Revenge Note aka Sweet Revenge

I finished two of the supplementary things for the book and sent them off to my editor (having sent off the revised manuscript late last week), so I thought I'd reward myself with a show. Since watching Cha Eun Woo just makes me happy (and I don't at all mean that in a cougar-y kind of way...I'm old enough to be his mom for heaven's sake; he's a puppy but he's a freaking adorable puppy and he's just a joy), I thought I'd go with another drama that features him. Weirdly enough, it's another one where he plays himself, though he's not the love interest this time around. Just a good friend.

It's called Sweet Revenge or Revenge Note, depending on where you find it and the show must have done reasonably well as there's another season of it (but I think it's with different characters). And, happily, the episodes are just a bit over half an hour, so doable if you don't have a huge amount of time. If I'd realised that before, I might have bumped it up my list.

Anyway, this is the story of Ho Goo Hee (played by Kim Hyang-gi), the girl with the braids. She's a 17 year old high school freshman (someday I need to look up exactly what years Korean high school is exactly) and she's super sweet...but a bit of a pushover. Her boyfriend from middle school went off to a different school and obviously (not to her) took advantage of her by accepting presents but not reciprocating, etc. etc. and was just not that into her. Anyway, once she gets to this new school, she meets Ji-Hoon (played by Park Solomon) who's a bit aloof but has already bailed her out twice since knowing her (in embarrassing ways) and also witnesses the inevitable but heart-wrenching scene of when she gets dumped by her jerky boyfriend.

She does make one new friend in Jung Deok-Hee (played by Kim Hwan-Hee) who is a super fan of Cha Eun Woo (I learned today that his real name is Lee Dong Min. I wonder why they gave him a stage name? Is there another famous Lee Dong Min or something? A quick search doesn't make it appear that's the case. So...colour me clueless.). Remember him? The reason why I started this show? Yes, he frequents the chicken restaurant that Goo Hee's family owns and is a friend of her brother and is like an oppa to her (more so than her real brother who is...well...very brother-y). Eun Woo is one of the only bright spots in Goo-Hee's life.

There's also a girl at her school that knew her and took advantage of her in middle school (taking her homework, asking her to take on her school duties, etc.) and is up the same old tricks now. Here's where Goo-Hee has some growing up to do. She needs to, as they say, grow a pair. We'll just say it's ovaries. But, yeah. She's a total pushover and while she's sweet, some of this is her fault for never standing up for herself.

Anyway, by the end of the first episode, Goo-Hee is at a low point after being dumped and has received an invitation to join "Revenge Note" on her phone. That's where I am so far.

Will write more later but I'd have to say that I'm enjoying the actors and finding that it seems to have a good balance between sad bits and comedic bits, which helps with the pace. It looks well done and I have a good feeling about it in general. It's got a 9.4 rating on Viki, which is pretty decent. Definitely a high school drama, but, hey, I'm never growing up, so what the hey.

Edit: About to start episode 4 and I gotta say that this one is all around better than I thought it would be. I mean, I had hopes, but it's even better so far as story, plot, characters... very brief update...Goo-Hee keeps running into horrible people. Ji-Hoon keeps saving her (along with his guy friend/flunky). Goo-Hee has just used the Revenge Note app on someone who may not have actually deserved it, but I think (in the next episode) she'll be taking matters into her own hands. Eun-woo is about to have trouble. It's all moving along and characters are developing.

Edit: Finished episode 6. Park Solomon is just adorable in this. My only complaint about the show is that I really want Gui-Hee/Goo-Hee to start developing more of a spine instead of relying on the mysterious app. But, seriously, Ji-Hun/Ji-Hoon is just great.

Edit: I'm up to episode 11. Well, I'm still liking the show overall but Goo-Hee is still in need of a backbone or at least some faith in herself and/or Ji-Hoon. And I should probably stop watching the preview of the next show they put at the end of the episodes because they always feel more angsty/horrible than it winds up being. I get that you gotta have conflict, but now it kinda feels a bit drawn out and re-hashed...oh, this girl is after Ji-Hoon...and now this one---and now this one wants revenge because he turned her down...O woe...I almost like the story bits where they're dealing with someone else's problems more. But overall, it's still good and I do like all the lead characters. Wouldn't mind more of Eun-woo though...

Final Edit 29 April 2020: Finally finished it. All this time I'd thought I had two episodes left (it's been MONTHS since I watched this) but there was actually only one left and the last thing on Viki was some recap/rehash thing. So I really should have finished it AGES ago. But anyway.

So, the girl who wanted revenge on Ji-Hoon goes totally over the top (as does her evil beyotch mom) but Goo-Hee's phone gets ruined (by the evil girl) and she can't use Revenge Note when she needs it most (Ji-Hoon is being threatened with jail and his family's business in trouble). But they wind up prevailing because they are nice people and the much beset upon driver of the evil girl's family can't take any more of their evil machinations and helps them out. More or less. And Goo-Hee's brother fixes her phone, but she decides to delete the app because she doesn't want to rely on it anymore.

To sum up, am I glad I watched it? Yes. It was good. Better than I thought it would be. Not everything was all wrapped up, but overall it was nice. Acting was good, even on the young actors. Kim Hyang-gi I've also seen in a movie (where she played a girl with autism) and she's great. Park Solomon...I really enjoyed him in this too. I wonder why he hasn't really been in much? I can't find anything he's been in recently. Shame. Hopefully he gets more roles. Eun-woo...my only complaint is that they didn't tie off his story at all and I could have used more of him. :-)

Would I watch it again? Probably not. While I enjoyed it, I'm old. And I'm not a big fan of bullying storylines (even though the good guys "win"). Will I go on to watch Revenge Note 2? Eh, I dunno. I've seen a bunch of clips of that one and it looks like it is on par with this one with lots more bitchy, manipulative girls. The leads in it also look cute BUT I can only watch so much of that. I think I'd have been way more into it if I was a teenager but I am SO not. Even if I do write books for kids.

My Romantic Some Recipe

I'd seen a clip or two of a super super short web Kdrama with Cha Eun Woo in it but it wasn't available on Viki or Netflix (and I hate watching things on YouTube), so I didn't think I'd ever get to watch it. But then I randomly discovered it on Amazon Prime so I had to watch it because Cha Eun Woo is about the most adorable dude ever. He was the best thing in My ID is Gangnam Beauty. Anyway, it's called My Romantic Some Recipe...which makes me think it loses something in translation. There are only 6 episodes and they are about 10 minutes each (with titles/credits, so REALLY short).

Joo Da-Young plays a college age-ish girl who works at a cafe. She's never dated, having attended an all girls school growing up + having loads of brothers. She's got a crush on a handsome guy who comes to the cafe a lot...but the other girl working there also has a crush on him and is more successful at flirting than Da-Young's character.

One rather drunk night, in a fit of depression after yet another unsuccessful attempt at getting herself noticed, she carts away a life-size cut out of Cha Eun Woo (i.e. Kpop Idol boy from Astro, which he is indeed). She cries a magical tear on it. Why? Who knows. Let's just call it magical realism and roll with it.

The next morning, she wakes up to find him cooking breakfast, though seemingly a bit confused as to why he's there. She at first thinks he's an intruder but soon realises only she can see him. And, since it's Cha Eun Woo, she doesn't dwell on it much and takes it at face value. To be fair, I would too. Why not? When he discovers that she's got a crush on a dude, he vows to help her win him over. It seems to be working, but then their first "date" is disastrous when it turns out the cute dude also invited the other girl along as well and seems more into her. But, meanwhile, Eun Woo has been growing more attached to her...

Just when it seems like things are going well for them (er, other than the whole, no one else can see him thing??), her landlady thinks the now-empty cutout is rubbish and snaps it in half and throws it out. Eun Woo disappears. She's devastated but has to move on because what else is she gonna do? But at least she's got self confidence now and when cute dude tries to switch to her after sort of dumping the other girl, she's, like, no thanks. And shares a moment with the other girl and you can see they're becoming friends. And also starts taking better care of herself via post-it note written prompts from Eun Woo -- she's keeping her house clean and making actual meals instead of living off of instant ramyun.

While walking to work about two months later, she comes across Astro being mobbed by a bunch of teenage girls. She stops to watch, captivated for a moment with Eun Woo, who turns to look at her. But then he turns away and she thinks, oh, yeah, why would he know me? And turns to walk away. But then the ever-present Kdrama wrist grab and Eun Woo's there asking her if she knows him. So, it turns out that, for his part, she's the girl he was dreaming about two months before every night and giggling over getting his first kiss. They share a long look and BOOM that's it, fade to black.

So, it was ridiculously adorable and cute. Left you wanting WAY more but that's the way of these super short web dramas. Sure, there's plot holes and nothing is explained, but I didn't care because it was like a sweet cupcake of a drama. Like, you could get a cavity from watching this. And for what it was, it was well done with a decent amount of character development. I wish they'd drawn out the reveal at the end a little more with at least a hug or something, but I'll take it. It was a nice diversion. Totally adorkable. How many times have I said adorable in this write up? I don't even care.

Dream Daddy

I'd seen Dream Daddy recommended as a good otome a number of times, but hadn't tried it as I thought it was only available via Steam and I've been mostly playing mobile apps recently. Why? I dunno. Maybe because little dude has kind of taken over the laptop I bought for Steam games...but also probably because it was over £10 and I wasn't sure if it was worth it. It's also a game where you play a dude romancing other dudes and that's not normally something I'm looking for in particular. Anyway, long preamble short, it came up the other day in the app store and it was a free download (with, basically, three "credits" so you could go on three "dates") and I thought, what the hey. I'll give it a shot.

So, in a nutshell, you play a dad of a teenage daughter in her last year of high school. Your spouse (which can be either a dude or a lady) died some time ago (unclear how long ago). You and your daughter Amanda are moving to a new neighbourhood where you meet a plethora of other dads. First good point -- you can completely customise how your character looks, which was fun.

Second good point -- the dialogue between all the characters is charming and fun. I especially enjoyed the interactions between the dad and daughter. It was also nice that the story wasn't entirely about the romance stuff; your daughter is also having some problems and part of the story is dealing with that. That said, I'm not sure if the choices you make in those sections have any impact on the romanceable love interests...which leads me to my first bad point.

There's no way to check your relative progress with any of the love interests while you're playing. No gauge. Some of the choices don't seem to make a difference and nothing happens. No visual cues. Some make black clouds appear (presumably, bad choices) and some make hearts (guessing that's good) and some an explosion of hearts and...pills? (is that really good or...what?)

Oh, and if you want to unlock ALL the content, it's $14.99...but if you actually go to the app store, it wants to charge £14.99 which is currently like $18. I hate it when apps do that. You really get screwed by the exchange rate. Which is a reason I don't buy games when they do that...especially since I could get the full game on Steam for £10.99. Annoying.

So, I mentioned previously that you get three "free" dates to play with when you download the mobile app. I figured I'd spend them all on one guy as it looks like you get three possible dates with each one. That way I could presumably check out one complete route, right? See if it would be worth buying on Steam.

Let's talk about the dudes then...

There are seven romanceable love interests and this is where I admit that it gets a little weird for me. I'll go in order, starting from the left of the picture above.

1. Robert - he's, uh, the bad boy? He doesn't talk much, and when he does, you're not sure if he's joking or what. He likes to drink. If you meet him out at the bar first, he invites you home and I, naively, thought he was inviting you home to maybe hang out (yo, welcome to the cul-de-sac) but then he's sticking his tongue down your throat as soon as you get in the door and I was, like, EEK and got the hell out of there. I actually started over because I didn't think the character would've gone there (at least the "dad" I had in my head). I'll admit this one kind of skeeves me out. Didn't do enough of his stuff that I know what his deal with his kid(s) was.
2. Damien - a Victorian loving goth dad with a teenage emo son. He collects dead butterflies and looks like a wannabe vampire. He's actually pretty nice and friendly, though a bit out there. Checking out a guide, it says he's transgender, but that wasn't obvious at all from the bit I played. He was my second choice as a possible to romance. He was kind of sweet.
3. Craig - a former college buddy / roommate of yours who is divorced from his wife and has three kids, one of which is a baby. He's very into working out, which surprises you as he was a total wasteoid at uni. He's the bro. It seems a weird romanceable choice, given that he doesn't at all give off a bi-vibe and you knew him and his girlfriend/wife and the divorce couldn't have been that long ago when he's got a baby that can't even walk yet. So I stayed away from him. Maybe it'd work if there was something in the dialogue/inner thought monologue where you think about how you always had a crush on him or that one night when you both got too drunk in uni...
4. Joseph - a still married (to a woman, Mary, who is a hardcore drunk slutty woman who sleeps around and ignores her kids to the point of abuse) youth minister (?!) with four kids (all of whom have names starting with the letter "C" and two of which are really creepy twins). He's the blonde preppie looking dad. I didn't want to touch any of that with a ten foot pole. I mean, he's still married and his "Dadbook" profile is all about how much he loves his wife. And he wears a sweater thrown over his shoulders. He invites you to attend church with him. So. Ick. Uck. Yuck.
5. Hugo - one of your daughter's teachers. He's a literary paragon who likes big words. Has a snot of a tweenager son. Looks very dapper. Has an ex-husband. If I'd been feeling him, he probably would have been a decent choice because he already presents as gay. Am I making sense? Do I try to inner roleplay this stuff too much? Probably. Anyway, this guy didn't skeeve me out or anything, but he had a bit of a "I'm smarter than everyone" thing going on, so I skipped him. Though, apparently, from the guide...he's also into wrestling? So...hmmm.
6. Mat - a widower (wife dead) who owns the local coffee shop and has a middle school aged daughter and is adorkably awkward when talking to people (like the MC). Also plays music and makes bad puns. Liked everything about him, though, again, was a bit weirded out that he had a wife before. But he was the one I picked because I liked the conversations with him the best in the intro scenes.
7. Brian - a kind of weirdly aggressive "I'm the best" chubby bear of a dad with an overachieving 10 year old daughter. Both constantly try to one-up you. Didn't find any of that attractive at all, so I didn't go there.

So. I played without looking at any walkthroughs or anything (only looked at a guide while writing this up so I could see their names). Did all three dates with Mat. Got a B on the first one, an A on the second, and a B on the third -- again, as I mentioned above, without many visual cues so wasn't sure what was going on. They kissed at the end of the third date. But then in the aftermath, you get turned down and friendzoned. So it obviously wasn't enough. And I missed what looks like a chunk of one date because I didn't want to do drugs with the character. So, yeah. I'm too straightlaced.

Oh. Haven't mentioned the annoying mini games. There are apparently a number of them. You come across two in Mat's route. One where you have to work your way through a crowd (which wasn't very easily controllable, so I failed and thus didn't get to finish that part of the date) and another where you have to sort of play ska piano. I gather that they are supposed to be cute, but I just found them to be random and annoying. 

So...I guess I see why people recommend this one. The art is great (though Robert, like, kinda scares me). The dialogue is witty and fun. The storyline is pretty engaging and well written, even if some of it doesn't make total sense. Great to see something with good representation -- a lot of diversity in the characters from every which direction -- race, sexual orientation, etc. The only category I guess you could say gets dinged are women since the only one in the story is a total beyotch, though at least the dead wives were all nice...

But I don't think I'll be ultimately buying it because a) the mechanics are a bit lacking as far as figuring out where you stand, b) the minigames annoyed me, c) over half of the LIs I can't imagine romancing given who the characters are supposed to be (that's just me; I obviously take this shit way too seriously) and d) given all of the above, I wouldn't spend the £18 on it. £5 maybe, as I wouldn't have minded trying to successfully finish Mat's route or taken a stab at Damien and possibly Hugo. Some of this is obviously "just me" stuff so it's one I wouldn't feel bad recommending to people.

I'm glad I tried it, though.  

Mr. Love: Queen's Choice

I hadn't really tried any new otome games in a while (more taken up with Kdramas...let's be honest...and working on the book). But I downloaded Mr. Love on a whim without much hope because a) what the heck kind of a ridiculous name is "Mr. Love"? and b) it's by the same people that made that Love Nikki game (which I tried and immediately deleted...it said it was supposed to be otome-ish but it's more of a dress up game and it's really confusing).

But I've been pleasantly surprised by this one and have actually (gasp) spent some actual real money on it because I don't mind supporting games that are good. That said, I'm not entirely sure this can be truly classified as an otome game. On the one hand, yes, the characters are romanceable (sort of) BUT there's no way to pick one to concentrate on and, so far as I can tell, your choices don't make any difference in how you progress. Basically, as you move forward in the story, you gain intimacy with each of the characters fairly equally. In fact, you can't really avoid it. So even if there's one you don't want to have anything to do with, you're gonna progress with him anyway. And I kind of doubt that there's any "true" route or an ending to this game as they have a vested interest in keeping you going.

But let's go back and describe the story and gameplay a bit.

You are a wet behind the ears 22 year old who has graduated university and taken over your father's production company, which was known for a show called Miracle Finder. Your father is dead. Not exactly sure when or why. The company is struggling and you need financial support from LFG, some huge investment company run by a guy named Victor (he's the dark haired suit and tie dude that treats you like you're an idiot but has a soft spot for you and some kind of childhood connection, more than likely -- and, admittedly, the MC really is a bit of an idiot and while he's a bit blunt about it, his advice is usually dead on). You wind up getting a gazillionty dollars of investment from them, which is absolutely unbelievable. But anyway. It's totally because Victor's got a soft spot for your pluck and that niggling feeling that he knew you when.

Meanwhile, you reconnect with this dude named Gavin (he's the lighter haired gruff but sensitive and misunderstood policeman that's always looked out for you even though you've misunderstood everything about him because you're kinda stupid and jump to conclusions with no evidence) as he takes you out on cases, mostly because he knows some people are after you (more on that in a minute) and wants to look after you. You knew him back in high school and were actually kind of terrified of him because you basically a) believe lies about him or b) misconstrued everything you saw. Seriously, he's too good for you.

Then there's Kiro (the blonde haired idol who is also your age and the biggest sweetheart ever who ALSO has a childhood connection to you that you, of course, don't remember because you have blocked out all important memories for purposes of plot reveals/progression). You run into him one day and strike up a friendship with him somehow (because he's the sweetest ever) and he helps you out on your show(s). Also, he's apparently the most talented hacker in the world and saves your butt many times. Multi-talented man.

Lastly, the other dark-haired dude is Lucien (a secretive scientist who can apparently attract women like bees to pollen and who I don't trust any farther than I can throw him) who you first meet because of an interview, but then he keeps showing up and even moves across the hallway from you. There are warning signs all over this guy and he obviously knows way more than he is letting on, alternatively pouring on the charm or being hard to reach. 

The background story behind the simple stuff of trying to get your company going is that you have a sort-of superpower. People who have them are called Evols and you're one of them, though you had no idea. You have prophetic dreams and who knows what else. I'm sure you're way more important than you know (or should be) because that's how these things go. And everyone else has one too -- Kiro's is, more or less, that everyone loves him, Victor can stop time, and Gavin can fly/travel in the wind. We don't know what Lucien's is yet, but be sure that he has one because of course he does.

There's some shadowy organisation called Black Swan that has plans for Evols. And are probably who kidnapped (?) / experimented on you when you were young (which Kiro remembers, but you don't). There's also stuff about an orphanage, though not really sure exactly how that ties in as you had a dad (?) but maybe you were adopted (?). I'm guessing you're some kind of catalyst that makes other Evols stronger or something. So...some people seem set on trying to kill you (which you are surprisingly blasé about) while others (or maybe the same ones) seem set on trying to get you to remember your past. 

I probably sound like I'm being really hard on the MC here, but for the most part it works because she IS young and inexperienced. I'm not a huge fan of the "I can't remember my past even though everyone else does" shtick, but overall it's actually pretty well written, so I'm forgiving. It definitely is by far the most intricately plotted mobile app gave I've seen so far.

Whew. That's a lot. Let's talk about gameplay. But just a bit, because I don't wanna write a novel about this thing. There's a ton of different things which are slowly added as you level up. It is, at its heart, a card collecting game with the CGs ranked as Super Super Rare, Super Rare, Rare, and two kinds of normal cards. There are gems that can be spent in game on things. There are the story progressing bits alternated with show producing missions. There are dates you can unlock (which are actually pretty decently done). There are competitions where you can earn the items you need to rank / level up. You can evolve or ascend your cards. You can hire people to help your company. You can investigate things so that you can level up. There's even this weird thing called City Stroll where you can have "encounters" with the guys that you can (thankfully) autoplay because it's the one thing where the translations/story is ridiculous. 

Oh, and there's instant messages and phone calls with the guys, similar to Mystic Messenger, but only at certain points in the storyline or whenever you unlock things via card collection. Here's my other sort of big quibble -- the English voice actors either sound ridiculous OR like serial killers (looking at you, Lucien). Only one of them didn't make me want to scrub my ears out and he sounds entirely too cutesy. Thankfully, once you have hit a certain point you can unlock and install the Japanese voice packs where the voice actors are MUCH better. There's even a thing they recently released where you can win or buy a special "whisper in your ear" thing where they talk to you in order to help you sleep or something like that (cheesey...). They gave you the Lucien one for free with a special event BUT so far it's only in English and he's the one that sounds like a serial killer so...um...no. I listened to about 10 seconds and it creeped me the hell out. Bummer that he was the one they gave away as he's the only one I really don't like at all. The rest of them all have their good points.

Anyway, I'm in chapter 9 of the currently released 11 chapters, though I still have quite a bit to unlock. Like I mentioned earlier, I've actually spent some actual coinage on this one (probably more than I should have). I appreciate the lengths to which they've gone. To be fair, it's got a more complex storyline / play than a lot of full otome games I've downloaded on Steam. It's been a pleasant surprise. Will add to this, perhaps, if I ever get to an "end," but I doubt there is one.

Edit: I've made it through chapter 12 now and the story just gets more intense with each instalment. I won't say it all makes perfect sense, but in general they do a good job of creating tension and progressing the plot within the confines of the medium and the story construct (i.e. balancing the 4 dudes + her cluelessness to provoke reveals, etc.). As I suspected from the very first meeting, Lucien is indeed a "bad" guy though they try to hint at him as a conflicted one. Meh.

The interesting / weird thing about the structure of the app is that you *must* progress with all 4 guys in the main storyline and there's no way (like in a proper otome) to choose one. BUT in the dates and other "extras" it's a bit more loose. You almost have to think of them as separate things -- almost like the dates occur in one possible universe/timeframe. Not sure how else to describe it. In general, they are pretty well written and give the game longevity as you want to continue collecting them and reading them while you wait for new chapters to be added. There's one more chapter beyond what I've read, but I've been building up as I wait as I don't want to rush through it.

Anyway, long story short, it's continuing to hold my interest.

Edit: I felt like I should update this as I haven't opened this one in a while for a couple reasons. One being something beyond the app itself and sort of political -- one of the English voice actors (Jonah Scott, who voiced Victor) said something about Taiwan being a country and they fired him. Two more VAs quit in solidarity. It was all a big kerfluffle and a bit mad. Didn't like it. I mean, I'm half-Chinese, but it was a very heavy-handed mess. 

Also, by that time, I wasn't playing the game a ton as--and this sounds like a weird reason--they'd released so much more content. The problem is that the storyline had become so completely convoluted that a lot just wasn't making sense. So they sort-of try to ret-con things by having weird time jumps/slips happen. It was too much. It felt like they were just throwing out new plot threads so that the game/story can keep going indefinitely but it made the whole thing feel like a big hot mess. When I did open it, I only did so to read through some of the side date stories (which are all mostly separate from the main plot(s). It's probably been 5 or 6 months or maybe even more since I last opened it.

Accidentally in Love

So, I'd needed a new one to try at the gym and had downloaded an episode of Accidentally in Love some time ago (not even sure when), so I tried it out. It's another Chinese Drama. Man, I'm still really bad about the Chinese thing. Why does Korean sound so much more normal to me? My aunties would be so mad.

Anyway, I'm going to be lazy and not bother with character or actor names until such point as I actually watch more of it because I have, like, ten minutes to type this up before it is movie and pizza night.

So...lead actress is supposed to be a very intelligent (like graduated uni early smart) but kinda rebellious rich girl. Her grandfather wants to marry her off to some young rich dude. She doesn't want to get married for connections. She wants to marry for love, like her parents did (mom obviously being dead, not sure about the dad). It's the day of her engagement party...though she's in a full on wedding dress and there's an aisle and, like, a priest, so not sure what is up with that. Is it the actual marriage ceremony or what?

Doesn't matter. She convinces a friend to take her place under the veil and makes a run for it...though not very well, since they spot her and chase after her before she's even made it out the gate. But she manages to make it to some other town (where her parents met?) and register for school (which I'm confused about, as grandfather was bragging that she already graduated from uni?), though it takes all her money...and her bag gets accidentally swapped with some other guy's bag...and she gets begging lessons from a weird guru beggar (?? wot?).

Anyway, she's in the middle of some open air Idol dude concert that she wandered into (?) when her grandfather's goons find her again. Oh...I forgot to mention...she was classically "beautiful" in the beginning, with long dark hair, etc. but she's frumped herself up with glasses, dotted on freckles and a slightly unfortunate wig (sigh...though, honestly, I'm not sure which version is the wig...maybe I should call it "unfortunate hair" though I actually think she looks cuter in the frumpy version than in the "beautiful" version...though the hair is...well...unfortunate). So, she runs.

Coincidentally, at the same time, the leader/singer of the Idol band, who, to be honest, really doesn't look like an Idol or that comfortable on stage, is also making a run for it in disguise (as a girl?) because his father's goons are there to drag him to his wedding (the father's, apparently, not Idol Dude). They run into each other. They do the classic "pretend to kiss" so the goons run by us thing. O, woe, my first kiss was stolen thing.

Did something else happen after that? I can't even remember.

So...it looks cliche as all heck. That's not necessarily a bad thing. But it was also kinda awkward. Not in a comedic way but just in a slightly off way? It's a 2018 though, so...there's hope. I'll give it another couple of episodes and see if there's any chemistry at least. It may just be the Chinese vs. Korean style thing. But we'll see.

Edit: watched the second episode at the gym today. Still seems okay, not amazing. Kinda ridiculous (even more so) plot -- now he's made her pretend to be his fiancé to stop his dad's wedding (?). Guy is more annoying than anything but at least the girl has a spine. The guy's best friend actually seems nicer. Has the standard Evil Wanna Be Girlfriend girl. So...we'll see. I am not over enthused at this point but it's okay.

Edit: have watched a couple/few more while at the gym. Do like the 30 minute time per episode...that makes it convenient. As for story...well, ML is still pretty much an ass. Still don't feel like he was the best casting choice for superstar Idol material (maybe it could have gone to the 3rd lead dude who's supposed to be the bad ass). He just doesn't have the look or the presence of an Idol. I mean, he's cute. But in this kind of dorky way. Which, hey, I like.

FL makes ridiculous choices/decisions and it seems like all of the "let's move the plot forward" conveniences are all due to her being stupid. They're trying to play it off like it is all because she was so sheltered growing up but then she'll show moments of savvy and, eh, I dunno. At least she sticks up for herself (mostly in stupid ways) and is nice to those she considers her friends (even poor lovely Second Lead dude). I guess I'd still hold with "it's okay." Mostly I think I'll finish it because I want to finish at least some Chinese language ones.

Edit: Yeah, still plodding through this one. I think my problem is that I still find either of the second lead guys (the "tough" one and the "nice" one) to be more attractive and a better fit for the FL.

Edit, after episode 8: Wow, didn't realise this one has been on my list of "currently watching" since August and it's now October. Anyway, this last episode was utter ridiculousness with some weirdly awkward acting. I mean, honestly, pretty bad. It was kinda weird. Like, I wouldn't say the acting up until this episode was amazing or anything, but it was okay. But this one had some more action-y (ridiculous, but action-y) scenes where the "bad" (Third Lead) guy kidnaps Qingqing (FL) so he can threaten Situ Feng the Idol dude (I honestly was also a bit like, eh, why'd he show up to save her? He's always going on and on about how he can't stand her) because someone they obviously both knew died some time ago and he blames Idol Dude for it. The acting was so over the top cheesy it was painful. Though, to be fair, rather than making me want to turn it off like would often happen, I found myself watching with a bemused expression wondering just how bad it could get.

I'm not sure why I keep watching this one. It's not like it's particularly adorable and it's got way too many episodes (30 freaking episodes, which I did not know going in...though, technically I guess it's kinda like the normal 15 as the episodes are only 30 minutes-ish...so I probably shouldn't complain) and the acting and plot aren't particularly great. I guess I want to see if the cuteness will be worth it. It just might take me another six months to get to the end at this rate.

On the one plus side, it's the first show I've seen where the character's disguise vs. real life looks actually are convincing. Usually, I'm like, come on, how does no one figure this out? It's the same person, you idiots! But the FL actually looks and acts completely different in her two different versions (ie "beautiful girl" vs. "frumpy glasses girl with funky hair and fake freckles").

Edit, up to episode 14: I decided to keep going with this one because a) it's low stress partly because I'm not terribly invested in the characters, b) I thought I'd let a bunch of episodes built up of The World Owes Me a First Love since I hate being caught up and c) it's the least stressful and most silly of the ones I'm currently watching. Revenge Note is good, but it's about to go into what's probably the angsty-ist bit based on the previews for the next episode. And I...I'm just stressed out, yo. So Accidentally in Love it is.

Okay, so at the half way point...and the main lead's relationship is finally progressing along reasonable lines and is reasonably charming. They're actually the two best actors in this drama and their scenes flow the best, especially when they let loose character-wise and aren't trying to one-up each other. The scenes with the third lead dude (the bad boy) and the best friend of Qingqing (Fangfang?) are the cringiest as far as acting goes, though they are also kinda sweet. Whenever they actually hit a scene and get through it without making me groan, I'm all, yay! You got this! You can do it!

The second male lead is okay, acting-wise. You know he's got no hope of anything other than being support, but hey. He's a puppy. Hell, they're all puppies.

At least he's figured out that the two versions of her are the same person. Situ Feng hasn't; in fact, he was telling pretty girl version how he should introduce her to "ugly" girl version because "ugly" girl is his best friend and could use some comportment lessons. Ha. Gu Nanxi (the 2nd lead dude) had a crush on pretty girl version, but now that he's figured out who she really is, he seems like he's given up because he realises (even if Idol dude doesn't) that Situ Feng likes her. He's too nice.

Yeah, so anyway, it's okay. Reasonably charming, sometimes cludgy, but okay.

Edit, up to episode 19: OMG such incredibly hokey special effects...literally, they are so bad that I find myself wondering if they're doing it on purpose. The car, like a toy car, spinning off a cliff. The plastic spider dangling on a string. They just can't be serious. Actually, so much silliness. The bit with the grandpa testing Situ Feng by taking him farming is just so bizarre and funny.

But we're about to enter into the latter half arc that I know I'm going to hate -- when she has to face up to the fact that she's been lying to him this whole time about who she is (and the shenanigans with the grandpa should, I imagine, make it worse, when he's pretending they are dirt poor when they are in fact filthy rich). But this show obviously doesn't take itself too seriously, so I can't imagine it will go too far off the deep end into agony.

Edit: Finally finished it. There were some bits I wanted to burn with fire and SO so much of it made no sense (the never-aging kitten, why she had to keep "uglifying"...ugh, I'm not even going to list it all.) and the whole latter arc with the suicidal tendencies of the manipulatively evil bitchy mean girl...
Anyway. I finished it.

There were some cute moments. The two leads managed to pull it off. The faults the show had didn't lie with them. They even managed to build a believable romance out of it and the best moments of the show were when they were together.

I won't talk about the plot elements that were just dropped with no explanation (grandpa's illness, never really showing Situ Feng that she's super rich or what the effect of that would be, the jilted ex-fiancé who briefly pops up with a last minute plot machination that nothing comes of, Idol dude's dad's marriage...there's more, but I'm gonna stop there)...I think, to sum up, that I'd have to say that this one "is what it is" and you have to just take it or lump it. It's not one that I would re-watch and I wouldn't watch it with little dude (quite frankly, if you feel like you should be cheering for someone to be successful in their manipulative bids to commit suicide, it's just not right...but that Xinya character had absolutely no redemptive qualities at all...I mean...it was sorta played for comedic effect but NOT at the same time and...meh.).

Am I glad I watched it? Eh, I'll give it a 70% on that, I suppose. I wanted a bit more feel-good from the ending too, to be honest. At least they didn't kiss like they weren't allowed to move their lips. That's something. Mostly, I feel relief that I can scratch something off my watching list. Maybe I'll feel more kindly upon further reflection. It did have it's moments.

Hi! School Love On

Oh, er, um...should've made note of this a while back because now I feel like I've forgotten what was going on somewhat...anyway...a few weeks ago (a month? more? dunno...), little dude and I were looking for something to watch together. Maybe Crunchyroll wasn't working? I talked him into trying Hi! School Love On which has possibly the most nonsensical name I've seen yet for a Kdrama.

It's an older one from 2014 but I'd seen a clip or two and it had looked funny/ridiculous/fish out of water style antics (which he tends to like) so I'd thought it would be a good fit. So...Kim Sae-Ron plays Lee Suel-Bi, an angel who accidentally becomes human when she inadvertently saves the life of a human boy. That boy is Nam Woo-Hyun playing Shin Woo-Hyun in possibly his first or second role. He's a boy band dude in a band called Infinite. I don't think he's done much else, though it looks like he's released some solo songs. Anyway, he has his own trials and tribulations.

Some popular idiot girl at school is obsessed with him and does stupid things to try and get him to be with her but her super bitchy Dragon Mom thinks it is all his fault and is making his life miserable and works to get him kicked out of school. There's also another Infinite member who plays what I guess must be the Second Lead dude: Lee Seung-Yeol, playing Hwang Seung-Yeol (again with the same first name thing? what's up with that?). He's a bit of a jerk in the first episode and there's some sort of family drama involving his step mother.

Anyway, once Seul-Bi becomes human, she winds up staying with Woo-Hyun, who mostly thinks she is insane because she doesn't know how to do anything. There's also another angel who is trying to help her, played by an older actor who also might have some type of feelings for her (?) though angels are apparently not supposed to have any such things. I am guessing that the three leads wind up at the same school and shenanigans ensue. There's also a time jump-y thing in the beginning where we see the present/future and it looks like Seul-bi is gone and Woo-Hyun is missing her? I could be mis-reading it, but that's what it looked like.

I kinda hate it when they do crap like that.

Anyway, little dude wasn't impressed. I thought it looked okay and I'm willing to give it a longer go--at least a few more episodes--but I gotta say it didn't look amazing either. So I'd say it's on my "I'll finish this some day" list for now. You often can't tell from just one episode, so we'll see. But it obviously didn't grab me enough that I didn't even remember to write it up until now...

Spark

I needed something short and quick to take up my train journeys and settled on Spark (circa 2016) as the episodes run from 11 to 18 minutes (and you can subtract out the title & credit sequences for another minute, making them even shorter). It's definitely a mini drama with all of the benefits and set backs that entails; super fast to get through but the story isn't developed nearly enough and it leaves you wanting more. But let me start with what it's about.

Ga On (played by relative newcomer Na Jong Chan) is the leader of an idol band. He's dedicated to his work but wants more--mostly more creative freedom. He was raised by his grandmother, who sadly died before his debut. He wants to break out on his own with his best friend in the band, Ji Sung (played by Yeo One, an actual Idol from the group Pentagon...this was his first acting role). Then there's his manager, who is your standard arse.

Ha Neul (played by Nam Bo Ra, who is 5 years Chan's senior and has been in a fair handful of things, though nothing I've seen before though she looks familiar) has had a hard life after the death of her parents. She's living with one friend (Ah Reum, played by Kwon Eun Soo, who is supposed to be super intelligent, as indicated mostly by her wearing glasses and writing on whiteboards) and has a job that another friend (Jin Soon, played by Park Jin Joo, who has been in tons of things, though mostly in support type roles) secured for her.

Jin Soon, you see, is a huge fan of Ga On and became a makeup artist in part so she could work with him (i.e. touch him, more like). Leaving aside the fact that I doubt if any company would hire something who is so obviously an obsessed fan girl, at least she supports her friend. Anyway.

Ha Neul isn't so much a fan and thinks Ga On is a bit of an ass, though admittedly, I'd be annoyed with her too when she literally keeps accidentally flinging sweat all over him. I mean, yuck. Once is one thing. But three times is...well, gross. Anyway, through situations, they wind up getting hit by a meteor (? seriously, not making this up) together. It supercharges them in different ways -- Ga On has an excess of electricity to the point he shocks himself and other people any time he touches them (or electronics, making it very hard to do his job) and she, on the other hand, is charged the other way. She's the only person he can touch and she, in fact, helps to disperse his charge. And through touching her he can continue to work.

So, complications -- 1) he has to keep it from his manager, who is trying to force him to sign a contract extension and is actively trying to get his best bud to turn against him, 2) there's a girl idol who is also obsessed with him and acts like a total bitch but 3) the best friend happens to love her and is feeling a bit left out and 4) of course, the fact that Ha Neul and Ga On didn't start off on the best foot but, wait, 5) they have a mysterious musical connection related to Ha Neul's dad and the song he was humming in the hospital after they got in a car accident. Really could've done without that last bit, honestly. It wasn't necessary.

Did I leave anything out? Probably. For a short little mini drama, they tried to pack a lot in. And don't get me wrong, it isn't bad. The actors all did a decent job, though the younglings were a bit obviously unseasoned every now and then. But given the length, there really wasn't time to develop the story as much as it deserved and the nicely wrapped up ending in particular (when the best friend comes through and the bitchy girl has a somewhat change of heart) came a bit out of nowhere and other things weren't really wrapped up (didn't see how Evil Manager's play was going to work anyway, but they never even showed exactly what happened after -- did they strike out on their own? what about all the other band members? what job did Ha Neul wind up with?)...BUT the two leads did have a nice amount of chemistry going on and Na Jong Chan had some particularly nice moments, especially given his lack of experience. I'd watch him in something again.

Weirdly, for a show that involved a lot of touching due to the circumstances, there was never a kiss. Would have been a nice touch at the end. Not sure why they didn't go there (instead returning back to the mysterious co-inkydink sub-plot).

SO...I guess if I had to sum up my thoughts...for what it was, it did a good job. It did leave me wanting more, but that actually shows that it had a lot of promise. Am I glad I watched it? Yeah, sure. Would I watch it again? Probably not. There weren't enough satisfying moments or even moments of great comedy to justify a re-watch. But, overall, not bad.

Go, Go Squid

Haven't started any new dramas in quite a while but everyone on Twitter has been talking about this new one called Go, Go Squid.

I do not know why it is called that.

So...I needed a break today from editing (I'm in the middle of taking parts of three different chapters and putting it into one) because my brain was full and I thought I'd give it a go. The episodes are about 45 minutes long, so enough for a decent break.

So very, very pink

This might actually be my very first Chinese drama from China. I've tried (and ditched) a couple of Chinese language ones from Taiwan, but pretty sure this is my first try at one from the mainland. I have high hopes because a) everyone talking about it seems to love it, b) the rating on Viki is high, and c) I did see a couple of clips and they looked decent.

After one episode, I don't feel like I have a handle on it yet. But, it's ongoing and there's already over 40 freaking episodes (gah!) so I'll try a few more before I fully form an opinion.

The description on Viki:

At 19, Tong Nian (Yang Zi) has the whole world at her feet. A brilliant IT programming student, with stellar grades and an equally impressive social media following built around her covers of Japanese songs, Tong Nian never has a problem meeting new people or making friends. But that all changes the day Han Shang Yan (Li Xian) walks into her life. 

A genius in his own right, Han Shang Yan is one of the world’s top professional gamers. A legend in the world of esports, Shang Yan is used to living in the spotlight but never once has he let it his position get in the way of his profession. Always working towards that next win, he has never let himself be distracted by the people around him, especially when it comes to women. 

Smitten by Hang Shang Yan the moment she first lays eyes on him, Tong Nian tries to find a way to approach her new crush, but can never seem to find the words. Every attempt she makes ends up failing miserably. Cold and uninterested, Shang Yan barely even recognizes Tong Nian’s existence, or so it seems. 

Could Tong Nian’s persistence catch the eye of a man who sees no one? To Tong Nian it may seem impossible but everyone knows, anything’s possible when it comes to love. 

Based on the novel “Stewed Squid with Honey” by Mo Bao Fei Bao, “Go Go Squid!” is a Viki Original 2019 romantic comedy-drama directed by Xiang Xu Jing.

So...okay, that sounds reasonably interesting. I like that she's accomplished on her own. I don't mind the "cold at first but then opens up" kind of guy. And I do feel like I ought to try more Chinese language stuff.

After episode 1...a few thoughts:

• She's a grad student? But she's 19? And he says he's 30 at one point. Erm...not entirely sure about that age difference thing. It's not impossible BUT there's a whomping huge difference in maturity between a 19 year old and a 30 year old. So I dunno how I feel about that.
• She really likes pink.
• She spots him when he comes into the Internet Cafe that her cousin owns (?) / works at when she was there helping out and immediately goes full on stalker over him. 1) I don't see why at all. I mean, he's handsome enough, but he's not friendly nor does he pay her any attention and it's not like he's so WHOA beautiful that you see why she does this and 2) she's kinda overboard in her stalker-ness (getting his WeChat info via duplicitous means and then basically spamming him with messages).
• The second lead dude that likes her seems adorable. I feel bad for him already.
• He's not a professional gamer. He leads a team that competes in cyber security contests.
• There are a lot of kids on his team and he views them as just that -- kids. So I kinda wonder why he'd ever even consider getting together with her (see first bullet point).
• So far she's not shown any particular intelligence or drive other than being a stalker.
• The story kind of jumps around and throws out a bunch of characters in this first episode. No clue really yet on what is going on.
• It seems she's supposed to be majoring in something related to cyber security. And he's famous in that field. So why does she not know who he is or who his team is when she sees his name / his team's name?

Anyway, acting-wise, they seem okay. I wouldn't say I love them so far, but they aren't bad. I'm finding it less annoying than the over the top antics in the Taiwanese dramas I tried. So I'll keep on for now and hope that all the love I'm seeing for it is deserved.

My Cutie Devil

So, I've been pretty busy (working on the edits for book one, which I will *hopefully* have complete by 21 August when the in-laws get here + visitors + little dude being out of school). So I haven't done a lot of watching of anything or, for that matter, going to the gym. Grrr. Waistline is definitely showing that. Anywho...

Have tried out a few new games and have a loose plan of how little dude and I might work on our own game. So this'll be my notes on one that came up when I did a search for new otome...though I wouldn't label it that myself now that I've completed one "route."

It's called My Cutie Devil. It's...so kawai that you kinda wanna throw up. I'm mostly only including it here so I remember and don't ever download this again. I mean, don't get me wrong. It's adorable. But it's not much of a game. Similar to Jimi-Kare: My Quiet Boyfriend and In Search of Haru, you have to do a lot of clicking/"caring" for your wee little charge. In this case, a chibi-ish little tiny boy/thing that you find (?). Weirdly, the game is really from the POV of the boy, who is totally clueless about who he is, what he is, and who you are. It starts off with the poor little guy naked and in diapers. You have to click stuff to "level up" and then click even more stuff. It had said in the description that "your choices change the outcome" but...THERE'S ONLY ONE FREAKING DECISION POINT and it's a completely random thing where you choose a shape.

I chose a heart. And wound up with a little wee angel. There's really no story to speak of and no answers / resolution. The translation is somewhat iffy. Once you have an end result, it shuffles you right back to the beginning to start over. So...I dunno. Is this the modern day tamagotchi equivalent? Is this targeted towards 8 year olds? ...though the content would make that a bit suspect.

Anyway, not for me. It just seemed very pointless. Graphics were cute. That's about the only plus I could think of. But it's not engaging gameplay on any level. It's just mindless clicking. I'm amazed I managed to finish a "route" but I know why I did...I kept thinking, this can't be it, can it?