I said JSM's good and she does pull off XQ's personality. But... not really. I mean in XQ's flashbacks, Zhi Shu would never be hit by her. XQ would more probably dream of being kissed by Zhi Shu then actually beating him up or coercing him to be with her.

The swan lake fantasy is more characteristic of XQ. The forest dream part too. Except that it was too long. They could have condensed 2 episodes into 1 if they did it properly.

KHJ has improved. At times, still stiff.

But, better.

JSM is good and she looks better with heavy makeup on.
Like in the biker girl dream scene.

There are ways to handle a drama and do justice to the original without changing the characters' personalities and the plot.

different strokes for different folks...i watched both ISWAK and the japanese version and couldn't stand ariel lin's character. she was too annoying and clingy and dare i say it, totally aware of her "damsel in distress role" and playing it to an extreme that's almost unrealistic. the japanese version of kotoko was more believable in that she did seem really clueless and klutzy but she's also completely oblivious about it.

also, there's a reason why its called adaptation, because the writers and directors are interpreting a book/manga/story and adapt it in whatever way they want it to be. comparing PK to ISWAK is a bit unfair as both are just interpretations of the original manga and are probably geared towards different audience/cultural contexts.

peace! :)

lol

well said...they have changed Kotoko's character a little...i mean come on yaar Han Ni is not too dumb and stupid and she's actually pretty also...why would a guy find it difficult to fall for her or adjust with her unless he purposely distancing away himself from her??...the only weakness i saw in her till now is that she's weak at studies...in the remaining aspects she looked pretty strong...

LOL !! I think what you said was pretty intersting, even if I don't agree with everything... Ok, I love ISWAK, and I totally agree with you about Zhi Shu and Xiang Qin relationship.. that Zhi Shu was just practical and logical, and that being a genious made his thinking different from Xiang Qin's and most people, that's why I believe he seems cold. Also in season 2 he explains a little part of why he likes her... because she's not like him, because she doesn't react like him in the same kind of situations, etc...
But about what you said, about people disliking dumb people, I don't totally agree...but saying otherwise would be kind of hypocritical I guess.. Intelligence is widely appreciated in our society nowadays because of the principe of meritocracy, no?.. With hight intelligence you're supposed to get status, power, money, etc...aven if that's not really realistic.. being smart is a way to be successfull... who wants to be stupid?

but on another hand, why are you getting mad about telespectators who want a smart heroine? would you like to identify yourself to someone who is kind of dumb and who embarass herself? wouldn't you be embarassed for her?
Lol sometimes I almost scream at my screen "don't do it! don't do it!" when you obviously know the upcome...did you never do something stupid? Why would you want an heroine do the same mistakes you could, or may have done? lol
That's probably why you seem used to intense reactions, because what you said was like "why do you like beautiful people, and not ugly ones?" LOL you're upset about a whole society' criterias...
Also I think we all know people who are less smart than ourselves, as well as people who are smarter... sometimes you can see when someone has difficulties to follow your logic, or to understand something you did in 2 seconds..but that doesn't mean you can't like them, you have to take into consideration other's people caracteres too, don't you think so?
And I say it now, but I didn't like the fact that Xiang Qin had to work so hard for mediocre results, it didn't seem fair to me...so I was upset with the fact that she is dumb...
Well, I'm probably too much into the caracteres... ^^'
As for being realistic in the painting of humans relationship, I guess japonese drama are way better tha koreans ones if you want to try... :D

omg it's like I was posseseed and you wrote this but in a less "I WANTTO KILL THE PRODUCTION TEAM" type of way ROFLLLL

*hugs you* YOU UNDERSTAND T_T Tw version had overkill sometimes but it was like... even in real life there's overkill... and I could sorta just forgive it cause the characters felt like real life people I could meet. The chemistry between romantic and non-romantic characters was beautiful... The friends felt like friends and not comical relief. Even the tennis senior felt like a real guy.... Jebus. I just... *facepalm*

AMEN TO THAT thereainhouse...I TOTALLY LOVED/LOVING/WILL STILL LOVE ISWAK AND TKA FOREVER..ITS MY MOST FAVE DRAMA OF ALL TIMES..PART OF IT IS BECAUSE OF THE SOUNDTRACT, THE LITTLE LOL MOMENTS AND MOSTLY BECAUSE I LOVE THE CHEMISTRY BETWEEN ARIEL AND JOE...IM TOTALLY CRAZY OVER IT ..I would just like to comment on what you said that XG would never imagine hitting ZS, if i remember it right there was an imaginary scene by XQ wherein she was hitting ZS in the bus until he got a bloody nose and was acting like a total wuss..this happened after XQ met a bus pervert on her way to school. she was really angry that ZS didnt help her..i think it was in episode 2..

@ 11.2.2.1.2 jo,

Clingy? I don’t think she was playing it to an extreme standard. Her portrayal was so believable. I believe that there are people like Xiang Qin out there. Rather slow. Very persistent. Tenacious. Hardworking. Single-minded. Bumbling. Ariel Lin played it realistically, so realistically that I think, still think, that she is Xiang Qin. But, of course, I never thought Xiang Qin was Ariel, one, because I was acquainted with her other works, two, because I tend to separate people from their works.

Different strokes for different people. Yes.

Adaptation. Adapt it in whatever way they want it to be, however they see it? However they interpret the story? I suppose how they interpret it but not how they want it to be. Because every adaptation that doesn’t respect the original creator is just going to be slammed over and over again. The Chronicles of Narnia : Prince Caspian got criticized because they added a romance to the story between Caspian and Susan. I think LOTR is a good example of how stories should be adapted. It was beautiful. They kept almost everything. What they took out, they took out due to the length of the films. Thank God for the director’s cut and extended scenes. Thank God for commentaries.

How is comparing the two adaptations unfair? It’s perfectly fine. And have we not been doing that?
1. It’s based on the same story.
2. It has the same theme.
3. It has the same audience. (Fans of ISWAK will likely watch Playful Kiss. Perhaps those who watch Playful Kiss may watch ISWAK . Unless of course they don’t want to be disappointed with Playful Kiss, because anyone who watches ISWAK will know within one episode that ISWAK is the better adaptation.) People of the same age groups watch these stories. Preteens, teens, young adults, possibly grandmothers who watch TV while knitting.
4. The different cultures shouldn’t affect the storyline at all. If this version was set in New York, now, then things would be rather different.

When I put myself into Group 8’s shoes, this is what I see. It Started with a Kiss and They Kiss Again (I know some/many of you didn’t like it) were so popular that people loved it. For our next series, why don’t we take a tried-and-true story and adapt it? It’s sure to sell well.
But, a lot of fans say they didn’t like the Taiwanese version of Kotoko, so let’s make our Ha Ni less ‘Kotoko’ by giving her more ‘character’, make her stand up to Seung Jo. That’ll make them like it. We must keep the cool headed genius though. People like that Mr. Darcy kind of thing.

When I look at things from Hwang In Roi’s perspective, here’s what I see. This is the story of two people whose paths wouldn’t cross easily in real life. How are we going to make a love story between two people drastically different believable? By bridging the gap, by toning the characters down. So, of course, let’s do the set up for the characters first. Go in depth. That’s why he used 2 episodes. In ISWAK, by the end of the episode, Xiang Qin was already being asked the question.
When you watch ISWAK, you won’t feel bored. This proves to be a limitation with Group 8, seeing as at most this story will only be 24 episodes, unless by popular demand, they decide to extend the series. But then, they have always overcome that by combining plot devices.

I put myself in everyone's positions and think. Why? How? What? Kim Hyun Joong.

He has to prove that he's stepped up, that he's working hard to improve his acting. This is probably what he's doing.

Jung So Min. I know little about her. She can play Xiang Qin but she's not Xiang Qin in the same way that Ariel played her.

@ 11.2.2.1.4 djes
Opposites attract, yes, but… I’m sorry there has to be a ‘but’ in almost every statement that comes forth from my mouth. I’m really sorry that it seems like I am rebuffing practically every statement. It does appear so.

It’s really hard to explain why Zhi Shu and Xiang Qin like each other. It’s like, like, she breathed some life into him with all her bumbling, the words, her actions all spelled out ‘I like you. I like you so much.’ At first, he found it annoying. After a while, he grew accustomed to it and sometimes, I find, he relished the attention she lavished on him. Then, poof, he realized that he might be losing her. Then, he woke up and suddenly realized the truth : that he was head-over-heels crazy in love with her, just as much as she was in love with him.

I see it this way, had Zhi Shu continued wearing girls’ clothes, he probably would have grown up believing in fairytales, like Xiang Qin, of course he would still be very intelligent. Now, I really don’t think Xiang Qin would have fallen for someone like that. Opposites attract. But, attraction can only last for so long. He was drawn to her because.. it’s hard to explain. All I know is, he was in love with her before he even realised it. Also, people become more like each other, they adopt each other's traits after they get married. Which is what Group 8 will find difficult to do in the sequel, if they have a sequel, since they've made Ha Ni like this.

Xiang Qin’s perseverance, beliefs show that she’s idealistic, she believes in the best of people while Zhi Shu, let’s put it this way, he understands the ways of the world and is burdened by his limitations. Xiang Qin believes that as long as we work hard, we can do anything. Zhi Shu, even as he’s a genius, hits road blocks in his life, most of them brought on by Xiang Qin herself, but it was essential that he experience them.

Yes, anyone who has watched ISWAK and is now watching Playful Kiss will find that Ariel – Joe tops Jung So Min – Kim Hyun Joong. Has anyone thought of a name for their pairing yet? So Joong. So Hyun. Oh Hani similar to Oh Honey. So, here goes, ‘Oh Hani, I’m home.’

I love the banter between the brother and Xiang Qin. It was so natural. I hope they’ll give him a lot more screentime.

@ 11.2.2.1.6 Dafné

Zhi Shu is actually a lot like other people. So, I wouldn’t say that his thinking is different from others just because he’s a genius. Of course, if you’re the type to stop and think out all the possible solutions to a problem, then you’re probably like Zhi Shu. So, Zhi Shu is actually like a lot of people.

We have yet to find someone who appreciates ‘stupidity’ as a virtue. Listen. If you have a high IQ but do nothing to advance yourself, you’ll still be in the same rotting pit. I know people and in fact, I can point to one who has a very high IQ but is in fact in ‘hibernation’. If you have high IQ and you’re good at what you do, I suppose that will get you a good job. But, can a high IQ lead you to a position with money, power and fame? These days, anyone can acquire money, power and fame. Hello, Sarah Palin. Oh my Lord, the woman is a freaking high profile commentator. Hello, Levi Johnston. Yes, hello to you, Spencer Pratt. Heidi Montag.

I wouldn’t include Paris Hilton in my examples. Hilton is freaking smart. She knows that people like to see dumb blondes act out. She knows very well. She plays on that. She’s one hell of a marketing genius. She knows how to sell herself to the media and the public.

Yes, who would want to have a low IQ? I appreciate that I am able to read and write. But, I envy Xiang Qin. Her tenacity, her persistence, her character. I want that. Put in the same situation, if I found that a guy I liked did not like me at all, I’d probably give up within a few weeks.

I identify with Xiang Qin. I do. I find myself rather stupid, intellectually stupid. I don’t understand Mathematics although I find it fascinating but then I get bored very easily. Yet, when I want something, I will do everything I can - short of breaking the law- to get my hands on it.

I can’t cook. I haven’t burned the kitchen down though. But, it is one of my greatest weaknesses. I suck at most things girls excel at. I suck at experiments. I suck at pretty much everything. I am, a real-life Xiang Qin. There. I identify with her.

I have never, not once, said, ‘Don’t do it.’ to Xiang Qin. I believe, that everyone has to experience what they need to in order to grow and mature. If she had not joined the tennis club, she would never have learnt to play tennis –if not for Zhi Shu- she wouldn’t have done something she had little interest in. If she did not try cooking, her cooking would be worse in the later years of her marriage. If she did not drink 4 cups of coffee at the restaurant Zhi Shu worked at, she probably wouldn’t have a chance to sleep in Zhi Shu’s apartment. There was no way he would allow his mom to let Xiang Qin stay over unless the circumstances forced him to. If she did not go out on a fake date with Hao Qian, she wouldn’t have a chance to have a date with Zhi Shu.

No. What I meant was, ‘Why is it so bad that a girl does not excel in tests, cooking, sports and everything? Because what would you guys do if there was such a person in your circle of friends? Would you still call her annoying and dumb almost to the point of retardation?’ If by retardation, you mean, simple-minded, autistic, or Down’s Syndrome afflicted, I would like you to know that those retards are simply adorable, because they’re smiling all the time.

Of course, I understand what you guys meant when you all said that, I don’t however, agree with the way you guys said it. If a person possesses a low IQ, that’s alright, we may still like them, but if that particular person tends to follow you around, we might get frustrated.. and if we didn’t like that person, it could be chalked up to stalker-like behavior. Rather, think of it as that person admires you so much, why should we get annoyed for being the object of admiration?

There are things like that. Xiang Qin works very hard when she’s fully focused and when she’s motivated, but life is like that, sometimes the results don’t match the efforts. Life is unfair. If it were fair, every time we watched a sex scene, we’d have our eyes gouged out. If it were truly fair, BP would close down. BP would stop burning dolphins and turtles and instead save them.

I find Japanese dramas dive more into the fantasy realm. I realize this is part of their culture and the way they think. Japanese tend to adore stuff like cosplay or maid cafes or love hotels because it allows them to indulge in their personal fantasies. Nodame Cantabile. Love Shuffle. Love Game. The drama that characterized people realistically was Code Blue. Code Blue was awesome. It was Japanese Grey’s Anatomy in my opinion. I thought I Litre of Tears was very realistic. Then again, it’s based on a true story. Other stories that I found rather realistic in terms of the interactions between the characters are Proposal Daisakusen and Shinzanmono. But, Code Blue and 1 Litre of Tears topped them all.

I like realism but I enjoy fantasy as well. I like it even better when the two elements are mixed well to make a beautiful story. ISWAK leans slightly toward the fantasy element but it is rather realistic as well. TKA was so realistic, every moment of it, I was thinking, this is how a married couple acts in real life.

@ 11.2.2.1.7 Seri

Okay. *hug back*

Thanks! I really like the fact that the characters in ISWAK felt like people we can meet in real life.

I like it too.

I really do regret the fact that Group 8 decided to make her best friends... well, like that.

Yes. Duckie is cute. But Jiro was believable. He was Ah Jin while Duckie's just Duckie.

Well. I keep reminding myself that a butchered drama is better than thousands of lives lost. Then again, I can't help but criticise this. If it had been a different story, maybe I wouldn't care about it. But, this is... well. It Started with a Kiss. It's Itazura na Kiss.

@ 11.2.2.1.8 marj
Haha.. Yes, you’re right.
Ah.. That part where she was in the classroom. Okay. I don’t remember that scene but I just went and checked it out. Yes. You’re completely right.
I suppose that’s in line with her character. But, for XQ to imagine beating him up with a pillow just because he said a few things harshly? I think that’s way out of character. See, in the scene where she hit the pervert who turned out to be ZS, it was because she was rather miffed because ZS didn’t help her and she let out all her frustration on him in the fantasy. She would never do that just because he said a few harsh things or because she wanted him to be with her. Agreed?

I'm sorry people burn you an effigy on this site but I do see your point of view. Your analysis of ZS is spot-on. I've never thought ZS was a cruel character, he was quiet with few words and actions. Due to his mien and intelligence, people may perceive him as snobby or cold but he's simply just misunderstood. I loved - no, adored is more appropriate - ISWAK for the character sketch/development and the family scenes. The dynamics were REAL, the emotions were REAL and though there were definitely funny moments, I lived and breathed ISWAK for its heartwarming and heartbreaking scenes.

Comparing Playful Kiss to ISWAK is a natural inclination; however, I don't think it's right to beat PK over the head with every single scene that deviates from the original. It's another remake and should be given the chance to develop it's own spin. Granted, it is my personal opinion that PK's first two episodes are a bit rough with the pacing, acting and script - weaker than ISWAK was comparatively - but it is also common to have series stubble a bit at the beginning before they find their footing. I recall that I was initially quite unimpressed with the first episode of ISWAK when it first came out.

I don't think it's a matter of disliking "people as dumb as Xiang Qin", as it is a refutation of the validity of such characterization (or lack thereof) in the first place. The problem for me is precisely that such overt emphasis of a character's stupidity departs from reality.

I didn't read the manga so maybe in rendering Ha Ni "smarter" an argument could be made about Playful Kiss's disloyalty to the original, as well as the loss of the essence of a theme that is centered upon the fairy tale conquest of odds. Fair enough. All I'm saying, though, is that I personally appreciate the multi-dimensionality of Ha Ni which makes her feel more like a person in real life. But I agree with you that there doesn't have to be a reason for liking someone.

I guess I prefer to see ISAWK and Playful Kiss as two entirely different stories. To each their own :)

@therainhouse, i think i should have explained myself better re: adaptation. what i meant was, i don't think its fair to compare PK to ISWAK and treat the latter as it is the original material. like i said before, both are adaptations and should be viewed as such.

i think its futile to compare these dramas against each other without looking at the source material, which in this instance is the manga. i'm assuming that you read the original manga because you are obviously very passionate about the story. based on my own interpretation of it, i personally think that the story of kotoko and naoki is about two people who are on the opposite sides of the spectrum in terms of how they view the world -- i.e. kotoko is more right-brained while naoki is more left-brained. one is spontaneous and mainly guided by her emotions and the other is very logical and objective. and what makes it a great story is that despite (or maybe because of) being polar opposites, they find themselves drawn to each other more and more.

in view of this, i find PK very interesting and enjoyable because it is closer to my own interpretation of the manga. sure it has a lot of flaws and the pacing is slow but i'm excited as to how this drama will unfold, which was something that i definitely didn't feel watching ISWAK because half the time i was just cringing at XQ's character (nothing against ariel lin, i think she is a very good actress).

but like i said before, it is purely a matter of personal preference.

also, i just had to say this. but in the future, please refrain from using the word "retards". i work with children with special needs and this term definitely leaves a bad taste in my mouth. i understand that you don't mean this in an offensive way, but no, they are special not because they are smiling all the time. in fact, some of them hardly ever smile. they are special because they are who they are, just like you and me, and everyone else is special.

peace. :)

@ jo..

Alright, I'm sorry about using the word 'retards', I meant no offense. The kids I see have no problem smiling. I don't know if it's because it's a cleft palate problem but the kids I see seem to be smiling all the time.

That's why I said that they smile all the time. And of course, they're certainly special and cute and really smart and fun.

Regarding Zhi Shu and Xiang Qin, I have a particular feeling that Zhi Shu is equally left-brained and right-brained. He may be analytical and he may look at things objectively but he's also rather creative.

Also.. I like ISWAK better because it is 99.99% faithful to the story. Playful Kiss has deviated a lot and unlike the Taiwanese production they haven't even said a word of thanks to the author. All I see is the intent to make it different from ISWAK. Group 8 wants Playful Kiss to stand out so badly they changed practically everything.

The characters. They added new characters. They changed characters. They changed the personalities of the sidekicks. Look at Joon Kyu/Joon Gu/Duckie's friends. They hardly have any lines.

Also. The fact that they changed Ha Ni's dad's love story and personality was a huge blow. It changes a lot.

The fact that Seung Jo's mom only met Ha Ni's dad after he moved in. It changes the dynamic, the development.
Everything's gone haywire.

There are ways to stand out without changing so much.
Group 8 just didn't have faith that they could do it without changing the source material. And so they did.
Put yourself into the author's shoes. Honestly how would you feel if someone took your work into his hands and said ,'Okay I'm going to take this out. Let's change this.' What would you say? What would you do?

That's your baby. Something you've worked on for a very long time and now it's being butchered right in front of you. How would you feel? That's the worst part, they didn't involve any of the copyright holders in the production creatively. Considering Itazura na Kiss is based on a true story. They should have. It's a mark of respect as well as sincerity. All I can see from Group 8 is their failure to hide their intentions to make money.
There's nothing wrong with making money but I feel like to them, money's more important than the story itself.
This is art. This is a story. What's more, it's based on a real-life couple.

Criticising a less than faithful adaptation is the only way I can live with this being handled.

Adaptations are cool but unfaithful adaptations aren't.

Well. Yin. As I’ve mentioned before, there are people like Xiang Qin in the world out there. They may not be common but they’re out there and I’m proud to be one of them. So, it really doesn’t depart from reality, does it? I may not have Xiang Qin’s intelligence but I do, find myself rather like her. I really do like Xiang Qin.

She felt real. She is real. She’s based on Kaoru Tada herself.

By making Ha Ni smarter, they’ve put themselves in a tight spot, because by the way things are going, Playful Kiss will be fairly popular and if it even reaches the 20% range for ratings, I’m pretty sure they would do a sequel. And in the sequel, what would they do then?

I suppose if you treat it as two entirely different stories, then it’s better, like it’s not an adaptation at all. That would be easier to handle but I can’t handle that they’re calling Playful Kiss an adaptation when it’s so far gone.

Group 8 is really horrible. If I had the money, I’d sue them over a lot of things and not just Playful Kiss.

Group 8 in a really horrible production company. They can’t seem to handle multiple productions.

Adaptations should be handled by fans because fans are more likely to treat the stories with care.

Look at LOTR. Look at Harry Potter. Look at Dune.
LOTR films were so beautifully done, it was amazing.

@ 11.2.2.1.14 FF

Thanks for the compliment about my analysis. I don’t want to beat up Playful Kiss, I want to beat up Group 8, a little deviation is okay. They haven’t just changed the scenes, they changed the characters. Lord, I feel like all the producers can see is dollar signs. They’re not just marketing this to the Korean citizens. Group 8 is fully aware of the international fanbase and they’re selling this story to them. Let me tell you, if it does even half as well as BOF did, there’s going to be Ha Ni and Seung Jo teddy bears in video stores all over South East Asia.

A little deviation, tiny differences here and there. Sometimes, it’s needed. There’s 24 episodes. Surely there will be some changes. But, the changes here were unnecessary. They weren’t given the chance, they didn’t even ask… I feel like they’re robbing Kaoru Tada of her story. They never even consulted her family on what to do. It’s not just a remake, you know.

This is not like the Grimm Brothers’ tales or Hans Christian Andersen’s stories where everyone has a right to spin it the way they see it. Those tales are folktales, legends, lullabies sung to children. This is like LOTR albeit with a much smaller fanbase. Not everyone has the right to spin it however they want. They have to be passionate about the story.

Fans of Twilight might know this piece of information but someone approached Stephenie Meyer and asked her for the adaptation rights. They wanted to set it in a ski resort or something like that. They wanted to make Twilight a full blown action movie. Meyer said no immediately. If Kaoru Tada were alive, she’d probably say no to Group 8 too.

The most important part of an adaptation is respecting the author and her work. ISWAK was gorgeous, they adapted it, paid tribute to her and made money even while doing so. Group 8 has gone out of line. The sequence for their production : make money, adapt, make money.

ISWAK’s first episode was fine, it wasn’t the best in the entire series but it was good.

This is all so commercialized. I really, really do not like Group 8. There are ways to make money and lots of it while bringing stories to the small screen. See, I really loved ISWAK not just because it was faithful but because the entire cast and crew knew fully what they’re doing… I doubt that in Playful Kiss, anyone ever really cares about the original. Because it’s changed so much, there’s practically no need to read the manga, they can just rely on their scripts, can’t they? And are they not doing that?

Playful Kiss has got it 70% wrong… I think it will do well but it may not be as popular as ISWAK. Of course, if you guys like it, then well, I’m disappointed that you all decided to settle for less than perfect. Because when you’ve been to heaven, you don’t want to go back to the world again. Everything seems so mediocre and dull in comparison. But, I suppose you all are content with Playful Kiss. That’s the way things run.

@tharainhouse:

The very fact that you're able to make sustained and substantiated arguments in favor of ISAWK and against Playful Kiss demonstrates that you're far from thoughtless, no? Now if they had shown that kind of capacity in Xiang Qin I would have found her more realistic. :)

Not to say that I dislike Xiang Qin - I really don't! I admire her perseverance, but felt that she was almost made to be so silly only to emphasize that kind of dogged spirit.

@ 11.2.2.1.21 Yin

I thought about what you said. Really reflected. The answer is yes and no. If this debate had been carried out in real life and I’m facing all of you, I wouldn’t be able to argue in favour of ISWAK and against Playful Kiss. Over the internet, my points may make sense. But, in real life, had any of you egged me on or said, ‘Lol.’ or snickered at my statements like some of you probably are doing, I would have been furious. I think I would be able to speak my mind in real life, these points would still come out but I would have been very emotional about it. So, yes and no, I am thoughtless in real life and I appear to be rational and analytic. I can type a comment, look it over, edit it until I’m satisfied with it and then post it so that my statements appear insightful. Perhaps that’s what I’ve been doing.

I believe each person is shaped by his upbringing, social and cultural environment, experiences in the womb and outside the womb, as well as how he perceives the way others look at him. Each individual is a composite of everyone around him. I have a trait of yours and you might have a trait of mine.

This is my theory… I’m exploring the veracity of it and so far, it’s yet to be proven wrong. Suggestions and constructive remarks are welcome.

@ Yin, of course I understand that you like Xiang Qin but you would have liked her even more if her character’s intelligence level wasn’t highlighted and emphasized to the point of driving so many viewers off the cliff. But, I felt that this was necessary, it was true to the plot and it was in line with what Kaoru Tada wanted. Also, like someone else mentioned, they made Ha Ni a 7 and Seung Jo a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10. The theme of the story is unraveling quickly. It’s not as strong as it was. If they had made a 2 or 2.5, that would have been better for the storyline. Because the first part of the story is about her chasing him and occasionally, him slowing down or stopping at that point in his life so that she could catch up. But, now that they’ve downplayed the characters’ personalities, they’ve made the chase easier, it’s not so much a chase anymore. This was never the point of the original story.

What I like about ISWAK is the production team’s reverence for the original material, they were passionate about the story and it showed. It still shows. They were so respectful of the author’s world and treaded ever so carefully. What Playful Kiss’ production team is doing is that they’re tearing apart the story. It’s almost like the executive producer took one look at it and said, ‘It was popular in Taiwan but I don’t like it and so I’m going to change it.’ This would never have gone down in Hollywood, when changes are made, it’s because it was necessary due to time constraints or other limitations, but they didn’t affect the story overall. Stephenie Meyer was involved in the first three of the Twilight Saga films and she’s one of the executive producers for Breaking Dawn. Even with The Lord of the Rings. Even with Dune. Even with the BBC series based on Austen’s novels. What Playful Kiss’ producers could have done was to ask for the copyright holder’s input but have we seen any initiative from then?

Let Me In is the American remake of Swedish film Let the Right One In. People who watched the original said this, ‘How do you improve perfection?’ While It Started with a Kiss is not perfect, it’s rather close. Playful Kiss. I think the producers want Playful Kiss to surpass the Taiwanese adaptation in terms of popularity. The first two episodes were unanimously deemed weaker than the first two episodes of the Taiwanese version. Of course, who doesn’t want to do well both critically and comercially? But, it seems they want to be markedly different from ISWAK and Itazura na Kiss and in a bid to do so, they’ve changed the source material.

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If I were to give Playful Kiss a review looking at it as a normal drama and not as an adaptation of Itazura na Kiss, I would say this : among the three ‘romantic comedies’ airing now – My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, Sungkyunkwan Scandal and Playful Kiss – Playful Kiss stands in last place. First of all, the pacing is very slow. Second of all, the supporting characters don’t seem to be supporting characters, they’re there for comic relief. Whether this is done intentionally or not, it is a very bad move. While the cinematography in Episode 1 was beautiful – we saw it in those fantasies of Ha Ni – how does it advance the plot? How does the setting contribute to the story? A lot of characters that were added were just confusing. For example, that girl- what’s her name, Chang Mi/Jang Mi ? - she’s in one of the lower classes, isn’t she? What role does her character play ? If they wanted a Mean Girl/Queen Bee, they could have chosen someone from Seung Jo’s class, a predecessor to Lee Si Young’s character but someone not as subtle as the character so that Seung Jo would have found her annoying. Now, she’s just um, squealing whenever she sees Seung Jo with Ha Ni or making fun of Ha Ni. Thirdly, besides the mother, it seems none of the other family members are instrumental to the bonding between Ha Ni and Seung Jo which downplays their roles, making the relationships (Ha Ni with SJ’s family members) unbalanced. Fourth, the dialogue is fine. Indicative of conversations in real life. Except for um.. Ha Ni’s teacher. I find her very cartoonish. Style. If they wanted to make Seung Jo’s teacher an older replica of Seung Jo, they shouldn’t have made the teacher wear those glasses. Now, it just makes the teacher look a serious geek who has bad taste in glasses. Generally, Kim Hyun Joong and Jung So Min are styled well. But, I do not appreciate the fact that they chose someone plump and someone who acts smart but isn’t to play her best friends. It just seems like they’re trying to make Ha Ni look normal next to them. This is a really bad move.

If Playful Kiss was not an adaptation of Itazura na Kiss, here’s what I would grade it : 60%

Since it is an adaptation and a very unfaithful one at that, here’s the grade : 40%

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This is something most of you might want to read, especially those of you who disagree with me. Here’s a tip on how to refute my statements. Some of my points are double-edged swords, they can be used in favour of Playful Kiss as well as against it. Think about the statements I made regarding Playful Kiss and you could use them to paint Playful Kiss in a sympathetic light.

When you’re thinking of a reply to my comment, do consider what I’m going to say in response to that and please respond to what you imagine I’m going to say. That way, I’ll be stumped. That’s the way I do it. Whenever I intend to make a reply, I think of what that user is going to say next and then I respond to that. And it goes on and on.

I will probably relax my iron-fisted grip on Playful Kiss once I’ve seen the worst of it. When I’ve seen the worst, everything else will seem good to me. The reason why I’m still criticizing Playful Kiss is because I haven’t seen whether they’re going down or up yet. That will probably happen around Ep 12 or Ep 16.

Perhaps you might want to consider using reverse psychology on me. I don’t know if it works on me but you can try. If you start criticizing Playful Kiss so badly, I might be convinced that it’s not so bad after all and I would, perhaps, endeavour to convince you that Playful Kiss isn’t as bad as you think or don’t think. Or you could just ignore what I have to say. Like the Girl Who Cried Wolf, after awhile my comments and posts will be completely ignored. You could try that if you think you can bear what I have to say about Group 8’s treatment of Playful Kiss.

Also. If you insist on pushing me to the extremes by cussing and using swear words or any dirty words in any language, you’re just going to egg me on and I’ll come right back with more arguments against the subject you’re in favour of. I am highly opposed to profanity, I find it degrading and condemnatory. Virtual profanity is the most cruel form of bringing someone else down and it is safest for the person whose mouth releases those words as the recipient can only retort in kind but cannot defend himself physically.

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