Dorama of the Year 2012-II Spring - Legal High (2012)

Legal High (2012) was beyond competition this season.

1. A Gentleman's Dignity (2012) [신사의 품격] (Finished 1/20) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Drama, Melodrama Four men in their forties go through love, breakup, success and failure. The story includes the romantic relationship between Kim Do Jin, an architect with a scathing tongue, and strict high school teacher Seo Yi Soo, who moonlights as an umpire at amateur baseball games. What a banality. Again just narcissists in heat with all kinds of tropes and artificial recycled material piled up.   Overall Rating: 5/10

2. Queen and I (2012) [인현왕후의 남자] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Historical, Comedy, Romance, Fantasy Kim Bung Do is a scholar who had supported the reinstatement of Queen In Hyeon when Jang Hui Bin's schemes resulted in her being deposed and replaced as King Seok Jong's queen consort. He travels 300 years into the future of modern Seoul and meets Choi Hui Jin, a no-name actress who is expecting a career renaissance through her role as Queen In Hyeon in a TV drama. Time travel is one of cheesiest moves, lots of other cringe, too...   Overall Rating: 5/10

3. Big (2012) [빅] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Youth, Fantasy 18-year-old Kang Kyung Joon's spirit suddenly becomes transplanted in the body of 30-year-old Seo Yoon Jae. Seo Yoon Jae is a successful doctor and engaged to high school teacher Gil Da Ran. Gil Da Ran just so happens to be the teacher of 18-year old Kang Kyung Joon. Spirit transplantation, huh... and, of course, it's totally not the only irritation here...   Overall Rating: 5/10

4. Shiritsu Bakaleya Koukou (2012) [私立バカレア高校] (Finished 2/12) Tags: Romance, Youth, Drama One day, Bakada High School, a school with dumb, delinquent boys, and Daiichi Catteleya Academy, a school with beautiful, well-off girls, are merged to form Bakareya High School. However, Sakuragi Tatsuya, who loves Bakada High School in every respect, reacts sharply against Shingyoji Eri, who is equally proud of her alma mater, and an uproar ensues. Mydramalist says length is 30 minutes which is already borderline for me, but in fact it's just 23 minutes which is not ok at all. So far it's just artificial conflict situations which is not at masterpiece state at all.   Overall Rating: 6/10

5. Pin Anong (2012) [ปิ่นอนงค์] (Finished 1/22) Tags: Action, Comedy, Romance, Drama Yai causes the death of his stepmother's lover and runs away from his farm to comeback later after his father's death in order to get his inheritance and get revenge...he falls for innocent Pin, the daughter of his stepmother's loyal servant but she's already in love with Na the real son of his stepmother.  Thai revenge is instant no.   Overall Rating: 5/10

6. I Do, I Do (2012) [아이두 아이두] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Older Woman/Younger Man, Pregnancy, Love Hwang Ji An is a successful shoe designer whose life revolves around her work. She's fiercely protective of her designs, though they are constantly being copied, flooding the market with cheap knock-offs. Park Tae Kang is a young, talented designer, but still regularly rips off Ji An's designs for the easy money. A particularly bad day for the both of them brings them together over drinks, leading to a one-night stand. They swear never to see each other again, but things get complicated when her company hires Tae Kang as a new employee, and Ji An discovers that she's pregnant with his child! Fashion, bumping into each other, pathetic squabbles, unlikable characters... for me it's same unwatchable kdrama as usual.   Overall Rating: 5/10

7. Bridal Mask (2012) [각시탈] (Finished 1/28) Tags: Action, Historical, Romance, Political Lee Gang To is an ambitious and callous Korean officer employed by the Japanese colonists. Despite his mother's disapproval of his work and his own brother's antagonistic history with the Japanese, Gang To continues to play by the colonists' rules in hopes of becoming successful and bringing his family out of poverty. However, a mysterious figure wearing a traditional Bridal Mask always seems to get in Gang To's way. The Bridal Mask appears as a Zorro-like figure who protects the people from the Japanese colonists' oppression and abuse of power. An unexpected turn of events brings Gang To to cross paths with the mysterious Bridal Mask, changing his future and the nation's history forever. Zorro-like revenge is super primitive.   Overall Rating: 5/10

8. The Wedding Scheme (2012) [결혼의 꼼수] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Family A mother of four daughters and the president of a kimchi factory decides to embark on a grand marriage scheme for her children... by having them cohabitate with four eligible bachelors. Gourmet tag is seriously missing while interaction cringe is overwhelming here.   Overall Rating: 5/10

9. Alice in Wonder City (2012) [給愛麗絲的奇蹟] (Finished 2/15) Tags: Music, Romance, Drama He Ting Yu is a famous violinist who's just returned from an overseas tour. Chen Hai Jie is a hardworking dreamer who came to the big city to become a world-class violin player. Lan Die Fei is a charming girl who has a beautiful voice and an ear for pitch. Alice is a mysterious girl from Japan, who wanders the streets searching for the secrets of her past. The seeds of their dreams are planted in the city; they are all waiting to see if, one day, the seeds will grow to bear fruit.  Finally something watchable. Taiwanese drama totally wins over Korean drama already. But overall it's nothing special, plus I'm not fond of classical music theme even though it's less snobbish that usual this time.   Overall Rating: 6/10

10. I Love Lee Tae Ri (2012) [아이러브 이태리] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Fantasy, Supernatural "I Love Lee Tae Ri” is a romantic comedy about a 14 year old middle student who suddenly grows up to become a 25 year old man. Hwang Min Soo then becomes an assistant to a plutocrat heiress Lee Tae Ri. There's a pun in the title as Lee Tae Ri (이태리) can be romanized as "Italy". Spirit transplantation or similar bs, part two.   Overall Rating: 5/10

11. Torranee Ni Nee Krai Krong (2012) [ธรณีนี่นี้ใครครอง] (Finished 1/17) Tags:  Comedy, Romance, Life, Drama Athit is an agriculture graduate. Instead of working as a government employee, he decides to do farming. Therefore, his father sends him to work at his grandmother’s farm. Grandmother Daeng welcomes him as none of her children had wanted to work the land. Athit works hard, soon becoming Daeng’s favourite grandchild. Living on this land, not only is the work hard, but Athit has to deal with problems from Darunee, a high-school girl Daeng has adopted. Darunee worries that Athit will steal Daeng's love. Years later, When Daeng passes away, she wills Athit to take care of her property and be Darunee’s guardian. As Darunee grows up, she begins to understand Athit more. She knows that he puts a lot of effort to develop the land. They help each other to solve the problems on the farm. The relationship between them is getting better. However, the story does not end easily. Neither knows what their hearts need. All these land disputes are concepts from the XXth century, remakes of them make even less sense than usual.   Overall Rating: 5/10

12. Maya Rasamee (2012) [มาหยารัศมี] (Finished 1/20) Tags: Romance, Drama, Family, Melodrama Khun Chai Thitirat is an rich college going young man who meets a 15 year old girl named Duenram who was running away from home due to domestic abuse and helps her. After his girlfriend Dooktae dumps him after Khunchai goes to US for studies, he lost trust in women and becomes a cynic. On coming back to Thailand he meets Ram again but treats her with disdain. Duenram lives with her father and stepfamily who ill treats her. Khun Chai's father and Ram's father had made a promise to get Khunchai married to Ram's daughter named Maya Rasamee. Where or who is Maya Rasamee ? Another ancient abuse melodrama concept recycled in vain.   Overall Rating: 5/10

13. Legal High (2012) [リーガル・ハイ] (Finished 11/11) Tags: Mystery, Business, Comedy, Law Attorney Komikado Kensuke is driven by money, prestige, and women, with a flawless legal record. Rookie attorney Mayuzumi Machiko is passionate about justice but struggles with rigidity. When she unexpectedly joins his law office, their constant clashes turn into a strong partnership in the courtroom. Watched it before. It's of very high quality, akin to the Hero.   Overall Rating: 7/10

14. Ti Amo Chocolate (2012)  [愛上巧克力] (Finished 1/80) Tags: Food, Romance, Drama Fang Jia Hua is the successor of a business. His dream is to open a chocolate store and be an expert in chocolate. He ends up leaving his business and his family to fulfill his dream. Hong Xi En is someone who spent her days slogging and taking up part time work. One day, she ends up working for him and above all, she has to dress herself as a man for the job. So much banality in the first episode already, and it has not even touched the worsts parts of gourmet and cross-dressing .   Overall Rating: 5/10

15. Future Diary: Another World (2012) [未来日記-ANOTHER:WORLD-] (Finished 2/11) Tags: Mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi The story is about teenagers who obtain a "Future Diary". The diary is a cell phone diary that foretells the future, and those who get hold of it suffer the consequence of having to participate in a "survival game". Prior to discovering the future diary, Hoshino Arata was an ordinary college student, without any faith in the coming future. Efforts seemed unrewarding, and the future, well, who could change fate? Nonetheless, it is the diary that leads Arata to see tomorrow as a sign of hope. Typical survival game concept. Live actions of such feel better than anime.   Overall Rating: 6/10

16. Goodbye Dear Wife (2012) [굿바이 마눌] (Finished 2/20) Tags: Comedy, Romance Cha Seung Hyuk runs a famous sports center and has been married for 5 years. In his past, he was a famous fighter with good looks. Cha Seung-Hyuk then married a woman who was about to become a nun. Because of their marriage, Cha Seung Hyuk became even more popular as a romantist. Since then, he has partaken in lots of commercials and has become an ideal man for women. In real life though, Cha Seung Hyuk is sick of married life. He says goodbye to his wife, hoping to experience love again with his first love.  Not typical plot and better than expected, but still can't even compare with Japanese similar work Dosoukai.   Overall Rating: 6/10

17. Papadol! (2012) [パパドル！] (Finished 2/10) Tags: Comedy, Romance The story revolves around Ryo who secretly marries an older, single mom; a marriage that he has to keep as a secret or his idol career will come to an end. There was already dorama about papa idol, and it was not great. This time more time is devoted to initial meetings, plus there's also side of idol's coworkers and the need of secrecy because of them. But eventually it all also comes down mostly to members of family and building connection with them, as expected.   Overall Rating: 6/10

18. Imminent Crisis (2012) [一触即发] (Finished 1/32) Tags: Military, Thriller, Historical Yang Mu Chu and Yang Mu Ci were twin brothers separated at a young age who grew up under very different circumstances during chaotic times in 1930s Shanghai. Overcoming initial misunderstandings and other obstacles, the two eventually join forces to expose and foil a dangerous Japanese military conspiracy.  Republican era thriller action is just repulsive for me.   Overall Rating: 5/10

19. Late Blossom (2012) [그대를 사랑합니다] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Life, Drama Jung Min Chae works as a civil service officer instead of serving his military enlistment. He is smart. He first entered Seoul University. At Seoul University, he developed a game and became a legendary figure in the gaming industry. He looks successful, but, in fact, he has sad family history. While he works as a civil service officer, he then meets social worker Kim Yeon Ah. They soon fall in love. Truly horrible. Mundane SOL of grumpy old people which is supposed to be comedy, but it is absolutely not.   Overall Rating: 5/10

20. Legend of the Military Seal (2012) [虎符传奇] (Finished 1/30) Tags: Military, Historical, Drama, Political Lord Xin Ling, the most influential of the 4 gentlemen during the Warring States Period, falls in love with the beautiful Ru Ji, but she ends up marrying his brother, King An Xi of the Wei state. Unwilling to live in the palace as a mere concubine, Ru Ji desires to put her wit and capabilities to use. Unbeknownst to her, she will later become one of the key figures in saving the state of Zhao and changing the course of history. Palace intrigues are as boring as ever.   Overall Rating: 5/10

21. W no Higeki (2012) [Wの悲劇] (Finished 1/8) Tags: Thriller, Mystery, Drama Mako is the daughter of a major business conglomerate. She has always lived in comfort, and as a result, she yearns to finally grasp life with her own hands. Satsuki is a show pub dancer who lives a solitary and destitute life in a corner of the city and who desires money and power. The two women exchange lives, leading to various tragic events for both of them. Doubles are the cornerstone of melodrama and detective mystery. Fed up with doubles already.   Overall Rating: 5/10

22. Love Again (2012) [러브 어게인] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Romance, Life, Drama, Family, Melodrama The story begins when men and women in their mid-40s meet each other again after 30 years, in a class reunion set up by a former classmate. With their current life hidden, they all enjoy the reunion and return to their respective lives, only to find out that two of the members begin to meet frequently, causing old flames to spark again and turn into a dangerous love affair. The struggles between families and burdens of reality are described in detail, but as they solve the mystery, the friendships and love between them remain unchanged after a number of conflicts and reconciliations. The story depicts the solitude and the pain of middle age in modern life which forces the responsibility of parenthood and spouses on them and provides a chance to look back on the lives they unknowingly abandoned long ago. Yet another alumni meeting sparking things in a mediocre way.   Overall Rating: 5/10

23. Mou Ichido Kimi ni, Propose (2012) [もう一度君に、プロポーズ ] (Finished 1/10) Tags: Romance A love story involving a wife who has partly lost her memory and her husband who tries to reconstruct their relationship. Miyamoto Haru works as a mechanic at an automobile repair shop. He married his wife Kanako, a librarian, after dating for a year. In their fourth year of marriage, they have no children, but everything seems to be going smoothly. One day, Kanako suffers from a subarachnoid hemorrhage. She successfully undergoes surgery, but she loses only her memories with Haru. Reeling from shock, Haru becomes aware again of just how important Kanako is to him, and he resolves to fall in love all over again with her and try to rebuild their relationship from scratch. However, the challenge is whether he can reach her heart once again. One more amnesia with reforging relations from scratch like the hundred first kisses... there's been like a dozen of works with this concept and enough is enough.   Overall Rating: 5/10

24. Battle of the Beauty (2012) [笑红颜] (Finished 1/33) Tags: Historical, Mystery, Drama Explores the lives of a rich and affluent Su family. The people who live in that court had been awaiting the arrival of their master, who had been away on a business trip for six years. Yet, the only person who appears before this family, the new and mysterious fifth wife, Zi Tao, who brings back the supposed corpse of the master. Since that day, the lives of the Su family have never been the same. Primitive dialogues and ancient harem concept make it deadly boring.   Overall Rating: 5/10

25. 37-sai de Isha ni Natta Boku - Kenshui Junjo Monogatari (2012) [37歳で医者になった僕〜研修医純情物語〜] (Finished 1/11) Tags: Life, Drama, Medical The drama is inspired by a true story and portrays the hard struggles of a 37-year-old man who decided to quit his job as a salaryman at a food company and is now working as a medical intern at a university hospital. Medical theme without comedy does not cut it for me.   Overall Rating: 5/10

26. Tsumi to Batsu: A Falsified Romance (2012) [罪と罰: A Falsified Romance] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Thriller, Psychological, Youth, Drama Tsumi to Batsu tells the story of Tachi Miroku, an aspiring writer who has become a college dropout and hikikomori (shut-in). He lost his father to suicide, while his mother and older sister have high expectations for his future. Tsumi to Batsu's protagonist plans to murder a heartless high school girl named Baba Hikaru, who leads an enjo-kousai (compensated dating) group. Only decided to finish because it's 6 episodes since I don't like reimaginings of famous works. Ended up not impressed enough.   Overall Rating: 6/10

27. Noom Ban Rai Kub Wan Ja Hai So (2012) [หนุ่มบ้านไร่กับหวานใจไฮโซ] (Finished 1/14) Tags: Comedy, Romance Napdao is a Hi-So from a noble and supposedly rich family. Unbeknown to the outside world, she’s actually broke and has been keeping up her pretence of wealth by pawning expensive items left behind by her late grandfather. Prab is owner of an animal farm and also the sole veterinarian in his village. Horrible and artificial, as usual.   Overall Rating: 5/10

28. Renai Kentei (2012) [恋愛検定] (Finished 1/4) Tags: Romance, Life Tsuji Eriko, who is the ace in her cosmetics company’s public relations division, always gets the man she targets. She has the contact details of hundreds of men in her mobile phone. No man has ever cut her off. A god appears before Eriko and declares that he intends to test her for the lowest level. “Who do you think I am?” An irate Eriko starts by aggressively flirting with Ogura Tsukasa, the person in charge of her company’s cosmetics at a major advertising agency, but the god ruthlessly judges her negatively. Even her younger sister Kaori has to point out that love is something more intimidating. The god does not offer concrete advice for he is not motivated by a love test for humans to begin with. Exposed to his complaints and digs, the remarriage of Eriko’s mother, Hisako, makes Eriko recall that bitter first love during junior high school days … … Before she knows it, she speaks out about her embarrassing self which she has never let anyone see, to the god. Will she pass the text and be able to have a happy love? Would block it if knew it was compilation of different stories.   Overall Rating: 5/10

29. Kazoku no Uta (2012) [家族のうた] (Finished 1/8) Tags: Music, Drama, Family Former rock band member Hayakawa Seigi, now a struggling radio host, discovers he is the father of three middle school girls. While caring for them in secret to avoid risking his career, their presence helps him grow and find new purpose in life. Typical sudden childcare with an unsuitable parent and without really strong sides. At least it's not the killer this time.   Overall Rating: 5/10

30. Kaeru no Oujo-sama (2012) [カエルの王女さま] (Finished 1/11) Tags: Music, Comedy Amami’s character is going to be that of a legendary musical star who just returned to Japan after several setbacks on the Broadway in New York. Back home, she’s going to use all of her energy and experience to help a Mamasan Korus called “Chansons” from having to break up. In order to do that, she modifies the concept of a chorus by adding dancing to their performance. Naturally, this idea isn’t going well with everyone in the chorus, especially one very conservative housewife (Ishida) aggressively opposes her unconventional ideas. Calling such genre females talking nonsense and doing trifles. Not sure what the purpose is, probably just to observe charming performances while giving roles to a lot of actors, but I'm not charmed.   Overall Rating: 5/10

31. Hidamari no Ki (2012) [陽だまりの樹] (Finished 12/12) Tags: Historical, Drama In 1855, samurai Ibuya Manjiro, 26, serves at the Hitachifuchu domain, training intensely and earning the resentment of his peers. Meanwhile, Tezuka Ryoan, a womanizing doctor, causes trouble for his father, Ryosen. After a fierce training fight, Manjiro is severely wounded and treated by Ryoan, who performs his first surgery with skill. Manjiro secretly loves Oseki, but Ryoan's interest in her frustrates him. When Ryoan is attacked by a samurai, Manjiro swiftly kills the assailant—his senior pupil at Chiba Shusaku's training hall. Feels like seriously toned done Ryomaden, but with two characters of scholar and samurai going hand in hand. To be honest, only finished, because it there was not much left till end.   Overall Rating: 6/10

32. Cleopatra na Onnatachi (2012)  [クレオパトラな女たち] (Finished 1/8) Tags:  Drama, Medical Kishi Minetaro, a serious plastic surgeon, disdains cosmetic procedures, until his father’s debt forces him to work at a high-end aesthetic clinic. There, surrounded by confident, surgically-enhanced colleagues and demanding patients, Minetaro grapples with the meaning of beauty and identity. As he fulfills clients’ unusual requests, he begins to question whether changing a face can truly change a life. Ugh, it reminded me vividly why I can't stand plastic surgery fluff.   Overall Rating: 5/10

33. Hatsukoi (2012) [はつ恋] (Finished 1/8) Tags: Romance Midori is a married woman with a happy home life, a child, and a job as a speech therapist. One day, Midori is diagnosed with liver cancer and finds herself face to face with her first love; a man whose betrayal had left her deeply scarred. They are forced to put their past aside and work together to save her life. Not finding terminal conditions interesting.   Overall Rating: 5/10

34. AA Life Style (2012) [AA制生活] (Finished 1/38) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Drama The series follows a family on an emotional journey as they implement After Marriage AA into their lives. This helps them resolve conflicts and problems in order to achieve an ideal happy married life. The Chinese don't have humor culture unlike Taiwanese. Pilot is basically comedy without humor unless insults and grimaces can be considered humor.   Overall Rating: 5/10

35. Glimmer Of Love (2012) [愛的微光] (Finished 1/40) Tags: Drama, Family Hong Shuying has experienced life, separation and death since she was a child. After marriage, she felt embarrassed with her husband's grandma and her mother-in-law who tested her wisdom. After her husband dies of cancer, her mother-in-law suffers an emotional breakdown, and Shuying, holding back her grief, takes good care of her mother-in-law and allows her to live a peaceful old age. Shuying uses her own experience to enlighten her mother-in-law and daughter-in-law on difficult problems, continues to exert her life skills, and becomes a wise Bodhisattva who transforms the world... Pilot is super boring, so can't imagine anyone sitting through 40 episodes of it.   Overall Rating: 5/10

36. In Between (2012) [半熟戀人 ] (Finished 1/15) Tags: Romance, Drama Meng Ke Huai is a popular romance novelist who suffers from writer's block because he no longer believes in love. When a crazy fan trapped him over night with an innocent bystander, he found the inspiration he needed to finish his book. The bystander was Li Xiao Yang, a senior flight attendant who desperately wanted her boyfriend to propose. They became fast friends over the incident. As time passes, he finds himself attracted to this woman who he knows but is not that familiar with And now it's a definite comedy that's not marked as comedy. Rather plain and simple for me.   Overall Rating: 5/10

37. No Good Either Way (2012) [衝呀！瘦薪兵團] (Finished 1/21) Tags: Comedy, Drama Follows the lives of office employees in Hong Kong working for their overbearing and abusive bosses. So it's literally concept of The Office. Not bad for Hong Kong drama, but extremely bad in comparison with the paragon.   Overall Rating: 6/10

38. Tiger Cubs (2012) [飛虎] (Finished 1/13) Tags: Action, Crime, Drama Serving on the Special Duties Unit (SDU) for many years, "devil" instructor Jin Hon Tou is seen as a hero in the hearts of his subordinates. His style is strict and serious, and he has high expectations of his subordinates, especially the two new SDU members, You Hok Lai and Yau Chun Hin. However, when he's off-duty, Hon Tou is actually a very caring big brother. Hon Tou thinks of Chong Cheuk Yun as his best partner at work and a good brother, but to his surprise, his girlfriend Ding Wai Wai falls in love with the optimistic Cheuk Yun and wants to break up with him. To maintain the brotherhood, Cheuk Yun asked his colleague So Man Keung to pretend to be his girlfriend, which began a mess in the relationship. Meanwhile, the police were informed that the king of thieves, To Tin Yue, was planning a large-scale robbery of the treasury. Hon Tou and OCTB inspector Chong Cheuk Wah jointly set up an operation to capture Tin Yue. Cheuk Wah is Cheuk Yun's elder sister and has a snobby personality. She only cares about her work day and night because she cannot forget the pain of her boyfriend's murder. As Hon Tou gets to know Cheuk Wah, he slowly realizes that he and Cheuk Wah are actually similar people, and his feelings start growing...  Hong Kong action series remain among the worst of the kind, totally unsatisfactory.   Overall Rating: 5/10

39. To My Beloved (2012) [친애하는 당신에게] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Romance Chan Joo is a woman trying to forget about her past by getting married. Jin Se is a man trying to start a new family by marrying Chan Joo. The two are now married to each other and go on to live ordinary lives. As time goes by, they grow bored, and long to go back to the past and try something new. This secretive longing sets their memories on fire, and they begin to seek their old lovers. They regain their identities as they get excited after meeting their old flames. Meanwhile, their marriages begin to crumble. After wasting time and effort, they eventually realize that true happiness resides in the everyday life of a typical marriage… Even though this seems somewhat disappointing, they realize that this is an undeniable truth about relationships and love between those that are married… Koreans waste so much time on trifles, silly situations and just to water things down. Such complex concept can only be mastered by the Japanese, but in current state there's zero motivation to go on.   Overall Rating: 5/10

40. Magma (2012) [マグマ] (Finished 1/5) Tags: Business, Drama Taeko, works at a foreign-affiliated financial firm. Takeo finds herself rebuilding a small company that was recently taken over. She soon encounters conflicts with the workers there, who are working to develop geothermal power as a future energy source. Takeo at first views her assignment as a demotion, but she devotes her in making the small company profitable. I've watched enough WOWOW mini-series now to see that they seem to be generally heroic, motivational and even propagandistic. They focus on some professional getting some achievement, but it's done in pretty artificial way, without true feelings and relations. Sometimes plots are interesting enough, and sometimes it's ... this commonplace bore.   Overall Rating: 5/10

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