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posted by [personal profile] somersaulter at 11:34pm on 22/12/2007 under , ,
[personal profile] tragicamente asked for Taiwanese drama recs, and I find replying in one small comment box rather difficult, so what the hell, my whole flist shall be subjected to this craziness.


taiwanese dramas in a nutshell;

The two lead characters are thrown together under unforeseen circumstances. They either a) fall in love or b) simply detest each other. If they do fall in love, you'll be treated to sweet and adorable little scenes and situations. If they hate each other, the chemistry explodes with their constant banter, and eventually they'll fall in love. Following that, the Powers That Be will toss the couple into a tough situation or misunderstanding that may or may not force them to separate. They will later overcome said situation and proceed to live happily ever after. In addition, there will colorful, quirky, over-exaggerated side characters who will add to the comedy factor. And of course there's the two supporting cast who are in love with the main characters and will do anything to thwart the lovely couple.


In an even smaller nutshell; Guilty Pleasures.










1. It Started With A Kiss   

details | watch on Veoh | watch on crunchyroll | download from SilentRegrets (all with english subtitles)

After an earthquake destroys Xiangqin's house, she and her father move in with the family of her father's college buddy, Uncle Ah Li. To her surprise, the kind and amicable aunt and uncle are the parents of her cold and distant schoolmate Jiang Zhishu, a genius with an IQ of 200 whom not too long ago rejected her endless crush on him. Will the close proximity give her a second chance to win Zhishu's heart?

This show is absolutely adorable, guaranteed to leave a stupid grin on your face all day long. The female lead's foolish antics and her senseless undying affection for the male lead might frustrate you at times, and I actually find myself wincing at a few occasions, but you will soon learn to love the girl. The male lead's growing fondness of the girl is particularly endearing. The series is so well-received that a sequel is producing. Sequels are rare in Taiwanese dramas, so this goes to show how enjoyable this series is. The second season is currently airing in Taiwan.





2. The Prince Who Turned Into A Frog
details | watch on Veoh | download from SilentRegrets (all with english subtitles)

Shan Junhao, the CEO to a large hotel chain, is the stereotypical heir – spoiled, coldhearted, and ruthless. In a series of freak accidents, he loses all of his memories and becomes a better person after meeting Ye Tianyu, a girl who is somewhat of a gold-digger, but is kind at heart. Just when love is in the air, some more “accidents” occurred, and Junhao loses all of his memories of  Tianyu and goes back to being a spoiled heir. However,  Tianyu fights for their love even though Junhao denies ever knowing her. Will Junhao remember his love for Tianyu?

This is definitely one of my favorites ever. The show drew me back into watching Taiwanese dramas, though few can match up to the standard of this one. With an excellent plot that is rather original compared to the onslaught of repetitive love stories, and amazing chemistry between the two main leads, this show created quite a stir when it was released in 2005. It remains one of the highest rated dramas ever.





3. My Lucky Star
details | watch on Veoh | watch on mysoju (all with english subtitles)

Under situations where one can only deem as fate, two persons get handcuffed together, and their destinies are forever intertwined. Like the boy who cried wolf, Xia Zhixing had lied one too many times. So when she did tell the truth, nobody believed her except for the most unlikely person, Zhong Tianqi, a runaway young master of a jewelry empire. His belief in her inspired her to become a real jewelry designer instead of a lying, scheming jewelry con artist. In the process, she taught him the real value of jewels that he is destined to inherit.

I actually started watching this a month earlier and I ended up liking it more than I expected. The drama started out as a typical love story with its sweet lovely moments, although it tends to move a little slow. The real drama picks up about halfway through, and from there it flows with wondering pacing and intriguing plot lines. Jimmy Lin is absolutely adorable as the male lead, and plus, he's an F1 racer, so he does all the car stunts himself. The female lead overacts sometimes, but she matures along with the series.





4. Romantic Princess
details | watch on Veoh | watch on mysoju (all with english subtitles)

Adopted by middle classed parents, Xiaomai has always had a dream to be an heiress. Who knew that one day this dream would come true. Xiaomai's biological grandfather is the head of a prestigous aristocratic family and after many years of searching, he finally finds his long lost granddaughter. As she starts her life as an heiress, everyday is filled with excitement, however, everything seems a bit different from what she had imagined them to be.

Honestly, this drama is filled with fantastical plot lines that borders on ridiculous, but then again, it is a modern fairytale. Currently one of the most popular shows in Taiwan, it captures audience with its beauty. Seriously, the two leads are ridiculously beautiful, and so are the settings and the clothes, etc. Watch this if you like fluffy and pretty stuff.




If anyone wants similar recs for Japanese or Korean dramas, just let me know.
Mood:: 'good' good
Music:: promise of redemption; rough road leads to the stars
There are 22 comments on this entry. (Reply.)
 
posted by [identity profile] nemo-88.livejournal.com at 07:49pm on 22/12/2007
But... but... how can I CHOOSE? xD

They all seem really neat and I'd love me some Taiwanese drama! Pick one for me?
 
posted by [identity profile] somersaulter.livejournal.com at 09:51pm on 22/12/2007
Hm, I would say start with The Prince Who Turned Into A Frog. That show is probably my favorite out of all. It Started With A Kiss is a very close second. Why don't you check out the summaries and see which one interests you more? ;)
 
posted by [identity profile] nemo-88.livejournal.com at 02:00pm on 25/12/2007
Hee, okay! I'll start with The Prince Who Turned Into A Frog then. :)

You're awesome for this! Thank you! :D
 
posted by [identity profile] tragicamente.livejournal.com at 12:50am on 23/12/2007
yay! Thanks so much for this. Will get started on it right away when I wake up tomorrow. Right now my eyes are hurting so I must sleep, but thanks :D They all look really good!
 
posted by [identity profile] tragicamente.livejournal.com at 12:52am on 23/12/2007
oh and...I'm always up for Japanese dramas too! But I've got to get through these first :)
 
posted by [identity profile] somersaulter.livejournal.com at 01:49am on 23/12/2007
No problem, just let me know when you want it. =)
 
posted by [identity profile] tragicamente.livejournal.com at 11:44am on 06/01/2008
I'm super madly in love with Romantic Princess and am having a blast watching it. Especially since I'm a little bit in love with Wu Zun, but hey...are there any other dramas he is in? and also, I would love jdrama recs if you could :)

This writer's strike is actually very useful for watching MORE SHOWS. :)
 
posted by [identity profile] somersaulter.livejournal.com at 03:47pm on 06/01/2008
Yes, I agree, I rediscovered Asian dramas because of the strike. ;)

I'm starting school tomorrow, so not sure how much free time I will have, but I see what I can do. Jdrama recs are definitely not a problem, given that I'm obsessed with them right now.

And continuing our conversation from [livejournal.com profile] ysi_leftovers, I will find some time to rec some Mandarin pop to you as well. And thank you for the anime recs! I'm still relatively new to them, so I do need those recs.
 
posted by [identity profile] tragicamente.livejournal.com at 03:53pm on 06/01/2008
No worries about the time, I understand ocmpletely. I'm going back up to Uni tomorrow so my time is going to be super limited. So take your time!

Yay Mandarin pop! I'm psyched about the day where I might be able to actually understand more than the occasional word!
 
posted by [identity profile] tragicamente.livejournal.com at 03:55pm on 06/01/2008
Also to watch bleach online: http://www.watch-bleach.com/ streams all the episodes right from the beginning. And there's a group of yahoo (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nana_takoyakis/links) which has all the manga and anime episode links uploaded to various sites and good quality.
 
posted by [identity profile] somersaulter.livejournal.com at 04:11pm on 06/01/2008
Ooh, you have a Romantic Princess icon! Hee, so pretty. Thank you for the links. Hope school will allow me at least some time to enjoy all these. =)
 
posted by [identity profile] khushiyan.livejournal.com at 01:05pm on 23/12/2007


Aw, dude, they sound so damn cute! ^_^ Not that similar to Indian drama's which are just so fantastical you don't believe a word, or to Pakistani drama's where it's all about real life and therefore, so damn depressing.

But if I had Veoh, I'd totally watch these. Oh well! ^_^

 
posted by [identity profile] somersaulter.livejournal.com at 10:25am on 24/12/2007
I have an Indian channel here and I sometime surf around to that when I have nothing to do. There's so much dancing and singing, it's kinda entertaining. ;)

You should just get VeohTV. It's a free, small program, and so far I have no problems with it. There's so many shows there that it's completely worth the download.
 
posted by [identity profile] chaegyeong.livejournal.com at 11:03am on 24/12/2007
I LOVE ISWAK!

Iswak ftw. ((((:
 
posted by [identity profile] somersaulter.livejournal.com at 12:59pm on 24/12/2007
♥!
 
posted by [identity profile] unwearable.livejournal.com at 07:12pm on 05/01/2008
great, now i'm totally addicted to those too. and i already watch so many series ;_; i think i'm going to loose all my social contacts because of tv >>''

well, but i have to admit "romantic princess" is absolutly great. and i also watched "summer x summer" and "love contract". just beautiful ^^

well...thank you, nevertheless, for those links. i'm going to watch some more (and spend my freetime infront of the pc instead with real people ;_; (i hate this addiction >_>''))
 
posted by [identity profile] somersaulter.livejournal.com at 03:43pm on 06/01/2008
Hee, I feel the same way. I watch entirely too much TV, but hey, what else is there to do? ;)

Haven't watched Summer x Summer, but I do have Love Contract on DVD. Probably will start that one soon. Guh, too many shows to watch!
 
posted by [identity profile] unwearable.livejournal.com at 04:00pm on 06/01/2008
well, i should propably study, but....tv is so much better ;_; (even so the german program pretty much sucks -_-'', good that someone invented the internet ^^)

summer x summer is really cute. but the ending of love contract sucks (well for me. not the entire ending but certain aspect in the last 5 episodes). now i'm going to start with devil beside you (hope it's good)
 
posted by [identity profile] somersaulter.livejournal.com at 04:09pm on 06/01/2008
Yeah, I heard about the bad ending, but I like the female lead, so I'm probably gonna watch it. I'm mid-way through Devil Beside You! It's really cute. It's the same guy from Love Contract, he's adorable in this one.
 
posted by [identity profile] unwearable.livejournal.com at 04:13pm on 06/01/2008
still, though i don't like the ending it has it's moments...^^

well, i know it's him. that's mainly my reason for watching it next >_>''

XD
 
posted by [identity profile] somersaulter.livejournal.com at 04:16pm on 06/01/2008
LOL, yeah. He has a few new dramas as well, Why Why Love, and Bull Fighting. The latter is still airing in Taiwan. Haven't seen both, but they're on my to-watch list.
 
posted by [identity profile] unwearable.livejournal.com at 04:24pm on 06/01/2008
i'm interested in why why love. maybe watching after devil beside you. but i also wanted to watch it started with a kiss and tokyo juliet...aaaahh too many series to watch >_<''

can't watch bull fighting though, because the only lenguages i understand, besides english, are german and spanish and there is only one translated episode so far. and i can't wait for them to upload, i'm too impatient...^^'' (still have to wait for two episodes of romantic princess ;_;)

i wish i could understand chinese as well ;_;

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