I Am The Best – 2NE1

• Title: Samurai High School / サムライ・ハイスクール
• Episode: 9
• Broadcast network: NTV
• Theme song: Kodoku no Taiyo by Monobright
• Synopsis: Mochizuki Kotaro is a mild-mannered, unmanly high school student. One day, he visits a library and meets the mysterious librarian Himiko, who recommends to him an ancient book about a heroic general from the Sengoku period 400 years ago. Kotaro notices that he has the same name and age as the general described in the book, and he experiences a flashback… Kotaro later mentions the book to his father, who tells him that he may be the descendent of a powerful samurai. At that moment, Kotaro receives a message from his childhood friend Ai telling him that their classmate Nakamura Tsuyoshi is in trouble. He rushes to the scene but doesn’t have the guts to help, until another flashback transforms him into a samurai! –Tokyograph

Samurai High School is…interesting.  I’m not going to lie, this series is packed with corny moments, but that’s one of the things that makes it so entertaining.  One of my favorite moments of this drama is to watch the main character transform in and out of samurai mode. At some points I caught myself thinking “Oh, this guy isn’t that great of an actor”, but then his character would switch into samurai mode and everything about him would change, including his posture.  I found myself constantly paying attention to his posture change, it was the most amusing and fascinating thing ever. Miura Haruma must have gone through a lot of training in order to play that role.  On the other hand, the other cast members did not do that great of an acting job.

The plot was pretty good.  It’s a great watch if you’re bored or looking for something different (especially for the semi action).  This series is probably meant more for middle and high school students, but it’s still all good and fun even if you’re older.

• Title: 49 Days /49일 / 49 Il
• Genre: Fantasy, Romance
• Episodes: 20
• Broadcast network: SBS
• Synopsis: Shin Ji Hyun was enjoying absolute bliss as she was about to marry her fiancé, Kang Min Ho, but her perfect life is shattered when she gets into a car accident that leaves her in a coma. She is given a second chance at life by a reaper, but it comes with a condition: she has to find three people outside of her family who would cry genuine tears for her. In order to do this, she borrows the body of Yi Kyung, a part-time employee at a convenience store for 49 days.

This series was one of the more popular ones from last season.  It really was amazing, and not to mention different from typical Korean dramas.  While it did have the romance and the comedy, it had supernatural stuff as well, which I believe is what made the show so great.   The brilliance of this series is that everyone is connected.  As you get further and further into the series you see how everyone is connected with one another.

This drama was amazing up until about the last episode.  Most people who watched it told others to avoid watching  this series because of the ending.  Now, I”m not saying that the ending was good or bad.  All I will say that it was shocking and unexpected.  It really depends on your perspective.  It had both happy and sad moments, it just depends on what you choose to focus on.  In my opinion, it was an okay ending. Although, I am annoyed with the writers for pulling a stunt like that in the last episode.  There were not only one, but two, twists at the end of the series.  Both caught me off guard.

I highly recommend this series, simply because it’s just so different from most Korean dramas. It really is good, despite it’s controversial ending.

My Rating: (4.5/5)

Summary Credits: Dramawiki
You can watch this series at Dramacrazy or legally at  Dramafever.

• Title: Lie to Me /  내게 거짓말을 해봐 / Naege Geojitmaleul Haebwa
• Genre: Romance, comedy
• Episodes: 16
• Broadcast network: SBS
• Synopsis: Gong Ah Jung, a level 5 Ministry of Culture official, gets entangled in a web of lies when she mistakenly lies that she’s married to Hyun Ki Joon, a hotel manager from an affluent family. Their relationship is further complicated when Ki Joon’s ex-fiancée and a close friend of his brother’s, Oh Yoon Joo, reappears in his life.

This series had a great cast and just the right amount of drama.  The plot has a good balance of sweet, cute, funny, happy, and sad moments.  Perhaps some parts were a tad bit ridiculous, but hey, it’s a drama.  Frankly, I was kind of worried when I heard they switched the writers from episode 13 onward (It had something to do with a disagreement over the ending).  Well, whatever they did, it must have been a good decision because the ending was great. It may not have been insanely awesome, but instead it was something rather sweet and simple.  More importantly, it left you on a good note.

If you haven’t already seen this kdrama, I recommend you do.  It’s definitely something you need to get around to watching eventually.

My Rating: (3.75/5)

Summary Credits: Dramawiki
You can watch this series over at Viki.

Please Don’t Go – San E featuring Changmin (2AM) & Outsider

• Title: It’s Okay, Daddy’s Girl /괜찮아, 아빠 딸 / Gwaenchanha, Appa Ttal
• Genre: Drama
• Episodes: 17
• Broadcast network: SBS
• Synopsis: Eun Chae Ryung is a spoiled daughter who had always completely relied on her father. When he is involved in an accident one day, she finds herself rudely awakened from her sheltered life and forced to mature, encountering numerous hardships before she gradually becomes an independent person.

At first, when I started to watch this, I thought “Oh great, this is going to be one of those dramas where the girl is struggling, but she doesn’t really care about how hard her life is, yet she ends up with a rich guy.”  However, this drama is in fact the opposite of a typical Cinderella storyline.  The protagonist goes from being a rich, spoiled princess to a girl who learns about the realities of living a ‘hard life’. I love how she doesn’t fall for a rich guy, but rather a ‘poor’ one.  There’s something intriguing about this drama that made me continue watching it.  The plot is pretty decent and it is great to watch.  I will, however, say that this drama has the most ridiculous antagonist ever. He has to be one of the most ridiculous and selfish characters I’ve come across, to the point that I find it very unrealistic.  Other than that, this is a really great drama. I recommend you check it out if you’re bored.

My Rating: (3.5/5)

Credits: Dramawiki
You can watch this series over at DramaCrazy.

• Title: My Princess / 마이 프린세스
• Genre: Romance, Comedy
• Episodes: 16
• Broadcast network: MBC
• Synopsis: An ordinary college student, Lee Seol, finds out she’s a princess. The grandson of Daehan Group, Park Hae Young, is put in charge of educating Seol on proper etiquette. However, Hae Young is put in a precarious situation when he finds himself drawn to Seol, the girl who will take away his inheritance if the monarchy is restored.

This series is one of those Kdramas that had a great beginning, but got duller as it got closer and closer toward the end.  It’s not like the ending was horrible, in fact it was rather pretty good.  Yet, it wasn’t as good as it was when the series first started.   I felt like they dragged this series longer than it should have been.  They didn’t do it to much, but there was a point where I was beginning to get annoyed.  It had a really great beginning.  I got a lot of Goong (Princess Hours) vibes from it, not that the plot is the same. My Princess is more about a girl learning how to be a modern day princess and it’s actually pretty decent, even if it is yet another Cinderella story.  It’s one of those pretty cute and amusing Romance/Comedy dramas.  Besides its minor cons, My Princess is still enjoyable to watch, especially if you have some free time on your hands.

My Rating: (3/5)

Credits: Dramawiki
You can watch this series over at Viki

• Title: Dream High / 드림하이
• Genre: School, comedy, romance
• Episodes: 16 + Special (Concert)
• Broadcast network: KBS2
• Synopsis: Six students at Kirin Art High School work to achieve their dreams of becoming stars.

I took me two episodes, and I was already hooked.  This series is highly addicting.  It’s another school drama, which generally tends to be a hit.  Not only that, but it has a really great cast (you’ll see when you start watching).  It’s cute, it’s funny, and it’s got your high school drama in it too.  It’s about a music school (or school for creating stars), which makes things unique and different from your average kdrama.   It’s all about making a star. If you’re into kpop, there is an extremely high chance that you will love this. Park Jin Young (JYP)  is one of the producers of this series so you will see a lot of appearances from celebs under JYP Entertainment (including JYP himself) and references to their songs.  It has a great soundtrack and it’s just one of those feel good dramas.  Not once was I ever tempted or bored enough to drop this series.  It was consistently great.

This series is a must watch. I definitely recommend it.

My Rating: (4.5/5)

Credits: Dramawiki
You can watch this series over at DramaCrazy.

• Title: Mary Stayed Out All Night / Marry Me, Mary! /  매리는 외박중
• Genre: Romance, comedy
• Episodes: 16
• Broadcast network: KBS2
• Broadcast period: 2010-Nov-08 to 2010-Dec-28
• Synopsis: Wi Mae Ri is the cheerful, pragmatic daughter of a failed businessman who had grown used to being constantly on the move to escape from debtors. She becomes fast friends with the free-spirited indie singer Kang Moo Kyul when she nearly ran him over in a car. Meanwhile, her father Wi Dae Han is saved from his debtors by his old friend, Jung Suk, who had just returned from considerable success in the Japanese entertainment industry. Jung Suk, who had harboured a secret love for Mae Ri’s mother, sets up a deal with Dae Han to have Mae Ri marry his son, Jung In. In her desperate to escape this predicament, Mae Ri begs Moo Kyul to pose as her husband, and finds herself in even more trouble than before when her father proposes a 100-day period in which she has to divide her time equally between Moo Kyul and Jung In, after which she has to decide who to marry.

The first word that comes to mind when I think of this drama is “cute”.  It really is adorably, but not overly cute if you get what I’m saying.  This series is based off the internet comic “Maerineun Uibakjoong” by Won Su-Yeon.  The female lead reminds me of a kitten, while the male lead reminds me of a puppy.  The plot is is pretty unique and interesting considering the situation Mary is in.  It has a somewhat stereotypical love triangle square for a Kdrama.  Nonethess, it is really addicting, mainly for the fact that it has some really adorable scenes.

My Rating: (4/5)

Credits: AsianMediaWiki, Dramawiki
You can watch this series over at Viki

• Title: Housewife Kim Kwang Ja’s Third Activities / 주부 김광자의 제3활동
• Genre: Comedy, Family
• Episodes: 1
• Broadcast Network: MBC
• Synopsis:Kim Kwang Ja is an ordinary 42-year-old housewife who has spent most of her years devoted to her gruff husband and indifferent daughter. When she discovers the music of a popular idol boyband, she becomes a fan of the lead rapper, Jin, and finds new joy in her life.

Looking for something short to watch? Well, this could be it.  It’s a 1 episode kdrama (almost like a movie).  Now you may think its a love story, but it’s not.  I’m kind of glad it’s not because I know for a fact some people would have found this “couple” a little bit weird considering the age difference.

Despite the main characters age being “old”, she is totally likable.  I mean, she’s not really a typical “ahjumma”.  The drama itself is very cute and funny.  It’s a good distraction that doesn’t take up too much of your time.

My Rating: (4/5)

You can watch this over at Viki.