Code: Realize--Guardian of Rebirth

I actually bought Code: Realize around the same time as Cafe Enchante during a sale, but didn't wind up trying it out until this week. Not sure why -- possibly because it's on the Switch and it never occurs to me to go dig it out of little dude's room. 

So far, I'm in Chapter 1. I've only completed the Prologue, which means I've only had about 2 decision points so far? Maybe three. Er, but maybe I should start over with what the story is about...

Though...I've REALLY tried not to get spoiled on this one, so I'm not entirely sure what the story is about yet. ;-) 

Basically, you are Cardia. She is the daughter (?) of a famous inventor. The world is a Steampunk version of England in the 1800s. She has some fanciful gem thing half-embedded in her chest called the Horologia and to touch her is to die; she's literal poison. So far, all of this is very very very like Rappaccini's Daughter, that short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne. She only has memories of the last two years and her father disappeared, leaving her behind in a crumbling mansion. She may or may not have to eat (though she can; it's unclear whether she *needs* to). The gem is some kind of a power source.

Her father, apparently, also created something called the Twilight corps, which acts on secret missions or something...Anyway, the story opens with a bunch of Royal Guards tasked with capturing (if still alive) a "monster" -- and the monster turns out to be Cardia. But they don't get far with her before she is stolen away by top hat wearing Arsène Lupin, Master Thief (and the first of our romanceable love interests--and, I gather, the one you have to unlock by completing the others first). He claims to want to track down her father and knows about the gem and the poison, etc. 

Lupin is dashing, unlike Impey, who you meet the next morning. Impey Barbicane, the second LI, seems to be the comic relief inventor who surely has a decent heart but is quite flirty. He's got the pointy teeth; the Japanese anime mark of mischievousness. He also informs Cardia that Lupin is a Hero and that they suspect her dad is up to no good and they want to stop some coming tragedy.

They take Cardia back to London (not the London we know but a Steampunked version) but get separated somehow. Luckily, Cardia was given a map by Lupin to their hideaway, though it's doubtful this clueless (she's never been out before) young maiden who'd have made it if she hadn't run into LI number 3: Victor Frankenstein. He's also on the run, though he claims he's been framed; he's a former Royal Alchemist. He seems excessively kind. After they dodge his pursuers and some creepy plague mask wearing Twilight agent, they make it to the mansion.

...which isn't owned by Lupin. So I'm guessing it's owned by the next LI...I know that there are two more: Abraham Van Helsing and Count Saint-Germain. (Ya see where they're going with all these names??) She also meets a steampunked corgi in a top hat that Impey had saved (he gave it a metal leg) that seems to like her.

That's as far as I've made it so far. So...the art...it's good. As you'd expect. The sprites are well animated. The voice acting is very nicely done. I mean, this is an Otomate game for the Switch. You expect good quality and it delivers. The interface is the normal standard thing, though I am sad about the lack of LI Progress Indicator (but, to be fair, so few games have this!! Why??). 

The story is interesting and engaging; the dialogue is good; the character's seem differentiated enough. I do wonder a bit about Cardia as the MC as she's very clueless but also seems to be really taken aback by Impey, which makes it seem strange as he's an LI. Her reactions to Victor and Lupin are much more genial. Of course, Impey is over the top. But...it's very obvious from the get-go that Lupin is the "true route" (leaving aside even the fact that you have to unlock him by doing the others first). I gotta admit that I don't love that conceit. What if I like one of the other guys better? But, that's how the story goes...in this case, anyway. 

I'm hoping her passiveness gives way. I mean, I don't mind deadpan MCs or anything. But I do hope she grows and learns and doesn't stay like she currently is until the end. Because she was ready to die and thinks of herself as a monster. And...that's just sad.

Will update after I play more. 

Let's Not Stay Friends

Let's Not Stay Friends has been on my Steam wishlist for a while now. It came up in the sale, so I picked it up for £0.95 (normally £4.79). It's my first Russian otome game (translated, of course)...actually, I suppose it's my first non-Asian / English otome! I've tried Japanese, Korean, Chinese and English language ones. So, new territory!

In this one, you play Inske. You're attending a magical academy (I guess like upper high school / beginning Uni? as all the characters are aged 19) and are about to embark on your final exam. It involves being paired up with a partner and going into the deep dark woods/wilds and locating a portal to return safely back. 

The day starts with you being awakened by your friend-since-forever, Frenz, on the day of the exam. He's one of the three romanceable love interests and each one has (I think) four possible endings. There are a number of CGs to unlock, as well as "Items" (though there's no description of them or info, so other than the picture, dunno what they're for) and 14 Steam Achievements.

Besides Frenz (the rather tsundere childhood friend trope dude with the blonde good looks and ponytail---sigh, he reminds me just the tiniest bit of Zen from Mystic Messenger looks-wise), there's Taf (dark haired uber flirt with a fan club of girls and an ego the size of Texas) and Burain (the shyer smart dude with a probable complex and the in-between hair colour). They're all ridiculously attractive guys, maybe even a bit effeminate in a Fairy Prince type of way. Think Bowie in Labyrinth sans codpiece. For me, even though I don't normally like blondes, I'd probably rank them Frenz, Burain, and then Taf even though I normally like dark haired guys best. Not sure why -- either it's the smarmy slickness of Taf when you first meet him (I don't react well to being called "babe" in real life OR in game) or maybe just his hair cut. Honestly, the MC is pretty, but the boys are almost prettier.

As Frenz is already your planned partner for the exam and I found him the most attractive, I figured I'd start with him. I did the first play through without any walkthrough and got the "Paths Diverged" ending -- i.e. more or less the worst ending where things just get increasingly awkward and then you grow apart. So I was a bit WTF. I'd chosen the answers that seemed the "best" and most like what I would have chosen naturally. 

So I looked up a walkthrough and realised, perhaps, what the flaw in this game is. You've got to basically shove this poor dude into a corner by saying he's like a brother or a father-figure, which finally pushes him to make a move. I'm not sure how the other routes go as yet, but you definitely can't pick the "nicest" or most reasonable feeling options to get the best ending. Which makes you wonder what's up with the developers -- who hurt you? 

The other endings for Frenz are "Let's Stay Friends" which is, honestly, only slightly less awkward than the "Paths Diverged" one. Then there's the "Everything's Ahead" and "Sharing the Future" endings which are kinda similar in that you're both together forever (awwww) but one has a steamier date scene and the other has the approval of his grandfather (who happens to be a teacher at the school). Though weird thing about the steamy version...like, MC literally goes from "you're my friendzoned best guy friend" to serious shmexy-times dead quick, yo. Like, in an afternoon. I guess you'd have to say that's due to the nature of the game -- the time conceit ties it to this exam. But it'll be even weirder if each guy has a "steamy" route ending when the barely even talks to the other two before this.

I likely could have muddled through and figured out all the other endings without the walkthrough, but they definitely weren't the choices I would have chosen organically. BUT...it's quite a short game, route-wise (and you can skip between decision points), so in a bit over an hour, I unlocked all four of Frenz's endings and all his CGs (probably closer to an hour if you take out the bathroom break and search time). If I had to guess, you could get through everything within 4 hours unless you don't skip any of the repetitive bits.

Which actually leads me to the next point about this game -- the art is actually quite good. The backgrounds are really nice (especially the forest ones, with the magical trees). The sprites are reasonably animated and even blink and move (and not in a horrible way like that one mobile app where they *breathe* in a freaky, nightmarish fashion). It's made in Ren'py and I gotta say that it's one of the best looking ones I've seen made in that. Easy interface, good controls, good art. Some of the art actually reminds me a bit of Backstage Pass (the one picture of Frenz when he's about to go medieval on a forest monster is totally Matthew, down to the angle). I need to look up later if it's the same artist, though I doubt if it is. But maybe. 

The MC, Inske, isn't bad. I mean, she's clueless as to Frenz's feelings (and likely the feelings of the other boys too) and she's the classic klutz who needs to be looked after, not able to wake up on her own on exam day or remember a map and a terrible cook to boot. Sigh. Someday there will be an entirely competent MC... But Inske isn't horrible. You don't want to burn her with fire. Heh. I feel like I'm making excuses. It's just...I've seen so many that are far worse that her standard trope-y foibles don't feel that bad.

The writing is decent. It isn't earth shattering, but it isn't cludgy either. The translation seems to be of decent quality too (from reviews, seems like they revised it after the original translation was awful) -- I only caught one typo and it was a minor one. Dialogue is okay. The music was a little iffy as sometimes it just stopped, but I usually turn the music off anyway, so that doesn't bother me. If there were sound effects, I didn't really notice them.

I'll likely finish the other routes too, though I confess that I'm really not feeling the flirty dude AT ALL. He comes on super strong. But it's so short that I'll likely do it. However, given the structure of the game, it does feel like Frenz is the "True Route" even though he also feels to me to be the one you'd gravitate to first (which usually means he wouldn't be the "true" ending). But maybe my opinion will change after trying the others. 

Steaminess-wise, it's not R rated. The shmexy times are more implied than anything. I mean, I wouldn't give it to an under 13, but over 13 could likely handle it as it's pretty off-screen (especially if you didn't do the cave date for Frenz...though, given the character of Taf, that route might be more explicit). The game description said "mature" but so far it's really just a bit of kissing and anything else is implied. It's NOWHERE near the level of Fashioning Little Miss Lonesome, for instance. If people are buying it for that, they'll likely be disappointed, though it's at a level I like as I don't really want totally in your face stuff.

So, is it worth it? Yeah, for the price it definitely is. Shoot, even at the full price, it's still less than £5--cheaper than a movie ticket. Given the amount of probably game play, I think it is reasonably priced. Am I glad I bought it? Yeah. I don't think it's perfect as I get the feeling ALL the routes are likely to share that disconnect with what you FEEL the good choice should be and what the "correct" choice to get the good ending is. I'll update this after I've finished the other dudes though. Maybe the others are more organic. 

Edit: So, I was gonna do an experiment and answer every decision choice the opposite of what I would normally pick. I made it into Taf's route that way and then...eh, I couldn't do it. I couldn't flirt with the smarmy so-and-so. So I got the "Into Oblivion" ending where nothing happens between you other than him stealing a kiss and Inske being pissed about it. I think I'll have to try Burain instead. I just don't like Taf.

Switch Craft

So, there's a game I've been playing off and on for a while called Switch Craft, though I went for ages where it was just something I did for the puzzles randomly (think Candy Crush-ish). It's by Wooga and is a matching game BUT where what you unlock is an otome-like story (and decorations for your room). I had saved up over 300 of the magical D20s (or whatever they are) to unlock story bits, but hadn't used hardly any of them. I recently picked it up again and have now made it to Book 1: Chapter 18. You need between 1 and 3 of the tokens or whatever they are to read a section. It's a bit different from most of the otome/joseimuke that I normally play.

Basically, you're a freshman witch named Bailey (with too cool for school hair) at a magical school called Pendle Hill. You've reconnected with an old best friend named Lydia, but she's acting a bit odd. During a ritual out in the woods, you witness her disappearing. So far (up through this chapter), you're investigating her disappearance and uncovering mysterious goings on both in town and at the school.

Pros: The storyline is actually engaging and the decision points DO seem to make a difference. The graphics are cartoony but really good. There are potential love interests of both sexes. The plot isn't predictable; I've guessed some things, but had no clue on others (which, as a writer, is a rarity, so that's good). 

Cons: There's no way to go back and try different things or (as far as I can tell) or restart if you wanted to do a different path. There also doesn't seem to be any way to see how much MORE story there is. Like I said, I'm in Book 1: Chapter 18 but I have no idea how many chapters or books there are. There's also no gauge to see what your relationship with different characters is; there are brief bubbles that pop up when you make a choice that might say "Gilmore is happy" or "Rosie is upset" but since you don't know what your baseline is, it's not super helpful. 

It seems like you could probably romance ALL the characters at the same time if you wanted to, but I'm so boring that I picked one and have friendzoned the others. I wound up going for the geeky Gilmore. I mean, he plays D&D ffs, who else would I choose? 

Other options include a) broody, dreadlocked beefcake Dylan, b) a non-witch cop named Naomi and possibly some others? At least, some of the decision points kinda point to them maybe being romanceable? Like Janis, a potion brewing witch in a wheelchair. And maybe even Rosie, who has a girlfriend she's on the outs with. Not entirely sure as I've just been picking the definite Gilmore options. 

I don't know that I love that the game is tied to matching puzzles. I mean, I generally have at least one of those on my phone that I play (it's what I used to do when riding the Tube or bus). But I don't always want to play one of those and this ties you to it to unlock story. And I get the feeling it's an unending story -- like, do you ever actually find Lydia? When I just did a quick search to write up this post, I see people on FB asking for new levels and chapters. So I'm trying not to progress too far on the story as I don't know how long it will last.

This company has a couple of other similar games, so I might try one of them to see if the story is as good. I do like that you don't have to put a lot of effort into it and you don't have to log into it every day. But, over all, I'd say this one was a surprising keeper. The further you go into the story, the more interesting it is. 

Edit: So, I was curious and have plugged on through the story a bit more. I am now on Book 2, Chapter 2 and puzzle 612, with about 91 of the whatever token things saved up. 

You DO finally find Lydia after much craziness and pulling her out of the water after someone tried to drown her, but she seems...off. And her recollections of the night she disappeared don't match yours & she seems to think the guy who tried to drown her is her friend. So, still no idea really where the story is going. 

I also kinda wonder exactly who the target audience is of this thing. There are some "jokes" about things like tampons and lady things, which, combined with the female MC makes it seem  like they are definitely targeting females. But at what age? Some bits read older than others (there's kinda drug/potion abuse, some violence, etc.). It's a curious hodgepodge. There's also not masses of romance. It's definitely more of a mystery thing. Though, heck, I suppose you could say it passes the Bechdel test, so that's something. I haven't heard much about it either, in any of the otome groups I'm in. It's a curious beast.

Edit: Haven't progressed super farther in the story (too busy -- am on Level 860, Book 2, Chapter 4), but I probably play a puzzle level or two a day randomly. They've re-done the interface and now you collect stuff but don't get to decorate the room with it. Which is sort of weird. Not that room decorating was a reason to play, but now that it's gone, I'm, like, why am I collecting this stuff? It seems useless. Also, I totally don't like Lydia. Can we throw her back in the lake? She's not even interested in all the stuff the MC is digging up about her. It makes the motivation of the MC a little weird. Why is she doing it? Why does she bother? Does she never need to go to class? Shouldn't she be kissing Gilmore instead? 

Am really curious what other people think of it.

Edit: Am now up through Book 2, Chapter 8 and Level 933 (with 221 of the whatever doohickeys that unlock story bits). And, boy, do I really really not like Lydia. At this point, she's even tried to get the protagonist arrested for arson. The thing that I really don't get (other than it is what's supposed to be driving the plot) is WHY the MC is bothering with her at all. She's, like, not worth it. Give me Rosie and Gilmore or even Dylan and Naomi. Hell, give me more Espresso Joe. Lydia can go back in the lake.

Edit: Up to Book II: Chapter 10 and level 1023 (with 292 of the whatevers saved). SO hating Lydia and Jason and Travis. But I really don't understand the MC's motivations either. I hope they're going to come to some kind of a point or the MC becomes a crusader against them or something. Also, not sure if it's just because I picked Gilmore, but the romance-y sections seem to have really dropped off the map. It rather feels like they forgot to add in bits, even in side stories.

Start Up

I had absolutely no plans to start a new drama today. I was going to watch another episode of Run On (which I'm enjoying) out in the shed while I exercised. But, for unknown reasons, the next episode had not automatically downloaded like it usually does and I wasn't able to connect to the Internet from out there (sometimes I can, sometimes I can't; today I couldn't). Given what was already downloaded on the iPad, the lesser of all evils seemed to be to start a new drama. So here I am.

I'd actually wanted to watch Start Up for a while because it has Nam Joo-Hyuk in it (he plays Nam Do-San). Even though he has a sketchy reputation (in shows that I haven't seen), I really adored him in Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-Ju. He was absolutely brilliant in that. 

So I was kinda surprised as I was watching and watching and...nary a sight of him and I'd almost reached the end of the show. Had I mixed up titles again and this wasn't the one he was in? But then, yes, he shows up at the very end of the episode one! But now I'm confused as all of the promo stuff for the show I'd seen looked like Nam Joo-Hyuk was the male lead and his romantic counterpart was the female lead Bae Suzy (playing Seo Dal-Mi), the actress to his left in the picture. But...I just spent an entire first episode where it sure looks like they're setting up a romance between Dal-Mi and Han Ji-Pyeong (the actor on the far left, played by Kim Sun-Ho). 

The final main actress is Kang Han-Na, who plays Won In-Jae (formerly Seo), the sister of Seo Dal-Mi. And, at the moment, I totally DO NOT WANT her to have a happy ending because so far she's your basic bitch so I really, really hope that they either actually redeem her OR she does not get one of the boys. BTW, actress Lee Re plays Won In-Jae in the flashbacks to their teen years, and I just finished watching her in Hello, Me!

Anyway, let's set up the story, which is so far not at all what I expected as it looks like it's gonna be some kind of slightly twisted Cyrano story. 

I'm not gonna go back and explain it via the timeline in the story, because it goes back and forth in flashbacks vs. modern day. Instead, I'm going to start where it begins, in the past.

There are two sisters: Dal-Mi and In-Jae. Pretty sure In-Jae is older, though they are around the same age. The father wants to start his own business and has dreams but the mother doesn't want him to be brave, as all she wants is for him to suck it up and provide for the family even though he's literally getting beaten up at work. I mean, I get where the woman is coming from. BUT she's too rigid and unthinking (said, I suppose, as a wife that has moved country and home many times while following a husband). I suppose I also don't have a lot of sympathy for her because, after they inevitably divorce, she apparently never talks to Dal-Mi (who stays with her dad) again, not even to tell her daughter that she's getting remarried (which Dal-Mi hears from In-Jae...literally the day the other family is upping sticks to move to the US). We also see In-Jae growing increasingly distant over visits with Dal-Mi--she starts out as kinda sympathetic but then turns into a rich, whiny brat who hurts her sister without care. 

I get that they're setting up Dal-Mi as the main heroine, but right now, I really, really don't see any reason whatsoever to root for In-Jae and she appears from the promo posters to be the second female lead. She started turning into a snot when a teen and seems to have continued on with that as an adult and is just a hurtful, entitled beeyotch. I'm sure she's had her own issues but they've really set her up as a hard character to ever root for so far. Even with trauma or whatever....I feel like I'll always compare her to Dal-Mi and she'll come up short. But, we'll see, I guess. Dal-Mi isn't perfect. But you don't want to smack her.

Anyway, In-Jae moves away. Soon after, their dad is finally getting an investor for his start up. BUT he was in such a hurry to get to a meeting that he gets hit by a car. Oh no! Really, Kdrama? But then he gets up! And has the meeting! And gets the investor! But you know it's gonna be bad because a) you already know future Dal-Mi isn't doing well and b) he keeps having nose bleeds...and, yes, on the way home with fried chicken for Dal-Mi, he DIES ON A BUS as the fellow passengers leave him alone as they think he's drunk because he was slurring his speech and dropping things. Because, I imagine, he had a bad concussion or a stroke related to the accident, I dunno. But anyway, dear old dad is dead. 

Which leaves Dal-Mi to grow up with Grandma, his mom.

AND there's an entirely separate thing going on with Grandma that gives us our weird twist on a Cyrano story. Around this same time, she takes in a newly released orphan, Ji-Pyeong. Shoved out by the state as he ages out of the system with not enough money to live on and too young to even open up a bank account in his own name, he's angry and lost. She gives him a place to sleep in her corn dog shack. He's torn between wanting to stand on his own and taking her charity. Long story short, she has him write letters to Dal-Mi to cheer up her granddaughter and he does this under the name Nam Do-San because he'd seen that name in the newspaper from when Nam won a maths competition. He carries on this communication for A YEAR, never revealing his real name or actually meeting Dal-Mi in person. 

This story comes to a somewhat end when he witnesses Grandma taking a large chunk of money and giving it to her son (Dal-Mi's dad). He'd been using her bank account for his investing and had turned her 8 million won into 80 million won. He thinks she's taken ALL the money and gets upset and wants to leave for Seoul. Happily, before he goes, it does turn out that even though she'd taken all the money out of the account, what she gave to Dal-Mi's dad was only her own 8 and she gives him the rest of the money after he says some harsh things (he's hurting, thinking she betrayed him and he's a desperate orphan trying to convince himself he only cozied up to her because he needed to, when what he really wanted was family). They do have a sweet moment of reconciliation before he gets on a bus to Seoul. 

Coincidentally, this is the day that Dal-Mi's dad dies. So Dal-Mi has lost not only her father, but her pen pal, even though she didn't know it was Ji-Pyeong. 

Ok. Confused? Flash forward to modern times. Dal-Mi is struggling. She's still living with Grandma and working two jobs, including at Grandma's corn dog stand. She meets In-Jae and confronts her at Sand Box, some kind of start up convention-y thing where her rich sister is being featured. When Dal-Mi says her name, Ji-Pyeong (also on stage) starts -- he's obviously now a successful dude and he immediately realises she's his former pen pal. 

At the end, we see Ji-Pyeong reconnect with Grandma (but doesn't meet Dal-Mi). And Dal-Mi has declared she'll attend sister's start up incubator presentation meeting thing along with Do-San (WHO SHE HAS NEVER MET) because she just reached for a name when her sister was being mean to her. And now she wants to find Do-San...who we get a brief glimpse of at the very very end as a developer working on his own start up along with two other guys.

So, interesting. Where is this gonna go? Who is Dal-Mi destined for -- Ji-Pyeong who once was her pen pal? Or Do-San, who she *thought* was her pen pal and who it looks like Ji-Pyeong and Grandma are going to try and convince her actually *was* her mystery friend? 

I just...don't want either one to wind up with evil sister.

Edit: Okay, so I'm over half way now with this one--finished episode 10 out of 16. It's been a bit of a rollercoaster, but Dal-mi has FINALLY learned the truth. And, at this point, both the dudes like her. And she was liking Do-san, but partly because she thought he was the Do-san of her youth. So much of what she thought she knew about him is completely wrong. But now she's (rightfully) confused.

I feel like I'm supposed to root for Do-san. And, truth be told, he's at a more similar life stage/state to Dal-mi. But I'm kinda liking Ji-Pyeong a bit. Though...girl kinda needs to just have confidence in herself. But...based on all the posters/art, etc, I'm guessing she winds up with Do-san. We'll see.

Older sister has not really redeemed herself in any way at all but at least neither of the guys seem to like her. I...just really don't like her. She even stole Dal-mi's memory/story of the sand under the swing and claimed it as her own so as to get a leg up in Sandbox. Cheater. I get that she has her own confidence issues but she just goes about everything in the least nice way possible.

There has, however, been a bit of a reconciliation with ex-wife and grandma, which was kind of nice. But weird.

There's also a kind of out of left field sub-plot where they'd been teasing that the younger brother of someone who had been in Sandbox before and committed suicide is there seeking revenge...and it turns out it's one of Do-san's friends/co-workers. That was unexpected but also kinda WTF? They finished the episode with him attacking Ji-pyeong in the lift. Did they just feel like they needed to add a little oomph to the story? It really doesn't tie in with anything else, at least so far. And it's kinda weird that it's the friend (and also the friend that has seemed more level-headed and sweet than the other goofy one).

Anyway, I am enjoying it. And since the episodes are a bit long, they give me about 80 minutes on the elliptical.

Edit: Okay, just one episode left. Though, bleh, it's definitely a big case of Second Lead Syndrome in this one similar to She Was Pretty and True Beauty. My advice to every Kdrama Second Lead Dude EVER: when there's the inevitable 3 years where the Main Lead Dude is gone doing whatever, don't just do NOTHING. In this case, he really did have opportunities that he waited too long to take advantage of. He is, as Grandma says, "Good Boy" and does the same thing as Seu-jun and provides that last "nudge" that brings the main couple together. 

And, you know, I like Nam Joo-Hyuk as Do-san. But I kinda wanted to see Ji-pyeong (Kim Sun-Ho) with a chance. Not sure why. Maybe because Do-san has tried to solve problems with his fists first even though he's a smart guy? Maybe because Ji-pyeong is an orphan? Maybe because he was so sweetly excited by even the smallest bit of affection? I dunno.  

They have managed to bring the sisters more-or-less together, though I don't think they'll ever have a completely comfortable relationship. I can't say that I like older sister much still, but, eh, it's okay. 

Edit: So, I finished it last week, but was too busy to write things up as taking the niece around and about during her visit. 

Overall, yes, I enjoyed this one. I did feel like the last episode was a bit weak in as far as it wasn't super satisfying. But it was okay. The only really odd bit was that, while they (thankfully) didn't fob off Mr. Second Lead Ji-pyeong to the older sister, they gave this weird scene where he meets a young handsome guy (who I'm being too lazy to look up, but I've seen him in things and he's good) who has a start up that's all about helping orphans (so perfect fit) and he decides to personally invest...but they made it give off a strangely gay vibe. And I have no issue with a gay vibe, of course, but it didn't fit the character. Like, the young guy asks him why he's going to invest and he answers "Because I like your voice" and he's got this flirty smile on the whole time and the whole dynamic was just...odd. Now, if they'd given any hints that he might lean this way (or go both ways or whatever) at any point in the show, then, yeah, sure. Totally behind that. But up until this point (and in this episode in the same time frame), he's still broken up about not being Dal-mi's choice and has never shown any attraction to ANYONE else before. So it just felt very weird. Maybe it would have felt better if it had been a female? I'm not sure. Maybe it's just me. 

So, yes, I liked it. Would I watch it again? Nah. It was a good watch, but there weren't many scenes that were seriously swoonworthy to make me want to revisit it. Like...no scene hit me right in the feels (either as a personal success bit or a love bit or a family bit). Does that make sense? It was all solid but not...eh, doki doki. 

Definitely good on them for getting so much about start ups right though. Some of it was a bit off, but a lot of it was good. 

Once Again

I'm really enjoying Run On so far, but I felt like trying something different today. No idea why. So I started Once Again. It wasn't, however, the show that I thought it was...I somehow got it confused with another show that I apparently can't remember the name of. So I was a bit confused as I was watching, expecting some different things to be happening... 

(Edit: asked on Reddit, and now I understand my confusion -- the show I thought I was watching is called Never Twice...which, sadly, is still not available for me on either Viki or Netflix.)

It's actually a 2020 show and full of actors I've seen in other things (and generally like). In this one, there are four adult children. The father is played by actor Cheon Ho-Jin and the mother by Cha Hwa-Yeon. The two oldest children recently got divorced. 

The son, because he stood surety on a friend's debt (who then defaulted) and then lost his house. It was too much for his wife. That actor (Oh Dae-Hwan) is basically playing the character I've always seen him play: a bit clueless but good hearted. He has a teenage daughter and a younger daughter that might be non-verbal? His ex-wife seems like a good person and long-suffering. His job is as a stunt man, but you get the feeling he doesn't garner a lot of respect, even though he tries hard. He's a bit of a goofball. If I had to guess, he'll probably wind up back with his ex-wife. Maybe.

The next oldest daughter (actress Oh Yoon-Ah) caught her husband cheating and divorced him. She has a young son played by Moon Woo-Jin (he's been in so many things for a young actor!) and seems decent enough -- has always gotten by on her looks. Have no idea what her job is, but she does at least try to shield her son from the antics of her father and doesn't even talk down about him even though he obviously deserves it. For the son's part, he's kind and probably smarter than both of his parents.

Third daughter (actress Lee Min-Jung) is a doctor and severely lacking in social skills but seems unaware of this fact. She's married (they are the couple on the end) to another doctor (actor Lee Sang-Yeob, who I really liked in Good Casting...though not enough to finish the show). He seems like a sweetheart, but caught between his argumentative wife and his passive aggressive mother who might have a drinking problem. I dunno that I feel a lot of sympathy for this daughter -- it's obvious from the billing in the show that they are the "main couple" and will likely get a divorce and then get back together. She's just...so abrasively clueless. 

The youngest daughter (Lee Cho-Hee) is getting married (she's the eyeglass wearing one).  She's like the character in Fated to Love You -- an intern, hapless, too nice, unable to stick up for herself. She's also destined to get divorced...or rather, for the marriage to fall apart before it actually begins. Her betrothed is played by Ji Il-Joo and comes from a rich family and fancies himself above her. She catches him cheating on her on their wedding night (it was very obvious it was going to happen) and, thank goodness, leaves. Which marks the end of episode 1, when she goes back to the family home, suitcase in tow. 

There's also some mystery guy who we get a glimpse of arriving from the airport who witnesses youngest daughter's marriage fall apart. No idea who he is, but I imagine he's destined for her.

SO many other actors are also in this. And there are 50. FIFTY episodes at about an hour each. So...yeah. It's long, man. It also feels more like a soap opera than many of the ones I watch do. I mean, I do like slice of life stuff, though. And I generally like all of these actors (some quite a bit). But it wasn't the show I thought I was getting into. So I think this one might be one I just dip into every now and then? I dunno. I think I'm feeling this way because this also doesn't look like it holds any surprises. So I kinda want to just look up a summary rather than watch it. Which seems like a bad cheat. But I don't know that I LOVED any of the characters enough so far to want to watch the show. 

We've got kinda grumpy but loving penny pincher dad. Mum who wants the best for her kids, kinda geeky Auntie. Goofy brother, pretty but kinda useless daughter, smart but abrasive daughter, sweet pushover daughter. I can pretty much guess what all of their character arcs are going to be. But maybe I'll try a few more and see. It does get good reviews (though I didn't really read through, as I didn't want spoilers).

Easy Fortune, Happy Life

Sigh. I went to the gym and tried out another Taiwanese drama called Easy Fortune, Happy Life and I only made it 15 minutes before I gave up on it. I think I need to just stop trying the Taiwanese ones. I don't think I've finished one yet, though I have made it longer than 15 minutes on some of them. 

The Netflix description says:

Years after a wealthy man is healed by a rural herbalist, fate lands him in the same hospital where the woman's granddaughter is treating patients.

And it's billed as "romantic" and "goofy." All of that sounded nice. But...in that fifteen minutes...you see that the wealthy man is the owner of some super huge pharmaceutical company and while he's lying dying in the hospital, his family gathers around like literal vultures. They want him dead so they can inherit. They aren't even trying to hide it. I mean, thoroughly ugly, miserable people...and one of them is the ostensible love interest (or possibly two of them; though one grandson (?) was at least semi-decent--but he's not the dude in the picture). 

The acting was...iffy. I really just don't like that over-act-y style. While the granddaughter seemed like she'd be okay, every other character I immediately loathed. And I'm sure that's the point, but I couldn't imagine sitting through over 20 episodes of it to see the male lead (maybe) redeem himself. It's from 2009 too, so maybe the age of it has something to do with it.

I did check out reviews on Viki too after I was feeling so very MEH and found this:

And, wah, yeah, that solidified it for me. So very NOT finishing this one. Right to the ditch list.