Dorama of the Year 2009-II Spring - Konkatsu!

Nothing, as usual. So going to be something from finished, like Konkatsu!

1. The Great Queen Seondeok  [선덕여왕 ] (Finished 1/62) Tags: Historical, Romance, Drama, Political The story of a beautiful queen, who has to give up her love to save the people. A biopic of Queen Seon Deok, who was born a princess and later became the ruler of Silla, leaving behind many brilliant achievements. The very first scene of flying midair during fight makes it unacceptable for me.   Overall Rating: 5/10

2. Atashinchi no Danshi [アタシんちの男子] (Finished 1/11) Tags: Comedy, Drama These days, the term "homeless" has taken on new meaning. There are youths referred to as "net cafe refugees", who have neither a job nor a place to live, but who find themselves hopping around internet cafes. One such refugee is a 20-year-old girl named Chisato, who lost her mother at a young age due to sickness. She spent her youth trying to escape from the huge debt her father left her, and her battle with the repossessors unfolded every night. However, her life changed after meeting one man named Shinzo, changing her views on the meaning of "family". Shinzo comes from a rich family tracing back to the Edo period, and he adopted six good-looking sons with the hope of one becoming his successor, but all of them have strange personalities. Shinzo promises to free Chisato from her debt if she marries him and becomes the mother of his sons. However, a life with these six guys under one roof will not go smoothly. Too goofy and unnatural to go on.   Overall Rating: 5/10

3. Easy Fortune Happy Life [福氣又安康] (Finished 1/17) Tags: Comedy, Romance Yan Da Feng is a rich, arrogant, and hot tempered bad boy who tries to please his grandfather to gain inheritance to his grandfather's herbal medicine company using any means even if it is illegal. However, after an incident where Xie Fu An, a country girl herbalist, saves his grandfather, his grandfather recognizes her as the granddaughter of his first love and declares that whoever marries her will be the heir to his company. After recently losing her grandmother in a fire, Fu An and her little brother moves to Da Feng's house. Da Feng plans to marry her for the sake of the inheritance, but he slowly starts to develop feelings for her throughout the time they spent together. When everything seemed to go well in their budding romance, the past and truths revealed threatens their relationship. Taiwanese comedy again, so ridiculously bad and of petty quality.   Overall Rating: 5/10

4. City Hall [시티홀] (Finished 1/20) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Drama, Political Inju City’s deputy mayor Jo Gook, an ambitious and brilliant bureaucrat, dreams of becoming South Korea’s president. However, an unexpected assignment sends him to a small town, where he crosses paths with Shin Mi Rae, the youngest and determined mayor. Despite their differences and constant bickering, a romance begins to spark between them. Koreans still can't do even drama properly, and that's a lot easier than comedy. Weak, not funny, not good in any way.   Overall Rating: 5/10

5. The Partner [파트너] (Finished 1/16) Tags:  Law, Romance "Who is your partner?" When you take a look at the definition of 'Partner', it gives you synonyms such as colleague, sharer, spouse and accomplice. A partner is a person who is strongly associated with me; the one who knows me very well and stays by my side. The word 'Partner' takes a different meaning when it is used in a law firm. Partners are the people who survived the power struggle. They are executives who are at the top of the law firm pyramid. Enterprises are law firms' partners. Law firms fight each other to become a partner in the business. They struggle to be close to power and to become a slave of money. There are some lawyers who want to be the partners of commoners as well. They are willing to be the spokesperson for the underprivileged. It is a story about a partner; the one who is going to stay by your side and fight together in front of the law. Law shows aren't generally interesting, so such shows must be outstanding for me to watch them. This can't be even considered decent.   Overall Rating: 5/10

6. The Accidental Couple [그저 바라 보다가] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Comedy, Romance Goo Dong Baek is an honest and good-hearted postman. One day, he encounters Han Ji Soo, a top actress. However, an ordinary man gets no chance to show his feelings to this celebrity that everyone loves. Six months with her elapses like a midsummer night's dream, but he cannot just end his love like a "dream." Shouting out love! His love has just begun. Another Korean "comedy", so you know the drill.   Overall Rating: 5/10

7. The Man Who Can't Get Married [결혼 못하는 남자] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Comedy, Romance Jo Jae Hee is a man in his 40s who is very stubborn and hasn't gotten married yet. His personality is so unbearable that women don't find him attractable nor a good candidate for marriage. However, Jae Hee, is perfect in everything that he does. His life will be surrounded by three different women. Jang Moon Jung is a doctor that he meets one day, Jung Yoo Jin is his neighbor whom he meets due to a disturbance, and Yoon Ki Ran is his colleague at work.  Haha, what a pathetic imitation without a grain of charisma. Still, borrowed material is much better than Korean originals.   Overall Rating: 6/10

8. Mr. Brain  [ミスター・ブレイン] (Finished 1/8) Tags: Mystery, Psychological, Comedy Ryusuke Tsukumo is a quirky yet brilliant neuroscientist working for the National Research Institute of Police Science. Wielding a unique perspective and psychology, Tsukumo tackles the nation’s most baffling crimes and scandals, going head-to-head with the most brilliant and twisted criminal minds. But his eccentricities and poor social timing can also aggravate people and circumstances, further complicating matters. Follow Ryusuke Tsukumo as he pries open unbelievable truths in a new and exciting drama genre that combines the wonder of brain science with a whodunit mystery, Mr. Brain! Detective even though of higher quality level than usual.   Overall Rating: 6/10

9. My Too Perfect Sons  [솔약국집 아들들] (Finished 1/54) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Family Song Jin Poong is the eldest of four sons and works hard to earn money to support his family. He is also a man who cannot forget his first love. His mother, Ok Hee, wants him to get married because he is already 38 years old. Ok Hee believes that her sons are great catches and any woman would be lucky enough to marry them, however, their neighbors feel differently as each son has an unique problem. Hello, Korean comedy. Bye, Korean comedy - you're horrible.   Overall Rating: 5/10

10. Yok Lai Mek  [หยกลายเมฆ] (Finished 1/15) Tags: Business, Romance, Drama, Family Katriya, otherwise called by her nickname, Kat is interested in the business of gems. She entered her designs in a competition in hopes to make her name more known and also to get the chance to meet Paul Lee, a designer she admires greatly. However, when she meets him after winning 1st place, she realizes that they’ve already met before but due to a previous unsavory encounter, she starts to dislike him and hopes to not see him ever again. During her birthday party, Kat is given a Jade necklace from her dad and told to be an item that belongs to her mother. Unknowingly, that Jade necklace belongs to her biological mother, HuiSan, who’s going to die from cancer soon. As her dying wish to see Kat one last time, Kat decides to go visit her. After HuiSan dies, Kat is told to stay in Hong Kong to take over the family business as HuiSan's heir. Kat is hesitant because her family in Thailand is anticipating her return. But when her grandfather, Tao Gae Lor, experiences a heart-attack and refuses to do an operation, Kat makes a deal with him that she will stay so long as he goes through with the operation. Kat ends up staying in Hong Kong and meets Paul Lee again, who happens to have work relations with HuiSan and the company. Kat realizes her hope to not meet him Paul again is hopeless, rather they see each other more and more, developing both work and personal relationships. During her stay, she learns many things about her mother HuiSan and what happened in the past that led to her parents breaking up. Many secrets start to unravel involving her mother HuiSan, Suling, and her husband, Anthony Jang, and how everything seems to tie back to Kat's Jade necklace. Kat learns that some people are not who they portray themselves to be and to trust people carefully. Melodrama with lots of coincidence and revenge. Thai drama evolves by such small increments that not sure it can even catch up.   Overall Rating: 5/10

11. Sapai Glai Peun Tiang [สะใภ้ไกลปืนเที่ยง] (Finished 1/13) Tags: Action, Comedy, Romance Latin is a hot-headed dedicated cop in the Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok. She returns home to visit her family and discovers that her sister Areeya is pregnant by a guy she met in Bangkok. The family, especially Lalin, want the deadbeat daddy-to-be to take responsibility, but Areeya refuses to disclose his identity. Lalin sets out to find the unknow man and force him to marry her sister. She mistakenly believes Jornthup is the guilty one. When the reasonable Jornthup refuses to marry her sister, a stranger to him, the angered and determined Lalin forces him to marry her instead. Lalin moves in with his family, planning to take revenge by wreaking havoc on all the members. Fun antics and chaos ensues, especially after the calm and patient Jornthup falls for the impetuous and headstrong Lalin . Silliness of comedy is dreadful while nothing is even barely good.   Overall Rating: 5/10

12. Cinderella Man   [신데렐라 맨] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Romance, Drama When brash, street-smart orphan Oh Dae San, who makes his living copying designer fashions, and the apathetic grandson of the fashion empire Lee Joon Hee meet by chance one day, the two men realize that they look exactly alike and in that, they see a chance to set each other free. Pressured by his stepbrother and stepmother to give up his rights to his grandmother's business, Joon Hee wants to investigate his family background in secret, so he decides to hire Dae San to distract attention for a day. Dae San, initially resistant to the idea, has become involved in the financial difficulties of the daughter of a recently-deceased friend and will do anything to help her. What starts out as a one-day deal turns into something deeper and more complicated, as secrets arise about the real connection between them. Identical appearance is such a cheezy concept... that no wonder Koreans make a drama about it as they are kings of lengthy shows with cheezy concepts about nothing at all. Same bad as usual.   Overall Rating: 5/10

13. Ghost Friends [ゴーストフレンズ] (Finished 1/10) Tags: Horror, Comedy, Romance, Supernatural A comedy story about a teenage girl who runs into mysterious happenings through her communicating with ghosts. Asuka suddenly develops her supernatural ability after her traffic accident. While trying to help make ghosts' wishes come true, she falls in love with a mysterious guy named Kaito, who turns out to be an incarnate ghost. Could never tolerate stories about ghosts as they are just pathetic. This one is also too darn cringy.    Overall Rating: 5/10

14. A Man's Story [남자이야기] (Finished 1/20) Tags: Action, Romance, Drama, Melodrama In the blink of an eye, Kim Shin loses everything dear to him. His father's company goes bankrupt, his brother commits suicide, his girlfriend leaves him, and he himself ends up in jail for a crime he didn't commit. While in prison, Shin learns that all of this was brought about by corporation head Chae Do Woo, who devised the scam that brought down his father. Determined to beat Do Woo at his own game, Shin sets out to get revenge, no matter the cost. More and more people are pulled into the unforgiving battle of wits as stakes are raised, secrets are revealed, and love turns into a weapon. Korean revenge melodrama? It's not even funny since they produce several such primitive instantly forgettable shows every year.   Overall Rating: 5/10

15. Majo Saiban [魔女裁判] (Finished 1/10) Tags: Thriller, Mystery, Law Toru is a young part-timer who has no interest in social issues. He gets called in as a juror in the trial of a woman labeled as a "witch", charged with a murder over an enormous inheritance. Though it appears that she is definitely guilty, one by one the jurors begin casting their votes for "not guilty." From the shadows, there is a mysterious organization buying control of the jury. At the same time, strange events start happening around Toru. When another juror is threatened, Toru is determined to save her. However, Toru's girlfriend, a newspaper reporter, seems suspicious of their relationship. And so, Toru begins his lonely fight for the truth. Detective.   Overall Rating: 5/10

16. Prajan See Roong [พระจันทร์สีรุ้ง] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Romance, Drama Oradee, a masseuse, delivered a baby and then abandoned him to run off overseas to seek a better life. Arak, a 35-year-old transgender (katoey), adopted a boy named Tawan as his own son and also decided to leave his cabaret show career and his nature of being a homosexual behind, then opened a barber shop in Chiangmai . When Tawan grew up, he went to university in Bangkok. Kayul, Tawan's close friend had a crush on him, but he fell in love with Plaifah, a popular university star and only daughter to major general, but she didn't pay attention to him. Tawan was secretly sending her text messages and sent her flowers everyday for 4 years at the university, but she didn't even know he was doing that or who her secret admirer was. First episode is almost entirely about drag queens, so zero motivation to go on.   Overall Rating: 5/10

17. Friend, Our Legend [친구, 우리들의 전설] (Finished 2/20) Tags: Action, Military, Romance, Crime Friend, Our Legend is a drama adaptation of the 2001 gangster classic film "Friend" both by the same director, Kwak Kyung Taek. This drama is a gritty, brilliant, star-studded tale of four childhood friends who grow up to become enemies and bitter rivals. Hyun Bin plays a hardened mobster; a role made a legend by Jang Dong Gun in the film. How does one make 2 hour film into 20 hours series? Ofc by adding fluff and flashbacks and flash forwards in enormous amounts. Like you can surely waste first most important episodes just for kids hanging out aimlessly. Second episode goes on with last year of school, but at least gives a flash forward from the end. I'm not waiting for it to gain pace since I'm not fond of police vs bandits stories,  because I did not like even acclaimed Sandglass that had a very similar center theme and I'm definitely not enjoying this despite higher than usual quality.   Overall Rating: 6/10

18. Knock Knock Loving You [敲敲愛上你] (Finished 1/13) Tags: Romance, Drama Cheng Xue Ge had lived in the life of comfort and never knew the dark side of human nature until his father's company bankrupted. In order to restore the company, he must learn from his archrival, Yao Zi Wang, the ins and outs of being a shrewd, successful businessman. While working closely together, he slowly realizes her coldblooded ruthlessness was only a front to protect her battered heart. But before he could sort out his feelings about her, another man, Zhao Guan Xi, already has his eyes on her business talent and her hand in marriage. Vixens, bumping into each other, naïve romance - totally within expectation range.   Overall Rating: 5/10

19. Smile [スマイル] (Finished 2/11) Tags: Romance, Life, Melodrama Vito Hayakawa, a cheerful man with a Filipino father and Japanese mother, works at Machimura Foods and a part-time job while chasing his dreams. One day, he meets Hana Mishima, a girl who lost her ability to speak due to an accident, but whose smile captivates him. After being wrongfully accused of a crime, Vito seeks the help of lawyer Kazuma, and the three of them must navigate difficult challenges and overcome obstacles together. It started with two red flags of muteness and criminal bands, but in 2nd episode it gained 3rd one in the form of detective, so that's where I stop.   Overall Rating: 5/10

20. Jaew Jai Rai Kub Khun Chai Taewada [แจ๋วใจร้ายกับคุณชายเทวดา ] (Finished 1/20) Tags: Comedy, Romance Jaew works in a mountain park and guides tourists. But later Jaew's grandmother who is the nanny of a very rich family who Jaew have never met, fell down the stair and broke her leg. When Jaew visits her grandmother in the hospital in Bangkok her Granny is worried sick over her Khun Noo (that's what Jaew grandmother calls him) and ask Jaew to take care of him until she gets better. She takes a taxi to the family, On the way they make a stop to try to find their way and is almost run over by a careless motorbike driver and fall down. The driver gets hurt and Jaew gets furious. She lends the Taxi and follow the careless driver and discover that he is going to the same address she is, she follows him all the way into the house and the "fight" begins. So that's how Khun Chai met. Thai comedies can be buried instantly till the make at least one serious drama.   Overall Rating: 5/10

21. Wung Nam Karng  [วังน้ำค้าง] (Finished 1/14) Tags: Mystery, Romance, Supernatural The story is set in an eerie castle near the beach. Banleu owns the castle, Tanon is his son. Rattikan is Banleu’s adopted daughter. He married Rattikan’s mother when she was 2 months pregnant with another man’s child. Tanon never saw Rattikan when they were young, he spent most of his life studying at a boarding school in Bangkok. As an adult, he moved to the US to study. When he returns to Dew Palace after 20 odd years, his father wants him to take over the family business, and to be the master of “Dew Palace”, and also to marry Rattikan. One problem, Tanon doesn’t want any of it. He is engage to Kathy and wants to return to America. Plus, “Dew Palace” is one creepy place, it’s haunted by Lamphao (Rattikan’s decease mother) and another spirit, Tanon’s mother. I'm turning it down because of ghosts, but there is an abundance of reasons to do that.   Overall Rating: 5/10

22. Konkatsu! [婚カツ！] (Finished 11/11) Tags: Romance Amamiya Kuniyuki is the unemployed son of a tonkatsu restaurant owner. He finds a job that requires a married person, so he lies by saying that he has plans to marry, and he is forced to keep up the charade using Tobita Haruno, a part-time worker from the restaurant. The relationship between the two is the key of this romantic comedy, though the series also focuses on family and friendship through Nakai's interactions with the other characters. Wow, zero red flags and as many as two green flags in the form of actors Kohinata Fumiyo and Ryo. But still there's no strong concept behind it, so from early middle there's not much to get excited for.   Overall Rating: 6/10

23. Shiroi Haru  [白い春] (Finished 11/11) Tags: Crime, Drama, Family Haruo is finally released from prison after completing his sentence. With nine years worth of prison gratuities in hand, he stops at a restaurant to enjoy a good meal, but all of his money ends up being stolen. With nothing left, he spends the night at a net cafe, and he manages to look up his old friend from his yakuza days. When Haruo visits the next day, he learns that his old girlfriend Mariko was living with another man, but later died of illness. Haruo, who had committed murder 9 years earlier to earn the money for Mariko's medical treatment, is shocked and angered. He decides to track down that other man, who runs a bakery with his wife and daughter Sachi. Haruo later runs into Sachi at the park, but he has yet to find out the truth about her. Abe Hiroshi is cool as ever, but from early middle it's again boring due to lack of engaging story, plus the ending is not to my liking.   Overall Rating: 6/10

24. Aishiteru  [アイシテル] (Finished 5/10) Tags: Life, Drama, Family Typical mother, Noguchi Satsuki, spends her days trying to balance her life as a wife to her hard-working husband Kazuhiko and mother to their only son Tomoya, a seemingly withdrawn fifth-grader with whom Satsuki struggles to communicate. Seiko and Ozawa Hideaki, living in the same neighborhood as the Noguchi family, are raising a rebellious junior high school daughter, Mihoko, and their first son, Kiyotaka, a second-grader who is showered with much love and affection by his mother. On that ill-fated day when Kiyotaka was reported missing and was later found dead, Tomoya was taken into custody by police as the prime murder suspect. Tomoya slowly begins to open up about his innermost feelings as the hidden truth reveals the true motive behind his cruel act of violence. Satsuki, the mother of the perpetrator, comes face-to-face with her son's true self, while Seiko, the mother of the victim, deals with her sorrow and anger. Dreadfully boring. Very slow narration of past events with nothing really interesting going on.   Overall Rating: 5/10

25. Rosy Business  [巾幗梟雄] (Finished 1/25) Tags: Historical, Drama An incisive portrait of a businesswoman torn between duty and desire. Hong Po Kei's engagement with Wuxi rice baron Tseung Kiu broke off many years ago when a natural disaster hit the country. Later, when the country was running out of food supply, her whole family was killed, and she became a criminal. Over the years, Kei has never gotten over Kiu. She has been trying to prove he is not as heartless as others think. Fate has it that they meet again, and she becomes his fourth wife. Kiu's first and second wives, Yan Fung Yee and Pang Kiu, always make things difficult for Kei. Kei, who is an extremely clever person who never wastes time on trivial things, turns every threat into an opportunity. Trivial concept, timeline of 1950s, Hong Kong production - everything irritates me here.   Overall Rating: 5/10

26. Everybody Cha Cha Cha [다함께 차차차] (Finished 1/155) Tags: Comedy, Romance Two women became widows on the same day, same hour. Ha Yoon Jeong becomes the matriarch of the family of her husband. Yoon Jeong supports them because she feels guilty about her husband's disappearance. Oh Dong Ja, Yoon Jeong's sister-in-law, has been living with Yoon Jeong's help as well. After the terrifying day of losing their husbands, the two women have been living as each other's good companions. However, now they become implacable enemies because of their children! What would happen if their daughters rival each other in love? What would happen if Yoon Jeong's husband, who everyone thought was dead, appears before them as the future father-in-law of Dong Ja's son? Could Yoon Jeong and Dong Ja's relation go back to the good old days? Another lousy Korean soap opera - with two families now as one apparently does not cut it anymore.   Overall Rating: 5/10

27. Boku no Imoto  [ぼくの妹 ] (Finished 1/11) Tags: Drama Egami Mei is a genius surgeon, but is somehow still lacking. On the other hand, his younger sister Satsuki is poor at studying, but she has a good nature and a strength for living. "Boku no Imouto" is a human drama about these two siblings whose parents died while they were still children. Because of their different values, they are always arguing, such as when the brother finds out that his sister is having an affair with a married man. However, the siblings have also developed a strong bond that keeps them together despite their constant conflicts. But a huge and unexpected incident occurs, which threatens to shake their relationship. Again plot seriously lacks excitement or exceptional actors.   Overall Rating: 5/10

28. Always Smile! [微笑在我心] (Finished 1/30) Tags: Comedy, Romance Liang Yu Fang is the son of a large hotel owner and is next in line to take over the reigns. There is one problem, though, Yu Fang despises the responsibility and instead wants to pursue his own dreams as a design artist. When he returns back from his oversea studies, both his father and older sister force him to start learning about the hotel. At about the same time, he meets Tian Wei, a hard-working and innocent girl who lives with her alcoholic father and autistic younger brother. Because her father tries to drink away his depression all the time, the running of the household and moneymaking is left to Tian Wei. Day in and day out, she works multiple jobs and still doesn’t have enough to pay off her father’s debt. The only things that keep her going are the thought of curing her brother, and the memories of her departed mother. Her mother died because of singing, and even though Tian Wei dreams of becoming a singer, she is not allowed to sing. Without knowing Yu Fang’s true identity, she slowly falls for his devoted charm. Chinese copycal of equally senseless Korean comedies.   Overall Rating: 5/10

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