It Started With A Kiss (TDrama)

It Started With A Kiss (TDrama)

Summary from Wikipedia:

Yuan Xiang Qin (Ariel Lin) is a bumbling, naïve, but optimistic high school girl. Ever since she met Jiang Zhi Shu (Joe Cheng) at the freshman orientation, she's been in love with the genius with an IQ of 200. After two years of having a crush on him, she finally musters the courage to confess her love to him at school with a love letter. Zhi Shu is not impressed, and Xiang Qin is left humiliated publicly in front of their entire school.

That afternoon, the new house she has just moved into with her father collapses in a minor earthquake. She and her father are instantly left homeless because they lacked the foresight to pay for earthquake insurance. Fortunately, her father's old college friend extends a helping hand and invites both of them to live at his house. Little does Xiang Qin know that the kind Uncle Li is actually the father of Jiang Zhi Shu.

Because of this unexpected turn of events, Zhi Shu and Xiang Qin begin living their lives under the same roof. Zhi Shu's mother aspires to bring them together, coaxing Zhi Shu into tutoring Xiang Qin and taking numerous pictures of the couple together. Zhi Shu remains cold towards Xiang Qin, however, thinking her to be one of the dumbest people he has ever met, and refuses to speak to her at school. Through the course of the series, Zhi Shu slowly warms up to Xiang Qin, who tries her hardest to do better in school for him, as they deal with romantic rivals, their futures, and their relationship.

***Second Best Asian Drama for me!!! Even though this is the first of the series, the sequel is better for me but I'm loving this one for it shows how their love started. It makes you understand and appreciate more They Kiss Again, the second installment. This will be the deciding factor, either you'll love the series (ISWAK & TKA) or hate it.

Pros:

- The family dynamics in this installment was the deciding factor for me. I loved it!
- Great direction
- Excellent acting by Ariel Lin endearing Xiang Qin to us (a somewhat impossible feat, in my opinion but she succeeded)
- Awesome OST!!!

Cons:

- Very long series (30 episodes total)
- Somewhat mediocre acting by some of the cast
- Some scenes made me think ERM... RELEVANCE PLS.??? (3 scenes @ the most)

Click HERE for the OST.

They Kiss Again (TDrama)

They Kiss Again (TDrama)

Summary from Wikipedia:


It Started With a Kiss ended with odd couple Zhi Shu (Joe Cheng) and Xiang Qin (Ariel Lin) getting married in characteristically comical fashion, and the sequel picks up the story right away with their honeymoon and married life. Xiang Qin is as ham-fisted as ever, creating many funny situations as she learns the ropes of being a wife and tries hard to become a good nurse and work alongside her genius husband. Aspiring doctor Zhi Shu meets some obstacles at school when he encounters both academic and romantic rivals who are determined to overrule him. The pressure of balancing marriage, work, and school often leads to mistakes and misunderstandings, and Zhi Shu and Xiang Qin soon learn that marrying young isn't all it's cracked up to be.

As Zhi Shu and Xiang Qin struggle with their professional ambitions, they also struggle with their personal relationship. Many times, Zhi Shu's coldness and harshness drives Xiang Qin to tears and she tries to run away. Zhi Shu himself tries to push Xiang Qin to higher ambition and making a life for herself. Zhi Shu soon learns to love Xiang Qin and forgive her bumbling ways, and Xiang Qin tries harder to become a better wife and nurse to her husband.

Zhi Shu and Xiang Qin are not the only ones having problems with their relationship. Xiang Qin's childhood friend Ah Jin (Jiro Wang) deals with the affections of Christine, an English exchange student who latches onto him against his will. Xiang Qin's friend, Chun Mei （Petty Yang), gets pregnant by her boyfriend, Ah Bu (Aaron Yan), but his wealthy, highbrow mother is desperate to keep them apart. Zhi Shu's younger brother Yu Shu (Zhang Bo Han) deals with his own first love and their story remarkably resembles that of Zhi Shu and Xiang Qin.

***For me, They Kiss Again is the best Asian Drama of all-time!!! Other dramas I have watched pale in comparison. This is the sequel to It Started With A Kiss which is my second favorite drama. I don't know if I should do a review of ISWAK first since it all started with ISWAK (get it?! it all started with It Started With A Kiss... hmmm... never mind) but TKA is IT for me.

Pros:

- The chemistry of Joe Cheng and Ariel Lin onscreen is unbeatable.
- Two thumbs-up for Joe Cheng and Ariel Lin's acting (she won Best Actress @ The Golden Bell Awards for her role as Xiang Qin).
- The family dynamics is to die for. Kudos to the supporting actors & actresses. Jiang Mama, you're the best!
- *Bows* to the director... no need for words.

Con [only one]:

- Honestly, when I first started watching ISWAK (the prequel), I couldn't stomach Xiang Qin's stupid, idiotic ways or whatever you call it so I stopped watching it but I tried again because the reviews were so good. Boy, am I glad! And that is her character. Only Ariel Lin can endear Xiang Qin to us. I can't imagine another actress pulling it off.

Click HERE for the OST.

Asian Dramas

I have always been watching movies and dramas (or series as i've always called them) since I was a kid. Hollywood movies and series have always filled my time. I was so into murder mysteries and true crime stories but these days, or should I say, months, I have been addicted to asian dramas. Korean, Taiwanese and Japanese ones, to be exact.

The one who influenced me is my best friend. She told me to watch one particular Korean movie and by the end of it, I was hooked. I find asian dramas more interesting. They let their audience become part of the drama that's why when a particular drama I've been watching comes to an end, I'd feel sad because it feels like an important part of my everyday life comes to an end too. They just know how to tickle my funny bone or to let my tears flow. And because of this addiction to asian dramas, I have not watched one Hollywood movie or series for the past 7 months with one exception, of course, The Twilight Saga: New Moon.

When I first started getting interested in asian dramas, I watched online but i wanted to have a dvd collection of my favorite ones so that I can watch them again and again so i started buying dvds w/ english subtitles. Now, i prefer watching these dramas on dvds, even the ones I haven't watched yet.

And since I have watched a considerable amount of asian dramas already and I still remember my predicament when I was searching for other dramas to watch, I found it hard to choose one because there were not a lot of reviews or recommendations to be found about asian dramas (that i know of). So for my fellow asian-drama addicts, particularly the ones who have just found out about their addiction, I wanted to share my views on some asian dramas I have watched and loved.

I'll be posting my views on one asian drama per blog in the coming days...