Top 20 Dramas

 

Okay, Let’s get this party started, hm?

1. Heirs – Okay, I know it’s way too early to be choosing a currently airing drama as my number one. With only 6 episodes currently aired and a whopping 14 left to go, publicly stating that it is my number one pick is like saying my favorite dessert is tiramisu when I’ve never tasted it. However… It’s my number one. I’m so in love with this drama at this point that I highly doubt that will change between now and the final episode. It just gets better with each episode.
2. Monstar – Oh the wonderful kdrama feels I have for this one. If you don’t believe me, read the Monstar Review post. I could probably gush about it some more here, but it’d more or less be the same things stated in there.
3. Flower Boy Next Door– Looking through my list more closely, I’m noticing quite a bit of Park Shin Hye here. Well, that just goes to say something about her acting. Again, I could gush about this one all day. However, I’ll just let you read the FBND Review.
4. Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge – Kamenashi Kazuya. Need I say more? Review here: Yamato Review
5. Hana Yori Dango – This was one of the first Asian dramas I watched, and the very first Japanese one. With a rewatch value of 10 on my list, it is by far one of my favorites to this day.
6. Shut Up Flower Boy Band – In my opinion, one of the better bromance-filled dramas out there. I think I was in love with damn near every guy in this one. Key words being ‘damn near’. Shut Up Review
7. Secret Garden – I know, I know. “Why isn’t it higher on the list?!” While SG is definitely one of my top ten, I cannot adequately explain why it is number 7 instead of, say, 1 or 2. For awhile, it was. It may one day be again. I absolutely adore Ha Ji Won and Hyun Bin, by the way. They’re one of my favorite couples in dramaland.
8. Sungkyunkwan Scandal – Yoochunnie! Yup, I’m a total Yoochun fangirl. Aside from the obvious bias here, the bromance makes me squee every time I watch it. Geol-oh (Yoo Ah In) and Yeo-rim (Song Joong Ki) have the kind of bromance a girl can fall into a dreamy trance over.
9. Boys Over Flowers – Come on… You HAD to see this one coming from miles away.
10. Missing You – Yoochunnie again! Yup. Yeo Jin Goo and Kim So Hyun were the perfect pair for the young Soo Yeon and Jung Woo. Most of the crying I did was in the episodes those two were prevalent in, and when I say I cried, I don’t mean one glistening tear rolling down my cheek. I bawled like a kid whose puppy just died. While Yoon Eun Hye is not one of my favorite actresses in the world, I will admit that there is obviously something about her that speaks to the audience. If there wasn’t that little something, she wouldn’t continue being cast in lead roles and I wouldn’t keep watching her dramas. For my full drama love on this one, look here: Missing You Review
11. MARS – Get used to seeing this one on every ‘top’ list for dramas I may or may not post in the future. It was one of the first dramas out of Taiwan that I watched, and quickly became a standard for me. Dark, psychologically exhausting (that’s a good thing, trust me), and completely fascinating, I fell in drama love with it. Barbie Hsu and Vic Chou are one of those couples that I love seeing together. They were in Meteor Garden together as well.
12. Shining Inheritance – I wouldn’t exactly say you had to see this one coming, because it’s frankly the only Lee Seung Gi drama that I’ve watched. Now, I’d heard about the high ratings before watching it, and I am one of those people that is pretty wary of any show with high ratings. I don’t always like them. Surprisingly enough, by the third episode I was hooked.
13. Tumbling – Male gymnasts. ‘Yankees’. Daito Shunsuke as a hot, brooding loner. Yamamoto Yusuke is loud, rude and used to kicking the crap out of people. A hottie from co-ed group AAA plays my ultimate bias in this drama. Obviously I won’t go into details on this one. Go watch it and see for yourself.
14. You’re Beautiful – I think this is the drama that is the most well-known among newbies to the kdrama world. Every time I get a message from someone new to korean dramas, I’d say about 8 out of every 10 of them have at least seen this one. This is probably the only role in Jang Geun Suk’s resume that I’ve loved 100%. Don’t get me wrong, the guy is a talented actor, but some of the other things I’ve seen him in just.. haven’t been that awesome. I still think of Park Shin Hye as ‘Pigrabbit’ if I’m not careful. Don’t even get me started on Lee Hong Ki and Jung Yong Hwa. Fluffy drama loves all around for this one!
15. To The Beautiful You – I can just hear it now. “Why not the Japanese or Taiwan versions?” Well, lovelies, the answer is this: They didn’t have Choi Minho. KIDDING!!! To be honest, I do love them. I loved Wu Chun and Ella Chen, and I loved Oguri Shun and Maki Horikita just as much. However, I take a lot of things into account when picking a favorite among re-adaptations and/or remakes. The acting, different takes on the manga’s story (when it’s based on a manga), the music… whether the story gets drawn out too long.. To be honest, while I loved the Japanese version, there was just something missing from it overall. The acting was great (They’re two of my fave Japanese actors), the music was great, but there was just… something missing from it. As for Hana Kimi Taiwan, Ella’s portrayal of Rui Xi was a little much for me and I didn’t like the ending all that much. To the Beautiful You is sweet, has some pretty kick-ass acting, a pretty decent story line, and beautiful music. Beautiful You Review
16. Bull Fighting – Mike He and Hebe Tian make an interesting couple, though Hebe isn’t one of my faves that’s been paired with him. Music is great, and Mike was a fantastic rich bad boy as usual. Yummy yummy man. If I were to make a top 50 list of dramas instead of just 20, you’d probably see a good chunk of his work on it.
17. Asuko March! – Looooove iiiiit!!!!! Can’t help it. The interactions between all the boys and the lead actress are too good not to love it.
18. Devil Beside You – THIS is my favorite pairing with Mike He. Rainie and Mike play off each other really well.
19. Gokusen – This isn’t just one season of Gokusen, either. This is the entire damn series. Whether its Jun Matsumoto, Kamenashi and Akanishi or Miura Haruma, I love Gokusen.
20. Skip Beat! – Choi Siwon and Lee Donghae. Yum. It wasn’t my first go-round with Siwon, but it was with Donghae. Loved it. Still do.

Related articles

• Review: Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge (asiandramacloud.wordpress.com)
• Full Series Review: Monstar (asiandramacloud.wordpress.com)
• Newly Discovered Love: Monstar (asiandramacloud.wordpress.com)
• Review: Missing You (asiandramacloud.wordpress.com)
• Review: Shut Up Flower Boy Band (asiandramacloud.wordpress.com)
• Review: To The Beautiful You (asiandramacloud.wordpress.com)
• A Quick Look at Heirs (asiandramacloud.wordpress.com)

Review: Shut Up Flower Boy Band

Shut Up Flower Boy Band
Aired: 2012
Starring:
Sung Joon as Kwon Ji Hyuk
Jo Bo Ah as Im Soo Ah
Kim Myung Soo as Lee Hyun Soo
Kim Min Suk as Seo Kyung Jong
Yoo Min Kyu as Kim Ha Jin
Lee Hyun Jae as Jang Do Il
Jung Eui Chul as Seung Hoon
Special Mention: Lee Min Ki as Joo Byung Hee
Plot: Byung Hee is the crazy, free-spirited leader and vocalist of the popular underground rock group, Eye Candy. Joining him is mood-maker Ji Hyuk, chic Hyun Soo, playboy Ha Jin, silent Do Il and baby-faced Min Seok. These boys rule their school until a redevelopment plan forces the delinquent-ridden school to close down. They’re all assigned a transfer to Jungsang High, but debate whether it’s even worth returning to high school at all. However, due to an outside confrontation with Jungsang’s current ruling band, Strawberry Fields, Eye Candy decides to attend Jungsang out of spite and rule the school once again.
[Source: Wiki]

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When I first saw the articles about this show before it started airing, I was mildly interested. I’d seen Sung Joon’s acting before and while I enjoyed it, I was unsure of how well he would pull off a rocker. As it came closer to the time for the drama to air, my interest grew exponentially.

The first episode had me completely hooked within five minutes. For me, that’s saying something. I usually find that dramas tend to keep the story pace fairly slow in the first two episodes, thoroughly setting up the drama. That has always annoyed me, but then again I’m a very impatient person. So to see this drama really setting things up in the first two episodes with plenty of action… Needless to say I was thrilled.

Putting it simply, Shut Up Flower Boy Band is superb. It takes bromance, first loves, music, and the struggles of being a high school student and rolls it all into a big ball of indie rock love. Each character has their own unique struggles to discover themselves. It shows the difficulties of coming into adulthood and having to balance friendship, love, school and work. I found myself laughing one minute, then crying for the next ten. Other times I was on the edge of my very uncomfortable seat, anxious to see what would come of their newest dilemma. More than once during an episode I found myself shouting at the screen, telling characters what an idiot they were, and getting just as frustrated as they did when things didn’t turn out the way they’d – and I’d – hoped.

Perhaps the best part about this drama is the sheer imperfections. The characters aren’t perfect. They aren’t bubbly and cute. They are hard, raw and almost violent in their passion for life, love and music. That may be what makes it so addicting and fascinating to watch.

To start with, Kwon Ji Hyuk. Dear, abrasive, sensitive Kwon Ji Hyuk with his crazy hair and husky vocals. Sung Joon, you’re a god and I love you for it. Previously, I’d only ever seen Sung Joon in a drama called Lie to Me (Yoon Eun Hye and Kang Ji Hwan). Now, I enjoyed his acting there. As Kwon Ji Hyuk, though, he’s gold. He captured the anguish of losing a friend, the inner torture that comes with being torn between loyalty to your friends and the feelings for a first love, or just a love, period. And the love of music, of having something to count on when everything else goes to hell. Kwon Ji Hyuk has a very large responsibility placed on his shoulders, having to speak for his friends in the band and protect them as their leader. It is a lonely path and takes a great deal of inner strength, especially when they’re all so young. This man has earned a spot on my forever loved list of actors, which is very short, and he earned that spot for one role.

On to our breakout star, Kim Myung Soo. Or for Infinite fans, “L”. Not only is this guy absolutely delicious to look at, but his acting chops are fantastic. And his voice when he sings is light and sweet. He completely broke my heart in episode 13. Between him and Sung Joon, I swear to whatever powers that be that my heart was ripped out and pulverized with a meat tenderizer. Strangely enough, there was a sense of satisfaction that came with all that crying. There’s an emotional release of sorts, as everything comes to a head during episode 13, and it ends with the lovely, sculpted Lee Hyun Soo crying his poor heart out. I thought. I was going. To DIE.

Lee Min Ki is one definitely worth noting as well. {SPOILER} He was only in the first two episodes, but his presence was powerful and the delivery of his character’s complex yet insane and frankly endearing personality was perfect. His untimely death in the last seconds of episode 2 left me in such a state of shock that for ten minutes after the episode finished airing, I just sat in my seat. When I did manage to emerge from the shock, the tears commenced.

Everyone else did spectacularly, though those two are the ones most worth noting because they left the most lasting impressions on me throughout the entire drama. One complaint… and don’t shoot me through my computer for this… Jo Bo Ah, who admittedly did quite well playing Im Soo Ah. I would have loved to see a bit more emotion play over her features from time to time.

The soundtrack. Oh, how I love the soundtrack. I spent episode after episode wondering just what ‘that song’ was, until finally Sung Joon made his official “Wake Up”  debut with.. you guessed it. “Wake Up!” Don’t even ask me what the play count is for this song on my iTunes. It’s on every playlist I make. Kim Myung Soo’s duet with Kim Ye Rim? Oooooh it’s so sweet. Kim Min Suk’s song is equally endearing. Lee Min Ki’s “Not In Love” is yummy, for lack of a better term. Sung Joon with Jaywalking is wonderful too. However, the song that is most notable for me from the entire drama will always be “Wake Up”. Sorry. I love it. Can’t help it. It’s like a music shot to my veins.

To sum everything up, Shut Up Flower Boy Band is a must watch. I highly recommend it – and a box of tissues.