The manager gives her a taser in episode 5. She zaps herself in the face. I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP.

[ghostdrive]

Taking a break from my usual manga rec posts...to do a Korean drama post! I've been so addicted to this series lately, so very addicted. If you follow me on twitter, you're probably ready to tell me to STFU about it.

You're Beautiful



Starring:
Park Shin Hye as Go Mi Nam / Go Mi Nyu
Jang Geun Suk as Hwang Tae Kyung
Lee Hong Ki as Jeremy
Jung Yong-hwa as Kang Shin Woo

Go Mi Nyu is a nun-in-training looking forward to entering a nunnery in Rome...until she's forced to step up in her twin brother's place as the new vocalist of the idol group A.N.JELL while he recovers from eye surgery. Now as Go Mi Nam, she has to keep her true identity a secret from the other A.N.JELL members and deal with the everyday experiences of being an idol until her brother can return.
--crappy summary by me (hey, at least I tried this time)

A kdrama about a crossdressing nun and a boyband? Count me in! I initially checked out this series because darkeyedwolf's lj entry about it made me laugh so much that I knew I had to see it for myself. darkeyedwolf's post is definitely worth checking out if you want to see just how hilarious the first two episodes are. In fact, why don't you go check it out? Go on--I'll wait for you here.

You back? Okay. You're Beautiful is probably the best fluffy drama I've come across this year. Its strikes the perfect balance of comedy and drama for me and never feels at all forced. Like, although Go Mi Nam finds herself in some pretty ridiculous situations, I never find myself cringing at them. I'm just completely charmed by this series.

Anyway, like Mizuki in Hana Kimi, Go Mi Nam is pretty unconvincing as a boy appearance-wise (and her singing isn't all that manly either, lol), but since this is TV, it slides. Mi Nam is a fairly naive character who sees only the good things in the world and tends to act before she thinks. And oh yeah? That "eye surgery" her brother is recovering from? He wanted to make his eyes wider and now he can't shut them. -_- Yeah, I guess the acting-before-thinking trait runs in the family. And in typical gender-bending fashion she binds her chest. Normal, right? But not only that, she stuffs her pants with rubber balls---glow in the dark ones. ADJFLJDFL. Seriously, girl, couldn't you find some other method of packing?

As for A.N.JELL (Angel? Get it?), its made up of Tae Kyung, Shin Woo, and Jeremy. Tae Kyung is the leader/main vocalist of the group and is completely and utterly grumpy and arrogant. Also: very (very) obsessive-compulsive. Go Mi Nam's habit of causing things to go wrong in his presence makes him hit the roof on a regular basis. Shin Woo is A.N.JELLS's bassist (or maybe its guitarist) and Tae Kyung's total opposite; mild-mannered and calm, he accepts Mi Nam into the group the quickest. Jeremy, the drummer, is happy-go-lucky and perhaps just a tad too energetic.

I'm really enjoying the love triangle between Mi Nam, Tae Kyung and Shin Woo. Both Shin Woo and Tae Kyung know that Mi Nam is a girl--obviously Mi Nams knows that Tae Kyung knows this, but she doesn't know that Shin Woo does.

Anyway, I adore the relationship Mi Nam has with both of them. With Shin Woo its very sweet. Even though he finds out she's a girl completely by accident, he doesn't confront her angerly about it like Tae Kyung does. Instead he goes to her to figure out what her reason is for being a member of A.N.JELL and decides to build up a friendship with her: telling her secrets about himself; having inside Gyeongsang dialect jokes with her; asking her to refer to him as Hyung (big brother) since he's her senior; giving her pats on the head. (Okay, those last two examples sound a bit condescending, but he's totally sweet to her!) Overall, its a cute and innocent and gentle relationship. Shin Woo is the type of guy who would perfect boyfriend material, I think.







With Tae Kyung its very...hot and cold, I guess. On one hand he's very closed off to her; acting very dismissive toward her and, in general, acting as if she's a bother. "You are indeed a public nuisance," he often comments to her. On the other hand, he does these little things that make you know that Mi Nam is breaking through to him little by little. He creates an autograph for her (which he later takes back before she can see it), he tries to save her from drowning (although she ends up saving him instead), he even gives her the most adorable, genuine smile in episode 5 (I watched it repeatedly and swooned each time). I don't think he knows how to deal with the kindness and attention she gives to him, so he alternates between pushing her away and then finding a way to keep her by his side. As much as I love how sweet Shin Woo is, I love how much of a jerkface Tae Kyung is. God, I love warped personalities!







I have a feeling Mi Nam will end up with Tae Kyung in the end, since Shin Woo seems destined to be the Rui Hanazawa of this series. Unless there's a major twist where Mi Nam and Tae Kyung end up being half-siblings or whatever, which is something that seems to be vaguely hinted to. Seriously, what was the relationship between Tae Kyung's mother and her father?! If this twist were to happen I would laugh so much. Then her manner of keeping to her "little brother" role of the group by referring to him as Hyung-nim would be secretly (sorta) on the mark.

I've been watching subbed episodes of You're Beautiful from this channel on viikii. I'm pretty sure aja-aja has them as well. Or you can download episodes through asian_doramas (must be a member to view entries). anjells is good for episode discussions, icons, and various behind the scenes videos/pictures.


WATCH OUT THE BIDET IS DANGEROUS

All gifs in this post courtesy of asami15.