Proposal Daisakusen ~Operation Love~

Warning! Spoilers below!

"Hallelujah chance! *wink and pose* Noooooooo!" That's Yamapi's signature line in the drama.

Proposal Daisakusen is a story about childhood friends (Ken and Rei) who lived their lives together from grade school up to college. The series opens with Rei getting married to their high school professor (Tada). During the reception, Ken gives a message for the newlyweds. After his speech, a slide of Rei and Tada-san's pictures that serves as the timeline of their relationship was played. While watching the slide presentation, Ken realized that he had a lot of chances to tell Rei how he feels for her but didn't act on it. A fairy then appears, telling him that he will give Ken the chance to go back to the past by using the pictures on the slide. He would be transported a few hours before the photo was taken and would be back to the present when the camera flashes. He should then use his chances and make Rei his girl.

He was really able to go back to the past and little by little changed things. He even made his two friends (Eri and Hisashi) go out with each other. But it's not enough for Rei to be his girlfriend. Everytime he goes back to the present, it was always during the slide presentation, which means that Rei still got married. However, it was implied during these travels that Rei also has feelings for him but eventually gave up because she feels that Ken doesn't feel as strongly as her. She thinks that he prefers keeping his emotions to himself that's why she got so frustrated. Ken was supposed to propose to her too and even bought a ring but Rei rejected him before he even started proposing. Ken threw the ring away but their friend Eri found it and gave it to Rei. This made Rei doubt her decision about marrying her professor. That was the last photo. Ken already gave up but was shocked to realize he was on the stage and was only about to give his speech. He finally got the courage to say everything he wanted to say and walked out of the hall. Rei got confused even more but was let go by her fiancé and she followed Ken.

This series was recommended by a classmate of mine, a hardcore jdrama fan! :)) When I got to watch it, every episode thrills me and I was always eager to watch the next one, especially when it was about to end. The story shows that most people have regrets about things they made in the past and silently wishes to correct their mistakes. However, we aren't as lucky as Ken to get a chance to go back to the past. The only thing we can do is accept the past as a part of our life and act on the present. As a singer said before, "There's no future in the past." The present is still there and we can do something about it for the future. The drama also emphasized that there was never a right timing. Say whatever you want to say or do whatever you want to do so that you won't find yourself waking up one day and realize that the opportunity slipped by. *sighs* Another regret.

Proposal Daisakusen made me realize that I am lucky for waking up today, which means that I still have the chance to do or say what I want. It inspired me to look forward to my life on a positive way. I really recommend this series to everyone! Long live Japan! :))

49 Days

WARNING: This post contains some spoilers so those who are interested to watch this series and/or hates spoilers, please leave this page immediately. Thanks! :)

I first learned of 49 days when it was aired on a network here in the Philippines. I thought that the story is interesting and that the plot is unique. I've always regarded Korea as a benchmark in quality dramas. Most of the Korean dramas I've watched pleased me so I was quite excited about this drama.

49 days is the story of a young girl, Shin Ji Hyun, who has everything in her life: loving parents, very good friends, beauty, wealth, and a handsome & smart fiancé. One day, she encounters a vehicular accident and sees her own body full of blood.  She then learns that since it wasn't her time to die yet, she would be given the chance to live again if she would be able to gather three pure tears from three people who sincerely loves her. Ji Hyun was very positive about having many people who loves her but then she discovers that her life isn't as perfect as she thought it was. The people she considered as friends dislike her and won't shed pure tears for her. What's more shocking is that her fiancé is actually in a relationship with one of her best friends and they are planning to bring down her father's company. Now she has to find three people who really love her and at the same time stop her fiancé from stealing her father's company.

When I watched the first few episode on TV, I felt that I couldn't wait for the remaining episodes so I finally decided to download the episodes so that I could watch it before being aired on TV. True enough, every episode was very exciting. The story developed unexpectedly and the actors were very good at portraying their respective roles. It also illustrated the belief about karma. It was one of the things in this drama that sparked my interest because it says that you have a fixed lifespan determined by how you lived in your past life. The idea of having modern grim reapers was also interesting.

However, I felt really bad when the female protagonist had to die in the end. I think that it was so unfair, given that she has to waste 49 days of her life looking for at least three people that truly loves her only to find out that she would eventually die five days later. Well, who said life is fair? In my opinion, the story was trying to teach a lesson that life is very short. As what was said by the Scheduler, "We are born to die." We have to live each moment as if it is our last day so that we won't have any regrets. I would also like to quote some dialogues that really touched me. Han Kang's mother said that when you love someone, it's okay to be misunderstood. You would rather be misunderstood than to explain because you know that it would inflict greater pain to the person you love. Also, Ji Hyun said that it's more painful hiding your feelings for someone than not knowing what you really feel. I think these statements are very profound. It entails a lot of sacrifices but at the same time great concern for your beloved.

The alternate title "Pure Love" is really fitting for this series since it shows different kinds of love, but the most important one is pure love since it would show that you love a person unconditionally and that the only reason you love that person is because they are who they are. Although I categorize it as a tragedy, most of the characters got their happy ending and I guess that is what's important. When I shared my sentiment to my sister about the death of Ji Hyun, she said that it made the drama unique up to the very end. If she hasn't died, then it would just be a typical drama where the bad guys get arrested and the good guys would live happily ever after. Upon hearing this, I felt at ease. The writer really did a good job on this drama. Overall, I was satisfied with the drama and I would always want to watch it again.

I Wanna Go to Japan!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the pictures used in this post.

If I would be given the opportunity, I really really wanna go to Japan. And I already thought of things to do when I get there.

First of all, I'd like to go to this mall. It's called Shibuya 109 as you can see. I learned about it from the mangas I read and the animes I watched. I think it's very famous and I'm really excited to see how it looks inside.



Next, I wanna go to Osaka. It's amazing how Japan maintains a balance between their tradition, which is very evident in Osaka, and the modernization, which is very evident in Tokyo. It's as if these two are in an entirely different place. Going to Osaka would probably make me know more about Japan's culture and appreciate the country more.

Of course, my visit won't be complete if I won't get the chance to cross one of the busiest streets in the world. According to what I've read, the traffic lights signal stop for 30 seconds then the people just cross the street.

I also want to eat in food stalls in Fukuoka or it's what they call yatai. There are different dishes for sale and I want to taste all of them! Yum!

I've never seen a real cherry blossom up close so I'm also planning to do cherry blossom viewing or "hanami". These flowers weren't Japan's national flower but they play a very important role in their history and culture.

Well, those are the only things I was able to come up with so I'll just get back on it later. :)

"A Crazy Little Thing Called Love".. Crazy Indeed!

Spoiler alert!

I just watched "A Crazy Little Thing Called Love" yesterday. I've been trying to watch it since last year but I haven't gotten the chance because of our busy schedule. Most of my classmates have already watched it and they said that it was really beautiful and that I won't regret watching it.

Well, I can say that it was worth the wait. There was nothing special about the movie. No extraordinary plot and effects or whatsoever. But what made it so beautiful is its simplicity. It was a typical love story that started in high school. The boy was a senior and the girl was a freshman. The boy is super handsome, making him the campus crush while the girl is described as bug-faced. It follows their lives and what they did for love.

I liked how they showed the female protagonist's transformation into a beautiful young lady. In the end, the girl gained confidence and courage, which is a good thing. As she mentioned, she used love in a good way and served as an inspiration for her to feel good about herself. Many would be able to relate to this story, especially the girls. I was not an exception. A lot of scenes in the story happened to me in real life. The only difference is that I wasn't able to confess. I think it was for the best because I'm not as strong as Nam. And also, our story didn't have a happy ending. When I watched the movie, I felt really light. It's as if all the pain and bitterness in my heart flew away. In the end, watching the movie made me realize that being in love is a very pleasant feeling. A lot of feelings can be born out of love like anger, possessiveness, bitterness, and envy. An innocent story like this teaches us that love can also lead us to forgiveness, hope, freedom, and happiness.