Just Finished Watching :: Protect the Boss

So I just finished watching the KDrama Protect the Boss.  It was a cute little drama but definitely not a game changer...

Basically this drama is about No Eun Sol, who slacked off during high school and can't find a job as an adult because she has no desirable skills, and Cha Ji Heon the wealthy son of a successful corporation who can't manage to get his life together.  As luck would have it No Eun Sol winds up becoming Cha Ji Heon's secretary and so the rom/com plot is established...

This drama only recently finished airing and is currently pretty popular on Viki which is the main reason I picked it.  While it does has a cute storyline, the overall plot in my opinion gets rather weak about 7 episodes in and so you soon forget why you're watching it.  Don't get me wrong each episode has some enjoyment and helps advance the storyline but at the end of each episode you're not left with the immediate urge to watch the next episode.

This drama does have several good things about it though!

1. Kim [Hero] JaeJoong :: one of the member of the group JYJ, Hero plays Cha Ji Heon's rival in the workplace and for No Eun Sol's heart.  Even if you weren't a fan of JYJ before, Hero definitely makes you want to check out their music.  He plays his character well, and is definitely likeable - not to mention easy on the eyes!  Knowing he's in every episode does help you keep watching.

2. Wang Ji Hye :: I love this girl. She is so pretty to me, and plays her characters sooo well.  If anyone has seen Personal Taste, I don't think there is anyway you can come out of that drama not seriously hating her. Luckily, the character she plays in Protect the Boss isn't as cut throat and you actually begin to not only like her, but also totally see her as a friend!

3. President Cha & Myung-Ran  :: These characters totally saved the drama for me.  President Cha is such a lovable dad figure whose love for his problematic son is funny yet sincere.  Myung-Ran is the perfect BFF who has No Eun Sol's back all the time.  Both these characters add humor and make the drama feel more real.

Overall I think if you like KDrama you should give this one a shot. I don't think you'll lose any sleep over it, but it was nice love story that doesn't get too messy.

Anime...

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Today is the day the IPhone4s is out! So naturally I am glued to my residence waiting for the mailman to come and deliver that blessed little package. Meanwhile I decided to watch some anime... I'll admit though, I am not the type of person to just see and anime and simple watch. No, that would be too easy.  My personality is one that I have to read a summary, a few reviews, and then compare it past animes I have seen.  Rather than go through that process I decided to just rewatch Nana...

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Its been awhile since I've watched this anime, it wasn't very long into watching it when I once again, fell in love!  Everything about this anime is just so -- cool.  Its got likable characters, awesome design, killer fashion, great music, and a mature storyline.  Honestly, I think if more girls/young women in the states knew anime like this existed a whole new market would open up.  Don't get me wrong, I know a lot of people appreciate anime & manga here in the US but I think if animes such as Nana, Paradise Kiss, Peach Girl, Gunslinger Girl, Suzuka, etc were marketed more here it would attract such a huge fanbase.

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With reality tv dominating almost every channel in the US, tv dramas or even comedies are becoming more and more of a rarity.  I think now more than ever is the US market ready for the invasion of foreign media via anime & even J-dramas/K-Dramas.  I'm so over watching other people do mundane or in some cases idiotic things and calling it entertainment.  We all live in the real world, and sometimes its nice watching something that takes you away from that.

I know this doesn't really begin to do justice to this topic but those were the thoughts flowing through my head this morning so I thought I would share...

ドラマ Dorama!

Naughty Kiss a new JDrama which premiered 9/1

So lately I have been wanting to watch some Japanese television dramas' but haven't really a clue where to start, so I did a little research to see what I was in for.

So here is the low down...

• Dorama = Drama
• Japan has four television seasons in which new shows will premiere in: Winter (January–March), Spring (April–June), Summer (July–September), and Autumn or Fall (October–December)
• Evening dramas, typically are like 12 episodes long with a normal season finale type episode (similar to here in the States)
• Dramas are often filmed only a few weeks before they actually air... which I always wonder why they don't do that here...
• The starting time is not always on the hour or half hour.  Because ratings are so important in Japan they normally start a few minutes before or after the hour.  The thinking on this is that once one show ends the viewer will prob be more likely to watch the next show on since they already missed a few minutes of other shows on a different channel... so clever!!!

So now that we got the basics... where do people watch these? 

• CrunchRoll -- downside you gotta pay
• Your local Japanese video store -- funny right? I'm sure these exist though, sadly not really helpful for me
• Mysoju -- this site looks reputable but I really have no clue.. thought I would give it a try
• and I'm sure Youtube if you are willing watch it in annoying under 15 min sections..

Yay! So we are set up to watch some Japanese Doramas! Now we just gotta find some good ones... looking online I think I might try watching My Boss, My Hero [マイボスマイヒロ] or Hana Yori Dango [花より男子])

What do you think? Good starters? Any recommendations??