Annalisse
Story: Modern day girl time travels to the era of Emperor Kang Xi of the Qing dynasty and finds herself in a love triangle with the 4th and 8th brothers in line for the throne. Its nothing new as far as the historical dramas I've seen, but there is such a light feel to how everything unfolds (for the most part) that I don''t think I'll get tired of it anytime soon.
Acting/Cast: I didn't find any of the characters particularly annoying as far as the acting choices go. I know some people (especially after watching BBJX) think that the acting is way over the top and uninspiring, but I enjoyed it.
Music: Solid
Retch Value: Sure. If you enjoyed it the first time around, then watching it again (and skipping some more boring parts) isn't unheard of.
Overall: I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to others, but you have to be in the right mindset to watch it. Palace is simply a fun, weekend drama. Nothing more. I wish it had a better score but it can't help but be compared to Scarlet Heart, so it will always be inferior in that way. But given a chance to stand on its own I think more people would enjoy it and rate it a bit higher.
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If you are trying to decide whether or not to watch this based on the seemingly awesome casting (Gong Yoo, Jeong Dong Hwan, Nam Goong Min) then please choose something else. I made the mistake of coming off of a Gong Yoo marathon of Coffee Prince and Biscuit Teacher and Star Candy, both which I loved, and decided to keep going with this. MAJOR MISTAKE. Story: Don't let the description fool you, this isn't a love triangle drama where the love from the female lead helps to transform her playboy love interest. The plot was unnecessarily complicated and serious dramatic moments were over the top or laughable, there was no in between. And forget love triangles,this was a love hexagon with questionable family ties blurring the lines even further. We get it, everyone is in love with the main female lead. I don't mind that in my dramas, but did they all have to be sorta related to her?! I would try to further explain with examples but I would have to reveal spoilers. And trust me, if you choose to watch the entire drama the only satisfactory pay-off is putting all the pieces together.
Acting: Most of the actors I love in other movies and dramas, so I felt bad that they had signed on to partake in this. Even some of the acting from my favorites annoyed me and confused me: They're SOOO good in other things,,,except this!
Music: It was fine. Oddly enough I have no complaints about the music. It suited the mood when it was present.
Rewatch Value: NEVER AGAIN. Even recalling it for the sake of this review makes me sad.
Overall: I doubt this will ever reach anyone's favorites list, but if you're adamant about watching, good luck. But don't say we ALL didn't warn you.
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Story: Just like Gokusen its a school drama and everything is centered around getting a class full of hooligans to graduate/clean up their act. The only real difference between the 2 dramas is that in Gokusen Yankumi is trying to hide her yakuza family ties and in Misaki Number One!! Misaki is trying to hide her past as a hostess. There are people from the club who rally around to help her when things get tough and her want to help her students is nothing short of cuteness!
Acting/Cast: This is a goofy, feel good show, so the acting isn't necessarily award-worthy, but solid. I liked everyone in their roles and believed them
Music: Good, not great.
Rewatch Value: If you're in the mood for an uplifting and light comedy that makes you feel all warm inside, then there is no limit to the amount of times you can watch this.
Overall: At 10 episodes at 45 minutes this is a perfect weekend drama that I often revisit when I want to cleanse my drama palate with something I know will not disappoint.
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Seeing some comments people either LOVE this or are indifferent and I can relate to both sides. Let me start by saying that I watched up until episode 23 the first time before I had to put it on hold so I could wait for the rest to be subbed. So, for weeks, I obsessed over this drama and thought I had it pegged as a cute love triangle drama between a naive girl, a Shanghai playboy, and a Triad leader. Once the rest of the drama was subbed and I got the chance to re-watch the entire drama, I found out I was VERY wrong. The first 20+ episodes are cute and romantic with points of seriousness, but the remaining 15 or so episodes are HEAVY on the drama. I'm not complaining. I didnt expect the plot to go in the direction it did, but at the same time, I was not ready for just how bleak the characters and storyline became. I will say this: after watching so many dramas where, after watching half the episodes, I can call who will do what and what will happen, it was refreshing to be surprised. That being said:Story: a love triangle centered around a naive 'country' girl who tries to make it in the big city, been there and done that. But the way the story unfolds, and how Zuo Zhen gets Jinxiu to fall for him is totally sweet and will have you rooting for them for the entire series. The side love stories only added to the main plot and you end up getting invested in ALL of them (even the backstories and romances of the characters I hated I was interested in).
Acting/Cast: I have no complaints. I should note that I love when dramas aren't afraid to give side characters a bigger role and allow the audience to fall in love with them. Sometimes they help make the show what it is, and thats definitely the case here. I would like to give an extra special round of applause to my dear Qi Ji who plays Maeda Ryuichi. I have NEVER seen such a good villain. After seeing him in Cuo Dian Yuan Yang (worth checking out) I got used to seeing him in a more positive light...which was quickly destroyed after Cruel Romance. He plays evil/crazy so well, he became a reason to watch all on his own. And that's all I will say about that for fear of revealing any spoilers :-)
Music: Solid Nothing to write home about, but it certainly helped the tense and dramatic moments.
Rewatch Value:YES! I re-watched the first half and certain scenes multiple times to tide me over until the subs came out.
Overall: I adore this drama. One of my only gripes is the amount of flashbacks, especially towards the end, was a bit too much. And it wasnt that they would flashback to a moment, but for a few scenes worth. One of the last episodes had more than 20 mins of flashbacks (I timed it). I felt they could've devoted some of that time to better wrap up the story at the end rather than show us scenes we've already committed to memory. Also, be warned, there are character deaths. No spoilers, just thought you should know seeing as how I was sobbing for the last few episodes over some much loved characters. Even with all that this still ranks as a 9.5 overall. Definitely worth the time!
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Let me start by saying that I LOVED the 1st season of Scarlet Heart. I had recently come around to watching period dramas and was recommended that I watch it. And boy was I not disappointed...I wish the same could be said of this second season. Let me begin with the obvious: season 2 is set in modern day, so the feel is completely different as are the problems all of the characters face. The beginning started somewhat strong for me. There were flashbacks to season 1 and a few of the characters' reincarnated selves in modern day was a nice touch. story: the plot was weak sauce. Nothing we drama fans haven't seen before: love triangle, poor girl catching the eye of the rich heirs and deciding who she truly loves. The revenge plots did keep me interested with just how far the characters will go for 'justice' and the truths behind long-kept family secrets. But the doppelganger storyline wasn't needed AT ALL. Plus, after the first few episodes, there isn't a whole lot of interaction between the main couple (Zhang Xiao & Yin Zheng) until episode 15, and even then the build up felt too rushed. Maybe because I couldn't really get a sense of time passing, or how much time passed from one problem popping up to another being resolved.
cast: the actors did what they could with the script they were given. And after watching the whole drama I know why more actors from the first season didn't sign on for the 2nd. From episode 1 to the finale the main actress was ALWAYS crying or on the verge of tears. It got to the point that her tears meant nothing to me as a viewer because she cried SOOOO much.
music: It didn't move me, and it wasn't memorable. But it served its purposed to give dramatic flair when needed.
Rewatch: Dear God NO! Knowing how it all came together and ended, I'd rather just rewatch the first season and pretend that (potential SPOILER ALERT for season 1) Ruoxi chases after 4th Prince in the museum with a smile on her face and a sense of hope. Honestly, had the 1st season ended on that note I wouldn't have bothered with the 2nd.
Overall: I'm harsh on this BECAUSE the 1st season was so good. In comparison, season 2 is a 5, but as a standalone I'd give it a solid 7.5. So in fairness, the actual 7 i'm giving this is more than it deserves :-(
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