Ultra Fan Guide to Lee Ji Eun (IU)
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| Click here for more Dramas adapted from Manga/Manhwa/Webtoon. 209 titles, List by Haitakaz. |
안녕하세요,여러분!! | Hello, everyone! I'm Pudding and welcome to my second article! My initial idea for this article was supposed to be "if Junji Ito Manga were a K-drama" (Junji Ito fans put your hands up!), but I decided to look into manga overall, and their potential to be mainstream Korean Drama Favorites! |
Anime/Manga fans often dislike most live actions of their favorites. It's always controversial and open for discussion as to why, but it is mostly because of the following reasons: directors not knowing anything regarding anime, manga and its essence (western companies), too much anime-ish acting that's unnecessary, changes of plot to fit reality, too much CGI to create fighting scenes which is impossible to translate from anime to live, and most of all, WIGS! AAAAAh!
We can't please everyone! and we can't turn every anime to live actions! Directors and companies should stop taking famous anime/manga and create impossible live actions for them. There is a limit as to what we could make into reality, that is why there is the ANIME "medium" to make those impossibilities possible! |
 These are just a few examples of live actions, and I noticed that most western live actions are actually the ones we dislike the most! Well, Alita,Battle Angel was okay. I tried to see the movie as it was, separate from its anime and it worked! It was okay. My favorite live action has to be Rurouni Kenshin, the first movie. I acknowledge that the following movies after the first one are also okay, not the best, but it's really good considering the anime's elements can be interpreted into reality easily, and that 's why Kenshin works as a live action! Tokyo Ghoul the live action is also one of the few good live actions adapted from the manga. It even includes some scenes that didn't made it to the anime! It's pretty good, and the production is also good, definitely worth mentioning as a good example! Another mention of one of the best live action production (Japanese) is Alice in Borderland (Imawa no Kuni no Alice) . For those who haven't read the manga, it can be very different from the live action, but the essence of its plot, the live action itself works as an independent film that we can accept as something that's just 'based off' or 'inspired' from the manga and it works so well! (Season 2 is out!) In conclusion, only Japan has made live actions work.  Most live actions that worked were from Japanese companies and creators. Although I really love Japanese dramas as well, I really find Korean Drama/Movie production better at presentation than any other countries' production, just as an average of most of their works I've watched. I'm not saying other Asian countries are lesser, it's because the Korean production has potential to go beyond their own works. And it definitely has the potential to compete in the West!  It's not unnecessarily expensive, the music and sound directing are considered really important, the actors, you know. Is this me being biased? Maybe. As far as I know I devour every good story I stumble upon and I've eaten more Korean drama/movies than any of other live/real production there is!  What I'm essentially saying is, why don't we find Mangas, (which I think is the medium with the best plots) and turn them into K drama/Movies? (which i think is the best in terms of live presentation). Please note I'm not in any way a professional in the movie/drama making industry. The closest thing I could ever get is that I'm an avid watcher of Movies and Dramas for almost 12 years, and I'm also a beginner Novel writer. If I say nonsense things, please close your eyes, take a deep breath, and proceed to the next sentence instead. Thank you. Haha! Anyway... let's start~ |
Let's take some Korean Dramas with amazing features! |
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One of the things they should be proud of, is Korea is one of the best when it comes to CGI/special effects. I believe they are leading in Asia, together with Japan. We're only talking about the example's CGI and why they're excellent at it, not the story *cough Hellbound *cough. |     |
Korea makes crazy preparations for dramas and movies. It might be the reason why they don't settle for cheap CGI. Korean viewers are also harsh critics and tend to criticize movies with unfavorable presentation and/or story. Sweet Home uses CGI in all of the "monsters" featured in the drama. If you've read the webtoon, the monsters actually depict a certain weirdness/strangeness to the monsters that wasn't really carried over to the live, but what it did was creating its own uniqueness, which was executed well. Like the monsters gained more grotesqueness. It was like the drama made a soul of its own, separate from the webtoon. (Although the characters' story and subplots' changes were disappointing, very different from the webtoon, it was a great watch.) (Link to twitter where user Jay compares the webtoon monsters to the live ones.) Sweet Home as a live action works, because of the changes it has made with its presentation of the monsters featured. This alone takes example on how we could take a uniquely plotted story and turn them into a live action without ruining the intention of that aspect. Hellbound uses CGI with the monsters/creatures that "collect" the souls of those who are hellbound (by burning them? They seem to be incinerated after it!). The drama, for me, uses amazing sounds as well. After I watched the drama, it felt so lacking, so dragged, and boring until the last bits. It was dragged and I was left to wonder. I didn't like most of it and I only watched it because of Yoo Ah In, I should've waited for season 2 first. Anyway, the CGI was amazing, Hellbound really has amazing CGI. Didn't you all loved the trailer because of it? and disliked it because of the story? well, me too. See, if we could just take amazing plots with this presentation such as Hellbound, no amazing plot will ever be put to waste. tsk tsk. All of Us are Dead, and Train to Busan uses Special effects make up on zombies! These are the type of zombies I'm afraid of-- those who can run! I also want to mention Happiness, #Alive, Kingdom, Rampant and more! Oh Korean zombies, you are all so fit! :D Have you seen how zombie actors take workshops on how to be zombies? It's both funny and amazing at the same time! It's funny because there wasn't make up effects yet, and amazing, cause they were all like zombies even without make up. The preparation! the preparation! |
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If you didn't know, Korean dramas and movies record and overlay almost all of the background noises, and composes all of the music and sounds. Over the years, this has been more perfected and mastered and it has become really effective! |    |
In terms of music effects, no one actually really gives a care. Everyone just wants to hear something that doesn't bother them from watching. In short, something that greatly matches what they're currently seeing. It will only be a major disappointment if it's not matching or carelessly made, that it bothers the audience. Nonetheless, audience can still figure out which movies/drama have the best sounds in them, when it can and did greatly contribute to the experience! Most productions with great sounds are from movies, although we can expect more from thriller dramas as well! Take Squid Game, Beyond Evil as an example! and of course, the award-winning movie, Parasite. Squid Game has a very distinct and well-composed set of sounds and music similar that of a movie. This is because Jung Jae Il, a well-known music producer of Parasite, Okja, Wish, and now the new movie Broker, took the job, as that of a music composer in a movie would! This is his only drama he has worked on and is very notable, yet very promising! Squid Game as all of you know takes sounds to another level. The thrill, the whimsical parts, they're all contributing to the greater picture of the drama's overall theme or concept. |
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I don't know what to tell you in this area without mentioning Parasite, and the great director Bong Joon Ho. There are many amazing directors in Korea, but the camera panning in Parasite is phenomenal. This may mostly work for movies, but in Squid Game, there are also a lot of scenes with metaphorical or meant panning which added to its overall theme. |    |
Parasite (SPOILERS) Example 1 takes our character, arriving at the rich people's home, looking around, with continuous and circle panning of the camera to show what he's mesmerized of. Example 2's scene, if you remember, was a scene where the family was hiding from the owner's home. The panning in this scene was amazing. Everywhere the owner looked the camera quickly followed, as if we were also trying to catch them with her, but is a little late. Example 3, closing, is a scene full of devastation, where everything made more sense in the family's life and plans. It can also tell us the difference in their societal places in life, where they lived in a half-basement that gets flooded after a heavy rain, while the other well-off family stays safe and dry amidst the storm. The main ingredient in having amazing panning as this, is I think the director's love for detail and metaphorical panning to serve the audience and go that extra mile into perfecting his art. Simple panning and normal angles may easily work for RomComs and light Dramas, but for Thriller, Horror and Mystery, using more stylized angles and going extra for that scene will take the movie or drama to a higher notch, especially for scenes where suspense is needed! |
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I know there are several types of aesthetic in the world and not everyone loves cherry blossoms flying around or snow falling down, or sunset behind the eyes. So, I'm giving you guys one example of that grunge type of aesthetic similar in a thriller. My examples are repeating, forgive me. I take popular dramas and movies which I think you all might have watched. :D Aside from the RomCom ones, take these drama's aesthetic example: Squid Game Kingdom Sweet Home The Uncanny Counter Flower of Evil Move to Heaven Happiness - including this because the 'Happiness' that comes out every beginning of the episode is soooo aesthetically pleasing in all senses. |  IU is actually the main aesthetic in Hotel del Luna.  No one can argue about how Goblin provides the most iconic entrance in K-drama history.
It's okay to fall in love with these two beautiful people from It's Okay to Not Be Okay.  While You Were Sleeping snow aesthetic hug.
This is what I got from Sweet Home because I couldn't cut the scene that I really wanted to share, the one with the firefighter and the vent spider monster scene! It was amazing! (Although I put a similar one under the CGI examples!) |
It's okay even if we don't talk about this in depth. I feel like Korea has, if not, on a higher level of capacity to achieve the aesthetic we're looking for. If there are any Korean Drama or Movie that is lacking when it comes to this and it came out in the recent years, that's the only time we need to talk about something. That's why I provided you gifs instead. :D |
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IT HAS COME. The most important part of anything! Without a good story, no matter what presentation, nor how good-looking may the actors be, when it comes to a lacking story, we immediately decide to drop that Drama, and let it sink into the deepest trench of the ocean and never meet with it again. But then the hope of humanity is in Manga world. If we just consider Manga as a live action source, we could create fresh, unique, and tasty plots and support authors as well.  |
So if you read Manga, join me on this one as I take some of the Manga/Anime plots with K-Drama/Movie potential.I will try my best to find one for every common genre there is!
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ACTION |
"Daisuke Kanbe, a man of extraordinary wealth, is assigned to the Modern Crime Prevention Headquarters as a detective. It is there that he gets partnered with Haru Katou, a humane detective who values justice above all. The two are polar opposites, and their morals clash time and time again. Haru despises Daisuke for using monetary wealth to solve cases, as he believes that money isn't everything. The two will have to combine their efforts, however, to solve the mysteries that are coming their way." (source) Basically, Daisuke is a bored millionaire raining his money everywhere, anywhere, just to capture a criminal. He's so excessive and we love it! Haha~ He soon meets a partner detective who teaches him justice>money. The plot alone already has K-Drama potential, I'm crying. REASONS:
(Sources linked in pictures.) I rest my case. Haha! The pictures mean I've found great actors to play the MC, okay? Well, aside from the action aesthetic K-drama offer, I just feel like Detective Dramas are done amazingly by K-Drama. Also, I feel like if these actors were the ones who throw the cash, it's okay. It's forgivable, you know? | ||||||||||
THRILLER | ||||||||||
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I have no more good reason as to why, aside from the potential of the PLOT. One thing came to my mind is actually a setting, rather than an actor. This is A.Y Lounge bar in Seoul where most of the bar scenes are filmed.
(If you want to see more Korean Drama filmed here, here's a list. Leads to another site.)
It's really pretty and I think the atmosphere is similar to the anime.
HORROR
Tomie
Junji Ito
"In a high school classroom, students mourn the loss of one of their own: Tomie Kawakami, who has been murdered and dismembered. Shocked by the announcement of her death, the class is puzzled by the cruel fate that has befallen someone so dear to them; such a radiant and beautiful girl did not deserve such a hideous demise. However, a strikingly familiar student suddenly appears at the classroom's entrance. Gorgeous, slender, and with a beauty mark under her left eye, Tomie smiles and apologizes for being late.
But this is just the beginning of the mysteries surrounding this seemingly inhuman woman. The men unlucky enough to catch her eye become smitten with her instantly, but also become driven by a dark impulse to dismember her, one they often succumb to. And each time, Tomie returns from the dead to continue her favorite pastime: toying with men." (source)
REASONS:
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This has been going in my mind for years. Tomie is an iconic character. If you know Nanno from Girl from Nowhere, they have similarities, and that's why fans sometimes assume that Nanno was inspired from Tomie.
Kang Hanna, IU, and Kim Ji Won are just some of the actresses I've found/remembered that greatly resembles Tomie and would love to see them play her.
Tomie has this cute, foxy, sexy luring aura in her that drives men crazy. Crazy enough to dismember her. But Tomie will be there the next day, still slaying, with her 20 pieces of bangs.
The plot has this potential of a lot of stories surrounding the immortal Tomie, minus the visual horror of her multiplying, since it can't be directly translated to live action. (I'm sorry but this has thrown me off from the Tomie live action JP. The movie was okay.) We don't need to see her towering over her hundreds of bodies, we can just stick to the essence of why Tomie is Tomie. Her mysterious deadly allure.
I want to see more of her luring gazes, and men with more shaking urges to have her and dismember her. Also, what I wanted more of the JP adaptation was the atmosphere, aesthetic and sounds of better qualities would be good.
ROMANCE/ TEEN ROMANCE
Dengeki Daisy
Kyousuke Motomi
SYNOPSIS:
"Teru Kurebayashi is left all alone in the world after the death of her brother, Souichirou. Well, all alone except for "Daisy," someone that she can always talk to and who never hesitates to cheer her up. However, Teru has never met Daisy, she has no idea what he looks like, and her only means of contacting him is through a cell phone that her brother left for her.
In stark contrast to the kind words and encouragement Teru receives from Daisy, she gets nothing but grief from the rude school janitor, Tasuku Kurosaki, who forced Teru to work for him after she accidentally broke a window. But while Kurosaki seems like a lazy good-for-nothing who only enjoys making her miserable, is there more to him than meets the eye?" (source)
One of my most favorite romcom manga of all time. Really funny! Their banters and deep conversations are chef's kiss. A classic manga that's loved by shoujo romcom enjoyers.
I think most Romantic Comedy actors and actresses can fit into their roles as long as they have chemistry for comically attacking the other and just, standing next to each other.
This is actually a really good manga, I cried a few times, my chest hurt, and I silently laughed until my stomach hurt since I binged read it until 3AM.
Toradora
Yuyuko Takemiya, Yasu
SYNOPSIS:
"Takasu Ryuuji has learned the hard way that appearances can be deceiving. For despite his inwardly sweet personality, his unintentionally sharp gaze and aggressive features give him the air of a delinquent thug, putting his chances at making new friends, let alone a girlfriend, next to zero.
It's Ryuuji's first day of his second year of high school and it seems as if things are looking up. He gets to sit in between his only friend, Yuusaku, and more importantly, the girl he's secretly crushing on, Kushieda Minori. But just when he thinks the stars are aligned in his favor, he unwittingly crosses the most feared girl in school, Aisaka Taiga, making her into his arch enemy. To top it off, Taiga has moved in right next door to Ryuuji and happens to be Minori's best friend! Can this school year possibly get any worse?!" (source)
It's just cute and funny, definitely K-Drama worthy. The dragon and the tiger couple is just so cute. One of the Manga/Anime that has that large height difference and contradicting personalities.
I used to think these are my parents. That my appearance of a dragon and personality of a tiger didn't fall off far from the tree. It's a nice read/watch!
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Lovely Complex
Aya Nakahara
SYNOPSIS:
When the taller than average 172 cm Risa Koizumi learns that her occasional nemesis, the shorter than average 156 cm Atsushi Ootani, is romantically interested in her friend, she decides to team up with him. After all, she also has feelings for his friend. Unluckily, however, their respective crushes fall for each other instead. Determined to find new love after their recent misfortunes, the pair decide to cheer each other on while maintaining their usual dynamic of constant bickering.
Although they continually deny it, Risa and Ootani are more similar than they like to admit: they both have unusual heights, failing grades, identical tastes in food, and a tendency to act extremely childish. Together, they inspire laughter among their peers as a so-called comedic duo. Could the love that these two are looking for be closer than they think? (source)
This is the main reason why I made this list! HAHAHA!
This two has been living in my head rent free for years.
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  | My goodness, I can hear this gif from Cheese in the Trap. Haha! Sung Kyung pops in my head every time I think of Risa from Lovely Complex. She can be so comical, pretty and she's really tall at 175 cm! This gif is from The Beauty Inside. I don't know why, but I just think the two of them would make great chemistry for Lovely Complex! |
I don't know Min Suk's height, but I think he's shorter than Sung Kyung, plus Min Suk is capable of really funny scenes as well! If only some writer picks this up for Korean adaptation, I would drop everything and watch it!
This is the funniest RomCom Manga/Anime I've devoured and would watch again no matter what adaptation. Sorry to all Lovely Complex JP live action fans, but I need this. Hehe.
I have a lot to say with what Manga/Webtoon I would love to have K-Drama adaptations, but that's for another article!
From the CGI, Aesthetic settings, Actors, Directing, and Sound tracks, I think Korean Drama production has been the best. According to me, of course. Considering the examples I have given you, surely you agree with me, right? If you're thinking of Marvel right now, I tell you, you're right. But! *cough Story plots from Asia are better. *cough. |
I've said it once and I'll say it again,
That's the conclusion. :D
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk~
| Credits : The little pudding on the Welcome and Thank You signs are drawn by me, please don't steal~ Banners are made by the author. Meme templates can be found here and here and are edited by the author. Cover picture can be found here. Pictures and gifs are either made by the author or are linked to their source. Original video for the gifs of The Beauty Inside can be found here. | Edited by: SumiTheCat (1st editor) |
