TOO Short, but interesting

LIKES:
Reminds me of the American TV show Gossip Girl, very similar concept.
The chemistry between Bo Rin, Ji Min and Woo characters is great. If there comes a season two, they could have a love triangle… which would me more kissing, lol.
The acting was good particularly that of actress Lee So Hee, considering the episodes were short and limited.
No FX to speed of.
OST was okay.

DISLIKES:
Because it’s super short, hard to develop the characters and even worse to deliver a completed drama.
No character growth.
Too short, unless they plan on two or 3 seasons.
The last episode was rushed.

OVERALL:
If they create more episodes and seasons, this was worth the watch (however this concept was better developed and written by the creators of Gossip Girl). One kiss scene was okay. Since it’s so short, I could watch it again. I would recommend it, but only if there is at least another season.

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Wrong Title

This should of been called: Searching For Maturity. Yes the drama is about four women of varying ages the learn about life and it's trials and tribulations. Two business women, one wealthy woman and a girl becoming a woman. Perhaps their determination to reach their chosen futures, is what makes them brilliant?

LIKES:
The character Wen Xiao Yang actually had growth. The two business women; Wen Ru Xue and Ding Hui Qiao, were the least mature from beginning to end. I did like some of the "advice" that Ru Xue gave to others. I also liked wealthy girl Dai XiXi having a little growth in that she began to think for herself. The production was pretty good, music was fine but nothing outstanding and acting was pretty decent. I liked the voice of Bai Xiang Wen, but the writers made him a little too over the top. The message of sisterhood and being supportive of your female friends was refreshing, they didn't do the usual backstabbing that often happens in dramas like this.

DISLIKES:
Side stories/drama that didn't involved the four main women and their direct friends, took too much time. The time could've been used to fix the writing for the 4 main FLs. The director also failed in many spots, leaving reactions too slow. It got boring mid way through and I really had to force myself to make it to the end. Then the end seemed very rushed to complete the storylines. Ding Hui Qiao had no chemistry with her younger romantic partner, but there was potential there to make it very interesting. The best acting was done by Zhao Jin Mai, the rest was okay, but should've been better. Without getting character growth for the two business women, they weren't Brilliant Girls, but Childish Women. Two of the female leads endings were very open ended and not satisfying at all. Even Xiao Yang's ending would have been better to see where she's at even just 5 yrs into the future.

Overall it's watchable, but not to re-watch and it dragged on too long.

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Juvenile Crime Drama with Adult Undertones

LIKES: The production was well done, no shaking camera moments to add drama because the acting was pretty good. Good zoom ins, camera angles, etc. Directing was also well done for the most part. There were some evening and dark area scenes, that had just the right amount of lighting, which made me applaud the director. Acting was well done for the most part and some of the supporting characters in each episode could outshine the main leads. The OST was suitable and not too loud or overbearing. Also while this crime/court drama did show some of the procedures, the good and bad of laws, it didn't get too bogged down by that. The first 5 episodes were really good, but the last 5 seemed a little less engaging. I wasn't as excited about the next episode, like I was in the first half of the series. For the most part I really liked how Kim Hye Soo delivered the character of Judge Shim Eun Seok.

DISLIKES: Some over-acting when doing emotional scenes, but no one too annoying or too often doing that. The second half of the episodes and conclusion, weren't as interesting as the strong beginning. I didn't feel like there was true character growth for any of the leads, but that might be due to the limited episodes and hence time. Also when trying to give the back story of Eun Seok, the drama of the ex-husband and his mother (parts) really weren't necessary.

Over all it was a decent story, interesting and I watched the whole thing in one sitting. I would recommend watching it and rewatching it, because it makes us think about our choices and actions in respects to how it can effect others. A solid 7/10.

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BAD Editing & Production overwhelmed the good

I enjoyed the story in the sense of the connection between Koi and Natsume, even the mysticism/spirituality they brought into it with the Fire dance and the ocean scenes.

THE BAD: the camera work was terrible, editing was even worse or maybe it was just the Director was drunk the whole time. Moments that should have been shorter, dragged on; running around, walking around, etc. Moments that needed more time for story development were cut out. Scenes ended abruptly, where you think "that part ended up on the editing floor" and then a green screen at the very end that was so damn obvious. Zoom ins that were shaky and too close and too many times the camera felt like it was thrown around. No one seemed to know how to use a camera stabilizer! They wrecked the movie. And because of the terrible editing it got hard to understand what the hell was going on. The actors did the best with what they were given. Crappy Ending, with unexplained bits. I don't get the high ratings from those who have viewed it before me.

Not re-watchable at all. Even the music was not the great.

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Slow Build But Great Movie

The storyline has been done before, but I like how it was executed here and that the music didn't overpower the acting/verbal moments. There was drama, action, emotional, cute and raw moments. The ML did really well considering half the time he wasn't allowed to say anything. FL was sweet and yet empowering. They had enough chemistry to make it believable. Incorporating the dog was smart, however not correctly executed towards the end*(at the end of this review I will explain, however it is a spoiler alert). Great MMA/fight scenes, including the training.

Due some parts not really being done well and really slow build of the story, that is why it's not a 10/10 for me. Definitely a good watch, that has scenes that will tug at your heart. 100% Rewatchable.

SPOILER ALERT
*The dog obviously knew him by scent and found the ML quickly. So why, (when she was trying to find Rui again on the street), didn't she take the dog,? It would have dragged her straight to him. Also in the pottery shop, the dog should've been trying to pull her back out the door, while barking.

Also FL sculpted his face from what her hands remembered, so she should've recognized him from that alone at the hospital. Her feeling his back muscles and thinking she knew him, not likely. Feeling his scar, the one she thought was a burn, that would've made more sense. Or even his scent, because she knew it from before due to her heightened other senses, that would be believable.

The part about the sea glass and it's connection to him, the ocean and her, was nice. Same with the song and music box.

All in all it was a great movie and I did enjoy it.

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An Easy Watch No Depth

LIKES:
I really liked the production, cinematography, beautiful location/scenery shots. I also found the music to be pleasant and appropriate, although nothing truly stood out. Filming was well done, no shaky camera video and zoom ins were done correctly. I didn't notice any special FX to speak of. I did like that they showed the Team 1 workers doing their job, especially with Ha Ri working on recipes. Often office romances don't show the FL or ML actually focusing on their tasks. The comedic parts were okay and thankfully not too frequent, so they didn't become annoying. I liked Young Seo as Ha Ri's friend, the actress Seol In Ah was great. It was an okay ending, just barely acceptable.

DISLIKES:
They rushed the ending, but that I expected because it was only 12 episodes long. As usual there were the typical and over used cliches that South Korean dramas are known to follow. The product placements/endorsements were almost funny with how they were done, not smooth at all. I found the ML and FL didn't have much chemistry, however I did like the FL's character. Min Gue's character Sung Hoon needed more development, but as a 2ML he was okay. I don't know the webtoon that this was made from, so my review is solely based on the show. However I find a lot of people are over-rating it. A lot of this story felt like they ripped off parts from Boys Over Flowers (you'll know which parts if you watch it). There didn't seem to be any character growth from the ML, FL, 2ML, but there was a little bit for 2FL (Young Seo). The supporting characters and their romances were not needed and they could've used the time for the main role characters. It's a very PG kind of romance drama.

OVERALL:
It's a fun watch, easy to follow and not anxiety inducing because of the trials and tribulations of the characters. I would recommend watching it if you like the typical S.Korean drama formula. I wont bother watching it again.

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Not As Good As Original Version, but a decent watch

LIKES:
Cinematography, locations, colour palette.
Music content didn't stand out, but wasn't bad either.
Cast for the most part was well chosen.
Better writing than in the first part of this show.
Plot, although not really original other than the North & South Korea parts, got better in part 2.
FX for the most part were well done; wounds, blood, explosions, etc.
More character backstory for part 2, compared to part 3, but little character growth (however wasn't expecting much due to it being an action movie).
Fight sequences for the most part looked fluid and were good.

DISLIKES:
Production, as per usual with most dramas done in Korea, no film stabilizer was used, causing the camera to shake a lot, when it wasn't necessary and made watching difficult sometimes.
Director made reaction times of the cast overly delayed and not in a good, suspenseful way. Not sure if was just how the actress did some scenes, but she seemed to overact for Woo Jin's character.
Acting: kissing scenes were gross; the guys ate the face of their partner.
Music often too loud and you just couldn't hear what the actors/actresses were saying. Even during narration parts, you couldn't hear it due to the music playing. I had to switch to reading subtitles to understand what they said.
Editing: more so in part 2, than in part 1, were the use of cables. Sometimes it was overly obvious. CGI for some driving scenes was terrible too.

OVERALL: It was a fast, easy watch and got better in part 2 (more backstory on the characters, more action, attempt at story twists). The acting was okay. They made it easy to root for the criminals and want to learn more about their backstories. Not the best written or produced in this genre but acceptable. I would recommend watching this if you don't have high expectations or are a fan of an actor or actress. I wont be rewatching and there were no truly memorable scenes. The ending was satisfactory.

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Disappointing FX

LIKES:
Some of the casting is well done.
Music was suitable and didn’t over power the actors/actresses when they were speaking, but nothing stood out either.
It still has the cheesy moments like in the first movie.
I loved the panda of Lan Fan, too cute!
Costumes for the most part were accurate for the characters.

DISLIKES:
EDITING: CGI is very noticeable, same with green screen use and both are used way too much.
FX: For Armstrong, you can see where the scull cap ends, they didn’t blend the makeup well. Also the scar on SCAR is so badly done, to the point of being tacky. Some of the special effects for the alchemy (like Ed’s shafts of stone) were so badly done, they were a disaster.
DIRECTING: fight scenes could have been choreographed much better.
Also hated how/where they chose to end it. I understand that it’s a series of movies, but it should be able to stand alone too.

OVERALL:
It’s on par with the prequel movie, but I expected more in terms of graphics, FX and production considering the first film was in 2017 and it’s 2022 now. Even though I’m a fan of some of the actors, I won’t rewatch this and don’t recommend it to anyone who either watched the Fullmetal Alchemist anime or read the manga.

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Lacked Good Writing, Saved by Acting

LIKES:
Beautiful Location moments like the cherry blossoms, Doom’s house and the ocean.
The music was appropriate and didn’t over power the actor/actress voices, but nothing truly remarkable.
FXs for when Doom made time stand still, etc., were well done.
I like the concept of who the Beginning Deity was.
Production was decent and same for the Editing.


DISLIKES:
Writing: No character growth for ML & FL, everyone around them had more growth. How slow the romances moved. Very basic romance; hand holding and walking around, like what we would do in grade school, before becoming teenagers). There was no romantic connection or real chemistry with any of the characters, except maybe a little between Joo Ik and Ji Na. As usual K-drama stuck to the formula of hardships make stronger relationships trope, but was used way too much to create interest and drama in a show that shouldn’t have had so many episodes.
Pacing: Sometimes the episode didn’t move forward in terms of what was happening with the Main characters, that for the second half of the episodes I used fast forward to find the other storylines.
FX: a few scenes the CGI and green screen were way too obvious.


OVERALL:
Like other reviewers have said, this had the potential to be something new and interesting, but lazy screenwriting made it fall short. The cast is start studded and I finished this solely because of Lee Soo Hyuk’s character and acting. I would watch it at least for the first half of the drama and some parts I might even watch again, but definitely not all of it. There are better dramas out there that aren’t as boring. It’s an easy watch and an okay introduction to this genre.

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A Total Waste

LIKES:
Costumes, colours, cinematography and locations, were all well done. Music was okay, but nothing memorable.
I loved the opening graphics of the little white "snake", it was super cute. First 2 or 3 episodes were good.
Inconstancy was a problem throughout. The FL doesn't initially save the "snake," it was her Lady that suggested it.
Second couple: Lonely Star and Blue Bird were the only reason I watch every episode of this garbage.
The actress playing the Blue Bird, was spot on even when in human form (constantly chattering away, very vain, always moving quickly from one place to the next, etc.)
All the reviews talking about the second couple are correct.
Plenty of immortal/magical moments as expected in a fantasy type drama.
Some of the special effects were good, but considering it's 2021 when it aired, it's pretty lame for the most part.
FX: the fireflies and wounds were well done, but the rest was cheesy or worse.
The cat demon's makeup was good and the actress is very pretty.
The hair for all the women was also well crafted, especially the cat ears.

DISLIKES:
WRITING
The writer started out with a good concept (pretty girl heals animals, they are demons and become loyal to her) and then the writer got drunk and wrecked the rest of the writing. And instead of calling the animals (both real and mystical) demons, it would have been better to call them spirts (good and evil) and why heavens immortals are friends with them. Too repetitive with the reincarnation lives, two maybe done well would have been plenty, but instead the writer muddles through multiple ones. Total crap. Even fairy tales have more kisses than this "romance" historical drama. Even the ending was stupid; just pick a concept already!
All they eat is pastries? Weird.
The "villain" is so obvious and gives a hint right in the beginning of the drama.
WAY TOO SLOW paced for the romance parts, thankfully there is fast forward.
Why start off making the FL a strong character and then trash all that over and over?
FX
The dragon's face when it became large looked like a cross between a fox and the dragon from Never Ending Story (American movie). The makeup and hair on the male lead was terribly done. The set design when it came to the rocks or rock formations was terrible. The fighting scenes, even with swords are not well choreographed and their swords look like rubber.
PRODUCTION
So many choppy parts, where editing was a fail. At least they didn't have shaky camera syndrome and used film stabilizer, but that's the only good thing about it. The CGI was terrible, as if their budget was limited, yet they made 36 episodes? UGH
Directing was bad too, huge lag when a character was supposed to react immediately, lack of showing the romance and chemistry, etc. Time management was a huge problem which was so obvious with how it dragged on.
ACTING
They did the best with what they were given. Dylan Wang was okay in this role, but they didn't direct him properly. Zhu Xu Dan was okay in the beginning, but became annoying later, but again I think this is due to the writer and director stuffing it up.
Deng Wei was surprisingly really good in his role as Lord of Luofeng Pavillion and showed good chemistry with Pan Mei Ye. Pan Mei Ye's acting was superb, especially acting bird like as her human/elf moments.

OVERALL it's a waste of time. The 2nd couple carried the drama, but still wasn't given enough time for a proper build of their chemistry and romance. I won't recommend it, unless you just watch a scene compilation on Youtube. I definitely won't rewatch.

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The Silent Sea is Binge worthy

Lee Joon is phenomenal in this drama. Also the storyline is probable and interesting, although the end is predictable to some extent. Great production. Believable story, with lots of suspense and guessing of who on the crew is a bad person. Visuals are really well done too; the moon scape. In some spots there was too much time spent on characters roaming around. It was done to create suspense, but felt more like a time filler. There was good character development for some of them and backstory was just enough without getting annoying. It's not a 10/10 for me, because there were some VERY cheesy gore/thriller moments that could've been done better. Also I wish we knew a little more about some of the characters, like the one played by Lee Joon. However it's a great watch and I binged it!

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Better Than Expected

LIKES:
CAST: all well selected for their respective roles/characters.
Cinematography, colour palette, all perfect.
Sets, filming locations, all suited the episodes.
Wardrobe & set pieces were well done, even paying attention to the weirder things in the anime like the snail phones.
Production: had the budget to give the viewer the feel of the manga/anime.
Music/sound: all of it appropriate, added to the scenes. Voices of the actors never overpowered by the surrounding sounds or the music.
FX: creating Luffy’s stretch ability, blending the green screen into the settings, even simple blood from wounds all looked great.
Writing/Plot: the past of each crew member of the Straw Hats was well accomplished, even using flashbacks. I like how Sanji’s womanizing ways were more subtle, so he didn’t come across as creepy.
Directing:
Fighting choreography was great, including Usopp’s bombs.

DISLIKES:
Production:
Zooming in way too close to character faces, when it wasn’t necessary; to the point I could see their clogged pores from the makeup, etc.
Writing:
They crammed a lot of story arcs and incidents into just 8 episodes, causing some of the impact to be lost. It doesn’t follow the manga/anime format for everything, but managed not to stray too far from the main plot. Some of the characteristics of certain characters were left out, (probably due to time management and pacing), maybe it will show up in future episodes (Season 2).
Acting: not the best, but it will do, especially if you haven’t watched the anime or read the manga. [I have learned not to have high expectations for live adaptions.]
FX: I miss Usopp’s nose and Sanji’s eyebrow, both which could easily have been done. 'Lots of blood loss' wasn't really shown, probably so the children can watch it. Makeup was normally well done, but they caked it on a little thick for Nami sometimes. When they zoomed in too close on her, it was so obvious.

OVERALL:
I was pleasantly surprised at how well they made this adaption to live action and I’m glad they had the budget to pull it off. The cast was perfectly selected. I followed the manga, watched the anime and was initially biased, but now I want to see season 2. It will be a while before we get more, so I will definitely rewatch this. I recommend it, even to other One Piece fans, give it a chance. Anyone can watch it. It has made it as my second favourite live action adaption!

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Easy Watch, Good acting by Sato Shori

LIKES:
Tackled death and depression in a more uplifting way, than in most dramas.
ML was really good at playing two people.
The female Lead & 2FL were decent actresses.
The parents weren’t annoying (mother)
Good music, but nothing outstanding.
cinematography; lighting, colour palette, all good.
Wardrobe was suitable in all aspects.
Glad they didn’t take the father loving wife too far, due to the body. Same with father and high school girls.

DISLIKES:
Writing:
Rushed ending, not really satisfying for Sachi & Dan pairing or for the friends.
No end of episode warning/help message, regarding the attempted suicide moment(s). That’s irresponsible on so many levels.
Seemed like they made fun of crossdressing men.
Production:
Shaking camera and zooming in too close.
Directing:
During basketball or other important moments, reactions WAY too slow.
FX:
The baby bump looked like a basketball under clothing. The wounds not realistic and brushed off by writers having character say it was due to youth making healing faster.

OVERALL:
I did enjoy the show throughout and anyone could watch it, no age restriction needed. It was an easy watch and the message about friendship and love was nice. I could watch it again and do recommend it to others who like body switch shows or high school friendship dramas. However pacing issues resulting in an incomplete storyline and the camera issues, plus the concept seemed like a rip off from American movie 17 Again (with Zac Efron) become the reason why it’s just a 5/10.

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Nothing to cheer about

LIKES:
Wardrobe was good, same with colour pallet.
Cinematography was okay.
Okay music, nothing memorable.
Familiar locations, same as other dramas.
I liked Hae Yi’s best friend and her interaction with Min Jae.
FX for scrapes and their zombie game, were decent.

DISLIKES:
Pacing:
I skipped some parts, which is why I don’t know what happened in the end For Soo II, after he fought with the “villain”, but I also don’t care enough to watch that whole episode again.
Production and Editing:
Some parts were abruptly cut and hard to follow what happened. Even their episode recap was a mess.
Shaking camera syndrome appears again (lack of using film stabilizer).
Directing:
Drawn out scenes that could’ve spent time on development of characters.
Everyone carries a cell phone, but no one uses it to call 119. Instead they yell at the person who is in distress, over and over and shakes the wounded person.
Overly delayed reactions of characters.
Writing:
Too many filler scenes, plot holes and an under developed love triangle, where chemistry between the FL, ML and 2ML, was severely lacking.
The characters felt like they were in high school, but some looked way older than university.
The thriller wasn’t thrilling and was so obvious who it was. Also how that was concluded made no sense.

OVERALL: The actors/actresses did as well as they could considering the terrible script and filming. This is a decent filler show, when you're waiting for your show to post new episodes. No adult scenes, a few kisses and hugs. Expected more since it's a 2022 made show. I wont watch it again and it barely made it to 4/10 (that was me being generous too).

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Mild sex, low key violence, Friendships win

I never read the novel, so this review is based solely on what I watched (via Youtube and with English subtitles).

LIKES:
Cinematography, lighting, location shots, scenery, fight scene choreography and special effects, were all mostly well done.
Wardrobe was tasteful and flattering for the characters, while suiting the scenes.
The tigers were a beautiful bonus.
Acting:
Chemistry of the actors involved, all meshed okay (some better than others).
Actors/actresses were well chosen for their roles, with a few exceptions.
All of the emotions of the main characters were executed well and acting was decent.
Writing:
I was glad that the BDSM portion of the love/sex scenes wasn’t over the top and was extremely mild.
There was enough drama to get absorbed in the storyline and characters, without being annoying.
I really liked how supportive Kim’s parents (and all the parent figures in this,) were.
The crime/mafia portion had just enough content to suit the story and develop the characters.
Conclusion episode gave the right dose of time to most of the characters.
Production:
A few continuity issues and a few moments of shaky camera filming, but otherwise well done.
Editing was decent and the scenes flowed smoothly for the most part.
Director was good.
Music was okay, but nothing that you’d remember. Glad it didn’t overpower the voices of the acting occurring.

DISLIKES:
Production:
Some of the shower scenes/naked moments, you could see the actor wearing short shorts (it wasn’t blurred or hidden well), which drew away from the impactful moment.
Writing:
The relationship between Kom and Baiboon was cute, but didn’t have enough growth or time to be explored and clarified. It felt too unfinished. Also Baiboon’s age was never confirmed. Was he in high school or first year of university? [Did the script writer leave out important information?].
I wanted a few more moments were Kim was protective of Kamol, to make the ending so much more impactful.
The mafia boss Kamol wasn’t really as dangerous as he should’ve been.
The woman Cherry wasn’t needed at all, mostly there for product placement (which the office ladies that worked for Kim, could’ve done easily.
Directing:
The main characters of Kim and Kamol didn’t kiss open mouth much, this was very PG. It took away from the chemistry of the couple.
BDSM had no erotic moments and didn’t do that sexual practice justice.

OVERALL:
I was glad that the violence and sexual violence wasn’t as graphic or abusive as the KinnPorsche series. Pacing was great too. I do recommend this to anyone who likes friendships and the BL (Boy Love) genre. I will watch this again, because it was a decent BL drama. I missed the hot chemistry of the main leads, that BL dramas such as Love In The Air (Boss & Noeul, Fort & Peat) and Between US (Boun and Prem) gave us. As expected a lot of obvious product placement, but that’s normal in Thai-dramas.

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