Oct
14
2011
As mentioned earlier, I will be featuring and reviewing mangas (Japanese comics) that I’ve been reading recently. The manga type that I’m partial to at the moment is shoujo or manga targeted to teenage females with a strong focus on romance and human relationships although I grew up poring over Dragon Ball, Slam Dunk, Detective Conan and Doraemon.
One of the first shoujo mangas that I like is Hana Kimi. The mangaka (manga artist) is Nakajo Hisaya and has a total of 23 volumes. Do note that I will be writing the names in the Japanese/Korean/Chinese style, which is family name first followed by the given name.
Synopsis
Ashiya Mizuki, an American-born Japanese teenage girl idolises Japanese high jump athlete Sano Izumi when she first set sight of him during a track and field competition on television. Her admiration leads her to go all the way to Japan alone to attend the same high school, Osaka Gakuen, as him. The only catch is that she has to disguise herself as a male student in order to enrol in the all-boys’ school! We then follow her as she goes through the ups and downs of high school life while attempting to keep her secret with a good dose of romance thrown into the crazy mix 
Main Characters
Ashiya Mizuki
Born and raised in the city of Berkeley, California. Her father is a veterinarian while her mother is a dance/aerobics instructor. She has a stepbrother of American-Japanese mixed parentage from her father’s previous marriage who is a medical doctor and is overly protective of his little sister. A natural talent as a track athlete but is otherwise a total klutz and a touch dim-dim-witted. She is partial to sweet food and drinks, frugal and loves animals which led her to pursue a career path as an animal trainer after high school graduation. Her admiration of Sano Izumi as a talented athlete develops into love as she gets to knows him in person. They are classmates and both share the same dorm room. This situation lead to many awkward moments between them as she tries to conceal her gender while unbeknownst to her, he accidentally found out about her true identity early on while helping her when she fainted during a football (soccer) match with Nakatsu Shuichi. Sano Izumi feels the same way for her but he hides his feelings to protect her secret. Although she is warm-hearted, frank and trusting in nature, her naivety has nearly thrown her into trouble many times and Sano Izumi is always there to help her out.
Sano Izumi
A talented high-jump athlete, he quit after being injured while saving his team captain from being hit by a car. When he was a child, his parents were involved in a car accident which killed his mother. Since then, his father who is a national high-jump athlete turned coach, became very strict with him and his younger brother resulting in Sano Izumi moving out of the family home. Thus, his relationship with his family is estranged and he showers his affection towards his dog. He has many friends in school but none whom he confides in. After getting to know Ashiya Mizuki, he found the courage to start high-jumping competitively again. With her positive influence in his life, Sano Izumi becomes more open to people, makes some close friends and mends his relationship with his family. He hates anything sweet, takes a long time in the bathroom and is oblivious to the many admiration that he receives from both males and females. He is protective of Ashiya Mizuki after discovering her secret and looks out for her although he gets exasperated by her absent-mindedness. Sharing the same room and being in love with her has also tested his self-control many times. At the end, after Ashiya Mizuki left for the US, he kept his promise of following and being together with her, mirroring her early decision of coming to Japan to be with him.
Nakatsu Shuichi
He is a promising football (soccer) player from Osaka and obtained a football scholarship to attend Osaka Gakuen. Proud of his heritage, he often uses Kansai dialect and introduces Osaka specialty food to his friends. In order to look like his favourite football player, he dyed his hair blonde. A very loud, transparent and emotional person, most of his friends like to tease him harmlessly. Nakatsu Shuichi’s ambition to become a professional football player clashes with his mother’s wish for him to take over the family restaurant business. However, after seeing how serious and persistent he is in pursuing his dream, his mother relented. He is one of Ashiya Mizuki’s earliest friends in Osaka Gakeun and they develop a close friendship. He falls in love with Ashiya Mizuki but struggles with his supposed homosexual feelings towards her. We see that after high school graduation, he becomes an up-and-coming professional football player.
Umeda Hokuto
The school doctor. Even though he is in the medical profession, he has a number of vices such as smoking and drinking. All the students are fearful of him as he is bad-tempered and rough in treating his patients. The only person he truly fears is his older sister, Nanba Minami’s mother, as she has been bullying him since young. A very good-looking man, many ladies admire him but he has no interest as he is homosexual. Although he has a number of casual relationships, the person that he loves is his good friend and former high schoolmate Kijima Ryoichi. He and Sano Izumi were the earliest people to discover Ashiya Mizuki’s gender. She frequently visits him in his office to talk and seek his advice. Umeda Hokuto acts as a mentor to her and towards the end, he becomes fond of her.
Nanba Minami
The head of the dormitory where our three main characters are staying and is one year their senior. Sharing the same good looks as his uncle Umeda Hokuto, he prides himself as a ladies’ man to the annoyance of Sano Izumi and Nakatsu Shuichi. We see that when he was in middle school, he fell in love with an older girl (Umeda Hokuto’s university junior) who tutored him. However, the girl left him and since then, he is not able to sustain any committed relationship. Although he may seem like a frivolous person, he is actually pretty sensible and has a strong sense of responsibility towards his juniors and dorm-mates. He protected Ashiya Mizuki when her identity was discovered by the dorm heads and later in school, and even handed over his position as dorm head to her which she declined. At the end, he became a model.
Review
I was keen to read Hana Kimi after reading in a blogsite that the plotline was similar to the Korean drama, Sungkyunkwan Scandal, that I was watching at that time. The drama was good what with the pretty cast with decent acting skills, beautiful cinematography and strong premise. Well, the manga had the same plot of girl disguising as a guy to enrol into an all-boys school but that’s about it. The manga is beautifully drawn to highlight the characters’ looks, background settings and even the fashion. Illustration is really important (at least for me) because it enhances the whole reading experience. Probably after going through Hana Kimi, you wouldn’t want to look twice at a guy who is ugly or shorter than 180 cm, haha! Putting aside the absurdity of Ashiya Mizuki’s situation, Hana Kimi is an entertaining read and I always like some romance and slapstick comedy
Putting aside the absurdity of Ashiya Mizuki’s situation, Hana Kimi is an entertaining read and I always like some romance and slapstick comedy If I had a bone to pick it would be the denseness of the female protagonist. There were quite a number of times when I wanted to strangle her for being so, how shall I say it, dumb. Besides that, doing all these crazy stuff for a guy is a BIG no-no in my (and any sane person’s) books. Her stubbornness in sticking with the male protagonist despite the dangers and troubles borders on being embarrassing. Well, I guess this kind of character is cute on paper or onscreen but thank goodness we now have more heroines who are cute AND either has street or book smarts because if it wasn’t, I will become a diehard feminist!
Oct
12
2011
Episode 1 : First Time
We open with Jeong Yoo Jin (CHOI JI WOO) running late for school. She catches up with her childhood friend Kim Sang Hyuk (PARK YONG HA) but only she manages to get into the crowded bus. After finally getting a seat at the end of the bus, she inadvertently falls asleep on someone’s shoulder and is rudely awakened by him. They both miss their stop and decide to share a taxi. Yoo Jin rushes into school but gets punished by the much feared Disciplinary teacher together with her best friend and classmate Jin Seok (LEE HYE EUN) while a nonchalant Mr. Shoulder takes a cigarette break before walking in.
In class, a new student is introduced and is none other Mr. Shoulder Kang Joon Sang (BAE YONG JOON). He’s a transfer student from a Science School in Seoul, to the oohs and aahs of the rest (I’m guessing it’s not easy to get into that type of school). Intriguingly, Joon Sang glares at class president Sang Hyuk. During break-time, the girls are busy checking out and admiring the new guy. Seems like the perfect guy; a top student, winner of the National Maths Olympiad and good looking to boot. Oh Che Rin (PARK SOL MI) vows to make him hers only to get a very stony silent response. Sang Hyuk get the same silent treatment too while asking him which club he wants to be affiliated with. Yoo Jin follows him out and takes him to task for being stuck-up. Seeing Sang Hyuk coming out, Joon Sang replies that he will join the same club as him, which is the school radio broadcast.
Everyone’s busy at the radio room except for Joon Sang stewing in his own juice. The sound system is not working, and everybody panics for fear of incurring the wrath of the teacher-in-charge who happens to be the Disciplinary teacher. And who should come to the rescue but Mr Angsty himself (seems he can do everything, eh?). Yoo Jin deduces that Joon Sang joined the club because of Sang Hyuk which he dismisses laughingly. Yoo Jin jumps and walks on the side bar as per her habit and Sang Hyuk attempts to take her hand. She refuses saying that she will only take the hand of the person that she likes. Meanwhile, in the school library, Joon Sang looks through an old school yearbook and compares two pictures which match with a torn photo of his, showing his mother and a man.
The man turns out to be Sang Hyuk’s father who is a maths professor at a university. Joon Sang goes into the lecture hall while he is teaching. Professor Kim asks for a volunteer to solve a question he posed, and Joon Sang does it brilliantly. Surprised to see that he’s only a high school student, Prof. Kim asks what he was doing here and Joon Sang replies that he came out of curiosity. Joon Sang goes home where his mother is awaiting him. Kang Mi Sook is a pianist who travels extensively for concert performances. While having a meal together, it is disclosed that he purposely moved here to find out about his father before leaving for the US. We can see that this issue is an ongoing conflict between mother and son, and Miss Kang replies curtly that his father is dead. In contrast, it is a happy domestic scene at the Kim family’s dinner table while Joon Sang watches from the outside.
The next day, Yoo Jin and Joon Sang are late again for school and she comes up with a plan to scale the school wall. There’s an awkward moment when she stumbles into his arms while jumping down. Flustered, she reminds him that they were on broadcast duty during lunch time, which as expected, he doesn’t turn up for. This guy has a phD in pissing off people, huh? A hungry and angry Yoo Jin rants on the school radio about a certain selfish person causing her much discomfort and to cheer herself up, she plays ‘Dancing Queen’ by ABBA:
Click to play ABBA – Dancing Queen
Unbeknowst to her, Joon Sang is getting free entertainment secretly watching Miss Karaoke Queen. Mortified, she tries to cover up her embarrassment while Joon Sang opens her sketchbook and is impressed by her skills. Of course Yoo Jin screeches at him not to look but as this guy gets his kicks seeing her riled up, he sneakily puts them on air and her shouting fills the whole school to everyone’s shock. Sang Hyuk and best friend Yong Gook (RYU SEUNG SOO) rushes into the room only to find Yoo Jin walking out and Joon Sang looking back at them innocently.
During piano lesson, the teacher prods Joon Sang to play the test piece, but Yoo Jin speaks up that he was a new student. At volleyball practice (we are running the whole gamut of school, huh?) Joon Sang is playing aggressively to the point of pushing Sang Hyuk whose on the same team while scoring a goal. Joon Sang scoffs at Sang Hyuk’s remarks that they have to work as a team when winning is what matters and calls him a bookworm. Walking back from school, Joon Sang sees Sang Hyuk and Yoo Jin being very chummy. Che Lin joins him and comments that even though they say that they’re childhood friends, everyone knows that they’re an item. Somehow, she gets it into her head that Joon Sang has the hots for her which he swiftly corrects her and calls her delusional (I’m with you on that buddy).
At night, Yoo Jin passes some stuff to her mom who works in the night market selling clothes; mother-daughter relationship is close. Yoo Jin meets a drunk man who tries to make a pass on her at an alley. She’s saved by Joon Sang who had dinner nearby. Joon Sang gets punched in the face and Yoo Jin chips in to help. All of them are dragged to the police station and they discover that both have no fathers. After their release, Yoo Jin buys ointment for Joon Sang and asks about his father; her father died of illness. Joon Sang suddenly asks whether she likes Sang Hyuk. She denies and says that they’re like family as both of their fathers were high school buddies which perks his interest. She then tries to pry asking the reason for his transfer which he coolly brushes her off. Pissed off, she walks off in a huff leaving an amused and smiling Joon Sang.
Both have battle wounds to show at school with Yoo Jin having a bandage on her neck and Joon Sang on his face. This of course raises suspicions among the gang while Yoo Jin and Joon Sang exchange secret smiles. Later, Yoo Jin brings Joon Sang to an empty music room. She tells him that she will return the favour of last night’s help by teaching him to play the test piece. She plays and Joon Sang looks at her admiringly until she forgets one part. He continues playing the piece flawlessly much to her amazement. Then he plays ‘First Time’ for her:
(Sigh sigh sigh, a guy playing the piano well is just sooooo attractive! What would the thousands of moony-eyed and slack-jawed ahjummas do to be in Yoo Jin’s seat)
Joon Sang espies Sang Hyuk searching for Yoo Jin. There and then, he asks Yoo Jin to go somewhere with him. Sang Hyuk sees Yoo Jin and Joon Sang walking together to Joon Sang’s smug satisfaction.
They take a bus. She opens the window to enjoy the breeze with her flying hair sweeping over his face resulting in Joon Sang experiencing conflicting emotions. The place where they’re headed is absolutely beautiful with a lake and stately tall trees forming natural pillars and arches. As they enjoy this scenic park, Joon Sang gets more entranced by Yoo Jin.
He then asks her whether she’s heard of the story about the shadow land:
JS: This guy went to the land of shadows. Everyone was a shadow so no one talked to him. Therefore he was very lonely.
YJ: (Laughs) At first, I thought you were strange because you’re always brooding, full of resentment and wanting to be alone. You could have some friends.
JS: I don’t need any friends.
YJ: Do you want to know how to make friends? Simple, just reach out one step at a time, like this.
And she proceeds to demonstrate by walking on a piece of fallen tree trunk. She nearly slips and Joon Sang stretches out his hand, ‘Take my hand. You said one step at a time’. And with a meaningful glance, she does.
After a carefree time:
YJ: Did you find who you were looking for?
JS: Yes.
YJ: Who is it?
JS: My father.
YJ: He’s not dead? How does it feel to meet him?
JS: I don’t know. Initially, I had no feelings about it. I was just curious to know what he was like. He didn’t recognise me…It would be nice if he did. I guess I’m still harboring feelings of hatred.
YS: But even so, it is good to have a (living) father.
Late at night, JS walks Yoo Jin home and they see Sang Hyuk waiting at the gate. Professor Kim arrives for Yoo Jin’s father’s memorial service which was today. Chagrined, Yoo Jin rushes in while Joon Sang leaves without a word and broods at a park holding the torn photo. Meanwhile, Yoo Jin’s younger sister Hee Jin looks through a photo album. We see the same complete photo except Joon Sang’s mom is holding on to Yoo Jin’s dad’s arm. Dun, dun, dun…
Oct
12
2011
Yup, you read that right. After some thought, I decided to try my hand at my very first drama recap. Why you may ask? Well, I’ve had a long standing love for Korean dramas for more than a decade and being inspired, entertained and kept up-to-date and informed by wonderful blog sites like Dramabeans, I thought why not try doing the same here and share my interest (on top of others) with my readers too? If you have been reading this site, I’ve featured a few Korean dramas like Boys over Flowers and 3 Dads 1 Mom but those were just synopsis.
Then was the question of which drama(s) to recap. As most of the drama blog sites mainly feature new or currently airing dramas, I decided that I will focus on classic Korean dramas that are fondly remembered by viewers. And one of the dramas that instantly come to mind is Winter Sonata, the catalyst of the Hallyu or Korean Wave of tsunami-like proportions. Just a warning; I know there are some out there who utterly detest this drama. So if you’re one of them, don’t torture yourself by going through the recap, okay? (unless you’re a masochist)
Recapping a drama is decidedly much harder than I expected. Firstly, I had to write out a draft of the episode followed by proof reading and editing. Then I had to screen-cap the recap scenes and later discard those images which were not needed before inserting them. Mind you, this time-consuming process is for one episode only! But all in all, I had much fun doing this Furthermore, my respect for drama recappers has increased tremendously considering the time and effort that they put in. Some recaps are even more entertaining than watching the drama itself! And it beats me how some can churn out drama recaps speedily like cows churning milk, haha
If you have watched Winter Sonata more than a dozen times, I hope you will enjoy each moment again here. And for those who have never watched it and are interested, welcome to this magical and dreamy drama that has captured the hearts of viewers all over the world…
Oct
6
2011
Yo yo, I am on the roll with the cooking posts, yo! 
Well, I love sharing recipes here with my readers. Most of these (Korean and non-Korean dishes) are what I usually cook so they are not out-of-the ordinary or once in a blue moon kind of thing that I whip up. Therefore, the two most important criteria before I prepare a meal is taste and BUDGET. We as a family have a pasta meal once in a week or fortnight. It’s easy to prepare what with being able to buy all sorts of pastas and prepared sauces straight off the hypermarkets’ shelves. Another BIG plus factor is that ND loves eating pasta
For this recipe, I used a short-cut and cheap method of preparing the cream sauce with a can of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup. If you peruse the list of ingredients below, you will note that many of the items are inexpensive and available at your neighbourhood store.
Ingredients:
Any pasta of your choice (I used spaghetti)
Garlic, chopped
Onions, chopped
Minced Meat
1 can of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup
1 Red Bell Pepper, remove seeds and chopped
6 -7 Champignon Mushrooms, sliced thinly (I usually buy them canned but you can use fresh white button mushrooms)
Mature Cheddar Cheese, grated
Paprika powder
Chili powder (optional)
Dried Basil (the fresh version is better)
Dried Rosemary (refer to dried basil)
Salt
Pepper
Cornstarch powder
Olive Oil
Method:
1. Marinade minced meat with some salt, pepper and cornstarch powder. Set aside marinated meat in the fridge for a few hours (or if you are running short of time, about 10 to 30 minutes).
2. Put some oil in a cooking pot and saute chopped garlic and onion. Add marinated meat and stir-fry the meat. Make sure you use the frying ladle to press on and separate meat clumps.
3. When meat is just cooked through (you don’t see the pinkish colour of raw meat), add sliced mushrooms and chopped red bell peppers. Stir-fry for a couple of minutes. Sprinkle some paprika powder, chili powder, dried basil and dried rosemary, and stir into the meat and vegetables’ mixture.
4. Pour in the can of soup and half a can of water into the pot. Make sure that you stir the sauce constantly over medium fire. When the sauce begins to bubble, turn the fire on low, cover the pot and let the sauce simmer for a few minutes.
(Note: At this time, you will see that the pasta sauce has a nice red tint due to the red bell pepper and paprika powder. I love vibrant colours especially in food! )
5. Stir in the grated cheese and turn off the fire. Your pasta sauce is done!
6. Boil and prepare the pasta as per package instructions. Toss the prepared pasta in some olive oil and salt.
Just pour the sauce over the pasta, add some grated cheese on top if you like, and there you have a meal ready to go, go, GO!
Oct
5
2011
Hello peeps! This post will be featuring one of the most recognisable Korean dishes called Japchae. It is basically sweet potato starch noodles mixed together with stir-fried meat and vegetables. You can serve japchae as a side dish (banchan in Korean) or eaten as a main dish. ’Jap’ literally means mixed and stirred while ‘chae’ is vegetables. I found this dish to be relatively easy to prepare and an important tip is to use lots of vegetables and meat to make the noodles VERY delicious!
Ingredients:
1/2 packet of sweet potato starch noodles (250g)
Light soy sauce
Sesame oil
Sugar
Salt
Pepper
Cornstarch
1 small carrot, cut into thin strips of 6 to 8 cm
1 bunch of baby spinach, cleaned with roots and large stems removed
1/2 large chicken breast, sliced thinly (you can use beef or pork)
6 fresh white button mushrooms, sliced thinly
1 Egg, beaten (add some salt and pepper into the mixture)
1 Onion, sliced
Garlic, chopped finely/minced
1 bunch of spring onions, cut into 6 cm
Toasted sesame seeds
Method:
1. Marinade the meat with some soy sauce, salt, pepper, sugar, sesame oil and cornstarch. Set aside in the fridge for a few hours (if you don’t have much time, you can marinade the meat between 10 to 30 minutes).
2. Stir-fry marinated meat with minced garlic and sliced mushrooms until cooked through. Put aside.
3. Stir-fry sliced onion, carrot strips and spring onion strips. Add soy sauce and pepper to taste. Put aside.
4. Fry beaten egg over medium-low fire until just cooked. Cut the omelette into 6-8 cm strips. Put aside.
5. Boil cleaned spinach in boiling salted water for 1-2 minutes. Rinse boiled spinach 3 times over running cold water and squeeze water from spinach. Add minced garlic, soy sauce and sesame oil, and mixed together with the spinach. Put aside.
(Note: Step 5 is the recipe to make a popular Korean banchan called sigeumchi namul or spinach side dish. Isn’t it cool that you learn how to make a new dish in one step alone? )
6. Boil the noodles in boiling salted water (you can add some oil into the water) for 6 to 7 minutes. The noodles are done when you can bite through them easily. Rinse the noodles briefly in running cold water. Use a scissors to cut up the noodles into manageable lengths and toss the noodles in sesame oil, sugar and soy sauce.
7. Lastly, add toasted sesame seeds, stir-fried meat and vegetables into the seasoned noodles and mix them all up!
You can serve the japchae immediately or as a cold dish. Enjoy your meal!
Oct
3
2011
Wow, I can’t believe that I haven’t been updating this blog like, forever and ever (I know, my bad!) Of course I can give the old and worn out excuse of being a busy bee mother but the truth is that other interests and attractions were keeping my attention away from this place. Initially I wanted to just shut down this blog (it costs money just to keep this website in existence) but my beloved hubby said, ‘No way Jose! You better continue writing to keep out of mischief missy!’ So you can blame him if you were rejoicing that you have heard the last of me haha! It’s pretty amazing how I almost perfected the art of monologue, huh?
Here are some of the things I may blog about:
- Food – when I became a new mother, I did not have much time to cook. Thankfully, as ND is getting bigger and hence more manageable, I am cooking again like before. The only thing I need to do is to remember to take some photos of the dishes.
- Manga reviews – that’s my latest interest
- Drama/Movie reviews
- Food reviews
- Book reviews
- Ramblings
Hope your visit here will be an enjoyable one!
Recent Comments