ドラゴン桜/Dragon Zakura

Genre: Highschool/Comedy/Drama
Language: Japanese

Sakuragi Kenji became a teacher as a last resort. He used to be a lawyer, but hadn't been making enough to get by. So he decides to boost his prestige, and that of the school's, by producing 5 successful Toudai, a top university, applicants. However the school he works with has some of the lowest scores in all of Japan! How will Kenji turn these kids around?

Review:

This one has a few stars in it when they were younger, like Yamashita Tomohisa, and Koike Teppei. This is an okay drama. Not too long either, 11 episodes. I basically love anything Abe Hiroshi does, and he did well in this, as he does in every show...although lately all he does is historical drama :-( I prefer his comedy..... Anyways, the actual story is okay, and has some good moments in it. The ending is a little disappointing, but I'm sure you've caught my negative feelings towards Japanese drama endings.

I think this would be interesting for someone to watch. Mainly because Abe Hiroshi is in it. If you like other Highschool Dramas, you probably will agree, that this is just "okay". See it for yourself. It's been a few years since I saw it :)

Happy New Year! (again)

New Years, according to the lunisolar calender,

falls on January 26th this year.

Korean celebrate it by cooking up some ricedumpling soup,

bowing to their elders, and recieving money.

image taken from http://38.img.v4.skyrock.net/38a/jungsoo/pics/201663295_small.jpg Beware it's in French...)
Ttokguk Soup above (rice dumpling soup)

I happened to get invited to eat some delish Korean food a few days ago.
As a sort-of an early New Years celebration... Although all we did was sit around and eat.
There was so much food xD Now...as I didn't want to seem like a total oddball I didn't bring my camera. So therefore I have no pictures of the food. *cue sad face*
However I decided to use my magic paint(photoplus) skills to bring to life my dinner.*cue children's crying out, "Yay!"*

I really didn't do it justice. Honestly those dumplings were huge, and I could only eat two. They showed me how you put that spicy sauce on the dumplings, cut it into quarters and then eat it. They tasted a lot like Gyoza. I didn't know if Koreans have a different word for Tempura, so I just stuck in the Japanese. Same with Daikon...I believe it's Mu in Korean. However most people will probably know it by Daikon. The kimchi was daikon style too. Everything was amazing tasting. I felt so full, but I was in heaven.

Do you celebrate New Years on the 26th? Tried any of the foods I described above? I'm not doing anything special but studying :(. Although I might search out some recipes from some of the items from above instead. >_>;

마녀유희/Witch Yoo Hee

Yes....I am actually early for once in my life!

(Expect the universe to collapse soon...)

Genre:Romance/Drama/Comedy
Language: Korean

Ma Yoo Hee is a hardened business women,( a witch according to her employees) but she craves emotional attachment. She often goes on blind dates, but is rejected for her cold demeanour. One day she meets Chae Moo-Ryong, who ends up owing her a large sum of money. To repay it he becomes her love coach...and housekeeper. Their relationship helps Yoo Hee's inner qualities shine and she blossoms. However how will her life end up when she catches the attention of an old flame? Who will her heart choose?

Review:
This is another really good kdrama. I liked the leads, and they did well. Wasn't as cliched as most, and was truly enjoyable. Sure there was a few tedious love strands in the beginning, but those were smoothed out. The change that Han Ga In, Yoo Hee, portrays is really lovely. Plus I loved most of the fellows in this. Apparently this was one of Dennis Oh(neil) 's first shows in Korean. Sure...his "okay" in English, and other English phrases got annoying...but his face made up for it ;). I also get bored by too much, conflict not enough happy...so getting closer to the ending was a little tough for me. However I wasn't really antsy until the last episode or so.

So basically, this is another keeper. Not too long either, a reasonable 16 episodes.

ハケンの品格 / The Pride of the Temp

This may look suspiciously belated, however I did write half of this last night, I just finished it today :P.

Genre: Comedy

Language: Japanese

Oomae is a killer worker. She makes big bucks, despite only being a temporary worker. She has some quirks though, she follows the clock exactly, and refuses to work overtime. She also never works anywhere longer than 3 months. She isn't exactly a friendly co-worker either, but she is extremely efficient. This entails her time working in a new division, with rooky "salarymen". Can she overcome and educate those with prejudices again temps?

Review:
This was a okay comedy. Nice to not have a typical main character with flaws, and clumsy emotions. Oomae is a little overbearing at times, however I enjoyed her. Sure the romance was uncalled for, but expected. I'd recommend this if you're looking for a break from all those fluffy romance comedies. This one is simply about a weirdo. A nice breath of fresh-air. xD I admit I was expecting a more tragic back story. Ah well we can't always get what we predicted (although it seems to be the way the jdrama world works).

風 Kaze's Restaurant

I know New Years was awhile ago, but good food is ageless right?

No? Mold is a serious factor, you say? Well...

On New Years, I went out for lunch at Kaze's Restaurant. A lovely Japanese restaurant with a selection of sushi, and other traditional Japanese food. Since it was New Years we got brought complimentary toshikoshi soba (...end of the old year, beginning of the new year, buck wheat noodles). Soo good! They were really delicious and I wanted to ask if we could order them next time too... (I admit I completely forgot about taking a picture of them until after I ate them....) For an appetizer we ordered Gyoza,(potstickers). (Again no picture, I'm awful aren't I?)

Then for the main meal I ordered a (pictured above) TempuraDon(buri). It was a bowl of rice, with tempura (battered & deep fried) shrimp, and vegetables. Their tempura is amazing. It is so light and fluffy, and it isn't greasy at all! It has a really "oishii" flavor.

Feat of Wonder: If you put them on a napkin, by the time your done eating, the napkin still looks clean!

Starbucks Berry Chai

FAILED

Yesterday I went to the "big city", and did some shopping.
Before we left, we stopped at Starbucks,
one of my favorite places in the world. <3>I normally get a chai, green tea, or strawberry frappucino.
However I decided to take a bit of an adventure,
and asked for aBerry Chai, it was one of the newest items on their list.
You can have it either iced, or warm. I wanted it as a frappicino,
but apparently that was just not possible.
So despite the chilly winter weather, I still went with the iced drink.
(I can't drink hot liquids well...ever since I was a child I've had a fear of burning my mouth...odd I know. To this day if I do drink hot chocolate, or the like, I wait for it to cool to almost a lukewarm temperature.)

...It wasn't very good.
(My mom told me to stop drinking it, otherwise I would get sick! xD) I did drink about half of it though. Both flavors separate were okay,
but mixed....it was pretty strange.
The first sip was yummy *mmm berry juice*,
then you got hit with the spicy Chai..*...what is this?!*.

Chai is meant to be with sweet milk, and spices....Berry Juice...makes milk curdle.

Reminds me of another time when I took the plunge, and tried aChocolate-Raspberry Frappicino.
(I think I just get decision anxiety waiting in line; having people behind me, so that I make rash and stupid decisions.)
That beast was probably one of the most awful drinks I have ever swallowed.

Any bad drinks you've ever had? What were they?

ヒミツの花園/Hanazono's Secret

Genre:Romance/Comedy
Language: Japanese

Tsukiyama Kayo is a magazine editor, or at least that's her title. In reality she is stuck being a "gopher" (go for this, go for that). One day she gets the chance to interview a famous manga artist. However, she once again is stuck doing errands for the assistants, to the artist. Finally she reaches her wits end, and discovers that they aren't really assistants at all! The famous mangaka is comprised of four brothers. As she keeps their secret, and helps them, she discovers more about herself and who she loves.

Review:
Wow...I watched this one awhile ago. I'll try to remember ;).
Basically it's not bad for a Japanese drama. Obviously there is the predictable predictability, but there were some good times too. I didn't recognize any of the actors at the time. I recognized the youngest brother, but I haven't watched any other series with him. I did remember Maya Miki, from "Attention Please"...I should do a review on that....A "maa-maa" movie, as in that it won't make anyone's top 10 list probably.

Final word: if you're looking for a drama that has some typical elements, but with new actors, try this out. I enjoyed watching it; I just don't remember anything special from it really, proving it to be rather forgetful.

1%의 어떤 것/ 1% of Anything

(I know I'm a day late...pretend this is from last week please -_-;)

Genre: Romance/Comedy

Language: Korean

.

Kim Da Hyun is a sweet, and upright teacher. Lee Jae In is a hard-working business man, but has a short temper. After Da Hyun kindly assists Jae-in's grandfather, it starts the wheels turning. For Jae In to receive his grandfather's vast inheritance he must marry Da Hyun. As the story progresses you watch their interesting romance. Along with the romance of Jae In's cousin, and Da Hyun's sister. Then near the end there is one more couple to come, with Jae In's sister, and his best friend!

How will these couples survive, with opposition from all sides.

Is it possible, for people with such different backgrounds, and personalities really find happiness together?

Review:

I had read mixed reviews on this drama. Some people loved it, others found it too drawn out. I admit I think that this drama did not need the whole 26 episodes it presents. Perhaps I'm just too used to short Japanese dramas. Nevertheless I found it was draggy, and each new couples didn't hold much of my interest. I could put up with Tae-ya, Jae-in's cousin, and his girl. (Although I admit Tae-ya is pretty boring...) However when they added the third couple, only like 3 episodes from the end...I admit thinking, "enough is enough!". All 3 couples had the same problems, just with less and less character development per couple. If this had just stuck to Jae-in and Da Hyun, and ended a bit sooner it would have been better.

My final word is, if you're looking for a long drama, this is a pretty good one. Sure it gets draggy, but the middle isn't too bad. The main actors/couple do well though.

Happy New Year!

(Photo from Disney Land, in Japan)

Well Happy New Year! Hope you all had a fun and safe night yesterday.

I had some gal pals over, watched a movie and ate great food.

Alltogether a great night.

Although I don't think I could ever get used to

staying up until 2:00 in the morning..

How about you? What did you do to ring in the new year?

YesStyle 6 of 6

Website: YesStyle
Brand: Click South Korean Brand
Price: $25.20
Quality: 2.5/5
Review:
Everything I bought from YesStyle, besides a pair of shoes,
were "One Size" (as in, hopefully, one size fits all Asians ;)
Everything fit me, except for this. I mean, I wear it, yes,
but, it's huge. When I first wore it to school my friends
they commented on the rather...over sized nature of it.
In the photo of the model above, it appears to be
fitted to an extent, not super huge or anything.
However on closer examination (just recently)
I noticed those weren't pleats, but wrinkles!
I was duped by wrinkles... and possibly clothing pins to make it look better on the models...
Anyways, I'm finding ways to wear it, I accept it's bagginess,
however it wasn't what I imagined. More...like a sack.
If only this could have shrunk in the wash xD....