Hello Javabeans! Exams are finally over and I'm finally on holiday, looking forward to catching up on nearly 3 months' backlog - reading your blog's gonna be my new 'homework'!

That said re the Winter Sonata anime - I really don't see how this animated series can bring anything new to this franchise. Fans of BYJ/CJW may be interested at first, but realising that they won't be seeing their faces/hearing their voices will soon make this new endeavour lose its appeal. Besides, maybe it's just my perception but people who go for animated series and people who go for dramas are usually looking for different kinds of things. Maybe when they've flogged this dead horse to bits will they let it rest in peace. Why can't they just let popular series end on a successful note??

By the way, have you seen this oldish drama called Billie Jean, Look At Me? (billie jean, nal bwa yo) I think it came out sometime at the end of last year. I've just picked it up recently out of boredom and wasn't expecting much out of it but ended up speed-watching the entire thing within 24 hours =p It's probably a combination of Lee Ji Hoon's charm, and the female lead's unannoyingness, and the humour that's just right - laugh out loud but not slapstick, and best of all, I love how much they concentrate on the main couple's relationship - so much so that the alternate leads seem to be afterthoughts, and the misunderstandings between them are genuine issues they have to work out and not the manipulation of an evilevil love rival.

Hehe of course if you've mentioned it I'm sorry!! I will do my best to catch up on all I've missed =)

hello javabeans!
thanks for the organized soundtrack lists.
hey. i wanna ask you, i love the song "into the gentle rain" by gentle rain, but i can't seem to find it anywhere in the web.
can you help me by giving me more specific information about the album?
by the way, the song is from Coffee Prince.

thanks!!

I only watched the first episode, got totally bored, and went straight to the last episode. I didn't think I missed much, I could imagine the whole plot in my head (i think it's better in my head than the ACTUAL plot as my friends re-told the story to me.

I seriously thought I was the only one!

Not to disparage a "masterpiece," but I honestly thought it was pretty boring. :-/

ehhhh, why the heck would they want to animate this? unless cjw and byj are voicing its gonna be really tough for them to pull this...

That would be "Jang Geum's Dream." (There's a wiki entry on it.) Plus, if you look around, they also made Sorry I Love You into a short animated movie.

Love Winter Sonata, but uhm Japanese housewives do not watch cartoons. It would make more sense making an animated version of Goong.

Winter Sonata was pretty magical for me the first time. But then again it was my very first kdrama and I had nothing to compare it to. Don't think I can stomach the emotionally overwrought plot now. Attempted a rewatch several years ago and never got past the 10th episode.

"In addition to the animated production, Key East will branch out into business ventures with the derivative entities, like the OSTs, DVDs, publications, characters, games, mobile services, events, and other products.”

I read in an article that BYJ is Key East's largest shareholder. He owns about 37% of the company.

You know, after all these years, I still never understood the mass appeal of Winter Sonata to the Japanese. I've watched tons of Korean and Japanese dramas and Winter Sonata's appeal was just lost on me. I watched maybe 6 episodes, got bored, and skipped right to the ending. To this day, I never bothered to watch the episodes that I missed. No offense to Bae Yong Joon and Choi Ji Woo fans, but personally, I think their acting skills are still bland. They've been in the industry for quite some time and yet I can't seem to feel engaged with their characters whenever I see them in a drama or movie (i.e. Choi Ji Woo in Air City...ech).

Instead of continously stretching Winter Sonata's popularity, I hope non-Koreans will enjoy other noteworthy dramas such as Mixed-Up Investigative Agency, Goodbye Solo, Moraeshigae, and etc. I love anime, but I have a feeling this one's going to be a doozy.

Hey, can they at least make BYJ's hair color normal like you and me this time around?
Watching Winter Sonata just make me appreciate how much K-dramas have changed in five years. It's a series that is endlessly mockable but it did introduce K-dramas to the rest of the world. Seriously, how they are going to make a game out of this is beyond me.

I have no idea why people like Bae Young Joon. He's soooo ugly.
But I still like Choi Ji Woo. She's cute.

I personaly forced myself to watch half of the drama and gave up despite all the fuss people made about it.

I don't think the anime version is gonna work for persons who've watched the drama. I mean people watching dramas and anime are usually not the same ( I think Acey already said that). I came to watch dramas thanks to the anime and manga world ( was Kimi wa Pet for me a manga and I saw there was a japanese adaptation on screen. Came to d-addicts and saw k dramas were super popular so gave a try to one, don't remember the title... it was with Shin Min Ah and Bi. felt a bit bored but gave a try to another. It was My Girl and well you know the rest). Plus, anime are mainly designed for male or both genders but rarely only for girls. Anime targeting girls are most of the time comedies, or may have deeper meanings with a little comedy background. I'm thinking of Nana for instance though I didn't watch the anime. Anyway Winter Sonata is extremelly slow paced, They're probably gonna waste their money.

Again you never know. Few months ago, on one manga I bought, "Zipang" also known as "Jipangu" a seinen written by Kaiji Kawaguchi, I was reading one of his comment on the flip cover. He was saying that he had seen by accident a small part of Winter Sonata. Looking at Bae Yong Joon, he wrote he gave a kind of small nostalgy feeling, sad but not dramatic and thet he was sure that Winter Sonata was gonna be a Huge Hit in Japan especially for elderly women. He had ended his speech bragging that in the end he was right. There may be something in it that may be linked to Japanese way of thinking that may explain why they're so into it...

However there's some series that just can work in dramas, manga but not in an anime. You've got to have action, a little bit of fun, anime is rarely designed only to "contemplate".
And like Acey said, when I watch anime I'm planning certain types of things that I can't find in dramas and the oposite is also valid.

We'll see how it goes, I wish them the best of luck though ^^

Wasn't there a manga/manwha adaption as well? I remember reading a scanlated chapter long before I found there was a drama as well... so the animation would be it's *fourth* incarnation, wouldn't it? :)

Well, at least it we're talking about the same series... blind girl lives with her mom in a place that serves american/british/foreign soldiers and meets a boy, moves to NY, becomes a singer etc etc... that's the one right? Never saw the drama but I wanted to read the manwha but since the scanlations were so slow I kinda forgot about it until now... ^^;; Have to check out how it's going now. ;P

I haven't watched Winter Sonata and don't think I ever will. I think the lead actors aren't very attractive and that's half the reason I watch dramas.

I liked Winter Sonata..Love winter series (the scenery was pretty) and the overall feel of the series especially the music. Looking back at the series, I thought it was lovely memory of a love story. But I am not watching the cartoon version though. It is best left as a series.

Quote: "I thought Winter Sonata was a total bore. But my mom sure liked it"
AM IN SHOCK!! Reading most of your comments seems like a bashing WS party. I certainly understand that each person feel different about things, but as a super fan of WS I cant help to think that all those saying it was bad or boring are just following the lead of JavaBeans on this one, I believe that series portrait a relationship that goes above and beyond all obstacles and suffering for love and most importantly made it believable. It was touching in many ways. The OST was amazing and up to me, it’s the best I’ve ever seen.

However I do believe it’s time has pass and try to get more money out of it is just going to taint the memory or the tolerance of the fans of the series, then again people always want more… I won't be looking forward for the animations, to me the magic was in the actors and the story and they way they brought it to life.

Peace!

Err no we're not talking about the same serie ^^Thinking about it I'm not too sure about it either...

VAGUE SUMMARY WITH SPOILERS

Well male transfer student meets girl, the two fall in love but there's an accident if I remember well. Everybody thinks the guy's dead, they hold a small ceremony for him. Years pass and the girl now a woman is "going out" with her best male friend who has taken care of her ever since the supposed death of the guy she loved. She doesn't have any particular feelings for her best friend but is going out with him because she's grateful and at the same time feeling guilty of her feelings that she just can't get rid off. But One day she meets a guy that looks exactly like the boyfriend who was supposed to be dead. The two fall in love. The girl doesn't know what to do because she thinks she may feel love for him because she sees her dead boyfriend in him, the best male friend of the girl is going crazy because first dead boyfriend and best male friend never got along in the first place ( there's a family bond between the two but only supposed dead boyfriend knows it which explains why he behaved like a jerk with best male friend), and the guy looks so much like the dead one it's sick to see him, second he's been waiting patiently for the girl to come to him and in the end she falls in love with her dead boyfriend double [Thinking about it, there's more than a ten years gap between the death of the boyfriend and apparition of the double. Isn't she supposed to have a social life? How come she only has her best male friend is sight?]. All in all, she finally learns that her boyfriend was not dead but that he lost his memory, and if I remember well his family didn't want him to remember painful memories ( talking about his family links with best male friend) and lied to him about his childhood. After several twists and turns that I didn't see because of skipping, was just plain bored,In the end the guy is blind and has moved to the US. But He had lied that he was dead or something like that. Anyway the girl find him and accept him despite his handicap.

Oh my God! Can't believe I remember so much!!! I almost slept during the ten episodes I watched ( watched the last five minutes of the last episode just to know )

I didn't think it was that BAD but I dont think it's SPECTACULAR either. It was boring but I beared with it, watched every episode from start to finish, simply because I dont like starting a drama and not finish watching it.
However, my husband really hated the series.

I must confess, I tried watching the original TV drama...and couldn't get through ep 1 cuz it's just so freaking boring. o.o

I'm a huge fan of Winter Sonata and BYJ, partly because it was my first K dramas I've seen. I have to agree that turning it into a cartoon is a bit much. I even forced my husband to watch it and thought it was ok.

I love the movie. Actually I didn't love it enough to watch all of it. I thought it could have been shorter and made better. I think the reason why it was so lovely was because of the beautiful scenes, melancholy musics, and the way the actors/actresses portray the series. However, to make it into an animated version is a bit too much. What was loved a long time ago should remain untarnished. I think that the plot itself isn't absolutely fantastic but the combination of everything else like musics, scenes, and talents of actors/actresses make it lovable.

Well, I'm a mellow person so I dig dramas that are more deep on the feelings. I think WS has a lot of deeper suffering feelings that I can somehow relate to. I can never watch a sad series fully again so there is no way I will be able to tolerate an animated version.

Whatever the outcome, best wish to the project! ^^

La Plume: ahhh... I just checked it out and the one I'm thinking about is called Sad Sonata... otherwise known as Sad Love Story, but I always remembered it as Sad Sonata, so I guess it's understandable that I misunderstood. ^^; Well, thanks for clearing up the misunderstanding! ^.^

I LOVE Winter Sonata,,, but what??? They're making an anime?
How is that gonna work? That's kinda weird,,, lol.
Winter Sonata is like a CLASSIC! I LOVE IT! I re-watch ti whenver I'm bored.
hahaha,,,

I tried to watch it once because all of the hype back then. I borrowed the whole drama from a friend. It was so boring that I skipped ahead a few episodes hoping that the drama would pick up at some point. That never happened. I found the story line too cheesy and slow to my taste.

I love Winter Sonata because of the beautiful sceneries & the story of a true love. I think that's the reason why it's very popular all over Asia and some other countries. Winter Sonata reminded the audience of their first love. As you get older you forget about these things & this drama was a good reminder. I didn't see the Anime (cartoon) version yet. Does anyone know where I can get this version? Ofcourse, if it's not the voice of the real character I might not like it. Choi Ji Woo & Bae Yong Joon were both great in this drama. Honestly, I like Stairway to Heaven, more than Winter Sonata. I like Choi Ji Woo very much. Bae Yong Joon is okay, but I like Kwon Sang Woo better. CJW & kSW had better chemistry in Stairway to Heaven. I just hope tney get partnered again real soon.

Winter Sonata was the first Korean drama I'd seen & from that drama I got hooked to Korean dramas. My favorites are Stairway to Heaven, Winter Sonata & Beautiful Days. Choi Ji Woo looked good with all her drama partners especially Kwon Sang Woo. I think they were the best Korean drama couple of all time. I hope they collaborate again in another project soon.

Anime version, I don't know. But if the voices of BJY & CJW will be used, I might watch it, if not forget it.

Javabeans, Choi Ji Woo was not 30 years old when they made Winter Sonata. She was only 26 years old & Bae Yong Joon was 29. To me they looked like high school students. Winter Sonata introduced me to Korean dramas. I'm a person who did not like dramas or soap opera in my country, but Winter Sonata sure made a spark on me. I became a Choi Ji Woo fan because of her excellent acting. Ofcourse, my favorite is Stairway to Heaven. Animation, I do not know. I agree that Winter Sonata should be best left to fond memories. What I really want is a sequel to Winter to Sonata with the same casts. About Dae Jang Geum, I didn't like it at all, too long & too boring for me. I don't know why it was the 2nd most popular. I like Beautiful Days. Choi Ji Woo is gorgeous & doesn't look old. Even her young co-stars in Now & Forever & Air City stated that she looks very young for her age when they got interviewed. JHS even stated that she looks younger than him (he was only 26 yrs. when they both starred in Now & Forever).

I heard that Bae Yong Joon will voice over his character Jun Sang in the anime version of Winter Sonata. I wonder who will voice over the Yu Jin's character? If it's not Choi Ji Woo, I absolutely will not watch it. BJY should hire CJW to voice over the Yu Jin part, it's just right. Choi Ji Woo had a significant contribution to the success of the original drama. She deserves the credit which is long over due.

انا بموت في النسلسل الكوري اغاني الشتاء واي حاجة كوري

I dont know, I absolutely LOVED Winter Sonata and I usually hate that kind of stuff. I must admit I was excited when I heard they are making an anime version. I think it will be real interesting to see it in that form, I am also just a huge BYJ fan so that may be apart of it. I agree though with the thought that i would prefer to see an sequal to Winter Sonata with the same cast and hope they can get as much of the orginal cast as possible for the animated series. It won't really be the same WS that I loved .

I found out that BYJ & CJW will voice over the main characters in the Anime version of Winter Sonata. I'm thrilled to hear this news. I will defintely watch it & buy the DVD when it comes out. I had been waiting for their collaboration even if it's in Anime form. I will support their project 100%. They are the best drama partners of all time.

like sweet time with winter,full with memories"s
i like that moment when both of them walking together under tree"s with nice and sad meloody.
greet job and well done hope someday your company can"t make a new anime with new feeling

I read the blog and laugh at some of the things people say here. Winter Sonata was my introduction to K-dramas. I can see why some people would say that it was boring because there were parts that didn't have to be included. That was due to poor editing. But over all I loved it. As a fan it would be hard to watch an animated version of WS if the same actor voice wasn't in it. It is always better to watch things in it original setting then the dubbed version for me.

I m relly love many actors and singers pop korean "ss501, super jinor, shenée, tovq, 2pm and saranier bie jing joon and joo jinmo and showi joo woo

Iam surprised of quantiti of MORONS on this site.Winter sonata is masterpiece & will be for VERY LONG TIME.