Drama Year 2020

This has been a difficult drama year for me. I’ve struggled watching dramas and struggled even more trying to write about them. Which is why the “cold winds of no content” has been blowing through this blog for most of the year. The state of the world has probably had something to do with how things stand but mostly I believe it’s just overall, persistent drama fatigue. Which is why I’m probably going to take some time off from the blog and dramas, as both have sort of started to feel like a chore, something I have to do insted of something I enjoy doing. I may still keep tabs at what my blogging pals are doing and even comment if the mood strikes. 🙂

Thoughts On: Cross Fire

I guess that in a sense Cross Fire / 穿越火线 is like most sports themed shows/movies. It’s an underdog story. In fact it’s an underdog story times two. I’ve watched several and I tend to like them, depending on how engeaging the story is and how likeable the characters are. Cross Fire ticks all the positive boxes for me and there’s very little to grumble about. It made me feel warm and fuzzy. These days the shows that even register enough for some after episode musings are far and wide apart. It’s always a pleasant surprise when I come across one that I actually want to write about. Especially as I can never be sure which ones turn out to be those, ha. There have been some decidedly odd ducks among them. 😀

Who’s your last piece?

Yes, I know, I know. I ‘m MIA for months and then out pops another kpop post. But, but… it’s GOT7! 😀 And their new album is great! Color me surprised when I realised I can buy it here (It is kinda pricey though, but I don’t purchase physical albums very often these days). There are now so many hoops you have to jump through to buy anything from outside of EU.

Drama Grab Bag

Goodness, it has been quite a while since my last post! It’s not like don’t have any dramas to watch but rather I’ve had heck of a time trying to press ‘play’. It’s been a real struggle. Thus there hasn’t been much material to write about. Well, there are other factors too but I’m not going to go into that right now. Anyways, this post has been in the making for a loooong time and I’m SO glad I can finally publish something.^^

Thoughts On: Ancient Detective

I’m still making no headway with the kdramas on my roster. Neither is anything on The List of Doom beaconing enticingly. So when AvenueX’s review on Ancient Detective popped up on my YT suggestions, I took that as a sign to watch the drama, ha. I’d already had my interest piqued after reading some postive comments earlier on and had Drama lined up for a looksee.

Thoughts On: Seirei no Moribito

I wasn’t really in a mood to watch anything on my current rosters so I decided to go back to my List of Doom and picked a drama I’ve been meaning to continue with for ages. I watched the 1st season of Seirei no Moribito when it aired but then never seemed to find the right time to watch the last two seasons. Until now, that is.

First Impressions: I’ll Find You on a Beautiful Day

It’s been a while since a Korean drama made me feel… well, much of anything. I’ve tried so many over the past few years but either dropped them then and there or just lost interest after couple of episodes. Even the ones I did finish didn’t eventally make all that big of an impression. The stories were ok but sort of forgettable.

It is a funny coincidence that I’ve been talking about Japanese dramas and their more relatable and soothing stories recently and then along comes I’ll Find You on a Beautiful Day, which oddly enough seems to have the same sort of overall feel. It wasn’t exactly ‘love at first sight’ but more like “Oh, what’s this familiar feeling? I like it!” Well, based on the first two episodes at least. What Drama reminds me of is one of my all time fave jdramas, Jasashii Jikan (Affectionate Time). Both dramas are set in a rural area during winter and feature broken relationships and people in need of healing. And there is coffee. 😀

This is a mood piece and the pace is rather slow. Some people will find it boring, others mendearing but I believe there are more than just me who liked it straight up. I liked the set up, the characters and the fact that it’s not in Seoul. I also like the OST which is instrumental (so far), except for the closing song 겨울이 꾸는 꿈처럼 (Like a Winter’s Dream) by Kwak Jin Eon. It’s lovely. There is something very calming and warm with a tinge of wishtfulness and a drop of sadness flowing through these episodes. If Drama keeps this up all the way through without going into convoluted histronics or manufactured angst, this could be a winner.

The first two episodes introduce the main twosome and give us some glimpses into their lives and what their past connection is. We also get to meet few of the supporting characters, who seem a lot like what our heroine Hae Won needs right now. I’m also rather intrigued about Hae Won’s aunt and what’s up with her. Yes, I’m definitely looking forward to the next episodes. 🙂

Thoughts On: Joy of Life

Joy of Life is one of those cdramas I was looking forward to ever since it was announced back in 2017, mainly because of Zhang Ruo Yun. I don’t generally pin dramas up because of who the actors are but when it’s someone whose work I’ve enjoyed before, I do tend to pay more attention than usual. In this case I started reading the novel to see what it was all about and based on that, decided to check Drama out when it finally airs. Which I did and ended up loving Joy Of Life a lot. It was the only drama I followed week to week this year. The original web novel is by Mao Ni, who also wrote Ever Night and like that one, JoL is a wordy, looooong ass novel (some 740+ chapters). Hence the story is going to be told in three parts and what just aired was Season 1. When it comes to Chinese productions you never know if the promised additonal seasons are actually going to materialise but the 1st instalment of JoL was big enough success that at least S2 is going to be made, hopefully with the same cast.

End of the Year Musings of 2019

So, here we are again… it’s December. Where did the year go?! 2019 and the decade are winding down to their ends. I’m also wondering if my kdrama ‘obsession’ is winding down to it’s own end.

Thoughts On: Willing to Drift With You

This post has been a loooooong time in the making. Like, since 2017. 😀 It’s just been sitting there in my draft-folder, waiting patiently for me to finally get back to it. Which I’ve laways inteded to do but… stuff happened. Anyway, it’s done now.^^

There doesn’t seem to be any official translation to the original title 愿有人陪你颠沛流离, but Willing to Drift With You is what it mostly seems to be called around the internets, so I’ll go with that. Though, I’m actually pondering if something akin to ‘Willing to accompany you through the ebb and flow of life’ would be more appropreate.