Musings of the Obsessive Kind
She's a mite whimsical in the brainpan.
Musings of the Obsessive KindShe's a mite whimsical in the brainpan. |
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| Jan. 8th, 2009 @ 10:59 pm Dangermousie's Top 25 Kdramas list: new and improved | |||
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Current Mood:
I have decided that it was about time for me to update and expand my favorite kdrama primer yet again (which I first did some months ago). Not only were there a bunch of kdramas I wanted to add to the list, but I wanted to rearrange the order of some of the dramas on the list already (except for the first three or so, the placement of the other ones within the rankings is fluid and moves based on my mood) and very much expand it.  bouncySo behind the cut are 25 of my favorite kdramas, with summaries, reasons why, pics and vids. I have tried to keep it as unspoilery as possible. No kdrama I have not finished is on the list because I want to have seen the complete drama before evaluating the fave status. Also, I watch a lot of dramas, but I have hardly seen all or most kdrama out there, and there are some very famous ones I have never seen. I am always open to recs and am always looking for said recs. Now, without too much further verbosity, Dangermousie's 25 favorite kdramas list, new and improved. ( Lengthy post here ) | |||
| Oct. 27th, 2008 @ 09:13 am A couple of drama MVs I just found... | |||
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Current Mood:
2008 is almost over and Hong Gil Dong is still my favorite kdrama of the year: hilarious and heart-breaking, politically fascinating and romantically swoony. If somehow you managed to friend me and yet avoid reading about HGD, it's a 24-ep period drama (though I use that term liberally as it is very tongue-in-cheek with both the sense of time and place and period drama conventions) starring Kang Ji Hwan as Gil Dong, an illegitimate slave son of a noble who is reluctantly drawn into a struggle against a mad king and opressive feudal system, and Sung Yuri as Yi Nok, a slightly dim but good-at-fighting, cheerful, and heart-of-gold medicine peddler with a mysterious and tragic past, as well as Jang Geuk Seuk as the supposedly legitimate and sane heir to the throne his mad half-brother occupies. And I found this MV, which perfectly encapsulates the manic energy of it all which first drew me to it: busyAnd because I adore Sung Yuri, here is her kissing scene with Gong Yoo from One Fine Day, one of my fave kissing scenes in kdramas: | |||
| Jun. 3rd, 2008 @ 03:09 pm Dangermousie’s Top Dozen Most Surprising Drama Happy Endings | |||
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Current Mood:
Since Powerful Opponents made me think about drama endings. Now, we all know about those infamous ‘last minute unhappy endings’ which seem to be tacked on to inflict utmost misery (Glass Slippers’ infamous ending, I am looking at you) or those dramas which would pretty clearly end happily as are giggle-fest or unhappily, as they involve hot people with terminal illnesses.  coldBut how about that rare yet delightful category of dramas: surprising happy endings. Not ones that could have gone either way (Smile Again, QSS) but ones you did not expect at all. Behind the cut are Dangermousie’s Top Dozen Most Surprising Happy Endings. ( My Dozen Here ) | |||
| Apr. 9th, 2008 @ 07:14 pm New, improved, and expanded 'Dangermousie's fave kdramas' pusher/rec list | |||
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Current Mood:
I have decided that it was about time for me to update and expand my favorite kdrama primer (which I first did some month ago). Not only were there a bunch of kdramas I wanted to add to the list, but I wanted to rearrange the order of some of the dramas on the list already (except for the first three or so, the placement of the other ones within the rankings is fluid and moves based on my mood) and very much expand it.  chipperSo behind the cut are 20 (actually 21, because of a tie) of my favorite kdramas, with summaries, reasons why, pics and vids. I have tried to keep it as unspoilery as possible. No kdrama I have not finished is on the list because I want to have seen the complete drama before evaluating the fave status (possible future candidates to be put in that aren't there because of it are Mawang and MISA). Also, I watch a lot of dramas, but I have hardly seen all or most kdrama out there, and there are some very famous ones I have never seen. I am always open to recs and am always looking for said recs. Now, without too much further verbosity, Dangermousie's 20 or so favorite kdramas list, new and improved. ( Lengthy post here ) | |||
| Mar. 9th, 2008 @ 01:12 am The largest, mushiest One Fine Day picspam you are likely to ever see... | |||
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Current Mood:
chipper As you can, no doubt, tell by my earlier semi-coherent posts, I finished One Fine Day earlier today. I loved it to bits (going on my fave kdrama list, I really must do a revised one) and I especially loved Gun/Ha Neul. So an OTP!  So here is a picspam of Gun/Ha Neul, of some incredibly awesome scenes from eps 14-16. They really did make me nonverbal.  ( Gun and Ha Neul's stolen perfect day ) ( Ha Neul telling Gun she loves him ) ( Kissing scene ) ( Gun and Ha Neul spend evening at amusement park, because soon he has to leave ) ( Happy ending!!!! ) Seo Gun hopes you enjoyed the picspam.  | |||
| Mar. 8th, 2008 @ 03:56 pm One Fine Day: done | |||
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Current Mood:
'Nae Sarang Ha Neul' chipperSQUEEEEE!!!! (I also need a screencap of Gong Yoo with bunny ears. Sooooooon, my preciousssss, sooooooon). And the rollercoaster, and the word games, and the hugging and her letting him go.... I love that Ha Neul is so unselfish, unlike awful Secondary Girl who I want someone to off messily and NOW. ETA: HAPPY ENDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But WTF, the frelling BITCH made him stay with her for three years????? WTF diediediedie. She now joins Tennis Girl from My Girl and other girl from The Outsiders in the trifecta of my most hated other girls ever. But ohhhh, Ha Neul is still waiting and he goes to Korea and finds her and EEEEE! ILYs, and hands and awesomeness. That last image on their hands pressed through acquarium glass and smiling is... *meep* So happy, want to write fanfic now :) Oh, they are SUCH an OTP. | |||
| Mar. 8th, 2008 @ 03:30 pm Raaaaage... | |||
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Current Mood:
SECONDARY GIRL I WANT YOU TO FUCKING DIE NOW IN THE MOST PAINFUL FASHION POSSIBLE!!!! infuriatedDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEWHYWON'TYOUDIE!!!!! Argh. The last time I hated the 'other girl' so was the Tennis Girl in My Girl. The waves of rage emanating from me could probably power a small city. YOU STUPID SELFISH HORRIBLE BITCH!!! I am in the middle of ep 16, and she is all 'I might die soon, from my heart condition which wouldn't be as serious if I took my medicine on time, and might get surgery which might turn out well or not. So, Gun, even though you have already spent most of your life taking care of me, and negating yourself utterly, and doing horrible stuff to get me money for medicine (which I don't take!), and even though you have recently found the love of your life, someone without whom you are clearly incomplete and not living but merely existing, and even though she loves you back, and you have overcome all these obstacles, but still...You feel bad for me, right, right? So how about you give everything up for me, everything you ever wanted, the woman without whom you can't live, and come to Australia with me, even if you never indicated you loved me ever. I mean, who cares if this is wrecking your life, and eviscerating your heart, and it won't make you love me. Come anyway, because it's all about me, and I know how you view me as a responsibility so will do it if I guilt and push enough, even though the mere thought of being without your OTP makes you fall apart at the seams?' I HATE YOU HATE YOU HATE YOU HATE YOU. Because he is so going to do it, and ohhhh, what kind of person pushes and pushes on someone she pretends to love guilt and protectiveness and goodness (and a little feeling he is unworthy of happiness) to deny him the one thing he wants, and after he's already done so much for her. And I mean, she wants Gun to be in hell again, to give up happiness voluntarily, for her selfish, stupid sake? I WANT HER TO DIE SO BADLY. OK, I hate her MORE than the Tennis Girl. DIE. | |||
| Mar. 8th, 2008 @ 03:01 pm One Fine Day: only way it would be more awesome is if they added chocolate | |||
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Current Mood:
I have just finished episode 15 of One Fine Day and I completely, utterly, and irrationally hate every single character who is not the OTP with the strength of a thousand suns. I want them all to DIAF: chipper( Shippy squee and rage ) Was this even coherent? I was so fangirling and incoherent and verklempt, this is a total stream of consciousness, not even in order of events :P | |||
| Mar. 8th, 2008 @ 02:13 am Good night... | |||
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Current Mood:
I have all sorts of meta about One Fine Day (am through middle of ep 15 now and it's still amazing) but it's late and I am exhausted, so instead, all I bring you is this awesome GD/YN mv from eps 18-20. contentSpoilers galore and so is heartbreak: *sniffle* | |||
| Mar. 6th, 2008 @ 10:26 pm One Fine Day... | |||
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Current Mood:
Am up to episode 12 of One Fine Day and it continues beyond awesome, even down to the automatic hurty feeling in the pit of my stomach whenever Ha Neul or (especially) Gun are hurt. For me this happens only with the best dramas. contemplativeThis is also going on my Top Kdramas List (now up to 15) which means that Gong Yoo is the actor with the most dramas on the list (3. Which basically means every drama in which he had a starring role!), with Rain and Kang Ji Hwan having two each :P (Also, amusingly, it's Sung Yuri who has the most among actresses, three as well on the list, followed by Ha Ji Won and Yoon Eun Hye with two each). This is so amazing. You know what is the best part, though? All kdramas are usually very good at selling me that the OTP is the OTP, and on making me believe the guy really cares for the girl, but in OFD, it's much more than that: I have never seen a drama as good at making you believe that they really are two halves of the same soul. And you know how I earlier made an off-hand remark that something Gun said to Ha Neul was very 'Yuu Watase' (for those not into manga/anime, YW is a famous mangaka whose heroes seem to exist solely for the heroine?). Well, it has certainly proven more true than I knew. As I said, I am usually sold on the hero's dedication to the heroine, but I have never seen such total, utter, helpless adoration before. It's not too mushy and it doesn't make him a weakling, but you get the sense it's more instinctive than breathing and the slightest hurt/inconvenience to her is something that must not be and must be fixed right now. And yet, somehow, it doesn't come across as OTT or ridiculous at all. Of course, huge reason is Gong Yoo, who is so amazing. Gun is miles different than either Tae-In of HMT or Han Kyul from Coffee Prince. And his chemistry with Sung Yuri is awesome. There are so many moments: like the way he jumps into a shark tank to fish her out (she works as a diver at an aquarium) when she is ill, the way he is destroyed when she moves out when she thinks he is only using her for money (Gong Yoo should not be allowed to cry, it makes me upset), the longing on his face as he watches her go about her daily tasks in that motel she moved to, the way he is always there, like 'Superman' whenever she needs anything, even if it's the ridiculous situation of her having too much to drink. Or the scene when he picks her up and carries her (eee! Western-style carry!) and she is tipsy and tells him 'why is my heart pounding?' and his face... But for some reason, the one that makes me melt the most and turn into goo is the scene with the noodles. When she found out he wasn't her birth sibling and asked him to make noodles and then is throwing a hissy fit about them (displacing all her loss and anger and bewilderment) and he is being so...and then it's he who apologizes and that whole scene with his concern and helpless puzzlement and just... OK. No more words, am incoherent. Secondary Guy is funny and sweet but sorry, compared to Gong Yoo doing his best Tamahome impression,* he has no chance. *I can so see Gun doing the Tamahome thing and solving an existential dilemma by deciding "I exist for you. To protect you." ETA: OMG Whaaaaa???? ( Ep 12 spoiler ) | |||
| Mar. 5th, 2008 @ 11:43 am One Fine Day, Hong Gil Dong, and Bollywood | |||
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Current Mood:
Am on episode 8 of One Fine Day and oh. oh. OH it keeps getting better and better. content( Ep 8 rambles ) Episode 15 of Hong Gil Dong was incredibly awesome. I can't wait to watch ep 16.  Here are screencaps from ep 15 taken by moi ;) ( Caps here ) Adorable shippy MV (note: spoilers for eps 1-18) Last but not least: OK, boring snoozeworthy Oscars? If you want me to actually look forward to you again, make them like Filmares, India's equivalent. The movies might be equally hackish (though way more entertaining) and the thank you speeches equally neutral, but we also get: 1. Dance numbers with glitter and back-up dancers and Bolly music and kitch. If you have production numbers, make them fun and cheesy as all get-out. 2. Shahrukh Khan and Saif Ali Khan as hosts, making fun of the industry all evening. And not only are they genuinely funny (unlike the Oscar hosts, restricted, both time-wise and content-wise), I am just gleeful at the thought of two of the biggest Bolly stars hosting this. It's like if Will Smith and Brad Pitt (my random pick of two famous stars) co-hosted the Oscars, and spent the evening picking on their stars, producers, and each other. Oh, and they mentioned the writers strike, LOL. To quote someone's summary from Bollywood: "They said unlike Hollywood -that was affected by the writer's strike- BW doesn't have a problem with this since 'our writers have been on strike for the last 40 years.'" | |||
| Mar. 2nd, 2008 @ 06:50 pm One Fine Day: very fine indeed... | |||
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Current Mood:
"What is your name?" cheerful"Ha Neul" "And what is my name?" "Gun" "And what does my name mean?" "Ha Neul's Gun" "Right." *THUD* That was like something out of Yuu Watase. SO MUCH LOVE. ( One Fine Day ramblings, spoilers through ep 5 ) I am also pleased to announce they like to have Gong Yoo shirtless a lot. As you can see, a story about a forbidden love between quasi-siblings, with swindling, parental abuse and other charming topics clearly requires this:  Yes. And here is a scene I found from episode 15. It's a kissing scene after ( spoiler ). Oh my GUH. It's so gorgeous and tender. *swoon* ( Vid here ) | |||
| Mar. 1st, 2008 @ 11:28 pm One Fine Day, books, and I discover my not-so-inner fangirl by listening to Kim Jung Hoon | |||
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Current Mood:
Two episodes of One Fine Day in, and it's indeed, awesome, especially since as soon Gun hit the ground in Korea he shaved his moustache. Am not a fan of facial hair. chipperBtw, ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} lesbiassparrow, I am shocked, SHOCKED you haven't watched this one yet. This is drama that has been written for you! You want quasi-sibling love relationships? We've got three, in various degrees of wrongness. You want messed-up families? The heroine, Ha Neul's, family is oh-so-wrong. Plus. Gong Yoo gets the snot kicked out of him in the very first episode and played Russian-roulette with by some gangsters. He also speaks English while shirtless. YES.( More detailed comments on first two eps ) In other news, Mmmmm, books. I read the first volume of Fables and it is LOVE. I am not usually big on American comics because arts style and stories do not appeal, but this is awesome. Snow White as feminist icon! Me developing a thing for the Big Bad Wolf! Prince Charming the sleazoid! YAY. Also, meganbmoore linked me to a post by rushthatspeaks about a new, yaoi Yuu Watase manga which sounds so dark and disturbing and AWESOME. Post here.( Thoughts on that ) Last but not least, this post by lain7 has a lot of links to Kim Jung Hoon singing. Oh. My. GUH. You guys. He has the most awesome voice ever. I liked him as Yul in Goong and think he is very pretty, but I don't really listen to Asian (or any other) music much, so even though I knew he was mainly a singer, I never checked his songs out but eeeee! *dies* Especially since in a lot of the links, he is singing live. And in Japanese. OMG. SO GOOD. Here is a MV of Sirius: I. Must. Now. Explore. This. Further. If I ever recover from fangirl swoon brought up by the songs in lain7 post (check it out!) and my youtube exploration.I foresee that KJH might become my second ever Asian music interest (the only other Asian music thing I really loved was Glay). | |||
| Mar. 1st, 2008 @ 02:49 pm Switching Drama Tack... | |||
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Current Mood:
Four episodes in and I am still, I confess, bored by Only You. So I am going to assume it and me aren't meant to be, at least for now, and put it aside. Seriously, I am ff-ing through chunks, and precisely because the hero and heroine are so thoroughly normal, I am not interested in them at all. contentI am also confused as to why getting pregnant means having to drop out of cooking school in Italy. Last I checked, nobody cared if you worked/studied while pregnant, over there. And JHJ, I am going to give you another chance in Nine-Tailed Fox, because I liked you in it, from what I saw. Because here, I found you rather non-exciting. Ehhh well, can't get lucky with them all. So, I decided to start One Fine Day instead. Am about ten minutes in and: 1. GONG YOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2. I like a drama that starts with a bang. Stealing suitcases of $$$ from drug-dealers qualifies (though btw, best opening ever is still Green Rose, IMO). 3. They filmed this in Australia! Whoa. I joyfully anticipate Engrish. 4. GONG YOO!!!!!!!! In a wife-beater! Soon, soooooon, sooooooooooon you will be in love with your former step-sister. YES. | |||
| Jan. 16th, 2008 @ 09:08 am All the quasi-cest and angst with no death. One Fine Day: it's Autumn Tale for wimps. | |||
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You know how I wanted to watch Autumn Tale but was scared away by the promise of a sad ending? Well, I am totally happy because I just found a drama which sounds like it has everything about AT I want: angst! forbidden love! stepsiblings who thought they were really related, eventually separated until adulthood! hunky men weeping! childhood love! Terminal illness (not of the OTP though, yay!)  One Fine Day. But you know one thing it's lacking, that Autumn Tale had? Unhappy Ending. YES. It seems like it has eight tons of angst, but it has A HAPPY ENDING. The OTP does not die, does not separate forever, and best of all is that the male lead is...Gong Yoo!!!!!! *insert fangirl squeal* Did I mention that the male lead is full of self-loathing because of what he has to do, and that the female lead is the adorable Sung Yuri, who barely reaches Gong Yoo's shoulder! Plot: Haneul (Sung Yuri) is a child of an unwed mother, who married the father of Seo Gun (Gong Yoo). Thus, they are stepsiblings, and are off-limits in the eyes of the law (is anyone in Kdrama fall not for a relative????) Eventually, when they are still children, all parental figures keel over and they are separated. Haneul is adopted by a wealthy family in the midst of which she still feels alienated. Gun ends up as a 'son' of a big-time gangster (how? No idea yet. It's kdrama, these things happen. This is why I love them). When they are adults their paths cross when Gun has to extort money from Haneul (hold me, someone, before I die of sheer glee!). But of course, they begin to fall in love... Here is a MV for the drama: ( Another MV ) This goes on my short list ASAP! (It's a good thing I have a lot of dramas to go through in Gong Yoo's back catalogue, seeing that he is in the army now and thus no new dramas of his will feed my addiction for two whole years). | |||