This post is inspired by Booya’s recent post on Team Medical Dragon tv series. I was replying to his recent reply to my comment and figure I might as well make an actual post about j-drama recommendations because I got overboard with the info-dump of a reply that will really kill his post’s comments XD;;;

Genre : Medical, Human Drama, OMFG Can’t-the-Bastard-Die-Already?!
Team Medical Dragon : I am a fan on the manga and thus was kind of wary about how it’ll translate on screen. Because it’s a manga certain level of excessive dramatic expressions are expected. And it made the manga an AWESOME read. The mangaka makes performing surgery as the next most badass thing EVER. So how will it turn out in a live action adaptation? Will the tv production crew keep the awesome dramatics and NOT make it … y’know, cheesey?

Team Medical Dragon tv series took it all up, did all that and managed to still manage to make you bite your fingernails watching it. Kudos to the screen-writers who managed to adapt the manga to tv series wonderfully, compressing many many manga chapters into a 11 episodes series that stays quite true to the original source ( as for the changes, I happened to like them a lot too )

The synopsis in block

Ryutaro Asada is enjoying his peaceful life in the countryside, when he is visited by Akira Kato, assistant professor of the Faculty of Cardiac Surgery at Meishin University Medical Hospital.

Ryutaro is a genius surgeon who used to lead “Team Medical Dragon,” a world-class NGO medical team. In harsh environments that lacked medicine and electricity, Ryutaro witnessed many lives pass away. At the same time, he saved many other lives, helping his matchless skill overwhelm other doctors.

As a female doctor, Akira managed to become an assistant professor. She has ambitions to be promoted to professor by succeeding in a surgery using the Batista technique; an extremely difficult type of heart surgery and also by writing a paper on it. A year ago, Akira witnessed Ryutaro’s skills when he was an NGO doctor. That’s why she recruits him and asks him to use the Batista technique. Since Ryutaro’s arrival, urgent patients who would have been abandoned in the past, are miraculously saved by the “hands of God.” –Fuji TV

Booya had posted a nice review on this series over at his blog ( from a non-jdrama watching person POV ) so I won’t say more of it.

So he asked me to recommend some other j-dramas that has [quote] weird mix of stuff [unquote]. And because I *like* inflicting these on unsuspecting people sharing, here is a giant of a post. Because I care. Really

MADHATTER’S TOP 3 FAVOURITE J-DRAMA LIST!

In no particular order actually because I loved all these three for different reasons.

(more…)

I’m not a fan of Korean entertainment because my nearly decade long fandom towards Japanese entertainment keeps me at bay ( with waaaay too many jrock bands and dramas and anime to keep me busy )

.. until my Mum started with her Korean drama watching spree. She had, VALIANTLY for the past five years been trying to get me to like K-drama so I can talk to her about it. She knew I absolutely abhor Taiwanese pop drama so she didn’t even try. So, every time she watched a particular drama that she likes a lot, she’ll talk to me about it, telling me the story and the characters trying to get me to be interested. So far what she managed to made me ( by sheer extortion or otherwise ) watched are :

1. Hotelier | 호텔리어
Okay, I actually *liked* this one. But I can’t understand why these k-drama had to be 20+ episode long T__T I have NO patience to spend more than 20 hours of my life watching dramaz! >_> ( she who is used to J-drama that has abour 11 episodes ♥ )

.. but why is there a need for the Japanese version of this ? Ehhh ? O_o

 

2. Winter Sonata | 겨울연가
DON’T LAUGH AT ME DAMNIT! I WAS FORCED TO! And this one put me off K-drama for another few years because OMG, WHAT.A. DRAG to watch. And this is the point where I think Bae Yong Jun is over-rated har har.

 

3. Full House | 풀하우스
Mum just drop the whole thing on my lap and said : “This is very similiar to those shoujou manga you read, so you’ll like it. And it’s not a sob-fest. Trust me”

Err .. okay, Ma. Since you put it that way ^^;

Verdict? Whoahh Rain is cute ♥ and finally! First K-drama I watched that is not a sob fest! *is amazed very much so due to the fact that she walked in one day on her roommate sobbing her eyes out watching Autumn in my Heart*

 

4. Goong | 궁
I totally decided to pick this series up myself. After seeing a certain scene from episode 23 *AHEM* Was going TOTALLY gaa gaa over this with Hanie. Thought Joo Ji-Hoon was HOT.

– and that makes my Mum happy! But unfortunately I refused to watch any other series until someone convince me it’ll be better than Goong. ( or if I get to see someone hotter than Joo Ji-Hoon HAR HAR HAR)

 

5. My Girl | 마이걸¸
Okay, there’s a slightly longer story regarding this. I had the entire series downloaded a loooooooooong time ago because my Mum asked me to download it for her but I never get around to watching it ( because yanno, I am still telling myself that I’m no fan of K-drama ). It was all fine and dandy until I was forced to watch A-Rang with my Mum.

I reaaally don’t like Korean horror movie. Because I find it predictable and a silly plot-wise ( plot ?? WHA ? Some of them doesn’t even have one! ) But my 2nd brother managed to convinced me to watch it because an actress Soon Yoon-Ah that I really liked ( re: Hotelier ) is the heroine of the story. Still unconvinced, he pulled the final trump card on me.

2nd Bro : You should watch Arang, there’s a cute guy there that you’ll like.
Me : Hmmmm .. *skeptical* Cuter than Joo Ji-Hoon?
2nd Bro : Ooooh MUCH cuter.
Me : BLASPHEMY!!!! >:( *but is intrigued*

Me : *watches* Damn, the rookie IS so handsome 8D
2nd Bro : See? I told you.
Mum : But he’s in My Girl that I ordered told you to download for me several months back! And you NEVER get around to watching it!
Me : REALLY ?! Geez! Why does EVERYONE who talk to me about My Girl prior keeps going on and ON about Lee Junki ONLY?!

And that’s it. I’m dooooooooomed. No wait, let me try again. I’m DOOOOOOOOMED with capital D. Because indeed, I think Lee Dong Wook is HAWT. Not only that he’s HOT, he can be cool and suave and cute and all THAT at the same time. How can a poor girl’s mind take this?? T___T
 

See? This is him in My Girl. And this is him in A-Rang. And THIS is him in his latest movie this year titled : The Perfect Couple. <-- which I'd watched. In clear DVD rip and English subtitle. FEAR ME :3 ( But this is mainly thanks to Moona and her superb file leeching skills ohohohoho )

See ?? Doomed I tell you! I'm finally being invaded by the Kimchi-land! After fighting it off for YEARS! *woeeesssss*
 

 

On the bright side, from now onwards, people will have a harder time trying to convince me to watch any K-drama. I will be as obstinate as ever and demand that they have to provide me with eye candies better than Joo Ji-Hoon and OMG!HAWT! Lee Dong Wook ♥