Split Screen: Get Caffeinated

It’s a big day here at Split Screen: the launch of a brand-new show! Everyone give a big welcome to Coffee Prince! It’s a South Korean tv series from 2007 that, according to Wikipedia, “tells the story of an unlikely romance between a tomboyish woman, who dresses like a man in order to get work, and a young food empire mogul. It contains homoerotic elements, as the man does not initially know of the tomboy’s true sex.”

How could you resist a summary like that? Living up to the legacy of Boys Over Flowers is an intimidating task, but we think Coffee Prince might just be up to the challenge. Meanwhile, don’t forget about the My Hero Academia kids, because they’re still taking the biggest test of their lives. Except for the time where they fought real villains who wanted to kill them. And that other time they fought real villains who wanted to capture them. And that other time…

(New to Split Screen? It’s the perfect time to get started! You can read our entire archive of Boys Over Flowers and My Hero Academia posts here.)

Coffee Prince Episode 1 (up to minute 33)

M: It’s the beginning of a new caffeinated era at Split Screen!

E: We’re starting a new show, so just like the beginning of Boys Over Flowers, we’ll be getting names wrong for about the first five weeks or so.

M: That’s being pretty generous with me. 

E: When did we even learn Woo-bin’s name?

M: A solid four or five months in. I don’t think was all our fault though. Who is Woo-bIn?

E: It was still a mystery by the finale.

M: Anyway, shout out to my friend Jayne for the recommendation of Coffee Prince! I’m already seeing a lot of parallels to Boys Over Flowers.

E: But with more coffee instead of…um…flowers.

M: Shady real estate and resorts, right?

E: Yeah, who knows what the Shinhwa group did.

M: Once again, we seem to be setting up a rich boy/poor girl romance, we’ve got some overbearing parents on the rich side and some bad-with-money parents on the poor side…there’s more, isn’t there?

E: Sad boy in love with girl from past.

M: And Eun-chan’s sister could either turn into a Kang-san or a Ga-eul, we’ll see. 

E: I mean either way, a lot to live up to.

M: Very big shoes to fill. 

E: I will say that I am already tons fonder of the rich family than I ever was of the members of Jun-pyo’s family. The grandma likes shaved ice!

M: I hope that becomes a running gag. They were also less blatantly homophobic than I expected, given on the premise of the show. 

E: I mean, they weren’t super happy about their son gallivanting around with his American friend, but they weren’t like furious about it either, which was nice.

M: It seemed to be the smooching that was the problem, not the fact that the smooching was with Dick. Yes, that was his friend’s name. 

E: Yeah, this show had a fixation.

M: Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. This is a tricky blog installment, since we only watched half of the first hour-long episode. Still, a lot of promising stuff cooking. Number one: two different scenes with semi-naked people in the first five minutes. 

E: And then that noodle eating contest. All that together really made a strong impression so far.

M: I loved Eun-chan’s bizarre focus on Han-kyul’s bare legs. I feel like men’s calves are not generally the most sexualized part of the body. Maybe I’m out of touch. 

E: I’m just remembering way back in our blogs when you would not stop talking about Iida’s thick calves. So, pressing x to doubt here.

M: Correction: thicc calves. 

E: Oh thank you for that spell check.

M: Look, if Han-kyul had engine legs, yeah, I’d get it. But dude was barely even wearing a towel. She has specific tastes.

E: It’s called characterization.

M: That’s what I’m saying, I learned a little bit about our soon-to-be favorite androgynous delivery girl in that moment, when it could have been generic lust. Bodes well. 

E: For me, it was really the noodle eating contest that…well, it made me glad that I’d finished eating my dinner right before that scene started.

M: It dragged on for so long! I realize it would take a long time to eat five bowls of noodles, but they did not pull their punches. 

E: I have to learn her sister’s name, but the way she just started saying disgusting things right to her wannabe boyfriend while he was eating was probably the most stomach-curling scene I’ve seen for awhile. And then she put the strawberry yogurt in and suddenly it was surpassed just like that.

M: Do you think they planned the noodle contest in advance? Otherwise, why would she have strawberry yogurt?

E: I wonder if the noodle-eating contest is sort of a regular thing? Like whenever her sister has a guy that she wants to get rid of, she calls Eun-chan to scare them away with her iron stomach. The strawberry yogurt might just be a happy coincidence. She looked like she was planning on eating it herself at first.

M: Sister goals, am I right?

E: I’m sorry, I could not do that for you. I would vomit on to anyone bothering you, how about that?

M: I don’t think you could out-eat Clickbait Boyfriend anyway, even if I wanted him gone. 

E: Depends, is it vacation Clickbait Boyfriend or normal Clickbait Boyfriend? Because I might have a chance in the latter case.

M: He told me Milky Ways are “too sweet” the other day. 

E: Okay?

M: I’m just saying, I don’t think he could handle noodles with juice and yogurt. File that away, just in case. 

E: God, I had forgotten about the juice that she poured on her noodles.

M: They did not look graceful eating those noodles either. Hat tip to the cast. 

E: I mean, that must be part of the point. A lot of the first section was really emphasizing how un-ladylike Eun-chan is. And she definitely was the most un-ladylike eating those noodles.

M: This is an especially interesting watch, since I recently completed Ouran High School Host Club. Do the people of both Japan and Korea not know what a pixie cut is? Granted, apparently did the folks of Shakespearean England didn’t either, but it’s been a few hundred years

E: Hey, if Amanda Bynes can do it in She’s the Man, anybody can pretend to be a boy. And honestly, like I can understand how people might mistake Eun-chan for a boy. I think they did a good job with her styling and costuming. 

M: In the delivery outfit, I get it. 

E: I liked how they really gave her helmet hair in the bathhouse scene. It wasn’t like fake helmet hair, it was a big old mess.

M: No questions about wigs on this show yet. 

E: Anyway, the inciting event for the story seems to be this diamond ring that Eun-chan’s mother managed to misplace. 

M: Why did she have this other person’s diamond ring in the first place? I also thought this was going to be an entirely different inciting event, so we have different interpretations.

E: I mean, it’s just that it gives her an immediate need for money, right? So put that on top of needing delivery repairs, she’s going to have to call Han-kyul at some point. And tada: story.

M: You’re right, you’re right. I hadn’t thought back that far. There are a lot of relationships that I’m looking forward to getting more definition. What’s the deal between the sister and spaghetti fail dude? How are sad boi, rich girlfriend, and Coffee Prince connected?

E: What’s the name of sad boi’s dog?

M: That’s when I knew this was going to be a good series. Very fluffy, very good. 

E: I am also very curious about the giant stack of bread with flowers taped on that sad boi has stocked in his kitchen. Mostly just need to know more about this guy.

M: He’s clearly still hung up on Coffee Prince’s gal pal. But who he is…a mystery. 

E: We’re definitely still in the introductory phases here. 

M: A lot of nice stylistic touches that make me excited for some ridiculous editing action. 

E: There were some good shots on the road, which was always a Boys Over Flowers highlight. But I did really love the weird little shots they used to showcase the grandma’s plan. Plus would have just loved to go there and film the one where all the people just threw themselves onto the velcro wall.

M: A good day on set. I also enjoyed the cartoon representation of the noodle contest, and the gratuitous flashback to bare legs from not ten minutes before. Also a Boys Over Flowers mainstay. 

E: I did appreciate that it was at least used for comedic effect there.

M: Why the legs? It’s so funny. 

E: Anyway, Madelyn has suggested that we transform Lawsuit Watch into Caffeinated Watch as inspired by this show.

M: I guess we really should have been doing Flower Watch, huh? Or Boy Watch. That was Romance Tracker. 

E: I think we’re too early in this show for any sort of Romance Tracker. I think we need to at least get to the end of this first episode.

M: I’d like to see one of the sisters end up with Coffee Prince, and one with Sad Boi. That’s my early prediction. I’ll look very smart if this turns out to be right. 

E: Madelyn’s reading the future in her coffee beans.

M: Three cups so far. In the show, not for me, just to be clear. 

E: I really was worried about you for a second. You can’t even have a sip of coffee.

M: I’ve suddenly developed a vibration quirk. 

E: Well, anything else for this part? I really liked it so far.

M: I’m tentatively optimistic, and I don’t know if that’s because this is better than Boys Over Flowers or if I’m just more in the spirit of it these days. 

E: It’s at least got a bit more panache in the editing and direction, I think. Which always helps a show in my opinion.

M: Well, just thirty three more weeks of Split Screen to go!

My Hero Academia S3E16 “Shiketsu High Lurking”

E: So! The test began in earnest this week!

M: Yes! Even though we’ve pretty much only seen how Deku is doing. 

E: Yeah, he met up with Sero and Uraraka by the end, and we checked in with Todoroki. But once everybody was separated by the human vibrator, we pretty much just stuck with Deku.

M: So many gross powers from the Shiketsu group. They need broader recruiting. 

E: So the vibrator guy and girl who can tunnel into herself are not Shiketsu. They’re the one with the black uniforms and the hats. I don’t remember what Ms. Joke’s school is named.

M: Gotcha. Remember earlier when we said it takes on average five weeks for me to learn the names? I’m screwed. 

E: Don’t worry too much about it, that’s all I say. Just, hats = Shiketsu.

M: They’ll all be dead next week anyway when the League of Villains invades!

E: We haven’t even gotten to the grossest quirk in this arc, so look forward to it.

M: Grosser than Mr. Stiffen? Who can turn anything he touches hard?

E: 5000% grosser. Anyway, he can’t make living things hard.

M: Specifying that almost made it worse. 

E: It really did. 

M: It was like “in case you weren’t thinking it already, not like that!”

E: But honestly, it was a pretty slow episode. We got to see Inasa from Shiketsu take out a hundred and twenty people on his own, really showing the meaning of overkill, and then Deku got cornered by what I think it probably Mystique-parody. Or pastiche. Homage? 

M: She was pretty annoying, so I’d scratch homage. 

E: One of those words works probably. Reference.

M: Why do all high school aged non-UA girls have the exact same icky-crush reaction to Deku?

E: Hmmm, big think mood.

M: Okay, wasn’t expecting that kind of suspicious reaction, but chill. 

E: I’ll just say that this is an episode that I think works better in hindsight than it does in the moment. 

M: You’re really laying a lot of traps here, aren’t you?

E: But anyway, fun fact, the white stuff on Camie’s body when she transforms back from her Uraraka disguise is really just broadcast TV censoring. She’s not like wearing a weird white morphsuit.

M: Oh, I thought that was her costume. Like she can put on a Michael suit ala The Good Place over it. 

E: Good reference. But no, there was a small stink over it on the social media sphere because of course there was, but MHA airs in a primetime spot so they can’t just have naked girl on the screen.

M: Well, we all know who to blame for that. Thanks, Kotaku. 

E: Oh no.

M: Anyway, I wouldn’t be shocked if the whole rest of the class has already passed, and that’s going to be the big reveal in three episodes. 

E: Hey, we’re not to predictions yet. 

M: It feels improbable that more than half of the slots have been claimed and not one UA student was among that group.

E: To be fair, in spite of how talented they are, all of Class 1-A has an entire year’s less training than 90% of the other applicants here. They’re not bottom of barrel but they’re not top of the heap either, at least when it comes to experience.

M: I guess. The sophomores from the magnet schools here that I tutor for the SAT tend to do better than the juniors and seniors at less specialized schools. 

E: I don’t know if you can really compare that though. Because it’s not like juniors are on their second year of learning chemistry usually, right? 

M: Well, sometimes they take AP Chem, but sure. 

E: Well, I mean, besides that yeah. But like comparing a smart person’s first year in biology to an average person’s first year in biology regardless of age isn’t exactly the same as being in like a trade school basically, working on the same sort of stuff.

M:  I could come up with other school metaphors, but I’ll let it go. I was surprised that Todoroki hadn’t won yet. 

E: He’s a pretty naturally cautious dude. So it seems like he had just been sort of sneaking around looking for the right chance to steal somebody’s kill, basically

M: I realize we just saw his ice blast fail again, but that does feel like a pretty killer move for this particular test. If he could find a slightly smaller group, he’d just have to move fast while they were frozen and grab his victory. 

E: Sure yeah, but I guess he just hasn’t found that right group yet. Plus you never know where you’re going to run into like fire breather man and accidentally choose him to fight.

M: There are still something like 750 students left. Feels like if I’m Todoroki, I can bet on a good two-thirds of them being easy targets. 

E: I mentioned this while we were watching, but I find it really hard to keep track of what’s happening when and how much time has passed during this part of the show. So it’s possible that the first fifty people just like blew it out in twenty minutes. Todoroki is just not that intiative-taking. I mean if there’s 1000 people, you’re going to get people like Inasa the Mr. Wind Man who is just gonna go for it-

M: It sounded like he was the only one to do a mass kill though. 

E: I don’t mean mass kill, but like the difference between just zooming for it and hoping it goes well versus picking your target. Todoroki feels more like the latter kind of guy

M: How often are you allowed to take this test? 

E: I think they said there was at least four this summer on two different dates. So maybe like the SAT like two a season?

M: Great, I have a better plan. I realize the test changes each time, but hear me out. Send all your students, have them draw straws. The top ten get to kill the bottom ten. True teamwork. 

E: Eventually that stops working though. And then bottom ten are at a severe disadvantage because they have that many less teammates. Plus you have to get two people out.

M: Shoot, you’re right. So much for trying to game the system.

E: I mean it gives those top ten an advantage, but still a risk.

M: Are they eventually going to Fortnite this?

E: Please explain your meaning.

M: It’s already a Battle Royale, but I meant to slowly force them together. 

E: I dunno!

M: Yes you do. 

E: No, I honestly don’t remember if there are any arena hazards.

M: Stay away from The Ball Pit. 

E: Well, are we doing Caffeine Watch or Lawsuit Watch? 

M: Let’s do both this week! 

E: Both high. On both shows. 

M: Yeah, definite lawsuit for the theft and for sexual harassment on Coffee Prince. Same sexual harassment one on My Hero, actually. 

E: Which way though? Both?

M: That’s for the judge to decide. 

E: This is a case for Judge Judy if I ever saw one.

M: Fortunately, Sero got the whole thing on tape!

E: Ayyyyyy

M: I’d probably tip it to Coffee Prince in its first appearance. Same with caffeine, just because of the spaghetti scene. Not for the appearance of coffee, but for the pure energy. I do realize it’s not spaghetti. 

E: Yeah, I think that’s fair.

M: I’ve already done a lot of predicting, so I’m warmed up. 

E: Okay, here comes your ultra helpful super specific title. 

M: Exam Part Two!

E: Ahem. Season 3 Episode 17 is called “Class 1-A”

M: Fight me. 

E: No.

M: Actually, I would dig it if we got a minute with each of them, and sometimes those minutes intersected or whatever. That would be dope episode concept. Not a prediction.

E: All one shot! Real artsy!

M: Not one shot because they wouldn’t all be together. But like 24, in real time.

E: Not enough time for flashbacks, next idea.

M: Okay, prediction one: I guess no one from Class 1-A has passed yet, otherwise we wouldn’t have an episode about them. 

E: It’s a bottle episode, they’re all in the waiting room watching Deku.

M: That would be a nice change of pace. A lot of other people narrating. Like that episodes of Scrubs!

E:

M: Prediction two: Aizawa continues to gloat about the power of friendship until Bakugo tags Deku out. 

E:

M: Prediction three: Some C-list class members and Iida concoct an awesome plan and pass in the first three minutes of the episode. 

E:

M: Prediction four: by the end of the episode, there are only five spots remaining. 

E:

M: And prediction five: apparently someone with a poop power or something is going to appear. Vomit power? 

E: I wish it was that normal.

M: Someone who can eat yogurt noodles? 

E:

–

Are you excited for this new era? We’re excited for this new era! Looking forward to watching Coffee Prince and continuing My Hero Academia. Tell us how you’re enjoying it too!

Next time on Split Screen, Eun-chan wants an apology and Class 1-A continues to try and pass their exam.