The Best of the Best...(Sort of)

About two weeks ago, I had to idea of compiling a list of my favorite (insert category here) and posting it up for my own convenience. Unfortunately, going through some of the categories, I realised that it would be next to impossible to accomplish because there were way too many things out there that I still haven't watched, therefore there is the chance that I will not be including something that I believe my future self would totally nominate as "the best of the best". Then again, there's nothing I can do. So, in short, the following is a fairly short list of what I believe are The Best in their respective categories (and no, I do no have a ton of categories so this will be fairly short) and I, most likely, have missed a number of them.

I apologise for that in advance - but I'll be sure to rectify that when that time comes.

FAVORITE DRAMAS UP UNTIL NOW

Hua Yang Shao Nian Shao Nu
Taiwanese
I know I have mentioned this drama a number of times - so it is a given that this one is up on this list. It takes up a good part of my heart, and it is the first drama that I watched that introduced me to the world of Asian Dramas. Now, they overrun my life and is the main reason that I procrastinate as much as I do. :) Anyway... this drama is about an American girl (Lu Rui Xi, played by Ella Chen) who disguises herself as a boy in order to attend the all-boy college that her crush and idol ( Zuo Yi Quan, played by Wu Chun) attends in order to be near him. And, of course, they end up falling in love. There's also a bit of a love triangle thing going on that's one-sided with one of Quan's friends/classmates who ends up believing he's gay. All in all, it's a comedic romance and it is HILARIOUS.

I downloaded it via Veoh and commenced to copying it to a DVD. :)

Hanazakari no Kimitachi e
Japanese

This drama is also one of my favorites - and it's the Japanese version of Hua Yang Shao Nian Shao Nu. They're both collectively known as Hana Kimi. :) Anyway, this is also the only drama I've watched in real-time, meaning it was still airing and I had to wait for the subbed versions to come out so I could download them and watch them. It was torture - but it was great. I almost forgot the feeling that I had of waiting a week for an episode to come out for those American series that air on cable TV. Well, this drama has the same basic plot as the Taiwanese version, just with different names and with a number of differences throughout the series. After all, it wouldn't be fun watching the same thing twice - just in a different language. I'm also one of those people who just can't choose which one I prefer more. Honestly, both of the dramas appealed to me and the guys in both of the dramas were incredibly cute. :) It's up to you to decide!

I downloaded the series from here. Just scroll down to "Past Projects" and it's under the drama's title.

Kurosagi
Japanese

I got into this series when I just got into the Japanese boy-band NEWS. Why is that relevant? The leader of the group, Yamashita Tomohisa (YamaP) stars in this drama about justice, revenge, and reality. Or at least that's what I got from it. :) Basically, there's a girl, Tsurara (played by Maki Horikita), who's a law student who comes across Kurosaki (Yamapi), a swindler of swindlers, and she tries to get him to get on the right "track". It's generally a race against the law and for justice at the same time. It's pretty riveting and it makes you think (rather like Death Note, if you haven't come across it). I honestly found myself rooting for Kurosaki. haha... Back to the point... this is one of my favorite dramas because it deviated from most Asian dramas that center around romance (though there is romance on the side, it doesn't overtake the plot) that made it refreshing. It also showcases Yamashita's superb acting skills and shows Maki in a new light (she plays the girl-turned-boy in Hanazakari no Kimitachi e).

I got this off of Veoh and I copied it to a DVD. I don't remember if this is still up there due to copyright laws.

Yasha
Japanese

After writing "Japanese" for the third time in a row, I realised that I've watched a good amount of dramas that I like that are Japanese. OK, that has nothing to do with this. So... Yasha is a drama with the whole evil-good twin theme. It falls into the suspense/mystery/action genre and I love it - oh yes, it also has a bit of a sci-fi feel since the twins were genetically-engineered. All I have to say is that I've watched this around three times so far and it's still one of my favorites - especially with the medicine-related topics in it. I can't say much about it because if I do, I'm afraid I might give away too much - but look at it this way: the main actor (Ito Hideaki) who plays both the twins is not bad in the looks department at all. :)

I got this off of Veoh, but I'm pretty sure it was taken off due to copyright laws.

My Boss, My Hero
Japanese

This story is one of friendship. It's about a high school drop out (Nagase Tomoya) who is also the heir to a Yakuza group who has to enroll in high school again in order to receive a diploma, even though he's about a decade older than everyone there. It's pretty funny and endearing, especially with what he gets into. Tegoshi Yuya of NEWS also stars in it. :) Anyway, I recommend it! Also since I love yakuza-themed things.

This is the only drama that I have ever watched through a boxed set that a friend of my sister's let us borrow.

The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince
Korean

This was my first Korean drama that I ever watched, so of course it has to go on this list. :) That is not the only reason though: it was really good! Whenever I see the boxed set at the store, I have to mentally fight against myself not to buy it. It's really hard. Anyway, this is similar to two other previously-watched dramas in that the girl in the story is mistaken/disguised as a guy throughout a good amount of the drama. Besides that, it's different, except that 'romance' factor of it. It's basically about the girl who comes from a poor family deep in debt so she's always off doing odd jobs, sacrificing her femininity (she plays a VERY feminine girl in Goong, if you want a contrast). She meets the son of a wealthy family who is given a coffee shop to take over and make successful and he enlists the help of her (though he believed her a guy). They both eventually fall in love, though he doesn't know of her true nature until later. It's funny and great and I love it! I've been getting strong urges to re-watch it again. I most likely will before I leave for China.

I watched this at MySoju.


SOME OF MY FAVORITE YOUTUBE VIDEOS

Summer Time MV - NEWS
Japanese

This is essentially the MV to one of the more recent songs from NEWS. It is ADORABLE. My favorite scene is around the 3-minute mark. :) Here are the lyrics (they're on the right).

Sour Sweet MV - Fahrenheit and S.H.E
Taiwanese

This is the MV for Fahrenheit and S.H.E's new song for a yoghurt drink commercial. It's really fun and happy. :) Here are the lyrics. You can download the song here.

Japanese Show on Japanese-English
Japanese

Seeing from the title of this, I obviously do not have the talent for making up catchy titles - nonetheless, this is one of my most favorite YouTube videos of all time. It is basically a Japanese show on a group of Japanese high school students who are shown a tape of a Japanese comedian speaking "English" (and no, he is not faking it - his English really is lacking). The point of the show is that they are not allowed to laugh (which is REALLY hard) but if they do, they're punished rather painfully. Anyway - just WATCH IT. :)

Miyavi as a Chipmunk
Japanese

Miyavi is a J-rock musician and very hyperactive. He is absolutely adorable - and random - in this video and I love it! I wasn't as into Miyavi as my sister, but after watching this, I got rather interested. :) He ROCKS!!

Shingo Mama and Gackt
Japanese

This is a clip of a Japanese show and it is really funny, about the host, Shingo Mama, and Gackt, an eccentric J-rock/pop musician (and one of the first Asian musicians that I listened to when I just started). There are no subtitles but everything's pretty much self-explanatory. :)

And, of course, the classic MVs of the stereotypical Asian, tear-jerking genre: Tong Hua (the singer, Guang Liang, is Malaysian) and Kiss (Korean). Then, there's also the Until You Come Back MV (Korean boyband, FT Island). It's not quite on the same level as the aforementioned MVs, but it's up there and it's nestled itself in me.

Jdorama: Yasha

I've watched this particular drama several months ago and I just finished watching it for the second time just now, and I don't know why it's taken me this long to blog about it. I came across it whilst I was desperate for a new drama to watch so I came across a site titled Jdorama which had a nice section of Japanese dramas and features and I came across this drama, titled Yasha [夜叉] (or the drama wiki version if you prefer that). The direct quote from the summary online is (I just corrected some pluralizing mistakes that seriously bugged me):

The story is about a set of twin baby boys who were created/cloned in the laboratory as a part of gene altering/gene therapy experiment, because of the nature of the project, the twins were born with superior physical strength, supernatural power and extremely high IQ. Unfortunately, the twins were separated at birth. One of the brothers grew up to be an elite biochemistry scientist in an America. He was assigned to a project where he had to travel to a small island in Japan to investigate an unidentified virus that was spreading on the island. By a freak of nature, he accidentally found out that he has a twin brother........whose evil, dark personality is entirely opposite of him. What is going to happen when they finally meet face to face?

They will soon found out their true identity.........why were they separated at birth, what other secrets were hidden from them...... does the fast spreading virus has anything to do with the twin boys? who created the twins? and why? Do not miss the suspenseful thriller..... it will keep you wanting more....

It stars Ito Hideaki [伊藤英明] who's not bad at all in the looks department - a bit old, though one wouldn't think it if you went by his looks alone - and quite talented, if one were to go by his performance in this drama (he played the twins, Sei and Rin). Half the time, I found myself thinking of the two as separate people, which is pretty good, considering they were played by the same exactly person. I did watch him in the drama First Kiss (2007), but as he didn't play the main role, I didn't know if he was good but this one proved it! Along with Ito, there's also Abe Hiroshi (阿部寛) as his bodyguard, Kurosaki Ken, and Kashiwabara Shuji (柏原収史) as his best friend, Moichi.

The drama had a good plot with a very nice background story that you find out in throughout the entire story that's made up of 11 episodes. It also has a nice mixture of everything: family, love, betrayal, death, etc., with a good moral. It had a nice amount of action as well (I mean, it is an action/mystery drama). ^_^ I can say one thing: I finished it in 2 nights because I just couldn't stop! I would have finished it in a day if I didn't need to attend school... but I needed to.