ORANGE MARMALADE - EPISODES 1 & 2
Based on a webtoon, 'Orange Marmalade' is a high school drama set in a world where people are aware of the vampires among them. Centuries ago, vampires and humans were embroiled in a bitter struggle. Vampires surrendered to avoid extinction and are few in number today. They are kept in line by the Vampire Control System, which not only fashions new identities for its members and furnishes anti-sunlight ampules (to prevent them from burning up in sunlight) but also cooperates with the authorities to inflict appropriate punishments for breaking the law. Apparently blood is commercially available, sold in the same containers as juice or milk. That blood appears to be synthetic, and/or from animals. Vampires are viewed with mistrust and suspicion, and no vampire willingly reveals his or her true nature. They look just like us.
Seolhyun of AOA plays Baek Ma Ri, who, like all our main characters, plays a teenager. She is also a vampire. As a child she was demonized because of her nonhuman nature, so she hides it now. She appears to be losing control, craving the sweet blood that comes from humans. She is also an awesome musician.
Jung Jae Min is a boy whose mother left his father for a vampire, causing him to hate all vampires. He also hates music as his mother was musically gifted and passed this gift on to him. He seems to have a crush on Ma Ri, unaware that she is a vampire.
Han Shi Hoo is Ma Ri's childhood friend, also a vampire. Everything he does is designed to be a grand gesture of cool, eliciting "oohs" from the class. It's obvious by the second episode there's something between them, and that could get complicated by Jae Min's attraction. Capably played by CNBLUE's Jonghyun.
The most popular girl in school, Jo Ah Ra, is jealous of Ma Ri and bullies her. Why is she jealous? Because she is sweet on Jung Jae Min and wants him for herself.
So far we've had a lot of setup, but I think this is mainly for character development and setting info. A lot of what's going on is, bit by bit, going to reveal bigger things. Like Ma Ri playing in the school band they're trying to organize and possibly losing control and biting someone, causing issues for the entire vampire race (not to mention her identity).
Overall, it's pretty good, and I think we'll have a clearer idea of things once things actually start to happen. They've got a good cast of veteran actors, but our leads are a bit stiff yet. There's some neat special effects for the vampires, but special effects alone aren't enough to save a show. Fortunately, it's eminently watchable, and the series moves along at an enjoyable pace. I think it will get even better once there are scripts that the leads can sink their teeth into. :)
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