to confront people who violate the rules of society. While her righteousness makes her a heroine among the kindergarteners, their mothers have learned to keep their distance from all the trouble Saitou brings with her. Mano Wakaba, a soft-spoken mother who had problems with her son turning violent at his previous school, soon moves into the neighborhood. Eager to get along with the other mothers at the kindergarten, Mano does her best to please, and pushes her son Takeru to do the same, even if it puts her at odds with Saitou. When Takeru gets burned by a smoker whose cigarette brushes his face, Mano is content to let it go, but Saitou steps in to confront the man, asking for an apology. When the man stubbornly refuses, a scuffle ensues and the man runs away. When the bystanders watching begin clapping their hands, Mano is left in awe. As circumstances push her and Saitou together, Mano must choose between bending over to please the other mothers or joining Saitou and facing alienation. Again, just not particularly interesting to watch a willful woman opposing bullying and inspiring others in the process.   Overall Rating: 5/10

34. So I'm Not Handsome [原來我不帥] (Finished 1/13) Tags: Comedy, Romance Xiao Zhuang always thought he was a good-looking fella because that was what his parents always told him. However, after starting university, he was in for a surprise when the girl he liked turned him down. His friends finally told him the truth, which was that he wasn't good-looking at all Even concept is too silly and light, so just imagine what Taiwanese production has made of it... could not even finish first episode of this nonsense as mental health is more important.   Overall Rating: 5/10

35. A Journey Called Life  [金石良缘] (Finished 1/20) Tags: Romance, Life, Drama, Family The drama starts with the niche stone carving industry and conveys inspirational spirit and belief in friendship in the daily narrative of family life.  Dreadly boring and lifeless promotion of Confucian ideas.   Overall Rating: 5/10

36. Sawan Biang [สวรรค์เบี่ยง] (Finished 1/12) Tags: Psychological, Romance, Drama, Melodrama Kawee Worawath is a rich, temperamental and arrogant spoilt brat. His father, Kid Worawath, had been recycling wives ever since Kawee's mother died and Kawee had grown up despising women for their gold-digging ways and, emotionally neglected by his father, became violent and difficult as a young man, treating women as objects and playthings. Things come to a head when Kawee's father, Kid, marries yet another new wife, Leela, a young lady Kawee's age and who once confessed her love to Kawee but was rejected. Leela brings her mother, her sister, Narin, and a younger brother into the Worawath household upon her marriage, and this provokes Kawee to no end. The Worawath household soon becomes a war zone with Kawee on one end and Leela on the other, with Narin caught in between and being collateral damage. Typical lakorn.   Overall Rating: 5/10

37. Rush to Northeast [闯关东] (Finished 1/52) Tags: Historical, Family The family of Zhu Kai Shan came to Baishan Heishui from their hometown in Shandong because of war and famine. They panned for gold, fell wood, collected ginseng, fought with bandits, officials, and feudalism, and escaped death time and time again; finally, they had their own pastoral fields, but the local tycoons regarded them as "foreigners" and made things difficult for them. After several battles, the Zhu family taught the more advanced farming techniques in Shandong to the local people, and the local people also formed life and death brothers with them; in order to develop, Zhu Kai Shan led the whole family to the city again, but he didn't want to be attacked by "Jehe". Chinese family hard work for survival in the beginning of 20th century already sound like lullaby, doubt it can be of interest outside of local market.   Overall Rating: 5/10

38. Happiness (2008) [행복합니다] (Finished 1/58) Tags: Business, Comedy, Romance, Drama Park Seo Yun's family is very successful, but Seo Yun does not flaunt her wealth around. Instead, she pretends that she's an ordinary girl and not a spoiled rich girl. She works really hard to get into her father's company so that other co-workers will see that she worked her way to the top instead of getting help from her daddy. She dates Lee Jun Su and doesn't tell him that she comes from a wealthy family, not even when he wants to meet her family. 58 episodes for such a simple story is an overkill. It can be extended to maybe 30, but inevitably needs to swap for side stories. But even pilot was too dry to my liking.   Overall Rating: 5/10

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