Beauty: Etude House 101 Play Pencils

I don't find myself massively in love with the collections Etude House rolls out, like the dust cut line, Princess Antoinette line etc. But this seems like a pretty spiffy idea, and one of my favourite beauty youtubers, Pony, recently collaborated with Etude House for this line of products! 50 pencils for concealer, brows, eyes, contouring, blush and lips, I'm surprisingly excited.

Drama: Emergency Couple

Emergency Couple is a show about people. Real people with their massive burdens meeting other real people and their emotions. It shows how people need time to heal, that time can heal, and that people people take varying amounts of time to heal. The lead characters were charming and the plot was simple yet worked. There wasn't massive twists right up to the end, not too much suspense, but a lot of comedy and bittersweet moments.



I do have to say that right about episode 18 it got a little weird for me; it seemed like the writers were forcing Jinhee to go a certain direction. Like forcing her to heal after an arc of sheer bitterness, and forcing her to take on the "other perspective" and to experience what Changmin had to go through initially while just not feeling too organic. The way Changmin reacted was rather strange as well. It seemed like since everyone and their mothers were smitten with the 2nd lead and with the finale impending they had to revert to the initial storyboard, heavily cut down on scenes with Jinhee and Dr. Gook, then give the ending intended. I definitely was not as invested towards the end as I felt that I sort of lost the connection with the characters; the endings, while very perfectly closed up with all individual characters getting a happy ending, felt a little forced and too.. Happy.



Dr. Gook was so charming, though. He's such a tsundere character. I would watch a spin-off of his character in a similar medical setting - dedicated, eeexxxtremely awkward and downright adorable with his effervescent stubble and reactions. Heh. He definitely was the one who matured the most and in the most realistic manner throughout the course of the drama. This drama definitely gave me quite a bit of the 2nd lead syndrome where I sincerely wished for some twist to an otherwise predictable ending. The trolling with their almost kiss was just downright mean on the part of the scriptwriters, I mean WHY WOULD THEY DO THAT!!

Moving on, I was also a massive fan of Dr. Shim; she was confident, relaxed and had a great outlook on life. A breath of fresh air from the stereotypical perfect Korean woman? She wasn't mild, she was extremely great in her field of expertise, took charge when needed, wasn't afraid to express affection, gave philosophical advice whilst throwing witty comments occasionally, balanced work and play, and she was a crack to the stigma of single moms in Korea. Her character was well-written with flaws that did not necessarily came off as flaws, and I do think she does make for quite a good role model for modern age Korean women. Not a jealous supposed third-party, just a well-adjusted woman who knows whats best for her while giving into her eventually "weak" emotions occassionally.



Other characters did not make such a huge impact on me, though still managed to capture a certain bit of attention. I especially liked that there were no obvious antagonists (apart from Ahn Yongpil, though he's essentially played as an annoying wart and one massively insignificant in the grand scheme of things) and even the supposed third-parties to whichever couple we supported came of surprisingly acceptable. Though the overall closure given to the other characters ultimately fell into the trap of being forced, perhaps it's better than overlooking their endings entirely? I also wanna give a shoutout to the editors, who gave that few extra seconds closeup on the very adorable baby Gook!

Specialised dramas, like medical dramas or shows that revolve solely on lawyers, in Korea are far and few between compared to say Hongkong or Japanese dramas. I do find that Korean dramas tend to revolve around romance or family, though the trend seems to be changing a little recently. The stereotypical Korean drama often finds the need to heavily intersperse any work scenes with many others like a birth secret, amnesia or some form of revenge, but I did find Emergency Couple to have a rather good balance with the medical and relationship aspects which was something to give real props to, and instead interspersed their individual lives around their work. The medical scenes were well cut, very realistic and were well-paced midst the storyline to not take away from the tension between the characters while staying true to itself as a medical drama. I truly enjoyed that aspect of it; it also gave us a glimpse into lives of doctors in private hospitals - politics, friendships, intelligence, mistakes and mutual trust.

I had full trust in Choi Jinhyuk's acting, and he did not disappoint. I'm glad he got a good male lead role, since the last two dramas I saw him in he did not really have a significant part. Song Jihyo's acting has significantly improved since the last one I saw her in (which was Crime Squad; a rather subpar investigative drama). I caught a glimpse of her in Heaven's Mandate, but I definitely think that romcom roles suit her above and beyond the melodramatic sageuk roles she tends to lean toward. In this drama, she really handled some of the rawer emotions really well. I also liked how she threw herself into the drama without too much care for how she looks on camera for the sake of a good shot, such as the sleeping/drunk shots which typically tends toward unglamorous and un-actress-like. Lee Pilmo's acting was no joke, he pulled off awkward boy-in-love in a way that sucks you in completely, and his serious work demeanor was great as well. I rather enjoyed Choi Yeojin's acting; I guess I enjoy her sort of laidback way of speaking? Very charming.



All in all, it's a feel good type of drama. I guess I kinda knew from the start there weren't going to be massive twists despite being massively on Team Chief. The trajectory of the couple was what it was meant to be all along, regardless of how inorganic certain aspects might have felt to certain audiences. I had good laughs, I was sucked into their individual relationships especially right about the middle mark, and the bittersweet moments were delectably done. It was a satisfying drama, easy to watch and easy to enjoy.

Recommendation/Music: Yoo Seungwoo - Hesitant Lips

Yoo Seungwoo is a Superstar K4 finalist, coming in 5th overall with decent critique from the judges. I'm not one to cult follow audition programmes (there are just sooo many of them) but from the few bits and various clips I've been watching he seems to have that acoustic rock thing going on and I quite like that.

This song however is a little different from what I expected from him - a ballad that is supposed to signify something about growth and maturity as he treads into the age 18 (16 everywhere else). It appears that he made his voice to be distinctly smoother than his K4 era. I really enjoyed the track, much more than I thought I would. I can't quite put my finger on why, but it's probably the straightforwardness of the youthful love ballad, the catchiness of the chorus which got me at first listen, his soothing voice or perhaps it's just the "ballad mood" working its charm. His other tracks in the album (Early 19) are pretty fun and easy to listen to as well.

I might add he's also pretty damn adorable.

Anime: Shoujo I've Watched Recently

Inu X Boku SS
I was kinda "off" anime for a quite awhile before I found myself starting this particular one and getting myself sucked in completely to the entire shoujo rom-com animes. This one in particular is pretty great. One of the main reasons why I enjoyed it as much as I did was that I started with zero expectations while thinking that the main pair in consideration will probably not appeal to me. Boy was I wrong.

The story introduces, slowly but surely, two characters with pretty dramatic complexes that stems from the way they were brought up. The show is observed from Ririchiyo's POV, revealing a dear and awkward character despite the overly harsh manner she portrays herself. We also see, slowly but surely, Soushi's character development through her eyes.

There were many questions I asked myself when watching the show, such as the simplest: "Who decides the role of SS and 'Owner' when all are simply descendants from youkai without any hierarchical distinction?" While that question and a couple others popped up occasionally through the course of the show and not being too pleased with how Soushi's past was so quickly brushed through in the last few episodes despite it being one of the biggest build-up from the start, I still really enjoyed it. I enjoyed seeing Roromiya and Watanuki on the screen, both in their own little world and together with Ririchiyo in school. Kotarou, the little human boy, was a whiff of fresh air and deadpan comic midst the ridiculity of everyone in Maison de Ayakashi. I liked most of the character's developments and how their relationships play out. I also really liked the OVA episode, which hit me with a lot of the romance that I was ultimately very drawn into.

Inu X Boku SS is comical (given the absurdity of Soushi and Ririchiyo's relationship right from the start coupled with the the colorful side characters), romantic and easy to watch. I rate it highly.


Kamisama Hajimemashita
I really enjoy animes with a hint of youkai and deities so I gladly picked this other shoujo rom-com after the above. I don't know what to objectively think of it.. It's a charming, quick and easy watch, but on hindsight it probably wasn't as amazing as how much I enjoyed it.

The characters lend themselves more to the cliche side, with an overly optimistic, doe-eyed, ditsy "plain jane" thrown into a ridiculous, manga-only situation to meet a cool and reserved man with a dark past. Yup, that's that. If you're into that kind of quick watches, you might find yourself enjoying it for its simple plot and ability to draw you into their problems and relationship. It's one where the comical elements outshines the romantic elements.

I initially didn't enjoy the artwork of the characters, with both characters looking a little too 2003 for my taste. There are also many questions left unanswered by the end, with the largest being Tomoe's unsettled past, but that is understandable given the massiveness of the manga series condensed into just 13 episodes. They're probably giving leeway to a 2nd season? Nonetheless I enjoyed their adventures, figuring out their place in each others lives in their own way and how Tomoe still is Tomoe right to the end (no elaborate "love very quickly changed me for the better" plotline). Tomoe's character was probably the biggest draw-in -- I liked his slow and realistic character development that essentially spans a couple centuries, his calm and collected demeanour and how he treats Nanami right to the end. Overall I give it an above average rating, being one I enjoyed but probably not going to heavily recommend.


Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun
One of my favourite from the lot. I think one of the biggest hint of how much I enjoy an anime series is how quickly I jump into it's manga predecessor - I downloaded all 12 volumes in a heartbeat. Simple artwork and a simple plot with two very intriguing and strongly developed mains.

Haru and Shizuku had a strong push-pull thing going on which could be annoying but wasn't. I felt that I was able to follow through with how they felt, yet getting enough suspense to want to know what will eventually unfold. The first episode caught me straight and I found myself liking how Shizuku brought along the story with snippets of her thoughts between all the storylines.

The characters are very obviously non-stereotypical which I enjoyed - a deadpan, apathetic, socially awkward and relatively unattractive female who genuinely loves to study (not for any family issues or whatnot, but for the sole pursuit of satisfaction and empowerment which I really appreciated), and a ridiculously maniac, violent, socially awkward and straightforward male. They go through realistic changes through the span of the few episodes and I really found myself investing quite a lot of emotions in their relationship's rise and falls. On the flip side it was unfortunate that some of the characters, initially set out to be interesting, were very quickly brushed through and given way too little character development to even be considered interesting, like Yamaguchi and Mizutani. The only that did, Natsume, aimed to be a different kind of pretty girl character - one who hates getting attention and is alienated by others for her looks - but ends up falling short.

Despite the relative nondevelopment of the side characters, Haru and Shizuku alone are rich and complex enough characters to bring life into the experience. There were also plenty of comedic moments that had me burst out laughing, balancing well the heavier bits. I really enjoyed it, no doubt.


Inari Konkon Koi Iroha
Ahhh.. Well. It's not bad, it's just not what I wanted to watch. The show itself appears to have what I enjoy in a show; a dash of supernatural midst friendship, love and family. But wait - it's only 10 episodes!

Everything moved too quickly for me to even invest any bit of emotion into the show. While the premise was interesting enough, the plot did not exactly hold up for me and I found myself not interested in how the show plays out. I would have much rather they focus on a single aspect, instead of trying to show all aspects of Inari's life while giving the side characters love lines. Characters like Kouji were given zero attention, and Suzimome had not too much character development beyond the "beautiful yet real" mould. I would much rather they speak more for the romance aspect, instead of giving a quarter of each and not fully expounding on its potential.

I do have to say though, the artwork was great. The shrines looked beautiful and I especially love the red stretch of road through the it. While this anime didn't work for me, I think it did for many others so you might consider it. It's only 10 short episodes after all.

Music/Recommendation: Standing Egg ft. Park Seyoung - Lean On Me

One of the more well known "acoustic emotional" indie Korean band, Standing Egg, released this beautiful and subtle song yesterday. As with all their songs, it's one great for listening while staying in under your sheets on a cold day. This is their second collaboration with actress Park Seyoung, whose soft and straight (the kind which does not utilise too much vocal tricks and techniques that, while great, may sometimes tamper with certain styles of music like this) voice adds a lot through her harmonising.

Take a listen at this healing sort of music.

"하루가 힘들 때면 난
너의 웃는 모습 그려
너도 매일 조금 힘들더라도
여율 갖고 나에게 기대"

When I'm having a tough day, I think of your smile.
Should you have a tough day too, relax and lean on me.

TV: The Genius 2 - Rule Breaker (Midway Point)

I'm at episode 6 and I have so much contradicting emotions.

Wow. That's really fucked up.

This was my previous raving shining review on The Genius - Rule Of The Game and I feel that, at the midway point, the sequel appears fell short. I am aware that this I'm not done with the show, and this does not represent my concluding thoughts so here I go.

The games are definitely much simpler with much lesser leeway for mind games. The PD of the show has said beforehand for 2's games to simpler, as in Rule Of The Game people were not able to uncover many of the hidden layers and alternative techniques during the course of the game. What happened instead: there were main games that didn't feel like they were one, either leaving pretty much no room for scheming through over simplification or being too planned, and main games that gave pretty definite outcomes halfway through the game - losing the beauty of excessively unexpected twists-and-turns that was in the first. Even some of the twists were rather expected.

And this definitely bled into how people play.

Perhaps it was that people already knew what to expect and fell more comfortably into how the show works. Perhaps it was the mix of characters, or lack off, where there were seemed to be only two distinct types of characters - the follower and the *smart* leader. I couldn't see the charm of the individual characters - the insufferable ones like loudness, ganging up (poor Jaekyung, and Eun Jiwon had the guts to say that she was at fault) and betrayal (and I'm saying this despite being one to tolerate well-played betrayal and realistic negativity). Also, their individual strengths in their various fields were not given as much a chance to be displayed, which was unfortunate.

There were too many plain annoying characters (too loud, too out of the loop...) than appreciable "bad" characters who are scheming and actually used their brains. Alliances were expected and not interesting, and people were more willing to betray than use their brains.



I'm probably quite emotional due to the departure of one of my favourite members in an obviously underhanded manner that can't be acknowledged as easily.

I still love the show. It's still one of the most unique ones out there, and I probably will go on watching it. For example, episode 3 was probably the best with amazing editing and the unexpected double-crossing by Duhee (the type of betrayal that actually worked) with the viewer being completely out of the loop due to good editing + Oscar-worthy anger acting heh.

I still enjoyed the episodes so far perhaps with the more obvious exclusion of 4 (the Blackout game fell short and had no interest if not for the nonsensical betrayalS; I thought Eungyeol's betrayal made no sense, and the others like that annoying Yooyoung in elimination round making even lesser) and 6 (wtf really? All time low with their lack of moral code + 50% of the show dedicated not to either games but to the discovery of the token + a pretty uninteresting main game with even Hong Jinho not participating in the game ultimately + Duhee getting eliminated even without the chance to use his brain in the episode AT ALL).

I'll conclude by saying that while it fell short, it's still pretty good.

Maybe. I can't tell yet, I'm a little emotional right now. The more I'm writing, the more I'm getting upset.

First with the elimination of the female lawyer who played the smart and strong woman card better than Kyungran, then with all the obvious alliances, then with the horrible betrayal by Eun Jiwon who I used to quite like (he has since swept his image through the rugs), and the cherry on top with the elimination of Duhee.

Sigh.

Update (7): It was a fun episode but wow is there still a reason for me to continue watching..... In such a sheer unfortunate manner as well..... 이럴수가.....

Music: Orange Caramel - Catallena

I was rather ambivalent, for the longest time, about Orange Caramel. Sure, they make great and catchy dance tracks and they're a strong and overwhelming whiff of frilly and nasally fresh air midst all the sexy pop music the industry rolls out. But at the same time they're music tends too much towards gimmicky/J-pop PONPONPON/theatrical for my liking, so I typically don't lend my ears more than a few times to their songs.

But, oh boy, do I like Catallena.

It might be the same off tangent concept with the same quirky and repetitive dance moves, but it got me. I find myself humming oye-hoi-hoi alongside their ridiculously adorable dance.



The music video was really well shot, as usual, capturing their quirkiness with the colors, outfits and obviously-fake-yet-very-well-made sets. The minimalistic backgrounds also gives a sense of surrealism and modernity which I really like. The song itself talks about the typical jealous-yet-still-adore frenemy but I like to hyperanalyse and say that the MV brings it a little, just very very slightly, deeper.

My interpretation after two watchings (with the first being absolutely puzzled) is that they are lower grade sushis who are completely jealous of the octopus (depicted with the polka dot outfits as s/he zooms past). Then they somehow got themselves, in a The Little Mermaid fashion, to become an octopus (when they sported very similar polka dotted outfits) and got a bite of their previous flesh. They realised they were just as good despite the lower pricing and tear about the past they lost. I also wanna talk about how I thought their concept, from just looking at the teaser image, was about how beauty isn't everything when even the elusive and beautiful mermaids gets their prices marked down due to a lack of substance. Maybe not.

I hope I'm just a little coherent.

Either way, it's a cute and addictive pop song with a well-made music video - Orange Caramel style.