What Will You Do Ieyasu | どうする家康 | Dou Suru Ieyasu

 I've been wanting to see this one since I saw Matsumoto Jun was starring in it.  Unfortunately, I could not find it anywhere and without subs, I couldn't even attempt to find it available on a Japanese site.  Then a couple of weeks ago, I noticed it was on Amazon.  I went out and got snacks as I wanted to be prepared to watch as many episodes I was able to in 1 day.  There I sat, surrounded by snacks... With the remote in my hand, I logged into Amazon and added it to my watchlist.  Then I hit play.

It started to play but there were no subs.  I tried to select English subs but there were none available.  I WAS CRUSHED! I was so close to be able to finally watch this and because there were no subs, I wasn't going to be able to watch at all!

Then today, I was online checking out current Japanese dramas and someone mentioned they were looking for the subs to Dou Suru Ieyasu.  I nodded and I said to my laptop, "I am too".  Then, there was a comment below it saying how Amazon had it with subs so it's "free" if she has prime.  I wanted to comment that there were no English subs available but I decided to go look JUST IN CASE and sweet baby Jeezus, THERE WERE ENGLISH SUBS AVAILABLE!

So, guess what I'm about to do?  Correct.  I'm going to watch an episode before I go to work.

Synopsis from the official Dou Suru Ieyasu site:

A fresh take on the life of the titan Shogun who ended the age of war.

The boy was all alone. Without country, a father, and torn away from his mother. And being hostage of an "ally" clan, Takechiyo (as an adult, Ieyasu) can only imagine ending his life in quiet obscurity... BUT.

Moved by the passions of the samurai in the land of his birth (Mikawa), the young Ieyasu accepts his fate as lord of a weak nation and jumps into the fray of war! It is a world teeming with lethal shoguns like Oda Nobunaga and Takeda Shingen, each vying to take his slice of the pie and reign supreme.

What awaits him? Life-or-death danger! Miscalculation after miscalculation! Patience wearing thin!

What will you do, Ieyasu?

No backing, no resources; the only thing Ieyasu has are his strongminded vassals.

And he is faced with strongmen of which there seems no end: Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Sanada Masayuki, Ishida Mitsunari...

The result is a 62nd Taiga series that is one thrilling epic entertainment!

You and Everything Else | 은중과 상연 | Episode 01

The drama starts and we learn about a mysterious friendship between Eun Jung and Sang Yeon, a popular actress.  Eun Jung is on the phone with a friend who asks if she knows Cheon Sang Yeon and she says she does.  The friend tells her to watch the awards show from the previous night.  Eun Jung watches and she hears Sang Yeon say that Eun Jung was the source of her inspiration (or something like that).

In a flashback (when Eun Jung's friend starts to read the draft of a story she had started to write), we learn how Sang Yeon came into Eun Jung's life.  She was a transfer student from the best private school in Seoul, where she had excellent grades. 

Eun Jung went with her mother to an apartment she was going to be cleaning before the new tenants moved in.  Upon entering, Eun Jung was amazed as she had never been in an apartment before.  After getting permission from her mother, she walked around the apartment to explore. It blew her mind when she saw there were 2 bathrooms.  She opened a door and left a cute sticky note and wrote "You're so lucky".

For most of this episode, we learn about their complicated "relationship" when they were kids.  We learn about the teacher that was kind to Eun Jung and whom her first love was.  I could say more here but I'd be spoiling the story.

This episode ends with Eun Jung's friend (sorry, I didn't catch her name. I'm going to have to look it up) asking her why she suddenly stopped writing.  As they are talking, Eun Jung gets a phone call from a number she doesn't recognize.  It's Sang Yeon.  She wants to meet because she has something to tell her.

When they meet, Eun Jung seems annoyed that she agreed to meet (this is how it felt to me) and she was short with Sang Yeon when she got there.  Sang Yeon says she has something to tell her but isn't sure how to tell her.  Frustrated, Eun Jung tells her to just say it.  So she does. Sang Yeon hands her an envelope that has a plane ticket.  Sang Yeon tells her to look at the rest of what is inside.  She looks up at Sang Yeon who tells her she hopes she will help her.

When she blurted out to Eun Jung what she wanted to say I said to myself "Oh no, it's gonna be one of those dramas.

Borrowed the pics below from dramabeans.com and I added the names

You and Everything Else | 은중과 상연

I was about to start watching Alice in Borderland S02 from the beginning since S03 is due out in a little less than 2 weeks when I saw this one pop up.  Normally, I don't pay attention to the "Recently Added" show that comes up when you first log into Netflix BUT I saw Kim Eun-go was in this new one and I had to put it on my list IMMEDIATELY!  Then I had to decide if I was going to watch an episode of this OR was I going to go watch Alice as planned?  Decisions...decisions...  I've decided to watch an episode of this first.

Shiawasena Kekkon | しあわせな結婚 | Their Marriage | Episode 01

Started watching this one just because I happened to notice Sadawo Abe from Extremely Inappropriate! is in it.

This drama stars Abe Sadawo as Harada Kotaro.  He's a 50 yr old bachelor who isn't looking to get married at all.  He's a lawyer and TV personality, and he's been living alone since the death of his parents as he has no siblings.  

One day, after filming a TV spot, he collapses and is taken to the hospital.  It's laying there after surgery, listening to his roommate's family give their support, that he suddenly feels a bit lonely.  It's there at the hospital, that he meets Suzuki Neruka while on an elevator.  Something about her that he likes and eventually they end up getting married.

They live in condo complex that is owned by Neruka's family.  Her younger brother lives on the 1st floor, Neruka and Kotaro live on the 2nd floor, and her father lives on the 3rd floor.  One night, during a weekly family dinner, Kotaro comments of the watery beef stew they had.  He tells Neruka there's a diner where they have a really good watery beef stew dish.  They agree to meet for lunch there.

Kotaro arrives at the diner and he waits for his wife.  She sends him a text to let him know she has left school (she is a HS art teacher).  He starts to worry when she hasn't arrived and tries to text and call but he can't reach her.  As Neruka was leaving school, she got a call from an unknown number, which she answers.

Kotaro apologizes to the diner and leaves.  He calls his co-worker to ask him to check if there were any 40 YO females involved in a car accident because his wife didn't show up and he can't reach her.  In a panic he runs to the HS and sees it's empty.  There is nobody around.  In the meantime, Kotaro's 2 co-workers look at each other.  The one who didn't take the call mocks Kotaro for panicking and the other one says he's going to inquire because what if something has happened?

Kotaro continues to search around for his wife and while at the top of some stairs, he sees his wife in the passenger side of a car with a young guy.  She is expressionless.  Kotaro goes home.

When Neruka arrives home, she said she went to the diner but he was gone.  He says he waited for an hour and then left.  She walks towards their bedroom.  He goes after her and lets her know that if she needs anything, he can help her and she says she's going to shower.

So, looks like she has a secret.  The guy in the car looks like he could be young enough to be her son.  He's maybe in his early 20s I think.  Is that her secret?  She had a child when she was younger?  I believe that would have been a bit of a scandal for the family.  

So far, it's interesting and there is something charming about Abe Sawado. 

While You Were Sleeping | 당신이 잠든 사이에

 Blog Title Edited 2025.09.13

I have to admit I do not remember Lee Jung-eun on this drama.  She's not listed as a main character so I'm guessing maybe just a really minor role.  I'm going to have to watch this one again.  I really liked this one and I'm a fan of Lee Jong Suk and Bae Suzy.  I'll take my time watching this one because though I don't remember a lot about it, I do remember what the premise was.

This Kdrama aired in 2017 and had 16 episodes. Wiki's synopsis:

Whle You Were Sleeping is a combination of the romance, legal drama and fantasy genres, focusing on the take of three young adults who have acquired the ability to see the future through their dreams; field reporter Nam hong-joo (Bae Suzy), rookie prosecutor Jung Jae-chan (Lee Jong-suk), and police officer Han Woo-tak (Jung Hae-in).

Some of these dreams show crimes that Jae-chan has to investigate and others show disastrous events that one or more of them will have to endure.  Conflicted by these dreams, the trio collaborate with each other to prevent their ominous dreams from turning into reality and to defeat their archenemy, the corrupt lawyer, Lee Yoo-beon (Lee Sang-yeob).

I'll be looking out for Lee Jung-eun!

Heavenly Ever After | 천국보다 아름다운

Blog title edited 2025.09.15

Started watching this one just randomly.  I was going to continue watching another drama when this one caught my eye.  It sounded like a cute one.

A woman, Lee Hae-Sook and a man, Ko Nak-joon are married.  He is unable to walk so he spends his life in bed.  During a conversation they had at his bedside, Nak-joon tells her she's never been prettier than she is right now.

After Nak-joon passes away, Hae-Sook carries on with Young-ae (Hae-Sook raised her since she was a young child) until she passes away as well.

When Hae-Sook arrives in Heaven, one of the things she has to do is to let them know how old she wants to be.  She's told that once she chooses, she can't change.  She will be that age forever.  Hae-Sook thinks back to that conversation she and Nak-joon had and she decides she will stay at her present age.

The next step is to choose where she'll live.  Hae-Sook says she wants to live with her husband Nak-joon if he has also made it to Heaven.  He has!  The only way she can live with him in Heaven is if Nak-joon has also requested to live with her.  Ofc, he has so Hae-Sook goes to where Nak-joon is living.

When they finally meet up...SURPRISE!  Nak-joon chose to stay at age 30!

When I first saw young Nak-joon, he looked really familiar but I couldn't remember where I had seen him before so I had to check.  He was the strange man Mr. Gu in My Liberation Notes.  I honestly couldn't place him and I think I know why.  As Mr. Gu, he was dreary.  He never smiled and he was just kind of meh about everything.  As Nak-joon, he was a happy guy and always smiling.  BTW, he's got an absolutely gorgeous smile *swoon*!

Also in this drama is Lee Jung-eun.  She's been in quite a few dramas.  Most recently, she was part of the lead role in Miss Night and Day.  I've also seen her in Our Blues, Parasite, Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha, and While You Were Sleeping.

I really liked this one.  Total of 12 episodes.

Catching up with what I'm watching

 Just a quick check in to post what I am currently watching.  As soon as I have a chance I will add them to my list.

After School Doctor ~ Hokago Karte - 放課後カルテ

I don't remember when I started this one.  It's a cute one.  Any kind of drama with young kids and school is a nice drama.  Synopsis from AsianWiki:

Teacher Makino works in the health room at an elementary school as a pediatrician.  He used to work at a university hospital, but due to a new attempt to have doctors stationed at schools, he was sent to the elementary school.  There is a hidden story behind that.  

At the school, he has bushy hair and a sullen look.  He nags the students with things like "Don't sleep in the bed without my permission" and "Stay away from the health room as much as possible."  He is a doctor that complains a lot and carries an attitude, but he can spot abnormalities in children with his excellent observational eyes and he is able to save those children, their families, and sometimes even the teachers.

Makino Sensei is a pediatrician at a university hospital, but he annoys his colleagues who tell him he has no empathy for his patients.  Makino is sent to work at an elementary school.  He arrives at the school with disheveled hair and a terrible attitude.  Even so, he is serious about taking care of the kids in that school.  

Will Makino Sensei finally find that empathy within himself so he can go back to the university hospital with a new attitude?  Will his colleagues be able to see the change in him?

[2024] Perfect Propose ` パーフェクトプロポーズ | Two Episodes In

I had some catching up to do with my non Asian shows but I'm back to watching this one tonight.  I left at the end of E02 and while I can easily finish the remaining 4 tonight, I'm going to watch E03 and go back to the ones I had started on Netflix a while back.