So Far in Heirs..

Note: None of the gifs used in this post are mine. Credit goes to the show and the people who took the time to make the gifs.

Before I get started, let me just say one very, VERY important thing…

Young Do has a rottie!!!

Who’s a creepy fox loving up on his adorable rottie?! You are!

Okay…. My moment of fluffy fangirl squealing is over. For now.

So, after very nearly losing my sanity with Heechul’s cameo in episode 4, I have been glued to the screen with each new episode since. We’ve seen pretty much everyone return home for the school year, and more importantly, the start of all the nitty gritty drama feels that we’ve all been waiting for.
Not that I haven’t enjoyed the California sun and the adorable lollipop date with Chan Young and Eun Sang… I did. I was just very ready for everything to move back to Korea. Back to reality, if you go by Eun Sang’s point of view regarding her return to Korea from her ‘dream’ in California. — I understand, Eun Sang, honey, really I do. If I got to spend that much time with Lee Min Ho and then return home, I’d wonder if I had hallucinated the entire thing. Let’s face it..

He’s definitely worth hallucinating about.

I’m not going to recap the episodes. I don’t have the patience for it. Sorry! Most of what I’ll type in this post is just going to be my take on things, and all-around spazzing over.. well, pretty much everybody. There’ll be some general ‘what happened’ here and there just so I’m not randomly spazzing out about someone being an ass (and there are a few of those). I’d like to explain WHY they’re an ass, and that requires a bit of info about what scene or scenes have led me to that conclusion.

Where to start… where to start…
Well, let’s go with the relationship between Kim Tan and Young Do. If this were a bromance instead of pure hatred, I would probably fall all over myself because of these two. And no, it’s not just because both men are prime examples of the male species (don’t even get me started on the other men in this drama or we’ll still be here next year).
The relationship between Tan and Young Do is rather complicated and frankly heartbreaking. The idea that their friendship ended because of Tan’s status as an illegitimate son and (I’m guessing at this so don’t quote me) something to do with Young Do’s own mother… Ugh, It kills me!

Going from there to Young Do in general..
What a scary, cruel, and yet oddly attractive young heir. I can’t seem to make up my mind whether to hate him or bow down at his feet. In all honesty, even with all of his cruel scheming, I don’t think I’ve ever rooted for the second male lead as much as I have here. I know I’ve probably said that before, but this is on a whole new level. As much as I really don’t trust him, I am completely torn between rooting for Tan to win Eun Sang half the time, and the other half practically begging the kdrama gods to let Young Do have her… even though she’s showing no signs of her heart swaying to him. Crazy girl. Smart Girl. Damn it…

Young Do is a very confusing young man to me. With Tan, he’s very straightforward: He hates him with the passion of a thousand fiery suns and he’s got every intention of taking him out – literally. There’s nothing confusing there. Same thing when it comes to his relationship with Rachel. She hates him, he certainly seems to hate her, end of story. He’s very close to Myung Soo (played by Hyungsik for those of you just joining the series), and from what I’ve seen he lets the camera-addicted little cutie say things he’d beat the tar out of anyone else for saying. Definite bromance there, The Inheritors style.
You want the confusing part for me, then look at the situation between himself and Eun Sang.
Ding ding! We have a winner for the most confusing pair in the entire drama! One minute he’s being a total ass to her (see any GIF depicting the pool incident or tripping scene in the cafeteria), and the next he’s giving her the saddest expression or getting all googly-eyed and moony over her – in his own creepy predatory way.
In some cases I think his bullying of her is just to get at Tan. Okay, in a lot of cases. Now that he’s claiming to like her, though…
Damn I’m confused!!
First off, if he likes her, why use her as a pawn in his war with Tan, and why continue to subtly threaten her with her secret? Secondly, in recent episodes he claims to be trying to show her that Tan will let go of her when things get tough… but does that mean that he wouldn’t? He’s already proven he can’t be friends with an illegitimate child, and let’s face it, Eun Sang isn’t exactly on a higher tier in society than Tan when it comes to that. The only reason Tan is still even partially accepted at Jeguk High is because of his father, the chairwoman, and the fact that his secret hasn’t been spread – yet.

Which brings me to all of my concerns (and a bit of fluffy love) about Tan.

Silly Kim Tan.. She can still see you.

I think he’s in over his head, honestly. He thinks he can protect Eun Sang but he has no idea what he’s getting them both into with his father and everyone else. Young Do is probably right in a way (hear me out) to tell him to stop protecting Eun Sang. Tan, if only you would listen to him for once!
Instead he had to go and spill his own secret. Now the cat’s out of the bag in more ways than one. Rachel and her mom both know Tan’s mom faked being Eun Sang’s mom, which means Rachel’s going to be trying harder than ever to find out Eun Sang’s secret.  This also means his father will probably be kicking his evil scheming up a notch.
Most of the time, his story makes me sad. He’s like a puppy who’s been left alone too long – eager to please to the point that it’s almost obnoxious. By this I mean he’s eager to please his brother. There’s a depressing relationship if I ever saw one.. Tan tries so hard to get Won’s approval only to be constantly and coldly rebuked. On one hand, I can understand why Won might feel the way he does… On the other hand… Grow up already! And smile more, damn it!
Seriously, though… I’d love to see this relationship move forward for the better, and regardless of what anyone says, that’s what I’m taking Won’s most recent behavior as. If he didn’t care about Tan at least a little bit, he wouldn’t have warned him to be careful about what he does because their father has someone following them.  You can puff your chest up indignantly all you want, Wonnie, but that’s my theory and I’m sticking to it!

Won… Oh the poor guy. Nobody seems to be on his side. Well, except for the one person he doesn’t want on it — Tan, of course. Even the chairwoman only warned him about his father’s plans regarding Tan because she’s in the middle of a female pissing contest with Tan’s mother. This man is utterly alone in his world. There’s no fighting this time – unlike Young Do, I can’t go back and forth between hating and loving, unable to decide. When it comes to Won, I feel terrible and would love to wring his father’s neck!

Lee Bo Na makes me crack up most of the time. I started out completely hating her, but as the drama has progressed I can’t help but like her at least a little. She came through for Eun Sang when she needed a place to crash, even if it was only upon the threat of Eun Sang turning to Chan Young for a place to crash. Notice how Bo Na will do just about anything to keep Chan Young from actually acting like Eun Sang’s longtime friend? Careful Bo Na, or you may find yourself actually seeing her as your friend one of these days.

Hyo Shin… Hm. You are an interesting one, aren’t you? You’ve got a crush on your former tutor and apparently tried to commit suicide. After this confrontation with your mother, you’ve got me worried. Just what are you planning?
Does anyone else find his constant teasing of Tan adorably funny?

On other more random notes…

— I can’t make up my mind about Myung Soo. To trust or not to trust? He certainly seems like a real sweetie, but who’s to say he won’t turn into someone completely different once the inevitable happens and both Eun Sang’s and Tan’s secrets come out into the open?

— Rachel’s mom and Chan Young’s dad have history. Apparently daddy is the equivalent of Won’s secret love, Hyun Joo. How interesting… and a little sad.

— Hyun Joo was raised by Jeguk and by the looks of it has become a pawn for Won’s dad. Can’t help but feel sorry for the girl. She’s caught in the middle of  what will likely turn into a very bloody family war.

— Was that guilt I saw in Young Do’s eyes when he met Eun Sang’s mother and realized she can’t speak? Surely this can’t mean he’s going to get all compassionate on us, can it? Oh I can hope…

— Tan’s mom. As much as the woman irritates me with her treatment of others, her situation is kind of sad. Sure, she brought it on herself years ago by basically allowing herself to become ‘the mistress’ for a married man, but living like that, being treated like that… I couldn’t do that.

— Young Do got revenge for Eun Sang… Hehehe naughty but strangely sweet.

— Only the Heirs could make a game of paintball into a life or death soap opera. That was hilarious to watch.

Die, Mr. Bullyman, die!

Full Series Review: Monstar

Monstar
Aired: 2013
Starring:
Yong Junhyung as Yoon Seol Chan
Ha Yeon Soo as Min Se Yi
Kang Ha Neul as Jung Sun Woo
Dahee as Kim Na Na
Kim Min Young as Shim Eun Ha
Park Kyu Sun as Cha Do Nam
Kang Ui Shik as Park Kyu Dong
Plot:  Seol-chan, a member of Korea’s most popular K-pop boy band Men in Black, is provoked into pushing one of his crazy fans, and when that goes viral, his reputation plummets. As damage control, his agency tells him to quietly attend school for a while. Meanwhile, Se-yi, a new transfer student from New Zealand, draws attention in the school for both her talent and oddness. Misunderstandings occur between Seol-chan, Se-yi and their other classmates. But in the midst of all the chaos, these students find a common interest which connects them to each other… music. Every character has his or her own untold stories, which have had significant impact in their lives. But as they gather together to sing and play the music they love, they learn to soothe the pain inside them, and to open each person’s heart to one another. [Source: wiki]

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After doing a partial review of the series and subsequently finishing the rest of it, I’ve decided it’s about time that I write the full review. I’ll briefly cover anything already discussed in my first post, and discuss everything that I didn’t cover the first time. If I do happen to repeat anything, bear with me please. I have been known to ramble about things that I’m extremely fond of, and Monstar is definitely something that fits the bill for that.

First off, the story.
While Monstar didn’t have one of those mind-blowing, heart-wrenching plots that have you spending most of the time watching episodes either crying your eyes out or biting your nails in anxiety, the story was still a pretty strong one in my opinion. It isn’t the first time we’ve seen the ‘idol gets in trouble and sent to public school as punishment by management agency’. (See Dream High 2. It’s a bit similar.) Still, the story for Monstar is definitely its own.  While some musical series will focus so much on the musical pieces that the plot suffers, the writers for Monstar seem to have done well. Don’t misunderstand – I completely flipped for the musical performances. However, the plot was fantastic. They kept certain aspects a mystery nearly the entire time and the drama flowed smoothly from one episode to the next. It was pretty realistic, as well, compared to some other high school dramas you will find. Not everyone found a truly happy ending, and most of it was learning how to cope with problems rather than get a happy ever after. It was no fairy tale, by any means.

On to the acting.

Yong Junhyung

The only true prior experience I have with the adorable ‘umma’ of B2ST… is as a member of B2ST. His rapping skills are unique and he’s by far my favorite member of the group, so to see his name attached to a drama nearly had me hyperventilating with excitement. Not every idol can pull off the transition from singing to acting, either, so that excitement was also tinged with uneasiness.
He shattered all my expectations. Literally. I’m still sweeping up pieces from my bedroom floor.
To play Yoon Seol-chan, he had to behave in a manner that is so polar opposite of his own norm. That takes some serious acting chops, because going even the slightest bit overboard will completely ruin the character. Take Kim Hyung Jun in Glowing She, for example. I watched that drama with the same high expectations I had for Junhyung, and Choi Si Won in Oh! My Lady. To my horror, I was beyond disappointed in Hyung Jun’s performance. He went overboard and I felt his acting left something to be desired. Junhyung managed to capture Seol-chan without overdoing it. (cue the sighs of relief)
Seol-chan goes back and forth in the drama between being a pretty nice guy and being so full of himself you just want to stab him with a needle and let out all that hot air. Quite frankly, I didn’t know Junhyung had that in him, although I suppose we all have a little bit. The fact that I was able to ignore my biased feelings (As I’ve said before, I love B2ST and therefore Junhyung) and managed to hate him at several points throughout the drama (usually for making someone cry), love his sweetness in others, and laugh at his moments of stupidity…. now that took some good acting.
I was pleasantly surprised when he brought out the tears; so surprised, in fact, that I sat gaping like a fish the first time he did it. Seol-chan’s moments of hilariously bad grammar made me crack up, and overall I felt Junhyung’s portrayal was spot on. I’m hoping to see him in more dramas in the future.

Ha Yeon Soo

Given that she is still a new actress, I have no experience whatsoever with Ha Yeon Soo before Monstar. So she was quite literally a clean slate. That being said, I was impressed. Min Se Yi was endearing, probably because the casting crew found the perfect person to play her. I loved the character completely. Not once did I find myself  annoyed by her acting. She didn’t overdo it, but she didn’t underdo it, either.
Min Se Yi is an odd little duck to begin with, and her sense of humor is an acquired taste that can be difficult to grasp at first. Ha Yeon Soo was able to convey the lack of expression required to deadpan Se Yi’s ‘jokes’ perfectly, so that I wound up laughing at her friends’ reactions every time.
Don’t even get me started on this girl’s ability to churn out tears. While it’s not up there with some of the best crying actresses in the Korean industry, I was still impressed. She didn’t go overboard and wail like a banshee, so there were some automatic brownie points in it for that.
Overall, her acting was pretty darn good. Whether it was shock, sadness, happiness, bravery, or anger, Ha Yeon Soo did remarkably well in pulling everything off. Her singing voice is pleasant to listen to and pronunciation easy to follow, which in turn makes it easy to understand which words she’s singing. Out of all the characters in the series, she’s one of my favorites.

Kang Ha Neul

Oh, to see Kang Ha Neul again… The fates are being a little too kind to me in dramaland this year, I think. He was an actor that I had wished for a little more screen time for when I watched To the Beautiful You. I had enjoyed his skill there even though he wasn’t considered one of the more major players in the drama. Naturally I finished that drama hoping to see him again in another one soon. Happy sunshine days for me!
I’m pretty sure I left my jaw somewhere near the beginning of episode 1. I was so thrilled and shocked to see him that I’m afraid I might have cut his character a little too much slack throughout the drama. It was obvious from the start that Sun Woo and Seol-chan were rivals, but I was too excited at first to really look at Sun Woo past the nice guy he was to Se Yi (The fact that Sun Woo visits terminally ill children and plays music for them may have had something to do with that.. D’aww) . I had to let the pedestal get broken later in the drama before I started to see the good and bad in him as well, not just in Seol-chan. That was a fun experience…
His voice… Husky and soft when he sings a ballad, but considerably more powerful during rock or pop performances, with the ability to really carry to a wide audience. I’m a little embarrassed to admit I was more or less reduced to a squealing mass of fangirling excitement several times. Of course his looks have nothing whatsoever to do with it. I watched the show for the drama, not the yummy hot guys…

Dahee

Another one I had no experience with previously, and that’s saying something since she’s a member of GLAM and has one of the most powerful female voices I have ever heard in Kpop. For the first five episodes I spent her scenes trying to figure out where in the world I had seen her before. GLAM. While I wasn’t familiar with their work before, I had seen them in headlines so I knew of them.
Dahee was cast as Kim Na Na, a tough girl with a ‘sketchy’ home life. Personally I don’t think it’s that bad, but I suppose that’s the thing about culture differences. At any rate, Kim Na Na’s mysterious behavior kept me intrigued for a good long while. As with all ‘tough’ exteriors, sooner or later they have to crack, and when Na Na’s aloof attitude finally started to crumble, the effect was like a shockwave.
Her voice… well.. I’ll let you discover that one on your own. Watch the drama. She definitely doesn’t disappoint. I promise.

Now, while I only listed four of the starring cast, there is still plenty to be said about the other actors and actresses who took part in this series. Kim Min Young (Eun Ha), Park Kyu Sun (Do Nam), and Kang Ui Shik (Kyu Dong) are every bit as notable as the others, but their stories weren’t quite as up front. I’m not saying Kyu Dong and Do Nam’s story wasn’t vital, because it definitely was. I had been worrying if they would ever explain the complex history the two seemed to have. When Kyu Dong and Do Nam’s story was finally told, I was both thrilled and horrified at the same time. Thrilled because the mystery behind Do Nam’s hatred of Kyu Dong and Kyu Dong’s daily torture was revealed and explained… Horrified because of the consequences that came with that story being told. Still, I love their bromance once it’s back on track. It just makes me want to squeeze them and go all “aww” on them. Eun Ha’s story didn’t really get told in depth the way the others were, so I suppose if I were going to truly complain about anything regarding this series, it would be that. They skimmed the surface and gave an overview of her home life (those bruises still have me worried, by the way. Not cool, Mnet. Not cool.), but I really wish they could have explained a bit more. It seemed like Eun Ha’s story was sidetracked until the last second, taking up maybe an episode in total, and as I’ve said, I really wasn’t happy with the very brief and vague explanation.

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The music was another pleasant surprise. While there were a few songs here and there that I didn’t like too much (mainly because they just weren’t my style of music), overall I felt that the soundtrack, both vocal and instrumental, was perfectly matched with the series. I absolutely love that the only ‘guest’ voice on the soundtrack (an artist that was not in the drama but sang a song for the series soundtrack) was J Rabbit. Every other song was sung by those in the show, even BTOB, though theirs was a more minor part (they were members of Men In Black, with Seol-chan).

Don’t just take my word for it on the music. Test it for yourself. Watch the drama, lovelies.

Newly Discovered Love: Monstar

So, I meant to post this ages ago, back when I watched the first episode of the show. Life being what it is, though.. I had to field a bunch of curve balls. Unfortunately this meant that Monstar’s existence in this blog was put off. Repeatedly. Well, I’m about to remedy that. 🙂

To start, I was surprised when they first announced this drama. Well, not so much by the announcement of the drama itself, but by Yong Junhyung in the male lead role. I’m not complaining now and I wasn’t then. I have been a loyal B2uty since B2ST (Beast) first debuted, and my favorite member is in fact our beloved Joker, Junhyung. No, I most definitely did not complain. I was simply surprised because I have not experienced his acting ability and the opportunity intrigued me. So, like many other B2uties, I waited with bated breath for the day when the first episode of Monstar would be available and subbed. Now, we’ve all experienced this before, even those of you who aren’t fans of Asian dramas and music. You have actors and singers you wait eagerly for between releases. You stand in line for hours in the freezing cold or constant drizzle just for a concert or movie ticket. You scream in infatuated frenzy at press events and loyally defend them from their anti-fans – and EVERY part of the world has antis. You can’t say they’re only in Asia. Antis exist in western culture too. Those trolls that post rotten remarks about Brad Pitt or Sandra Bullock, Kanye West or Rihanna? Yeah, welcome to the world of antis and the ever-present annoyance they add to it.

To my joy, I was able to watch the first episode in its entirety, all in one sitting. Normally it can take me a few days to finish one episode because I stay fairly busy and rarely sit in front of the computer long enough to watch an hour-long episode, let along the hour and twenty minutes that Monstar episodes have been giving me. So when I was able to snag enough time before bed that night for the whole episode? Wow, I was pleased. And that first episode did not disappoint, either. I was ecstatic to see a familiar face in Kang Ha Neul. Those of you who’ve seen To the Beautiful You with Choi Minho and Choi Sulli will recognize this guy’s face. I’ve spent the better part of the last ten episodes going back and forth between loving and hating both of our handsome male leads. It’s a constant tug-of-war that has me seriously exhausted… and extremely thrilled at the same time.

We’ve seen musicals before, both in movie and in television shows. In America, Glee reigns supreme. In Korean dramaland, musicals are scattered throughout the industry. Dream High 1 & 2, The Musical, You’re Beautiful… And now Monstar. While The Musical was a colossal disappointment for me, I admit that with such massive successes as you’re Beautiful and Dream High, Monstar had a lot to live up to.  Now, I know it’s pretty commonplace for me to say “This drama is great” and give them rave reviews. What can I say? In a lot of ways I’m an easy girl to please (most of the time).  Still, usually I can find something to complain about even with that great review that I’ll hand out.

Monstar is not one that I can complain about. I can’t find anything to dislike. There is nothing that irks me. I love each character (or.. most of them. Some of them I want to beat with a brick, but we won’t get into that.) and I love the way that each actor and actress was able to portray them. I believe this is the first time ever for me where I have actually gone back through and tried to find something to complain about. Still nothing.  So, to the creators of Monstar and those involved with the cast and crew, I tip my hat to you. In just the first few episodes, Monstar shot up to take the top spot on my list of favorites, knocking many tried and true old faves down a few pegs. Bravo.

This is also the first time I’m doing only a partial review instead of a full drama review or an episode recap/review. I believe I’ve done an episode review with the remake of Itazura na Kiss. Now, the reason I’m doing a partial review now when there are still two episodes of the show left and I have yet to see the way everything turns out for the characters in the end is because I am, for the first time ever, that confident that nothing could shake my approval of this drama. Regardless of who ends up where at the end, I have enjoyed every second of this drama so far, and I am positive I will continue to enjoy every remaining second in the two weeks to come. I have been kept on the edge of my seat in excitement between episodes for the last ten weeks already, and I’m still just as excited for next week’s episode as I was for all the others.

The story is sweet and funny while lacing sadness in with it all. It is not as emotionally wrenching as a lot of other dramas, but more subtle. Above all, it a story about the trials that youth face in the heart of their adolescence, and how friendship can help even the most hopeless person overcome an obstacle they wouldn’t have been able to face alone.

I will save the individual acting reviews for the full drama review in two weeks. Until then, all I will say is this: Go watch! You’re missing a sweet story with enchanting characters and beautiful music.