Bulgasal overated

The first few episodes seemed interesting, but even with the slashing, blood and gore, it wasn't enough to hold my attention. When the ML switches to more of a current time line, the flash backs become redundant. The writers seem to be madking it us as they go. The weird out of focus cinematography gave me a headache and didn't add to the drama at all. The monsters have really crappy makeup and you can even see the contacts for their eyes. Their nails are supposed to be able to slash, but when you get a closeup of those same fingernails, they aren't even sharp. Continuity issues as well.

The actors try their best, I kept watching because of Lee Joon's acting for his character. But the predictable plot and lack of wow moments, didn't help and trying to create romance between certain characters that had no chemistry, seemed just an add on. This drama-thriller seems to borrow concepts from other dramas, but not in a good way.

I dropped it after 7 episodes. Others rave about this new drama, but I'm just disappointed and feel let down by the writing. Overall 5.5/10

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Good FX, Overshadowed by Plot and Production Issues

LIKES:
Settings where they were out in nature, like the gardens. Such beautiful flowers and land scape. Vibrant colours!
Cinematography and location settings were all well chosen.
The casting was spot on for both the actors and actresses!
A strong female lead, that never was made into a simpering fool due to falling in love.
Some of the special effects were really well done too, without over using CGI or green screens. Editing was well done and seamless for the most part.
The “magic” effects and makeup for the stone potion of the soul shifters that go wild, all exceptionally well done.
The chemistry between the actors and the actresses all flowed well.
The comedy parts were okay.
Writing was consistent for the most part and well thought out, considering they were creating a whole new world.
Acting mostly was well done too (just not for all of the cast), at least for the main characters.
The music was chosen well, never overpowered the dialogues and even added to the atmosphere in the scenes!

DISLIKES:
Shaky camera moments, it is 2022 you should know how to use a film stabilizer by now! If not for that, then production would’ve been perfect.
Too many love lines, which means some of them will either be killed off or left not concluded, but we will see what happens in the second season.
Even though the females were mostly strong, they eventually turned into supporting characters, even the female lead. That contradicted the beginning episodes and how they were survivors of their circumstances.
Not sure if it’s the director’s fault or the writer’s, but there were too many filler scenes that didn’t add to the story, but gave certain characters more screen time. This might have also contributed to the pacing problems.

OVERALL:
I did enjoy the drama and will watch the second season (while hoping they fix the other problems). For a fantasy drama it is decent. I would recommend it for others to watch, but not sure I will re-watch it, even while waiting for the second season.

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Terrible Writing Packaged with Good Action

LIKES:
Action right in first episode
Decent fight scenes
Writing:
No romance thrown in, because it didn’t need it.
The bad guys didn’t upgrade to guns.
The bromance between Gun Woo and Woo Jin was fun and heartwarming.
I liked the young archery character and her dynamic with the two boxers.
Production:
for the most part was good, sometimes zooming camera in too close, but at least shaky camera wasn’t noticeable.
Music:
was fitting, but no song stood out.
Cast:
well selected and I love that Woo Do-Hwan is a main lead. (Both boxers were delightful eye candy!)
FX:
blood and scars were decent.

DISLIKES:
FX:
the stitches looked to be done by a butcher and not a medical professional. Some of the facial damage, like broken noses were omitted. The big facial scars should’ve been a little more raw looking, compared to what was shown.
Directing:
Pro criminals not noticing a car tail gating them on an empty highway and following them every turn they make?
The elite bad guys seem to be able to handle a lot of force on their heads, which throws the realism of the fights out the window.
Writing:
A few characters we need more information on what happened to them, especially at the end. However I understand why they had to get rid of Kim Sae Ron’s character due to the actress’s DUI, but the way it was done made no sense due to the character that was created up until that point.
The whole Marines part about the two boxers: Marines are trained in hand to hand knife fighting and many other weapons. The South Korean military are trained in Teukgong Moosool. Their characters knowledge and skills therefore very lacking.
Criminal element was very unrealistic, especially since the master villain gets defeated by two young boxers. Also all the masters (the brains and brawn) get defeated so simplistically, which made for a disappointing conclusion for their characters.
A lame plot was covered by violence.
Pacing issues:
Ending felt rushed, but they had plenty of extended drinking moments. Time could’ve been used better.

OVERALL: The fitness level that the main actors had to achieve was awesome. This should've been an action movie and not a series. It's fun to watch for the fights, but don't expect anything from plot. I don't need to watch it again, maybe just clips of the 2 boxers (lol), I would recommend it for fight scenes and action only.

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Too Long + Low Key Romance= Okay

LIKE:
Good: sets, locations, scenery, lighting, food images, artwork, (carvings all excellent).
Cinematography & music all good.
Writing: very low key romance, even a middle school watcher can handle seeing the couples in this show. The family that wasn’t blood related, but still very close was endearing. The friendships were strong and a nice touch to the drama.
Acting/Cast: well chosen cast and the acting was for the most part was good.

DISLIKE:
Production: zoom in too close, shaky camera syndrome (lack of film stabilizer was maddening). Pacing issues due to repeating the same concepts over and over again.
Writing: ML’s mother was a sociopath, Actress’s mother was a narcissist, all the adult females or parents, came across as mentally disturbed, overbearing and self absorbed. Even the neighbourhood parents were like that. This show could’ve been resolved faster and got strung out to 40 episodes. I became a fan of fast forward button. Last episode crammed a lot of content in and resolutions too, but it was okay. Not much character growth at the end either. Typical tropes too, nothing new.

OVERALL:
Low key romance, but nice story about family and friendships. I recommend it if you have a lot of time to waste. No scene was particularly memorable and there's no need to watch it again.

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Physical & Mental Test That Felt Scripted

LIKES:
For the most part production was good.
It was interesting to see the various occupations/sports that these fit people were part of.
The different body types did have a good range of people.
The competitions got better towards the end, especially for the last 5 standing.
The music was fitting for competitions and for the most part good.
I liked how even though only one person could win, that everyone encouraged each other to persevere.

DISLIKES:
Felt very scripted until the last two competitions.
The claim about gender and race equality, felt false due to: 1- the games themselves favouring certain body types and 2- because the other races that took part in it, felt thrown in to the mix and didn't have equal amounts of people as the obvious asian dominated participants.
I didn't like some of the competitions where it was done in teams that were chosen by participants. It would've been more interesting and fair, had they teams been picked randomly.

OVERALL:
If they bring a second season I would watch it, but can't be bothered to watch this one again. I did binge watch it. It was interesting and you could really feel the competition and emotion the players felt. If you ever want to know how a body builder would be able to compete against an athlete or military people, this is the show for you!

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Great Acting, Lacking in Writing

LIKES:
Colour palate, cinematography, landscapes and location settings, lighting, are all very good.
Acting: Young Harumichi (Kido Taisei), FL (Hikari Mitsushima), ML (Takaru Sato), young Yae (Rikako Yagi), were all excellent showing emotion and fitting their characters.
The concept of the story: First Love, the kind you can’t forget even as an adult and want to find again.
The sign language used was nice to see too.
Sound Track was okay, but needed more from the 90s to fit the story. The music didn’t overpower the voices of the actors and actresses. I did like the music tracks used to show Tsuzuru’s music production talent.

DISLIKES:
Production: once again no film stabilizer and it was extremely annoying and unnecessary for the camera to be shaking!

Editing: some of the sequences were out of order for showing the past when the main characters were teenagers.

Props: CDs, CD player, movie references, had wrong year if it’s supposed to match the song release. Some of the “costumes” were not the correct era.

Writing: Plot holes, cliches and a totally stupid (X-rated or should be) sex scene thrown in. KassyFan27 gives a lot of insight into the messy writing. Amnesia as a plot device, to explain Yae’s memory gaps… ridiculous or just lazy writing. Side characters that didn’t add to the story or help with character growth. Yae seemed to have character growth but not so much with Mr. Namiki.


OVERALL: I power watched it all in one night. I did like it, although it had some slow spots (pacing issues). Some stand out acting by a few people. I would recommend it if you like Melodramas or the ML & FL, but I won’t watch it again, (even though Takaru Sato looks very good in a uniform).

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The Writers of the Drama Didn't Do Their Best!

LIKES:
The father of the ML, Nam Dong Jin and his connection with Bong Yeon Ja.
The almost fated relationship of Sang-Ah and Joo-Hyuk. Their moments together throughout this drama were my favourite parts.
The comedic type moments were kept to a minimum and the serious trials of life gave off a feel of realism.
The production was good and same with the cinematography. Even scenes that happened at night, were easy to see.
The OST was okay, but no memorable music.
The acting for the most part was pretty good too.

DISLIKES:
The father Nam Geum-Pil was made out to be too much of a looser and it got old fast. He was completely irritating throughout the drama and parts became redundant.
Director spent a lot of time on unnecessary moments, that could’ve been used for making another episode at the end. Not all of the conclusions of the characters were handled well and were too open ended. The final episode felt rushed and sloppy.
For this drama to be labeled a comedy, I’m not sure that’s the right genres.
The FX, mostly used for wounds, was decent but was close to unrealistic.
The writing failed in a lot of places, but I can’t be more specific without giving spoilers.

OVERALL:
I watched all episodes, but was a little disappointed in the ending. It’s watchable if you have no expectations and fast forward during Geum-Pil moments will be used a lot. It’s an easy watch, so I would recommend it. I won’t watch it again.

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friendships and first loves

I never saw the manga, so my rating is just based on the movie itself. It had some heavy content in terms of life experience of a youth, but I felt it handled it pretty well. The only part they glazed over was the depression that ML (Kou) felt and Yui felt too. Other than that it's a great movie about friendship. The romance parts were cute and sweet. The music was okay and the production mostly good. The writing was okay too. The scenery was beautiful, especially the sunset landscape shots.

The reasons I didn't rate it higher like others, is because the crying and emotional moments fell a little flat, which could be the Director's fault or maybe the cast aren't as experienced as actors. The supporting role characters really didn't have much development or storyline and I wish that they had. IF this had been made into a series instead of a movie, to give it more time for character development and growth, I think my rating would've been higher.

It's a good watch, especially for a high school drama and those new to watching high school rom-com dramas. A solid 6.5/10!

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Strong Start with A Badly Written Abrupt Ending

Up to Episode 25, the show had a good pace and showed some character growth for each of the main storylines. Then things began to go downhill. It's like the writers gave up and tried to rush finishing the Season. Everything they had built up until then , like strong friendships, got thrown out the window. Their choices on how to conclude the couples and who paired up with whom, became dumb and fed into what in reality would be extremely toxic relationships. I was completely disappointed in how it ended. If you're going to sabotage what you initially created, then do it right, not this mess! If you don't want to have a happy ending for each of the pair ups, then give it a dramatic break up and that's it. Also I really disliked the mother of the main FL. The mother doesn't trust her daughter at all and even ignores her privacy. The mother is annoying and out of touch, even after FL tells her off. The little brother was more understanding and supportive, than the mother!

LIKES: for the most part the acting was good, showing true emotions for what their characters felt. The filming locations and scenery were sometimes really beautiful. The camera work was steady and knew how close to go when zooming in to a character's face [A LOT of dramas have shaky camera syndrome and zoom in way too close {like you can see their nose hair}.]. Also the story is nothing new, but initially they took their time with building a strong foundation, just to mess it up later.

I will not rewatch this. If I was rating it up until Episode 25, then it would be 7/10, but for the whole thing, it's barely a 4.5/10. I do NOT recommend this drama.

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Pacing issues, but a nice message

LIKE:
The friendships developed due to the love of music.
The message: never give up, believe in yourself and you can achieve anything.
Music score was nice and the repetition was limited for their competition song.
Location shots, lighting, cinematography.

DISLIKE:
Directing: Many overly long pauses or lack of anything happening/being said. Whether delayed reaction or change of scene or someone thinking, all of it was very delayed causing pacing issues. At the end the face of the ML, his expression looked like he was about to take a big poop or die of a heart attack. It didn’t match the moment.

Writing: The coming together at the end, was ridiculous in a few ways, especially the dancing and celebrating being so comedic. That just didn’t fit the atmosphere that was created. Almost like they were ridiculing the efforts of those involved. (Trying not to give a spoiler). The writer tried to create romance with a few characters, but it was just thrown in, especially with those at the end. Had there been more backstory then that could’ve been done, but wasn’t really needed. Very cliche/usual trope with predictable ending.

Production: Shaking camera, which tried to show POV, but it didn’t work or fit.


OVERALL: It was nearly as good as expected, like a bad version of Aogeba Toutoshi. This movie’s teacher had very little impact, even though they tried to make him more human towards the end. Time management became an issue, as noted in my dislikes and that took away from what could’ve developed the story and characters. It was cute, average and not something I will watch again. If this is your first viewing of music/school/youth genre, then I recommend it. If not, I wouldn’t bother watching.

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Rollercoaster for the Heart of Viewer

LIKES:
PRODUCTION:
Other than my dislikes, editing was great, cinematography, lighting and colour pallet all good. Directing was decent too (other than the romance portions).
WARDROBE:
appropriate and sometimes even interesting.
GOOD FX:
for time/dimension shift and scrapes or blood. Decent effects for the gaming worlds too.
Liked how characters and their game characters looked the same, so easy to understand who is who, when they are in competition.
WRITING:
As for esports teams, Continue was as compelling and interesting to watch as 1 Coin, or even other drama’s esports teams.
Well developed characters in general, but especially for the main leads.
Good message about never giving up, being a decent human, friendships and teamwork.
The mystery of Xiao Feng’s present vs past, kept me hooked and binge watching for many episodes.
Acceptable ending and enough character development to be satisfying.
CAST:
Cast well chosen, and supporting characters had great chemistry with main characters.
I really like how Lu Han delivered his role as Xiao Feng and Seven. I even liked the “romance” parts for him and wished a little more time was spent on his chemistry with Song Yan Fei (An Lan).

DISLIKES:
MUSIC:
stupid music right from the start.
PRODUCTION:
Shaky camera syndrome
DIRECTING:
Unrealistic recovery for physical limitations, even with technological advancements and mental motivation.
WRITING:
The “romance” between Xiao Bee and Chu Ge was laughable, especially from university age and on. They had no sexual chemistry, it was more a friendship than anything else.
The “bad guy” was way too obvious and the motivation for all the actions taken by that person was a dumb explanation. How they concluded this person’s role in the drama was disappointing and again the writer took the easy way out.
A few plot holes, but none that really angered me. Some of the moments that were supposed to be very impacting between Xiao Bee and Xiao Feng, were a bit anticlimactic and too easily achieved. [I am trying very hard not to give spoilers]

OVERALL: English subtitles were a little messed up, like “she” being shown when it should be “he” and viceversa. But that was just a little annoying and I still enjoyed the drama anyway. The best acting from Lu Han I have seen so far, he really brought his character to life. I would rewatch this and recommend it to anyone who likes the Esports drama genre or is a fan of Lu Han.

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Bad Writing, But cute with a nice message.

LIKES:
Cute, beautiful location shots like the Ocean.
Cinematography and colour palette was good.
Production for the most part was decent.
Wardrobe was appropriate.
Message: love yourself and don’t give up. If your pretty face is just masking the ugliness of your heart, you aren’t beautiful at all.
Very PG, any age can watch it
Easy, lighthearted watch.
Music:
okay, nothing stood out, but it was appropriate and didn’t overpower the voices of actors & actresses.
For once the parents were not annoying.
FX:
(the stitches and scar) were okay (sometimes the scar was very darkly applied and the next scene it was lighter, as if the makeup artist was different each time).
Cast:
Easy acting for Kamio Fuju. Riko was exceptional with all the quirks and expressions of Kamiya Manaha.

DISLIKES:
Production:
Zoom in too close, shaking camera (film stabilizer not used).
Writing:
no added message at end of episode for people dealing with depression and dark thoughts.
Seemed more like junior/middle school crushes, then senior/ high school love. Very few kisses and same with holding hands.
No conclusion for the 2ML or 2FL
Wardrobe:
For the Pageant I don’t understand why the girls were dressed in wedding gowns.
Pacing:
considering there was only 8 episodes, there were a few too many filler moments, where they could’ve spent the time better for concluding some of the characters.

OVERALL: Any age can watch it, very PG. Easy and fast watch. It had potential to be impactful but bad writing derailed it. I won't rewatch it, but recommend it for people starting out in this genre.

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terrible production & writing

LIKES:
Acting: When Praewa was being possessed or affected by the black magic & was wreathing in pain, she did it well. The actress playing Praewa (Ticha Wongtipkanon) did a fantastic job, the rest were okay.
FX:
the black magic scars and worm like movement in Praewa’s arms was well done, same with the blood & decay/puss wound.
Music:
Suited the scenes well, but sometimes over powered the voices of the actors/actresses. The music wasn’t scary and didn’t add to the suspense, but it was fine.

DISLIKE:
Production:
Camera work was terrible: Zoom in too close. Shots where their heads are cut off, due to not framing the scene properly, shaking camera (no film stabilizer), all so amateurish.
Lighting was very dark often and that on top of terrible filming, made it hard to watch.
Editing also had some issues, with abruptly cut scenes.
Director:
Brave (actor Fluke Pongsapat Kankam) when driving was using the steering wheel like he was off roading or swerving all over the road.
FX:
The possessed dead/zombie people were terrible makeup.
Writing:
As I have come to expect from most Thai dramas is a terribly written show, with many plot holes, character emphasis on the main leads and also in this one if you don’t want to explain the supporting characters let them meet the wrath of black magic [trying hard not to give spoilers away, but they are so obvious anyway].
Also the writer seemed to rip off ideas from the show: The Girl From Nowhere S1 (2018).
They explained the back story from Praewa and Sia (the friend she grew up with), but then used the same film as a memory, which seemed like filler. IF they were going to use memory flashes, the didn’t need to show all of the back story.

OVERALL:
There are better dramas in this genre from Thailand. This revenge storyline was pretty lame and by the last episode it felt redundant and a waste of time. Not thrilling or scary at all. The “who was in the video” bit dragged on and was so obvious. I don’t recommend it, even for fans of Boun & Prem. However it did introduce me to Ticha and I will look forward to seeing her acting in other shows. No reason to rewatch it either.

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Laughter & Fun w/ Familiar Faces

All the previous reviews were right, this is a must watch show if you like even just one of these actors and actresses!

LIKES:
Three of my favourite actors and many fave actresses participated in this show.
The locations for all filming were beautiful.
Their activities were fun and full of endearing moments and laughs.
I loved watching them all interact and compete!
I laughed out loud and so hard, during the flying chair event!
Many great moments.
Music was okay too.

DISLIKES:
The event where they wear headphones and try to guess what is being said, was so annoying. I hope if there are more seasons, that they choose something different. I think something like Pictionary or its S. Korean equivalent would be perfect and really funny!

OVERALL:
This was so funny and I really liked watching the actors and actresses when they could be more themselves, than a character. I highly recommend it and will probably watch some episodes again.

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Cute Rom-Com with pacing issues

LIKE:
The martial arts used in the drama and the fight scenes were good too, (even when the special effects were added).
Locations, scenery, sets for indoor scenes, all good.
Music was okay and didn’t over power actor/actress voices.
Beginning 15 episodes were good and caught my interest. Nice to see focus be on FL, but then it became all about ML, as per the usual formula.
Wardrobe of ML was good and for other characters too, except the FL they tried too hard to make her quirky.
Acting: for what they were given, all actors/actresses did well. I liked the range of emotion the ML (Sam Lin as Mu Liu Bing) was able to express.

DISLIKE:
Writing:
Typical cliches and tropes, very similar concept to Heirs and Boys Over Flowers. As usual we have 3 rich girl bullies with one dominant one that is possessive of ML, scheming/greedy adults that interfere with the ML & FL, social class discrimination (aka classism) dominant theme throughout the show. Show started with a strong FL, then she was made into a crying mess, but at least ended relatively okay.
Directing:
Pacing issues; lagged in middle and rushed ending. Too much time spent on unimportant scenes or extra delayed reactions. Not much “romance” established to secure the chemistry between FL & ML, very few kisses, lots of hugging.
Production:
Some shaky camera moments and zooming in too close. Noticeable editing where scene abruptly cuts to another.
FX: bruises and fist fight scrapes were not well done in the makeup department.

OVERALL:
It was a little long and could definitely have used the extra episodes better. For someone starting out in the Young Rom-Com martial arts drama genre, it’s a good introductory show. No super memorable moments that make me want to rewatch it or search for video clips online. I won’t rewatch it.

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