A Korean work with Tarantino-esque signs

This is one of those dramas that were built piece by piece, a drama where there was care from the selection of the cast, as well as in the purchase of the rights to the Webcomic it is based on. The entire plot up to the final moment of the drama is well tied together, and everything that happened in the drama was developed meticulously by the screenwriter. We must note the well-directed scenes and the quality of direction and characterisation of all the characters.

Choi Woo-Sik, although surrounded by some controversies outside of his profession, is a complete actor and knows how to convey the most varied emotions in a dense drama, but at the same time with a comedic and irreverent tone. A work that mixes murders, blood, and comedic elements, in proper proportions, strongly resembles Tarantino's films Django and Kill Bill, where violent humour and blood go hand in hand.

The villain Song Chon, portrayed by the excellent Lee Heen-Jun, was literally built with seven hands, the environment and the people around him made him into this bloodthirsty and ruthless monster. My favourite character was Roh Bin, also played by the excellent Kim Yo-han, who brought life and charm to a heavy drama surrounded by violence. He was another character who life and environment made become this way, a nerdy vigilante who loved Lee Tang fraternally until the very end. His death left me saddened, but I saw it as necessary for the direction the drama took.

Although the ending was slightly open-ended, I understand that the drama fulfilled its purpose and the story does not need any continuation.

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Excellent synopsis, but poor execution.

First and foremost, it is necessary to say that Lee JunYoung and Lee JaeWook are among the pantheon of the best Korean actors in their twenties. It's even embarrassing to compare some actors of the same age group with them. That being said, let's move on to the final evaluation. So, does this mean that Tae Oh had no ulterior motive or hidden secret; he was just another one who wanted professional success and money in an honest way, and saw Kang InHa as the ladder to such goals? Confronted about why he did all that to Tae Oh, Kang InHa responded by saying: "I don't know, that's it, I guess it's because you were Tae Oh." That's what's called lazy writing and writers with little creative intelligence. The family's mother, Jang GeumSuk, was arrested for concealing a corpse. I was waiting for the episode to find out whose corpse it was. What's the story behind this? Was the butler also arrested? It was a mess and nothing was clarified. Our protagonist is beyond comments; we've already made enough comments about her during the drama.

They turned Kang InHa into a monstrous psychopath who spares not even the relatives of his enemies, and it became clear that Tae Oh was an imaginary enemy he created. Also, that toxic romance between Tae Oh and HyeWon highlighted InHa's unbalanced emotions, and he felt betrayed and isolated. I'm not justifying, I'm just saying that the creation of the monster InHa became has shared responsibility with TaeOh and HyeWon.

The positive highlight goes to the interpreter of Hee Joo, actress Choi Hee Jin, who had little screen time but was the only one who managed to connect with the audience. The moment of reflection was the suicide of now Baek InHa. I confess I was choked up.

Anyway, this drama came with high expectations and an excellent plot, but an execution to forget.

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FINAL WORTHY, BUT DULL...

The last episode was out of sync with the others, it was a dull, slow episode with no great depth to the story. I think episodes 9 and 10 could have been combined, the makeup of the old and bedridden Anjin made me laugh, which is a shame because it was the only technical slip-up in this remarkable drama, and it didn't even impact the logical experience of the drama, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

The story, development, and pace were well done and detailed, we had competent art direction that accurately studied Japanese culture at the time. As for the story, I was a little frustrated because I thought we would have the war in the last episode, but instead, we had an excessive amount of dialogue and the closure of some character arcs. I still want to reflect on whether we had an open or semi-open ending because we now know that he managed to return to England and took memories with him, but Toranaga said he would never leave Japan, yet as we observed, he did leave.

The highlight of the acting and deserving of award nominations for best actress goes to Anna Sawai, who played the unforgettable and masterful Mariko.

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IN SEARCH OF THE WONDERFUL WORLD...

I think the best way to praise this drama is to say that it was a competent and well-built drama. None of the episodes were irrelevant or unimportant; all episodes were complementary to each other. In other words, we had an excellent execution here.

The conclusion was very conclusive and without loopholes. My last doubt was regarding the gate video and what an irony of fate, it was the controversial Soo Ho protecting his wife from the certainty that he had closed the gate. I found this explanation excellent and very consistent.

I will praise Cha EunWoo for accepting to play a character completely outside of his comfort zone and I confess that I saw positive acting points in the last episodes. I hope he continues on this path and challenges himself as an actor.

In a final analysis, the drama taught that the WONDERFUL WORLD is built daily and with small achievements. After all, life is not built only of victories and happiness.

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Uchikawa Reo was the biggest highlight.

It's necessary to say that Uchikawa Reo's acting level (Satoru - child) is much, but much higher and better than the performance of his adult version, which isn't exactly hammy, but falls quite short. Uchikawa managed to show us a protective Satoru, someone who seeks to fill others' voids without worrying about his own life and setbacks, someone who from the initial episode dominated the drama from start to finish. It was a pleasure to get to know this actor; it's a shame he hasn't acted for years, but he is fantastic. Also deserving of praise is the actress who played Kayo in the childhood phase, she managed to convey sensitivity in all her scenes and scenic care in her lines, it was another pleasant surprise. From the adult cast, although he had very little screen time, we have to praise the Kenya played by Shirasu Jin who did very well and in his few scenes gave an emotional and sincere tone to his character.

A well-rounded and flawless drama, I liked it a lot. I watched it because of a friend's recommendation and it was a beautiful suggestion.

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A FORGETTABLE DRAMA.

Before anything else, it is necessary to say and repeat a thousand times that Park Ji Hoon is a beast of acting. At just 24 years old, he dominates the scene and has a striking voice when he acts, unlike colleagues of the same age or similar, whose ham acting is totally evident. I only watched this drama because of him. After this brief preface, let's talk about the drama itself. It's very easy to talk about this drama because it has an excellent synopsis, but the execution was terrible, with quite lazy narrative resources, to say the least. The use of the memory loss trope by the protagonist was quite anything, and the screenwriters did not use creativity to create more innovative situations in Korean drama. Another fact that bothered me a lot and was quite exaggerated were the excessive screams and shouts of the protagonist. In episode 14, for example, it was 60 minutes of just him screaming and writhing. The villains were all well below criticism. Personally, I can't see Hwang Hee playing villains. His comic and charismatic character in "Tale of the Nine-Tailed" mentally marked me, but that's just me. What annoyed me the most was that in the initial episodes, the screenwriters treated us to a cunning, intelligent, witty, comic, and fighting Ak Hee. However, to maximise Sajo Hyun's protagonism, they turned Ak Hee into a greedy and childish idiot. Anyway, it's a drama I'll forget after typing this review.

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I WILL NO LONGER FEEL PAIN! NOTHING WILL TURN RED ANYMORE.

I thank MBN for showing that a drama with a modest budget, but with a good script, well-developed and implemented clichés, well-executed plot and direction, can indeed be successful and win over the audience. This drama has demonstrated that it is possible to achieve this feat. The ending of the drama, in my opinion, presents all loose ends properly tied up, with a clear and conclusive conclusion. The explanation for the characters' second chance in life was simple: "God wanted it, and it's all right."

Of course, this drama has become one of my favorites on MDL, being an incredible experience to follow these twelve episodes. I hope MBN produces more dramas with the same atmosphere.

Now that the drama is over, I can say that, in the webtoon, there are three characters who go back to the past (the protagonists and Kim Jae Won). I believe that not including this plot for Kim did not harm the development of the story. If MBN wanted to, they could have extended the plot to 16 to 20 episodes, but it's all right. It's good to end things at their peak, which helps preserve good memories.

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Is innocence synonymous with freedom?

With the imminent premiere of the Netflix drama "Queen of Tears", I decided to watch Kim Soo Hyun's latest drama, which is "One Ordinary Day" from 2021. I confess that I was surprised that Soo Hyun had been on hiatus for almost 3 years and only returned now with the Netflix drama. That said, I deeply regret not having watched this drama when it was released. The technical and scenic quality is of a unique excellence, with everything very well developed. The Korean justice system is once again called into question, and here, as is routine, we see that vanity and ambition are put first in relation to the suffering of others.

They took Hyun Soo's life, and there is no way he can go back to the starting point where his life was abruptly changed. Everything is in the past, and there is no possible reparation. The designation of ex-convict will always be with him, and Korean conservative society will judge him every day, regardless of his innocence. Of course, Hyun Soo was guilty of omission of aid, and his selfishness led him to where we are, but the hell he lived is much more the responsibility of the justice hyenas than anything else.

Finally, Seung Won deserves praise, who plays this lawyer who lives in a state of full dermatitis. I confess that I felt disgusted at first, but as the dermatitis evolved, the case became denser and more complicated. When Hyun Soo was released, the lawyer's dermatitis eased. Kim Sung Gyu, playing Ji Tae, was above criticism. He knew how to be the escape valve for the psychological pressures that Hyun Soo suffered, although in a very twisted way, but he was a protector.

About the ending, I had two feelings: the first that he was going to commit suicide and the second that smoking that last pack of cigarettes would be like saying goodbye to all the hell he lived. I loved this drama so much, impeccable.

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The stomach of Japanese politics.

The premise of the drama is very good and it is exactly how I think Japan and its politics and society are, where everything is appearance and the true war occurs behind the scenes in a fierce, discreet, and camouflaged way.

As for the performance, Min Tanaka was masterful and managed to convince us that the power of the "owl" lies more in meticulousness than in the imposition of forces. On the other hand, his co-star, Mackenyu, had little screen time throughout the drama, but his performance was quite mediocre. I have said several times that it seems like he feels uncomfortable acting and speaking in Japanese.

Now, we wait for a hypothetical second season. The Japanese have a habit of leaving open endings and simply forgetting about the drama.

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A BEAUTIFUL TRIBUTE

The actor who played the elderly YoungHan is the same one who played YoungHan in the series of the same name in the 70s and 80s. Another situation that moved me was that the actors who played YoungHan's companions in the 1971 series have already passed away.

It was a drama with perfect setting, costumes consistent with the 50s and 60s, and we had a text with a more traditional and assertive humor. I found few episodes, I believe they could have easily had 16 episodes.

Moreover, I found the participation of actor Choi Bool Am delicate and sensitive, portraying the lonely YoungHan in 2024 and waiting for the moment to meet his companions.

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CONFLICTING FEELING...

I started watching this drama because I was curious to know which drama had the highest ratings in South Korea, since "Queen of Tears" was breaking several ratings records, except for being the most watched drama on South Korean television, so I got curious and looked it up.
About the drama, the first episodes were breathtaking and made you shocked with each event or discovery. However, the drama lost its momentum towards the end and became a bit boring. The lesson that the drama teaches us is that we should not bear all the problems in the world on our shoulders and judge others by our own standards. Another important lesson is that sometimes stepping out of our comfort zone allows for adrenaline and excitement. However, by losing it, you also take responsibility for it and must bear the consequences.

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Simple films with a clumsy protagonist.

It's a movie with a simple premise and a well-known cast. We have to praise Yoo In Soo's consistently exceptional and well-developed performance as the villain in this film. Everyone knows that this actor usually plays comedic roles, but whenever he portrays villains, he transforms himself. In other words, he's an actor with great stage presence who can seamlessly transition from humor to drama and vice versa.

Now, it's necessary to mention that Yoo Sun Ho's performance as the film's protagonist is very lacking and stiff. It seems like he's holding back. He portrayed a very monosyllabic and emotionless protagonist.

The film has its flaws, for example, what's the backstory of Da Young's "stalker friend"? In three minutes, that could have been explained and developed. It felt somewhat random. What's the significance of that epilogue? What important post-film finale factor does that scene have?

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Um drama bem desenvolvido e bem dirigido

Foi uma excelente experiência assistir a esse drama. Gostei de como o enredo foi construído e desenvolvido, e a atuação dos atores foi sempre segura e bem conduzida. Quero destacar os atores que interpretaram Sato e Shinzo Tozawa; eles deram uma aura mais realista aos seus personagens, o que foi muito valorizado.

Sobre o drama, eu não li a obra do jornalista onde a série foi baseada, mas não percebi nenhuma brecha para uma continuação. O arco Tozawa foi concluído com sucesso e a história, ao meu ver, se fechou. Há empolgação e possível enredo para mais temporadas? Acredito que sim, mas como telespectador, estou satisfeito por agora.

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A protagonist extremely weak and irritating.

I don't want to be offensive to fans of this manga, but based on this trilogy of films, I'd like to express an opinion and question: is the protagonist really so irritating and weak in the manga? Because, let's face it, he only relies on the power of love and dialogue, constantly getting beaten up by everyone, allies or enemies alike. He can't fight, can't persuade, just shouts, cries, and complains.

Since the first film, there has been no evolution whatsoever; the outcome is just beatings, tears, and more beatings. His body must be made of titanium, as in all three films he has been beaten in every possible way, it's a miracle he hasn't suffered a cranial trauma.

Anyway, I can't judge the protagonist in the manga because I've never read it, but Takemichi in the films is a naive, complaining, weak character who believes the power of love can fix everything. If there are no more sequels, that's fine by me.

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