Dorama of the Year 2009-III Summer - Ninkyo Helper

Weak season, again. Ninkyo Helper was closest to finishing with me. 

1. Smile, You  [그대, 웃어요] (Finished 1/45) Tags: Comedy, Romance Seo Jung In is the second daughter of a chaebol family, whose family suddenly meets with financial ruin. She is dumped by her husband, Lee Han Se, after their wedding ceremony when his family finds out about her family's financial problems. Her family is then left with no other alternative but to move in with their longtime chauffeur's family. The once rich and spoiled daughter and her family must now learn how to adjust to life as commoners in the Kang household. Korean comedy, and moreover with the name Smile, You! For me it only means a sour face for an hour till drop. Just can't decide what's funnier - toxicity, insults or contract to get castrated and eyes plucked upon look at another woman... Freaking makjangs should not exist in a reasonable world.   Overall Rating: 5/10

2. My Fair Lady  [아가씨를 부탁해] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Comedy, Romance Of the high-rolling top 'hot celebrities' of the wealthy upper class in Korea's high society, Kang Hye Na is the one desired by the men, feared and hated by the women. Being the only successor to the largest conglomerate company, Kang San Group, Kang Hye Na has both the looks and the background. She is the owner of the 'Lady Castle' and lives a 'princess-like' life with her servants. Until one day, out of pure coincidence, she comes across Seo Dong Chan who turns her life upside down. Not only does he make her do community service, he even kidnaps her... and now he's the new household manager!!! Even after stepping on him, crushing him and biting him, he still doesn't run away. She may have finally met her match. Japanese sometimes do silly romance comedies. Koreans borrow anything that's about romance just  because they need to make thousands of hours of assembly line silly drama each year.   Overall Rating: 5/10

3. Wong Wien Hua Jai [วงเวียนหัวใจ] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Romance, Drama Tos, a grape plantation owner, is protective of his sick sister, Vithinee, who is in love with Pong. Pong, who already has a girlfriend, Bow, gets Vithinee pregnant. To prevent Bow from interfering, Tos forces her into marriage by using deception. After saving Bow from an attempted assault, she mistakenly believes he raped her, which Tos later uses to coerce her into marriage. As Tos starts falling for Bow, Pong marries Vithinee but remains in love with Bow, trying to find a way back to her. Typical lakorn.   Overall Rating: 5/10

4. Koishite Akuma  [恋して悪魔〜ヴァンパイア☆ボーイ〜] (Finished 1/10) Tags: Romance, Youth, Fantasy, Supernatural Ruka is a young vampire but hasn't yet matured into a full-fledged vampire. His canines have yet to develop, which means he still hasn't tasted human blood. In order to get him prepared, he is cast down into the world of humans, where he boards with Jiro, the owner of a Chinese restaurant, and enrolls in high school. His homeroom teacher is a cheerful, though meddlesome, young woman, who catches the fledgeling bloodsucker off-guard. Is he actually falling in love with a mortal? Horrible like every single other vampire romance.   Overall Rating: 5/10

5. Swallow the Sun [태양을 삼켜라] (Finished 5/25) Tags: Action, Romance This novel-based story revolves mainly around four people who are drawn to Seogwipo, Jeju for a project. Kim Jung Woo and Lee Soo Hyun first met when they were children but lost track of each other for numerous years. Years later when Jung Woo meets Soo Hyun, he falls in love with her but his feelings are not reciprocated. Soo Hyun doesn't realize until much later that she's drawn to Jung Woo as well.  I appreciate that it's a serious semi-criminal drama, but when tensions calm down it turns pretty empty, and there's nothing to anticipate here for 20 more episodes.   Overall Rating: 6/10

6. Possessed  [혼] (Finished 1/10) Tags: Mystery, Horror, Romance, Supernatural Ha Na and Doo Na were twin sisters who were very close to each other until Doo Na died terribly. One day, the usually bright and energetic Ha Na finds herself changing. She has superhuman strength and can do things that nobody can. Ha Na realizes that Doo Na's spirit has inhabited her body. Shin Ryu, a criminal psychoanalyst, uses Ha Na's powers to kill people who cannot be punished by the law. Supernatural horror mystery is actually three red flags already, so dumping it safely after pilot.   Overall Rating: 5/10

7. Otomen [オトメン] (Finished 2/12) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Youth, Supernatural The story centers around the popular high school boy Masamune Asuka, the top kendo fighter in the nation. However, beneath his cool exterior, he is actually fond of sweets and shojo manga and is skilled in sewing and cooking. When he instantly falls for the transfer student Miyakozuka Ryo, his secret is in danger of being exposed. It's more of a parody since it focuses on stereotypes and extremes. Nothing was to my taste here.   Overall Rating: 5/10

8. Tamra, the Island [탐나는 도다] (Finished 2/16) Tags: Historical, Comedy, Romance Set in the 17th Century, Jang Beo Jin is a young female diver on Tamra Island. She doesn't particularly enjoy her situation and dreams of one day leaving the island. One day, to her shock, she discovers a young blond-haired man lying on the beach. The young man's name is William, and he is a shipwrecked British citizen. Another young man named Park Kyu enters the island under the disguise of one of the many convicts sent to Tamra Island. In actuality, Park Kyu is a budding government official known as Seon Bi. These three young people then become involved in a hilarious love triangle. Basically, can be called imitation of Shogun miniseries from 1980. There's not much going on for the story, and comedy is bad as usual, but at least if feels fresh from the staleness that Kdrama has become by 2009.   Overall Rating: 6/10

9. Dream (2009) [드림] (Finished 1/20) Tags: Romance, Sports, Melodrama Lee Jang Suk spent some time in a juvenile detention center for stealing wallets from unsuspecting strangers. After he gets out, he meets a sports agent, Nam Jae Il, who's trying to recover from a downfall in his career. Together, they work to achieve their dreams. Jang Suk dreams of becoming a K-1 Champion; and Nam Jae Il dreams of regaining his reputation as a top sports agent. Bs concept as non-infantile professionals don't need no agents. Too many irritations here from sport, to cad FL and omnipresent epicness of triviality.   Overall Rating: 5/10

10. Loving You a Thousand Times [천만번 사랑해] (Finished 1/55) Tags: Romance, Drama, Melodrama Baek Sae Hoon and his wife, Lee Sun Young, desperately try to conceive a child but are unsuccessful. Sae Hoon's mother goes to Sun Young and asks that she consider surrogacy as a way of conceiving a child without Sae Hoon's knowledge. This is where Go Eun Nim comes in. She is their surrogate mother carrying their child but things become complicated when she later falls in love with Sae Hoon's younger brother, Kang Ho. Deadly boring concept with big family, melodrama and 55 episodes - what good can come from it? Only might be ok if like constant fuss over every triviality, but for me there's zero appeal.   Overall Rating: 5/10

11. Orthros no Inu  [オルトロスの犬] (Finished 1/9) Tags: Thriller, Mystery, Psychological, Supernatural Ryuzaki Shinji, who possesses a "God Hand", the power to heal wounds and illnesses just by touching the patient, is, in fact, a dark introvert who does not reveal his true self to others. Aoi Ryosuke, who possesses the "Demon's Hand", the power to kill a person just by touching him, is as kind and pure as an angel. When the demon meets the god, a fatal battle begins. Detective Hasebe Nagisa gets caught by the criminals during a deep cover operation. Ryosuke, a man she does not even know, comes to save her, and she witnesses his "Demon's Hand" in action. Thereafter, she discovers by coincidence the existence of Shinji's "God Hand" and brings the two together. Little did she know that this would cause great disorder to the world and even to her own life. Supernatural mystery is already a sentence for my evaluation. All I see is another Death Note imitation, maybe also with some influence of tv-series Supernatural that I absolutely can't stand.   Overall Rating: 5/10

12. Namtan Mai (2009)  [น้ำตาลไหม้] (Finished 1/13) Tags: Romance, Drama Pawan or Pe was the only son of a real estate businessman. After his mother died, his father fell in love and had an affair with a married woman. Later, his father was shot by his lover's husband. So, Pawan had prejudice against married woman. However, he had a crush on Thuma or Bo, an interior designer in his company. When he knew that she was a married woman, he tried to stay away from her, but he couldn't resist her charming nature. Thuma got married with Tao, her brother's friend because her family had some financial problem and Tao volunteered to help her. But after she moved to America with him, she realized that Tao was gay and she had to live in the same house with her husband and his boyfriend. Later, she couldn't bear that situation anymore, so she came back to Thailand and got a job in Pawan's company. Pawan couldn't resist his desire for her, so he started to ask Thuma out. Thuma was lonely and wanted to have someone, so she dated him. They kept dating, fell in love with each other and had an affair in China. In his mind, he still worried that history would repeat itself. He would get the same fate as his father, but he was in love with Thuma so much that he didn't care about anything. Obsessive ML with female-related trauma from the past is a typical lakorn trope. It's good to see lakorns averted from slapstick and psychotic chracters while moving towards more serious approach and characters. But it's too early to call it good as actors still overact, directorship and even picture quality still lack to be desired and there are still abusive themes. It's barely watchable now, but far from decent let alone interesting.   Overall Rating: 5/10

13. No Limit  [맨땅에 헤딩] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Romance, Sports The drama is about a man trying to achieve what is thought to be impossible: fulfilling his dreams of being a great soccer player. He meets Kang Hae Bin, a sports agent, who tries to live her life away from the influence of her rich father. When spokon has some strong side genre like romance I usually give it a chance rather than exclude it immediately. But this is horrible, especially because all the sport agent bs.   Overall Rating: 5/10

14. Assorted Gems [보석비빔밥] (Finished 1/50) Tags: Romance, Family The four siblings in the Gung family were named after precious jewels: eldest daughter Bi Chwi (Jade), eldest son San Ho (Coral), second daughter Ryu Bi (Ruby), and the youngest son, Ho Bak (Amber). Like an assortment of beautiful gems, their colours may clash and their sharp edges chip away at each other. Using an analogy of a bowl of rice with assorted ingredients to illustrate the workings of a family, the key to a great dish is using the right balance of ingredients in order to create a good mixture. Assorted Gems tells the story of the different lives of the family members and how they learn from their clashes to find the perfect balance. Huge family zero direction plot for 50 episodes yet again? It's just stupid. It does not work. Stop.   Overall Rating: 5/10

15. Fai Ruk Arsoon (2009)  [ไฟรักอสูร] (Finished 1/12) Tags: Romance, Drama Kaew, a fisherman, is devastated when his wife, Wan, leaves him for another man. While searching for her, Kaew mistakes Tuangporn for Wan and kidnaps her. He forces her to work hard at his home, refusing to believe she is not his wife. As Tuangporn gets to know Kaew, she falls in love with him, but their relationship is threatened when Wan returns. Typical lakorn.   Overall Rating: 5/10

16. Style [스타일] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Romance Lee Seo Jeong has recently joined a fashion magazine company called Style. Her boss, Editor Park, is loathed by her employees because of her bad temper. As Seo Jeong is trying to climb the ranks of this company, she realizes that the fashion world is not a pretty place. Romance, backstabbing, competition, and lies all come along with the territory. However, she meets Seo U Jin who helps her during this tough time. Fashion is already a troublesome theme for me especially den of vipers like this, but constantly screaming FL is what really makes it unwatchable.   Overall Rating: 5/10

17. Fai Chon Saeng (2009) [ไฟโชนแสง] (Finished 1/14) Tags: Romance, Drama The Bright Fire Light centers around twins, Tianwan and Wantagon. Wan returns to Thailand from abroad after receiving news of her father's abrupt death. Though it's said that he died of a car accident, Wan knows her father better than that and suspects foul play. She later discovers that her father had two business partners that betrayed him, Khun Anon and Tian's boyfriend's father. Because of this, Wan seeks revenge against them to get justice for her father's death. Revenge lakorn is instant no.   Overall Rating: 5/10

18. TEIOH  [帝王] (Finished 1/9) Tags: Romance, Drama Sakaki Ryo is a young man in the outskirts of Tokyo and has experienced a series of setbacks in life - such as giving up his childhood dreams of playing soccer and being unable to settle into a job. One day, his best friend Eitaro tells, the number-one host of a Roppongi club. Wanting to help out Eitaro, Ryo heads to Roppongi with him to try to settle the matter. After the arrogant Renjo issues Ryo a challenge, Ryo enters the world of the nightlife in an effort to compete against Renjo as a host. Male hosts are blow my radar.   Overall Rating: 5/10

19. Poo Yai Lee Gub Nang Ma (2009) [ผู้ใหญ่ลีกับนางมา] (Finished 1/14) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Drama Malinee is a famous model living in Bangkok. One day, she receives a letter from Poo Yai Leenawat, the headman of Howling Dog Creek village. The letter said Madam Wan, her grandmother has passed away and left her several acres of land and her house in Howling Dog Creek village. Her grandmother had dreamed her granddaughter would leave Bangkok and come live in the country. Malinee or Ma for short can not sell the land to just anyone. If she does not want to keep the land, she must sell it to Poo Yai Lee only. Malinee had no intentions of going to Howling Dog Creek village until she catches her boyfriend Pardit of cheating. To escape him, she takes a trip to Howling Dog Creek village. There, she meets a country guy but does not know it is Poo Yai Lee. Poo Yai Lee falls in love with Ma instantly but is annoyed by city slicker personality, so he makes it a point to tease her. Ma learns to adjust to country life and falls in love Poo Yai Lee in a comic fashion. 6th version of the same story originated in the 1970s... remains primitive.   Overall Rating: 5/10

20. Jamluey Gamathep [จำเลยกามเทพ] (Finished 1/14) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Drama Nim is a famous actress and is always paired up with Pom Thorani, a famous actor. Everyone wants to see them as a couple in real life, including her. Nim keeps bothering him and threatening that she will destroy his wedding with Pakkard Chanaeti, his girlfriend. He asks Mek, his younger brother who returned from the USA, to kidnap Nim and take her somewhere else until after the wedding. Though Mek is not willing to do it, he has to help his brother. So, he disguises himself as Harit from Jam Loey Rak kidnapping Nim to a private island and acting mean to her like in the TV lakorn. However, it’s not that easy because Nim is not a tearful and pathetic girl, so they argue and fight with each other all the time. Typical slapstick lakorn with abuse and kidnapping.   Overall Rating: 5/10

21. The Queen Returns [공주가 돌아왔다] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Romance, Drama, Melodrama Cha Do-kyung was an "it girl" and center of attention during her school days. Thanks to her looks and affluent family background, she was surrounded by many suitors and admirers. On the other hand, Jang Gong-sim, Do-kyung's friend, who always lagged far behind Do-kyung in every aspect felt inferior to her while growing up. However, Do-kyung's accidental one-night stand with Bong-hee, Gong-shim's then boyfriend, led to an unwanted pregnancy resulting in the two getting married. Fast forward 17 years, Do-kyung became an ordinary housewife with 3 kids and a good for nothing husband while Gong-shim went on to become a celebrity ballet dancer. Their reversed situation made them at odds with each other and they ended up fighting over Hyun-woo who once had a crush on Do-kyung when young. Torn between the two women, will Hyun-woo stick to his first love who became another man's wife or will he marry Gong-shim, the ugly duckling turned into the beautiful swan? Will Gong-shim's efforts to win Hyun-woo's heart be successful? Typical Korean melodrama with love triangle.   Overall Rating: 5/10

22. Ninkyo Helper [任侠ヘルパー] (Finished 6/11) Tags: Romance, Life, Melodrama Tsubasa Hikoichi is a yakuza underling who runs a loan shark operation in Roppongi. Hikoichi is brutal and efficient, and has no compunction about cheating the weak and poor out of their hard-earned money. When Hikoichi's boss dies, his replacement, Takayama Gensuke, wants the young hood to prepare himself for an executive position, and orders Hikoichi, along with other subordinate bosses, to get a job in an elderly care facility. Suffice it to say, the position isn't what Hikoichi expected it to be... Would not call this unique concept appealing, but Kuroki Meisa makes it so. As expected, show is full of crazy old people and their crazy relatives. And it's supposed to be first funny, then touching to observe short-tempered yakuza deal with that. But for me there are a lot more negative emotions that positive ones here, so high time to move on.   Overall Rating: 6/10

23. Saru Lock [猿ロック] (Finished 2/13) Tags:  Action, Comedy Sarumaru Yataro, nicknamed "Saru", is an average high school boy who daydreams about idols but otherwise has no luck with girls. While working at his father's locksmithing business, Saru uses his genius-like lock picking skills to take on dangerous cases. Light juvenile pretty stupid comedy, but not notorious.   Overall Rating: 6/10

24. Roseate-Love [紫玫瑰] (Finished 1/13) Tags: Romance, Drama, Melodrama Xiao Zi yearns for her childhood sweetheart singing passionately in the pub of a five-star hotel, Lin Nuo. The self-assembled "Future Man Band" though only receiving little applause, does not deter Xiao Zi's admiration, and her specially numbered "Purple Roses" made from paper, using true determination, praying for Lin Nuo to defeat the Devil, who is not worthy to be admired. Today, there is a new waiter in the pub, Ning Zi Da, put under the direction of Xiao Zi. The outside world is all talking about the Zi Da's background, Xiao Zi being righteous and straight forward, accidentally reveals the truth about Zi Da's birth, changing Zi Da's perception of her. Looking at this silly naive girl, pursuing a guy not belonging to her, furthermore making one by one numbered paper purple roses, Zi Da's heart which is surrounded with metal walls, cracks a bit with warmth. It's clearly a youth comedy, so strange to not have it listed in genres, but maybe nothing that does not go all out with special effects and sounds can be called Taiwanese comedy. It's silly in many ways, and I'm not finding it interesting.   Overall Rating: 5/10

25. Kochikame [こちら葛飾区亀有公園前派出所] (Finished 1/8) Tags: Mystery, Comedy Set in a neighborhood police station in Tokyo. The story follows the crazy adventures of the main character Ryotsu Kankichi, a middle-aged policeman. Adapted from ancient gag manga. It already had anime adaptation in 1996, and that was without all these antics and overall better.   Overall Rating: 5/10

26. Call Center no Koibito  [コールセンターの恋人] (Finished 1/10) Tags: Comedy Tokura Wataru works in Tokyo for a TV shopping program. After getting on the bad side of the show's charismatic presenter, "Antarctic Ice", he gets transferred to a rural call center. Waiting for him is Aoyama Kyoko, nicknamed the "queen of complaints" for her expert ability at handling unsatisfied customers. Unsettled by this call center that seems to have no regard for the rules, he begins working on a plan to return to the main office in Tokyo. Though at first he struggles in his new position he soon finds love in his work. Call center is such an unappealing place with rigorous rules that trying to promote psychological service is so against everything this activity demands. As a result, the concept feels fake, and since there aren't any of my favorite actors, it's safe for dumping.   Overall Rating: 5/10

27. Haken no Oscar [派遣のオスカル ～少女漫画に愛をこめて～ ] (Finished 1/6) Tags: Business, Comedy, Romance, Life A story about a temporary-staff worker who finds refuge in the fantasy world of a comic, Rose of Versailles. Katsuko's mediocre days is put to an end when the son of her company president arrives at her office and lays out unreasonable a cost-cutting policy which upsets Katsuko. Her inner ear hears the voice of Oscar, the main character of "Rose of Versailles" who stands up for the people, and decides to take action against him to save her helpless colleagues. Shoujo manga fan is a red flag for me, and one lead being in power position is not nice as well. The concept is seriously unrealistic. Fine romcom, but not to me.   Overall Rating: 6/10

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