A few days ago, I finished watching,命中注定我爱你 (Fated to Love You) which is a Taiwanese drama about a guy who accidentally slept with (and eventually impregnates) a total stranger while on a cruise ship. [BEWARE SPOILER AHEAD] In both their drunken stupors, they didn’t realize that they had accidentally slept with the wrong person. It should have ended there, but fate has a weird way of dealing destiny. The girl’s pregnancy leads them both to get married for the sake of their future. The thing is, the guy has a girlfriend who’s a ballet dancer on tour. When she unexpectedly comes back, it leads to a lot of confusion. Also, the guy starts falling for the girl, though he doesn’t seem to realize it. There’s a lot of hullaballoo when a miscarriage happens and the girl goes to Shanghai and eventually changes herself, leaving the guy behind without a word. 2 years later, fate deals another hand and the two unexpectedly meet again, because of the girl’s artistic talent. It leads to more confusion and more drama as lies and truths unfold. This Taiwanese drama is really hilarious and dramatic at the same time. One can say, there is too much drama in some parts, yet at the same time, one can’t help but fall in love with the two characters. Honestly though, I’ve fallen for the male supporting actor, Baron Chen Chu He. Started having a crush on him since China, way before I found out about this drama series~ 🙂
Click here for the site where I’ve been listening (online) to the Fated to Love You OST. 🙂
Now, I think I’ll start on 惡魔在身邊 (Devil Beside You) which is another Taiwanese drama that was recommended to me a couple of months back. I’ve actually watched a few of the episodes before, but I never really had the time to watch it. Another drama that I recently added to my list of must-watch dramas is this drama called 黑糖瑪奇朵 (Brown Sugar Macchiato). While browsing through a list of dramas available on mysoju.com, I chanced upon this one. Title and description was interesting, and when I saw the first episode, it didn’t seem bad to me. It actually looks like it’ll be quite comedic and interesting.
In all honesty, I much prefer Taiwanese dramas to Korean dramas and Japanese dramas, though Japanese dramas don’t fall far behind my love for Taiwanese dramas. A lot of my friends love to watch Korean drama, but I prefer the storyline of Taiwanese dramas to it. Oddly, I began watching Korean drama way before I watched Taiwanese or Japanese dramas, because of Arirang Channel. Meteor Garden came in High School, a few years after my introduction to Korean drama. For some reason though, I really prefer Taiwanese dramas to Korean/Japanese ones. It could be the language, seeing as Mandarin is a language I’m quite familiar with, as compared to the intangible Korean (which I still barely understand). Japanese on the other hand is a language I’m quite familiar with as well, which is why I probably also have an interest in Japanese dramas. Boys-wise, I have a thing for Chinese Oriental looking guys, like Chinese/Taiwanese/Singaporeans/Japanese/Koreans/HK-ers and such.
Benefits-wise, watching Taiwanese dramas is good for me, because I get to practice listening to Mandarin, and I learn a lot of new words along the way. Even if I’m not in China anymore, via dramas, I am still able to immerse myself in a Chinese sort-of environment. For me, watching Taiwanese drama is a learning experience. Plus, it keeps me knowledgeable in Traditional Mandarin, which is what I grew up learning. In college though, they are more into teaching Simplified Mandarin, which has its pros and cons. At least, in this manner, I keep myself knowledgeable in both Traditional and Simplified Mandarin, which is a good thing for the future, in case I live or frequently travel to either places.
Oh, another Taiwanese drama besides 流行花园(Meteor Garden) and 流星雨(Meteor Rain) that I’ve watched is 恶作剧之吻(It Started With a Kiss) and its sequel, They Kiss Again. I think I watched Love Scar (or something like that) a few years back, but I didn’t appreciate it because it was shown on our local channel and had been dubbed into Tagalog. Not much to learn there.