Completed
Mars
23 people found this review helpful
May 11, 2014
21 of 13 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
This drama is different. Good-different. Amazing-different. Phenomenal-different. It details the growth and struggles of two young people trying to face their pasts, their fears, and finding solace in one another. There is no overlying mystery plot, no birth secrets, no rich handsome boss/coworker/perfect-man and poor cute employee/teacher/student/average-girl. The attraction begins right away, and the characters are what makes this drama.

I first got into MARS because of Meteor Garden, which also starred Barbie Hsu and Vic Zhou. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from the two of them. Meteor Garden was their first acting gigs, and I figured they didn't have the experience yet to be truly great. Boy was I wrong (and gladly!). The amazing depth with which they imbued their characters left me wanting more in the subsequent dramas I watched. Sigh...

Music/aesthetics wise - this drama was waaaaaay back in 2004, when taiwanese dramas had terrible funding, bad fashion (at least how we would consider it now), and different filming styles. Don't expect amazing packaging or cinematography, and expect most of the boys to wear their hair long. In this case I feel like MARS doesn't suffer from it however, since the character's personalities are the most appealing and strongest parts of the drama. There are two songs that are particularly gorgeous, but most of the other tracks were instrumentals and easily forgotten. Not that that's a bad thing (I'm looking at you Almost Paradise!).

A word of warning however - this drama deals with dark issues, and may contain possible triggers. I'd suggest looking up the summary before watching it, because I know that personally I watched it better knowing the general subject and plot.

Now where to find the next drama up to par with this one?

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Completed
Mars
22 people found this review helpful
by iindu
Mar 21, 2012
21 of 13 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
A drama with a lot of substance and heart. It handles a beautiful love that is mature and also warms your heart.

The lead characters come from a place of great trauma and carry dark shadows within them, but the feel of the drama is far from gloomy or sad. It is the beauty of the characters that they find happiness and comforts even with a background of pain.
I really liked the character graphs of Chen Ling and Qi Lou. The actors too were perfect for the roles. Every other character in the drama too is well written and real. There are no fluffy or pointless characters.

The drama handles many serious issues in our society and characters with mental instabilities/psychological problems, and it does so with great sensitivity and care.

I liked the music, because I felt it was used appropriately and enhanced the beauty of the scenes. The happy moments had a track that made you feel the happiness, whereas in the more tense scenes, the background score completely stopped, adding to the intensity.

The first half does remind you of Devil Beside You- probably because of the character of the male lead and having been shot in the same campus, but MARS is definitely more intense and on a broader canvas than DBY.

I can't think of any drama that I've as completely appreciated as MARS. It took me in completely, and I will happily re-watch it any number of times.

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Completed
Meteor Garden
64 people found this review helpful
Jan 24, 2016
27 of 19 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 9.5
I could understand why the ratings are low for this one, because most of the viewers have managed to watch this after ten to twelve years it was made and shown in television. The series would pale in comparison to both Japanese and Korean remakes, which was produced more than a few years after. The scenery, fashion, technology and the way it was produced may seem outdated, so it seems like a really bad production compared to the ones that are produced in recent years.

But back in 2001, it was bold and different and unlike any other series that came out in Asia. It was fresh and really hip. The F4 was cool and trendy with their hair and outfits. It was the usual Cinderella storyline, but it was done in a funny and heartwarming way that managed to endear most of my friends and family and literally, it stopped time back in the days. It was a phenomenal series. It literally stopped traffic and launched a "Meteor Fever". We had to go home in the afternoon early just to watch this show on television. Streaming wasn't available then. A lot of people fell in love with Shan Cai and Dao Ming Xi's love story, and how they fought against all odds to be together! The F4 characters alongside Shan Cai's friends were a good supporting cast and Dao Ming Xi's mother was convincing with her portrayal as the villain to the relationship. Dao Ming Xi's transformation from a spoiled, rich brat to a caring boyfriend was something to watch for, and gave us all the "feels"! Buckets of tears were shed.

Looking back, I was watching old clips of this series, and yes it felt like a trip back to nostalgia lane! Yes, I agree that Meteor Garden looks dated, fashion-wise and production wise. It paled in comparison to the drama series of the current. But, nothing can take back the memories! This series has spawned two popular remakes which had become huge hits as well. Lee Min Ho's Jong Pyo was made to look like Jerry Yan's character too, I've noticed and now he is such a popular star. I might be biased with this one, but this first and original version is always the best! :)

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Completed
Soulmate
13 people found this review helpful
Jul 4, 2011
22 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.0
This drama has stayed with me over the years. The plot is fast-paced, the acting is superb, and the music is really phenomenal (I actually made a playlist of the OST that I listen to all the time!). This drama is one that is done so incredibly well, it truly hits all the high notes for me. If you love slightly offbeat dramas, "indie vibes" if you will, you will absolutely love this drama! Soulmate is hands down my favorite drama of all time.
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Completed
Unique Lady
11 people found this review helpful
Aug 19, 2019
24 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 10
This review may contain spoilers
This show is amazing due to the acting of the main's, but it really needs another season due to unanswered questions and her not returning home yet. One of the best parts is the fact that the lead actress doesn't act weird through the drama but actually grows and learns. I say it like that because I watched Cinderella Chef and the lead actress whole personally was a hot mess... Luckily this one doesn't disappoint being hot lead men, or even the lead actress personality which I thought at first was a little dramatic when she first met hot guys but she grew in the story so much.. I really liked the chemistry that the leads had but also all the other characters. Like I said before it's not finished by far and the ending is HAPPY so far lol. If anything watch it for her funny moments which were mostly at the beginning of the show.

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Completed
Hi My Sweetheart
40 people found this review helpful
May 9, 2011
23 of 14 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
The story itself is so unique. You always see drama's that involve romance and comedy, there are even a ton of gender benders. But none quite like Hi My Sweetheart. Xue Hai held the award for biggest dork and completed the look with a mushroom head haircut, thick rimmed glasses and an under bite. Bao Zhu was shunned by everyone and didn't care what they thought until "Lin Da Lang" came to school.



One of the best things is that until about episode 5 the gender roles are reversed. Instead of the "innocent girl" falling for the "bad boy," You have an innocent boy falling for the girl everyone hates.



The casters did an amazing job with casting Show Luo as the main lead, seeing as he's a giant piece of eye candy. Rainie, who played an innocent girl in "Devil Beside You" did an amazing job with an opposite role. Together the two of them will have you wanting to cry at sad moments and yell at the screen as if they can hear you.



This is my all time favorite drama. I've re-watched several times and will continue to re-watch it. At first I had given up at episode three but curiosity took over and I started watching it again. At first you may seem disappointed, watching a dork when you want to watch a hunk. But it's all worth it.



You won't regret watching this.

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Jun 24, 2022
12 of 6 episodes seen
Completed 3
Overall 9.5
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

Must read the review!!

when I judge a series or movie I looked for what happen next. Since I didn't watch the original and I don't have any series to compare with so I have a high expectation to this, to be honest 1st until the last episode, The excitement wasn't gone. The HALF of this drama exceeded my expectation. I've seen a lot of suspense series Like VIP and Designated survivor and they all like the same of how the story goes but guess what those 2 series is a great drama. Looking forward for the part 2 of season 1. hopefully the reviews of those basher just because they don't like korean series doesn't affect the series.

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Jun 25, 2022
12 of 6 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 6.5
Rewatch Value 5.5

Not completely satisfied, Just Okay

First of all a complete let down. Apart from the cast and some story deviations, there is nothing particularly different from the orginal version. Some sources said it's a continuation of the main heist happened in Spain, like a spin-off i mean a heist that happening from the inspiration from the main heist, but it's all are fake. Because to be honest it's just a scene by scene copy like an exact remake which we usually see.

Lets talk about the positive side, i already mentioned earlier about cast. It looks super cool. If you're a regular kdrama viewer then u can enjoy the show differently from others Because of the cast. Another thing was the story was moving really fastly without much dragging. May be they aware of the fact that it's already a hit show from Spain so better avoid unwanted dragging and make everything smooth and fast to ensure a better watching experience. But it's very disappointing for me because that's not something exciting, all the scenes were just okay. Quality making is also a plus point.

I thought of a different version here. But it's different only with some changes in the situations also the back stories of the characters etc. Not recommending to anyone. If you interested then try it that's all.. S02 and more will be coming later for sure....

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Ongoing 30/20
The Prince Who Turns into a Frog
27 people found this review helpful
by b2uty
Jul 13, 2012
30 of 20 episodes seen
Ongoing 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 9.0
Although I gave this a 9 overall, i feel it really deserves a 10 in my books. Wow okay, where so I even start? This drama has everything, from handsome rich billionaires, to (apparent) ugly poor girls and all the love-triangles and crazy ex girlfriends in between. It is definitely the stereotypical Asian drama but if you aren't sick of that sort of thing yet, then this is the drama for you! If you are, then what are you still doing watching Asian dramas? ;)
The acting was amazing! Especially on Ming Dao's part. He played both Junhao and Da ou so completely well that it actually made you believe they could be different people. The female lead... made me want to throw my laptop out the window and never turn on this drama again. HOWEVER, when i did warm up to her after a few episodes she became one of my favorite characters and most of the reason i continued to watch.
The music was not the best but it fit the mood. I think they had like two tracks, one sad and one happy where they would play each episode at their respected parts. I found this amusing more then anything else. reminded me of bof and 'almost paradise'.. XD
Despite there being 30 episodes to this drama, I enjoyed every single one of them. At episode 15, i remember thinking what could they possibly add to this story to fill 15 more episodes? But they somehow magically did! watching the last few episodes I felt so sad knowing it was ending and wishes there could be 15 more.
I would definitely watch this drama again. I'm not the hugest fan of Taiwanese dramas either because I don't know the language as well as Korean and Japanese but this one surprised me :) I would definitely recommend it ^^

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Completed
Autumn's Concerto
16 people found this review helpful
Nov 6, 2011
34 of 21 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
Amongst the hundreds of dramas that air every year between Korea, Japan, Taiwan and China, it's hard for a single one to stand out as the best of the year, or a even harder, for a single one to be considered a classic. Aumtumn's Concerto does that and so much more, it deserves an outstanding ovation.



It goes from being a typical drama in the first few chapters to something so much bigger than that afterwards. It is like an onion(Shrek, too much?), it has many layers and you only discover more the further you watch it.



It is a love story, a family story, a story about forgiveness, a story about being true to yourself and your feelings, but it is also a story about treason, about the two sides of the story, that not everything is what it seems at first sight.



The characters are really well written, each has a hidden depth that you see little by little. The drama pushes you to watch more for you to understand the story, it doesn't lays it out at simple sight like most dramas do.



I saw this when it came out in 2009 and I remember being super impatient all week waiting for the next chapter to air. Since then I've watched it two times. I have the OST on my computer, and the MV of the theme song.



Taiwanese dramas are always being underrated because of the acting, but anyone who watches this will be really impressed with it, and if I have to name my favorite actor, it definitely is the little boy, he's just so cute and adorable, yet mature.



If you are reading this is because either you haven´t watched it and you aren't sure if it's worth your time, or you have already watched it and want to see if anyone feels the same way about this drama that you do. If you are in the first category, let me tell you that yes, it is worth your time, this is a brilliant drama by any standard, and even if you don't like love stories (very unlikely because you watch dramas) you won't be able to deny that this is genius. And if you are in the second category, yes, I think like you, this is genius and it is one of my favourite dramas. If I had a flavor of the week of "sucker for romance dramas" this one would definitely would be in there. Either way, I hope you find this review helpful.

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Completed
Mars
19 people found this review helpful
Dec 9, 2013
21 of 13 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 10
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
I'm a HUGE fan of the manga! and I can say I absolutely loved this drama! It stayed very true to the manga, and for that I am very grateful!

Obviously, I love the story. It has everything, interesting and unique characters with very complex pasts/personalities, amazing character development, and a great ending that leaves the audience not only satisfied but also inspired!

The only annoying part is the fact that for some strange reason they tried to make the characters 2-3 years older! which creates huge inconsistencies, since the whole story would only make sense if they were underage! so yeah, I basically ignored the whole college-grad school references and thought of them being in high-school, going to college!

The acting was good and the main characters had good chemistry!
I would say other than the stupid age shift, this drama had two other problems: bad cinematography and excessive repeat of the music! The lighting in many scenes was off, and the song, even though I LOVED it, was repeated so many times that it kind of annoyed me!

Let me just say this one more time, the story is AMAZING! It has many deep psychological elements to it that makes it one a kind! Although at a first glance it might seem like every other drama, but it's very unique. Give it a shot, I promise you won't regret it!

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Completed
Smiling Pasta
14 people found this review helpful
Sep 1, 2011
27 of 17 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 6.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
Light hearted, fun, cute, sweet and cheesy this drama made me smile a lot. I loved the family, they were lovable and funny and the story was filled with cute/sweet scenes.

Of course, like a lot of Asian action/romance dramas I've watched there was a lot of overly exaggerated "gotta be cool" fight scenes that came off almost silly and a lot of situations and problems could have been solved to easily or weren't logical so it made it a bit dumb in somethings.

Also the feelings didn't always touch you the way I think they were supposed to which would have made the re-watch value for me higher, but I smiled so much through this drama I didn't mind the not so great parts. I just smiled away through whole scenes, not just funny bits but the sweet, cute, bring a tear to your eye cause I wish that would happen to me though it's cheesy as hell, kinda smiling.

Also, there was trust and understanding for the most part between the leads, though, as usual, there are communication issues, but it was overall very likeable, fun, cute and super sweet.

Not high on physical romance, lots of hugging but not so much kissing or set you on fire type stuff but still very romantic and sweet, also I liked that the couple were together as a couple before the end of the drama. The writer did do a good job of keeping the couple together while trying to overcome outside problems.

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Completed
Mars
21 people found this review helpful
by palak
Mar 11, 2013
21 of 13 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
I can't believe I took so long to watch this! I had plans last year to watch it as soon as I was done with Meteor Garden. But, you see, the thing is, while watching Meteor Garden, I shipped Si and Shancai real hard. No, seriously, I loved them together so much that whenever Shancai went all girly-girly around Lei (vic Zhou's character), my face would turn as grim as Si's and I literally had to fight the urge to skip their parts, fearing I might miss something important. This, and also I watched Vic Chou in a movie called "loving you a 10000 years" and (no offense) but that is possibly the worst movie I have ever watched in any language known to man. It was just lame. And, trust me, it doesn't take much in a movie or a drama to impress me.

Anyways, back to the drama - WHY DIDN'T I WATCH THIS SOONER?! WAE WAE WAE??? This is just amazing. The plot is so intriguing. Not just the romantic parts but also the stuff about mental illnesses and stuff. It's very thrilling. I LOVE VIC CHOU! I seriously cannot believe he didn't win the best actor award for this drama. Same for Barbie Hsu. I mean, their expressions (once again I'm not talking about expressions of love and longing.)were just so beautiful. Gave me goosebumps the whole time.

The kind of characters they built for this drama really impressed me. Ling is the most perfect guy in the most imperfect sense possible. His shades of his personality and different layers of his character, the laugh, the tears, the past. It just moved me, I don't know why. Same goes for Qui Luo. I love the way her character developed after Ling came into her life. I loved their little shack that they made for themselves. I loved the music of the show. I have most of the songs on my phone.

Coming to the rewatch value, I'll definitely give it a 10 because I already watched it twice (no kidding) and I am definitely going to go watch it again for sure. Especially a few favorite parts for which I even remember the episode numbers now (lol).

I'd say if you are an Asian Drama fan, don't skip this one!

PS- Still can't believe Vic Chou didn't win the best actor award for this. My faith in the world of righteousness is shattered. But I'll try not to dwell on that.

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Completed
Autumn's Concerto
18 people found this review helpful
by iindu
Jan 23, 2012
34 of 21 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
This has all the elements for melodrama, from story to character graphs. The story, along with the poster image of the couple with the cute boy is what initially interested me in the drama.

The drama delivers on the story. The characters are interesting and even those we come to dislike are shown to have a different side to them.

Through most of the series, you feel sorry for the male lead, for what he goes through. But, in a gratifying sense, when he figures it all out, his reaction and the questions he asks are the very same ones that's been running in our mind until then.
The kid is very cute and has been used to obvious advantage throughout.

Another character that leaves an impression is that of Guang Xi's mother who is antagonistic from the beginning but gets a 180degree change in character later on.

The one problem I had with this drama is that I didn't like the character of the female lead for almost all of the drama. Most of the time, Mu Cheng acted like a damsel in distress, like she needed saving from someone or something. There was some level of sincerity to the character in the first part of the drama which is lost and I couldn't recover it in the latter half. I think all the lies and denial got to me.

The actors (save for the female lead for lack of expressions) are pretty good. The photogenic moments they show in the OST are beautiful but aren't really very significant moments in the drama itself.

The drama in all is very watchable for the situations and overall feel.

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Completed
Hayate the Combat Butler
25 people found this review helpful
Nov 4, 2011
20 of 13 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 5.0
Story 4.0
Acting/Cast 5.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 5.0
Trust me there is a better drama that you could be watching.In chatting with some other drama fans they told me to not watch Hayate, but I couldn't listen to them. I said to myself "the anime was cool so let's try the live action!". I thought the first 2 episodes were good, so I just had to see the rest for myself. What an epic waste of my time and production money!

First what I did like; they used pretty handsome people in the cast, there were also some really cool special effects incorporated in the story. However, I hated that they had Park shin Hye with a voice over, I could never get used to it! I don't know if she was lost in translation because her acting was awful here. I kept thinking Maria should have been the female lead.

I don't know if the episodes were just long or boring. I found myself skipping episodes, and just watching the very beginning and the very end.

I didn't read the manga so maybe the story line in the drama is closest to the original, but I liked the anime way better. I think the drama had trouble staying true to the story that it was based on while trying to update it so it would be realistic and a hit. Maybe some things should never go live action.

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