These two dramas are my addiction right now !!! It is so hard to have only one episode a week especially when you are used to two episodes a week with most Korean dramas !!

Love in Tokyo is full of cuteness and funny moments and I’m really glad we moved onto the university part ! Irie is getting cuter and cuter in each episode and I just love they slowly show his feelings about Kotoko !

As for Last Cinderella I still don’t know if I’d rather see Sakura with Hiroto or Rintaro ! I love them both though it is obvious that Hiroto has some heavy issues !

On this edition of First Impressions we are leaving South Korea to talk about two Japanese dramas currently airing which are having quite a lot of success Itazura na Kiss and Last Cinderella !

So if you have been in the drama world for a while now Itazura na Kiss ~ Love in Tokyo’ story shouldn’t be new to you as it is the second Japanese version of the dramas It Started With A Kiss and Playful Kiss (which were both adapted from the manga of the same name).

We follow Kotoko a lively but not so smart girl completely in love with the smartest student of her school Irie Naoki who ends up living with him after unfortunate events.

While the story is still the same I’m totally in love with this drama ! The main actress is really funny and Furukawa Yuki is perfect as Irie. The music is really good and I’m delighted to know that there will be 16 episodes thus the story won’t be hurried. If you’ve never watched a Japanese drama this one is a good one to start with !

Still a romantic drama but a for a mature public this time, Last Cinderella is starting pretty well !

Staring Shinohara Ryoko, Miura Haruma and Fujiki Naohito Last Cinderella tells the story of Sakura a 39 years old vice manager in a Beauty Salon who doesn’t care about her appearance at all and thus has a hard time finding love. At a party she met a younger man Hiroto in which she becomes infatuated.

Not only this drama gather 3 of my favorite Japanese actors, the main story is also to my liking. I’m a sucker for Cinderella like stories ! I really like the show as I have no idea where the story is going and who our main character is going to end with. I also enjoy the fact that it is about a mature subject as the drama deals with women and their “sexual” lives whether they are married or singer. 

The story is just starting but I think everyone should give it a try as it is really refreshing !!

CN Blue lead singer Jung Yonghwa was announced as one of the lead character of the drama Heirs staring Lee Min Ho and Park Shin Hye a couple of weeks ago. Turns out it is not going to happen anymore as it was announced yesterday that he was dropping out of the drama. His label stated a busy schedule and difference in opinion as the production team and Yonghwa weren’t able to come to an agreement regarding his character.

Well…in all honesty I am so happy he isn’t going to be on this drama !!! I love him as part of CN Blue but let’s be honest he is a terrible actor (thinking about Heartstrings still gives me chills). Plus I couldn’t have him play alongside Park Shin Hye another time ! No offense to the shippers but it would have annihilate the main couple and probably the story as most of the people would have been more focused on everything single action between the two of them. 

Heirs which will be brought by Kim Eun Sook the talented writer behind “A Gentleman’s Dignity” and “Secret Garden” is set to premiere this fall on SBS.

For this edition of 1st Impressions let’s go back in time with MBC’s drama Gu Family Book. Though I did watch some of them, sageuk dramas are definitely not my forte, most of the time too much focused on the politics and startegies it usually gives me headaches. I did enjoy a lot The Moon Embracing The Sun which pushed me to at least try sageuk more often and Gu Family Book definitely made me not regret this decision ! I’m totally hooked !

The Story: Choi Kangchi is the fruit of  the love between a human and a Gumiho which unfortunately encountered a terrible end. Unaware of his nature half-human half-gumiho, Kangchi lives a careless life protecting an the Century House (Inn) and its family. It is such a refreshing story for me !!! Sageuk mixed with fairytale/fantasy and romance what could I ask for more ? We get a story set years before as it often happens in Sageuk and then we move on to the heart of it. I enjoy this process a lot as it actually sets great foundation for what’s following next. You can feel that the story was well thought of, that the plot is actually a strong one.

So far Kangchi doesn’t know the truth and we apparently have a star-crossed love story coming up ! I’m glad to see Kangchi didn’t just fell in love with Yeo Wool the first time he saw her as it is just the beginning. It seems like we are going to have a really entangled situation between Yeo Wool, Kangchi, Chung Jo, Gon and maybe (maybe) Tae Soo. I think I have never been so excited to see such a messed up relationship !

TL; DR: Refreshing and strong.

The Acting: The cast is full of young yet talented and promising actors how do you want me not to be happy ? Lee Seung Gi has already proven himself as a strong and convincing actor and this time is no exception ! Suzy who won an award for her role in Architecture 101 is proving her ability to make each of her performances totally different (and I must confess I like her much more as Yeo Wool than I did as Go Hye Mi). 

Sung Joon who melted everyone’s heart in Shut Up Flower Boy Band, though he is doing good,seems a little bit uncomfortable with Sageuk but it is only the beginning (or maybe it is this horrible haircut they gave him!). Lee Yoo Bi is such a cutie I hope her character doesn’t become a bitch in the next episodes !

As for Lee Yeon Hee, well, I did have a hard time with her as she over-acted a little. Also some of her emotions weren’t really well controlled but well overall she did gave us the correct feeling for Kangchi’s mother.

TL;DR: Terrific, full of young actors but with such a talent !

The Technique: I was so blown away by the scenes in the forest !! All this fairy tale feeling with the little blue lights/spirits was just amazing. The scenery was beautiful: the forest, the lights, the peach trees in blossom, the crescent moon, everything was so exquisite. This drama definitely got a huge point just for that. (I’m a sucker for pretty landscapes).

The special effects are particularly well done. The use of CG is almost unnoticeable and the fights and high jumps are perfectly well synchronized and mastered. 

TL;DR: Beautiful sceneries.

Definitely a drama to watch and not only for its story, or its actors, or its technique…watch it for the whole package !!