I Order You

 So, I'd recommended Kiss Goblin to someone and they, in turn, recommended I Order You to me as another short episode drama to try. 

There are just 10 episodes at about 20 minutes each (if you ignore the credits). I've just watched the first two episodes so far and I can't say that I love it, but I don't hate it either. Let me start with what the description on Viki says:

Can a heartbroken divorced man learn to love again?

Yeo Gook Dae (Jung Yunho) is a talented chef who hides his broken heart from his divorce behind his brash attitude. He runs a homemade dosirak (lunchbox) shop, where he creates delicious meals to take his mind off of his heartache. When he meets unemployed Park Song Ah (Kim Ga Eun) at his store, they instantly begin a bickering relationship.

Will Song Ah and Gook Dae realize despite their back-and-forth squabbling that they are meant for each other?

“I Order You” is a 2015 South Korean drama series directed by Ahn Gil Ho. It is based on a web novel of the same title by Plada.

So. Ahem. First of all, Song Ah isn't unemployed. And she is immediately smitten by him as soon as she lays eyes on him. She does, however, wind up working for him part time when a priceless dish is broken after he has to give her the Heimlich. Yeah, really. It doesn't make much sense, but I guess they needed an Ouran High School Host Club type set up to get the two of them to be in close proximity. 

Things I like so far...actually, the other two guys that work at the lunchbox shop. Ahem. Could they do a show with the tall one with glasses instead (Baek Jong Won)? I'd watch that. And the food. Because, you know me and food shows. Production value is good.

But I can't say that I'm enjoying the male lead yet at all. He just seems like a jerk for the most part. Maybe once his past comes out? I dunno. Not loving the female lead so far either -- the character is...kind of...ridiculous. And needy. But flailing. I don't feel like I have a handle on her. Or maybe it's just that I don't have any respect for her? 

At any rate, it's so short that I'll probably finish it. Maybe after some more character development it will improve. I'm probably just trying to assign more value to it than the premise holds, to be fair.

Edit: Okay, have watched a couple more when I couldn't get to Netflix to connect from the shed. It's going okay. They've also introduced a childhood friend now and, honestly, I don't see any reason to ship the female lead with the male lead. Why not the childhood friend dude instead who's a) nice (so far), b) seems to like her and she c) seems to like him a bit, though is definitely more attracted to ML dude (though I really, really don't see why). 

ML dude is...well, he's like the textbook be horrible, have a few moments of sweetness to confuse you dude. And I can't say that I feel his inner conflict much, so I'm kinda meh on him, especially since his nice moments have been very short & often something she doesn't necessarily actually see. So, technically to her, he's a dude who's really rude and mean to her who occasionally cooks her good food (that she never seems to eat more than one bite of). Also, SL dude is kinda cuter. Actually, nice dude who works at the cafe and wears glasses is cuter than all of them. Can we have him instead? He's really nice. Can I have that show?

Edit: Okay, I finished it. Partly because I couldn't get The Tale of Nokdu to play for some reason and I was waiting for subs to be finished for True Beauty and I kinda wanted to finish something and this was short and I was halfway there. I debated updating this post a few times -- mostly as everything I expected to happen, happened...but then, I thought...eh...not worth the effort. 

So...I found this one to be very predictable with all the major plot twists super telegraphed ahead of time. And full of ridiculous coincidences. There were a lot of tears (not mine). I mean, it was okay. It wasn't absolutely horrible or anything. But it was full of trope-age and needless melodrama, a fair bit of which didn't make sense (who calls off a marriage based on one conversation with a bitchy mother-in-law and then disappears for 3 years -- just in time -- thinking they'll come back and boom! everything will be okay?  ALL THE TROPES. I mean, it was all there. Ex-love who reappears at the most inconvenient time. Evil mother. "Big" reveals of coincidental past traumas. Unlikely conjoining of the past. Sigh.

But the actors were all fine. The leads got to showcase their ability to cry on demand. 

Am I glad I watched it? Not really. Did I enjoy it? Er, maybe 50%. It was okay. The food looked good. It was short. I wouldn't watch it again.

Holmes of Kyoto

I started another anime called Holmes of Kyoto which is ostensibly a mystery-solve-cases-Sherlockian series. That said, none of the episodes so far have been remotely surprising or shocking and the "mysteries" have been ridiculously easy to figure out. Even so, I'm enjoying it. It's comfortable and easy. 

In it we meet Aoi, a high school girl going through some heartbreak after moving to Kyoto. Her old boyfriend and former best friend in her old hometown have hooked up and are dating now. She feels angry and betrayed and wants to give them a piece of her mind. She brings in some of her late grandfather's scrolls to an antique shop, intending to get them appraised so she can possibly sell them to buy a train ticket back to her old city and give the traitors a piece of her mind. Instead, she winds up hired as a part time worker.

Which is all a little trite. But, okay, whatever.

The grandson of the store's owner is the eponymous Holmes with Sherlock's uncanny ability to see right through any situation. Except, as I mentioned above, I'm actually 6 episodes in now and...yeah, I'm just as good as you, Holmes-san. These are not difficult mysteries.

He's attending Kyoto University and is nursing his own romantic heartbreak (his girlfriend left him for someone more exuberant). So he feels sympathy for Aoi. There are definitely teasers of possible romance between the two of them so far, though it's fairly innocent. 

Each episode adds to the cast of characters, some of which show up again. A playboy actor type, a new female friend for Aoi, an unlikely judo expert... 

Anyway, I like it. It's not a stellar or outstanding show, but it's good for a casual watch. It's light, though not frothy, if that makes sense. The "enemy" (i.e. the Moriarty of the show) is an odd one -- an art forger that is determined to outwit Holmes. It's kind of an odd dynamic.

As a bonus, I am learning a little bit about the history of various types of Asian art.

Edit: I finished this one. Apparently 2 weeks ago. Ooops. They definitely left it open for another season. I liked it. I wouldn't say I loved it. I could have done without the Ensho (art forger/Moriarty dude) part and just had it be antiques-related mysteries. 

The relationship between the two leads did progress, but very, very slowly. She's realised she likes him (and she's about to enter Uni, so that makes it feel a bit better) but hasn't confessed. Literally EVERYONE (grandma, grandpa, friends, dad...) can tell he likes her and keeps giving him not very veiled advice to get his butt in gear or lose out but he's made no active moves. So that was a little WTF. But, I guess they are modeling him after Sherlock after all...

If I see another season, I will watch it. But I don't think this is one that I'd go out of my way to try and find the manga for or anything like that. I liked it, but I didn't love it.

Today's Menu for the Emiya Family

The other day I was looking for something short to watch while exercising, so I tried out an episode of Today's Menu for the Emiya Family. Probably partly because I'd finished Isekai Izakaya and was in the mood for more food...I do enjoy watching stuff with food & cooking. Living vicariously? I dunno.

I'm not entirely sure about what the overall premise is after just one episode -- there's definitely cooking & a very sweet atmosphere. The description of the show says:

"Fulfilling meal...a familiar view In this story, Fate and food meet in a delicious and gentle world. It’s nothing but an ordinary meal scene... Delicious meals are served at the Emiya’s dinner table every day, through spring, summer, fall and winter. -- Let's see... what's for dinner today?"

And...well, yeah. Hmm. 

I feel like I should have waited to write up something on this until I've watched more as I don't feel like I really know anything about any of the characters yet other than they all seem nice and there's one possible pairing. I have no idea if they are related or how they know each other. And the boy does most of the cooking? And they have a kotatsu that no one wants to leave once they get under it? Actually, that's my big takeaway so far -- I'd really like to have a kotatsu.