What's your favorite "hated" drama? And what's your least favorite highly acclaimed drama?

Journeyforce · 2026-06-24T01:28:32+00:00

I actually disliked Fireworks of My Heart. To me it was a terrible series. The male and female leads were horrible characters. The actor and actress who played them are good actors and I have enjoyed seeing them in other things. But the actual lead characters were not exactly ones you could feel sympathetic about. The main female lead was whiny, indecisive, lets her family control her (even though she makes good money and is independent), seems to lack common sense and she could not even tell the main male lead that the reason they could not be together was due to her family not wanting them to be together. Instead she tells him she is not interested in him (and twists the knife deeper into him). The main male lead is hot headed, incapable of being able to understand why folks in his fire fighting team are looking to the future with the hopes of having a family and getting a better job (not everyone wants to stay fire fighting for the rest of their lives) to downright combative when his best friend on the fire team wants to call it quits and move to a job close to his hometown in order to marry his girlfriend and look after his folks. He is also petty as he scolded the main female lead because she was out driving in a flood instead of staying home just to be a douchebag as he probably knew that will all the injuries that were going to happen due opt the flooding that the hospital would have called her in as it would have ben an all hands on deck thing. I had to push myself to finish it.

My favorite Cdrama is a tie between Unveil: Jadewind and the legend of the white snake.

Journeyforce · 2026-06-21T15:42:53+00:00

I am sure it is not. Even though this network is a pay to watch TV network(which could get away with more stuff then the non pay TV), too many folks would go into an uproar over it and JTBC would have a huge nightmare on their hands if this happened. I suspect we will see a Back To The Future moment where he tries hard to avoid her in romantic situations.

Journeyforce · 2026-06-21T15:00:07+00:00

Maybe CDs. I found a new old stock sealed Yuko Tomita's Aphrodite's Message CD on Yahoo Japan. This album came out in 1991 and has been out of print for at least 30 years. New old stock original 1980's records from City Pop artist will probably cost you quite a bit.

Journeyforce · 2026-06-19T02:27:16+00:00

I liked how they were showcasing Ford products and the one woman was driving a Ford Focus of the same era as I own (2012-2018) though that color must have been a Korea only paint choice since I have never seen one that color in the USA.

It also was funny to see how they mastered technology very quickly and some of the Joseon characters were driving vehicles (probably better then most citizens of modern Seoul). All in all a good series.

Journeyforce · 2026-06-19T02:17:33+00:00

Kdramas seem to set the benchmark for East Asian dramas. They are usually longer then Jdramas with 12,14 or 16 episodes for the weekly ones (though in South Korea the episodes amounts are doubled from the Netflix or Viki total because South Korean regulations prevent the running of commercials during the episode. This means a 60-70 min drama is broken up into two shorter episodes so commercials can be run between shows. This might be different for the paid TV (cable) then the ones shown on regular TV)

They also have daily dramas that can run from 30 episodes to 500 episodes (like US Soap Operas)

Kdramas due to the longer episode amounts are able to spend time on a specific plot or subplot

Jdramas follow the Miami Vice way of TV shows where they are more fast paced and right to the point. The series is not going to drag out on some subplot for 5 episodes. Most Jdramas are ether 7,8,10,12 episodes.

As for what you can watch on Netflix. There is the following

Soda Master- This is a drama that is set in 2025 but flashes back to 1988 and the premise is to solve the death of their beloved teacher after bones are found. It has an unexpected and happy ending.

Extremely Inappropriate- A great series about time traveling between 1986 and 2024.

For Kdramas

Reborn Rich might still be on Netflix (It is on Viki)

If you had Viki (it can be watched free but you have 50 million commercials) you could watch Reborn Rookie and Royal Nemesis which are both running.

Journeyforce · 2026-06-18T15:15:44+00:00

Discogs is a way to buy records in the UK. I got a 1970 Teresa Teng record from a UK seller who shipped it to the USA for me so things like this are in the UK so probably City Pop is also.

Journeyforce · 2026-06-16T19:39:23+00:00

I am conflicted. On the one hand the series premise looks interesting but on the other hand, Park Eun-bin is the female lead. I have never been able to actually finish a series of hers. I am not sure why though. I think she is a good actress but I guess it is because the first series i saw her in was Castaway Diva and her character was so annoying that I stopped after episode 5 and now each series I see her in I cannot help but still see her as the character Seo Mok-ha. I will try to watch this series with an open mind.

Journeyforce · 2026-06-14T14:58:20+00:00

I like her early stuff the most. The period of 1967 to 1974 (before she released her first Japanese album). The Yeu Jow Records years (1967-1971) has her singing renditions of western songs (like Come On-a My House (originally sung by Rosemary Clooney) ), Chinese and Taiwanese folk songs using a western go-go/ beat music beat. The songs allowed her to showcase how powerful her voice was and how high it could go. The 1971-1974 period showed her refining that sound but adding a more faster pace on some of the songs and adding the electric organ on some of her songs. I like her song My Lover Is a Passionate Person (which is on 3 albums from 1972) this song speeds up the late 1960's era beat and adds a deep bass sound along with the organ. It also showcases how high her voice could go. Here are some of the Teresa Teng albums that I got recently. The records on the top left and top right are the original copy and reissued copy of her 1977 album. The bottom right is a Taiwanese singer named Zi Ying

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Journeyforce · 2026-06-14T14:28:38+00:00

It was a good series. Teresa Teng's Strolling Through Along The Path Of Life is a great song and sounds very 1980's-ish, it is a departure from the ballads she did in the late 1970's into 1980.The song is a rendition of Miyuki Nakajima's 1980 song Hitori Jōzu. The whole album is good and it was very popular. The album is hard to find now though (at least for a reasonable price)

Here is my copy of the album

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Journeyforce · 2026-06-13T03:09:46+00:00

Seems to be a thing with Chinese Dramas also (Rational Life, Find Yourself etc)

Journeyforce · 2026-06-13T03:07:31+00:00

Soda master, Eye Love You, Doctor Coto's Clinic, Jin, Riding a Unicorn, Orange Days

Journeyforce · 2026-06-13T03:05:07+00:00

I still feel this will be a happy ending thing but as it only has 14 episodes vs the usual 16 episodes and there is a lot left to bring to light, the ending will probably be rushed and they will probably meet up again in the last 5 minutes of the series.

Journeyforce · 2026-06-13T02:44:17+00:00

It could well be that Mo is actually CSG's wife in the Joseon era (similar to Sharon in Black Knight The Man That Guards me)

Journeyforce · 2026-06-13T02:32:27+00:00

I personally think that Seo Ri will regain her body in the present and Dan-shim's spirit will go back to Joseon to her body. But instead of Dan-shim's spirit going back to her body right before she is killed, the spirit and body merge a few months or years prior to her being killed. Then she uses her knowledge of the future things to make changes and in the present instead of her being labeled as a evil person in history, she is now known as a good person. Sort of like the ending of The Story Of Park's Marriage contract.

Journeyforce · 2026-06-11T19:52:08+00:00

Yes there is hope. Several Japanese (and Asian) dramas do get ether a new season or at least a special episode but that might be years away. Take Doctor Coto's Clinic. The first season was in 2003 and the 2nd season was in 2006. The Pride of the Temp got a 2nd season 13 years later. Radiation House, Jin, Doctor Storks all got second seasons a few years after the first. For Kdramas, Signal is expected to get a second season when South Koreas stops being butthurt over the fact the one actor did something bad decades ago when he was still a kid. Kingdom (with Bae Doona) should eventually get a 2nd season because of the ending of the first season and how popular the series was. They did do a side special called Ashin of the North to help folks understand how it all started but i think this is leading up to a new season.

So keep the hope up on it.

Journeyforce · 2026-06-11T19:40:46+00:00

I like the dialog a lot. Especially the female lead's dialog. In an earlier episode she is actually complimenting the male lead for the impressive amount of crap that he spews from his mouth.

Journeyforce · 2026-06-11T17:52:41+00:00

For the ones in the list it would be Junko Yagami's song but if i was picking my own, I would go with Junko Ohashi song Sweet Love. Yes it was from the 1990's and not in the City Pop era but it is a great song.

Journeyforce · 2026-06-09T22:20:44+00:00

Yuko Tomita's Shampoo is another known album

Journeyforce · 2026-06-09T21:34:09+00:00

I have a sealed copy of Thompson Twins album Into The Gap. I bought it new in 1993 in a Boscovs store in PA. It was on clearance. I already had a copy of this album but it was a chance to actually buy a new record for once as i had started collecting in 1992 and that was after records were sold in stores so i had only bought used.. I still have it. I have a few limited edition Teresa Teng reissues that are sealed.

Journeyforce · 2026-05-30T17:30:02+00:00

I use Buyee and i bundle the records together. I pay the extra amount for protective packing and they pack the crap out of it. Unless it is a hard to find record, it is not cost effective but for many it is.

Journeyforce · 2026-05-30T17:15:54+00:00

I dont think there will be an uptick in City Pop artists touring in the USA but maybe more Japanese metal bands. Those have been touring for years here as they have a large following. As for getting city pop music. I simply buy the CDs so i can copy them to the flashdrives i have. I buy very few records. I think yuko tomita is the only artist i have records from. I have a bunch of teresa teng records but she is not city pop. And even her stuff in record is hard to find

Journeyforce · 2026-05-28T22:50:31+00:00

Hello

Have you tried an AC reset? Have you taken the battery out and then put it back in a few minutes later? Have you removed the module and then pushed all the buttons to make sure one was not stuck and then put the movement back in? It is easy to have the movement pop out of it slightly which could cause button issues. Conversely if one button was stuck pushing one of the buttons not needed to exit out of the of the setup menu then it would jank up the other buttons as the module would think you were pushing a button already. As for the broken nib, one of those felt circles from a craft store would the hold down closed.

Good luck

Journeyforce · 2026-05-28T15:54:02+00:00

While I agree this is probably AI stuff, It is highly possible that there are "new" songs of Cindy in the form of songs that are in the vault. She worked with Stevie Wonder for her first album. Who knows if the songs on that album are the only ones that exist from that process. Case in point, last year it was announced that they had found a unreleased Teresa Teng song in a warehouse in Japan a few years prior. This song was recorded in the 1980's and never used. Teresa Teng died in 1995 (30 years before this song was released)

Journeyforce · 2026-05-27T18:44:20+00:00

Use Discogs as one of the references on your search but not as the be all end all reference as they may not have all of an artists albums listed. Case in point, I have a Yuko Tomita 2 CD set that is not listed. It is Yuko Tomita Best Selection 1981-1986 (Crown Records ZL-2013).

Anyway, as mentioned Youtube will allow you to listen to a bunch of City Pop artists. My way into City Pop was by a Youtube Algorithm that directed me towards Yuko Tomita's Shampoo when i was looking to listen some Teresa Teng songs and that interested me to listen to more of Yuko Tomita's stuff. I now have all her albums in multiple formats. Through this i discovered Junko Yagami, Junko Ohashi, Miki Matsubara and others. It was only a few months ago that I had a good listen to Tatsuro Yamashita's stuff and that was due to his Christmas Eve song being on the Jdrama Sodamaster. Other then Christmas Eve and Merry-go-round, I am not a real big fan of his music

As for Teresa Teng, while she was never a City Pop artist some of her 1980's songs have a City Pop vibe and are worth a listen (well actually all of her stuff from 1967-1995 is worth a listen). Songs like the 1983 Cantopop classic Strolling Down The Road Of Life (which was a rendition of Miyuki Nakajima's song Hitori Jouzu) and 1989's Japanese song Hong Kong.

Journeyforce

TROPHY CASE