Now that this year is coming to an end, it makes me feel like I should start doing some reviews of it. I know, this is my first time getting that kind of feeling. It seems like ages ago since 2012 actually started, and my mind is currently trying to remember all of the dramas that I watched this year. Uh...
First of all, I guess I'll start with "Shut Up: Flower Boy Band." Although it wasn't as addicting as some dramas, it was pretty great. So much eye candy... O_O This is the drama where I thought that L was the most good-looking out of the group. I guess we really were meant to be. ; ) Heartwarming story (full of laughs and tears), beautiful directing, and a lovable and very talented cast. The bromance in this drama really killed me, both heart-breakingly and wowingly. I loved how everything wasn't perfect in this drama, and all the boys were left free to pursue their individual dreams and lives, while still connected as friends, leaving the viewer with their own imagination of what could be. Sung Joon is so attractive here, along with showing his very promising acting skills. Despite just being a cameo, Lee Min Ki played a very important part of this story, and I could feel his top star status through his role as Byung Hee.
It seems like it'll be an endless series of tvN dramas. Another drama of that station that I watched this year was "Twelve Men in a Year." This drama was very refreshing, in that it wasn't so hush-hush about the sex lives of Korean women. It was very similar to the usual 30-something career woman-romantic comedy dramas that I seem to have a fetish for. I kind of wish I'd watched this drama straight through, instead of dropping it about halfway through and picking it up a few months after. It kind of took away the momentum of watching it. The 별자리 thing was really interesting, and I kind of want to re-watch it, so I can pick up some useful advice on men of certain zodiac signs. I really thought that Mi Roo would end up with her old boyfriend, but was surprised at the end. However, I thought that the coupling was pretty cute, and how Lee Joon tried to take care of the scandal for her. : )
I didn't really get to finish "The Equator Man." At first, I was so hyped for it, or just part of it, because of LEE HYUN WOO. Oh, I would die for that guy. Not really. I really don't know how to think of this drama, because I only remember small bits of it. I thought it was pretty cute that the guy who played Bong Goo in "God of Study" was Hyun Woo's friend in this drama. Siwan of ZE:A did a pretty good job of portraying his dark character, I thought. I think I watched through most of the first half, then read over the recaps on Dramabeans. I'm still not certain how everything went, like the whole corporations revenge thing, with Uhm Tae Woong's father. Oh, now I remember... The mind games that I partly watched and partly read about. That was awesome. Very psychological.
Siwan was also in "The Moon That Embraces The Sun," one of the most hyped-about dramas of the year, probably. I absolutely loved the child actors for the first few episodes, including Kim Yoo Jung and Yeo Jin Goo. I think I watched this drama straight through, keeping up with the airing schedule. To be honest, I was kind of part of the hype, since this drama was considerably addicting, I thought. I can't remember any other parts... Oh, I think I maybe checked out the ending through recaps, and then watched it probably. I think it was pretty satisfying?
"Rooftop Prince" was full of laughs. I enjoyed it so much. It's probably one of my favorite dramas of the year. The fish-out-of-water part of the storyline was hilarious. One of the classic romantic comedy dramas, with a nice twist of time travel. The story, for the most part, was intriguing. Overall, I think it did a very good job of entertaining, for me. The ending was a little unsatisfying, because although Park Ha got her possible reincarnated guy, Lee Gak was left all alone...
"The King 2 Hearts" aired at the same time as "Equator Man" and "Rooftop Prince." At first, I had a hard time keeping up with all three. I think, in the beginning, I was up-to-date with Equator and Rooftop, while I didn't really have an interest in King. Then, after Hyun Woo left, I became more interested in King. Although it wasn't my piece of cake, I think that overall, it was a very well-done drama. I remember the story not being very interesting, or at least addicting as Rooftop, but from an objective point of view, the theme was very fresh and different. The Ha Ji Won and Lee Seung Gi pairing was spectacular, Jo Jung Seok was so adorable and a heartbreaker, the North Korea-South Korea conflict was all in all, very interesting. I think it's just that King didn't attract me as much as Rooftop did. I really want to re-watch it now, since I didn't really watch it all the way through. Especially the scenes of the Eun-bot and Princess Jae Shin. Aw, they're so cute!
"Reply 1997" was one of the greatest hits of the year, in the Korean audience's point of view, along with mine. How can one not love it? Although I could not for the life of me relate to the time period, the drama was still very relatable, in terms of teenage struggles and the whole idol craze. It was especially interesting because it was set in a period that seemed kind of historical - I thought that learning about the trends of that time period was pretty interesting. The whole cast wowed me, including the lovable Jung Eun Ji (how can she manage to pull off looking 15 years older than her age?) and charismatic Seo In Gook. Joon Hee was just adorable, and it didn't hurt that Hoya was the one who played him. Everything about this drama I loved, from the raw storyline, heartwarming and heartbreaking scenes, impeccable directing, to the wonderful chemistry among the cast members, the little references to the idol scene in the '90s. It had a wonderfully quirky sense of humor, and I just loved the "baa" sounds whenever everything was awkward.
One of my favorite dramas of the year, "Ghost" was a thriller, both nervingly and psychologically. As a viewer, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story was pretty addicting, with the whole mystery hinted at the beginning of the drama. It's probably the first CSI-like drama that I've watched, and I surprisingly found myself to like the fast-paced, plot-driven aspect of the drama. The story was probably the best thing about this drama, along with the directing, how the unknown parts were cleverly revealed. I especially liked how the story was centered on one main case, with the team having to solve several other cases to solve that one. I loved the notorious threesome, with Woo Hyun, Kang Mi, and Hyuk Joo (aka 미친소). "Twinkle," anyone? The "Phantom of the Opera" song will forever remind of this drama. Most importantly, this drama made me realize how dangerous the cyber world actually is in real life. Lesson observed.
I had my own taste of sweets this year, with "To The Beautiful You." Besides being Hyun Woo's drama, the drama surprisingly managed to hook me, or at least allowed me to watch it. Although I'm not a very reliable critic when it comes to dramas, I'm still very picky, but TTBY was a tolerable watch. I even got excited at times, especially with the inevitable love triangle, and Jae Hee's secret. I was totally squealing when Kim Woo Bin came on, complicating the whole love dichotomy. Other than Hyun Woo and the romance, the drama was pretty dull on the other aspects. That, and the beautifully filmed scenes. Props to the cameraman? The whole "I'm going to cheer my idol on" thing was unbelievable, I just couldn't wrap my mind around the motivation of traveling halfway around the world to make some guy jump again, like many other viewers of this drama. Ah, oh how I wish Hyun Woo had picked a better drama, or if he'd ended up with this sort, that his character be more than some lovable and adorable second lead. I'm at least glad that they changed his hairstyle in the middle of the drama. Oh, I'm melting at the thought of that crazy-hot hair.
To end this seemingly never-ending series of reviews, I will have the grand finale with "Nice Guy." Wow, what a drama. Talk about psychological. Not only is my favorite guy in the world, Song Joong Ki, in it, with his awesome acting, but it was so addicting and prone to being obsessed about. Or at least, that's what happened to me. I'm so happy for our Joong Ki - 2012 seems to be the year for him, or at least the latter half of it. :D Although a lot of sources have been remarking on how loose it is in terms of plot, I thought that, for the most part, the story was pretty believable and was at least well-constructed. This is what you'd call a good melodrama. They really did a good job of luring the viewers in with its plot, especially since it was a success in ratings. The acting was spectacular, and the Song Joong Ki-Moon Chae Won couple is lovable, in a twisted sort of way. Probably my favorite drama of the year, although mostly because of Joong Ki oppa.
