INITIAL THOUGHTS: BU BU JING XIN (STARTLING BY EACH STEP)

As I mentioned briefly in another post, I started watching Bu Bu Jing Xin (to which I will refer to as BBJX because it sounds better than it's English title) and it is indeed a compelling watch as many may have recommended. 

To quickly recap, Ruo Xi (Liu Shi Shi) is a heroine from the 21st century who somehow travels back into time, to the Qing dynasty where she is the younger sister of Ruo Lan (Annie Liu), the concubine of the 8th prince (Kevin Cheng). However, she later becomes friends with the 10th prince (Ye Zu Xin), the 13th prince (Yuan Hong) and the 14th prince (Lin Geng Xin). Year passed and as all royal ladies are to be recruited to become concubines or maidens. Despite the 13th and 8th prince asking their brothers (and their 'allies' so to speak) the 4th and 14th prince respectively for a favour: to remove Ruo Xi's name from the list of prospective concubines for Kang Xi Emperor (Damien Lau); she ends up being the tea maiden by the emperor's side instead. There, she witnesses the many power struggles to inherit the throne. 

On the romantic side of things, during the time she was living at her sister's household (therefore, the 8th prince's residence), the 8th prince falls for her and their feelings develop. Over the years, they keep in contact and their feelings grow. It isn't until their stay in Mongolia, where their relationship blossoms. In the background, the 4th prince has shown interest in  Ruo Xi, despite her nervousness around him - probably because of his aura and her knowledge that he will become emperor. However, she is in love with 8th prince, and tries to persuade him to give up the fight for the throne if he wants to marry her. This is due to her understanding of their outcomes in the battle for the throne. 

{And this is where I've left off, until around Episode 10}

THOUGHTS

The cinematography of this drama is visually stunning. It is remarkably beautiful, from the costumes to the make up and the actors, till the backdrop and setting. As a Mainland Chinese series I've watched in a long while, I'm definitely impressed. The storyline thus far is interesting and exciting, spurring me to continue watching. There is definitely a lot of eye candy, and by this I mean the 13th and 14th prince even though the 8th and 4th prince sets hearts a fluttering with their endeavours to win Ruo Xi's heart. 

I've always loved learning about history or watch versions of history through ancient dramas, and this is especially interesting with the time travel twist. However, I love watching the subtleties and the strategies that play out. The performances so far have been equally impressive, and the chemistry of the brothers and their chemistry with Ruo Xi is fun to watch. I love how she introduces the whole idea of equality and freedom to love and marry to the brothers. However, I don't know whether it's the time or her cultural understanding but to me, it appears as if she adapts a little too well, that she doesn't really seem to be a time travel heroine. 

Regardless, I'm glad to have found this little gem and am eager to finish this series. Stay tuned!

INITIAL THOUGHTS: I LOVE LEE TAE RI

If you're looking for a lighthearted and heartwarming romantic comedy, then this is shaping up to be quite the drama. Starring Park Ye Jin as Lee Tae Ri (of Family Outing fame) and Kim Ki Bum as Geum Eun Dong aka Hwang Min Soo (probably best known as being a member of Super Junior), this cable drama revolves around the premise of a fourteen year old boy's wish to protect his love. Ultimately, this leads to his transformation from his fourteen year old body to that of an adult. With the sundial being an instrumental part of his change, he stays by the side of Lee Tae Ri - the curator of the museum, believing that he needs to hug her in front of the sundial (in repetition of an earlier incident when he was fourteen).

With that as the foundation of the story, there are other side plots and obstacles, in the form of an annoying ex-boyfriend who works for Tae Ri's uncle who is scheming to ruin the museum. In the land of K-dramas, this is somewhat expected; you can hardly trust anyone outside of your immediate family, especially if you are rich. Also, there is Heart who is Eun Dong's noona fiance, who doesn't even like him (he's 7 years younger than her and well, fourteen) and is instead lusting after the annoying ex-boyfriend (Seung Jae). Honestly though, she's a bit of an afterthought because she's more of an annoyance than anything else really.

Onto the performances and impressions thus far, I'm really excited to see how this drama unfolds. I've already read that the ending is better than Big and deals with the whole age-transformation thing better so thumbs up for that, in advanced. Currently, I feel that drama is moving along steadily not too fast nor too slow. I'm really enjoying the build up and chemistry between Tae Ri and Min Soo, regardless of the supposed age gap considering that he is meant to be a fourteen year old spiritually. However, I do think that it's naive to think that being in the body of an adult hasn't changed his mentality one bit, because he has had to adopt to being a normal adult. Even the way he faced Soon Sim after 'forgetting' his feelings for her, he acted like an oppa. Actually, maybe he was always a bit mature for a teenager, with his determination to marry and protect her, and now Tae Ri. I love how his purity and goodness is able to comfort her and reveal her vulnerabilities. It's interesting to read that many people find Park Ye Jin to look much older than Ki Bum, whereas I find that there was still amazing chemistry despite their real life age gap. I personally find that while Ye Jin doesn't have a 'baby face', she doesn't look much older than her age; not to mention, Ki Bum has such a baby face. Thus, being able to make this work, I commend the two lead actors. They are cute together in my books. Ok, so I squealing at the computer for them to kiss already and they will if the preview is not trolling me.