ASIANOVELAS

I’m back in the Asianovela bandwagon, not that I wasn’t hesitant to admit it at first. See, I was into Asianovelas late in highschool up until my college days. It’s acceptable then,’ coz I was a teenager and I have a lot of time to spend watching t.v. and being idealistic in romance stories. But when I started to work, I shifted my attention to just work and haven’t got the time to wathch asianovelas anymore. Recently though, I was so stressed and incidentally, I’ve learned of this new Korean series Boys Over Flowers and tried to watch it, and instantly, it became a daily habit and a great was of relieving my stress ‘coz I enjoyed watching it. Since I’ve finished it, I have watched 2 other series, Love or Bread and Devil Beside Me. I’m really enjoying watching this series and I can’t help but look back on my favorite asianovelas through the years. Here’s a short list of my favorites:






METEOR GARDEN – THE ONE. Yes, this Taiwanese drama series was the one that started the asianovela craze. The Dao Ming Si - San Chai - Wa Xi Lei love triangle is superb mix of comedy, tragedy, action, drama and most especially romance. It introduced a fresh concept in local tv series because of it’s pacing, storyline, character presentation and ideas so different from telenovelas aired on Philippine tv that time. I can still remember the catch phrase from the promotions for this series in which they promise that the viewers will get hooked into this. I doubted it from the very beginning, but was really curious if it’s really worth watching so I watched the initial episode. And after that, as they say, the rest is history. I was really hooked into this. I even attended the 3 concerts held here featuring F4 together with a college friend of mine. I was lucky to have someone who had the same craziness as me when it comes to this show! (hehehe) I witnessed first hand the F4 fever that infected millions of filipinos and other asians at that time ‘coz I was one of them. The series ended years ago but it’s still not completely forgotten and I honestly don’t think it ever will be. And even though different versions have emerged and there’s constant comparison as to which version is better, the fact still remains that Meteor Garden is the original and pioneer for Asianovelas here, and if it wasn’t for their success, the other versions and other series wouldn’t exist! When it comes to asianovelas, this is my first love.





LOVERS IN PARIS – CLASSIC ROMANCE. Another love triangle but this time, the characters are older and more mature. The combination of simple minded Vivien and pure business attitude of Carlo, with a little bad-ass character ofHim is enough to make the show interesting. Honestly, my initial reaction seeing the teasers for this show is that I wouldn’t like it much ‘coz the characters seems a little mature for me. But boy, was I wrong, because this Koreanovela made me realize that a show’s story is like a person’s personality.- you’ll appreciate it as you try to get to know it; while as for the characters/actors, is like a person’s physical appearance, it will be the first thing to attract you but if there’s little personality behind the beauty, it would be uninteresting, and thankfully, both the story and the actors were great! The ending wasn’t what I hoped it would be, and it’s quite confusing and even frustrating, ‘coz not only is it open-ended, it also changes the whole story of the series. Still, it’s one of my favorites ‘coz it blended reality and fairy tale romance so well.




SAVE THE LAST DANCE FOR ME – SWEET SENTIMENTS. I honestly can’t remember the full details of this series ‘coz it’s been quite a while since I last saw this Korean drama series. Nevertheless, I didn’t forget the reason why I loved this series and that’s why I included this in my short list of favorites. Watching the whole show is like listening to a sweet ballad, with the story focusing on the two main character’s love for each other and trying to defy the odds for their relationship to survive. It’s one of the most sentimental stories I’ve watched and it showcases that the greater strength is not in physical terms but in the emotional state. Sandy, the female protagonist, looked frail and fragile but the way she handled her problems like losing her father and the man she loves is really heartbreaking and inspiring as well. Francis’ struggle with his memory loss and confusion on his feelings towards Sandy can easily get the sympathy of the viewers. This series’ simplicity and the romance’s sincerity are it’s endearing factors.



ONLY YOU – SIMPLY DELICIOUS. From the storyline, to the cast, this series is like a great dish you just can’t get enough of. The love triangle between Jonathan, Jillian and TJ is something to watch for because all are trying to make sense of their situation made more complicated because of circumstances such as working together and trying to get the love they want and deserve knowing that somehow, someone will be hurt. The show’s concept to connect food and love have been used in other movies and series but Only You made it more appetizing by giving the viewers characters which can easily be empathize with and a story that showcases how love can be bittersweet.





SWEET I8 – FAIRLY PRETTY . This is the only series that I’ve watched religiously in cable tv, in its original version (meaning not yet dubbed in Filipino and with only English subtitle.) It all started with channel surfing one time during summer vacation. I was looking for something new to watch and I stumbled upon this show upon seeing Actor and noticing it has an English subtitle. I started to watch and only realized that I watched the whole 1 hour show when the credits rolled up. After that, I was watching it night after night at 11 pm – 12 mn on the Korean channel on cable. The age gap is the main dilemma between the two characters, young and energetic Female and serious and professional Male. So different in their personalities yet very much the same when it comes to their views about love, family and traditions. It has it shares of funny and dramatic moments, but what attracted me the most is its fresh approach on romance between two people with different age group. I guess this Korean series reiterates the saying that when it comes to love, age is but a number.






MY GIRL – SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL. Even though the overall story of this Korean series is funny and light, the dramatic scenes were greatly delivered as well. This series has a great acting ensemble, plus add great chemistry from Julian and Jasmine, mix with a nice storyline – and there, you have it, an instant Korean series favorite. It’s one of my favorite because it always makes me smile and even giggle at times, especially scenes between the two main lead. The character of Jasmine doesn’t only revolve being the love interest of Julian but also explores her persona as an industrious and loving daughter while Julian’s character explores his struggle to be the man he wants to be and the man his grandfather needs him to be.










IT STARTED WITH A KISS and THEY KISSED AGAIN – CUTE CHEMISTRY. The two lead characters in this Taiwanese series (Ariel Lin and Joe Cheng) really have a natural chemistry, and you can’t help but fall in love with them even though it seems that they’re too opposite. Their love story is funny, simple but with some complications and of course, romantic in a cute way. What made it more loveable is the supporting characters’ crazy personalities and funny approach to life’s little problems. Though I don’t totally agree with how Michael treats Ginnie and how Ginnie allowed herself to be totally devoted to Michael, I still adore their romantic scenes and love them as a couple.






PRINCESS HOURS – ROYAL ROMANCE. A Cinderella story with a twist – the story of a prince falling in love with a commoner – after they got married. The story can be traced to two main roots - keeping of promises and true love. Because of the old king’s promise to a commoner friend, an arranged marriage ensued among their grandchildren – Prince Gian and wannabe artist Janelle. And despite of so many complications to their relarionship, Janelle and Gian proved that a love can survive numerous hardships if it’s true. Though the core of this Korean series is about the love story of Gian and Janelle, it also tackles other kinds of love such as love for family, love for friends and love for country. I’m really glad that like a traditional fairytale, it ended on a happy note.




SPRING WALTZ – SOOTHINGLY CALM. Among those on the list, this is the most dramatic. This series’ approach to the love story of A and B is so serious that I can’t remember any funny or light moments. I almost thought that it would end in tragedy, but thankfully, it still had a happy ending. In a weird way, I think I was attracted to this series because of it’s gloominess. The characters never seem to cease in having problems except in the final episode, and there’s a lot of tragedies that happened such as the dying without getting the forgiveness he’s asking from his son. And just reminiscing it made me sad, but still, I really like this asianovela because it’s more realistic and less idealistic when it comes to love but still emphasizing that true love can survive all of life’s challenges.






BOYS OVER FLOWERS – WHOLLY GREAT. From the story, to the characters/actors, the locations and props, this show excels. The original story is already superbly done, but the Korean version made it even better by giving more depth to the other characters other than the 3 main leads – Geum Jan Di, Gu Jun Pyo and Ji Hoo. Thanks to the 4 actors who played the infamous foursome, F4 Fever is back and another Asianovela phenomenon was started. Yes, I admit that I’m one of probably millions of fanatics addicted to this show. Even though I love the love story of Jun Pyo and Geum Jan Di, I hate the fact that Ji Hoo’s love life seems like a tragedy. I would have wanted him to have found his true love at the end of the story because he really deserves to be happy. Still, I’m more inclined towards the romance between Yi Jeong and Ga Eul because they look so great together and their pairing simply oozes chemistry. Plus, their story adds freshness and cuteness to that of Jun Pyo and Jan Di. I also love the fact that Jan Di recognizes that Ji Hoo is her soulmate and Jun Pyo is her true love, because I really believe that your soulmate doesn’t necessarily be your true love also and vice-versa. It can be 2 different persons and you’re truly blessed if you found them both. I adore this Korean series! :)



I personally recommend to watch all the series in the list. You may not like all of them but I assure you that you’ll at least find one to your liking and you’ll appreciate Asians even more. :)

Just so you know, in case you didn’t notice, all series on my favorite asianovela list have a happy ending. I love happy endings, and I’m hoping that the day will come when I’ll be able to have that one true love and we’ll have our own romantic story and happy ending. J As for now, I’m enjoying watching, reading, and hearing stories of romance, both in reel and real life. :)