#icon yeo one | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

ikjun · 7 months ago

Text

AL'S DRAMA RECS VOL.1: these recs will solely focus on the writing of the shows, which to me comes down to two things: how well does the plot accomplish what it set out to do in the beginning? and how compelling are the characters written, no matter if their character arc means they become better or worse through the story or even remain who they are? my favourite dramas usually succeed in giving us a satisfying answer to both questions and these are the ones you will see on this list!

★★★★★ dramas (aka the greatest hits):

SECRET FOREST / STRANGER (2017-2021): the pinnacle of all dramas. follows the duo of no-nonsense prosecutor hwang si-mok (the acting star turn of he century by cho seung-woo) and police detective han yeo-jin (the ever-exceptional bae doo-na) investigating a murder case that blows open several scandals in the prosecution. season 2 follows several cases leading to an internal investigation on police bribery. it just does not get better than this and i fear it won't ever will. this drama has the understated styling of nordic noir, the classic shenanigans of an unlikely leading kdrama duo, and one of the tightest scripts ever seen in any tv show ever. | genre: thriller, melodrama, crime procedural

MY LIBERATION NOTES (2022): following the yeom family's three siblings living in the small town of sanpo on the outskirts of seoul, and the stranger moving into the house next door to theirs, this story navigates questions of sibling-hood and family, the purpose of life, as well as the sacrifices we make for the relationships in our life as well as our own happiness. this show earned its hype from the central love story between mr. gu and yeom mi-jeong (son seok-ku and kim ji-won acting the house down) but every one of the three main storylines is well-paced, gives the main actors moments to shine and grow, and ties neatly into the overarching plot to render you either moved or comforted, or even both. | genre: slice of life, melodrama

VINCENZO (2020): at this point are there still followers on this blog who haven't at least seen me talk about vincenzo? the writing of this show is maybe the peak of genre-blending done in kdrama, a culmination of years refining this skill to sharp perfection in a biting black comedy. vincenzo cassano (song joong-ki), consiglieri of a mafia clan he got adopted into, goes back to south korea to recover a frankly unholy amount of gold and fights a gigantic conglomerate (babel) to get there. if you watch past episode four, you will finish this drama, because everything ensuing from then on is just one iconic story beat after another. | genre: black comedy / satire, crime, romance

HOSPITAL PLAYLIST (2020-2022): a medical drama beyond reproach. this show is on this list for the way it wrote its characters and achieved the most satisfying character arcs in any kdrama, maybe, ever. a group of five friends in their fourties all working at the same hospital and navigating their professional and private lives, this drama doesn't shy away from eclectic backstories (and the leads all playing music together in a band) as well as truly heart-tearing moments of friendship and romance. never have i seen character growth done as well as i have seen it in the characters of yang seok-hyeong and kim-jun-wan. | genre: medical, slice of life, rom-com

D.P. / DESERTER PURSUIT (2021-2023): d.p. to me is a no-notes kind of show. it depicts the work of the military police pursuing army deserters through freshly enlisted ahn jun-ho (jung hae-in playing years below his age and leagues above many his actual age) who ends up empathizing and working to help and save the deserters he and his team partner han ho-yeol (an exceptional koo kyo-hwan) are meant to bring back to the army instead of incriminating them further. d.p. is much better for its tone, its writing and the risks it takes in its no-nonsense approach than some of the drivel revered solely for being more flashy and showy in this genre. | genre: military drama, action

★★★★☆ dramas (aka near-perfection):

PRISON PLAYBOOK (2017): the perfect prototype of the bromance as romance formula and one of the best found family dramas that really focuses on that. star baseball player kim je-hyuk (park hae-soo in his career-defining role) loses his career and lands in prison after he assaults the ex-boyfriend of his younger sister to protect her. the show centers on je-hyuk's time in prison, where he reunites with his childhood best-friend-now-prison-guard lee jun-ho (a supreme jung kyung-ho) and assimilates himself with the people he meets in his cell. this show hits all the beats so well from a stellar supporting cast to a great comeback kid narrative for je-hyuk from his time in prison to being released. glaring flaw: the age-gap / childhood friends romance, the conclusion of hanyang's story arc, who gets the short end of the stick while being the one out gay character in the show. | genre: black comedy, found family, slice of life

GOBLIN: THE LONELY AND GREAT GOD (2017): the defining kdrama for many. it may be the one drama that really delivers in answering its plot's defining question twice over and then some. goblin kim shin (gong yoo), cursed to immortality, gets his life upended once a grim reaper (lee dong-wook as wang yeo, a performance never to be seen or repeated again since) and the young woman (kim go-eun as ji eun-tak) who turns out to be his fated bride enter his life. an immortal man resigned on life finds purpose while knowing he will fatally die once the woman he falls in love with cures him of his curse. glaring flaw: the age gap romance between eun-tak and kim shin. could she have not been in college at least? | genre: melodrama, romance, fantasy

CRASH LANDING ON YOU (2019): the romance drama that could, and did. based on a real life incident, ceo yoon se-ri (son ye-jin, an acting veteran near beyond reproach imo) accidentally crash lands in north korea after a paragliding flight gone wrong. there she meets active duty soldier captain ri jeong-hyeok (hyun bin, thank you for your service) and has to stay with him and his military company. the fated love story starts there, but neither of them know they have met before, and already changed the courses of each other's lives before doing so again. minor flaw: is this drama romanticising the military? or is depicting of that on screen just that and nothing more? that is up to you to decide. | genre: melodrama, romance

HOMETOWN CHA CHA CHA (2021): the series remake of a korean rom-com film of the early aughts, this remains my favourite romance drama over all. dentist yoon hye-jin (shin min-a blessing our screens) moves to rural gongjin, a seaside village where nothing happens at all, after her professional life in seoul goes up in flames. it's not all sunshine in gongjin either as ye-jin meets hong du-sik (kim seon-ho),a handyman who is called chief hong by everyone and fixes all the big and small fires in the village. the two start as enemies that eventually fall in love. the romance is well-handled and paced and the second lead (lee sang-yi) is the best i have ever seen in a show, especially because of the arc written for him. minor flaw: the plot is not as tight as the respective character arcs, so sometimes sacrifices are made for the sake of a more emotional scenes. | genre: rom-com, slice of life

THE GLORY (2022): when you put the revenge in revenge drama, this is what you can get. song hye-ko returns to small screen brilliance in an incomparable performance as moon dong-eun, a woman who decides to infiltrate the lives of her school bullies and take them down one by one. this show delivers on plot even more than on characters, following through on every step of moon dong-eun's revenge without shying away from how gruesome or painful that path of vengeance can be. dong-eun gets help from plastic surgeon joo yeo-jeong (a delightful lee do-hyun), and the main cast is rounded out by lim ji-yeon and jung sung-il as dong-eun's grown up tormentor and her reluctant husband respectively. minor flaw: the show does spend a big chunk of its time on the group of school bullies and their interpersonal relations, which sometimes takes time away from the main plot. | genre: psychological thriller, revenge drama

♡ more specific genre watches (beware: usually crime):

LIFE (2018): written by the writers of secret forest, life is another thriller with understated direction and a more sombre tone. i would have put it in the greatest hits category, but watching it with other people made me realise how niche it actually is in genre. a corporate hospital thriller, the show revolves around the newly-minted ceo of sangkook university hospital, gu seung-hyo (a once again flawless cho seung-woo) and a dedicated ER doctor (lee dong-wook, stellar as ever) who depict the two sides of the patient care vs. profit conflict in the hospital. i can't even say more about the show because every other plot point is basically a spoiler. sharply directed and written, this is one of the best genre pieces i have ever watched, and is mildly reminiscent of hbo prestige television of the decade before. | genre: medical drama, corporate thriller

THE WORST OF EVIL (2023): are you even surprised? this was the drama of 2023 for me, one of the most stellar scripts i have seen. the worst of evil is very firmly a noir show and you have to treat what you are watching as such. it is heavily entrenched into its genre tropes and arcs, even more than most crime shows i have seen, and that can be off-putting for people unfamiliar with the genre, but if you are up for it, you will not be disappointed. opportune violent crime detective park jun-mo (ji chang wook, korea's finest new gen action actor) infiltrates a drug ring lead by jung gi-cheol ( fantastic and emotional tour de force by wi ha joon) and the lines begin to blur when neither of them knows if what they bargained for is actually what they want. the show lets its main plot dictate the pace, focusing on park jun-mo's descent into crime, and it is all the more better for it. | genre: noir, crime thriller, action

BEYOND EVIL (2020): the story about dejected and grieving small-town detective lee dong-sik (baeksang-awarded veteran actor shin ha-kyun) being partnered with elite detective and spinster seoulite han joo-won (child actor prodigy turned actor to watch du jour) has made its waves online for its very apparent gay subtext, but to reduce beyond evil to this would be a crime in itself. following lee dong-sik and han joo-won as they are tasked to solve a reoccurring serial killer case, the framing plot then fans open the age-old wound of dong-sik losing his twin sister and being blamed for her disappearance with joo-won having taken an obsessive fascination with the case. the two crime cases are exceptionally interwoven and the stories of the people in the small town of manyang, and how they all somehow tie back to dong-sik, is the perfect example of turning the small centrepiece of a plot into the binding force of every thread. | genre: procedural, psychological thriller

OUR BELOVED SUMMER (2021): i put this into the genre-piece category because obl is majorly focused on its main trope. romantic dramas can easily be trite to me, as this obvious list of crime shows doesn't tell you, but our beloved summer is one of the few that did everything right. it plays out the best trope ever done - exes to lovers - and does not back down from embracing the whole shebang to the nth degree. high school / college sweethearts choi woong (known beloved actor on ye-xiu tumblr dot com, choi woo-shik) and kook yeun-soo (the ever great kim da-mi) have to unite to replicate, or rather continue, the viral high school documentary they filmed years ago. the show shimmies its way from one moment of reconnection to another, culminating in the best kdrama kiss to ever be put to screen, and concludes in one of the most satisfying and, yes, romantic endings ever. the things a show can do when it just sticks to its main narrative, huh. | genre: rom-com, coming of age

#AHHHHHH HERE WE GO #i don't really know what to tag this ...#al's drama recs #drama recommendation #beware: i mainly watch crime / action and this is what is majorly featured on this list #i do want to make one for best acted shows too bc the list would ..... differ a lot juzghujiko #so if anybody is up for it just lmk (or i will subject my followers to it for the hell of it anyway)

14 notes · View notes

dayscapism · 2 years ago

Text

K-Dramas recommendations & short reviews

Because I've watched way too many to not make a list. Warning: I like romance and fantasy a bit too much.

These shows made me cry. 10/10. Five stars. Recommend to anyone. They live in my mind rent-free:

Extraordinary Attorney Woo (2022) - Attorney Woo is such a wonderful person, I love her character. I can't say much about the representation, but I like that it opens up the conversation around autism & neurodivergence, discrimination and prejudice, particularly in work environments. I rarely like shows about law or lawyers but I was surprisingly engaged with the cases and the story. It deserves a second season. (The only thing I don't like about this show is they're pushing for a MinWoo and Choi Su-Yeon ship. Which huh--disrespectful.)

Hotel Del Luna (2019) - A great place to start with k-dramas if you like paranormal fantasy. This show has such a special place in my heart. I wanted a different ending but I am okay with it because it was a tight narrative. The main character is iconic (Man-Wol please step on me). The show has amazing sets, AMAZING costumes, an amazing OST, amazing and heartbreaking performance by Yeo Jin Goo. The main couple is so soft; like they're such good friends and coworkers and gentle with each other (eventually). It's enemies to reluctant friends to lovers. It's perfect for asexual viewers who want more than physicality in their romance shows. Cons: the secondary characters' goodbyes and backstories left a little to be desired. A few other nitpicks like Chang-Seong is the one to suggest the main character a new hobby instead of her just discovering it by herself.

It's Okay to Not Be Okay (2020) - Also a good place to start with k-dramas. This show is a lesson in good narrative; this has perfect writing & storytelling. The cast is so good. The female lead is an icon. The character work I excellent. The mental health issues are so well addressed and it taught me a lot about mental health I wasn't aware of. Each small minor character plays a very important thematic role. (The villain isn't the best thing ever but she serves her role in the themes and plot.) The production and the storytelling with the children's book animations are just *heart eyes*. The OST is so good too. You need to watch this to understand how good a k-dramas can be. A must-watch.

Goblin: The Lonely and Great God (2016) - This is the most iconic fantasy/paranormal k-drama ever. A lot of current tropes were started here I think (including the weird k drama last-episode time jump separation of the main couple). This show broke me. You will cry. The bromance and comedy are amazing here too. Gong Yoo and Dong Wook Lee have great chemistry. Main female lead is so cute and her character is so heartwarming. The ending felt a bit rushed. The death, existential related stuff with the grim reapers and such is so good tho.

Business Proposal (2022) - Best rom-com ever! (Well, it could be gayer tbh.) It's my new comfort show. I already watched it twice. It's campy, hilarious, chaotic, iconic and messy in a way that feels like real life (but obviously played up for drama and comedy). Excellent character work. The love interest is definitely written by a woman. Gorgeous cast (Sejeon omg I have a crush, but also the others). It was too short! I would have loved another episode, and more of Grandpa and Ha-Ri. Warning: this has the weird kdrama last-episode time jump couple separation.

W: Two Worlds (2016) - A young resident medic accidentally finds her way inside the webcomic her father created. Like, that premise is killer. We have Lee Jong Suk at his finest here; the character fits him so well. He was born to play a lead. This show has amazing meta-commentary on writing, authorship, and existential crisis. The confrontation between the webcomic character Kang Cheol and the author is insane! The main couple is an epic pair. Would rewatch. High wump value. Cons: The second part could have been more swoony with the romance, Kang Cheol kind of became a bit cold. (A warning: this show also has the k drama weird last-episode time jump couple separation.)

Would recommend with popcorn, I rate them 8/10:

Crash Landing on You (2019) - Really good. The main couple has the best chemistry I've ever seen. It's not that much of a personal fave show, but still pretty awesome and will tug at your heart. It got a bit overly dramatic in the last episodes and again, has that k-drama last episode weird time jump couple separation, but here it actually makes sense. And sort of mirrors the separation and eventual unification of the Korean Peninsula. It was very interesting to see the contrast between North and South Korea.

Shooting Stars (2022) - Aside from the terrible, horrible, insulting Africa storyline (where the male lead goes to 'help' African kids with water scarcity, not even a country name is called, he just goes to *gestures vaguely* Africa to help goddammit he's such a beautiful soul! /s) There's a weird creepy sugar mommy wannabe side storyline and it's weird and out of nowhere. But the rest of it is good and campy and the main characters are so cute. All the couples are cute. The male lead is a cute disaster. Female lead is also a capable cutey but a disaster when it comes to romance. It's hilarious. I love all characters. It's fun. It's great. It shows a very interesting side of the entertainment industry.

While You Were Sleeping (2017) - A man and a woman who don't know each other have precognition powers and after they meet, they use them to take down a corrupt lawyer. The show isn't very heavy on the romance, tough the pair work pretty well together. I liked the main actress. Lee Jong Suk has chemistry with anyone. The male role was not exactly a good fit for Jong Suk. He's so much more naturally charming than the character. It's a fun show to pass the time. The found family is nice and all the characters work great together. The mom is great.

The King's Affection (2021) - I'm going to be honest, I didn't finish watching this. Ups. I got bored after episode 15. It's a very slow show but what I watched was quite good. It was just not a show for me. Having a bisexual male lead was awesome, I appreciate that he falls for the main character while he thinks she's a man. (Could be gayer tho, just saying.) Pretty good discussions and reversals of gender cliches. It has complicated parent-child relationships that are very well written which gives a lot of heart and heartbreak to this story. The political stuff gets very convoluted. I really wish the queer part was bigger though, and not limited to the main couple. We could even have poly representation! I still have half a mind to finish this but I don't know There are so many other shows I'd rather watch instead. (Boy, I really need to get into the actually queer side of k-dramas because the side I'm currently on is giving me crumbs.)

Lovers of the Red Sky (2021) - The premise was so cool. This has so much lore I like and the setting is beautiful and rich, but it also has so much lost potential. The plot is very weak in the second half and could be restructured. I loved the atmosphere, costumes and the actors and their characters: the blind cursed scholar nobleman, the female genius cheeky painter and her friend trio and the prince are all great characters. Ahn Hyo Seop is pretty good in it and looks very pretty indeed in historical costume (but the design of the villain creature he's possessed/cursed with is so, so bad omg). Great premise failed execution. Good first half but it went over the rails quickly. Still entertaining if you like historical fantasy.

Romance is a Bonus Book (2019) - It's a bit slow and could have done so much more with the female lead and her child. She's a bit underwhelming and her daughter is barely in the story. The second female character played by Jeong Eu-Gene was awesome, I love this actress now. Lee Jung Suk is always looking hot and being an excellent actor with what he's given; he's very charming here. He could have chemistry with a piece of wood and yet I wasn't that fan of the romance. Maybe it's just because friends to lovers isn't my cup of tea. There's a weird out-of-nowhere backstory between the male leads. The commentary of ageism in the workplace is a bit surface level (it's not that big of a deal for the company if you're overqualified for a job, the point should be that is an issue for you and your career, who is too good for the company). You can tell the writers really care about books; it's definitely a love letter to editors and an interesting window into the world of book publishing; you can feel the love editors put into making books. Bonus: the founding members of the publishing company have very funny moments.

Do no recommend:

King: Eternal Monarch - Couldn't even finish this. I was so, so confused. The dialogue, narrative and backstory make no sense! Everything is so unnecessarily confusing. There's no chemistry between the main couple. The king and the bodyguard had more chemistry. Lee Jung-Jin (playing the villain Lee Lim) & Woo Do-Hwan (the bodyguard) carried this show and are pretty much the only thing good about it. The female lead is sidelined. It had an intriguing premise but failed execution.

What's Wrong With Secretary Kim - Skimmed most of the second half. It's a mess. The love interest CEO is such a narcissist and asshole he wouldn't be able to keep a working, healthy relationship with his partner without some serious therapy first. The female lead seems to be repulsed by him most of the time even when together and even looks scared when they get intimate. There's an unnecessarily convoluted plotline about the main lead's brother and a kidnapping in their past. It has tonal issues and it's cringy rather than funny. The secondary characters are just a lot of useless filler. The female lead sacrifices her independence and dreams to be with the main guy. Just go watch Business Proposal instead.

Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo - The only pro of this show is IU. The romance went the undeveloped route. Cheap-looking production, with too many episodes, melodramatic, characters pivot in place instead of naturally developing; it's definitely a telenovela. The point that the female lead is from the future doesn't even matter for the story (should have made her a Goryeo historian instead of a random cosmetologist). Pass!

Tomorrow - Could not finish watching. Please, please don't watch it if you're dealing with depression, bullying or suicidal thoughts. Please don't. By episode 2 I was just screaming at the screen. Problematic? This show invented the word problematic. The supernatural task force that's supposed to save people with suicide risk is terrible at therapy and suicide prevention. They tell the person trying to commit suicide, literally on the edge of a building about to jump, that they should do it, that they're weak, they should just jump, go ahead! Like ... what????

Mystic Pop Up Bar - Didn't capture me by episode 2. Got bored. Some say this is better than Hotel Del Luna but I don't agree.

Abyss - It's a weird tonal mix. Would have preferred if it leaned further into the absurd (go all in with the humour or don't at all), the sci-fi or the murder mystery. Instead of just revealing by episode 3 who the murderer is, quickly changing the plot into a chase after the villain, even though he's so lame. But also he is keeps killing people and it gets dark. And then we cut to the main couple being silly and cute. It's so jarring. The leads have a great dynamic and Ahn Hyo Seop knows how to differentiate his characters really well, give them their own flavour., but in the end it's just a cool premise, failed execution. Very average.

Currently watching:

The Crowned Clown - Very interesting concept and gorgeous, gorgeous visuals. Plot drags a little. Has some tonal problems and oversimplification of politics. The best part is when Yeo Jin-Goo acts with himself haha. He's such a talented actor.

The Uncanny Counter - Get's a bit melodramatic sometimes but all four main actors are insanely good.

Tale of the Nine-Tailed - The main romantic relationship needs a lot more development, but the entire show is worth watching just for Dong Wook Lee and Kim Bum as brothers.

Alchemy of Souls - 6/10 so far. Currently watching season 2/part 2. Aside from the prince, I don't particularly care for any of the characters. Unpopular opinion but the main romantic pair have no chemistry. Mu-Deok has more chemistry with Yul and the prince, and the prince has more chemistry with Jang-Uk. The lore is confusing and inconsistent: it breaks its own rules. (Two souls in one body what?? when was this established as a thing?) There's not enough foreshadowing and setting up the rules of magic in this world (the Ice Stone comes up as a deux ex mahcina big plot point in the last second). It also drags; the episodes are too long. There's a lot of saying and ultimately the show doesn't deliver. The narrative structure is straight out of a fantasy Wattpad. The set and costumes are fun and cool for a fantasy world, and the first episode was great.

100 notes · View notes

survivalistghost · 2 years ago

Text

top 10 kdrama bromances to feed your empty heart

if you scroll through my page, you can already guess number 1.

#10 - our beloved summer : choi ung and kim ji ung

beautiful beautiful men choi woo shik and kim sung cheol played ung bros for life in this beautiful beautiful drama. one of the best handled love triangles ive seen. they were there for each other through thick and thin, and helped each other through sm. best. on the tenth spot because they could've expanded on it more :(

#9 - what's wrong with secretary kim? : lee young joon and park yoo sik

i could never make it through the series. i left it behind on ep9/10 i think, and primarily because i physically cannot digest how emotionless park min young is. BUT, kudos to the hilarious office best bromance by the great park seo joon and kang ki young. ps - why is kang ki young the pankaj tripathi of korean dramas?

#8 - strong girl do bong soon : ahn min hyuk and in gook du

can we ever forget the legendary wink? or the dream where min hyuk is dressed as a woman? i think not. this was more of a frenemy type bromance, united by their love for bong soon and ironically divided by it, too. i refuse to acknowledge this as a love triangle tho. bong soon was astronomical in not hurting gook du and i will not take any criticism. is it a bromance if one of them is pretending to be gay? (and no, we will not discuss any sort of iTs pRoBLeMaTiC debates here.)

#7 - tale of the nine tailed : lee yeon and koo shin ju

don't come at me with the lee rang comments. rang was his half brother, related by blood. their relationship was top tier, but the stay at home husband yeon and working husband shin ju was too cute to not be classified as a bromance. in the beginning, i saw their relationship as shin ju serving yeon, a dynamic that they both seemed to embody. but as the show progresses, yeon baby we know you love shin ju just as much :*

#6 - alchemy of souls : jang uk and seo yul

song joon ki seems to have an attachment to bromances. han seo had the best character arc of the ENTIRE kdrama universe fight me. that court scene where vincenzo pats han seo's cheek was max bro cuteness. still not over his death. he deserved better.

#5 - vincenzo : vincenzo cassano and jang han seo

even though i didn't very much like the show's first couple, bromance delivered well. hospital scene peaked, complete true beauty sameness. it was pretty hard to understand who was the superior officer in this tbh initially, since their comraderie was so cool, shi jin was kid to soldier in a split second. loved how they chose not to unnecessarily exaggerate the love triangle initially bec i was only rooting for the second couple.

#4 - descendants of the sun : yoo shi jin and seo dae young

business proposal was the first kdrama i saw. i finished it in a three day trip, and i remember thinking more about the bromance than the romance. i was NOT used to the clumsiness of kdramas in general, like wattpad fics incarnated. the bromance delivered well, made me root for the second couple, and was the only initial indicator of kang tae moo being human instead of archaeopteryx. that word was a nightmare to spell.

#3 - business proposal : kang tae moo and cha sung hoon

the most wolfstar bromance if I ever saw one. and NO, i do not ship wolfstar just like i do not ship these two. they are totally adorable, and specially since their personalities seemed to switch from when they were children. yeong turned all serious face and lee gon got fun. love their years of friendship sm, their wordless communication and yeong in general. the acting was amazing.

#2 - the king - eternal monarch : lee gon and jo yeong

#1 - guardian - the lonely and great god : kim shin aka goblin and wang yeo aka grim reaper

yes, i know I'm missing a lot of iconic ones. unfortunately, i haven't seen alot of kdramas and have left alot in bw (like true beauty bec i couldn't see second lead hurt).

spring onion slays ^

told ya, if u follow me u already knew what the first one was gonna be. being the simp i am for the goblin and grim reaper, these two achieved the max points for their bromance. that slow dynamic of goblin calling reaper's hat tacky to fighting with knives to that iconic 'saranghae' to 'HOW DARE YOU' to goblin boiling eggs with his powers while reaper chills the beer. they know each other so well. love love love them and you should too 🔪

in my heart, the trio of our boys beats nothing (except for the gookdu-minhyuk relationship of the crown prince and uk). but instead of choosing the frenemy thing, i decided to love yul and uk more. yul was such a quiet character, with incredible potential in him for me to hate him, but then...(the guy is literally too sweet and beautiful and nice i can ramble for days). and uk, man, our power baby who loves every version of our beautiful but slow girl, needed so much emotional support. uk and yul were not afraid to show their affection for each other, a trait i admired in all the three boys (jang uk, seo yul and park dang gu).

118 notes · View notes

sic-fayl · 2 months ago

Text

Guild Member Next Door (kinda) translation - Part 15

Click here for the previous part - or click here for Part 1!

Disclaimer, as always: This is based on an MTL translation, I do not know Korean myself, I am trying more to stick with the impressions/vibes of a sentence instead of a strict word-for-word meaning - and most importantly, this is only for fun.

Now, have fun reading!

Ding!

His black phone screen lit up with a sound he couldn’t identify. There was a message from some app he couldn’t place either. For a moment, Yeo-woon just stared at the icon, feeling lost, until it finally clicked that this was the Whole Blue app he’d installed some time ago and so he tapped his way to the message.

[Earth: Newt?]

Below today’s date, there was that message and another one with a question about where Yeo-woon was. Maybe the app showed that he’d seen the messages, or maybe it just showed that he was writing a reply, but either way, the little ‘...’ icon, indicating Earth Star had been typing, had disappeared. Seemed like Earth Star was patiently waiting for his response.

[I’m outside?]

[Earth: I really think you best go home right now.]

‘Ah, why am I shaking now? Has something big happened?’

[Earth: You’re not busy, are you?]

‘So something did happen!’

Feeling nervous, Yeo-woon stopped in his tracks, not caring that this meant he was standing in the middle of the road, and one-handedly tapped away on his phone.

[Is something wrong?]

[Earth: Yes!! Your level is so low, it’s so concerning!!!]

[Oh noes…]

Well then. Nothing to worry about after all. Yeo-woon swiped away the app and kept on walking. Now that he’d finally taken out all the trash that had piled up in his place over the past week, he felt better.

So he walked back to his apartment with a skip in his step, hands blessedly free, but once his phone connected to his wi-fi, he received a slew of messages all at once. There was a seemingly endless vibration coming from his phone, along with a lot of dinging noises, all sounding in quick succession. A bit dumbfounded, Yeo-woon took out his phone to check out whatever Earth Star had spammed him with.

[Earth: Btw that Jam guild actually delivered.]

[Earth: (photo)]

[Earth: They sent the plans for the 2V2 just now, but somehow I doubt they consulted you on those ><]

[Earth: The plan is three games next weekend. You got time then?]

[Earth: ㅜㅜ Did you block me?]

Now that it’d reached him, Yeo-woon checked the photo Earth Star had sent. It was a partial screenshot of a message in Illusion, clearly sent from Strawberry to Earth Star.

[Received mail]

Sender: Strawberry

Title: Pvp info

Weve discussed the pvp in our guild so heres the deets.

Fyi we chose ur fighters based on whos got the most hacking allegations lol.

*WHEN*

Either sat or sun next weekend - u decide n tell us

*FIGHT DEETS*

2v2 - 8 minutes - best 2 out of 3 rounds

So u win twice, u win it all

And if we get a draw bc of time limit, we restart that round until we get a winner

*FIGHTERS*

Poseidon: Ji9Star / Kittycat MeowMeowMeow

Strawberry Jam: Motsuena / neutaaaa

N we decided Motsuenas gonna livestream it all to prove whats really going on.

If u dont wanna get exposed n banned just dont use hacks for once. Fight urself instead of letting some program do all the work for u.^^

Nearly everything looked good. The only problem was Yeo-woon’s name being listed as one of the fighters. He tried to rub his eyes for a bit, hoping it was just a weird hallucination, but the words refused to change.

[Wait, but why am I…?]

Yeo-woon had assumed he would just be a witness to the fight, nothing more, so now he squeezed his eyes shut, feeling too confused to look at the damning words any longer.

[Earth: Guess you were the only one around Cat’s level lol.]

[Earth: You’re both not on the final jobs of your classes yet and they probably assumed that me and a low-level cat vs two actual 200s would be too unbalanced or something. Lol.]

Even though it had seemed to Yeo-woon like Strawberry Jam had sent their guild-invite at random, same as how he’d accepted it on a whim too, he’d since realized that they had no members below level 200. In general, it was a strong guild with many things to offer its members, so the more he’d thought about it all, the more confused Yeo-woon became about why they’d asked him specifically to join, out of all possible players. In other news, he’d also learned that Kittycat Meowmeowmeow was still a student and so his gaming time was limited to the evening, which meant he couldn’t level up very quickly and so it could still be a long time, before he’d eventually reach level 200.

“That makes sense...”

‘If that’s why, then I kind of get it. But still, you could have told me all of that, so I wouldn’t have to hear it from Earth Star!’

The fact was, Yeo-woon had never fought in any official PvP matches before, in his time playing Illusion, so he felt like he desperately needed all the practice he could get, before the next weekend would roll around.

[Earth: And I’ve even got a deal where, when I win the PVP (because let's be real: I will), I’ll get something from Strawberry Jam.]

[Earth: And theoretically, all this started because of you, so it’s only fair I now get to do what I want, right?]

[? I guess, sure]

Earth Star seemed happy with that answer, even screenshotting it and showing off the screenshot to Yeo-woon. He said he’d put it in cloud-save, so there was no way to lose it or for the message to be altered. Yeo-woon had no clue why his simple answer had caused this kind of response in Earth Star, much less why he kept telling him about it.

[Earth: If you get the 3rd job change done today, we should be able to level you up a bit more easy peasy and then we can get to farming the Couple Dungeon this week already...]

From a stranger’s perspective, Earth Star looked like the type of person who lived his life without any plan whatsoever, just going from random impulse to random other impulse, but behind the scenes, he seemed to actually plan a lot of things about how best to play the game. Yeo-woon had taken to mindlessly going wherever Earth Star lead them and completing any quests he pointed him towards and just like that, he was leveling up faster than ever before.

[Earth: When you gonna be on today?]

“Oh, today...”

It’d be hard to find time today. Yeo-woon was out, looking at different potential apartments he could rent, in an effort to find a place closer to his new work. He’d planned to get home very late at night and just claim his daily rewards before going to bed, but confronted with Earth Star’s enthusiasm, he felt like maybe he should get back a little earlier than that.

[I’ve got some stuff to take care of, so I’ll be out until evening.]

[Earth: When exactly?]

Yeo-woon thought through his plans for the day. He condensed them as tight as he could and then added how long it’d take to get back home and finally, he typed the point in time all of that left him with, thinking it seemed vaguely doable.

[8? Probably?]

[Earth: Hmm...]

Earth Star only sent that non-answer and then disappeared. Probably back to gaming, Yeo-woon assumed, or whatever else Earth Star did in his free time. Anyway, no point in texting him further, if he was satisfied with Yeo-woon’s answer.

Seon-yong: Lee Yeo-woon, I got stuck in traffic and there’s no way I’ll get to you on time.

Seon-yong: Just keep waiting, go sit around for another half an hour or so

- Only if you go screw yourself first ^^

Seon-yong: ;; I’m coming to give him a free ride and he treats me like this, what a friend... So, you gonna wait? And write a real answer, not just a letter

- Ok~!

Seon-yong: And now with the gratefulness I deserve

- 👍~!♡

Seon-yong: A full-on maniac, I swear...

‘If anyone else could see this, they’d run to defend you, all because of some ride. But tell me, who’s the one paying for your lunch and dinner today, huh?’

Yeo-woon huffed a quiet laugh as he washed his hands. Then he sat on the cabinet in his hallway that he kept his shoes in and boredly looked through mail he’d already looked through. That’s when a new thought snuck up on him.

‘But wait, Cat is a student and that’s why he can’t be online in the morning. But Earth Star is still a student too, just in college, right? So why is he logged in at random times, like he’s got no lectures at all?’

Thankfully, that’s when his phone chimed, distracting him enough that he forgot about all that again, because Seonyong had arrived and it was time to go check out some apartments.

(Next Part)

#gmnd #the guild member next door #tgmnd #guild member next door #the guildmember next door #unofficial translation #translation #unofficial localisation #localisation

2 notes · View notes

boysplanetrecaps · 9 months ago

Text

Build Up, Ep 4 Recap: River vs A Letter

Welcome back to the project everyone loves waiting two weeks for -- my MNET Build Up Recaps! In the previous one, we saw WEi’s Seokhwa and AB6IX’s Woong take on two trainees. In this one, a bunch of my favorites face off -- Kim Minseo, Bain, Lee Gwangsuk, and Kim Sungjung. Oh no! Who will win? Let’s find out!

The guys come out, and as they stand there on stage, everyone notices how nicely dressed most of them are, and how tall.

Bain and Minseo introduce themselves as Blackfire.

The colors in Blackfire refer to their hair colors, they explain. Looks like Minseo has trimmed his hair a bit, and it makes him look a little older. Bain’s is also restyled in a way that’s a bit more flattering to his head shape, which is good. This is all good.

Wait, what is Bain wearing?

Ok, I think he’s wearing a translucent white turtleneck, a white… vest? Cumberbund? … and a white blazer, with white trousers that also appear to be maybe a bit too translucent for me.

Anyway, they explain that Bain even dyed his hair dark red (it had been orange before) as a step in becoming “ferocious” to beat the hyungs in the other team.

Gwangseok and Sungjung introduce themselves as Black Haired.

Ok, obviously something is going on here -- a mysterious hair battle. What’s going on? Baekho reads the file and finds out that Sungjung said something surprising, so much so that VCG is like, “What is this, the Joseon Dynasty?” (That’s like asking, “What’s going on, are we in Renaissance times?”)

We flashback to the rival matching moment, as Bain and Minseo make their way up to the RCPA (Rival Choosing Platform Area). A lot of teams step forward to challenge them, including Geonu’s team, which is extra painful because Geonu and Bain are both on Just B together! Hey man, that’s gotta be a Survival-Show No-Go. An SSNG.

Left to right: Team Geonu x Soomin; Team Lim Junhyeok x Yeo One; Team Lee Gwangsuk, and Kim Sungjung; Team Yoon Inhwan x Ma Jaekyung.

I guess later on I’ll try to reconstruct the order that the matching took place, because obviously this was pretty early on.

Bain takes it in stride. He’s like -- “four teams thought they could beat us. It was fun!” And he gins. I really like Bain, guys. I wish he had a better stylist because he’s really charming in a Joohoney from Monsta X kind of way.

So, Bain and Minseo start to think they’ll probably try to tackle one of the two teams on the left, and Sungjung notices the direction their eyes keeps going. He interviews, “Just by looking at them, I thought they’re someone we could beat with just emotion.” He decides to make a strong provocation to get them to pick his team and he says, “I don’t like men dying their hair red.”

Bain, being iconic, is like, “well, first of all, it’s ORANGE, you dumb dumb!”

At first, everyone is laughing, but then Bain is like, oh no you better don’t, and he picks Sungjung’s team. “They fell for our provocation. I’ve already made a plan. There’s no way we can lose -- I’m riding a wild horse. I have the fastest strongest horse. I’ve brought The Red Hare. I have… Lee Gwangseok.”

Sungjung and Gwangseok meet up some time later to prepare for the challenge. MNET blurs out the brand name on their keyboard, which is important. Also, Gwangseok looks to be wearing a big, thick turtleneck s w e a t e r. Keep that throat warm, Gwangseok-ah!

Sungjung explains that his plan was to pick a really great partner and ride on his coattails, which seems weird given that Sungjung is also pretty highly regarded on this show.

Sungjung explains that he really loved Gwangseok’s voice in both performances, even in Tomboy when Gwangseok was chosen as Low Tier. Sungjung says that he thinks they should do an emotional song, and again says that Gwangseok has a “wild horse” feeling, and every time he says that, the show plays a horse sound effect and it’s just like…

FYI, please don’t be too concerned. This isn’t a real photo, as realistic as it looks. I did this in Microsoft Paint! I know, I know. You didn’t know your BPR-unnie could work magic like this.

I think Gwangseok starts to get a bit uncomfortable with Sungjung constantly saying he’s like a wild horse, but that’s just my feeling.

Sungjung says he wants to do a song with so much emotion that it smells. “I’d say a song that almost stinks!” Sungjung, are you ok? (This is probably a Korean figure of speech.)

They decide on A Letter by Bumjin. This is the gist of the lyrics:

“As I saw you turning around, I couldn’t say anything, and my short-lived year of being sad came to an end. When the harsh memories that pass by are scattered by the wind, I try to let them go as if nothing happened so that no painful feelings remain. Goodbye, my day is fading away, my stars that failed to shine, the words I have been saving, finally, I will send you my goodbyes.”

At Gwangseok’s suggestion, they decide to just let their rugged vocals and the emotions of the song carry the piece. Sungjung literally says he’ll do whatever Gwangseok wants to do, and Gwangseok again is made a bit uncomfortable, like, “this is too much pressure!” Still, he really loves the song and thinks the performance could be really great.

They gather to rehearse by singing into iced tea bottles in a… department store changing room? IDK, fam. Gwangseok says that neither of them majored in music, so he’s worried. It surprises me to hear that Sungjung didn’t major in music, since he seems to have some training under his belt, but I guess you never know. They practice a lot to make sure they have a good stage with their “unpolished” voices.

And the performance begins!

Full version without reactions

Overall, very nice, if a bit… boring? I think that’s because of the song as much as anything. It’s just so slow and plodding, with a beat that you simply cannot tap your feet to no matter how hard you try.

Both guys have lovely vocal tones, and I really didn’t hear anything “off” or “wrong” about the performance when I just listened to it without watching.

Gwangseok sounds husky, on the verge of him losing his voice, but that’s kind of his thing, isn’t it?

Sungjung’s voice is so clean, almost featureless that it could blend with almost anyone’s, from Jay to Hayoon. I feel like I couldn’t really hear him in this performance, partly because he sang a bit too softly, and partly because Gwangseok sang a bit too loudly.

Something obviously went wrong part way, as Gwangseok seemed to have some sort of problem with his in-ear piece, and I think his inexperience on stage hurt the team a lot. In-ear piece giving you trouble? Subtly take it out and just move on. But he did the opposite -- he made a big deal out of his ear piece not working, shaking his head, getting his partner’s attention to point it out, just basically having no chill.

And then, without the in-ear piece to help him judge volume levels, Gwangseok seems to lose control of his dynamics, and he suddenly and randomly gets really loud and even a bit shouty. It hurts the blend of the harmonies. It’s a shame, because I think that Sungjung’s voice is really interesting and wanted to get to hear him more. I feel like Gwangseok kind of dominated the show. It never sounds bad, but both of them look kind of miserable on stage and the vibe is off.

And that’s the worst thing about it, since the whole point was supposed to be to portray this sad break up song in a way that makes the listener cry. The listener is too busy wondering “what’s wrong with Gwangseok’s earpiece?” to connect emotionally with the song.

I’m not sure what happened here. Maybe they practiced too much and Gwangseok wore his throat a little raw and he just sort of lost confidence. Maybe it was just singing with the in-ear piece. I don’t know. But I think that Sunjung maybe shouldn’t have been so weird about the whole thing, because it put a lot of pressure on Gwangseok.

Also, I think they should have planned what they would do between verses besides stand there and bop. Maybe they could have had the lights dim on them a little, or have something projected on the back screen, something to take the focus off of them while they weren’t actively singing.

In the MNET edit, everything seems to start right. Right when Gwangseok starts singing, everyone seems to love his singing. Sungjung gets a lot of happy nods, too.

Eunkwang is enjoying it. I think. I guess?

But then it starts to go wrong. Gwangseok lets everything show on his face and totally forgets about portraying the emotions of the song, which was supposed to be the whole point. The judges start to look kind of bored, kind of concerned.

(next to Baekho’s face, it says “complicated”)

It's a bummer, because they sound ok, despite the lack of blend in their voices and the problems with Gwangseok’s dynamics.

When the guys are done singing, the judges applaud a little, and VCG is smiling, but it’s a bit muted. Sungjung asks Gwankseok about his in ear monitors, and Gwangseok says they were “unstable.”

Backstage, the guys say they’re not sure what the judges will say. They think it started off well, but was disappointing toward the end. They also aren’t sure the two singers' voices blended well, which I actually think I disagree with. I think they didn’t practice matching their dynamics properly, and if they had, their voices might have sounded really nice together. I think their lack of training ended up biting them in the hinder.

The judges seem to take a long time voting. Finally, we learn that their high is 90 and their low is 75, from -- who else -- Jaehwan.

Jaehwan says that the song suited Gwangseok’s voice well, but it became too strong. Solar chimes in to say that Gwangseok sang a bit too loudly at points and it wasn’t balanced enough. Eunkwang scolds Gwangseok a little, saying that he really has to watch his dynamics because otherwise he won’t be a good member of a team. “You guys are really good,” Eunkwang says, even if they haven’t had training, “but there are parts that are disappointing.” Sungjung lacks energy, Eunkwang says -- and Baekho agrees. I think they’re all pretty correct.

As the guys walk off stage, Baekho and Seungkwan compare Gwangseok’s voice to a gemstone that just needs some polishing.

Next it’s Bain and Minseo’s turn. Backstage, they’re nervous -- scared, even.

We flashback to the rival choosing day. Bain feels bad, partly because so many guys thought they could challenge his team, and partly because he was baited into choosing Sungjung’s team. But no more regrets! He is determined to find a song that fits his voice well.

Minseo is frustrated, because he was low tier. “I expected no one to come my way and no one did,” he says. They were basically the team of leftovers, we see. Minseo says that he feels grateful to Bain and determined to do better.

Some time later, Bain’s hair is now pale orange, and they’re meeting in an office space of some kind. Neither is wearing a sweater! What kind of bullshit is this?

But at least Minseo has a nice coffee. Good, keep that up.

They’ve already decided to sing a pop song. But which one?

We see a pre-production meeting with Different-Hair Bain. I like this look better than the weird helmet cut he has going in episodes 1-2. He says that he thinks he must have been a foreigner in his previous life, because he feels so at home in the United States. Oh, come to visit, Bain! I have a spare bedroom. My fella and I will show you around. We can go do karaoke!

He just really likes pop music, by which I think they mean specifically Western pop music. They decide to do River by Bishop Briggs. I mean, yeah. That’s a great song to sing. Powerful, driving, oddly emotional despite the fact that the lyrics don’t really make sense no matter what language(s) you speak. Yep.

People thought these two would be pushovers, easy to beat. It’s just made them want to try harder.

And then it’s time for their performance. Solar is worried that the song would be too powerful for them, but I know my Bain and I think this will be good.

Full version without reactions

My thoughts:

FUCK YEAH.

THAT’S THE STUFF.

Ok, guys, I would like to point out that I TOLD YOU ABOUT BAIN. I told you! I told you that he’s fucking great and I know that the show has up until now edited him to look like a schmuck but YOU MUST REMEMBER THAT YOUR BPR UNNIE TOLD YOU ABOUT BAIN. I also called Minseo “one to watch.” Listen to your unnie!

One of my favorite parts is when, even in the Youtube version with no reactions, you can actually hear the judges screaming right toward the end. Amazing. Love it.

Their voices are actually really similar, so I can mostly describe them together. Both of them have a fantastically well developed upper mix, meaning they can hit higher notes with a full voice rather than a falsetto. They both have a perfect vibrato that provides texture and interest without making it sound wobbly or fussy.

In terms of performance in general, they seemed confident, striding around the stage like they knew they were hot fucking shit, which they are. Bain’s little grin as he whispers “like a river” toward the end is so good.

Nitpicks? Just three. (1) At once point, Minseo got a tiny tiny bit shrieky as the note got away from him, right toward the end. (2) Bain’s falsetto was a little thin and underdeveloped. (3) Minseo in particular could improve his English pronunciation. But who cares, this rocked. I forgive it all. At this point, I prefer this to the original version by a decent amount. If only they’d worn sweaters it would have been completely perfect.

Ok, for once I’m excited to see the MNET version.

It’s so fun to watch the judging panel go apeshit, even if it was filmed on a potato.

VCG likes it so much he gives his Super Dorky Smile of approval.

There are so many instant replays but I don’t even mind. I suspected Bain’s whispered “like a river” would get replayed and it did, but a bunch of other things too.

The judges are just open mouthed while the guys backstage are like, “this is so dark and sexy! They’re like different people.” Even Minseo’s slightly shrieky high note toward the end gets love.

When they’re almost done the judges are already on their feet screaming, but then the singers have two more notes to sing and the judges hush their mouths to listen.

So. Satisfying.

Backstage, the guys are mostly gobsmacked. Most of them didn’t know that Bain was that good. On stage, VCG is wiping away tears and Jaehwan is comparing Bain to Rihanna.

Bain and Minseo are being so polite and reserved that VCG teases them that they should be more cocky about it after a performance that good.

Solar calls them “perverts,” which again refers to that thing Seunghwan said in the first episode, which is just a little bit beyond my ability to research. I assume it’s Korean slang. “You seemed to know what it means to put on a performance,” she adds, which, yeah.

Seungkwan asks if they’re both actually Korean, which is pretty funny.

“What? Hyung, what? Why are you laughing at me, hyung? I’m going to tell S. Coups on you." - Seungkwan, probably

Seungkwan says that the song River could come off as cheesy if you’re not careful, but Bain was so sexy and Minseo went nuts!

VCG says “Bain, that’s how one should sing -- with all the different tones. That’s the taste I’ve been wanting. That’s how you get the listeners to focus. And Minseo? You’re a trainee but you gave more taste than the pros.”

Eunwkwang says that even though they were powerful, their singing was clean and they never lost control.

Jaehwan says they’re in trouble… because now they have to do even better in the next round. Baekho is like, come on!

Time for the judges to vote! Backstage, poor Gwangseok and Sungjung -- remember them? -- know what’s up. Reveal the votes, but not really! Commercial break! Reveal the votes again! But not really! Ok, finally reveal them this time!

Seungkwan, VCG, and Wendy all give 100s. Baekho and Wendy give 97s, and Solar and Jaehwan must have given 98 or 99.

The continued look of astonishment on Minseo’s face is just about the cutest/dorkiest thing on earth. I love it.

And Bain low-key looks like he might cry:

Dahee calls out the first team, who walk up on stage kind of sadly. Since their high score was 90 and low score was 75, there’s just no way that they could have won, but we get the scores anyway: 690 to 587.

Doing the math, Solar and Jaehwan must both have given Bain and Minseo a 98. As for the Gwangseok and Sungjung, if you subtract out the high and low scores, it turns out the average of the other judges scores was 84.

Backstage, Inhwan and Jaekyung note that Bain and Minseo’s team would have beaten any of the teams who challenged them. As a reminder, they were challenged by: Geonu x Soomin and Junhyeok x Yeo One as well as Gwangsuk x Sungjungand Inhwan x Jaekyung. You might notice that two of those teams haven’t performed yet…. Hmmmm. I wonder if maybe these performances were shown a bit out of order? So now we’re spoilered that Team Geonu x Soomin and Team Junhyeok x Yeo One will both score below 690.

Dahee asks the losing team if they have any remarks, and our leaping lizard Sungjung says, “I just want to say one thing. Red hair suits you well.” Everyone laughs and the good feeling is restored.

Gwangseok says, “But seriously, we just wanted to be cool. We thought a loss would be acceptable if we did well, but the opponents did better.” The implication is that maybe he thinks they *didn’t* do well. The judges reassure him that he did, and Dahee adds her piece: “I don’t know if it’ll comfort you, but from where I stand, you guys still seem cool to me, even though you lost.” Aww, Dahee is pretty great, isn’t she? I was unsure about her in the beginning but she’s just the cutest.

Backstage, Gwangseok and Sungjung say they should just go get some soju. And Bain and Minseo are in a state of delighted disbelief.

Anyway, that was fun! I feel a bit sad for Sungjung and Gwangseok, but it also feels fair. I think Sungjung put all his hopes on Gwangseok instead of just sort of running his own (horse) race, and I think Gwangseok’s inexperience showed. I still think both of them are great singers and I hope they can continue to learn and grow from all this.

Thanks as always for reading! And if you’re enjoying my recaps, feel free to talk about them whenever/wherever/however! See you as always in the next one.

#bain #just b #bpr recaps build up #build up mnet #mnet build up #build up

2 notes · View notes