You know the drill. Girl likes boy, girl confesses, boy rejects. Yet due to some convenient coincidence, the two ends up living together. Romance soon blossoms, splotched by a few kisses here and there, and that's that. Pretty simple premise with no overarching plot drivers. Yet this pretty simple premise to Kaoru Tada's timeless story actually became a big hit garnering not only an anime counterpart, but four Itakiss live action adaptations (the first of which I'm not including in this post).
So mirror mirror on the wall, which is the best kiss of them all?
❀ RAVES ❀ »•»
1) I strongly believe that
this adaptation is what nailed the chemistry best. Joe and Ariel are sooo good
together! Seriously, I squeed and squeed while watching these two I'm left like an emotional ball of squeeing mess after the show ended.
2) I love how ISWAK tended to delve deeper into the budding romance. Though it was quite long (30 episodes at max) and may have dragged
a bit, pacing was never a major problem (for me) since the length of the show was mostly spent in the
development of Zhi Shu's feelings for Xiang Qin. Him falling in love for the girl was absolutely the highlight of the show for me.
3) I think Joe Cheng did the
best portrayal of Naoki. Jiang Zhi Shu's transformation from an ice cold jerk to someone
warmer and cozier is the best part that other adaptations botch, and I
love that he isn’t as stoic and though quite subtle, is a tad more lovable and humane.
4) There’s season two! I love season two.
❀ RANTS ❀ »•»
1) Yuan Xiang Qin is the
most awful Kotoko to have sprung to life. Suffice it to say she’s my least
favorite. And the problem here isn’t about Ariel Lin, but how Xiang Qin's character
has been written. She’s supposed to be a bubbly burst of sunshine and optimism
– a characteristic which led Zhi Shu to fall in love with her – but most of
the time Xiang Qin is just an awkwardly over the top doormat I want to reach
past the screen and strangle her for making me cringe too much.
2) Of course I love that
there’s a wedding. Who wouldn’t? But... couldn’t they have just gone through it
without swapping dresses? I know that Jiang-mama originally wanted a girl thus
dressed Zhi Shu in various baby girl dresses when he was a child... but
seriously, making him wear a gown on one of the most important events of his
life is just weird.
❀ RAVES ❀ »•»
1) I must admit, Jung So Min did a pretty decent portrayal as Oh Ha Ni. Compared to Xiang Qin, Ha Ni was delivered as someone dumb yet not as overly irritating. And I love her for that.
2) Baek Eun Jo is the cuuuutest kid brother of all adaptations. Right? Right.
❀ RANTS ❀ »•»
1) Yes Kim Hyun Joong is hawt, but somehow I just can't find it in my heart to connect with him. He seemed rather... bland. Don't even get me started with his perm.
❀ RAVES ❀ »•»
1) Best portrayal of Kotoko. Ever. Hats off to Honoka Miki! She tends to act under and over the top at times, and that excessive duck face thing isn’t the cutest scene to see on screen either. Yet of all Kotoko portrayals, hers is the most realistic. She’s able to capture that essence of a teenage girl in love and I love that she isn’t written as stupid to not have her own spine. She exuded that bubbly burst of enthusiasm and optimism expected from her, and thus showed more personality and depth, as compared to her regional counterparts.
2) I love Kin-chan! Yamada Yuki was a breath of fresh air from all Ikezawa Kinnosuke adaptations. And though Lee Tae Sung was good doing Bong Joon Gu (compared to Jiro Wang), it is only with Yuki that I've seen that heartfelt connection between Kin-chan and Kotoko, despite of the latter not being able to return the former's feelings.
3) Irie-papa... He's just soooo cute!
❀ RANTS ❀ »•»
1) The drama itself even mentioned that "the probability of a house being hit by a shooting star is one in a million", so why did they even bother with this trick? It would've been better had they stuck to the intensity-two-house-collapse-reason instead, because seriously, when does a shooting star ever hit a house?
❀ RULING ❀ »•»
All adaptations are good in its own right, but after all this is said and done, my loyalty is unwavered and thus still lies with... ISWAK. I think it was able to delve deeper into the story and the feelings of the characters, and had the best chemistry. Plus, the fact that it continued to tell the story of the leads' lives through a second season had me reeling for it even more. Did I mention I absolutely love the second season? Itakiss though is a really good contender... and had the second season aired prior to this writing, who knows... I might have changed my mind.
This is currently being shown in GMA7! Kilig much all over again! ♥
ReplyDeleteI know right! And there's season two!!! =)
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