Drama Review: Future Diary

Hi guys! Along with K-Pop, I love K-dramas and anime so today's review will be on the most recent drama that I finished, which is actually a Japanese drama, not Korean… 

Anyways, the drama is "Future Diary: Another World," and my friend and I were completely obsessed with it! 

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There are 11 episodes, which is significantly shorter than Korean dramas, but, I believe, Japanese dramas tend to have second seasons, unlike K-dramas. This was also the first J-drama I've watched, so I can't name too many significant differences between the two. One thing that really stood out to me is the speed of the plot development. Since J-dramas are much shorter, everything happens one after the other, and this style definitely kept me watching because each episode was so shocking that I just wanted more. This drama was also based off the popular manga-turned-anime, Mirai Nikki.

Genre: Romantic Thriller

I would say this drama was a romantic thriller because there is a romantic relationship between the two main characters, but the situation that they find themselves in is very complicated. It's not your typical, the families hate each other conflict, but they're in a serious, life or death mission. There are a lot of plot twists that keep you on your toes and definitely keep you guessing because once you think you've figured it out, something else is thrown at you. (Hence why we finished the drama in 3 days; it was just too intriguing!)

Synopsis:

This drama is about a boy, Hoshino Arata (Okada Masaki), who ends up with a Chronus Seed Corporation smartphone, and soon learns that his new phone has the capability to tell him his future, the Future Diary. Later on, he meets a girl, named Furusaki Yuno (Gouriki Ayame), whom he discovers also has a Future Diary. They uncover the sick reality that they are merely two of seven other unwilling contestants that must participate in a sadistic game -- where they must use their Future Diaries to kill each other -- in order to be awarded the prize of their "ideal future."

Overall:

For an overall rating, I'd give this drama a 9 out of 10. It was wonderfully heart-racing and captures your full attention. The storyline was well-written, and was a very intriguing and thought-provoking concept. The only thing that I keeps me from giving this drama a perfect 10 is the character development. It could just be the difference is styles, and the time crunch since there are only 11 episodes, but the growth of Hoshino Arata seemed a bit rushed for my liking. Other than that, I highly recommend this drama for anyone who is looking for something a little different from the typical love story, but still has the aspect of a heart wrenching couple relationship. 

For more drama reviews/recommendations, don't forget to hit that follow button in the upper left hand corner. :) Also, leave a comment down below telling me how you liked or didn't like this drama, or any recommendations you have for me to watch next.

Until next time! :)

KBS Free K-Pop Concert Ticket Info!!!

Hello! The wait is over!

Tickets will be released on TICKETMASTER on Saturday, March 29 at 10:00 am PST!!

The tickets are free, but there is a small service fee of $0.75.

To reserve your tickets in person, also at 10:00 am PST, it's a first come, first serve basis at the HwaGae Traditional Market (940 S. Western Ave. Los Angeles, CA). 5,000 tickets will be distributed at this location.

There is a 2 ticket limit per person.

Make sure to RESERVE your tickets!

The concert is only 2 weeks away! :D

For more info on the concert, check out my previous post here. :)

(Source: LA Kpop Festival Facebook Event)

KBS Open Concert Update

Hello, hello everyone! You're probably wondering, "Otteoke?! What happened to the KBS Open Concert?! Why haven't you updated anything?!"

Yes, the concert is less than a month away and ticket information has, still, yet to be released. As promised, as soon as official information regarding the distribution of tickets is announced, I will inform you guys. :) 

I wouldn't let you down, lovely followers. Lol (Source)

So far, floating around forums and comments, some netizens believe that the tickets may be a "first come, first serve" type of distribution -- where you would either have to physically line up to obtain a ticket or be one of the first to reserve one online. 

Some people are also wondering, "If it's a free concert, why do I even need a ticket in the first place?" 

Just imagine the chaos if everyone simply showed up on the day of the concert and tried to stampede their way into the coliseum. The venue only holds 93,000 seats and can accommodate about 100,000 people; everyone would trample each other like a bunch of sasaeng fans trying to catch a glimpse of their bias. (Nobody wants to be a sasaeng fan, but that's a different story.)

Don't be a sasaeng fan... (Source)

An even grimmer rumor concerning netizens is the possibility that the concert would be cancelled…

I know, they can't do that to us?! (Source)

Though is it a plausible outcome, I highly doubt KBS America and the L.A. Korea Society would pull out such an extravagant announcement without something to back it up. It would be very poor publicity on their part considering all the hype and promotions that has been built around it, from their official website to the Facebook event. 

I am considering whether or not this could be tactic to build up the anxiety and excitement for the event to ensure enough people would show up to fill their venue. They could also be working on gaining two more idol groups to add to the line up, since only 12 out of the 14 performers have been revealed so far. Maybe someone quite exclusive?

Until more information is released, we will just have to stay on our toes!!

If you have any questions regarding the event, feel free to leave a comment down below or tweet me your questions, @aegyoanika. :) Also, let me know if you have any other information to share with all of us or just your thoughts on the delay; I'd love to hear what you have to say! 

To stay up-to-date on all things hallyu, please click that follow button in the upper left hand corner. \( ^ - ^ )

Until next time. Thanks for reading! <3

Welcome to the "OMK!" Series

Attention all K-Pop lovers in the U.S.!

Hi guys! It's AegyoAnika back with another post, but this one is a bit different. Today I'm introducing a new series to this blog, which I'd like to call "OMK!" (And if it wasn't obvious already, "OMK!" stands for "Oh My Kpop!" Haha) 

Now you're probably wondering, "What in the world is 'OMK!' going to be about?" Well, generally, when something shocking happens, people respond with "Omg!" so on this series I'll be bringing you the latest Kpop news occurring in the hallyu community, from events to scandals to comebacks. (See what I did there, now? Haha)

For this first post of the series, I'm extremely excited to announce some Kpop events that will be taking place in the United States these upcoming months! 

[Quick Disclaimer: Because I do reside in the U.S., the events that I will be covering will only be those taking place here in the States.]

Only about a month and a half away is the FREE KBS "Open Concert" in collaboration with the L.A. K-Pop Festival!!

KBS America and the Los Angeles Korean Association have teamed up to present a free (Yes, you hear right. Free.) K-Pop concert in L.A. on Saturday, April 12th. The event is in commemoration of the 111th anniversary of Koreans in America. The concert will be held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which is said to hold up to 93,000 seats and 100,000 audience members. The festival will begin on April 12th at 11:00 am, and the three hour long concert will begin at 5:30 pm.

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While ticket information has yet to be released, 14 top idols are said to be attending the event, a few of which have already been released. The released line-up, so far, include Sistar, Girl's Day, CNBLUE, SHINee, 2PM, Infinite, Dynamic Duo, Lena Park, Kim Taewoo, Song Sohee, Seol Woondo, and Joo Hyunmi.

For further information on the Open Concert, you can follow them on Twitter and Facebook.

The following month, on May 3rd will be the "Korea Times Music Festival" at the Hollywood Bowl. Two acts that have been released for the event are Crayon Pop and Dal Shabet. More acts are to be announced, but tickets are now on sale.

To get your load of K-Pop stars sooner, Jay Park and 4minute's HyunA will make an appearance at the SXSW Music Festival from March 11th to March 16th.

So remember to mark your calendars!

To stay up-to-date on the latest K-Pop happenings, please follow me here, on Twitter, or on Tumblr! And if you have any information you'd like to share, leave it in the comments down below. :)

**I'll also be sure to post how to obtain tickets for the Open Concert as soon as information is released.

Until next time!

(Sources: Soompi, Kpopstarz, Koreaboo, Billboard)

MV Breakdown! BTS - Boy In Luv

 Hi guys! Today's MV Breakdown features Bangtan Boys' comeback single/music video "Boy In Luv."

Let me tell you, I was extremely excited to see their comeback because I immediately fell in love with them during the middle of the 2 Cool 4 Skool era, & have enjoyed seeing how far they've come since then. 

Moving onto the actual review, the very beginning of the video threw me off a bit because I thought the melody that was playing was what the song was going to be like, that or it would be the song that Jin was listening to. Granted, that doesn't really make much sense, now that I think about it, since we did get to hear a small preview of the single from Big Hit, but I don't know, I was just confused at first.

As soon as the beat dropped & the first couple lines were chanted, I thought, "Yes! Now this is the Bangtan that I was expecting!" I really like how the beginning of the song is like a chant because it adds such an eerie, but cool feeling to the song & the video right before the guitar kicks in & blows your mind.

Now, the song itself is about a guy who is smitten over a girl & is, basically, determined to be her love. The lyrics, & the video itself, come across a bit contradicting because the diction portrays the singer, aka the guy, as very confident in being able to make the girl his, but at the same time, he doesn't treat the girl the way you would expect a person to treat someone they like. 

A big controversy that I've noticed over the video is the way the girl is being treated, particularly during Suga's part & when Jin pushes her into the locker. 

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First off, fans shouldn't judge the members off of what they're told to do for the music video. They, generally, don't take part in the artistic direction of the video, that's all up to the director. In both the showcase & in the behind the scenes making of the music video, Jin apologizes to the girl multiple times & she's fine with it because it's just business. 

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Another point is that a big theme, other than teenage love, that they are going for is to come across as a manly man. Although I do not condone this "tough guy" behavior for interacting with women, it's what they're using to showcase the boys as manly guys in the video. 

What's interesting is that the video & the lyrics depict the dual-sided view of love from a guy's perspective. The guy believes he's a big shot, macho man that can get any girl he wants, but now that he's found someone he has actual feelings for, he doesn't know how to behave. This explains why in the music video Suga & Jin don't treat the girl very well, because the only thing they know how to do is be the cool, tough guy.

The confusion that the guy is facing is reflected in the lyrics, as well.

"You make me so angry and mad for no reason
I’m serious but you make me into a loser, who picks fights with you
Why do I care so much about you?
You’re making a big boy act like a little kid."

From being someone who has a strong outer appearance, he's faced with a girl who makes him as weak as jello.

"I’m getting nervous, I’m getting nervous

Who are you? Are you that great?
Why do you keep teasing me?
Just stop now, hold up, hold up."

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The scene during the bridge of the song seemed out of place to some people because of how strong the song & video are compared to the corny spotlight & rose scene, but it actually ties in with the confusion the guy faces in how to deal with the girl he likes. At this point in the video, he finally realizes that he just needs to tell the girl what's on his mind, how he truly feels. (You'd be lying if you didn't admit this made you fangirl like crazy. ( > v < ) )

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On a lighter note though, one part of the video that I found to be really odd & somewhat awkward is when Jimin & Jungkook are both in the bathroom just casually talking to each other. Do guys really do that? (If you're a guy reading this, please let me know in the comments below if this is normal because I thought it was really weird.. Haha)

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Other parts that didn't exactly fit into the storyline, in my opinion, are when they're in the basketball court & Suga is just chilling on top of the basketball hoop or when Rap Monster makes fireworks appear out of nowhere. I guess you can say that the ending scene was their way of impressing the girl, but I still thought it was quite random.

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I was particularly impressed with the choreography because it's a lot more hard hitting than what they've done in the past, which perfectly fits in with their new image. My favorite points in the choreography are the level changes & the intricacy the footwork adds to, what I like to call, the "cool guy matrix/crotch grab."

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Overall, I really, really like this song because of the rock infusion it has with the hip-hop sound. I'm not completely familiar with the sound of old school hip-hop, but I've read & heard that the strong, rock feel combined with hip-hop is exactly what it's like, so that's pretty cool. It's such a climatic song that I can't seem to get over it. The video showcases the choreography well & fits into the theme of teenage love (no duh, they're at school). The depth of the storyline & how it's played out in the music video is also very impressive.

& Before we end this review, we should take a moment to appreciate how good all of them look in this video! They always look good, but I am in love with this "real man" image they're going for.

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This review ended up being so much longer than I expected, but thank you so much for reading it! I hope you enjoyed my thoughts on Bangtan's Boy In Luv music video. :)

Leave me a comment telling me what you thought of the music video & their new comeback image. Until next time.

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