This drama was on my radar for a long time as it comes from the same writer as Protect the Boss and also has Ji Chang Wook in it (swoon). But I think I had read some comments somewhere awhile back that made me hesitate. I’m so glad I decided to give it a chance anyway. I LOVED it!

While the overall serial killer arch wasn’t nearly as creepy as I Remember You (also by the same writer) there were some interesting twists I didn’t see coming and the plot still had enough suspension and tension to keep you pretty invested throughout.

This writer also has a knack for writing heartwarming second leads and supporting characters. I really did love the whole cast! Rather than filling in those spaces with the a-typical (for example) bitchy second female lead, the forlorn and depressing second guy, the rich overpowering and stubborn old man, and the evil, spoiled mother...these roles were instead filled with love-able people who might not have always been “good” necessarily, but you end up enjoying them more for all their flaws.

I ADORED Ji Eun-Hyuk and his never ending adoration for No Ji-Wook. He certainly did him wrong in the past, sure, but he lived his life every day trying to make up for it and their interactions together were just so hilarious and sweet.

Cha Yoo-Jung really grew on me as well. Even though she was positioned to be the cheating ex-girlfriend who comes back and tries to steal No Ji-Wook away..she was never really all that detestable. The writer managed to throw in enough humor and just “human moments” into her character that you can’t help but like her despite it all.

Same with Na Ji-Hae. She started out as a character I was worried that I would hate but both as an enemy and a friend to Eun Bong-Hee she became rather like-able in the end.

Eun Bong-Hee herself is probably the only character I really took issue with. While I liked her *most* of the time, she had moments that really put me off. I guess No Ji-Woo was just so damn perfect it was hard for her to match up to that. But still, there were a lot of situations where he was so understanding and reasonable while she just immaturely acted on her own under the shadow of “sacrificing herself for his sake” when really it was her just being selfish and cowardly.

I get her misgivings but while he was saying “okay, let’s think it through.” She wasn’t even willing to try. Ji-Wook didn’t take things at face value. He was always a voice of reason. But Bong-Hee always lost confidence, and this happened repeatedly...which was all the more frustrating because it was such a good opportunity for character growth and I don’t really think she ever really grew out of that tendency.

Having said that, even during the times she pissed me off the most, she was always quick to recover and make up for it...so I can’t really begrudge the drama too much for that. Overall it was really great, and I would highly recommend it!

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It started out AWESOME. I was super addicted. I'm a big fan of this genre, especially when it's done well and I felt like a lot of that was there at first: the story was interesting, there was a lot of chemistry between the leads (and holy molly those kisses....), the cinematography was pleasant to look at....

But that all quickly went downhill when the Big Misunderstanding that plagues many dramas hit and not only was it really not executed well, but suddenly everything just kind of fell apart. The writing was mediocre at best, the acting was cringe-worthy, the story was less than exciting, and I really did not care much for the leads anymore. Such a pity! There were still a few shining moments in the later episodes that tried to bring back a little of that initial charm this drama had but overall: I was over it.

I was also not a fan of the ending. It was a really frustrating and confusing last episode that did not leave me satisfied at all. The very end itself was awkward and didn't make sense. Whatever.

I can't completely say it isn't worth a watch, since as mentioned before the first half was really, really good. It might also be a little better if you can just binge your way through it in it's entirety without having to break for new episodes later on as I did. *insert shrugging emoji here*

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This drama should really be called "The Journey of Jung Yi Hyun" rather than its given title since I felt like the story was mostly about him and his own personal journey though hell and back (basically). He was also the only character that really had any development or depth to him.

The other characters were just alright..Sun Ok Nam was super sweet and adorable, but for being nearly 700 years old I just expected so much more from her character. While I couldn't dislike her since she was just so nice...I didn't necessarily like her either, as she was--for lack of a better word--quite boring.

Kim Geum was so cute and lovely as a person but same thing here: he was just...flat.

THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS BUT IS NECESSARY FOR THIS REVIEW:

While at first I was super happy with the idea of Kim Geum "getting the girl" in the end because it's so rare that a second lead (and let's be honest here, he had all the characteristics of a typical and stereotypical Second Lead going for him) comes out victorious in the end...so, that aspect alone was really awesome...I just ended up liking Jung Yi Hyun SO much more and I couldn't help but think of how much more romantic and moving it would have been if Sun Ok Nam truly fell in love with him in the end (plus Kim Geum and Sun Ok Nam had like ZERO chemistry...boo).

I just felt SO bad for our dear Professor. Sun Ok Nam came out of nowhere, TOTALLY lead him on, and then left him just like that as soon as she realized he wasn't her husband. She made him think she really cared about him and would always be there for him and then...POOF! Whoops! Wrong guy.

Damn.

So...anyway, I don't think this drama has much going for it other than it's fairy-tail-like elements, which I always enjoy in Korean dramas since they are not as common. The CGI was God-awful though, so you kind of have to cringe your way though and just accept things.

Overall it's a decent enough watch for a rainy day, just don't expect to get a lot out of it.

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It was cute and sweet and easy to watch but other than Jung Kyung Ho completely stealing the show as always (he is, as my friend put it, a "national treasure") I was mostly unimpressed.

There were laugh-out-loud times and some stupid cute scenes but the love-triangle just didn't make any sense to me. The friendship between the girls and their individual story-lines were all great as well but just...nothing special. I don't know. It seemed a little immature in it's writing and in the end I was mostly bored or rolling my eyes.

Having said all that, I do still think it's worth a watch if you just need an easy rom-com and want to bask in Jung Kyung Ho's glory. God, I miss him already.

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Ever since I started watching this drama it was often stuck in my head and since finishing it I feel that sinking feeling of sadness in my stomach and have thoughts about it constantly churning in my mind.

Ashes of Love was a *good* drama. It wasn’t perfect and it certainly had its lackluster moments, but overall it was engaging, sweet, and heartbreaking.

A large majority of my interest here is due to Deng Lun. Fair warning: much gushing ahead.

Hot. Damn.

I had not seen him in anything before this and I found that he looks a lot like Park Seo Joon at times, whom I just adore so pair that up with the fact that his character Xu Feng is not only the God of War but a freakin’ Pheonix…*fans face*

Literally: smoking hot.

Xu Feng (aka Pheonix) has probably ruined me for all other lead guys…he was loyal, sweet, smart, determined, and a real bad ass. His devotion to Jin Mi was so absolutely heartwarming AND heartbreaking…THE LOOKS HE WOULD GIVE HER. My God.
There is one scene where he’s kinda trying to win Jin Mi over and she rushes away, taking deep breaths and muttering “That was close…he’s so hot.”

YAS GIRL, we know.

It was both wonderful and terrible to watch him fall so in love with Jin Mi and to see how she (unintentionally) broke his heart over and over, but he never gave up!

I will say there were times in this drama where I hated most of the characters, even Jin Mi. But I never hated Xu Feng. Even during his coldest moments later on, when we hear his commentary in the end about what he was thinking/feeling during that time O-M-G. He is just so damn perfect.

Xu Feng and Jin Mi’s journey together is obviously the driving factor in the plot here but while there are some other great characters and a few subplots that were interesting, the story did lag now and then and I really didn’t care all that much when either of the leads were not involved. I mean, with 60 episodes there is bound to be a little dragging, so I can’t hardly fault it for that.

I do take a lot of issue with the ending, however. With the 60 episodes mentioned above, I feel like they had ample time to flush out a fully satisfying conclusion but instead it felt really rushed to me and I did not get all that I wanted out of it, which is a huge part of the reason I feel this gaping hole in my heart now that it’s over.

Also, a few characters were just like…never mentioned again in the last two episodes? They were side characters, but still…come on!

There is apparently supposed to be a sequel, but I think it’s unconfirmed whether this will be a continuation of Xu Feng and Jin Mi’s story (doubtful) or if it will simply deal with other characters in this world. Either way, if we get some more time with these characters I think that will help bring me more closure with their story.

Combine feeling unsatisfied with the conclusion with missing these characters dearly and I’m left simply heartbroken with the ending. I just have to wait for time to heal this wound…

Phoenix….TT_TT

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I started watching Ashi Girl with fervor as soon as I ran across it. The premise was unique and fun for a Japanese drama, where we do not usually see a wide array of historical-fusion as we do with Korean and Chinese dramas. The characters were loveable and the story sucked me right in.

However, as the drama progressed, some plot points/character attributes began to bother me—most upfront was Yui’s almost instant infatuation with Wakagimi. I get it, he’s really cool. But in the beginning she didn’t really know that and spent such a short amount of time with him for her to suddenly exert so much effort to be with him…even to the point of being willing to risk her life for him. It was a little extreme, though more understandable as she got to know him more.

Wakagimi himself was somewhat of a flat character to me. There were moments when we saw some dimension to him but overall by the end I still didn’t feel like I knew him at all beyond “cool and caring leader.”

I will say Yui shocked me in the end as well with her decision. I won’t say what it was as you can read the comments for that spoiler if you choose but the way it was portrayed seemed really unrealistic to me. She didn’t even cry or seem emotional at all about the choice she made, which in and of itself didn’t frustrate me so much as her response to it.

Also, and I will spoil this because damn if I’m not pissed: we never get a kiss! WTF. There are a couple of close calls (where they “almost” kiss but then get interrupted) but then the show never went through with it. If you’re not going to give us a kiss…why bother teasing us with almost-kisses?? *fumes*

Overall I was left feeling like it was a good, fun watch that ultimately and unfortunately wasted a lot of good potential. Whomp whomp.

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I have seen nearly every version of this story (Itazura na Kiss originally) and I have to say this is one of my favorites. I’m relatively new to the Thai drama scene so the language/culture is still really unfamiliar and a bit awkward for me but if you’ve never seen one before I think this would be a great drama to transition to with.

The base of the story follows the original Itazura na Kiss plot but they revised it a lot to make it different and more modern. I love that they did that. Just because it’s a remake doesn’t mean you can’t update it (looking at you Meteor Garden 2018). To be honest the way they changed it made it a lot more relatable and sweet.

Taliw is the smartest of all the renditions of Kotoko (Oh Ha Ni/Xang Qin). She is…normal. Not too book smart but in the way most of us are, and she can cook and is more upfront without all the snooping/awkwardness the other versions of her character had. She is also capable of succeeding at life and there is far less time spent here on her struggling in school.

TenTen is by far the nicest Naoki (Baek Seung Jo/Zhi Shu) and he has a certain normalness to him as well that made him even more loveable. He is still a “genius” by the books but there are times when he doesn’t know what to do or when he’s shown as being very vulnerable with his feelings. You can also really see him falling for Taliw (like when he sees her early in all dressed up and he gets all flustered because she looks so pretty).

Taliw and TenTen’s relationship develops a lot more normally as well (for example, we get way more kisses here before they actually get together than in the originals) so it’s not such a big shocker that TenTen actually loves her and while that took a little punch out of him finally confessing his feelings in the end it was still super sweet and felt more realistic. The twist that they threw in there as well was just so damn perfect. I love it!

My biggest complaint is probably that there isn’t really any HQ versions of this around (that I could find) so you have to stream it in all its pixel-y glory which was really disappointing because I think it would have been really pleasant to look at otherwise. Hopefully a higher quality stream becomes available. Other than that, it was pretty near perfect.

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Boss & Me was a cute office-romance drama that, while mostly stereotypical, had a few unique aspects that made it stand out.

To break it down—What I liked:

+ Hans Zhang as Feng Teng. He wasn’t necessarily original (seemingly cold but actually warm-hearted and lonely CEO) but Hans Zhang played Feng Teng’s expressionless demeanor really well which helped make his character all the more loveable as he slowly became wrapped around Shan Shan’s finger.

+ How the relationship dynamics between a boss and a low-level employee were played out. I feel like a lot of dramas have tried to do this well, but none have quite hit the mark like Boss & Me. Shan Shan has to deal with a lot of pressure at work (surprise) but the way it is presented and her inner monologue/awkwardness around Feng Teng felt really real to me. Early on, her constant annoyance with Feng Teng was annoying and long-suffering but after we get into the real meat of the story and how she has to deal with the pressure of dating a CEO despite her low status was really great.

+ The reason Feng Teng likes Shan Shan is nothing special, and he recognizes that. In the beginning this actually annoyed me, since I was wondering why he liked her when she basically tried to avoid him at all costs and was never all that nice to him. However, later when asked that question he responds with “There is nothing special…but one things for sure, she can really eat.” I found that to be really endearing. Shan Shan did not have to stand out to him in any particular way…he just liked her because he liked her.

+ Feng Teng’s family background. It was very refreshing for once to not have squabbling family members plotting to take over the business or scheming mother’s trying to set their sons up. Feng Teng’s family was very supportive and genuine.

Which brings me to what I did not like:

+ Shan Shan. While there where times when I did really like her (in particular, pretty much just the middle of the drama)…in the beginning and in the end she was not my favorite person. A lot of the way she acted and reacted I could understand at first, but then became annoying once they were drug out. For example, in the beginning she is hesitant to be around Feng Teng. Totally get it, I would be intimidated and uncomfortable too…but as she gets to know him and even laughs with him…I did not understand how she could so forcibly try to stay away from him when he was going out of his way for her. It just made her seem very petty and self-righteous. In the end, I never really felt like she loved him all that much, while on the other hand I could see that Feng Teng loved her completely unconditionally.

+ Typical plot devices. Some of those a-typical designs to keep the plot going were used here and it was just angsty and annoying. Totally unlike the author who wrote the original novel’s other work Love O2O, which was disappointing.

+ No chemistry. Maybe it’s just because I didn’t really care for Shan Shan but I just did not feel any chemistry between her and Feng Teng. Whenever they kissed it was just okay…and I never felt that heart-pounding anticipation for them to get.together.already. They were still really cute at times, just had no special magnetic pull.

All in all, there were plenty of sweet moments and a good dose of realism at times that made this watchable for me, but I doubt I will go back for seconds.

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This is one of those dramas you need to go into with as few spoilers as possible in order to enjoy it even more. So, I will do my best to keep this review free of spoilers but be warned.
I watched this drama weekly with one of my friends. I not to watch dramas as they air these days but I ended up doing so not really expecting to love it as much as I did and to be strung along in anticipation every week. I really couldn’t predict what would happen or how it would play out and the big twist early on in the series really blew my mind since I wasn’t expecting it at all. It was so well done.

Another unexpected aspect of this show was the chemistry between the leads. God, if Lee Da Il and Jung Yeo Wool didn’t have rooting for them so hard…but even more than the hints of romance was the chemistry and relationship between all of the characters. You can’t help but fall in love with this odd band of unfortunate people: Han Sang Sub, Park Jung Dae and Gil Chae Won. I’m not even going to lie and say I did not have a slight girl-crush on Chae Won. She was bad ass and I loved how much she really was the least directly-involved character that whole mess they were dealing with and yet a huge responsibility ended up riding on her shoulders.

These relationships are what the drama ended up riding on as the plot kinda of fell through the roof. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it was nearly as bad as a lot of the comments I’ve read recently have declared. It definitely drags on a bit and recycles a few times but I think it actually played out well with what the production was given. Would this drama have been better at around a 12-episode length? Probably. But I’m okay with what they did. It drove me crazy with frustration at times but I think that is also a testimony to the quality of a plot if it can get you that riled.

I loved how smart and genuine (most) of our characters were. Jung Yeo Wool in particular was impressive with her ability to use logic to figure things out instead of waiting around for someone else to solve her problems. She had a laps there towards the end but I’m willing to forgive her because I love her so much.

Daniel Choi as Lee Da Il was so freaking perfect. My friend who was watching this with me and I have had the hardest time in the past getting through any of his dramas, despite the fact that we love him as an actor. The time has finally come: we did it. I’m sad that he has lost so much weight (gone are the adorable puffy cheecks of his) but HE~LLO gloriously defined cheek bones. The man is H-O-T.

The music is also A+. It really fit well with the series and helped enhance the mood.

I personally really loved this drama, despite some of it’s flaws. It’s not quite perfect enough for me to give it a 10 but I’d still highly recommend it.

Also, for those of you who are worried about it being scary: I can’t do horror at all and I was fine. I would say the scarier elements that were earlier on are more on the cheesy side than actually creepy. And later it becomes more of a psychological thriller than horror. You’ll be fine!

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Devilish Joy was a whirlwind of a drama. It had an endearing and powerful start that slowly threw all logic aside as it plowed through its plot, finally settling down with quite the train wreck of a finale.

I’m not saying it was a bad drama—at least, not in the sense that I did not enjoy it because I feel like it was worth my time. However, enjoyment aside, the writing and directing were really a mess. At its heart, Devilish Joy had some great characters and I think that’s what ultimately made it so watchable but the story line itself felt…immature. It was seasoned with a plethora of cliché (CLICHÉ!!!) mishaps and coincidences. My favorite phrase to mutter while watching this was “How~ convenient~.” To be honest I think it ultimately did not accomplish what its premise set it out to do (ie answer the question: “Could you fall in love with someone you forget every morning?”). They did not play on the amnesia plot device quite like I expected them to and that was a little disappointing because it was too unrealistic and kind of defeated the purpose (at least until the last episode, where it was played out much more how I expected the whole drama to have been).

It is cute and it is sweet. There are so…many…kisses (yey)! However, while I’ve seen some people raving about the chemistry in this, I just didn’t feel it. It’s not that Choi Jin Hyuk and Song Ha Yoon had no chemistry at all, I just didn’t think it was anything special (apart from the first episode, they never really made my heart race or anything). I’m not going to lie though and say I did not fully enjoy every second we got to see Choi Jin Hyuk in all his tall, deep-voiced glory (swooning a little).
Overall this was a relatively easy watch and surprisingly “breezy” given the topic at hand. I would recommend it if you’re in the mood for a little melodrama and a lot of romance.

Warning: the gum-smacking courtesy of our resident baddie is rage-inducing and capable of awakening dark thoughts you did not know you were capable of. Keep the sound on during his scenes with caution.

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This drama was cute, often times hilarious (especially if you are familiar with Nam Goong Min in other more tragic/serious roles, seeing him here as the goofy Ahn Dan Tae is all the more funny) but WOW if the story wasn’t all over the place and totally predictable. It was almost entirely a huge cliché and if you have seen other K-Dramas you will probably have the plot memorized before even getting half-way through. This was also a 20-episode drama that needed to be like 12 episodes, max. By the end I did not care about the overall story and was only watching for the cute moments between Ahn Dan Tae and Gong Shim.

I won’t say I regret watching, because it was cute and funny enough to be worth it. However, I will say that the majority of the drama was a waste of time. Watch casually and skip all the nonsense…unless you’ve never seen a K-Drama before or are relatively new to the drama scene…then you will probably be able to enjoy the plot.

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This drama was kind of all over the place for me…interesting story…cheesy dialogue…lots of hilarity…mediocre production…fun characters…weird. I just couldn’t take it that seriously (which would be fine…) except that at times it seemed like it wanted to be taken seriously. You can compare this kind of drama to the likes of Sungkyunkwan Scandal, Moonlight Drawn By Clouds, and even Queen In Hyun’s Man…but where these dramas managed to successfully combine the historical-fusion-comedy-romance-drama genre’s…My Only Love Song kinda failed.

I’m not going to say it was bad, because I did enjoy it for the most part. However, it just did not mesh the various elements of the story well. When it was funny, it was funny. When it was romantic and sweet…it was romantic and sweet. And when it was serious…well, it tried. But it all felt very separated and it just couldn’t blend. I wish it had, because it would be SO freaking amazing had the flow of the story progressed better. But as it stands, I will remember certain moments fondly but not look back with much nostalgia. Here’s to another one for the “what-could-have-been” pile *raises glass.*

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The first half of this drama was obsession worthy. I loved the somewhat unique take on the supernatural-romance genre. Plus, Johnny *swoons* I enjoyed the lovely monologues and there are some scenes that were just so damn perfect (writing, directing, music, etc…) that they gave me goosebumps.

However, going into the second half of the show it slowly fell apart. The last two episodes in particular were messy and poorly executed. So much time was wasted on unimportant things while we never got answers for others and the writing chose to not delve into areas I would have found more fascinating than the plot we were given. Such a shame.

There are scenes from this I will probably re-watch but I will not bother re-visiting it as a whole. Oh, what could have been. Le sigh.

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This is a 24 episode drama that really should of been 16 and NO MORE THAN 20 episodes! It started out so strong with lovable characters, an intriguing plot, and heartwarming moments. But somehow, everything got all muddled up and the drama rode alone solely on the cuteness of our two leads. Once that was taken away, there was nothing left. In fact, the last four episodes were so boring and lame I nearly dropped the drama if not for the fact that I had already invested 20 hours of my time by then. Plus, I wanted to see how everything wrapped up in the end. Honestly? It wasn't worth it. My first thought when I finished was 'Seriously? I waited 24 episodes for this?'

Granted, this drama DID have it's moments (mostly early on) and I will go forward with fond memories of a hilarious Joo Dae Sung [Kim Sung Ho] (takes my vote for best side character of the year) and the adorableness of Chung Jung Myung and Park Min Young (although their chemistry as siblings honestly takes the cake).

But other than that there is really nothing else. Personally, I don't think this drama is worth it so I won't recommend you watch it!

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