The Queens' Classrooms - yet again

Hah... finally dah tamat tengok the Japanese version sekali lagi. Sungguh berpuas hati sebab sebelum ini tak tengok special version sebab tak tahu pun ade huhuhu. Dan seperti yang sebelum ini, memang tak dapat nak menahan air mata bila dah sampai episod akhir huhuhu

Alrighty then.

Although JnK keluar dulu sebelum YK, tapi sebab aku tengok semula JnK so we'll use YK as the base reference.

Yeowangui Kyoshil vs. Joou no Kyoshitsu
Episode wise, kalau masuk special episodes for Japanese version, rasanya lebih kurang sama panjang. 2 specials, about 1.5 hrs each. Lebih kurang laaaaaa. Tapi dari susunan jalan cerita, J-ver lebih padat dan truer to the point yang nak disampaikan, dan specials tu sampingan saje. Tak tengok pun tak pe sebab dia cerita macam mana Maya boleh bertukar menjadi AkuMa*, tapi kalau terasa intrigued boleh la tengok (highly recommended). Basically sama kedua-duanya, cuma ada beza sikit sini sana. Mungkin disebabkan faktor geografi yang mana masalah pada sistem masyarakat Jepun tak mungkin 100% sama dengan Korea, so they need to tweak the story a bit to fit the local society, to make it believable.
Setting classroom dan AkuMa's surrounding J-ver lebih gelap, so suasana rasa lebih mandom dan gloomy compared to the K-ver. Mungkin guna filter gelap, but it helped setting the mood. Tapi K-ver lebih realistik sebab... kalau hari cerah patut nampak cerah la kan? Takkan bila ada orang menakutkan masuk cahaya jadi suram tiba2 ye dak?

* Dalam cerita ni Maya cakap nak jadi "oni" (sp.2) dan tiada reference langsung pasal nak jadi "akuma" - sila gugel sendiri perbezaannye - tapi disebabkan dalam K-ver bebdak bahsekan cikgu depa MaNyeo (direct trans: perempuan evil, lepak trans: witch) yang diambil daripada Ma Yeojin (sebut MaYeo tak sampai maksud dia haha) so I use AkuMa moving forward :P

Ma Yeojin vs. Akutsu Maya
Both watak brilliant. But then mungkin sebab Go Hyunjung bermuka chubby, maka watak MaNyeo yang sepatutnya menakutkan ini tidak nampak menakutkan sangat - muka dia lebih nampak seperti scheming teacher... which in my opinion still okay. Amami Yuki lebih real dan membuat orang kecut perut bila tengok dia. So one point for AkuMa. Comparison lain:
- Pemakaian: Pakaian AkuMa lebih menakutkan - ada unsur sadis di situ, sungguh gothic dari atas ke bawah. Pakaian MaNyeo lebih.. umm... fashionable? walaupun hitam bagai (dan kadang2 ade skarf putih). Dan rambut AkuMa diikat sanggul ketat macam tak boleh nak tolerate langsung, whereas MaNyeo still nampak macam approachable dan boleh cucuk sikit2.
- Both watak tak break character, stern dari awal sampai habis. Cuma with observation boleh nampak MaNyeo ada slipped sikit2 sana sini. AkuMa memang sampai ke sudah. Only obvious dia tahan sebak masa episod terakhir.
- Dalam K-ver ada gambar MaNyeo dengan anak dia, but tak pernah explain ape terjadi. Ataupun ade explain tapi aku termiss kot? Dalam J-ver, tak de sebut langsung yang AkuMa ada anak (rasenye ade gambar tapi tak perasan kot lol) mahupun pernah berkahwin, tapi ada kisah pasal dia dalam sp.1.

Main kids' characters

Shim Hana vs. Kanda Kazumi
Oh Donggoo vs. Manabe Yuusuke
Kim Seohyun vs. Shindo Hikaru
Eun Bomi vs. Baba Hisako
Semua sangat pandai berlakon. Especially watak Shim Hana/Kanda Kazumi & Oh Donggoo/Manabe Yuusuke. Sangat.
- Hana kurang annoying (dan lebih comel lol) compared to Kazumi
- Donggoo lebih kecik compared to Yuusuke - maybe sebab pelakon watak Donggoo lebih muda than the other 3, but Yuusuke's older than the rest? Entahlah.
- Hikaru lebih lantang daripada Seohyun
- Bomi lebih annoying daripada Baba-chan
Characters development (meaning persahabatan) dari mula sampai habis, rasanya J-ver lebih heart-warming sebab Hikaru lebih mesra dengan kawan2 baik dia towards the end, while Seohyun masih ada hesitations - mungkin dah lama bersendirian so lebih susah nak break character?

Watak lain
- I prefer Yang Seonsaeng daripada Tendo Sensei, prolly sebab 1. YS lebih comel, and 2. TS lebih annoying hah!
- Guru besar K-ver lebih penyibuk lol
- Penolong guru besar K-ver lebih conniving, which made him lebih menonjol dalam misi menjatuhkan MaNyeo.

Ok I think that's all for now since I forgot about what I wanted to add earlier huhuhu :(

If you ask for my recommendation which one's to watch (or maybe watch first), depending on your preference:
1. Newer? K-ver
2. Gloomier/scarier? J-ver w/ specials
3. Not draggy? J-ver w/o specials
4. Cuter? K-ver (Yang Seonsaeng factor!)
5. Shorter? J-ver, of course WITHOUT specials
6. More drama i.e. interaction with parents? K-ver

But if you ask me wether to watch both or not, I would say yes. Even if the base story line is about 90-95% the same.

Ok tu je. Next stop - Hakkyo 2013!


ThE DeaTh aNd ThE StRaWBeRRy

여왕의 교실

I like it.

Maybe not much as the Japanese version, but I do like it.
So much.

The Queen's Classroom - Korean version.

(Photo from wiki.d-addicts.com)

It was not as gothic & mysterious looking as the Japanese version, even MaNyo was not as intimidating as AkuMa, but overall it was as good. Overall storyline might be the same... tapi of course ada beza sebab their cultures are different.

I took some time to finish this drama due to some other important matters (translation played the main part), and also since I know how it ends from the J version so I was a bit hesitant to finish it and move to another drama. But then when it ended, I had this feeling to revisit the J version, just because.

Probably I'll make a comparison later? If I'm not that lazy, I guess :P But for the time being, you can read the synopsis in dramawiki. Or even actually watch the drama. I would recommend you to start with the J version if you ask me.

p/s do not bother reading my sampah review for Joou no Kyoshitsu. lol.

ThE DeaTh aNd ThE StRaWBeRRy

City Hall (2009)

Omo omo omo I regret not watching this series earlier, because despite it's a genre that I don't really like, I totally love it!

Synopsis from DramaWiki:

City Hall is a drama that will deal with politics in a romantic comedy genre. It's about the happenings between a young woman mayor and an elite bureaucrat. Jo Gook is an exceedingly smart government official. He passed the Higher Civil Service quickly, and basically is the perfect guy. But being a deputy mayor is not enough for him. He lives with the dream of becoming South Korea's President. He should have easily gone straight to the top, but due to an unexpected incident, he gets dispatched as a deputy mayor for a provincial small town, Inju City, where Shin Mi Rae was working. Shin Mi Rae is a low-ranking secretary in Inju, but she works her way up in becoming the youngest City Mayor. As their paths met, they have to deal with each other's personal and social differences. But despite their constant bickerings, would they end up in each other's arms?

I am not gonna put my review for this drama as I'm not good in doing recap (drama lama summore), so go here to have a read: DramaBeans: City Hall. But my thoughts in point form (malas nak susun elok2):
. I totally love the lead couple in this, so cute and so loving. Kudos to Kim Sun-ah and Cha Seung-won to carry their characters magnificently.
. I also love the second leads' couple, especially towards the end. Not a single time I could see Jung-do trying to be more than just friends with Mi-rae. And although Joo-hwa is sometimes annoying, but due to her petite stature, her annoyance is quite cute (sorta).
. Yoon Se-ah is very beautiful. Maybe it's because the drama was three years before I actually know her (through WGM), she looks a bit different now - maybe probably she was a bit chubbier in the face back then? Because it took me so long to register Go Go-hae is actually her.
. Soo-in! That very cute guy from the Equator Man and City Hunter, he got me looked at his profile in DramaWiki this time (and so his name is Lee Joon-hyuk).
. There was not a single time I skipped scenes in the drama although the genre is not something I prefer to watch. Even the Elder's, although I don't really like him in this drama. And my perceptions of him here are influencing the one in Cheer Up, Mr. Kim. Ah why does he has to be a fearsome figure in both dramas? Huhuhu...
. The ending! Probably the best ending for a K-drama that I have ever watched! CAPSLOCK COULD NOT DESCRIBE THE SATISFACTION I HAVE RIGHT NOW! NOR EXCLAMATION MARKS!!!!
. Although she is a very talented actress, Kim Sun-ah was not as annoying as in her other dramas I watched. Maybe because she has to become a respectable public figure? But that is one change that I really like.

Aduhai! My points are not giving justice to this drama... Go watch the drama if you haven't, or go read the review if you don't have time to watch. Trust me, you'll be hooked to this drama like I did :D

ThE DeaTh aNd ThE StRaWBeRRy