(EPISODE 01-30)((summary taken from azntv))
Prince Who Turns To Frog / 王子變青蛙 / Wang Zi Bian Qing Wa
The fairy tale goes... After the princess kissed the frog, it turned into a handsome prince and they lived happily ever after...
Yeah...right.
When you visit a little town called Guan Mei, you may meet Ye Tian-Yu (Chen Qiao En). At first glance, she may seem as a shameless, money-grubbing, deceiving little schemer. And when you meet her family at their little grocery store called "Qian Lai Ye" (Money c'mon in), you will find the shameless, money-grubbing, deceiving little schemer trait runs in the family. But, please don't prejudge them. They are actually very kind-hearted townsfolk, as Shan Jun-Hao (Ming Dao) finds out when he gets involved in a mysterious car accident and loses his memory.
Okay, fine. The accident is not so accidental.
Shan Jun-Hao is a general manger of Senwell Hotel, in which his family owns 60% of the shares. His cold-hearted, cut-throat management style pisses quite a lot of people inside and outside of the hotel. So on the day of his engagement to his childhood friend, Fan Yun-Xi (Zhao Hong Qiao), he gets kidnapped. Not someone who takes it lying down, he fights for the control of the kidnapping car. The car crushes into a side railing and falls down a cliff. Luckily, he survives the crash and manages to climb back up onto the highway. Unfortunely, he is immediately hit by an oncoming car and knocked unconscious.
And, who hit him? A little hint: The guilty party takes him home, finds out his memory is lost (Hence, not remembering who he is, and most importantly, not remembering she hit him), and recruits him to work in her family grocery store.
My Rating:
There are very few dramas that I’m willing to go back and watch a second time thru after having already watched it… WBZRD is one of those few. Basically, this is because Ming Dao and Qiao En have AMAZING chemistry together: they are by far my favorite Taiwanese couple ever. And of course, the fact that the story is terrific from start to finish, doesn't hurt either.
But there is some discrepancy between how many episodes there actually are. On most official sites, I believe that it's listed as 20. And yet (several?) popular television stations cut the episodes run-time when they were airing--so, although the content stays the same, the 106 minute running time per episode, changed to 45 minutes--extending the series to 30 episodes instead of its original 20. This is the version I watched (since it's the only version I can seem to find). But even though there are a whopping 30 episodes, each one goes by extremely fast and doesn't drag at all! And despite the fact that this is by definition an idol drama, these idols can actually act!
I also admit to having a small but harmless obsession with Ming Dao... if me and my boyfriend ever break up, I'm moving to Taiwan, and marrying him instead. Ahem, but anyway...
For those of you unaware, this series is based off the Korean Drama, Save The Last Dance For Me (another favorite of mine). Although, where STLDFM is more drama-angst-oriented (especially towards the end), WBZRD is more humor-romance-oriented, which is why I ultimately preferred this version over its Korean counterpart.
(small rant)
I think the main problem people have with this drama, truthfully, is Qiao En. Though it’s shallow and stupid, some people can’t stand watching a drama where the lead isn’t drop-dead gorgeous, or in the least, extremely pretty. Of course, the same goes with male-leads too. In real-life, Qiao En IS really pretty… but in WBZRD, her character is supposed to be homely, poor, and unrefined… and she pulls it off amazingly, because she’s that good of an actress. Of course, she grows prettier throughout the course of the series… but unfortunately, some people don’t stick around long enough to see that. They take one look at her, find the entire plot unbelievable (HE falls for HER?! Are you kidding?!) and don’t give her (or the show) a chance.
Eventually, the more you watch her, the more she grows on you—she actually became one of my favorite Taiwanese actresses--even more so than Barbie, Ariel, or Rainie.
(end rant)
Tian Yu is awesome: I love her spunk, her determination, and the way she can just wrap Dang-Ou/ Jun-Hao around her finger without even trying.
I think what really puts this drama above series likeMeteor Garden
Throughout the series, you really believe they’re the characters they’re portraying on the screen—it’s amazing how Ming Dao can transform himself into two almost entirely different people. You can see the difference between Dang-Ou and Jun-Hao—in their personalities, their mannerisms, their hair and clothes—and yet, you can also see the similarities too. Eventually it’s obvious that they were always a part of the other… Dang-Ou was always a part of Jun-Hao. And it’s that part, I think, that fell in love with Tian-Yu, and refused to lose her.
And again, I’m a sucker for amnesia stories… so really, I adored this drama from the start. And the romance is just beautiful. A true Cinderella story… with so many memorable, wonderful romantic moments, it would take me forever to list them all! But if you're a fan of romantic comedies, you HAVE to watch Prince Turns to Frog. ^_^
Basically, if I was trying to get someone into dramas, I’d start with this one. I’m guessing 8 out of 10 people would probably fall in love. (Despite my obsession with Ming Dao). It's the perfect "hook" drama, and a great one to "reel" people in.
Prince Who Turns To Frog / 王子變青蛙 / Wang Zi Bian Qing WaThe fairy tale goes... After the princess kissed the frog, it turned into a handsome prince and they lived happily ever after...
Yeah...right.
When you visit a little town called Guan Mei, you may meet Ye Tian-Yu (Chen Qiao En). At first glance, she may seem as a shameless, money-grubbing, deceiving little schemer. And when you meet her family at their little grocery store called "Qian Lai Ye" (Money c'mon in), you will find the shameless, money-grubbing, deceiving little schemer trait runs in the family. But, please don't prejudge them. They are actually very kind-hearted townsfolk, as Shan Jun-Hao (Ming Dao) finds out when he gets involved in a mysterious car accident and loses his memory.
Okay, fine. The accident is not so accidental.
Shan Jun-Hao is a general manger of Senwell Hotel, in which his family owns 60% of the shares. His cold-hearted, cut-throat management style pisses quite a lot of people inside and outside of the hotel. So on the day of his engagement to his childhood friend, Fan Yun-Xi (Zhao Hong Qiao), he gets kidnapped. Not someone who takes it lying down, he fights for the control of the kidnapping car. The car crushes into a side railing and falls down a cliff. Luckily, he survives the crash and manages to climb back up onto the highway. Unfortunely, he is immediately hit by an oncoming car and knocked unconscious.
And, who hit him? A little hint: The guilty party takes him home, finds out his memory is lost (Hence, not remembering who he is, and most importantly, not remembering she hit him), and recruits him to work in her family grocery store.
My Rating:
There are very few dramas that I’m willing to go back and watch a second time thru after having already watched it… WBZRD is one of those few. Basically, this is because Ming Dao and Qiao En have AMAZING chemistry together: they are by far my favorite Taiwanese couple ever. And of course, the fact that the story is terrific from start to finish, doesn't hurt either.
But there is some discrepancy between how many episodes there actually are. On most official sites, I believe that it's listed as 20. And yet (several?) popular television stations cut the episodes run-time when they were airing--so, although the content stays the same, the 106 minute running time per episode, changed to 45 minutes--extending the series to 30 episodes instead of its original 20. This is the version I watched (since it's the only version I can seem to find). But even though there are a whopping 30 episodes, each one goes by extremely fast and doesn't drag at all! And despite the fact that this is by definition an idol drama, these idols can actually act!
I also admit to having a small but harmless obsession with Ming Dao... if me and my boyfriend ever break up, I'm moving to Taiwan, and marrying him instead. Ahem, but anyway...
For those of you unaware, this series is based off the Korean Drama, Save The Last Dance For Me (another favorite of mine). Although, where STLDFM is more drama-angst-oriented (especially towards the end), WBZRD is more humor-romance-oriented, which is why I ultimately preferred this version over its Korean counterpart.
(small rant)
I think the main problem people have with this drama, truthfully, is Qiao En. Though it’s shallow and stupid, some people can’t stand watching a drama where the lead isn’t drop-dead gorgeous, or in the least, extremely pretty. Of course, the same goes with male-leads too. In real-life, Qiao En IS really pretty… but in WBZRD, her character is supposed to be homely, poor, and unrefined… and she pulls it off amazingly, because she’s that good of an actress. Of course, she grows prettier throughout the course of the series… but unfortunately, some people don’t stick around long enough to see that. They take one look at her, find the entire plot unbelievable (HE falls for HER?! Are you kidding?!) and don’t give her (or the show) a chance.
Eventually, the more you watch her, the more she grows on you—she actually became one of my favorite Taiwanese actresses--even more so than Barbie, Ariel, or Rainie.
(end rant)
Tian Yu is awesome: I love her spunk, her determination, and the way she can just wrap Dang-Ou/ Jun-Hao around her finger without even trying.I think what really puts this drama above series like
Throughout the series, you really believe they’re the characters they’re portraying on the screen—it’s amazing how Ming Dao can transform himself into two almost entirely different people. You can see the difference between Dang-Ou and Jun-Hao—in their personalities, their mannerisms, their hair and clothes—and yet, you can also see the similarities too. Eventually it’s obvious that they were always a part of the other… Dang-Ou was always a part of Jun-Hao. And it’s that part, I think, that fell in love with Tian-Yu, and refused to lose her.
And again, I’m a sucker for amnesia stories… so really, I adored this drama from the start. And the romance is just beautiful. A true Cinderella story… with so many memorable, wonderful romantic moments, it would take me forever to list them all! But if you're a fan of romantic comedies, you HAVE to watch Prince Turns to Frog. ^_^
Basically, if I was trying to get someone into dramas, I’d start with this one. I’m guessing 8 out of 10 people would probably fall in love. (Despite my obsession with Ming Dao). It's the perfect "hook" drama, and a great one to "reel" people in.
NICE! Love Dang Ou!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you. I can see many of my thoughts and feelings in your review.
ReplyDeleteInitially I didn't like this series and stopped after the first episode because I thought the main girl was shallow, stupid, aggressive and ugly. I don't like the drama in which the girls are not considerate. After 2 years or so, thanks to my younger sisters' praise for this drama and my hunger for some romantic series, I decided to try this drama again. And I can't believe it. I totally fell in love with it. I have watched it at least more than 3 times and still liked it.
I like the gentle love between Dang Ou and Tian Yu during the first 12 episodes. I like how they fall in love again in the next 15 episodes. I love the fact that Shan Jun Hao doesn’t remember things afterwards but falls in love with Tian Yu again. At the same time, Tian Yu also falls in love with Shan Jun Hao and realizes Shan Jun Hao and Dang Ou are the same. I like how they endure the hard time together in the last few ones.
I think the characters' personalities are very consistent through the storyline. Tian Yu does become more and more mature and pretty. Shan Jun Hao also becomes more mature emotionally, i.e. he grows to become more and more gentle and show more of his affection towards others. Placing the character in different situations does show more clearly what a great man Shan Jun Hao is. Qiao En has successfully portrayed a poor cheerful girl with a very warm and innocent heart while Ming Dao looks charming in every second either as Dang Ou or Shan Jun Hao.