I'll start with the story-line. Although this drama doesn't have the most creative of story-lines it makes up for it with good pacing, I never felt bored while watching it (Which has happened with other dramas), developed characters, each one makes a visible journey from start to finish and you never question their motives. And the fact the story-line shows off the raw talent of the actors rather than making it too complicated.
The actors are well chosen, especially the females as I always find that some actresses don't pull their weight in dramas. Nobody's lines felt awkward, and there was chemistry between the characters despite there being little romance in this drama.
The soundtrack is what makes this drama go from good to great. I just wish it was available to download. You'll find yourself bobbing along and singing along to most of the songs. Each song is well-placed and none of it seemed forced.
This drama had me in fits of laughter and fits of tears, but in the end I was left with a warm feeling in my heart. If you liked Dream High then I am sure you'll like this drama too. But even if you didn't like Dream High then give it a shot anyway. I think you'll find yourself pleasently surprised.
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This review may contain spoilers
This was one of the best-written (and executed) comedy dramas I've seen in a long time! If you saw the special that came out about a year ago, you know the premise of the story. For those who haven't, you do need to watch the special first--you can read the plot synopsis on that page. The correct translation of the title would have been Visual Detective Higurashi Tabito.I think what I loved most, besides the compelling plot that threaded through and built up with each episode, was the characters and their relationships. Each was so lovable and unique, even if some were technically stock characters. The casting was perfect in my opinion, and some of the best performances from many of the actors I've yet seen. And Sumida Moeno who played the amazing little Tei-chan was truly incredible in her first main role. The main characters, guest roles, and even the villains and purely comedic characters were multifaceted and had depth, and many of them had really emotionally satisfying character arcs. The relationships were fascinating, enjoyable, and dynamic, and I love how perfectly they fit into certain expected relationships while being totally unexpected at the same time. I also loved some of the societal issues they spoke to in subtle ways, both directly and indirectly; both through satire and serious, idiosyncratic character creation that I felt was a perfect connection between the original novel's author, the screenwriter, and the actors.
Also, the comedy was pitch perfect...in my eyes, at least! The combination of satire, gags, utter wittiness, physical comedy, riffing between actors, timing, and *even* post-production perfection had me rolling. I don't know if everyone would love it, as I grew up with Japanese humor and have realized more recently by way of international comments that sometimes I probably don't have the best awareness if everything is translating cross-culturally, or multi-lingually as well as I assume at first. Then I realize what I am taking for granted as normal or what is untranslatable or whatever, and realize what I think is hilarious may not be to more people than I think. But I *think* a lot of the basic humor would translate...and I even think a bunch of very subtle touches can be appreciated by international audiences, although there probably are many subtleties that might not, that I felt really added to the multilayered brilliance. Again, I may not be the best judge of this. I should probably mention that if you don't enjoy the quick juxtaposition of humor and very serious or even moments of dark drama (as I've noticed quite a few people saying they really don't like that aspect of many J-dramas), you might find parts of this a bit jarring.
As a J-drama genre, this is definitely a comedy and not a dark crime, detective, or police drama (I'm speaking of specific genres, as this includes all of those elements). So if you're a fan of those, don't expect those tonally, if that makes any sense. But I think anyone who enjoys those elements will appreciate the story. As for the mystery, while each of the early episodes has an episodic element, it also has the overall mystery of Tabito's backstory woven through in such a compelling way that not only isn't very predictable, but has a perfectly balanced sinister edge to it than never quite goes into truly disturbing territory and yet creates a unique kind of suspense.
As for his strange condition/ability, I don't want to throw in any potential spoilers, but I'll just say that it's best to suspend disbelief. Each episodic 'case' is satisfying and none are throw-aways. There is that awesome emotive quality to many of them that J-dramas in this genre do so well...touching without being maudlin. Main characters are developed through their interaction with the cases and their personal conflict also builds too. Lastly, for those who care, the romance element is really well done. It's paced just right and feels genuine. For those who are more of K-drama watchers, this is not like your typical K-drama crime comedy-romance (which I also enjoy), so don't expect that.
The music was perfect, imo, with the exception of the very short opening song. The composer got every mood just right, from the lovely string and piano themes to the jarring, discordant guitar when we get hints of the darkness roiling beneath the surface of the storyline. The songs are also great and not melodramatic. Rewatch value...I would definitely watch this again, it was so enjoyable, and I'm not a big rewatcher! But the mystery element is strong enough that a second watch would definitely not have anywhere near the same effect. Anyway, hope more people will take a chance on this drama! If you don't enjoy it as much as me, I imagine you'll find at least something enjoyable in it.
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Anyway, I'm not here to talk exclusively about her. The premise of this film is very similar to most heist films, however - unless there is a director's cut that I didn't watch - there are some flaws of continuity and characters that have a premature ending. Even though it is not a terrible flaw, the film could have been much better.
The acting is very good, funny moments and serious moments are well-dosed - even though Jihyun is mostly seen doing gags.
The music is meh, there are some moments that you can barely hear something and it doesn't mix well with the scene that you are watching and, for instance, an action scene doesn't seem that interesting.
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I’m here for pity fights and family drama.
Not many dramas can make a certified clown out of me, but this one did, and I kind of appreciate that. Countless rants in the first half, but at the end I became speechless - the twist did its thing.What got me to start the show was the premise of the female spy assassins arc. What made me stay were the family drama and pity senseless fights when the focus should have been on the enemy. The dynamics between all the siblings were extremely entertaining to watch. While I still believe some of the motivations were… not the smartest, I don’t think it’s the case of characters being poorly written - it was intentional. Because the reasoning was flawed at times, it made the characters more relatable, even if the setting of the drama itself was something none of us could relate to.
Did I care about any of the romances? No. Funny, because that was also one of the things I actually wanted to watch this drama for. The puppy love was too puppy, the “toxic” romance did not get enough highlight to be well developed, the comedy crush was too much. Personally I would prefer if they switched the pairings around a bit - get the puppy with the cunning one, and the cold and heartless with the good natured one.
What the drama did perfectly though were all the visual aspects of the production - from set design, costumes, make up, accessories to the way it was all shot. The fighting scenes? Perfection. This is how you use slow motion to highlight the sequences and certain moves, instead of overusing it to hide bad choreography and lack of skills. Each fighting sequence deserves to be watched at least two or three times to fully appreciate it.
The acting was great. I was kind of traumatized by Yu Shu Xin in Love Between Fairy and Devil and her toddler character, and I’m glad to see how well she does in more mature roles. Personally, I think they fit her better. Zhang Ling He was fine. I do believe Gong Zi Yu’s character was the most boring, so I never truly focused so much on him… My favorite performance goes to Lu Yu Xiao - easy choice. Ad for Ryan Cheng, let’s say I get why everyone got so obsessed with him in that role.
On the bad side - I hated the line delivery of most of the main cast. Separately, they were great. The issue is: they all spoke with exactly the same whisper, slow mannerism, it became exhausting. Any dialogue heavy scenes between Yun Wei Shan and Shangguan Qian? Close your eyes and it’s impossible to tell which one is speaking - they sounded the same. I get it, they are all mysterious spies, but that does not mean they have to speak in the same way.
At the end of the day, it’s a great show. The middle part is the slowest and probably the reason why someone might drop it (I was close to dropping it too), but it picks up later when a lot of things get slowly revealed and explained.
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CAST/ACTING: I think they did a pretty good job on this one. The actors are handsome, carry their roles well, and I like their chemistry.
MUSIC: I liked it how they used it in the episodes, but I didn't like the OST.
REWATCH VALUE: They were cute, so maybe I'll give them a shot after a couple of years, since there are only 4 episodes anywyay.
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This review may contain spoilers
I started watching Devilish Joy because of Choi Jin Hyuk. I watched him for the first time in 'Fated to Love You' and suffered the second lead syndrome so badly that I wanted to watch him in a show where he gets the girl. This drama captured my interest from the get-go, with an endearing story that started with the two leads falling in love at first meet. The show has all the key elements - great acting, a good mix of romance, comedy and melodrama, gorgeous cinematography, and good-looking actors. However, I have to warn you; it is also a bag of cliches! If you can get past the kdrama tropes, the show may pleasantly surprise you and exceed your expectations.
Choi Jin Hyuk as Gong Ma Sung looked really fine in his suits as the chaebol heir who was also a genius neurosurgeon. However, his character was not the typical cold and arrogant jerk. Instead, Gong Ma Seung was a warm-hearted, generous, and romantic man, who not surprisingly captured the female lead's heart immediately in the first episode. Choi Jin Hyuk did not disappoint, and he was able to convey so much through his expressions and body language. I was really into his character, and if I allow myself some fangirling - I love how his smile reaches his eyes and his voice...oh his voice!
It took me a little longer to warm up to the female lead, Joo Gi Bbeum. She seemed too silly for a 30-year-old top star, but she developed more depth soon after the first couple of episodes. Soon Ha Yoon was very believable as the unfortunate singer, who struggled against all sorts of challenges but managed to maintain her dignity. Her petite loveliness was a great match for Gong Ma Sung, and the chemistry between the two leads was palpable. This is a couple I can imagine as truly dating - their kisses (and there were many compared to other dramas) were so natural.
I also came to like Hoya's character, Sung Ki Joon - uncle/nephew bromance was fun to watch and their reunion scene was perfect!
Besides the leads, I did enjoy watching the other characters like Woo Jin and Nan Joo (the leads' sidekicks), and Gi Bbeum's family. They all had flaws that made them more relatable. However, I found the villains rather one dimensional and there was no character development. They are just shown as evil people with no other motives aside from greed. I found their backstories rather lacking, and not certainly not enough to explain why they hated Ma Sung or Gi Bbeum so much to inflict such terrible pain on them.
The music was good - the songs fit the moods accordingly but nothing memorable. I did not hear any that tugged at my heart strings and made me want to save it to a playlist.
As for the ending, I was very satisfied. Not going to lie, I almost didn't want to watch the final episode. The show went into full throttle drama towards the end and I was an emotional mess thinking that only a miracle can give me the happy ending that the characters deserve. Luckily, it is kdrama land after all, and one can toss all reasoning and logic aside. That said, I like that the show did not wrap up everything too neatly and the happy ending was not overly done with Gong Ma Sung recovering completely from his illness. With that, I ended the show with a feeling of hope, and thinking that there's potential for a season 2.
Overall, this drama is pretty entertaining. Yes, there were plenty of cliches but the story was well developed. The romance, focused on unconditional and timeless love was heartwarming and there were enough subplots to beef up the drama.
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Building a house brick by brick in Trope City
Monthly Magazine Home starts on solid foundation, veteran cast from top to bottom, then it devolves into meaningless drama tropes. Either for laughs or for plot progression, tropes from love triangles to noble idiocy rear their ugly head. The fatal flaw with tropes is that it sacrifices uniqueness, and this is doubly applicable for MMH’s focus on strong individual characters. Overusing tropes hinders MMH’s ability to demonstrate meaningful growth in its characters.Story:
Monthly Magazine Home is another character driven romcom that explores characters and their reactions instead of plots and devices of yesteryears. It is unfortunate that the character designs are painfully paper thin in MMH. Yoo Ja Sung is a rags-to-riches self-made man with a singular focus on financial success. The third leg of the love triangle is a well-mannered son from generational wealth. The entire cast of characters can be explained in simple one-liners, and their motivations, what makes them tick, are not expanded through the drama.
For example, YJS has the emotional intelligence of a small child. Next scene, he is the most thoughtful man of every woman's dream. Character behaviors are erratic and often played for laughs. Or even worse, queue noble idiocy. Monthly Magazine Home squanders the potential to empathetically examine modern millennial struggles for stereotypical romance-comedy.
Acting:
The cast immediately draws eyes to Monthly Magazine Home. The two main leads each have over a decade of experience. Kim Ji Suk’s performance in When the Camellia Blooms is exceptional, and he does not miss a beat in the more comical character in MMH. Jung So Min has been a romcom staple since Playfull Kiss in 2010. Highlights from the supporting cast are Kim Won Hae, who never fails to draw a laugh, and Coffee Prince star, Cha Jung An. With well over a hundred years of experience between the core cast, the actors make this broken drama.
Music:
The OST for Monthly Magazine Home pairs several kpop artists with staple OST composers. The music maintains the light-hearted atmosphere of MMH with familiar sounds. Jo Yu-ri’s song may be of interest to IZ*ONE fans after the recent disbandment of the reality competition group.
Rewatch Value:
Monthly Magazine Home may be an example of the weakness of pre-produced Korean dramas, which have become popular, especially with the rise of streaming services. The direction is set from the beginning without regular audience feedback. Perhaps it is pride. Expecting a veteran cast and crew to create success. Regardless, I will remember MMH as a what-could-have-been drama of 2021.
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Good BL with a Killer Soundtrack
While Dark Blue Kiss may not go down as a BL classic, it is absolutely a must-watch.Dark Blue Kiss is a continuation of the “Kiss” and “Kiss Me Again” series, with a focus on the side couple PeteKao. While I don’t think you have to watch either of these to enjoy and understand Dark Blue Kiss, the background is nice for anyone that might be interested in how they got together in the first place.
There are some continuity issues between the earlier Kiss series and Dark Blue Kiss, but it’s nothing so off-putting that it’ll completely take you out of the show.
Overall, it is a bit of an angst fest, but I felt that the conclusion was so satisfying that it made up for much of the pain that I experienced throughout. The finale kiss was definitely a “Dark Blue Kiss” that was so epic that it made everything worth it.
Unfortunately, many of their problems throughout were caused by miscommunication (or a lack thereof entirely), which is always frustrating.
Both of the main couples had great chemistry and played off of each other well. MorkSun was an unexpected yet pleasant surprise. Always love a good enemies to lovers storyline and they certainly delivered.
I’ve gotta mention the stellar soundtrack. I have no idea if this was just me, but I absolutely loved the OST. I usually skip over openings, but I never once skipped this one. The music slowly builds a great sense of drama that I felt really suited the show.
I would absolutely recommend this to any BL fan out there that loves drama, a great soundtrack and a satisfying conclusion.
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Lin Xue Lian brings her case of a fake divorce. Unexpectedly, her case unnecessarily drags on - to the extent of inducing paranoia in government officials. Throughout the movie, she is labeled everything she is clearly not, predominantly an adulterer and a liar, evoking a strong irony in the film. A turning point occurs after she finds out the real motive behind Zhao Dato that leads to understanding the protagonist's strong belief in herself and her morals. Adding more to the irony of the film and to the frustration you feel towards the men she has to deal with. Towards the end, Lin Xue Lian's real motives are revealed and a kind of sadness and uneasiness takes over you.
The cinematography is unique, especially the director’s choice of frame. It switches between a circular close up to a rigid square throughout the film. Is there a connection between the frame and the characters or the theme prevalent in that frame? It's hard for me to tell and will require some research.
Overall, I think this film is interesting but requires patience. If you appreciate artistic films saturated in irony, I think you might enjoy this.
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This review may contain spoilers
Long and slow
I will be true that i only watched this drama for hongy li ,as i saw him on master devil and loved him a lot.Talking about cast of the drama then i will have to say that all the actors have played their role well.i loved the chemistry between main leads but i have to say that the romance was slow.the drama was a bit long and their were many twists which screwed me!!!!!i regret watching it but i also enjoyed it. Means u can skip it if u want!!Why to watch?
1-if u wanna experience thrill and action drama
2-for hongy li
3-to experience mermaids life
Spoilers:-
1-graphics were very bad means literally they were very very bad.
2-drama was slow and long.
3-went boring after a time
4-too many villans
TRUST ME IF U CAN SKIP IT THEN SKIP IT!!!!
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Average
This was not so good but it wasn’t so bad either, it was just basically average IMO.People who go through the type of trauma Uea did, need to seek professional help. This BL dramas infer that once you fall in love, you automatically get healed, I am by no means a professional but I don’t think it works that way. The one series that I have watched where one of the main character was suffering from mental health problems and was in therapy was The Eight Sense.
There was some heavy emotional scenes in this but I felt it didn’t translate enough through the acting, there was some crying scenes but no actual tears were shed. The actor that played King did the best job IMO and was hence the bright light/spot in the acting department of this series.
This is another series that I have watched where the parents were there for the engagement (first was Hidden Love), is that becoming a trend now in dramas?
There were some steamy steamy scenes in this (I guess that’s what some people referred to as soft porn in their reviews) so if you like that then you won’t be disappointed.
I won’t be rewatching this though.
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She choose to trust other people than her husband. If it's before he care for her I might understand the endless distrust but he already show he care and want to do anything to help her so I still can't believe she still didn't trust him. Well if that's for the plot I think the writer is kinda sloppy because love story need a new obstacle not a repetitive one.
As for the acting, Dome and Margie got chemistry I can tell, it's not the best but they look good together. What I still can't tell is why they cast Pok? I mean beside the fact that his acting is awful, isn't it kinda awkward seeing hubby and wifey in the same project? (I still couldn't understand Thai drama casting real couple in the same project especially if they got bad chemistry).
As for the others I seriously doesn't really feel anything except for Hem's Mom and Nit's Dad story. This is a repetitive feeling I feel everytime I watch Thai drama, unnecessary characters or story. But I guess since they still need second or third couple, so friend couple and sist couple is needed. Though I wish P'Nok ended up marrying Khun Lim, he deserve her.
Well overall this drama is good though nothing new except for new coupling? (This is Dome and Margie first drama together right?) but I don't really want to rewatch it anymore.
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Simple but Poignant: A Tale of Unrequited Love
Krit's longtime crush on his questioning best friend has started to drive a rift between them. But in one last bid for time together, Krit invites Vin to join him on a journey in the wilderness to 9 Buddhist temples and the 7th tier of the neighboring waterfall. He had only planned for a journey filled with Vin's company, beautiful flowers to collect and press, and a wish to granted at the end of his quest. What he didn't anticipate was 2 other guests, as well as a journey that inspired feelings of nostalgia and lostness, before teaching him of peace and acceptance.Despite a brief morbid moment and concerns over how the film would end, I found this to be a beautiful exploration of an unrequited first love. The backdrop of wilderness and Buddhist temples was well-chosen. And I'm not sure that this film would have had the same oddly comforting vibe had the music not been so well chosen (which, honestly, seems to be a trait of P'Nuchy's productions). And then there's our main character Krit: a young boy who sees beauty in everything and always wishes for happiness for everyone, and an eternal love for himself - wishes that Buddhism tells him is impossible. Wishes that society shuns. When he starts to feel lost, we can tell. There may not be explosive anger or giant tears, but we can tell.
It's simple. But it's poignant. The script, directing, and music left nothing to be desired for viewers. But the acting was a little stiff and I feel like Vin should have gotten more character development. I also think that there was a scene that was a bit too morbid, at least for my tastes anyway.
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It was a true climax to the first season, but that's kind of a double-edged sword. In my mind, I view Season One and Two as a continuous story without a break in seasons. I just don't feel like Season One and Season Two had separate arcs. They really are a combined story that you should binge back to back. Because of that, I kind of lump them together, so here's my review for Season One:
https://mydramalist.com/profile/10910079/reviews/313809
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When i saw this movie i just barely get into the movie in about 5 minutes and its already touched my heart. Kitamura Takumi and Nagano Mei act was the best overall. I certainly hope that their both get another movie together again. And yes, as a couple.
This movie gave so many goosebumps from the first place, it makes us embraces for what happening next in the movie.
It's so straight into the line makes everyone who watch this movie can easily understand about the story progress.
For those people who likes some kind of youth-emotional-romance movie, I really recommend you to watch it.
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