Miss Ripley was not in the least what I expected. I think I have gone soft from watching too many cute rom-com dramas because this drama struck me as very hard-hitting and serious. It's intriguing and suspenseful but it's neither a melodrama or a thriller. It's hard to classify going by the first episode alone.

Summary
The drama starts with Jang Mi Ri, a young woman who works as a bar hostess in Fukuoka, Japan. She is a Korean immigrant who was adopted by a Japanese family. However, her adoptive father's gambling habits (ohh drama parents~~) put her in a position in which she has to work off all his debts by working in a bar. It is a job that she detests and endures solely because she was promised a visa to return to Korea the day she successfully pays everything back. Her mother, who lives in Korea, is still alive and Jang Mi Ri wants to find her. 

Such a day eventually comes, and as she is promised she is given her visa. Her boss is still reluctant to let her go so she practically has to run away from him. With the help of a distraction, she is able to board her train and plane; a few hours later she lands in Korea. The difficulties don't end here however, with only a high school diploma and no contacts, she must find a full-time job that gives her a work permit in order to be able to stay in Korea.


 Meanwhile, Hotel A's director, Jang Myung Hoon, is under pressure as a Japanese VIP guest is set to arrive soon and his only employee that could speak his native Hakata dialect has just quit. His hotel rival, Mondo Resort, already has an employee that can accommodate the Japanese guest so, the fear of losing business has him desperately searching for a replacement. We switch back to Mi Ri who is currently lodging at a boarding house. There, she bumps into our second male lead, Song Yoo Hyun, a sweet caring guy who despite his 'normal' exterior is also the heir to Mondo Resort.


He immediately is drawn to her at first sight but she is too cranky/tired to care or notice. After resting for the night, she begins her mission to find a job. We see her struggle and be rejected again and again because she lacks in education and experience. One interviewer even tries to take advantage of her situation by demanding a sex favor of her.  At the end of it all, she feels exasperated and tired as it all seems impossible. She's not the only one having trouble; inside Hotel A, Myung Hoon is having a hard time finding someone with the specific Hakata accent. On top of that, he catches his attention-derived wife cheating on him and she is the one to demand a divorce. On his drive home, he nearly runs over Mi Ri who, having just escaped from the sexual assaulter, mutters angrily in Japanese. Myung Hoon immediately picks up on her Hakata dialect. He offers her a job, to which is reluctant to accept, but eventually agrees. As a condition, she asks if she is could be granted a work permit. He answers that that would be really difficult and it's not something he can do which urges her to fib that she graduated from Tokyo University. That changes everything for Myung Hoon and he immediately hires her on the spot.

Comment
Miss Ripley for some reason reminds me of the movie Sleeping with the Enemy. I don't know, maybe it's just because I am watching too many dramas with a main lead with a neat-freak-on-verge-of-OCD personality (Sunny Happiness and Lie to Me, in case you were wondering). Maybe it's the similar theme of starting a new and better life for yourself under difficult circumstances. Anyway, the plot is nice and the characters (Yoochun's character fits him like a glove-I love it!) are well-acted but I'm still not crazy about it. This is also one of these drama where every single detail is important so you need to watch it with full attention. I'm feeling much too lazy these days to do that. Also, there is an implied sad ending happening here. And you know how I feel about those (ie. scared of them). All in all: It's nice but somehow, I cannot get into it. I already watched to second episode and to be honest, I don't think I'm going to watch the rest of this drama. 

Why YOU should start/continue to watch

First Episode Ratings
How much I liked it: 4/10
How good it was: 7/10

Watch it here

I finally came around to watching the first episode of BFB and it was so good. Some things annoyed me though,  like the name of the fashion company is "THE style". Why, oh why must they do this to English speakers? -.- Also, the overall budget of the drama seems rather low in my opinion. The characters, on the other hand, are pure all-around win. Daniel Choi is incredibly hilarious and Jang Na Ra is awesome albeit a little on the boring side. There's this one scene where Daniel Choi's character accidentally walks a fashion show runway... comedy GOLD. Anyway, I shall leave some of my rant and raves for the First Episode Summary, which I'm working on. In the meantime, I'll leave you guys with Male Model Daniel.

 

 

 

TOP 5 UPCOMING DRAMAS I'M EXCITED ABOUT

 1) Romance Town



Premise
Sung Yuri plays a lively maid with the drama heroine mentality: work hard and earn cash. Little does she know that working for her new boss, a handsome chaebol-type man, would be the beginning of her very own Cinderella story. 



Comment
I know, I know.  A romantic-comedy drama cannot get any more typical then this. But what can I say? I am a sucker for these kind of stories as long as they're not too cheesy. But let's face it, cheesiness is almost a guarantee with a title like Romancu Towoon (yes, my friend, that is the drama title in Korean). Also I definitely see some similarities between this drama and Oh! My Lady (also about a maid working for a hot boss and his child). Hopefully, this drama will be nothing like it. Oh! My Lady was just a really disappointing drama for me. 

Airs 
May 11, 2011


D'aaww. Isn't he cute? ^^ Watch it for the baby, guys.

2) Lie To Me



Premise
This drama is about a woman working as a civil servant who somehow involves a hotel CEO in a mariage scam. I imagine that they then have to pretend to live a married life. The details of how and why this happens have yet to be revealed.



Comment
Yay Yoon Eun Hye! I loved her in Coffee Prince and Goong because she always adds a certain charm to her characters. However, I wasn't a fan of Coffee House (lol they both played in coffee-related dramas) and I even stopped watching it after the first episode. I just didn't like any of the characters and couldn't relate to them. I heard Kang Ji Hwan is an amazing actor though, so I'm willing to give him another shot. The plot looks positively delicious. Also, Yoon Eun Hye's character sounds kinda crazy which will undoubtedly clash with the cool reserved male character. I love character clashes, they're my favourite form of comedy. All in all, I really really want to like this drama, so please show, don't disappoint.

 

 

 TOP 5 UPCOMING DRAMAS I'M EXCITED ABOUT

 

 TOP 5 UPCOMING DRAMAS I'M EXCITED ABOUT

 

 

 This was originally based on the hit 1980s Japanese anime about a player/perverted private investigator but the storyline was completely changed. Which is too bad because I would have loved to see a perverted/player-esque Lee Min Ho. Oh well. Currently, the drama revolves around the life of two Blue House (Korean White House) personnel. Lee Min Ho is an MIT graduate who works in  Blue House's National Communication Network Team and Park Min Young is a Blue House security guard responsible for the safety of the first daughter (Kara's Goo Hara).

Comment
Lee

 

So I've been on what I like to call a drama diet lately. I haven't watched any new dramas since Love Buffet and which was at the beginning of April and I didn't even finish that. It's not intentional it's just I can't find anything I want to watch these days! I considered 49 days but it doesn't really sound like it'll have a happy ending and I'm a wuss when it comes to sad endings. Thankfully summer is bringing in a fresh batch of Happy-Ending (I hope) K-dramas and I'm so PUMPED. I figured I'd share the excitement and countdown the top 5 upcoming dramas I'm looking forward to. ^^

TOP 5 UPCOMING DRAMAS I'M EXCITED ABOUT

5) Baby Faced Beauty



Premise
This drama is about a 30-something baby-faced woman who aspires to be a fashion designer. Her story begins when she gets hired to work in a fashion design company. She is excited for her new job but she soon realizes that she has to compete with people much younger than her to get ahead of the game and win her boss's affections.



Comment
Okay, I LOVE the main actress, Jang Na Ra. She also played in Bright Girl Success Story and My Love Patzzi, both of which were in the prehistoric era 2002. I'm really glad she's making a comeback. So that's the main reason I'm excited. Also, my Ugly Betty senses are tickling. I enjoy underdog turned success stories but underdog turned success stories in fashion? Even better. Finally, this drama just screams funny antics waiting to happen. I cannot wait.

Airs
3 days ago. lol I haven't watched it yet, though. ^^

Hehe. This is random but I recently rewatched Autumn's Concerto (my top 5 spring break recommendation post made me want to watch it lol) and I just want to review it while I still remember most of it's story line. I was supposed to do My Princess but I already forgot half the plot so I will need a refresher before I get to that. Like last time, my [in a nutshell] section will be available for all you lazys out there. ^^



Hopeless romantics: this one's for you. Add a hero in shinning armour, a righteous girl, a disapporving mother and juicy romance. What do you get? Mhmmm. A delicious drama.

Episodes: 21
Stars: Van Ness Wu, Ady An, Xia Xia Bin
For fans of: Easy Fortune Happy Life(TW) , Mars(TW)
Watch it here  
IMPORTANT TIP: Do not and I repeat, DO NOT watch the mini commercial breaks in between the drama. There are major spoilers in there. ^^



Story/Plot (Note: Spoilers up to episode 4)
This drama's storyline looks quite simple at first: Girl meets Boy. Boy falls for girl. Problems arise. But Autumn's Concerto is a drama that just loves to complicate things. Hence the surprising twists and dark side-story lines. One thing that I loved though was that this drama was so (I don't really know how to say this but I guess I'll go with:) adult-oriented. That's right. The problems were actual PROBLEMS (in all caps because that's how incredibly problematic they were). So if you're in it for the cheese, might as well leave now.



So here's our main girl, Liang Mu Cheng. The drama begins with a (rather unnecessary, in my opinion) flashback to her past. Her mom died when she was young, followed by her father's death a couple years afterwards. Her father leaves her and her step-mother penniless but fortunately, some guy takes them in. Fast forward a decade or so. Mu Cheng is a young adult that works as a bento girl in a University which her best guy friend, Hua Tuo Ye, attends. This is also where Ren Guen Xi, a self-proclaimed player and the son of the President of the University studies. She had first met him when his convertible had crashed into the bus she was riding. It was a nasty first encounter that ended in her telling him off and richboy Guen Xi having to serve community hours. At school, Ren Guen Xi's friend bets him to ask Mu Cheng on a date and get her to kiss him. Mu Cheng is the unattainable pretty girl on campus who is known to reject all her admirers. Getting that kiss will only add glory to Guen Xi's player status so, he accepts. At first, Mu Cheng rejects him but Mister Player finds a way around that obstacle. He practically blackmails her into coming using a textbook that Tuo Ye needs for his classes.



Ren Guen Xi's player charms work on poor unsuspecting Mu Cheng and he successfully captures their kiss on his camera. Alas, Mu Cheng soon finds out about the bet and catches him off guard by lying that someone also bet her to kiss him. Both parties part with a hurt ego. They meet again when Mu Cheng accidentally discovers Ren Guen Xi's hideout spot. They bond over a song that Mu Cheng knows to play on the piano. Soon enough, they become close friends and Guen Xi even lies to his friend that he lost the bet. One day, he discovers one of Mu Cheng's deepest secret which is that her stepmom's boyfriend, who works as a chef in the University cafeteria, sexually abuses her. He convinces her that she should speak up about it and even goes as far as proposing to pursue him in the University's court.



She reluctantly agrees. Guen Xi acts as her lawyer for that case. After much studying and practising, they win the case; the stepmom's boyfriend is fired from his job. All seems well until, suddenly, Guen Xi discovers that he has a brain tumour. A whole skew of problems arise as he hesitates to involve Mu Cheng in a deeper relationship than they have and as he discovers that the one man that can give him a chance to live is willing to help him only if Guen Xi dates his daughter.

The acting
The acting in this drama was incredible. The majority of actors were really strong; whether that be the main leads or the secondary/tertiary characters. Even the child actor, the precious Xia Xia Bin, was just amazing. This drama is one of the few that shows a consistent solid performance from its cast. 



Visual/Music
The people were pretty. The locations were pretty. Still, since that palette used was kinda lame, the show wasn't as visually appealing as say Boys over Flowers or Playful Kiss.The directing was very basic. No fancy shots or anything. The music was slow for the most part. So, nothing you can dance to but it goes with the story well enough. 

Additional Commentary
Okay, first of all this is my favourite Taiwanese drama OF ALL TIMES. Second of all, this drama was so... dramatic. It was like a watered down and cut down version of a soap opera (without the poor acting). And surprisingly, I loved it. It dealt with real (although rare) issues. This drama was more dark than light but it still had a really hopeful message at the end. The situations were believable even if they were unlikely to happen in your lifetime. And Ren Guen Xi? He is like my number one drama lead crush ever. Just UNF. I love him. As for Mu Cheng, get ready for FRUSTRATION that will make you want to scream at the top of your lungs. She is a respectable lead female character (no aegyo, honest person, strong etc) but she is stubborn as hell. If it wasn't for her, the drama would have been cut down by 5 episodes at least. 



[In a nutshell]

Things I like
Vaness Wu as Ren Guen Xi
respectable female lead Mu Cheng 
believable situations
good acting
cute kid Xia Xia Bin
beautiful lead couple

side story lines that I didn't care about

 

how much I liked it: 9/10

how good it was: 8.5/10

Do I reccomend it?
Yes, yes, a million times YES!

 

Petty Romance is a Korean romantic comedy about an inexperienced sex columnist (Cho Kang Hee) and an adult comic writer (Lee Seon Gyoon). Lee Seon Gyoon was also the hot music director cousin in Coffee Prince. You know, the one with the deep sexy voice. I really loved his character. The movie looks positively delicious and I am getting major Sex and the City vibes from this. I cannot wait to see it! Has anyone else seen it? If yes, what did you think?

Trailer here (No English subs but cool nonetheless):