It Started with a Kiss (2005)

I'm just gonna come out and say I hated it. I finished it only because I kept hoping there might be more scenes of decent chemistry like the scene where they had to share a room/bed together. But nope, that was the highlight of the whole show. The FL was insufferable. By the time she started crying/whining about a puppy coming too close, I couldn't take her anymore.

The ML was too cold. It went beyond what was necessary for the trope. For example, FL kept finding herself being harassed by creeps, and ML would watch on, sometimes laughing with them. He also bullied her, which again was part of the trope, but the way the FL continued swooning and obsessing over him, even stalking him at times despite how cruel he was to her rubbed me the wrong way. She literally had no life outside of stalking this guy for years.

Pass

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this was my very first drama when i was in middle school
joe chen and ariel line really good actor.
even tough there is so many version/remake for this drama
i think the taiwan version is the best.

i thought that you all already familiar with the story and know how its end.
But ISWAK is more detailed in every scene
and their acting really perfect. Ariel lin's acting suit the fool xiang qin who pursue Zhi Shu!!!
this drama so funny with Ariel Lin as Qiang Qin. And the foolishness of xiangqin is really something, you must watch it yourself.

i've rewatch this drama for hundred times whenever i get bored with those new drama.
i think this drama is the best for you who crave a really fun romance comedy !!!

i am really in love with this drama

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With this story I entered the world of Itakiss, besides that it was the first drama I saw with my family, so I have great affection for it.

I can not say anything about Joe, he really is one of the best actors I have seen, because if you see him off camera, he is someone very charismatic and funny but he really interpreted Irie so well, that I only have words of praise for he.

As for Ariel, she is not the best Kotoko and she is very annoying many times (she is even cruel sometimes / more her friends are very cruel to her) but I would say that she really formed a chemistry with Joe, which I rarely saw.

The affection of the cast was noticed and made the screen go through and you see them as a royal family. People who really loved doing their job.

The story, in its first season, had its flaws, as well as its second part (which they lengthened and made it an unbearable melodrama) but if there is something that I rescue a lot from this adaptation is the laughs. You will never miss a laugh or a tear when you see it and you really don't get bored. It tells little by little how the love between the two was really born.

Despite its minor flaws, it is my second favorite adaptation so I really recommend it!

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A true classic

I've finally finished "It Started with a Kiss." I found it hard to binge because of the pretty low quality version I was watching. Luckily, GTV uploaded it with subs on YouTube so I was able to watch it without frustration lol. Note: I've read part of the manga, seen the anime and the 1996 drama, so these are what I'll compare ISWAK to.

I absolutely loved "It Started with a Kiss." From the beginning, you can sense the care the production took to be faithful to the manga while still localizing it to Taiwan. My one complaint would be that the drama is quite long at twenty episode with a running time of one hour and ten minutes. I feel the story could've been trimmed down a bit. The last three episodes before the finale I found to be quite draggy too. In terms of writing, "It Started with a Kiss" still manages to beat out 1996 Itazura na Kiss by several leagues and is on par with the anime.

Ariel Lin and Joseph Cheng are perfect as Xiang Qin (Kotoko) and Zhi Shu (Naoki). Their acting was absolutely superb. Ariel managed to be clumsy, dumb, and at times annoying without me absolutely hating her. I could actually relate to her since I sometimes feel useless too. Joseph was able to use facial expressions and certain movements to make his character more likeable while still staying true to the manga. Zhi Shu's and Xiang Qin's families were really on the nose; they all suited their characters perfectly. Watching the family together was my favorite part of the drama. There were some really funny moments.

I wasn't particularly charmed by Ah Jin aka Kinnosuke (played by the good-looking Jiro Wang); I'm afraid I'll find him exhausting in every version. Tiffany Hsu was great playing Zi Yu (Yuko), adding quite a bit of dimension to the character. She had a lot of especially funny moments with Xiang Qin and wasn't just some evil rival. Hao Qian (Sudou) was fun to watch, though his hair was a bit ridiculous. Also, out of the short side stories, I enjoyed Zi Qi's and Wu Ren's parts the most.

Some special notes I want to mention are: I loved that they changed the characters style and hair cuts over time since the drama takes place over five years or so. I guess the only discrepancy is that Yu Shu stays a child the whole time XD. It was a nice touch in the finale to bring back some characters from earlier on, such as Xiang Qin's teacher and Ah Jin's friends. Lastly, the OST of this drama is one of my faves. "Say That U Love" is super catchy and the opening sequence is perfect. Now on to the honeymoon in "They Kiss Again."

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It's been such a long time when I first watched ISWAK. And having recently watch the Thai version brings back memories.

Ariel Lin was such a cute actress that really make xiang Ching ooze with adorableness. It's also the first time I noticed her as an actress. Joe's character of Zi so was the aloof silent type. A great departure from when I saw him in The rose. But the best thing was our two leads have great chemistry so much that people start shipping them in real life (although she's married now)

The story follows closely to original Manga which perhaps reduce my enjoyment of the drama. Because all the comedy side is really over the top. And sometimes the actors have to do alot of exaggeration to fit into Manga theme. So this makes its less realistic. I find I only enjoy when scene are quieter and more mellow to connect emotionally.

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This is the staple of my taiwanese dramas - meaning it's my favourite adaptation of Itazura na Kiss and one of my overall T-drama favourite, despite giving it a score of 7.

The acting is good, but I just loved the Joe Cheng/Ariel Lin pairing. Delighted they came back for a sequel, and I'm egging myself to watch it right now! :D Their first kiss, in this drama, is my most favourite kiss I've watched in any asian drama. Not the one in the rain. The one that came out of the blue :P

After that scorcher, I was a little bemused to find they don't kiss each other again, till 2 years later (the drama lapses over a period of time.) I didn't even realize it was 2 years!

By all rights, I should hate this drama. Xiang Qin is the female embodiment of a woman, who lives to please her "husband." Her career choice, her life ambitions, revolves entirely around a guy, which will make any feminist turn in her grave.

But Ariel Lin's charisma...her sweetness and naivety...only this girl can pull it off. Eventually I realised being a feminist, is about giving females THE CHOICE, not begrudging them if they want to do something opposite to you^^

The plotline is a little absurd...but it works. And I have such a soft spot for this drama, and recommend it to all. I admit. I did skip scenes throughout, just here and there. But c'mon! It had 30 episodes. For the sake of my sanity, I fastforwaded to the "juicy" bits when my patience ran thin.

Lots of LOL moments. I'm no longer a teenager (but I was, like, when I initally watched it 2 years ago before taking a hiatus) and the rush of giddiness, almost made me feel 14 again. Golly. What a scary thought!

(Kidding, any 14 year olds out there.)

Joe Cheng has mentioned a 10th year reunion of ISWAK in 2015, so I'm itching for that time to come.

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