Korean Boys Over Flowers + the Poll!!!

[alexandral]

I think I am in complete minority with Korean BoF.

- I still like it very much; this drama is not in my top 5 but definitely is in my top 10-15 Korean dramas.

- I am still shipping JanDi/JunPyo. Gosh, Lee Min Ho is so gorgeous I will ship him with anyone until the ends of time.

- I don't ship Jan Di / Ji Hoo at all. This is a surprise for me because I had a soft spot for Lei/Shankai when he made the Meteor Garden for her, I shipped Rui/Makino with quite an obsession (I confess I even cried a bit at the end :D) and I really like Ji Hoo himself. But there is something in him that makes me think I would prefer to ship him with a boy and that moment he had with Jun Pyo sleeping in his bed sealed it.

- I am quite glad that we got a different version of the story and it is a Korean drama through and through, with over-the-top angst, mopping and all such things .

+ The only thing that is bad for me in Korean Boys Over Flowers is the herouine. I don't know if the problem for me is in her constant mopping because Makino did a fair bit of mopping in Japanese version too. I think I just don't like Jan Di, I don't see why Ji Hoo and Jun Pyo should like her, etc. etc. Koo Hye Sun looks older than the rest of the cast, I am not fond of her acting and she has a haircut that should be strictly banned from hairdressing.

Below is my attemp at a purely scientific poll I tried to make to find out your preferences:

[Poll #1363046]

Comments

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Plus, I never recovered from her "maybe it was my fault" monologue after he hits her, because it came across far too much like an abused wife/girlfriend defending her abuser, even though I know it wasn't the intent.

I agree with you here - this scene is really terrible, I hated it and I just erased it out of my memory like a bad dream. It is bad enough that he hits her after he is in love with her and after there seem to be some changes in him (so these changes seem to be just temporary) but the worst is that "may be it is my fault" thinking of Shankai's. I just pretend that this scene doesn't exist because it is not fitting to the the way both characters were developing..

As a tangent, I've also never understood why the various incarnations are always declared feminist for having a heroine who's tough and doesn't let people push her around, because that should be the expected norm, not an amazing, revolutionary shock. It just means it's doing one aspect better than other things do.

It seems to be quite a change for usual dorama scenarios where even the best of girls usually need "saving". However, there are all sorts of more feminist mangas, even "Claymore" comes to mind.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

The thing is that i could buy it as he does it, and then realizes how horrible it was and it was a changing point. Instead, it was just an excuse for some angst, and the way the show deliberately avoided it resulted in a standard setup for the beginning of an abusive relationship.

Shancai/Makino still needs saving too, though. Both versions (jdrama and twdrama) end up being more his story, dominated by his issues and problems, than hers, and I understand the manga is even moreso. The fact that she's what the norm should be doesn't makes it feminist. As far as anime and manga go, the only ones I'd label feminist off the tp of my head are Claymore, Basara, Skip-Beat, Revolutionary Girl Utena, and Princess Tutu. (There are more, that I've read and otherwise, I'm just not immediately thinking of them.)

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

and then realizes how horrible it was and it was a changing point.

Actually, I think I seem to remember this was what happened - I am rewatching "Meteor Garden" now, I'll pay more attention. But I seem to rememebr that for Dao Min Sai this was the last time he ever hit her.. This doesn't make the inner monologue of an abused woman from Shankai any better.

Shancai/Makino still needs saving too, though. Both versions (jdrama and twdrama) end up being more his story, dominated by his issues and problems, than hers

I think you are right here, though I must say that both Makino and Shankai appear more in charge than he is.