Drama Queen's Dry Spell (Orange Marmalade, Oh My Ghostess Partial Reviews)

Hello everyone! I'm sorry it's been so long since I've posted. Unfortunately, I've been quite busy with work and I haven't found any shows I love. So, this post is going to be a mish-mash of half-watched shows. I hardly ever drop shows mid-way through and I've just had a bad run of doing so. Since I have no fully watched shows to review, let's just dive in.

Orange Marmalade:

The Gist: Vampires are not a well-kept secret. They're out in the open and not well liked. Unfortunately, this makes Baek Ma Ri's life miserable. She wants desperately to be human and unnoticed. This proves impossible when a classmate, Jae Min, takes an immediate liking to her. This is ironic because Jae Min has a serious grudge against vampires. Can Ma Ri learn to like herself and get Jae Min to accept her too?

Why I started watching: Simply - I loved this webcomic. I don't read a lot of them, but once I started Orange Marmalade, I raced right through it. The premise was interesting enough and the characters were quiet and well-developed. There's a very real examination of people and the bias we bring into our relationships. Not to mention, this story has a lot of the power of friendship, which I really love as a secondary plot.

Why I stopped watching: I love when a remake adds its own twist to a story, but Orange Marmalade slashed the original story to pieces. The original story arc is reduced to a pretty simple montage in the first quarter of the show. Then there is this very odd flashback situation, where our characters are other characters 300 years earlier. And that's when I stopped being interested. I have no doubt that this show could be decent for someone who doesn't know the original, but I just lost all interest when it strayed so far from the present day plot. All in all, I don't think I got halfway through this show.

High Society:

Honestly, I don't have much to say about this. I don't even know the plot of this show because I didn't make it through the first episode. I waited to hear if reviews got more positive, but they stayed pretty middle of the road, so I never got back to it.








Oh My Ghostess!

The Gist: Shy Bong Sun is a nervous mess. She sees ghosts in her waking life and doesn't have the guts to pursue her cooking dreams. Her life takes a sharp turn when she is possessed by outgoing ghost, Soon Ae, who can't remember her own death. In a desperate desire to fill her last wish, she starts pursuing Bong Sun's boss to lose her virginal status. She's on the clock, though, as it's only a matter of time until she becomes an evil spirit and Bong Sun is not sure what to do with this new persona she's known for, not to mention a potential new chance at love.

Why I started watching: After reading some positive reviews, I decided to give this show a chance. It started a little slow, but it ended up being totally hilarious. I can't think of another drama I thought was this flat out funny. Park Bo Young does a great job with her possessed character. She has a great energy and commitment to her character. It's a good bit of fun. Also, the romance has some good strong sparks.

Why I stopped watching: Honestly, I got pretty far along in this show, about 12 episodes out of 16. My main issue with this show is that Soon Ae and Bong Sun don't have an even enough amount of time in Bong Sun's body. By the time Soon Ae steps out of the picture, Bong Sun has barely gotten a chance to develop her relationship at all. Poor chef has this long growing relationship, but it's not really with the girl he loves (or is it? Confusing.). I didn't really want to keep watching once we got to the point when it was time to tell the truth. I don't think their relationship was really strong enough to stand it. Also, I was curious about what happened to Soon Ae, but Chef's brother-in-law basically had a neon sign above him that said "I'm EVIL." I wasn't crazy about the lack of subtlety.

Essentially, the show has a really funny strong main character, but our romance isn't really between the right characters.

So:

I haven't really watched a great drama in a while, one I wanted to finish. This leaves me falling back on old favorites - re-watched Shut Up Flower Boy Band - and on some American shows - I've been marathoning my way through Pretty Little Liars. It's not quite filling my drama needs! If you guys have any old or new favorites that are tried and true, please let me know! I could use a good recommendation (preferably one under 20 eps, 16 is better).

Again, sorry for the radio silence. I hope to have some new review for you guys soon. Thanks for reading! <3