Reccity rec: Flower Boy Next Door
Mar. 3rd, 2013 11:37 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
adelagiaIndependently of each other, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
slitherhither and accordingtomel both told me that I absolutely must watch the K-drama Flower Boy Next Door. True to their word, it's fantastic. I watched the first six episodes in a single day. So now it's my turn to tell you all that you absolutely must watch the K-drama Flower Boy Next Door.
OTP: Enrique Geum (Yoon Shi Yoon) and Go Dok Mi (Park Shin Hye)
The gist of it is that a reclusive young woman who's hidden herself away from the world due to past psychological trauma slowly gets drawn out when she encounters two neighbors, one who can't leave her alone because he sees through her defenses and wants to help her be courageous, and one who wants to keep protecting her from the big, bad world that hurt her.
It's wrapped up as a pretty romcom, so the emotional depth and character growth come as something of a pleasant surprise. The world is very small and quirky; nothing much actually happens outside of their little apartment complex, at least for the first half of the series, but the characters are so well-drawn that nothing really needs to.
You're Beautiful set the bar for me in terms of the perfect balance of story, rich characterization, drama and lighthearted hilarity, and FBND is right up there with it. I think that's largely in thanks to Yoon Shi Yoon, the first male lead. All the actors are excellent, but I find his handling of the character Enrique totally amazing. Enrique turns up in the beginning as a sunny, chatty, cocksure creative genius, but it's pretty clear as we go along that he uses that front to mask much deeper things. In less skilled hands, I think Enrique could come across cartoonish, annoying and bipolar, but YSY can turn his emotions on a dime and make it feel so real.
And the character himself is written wonderfully. While I love the Asshole With Secret Heart Of Gold prototype as much as the next gal (Haaai, Hwang Tae-Kyung!), it's so nice to have a male lead who is bright and kind, doesn't let his past hurts stop him from reaching out and isn't afraid of communicating and putting his heart on the line. UGH, I LOVE HIM.
Other selling points?
Cute boys
Cute boys who are dorks
The whole cast has great comedic timing, and the side characters are just as compelling as the leads. Everybody acts in line with their characterizations, and their actions and development always make total sense. I'm now 13 episodes in (there are 16 total) and, knock on wood, I can't find a flaw with this show. After City Hunter, which is my gold standard (seriously, it's so good), I stopped watching K-dramas altogether because I didn't think anything could top it. So glad I got prodded into FBND. Watch it watch it watch it, you guys.
*Caps from Dramabeans
**You can watch practically every subbed K-drama ever, free and legally, on Viki.com
slitherhither and accordingtomel both told me that I absolutely must watch the K-drama Flower Boy Next Door. True to their word, it's fantastic. I watched the first six episodes in a single day. So now it's my turn to tell you all that you absolutely must watch the K-drama Flower Boy Next Door. 
OTP: Enrique Geum (Yoon Shi Yoon) and Go Dok Mi (Park Shin Hye)
The gist of it is that a reclusive young woman who's hidden herself away from the world due to past psychological trauma slowly gets drawn out when she encounters two neighbors, one who can't leave her alone because he sees through her defenses and wants to help her be courageous, and one who wants to keep protecting her from the big, bad world that hurt her.
It's wrapped up as a pretty romcom, so the emotional depth and character growth come as something of a pleasant surprise. The world is very small and quirky; nothing much actually happens outside of their little apartment complex, at least for the first half of the series, but the characters are so well-drawn that nothing really needs to.
You're Beautiful set the bar for me in terms of the perfect balance of story, rich characterization, drama and lighthearted hilarity, and FBND is right up there with it. I think that's largely in thanks to Yoon Shi Yoon, the first male lead. All the actors are excellent, but I find his handling of the character Enrique totally amazing. Enrique turns up in the beginning as a sunny, chatty, cocksure creative genius, but it's pretty clear as we go along that he uses that front to mask much deeper things. In less skilled hands, I think Enrique could come across cartoonish, annoying and bipolar, but YSY can turn his emotions on a dime and make it feel so real.
And the character himself is written wonderfully. While I love the Asshole With Secret Heart Of Gold prototype as much as the next gal (Haaai, Hwang Tae-Kyung!), it's so nice to have a male lead who is bright and kind, doesn't let his past hurts stop him from reaching out and isn't afraid of communicating and putting his heart on the line. UGH, I LOVE HIM.
Other selling points?
Cute boys
Cute boys who are dorks
The whole cast has great comedic timing, and the side characters are just as compelling as the leads. Everybody acts in line with their characterizations, and their actions and development always make total sense. I'm now 13 episodes in (there are 16 total) and, knock on wood, I can't find a flaw with this show. After City Hunter, which is my gold standard (seriously, it's so good), I stopped watching K-dramas altogether because I didn't think anything could top it. So glad I got prodded into FBND. Watch it watch it watch it, you guys.
*Caps from Dramabeans
**You can watch practically every subbed K-drama ever, free and legally, on Viki.com
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no subject
on 2013-03-03 07:41 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2013-03-03 09:40 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2013-03-04 03:28 am (UTC)i just finished watching king 2 hearts, which annoyed the hell out of me, except for the storyline with the princess and her bodyguard ;---;
and right now i'm watching an older drama, dalja's spring and ashegf I LOVE IT. one of my friends rec'd it to me and omg it's so, so good.
no subject
on 2013-03-04 03:52 am (UTC)Re: Dalja's Spring -- But your tweets are always yelling about things getting in the way of your ship! LOL.
no subject
on 2013-03-04 03:58 am (UTC)but i still think you should watch it! :D it's about a woman in her early 30s, who's never really been in a relationship because she's been too focused on her career. as the show progresses, she starts to date more and basically all of her friendships are AMAZING and ladies supporting ladies and it's actually pretty well-written/more progressive than half the dramas now.
the summary on hulu doesn't do it justice because it really is a wonderful show to watch. :D
no subject
on 2013-03-04 11:33 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2013-03-05 05:59 am (UTC)no subject
on 2013-03-05 06:07 am (UTC)no subject
on 2013-03-11 05:54 am (UTC)no subject
on 2013-03-12 12:41 am (UTC)no subject
on 2013-03-12 04:25 pm (UTC)