A drama containing all emotions...
In a year like 2020, 'Start-up' was a drama that gave me a reason to pass a week waiting for a new episode.It had my favorite casts each with unique individual characters. It's true that the story didn't end with what many expected but I was both happy and satisfied with clean beautiful happy ending. It was the type of drama where I found all kinds of emotions. I laughed and cried, hated and fell in love, etc. along with the characters. I also realized how lucky I am to live my life with not much hardships as many others out there. I rode the swing of emotions throughout the last two months.
Seo Dal Mi was a character that I loved and admired from the beginning till end. She had to go through many ups and downs throughout her life and at many times I felt life was too unfair and cruel to her. But she was a strong, resilient person who overcame those hardships. Nam Do San and Han Ji Pyeong were two opposite polar characters who had their own share of moments, stories, experience, sufferings and grew up for the better throughout the story. Seo In-jae didn't have that much of spotlight but I loved the way she paved her way throughout the story.
Grandma Choi Won-Deok is someone we all need in our life. She was the epitome of kindness, forgiveness, joy and more.
Forgiveness is something that is strongly mirrored in this drama. 'Start-up' teaches that life is too short to hate someone, so forgive them and move on with your life happily.
I was happy to watch 'Start-Up' and I hope to find more youth promising and optimistic drama in the future.
Thank you.
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This review may contain spoilers
JUST snow-DROP IT
Honestly, I haven't seen a lot of work by Hae-In and saw this drama with close to no expectations. I did however read the premise and saw the trailer and genuinely found it interesting. I thought it would be a typical spy thriller that we see on a regular basis with a little Korean twist but it clearly wasn’t.Keeping in mind it being a work of fiction and that was not the actual representation of the struggle that took place at that time in South Korea, I liked the background set-up of the story. And it did start out great. The way Jisoo and Hae-In meet at a cafe, how low-key they want to be together but couldn’t. The mystery that went around Hae-In’s character and the pace at which the drama initially unfolded - all great until episode 4 when the hostage situation was created at the dorm. That is when the story went spiraling down for me.
The story was somewhat stuck. I know a lot of movies (like Exam - English) which have a single backdrop setting but they have so much going that they keep you hooked. However, Snowdrop’s story was all over the place and after a point you were just like please let them get out of that god-damn dorm hoping for the story to progress. But no that clearly didn’t happen. It was just frustrating at the end. The series also made me question the plot several times and sometimes I genuinely blurted out loud - What the hell is happening?
What frustrated me was that in the name of character arcs the characters came out as fickle minded. They were worse than me trying to order food on a weekend. There was hardly any development in my opinion. They did something and then wanted to do something else because it was not setting well with them? At this point of the story even I was confused as to what they actually want to do.
There could have been so much more to the story! They revealed it only in the last three episodes that Ms. Oh (the food lady) was one of the North Korean Spies mom and Mr. Kim (the caretaker) was a North Korean Spy staying at that dorm for centuries. I think building up on those storylines was a huge miss!
Overall each episode could have been tighter by reducing the length of an episode. Maybe? We will never know I guess because the show did not unlock its full potential and unfortunately that is what made it unbearable for me to an extent that this was the first show in my entire life whose final episodes I watched at 1.5x speed.
I will not lie, I was not a big fan of Jisoo’s acting. However, considering this is her acting debut I do hope to see her again on the screen to give a better opinion of her acting skills.
Now a short list of what I actually liked about this drama. Some of the supporting actors - especially the North Korean spies gave a genuinely good performance. I really hope to see them as leads soon. I actually enjoyed the Snowdrop OST and I know I will listen to it in the future. But did it save the show in my eyes? No.
I did want to drop this show so badly but remained committed because I do not want to leave things unfinished. Having said that, will I ever watch this show? Oh hell no. Will I watch a remake of this show? I will wait for someone to give a genuine review of the first 6-8 episodes only then will I consider picking it up.
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This review may contain spoilers
From A Non Gamer/Actor's Fan Perspective: One of the Better Xuanhuan Out There
I don't play Chinese Paladin games and don't remember watching any other drama/movie live adaptation of the installments. Although I watched several of Xu Kai's and Yu Shu Xin's dramas, I cannot regard myself as their fan. Since I mostly watch Chinese dramas more than dramas from other countries anyway, I would eventually see their dramas. Thus, this can be called a bystander's perspective as to why I rated this drama a 10 (without detailing the aspects, the spoiler is only for the drama ending, scroll to the bottom of the review)1. Xuanhuan is always (more) fun to watch, as long as the screenwriter does a good job writing the script
This drama is a xuanhuan. According to the MDL tag definition, xuanhuan means: "Mysterious Fantasy. A broad genre of fictional stories which remixes Chinese folklore/mythology with foreign elements and settings." It's slightly different than xianxia, which MDL describes as: "A Chinese martial arts novel genre developed from the wuxia genre that is heavily influenced by Taoism and Buddhism. The literal meaning of xianxia is 'immortal hero'. It's essentially a 'fantasy-fied' version of Wuxia: with magic, demons, immortals, and cultivation." Therefore xuanhuan dispenses the Taoism and Buddhism elements. Therefore imo, xuanhuan is more fun the watch than xianxia and wuxia, because it has more freedom in creating the world and culture of the clans, including their unique artifacts (costumes, weapons, magical items, etc).
There is a condition that a xuanhuan is entertaining to watch, as long as the screenwriter does a good job transforming the original version into a script. Since this is based on an RPG game, not a novel or manhua which details the plot and conversations, the screenwriter has to create rich plots, subplots, and dialogues to make the drama entertaining to watch from the beginning to the end. A satisfactory ending (I will spoil it at the end of the review) makes me rate the drama higher than a non-satisfactory ending.
Broad creativity in xuanhuan plot requires watchers to pay attention to the names and terms, as you may not seen them anywhere else before. Since I watched it while it's currently airing, it's easy for me to get information in the comment section. There is also the drama's discussion forum section that details some aspects if you're lost in the comments section since the drama has finished airing now.
There is also a synopsis based on the game in Wikipedia which gives details of the game to give a broad understanding. Of course, as usual, the drama plot is different than the game plot:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Sword_and_Fairy_6
2. Deep friendship/found family is crucial along an arduous journey
Since this is based on an adventure RPG game, it's necessary to create a group of companions (characters) with each strengths and weaknesses teaming up to face whatever they'll encounter along their journey (game). I always loved deep friendships in dramas, which even became a found family. Close bonds of friendship in a drama always leave special marks in my heart to give an extra point when rating a drama.
I also think that the casting of the protagonists of this drama befits the characters. Besides Xu Kai and Yu Shu Xin, I watched Fu Xin Bo (as Xian Qing), Wan Peng (as Zhao Yan), Bai Bing Ke (as Ming Xiu), and Zhou Zhan (as Shi Fang) before. The drama gives enough background and stories for the other leading characters as well.
3. Pure and cute Romance with great chemistry that does not overwhelm the main adventure plot
I'm not sure if the game contains romance as well, but romance is an important aspect of the drama, it's not overwhelming or takes over the adventure plot in which the group embarks on a journey with various missions.
Xu Kai and Yu Shu Xin did a great job portraying the non-blood-related siblings Yue Jin Zhao and Yue Qi. From the bonding of siblings, because they found themselves without family members or background memories to remember their families, to the intimacy of lovers, the actor and the actress exude an overflowing chemistry. This is commendable, considering that they have never collaborated before.
4. Xu Kai acting as a doppelganger Jin Zhao and Bian Luo Han
I don't want to describe much about Bian Luo Han, only that he is a mysterious character to discover in the drama. Because Yue Jin Zhao and Bian Luo Han are lookalikes, Xu Kai played both characters but with different personalities. Jin Zhao is an extroverted teenager with high spirits and energy. Bian Luo Han is an older character, introverted, quiet, and mysterious (while wearing a mask in many scenes). There is a particular scene later in the drama in which Jin Zhao and Bian Luo Han (without a mask) have a heart-to-heart talk, and I could see the differences between both personalities, although they are played by the same actor!
5. The cinematography and details of props
Places in xuanhuan dramas more likely have more colorful costumes, props, and sets than places in xianxia dramas (mostly consist of heavenly realm, demon realm, mortal realm). Since the group go to different places during their journey, we got to see intricate designs of each places. My favorite place is The Sea of Clear Skies with all its beautiful oceanic-theme designs and architectures. Yue Qi particularly looks very pretty with costumes from that place!
6. OST
As usual, OST in Chinese costumes drama deliver. My favorite in the opening theme "Miracle" sung by Taiwanese duo of brother and sister JS (an abbreviation of their names Justin and Sophia), and the insert song "Resonance" sung by none other than king of OSTs Zhou Shen. Yu Shu Xin, as usual contributed OSTs songs in her dramas, this time she sang "Pray" and "Hope".
7. The satisfactory ending (Scroll below for the spoiler. Otherwise, you can stop reading here ?
Yue Jin Zhao dies at the final battle. Yue Qi goes to Dragon Pool to exchange life with him. Before she did, Guardian Ying Xu Wei also went to Dragon Pool to exchange life with Yue Qi, as he felt guilty of the Yue's sacrifice. Sometime in the future, Jin Zhao is reborn and walks in the midst of crowd. He overhears a storyteller told about the bravery of some Mr Ju (who is Shi Fang, died in a battle). Shi Fang apparently is reborn, running as a child and bumps into the blind Ming Xiu. 'Jin Zhao' (not sure what his name now) help them up. Ming Xiu seems familiar hearing his voice but he said he never met her before. Ming Xiu is on her way to reunite with the two long time friend Zhao Yan and Xian Qing, who are now a couple. 'Jin Zhao' walks further and passing 'Yue Qi' who is holding a sugar candy with a goldfish design and a dandelion. Both wears the half size of fish pendant, a gift of their birthday as seen in the first episode. Yue Qi brought both the pendant pieced to Dragon Pool during the life exchange. The pendant pieces they wore touch each other that creates the resonance (explained further in the drama) and cause the dandelion to disintegrate. 'Jin Zhao' and 'Yue Qi' are in awe watching that. Although they walk away, since they're basically strangers, in the end the resonance seems to attract them to stop and look back at each other and smile. It's like fall in love at first sight.
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a must watch drama that hit all the nice spots for me. yup, it's not perfect but it has so little wrong for me. great casts and production teams. can't tell more, watch the show yourself ! Healer has a heart, not your cliche or typical Korean dramas out there. Healer has its very own charms, and extraordinary.
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It tells the story of two teachers: a rather selfish and unscrupulous man who is also a liar and a cheat; and an emotionally unstable woman with such low self-esteem & clear mental issues it's a wonder she didn't off herself during the course of the show.
With a pair of damaged, rather unlikable protagonists it doesn't take a rocket scientist to predict the train wreck of a relationship that is about to culminate between them. Unlike the Japanese movie, Happily Ever After, where you meet equally tragic individuals trying to figure out the meaning of life & love in a poignant, slightly hopeless, but always heartwarming journey, you'll struggle to understand why the heck Choi Hung & Lee Yoo Rim in Rules of Dating are together because they clearly shouldn't be. It's a very co-dependent, unhealthy, immature relationship between two people who literally have NO redeeming qualities. The acting inspired very little empathy or faith that these characters will grow into better people.
Overall the plot and overarching story seemed very ill-conceived, as if the film's only purpose is to say the world is filled with some pretty strange effers. If like me you weren't born yesterday, and thus already knew this, this movie offers nothing in the way of an engaging plot, likable leads or a memorable ending. In fact when it ends you'll just be glad it did, if only so you'll never have to see these weird ass people again.
Music - what music?
Rewatch value: 0
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BL, GL and internalized homophobia: Characters and different points of view on love about to collide
'My Strawberry Film' is a Japanese youth romantic crowd drama about the intertwined feelings of four high school students with very different personalities and views on love, attracted by a mysterious movie.This is a coming-of-age drama about four teenagers, ages 17 or so, realistically observing moments in their lives, moments that all of us could have experienced or will experience at one point or another.
The drama, likewise, covers serious and mature themes while presenting them in a comedic and dramatic manner.
Screenwriters Kobayashi Keiichi and Takahashi Natsuki, and director Takeda Karin, manage to mix friendship, love and longing, while complex feelings cross the hearts of the characters.
Also appearing as director and screenwriter is Ryo Kawasaki, a proven master of BL, who was the director of the drama 'Minato Shoji Coin Laundry 2' and writer of the script for 'Zenra Meshi', both from 2023.
The music of Yuya Mori and the opening themes "Flashback Memories", by Kubota Kai, and "Cropping", by Quw, for the closing, converge to delight the audience with the story in which four high school students, each one with their own feelings, they face heartbreaking emotions as they pursue a mystery.
PLOT
In their second year of high school, Ryo Ichikawa (Ryusei Fukada), Hikaru Toyama (Rei Yabana) and Chika Nakamura (Mizuki Yoshida), live a seemingly peaceful school life while harboring hidden emotions.
One day, Hikaru and Chika are penalized for being late to class. To fulfill the punishment imposed, they must clean an old warehouse behind the gym. Faced with old and used items stored in the shed, Chika comes up with the idea that she could sell the valuables on an auction site. Immersed in his search, he finds an 8 mm film kept in a small metal box. As they pass the tape through the projector, the image of a dazzling girl appears before them. Hikaru is captivated by the beauty of the young girl (Ririka Tanabe) that could be seen even through the rough particles.
Perplexed and fascinated, Hikari declares to his best friend Ryo: "I want to meet the girl from the movie." Isn't he dancing and laughing on the same rooftop of the school where they go in their free time? Doesn't the film show images of an old building known to them? So, the young woman has to be a former student of the school. Didn't you also wear the same uniform as theirs? From this moment on, they will show her face to the former teachers to see if any of them recognize her.
If the girl must have been known by the most senior teachers, several were even students at the school decades ago and, therefore, they must know all the young people who passed through their classrooms, why does no one recognize her? What is the mystery surrounding the young woman? Why do they seem to prefer to remain silent and not identify the girl and tell them where to find her or tell them what happened to her?
Together with Hikaru, Ryo and Chika begin to search for clues about the enigmatic creature reflected in an 8 mm film. Are your feelings for that special person love, friendship or respect? is the question that floats in the air.
The very next day a transfer student arrives at school. The three friends will be surprised when Minami Murasaki appears before them, a young woman who looked exactly like the girl in the movie.
The feelings of four people that are intertwined with the mysteries hidden in the film are represented in this youth group drama: Hikaru chases the shadow of the mysterious girl, Ryo worries about Hikaru and Chika has feelings for Ryo, while Minami's gaze seems pass by.
Finally, in an unexpected turn of events, the series also drifts towards Girl Love (GL) and internalized homophobia, since the girl in the video is actually Minami's mother, who was filmed by the student she loved. and this, despite loving her, could not reciprocate.
OF CHARACTERS AND STARS
This Fuji Television drama, with an original script, shows people with feelings that cannot be named in their hearts: they cry, fight, laugh and desperately try to seize the moment that is now.
Quattro, who plays Ryo Ichikawa, perfectly captures his role as a boy who is not good at interacting with people, is seen as cool by those around him and is popular among young girls for his beautiful appearance, but he does not like to stand out and does not show no interest in girls. His passion is making music.
His time in 'Kenisasu Life' (Nippon Television) and 'Dragon Zakura' (TBS) confirms the constant evolution of this popular actor, now in the role of giving life to a high school student in full struggle with many emotions such as love and friendship. The nostalgic and sensitive, but also romantic, audience can identify perfectly with the character.
Rei Yabana, the member of '7MEN Samurai', shines in his first leading role, playing Hikaru Onada, a beloved and energetic boy who is sometimes insensitive, with great communication skills and easy to get carried away, but also fickle when not having anything that excites him and without love experience.
Ductile playing a young man in his phase of discovering and describing the sweet and bittersweet youth that only a high school student can experience, his characterization makes the viewer live or relive, as the case may be, that "youth" as if he had lived it with previously or somewhere. I don't doubt that it will awaken memories and emotions that the audience may have had.
Who we saw in 'Nare no Hate no Bokura', on TV Tokyo, confirms with his performance that he is an artist who not only has the talent to play a wide range of instruments, such as the guitar.
For his part, Yoshida Mizuki manages to convince the most demanding viewer in his role as Chika Nakamura, a young member of the badminton club with an active personality and knowledge of ancient tools. As a bright girl who cares deeply about her friends and sometimes has trouble expressing her true feelings, she makes the audience identify with the character.
Yoshida Mizuki, who has demonstrated her talent by starring in the films 'Atsui Chest Sawagi' and 'Kamuy no Uta', as well as her role in the Netflix series 'Alice in the Country', penetrates with conviction into the skin of an objectively girl cute but lacks self-confidence and has secret feelings for Ryo.
Ririka Tanabe, who like Mizuki Yoshida is an exclusive model for "Seventeen" and has also appeared in popular works such as the drama 'The Best Teacher: 1 Year Later, I Was Treated by a Student', shows great sensitivity when characterizing a devilish girl who has her own vision of the world and her own rhythm, and never tires of unconsciously manipulating everyone around her.
As Minami Murasaki, she shows her artistic skills as a transfer student who looks exactly like the beautiful girl in the film and seeks to unravel her late mother's past.
With her role in 'My Strawberry Film', Mitsuki Yoshida shows her extensive stage skills, as she did when starring in 'Alice in the Country' (Netflix), 'Dragon Zakura' (TBS) and the play 'Three Thousand Moles' Gather'.
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Personally I don't think so cause I'm dealing, studying and exploring maths all my life therefore I love it but I do understand that there are many people who simply don't like nor understand it and find it hard to express anything which deals with mathematics.
Either way, after this movie you may end up loving maths, you may end up feel the magic of numbers and you don't need to be a math student in order to get enthusiastic about number games and about the wonderful world of numbers. Cause the way mathematics is presented in this movie, the method in which was written into the script, into the characters, is really interesting and it keeps you intriguing to the end. There are terms like prime numbers, amicable numbers, perfect numbers, pi, the imaginary number, and Euler's identity also known as Euler's equation. Even if you're clueless and unknowing about the concepts of these terms, the movie will introduce them and show to you in such interesting and enjoyable way.
Based on the novel by Yoko Ogawa, The Professor’s Beloved Formula tells the story of a housekeeper played by gorgeous Eri Fukatsu who is hired by an aloof heiress to look after her brother-in-law who, ever since a car accident periodically has his memory reset every eighty minutes. Before the accident he was a celebrated Math’s professor, and it is through his love of numbers and the housekeeper’s willingness to learn anything new that the two form a strong unique friendship. Soon the Professor meets the housekeeper’s young son and nicknames him Root on account of the top of his head being flat like a square root symbol. Together the trio manage to form a powerful, strange family despite all the challenges.
I enjoyed in simplicity of this movie, in wonderful development of that strange friendship between professor and housekeeper, she had patience, willingness and eagerness to listen to him, to be the part of numbers and mathematics and to keep him always busy with his work; and he accepted her and her son like his own family (although a platonic one) where they were strangely and deeply happy while watching baseball, playing games with numbers or solving maths problems. I found all 3 characters so lovable, both in character and presentation and I'll never forget Eri Fukatsu's smile and Professor's character.
Refreshing thing in this movie is that there are no unnecessary tearjerker moments around the professor's illness, although there are some a bit more dramatic and touching ones but without melodramatic scenes and with just right amount of warmness which manages to strike the right notes all the time.
The story is pretty simple and slow paced but at the same time enchanting and full of warmth. With many touching moments and with most of the things revolving around mathematics, baseball and cooking, whole movie will give you clear messages about maths itself using concepts and applying it to real life, to living life.
Cinematography is very nice, showing the beauty of landscapes and the town they lived in, the great actors really make you fell so good and cozy, whole movie just has this feel good factor and in the end you feel wonderful, poetic and comfortable. Charming, no manipulative movie, a slice of life that will make you feel joy and wanting to meet all three characters in person and playing number games with them.
"To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour"
-William Blake-
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Princess Weiyoung is like comfort food - tried and true but pushes all the right buttons.
This was truly a very enjoyable drama from start to finish - I was pleasantly surprised by how it managed to captivate me. The underlying plot itself is not special - it is a revenge drama about a Liang princess whose family was executed after being framed for rebellion against the Wei kingdom by the Prime Minister's wife's powerful Chiyun family. She assumes another identity (Weiyoung) and infiltrates the Prime Minister's household as his second daughter of lower birth to a common mother. It has some clear parallels to Nirvana in Fire but the main protagonist is a clever young woman and her "revenge" is more reactive as opposed to proactive and calculated. Another difference is there is a big romantic element, it is more light hearted, fast moving and less complex. However, this is nowhere near on the same level and maybe it captivated me because my expectations were not high.The casting in this show was superb - literally all of the characters good and evil did a remarkable job with their roles. The two main leads are a real life couple and the chemistry between them is undeniable and heart warming. The male lead plays a powerful young Wei prince who is so enamored with Weiyoung that he is willing to give up his kingdom and his life for her. I think of the two, Luo Jin (Taoba Jun) is the better, more charismatic and versatile actor. Tiffany Tang's Weiyoung was clever, resilient and completely adorable but her performance was undeniably aided by the overall strength of the supporting cast. There were quite a few villains in the show - ones that you will love to hate (Prime Minister's wife and her nephew); ones that were so ineptly evil you had to laugh at them (Prime Minister's eldest son and daughter); and the more complex, ultimately pitiful ones that had some good in them (the Nan-an Prince and his lover). The Prime Minister's wife has the most evil villain eyebrow movement I have ever seen outside of a cartoon. And you will learn how evil and hate can take the form of such a lovely and innocent face. I found myself moved to pity for some of the villains even thought they satisfyingly got their just deserts, which speaks to the layered complexity of the characters. There are two charming supporting couples whose story lines did not deviate much from the main plot and did not go on excessively. Finally the show kept to a bare minimum the childish, petulant and immature female role stereotype that ruins many otherwise good shows.
Without giving anything away, there were some good twists in the story that sees friends turn into foes. I did think that there was excessive plotting against Weiyoung and maybe one or two of those plots could have been eliminated. Nonetheless due to the strength of the cast, any repetitiveness it was barely noticeable because everyone was such a pleasure to watch. Objectively speaking the plot isn't that original but it has all the elements of a true crowd pleaser: it moves fast, it will make you laugh it will make you cry; it will make you love, it will make you hate and it will surprise you a few times.
[KIND OF SPOILER BUT NOT REALLY A SPOILER ALERT]
One of the best things about Chinese drama is that a happy ending is not a foregone conclusion. Hollywood still doesn't get it - when its a foregone conclusion that it ends happily ever after everything becomes predictable and forgettable. This one will keep you guessing and hoping to the bittersweet end and maybe that is one of the reasons why it lingers with you.
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It's bomb af
Y'all not going to lie the otp here literally has one of the best chemistry I've ever seen!The story is really good I was hooked at episode 1 and that's pretty rare. I've read the novel and will say that the show is a lot better because we the viewers are able to see more and understand more about the characters and how things came to be. Reading the novel it's really good but most things are up to our imaginations so the show really did a good job in maintaining similarities with the show while having differences. Although I got to say i kind of wished that they didn't try to promote the demon princess and night's guard that much, the story would've been a 10 for me but those 2 constantly appearing literally every episode dropped it to a 9.5. Oh also lets not forget about the amazing costumes/designs, cgi, & flawless acting. One thing though if the ending today for episodes 62-63 is not satisfying enough for JM then I'm going to have a serious talk with the production team. (;
The ending is really satisfying all the loose ends were tied up and it was just so cuteee!
The acting is just indescribable it hooked me right away. Also the leads really outdid themselves cause I've seen YZ, DL, and LYX's acting before but here they BLEW me tf away. They did so well that I'm positive no else will be able to do a better version of the character JM, XF, & Night. Oh let's not forget about the loyal and funny Pu Chi, Moon Immortal, and last but not least the lovable flower realm all of their acting are so convincing ugh I just need all of them along with the leads to be casted again in another show together.
Music it's really good and what surprised me even more when I searched it up was that one of the versions were sung by both YZ & DL isn't that so cool? Also check out the eng subbed version on YouTube if you can.
Let me tell y'all I'm addicted to this show since it came out and this again is another first where I can not stop myself from watching the raws, which never happened before. HSALF probably is all of the first where I'm addicted like crazy, so impatient even when it airs faster than others shows 2epsiode a day, guys I literally have watched almost all of the bts and it's still not enough for me. Just a Warning prepare them tissues! Like y'all don't know how many times I wanted to jump in & hug one of the characters because of how badly they were schemed against( there are annoying schemers that I really want to slap) or how their life just plain sucks to the point where you're just like how can someone have that much of toxic people surrounding them. I'm amazed at how the production team really wants to torture and throw in all the angst and pain that they can but still do it so well that it's addicting. After this ends I know for a fact that it'll be hard to find other shows that are up to par to this. My bar/expectations for shows are now all the way up there this show is literally giving the others a run for their money lol. This show is literally my first love that I want to be with forever! Oh yea y'all don't forget to check out the bts if you're like me where you need to see more of the leads adorable interactions. ^_^
Overall yes I recommend this show and do try it out if you can. Easily a 10/10
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The story is quite complex and the characters' motivations make you question their every behavior. At the same time, a quick guessing game will lead you to the correct answer, because at the end of the day, the ending is not as unexpected and surprising as one could wish for.
The acting was for sure the best aspect of the movie. To say I was impressed would be an understatement. While Haneul aced the role, I didn't expect any less of him. I was the most drawn to Kim Mu Yeol - acting and character wise. He showed both a soft/friendly, but also mad and driven performance, and both were done perfectly.
There was one moment in the movie that caught me off guard and I could not stop laughing for a good five minutes. One of the quite common tropes used in Korean dramas, that turned this movie into a comedy. Thank God it was close to the end, because I wouldn't be able to take any scenes seriously after it happened.
Overall, the process of watching the movie and guessing where it's going was more entertaining than the movie itself.
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This review may contain spoilers
This is my first time ever watching such a movie, Honest truth I really wouldn't be into thee kinds of movies on my own. It's not the kind of a story I'd look upon my own. This movie aired here on Norwegian tv with subs so I decided to give it a go. This review will be written from my own point of view on the movie.First to start it off. I can't say I was to impressed about the music shown in the movie. I didn't expect much upon it, Still it wasn't too much to brag about the music. I felt that some of the music was just there and might not really be to fitting upon the scenes it was added into.
The story progressed kinda as expected from having read the review. I felt that most of the movie went to revolve about the main girl. I liked the movie for its storyline and acting. The actors did a really good job upon acting out the different characters. The story basically revolves around Park Hyun Seo. A young girl who by a mistake gets taken away by a mutated monster from the sea upon her father making a mistake grabbing the wrong persons hand while trying to flee. By the time he notices it is already to late to go and get her back as the monster already is right behind her about to take her. Her father starts grieving as he believes he has lost his only daughter. Later that night upon being admitted to the hospital he recieves a call from his daughter saying she is stuck hiding in the sewers and that she is alive. An ask for help turns into a family mission as her entire family heads out to find Park Hyun Seo. And it doesn't make things easier that the korean society aswell as police officers are out to catch their family because of a possibly deadly virus they may have gotten. The story takes on unexpected twists and it will show you just how strong a family bond really is, Aswell as the bond between a father and a daughter.
The genres of the movie were, Comedy, Drama and Horror.
I can understand why they put in the comedy and drama genres, But in overall the story didn't justify as a horror movie. It didn't scare you nor make you especially uptight.
It was a really good movie, I gave it a steady 7. I would recommend people to see it. The story will have you watching all the way, Allthough the movie might start off as somehow boring, It won't turn out that way..
Will Park Hyun Seo be saved?
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This review may contain spoilers
I did not like this drama in the end. To be honest, I liked the first few episodes where the ML was being so bossy and selfish, and the FL was fighting so hard to work with him, just to secure a job. But when he started to waver and became indecisive and while the FL continued to lie to him being Veronica Park, my interest in the drama just went down the drain. In the end, I actually watched the drama for the real Veronica Park parts only. She is hilarious and over the top. The FL and ML are OK but their story-line got quite muddled in the end. The actors worked their best but the writing could have been better. I cannot understand why this drama got high rating when there are much better Rom-Com dramas out there.
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Disgusting - worst kdrama I had watched
its all disgusting.do not waste your time. Cringe overload on chemistry of female character.also the story was meaningless.it didnt have character development.the story messing with all the characters.if you watch this drama u will die bcoz of cringe female lead character. Want to banned like this drama not mr queen.its all disgusting its all disgusting its all disgusting its all disgusting its all disgusting its all disgusting its all its all disgusting its all disgusting its all disgusting its all disgustingdisgusting its all disgusting its all disgusting its all disgusting its all disgusting its all disgusting
You will thank me later.
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I enjoyed the youth period and I think there is potential for a drama there (yes, I know it’s not the topic here but I would have preferred if the drama stayed in school with love triangles and violin rivalries).
When watching a drama, I like to be able to feel emotions, be it angst, laughter, sadness, twisting of the stomach but here? I kept watching hoping the show would give me something, anything to get my pulse to quicken; but no, we’re in LaLaLand and everything is cute-ish and that’s not my style of drama.
I’m not saying this drama is bad, I’m just saying it didn’t work for me.
I was gonna rate this drama a 4 but then again, because of Chan and the Dog I’ll raise it to 5.5.
I wish I would have stopped watching after episode 6 (11-12 if you will).
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Story- The story in itself had a lot of potential. The story itself really isn't bad at all, just the execution of the story. I know Japanese dramas tend to move at a slow pace and don't rely on frequent twists and turns, but even this moved a bit too sluggish for me. For that, I can only give the story a six because of the poor execution. One huge plot point that was never explored was Natsuki's relationship with her former fiancee. If he ditches her at the alter, there had to be a big explanation; yet there wasn't. All we got were scattered flashbacks that contributed very little to story. I honestly wish it were explored further. Her ex-fiancee could have been incorporated as an actual character, just like Asahi's ex-girlfriend was. The ending was pretty basic and extremely cliche; in fact the last scene is very similar to the ending of Yamapi's much, much better drama Proposal Daisakusen.
Acting/Cast- I wish I could separate the acting and the cast and give a rating for each. The cast would get a high rating but the acting...not so much. Yamapi is as deadpan as ever here. Instead of engaging the viewer in with his character he really does nothing with the character at all. He's just reciting lines, not acting. The rest of the cast pulled the bulk of the weight and put on satisfactory and good performances. In fact, Katsuji Ryo who played Asahi's best friend actually outshone him. Based on acting skill alone, he probably deserved the lead role.
Music- I actually found it to be enjoyable. I like the ending theme song and the opening theme. It was suitable for the drama and I would listen to the soundtrack again.
Rewatch Value- Really, there is nothing outstanding or memorable about this drama to warrant a re-watching. If anything, the only re-watching appeal would be to see the cast in swimsuits.
Overall, it wasn't so terrible that I had to stop watching. Since I watched it while it aired it only took a mere one hour out of my week. I can honestly say that if I chose to watch it after it aired I may not have continued.
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