They Kiss Again (2007)

I rarely watch dramas longer than 16 episodes by myself. Although I have watched several longer dramas, this is usually with friends who help keep me interested and engaged. However, I watched all 30 episodes of ISWAK and 20 episodes of They Kiss Again on my own, and have since re-watched them several times. I really only have one favorite drama in the different drama genres, and this show (both season) is my absolutely favorite sweet romance. Having watched Playful Kiss first, I was curious to see how this version told the story. I immediately fell in love with the characters in the first season, but I was still worried that the second season would not live up to my expectations. All too often, second seasons falter behind the amazing quality of their predecessors and I am frequently left disappointed. However, I was delighted to discover that this was not true with They Kiss Again. If anything, this story was actually better than the first. It Started With a Kiss gets the main characters together, but They Kiss Again shows them developing their relationship. This isn't the normal story where everyone is more or less perfect and the amazing guy marries that perfectly sweet girl who finally got prince charming. The charm of They Kiss Again is the fact that Zhi Shu and Xiang Qin are more than half of their own problems. Zhi Shu is emotionally stunted, and has to learn that there is beauty in Xiang Qin's simplicity. On the other hand, Xiang Qin has to learn to stand on her own two feet. They learn that they both have weaknesses and that marriage is about learning to love and accept those weaknesses. I have rarely seen such excellent story and character development, particularly in a second season for a show. This is beautifully written, and I freely admit that I still go back to my favorite parts (which I have bookmarked) whenever I need a pick-me-up. This is sweet, charming, intelligent, and well worth the time to watch. It's romance, but it is thoughtful romance. I truly love this show and I recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the first season

Leggi di Più

1) The reason I watched this: Surely because it's the 2nd season of "It started with a kiss". I was so happy to find it since I got the chance to continue the story.

2) Storyline/Plot: The continuation of the story and like the 1st season they followed the manga; this season had many important events along with many side stories; cute, romatic, sad, happy,heartwarming moments: it was all there.

3) Acting/Cast: In the first season's review I gave it an 8 but this season I gave it a 9 simply because this season's cast risen and there were cool actors especially those nurse team so cute^^ I totally loved all of them.

4) Music : Just like 1st season's music; it was nice.

5) Rewatch value : it totally deserve to be rewatched over and over again.

6) The ending : I felt sadness when it ended not because it was a sad ending but because I bid farewell to "Itazura na kiss"'s story; there was a total blank after it ended.

7-Overall : Well, I believe this is the best adaptation of Itazura na kiss comparing to other incarnations, "Playfull kiss" was nice but it was short and didn't continue until the end.
Between 1st and 2nd season there have been 50 episodes but I still want more. Apparently, The 3rd season's rumor isn't coming to life but i will never forget this drama : for real it's one of the greatest ever!

Leggi di Più

i simply loved that they showed us their whole relationship from when they where in school, and uni even when they got married to when they started working, i also loved that you see and feel their ups in down in their marriage.After watching this drama i felt so sad yet it was a good ending...Truly excellent i wish there was more dramas as so.

2015 update rewatched
i still love this drama so much but i can now see why in 2015 people may find it long or the 'bad acting' to be tiring. this drama will forever remain unique to me just because we see the main romance bloom so much and this drama hardly follows most drama templates (the only one is the facts shes dumb and hes smart).////// the last episodes always gets to me :(

Leggi di Più

WOW my heart is still fluttering.

As you can imagine I watched this Drama 'cause it's the sequel to It started with a kiss. I had my doubts about the taiwanese version. Especially because of the end of every episode. As if a little kid cut the story wherever it wanted. Even in the middle of a sentence!!!!!

But it may be forgiven, because there are too many good points.

1. Actors: I never experienced a chemistry between the actors as unique as in this show. Especially Zhi Shu's actor is incredible. His face showed so much expression without destroying Naoki's character, but emphazising important aspects about Zhi Shu(Naoki) other actors couldn't show. But there were some really awful actors too. Christine and her father were really bad. I got the feeling that they picked some foreign looking people from the street and asked them to act in the drama. And even though they played the role of a British family, they had a heavy accent. But they aren't that important, so this may be forgiven too.

2. Story: As in every version there were some changes in the story. But the writers did an incredible job. The way they built the characters made everything seem more realistic. To be honest I always thought that Itazura na Kiss was best fit as a Shoujo Manga. But the writers managed to transform the manga into a Drama that shows the characters in a more realistic way without destroying the storyline or changing the main atmosphere. Especially the ending was great. I'm so grateful to the writers for showing Zhi Shu as an emotional and loving man. He made me cry at the end(not the very end! lol)

3.Body Language: Okay this is part of the points above, but it's important enough to speak about it seperatedly. As we all know KDramas are the Dramas of hitting mouth on mouth, staring at each other or freeze due to a shock while kissing. Japanese do a little bit of a better job, but there are still so many Dramas that were ruined by bad kisses. THIS IS SO DIFFERENT! As I mentioned above, the actors have great chemistry. There were some scene where I thought: Oh my god how much more will they show??! You could really feel Zhi Shu's passion for Xiang Qin. I always missed it a bit. In other versions you don't experience his love for her as much as in this one. Well there were times when mouth didn't meet mouth, but alltoughether I just saw the most passionate scenes since I started watching asian Dramas 209 Dramas/Movies/Specials ago. Now I can rest in peace. ;)

I didn't expect the second part of It started with a kiss to be this good. I liked it better than its prequel. Sometimes there were some kitschy parts that hit me completely unprepared, but apart from that the story was really good.

I recommend this Drama and hope you will give it a try.

Leggi di Più

One of the biggest problems I have with Asian dramas is that the make out sessions are like non existent and affection towards one another in a handsy way is barely ever there, you get what I'm saying, right?
Well, this drama is so freakin' romantic. It's full of sweetness and love and emotion. Lots of kisses etc. I was worried because I knew after watching the first one that they were married, and I wasn't sure how they were going to play that off and keep up the angst, etc. since they were already together. However, it ended up being one of my all time favorite dramas, it far out shown the first, and is beyond romantic!

I gave the story an eight, because unlike most people I could care less about the secondary characters. I was only tuned in for the main attraction, so I sometimes found it annoying when they focused too much on the other people. However, their stories were done well and fleshed out and all that, so it's really only my own personal problem.

The acting of course was freakin' marvelous. The amount of feeling you could actually feel from these actors was truly awesome. Joe Cheng, as we all know from the first, is really cold, emotionless, expressionless, etc. in his character. Throughout this we see him soften up a bit, but really, in my book, the main thing about him that I loved so much was his love for his wife. It was obvious. Yeah, he was harsh, but that's just him being ignorant on an emotional level. But I could FEEL how much he loved his wife. And he has beautiful hands.

Ariel Lin is really endearing. She did great in her role, and I have to give her props for her performance in a certain part in episode 11, because I literally was like, man that was so good, and had to rewatch it!

The mother of course is still wonderful and sweet. Just love her.

I'm giving the music a nine, but honestly, music is not my forte.

I just finished it last week and I want to watch it again. So I gave the rewatch value a 9. I didn't give it a ten, only because for me I would be skipping lots of parts and only watching what I really want to see.

Overall, I'm so glad I watched this series and couldn't believe I put it off for so long. Don't let the number of episodes in either series daunt you, they do go by quickly, truly.

The affection that he shows for her is really believable and I have to say this is one of the most romantic dramas I have ever seen! The last episode was my favorite episode out of the whole series...so you have got to watch it all the way to the end!!

Leggi di Più

People keep asking me why i love this drama (and the first season).
here's why: (and i'm sorry, english is not my first language so...)

- ariel lin and joe have the most amazing chemistry i've ever seen onscreen. ever. at least on a drama.

- the story is complete. you can see them together, him finally realizing he loves her, then they marrying, working, living, having fun, fighting and trying to deal with struggles. it's almost like it's really happening in front of our eyes (in real life), it's the same feeling.

- you can go from laughing to crying in just one episode and it doesn't seems wrong, beucause they have great development

- the back stories are amazing! you can see the WHOLE drama going forward, you can see AH Jin starting to forget xian qin and start to fall for christine; everything is so real.

- It's not like other dramas that some characters go missing and we never see them again in the story... no. even if there's new ones, they knew how to bring the old friends, the old cast back and all of them had their moment.

- when rewatching it i realized that there is storylines that they had been building since It Started with a kiss, and they went and used it in the end of this season, for example. amazing continuity.

- it doesn't matter that she (Xian Qin) makes me want to hide my face and die from shame sometimes, because she's so real, so sincere that there's no way you could find her crazy (not if you watch the drama and understand her story). And you can see that's why zhi shu loves her, too.

- it has a way of capturing your attention and when you see it's already the last episode and you really feel like you've lived their lives with them. you saw every single moment, even if it was so trivial as they having coffee together.

- and it's not like some dramas that they try SO HARD to make a fairytale out of the story that seems like 'oh so beautiful' but not real. no. it's real, there's no ONE MAGIC KISS in the series, because they're married, and they kiss everytime, because there's no reason to make them just kiss each other one time in the whole season. They kiss because they're a couple, they cuddle for the same reason. they fight. they cry. they dont know how to approach each other some times... and that, my friends, that's a real love history. I LOVE the magical fairytale style too (most of the K-DRAMAS are like that, one or two kisses in the whole story, just about them, the whole OH I'M SO IN LOVE story), i REALLY DO, but it's refreshing to watch this drama right here, sometimes, and remember what a REAL love history is about. (and that's why i'm rewatching it for the 3rd time hahaha)

Leggi di Più

I absolutely love this story & now I love this version of it more than Playful Kiss. I believe this had more depth to it in character development. Even though Xiang Qin was really dorky at times her dork-ness became cute after a while. I love the 2nd season more than the 1st b/c I got to see into Zhi Shu's character more. I understood his character the whole time b/c emotions r hard to deal w/ especially when u don't know what ur feeling. I love this b/c I help others deal w/ emotions they don't understand everyday. Even though the methods r different (we r not allowed to fight w/ our cts.) the rxns r fun to watch.



This is 1 of the bestest dramas ever and I will watch it over & over & over. I hope others get as much from this as I did.

Leggi di Più

First review! I love this drama! It is my go to drama. I really wish the Korean version, Playful Kiss, had a second season. As a continuation of ISWAT, we get to explore Zhi Shu and Xiang Qin's marriage. Xiang Qin is her typical headstrong Zhi Shu minded self, but begins to find a path toward a career. Where Xiang Qin is making head way with her major, Zhi Shu is making strides in his emotional development. This is a big part of the appeal of the second season. Zhi Shu has learned how to express himself more toward Xiang Qin.

Old characters from season one are here, but new ones are also introduced. What would the series be without A-jin or Yu Shu? Mrs. Jiang isn't the normal mother, who is crazy about status, but supports her daughter in law fully. It is a refreshing changed from the usual mother in law drama. Xiang Qin's new friends add comedy to her antics.

The writers did a great job of advancing both characters. Their relationship has the obstacles, but in true romance fashion, their love conquers all. This series is light, fun, and a wonderful way to spend your weekend.

Leggi di Più

I gave this drama a perfect ten in all categories because I personally feel that they deserve it. there has never been a drama, in my entire years of watching Asian Novelas, that made my whole being engaged as i watch. AS IN NEVER. Since I have both ISWAK 1 and 2 in my tablet, watching these again and again has now become a daily routine of mine. I read all the positive comments/reviews regarding Joe Cheng and how he played his character Zhi-shu well and i must say that i'm truly grateful that i'm not alone on my assessment about him. he, amazingly, brought NAOKI to life especially with his perfect timing expressions. Who would have thought that a super-introvert and brutally frank person can be sexy and engaging at the same time?!! makes me want to look for a real life Zhishu!

Story: I super duper love the plot! in this season you will see how the MAIN characters mature.

I have to give the credit also to the creators of ISWAK. I think the people behind this drama had really put efforts in conceptualizing the story. I've read bits and pieces of the manga and i must say that their creativeness has made ISWAK very successful and acceptable to viewers.

Acting/Cast: My first impression of Zhishu/Joe Cheng on the very first episode, i was like "Why him?", "Why this actor?" but as the episodes progressed, I become little by little entralled by him and then in THEY KISS AGAIN, i have to shamelessly admit that he made me fall truly, madly, deeply in love with him!! His amazing poetrayal of NAOKI was his additional attraction.

Xiang Qin's character was also done outstandingly by Ariel Lin. I love her innocent and naive ways! Although at times i find her ways so childish and irritating, all in all, i really adore her. I could not think of anyone who can be as compatible with Zhishu as her. (I'm borrowing one of the lines from TKA). :-)

Mrs Jiang: I love her so much! Her love for Xiang Qin even though she's not her real daughter is really for me very touching. Cindy SHaw has done a great job in acting out ZS's mother.

The rest of the cast's acting was also good.

Music: Well let me tell you this, i have all the songs in my cellphone and i listen to them before going to sleep EVERY NIGHT!


Rewatch Value: Can't count how many times i've watched this already and until this time I'm still watching it! Some says 50-episodes are kinda long and boring but i say it's not enough! i want more more more!

Overall: Can i give a rating above 10? if so, i will definitely give this a 200 which is equivalent to Zhishu's IQ!!!

I highly recommend ISWAK and TKA!

Leggi di Più

Completed this drama since like 4 years ago though, but rewatching it again recently made me have the urge of writing a review about it. (:
WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THIS DRAMA: Firstly, the casts of course. Both main leads really portray their characters very very very well like in the manga. Ariel Lin could actually act really like a stupid and annoying girl, yet made each and everyone of us love her alot and ache for her whenever she cried, because her crying scenes are always -thumbs up-. Which is why she really deserve this Best Female Lead award in Golden Bells that year.
Secondly, how the characters have grown in every single episode. I really love watching how Zhi Shu change because of Xiang Qin, from a cold guy who just hide his emotions, to a gentle and romantic guy who really pour all his feelings out especially to his wife. I still remember in first few episodes, he is someone who gets annoyed when Xiang Qin tries to stick with him and do some romantic-stupid-stuffs with him, and wowwww the last few episodes, he just became so open with his wife. Not only Zhi Shu, but I can even see how Xiang Qin becoming more and more matured. Yes she may be annoying at times, but I can see the way of her thinking gradually changes, and how she really think of her husband's feelings more.
Thirdly, this drama is just so hilarious and I still can remember how many times I laughed like mad. At the same time, I can remember how many times I cried like hell whenever Xiang Qin cried too. I also love the endless skinship between the two leads which always give me squeals because their skinship is just so natural so real.
WHAT I DISLIKE ABOUT THIS DRAMA: Practically nothing I can say. Well or probably the plot also focus on other characters rather more on main leads too? But I don't really mind though because even the scenes of other characters are also quite interesting too.

Overall, one of the top Taiwanese dramas I have ever watched. You won't regret watching because you know what? You will end up rewatching it again and again and every single scene of the main leads will just give you butterflies because their skinship and chemistry is just so WOW. And and and, if you really love watching dramas with a extremely cold male lead. :D

Leggi di Più

It Started With a Kiss and It Started With a Kiss 2/They Kiss again are two of the most amazing dramas I have ever seen, and I've seen a lot. The story in They Kiss Again was basically the continuation of the first one. This drama was perfect the way it was, and really proved that you don't need a fancy storyline to have a great story. They Kiss Again was just about the married life of an unlikely couple, and it was truly beautiful. There were times when I absolutely hated the drama, and others where I loved it to pieces. It starts out great but after 5 or 6 episodes, the story starts to lag. The main character Xiang Qin (I know I totally messed the name up) was really annoying, and I couldn't stand her, and Zhi Shu (Again, I don't know how to spell their names) was colder and colder than he ever was, and seemed to lack personality that he sort of gained in It Started With a Kiss, but despite the lack in character development, the story was beautiful, and the actors did a fantastic job. I loved the music for the 2nd drama, it was good, and very catchy. I will most likely watch both dramas again, because they were so amazing, and explain a lot about love, and make you want to go out and get married (if you aren't already) Great drama :) that I'm sad to see end :(

Leggi di Più

It Started With A Kiss is one of my favorite dramas. I just fell in love with the sweetness of the story and everything about it. The first season was really nice, and I finally got around to watching this one recently.

The story, I gave it a 7 because truthfully - it's a lot like the first season, but then it also drifts off into a lot of side stories with the supporting characters. Some were nice, but after a while I just wanted to see more with the main couple. Also there were parts that I felt they should've shown more with. Later on in the drama it kind of felt like some characters just disappeared and were forgotten about. I did enjoy it for the most part though.

I did love how Xiang Qin seems to grow up. She has a lot of silly and dumb moments just like the first one, but she does start to mature. Zhi Shu also grows up and you start to see his real feelings.

The acting between the leads was terrific! Ariel Lin and Joey Cheng really have wonderful chemistry, and they really pulled off their parts and especially the romance and love they were supposed to share. Some of the side characters though…they weren't as good at acting. Jiro was hilarious, I wish I had gotten to see more of him but he was only in about half the drama. I also loved the friends that Xiang Qin made later on, Qi Tai was my favorite. Christine was nice, but to be honest, the actress wasn't that good at acting.

I loved the music to the first season, and after a while the music for this drama grew on me. And I loved the upbeat songs they started playing in the later episodes. Really nice!

I can see myself rewatching both seasons of ISWAK someday, just probably not for a long time, haha. Too many dramas I want to watch.

Overall, if you liked the first season you'll most likely love this one as well. There's definitely a LOT more kisses and sweet moments than there is in the first season.

My one problem I started to have towards episode 15 is the fact that they change the actor for Yu Shu. I understand that time progressed in the drama and he had to get older, but the way they place the new actor in the drama is quite random, and I had a hard time adjusting to this random guy they changed him into.

Towards the end I did find myself skipping through some scenes to hurry up and finish it. The ending is nice, and they leave it unfinished just like the manga (which I haven't read). I don't know if they'll ever make a season 3 because of that, but I love how they paid respect to the original author of the story.

Anyways, fans of ISWAK you'll find yourself liking this version. To be honest I think I prefer the first season, but there's a lot that enjoyed the second season more, so give it a try yourself and see if you like it (:

Leggi di Più