Eh..

Hi, I’m just a Kdrama addict trying out a Japanese drama for the first time in my life after seeing this one advertised everywhere. Suffice it to say, I probably won’t be coming back, and here’s why. Since the very beginning, I felt no real connection with any of the characters. The only character I even remotely found myself liking was the FL and that was only because I thought her mountain climbing hobby was pretty dope. Still, I wouldn’t have minded if she died in this drama. The directors and writers tried to remedy this by working in some flashback scenes for individual characters, but at that point in the drama I just wanted to see how the final conflict would be resolved, not watch several minutes of an irrelevant side character’s sob story. It felt really forced and honestly ruined the flow of the action for me. After going from a pretty conservative style to korean dramas, I was entirely baffled by the amount of sex and nudity in this drama. To be honest, I rarely watch American TV, especially TV that is rated M or R, so seeing this in a Japanese thriller felt really out of place and reminded me of the days where I would watch anime that was disgustingly saturated in fanservice. While I’m on this topic, I have to say that the rape scene in the latter half of the drama felt absolutely unnecessary and completely uncalled for. It gave me a foul feeling because of the way that it was portrayed and the fact the FL quickly bounced back from the experience as if being almost raped was completely normal. Hell, even the rapist himself was justifying his act as “normal human behavior.” It disgusted me beyond belief. With that said, I did enjoy the premise of the drama. While it’s not original by any means, I’m a sucker for sadism and bloodshed (I watched too much TWD in my day), so this drama was mostly meant to be a mindless thriller that I can watch after a long day. It didn’t require much thinking on my part, which I appreciated, and it was quite nice to just watch people kill each other in a deadly arena, as sick as that sounds. My final words are: don’t expect much in the way of depth or character development from this because you won’t get it. Despite that, I say watch it for the cinematics and the awfully entertaining death scenes. This might not be for everyone though ;).

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It pains me to say that this drama would’ve received a far higher rating...

from me if it wasn’t for the FL...Like genuinely the FL was what stood in the way between the rating I gave vs a rating that was 1-2 stars higher. I simply couldn’t stand her weird dialogue and acting since the very start of this drama. Although the drama itself kind of grew on me toward the end (not enough tbh), I consistently rolled my eyes at her and cringed at least once every episode. There’s a night and day difference between Su Zaizai and Jiang Jia (and I LOVED Jiang Jia) and I genuinely think they could’ve allowed Zaizai to keep her bubbly personality without turning her into a 5 year-old in a 25 year-old woman’s body. The plot here should theoretically be my cup of tea, actually, but for some reason I ran into the same issue I run into with some youth cdramas where for some reason I’m just kind of bored the whole time. I don’t think the drama did anything wrong per se, I might just not be one to enjoy youth cdramas as much as I think. However, I really enjoyed the fact that there was quick and easy conflict resolution and nothing super dramatic that happened. It made the watch very enjoyable and positive and is why I say that it’s technically “my type” of drama. Funny enough, as much as I complain about unresolved misunderstandings, I would’ve been okay with some of them being resolved a little later (the not annoying ones ahah) since they added some entertainment in the sea of “no problems whatsoever the couples are together and happy as can be” eutopia in romcoms that gets boring QUICK if you overdo it. Anywho, I personally don’t really think the drama deserves a 9.0 rating since there were personally quite a few issues I encountered that I’m sure other people have as well, and I felt like there was just little to no emotional impact with the characters for me personally (I’m comparing to how I felt watching dramas like Hidden Love or Someday or One Day who did great in this department). But if you don’t mind an incredibly cringey FL (gahh) and enjoy the youth genre, I would still recommend you watch this one as you’re likely to really enjoy it.

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Just wow

I genuinely don’t know why it took me this long to finally watch Goblin, but I finally did, and hoo boy, was it one heck of a ride. Despite a very small number of supporting characters, this drama kept me engaged the whole time through its vibrant cast of main leads. Each character’s personality seemed to bring something new and interesting to the table, and I was at the edge of my seat the entire time because of the suspense that the main conflict created. I didn’t see too much of a problem between the characters’ ages, unlike some reviews, and while I did find it a tad awkward at first, I quickly adjusted and was able to support the characters’ romance despite the age gap. The complexity of the plot sadly left me a tad confused at times because of the abrupt editing that happens in some scenes, however the timed comments on viki helped me piece the plot together a bit easier, so I would definitely recommend you turn those on from time to time. I think it’s safe to say that I was crying during every episode once we got closer and closer to the finale, and I could remember having the absolute worst headache after finishing the drama because of how emotional and stressed I was getting. Some reviews warned of the less-than-happy ending, so I was terrified to find out what happened to the leads. To my surprise, the ending actually turned out to be quite happy (though some may perceive it as a tad bittersweet, which I do kind of agree with), though it wasn’t without its fair share of emotional rollercoasters. Overall, I believe the production of this drama was absolutely fantastic, and while I would love to rewatch it to experience the characters’ relationships one more time (the bromance and the sismance though!!! Ahhh, I”m in love!!!), however I don’t think my poor, poor heart can handle this for the second time. The OST was one of the best I have ever listened to (though I still believe nothing tops Mr. Sunshine’s OST) and I would for sure recommend anyone and everyone to watch this drama as soon as they can. It’s pretty much a classic at this point, and it for sure deserves to be called that! Happy watching, and please have some tissues and some Ibuprofen nearby (if you get headaches from crying your eyes out like me!).

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“The rain last night was such a blessing”

Holy crap, this movie was one heck of a journey!! This movie has quite a slow start, however it picks up after the first twenty or so minutes and completely sucks you into the storyline. In an effort to keep this spoiler free, I will avoid making this too long or too detailed. The second half of this movie is a wild ride, however, and the many plot twists this movie threw at me left me at a loss for words. The amazing acting, comedy, storyline, twists, and a haunting yet thought provoking ending make this movie a must-watch for anyone, not just a regular kdrama viewer! As a bonus, the messages that this movie makes about the division of economic classes in South Korea makes this movie not only a great comedy thriller, but also a wonderful philosophical conversation topic.

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It had potential

This is the first drama that I watched while it was airing. This was definitely an interesting experience, and I’m almost certain that this skewed my overall opinion of this drama in a positive way. Because I never had to watch the drama for more than two episodes a week, there was no way I’d get tired of the mundane storyline that some people in the reviews are claiming for this drama to have. While I definitely agree that watching only two episodes a week helped me break up the drama into watchable chunks, I do still believe, looking back at the drama now, that the story in the second half never really progressed anywhere. The beginning of this drama was beautifully executed. The conflicts that both of the characters were facing were not exactly creative or new, but they felt fresh nonetheless. Watching a wannabe actor struggle to get hired for even the smallest role was extremely interesting, and I waited to tune in to every new episode to see Hye Jun finally achieve all of his dreams. I will only briefly address the fact that his rise to fame was extremely unrealistic. I don’t believe that a small role in a drama and a cute face are enough to turn a desperate actor into a national superstar, but I’ll just attribute that to the magic of kdramas and move on. Jeong ha’s character was quite different from your regular kdrama female lead because she was independent and wasn’t willing to give up her ambitions and beliefs even in the very last episode of the drama. Nevertheless, I got slightly frustrated with her when she said something along the lines of, “I like honest people,” or “I never lie to people” for the THIRTIETH time in a row. While my engagement with the drama went up with every single episode even in the second half, I will admit that the first half of the drama is really where it shined. While the tensions in the second half went up dramatically, they never led anywhere, and I was left with a feeling of unfulfillment when the final episode ended. I realize that the writer was probably trying to leave the ending open, but she wasn’t quite able to pull it off the way she tried to, so the viewers were left confused and unsatisfied. None of the side stories really amounted to anything, either, and I wish there was a proper conclusion to the second romance story arc and Hae Hyo’s internal struggles with his self esteem and his relationship with his mother. As a last random concluding point to this review, I would just like to bring up the awkward crying scenes in the drama. I want to say there were at least 4 different characters that had a “crying” scene in this drama, and I swear to god, every single one of them made me cringe SO HARD. Anyway, I’d still recommend this drama for Park Bo Gum (how fitting that his last drama before his military service is a drama about a character who left to do his military service at the end of the drama) and Park So Dam (She’s so cute what the heckkkk). Just don’t get your hopes up and have a good time with it. The drama had some very nice moments if you look past the disappointing ending.

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Cheesiest kdrama I’ve ever watched to date

King the land and I have had quite the interesting journey together. I started off really disliking the drama because it felt shallow and extremely overrated. The romance was boring and nothing new, and the story of poor woman and hot chaebol has been beaten to death at this point. I put down the drama for maybe 3ish months because of college and ended up coming back and finishing off the second half in about 3 days during a family road trip. After coming back to the drama, I learned to appreciate how cheesy and cliche king the land is, and as the episodes went on, I began to see it for its own merits and uniqueness. I ended up falling in love with the main couple and the side characters, and I will honestly say I will miss king the land since it was a heck of a ride. There's not much of a plot and they do end up hitting on every cliche under the sun, but my goodness was it fun and cute and made me tear up many a time. If this genre is your cup of tea, you can't miss king the land!

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This was an interesting watch for someone who has also watched the movie Train to Busan. Contrary to what many are saying, I found this movie very enjoyable and quite funny, even. I absolutely adored the male and female leads, and the quirkiness of Jun Wu. He’s very different from the typical zombie apocalypse protagonist, and the way he related his situation to video games was amusing. I thought the two characters had awesome chemistry, and their interactions were greatly executed, even with how short this movie ended up being. This is a great lazy weekend watch because it perfectly blends humor and angst to deliver a very interesting take on a popular horror genre.

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I have two criteria for a 10 star drama: 1) It has to make me cry and 2) It can never make me angry. Sadly, SWDBS didn’t meet either of these criteria, although it came really really close to meeting criterion 1. Nevertheless, I loved this show to pieces, and it would’ve been at least a 9.5 had episode 13 never happened (I still can’t get behind the weird “first, do no harm” logic that only seems to apply when it’s convenient to the writer). I absolutely adore Park Bo Young, and I absolutely regret not watching a Park Hyung Sik drama up until now. SWDBS didn’t feel as filler-y as other people claimed, but maybe I just really enjoy a good slice of life. For once, I really really liked the crime/thriller aspect of the show (maybe I’m growing to like it or maybe it was just dumbed down and simple enough for me to appreciate lmao). Anywho, I personally thought the giant mix of genres worked quite well for this drama, and I enjoyed all parts of the show quite a bit. I’d definitely recommend SWDBS to all levels of kdrama addicts, and I’m impressed it took me this long to pick it up.

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Beautiful tearjerker

Oh jeez. I really liked this. I don’t even have anything to say, it was just really good. I loved the cast, and I thought the story was very well done. I knew what was coming and I still couldn’t stop myself from wanting the leads to be together so freaking bad. I loved his pure and unending love for her, and the drama was portrayed with so much joy and so much sadness at the same time. Overall, a very beautiful movie. I truly have nothing negative to say about this movie besides the fact that they could’ve made the time jumps slightly less confusing, but that’s just about it. The ending was beautiful and somewhat happy even, because Seung Hee is getting married to a man she (hopefully) loves and both of them can look back at their times together and appreciate just how much they both grew as people because they had one another. It’s a beautiful ending and a more realistic one. Don’t get me wrong, my poor little hopeless romantic heart is weeping. Definitely a tearjerker type movie.

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For such a popular and highly-rated drama, I was expecting so much more and was instead left rather disappointed. In the beginning, I absolutely adored the main leads, especially Qiao Jingjing because of her personality, and loved the amazing chemistry and dynamic of a serious and lost man and a confident, bubbly actress. The first 15 episodes were incredibly entertaining and I was so certain that this drama would end up with a high rating from me. Where it went downhill was right after those 15 episodes. Prior, I had a minor complaint about the clumsily-included scenes of Yu Tu’s sick coworker because of how incredibly boring and useless they felt to the story. However, it wasn’t due to the dull hospital scenes that I entirely lost interest in the drama, but during Jingjing’s second failed confession and the absolute mess that happened after that. For the love of God, these characters are both thirty years old, and yet they have the communication of literal preteens. They ghost each other after a stupid argument instead of talking about their damn problems and end up spending so much unnecessary energy and time being mad at each other for no damn reason. Besides that, the drama has a serious inconsistency when it comes to pacing. When the leads are together, the pacing feels quick and lively, and whenever they’re in another stupid fight or Yu Tu’s busy with his mind-numbingly boring aerospace job, the pacing slows to a snail’s pace and makes me more inclined to take a nap than to keep watching the drama. Once the leads got together, the happy tone of the drama seemed to pick back up, but I was still too angry about the fight to enjoy their goofiness. This is purely personal preference, but I hate watching a romance drama where the main leads go through a lengthy separation because those always feel avoidable and unnecessary. To me, it just feels like unneeded angst, something that I really don’t need when I’m trying to mindlessly enjoy a rom com. The rest of the drama lacked any plot development and went in circles from them being busy to them being together for a short amount of time only to be busy again. I suppose one of the genres is life, so I can’t fault the drama TOO much for that, but the lack of any plot did not do the drama much good in the latter half. I have a similar problem with this drama as I do with “The Day of Becoming You” since I enjoyed a large portion of it but was severely burned by a small element in the drama, which is why I’m not even sure what rating it would deserve. I don’t think I would recommend this drama to anyone unless they wanted to only watch the first half, because the big separation and what followed after that was just not my cup of tea and didn’t really interest me in the slightest. Ah well, to each their own. This is one of those dramas that you either love or hate, depending on your approach to the romance genre.

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Ohh man this one was all kinds of levels of cringe to me. I found it quite hard to watch because of the acting, however I really appreciate the overall storyline of this episode. I was so so happy with the ending. I really couldn’t have thought of any better ending than the one the writers ended up going with. If I were to completely ignore all the cringe dialogue that went on between the characters, I’d say this one was pretty solid. Lots of great humor, especially with the obligatory “using a urinal for the first time” scene. This is such a guilty pleasure, I love me some trash tv.

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Cause I can't help falling in love

This is the highest rated drama on MyDramaList that I have watched to this day, but, as much of an emotional attachment I have been able to develop to this drama, I cannot help but recognize its many flaws that make it quite an overrated drama overall. Now, don’t get me wrong, this drama was freaking awesome. I loved the leads and the side characters to bits, and the music, although not the most impressive soundtrack, did contribute quite a bit to the waterfall of tears I shed for this drama. But because I loved it so much I can’t help but wish for some parts of it to be a little different. So here we go: Right off the bat, I’m just gonna be honest and say that I didn’t like the drama at all during its first 3-4 episodes. It just didn’t click with me right away. The comedy was a little ridiculous, but I learned to get past it and love the drama anyway. The first “part” of the drama that happened in North Korea felt very repetitive. It was the same sequence of “ooh boy she’s come up with a plan to get out of North Korea” only to be followed by “oh man, another unforeseen obstacle prevented her from escaping successfully” and repeated several more times to the point where I just didn’t even hold out any hope for her escaping AT ALL. Now to address some cliches. 1)Fated to meet *barf* 2)Ri Jeong Hyuk’s brother’s death caused him to become distant and cold-hearted (dramatic much? I get that you loved him, but plenty of people lost their loved ones and didn’t act like the world suddenly ended) 3) Now this may just be my personal opinion, but the “big bad villain following the rich South Korean heiress into her country to kill her” sequence was a little ridiculous and super annoying to watch. While we’re on the topic, I tend to err on the more realistic side of Korean dramas, and watching these two lovesick idiots take bullets for one another time after time and end up in a hospital bed was just a little too gruesome and depressing for me. I tend to avoid dramas where characters face violent or even fatal encounters for that exact reason. Last two complaints, I PROMISE. I wasn’t a fan of how Ri Jeong Hyeok kept lying to the South Korean officials about his intentions for the sake of saving Yoon Se Ri from legal troubles when he left. He was clearly making her miserable and yet he kept lying I JUST UGH. While I’m probably one of the few (or maybe not lol) people that thought that eliminating the second male lead was a bold and frankly quite a fun choice, I can’t say the same for how they wrapped up the ending of the drama for the main leads. Once again, largely personal opinion, but I found it so depressing how the couple could never truly be together and had to rely on two weeks for every YEAR to meet each other. I didn’t watch 20 hours of a Korean drama only for you to tell me that they don’t even get a proper happy ending! Now, while I just typed up a huge freaking essay of complaints about the drama, I have to admit that watching CLOY was one of the best experiences of my life, all the frustrating parts of it aside. The side characters/second leads were so well developed over the course of the drama that I felt like the love story between Jeong Hyeok and Se Ri had a dramatic impact on all the characters on both sides of the 39th parallel. This drama explored all angles of the story and wrapped up the side characters’ narratives even better than it did with the leads, and while I will always cherish the main leads’ romance, it is the side characters that ended up completely stealing the show and making this drama one for the ages.

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