Why I Love Summer (abroad)

...it's because they produce a great line-up of TV series! And this summer (which was fortunate for me since this is the post graduation/unemployment days) is great since I have one series per country and all of them performed even better than expected. So here's my tribute:

JAPAN: Hanazakari no Kimitachi e
Whoo! The first gender-bending drama in this line-up. I'm so happy the moment I received the news since I already saw the Taiwanese version and I'm dying to see how JP would interpret it (since the drama is based on a JP manga). This series cracked me up! Easy humor almost all the time, and really reels you in during those dramatic moments. I won't go through the TW vs. JP versions here (maybe next time) but I preferred the latter, hehe (although Wu Chun is still HOT!). I love the way they deviated from the plot of the manga (although at first I was irritated); it left me at the edge of my seat after each episode. I also love the fact that the school boys have substantial screen time, it really gets you in the "brotherly love" zone (although this sort of lessened the SanoxMizuki scenes, bummer. and sometimes there's too much brotherly love, ahem, yaoi territory...but weirdly enough I wasn't disgusted, haha). The ending was decent compared to other JP series. Given that, this is one of my top Jap series to date.

KOREA: The 1st Shop of the Cofee Prince
I'll never look at coffee the same way again! I even went through a very hard CP withdrawal phase since I got too attached to all the coffee princes! This is the other gender-bending drama in my line-up. Yoon Eun Hye came a long way from Goong, and Gong Yoo was SUPERB! No one can tackle on Han Gyul's character except him! Sobrang perfect dream guy (Han Gyul and Kang Tae Bong are now my favorite male characters!) I cried so much in this series and I'm really tempted to go to Korea just to have coffee in that lovely coffee shop of theirs. Great script with a lot of depth. I swear, if all gay couples started like them (although in the drama they're not really gay) I could just encourage them! Bwahahahah. Really exceeded my expectations! I know I spoke too soon with my Top 5 Koreanovelas list, now this drama is definitely in my top 5. (Btw, there's a kababayan who made a mv of this using Parokya ni Edgar's This Guy's in Love with You Pare, freaking hilarious!)

TAIWAN: Why Why Love
And finally, I reserved the most serious (but not too serious) of them all...highly anticipated series...of course it's Mike He in all his glory! All Devil Beside You fans should watch this one, coz I think this is better! Although I'm starting to get tired of Cinderella stories lately, but what the hell, I'm making an exception with this idol drama. I get goosebumps everytime there's a mushy scene in this series, and I cried...no...bawled...towards the end, but fortunately it ended nicely. Can't deny that Rainie and Mike has chemistry. Love the soundtrack, love Mike He. Oh and also Kingone...I hope he gets a starring role soon. Huhu, I really love the Rainie-Mike combo, it's actually hard to get nice pairings in Taiwanese series, dunno why (or maybe because I want every lead guy for myself? haha)

There, it's a lot shorter than I thought but anyway, I have too many opinions for each series I can't organize them into one decent entry. I'm sorry for all those who don't watch in the first place but decided to read this entry since I didn't explain even what every series is about (but don't hesitate to ask!). Thanks to the subbers (and Ica!!! timer for Why why love! Ibang level na 'to! Salamat sa pagpuslit ng subs for me, bwahhahaha) for helping poor souls like me.

Currently Watching: Romantic Princess (Taiwan) and Get Karl! Oh Soo Jung (Korea)