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omonatheydidOP Note 1: This was written by Gummimochi
OP Note 2: Posting full articles from Dramabeans is not allowed :C I only posted the drama reviewed and what they "taste like". You can read the full thing at the SOURCE.
Looking at the buffet table of 2012, I’m left in awe at the vast array of possible selections before me. The sheer number of choices is growing every year and I feel like I have to taste-test the premiere and make a quick decision of whether to keep digging in or move on. Sometimes you don’t just know for sure until you’re left with the aftertaste.
And because some dramas that fall within the same genre can have unique flavors, I’m using a Taste O’Meter to assess this year’s dramas. Was it sweet, sour, bitter, salty, or savory? Maybe more than one?
Like any “Thanks to…” in a good Kpop album: My unending thanks to javabeans and girlfriday for the opportunity to let me write about what I love; to HeadsNo2 for the squee-fests and love of makgulli; to kaedejun for the laughs, hugs, and love of Oppa; and last but not least, to YOU GUYS for being awesome readers. I put in a good word for y’all with Santa but he may have used my note as a coaster instead. Or a tissue.
The series below include the ones seen in its entirety, listed chronologically(ish):
OP Note 2: Posting full articles from Dramabeans is not allowed :C I only posted the drama reviewed and what they "taste like". You can read the full thing at the SOURCE.
Looking at the buffet table of 2012, I’m left in awe at the vast array of possible selections before me. The sheer number of choices is growing every year and I feel like I have to taste-test the premiere and make a quick decision of whether to keep digging in or move on. Sometimes you don’t just know for sure until you’re left with the aftertaste.
And because some dramas that fall within the same genre can have unique flavors, I’m using a Taste O’Meter to assess this year’s dramas. Was it sweet, sour, bitter, salty, or savory? Maybe more than one?
Like any “Thanks to…” in a good Kpop album: My unending thanks to javabeans and girlfriday for the opportunity to let me write about what I love; to HeadsNo2 for the squee-fests and love of makgulli; to kaedejun for the laughs, hugs, and love of Oppa; and last but not least, to YOU GUYS for being awesome readers. I put in a good word for y’all with Santa but he may have used my note as a coaster instead. Or a tissue.
The series below include the ones seen in its entirety, listed chronologically(ish):
Shut Up: Flower Boy Band
Tastes like…: Pop Rocks. A treat for the eyes and a sweet explosion in your mouth.
Operation Proposal
Tastes like…: The moment you realize you sent the same dish back to the kitchen 16 times.
The King 2 Hearts
Tastes…: Royally elegant, but watch out for the rotten cookies.
Marriage Plot
Tastes like…: Unripened kimchi. A bit bland but makes you think of what ingredients to add to the batch.
Queen In-hyun’s Man
Tastes like…: Dippin’ Dots. Unique, futuristic, fantastic, and just plain fun.
Gaksital
Tastes like…: A black and white cookie you have no idea which side to bite into first.
I Do, I Do
Tastes like…: A slow-roasted bun in the oven.
Big
Tastes like…: Melted chocolate you forgot in your glove compartment on a hot summer’s day.
Answer Me, 1997
Tastes like…: A peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Smooth, a little nutty, and a yummy throwback to childhood.
To the Beautiful You
Tastes like…: A delicious-looking s’more but a cardboard imitation at best.
Tastes like…: Pop Rocks. A treat for the eyes and a sweet explosion in your mouth.
Operation Proposal
Tastes like…: The moment you realize you sent the same dish back to the kitchen 16 times.
The King 2 Hearts
Tastes…: Royally elegant, but watch out for the rotten cookies.
Marriage Plot
Tastes like…: Unripened kimchi. A bit bland but makes you think of what ingredients to add to the batch.
Queen In-hyun’s Man
Tastes like…: Dippin’ Dots. Unique, futuristic, fantastic, and just plain fun.
Gaksital
Tastes like…: A black and white cookie you have no idea which side to bite into first.
I Do, I Do
Tastes like…: A slow-roasted bun in the oven.
Big
Tastes like…: Melted chocolate you forgot in your glove compartment on a hot summer’s day.
Answer Me, 1997
Tastes like…: A peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Smooth, a little nutty, and a yummy throwback to childhood.
To the Beautiful You
Tastes like…: A delicious-looking s’more but a cardboard imitation at best.
Arang and the Magistrate
Bellowing Arraaanngg!! doesn’t quite carry that same gravitas as say, Gaksital, but the earnestness of this fantasy fusion-sageuk reminded me of folklore I heard as a child. Establishing a world can be a tall task in dramaland, but Arang took that a step further and built a universe that was both mystifying and mystical.
With ghosts, reapers, fairies, and goats running around, the possibilities of mythological creatures were endless and you wondered what can’t exist rather than what can. I mean, what’s more fun than a playboy Jade Emperor and a crankypants Hades bicker about the rules of the universe?
Where this show excelled was at slowly unraveling the mystery that surrounded this enriched fantasy realm, teasing the strands bit by bit; sometimes subverting our initial hypotheses, sometimes rewarding us for using our noggin’. But even if we chose not to make guesses, the writers handled the story with delicate hands so that we never felt like we fell behind at any point.
The undercurrent of character emotions was an added plus I didn’t expect. They tugged at your heartstrings at just the right moments and reminded you that not everything is what it seems. If only the show wasn’t so dark (as in, I can’t see you Lee Jun-ki) but that minor complaint doesn’t detract much from the whimsical that made this show a pure delight to watch from start to finish.
Tastes like…: Ghouly and eerie, kind of reminds you of liver. Wait, that’s not right.
With ghosts, reapers, fairies, and goats running around, the possibilities of mythological creatures were endless and you wondered what can’t exist rather than what can. I mean, what’s more fun than a playboy Jade Emperor and a crankypants Hades bicker about the rules of the universe?
Where this show excelled was at slowly unraveling the mystery that surrounded this enriched fantasy realm, teasing the strands bit by bit; sometimes subverting our initial hypotheses, sometimes rewarding us for using our noggin’. But even if we chose not to make guesses, the writers handled the story with delicate hands so that we never felt like we fell behind at any point.
The undercurrent of character emotions was an added plus I didn’t expect. They tugged at your heartstrings at just the right moments and reminded you that not everything is what it seems. If only the show wasn’t so dark (as in, I can’t see you Lee Jun-ki) but that minor complaint doesn’t detract much from the whimsical that made this show a pure delight to watch from start to finish.
Tastes like…: Ghouly and eerie, kind of reminds you of liver. Wait, that’s not right.
Vampire Prosecutor 2
Tastes like…: A rich red velvet cupcake soaked in blood with guyliner icing.
Nice Guy
Tastes like…: Wait, what did I just eat? I forgot.
Full House Take 2
Tastes like…: An allergen-free fluffy marshmallow.
Tastes like…: A rich red velvet cupcake soaked in blood with guyliner icing.
Nice Guy
Tastes like…: Wait, what did I just eat? I forgot.
Full House Take 2
Tastes like…: An allergen-free fluffy marshmallow.
Time to put the Taste O’Meter back on the shelf until next year! Let’s hope the Mayans were wrong because 2013 looks like it’ll be a pretty fantastic year.
Source Dramabeans
I only included Arang's review in full because it was my favourite this year but it seems nobody else watched it :C
I only included Arang's review in full because it was my favourite this year but it seems nobody else watched it :C
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Date: 2012-12-15 09:34 pm (UTC)I started Arang sometime last week, I've seen 10 eps so far! It's definitely good. I haven't watched a kdrama that has this much mythology/fantasy elements before!
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Date: 2012-12-15 09:38 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2012-12-16 12:51 am (UTC)Yeaaaah!
Date: 2012-12-16 01:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-16 01:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-16 07:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-16 07:06 am (UTC)the best cast. <333333333