Twenty Again - Kdrama

It’s always interesting watching something that drags the feels from deep within and reminds you that you are human. In a recent kdrama that finished I watched just such a drama that did that and more as it took me on a rollercoaster of emotions as it covered an interesting scenario and taught some very curious life lessons on the way while tugging at the heart strings and I must say I enjoyed every minute of it.

Twenty again is something I would classify as a mature drama as it dives into the interesting plot of a woman in her late thirties who decides to go to college for various reasons, one of them being that she is diagnosed with a terminal illness, or at least she thinks she is for a little while there in the beginning of the story.

Now with only that to go on the story sounds somewhat heavy and almost too serious for a good afternoon binge session, but it actually isn’t as the comedy and acting of the show puts a spin on things with the way they deliver everything and despite expectation you’ll find yourself drawn into quite a pleasant story that, though it starts a bit slow there in the beginning, picks up rhythm and flow as it unfolds quite hilariously along the way as our protagonist decides to live the way she wants and slowly begins coming out of a very closed shell she had been living in that had been created by a suffocating marriage.

The story is captivating as you follow the teen mom, Ha No Ra, who has grown to be a dependent woman who barely knows much about the world around her. It’s quite fascinating as you get to watch her come out of her closed shell as she interacts with the world that has been kept from her by her narcissistic husband, Kim Woo-Chul.

The character development that can be observed as you watch her step out into the world and reconnect with it is very noteworthy. What is also very intriguing to watch is the people around her that become confused by her actions as she begins to change from the docile individual they thought she was to new person she now feels it’s okay to be again. It’s especially interesting to see how the husband, who is having an affair, reacts after the change as he finds himself falling in love with her all over again.

Along with the self-discovery there also gets thrown in a cute little romance between Ha No-Ra and Cha Hyun-Suk, a friend from her school days who secretly had a crush on her before she ran off with Kim Woo-Chul. The two bring a lot of comedic relief to the show and the cute factor explodes with his obsessiveness over how much he frets over Ha No-Ra but convinces himself he doesn’t want to. His conflicting states make for highly entertaining scenes and very cliché outcomes as he pursues her. It is truly adorable.

Overall the show is very enlightening and filled with life lessons that would benefit anyone who is willing to listen and the story is well written and enjoyable to follow as you find yourself growing attached to Ha No-Ra’s journey and rooting for Cha Hyun-Suk all the way as things progress between the two. I will definitely say I enjoyed watching the show and would recommend it to anyone looking for a heartwarming story to fill the days and give a brief cry here or there.

Denpa Kyoushi - Anime

‘YD’ – I can only Do, what I Truly Yearn to do

We all have things we want to do and things we have to do. Most days they tend to be the same, while others… not so much. In the end, however, we’re bound to do one of them simply because we are required to, it’s how we move forward and essentially live our lives. But imagine living a life so listlessly where all you could do was only what you really wanted to and not really what you HAD to do? Wouldn’t that be interesting? or downright agony to get through?

In Denpa Kyoushi I found an interesting character in the protagonist who lives according to a fascinating philosophy that has him unable to muster much motivation for things he is not interested in, but the minute he yearns to do something he turns into a whole other being equipped with smarts and talents that allow him to do whatever he wants.

The story follows Junichiro Kagami, a happy NEET* who lives to update his blog and watch anime along with various other otaku activities, as he gets dragged by his sister into a teaching job where he proves to be surprisingly more useful and likeable than at first expected. Despite his initial reluctance at doing the work Kagami finds interesting ways to pass the time during school as he saves a few students and changes their lives, all while seemingly following his selfish otaku way of life.

From getting rid of bullying, to helping students overcome their low self-esteem and emerge from their closed off selves, you see a variety of scenarios that, if I had to be honest, gives a hint of nostalgia from shows like G.T.O [Great Teacher Onizuka] and Gokusen, except our frail teacher has the stamina of a stick…wait, no the stick might actually win…

Either way, as a fan of both those shows, I must say I liked this anime. Though I don’t see it getting a live action anytime soon, unless they revamp it thoroughly, I think it was a pretty enjoyable watch for the weekend.

But I must be honest, the show’s main protagonist barely has any character growth aside from a few hints we are given that maybe he isn’t as shallow as he is made out to be initially and by the look of how they keep changing his interactions with students, it would seem like the creator of the story preferred new situations always being introduced as opposed to developing the ones they already had in play.

Like a kid always wanting new shoes, we see new students popping out the woodwork as the old students, are pushed aside as the focus is blatantly shifted to the newbies and their new scenarios. It’s a bit sad, really.

But in the end I guess it has its own quirks that make you like it or hate it, so what can you do but just enjoy it as it comes?

*NEET - a young person Not in Education, Employment or Training*

Shokugeki no Soma - Anime

Back in the day there was an interesting anime I watched that focused on bread, Yakitate Japan. It was a culinary show and despite the odd image one would have when you try to picture anime and bread it was quite a fun anime to pass the time with as the baker protagonist created various dishes that evoked extreme reactions from whoever tasted his amazing bread.

In a recent batch of anime I was given to enjoy, I had the pleasure of reliving the joys of another culinary show that had a similar premise to Yakitate Japan, except instead of focusing on bread this show turned your attention to food in general. Shokugeki no Souma takes you into the kitchen and hypes you up for the process of cooking as you watch the protagonist create his various dishes with seemingly random resources, all of which are targeted at being consumer friendly and relatable to the affordable pocket.

The main story follows a young chef, Yukihira Soma, who strives to beat his father’s cooking and become the best chef in the world. He also takes pride in the cooking he grew up learning in his father’s little diner and wants to become the best while serving his common style cooking that is available to the average customer and not just the ‘elite’.

But despite being a great chef, Soma has an unfortunate habit, picked up from his father, of experimenting with new dishes which almost always turn out horrible and the poor taste testers of these dishes always tend to be his friends.

The show is very light and full of humour that has you laughing along with learning a thing or two about the culinary arts. One thing in particular that’s quite noticeable is the reactions that the characters have when tasting delicious food. If ever you could apply the term ‘food porn’ to a place, here would definitely be it.

Another thing I like about the anime is probably a bit cliché but screw it – it works for me. I like that the protagonist is talented and strong enough to take on tough opponents from the get go and generally comes across as the underdog type. It makes for fun viewing and it also brings about some anticipation for when he might be really challenged and maybe knocked around a bit. That might sound sadistic, but it’ll be interesting to see how he recovers and such from blows like that. After all we can’t have him only winning all the time, where would be the fun in that?

Anyway, the anime is worth watching, if only to make yourself hungry for the food that is so deliciously drawn and presented on screen. 

Gotcha pork roast