Personally I, I thought KHJ might be perfect and I'm willing to give him a chance.
Why? Because the leading role in this drama is a nerd, stern face, rude behavior and normally shows no feeling what so ever on his face since he is a genius everything seems dull and stupid to him.

It won't be that hard for KHJ.

Arrrgh...why can't Kim Hyun-Joong just stick to singing? Watching that embarrassing remake of BOF was enough...but now this?

Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge was awesome because it was so friggin' bad. It was too hilarious and for me, a classic to watch just to see how bad things can get. It's like the Evil Dead movies. You know you're in for a laugh and you enjoy it.

Of course, those movies were meant to be funny and I don't think crazy laughs is what they wanted for YNSH. Still...

But Itazura na Kiss is a shame. It's a lovely story. It's not just his acting. His whole demeanor and looks don't match Naoki. Naoki has a strong presence. He has your attention when he's in the room. This guy could scream his lungs out, I still wouldn't feel like looking or paying attention to him.

NOOOOOOOOOOO
why not Kim Soo Hyun?! or Im Joo Hwan?? or Lee Minho?!?
ahhhhh.
I will still watch it if Park Shin Hye is the lead, but if Sulli or Seung-yeon get the lead...i'm not gonna.

Kim Hyun Joong can't act.. But, he did win a lot of fans over because of his 'best friend-/protector' image in BOF. It's really an image issue. The manga character is look calm, collected and focused and Kim Hyun Joong fits the image.

As I see it,
1. If he has excellent chemistry with the female lead, bad acting will turn into okay acting.
2.I don't know whether some fans are already boycotting this drama just because he's in it but there's been cases where fans' complaints have encouraged the director and producer to make casting changes.
3.Boys Over Flowers was messy, but most of us loved it. The trick : lots of eye candy + a beautiful set + good supporting cast. They'll have to get the perfect Kotoko/Xiang Qin this time or it'll be hell for everyone - fans and actors alike.
4.There is another way to get Group Eight to rethink their decision : get the owner of the manga to comment on Kim Hyun Joong's casting.
The author has passed away but her husband's still alive..

o:! if im joo hwan wouldve been casted i would be so happy ;___;. please don't cast park bo young now! jksjks. but i mean, it would be a weird pairing @___@?

@51 Dara, Naoki might be cold sometimes, but he's not soul-less. If anything, sometimes he shows emotion in very subtle ways that are tough to act. It would take a very good actor to make Naoki someone you want to watch and not someone just boring you to death and this guy can't do that.

I swear to God, he better not butcher this role.

ISWAK was the first drama I EVER EVER watched, and I absolutely fell in love with it. And I'm going to be devastated if he can't pull this off.

He just isn't how I pictured the main lead..... but I truly want him to prove me wrong!!!

Ooookay. It's weird how he talked about how acting wasn't his thing but his company keeps trying to push him into the actor's mold. Honestly my impression of the character is pretty close to how Rui acts at the beginning of meteor garden and seeing as how he acted as the Korean Rui... man, I don't know. Kim! Hyun! Joong! Please have improved since then? Maybe if he brings his We Got Married persona to the table it'll be good.

Boooo.....I couldnt stomach boys over flowers because of the acting and now I definitely wont try this. Yeah PSY has improved but this role seems easy for her.

No thanks.....

Worst casting news in like FOREVER! I am not watching now. Buhuuuuuuuuu :(

I'm so very happy that Kim Hyun Joong was chosen as the lead, I'm 100% sure that he is gonna rock in this drama and make his critics ashamed of themselves for talking all such nonsense about his acting skills.Go for it my Kim Hyun Joong,let the God accompany u in all ur steps.GOOD LUCK,LOVE YA!!!!♥♥♥

~Regards from India.

@Javabeans.
Sooooooooo T R U E!
If only it was Choi Si-Won
If only.
Ughhhh.
The casting makes me want to scream my head off.
Sorry.
It cross off my to watch-list-in-the-future!
----Unless another they switch the cast :D
But they wont!:(

This is global warming in K-drama land....

I'm furiously FURIOUS. I absolutely hate this production company from now on!

KHJ is bad at acting , we all know that....but it's also his visual appeal. I HATE STIFF FACES!

I always picture this drama with Choi SiWon as the lead, because he played a similar role in 18vs.29 ? or something./......he did the smirk perfectly!

ahhhhhh
now I pray that this turns out like Shin SE KYung when she was cast as the Gumiho (although I loved that choice)

hey everybody, let's give him a chance, Kim Hyun Joong was adorable in We Got Married with Hwangbo....... @ 12 Javabeans--you are sooo biased for Si Won, (he, he, he!!!! big grin... umm me too!!!) Yeah, I wish Si Won could be in Athena, this and Sungkyunwan Scandal....

Good luck to Kim Hyun Joong and Playful Kiss, apparently there's something about him that Group 8 have casted him in BBF and now this.... I really enjoyed the original Jdrama Itazura na Kiss... Fighting!!!!

aw jeez the taiwanese version was so good!

I really hated Kim Hyun-Joon in Boys Over Flowers...I couldn't stand his acting or his wierd nose (did he get a nose job?)! But I grew to like him more on WGM...he's so much more natural on there.
I really hope they don't butcher this one....maybe Kim Hyun-Joon's acting has improved? :S *cross my fingers*

I actually think Seung-yeon would suit this drama quite well. Sulli is really cute but there's something about her that just doesn't fit.

Ooooohhhhhhhhhhh mmmmaaaaaaannnnnnnn!!!! =/

I was hoping for Lee Min Ho NOR Baek Sung Hyun should have take the role for this drama, but.......It's KIM HYUN JOONG??!!! O_______o

Oh well.......=/ Honestly, I am not really "fan" of him that it's very strange for me to not interesting in him, oh aigoo.............Anyway, AHH! I remember something about last time -- Park Shin Hye had worked together with Kim Hyun Joong that before because of TV commercial, of course. I can't imagine that if they'd be awkward while working together in this drama = Park Shin Hye & Kim Hyun Joong ???

I don't know, but I am not sure about this --- Ouch........Don't do that, Park Shin Hye, don't choose the role for this drama. =/ Sorry, my apologize........=/

*** (it's BETTER for Park Shin Hye to should be with Lee Min Ho nor Baek Sung Hyun that it would keep so good looking drama, that's my opinion.)) ***

i literally groaned when i saw this. my interest in this drama died too.

lol i love how some people mentioned yamato nadeshiko xD i don't even know what's going on in that drama <,<
i think they chose KHJ coz he's the most popular, compared to the other two.... but yea, good luck to him, hope he'd improve by now -.-
park bo young was an excellent choice IMO T_T

good luck , blond hair handsome singer but sorry i pass this drama .

Oh EHH?? NNNOOOOOO..................Ouch.

I am sure that it'd be GREAT for Jung Yong Hwa to be with Park Shin Hye in this drama --- I can imagine that it would be awesome, ha!

HIM --- Kim Hyun Joong?? Ummm.................um, I-I don't know how I should have to say about him.............oh aigoo.

Oh, I didn't meant to say this, my apologize. =/

Oh..NOOOOOOOOOO! I don't want dead fish eye playing this genius character.

SUCKS. I'm sick of the girly looking idol male leads. I especially don't like Kim Hyun Joong lol so this really turns me off. I would of preferred the other F4 member from T-Max.

@ orion, momosan

YNSH aka Perfect Girl Evolution - really that bad? I couldn't tell when watching this below opening credit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkXSO3dgiHs

I mean, the spirit fingers are perfect for this dance, don't you agree?

[Actually, I refuse to watch this drama because I didn't like the manga, and Kame is back to being fey lemur Kame instead of broody semi-masculine Kame from Tatta Hitosu no Koi - but thanks for the confirmation that it's godawful, I had an inkling since no one talks about it].

Anyways, the dancing here makes Shuuji to Akira singing and dancing Seshun Amigo seem like a masterpiece.

...
what is wrong with the world?
i love him as an IDOL SINGER, definitely not a actor.
i could not bear to watch his scenes in BOF, it was so depressing.
um, hello? there are SO MANY MORE ACTORS OUT THERE!!!!
yoo seung ho. song joong ki. choi si won. EVEN CHANGMIN! i think even changmin wouldve done a 10x better job.

:LDKFj;ladfj;alsdfkja;sldfkja;ldf NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
i was soooo excited about this one too :P
if only joo ji hoon was back from the army already....
ugh.

Aww... so much hate for the poor guy. I feel kind of bad for him. I know he practically butchered Jihoo/Rui, but that was his first role, correct? There's still room for improvement, and well... it's been about a year since BOF ended. Maybe Bae Yong Joon worked some acting magic on him.

I, for one, will be looking forward to watching this version of the manga. I thought the Taiwanese version was unbearable and their male lead, Joe Cheng, made his character hard to watch. It was like watching HyunJoong butcher Jihoo x10 - eye candy.

But since HyunJoong's been casted, I'm worried about his female counterpart. lol. Sulli would have been the PERFECT fit, but her next to HyunJoong was just be weird.

All right, I'm happy. I tried to watch the Japanese version after finishing the Taiwanese version and I... I just gave up. I even tried to fast forward some scenes to keep at it since it's merely 9 episodes however the show drained me instead of pump fuel into me like every time I watch its TW version.

Nonetheless, I think the Korean version will beat out the Japanese version hands down although I'm not expecting this cast to out shine the Taiwanese cast 'cos Ariel and Joe had extraordinary heat in their roles that at certain climax I felt some combustion.

I still itch for PBY as lead female. Have fun KHJ. Aja~aja, F I G H T I N G!

OK, all of y'all are cracking me UP. Choi Siwon would have been too perfect (that boy is perfect, I swear), but we got sunbaeeee.

@ Javabeans :

I kind of love reading articles about Kim Hyun-joong being cast in things, because it's the one time that your professional veneer shatters. The anguish and frustration; you just let it ALL hang out. Bwahaha!

Will you be recapping this drama (which I will not be watching)? If not, what do I have to pay you to at least recap the first episode for us in graphic, torturous, excruciating detail?

What. I don't even. WHY? JUST WHY? T__T

well - since the lead character in playful kiss is supposedly stiff and cold, kim hyun joong will have no problem portraying that.

@80 ockoala, YNSH is pretty bad. I mean, it does have this unique style about it and it does have many funny scenes. I just don't know if that was the purpose. I spent most of each episode laughing and the "serious" parts were just corny. Would only move teenage fangirls of Kame.

The acting was horrible and some of the episode themes as well. But it did have some intentionally funny parts that were good. It's good for a laugh and some interesting parts in the score, but it's not the kind of series you'd take seriously.

As long as you realise you're gonna watch a weird, cooky and cheesy series and accept that, it's a fun ride. But it's just not quality work and most of the time, it's unintentionally funny because it's so bad.

probably will watch this too regardless and who knows maybe KHJ will do a better job this time .... will keep an open mind

NO! Really??

I mean granted we should give him a chance. He doesn't live in a bubble, and I'm sure tales of his less-than-desirable BOF performance have reached his ears. Maybe he has taken some constructive criticism.

It would be GREAT to have Lee Min-ho in there, but it may be even better to have an underdog who surprises everyone.

good choice for the lead actor being Kim hyun joong. An even better choice for
the lead actress is Lee Da Hae. This would certainly draw in many viewers.

Uggghh.. no. Just no.

I'm Hyun Joong biased so best of luck to him:)
Hopefully, he will have enough time to better prepare for this role and won't receive any bad criticism this time around.

oh lord... the only actual actress on the list is Park Shin Hye. If they gonna cast a singer, having him is enough. Why ruin the whole series!

If Park Shin Hye is on here i'll still watch it. But i doubt she'll take on this character again. It's so similar to her last character in "you're beautiful".I liked the taiwanese version but i did not like the female character all at. The reason being that they made that character so dumb and annoying to the point that you just want to slap her silly. lolz

@ ockoala

aww, i actually really enjoyed YNSH and thought it was a fun show. Yes, the opening credits are ridiculous and totally lolworthy. but the show itself is fun and cute. i really enjoyed kame in it. I never read the manga though, so I have nothing to compare it against. Yes it's very OTT but I think that's why i enjoyed it so much. it didn't take itself too seriously. :) very very fun hehe. but now that you mentioned Tatta Hitotsu no Koi and it makes me want to go watch it.

@ 83 Carinne : I've got a question for you. Please see post # 126 on the Open Thread. http://www.dramabeans.com/2010/07/open-thread-142/

Thanks!

@ No one in particular : Tee hee hee. Poor KHJ. I'm going to be coming back to this post all day. You guys are hilarious. Everybody wins eleventy billion internets!

Wow, I feel like an orange amongst tons of apples ...I am happy that Kim Hyun Joong is in this drama. Yes, BOF is my all time favorite fun/romantic drama. I have high hopes for this drama until proven otherwise. So this is happy news for me.

Not that I was going to watch this series, but goodness gracious, the casting has turned off my already-off interest. Also, looking at the list of potential actors and actresses, it definitely seems as if they're just trying to pack in idol stars.

no! for the love of.. NO!!