Libera me, Domine, de morte æterna, in die illa tremenda

I've been watching Mischievous Kiss (admittedly slowly - I'm waiting for the Haru2Haru subs, instead of streaming), and I quite like it. That didn't come as a surprise to me in the least. I love Hyun Joong a ton, the girl strongly reminds me of Yoon Eun Hye (which is always a good thing), and I'm also quite fond of the storyline.

I mean, technically it was ISWAK that brought me to Taiwan. ISWAK was my first Taiwanese drama, and after getting past my initial shock at the production quality versus Japanese dramas, I was utterly hooked. A lot of my early views of Taiwan and the Taiwanese people came from what I saw in ISWAK. I have strong attachments to that drama.

Anyway, yesterday, after watching MK episodes 4-9 raw, I decided to rewatch ISWAK. As it turns out, Mischievous Kiss is following the same plotline extremely closely. They've cut out some things, of course (like Xiang Qin's night blindness. I liked that plotpoint, but I suppose unless they plan on adapting the whole manga, it won't make much difference in the end), but on the whole it's pretty damn close.

Which makes me question why people who didn't like the Taiwanese version at all are liking the Korean version so much. They're SO close. Ha Ni is a bit less dumb that Xiang Qin was, Seung Jo is a bit less mean than Zhi Shu, and Joon Gu a bit less stalkery than Ah Jin. Otherwise, the characters are basically the same. The plotline is cut down a bit in the Korean version (admittedly making for less embarrassment for Ha Ni, and less time spent on her character devoting her life entirely to Seung Jo), but otherwise they're the same. There are tone differences, naturally, but is that really the reason people seem to like the Korean one and hate the Taiwanese one? The old standby excuse of not liking Xiang Qin's character doesn't seem to apply to me here, because the characters (to me at least) are pretty identical. I don't get it. But then, I very rarely do.

Does Seung Jo's little brother remind anyone else of Kim Bum? Just me? Okay.

That aside, I random!capped.


I admit, I melted. NEED MORE HAIR NUZZLING, KAY?!


BEST. MOMENT. IN. A. DRAMA. EVER. (As an aside, I loved watching this, because I could understand some. I stopped the show many times to read the Chinese subs too. 對, 對啊 indeed. Taiwanese dramas make a lot more sense sometimes when you can make sense of what they're saying. Translations just don't cut it sometimes.)

I've been meaning to write this entry for awhile, actually. Awhile back I stumbled on a bunch of Chinese celebrity baby/childhood pictures. It was AWESOME. I love baby pictures.

Anyway, they're all Taiwanese (save 2), and all adorable!

( The Girls! (Jolin a geek?! Rainie with a mushroom haircut?!) )

( The Guys! (Including possibly the worst picture of Will Pan EVAR, and Wu Zun looking like a chick) )

And because it wouldn't be fun without it...
( My own baby picture! )

All of the pictures (save mine, of course) are from Cfensi

I watched Antique last night. You were right, darkeyedwolf. It really IS about gay and cake! (I'm not doing a full review, check out the GREAT pimp post on rainscene instead!)

It was... interesting. In a GOOD way. Though honestly, I prefered the second half a ton more than the first half.

Like I've said before, I'm a lot harsher on movies than on dramas. So if this were a drama, I've love it (speaking of, I totally have to watch the jdrama now, because TAKANO IS THE GAY PASTRY CHEF). As it is, I liked it quite a bit, but didn't love it ala Eternal Summer.

The thing is, it was hilarious. I was seriously laughing out loud for a good portion of it. And the later part was poignant and dramatic. Plus, it was gay. VERY gay. Which was quite nice.

BUT I wasn't shipping at all. I'm glad Jin Hyuk didn't end up gay. I liked the friendship between him and Sun Woo a lot better than I would have liked a relationship.

And Choi Ji Ho reminded me a TON of Lee Un for some reason, and that made me sad...

Kim Jae Wook isn't really my type, but holy shit, Jo Ji Hoon totally is. I found him attractive in Goong, but I was more impressed with Kim Jeong Hoon. But he's perfect in this movie. Longer hair + stubble = total hotness.

And yes, I took a TON of gratitous caps.


( JOO JI HOON WILL YOU MARRY ME? )

Also, I forgot to post this picture awhile back. I was watching The Rose, and saw this;
( What did I see? CLICK MEEE )

I'm watching this uber dramatic scene in The Rose, but I'm giggling like mad, because KUI! How can he be SO AWESOME?!
(I keep talking to him through the screen too, like a freaking psycho. I'm like "Joe! Go get her! Get her Joe!! NOW! She's right outside!", or "Oh no! Joe! You're not a bad guy!") Dude! Some guy just offered Kui a shitty ass apartment for NT$18,000 a month!!!! Even I know that's a horribly horrible price. HORRIBLE. Which resulted in me yelling at the screen "Don't do it Kui! He's cheating you!"

And wow. I'm not such a huge fan of Jin, but Ah Wei just did this amazing angsty sliding down the wall thing that was totally hot.



Angsty wall slides...


Gay incestuous makeouts...


Joe Cheng's glorious hair...

What more could you want?!

ALSO! Still not getting email notifications for comments on LJ. It's fucking pissing me off. So, sorry in advance if I don't respond to stuff, because it's likely I haven't seen it.

I should just stay away from the asianfanatics news section. I always end up spending LOADS of time on there... some current news stories that interested me (Taiwanese and Korean);

( Stories about Vanness Wu, Big Bang, Wu Zun, Jiro Wang, Lee Min Ho, hot boy lists, Chinese F4, Kim Bum, Superstar Express, Rainie, and Zai Zai )

Also, the cast of BBF must be cursed when it comes to car accidents. Bummie's gotten in two already, Kim Hyun Joong and Kim Joon each had one on the same day, Lee Min Ho was previously injured (badly) from a car accident, and just today Koo Sun Hye had a car accident! Thankfully in most cases, the injuries were non existent or minor (save for Min Ho's). But it makes me wonder, are car accidents in Korea THAT prevalent? I know Taiwan is notorious for car accidents (that's why a lot of times deaths in dramas are due to car accidents), but I didn't know Korea was as well. And really, shouldn't they be hiring better drivers to escort these major stars?

It's good to see that the Edison Chen scandal didn't totally ruin Cecilia Cheung's life!
Deborah Lai confirmed Cecilia's second baby; Patrick Tse wants twins

*Dies!!* My dream of cross agency co-operation is coming true!! Mike, Joe, AND Qiao En in a commercial! So excited to see it when it comes out on youtube! (Article also totally mentions Mike's birthday! I meant to do a picspam celebration (mostly as a present for me...), but didn't get around to it.)
Mike He and Joe Cheng both appear like strangers

I'm now EVEN MORE excited for Starlit. Previously, the print ad was enough to make me want to see it, but these trailers make it so much better!! Jerry Yan + piano + tragic car accident involving broken hands + Terri Kwan without the ridiculous extensions they made her wear in WtSYA + angst = DRAMA GOLD.
4 New Trailers for Jerry Yan's "Starlit"; "Starlit" OST

I like the title of this story (it totally make Qiao En sound like a prostitute!) Plus, I ♥ Qiao En! She has a western boyfriend! How adorable! I'm still MingEn all the way though...(I know I'm being redundant in my news, but I thought this one was interesting because I never knew that Mike and Joe had issues with their friendship.... ohhh now I see why. (Hehehehe! Brokeback relationship! Even if Joe was in love with Mike, which I very much doubt he is, it'd be adorable! Joe is rather androgynous, and Mike is so pretty. So it works out...)
Chen Qiao En wanders between two men, passionately hugs Joe Zheng to earn money, rushes towards foreigner boyfriend

Um, crazy fans much?! Poor Alan! Apparently he can never get any action from his female costars, or else his fans will rebel and freak out... I know it's Asia, and things are different there, but COME ON?! It's ACTING.
Show Luo french Kisses with Alice Ceng, Wife fans accuse him of having an affair.

Stupid Taiwanese press, trying to make Ella look bad! I'm sure S.H.E can easily win awards with or without the presence of Twins.
S.H.E rely on Twins' absence to win awards? Ella gets angry

Qiao En and Ming Dao are doing a new drama!? MEEEEHHH! How did I not know about this?! Maybe it's just a rumor though, since I can't find any evidence... (Also, MingEn loves!!)
Chen Qiao En has Ming Dao; almost forgets about boyfriend

Awww the cuteness! I know Wu Zun is Ella's rumored boyfriend, but I had no idea Jay Chou and Alan Luo were rumored to be Selina and Hebe's boyfriends...
S.H.E holds Christmas party; fans imitate their rumoured boyfriends

Awesome Joe Cheng quote;
"Cosmo: So to you, what you like to do most for the environmental issues?
Joe: People around the world will wear nothing and will only eat vegetables! (Laughed)"
Joe Cheng’s sincere Q&A session

Oh wu Zun! You kill me your your adorableness! Wearing skirts, and joking around with Alan Luo (... about wearing skirts)! Adorable! It's kinda too bad that Taiwan doesn't have the crazy obsession with cross dressing that Japan does....
Wu Zun wears short skirt; invites Show Luo to compare femininity

I adore Ariel and Joe so much (I'm definitely an Arjoe fan), and they're so cute in this article. They also randomly talk about the US. And how Joe wants Christmas wishes from the leader of Mars....
Ariel Lin and Joe Cheng's Merry Christmas

Yay Extravagant Challenge!! And they're just WANTING us to suffer now, with the teasing that the second male lead is ALMOST confirmed! I'm dying to see who will play Shou!
Jerry Yan's new drama 'Extravagant Challenge' ; Director Niu says filming will begin soon

ANNNNNDDD Done!

At this point in my watchage of The Rose, I'm starting to get kinda depressed. I'm utterly in love with Kui, and he's going through this whole journey of self discovery, and stuff, and it just does not end up well for him. As much as I like Jin, I just don't like him as much as Kui, who is an awesomely dynamic character. Jin is kinda emotionless and wooden... (Kinda like the difference between Sano and Quan (Hana Kimi vs Hua Yang Shao Nian Shao Nu)).

I thought Xiao Zong was intensely attractive in ISWAK, but then I had my Mike He phase, and was like "meh" towards Joe... now I'm back to thinking he's extremely hot... but honestly, I think a large part of it is his hair. I have this thing with long hair on guys... Jerry is extremely atractive too. His face is beautiful. Oh! Funniness -> in The Rose, they kinda insinuate that the reason that the family is so attractive is because they're all part white... I mean, really? Personally, as a white person, I tend to envy Asians... I love their skin color, and their hair. I guess we all want what we don't have.

I kinda hate it when I end up shipping non canon pairings, because I get all heartbroken... *cough*Bull Fighting*cough*...

I'm alternating between Gokusen, The Rose, and Gokusen fanfic (more than anything, I'm addicted to fanfic. It's my crack). But I've also recently wanted to rewatch Coffee Prince. I never did post my epic Coffee Prince post... I should do that at some point... and finish the ep summaries for Love Contract...

EDITS! - I forgot to mention... today I bought this wallet/purse thing (in green). And I wish I could say I spent only £40 for it... but I didn't. It was kinda a birthday present for myself. But jeez, is it pretty! AND it's big enough to hold all my stuff. I have wallet overload. My last one broke today.... the clasp snapped off because it was too full! So yay for big wallets!

MEEEEHHHHHHH! LAST MINUTE!



*dies* I love Kui so much!

You know how I said once (or several times, actually) that Vanness had like the best hair ever in Meteor Garden (seriously, it was beautiful!)? Well, I rescind my opinion. As of right now, I declare that Xiao Zong in The Rose has the best hair EVER. Like, I want his hair soooo badly! It's so pretty and long and wavy!

Speaking of, as much as I love Ah Wei, I know I'm going to fall for Joe's character. I've watched the fanvids, I know I'm going to love him. I already adore the drama so much! But honestly, they keep calling Ella fat and ugly! Maybe they should have thought about the character before they cast such an adorably pretty actress! I mean, they cut her hair so she looks kinda weird and like, stuck in the 60's, but other than that she's adorable! I don't get how ANYONE could call her fat or ugly.

Le Sigh, am exhausted.

Oh! Speaking of Xiao Zong... I just about died watching this video, where Joe prank calls Mike He! So cute!! I love how they're good friends in real life! And hey, even Ethan was there! (Obviously from the Summer X Summer promo tour)

OMG *DIES*!!!

There is going to be a taiwanese drama based on Skip Beat!!!!!! *dies again*!!

Not only that, but Ariel Lin (who is one of my favorite taiwanese actresses EVER) is going to play Kyoko, and Jerry Yan (JERRY YAN!!!) is going to play Ren!!

I'm sooooo happy about the casting, particularly of Ariel. I think she is absolutely PERFECT for the role. As seen in ISWAK, she can totally play the dramatic mixed with the hilarious. Jerry Yan is a BIG surprise, actually. He doesn't do dramas that often, so I'm all excited he's going to be in this one!

I wonder who is going to play Sho... The drama was only announced on the 17th, so I'm guessing they haven't fully cast it yet. Still! I was reading how someone thought that Megan Lai should play Kanae. I actually think that would work really well! Mike would be awesome (AWESOME) in the Sho role, but he and Ariel don't work together, so it's a pipe dream. OR! Zai Zai!! That would be freaking awesome!! AWESOME. But it won't happen.

So originally I guess Joe Cheng was going to be in the drama... but I guess he quit. I'm actually kinda glad. He and Ariel do a lot of things together (they're cute together, but I like to see to see some variety).

Yeah, I'm flipping out a little bit. It's just very serendipitous, really. I started reading the manga a week or so ago, and started watching the anime a few days ago.

So exciting!!

And randomly, I wonder when Boys Before Flowers (korean Hana Yori Dango) is going to air. It's supposed to start sometime in December... well, guess what... December is tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to it. I'm probably going to watch it as it airs (or rather, as it's subbed... I can't understand a whit of korean), because it's exciting!

I'm also downloading the live action movie of Love Com. Noone is seeding though, which sucks balls. It's only at like, 12.7%