Hello world! Okay, so I've been slacking a bit with book reviews, but I have an excuse! I was watching a Korean drama haha. And if you've ever watched Asian dramas, you know just how time-consuming and addicting they are.
So, I was watching the Korean drama Boys Before Flowers. I must say, I think it's probably my favorite drama! I've seen the Japanese version that came out earlier, called Hana Yori Dango & Hana Yori Dango 2, but I like this Korean version better. I've never read the manga before, so I don't know which one follows the original story more accurately, but the Korean drama entertained me a lot. Not saying that the Japanese one was bad, because that drama was my favorite until I saw the Korean version.
Here's a sypnosis of Boys Before Flowers (Kor. version) from DramaWiki:
Jan Di is an average girl whose family owns a dry cleaning store located near the luxurious and well known Shin Hwa College. Jan Di meets the four richest and most spoiled boys known as the F4. After saving a boy from jumping off the roof of Shinhwa High School, she is admitted into the school on a swimming scholarship. Jan Di tries to avoid confrontation with the F4 at all cost because she knows what happens to those that stand against them. However, when Jan Di's friend, Oh Min Ji, accidentally gets ice cream on the leader of the F4's shoes, she's forced to declare war on the leader of the F4, Goo Joon Pyo.Here's my little say on this drama if you ever plan on watching it (which I definitely suggest you should!):
I have to first give major thumbs up to those Korean drama producers, it seems like they're always the best at dramas! There were plenty more elements of the story compared to Hana Yori Dango, and I felt like I was on an emotional roller coaster, which can be very frustrating but keeps you captivated and satisfied in the oddest way. But in the end, I enjoyed it a lot! I honestly would be watching this at about 2am, and each episode is an hour. So I would think to myself, "Oh, I'll just see one episode and sleep at 3am." Boy, was I wrong. I ended up sleeping at 6am just because it was so addicting! It is extremely hard to tear your eyes away from the computer when the drama just leaves you craving for more, more, MORE! I ended up sleeping because I wanted to fall asleep before my parents woke up and found me awake haha. Anywho, I guess I can't really say what are my favorite parts and such because that would spoil the drama very much. The sypnosis above pretty much takes place in like the first episode, out of the 25. Because so much happens in each episode and there are so many events and twists in the plot, it's REALLY good.
So since I can't really give anything away, I'll just say my little take between the Japanese and Korean version:
-If you like a faster paced, more to-the-point plot, I would suggest watching the Japanese version, Hana Yori Dango 1 & 2. Korean dramas always tend to move a bit slower (in my experience).
-If you like a more variety of things happen that takes your heart up and down, I would suggest the Korean version. There's more plot twists and elements in it that don't occur in the Japanese version. For me, I liked these other elements a LOT, even though they leave you feeling extremely sad or disappointed at some parts.
-By the end of the whole series, I would say I was more satisfied with the Japanese version because you feel only happy and nothing else. For the Korean version, I guess I was more happy but then at the same time you still feel a hint of sadness. Haha hard to explain if you don't see both.
If you watch both of them like me, I would suggest watching the Japanese version first and then the Korean version, because if you do it the other way around, you'll probably feel like the Japanese version was missing parts.
10 smiles out of 5 smiles! Yes! It was that good!
and if you don't know where to watch these things with English subtitles, mysoju.com is a good site. I usually download mine off of Veoh or find it on the D-Addicts forum and download the episode and subtitles separately and watch it on VLC player, because then they are much better quality.
