プロポーズ大作戦 / Proposal Daisakusen

Operation Love



2007, eleven-episode Japanese drama that stars Yamashita Tomohisa as Iwase Ken, a shy-guy who has had a crush on a girl since the third grade, but who is too aloof to actually let her know, much less go out of his way to prove it to her.


Opening Scene of Episode 7
Boy and girl make other friends, and the five hang out together much of the time,



and then in their senior year of high school, a teacher-in-training appears to upset Kenzo-kun's seemingly happy existence.


Fujiki Naohito as Tada Tetsuya

Tada-kun

Tada-sensei


The drama begins with Kenzo-kun arriving late to a wedding: his best friend's wedding - the girl and Tada sensei's wedding.

He's bereft of emotion as it is, and though his heart is aching, Kenzo-kun can do nothing more than watch as what he's always assumed was his by right is taken from him not by force, but by natural occurrence.

Kenzo is asked to make a speech to commemorate his relationship with the wedded pair, and even then, he can't come to terms with his own shortcomings, much less admit the truth.

During a slideshow presentation, he wonders what went wrong and why it isn't him seated beside the only girl he's ever loved when suddenly a bright flash of light blinds him ...




and ... A Yosei, or fairy godfather, appears,


Yosei
... taking Kenzo-kun by surprise while also freezing time so that only he knows what is going on.



Each episode has Kenzo-kun going back in time,


after uttering the magic words, of course
to the event in the slideshow, so that he can un-do whatever he hadn't done to make the girl see just how much he cared.
and then, when the assignment is over, and he has to return to reality,


Nooooo!
he finds out whether or not his second attempt has any impact on the ceremony.

Throughout the long but NEVER dull journey through his past, Kenzo-kun helps the people around him more than himself, which isn't a bad thing, it just made me (and others at aznv.tv) wonder if his attempts were, perhaps, half-hearted, or if he maybe wasn't, really interested in getting the girl.

I liked this concept, I enjoyed the story, and I adore Yamapi, so Operation Love was a hit with me.

There was a 'special' that came after the eleven-episode drama, and it was meant to clear up things left hanging at the very end.


Does Kenzo-kun finally get the girl?

or, does he simply continue to help others in obtaining their ultimate goals instead of taking care of number-one?

Here are more images, and I hope a few of the clips work here.


glowing, blue scene - he looked super-fine in that white coat
Not a funny moment: more like the saddest 'cry' scene ever
funny observation: DKNY came up in a conversation among the friends at the hamburger joint of their youth, and Kenzo-kun mistakenly decifered the acronym as Don't Knock New York.

Of course, there was no such thing at the time (since he time-traveled), but later, 'Don't Knock New York' began to appear on items and even an eatery - but, if you look at the handle bag he's trying to win, it shows a picture of the Statue of Liberty ex'd with a door behind it.

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

The writer didn't try very hard to figure out the real meaning, or they didn't care one way or the other, which is a pity.

The 'knock' here references the slang term for 'put down' or 'dis' - it's not a literal translation of the word by any means.


here, too, when he's forced to watch his girl accept Tada sensei's proposal

what was with the 'green' bun anyway?














I love this melody! another, sad moment in this drama

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Friend / Chingoo

2001 Korean movie that is based on the real life of the author, who hung out with three, other boys growing up in Pusan, and while he and another boy ended up on the 'right' side of life, two others didn't, quite make it according to what society dictates as good or meaningful existence.

Later, Hyun bin starred in a drama based on the same story, (Friend, Our Legend), and I've tried a few times now to watch it clean through, but I just, can't do it.

The movie, however, was a fascinating watch and one I highly recommend if you've got the time.

I've always been a sucker for true stories, and this was no exception.

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ロング・ラブレター / Long Love Letter

漂流教室 / Drifting Classroom

As strange as this 2002 Japanese drama turned out to be, I still found it captivating enough to watch clean through and not go to bed until after midnight.

Lately, a lot of the stuff Yamapi-kun has starred is has begun to show up in the 'what people are watching' category at aznv.tv, and I can never resist checking out the choices to see if it might be something I'd want to watch as well.

As long as Yamashita Tomohisa is starring, I really care less about the content, and with Long Love Letter, I was both startled and spellbound for the duration of this eleven-episode acid trip that took us on a strange journey through the mind of a handsome teacher at a crossroads in his young, adult life.

He is Kubozuka Yosuke as Asami Akio, a guy who graduates from college and runs into this woman, Tokiwa Takako as Misaki Yuka, and they strike up this semi-interesting conversation at an open-air coffee shop where she poses this '...what if' type question that makes Akio think.

...and think he does.

But, we're not, entirely privy to that notion at the start.

See, what we know is that the two exchange numbers, he sits on a bench that night thinking about her, and a tranny sits beside him, offering him a bag of sweet potato chips.

When the tranny walks away, Akio realizes he's been robbed and now has no way of getting in touch with the pretty woman again - and since they just met, he hasn't memorized her number.

A year passes and he is now teaching at a local high school - quantum physics for dummies, I think - when the girl, who works at her father's flower shop, goes to the school to collect money from a crazy-bitch teacher in lust with one of her students (Yamapi-kun's Otomo Tadashi).

Boy and girl meet again, and the lack of proper communication ensues with him not being able to explain the circumstances surrounding his inability to get in touch with her, and her sticking up her nose while insisting she cares less and never, once gave him a second thought after that day anyhow.

So, he follows her to the flower shop, they talk for awhile, and then he leaves.

She has to return to the school to try and collect the money wack-bitch teacher owes for the flowers she sent to Tadashi, and as she is leaving, she turns to Akio and begins to tell him that she tried calling him several times the night they first met when suddenly there is this earthquake of sorts.

It's an off-day at the school, with only a few students there to take tests, serve detention time, etc., which means the staff is rather light that day as well.

The dude who played King, the G-dog gang leader from Ikebukuro Westgate Park, is asking if she is alright, and she is staring in shock at a vast wasteland directly outside the school gates.

It and they have sunk into the abyss of the earth, leaving a massive hole in the center of the town.

From there, things got really strange, and for eleven episodes, you're left to wonder what the hell really happened, WHY, and how in the world they're supposed to survive, or if they will ever return to reality again.

Whoever wrote this one has a vivid, if not morbid sense of reality, and believe it or not, it ISN'T based on a manga, either!

It's science-fiction meets romance meets wtf thriller all rolled into one, giant cliff-hanger complete with 'yea, right' moments, tear-jerking scenes, and a few annoying situations when you have to wonder why the writer would take license at all.

Like I said - Yamapi and Kubozuka together were why I chose to watch this, particular drama, and despite the weirded-out storyline and 'lecture' commentary on global warming, I was captivated by this, and I hope you will be, too.

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추노 / Chuno

Slave Hunters 2010 Korean drama (period piece) about slaves, slave hunters, and those caught in the middle of it all.

Jang Hyuk as Lee Dae gil, Han Jung soo as General Choi, and Kim Ji suk as Wang Son are slave hunters; paid by the government to track down and return runaway slaves to their wealthy owners.

Lee Dae gil came from a wealthy family and fell in love with a 'slave' working for his wealthy father's estate, but then things go terribly wrong, and suddenly Lee Dae gil's cherry lifestyle is at its bitter end.

He loses the girl, too.

I won't pretend to understand history and all it's peculiarities, but I will say that my confusion while watching this excellent nail-biter came in not understanding how 'fate' played a hand back in the Korean day.

Why were not ALL poor people slaves and just some?

Regardless, after Dae gil lost everything, he took up the unlikely career of bounty hunter, and after ten years, he went from being a refined pussy to a coarse bad-ass with spite to spare for the slaves he and his buddies made $ to round up.

General Choi (on the right - below) was a welcome but unnecessary surprise in this testosterone-laden, historical drama filled with half-naked men with plated chests, biceps bulging, and to-die-for looks; all topped off so sweetly with the long, sexy hair that is like 'cherry on top' goodness imo.





Then comes what I mistakenly presumed before watching to be the highlight of the show: Ajusshi Oh Ji ho as Song Tae ha; a soldier with soldier mentality through and through who forsakes his own whims (and life) to carry out his duties of state.




Yes ... my main attraction here has little to do with the storyline, the historical content, or even the popularity this thing generated from the onset (Average 31.7% - Nationwide, 32.0% - Seoul).

It's all about the dudes, their hunkiness, and especially about the heart palpitation factor for me when I choose to watch something from Asia - and Chuno fit that bill to the TIPPY top.





Lee Jong hyuk as Hwang Chul woong

Here's a video clip of him in action:



Him gots a sexy voice, too!
Okay, so Dae gil has this pretty humongous chip on his broad shoulders because of what happened to destroy his cushy lifestyle, his family, and the love he once had for 'the girl', so to say he's ruthless would be putting it mildly, and yet he continued to set free or help the slaves he first rounded up to have returned to their 'rightful' owners.

In the ten years since becoming a Chuno, he's carried a drawn image of his first love and asks everywhere he goes if anyone has seen her.

Early on, he's commissioned to find another, escaped slave who also happens to be a soldier loyal to a dead prince whose only, surviving son (age 3) the escaped slave/soldier plans to defend with his life.

That soldier is, of course, Song Tae ha; who has stumbled upon Dae gil's first love, and the two are running from the bounty hunters.

Oddity is - Dae gil's first love is no longer a slave but a freed woman who escaped a life of (ahem) misery by ditching her arranged groom at the altar.

So, Dae gil is after Tae ha, and the groom's rich family are after the girl.

Her older brother is what ruined everything for her and Dae gil, but that's saying too much for anyone who hasn't watched this one yet.

So, while on the run, Tae ha and the girl become closer while Dae gil's love (or burning hatred) for her increases with each, passing day.

In between all this madness is a lot of fun, intrigue, and hilarity that made Chuno that, much more enjoyable for thirty episodes - none of which seemed to lag, stutter, or even bore me enough to want to leave the screen to go potty or get something to drink until the episode was done and I could do so without fear of missing something exciting.

LIKE MORE, HALF-NAKED, SINEWY GOODNESS!

A dude who kept following our heroine around throughout the first half of this epic piece intrigued me as much as our dashing General Choi did, and when I finally took the time to find out who the hell it was driving me nuts and making me think nasty thoughts, I was left dumbstruck and in utter disbelief.

Danny Ahn as Baek Ho

See, before watching Chuno, I was enjoying a nightly episode of Let's Go Dream Team!, of which our young tyke Danny stars (on occasion).


Let's Go Dream Team! occasional cast members
Of course, the big draw (I think) for this, particular reality show is Choi Minho from SHINee (which I always presumed to be pronounced as shin-EE when it's actually pronounced SHINE-ee - go figure)


Minho from Let's Go Dream Team!
But, wait a minute fan-girlies ... while the dude got some mighty, fine hair goin on there, not to mention the height, and that 'oh, my, gawsh' freakin' cute smile of his ... someone ELSE managed to grab my attention (and my heart) and turn my head away quick enough to make my NECK snap:


Sangchu
But, he's not why I'm blogging right now, and this isn't about Let's Go Dream Team! either, only that Danny Ahn happens to be a semi-regular on that show, and then I was captivated by our mysterious-eyed Baek ho in Chuno, only to find out that Danny portrayed Baek ho!!!!


Sangchu and Danny on Let's Go Dream Team!
Fan girlie's wept to discover he was cacked in Chuno, and the way he went was a memorable moment, I must say - teary sadness event in the show.

Let's just say that Danny-kun will make a mighty, fine MAN some day and leave it at that, shall we?

Baek ho was this loyal 'something' to the man the girl Dae gil chased after was supposed to marry (I think), so after she booked, he was ordered to find her and drag her sorry ass back so the ceremony could commence.

One got the odd but unclear feeling that Baek ho had a 'thang' for our unlikely heroine, and yet, as many a Korean historical piece goes, the vagaries abounded and nothing was implied in this regard - even at his gruesome end, he remained a silent but hauntingly attractive figure in this show, which is odd in that it's also the way DANNY behaves in real life - silent, somewhat brooding, and as if in perpetual quandry about something that is bugging the crap out of him, yet he can't, quite figure it out.

"Do I really wanna be a rock star?" "Is this really what life is all about?" "I really, can't go after the chick of my dreams because it'll cause bad publicity?"

Poor, confused lad.

Right ...

So, for thirty episodes we watch as Dae gil, his handsome and hilarious sidekicks, and the various characters intertwined all converge at some point to either help or hinder Dae gil in his quest to find the girl and either make her pay, or lip-lock for an eternity ... I wasn't, quite sure what to think after awhile until I gave up trying and just sat back & enjoyed the rest of the show.

I learned a lot of terminology watching this show!

Here's a brief example:

INVEIGE (inveigle) me ... methinks ... mendacious ... spurious ... conjugalities ... NAVAL GRINDING!!! ... compeers ... becloud ... vulgar hangdog ... prattling ... clamor me ... importune ... engage in parley ... gravitas

Natch', the only one I got was the naval grinding reference, which is damn hilarious and one I hope not to forget the next time I ...

Still trying to figure out how vulgar and hangdog go together, too, since you're either vulgar or have a hangdog look about you (kind a like Danny!) ... so for the two to go together has me stumped, and 'conjugalities' makes it sound like 'sex things', which DOESN'T make sense.

Lastly, the folks at aznv.tv weren't, too pleased about the ending, and after all was said & done, I didn't know how I felt about it except to say it was probably the wrong thing to do.

I mean, you put us through so, much shit for that long a period of time, only to have us going 'huh?!' at the last, few frames never sits too well with an audience, and damn it, I want to know what happened FOR REAL to Tae ha!!

And now for my funny stuff (which is mostly comprised of bad grammar):

I almost want to believe he means 'meandering', but who knows

Okay - so the adj can turn into an adv in this case

gross, but still a sad moment in the show

bear the brunt, I believe

this is just a mouthful - and the word at the end is annoyingly cliche

they pixelated her cleavage!!!

speaking of a mouthful ...

Chuno was a blast to watch, filled with intrigue, historical references that might be true, and a great love story that ended on a rather flat note ~ but, what the heck!

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