Shining Inheritance shines brightly within its genre

(Note: In this post, ESM = Evil Stepmother. I got really tired of typing that out over and over)

THE PITCH:

It’s been a while since I’ve been so thoroughly engrossed in a drama as I was in Shining Inheritance (aka Brilliant Legacy). I’m certainly not the only one to have gone ga ga over this summer’s smash hit weekend series from SBS, as evidenced by its impressive ratings, which climbed up to 47%. And yet at least in terms of plot and basic character types Shining Inheritance seems very similar to many other formulaic dramas you may have already seen. So why was this one so successful? Why did I, and so many others, enjoy it so very much? That’s what I’m going to try to explain in this post, but I think it boils down to the fact that while the character concepts and storylines may not be especially original, they are surprisingly well-acted and well-developed. Shining Inheritance is an example of a drama in which all the various elements come together in a really cohesive, satisfying way. Even if it is a mite predictable, it’s done well and addictive as shit. The romance, the family drama, the humor, the sadness, the heartwarming moments – it was just a really winning combination for me.

THE PLOT:

The story begins when a businessman on the brink of bankruptcy apparently dies in a freak accident, leaving behind his two biological children, as well as their stepmother and stepsister. The greedy and manipulative stepmother (ESM) manages to swindle the man’s children out of their share of the life insurance money, keeping it all for herself and her own daughter. The two unfortunate children, our heroine Eun-Sung and her autistic brother Eun-Woo, are forced to fend for themselves when the ESM cuts them off and casts them out. I know this is starting to sound kind of hackneyed and trite (pure, plucky, put-upon heroine triumphs against the odds and wins the love of prince-not-so-charming), but Shining Inheritance actually has a lot more to offer than plot contrivances and wild histrionics.

THE CHARACTERS:

Han Hyo-Ju plays Go Eun-Sung, a quick-tempered but compassionate young woman whose life is forever changed the day her father dies. In spite of the suffering she endures after being so callously abandoned by the ESM, Eun-Sung manages to pull through with the help of some very good friends. Through a certain chain of events, she eventually wins the trust and respect of an aging CEO who decides to name Eun-Sung her sole heir and successor of her company. Throughout the drama, Eun-Sung struggles to balance her aspirations and fears as she slowly uncovers the convoluted web of deception that has caused all her misfortunes. That’s a lot for one girl to handle, but Eun-Sung’s skinny little frame belies her true inner strength and tenacity. Although I didn’t find Han Hyo-Ju particularly remarkable in the acting department, her character was written well enough that it didn’t really matter so much to me; I couldn’t help but like the warm, affectionate, irascible Eun-Sung.

Lee Seung-Gi, meanwhile, plays Hwan, the only grandson of the lady who promises all her assets to Eun-Sung when she dies. And just in case you want to feel sorry for the guy for having his considerable fortune bequeathed to someone else, don’t. Grandma’s not looking to pass her legacy on to a grandson who doesn’t deserve it, and he definitely doesn’t. In fact, Hwan’s such an irresponsible, inconsiderate, arrogant jerk in the beginning of the series, it’s hard to believe he’s actually the love interest of our honest, hardworking Eun-Sung (and indeed, their relationship doesn’t develop in that way for a long time). We learn some of the reasons why he got to be that way later in the story, but nothing excuses the despicable behavior he initially exhibits. One of the wonderful things about Shining Inheritance, however, is the complex and nuanced way it shows Hwan’s transformation into a conscientious, caring person of whom his family can be proud. One might be reminded of another 2009 drama in which the rich jerk is turned around by the right girl, but unlike Boys Before Flowers, Shining Inheritance is no simple story of beauty taming the beast. It’s the story of a man who is gradually humbled and brought to bear by his grandmother’s tough love and his own personal trials and experiences as much as by his relationship with the girl. And Lee Seung-Gi does a truly wonderful job portraying the subtleties of Hwan’s transformation. I defy anybody to watch this drama and not be won over by him. It just can’t be done.

Bae Su-Bin and Moon Chae-Won play the secondary leads and round out the love square. (Can you round out a square?) Yay! I love these two, both of whom also appeared in Painter of the Wind, one of the few dramas I watched last year. Bae Su-Bin plays Park Jun-Sae, a restaurant owner who supports and cherishes Eun-Sung as a kind of older brother/would-be lover figure. Basically, he’s the perfect man. He has integrity and honesty. He’s quite and gentle, but can also be stern. He’s sensitive, but strong. He always thinks of others before himself, he can look totally manly while crying his eyes out. And yet his endless perfection doesn’t irritate me, perhaps because he never seems to get the things he so richly deserves. Plus, he never expresses that annoying sense of entitlement to the object of his affections that makes me dislike so many other kdrama characters frustrated in love. (Lee Jun-Ki in My Girl, for example? I wanted him to die.) Jun-Sae feels disappointment, pain, and heartbreak, but never resentment towards Eun-Sung and Hwan, both of whom he respects and values. Rarely has a kdrama’s romantic 3rd wheel elicited as much sympathy in me as did Jun-Sae. Of course, Bae Su-Bin’s gorgeous eyes didn’t hurt either. Those deep, expressive pools of emotion! I noticed them in Painter, of course, but we get to see a lot more of them in this drama.

Moon Chae-Won plays Eun-Sung’s former stepsister Seung-Mi, a second female lead whom one alternatively pities and hates. While she does lie and manipulate and generally help the ESM weave a tangled web of deceit, Seung-Mi’s not the one-dimensional caricature of vicious jealousy we’ve seen in other trendy dramas (Chae-Rin from Delightful Girl Choon-Hyang comes to mind). From a lonely, neglected childhood Seung-Mi grows into a fragile, emotionally needy young woman. (Those needs are mostly tied up in Hwan, who’s known and looked out for her since their high school days.) Seung-Mi sheds real tears over the crimes instigated by her mother, but she always finds herself becoming an equal accomplice in them. Her actions, however inexcusable, are born from hopelessness and desperation rather than from ill will. Moon Chae-Won is very easy to watch in this role; she’s stunningly beautiful and cries very naturally (really, she could give Han Hyo-Ju lessons).

Kim Mi-Sook plays Baek Sung-Hee. Ah, the ESM is such a fascinating creature. Perhaps the evil Madame Choi from Dae Jang Geum could match ESM in greed and depravity, but nobody can rival ESM’s skills in manipulation and deception. To be able to spin lie after lie so convincingly! To commit such atrocious deeds while maintaining the external appearance of innocence and sincerity! Poor unsuspecting Eun-Sung hardly stood a chance. (Actually, speaking of Madame Choi, the dynamic between ESM and Seung-Mi reminded me quite a bit of that between Madame Choi and her niece Geum-Young in Dae Jang Geum. The same evil apprenticeship imposed by the mother figure onto her initially unwilling but ultimately compliant charge.)

And finally, Ban Hyo-Jung as Hwan’s grandmother: I’d be remiss if, after rambling on about all these other characters, I failed to mention the one who, in many ways, holds the entire story together. This lady’s pride and integrity, her strong leadership of her family and of her company, and her love for Hwan and Eun-Sung lie at the very heart of this series, making Shining Inheritance so much more than your typical, melodramatic Cinderella drama.

THE REST:

Okay, moving on from the individual characters to the drama as a whole… Another thing that was really cool about Shining Inheritance was the way it incorporated into the story the theme of money: what it means or doesn’t mean to people, how it drives or affects them. Throughout the story, money plays significant yet drastically different roles in the lives of every single character. Eun-Sung takes it for granted before the loss of all her assets teaches her to fear and value it. To Hwan, his wealth represents an essential part of his precious identity, but he slowly learns to understand and appreciate money honestly earned. ESM, of course, values money for the sake of security and power; to her, it is the end that justifies any conceivable means. Eun-Sung’s father’s bankruptcy and Grandma’s enormous legacy are both key features of the overarching plot, the two catalysts that set the whole story in motion. Yet the theme of money and meaning is woven into the story in smaller ways as well, such as when Hwan takes a delivery order to an elderly couple living in poverty. As the man’s shaking hand reaches under a can to retrieve a few coins and crumpled bills with which to pay him, Hwan thinks instinctively back to a time when he carelessly threw a wad of cash at a man he’d assaulted, and feels deeply shaken and ashamed. This is just one example of why Shining Inheritance shines just a little brighter for me than many other ostensible similar dramas I’ve seen. The romance is swoon-worthy and everything, but these touching moments of deeper meaning make the drama that much more special.

Which brings me to my next point of how well paced and unified the drama is overall. Many longer series (and even some of the shorter ones) can have many ongoing side storylines that at best detract from the focus of the main story and at worse are downright irritating in and of themselves. This was not the case with Shining Inheritance. The series was evenly paced such that I didn’t need to watch the whole thing with my finger hovering over the fast forward button. Moreover, all the characters and story elements were both functional to the plot and engaging and entertaining in their own right. Hwan’s family members and Eun-Sung’s friends – I grew to love them all.



Yet along with all this praise, I do have one complaint to register with Shining Inheritance, if only to demonstrate that I do have a little discernment after all. I felt like it dragged a little bit in the final few episodes. Due to its popularity, the show, originally planned for 24 episodes, was extended mid-run to 28 episodes. (Ratings-based cuts and extensions are a growing trend for kdramas right now.) So while I say that Shining Inheritance was very well paced overall, I must admit it lagged a bit in the final stretch. But at least, for that brief period in which Hwan and Eun-Sung had worked themselves into a kind of emotional impasse, other elements of the story were progressing more steadily.

So, that’s pretty much all I have to say about this drama at this time. I friggin’ liked it, okay? I thought its complexity and thoughtfulness made it stand out among other more formulaic products of its genre. Plus, its characters really got to my heart. I lost lots of sleep staying up to watch huge chunks of it at a time. Whether Shining Inheritance was good or bad, it definitely got me. But I’m pretty sure it was good.

Tamna the Island, episodes 1-10

Oooh, I have such unabashed puppy love for this currently airing MBC drama. It’s not a life-altering, “forever” kind of love – more like just a very serious crush. Which is why it’s such a gosh-darn shame that, in light of the show’s consistently poor ratings, its broadcasting network decided to cut it down from its originally planned 20 episodes to 16. What that means is that because the final 10 episodes had fo0r the most part already been shot, they had to be cut down into a mere six. Needless to say, fans are pissed at the prospect of watching a heavily edited and significantly reduced second half of a series in which they’ve already become emotionally invested. So much of the story must get lost in the condensing of ten hours of material into six! And so, in spite of my love for this drama, I stopped watching after episode ten (the last episode to be aired in its original, unedited form.) I feel that it would be better to wait for the full version (which will eventually air in other countries and be released on DVD) than to watch a chopped-up, mutilated version of it now. And so to reconcile myself with the idea of going completely cold turkey on this drama (for now at least), I decided to write this post all about how freakin’ adorable it is.

Tamna the Island (also known as “Shipwrecked!” or “Tempted Again”) is based on an ongoing soonjung manhwa of the same name and takes place during the Joseon era on an island province called Tamna (present day Jeju Island). Since Tamna historically has a kind of niche culture distinct from mainland Joseon society, a brief explanation ought to precede any discussion of this drama. 17th-century Tamna was kind of like the sticks of Joseon: a remote, uncivilized, backwater region. Nevertheless, the island was valued (and heavily taxed) by the government for its natural resources, most of which came from the sea. In a kind of reversal of traditional gender roles, the women of the island dove for abalone while the men stayed home and managed the households. The female divers, who performed difficult and undesirable work, were not allowed to leave Tamna, and were indentured to the island for life. Also, because Westerners were about as common in Tamna as aliens, any who appeared there were generally viewed as freaks and treated as criminals, even to the point of being arrested, sent to the capital, and executed. One last important aspect of 17th-century Tamna is that it was the place where political offenders were exiled by the mainland government in much the same way criminals of the British Empire were sent to Australia. People who watch a lot of sageuk (period) dramas should recognize this practice. (Remember how Jang-Geum was banished there on a trumpted up charge in Dae Jang Geum?)

And so, with the stage thus set, the drama tells the story of an English castaway who washes ashore on Tamna. Fortunately for young William, he is found and hidden by a young female diver named Jang Beo-Jin. Despite the language and cultural barrier, the two form a very sweet and innocent friendship. Around the same time, an arrogant and scholarly young noble man named Park Kyu arrives from Han Yang (the capital), having been recently exiled to Tamna, and is given to the care of Beo-Jin’s mother, the head diver of the village. The story of how these three characters collide and come together against the odds in 17th-century Tamna provides for plenty of humor and drama in this unique and fun series.
Pierre Deporte (Korean name Hwang Chan-Bin) as William. Honestly, this guy’s acting takes a lot of getting used to, and even then can be accepted only with a huge grain of salt. And yet I’m prepared to do all this and more, because I like the character so much. He’s a little hard to take at firs, what with his fake blonde hair and even faker English, but as soon as the character starts “learning” Korean (the actor’s pretty fluent) it gets so much better. William may not be the brightest bulb in the box, but he has a sweet, innocent charm about him that completely won me over. It’s fun to watch him and Beo-Jin together because even though they’re a kind of oddly matched pair, they’re basically each other’s first loves, and it really is quite sweet. Plus, it’s hard for me to ignore the fact that this is quite possibly the first time a White person has ever been portrayed in such a positive light in a drama, not to mention taken on a leading role. The drama does a great job, I thing, of incorporating his character in a way that’s both sensitive and intriguing, in spite of the bad hair and accent. For instance, look at this bit of dialogue from episode 5, in which William discusses with his sailor friend a misunderstanding that occurred between him and Park Gyu:

William: Park Gyu… He looked at me like I was a bad person. I think he misunderstood something. I was just trying to save her-
Yan: Don’t expect these people to understand you. You’re just a freak to them.
William: Why do they hate me?
Yan: Joseon has always been a closed country. The locals are afraid of foreigners and try to kill them.
William: I don’t understand. Beo-Jin isn’t like that.
Yan: Yeah, well, she’s a weird one.
William: No, she’s not strange.
Yan: Don’t get too attatched. Sooner or later you’ll have to leave this place.

Seo Woo as Jang Beo-Jin. I don’t have a whole lot to say about the actress, except that she does a great job of bringing a nice, youthful energy to her character without being annoyingly over-spunky or cutesy. Beo-Jin has a wonderfully, open, straightforward, and caring nature that leads her to instantly and wholeheartedly accept William as a basically good person, and to defend him against those who might reject him for being different. I guess she knows how it feels to be different as well. As an unskilled, low-level diver indentured to the island for life, she’s somewhat of a black sheep in her village. She’s always dreamed of leaving Tamna, and in a way William opens up for her the possibility of a world beyond the island’s shores.

Im Ju-Hwan as Park Gyu. Ok, I like the rest of the cast, but I absolutely love Im Ju-Hwan as Park Gyu. I wasn’t really expecting much from this relatively inexperienced model-turned-actor, but as far as I’m concerned, he’s the real standout of the drama. He may be askinny guy with delicate features, but the dude’s got this beautifully deep, manly voice, and totally OWNS his character. As the city-reared scholar-noble, he’s initially dismayed to find himself exiled to the backwaters of Tamna at the beginning of the drama and entrusted to the care of lowly peasants who don’t show him the respect he so obviously deserves! It’s hilarious, really. Nobody really knows the details of his crime, but there’s a persistent rumor that it has something to do with harassing women. Ha! Of course, there’s more to him than initially meets the eye, and we eventually learn (spoiler alert) that he’s actually an undercover official sent to Tamna by the government on a secret mission. Although initially unimpressed with the uncivilized island society and the uncouth Beo-Jin, he slowly comes to respect, admire, and even love both. Im Ju-Hwan is so awesome in this role. He makes the character endearing and funny, but also anchors it with some very deeply felt, vulnerable moments; when he tears up on screen it’s so good I just want to die. You can bet your bottom dollar that if Im Ju-Hwan appears in another drama in the future I’ll be all over it like white on rice.

Before I go any further, I have to say that yes, this drama does feature two guys falling for the same girl, but there’s so much else going on, and each individual relationship between these three people is so distinct and well-developed, and intriguing, that what romantic conflict there is never feel clichéd or contrived or cheap. I just think this drama’s got a whole heck of a lot going for it. Being based on a long-running manhwa gives it extensive source material to work with, and the story’s been really well adapted by the production team. (There are some other manga/manhwa-turned-dramas where this has not been the case. Boys Over Flowers springs directly to mind.) The Tamna setting also differentiates the drama from other fusion sageuks out there and allows for a fresh and unique kind of story. The scenery is breathtaking, and as for the music, this is the first OST I’ve been interested in for a while. It just baffles me that this drama’s been getting such poor ratings. Oh well. I’m really impatient to watch the second part of the series, but I’ve liked the first ten episodes too much to feel ok about watching a condensed version of the last ten. Sometimes it’s the little moments that really make a drama worthwhile, and I’m afraid those are the ones that will get lost in the re-editing. So I’ll just wait. Yet in spite of the fiasco MBC’s caused in this drama’s run, I’m still glad I tuned in for the first half. I enjoyed it that much.

Some music from the soundtrack:

이어사나 (Ending Theme) - Jane Park

Your Tears (Main Theme) - Jane Park

"And let me see thee in thy woman's weeds..."

I'm not exactly sure why this is, but I've always been a sucker for a good gender-bending, cross-dressing story. Maybe it's just some sort of wierd fetish I have, but I personally can't seem to get enough of them. Yet given the proliferation of the theme across various media and cultures, I can't be the only one susceptible to that kind of fantasy. I couldn't even begin to analyze the social or psychological implications of the trend, (nor do I particularly want to; it probably has to do with some kind of wacked-out, vicarious wish fulfillment), but I do think it's interesting to step back and compare some of the different stories that fall into this category and see the kind of patterns that emerge. So in this post I'll reflect a little on some of the woman-impersonates-man stories I've consummed in the past. And hey, maybe there's somebody out there like me who also likes this sort of thing and is looking for some more examples. Heck knows, I'm always on the look-out for more gender-bending fun.

To find really classic tales of women impersonating men, one need look no further than Shakespeare, whose works abound with such characters. Rosalind of As You Like It and Viola of Twelfth Night initially spring to mind, both of whom meet their future husbands while disguised as men. These situations not only provide for lots of humor and drama, but also allow the couples to get to know and be friendly with each other in ways that would be impossible if the women’s true gender was known.

… Which brings me to the first real item on my list today: a little 2006 US film called She’s the Man. She’s the Man is one of a number of American teen movies that take classic works of literature and transplant them into a modern-day high-school setting (à la Clueless and 10 Things I Hate About You). And which classic gender-bending tale does She’s the Man modernize? None other than Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. In the original play, the character of Viola (disguised as a man) is enlisted by the Duke of Orsino to help him win the hand of Lady Olivia. In acting as his intermediary, the disguised Viola not only falls in love with the Duke but also attracts the romantic attention of Olivia herself. While She’s the Man retains many of the key plot features and characters of the play, it completely overhauls the style, setting, and execution of the story. Like the play, the movie places emphasis very heavily on comedy and very lightly on dramatic tension. Actress and erstwhile comedian Amanda Bynes doesn’t make a very convincing boy, but therein lies much of the film’s humor. Watching her posture and pose and try desperately to act like “one of the dudes” is worth the price of admission alone, and practically everything out of her mouth is side-splittingly hilarious. Plus, there’s Channing Tatum to look at. Check out this awesome scene:

Yet Shakespearian heroines weren’t the first to assume male personae; the classic Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, a filial daughter who joins the all-male army in place of her ailing father and eventually becomes a great war hero, derives from a 6th century poem. The myth has survived the centuries to take on many different forms, including operas, novels, films, and television serials. Mulan became something of a household name in the US in 1998 when the story got the full Disney film treatment, complete with campy songs and wisecracking sidekick-to-heroine. While the Disney version presents a not so sensitive or subtle depiction of traditional Chinese society, this consumer still appreciates the value of the film’s dramatic and visual appeal.

Also of note is the fact that a brand new, feature length, live-action adaptation of the legend of Mulan is currently undergoing postproduction in China, where it will be released later this year. The film, starring Vicky Zhao in the titular role and Chen Kun as her love interest, was represented at this year’s Cannes film festival, where this teaser was shown. It looks to me like a pretty battle-centric war epic, but with the story of Mulan there’s always going to be some human drama and intrigue. No news on a US release yet, but here’s hoping.

Moving right along, we come to another classic gem in the gender-bender canon: the 1982 musical comedy film Victor Victoria, starring Julie Andrews, James Garner, Robert Preston, Lesley Ann Warren, and John Rhys-Davies. The movie, which takes place in 1930s Paris, features the struggling singer Victoria Grant (Andrews) and her openly gay friend Carroll “Toddy” Todd, who together concoct an unlikely get-rich scheme. The two will pretend to be gay lovers so that Victoria can become a successful female impersonator – in other words, she’ll be “a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman.” While I adore this film for many reasons (it’s originality, cleverness, winning humor, stellar cast, and great music), the main romance is not one of those reasons. I just don’t think Andrews and Garner had that much chemistry. Plus, his character never really believed “Victor” was a man, and where’s the fun in that? Still, this is a really great movie that I would recommend to just about anybody.

The next item I would like to discuss is probably my number one favorite example of cross-gender storytelling: the 17-episode kdrama Coffee Prince. Coffee Prince was a mega-hit on the trendy drama scene in the summer of 2007, and for good reason. The story and main character were unconventional (at least by kdrama standards), and the drama had a lot to offer (I felt) that many kdramas do not. Unlike the other stories in this list, the main character of this drama doesn’t need to undergo a big transformation in order to assume the guise of a man; Go Eun-Chan’s already so boyish in demeanor and dress that most people mistake her for a pretty guy anyways. Plus, Yoon Eun-Hye’s an actress who really knows how to play both sides of the gender coin. She does a fabulous job of bringing this unique and endearing character to life and of making her really believable as both a boy and a girl. I’m not a huge fan of Gong Yoo, but I really liked him in this drama. I also really liked the development of his loafer rich boy character’s relationship with the penniless and hardworking Eun-Chan. The two become unlikely friends through a series of bizarre circumstances, eventually sharing an almost younger-brother-older-brother relationship. Their friendship has its natural ups and downs, and Han-Kyul (Gong Yoo) eventually starts to question his sexuality as he finds himself more attracted to Eun-Chan, with lots of pseudo-homoerotic undercurrents resulting. Coffee Prince is just a really well-executed and engrossing drama to begin with, and any fan of gender bender stories definitely won’t want to miss out on this one. A scene from the drama:

Another recent cross-gender themed kdrama that stands in stark contrast to the trendy Coffee Prince is last year’s 20-episode sageuk (Joseon era) drama, Painter of the Wind. In this drama, cute-as-a button Moon Geun-Young plays a woman who, from a very young age, was raised as a male by her adoptive family of royal painters so that she too might achieve wealth and status as an artist (an option only available to men.) While I thought the drama itself was rather disappointing, I found the premise very intriguing. Moon’s character, Shin Yoon-Bok, was a real-life Joseon artist (male in reality), and the drama covers many of the historical events of his/her life. Her main relationships are with her teacher and mentor Kim Hong-Do (also a real person) and the giseang (female entertainer) who becomes her artistic inspiration. While I found the drama lacking in many respects (especially its latter half), I thought it provided an interesting twist on the cross-gender theme. The 21 year old Moon would make a pretty convincing boy, but only if that boy were about eleven years old.

And now we come to the last item on my list, a 1994 Hong Kong film called He’s a Woman, She’s a Man. Like Coffee Prince, this film features a boyish girl in male guise causing another man seriously to question his own sexuality. Unlike Coffee Prince, however, the two main characters here have more lust for each other than actual friendship. But it works for this film and these characters; one mustn't be too hasty to draw unnecessary comparisons. And in spite of its commercial premise, this romantic comedy features sharp direction, effective humor, and great performances including those of lead actors Anita Yuen and Leslie Cheung. Yuen in particular is wonderful, playing a convincing man and a lively, endearing character. The film was followed by a sequel in 2006 called Who’s the Man, Who’s the Woman, which while on the whole inferior to the original nevertheless includes some hilarious and memorable moments.

Before wrapping up this meandering post, I just want to say a quick word about the many cross-dressing themed manga out there (and believe me, there are a ton.) Still, I can’t think of any that I really liked, at least not any that I enjoyed anywhere near as much as the films and dramas listed above. The most popular and well-known example (in the US at least) is Hana Kimi, which I happen to loathe. That being said, I found the cross-gender subplot in Fruits Basket to be very compelling. In that manga, it was only revealed half-way through the 23 volume series that one of the characters, the ominous and mysterious Akito, is actually a woman and has a pretty twisted romantic past with another main character. I could go on and on about that series, but this is not the place. (Edit: I'm an idiot. When I first wrote this I completely forgot about Ouran High School Host Club, a gender-bending manga that I really like. Perhaps because there's so much other wacky stuff going on in that crazy series, or because the cross-dressing thing is never taken very seriously, but OHSHC just didn't spring right to my mind when I tried to think of an example of a good manga gender-bender.)

So there’s my list of noteworthy gender-crossing, female-impersonates-male stories in various media that I’ve enjoyed over the years. I’m aware that it’s not anything like comprehensive, just a semi-random list of all the ones I could think of today. Maybe I’ll write about more in the future (and in further depth too), but I just wanted to take the time now to appreciate this trend. I’ll definitely be on the lookout to see where it will pop up next.

Summer Diversions

So, my summer has unfortunately turned out to be rather suckier than most, what with my recovery from surgery being much longer and more complicated than expected, not to mention my having had to move clean across the country and back again in the space of a single month. Still, I did manage to have a little fun here and there in spite of everything, especially in the celebration of my twentieth birthday (yay me!) Although I’ve been woefully negligent of this blog for the abysmally long period of two months, I decided to write a brief summary of all the entertainment I’ve consumed in the interim. That is to say, rather than writing full-length reviews of everything I’ve taken in over the past few weeks, I’ve compiled a list of concise mini-reviews here:

Books

Tess of the d'Urbervilles (Thomas Hardy). Ugh, I did not enjoy this book. My only previous experience with Hardy (reading The Mayor of Casterbridge for a high-school assignment) was likewise an unpleasant one, but I decided to read this on the recommendation of a person whose opinion I highly regard. Sadly, said person and I must agree to disagree on this one. I did appreciate Hardy's frank, non-didactic treatment of the subject of premarital sex, as well as his vivid portraits of the pastoral life of the farming class. Yet I disliked his characters too much to sympathize with their misfortunes, which they bring entirely on themselves. In this novel, as well as in The Mayor of Casterbridge, I found an unnatural and forced abundance of tragedy and melodrama.

Castle in the Air and House of Many Ways (Diana Wynne Jones). If I had to characterize these books with a single word, I would say "delightful." Not for nothing is Jones one of the most successful and respected writers of fantasy for adults and children on either side of the pond. I held off reading these two for quite a while because, although touted as sequels to Howl's Moving Castle (one of my favorite books EVER), this is only half true. Yet I should not have waited: these books may not be direct continuations of HMC, and they may feature Sophie, Howl, and Calcifer only peripherally, but they nevertheless retain all the originality, charm, and wit of that previous work. They are the sort of books that feature characters with whom one cannot help but fall in love, and about whom one cannot read without smiling continuously and laughing outright occasionally.

Teatime for the Traditionally Built (Alexander McCall Smith). The most recent installment in the very enjoyable "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" series does not disappoint. These books are rather like the literary equivalent of comfort food: simple, wholesome, and emotionally charged. Each novel in the series serves up the same basic dish, but it is invariably delicious. I love the reliable comfort of these familiar characters, with all their quirks and foibles. This tenth book features, among other things, another fabulous episode in the hilariously epic rivalry between Mma Makutsi (my favorite character, btw) and the elegant yet evil Violet Sephotho. Niether the series in general nor this book in particular are particularly strong in terms of tight plotting, but what they lack in that quarter they somehow make up for in general awesomeness. It's just hard to go too wrong with a story about the first and only female detective agency in the bright and beautiful country of Botswana.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (Jane Austin and Seth Grahame-Smith). Yeah, that’s right: I read it. I figured the bizarre-0-factor alone would be worth the price of admission, and as an oddity of popular fiction it was pretty entertaining. Just take one look at the cover, and you’ll learn all you need to know about this unholy marriage of a regency romance and a gruesome gore-fest. Not everybody’s cup of tea, to be sure, but I personally was kind of excited about the idea. Still, the actual execution of said idea leaves a little to be desired. If you’re going to go as far as to transport Austen’s beloved characters into a zombie-infested alternate universe, you may as well play around with the story a bit. Grahame-Smith leaves the original story completely in tact, and just sprinkls in the zombie action here and there. Also, the discrepancy between his capabilities as a writer and those of Austen herself are as decidedly pronounced as that which exists between their choices in subject matter. P&P&Z contains just a few too many glaring grammatical errors and typos for a book written in the style of the early nineteenth century. Somebody needs to inform the author that those who truly wish to emulate Austen’s prose do not end their sentences with prepositions, nor do they split their infinitives. They just don’t.

Manga

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, vol 3 (Nagaru Tanigawa). My feelings about this volume are pretty much consistent with my reactions to the previous two volumes: generally positive. I absolutely love the whole Haruhi franchise (here's why), but I must recommend the animated version over the manga adaptation as being the higher quality and generally better presentation of the story and characters. Still, volume three will continue to entertain those already hooked on Haruhi, especially since it features a really great sequence from the light novels that did not appear in the anime. Get your fix of ironic chaos and surreal mayhem in volume three of The Melencholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, in which Kyon and the gang deal with more wild ambitions and violent mood swings from their beautiful, fearless, and insane leader. Expect baseball, group shopping, and time travel.

Fushigi Yuugi, Volume 2 VIZBIG Edition (Yuu Watase). When I bought the previously released VIZBIG edition of this series, which contained volumes 1-3 of the series, I wrote a long-ish post about why I though Fushigi Yuugi withstands the test of time in spite of all its cliched storylines and dated artwork. This second VIZBIG installment, containing volumes 4-6, continues to entertain and to amuse. Additionally, volume four introduces my absolute favorite character in the series. I know Tamahome and Hotohori are considered the main heartthrobs of Fushigi Yuugi, but I'm a Tasuki girl all the way. Actually, now that I think about it, he may be tied with Nuriko for my no. 1 favorite FY character. They're both so side-splittingly hilarious, and yet endearing as well. Fushigi Yuugi has many flaws, but I still consider it to be a real gem of a series.

Bride of the Water God, volumes 2 & 3 (Yun Mi-Gyung). This manhwa is a stellar example of a series that doesn’t quite live up to all of its amazing potential. The artwork is strikingly gorgeous, the mythology is intriguing and complex, and the characters and premise are dramatic and interesting. Yet most of the time Bride of the Water God turns out to be more of a hot mess than anything else. All the elements of an incredible series are present; they just don’t all come together as nicely as they could. The plot is often confusing and unfocused. Still, at its heart BotWG is a very good folk/fairy-tale, something for which I am a total sucker. Also, the plot starts to pick up more in volume 3, what Mui’s strange bargain and Soah’s resulting return to Earth, so we’ll see what happens.

Ouran High School Host Club vol. 12 (Hatori Bisco). I’ve been reading this series online as it’s been released, so I already know that it’s around this point in the story (volume twelve) that things really start to pick up, plotwise. Readers who’ve been patient throughout volumes and volumes of filler arcs with no end in sight will start to be rewarded with some real romantic action from here on out. Not that those filler arcs aren’t great in and of themselves; quite the opposite, really. That’s what makes this series such a joy to read. Even when the plot is spiraling off into a seemingly random vortex of nonsense, it’s still character-driven and that’s what really counts. OHSHC is one of those series with which it is difficult to go wrong: consistently funny, endearing, and well-drawn even when the plot defies the boundaries of the plausible.

Dramas

Sons of Sol Pharmacy House (aka My Too Perfect Sons). This weekend drama, currently in the second half of its fifty-episode run on KBS, has got the market cornered on hilarious, heartwarming family drama, not to mention some of the best romantic comedy storylines I’ve seen in a very long time. The cast exhibits a wide variety of talent, the show is well written, and each episode is fun fun FUN to watch. I find myself truly caring about these characters, oftentimes laughing aloud at their antics, and once or twice I’ve even cried at some of the more touching moments. This show is such a wonderful breath of fresh air compared to some of the dud dramas I’ve watched recently.

Television

“True Blood”, season two. Holy canoli, has this show taken off in season two! I’m a fan of the novels on which the show is based, but after watching the first season I was kind of on the fence about whether or not to tune in for more this summer, but boy am I glad I did. This summer, True Blood has significantly improved in both quality and popularity when compared to season one. Not only are there some great new characters, including the newly-turned teen vamp Jessica and the mythically evil maenad Maryann, but some old characters also get more development and backstory, such as the now-short-haired Eric (yay!) I know that Eric in the show will never be what he is in the books, but I’m really starting to like what Skarsgard and the show’s creators are doing with this manifestation of him. Anna Paquin continues to bring fire and life to the character of Sookie, but male lead Stephen Moyer and his character, Bill, continue to irk me. Still, True Blood’s really an ensemble show, and one to which I look forward to watching each week with much anticipation.

“Dollhouse”, unaired episode 14, “Epitaph One.” The much-hyped fourteenth episode of Dollhouse’s first season turned out to be my favorite episode yet. Set in the not-so-distant post-apocalyptic future that results directly from Dollhouse imprinting technology, “Epitaph One” was fifty minutes of intensely riveting entertainment that would have made zero sense to anyone who missed the rest of the season. It actually made it seem as though season one was little more that an introduction to the main action of season two, perhaps of the whole series. That would be a good thing as far as I’m concerned. I am no officially looking forward to season two; I dare say we might expect great things from this show yet.

Theater

Disney presents “The Lion King” on Broadway. Gosh, what could I possibly say about this show that hasn’t already been said? It was amazing, of course, just as everybody said it would be. But what really got me wasn’t so much the costumes, perhaps because I was expecting that, but just the overall presentation of the story. They took a cartoon movie and, rather than creating a literal translation from screen to stage (as with other Disney musicals), they created a truly theatrical interpretation of the original film and used animal characters to tell a powerfully moving and very human story. I’ll admit that I cried, and I’m not ashamed. Plus, the music was great. I have three new favorite songs. Too bad the tickets cost about an arm and a leg. Each.

'Capital Scandal' is kind of a mixed bag

Capital Scandal (경성스캔들), a.k.a. Scandal in Old Seoul, is an interesting series in that it somewhat defies the strictures of the typical kdrama genres by featuring subject matter rather unique to the drama scene (namely the Korean independence movement of the 20s and 30s.) Although this is a movement and historical period about which I know pretty much zilch, I enjoyed the way the drama mixed romantic comedy with the intrigue and danger of freedom fighting during the time of the Japanese occupation. Unfortunately the production values of ‘Scandal’ weren’t particularly high compared to many other period dramas, and the repetitiveness of certain unfunny side storylines did seriously irritate. However, I very much appreciated the (from my perspective) fresh and different story and subject matter, as well as the stellar acting of the main leads (well, three out of four of them anyways). Han Ji-Min (who played the sweet, conscientious Shin-Bi in Dae Jang Geum) stars as Na Yeo-Kyung, an amusingly austere yet earnest young woman who works in a bookshop and becomes involved with an underground group working to undermine Japanese authority in the capital. She’s young and pretty, but has a reputation for being harsh and uncompromising, and has earned the nickname Jo Ma-Ja (which stands for the “last woman of Joseon (old Korea)”. Just to give an example of her attitude, there’s one pretty funny scene after she’s gotten together with Kang Ji-Hwan’s character in which she tells him that even if they get married she won’t sleep with him until after the country’s been liberated. His response? “Geez, everything's about liberation with you!” Kang Ji-Hwan’s a big A-list movie and drama star, but I mostly know him from last year’s Hong Gil Dong. Here he plays Seon Woo-Wan, a rascally sort of rich boy loafer who nevertheless has a really good heart and a somewhat troubled past. He initially clashes with the bluntly disapproving Yeo-Kyung, but is soon drawn to her kindness and bravery, which he eventually comes to cherish and emulate. KJH did an excellent job of bringing real playfulness and charisma to this character, which might have been flat or boring in the hands of another actor. Plus, his Woo-Wan had really cute chemistry with Yeo-Kyung.

Han Go-Eun plays Cha Song-Joo, a prominent gisaeng (female entertainer) and friend of Woo-Wan who secretly leads the local faction of the freedom-fighting group that recruits Yeo-Kyung. Ostensibly the perfect model of a “modern woman” who panders to the authority of the Japanese, Song-Joo has harbored a deep-rooted hatred for the system ever since she was sold to the gisaeng house as a young girl. I really like Song-Joo; she’s the kind of really cool woman that every girl wants for her unni. Life dealt her a pretty sucky hand, but she turned into a really strong person for it. Not to mention her unflappable, cool demeanor and glamorous image.

Ryu Jin plays Lee Su-Hyun, a mysterious man connected to the pasts of both Song-Joo and Woo-Wan who suddenly reappears in both of their lives as a high-ranking official of the Japanese police force. They both feel betrayed and confused by the actions of the cold and inscrutable Su-Hyun, but there may be more to this man than meets the eye. I liked Ryu Jin a lot better in this role than in I Really Really Like You (he certainly has better hair here), but I still think he’s pretty stiff and unengaging as an actor. Fortunately, his character was pretty tight-lipped so it didn’t make that much of a difference.

Another thing about Capital Scandal was the distinctive lack of love-triangles as plot machinations. True, there were little jealousies here and there due to circumstances, but there was no genuine romantic competition to hinder the development of our two main couples. It’s not like I’ve got anything against love- triangles when they’re done really well (just look at how much I adored Delightful Girl Choon-Hyang). It’s just that this show had a lot of other things going on to balance out the romance.

Like I said, the production values of this drama weren’t the highest. The 1920s setting was really fun, but the costumes tended to be a little too costume-y, and the sets reminded me a lot of the fake streetscapes at Disney World. Another unfortunate element of the drama was the prevalence of not-so-funny slapstick gags. Maybe it’s just an issue of personal taste, but I gotta say that long before the end I was severely tempted to fast forward through any scene in which Sachiko and/or the Arashi employees even showed up. (I frequently succumbed to that temptation and don’t think my enjoyment of the series was the worse for it.) I enjoyed the drama most when it was able to find a nice middle ground, although it did have a tendency to swing to extremes. By that I mean I enjoyed the moments of lighter humor and understated melancholy a lot more than the over-the-top slapstick and melodrama, which were also present. All that being said, however, I did enjoy the overall look and feel of the show, perhaps simply because it was unlike other dramas I’ve seen and because it was a lot of fun. Capital Scandal was a very mixed bag for me, but I’m still glad I watched it all the way through.

Capital Scandal originally aired in 2007 on KBS2. The theme song is really catchy, makes me want to swing dance:

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Last note: the supporting cast of this drama was kind of like a review of all the dramas I’ve ever seen. Kang Nam-Gil (Who Are You?, Bad Family, Goong, Return of Iljimae), Kim Hye Ok (I Really Really Like You, Flowers For My Life, Sons of Sol Pharmacy House), Ahn Suk-Hwan (Boys Before Flowers, Painter of the Wind, Hong Gil Dong, Delightful Girl Choon-Hyang), Phillip Choi (Soulmate), and Lee Kyung-Jin (Dal Ja’s Spring) all appear in Capital Scandal.