I just need some time. We will meet again. I promise. 

There aren’t many updates that you don’t already know about and considering that many shows will be starting next week, it makes sense to hold out on this week’s Drama Watch. 

Drama Watch (Feb. 13 - 20)

Monday (Feb. 13)

• KBS2 Dream High 2 - Episode 5 
• SBS History of a Salaryman - Episode 13
• tvN Shut Up: Flower Boy Band - Episode 5 - I LOVE THIS DRAMA. 
• *NEW* jTBC Syndrome - Episode 1 -This series can keep trying to tell us it’s not another Brain, but, come on, is a coincidence that this was released after seeing Brain’s (deserved) success? I get it and it’s ok. Brain was amazing and people are obviously interested in medical dramas. The sooner you admit you’re chasing the Brain crowd the better.    
• TV Chosun Korean Peninsula - Episode 3 - Can’t lie: It’s a little boring.  
• Fuji TV Lucky Seven - Episode 5 - Can’t lie: It’s a little boring.

Tuesday (Feb. 14)

• KBS2 Dream High 2 - Episode 6
• SBS History of a Salaryman - Episode 14
• tvN Shut Up: Flower Boy Band - Episode 6
• jTBC Syndrome - Episode 2
• TV Chosun Korean Peninsula - Episode 4
• Fuji TV Hungry! - Episode 6 - The loveline has finally started so I’m hoping the series will up it’s pace just a little. If anything just to bring back some of the viewers its lost. I love it so much I’d watch it no matter what, but I still want it to be successful enough for it to maybe get a special. I love my specials 
• Fuji TV Strawberry Night - Episode 6

Wednesday (Feb. 15)

• MBC The Moon Embraces the Sun - Episode 13 - Excuse me while I do my IT’S TIME FOR MOON! dance. *steps away from screen*
• KBS2 Wild Romance - Episode 13 - We were left with quite a cliffhanger last week and it has everyone wondering what will happen next. I just hope that they don’t pull a Spy Myung-wol and let us down after an explosive cliffhanger. It’s so sad that that’s a thing now. 
• TV Chosun Operation Proposal - Episode 3 - I think I’m going to stick with this one. It will never replace the original (obviously), but this version will have more time to explore the characters and the stories giving to depth to both. Plus Yoo Seung-ho is still adorable.   
• NTV Dirty Mama - Episode 6

Thursday (Feb. 16)

• MBC The Moon Embraces the Sun - Episode 14 - *still doing Moon dance*
• KBS Wild Romance - Episode 14 - For those of you wondering (the very few of you), I’m holding off on the bitching post because I think any bitching should be reserved for the final thoughts. I owe it to the series to give it a chance to try to fix what may not be working for it. This way if I still bitch about the series in the end I’ll be looking at the whole picture. It’s the least I can do. 
• TV Chosun Operation Proposal - Episode 4
• TBS Ending Planner - Episode 6

Friday (Feb. 17)

• WOWOW Strangers 6 - Episode 4
• TBS Renai Neet - Episode 5

Saturday (Feb. 18)

• Fuji TV2 Switch Girl! - Episode 9 

Sunday (Feb. 19)

• *NEW* SETTV Love Forward - Episode 1 - Amber Kuo will play an arrogant  yet lonely princess while Tammy Chen will play a filial, hardworking woman who is unknowingly naive and simpleminded. Both women meet Tony Yang’s carefree character who becomes a successful businessman. He eventually has to choose between these very different women. One man having to choose between two polarizing women? Never heard that one before. Seriously though, the trailer looks pretty good.  
• FTV Skip Beat - Episode 9
• CTS I Love You So Much - Episode 4

Drama Watch (Feb. 6 - 12)

Please excuse the one poster this week. I can’t lie to myself: Moon is the only drama I want to watch this week. 

Monday (Feb. 6)

• KBS2 Dream High 2 - Episode 3 - The Yoojin/Hyesung loveline has begun! I love when the guy begins to fall before the girl does. I just hope they establish their relationship early instead of waiting until the end of the series. I understand the importance of keeping us in suspense, but it can be enormously annoying.
• SBS History of a Salaryman - Episode 11
• tvN Shut Up: Flower Boy Band - Episode 3
• jTBC Padam Padam….The Sound of His and Her Heartbeats - Episode 19 - PP is ending this week. I liked this series, but even I have to admit I’m ready for it to end. If anything to take Kangchil out of his misery. Seriously, if you’ve ever wondered how much one character could go through, watch this series. 
• TV Chosun Korean Peninsula - Episode 1 - I adore both Hwang Jung-min and Kim Jung-eun, but I’m so over the blockbuster dramas. I think they should come once every few years. I understand why broadcasters are trying to cash in on these types of dramas, but, as much as I’m an adrenaline junkie, I can only take so many blockbusters at once. 
• Fuji TV Lucky Seven - Episode 4

Tuesday (Feb. 7)

• KBS2 Dream High 2 - Episode 4
• SBS History of a Salaryman - Episode 12
• tvN Shut Up: Flower Boy Band - Episode 4
• jTBC Padam Padam….The Sound of His and Her Heartbeats - Episode 20 - PP never got an extension (that I know of), but did anyone else feel like it did? A really, really, REALLY long extension.
• TV Chosun Korean Peninsula - Episode 2
• Fuji TV Hungry! - Episode 5 - I’m not worried about the falling ratings, but I would like the writer to step it up a notch. And when I say step it up, I mean get rid of Eisuke’s girlfriend. 
• Fuji TV Strawberry Night - Episode 5

Wednesday (Feb. 8)

• MBC The Moon Embraces the Sun - Episode 11 - I just remember flailing at the end of last week’s episode and telling random strangers, “HWON KNOWS!” Yeah, I love this show.  
• KBS2 Wild Romance - Episode 11 - Instead of bitching about my love/hate relationship with Romance here, I’m going to dedicate an entire post to it that will show up soon. Aren’t you guys lucky?
• TV Chosun Operation Proposal - Episode 1 - I’m going to check this one out, but hesitantly. They’re treading on sacred drama ground with this one. 
• NTV Dirty Mama - Episode 5

Thursday (Feb. 9)

• MBC The Moon Embraces the Sun - Every time I think about what’s in store for us in the next episode I get bubble wrap popping happy about it. Because popping bubble wrap makes me immensely happy.
• KBS Wild Romance - Episode 12 - Again, bitching post coming soon. 
• TV Chosun Operation Proposal - Episode 2
• TBS Ending Planner - Episode 5

Friday (Feb. 10)

• WOWOW Strangers 6

Saturday (Feb. 11)

• Fuji TV2 Switch Girl! - Episode 8 - Someone asked me if I’m watching this and the is kind of. I’ll turn to it when I want something that doesn’t require many braincells to watch. This is a mixture of Yankee-kun to Megane-chan and My Husband which I like. It has that kookiness that I need in my life from time to time. Plus, Kiriyama Renn is hot. 

Sunday (Feb. 12)

• SETTV Office Girls - Episode 25 - I’m tired of being wrong about OG’s official ending date so I called SETTV (because why wouldn’t I have them on speed dial?) and I asked them straight out when Office Girls would finally end. They simply said, “When we stop making money off of it.” I said, “But you stop making money when people stop watching. It’s your highest rated idol drama so people obviously won’t stop watching anytime soon.” SETTV said, “Then we’ll never stop airing it.” So, there’s your answer, folks. Office Girls will be on the air forever. 
•  FTV Skip Beat - Episode 8
• CTS I Love You So Much - Episode 3

Drama Watch (Jan. 30 - Feb. 5)

Monday (Jan. 30)

• *NEW* KBS2 Dream High 2 (South Korea) - Episode 1 - The good news: It’s a Dream High sequel! The Bad News: It’s a Dream High SEQUEL.
• *NEW* tvN Shut Up!: Flower Boy Band (South Korea)- Episode 1 - This is the quintessential trendy drama: Hot, mysterious boys playing instruments and a normal girl that captures the heart of the most popular guy leading us to the unrealistic conclusion that we could have the same luck. 
• Fuji TV Lucky Seven (Japan) - Episode 3 - Ok, Lucky Seven, we get it. You have an all star cast and you have a fast paced, clever script, but is that it? No, seriously. Eventually I’m going to need more than that and a few bickering Eita/Jun (preferably shirtless) scenes to keep me watching. The shirtless scenes do help though. 
• jTBC Padam Padam…The Sound of His and Her Heartbeats (South Korea) - Episode 17 - I wonder if the writer is planning on Kang-chil never being able to find the knife therefore never being able to prove his innocence. That would actually be a little more poetic, but at this point we’ve spent so much time looking for it there’s a part of me that still wants him to find the damn thing. 
• SBS History of a Salaryman (South Korea) - Episode 9 

Tuesday (Jan. 31)

• KBS2 Dream High 2 (South Korea) - Episode 2
• tvN Shut Up!: Flower Boy Band (South Korea) - Episode 2
• Fuji TV Strawberry Night (Japan) - Episode 4 
• Fuji TV Hungry! (Japan) - Episode 4 - I don’t know about you guys, but I’m so ready for Eisuke to get rid of his seemingly perfect girlfriend. She’s got trouble written all over her. 
• jTBC Padam Padam…The Sound of His and Her Heartbeats (South Korea) - Episode 18 - Read an article that said the “bed scene” is scheduled to happen in this episode. It makes me nervous that all these happy things are happening to Kang-chil. Makes me think the writer is sticking with that whole cancer/1-2 months to live storyline.  
• SBS History of a Salaryman (South Korea) - Episode 10

Wednesday (Feb. 1) Can you believe it’s February already?!

• NTV Dirty Mama! (Japan) - Episode 4
• KBS Wild Romance (South Korea) - Episode 9 - After last week’s confession, excited doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel about this week’s episodes. I’m hoping Eun-jae doesn’t backtrack or, worse, we find out it was a fantasy. I hate that. To be fair, Moo-yul is blinded by Jessica right now so it may not be a horrible thing. Wait, yes it would. 
• MBC The Moon Embraces the Sun (South Korea) - Episode 9 - I can honestly say I’m falling in love with this series. It’s so rare to find a drama that has a truly strong story and Moon seems to deliver on almost every sageuk point. KBS and SBS may not appreciate that Moon is dominating every week, but it’s for a good reason. 

Thursday (Feb. 2)

• TV Asahi Seinaru Kaibutsutachi (South Korea) - Episode 3 
• TBS Saikou no Jinsei no Owarikata ~Ending Planner~ (Japan) - Episode 4 - Am I the only one who finds Ending Planner a little…boring? Not all of it, but most of it. This may have to do with the fact that I went in knowing that the series’ purpose would mainly be to remind us of our mortality and encourage us to get to know our fellow man. Correct me if I’m wrong, don’t most human dramas try to do that? Although, most of them are written better than Ending Planner. I’ve also noticed that it’s really pulling for the Freeter audience (selfish main character with a complicated father/son relationship who’s forced to step up after a family crisis and in the process begins a romance with a female “coworker”), but lacking in what made Freeter so amazing: BETTER WRITING.
• KBS Wild Romance (South Korea) - Episode 10 - I’m taking bets on who the Moo-yul tormenting puppetmaster may be. I’ve got $50 on his maid. I’m also putting $10 down on Jessica’s white cat. I don’t trust that thing. 
• MBC The Moon Embraces the Sun (South Korea)- Episode 10

Friday (Feb. 3)

• TV Asahi 13-sai no Hello Work (Japan) - Episode 4 
• TBS Renai Neat (Japan) - Episode 3
• WOWOW Strangers 6 (Japan) - Episode 2 - I completely forgot about this series! That’s not good. 

Saturday (Feb. 4)

• *NEW* MBC Feast of the Gods (South Korea) - Episode 1 - I mainly want to watch this for three reasons: food, Lee Sang-woo, and food. 
• NTV Perfect Son (Japan) - Episode 4 - I actually watched this and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be considering it had fast paced dialogue which I’m usually drawn to. Although it may have also piqued my interest because the mother and son, who are the main characters, are so obviously in for so many therapy sessions it’s almost like watching two trains collide but you can’t look away. The mother raised her son simply because she wants him to buy her a house later on and the son is so attached to her that he does heinous things just to keep her suitors away from her. Yeah, therapy sessions.  
• TV Asahi Nasake no Onna SP

Sunday (Feb. 5)

• MBC Feast of the Gods (South Korea) - Episode 2
• WOWOW Atonement (Japan) - Episode 5 - This will be the last episode which means I won’t have anything to fascinate and confuse me all at the same time. Unless I catch up on the candidacy race. There’s all kinds of fascinating and confusing things waiting for me there. 
• NHK Taira no Kiyomori (Japan) - Episode 5 
• TTV/SETTV Office Girls (Taiwan) - Episode 24 - This will be the last episode of the series. God willing.
• FTV/GTV Skip Beat! (Taiwan) - Episode 7
• CTS I Love You So Much (Taiwan) - Episode 2 - This series started today (It’s Sunday, the 29th, in my neck of the words right now), but there’s really nothing about it that catches my attention. Which is sad because I like Blue Lan…and his crazy hair. 

Drama Watch (Jan. 23 - 29)

Monday (Jan. 23)

• Fuji TV Lucky Seven - Episode 2 - I don’t know about you guys, but I love Lucky Seven so far. It’s like a smaller version of Ocean’s Eleven, but instead of thiefs we have detectives. We also have Eita and Jun going at it on a regular basis so it’s safe to say my dirty mind has been well occupied.  
• TBS Stepfather, Step (Japan) - Episode 3 - I still can’t bring myself to watch this one and, judging by the ratings, no one else can either. 
• jTBC Padam Padam…The Sound of His and Her Heartbeats (South Korea) - Episode 15 - That damn knife….
• SBS History of a Salaryman (South Korea) - Episode 7 

Tuesday (Jan. 24)

• Fuji TV Strawberry Night (Japan) - Episode 3 - As much as I’d like to continue watching this series, I’m more than happy to let fall by the wayside. It’s good, but it’s still just a crime drama which Jdramas are overflowing with. Now, if it was more like SPEC I may reconsider, but then I would just judge it for being to much like SPEC. I know, I’m such a fickle drama watcher.
• Fuji TV Hungry! (Japan) - Episode 3 - …And the food porn continues. I’m so happy this drama is doing well in ratings. It’s stayed in the teens since it’s debut and it’s showing no signs of slowing down. This especially impressive considering it’s such a simple concept. While I find the series as a whole enjoyable, I’m going to assume that Mukai Osamu’s never ending adorableness has a lot to do with it.   
• NHK Honjitsu wa Taian Nari (Japan) - Episode 3
• NTV Teen Court - Episode 3 - I’ve decided not to watch this one, but i check in from time to time to be reminded how cute Seto Koji is. 
• jTBC Padam Padam…The Sound of His and Her Heartbeats (South Korea) - Episode 16 - Can you believe there’s only 4 episodes left? Every time I think there’s no way this series could do something to keep the momentum going, they do something amazing. Also, next to Once Upon A Time’s Charming/James/David and Snow/Mary Margaret, I don’t think I’ve been more invested in a main couple than I have been with Kang-chil and Ji-na.
• SBS History of a Salaryman (South Korea) - Episode 8

Wednesday (Jan. 25)

• NTV Dirty Mama! (Japan) - Episode 3
• NTV Suugaku♥Joshi Gakuen (Japan) - Episode 4 
• KBS Wild Romance (South Korea) - Episode 7 - I’m so happy I’m finally falling in love with this series. I instantly loved all the characters, but I wasn’t sure if I loved the plot. Even I didn’t finally love the plot, I’d still watch it for the characters. I just want to make doll versions of them of sleep with them every night. That sounds creepy, but it’s the only way I can explain it. Hey, at least I didn’t mention all the things I wanted to do to Lee Dong-wook.  
• MBC The Moon Embraces the Sun - Episode 7 - The adult cast has finally taken over which means the series will be taking over Wednesday and Thursday more than it already has. 

Thursday (Jan. 26)

• TV Asahi Seinaru Kaibutsutachi - Episode 2 - Masaki Okada, yum. 
• TBS Saikou no Jinsei no Owarikata ~Ending Planner~ (Japan) - Episode 3 - Yamapi’s hair is especially glorious in Ending Planner, but the series itself may be a little too complex for some people. It debuted in the low teens which is interesting considering he’s in it. Sure, he’s no Kimutaku (Who is?), but Yamapi’s been out of a drama for two years so I assumed the numbers would be higher. I guess we’ll just have to wait to see what happens. Although if waiting means having to stare at Yamapi and his glorious flatironed, flipped ends wearing self, I’m ok with that. 
• KBS Wild Romance - Episode 8
• MBC The Moon Embraces the Sun - Episode 8

Friday (Jan. 26)

TV Asahi 13-sai no Hello Work (Japan) - Episode 3 

Saturday (Jan. 27)

• NTV Perfect Son (Japan) - Episode 3

Sunday (Jan. 28)

• WOWOW Atonement (Japan) - Episode 4 
• NHK Taira no Kiyomori (Japan) - Episode 4 
• TTV/SETTV Office Girls (Taiwan) - Episode 23 - Everyone keeps asking when Office Girls will actually end. I was wondering too so I did a little research. Right now, Office Girls’s follow-up series will debut February 12 (according to Wiki) which means two things: It’s last episode will air this Sunday and something will aired next Sunday (February 5) so that the next drama, Go Forward Towards Love, will air on February 12 OR Office Girls will air 24 episodes leaving no gaps between new drama episodes. I actually think OG will end with 23 episodes which means it’s finale would air this week. Either way it goes, I’ll be happy that we’re so much closer to getting some closure on Office Girls. I love the series, but, seriously, it’s time to move on.  
• FTV/GTV Skip Beat! (Taiwan) - Episode 6

Drama Watch (Jan. 16 - 22)

Monday (Jan. 16)

• *NEW* Fuji TV Lucky Seven - Episode 1 - Seven bickering detectives work together at a private eye firm. Is this yet another addition to Jdramas wealth of crime dramas? Yes. Does this suspiciously sound like another version of Detective Kurokawa Suzuki, but with more detectives? Yes. Why do I still plan to watch this? Jun, Eita, Nanako, Yo and Riisa. Enough said.
• TBS Stepfather, Step (Japan) - Episode 2 
• jTBC Padam Padam…The Sound of His and Her Heartbeats (South Korea) - Episode 13 - Let’s face it, this series is basically a movie, but who cares? I’m pretty much obsessed with Kang-chil and Ji-na. I’m also completely invested in the father/son relationship Kang-chil is building up with Im-jung. One thing I’d like them to wrap up: that damn knife. We’ve been chasing that thing a little too long, don’t you think?
• SBS History of a Salaryman (South Korea) - Episode 5 

Tuesday (Jan. 17)

• Fuji TV Strawberry Night (Japan) - Episode 2
• Fuji TV Hungry! (Japan) - Episode 2 - I LOVE THIS SERIES. Not only does it give us food porn and hot guys, but great music. I have a horrible habit of falling for shows a little too early but I’m willing to take a chance on this one. I warn you now that you may put on a few pounds while watching this one. You may also find yourself looking for musicians who are especially talented in cooking. Good luck with that one. 
• NHK Honjitsu wa Taian Nari (Japan) - Episode 2
• NTV Teen Court - Episode 2 - Seto Koji gets cuter every year. I wouldn’t be watching this series if he didn’t. 
• jTBC Padam Padam…The Sound of His and Her Heartbeats (South Korea) - Episode 14
• SBS History of a Salaryman (South Korea) - Episode 6

Wednesday (Jan. 18)

• NTV Dirty Mama! (Japan) - Episode 2 - “The safest place for a child is near his mother.” Says the mother who finds herself paying for her son’s therapy lessons years later.
• NTV Suugaku♥Joshi Gakuen (Japan) - Episode 2 
• KBS Wild Romance (South Korea) - Episode 5 - I love the characters in Wild Romance, but there’s something about the series that is bugging me. It could be the fact that it seems to go from one extreme to another. It always makes me nervous when dramas do this. Makes me think they’re trying to find their footing and also getting pressure to up their ratings (Damn you, Moon!). I hope the series continues its path of charming comedy and stays away from any silly attempts to pull in an audience.  
• MBC The Moon Embraces the Sun - Episode 5 - Moon still dominates, but for good reason. It’s beautifully shot and it has a strong story so far. This week will be especially good for them AND us: The adult cast will finally make their appearance! 

Thursday (Jan. 19)

• *NEW* TV Asahi Seinaru Kaibutsutachi - Episode 1 - Masaki Okada stars as a new surgeon with high morals who begins working in a hospital with scandals of money and desire. I think Masaki Okada is adorable, but really they had me at “money and desire”. It’s amazing how those keywords still manage to pique my interest. 
• TBS Saikou no Jinsei no Owarikata ~Ending Planner~ (Japan) - Episode 2 - YAMAPI……
• KBS Wild Romance - Episode 6
• MBC The Moon Embraces the Sun - Episode 6 - JUNG IL-WOO……

Friday (Jan. 20)

• TV Asahi 13-sai no Hello Work (Japan) - Episode 2 

Saturday (Jan. 21)

• *NEW* NTV Perfect Son (Japan) - Episode 2

Sunday (Jan. 22)

• WOWOW Atonement (Japan) - Episode 3 - Shokuzai is exactly what I expected it to be and that makes me so happy. It’s too bad it’s only 5 episodes long. Actually, that’s probably a good think. It’s so dark and twisted that week after week of that may not be good for my mental health. Yeah, five episodes is more than enough. 
• NHK Taira no Kiyomori (Japan) - Episode 3 
• TTV/SETTV Office Girls (Taiwan) WILL NOT BE SHOWN THIS WEEK. Episode 23 will air on the 29th. 
• FTV/GTV Skip Beat! (Taiwan) - Episode 6

Drama Watch (Jan. 9 - 15)

Monday (Jan. 9)

*NEW* TBS Stepfather, Step (Japan) - Episode 1 - Kamikawa Takaya stars as a lonely thief who suddenly becomes a father to twins who have lost their parents. A drama about a thief with a heart of gold? How original…. 

jTBC Padam Padam…The Sound of His and Her Heartbeats (South Korea) - Episode 11 - So, one of the major secrets has finally been exposed and, needless to say, it effects the ever growing romance between the main couple substantially. I feel a rather painful period of seperation coming. The only thing that can make it less painful is more shirtless Kim Bum. Oh, and more Choi Tae-joon aka Kang Chil’s son scenes.

SBS History of a Salaryman (South Korea) - Episode 3 - Jury’s still out on this one, but, damn, Jung Ryu-won is hilarious. The more she curses, the more I love her. 

Tuesday (Jan. 10)

*NEW* Fuji TV Strawberry Night (Japan) - Episode 1 - It’s amazing what one special can do. I’m excited about this one. If it’s as good as it’s promos, we should be in good shape. 

*NEW* Fuji TV Hungry! (Japan) - Episode 1 - I would give a small summary of this one, but it’s think it’s only fair to keep any info on this one as short and direct as it’s title. So, just remember these two words and you should be sold: Food and romance. 

*NEW* NHK Honjitsu wa Taian Nari (Japan) - Episode 1 - A comedy suspense drama about a wedding planner who’s five weddings are threatened after receiving a letter instructing her to cancel all of them. As she tries to find the person that wrote the letter, the couples’ secrets begin to be revealed. Wow, this sounds…horrible. 

*NEW* NTV Teen Court - Episode 1 - Gouriki Ayame and Seto Koji star in this drama about two teens who re-investigate cases that have been tried in a juvenile court in where young offenders’ fates are decided by a jury of juveniles. When I saw the title, I thought this was a horrible MTV-esque reality show. Then I read that these “teen courts” are very much real and straight of out the good ‘ol US of A. Because we’re smart like that. 

jTBC Padam Padam…The Sound of His and Her Heartbeats (South Korea) - Episode 12

SBS History of a Salaryman (South Korea) - Episode 4

Wednesday (Jan. 11)

*NEW* NTV Dirty Mama! (Japan) - Episode 1 - Was the exclamation point necessary? Hiromi Nagasaku stars as a successful detective  who brings her baby with her while solving crimes while she waits for her daughter to get into daycare. I hope this is supposed to funny because I am cracking up right now. 

*NEW* NTV Suugaku♥Joshi Gakuen (Japan) - Episode 1 - HUGE female cast set in a specialized math school. They lost me at “math”.

KBS Wild Romance (South Korea) - Episode 3 - WR is funny. It’s not Protect the Boss funny, but it’s funny. 

MBC The Moon Embraces the Sun - Episode 3 - Moon is dominating Wednesday/Thursday nights. I almost want to cry for the other dramas in the same timeslot. I’m sure they’ll be the ones crying when the adult cast show up. Hang in there, Wild Romance and Captain. Hang in there. 

Thursday (Jan. 12)

*NEW* TBS Saikou no Jinsei no Owarikata ~Ending Planner~ (Japan) - Episode 1 - There’s only one thing you need to know about this series: YAMAPI. Forget everything. Just know YAMAPI will be starring and, really, what else matters?

KBS Wild Romance - Episode 4

MBC The Moon Embraces the Sun - Episode 4

Friday (Jan. 13)

*NEW* TV Asahi 13-sai no Hello Work (Japan) - Episode 1 - TOKIO’s Matsuoka Masahiro is a policeman who travels back in time to meet his 13-year-old self. He and his younger self try out different careers so that he can figure out what he wants to do with his life. Matsuoka Masahiro isn’t my favorite TOKIO member (Nagase Tomoya has that title), but this series strangly reminds me of an episode of Reading Rainbow in where LeVar Burton tried on different hats and suddenly had the ability to try out a different career. In other words, I’m not sure if this is going to be a good drama to watch or it simply speaks to my inner child who watched way too much Reading Rainbow.  

Saturday (Jan. 14)

*NEW* NTV Perfect Son (Japan) - Episode 1 - Mama’s boy tries to leave his prestigious private school in order to attend the juvenile delinquent filled high school his mother is working at. Think Arrested Development’s George Michael if he had a mother. 

Sunday (Jan. 15)

WOWOW Atonement (Japan) - Episode 2

NHK Taira no Kiyomori (Japan) - Episode 2 

TTV/SETTV Office Girls (Taiwan) - Episode 22 - I think I speak for everyone when I say, “Go away, Zheng Kai Er. Go away.” Also, Office Girls is great, but it needs to end at 23 episodes which is schedules to air on the 29th. A special will air instead of Office Girls on the 22nd.

FTV/GTV Skip Beat! (Taiwan) - Episode 5

Drama Watch (Jan. 1-8)

Sunday (Jan. 1)

• *NEW* NHK Pioneers (Japan) - Episode 1 - Four episode period drama commemorating the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Japan about a family that resettles in the Tochigi prefecture after they had been forced to flee to Manchuria, China during World War II. Highlight for me is the fact that Hikari Misushima is leading this series. A woman who I have a major girl crush on. 
• TTV/SETTV Office Girls (Taiwan) - Episode 20 - I am completely and utterly against Office Girls’ extension (Right now it’s gone from 20 episodes to 23.), but I still find the show hilarious. Increasingly redundant and cliched, but, still, hilarious.
• FTV/GTV Skip Beat! (Taiwan) - Episode 3 - Jury’s still out on this one. This mainly has to do with the fact that I’m still on a In Time With You high. In Time needs to come with a warning: If you watch this, every other drama will pale in comparison. 

Monday (Jan. 2)

• *NEW* SBS History of a Salaryman (South Korea) - Episode 1 - Information on this series is sparse (“The highs and lows of office workers” What is that?!), but I’m hoping it ends up being as awesome as its promotions. Although, I’ve been tricked before *cough*Almost every drama in 2010*cough*
• jTBC Padam Padam…The Sound of His and Her Heartbeats (South Korea) - Episode 9

Tuesday (Jan. 3)

• SBS History of a Salaryman (South Korea) - Episode 2
• jTBC Padam Padam…The Sound of His and Her Heartbeats (South Korea) - Episode 10
• *NEW*Fuji TV Mou Yuukai Nante Shinai (Japan) - Any drama (special) featuring a Arashi member AND Narimiya Hiroki is going to get my attention. Ohno will play a freeter who dreams of being a superhero. His dream (sorta) comes true when he is asked by the eldest daughter of a yakuza clan to help her fake her kidnapping. It sounds ridiculous, but it’s based on a novel by author Higashigawa Tokuya who also wrote Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de which spawned a 2011 hit drama of the same name starring Sakurai Sho. So, there’s that.

Wednesday (Jan. 4)

• *NEW* MBC The Moon Embraces the Sun (South Korea) - Episode 1 - A series that has as much potential as this one usually makes me nervous (Too much of a good thing, you know?), but I’m ready and willing to fall hard for this one. If this series was my favorite musician, I would throw all my panties at it before it played one chord. I know, classy.
• *NEW* SBS Take Care of Us, Captain (South Korea) - Episode 1 - I won’t be watching this one. That may seem harsh, but it’s starring that annoying guy from the horrible remake of one of my favorite Jdramas and that even more annoying girl from Boys Over Flowers. I find both of them so annoying I don’t even want to mention their names. So, I repeat, I won’t be watching this one.
• *NEW* KBS Wild Romance (South Korea) - Episode 1 - I love bickering couples. I love Lee Dong-wook even more. You’re ok too, Lee Si-young.

Thursday (Jan. 5)

• *NEW* NTV Detective Kurokawa Suzuki - Episode 1 - If there’s one genre Jdramas are running low on, it’s crime dramas (sarcasm). What sets this one apart from the decades of detective based Jdramas? Not much except the fact that it has three detectives who’s differing personalities lead to, I’m sure, hilarious bickering. Somewhere in between that bickering, they solve mysteries. 
• MBC The Moon Embraces the Sun (South Korea) - Episode 2
• SBS Take Care of Us, Captain (South Korea) - Episode 2
• KBS Wild Romance (South Korea) - Episode 2

Friday (Jan. 6)

Saturday (Jan. 7)

• *NEW*KBS Glowing She (South Korea) - Episode 1 - Another one I probably won’t watch. KBS is really relying on SS501’s Kim Hyung-joon (No, not Kim HYUN-JOONG. Calm down.) casting to bring in the younger crowd. Sure, it sounds vaguely interesting (A variety show writer finds herself in a love triangle with a top PD and a star), but I’m not impressed with the cast. I mean, it’s starring So Yi-hyun who was the practically useless dance teacher in You’ve Fallen for Me. I hope she’ll be more than a pretty addition to the series. Again. 

Sunday (Jan. 8)

• *NEW* WOWOW Atonement (Japan) - Episode 1 - I. Am. So. Excited. About. This. A little girl is kidnapped and murdered. The killer was never found and the four kids that witness the murder, but can’t remember the killer’s face. Fifteen years later, the kids grow up still living with this secret and the child’s mother still blames them for the murderer’s escape. It sounds like a version of Confessions which I love. That may have to with the fact that it’s based on a Kanae Minato novel who also wrote the novel Confessions was based on. This 12 episode drama is like a mixture of Confessions and Still, Life Goes On. So, again, I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS!
• *NEW* NHK Taira no Kiyomori (Japan) - Episode 1 - This yearlong drama (50 episodes) about the eponymous 12th century warlord. NHK executive director referred to this drama as a “Heian Period The Godfather” which grabbed a lot of people’s attention. The cast is led by Kenichi Matsuyama who I’ve come to like over the last few years. He wasn’t expecting to get the lead role when he auditioned for the series, but they made him an offer he can’t refuse. Yes, I went there. 
• KBS Glowing She (South Korea) - Episode 2
• TTV/SETTV Office Girls (Taiwan) - Episode 21
• FTV/GTV Skip Beat! (Taiwan) - Episode 4