Drama Review: K-pop Extreme Survival

Hello everyone! Okay, so remember my post about the new dramas I was watching? This drama is one of them and it has come to an end last week, sadly. 

Title: K-pop Extreme Survival / K-pop Ultimate Audition

Genre: Musical, comedy, cross-dressing

Episodes: Supposedly, this was meant to be 16 episodes but I don't know what happened that it ended at 14. That is the reason why I just did the review now and not last week coz I am  hoping that it will still have  16 episodes. 

Broadcast Network: Channel A

Broadcast Period: March 19 - May 1, 2012

Air Time: Monday - Tuesday @ 8pm

Synopsis: This is a story about Ji Seung Yeon (Go Eun Ah), a great pianist who wanted to do hip hop music. She is a tomboy and was able to join an audition to become a K-pop star. The catch? She needs to stay as a boy in order to stay in the audition because the winner of the event will be part of a famous all-male idol group, M2.

Kang Woo Hyun (Park Yoo Hwan) is the charismatic leader of M2. He hides his bad attitude and selfish personality from fans through his killer smiles and gestures. He is conflicted whether to stay in M2 or go solo because he doesn't like to be part of a group.

Kwon Ji Woo (Kwak Yong Hwan) is the best friend of Ji Seung Yeon. They grew up together and are very close. He is very shy and have a strong stage fright even though he is a very talented singer. He always depended on Ji Seung Yeon ever since they were children and that is one of the reason why Seung Yeon needed to stay in the competition until the end...to give strength to her best friend so he can reach his dream of becoming a singer.

And the other important roles in this drama are the M2 Junior members. This consist of 8 members including Ji Seung Yeon and Kwon Ji Woo.They are the contestants fighting for the spot in the M2 idol group.

You can check the complete info about this drama in D-Addicts. Just click here.

If you want to check this out and watch it with English subtitle, just click here. That is the site where I watch my Korean and Taiwanese dramas. I so love Kimchidramas,net hehe ^_^

If you want to check my initial impression on this drama, feel free to click on this link ^_^

Now, moving on to my actual review. 

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THIS DRAMA:

- It has a very light story line and has very few drama scenes. So it makes me feel good after watching an episode and I keep looking forward to the next one.

- It is comedy so there's a lot of  laughter and fun scenes. Even the "romantic" scenes between the two main characters is fun to watch.

- I think the casting team really did a great job in choosing these actors for the role. Everyone is great and they really portrayed their role very well.

- I love the soundtrack! My favorite is the one called "Stand Up". It is sang by the M2 Juniors and it has a great meaning and the melody is catchy. Check it out below. I chose a video that is English subbed so you can see the lyrics too ^_^

- The other supporting characters are great too. I can't believe that they were able to find great actors to be part of this drama. Even the idols like Kevin (ZE:A), Tagoon & Maeng Se Chang (BoM), and Kim Eun Jung (Jewelry) did great.

- The cast are either idols themselves or siblings of an idol so it is a great combination in my opinion because they are talented in the first place and they have personal experience of being/ or being related to a Kpop idol. They can really show the feelings and hardships of becoming an idol in the Kpop world. Very authentic information.

- There is character development with everyone. It is not just focused on the main characters. They allotted one episode per member of the M2 Junior, the administration and of course Woo Hyun and In Young.And after the series, as a viewer, I was able to get to know them all a lot better.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:

- The ending is so bad! Since this is meant to be a 16 episode drama, I think they squeezed 3 episodes into 1. Episode 14 is so all over the place and it really feels rushed. I was unable to see any closure in the different conflicts that happened in episodes 12-13. 

There is no closure in:

1. How did the fans reacted when they knew Ji Seung Yeon is a girl?

2. Did the CEO and Team Leader Han ended up together?

3. What happened to M2 Junior members? Did they debuted?

4. What happened to Ji Seung Yeon's career?

5. What happened to Sunny Entertainment after the scandal?

There are a lot of unanswered questions because the ending, Episode 14, is  so rushed. I really don't get it why they needed to cut 2 episodes when it is already ending. If they really needed to cut 2 episodes off, they should have started compressing the story starting Episode 11 so that they can still finish with a complete story.

Aside from the ending, I love this series. I think acting wise, this is better than You're Beautiful. Although the two dramas are quite different, I just loved the fact that everyone here can act. Soundtrack wise, I like You're Beautiful better coz there's a lot more songs that I loved. So if you like YAB, check this out too coz you'll probably like this too ^_^

- I can't find  good English subbed videos. I think each episode was subbed only 83-90% unlike other Viki subbed videos that every part and dialogue has subtitle.

OVER-ALL RATING: 4/5 - If only the ending is right, I would have given this a higher rating. I really enjoyed watching this drama until Episode 13. Very fun and light and is really a feel-good drama. The characters have chemistry together and is really believable that they are a couple.

If you wanted something that is not full of crying and tragic problems, then I suggest you try checking this out.

Till my next post. Thank you for dropping by. Bye! ^_^

Drama Review: Dream High 2

Hi! Here's another drama review for you guys ^_^

*Warning: LONG post*

Dream High is a story about the students of Kirin Art School who tries to achieve their dream of becoming top performers. The whole story evolves the different struggles these high school students faces before they can reach their dream of becoming an idol (a term used for a singer who is very popular among teens and young adults). This is like a behind-the-scene on how our favorite idol groups became famous kpop stars.

I have watched the first season last year and I loved it! It was so good because of the love stories and also the performances. Although the story line is not unique, it was well executed and I loved every episode. Kim Soo Hyun is really a great actor. he was able to make me smile, laugh, cry and giggly with his acting. I was so sad when it ended.

Dream High 2 is a Monday-Tuesday drama and it consists of 16 episodes.

In all honesty, the main attraction of this show are the actors because they are real singers (idols) in real life. There are 4 idols in this show...3 are performing as students and 1 acted as a teacher.

I loved seeing Jinwoon (a member of 2AM) act on his first drama. It's so natural and hilarious and perfect for him. I can't believe that I was able to see him up close and personal and I was able to get his authograph last year! haha Can't stop myself from smiling whenever I see him smile on screen ^_^

Jiyeon (member of T-ara) is a veteran actress already compared to the others because she already had a couple of dramas under her belt. I love how her character developed from being "the face" of her group to becoming a real performer. Her character as Rian is really a common practice in the actual Kpop world. There will always be a member of the group who is responsible for the visuals but have no real talent in singing or dancing. Their only role is to look good, period.

Hyo Rin (member of Sistar) is okay in this drama too. This is her 1st try in acting and I think she did a good job but I can't say anything about "real acting" coz majority of her scenes are actually performances and not drama-drama scenes.

Kahi (leader of After School) acted as a strict teacher here and she did great on her scenes as well. I like seeing her teach dancing coz she really has a talent and her first job is a choreographer before she became an idol so she fit the role.

JYP (the CEO of JYP Entertainment) is still here as a teacher and he's still funny but I loved his character in Season 1 better. He looks so dumb here.

Aside from these idol stars, there are also a couple of trainees (people who are still training and are waiting for their debut stage) that became a part of the main roles.

JB is a trainee under JYP Entertainment. This is his first project since getting accepted in JYPE and is still waiting for his debut as a singer/dancer. He is one of the main character of the drama. I love seeing him perform because he is really a great dancer but I'm not quite sure about his acting. I think it lacks a little emotion especially when there are melodrama scenes. He acts opposite Jiyeon and Sora and those two are real actresses so it became more obvious that he is just a beginner.

JR is another JYPE trainee who passed the same audition as JB. I think he acted better than JB in this drama even though this is also his first try in acting. I love his Satoori (accent) and it reminded me of Sam Dong's from season 1.

Ailee is my favorite trainee among them because she is really talented. She is under YMC Entertainment, the same company with Wheesung. She is born and raised in New Jersey and she became popular through her Youtube channel and became a trainee in Korea after. She has just debuted as a singer this February 2012 and I love her first single "Heaven". She has little screen time in the drama so a I can't judge her acting but I love her performances a lot :)

And of course, let's not forget the leading role of Shin Hye Sung peformed by Kang Sora. She is well known as the wife of Super Junior's Lee Teuk in We Got Married. Her role is very complex and have a lot of down compared to ups. I like how she portrayed her role because it moved me. Shin Hye Sung is an ordinary girl who wanted to become a singer but doesn't have the talent for it...

OVER-ALL VERDICT: 4/5 - I loved watching Dream High 2. There's always something happening and everything is fun. There's no irritating acting and the story is good. The love triangles or square are fun to watch too! JB-Hyesung-Yoojin-Rian love square is so complex that I did not guess who will end up with whom until the last 2-3 episodes. I also enjoyed watching Siwoo-Na Na-HongJu love triangle because it was so funny hehe. Their ending is fun too so you shou,d check it out. The love story of Ui Bong and Lee Seul reminded me of the Milky COuple from Season 1 so I liked them too :)

Over all, I do not regret spending my time watching it....But I loved Season 1 a lot better because it has more depth compared to Season 2. And the scenes in Season 1 were more memorable than this season. But I love this ending more coz there's a reunion of the main characters ^_^

WOULD YOU RECOMMEND THIS? Definitely! But I would suggest you watch both Season 1 and 2 so you get the whole picture ^_^

One drama done...what will I watch next? My Mondays and tuesdays would be empty for a while until I find a new drama to watch, i guess...

Anyway, thank you for dropping by! See yah! ^_^