J-Dorama, T-Dorama!!!

I actually managed to get in a couple of Doramas over the last couple of weeks. Two to be precise. The funny thing is I stopped short at the last episode of each one. Why? I think I’m becoming mucho sentimental in my old age!

The first one is one I mentioned that I was going to watch in an earlier post; the T-drama, Why Why Love starring Rainie Yang, Mike He and Kingone Wang.

I finally got to it and tbh, the first two episodes didn’t really do much for me.  It wasn’t all the commonalities it had with DBY. That I expected. It just seemed – slow and uninvolving. I was a bit disappointed since I really liked all the actors and actually considered skipping it. But I have a three episode rule so I hung in there and at episode 3, BAM. I was hooked.

I’m sure I’ve mentioned I’m a sucker for love triangles? Well the love triangle machinery here was even better than the one the same actors pulled for Devil Beside You!!! By the middle of the show, I didn’t know who I wanted her to be with! My loyalties just kept swerving all over the place.

Also, in DBY I used to think Kingone had a bit of a big head. Like literally. I’m happy to say that in WWL, he has totally grown into his head (don’t ask me how!) and he’s just perfectly dreamy!!! That’s some of the reason why I was actually torn between him and Mike He!

credit: Jeni_Cee

Anyway, the thing is that, after delivering on all the warm fuzzies, the show serves you up with one hell of a twist and I ‘m not sure how I feel about it so I’m actually scared to watch the last episode!!! ><

I actually teared up a few times during this show!!! Lol! It was actually a lot of fun!

It really had me going: WHY? WHY? LOVE!

credit: newsasia fansub

My second show has been the Japanese drama Sunao Ni Narenkute or Hard To Say I Love You.

This I got into because duh! Jaejoong from DBSK!!!

credit: http://pinkrazy.wordpress.com/tag/sunao-ni-narenakute/

This show is 11 episodes long but feels like 5 because quite a bit happens over what seems like a short period of time. In fact every episode is pretty dramatic and ends on a cliff hanger! I have really enjoyed it because watching it has been kind of like listening to really good gossip. It’s all about personal lives and relationships and all the crazy undercurrents of friendship. Plenty of angst!!!!

Surprises for me from this show for me:

-Jaejoong is not half bad as an actor. He has this weird nervous energy that translates very well to his role as a somewhat awkward character. At the same time there is this intensity about him that makes him fascinating to watch. Sometimes it’s endearing and sometimes, it kind of freaks me out. Is it weird that I like that? Lol! Anyway, I feel his efforts were commendable and he ought to be proud of himself!

-Eita is – I don’t get it – he has a huge nose, sticky out ears and hair that really just defies any kind of explanation (like WTF hair) and yet – and yet – why is he soooooooo attractive????? Everyone – everyone in the show falls for him and you know what? It’s actually kind of plausible! If I was in their group of friends, he’s the one I would’ve fallen for too! The guy has some strong Juju!!

credits: AsianLuvs ,    http://nana-nana.net/gallery/displayimage.php?album=257&pos=0

credit: dramaniacs.com

– Such nice chemistry between lead player Eita and Juri (though for me Juri sort of moved between cute and annoying a lot). I really, really wanted them to be together so bad! Lol!!!

All in all, it’s a great, absorbing watch! Something happens towards the end that made me cringe so hard I almost fell out of bed! I had to pause the video and dance all over the room from painful embarrassment! If you see it you’ll know it!!!

The reason I didn’t see the last episode is because the sub took so long to come out. But I have it now and I kinda just don’t want to end it so I’ve been saving it for a rainy day!^^

Ah – how I will miss that big nose, those sticky out ears and that ridiculous hair! Sooo hotttttt!!!! Lol!!!

I don’t get it.

Is it really that weird???

That I’m a Nigerian woman that loves Korean Pop Music???

Or K and J Doramas and the entire culture that comes with it?

I ask because of the reaction I keep getting when people see me watching my music vids or my shows. I actually never really think of it as strange till I see their expressions when I try to explain to them what I’m doing. It’s like this careful blank look you give someone when you are surprised by the realization that they might be mildly disturbed (see weird, obsessed fanatic).

I mean sure, I am passionately involved with the genre now; as in just about every vid on my ipod is korean and my screensaver is a vast slideshow exhibition of Jang Keun Suk (with the occasional BB, 2ne1, CNBlue and DBSK members). But I’m a passionate follower type and that’s how I show my colors! No one looks at Manchester United fans like their crazy when they do the exact same thing!!!

credit: http://www.theotaku.com/wallpapers/view/169742/jang_keun_suk

My Sukkie!!!: The second most beautiful man in the world (after my fiance^^)

Is it because I’m Nigerian? From West Africa? Should people from Nigeria or Africa only watch and listen too a prescribed set of things? Am I outside of our safe stuff to be into zone?

Would it help if I said that just as I’ve been taking in Western media content my whole life I’ve also been consuming eastern media content in one form or another for most of my life? That before I let myself get into Kpop, one of my favourite genres of music was anime soundtracks?

Is it because they’re talking and singing in a different language? Don’t we do the same thing here? Is non-english pop or hiphop only real or okay or acknowledgeable if it’s in our own languages? Does that even make sense???

If I can recognize hotness in people who are black, does it mean I may not recognize it in others who aren’t? And if I do, is that a cause for concern? If my admiration rests on artists who also share the condition of not being black and part of my appreciation is physical is this, because I’m black and West African and Nigerian, a sign of oncoming dementia? A symptom of an ignorant or badly brought up girl?

Is one really not supposed to like an artist even if they’re really good because they use a different word to say “hello,” or because they just don’t look enough like you?

If I think he’s hot…

…does it mean I can’t think he’s hot???

I actually, seriously don’t get this!

Sorry to rant but it really dampens my enjoyment of these things a little bit when people act like it’s soooooo odd and weird. Why do they jump to the conclusion that I’m weird for liking something that they have no idea about? Shouldn’t they be the weird ones? Why is it that on encountering something they don’t understand, rather than curiousity, their reaction is judgement?

This year I discovered K-Pop and it’s all I listen to because it de-stresses me, gives me great joy and is better than my former habit of junk food in bed. Last year I was listening solely to alt. rock. At one point I was only listening to anime and gaming music. I have no idea what I will be listening to next year but I do know that I will probably listen to it passionately and almost exclusively because that is how I deal with the things I love.

Thank god for the internet and being able to reach across the globe if that’s what it takes to find like minded people.

But I have to say, it would be really nice to find one person in Nigeria who doesn’t think it’s weird to love KPop cos  they love it too.

ps. I’m only half as pissed as I sound. I’m telling myself it’s like the anime/manga scene around here. Less and less people these days look at you like you’re crazy when they see you watching cartoons with people speaking japanese and there is actually quite a big community to indulge one’s enthusiasm in the genre with thanks to the overwhelming popularity of franchises like Naruto and Bleach.
So, there’s nothing like that for Asian Pop or Doramas. Maybe I’m just early to the party is all.

Dorama Love #^_______^#

Are there Nigerians out there that like K and J doramas as much as I do?

For the uninitiated, Kdorama or Jdorama are simply slang terms for certain sorts of TV dramas that come out of Japan and Korea.

The Dorama is a very wide genre encompassing everything from serious to somewhat bizarre or perverted but the type I’m referring to tends to follow certain patterns: melodramatic, mushy romance or silly, comical, romantic comedies. Characteristic features include, high school life, swaggering pretty boys, clutzy but cute or spunky heroines, bullying, love triangles, jealousy, fights, possessiveness, emo posing, angsty brooding, heart breaking misunderstandings, dramatic confessions, bitter sweet endings and syrupy sweet j or k pop sound tracks.

Of course there are variations. Some of them feature older, working types and therefore slightly more mature stories but the end product is the same. Something to massage your heart strings. They are literally shoujo mangas (japanese comics aimed at girls) on TV. Quite a few of them are based on mangas or manhwas (the Korean equivalent).

I have recently discovered that those shows are like crack to me! I mean it’s a good thing we don’t have an Asian TV channel in Nigeria cos I don’t think I would be able to leave the house!

Why do I love them so much? They are predictable, manipulative, derivative, saccharine, frequently unhealthy…but I could say the same about chocolate and I love that too.

The truth is that a good J or K dorama gives me the warm fuzzies. You know that feeling that you get when you realize that you’re smiling despite yourself? Even when you’re alone? They also make me tear up despite myself and make me laugh despite myself.

I love when the school idol (usually a pretty boy, tough guy that all the girls, including myself, squeal at and all the boys fear, see bishounen) cracks his icy cool armour and falls hard for the (insert predominant quality – shy, quirky, spunky, clutzy, average) girl and starts to indirectly woo her. I love it when competition rises in the form of another pretty boy tough guy that’s a foil to his type. If our main guy is rowdy, this guy is a cool customer, if our main guy is chill, this guy is wild and happy go lucky. Like a mugen and jin (samurai champloo) situation.

I love that the shows never try to be clever. They are what they are and are unashamedly so. I love the online communities of soft hearted fan girls that spring up around and as a result of these shows.

Doramas remind me that there is a place and a time for everything. Sometimes you want something deep and thought provoking. Sometimes you want something that challenges your imagination. Sometimes, you just want something thats fun, can only described in squeals and awwws and gives you warm fuzzies.

I guess that’s why I’m addicted to doramas and I wish other Nigerians or West Africans would be interested in them too because that would influence the supply around here! Right now, it’s not worth it to my DVD supplier to get them 😦

Will do my best to post about some of the dramas I have been enjoying so you can check them out too. Mean while, some good places to start introducing yourself to the genre include here and here.

UPDATE: On further exploration, other really good sites for getting into all sorts of doramas are Soompi and Dramabeans. These guys give really exhaustive reports and very satisfying breakdowns on shows and pop culture in general.