My Mister(나의 아저씨) Korean Drama Thoughts

    Dramas that are broadcast on TvN always seem to be better then most Korean dramas shown on other networks. I've been one of those people who constantly talks about how many of the Korean drama made today are close to being udder trash. Well, What I will say that TvN dramas do at least keep the faith that Korean dramas still have good storylines going for them. My Mister is one of the Dramas that premiered on TvN earlier in the summer. Kim Won Suk directed the drama while Park Hae Young(Another Oh Hae Young) wrote the script. Singer IU costars with Lee Sun Kyun as the main cast supported by a large supporting cast that I don't feel like listing here. This is Lee Sun Kyun's first drama since 2016.

    A company man gets over a million won in gift certificates from his company but a female worker that works in his same department steals them to pay off her debt. It didn't work out so she finds out that the Vice President of the company is having an affair with the man's wife. She uses this fact to convince the Vice President that she can get the man fired if he pays her. Little does she know that her relationship with this man who is older than her will be a big part of change in her struggling life.

   My Mister is one of this dramas that you just have to let go and watch it from start to finish. Really let your mind release into the story. Each episode is a telling of different character's lives. Things start out as a look into the two main character's lives. Then the story extends into viewpoints of each character. You would think that the drama would start to fall short when expanding on many character's backgrounds. However, Each character gets a decent amount of screen time which would make sense since this is partly a family drama. A good quality about My Mister is that the side characters don't feel like a waste of time that is taking away from the main characters. There's a kind of merge that happens where each story comes together. Some of the viewpoints take more time to merge into each other than others but that's what makes the story interesting. Viewers will want to know how these characters all come together in the drama. Another big trait that makes My Mister stand out is the strong action of highlighting realism in the script. If other dramas did a better job of referencing real life in their content, the dramas would be much better. My Mister is very realistic when discussing the topic of age difference in relationships. I didn't expect the drama to get very raunchy considering the IU is in this drama and she has an image to still uphold in Korean entertainment. At least the writer avoided her doing sex scenes with realistic solutions to these situations. Korean drama has always known how to show that two people love each other without a whole lot of sex or kiss scenes. Hugging can speak a hundred words. The magic defiantly lies in the acting of the cast. Other than that, my problems with My Mister is that sometimes I feel that the episodes would drag a little. To the degree that I would be twiddling my thumbs during some scenes. Certain scenes would play out longer where not much would happen in terms of story progression. My Mister has one of the best scripts of a Korean drama this year but there's a constant hold back of getting to the meat of the plot. We all know the stop and go was necessary to prolong the drama until sixteen episodes. This drama could have been done in ten episodes if it wasn't for the lagging.

    Back to the acting, IU's role involves a lot of anguish where she either is stone faced or crying. She's not bad at acting but isn't award worthy either. Please take your feelings of you being a fan of her music or her looks. She improved a bit since the last time I watch her in a drama though. She shines the most when Lee Sun Kyun is acting with her. His talent kind of possesses her into acting even better than before. He is the kind of actor that kills sentimental roles in a good way. His character's feelings are like a front row seat experience. You feel them until you are swallowed in them. NOT TO MENTION THAT DAMN GOLDEN VOICE THAT NEVER GETS OLD! It was amazing how the supporting cast gave such great performances that you're under the impression that each and every one of them are the lead. I understood all the emotions being conveyed by the characters, even found some that I related to myself. Of course, I yelled at the television when the evil characters were up to no good as well![INSERT ME LAUGHING.]

   My Mister defiantly goes in the same league as other dramas such as Miseang. There's a good take on realism in the script and strong characters. I watched My Mister for Lee Sun Kyun mostly. Was not disappointed.

 

Black Pean(ブラックペアン) Japanese Drama Thoughts

   Let me start by giving a deep apology for not posting for awhile. I'm actually not in the normal place that I would be in so I don't that access to all the resources I need to post regularly. I do have Internet but I can't listen to all the East Asian music that I want to. I'll try to post about the dramas that I watch and just update the music posts later. With that being said, I've finally pushed my way through another J Drama…..

   


    Black Pean is a Japanese drama that aired this year. It was directed by Fukuzawa Katsuo, Tanaka Kenta, and Watase Akihiko. This drama doesn't come off like there were so four people in the director's chair… Anyway, Kaido Takeru wrote the script that was loosely based on the novel written by Ushio Kentaro.  Kazunari Ninomiya,(from Idol group Arashi.) Uchino Seiyo, Koizumi Kataro, Takeuchi Ryoma, and, Aoi Wakana star as the drama's main lineup.



   A mysterious doctor comes to a hospital during a period of all out war with an opposing hospital. He has the ability to perform even the hardest of surgeries but he has a personality as black as the path leading into hell. You may think that a doctor of his ability would want to help any patient in need. Well, you thought wrong. Only thing this doctor cares about is money. Oh. He also likes to tear down other doctors in the hospital. Where did this talented doctor come from? What's his motive?

   Black Pean….. Ok, I have a confession to make. Is this drama called Black Bean or Black Pean? I've been watching this drama calling it "Black Bean". You know, Similar to Black Beans and Rice![INSERT ME LAUGHING] Alright. I'll stop clowning around with you guys. However, Black Be- … I mean Black Pean unfolds as a story that creates a would supported by one character. Which of course is the main character. Without this character, the world inside of the script doesn't move. Then when the story progresses while not including the main character, things never go right. I've never seen a hospital full of doctors that can NEVER complete a surgery. No doctor can finish anything by himself so they end up calling the main character for help. The doctor's in the show shouldn't even come in to the hospital because they don't do anything in the end. All the hard work falls on the mysterious main character. These doctors aren't very nice people either. I'm sure without a doubt that if the patients knew half of the events that went on when they were getting treated, They would sue the hell out of that Hospital. Sue them so bad that all of them forget what a damn Pean even is. The formula of each episode is very much the same and after being shown the main character swooping in the save the day a few times, You just wait for the same result to happen again and again. This isn't realistic in the slightest but the dark disturbing manner in which the doctors use patient's heart surgeries as bargaining chips in a game of gambling kept my interest. All the important doctors use people's lives to further their own careers as well as making sure that their hospital becomes the top hospital. A lot of back stabbing and blackmail happens. Just to let you know. The saving grace of Black Pean is defiantly the acting. Sometimes a weak script can be made better with a good cast. This doesn't happen often but Black Pean pulls it off well. There's substance enough for the other character's to have minds of their own but the core of the story can't progress with just them. The story felt a bit weak in my opinion. Too much of the same pattern in the episodes for me.

   Nino is everything in this drama. He is the actor that basically caries the whole production with his acting. His role was a new experience for his fans since he plays a doctor that has a bad attitude. Him being on screen was the most interesting thing about this drama. More so than all the shaky medical procedures that are showcased in Black Pean or the lackluster storyline. Nino's character has an interesting background….. Maybe it was only interesting because of Nino's acting. He killed every scene he was in. End of story. Takeuchi created an earnest character that will cause anyone watching to have feels but the script still wasn't good enough to let either actor's performances make the script better. The rest of the cast was excellent in their roles. I felt all of the emotions they were conveying in their acting despite the must needed corrections on the script.( I'm a fan of Kotaro too. He needs more leading roles.)

    I noticed the different camera angles that were used to shoot Black Pean. Two of the scenes that I remember the most was one when the shot is setting the scene and the camera starts above then slowly moves downward to show the place being filmed. The second shot was when a dramatic event happens and the camera zooms into the action. Both of these shots were affective in order to elevate the action.

   Black Pean becomes a good drama depending on your reasons for watching. If viewers were watching for Nino, then this drama could be considered a good Japanese drama. Content wise, Black Pean lacks certain components needed to be a solid drama but a talented cast, good soundtrack, and half rate scripts can lead to a high rated drama nowadays. There's way too many Medical dramas out in Korea and Japan.