Review: We Got Married Global Edition

Happy Thursday! 

Are you a fan of We Got Married? I am! I have been watching this show since Season 1 (2008) and although I don't like and watch every couple, I still enjoyed seeing the show. It is currently on its 4th season and although I love the new concept of a WGM Village, this season have been hit hard because of controversies and stuff so the first 3 couples were changed consecutively and replaced with new ones. MBC then tried their hand to make an international We Got Married (because there are a lot of foreign fans) so they created a Global Version wherein they made couples from Korea, Taiwan and Japan and it gets aired to many countries through the cable channels. Locally, it is aired through Animax but since I don't have an Animax channel in our cable subscription I just watched it online at WonderfulGeneration :)

THE COUPLES

Ok Taecyeon - rapper of Korean group 2PM (24y/o)
Gui Gui / Emma Wu - an actress from Taiwan (23y/o)

Lee Hong Ki - lead singer of Korean band FT Island (23y/o)
Fujii Mina - an actress from Japan (24y/o)


MY THOUGHTS:

I actually liked the concept of pairing a Korean singer and an actress from another country because it gave more dimension and opportunities for a story. They have different culture, working environment and views so you can really see how they adjust with each other. I also liked the fact that both couples were of marrying age because that's sometimes the problem with the Korean WGM -- They pair up very young idols (20-21 y/o) so it's not really realistic and viewers see them as "dating" instead of "married" which is what the show is supposed to be about. Anyway, there's no problem with the maturity too and viewers can enjoy the scenes without any awkward situations regarding skinship between the couple. They actually looked relaxed with each other and they progressed naturally throughout the episodes. The difference in language is also interesting to watch. Taecyeon and Gui Gui usually talks in English while Hong Ki and Mina talks in Korean and Japanese since both know how. The locations shown were also awesome! They were so beautiful and postcard perfect which added a more romantic feel to everything. Perfect backdrop :)

I only have two gripes about this Global Edition of We Got Married:
(1) This feels so scripted compared to the Korean version. Every scene and action lacks emotions and it felt forced. It's like the director said we should do this so I'll do this and your reaction will be this...that kind of feeling, you know what I mean? I guess because they don't meet regularly (like in the Korean version where they meet 2x a week to shoot) and doesn't communicate outside of shooting (they live in different countries), they lack the real feeling and it shows during filming. The language barrier, I believe, is a factor too which is very evident with Taecyeon and Gui Gui. Her English is not that good and she doesn't understand Korean that well so Taecyeon needs to talk very slowly in English as if talking to a kid. It made their relationship more like a father-daughter haha.

(2) This whole show is like one big advertisement for Samsung LOL! Really! After only one episode, I noticed it already and as I watch the following episodes it got more obvious. The cellphones are Galaxy Note 2, they uses Galaxy 10.1 tablets, they use smart TV and the most used is the galaxy camera and printer. It's like they kept on advertising every latest gadget Samsung is offering in the market.They even show and talk about the features of each gadget :(


OVER-ALL RATING: 3.5/5

I love the concept and the places shown but I still prefer the original We Got Married because this felt so scripted and there's too much screen time spent on promoting Samsung products. I started watching this for Taecyeon but I liked to watch Fujii Mina now because she and Hongki gives a more realistic couple feeling.


If you want to watch English Subbed episodes of We Got Married Global, just click the links below. Enjoy! :) 

Ok Taecyeon and Gui Gui

Lee Hong Ki and Fujii Mina

Thanks for dropping by!

Review: The Romantic and Idol Season 2

Hello! I have just finished watching The Romantic and Idol Season 2 today which aired its last episode this weekend and was so shocked with the ending. I do suggest that you watch this first before reading my review as I can't promise you guys that this will not contain any spoilers. I don't think I can refrain from saying something because I am gonna compare the 2 seasons so if you haven't seen Season 2 yet, feel free to click here so you can get directed to Kshownow and watch it with English sub :)

SHOW: The Romantic and Idol
SEASON: 2nd
EPISODES: 6
BROADCASTING STATION: tvN
AIRING TIME: Sunday
AIRING PERIOD: December 30, 2012 - February 10, 2013



CASTS:

Male
Jonghun (Ft Island)
Kevin (ZE:A)
Minhyuk (BTOB)
N (VIXX)

Female
G.Na
Yang Jiwon (Spica)
Yewon (Jewelry)
Eunyoung (Two X)


*My review for Season 1

OVER-ALL RATING: 4.5/5

This is definitely an entertaining program and I really believe it is not scripted because if it is, it wouldn't end like how it did. The casts really did follow what's on their hearts and decided to act accordingly. I love it!
I'm also happy that they edited this in a very nice way unlike with Season 1 which used a lot of repeating scenes to make it reach 8 episodes. I really believe 6 episodes is perfect for a 4 day dating show.


MY THOUGHTS:
Oh my gosh! All I can say is, this season is way different than the first! This felt more real too because the reactions and decisions doesn't seem scripted. Even the "final decision" is a surprise because of the ending for all the couples.

I am gonna warn you guys, again, if you haven't seen this Season yet, please feel free to watch it first then come back to see my review as this will contain spoilers for the show.

[SPOILER ALERT]

ZE:A Kevin is the only one who I think didn't get to shine in this show. He's too quiet and shy for a variety dating show. No one actually chose him as an option since he doesn't put any extra effort to show the one he likes that he likes her, although it never changed since the beginning. I don't think he is ready yet to be part in a show like this. I'm just sad coz this show could help him practice for real life as he doesn't have any experience in dating until now.

Eunyoung from TwoX is the youngest female in the cast and I believe she gained a lot of fans with her participation. I didn't know her but she stood out the most among the four females because of her character and personality. Although she is very young and shy, all her interview parts are hilarious and full of charms. if only she warmed up a little faster to the others, she would probably have a lot of votes from the men because her happiness is contagious. She doesn't whine too and use cutesy voice like Yewon does. I really love Eunyoung and I hope I can see her in lots of variety shows soon :)

N is also okay but I just get to see him because of Eunyoung so I don't think it showed any of his charms. I do liked the fact that he turned off the camera when he and Jiwon had dinner together because it showed that he wanted to have a private talk with her and get to know her better. I think that's the trigger why he decided to choose Jiwon in the end instead of Eunyoung.

I can't believe there's a 2nd Seungah in this season. Poor G.Na becoming a comfortable noona to all the guys and never looking at her as a possible "love interest". I think it is actually the fault of the casting director because they didn't consider putting an older man in the roll of casts. All of them are too young for the girls because majority of them are older by a couple of years. I hope if ever they make a Season 3, they will cast older guys instead to make it more balanced. So sad because she's really a cool chick and deserves someone who will cherish her more.

Jonghoon stood out among the men, because since day 1, he followed his heart and went to show Yewon that she's the one. Although a lot said bad things about him, I really think he is the only one who is really honest on what he feels and stuck by it. He said pre-recording that he likes Yewon and when he saw Yewon is part of the show, he really went all out in "courting" her and showing everyone that he genuinely likes her. I don't think it's his fault that even though he liked G.Na at first, it changed after seeing Yewon and his like for G.Na became that of a noona. It's also commendable that he was really honest about it and never lead the other girls on like what Minhyuk did. He also stayed as a real gentleman to G.Na when they date even though he doesn't like her romantically which JB didn't do in Season 1 with Seungah. He is really a man, in my opinion.

Jiwon is also daebak! Even though 2 men chose her for the final decision, she decided to stay single because her final choice is not included. I hoped Seungah was like that when JB chose her in the end because he felt sorry. Jiwon is really cool about all these and the ending was really unexpected which made me believe this is unscripted.
 
Yewon and Minhyuk are meant to be together. They both liked each other since the beginning and they got paired to almost all the shuffles in the season which is commendable. They are comfortable and looks like they really are having so much fun. It is also fun to watch them trying to like other people but always ends up choosing each other. So, yeah, I think these two have a chance of really dating in real life hehe...IU just hated that Minhyuk always try to fix his hair and looks at the camera. he is so narcissistic.


So yeah, overall, I think this is not as scripted as the first Season. The only couple pairing was Yewon and Minhyuk and everyone else ended up alone. I guess Eunyoung's "curse" got granted when she got sad that N didn't chose her or anyone for that matter. No one should cross Eunyoung LOL. Anyway, I think I will still watch Season 3 if ever they decided to go again. I just hope there's a balance in the age between guys and girls.

Thanks for dropping by!