Asian Dramaland

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Love You

November 17, 2022

The incomparable Rainie Yang is as charming and funny as ever in this 18-episode series. No, this is not the latest drama import from Taiwan. This post is about "Love You" because sometimes you need a little joy in your life. Even that joy is imported from near past. At the moment, Taiwan dramas on Netflix have become eerily dark. There's Light the Night , Shards of Her and The Victims Game -- all of which are moody explorations of past crimes and the painful secrets that haunt the present. Don't be mistaken--these are all standout series, but sometimes you just want to have a delightful romp after a long day of remote work. "Love You" came out in 2011--toward the end of the golden age of idol drama in Asia. It has all the elements that you've come to expect from the genre: a fake marriage, opposites that attract, romantic rejection, lots of eavesdropping, and some over-the-top comedic performances by Rainie Yang and Hsin-Ling Chung. Xiao Ru (Rainie

Extraordinary Attorney Woo

November 05, 2022

Woo Young Woo's name is a palindrome, like kayak, deed, and rotor. If you forget, she'll remind you. I'm not a huge fan of legal dramas . Never have been. Never will be. There's a reason why there are so many lawyer jokes: the profession is filled with bloodsucking vampires. So needless to say, I wasn't too eager to watch a show about lawyers in my free time. But there's one lawyer I love. She extraordinary. She's autistic. And her name is Woo. When the show debuted, ratings were satisfactory. Woo was no "Stranger Things" or "Squid Game." But then, word got out. And each successive week, the viewership got bigger. And bigger. Each week beating the week before. That's the power of this show. It's not about the hype, it's about substance. Yes, you see law offices and courtrooms, but it's a show about humanity. And who doesn't love a show about a character with superpowers. Even if the superpower is about the law. Eve

My Cuteness Is About To Expire!?

November 01, 2022

Maruya Kousuke is the kawaii-est thing since BTS. But how long will his cuteness last? You can look at this recent series from Japan as a textbook office romcom, but that would not be seeing the full picture. "My Cuteness Is About to Expire!?" is an examination of fleeting youth, beauty standards, growing old and humanity's eternal longing for a fountain of youth. Maruya Kousuke ( Ryosuke Yamada , from Full Metal Alchemist and boy band Say! Hey! JUMP ) is a 29-year-old worker at a Tokyo beer company who has led a charmed life. He's super kawaii, polished, amiable, and a sales leader for the brand. Kousuke has the cute bias to his advantage and he knows it: girls flock to him, men want to be him, all doors are open to him and even older ladies swoon in his presence. The ghost of cuteness past wants to have a word with you. And it isn't pretty. One day, he is visited by his time-traveling, 59-year-old future self who tells Kousuke that when he turns 30, his cut

Unlucky Ploy

October 18, 2022

Unlucky Ploy 16 episodes When you're unlucky, stuff happens. Like things falling on your head. Judging by its title, yo u might think this series from Thailand is about a cunning plan, but you’d be wrong. Ploy is a common enough name in Thailand—think 淑芬 in Taiwan or Mia in the US—one that happens to be the name of our unlucky protagonist. But that’s not all when it comes to Ploys. Because there’s also a Pretty Ploy here: perfect, good natured, successful—you know, the kind of girl we all hate. Both Ploys went to the same high school, grew up in the same village and now both are working together for the same company…with Pretty Ploy the supervisor of Unlucky Ploy. Pretty Ploy is not unlike Kai-er in the Taiwanese series Office Girls . Green Ausadaporn plays Unlucky Ploy—now, if you saw her walking down the street, you’d probably think tall model, pretty—she won the genetic lottery. It’s only when we see her interact with others and her coworkers do we see what a lovabl

Office Girls

October 17, 2022

Office Girls 40 Episodes 2011 When Roy Chiu and Alice Ko are together, both sparks and barbs will fly. N obody is as diligent as Hsin-Ren when it comes to grinding at her job at Taipei's fictional Jinshi Department store. She’s a model employee and works hard to scrimp and save so one day she can buy an apartment of her own. Growing up originally in the hinterlands, she lives like a pauper, seldom splurges, and diligently brings her lunch to work. In Taipei, these girls are known as "little resource girls" (x iǎo zīyuán nǚhái) . In the West, these girls would be known as members of the petty bourgeoisie. Now meet Zi-qi, the spoiled, pampered ne’er do well who’s heir to the department store. Freshly back from studying business in the states, he returns to a rude awakening. In order for him to someday take over chairmanship from his father, he must start at the bottom, with no advantages given to him. That means making ends meet on a US$1000 per month salary with $1

U Motherbaker

October 13, 2022

U Motherbaker 40 episodes 2020 Hsin-Ling Chung as the Motherbaker. A mother’s love knows no boundaries. But cross a motherbaker, and bitch will cut you. The eponymous role is the matriarch of a famous, but little-past-its-prime bakery located in Tainan. Recently widowed and getting up in years, Lin Cai Xiang (played by Golden-Bell winning Hsin-Ling Chung who we first saw as Rainie Yang's friend in Love You on Netflix) is eyeing retirement and looking to pass down the running of the bakery to her children. The problem lies in the fact that all four of her children are never do wells. The bakery is still living in the past and hasn’t kept up with the times, making all of the traditional Taiwanese bakery goods, but none of the trending ones young people want. If they were on Yelp, they’d be dragged hard. The only capable child, A-xin, unfortunately died in a freak accident. This leaves Xiao-Ou, his feisty young widow played by the amazing Peijia Huang (star of The Ghost Bride

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