Dropped 18/36
Sunshine by My Side
6 people found this review helpful
Sep 30, 2023
18 of 36 episodes seen
Dropped 0
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 6.0

This is not for me...especially the Main Romance

I don’t usually write a review of a dropped drama, but I figured this could be helpful to others who feel the same way. Is this a horrible drama? No, not really. But it’s not enough to keep me wanting to continue on and there are elements I don’t enjoy that are central to the plot.

Disclaimer:
I am a romance lover. Romance (whether it is a main plot or subplot) can make or break a drama for me. If I love the main romance, I can overlook some flaws.
Not always a fan of noona romance (older woman/younger man). I want to give this drama a chance because of Xiao Zhan. The only other noona romance I can think of that’s similar and I liked is “The Rational Life”. But I watched that years ago, and I might not like it as much if I were to watch it today.

Let’s start with what I Like:

Strong Female Leads - Stories about women in their 30s can be inconsistent. Dramas claim they are independent and mature, but their actions tell a different story. However, Jian Bing (FL) and Liang Shan Shan (2FL) prove to be the minority. Through their actions, thoughts and feelings within the first 18 episodes that I watched, they are truly mature and independent. They don’t rely on men to provide them with happiness. They live for themselves and are professional when at work.

Acting - There’s really nothing for me to pick on in terms of acting. From what I’ve seen so far, the main and supporting cast deliver good performances. I was especially impressed with the veteran performance from ML’s parents when they were having a big argument. I bet that sequence was done in one shot as the way they yell at each other seems so real.

Make-up - It’s lovely to see a drama without white filters, strong backlighting or white thick foundation on the actors' faces. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Xiao Zhao look so ‘real’. Everyone just looks normal and in character.


That’s all I can think of. And now with the negatives and why I can’t continue on.

Main Romance - As I mentioned, the main romance can make or break a drama for me. Unfortunately, this romance is giving me similar vibes as “Go Go Squid 2”, another drama I dropped. Sheng Yan (ML) is a mature 26-year old at work. He was professional and knows enough to keep his mouth shut and to Fake It Till he Makes it (<-- a little plug of another drama who has an excellent romance LOL). However, when it comes to love, he is a little puppy, always following FL around. And because FL is such a mature woman, his puppy eyes stop being cute after the first few episodes. I dropped “Go Go Squid 2” for this same reason. I like an unrequited love, but for that to last so long, when ML is a mature adult at work, seems off to me. I like a slow burn romance, but not when I don’t feel any romantic chemistry between the leads and when they are so different in the stages of their lives. They seem more like sister/brother or mentor/mentee to me. Maybe the romance develops into something beautiful in the second half of the drama, but at ep 18, it is not motivating me to continue on.

Plot - The pace is also quite slow. 36 episodes are way too long. There isn’t much happening in the first 18 episodes, and nothing different. I do appreciate the story of a female (and badass) director. Everything that happened is predictable. I don’t think this is supposed to be a slice-of-life drama, thus, I expect more from the plot. Are there touching moments? Yes. Is it well-acted? Yes. Does it make me hit the “play” button next? No. As a binge watcher, this is a big indicator of when the drama is not for me.


This review is super subjective and I am sure many love this drama. To me, I was expecting more and it didn’t deliver. It’s not a bad drama, just not enough for me to continue on when there are too many other dramas waiting for me.


Completed: 9/30/2023 - Review #360



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Completed
Lookism
0 people found this review helpful
Sep 30, 2023
38 of 38 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 8.5

LOMON MASTERCLASS ?

I have literally JUST ended this drama rn and am writing this review first thing after finishing the last episode. And truth be told, I'm in AWE and have chills literally even rn.😭😭

WHAT.AN.AMAZING.DRAMA.

Now you all might be thinking why have I not given it a 10 when I'm hailing such high praises for this drama. Well there's a valid reason for that.
The ending.
That 0.5 that I decided to deduct from the overall score is solely cuz of the way they chose to end this series. Just to make it clear, by no means am I saying that it's a "bad" ending. Nah, it's a decent ending. HOWEVER, there could've been a BETTER alternative ending to this show, which I personally believe would have gotten this drama a perfect score from a lot of viewer. Anyways I'll stop talking about the ending now cuz I don't want yall to get the wrong idea and chose not to watch the series cuz of a possibly bad ending. cuz that'll be a big loss on your end tbh.
All in all, this series is a masterpiece. That's all I really am able to say right now. It's the webtoon done right.


Don't sleep on this one guys, trust.

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Completed
Mr. Queen
0 people found this review helpful
Sep 30, 2023
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 10
This review may contain spoilers

Jang Bong Hwan fot the Queen!

Altho i did not agree with the ending completely cuz Jang Bong Hwan should have stayed in the body of Kim So Yeong to be forever with the King Cheol Jong, after all he loved him and im my humble opinion they were meant to be, but.. i can understand why it ended/concluded the way it did. The story was very funny, endearing, thought through, entertaining and mostly lingering. I did love it, i shared my laugh and tears. I do not regret watching it but i do regret not savouring it more. The sound effects were funny and music pretty on point. Acting was immaculate and i believed them every line of the script. I was immersed in the story and the characters. Truly spectacular kdrama to watch.

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Completed
We Best Love: No. 1 For You
3 people found this review helpful
by lori
Sep 30, 2023
6 of 6 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 5.5
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 4.0
Rewatch Value 1.5

Standard BL series

Reviews show really high scores (titles read; remarkable, a masterpiece, life changing- -so I watched it...), I'm more critical. I found the show pretty standard, no surprises. I did a lot of fast forwarding through all the food and eating scenes-- there were a lot! I'm glad the directors moved past the trope of viewing girls as 'less than', but I was REALLY disappointed when ML said "I thought you said you didn't like boys" and the other one replied "Because it's you."
The music should have been something more current for a younger audience, I didn't think orchestra matched the mood and sometimes it was louder than the dialog.
I watched it on WeTV

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Dropped 8/40
Gentlemen of East 8th
1 people found this review helpful
Sep 30, 2023
8 of 40 episodes seen
Dropped 0
Overall 4.5
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 5.0
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 2.0

I don't feel guilty dropping this drama...

I really tried to watch this drama because I enjoy Zhang Han and male-led ensemble series, but after a while it felt like a waste of my time. The initial premise of four male friends is pretty simple, but quickly became boring. I wanted to enjoy the enemies-to-lovers romance between Tong Yu (Zhang Han) and Xu Duo (Wang Xiao Chen), but her pettiness got on my nerves, and the whole group of them were very immature given that they are well into their late 30s. The other male leads weren't that interesting and so their romances dragged on.

The Korean drama, A Gentleman's Dignity, would be the closest comparison and I really enjoyed it years ago. Each of the leads had distinct differences and very different story arcs, but were all similarly successful.

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Completed
Stand by Me
2 people found this review helpful
Sep 30, 2023
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 8.0

What a little surprise!

I usually don't watch such short formats.Right or wrong, i always think it will be a waste of time(despite the very short length )because either the budget is limited,or cannot give a satisfactory story.

This one really impressed me.I liked it very much mostly because i like the Era and the Spy theme.
I don't know their budget but definitely nothing seemed cheap.On the contrary.The visuals are really good,the direction was on point,music fitted perfectly.There are some issues with the editing and the acting wasn't for seminar but..ok!

The two eye candies were adorable!I have seen one of them in "The Blood of Youth" but the other is new to me.
Either way,they both wear their suits with such elegance and look so fine in them,i was distracted most of the time and could easily overlook all the flaws,lol.

You can tell,there is a story here.Yes unfortunately it is not detailed enough.We don't get any background and we know nothing about our protagonists past.It is like they were thrown to the present and we follow the story,onwards.So it is better to set your brain in the relax mode and don't ask many questions cause you won't get many answers!
The start is a bit confusing but nothing to give you a hard time.

It has many silly moments.And many funny moments.Few serious and many sweet too!The fight scenes were good,especially those in the last episode were trully amazing.Also the iconic scene from Goblin,which is copied so many times in so many dramas is here too,and is done right.I really enjoyed it.The leads have chemistry and it shows.I spent a very pleasant afternoon.

I know many wondering whether this is a BL or not.This is my opinion.
It is an unquestionable BL in disguise.an untagged Censored Adaptation Of Same-sex,a heavy bromance.Call it what you like.Noone can tell me those two don't have romantic feelings for each other.You can't officially call The Devil Judge a BL.It isn't though??Same here!If this was longer and had few kisses too,it would be a perfect 10!
Give it a try!

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Completed
Faithful
5 people found this review helpful
Sep 30, 2023
25 of 25 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 6.0

Depressing

"Faithful" serves as a poignant reminder of the challenges faced by women throughout history, from ancient times to the present day. In eras past, when a woman faced violation, the blame often fell squarely on her shoulders, while the perpetrators went unpunished. Though progress has been made in the modern world, women still bear the burden of proof, while powerful individuals can wield influence and wealth to evade accountability, even in the face of multiple accusations. This injustice persists in our society, regardless of cultural or temporal context.

Following the loss of her best friend, Lin Rulan (Hu Yixuan), Meng Wan (Janice Wu) seeks retribution for the wrongs committed by Wu Lian (Qiao Zhenyu) against Lin Rulan, herself, and numerous other girls at the Embroidery Academy. Meng Wan patiently awaits seven years to attain the status necessary to infiltrate the influential circle of individuals crucial to her plan to bring down Wu Lian.

Meng Wan assembles a group of six like-minded individuals, all of whom have crossed paths with Wu Lian and are determined to settle their scores with him. Their collective goal is to ensure that Wu Lian faces justice and to prevent him from causing further harm to young girls. Despite his history of abhorrent behavior, Wu Lian has thus far evaded punishment. Meng Wan is resolute in her mission to hold him accountable, so that he can no longer inflict harm on anyone else.

The story unfolds in a captivating back-and-forth timeline, blending present-day events with pertinent pieces of the past for added depth and context. This approach not only maintains clarity but also infuses an extra layer of intrigue compared to conventional storytelling formats. As the drama approaches its climactic confrontation with the villain, the narrative attempts to provide a rationale for his actions based on his traumatic childhood experiences. While his eventual fate is anticipated, this attempt at justification seems unnecessary to me and, for some viewers, could even be deemed offensive as this is an obvious case of whitewashing.

The Chinese title, "The Nine Virtuous Ones," encompasses the first seven individuals, while the additional two remain less evident, having not initially stood alongside the others. The acting is generally commendable, though certain scenes suffer from lackluster execution. Notably, during a pivotal moment involving a burning of one of the “seven”, the urgency to save her is blatantly missing. Some logical inconsistencies and plot holes are apparent.

The primary story concludes at episode 24, with episode 25 presenting an alternate tale centered on the same characters, exploring a what-if scenario. Everything in this alternate reality hinges on Wu Lian, speculating how events might have unfolded differently had he not experienced a troubled upbringing. The notion that predatory behavior may be attributed to a traumatic childhood is a subject of ongoing debate. Personally, I find such a narrative unconvincing and, at times, chauvinistic.

My Verdict

The story mirrors a present-day "Me Too" scenario, wherein a predator of young women enjoys impunity through collusion with corrupt officials. The powerful evade justice, while the victims are left voiceless, shattered, and even deceased. Sadly, this system still persists in our lives today, where wrongdoers often evade consequences and show no remorse. Due to potentially distressing content, viewer discretion is advised.

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Completed
A Tale of Thousand Stars
1 people found this review helpful
Sep 30, 2023
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
This review may contain spoilers

This series is full of magic and love

I adored this series, love the actors and the leads chemistry is great. The storyline fit and showed emotion, ups and downs and good character growth. I wish it had a bit more then one kiss but lots of beautiful touching moments. My only downside was the leads parents, which I found to be very messed up with forcing Tain to do schooling at the end in USA instead of letting him pick where he wanted to go. Sadly the parents were the only downside to the series not allowing him to live his own life. The series is a must watch and look forward to future stories as well, loved it.

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Completed
My Journey to You
1 people found this review helpful
Sep 30, 2023
24 of 24 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 4.5
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 5.0
This review may contain spoilers

A great drama can go downhill in a second

my journey to you is one example where a superb good drama can slip downhill in a secon. damn this drama starting with a great steps imho. the character was so satisfying, the costumes is feast to eyes, and the most importan is the cinematography! it was amazing.. dark yet aesthetic, even there is time when i think that this one is drama with best cinematography as far as i can remember. so… my mistake to having a high expectation, after some episode the story getting draggy, the weak-mainlead not having character improvements at all, at first i think he was gonna becoming zero-to-hero character, but again despite all that happen in story he becoming more dull, blame the poor plot for that.

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Ongoing 8/12
Only Friends
1 people found this review helpful
by Bunny
Sep 30, 2023
8 of 12 episodes seen
Ongoing 0
Overall 10
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 10

Best so farrrr

This is my first review I've ever written..but I can't keep calm this series is fab.
I'll start with my fav sand and ray omg!!!! Acting 100 chemistry 100 they got everything what this series demand
I'm not big fan of force and book but they were also good ..and they have same typical story line but it's okay there acting made it look good.
I'm not interested in other couples but they are good.
First and khautong I hope they do more projects in future ...they look so good together.....
I'm watching this series only for them and it is worth it
Do watch
I'm gonna watch it back when it ends.

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Completed
Han River Police
2 people found this review helpful
Sep 30, 2023
6 of 6 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 5.0
This review may contain spoilers

Irrelevant to the title

When I first heard about this series, I knew I had to add it to my PTW list. I was even more excited when I saw the lineup. However, I can understand why one of the tags for Han River Police is comedy. Initially, I thought the series would focus on various situations that occur at the river, including heartbreaking ones like suicide (as South Korea unfortunately has many such cases, particularly at the Han River). I thought it would be a great idea to explore this beloved place in Seoul, where many people have experienced both interesting and sad events. I believe this could reflect reality and be an excellent way for the writer to incorporate different cases. I was thinking along the lines of First Responders, but with the rescue team being the main focus here.

However, after watching all six episodes, I am quite disappointed with the overall execution of the drama. . It felt more like a movie, and it ended the way I expected a movie to end. I also had trouble connecting with the characters because they were not fleshed out enough. Even though there were only six episodes, there was still enough time to ensure sufficient character arc. Unfortunately, the show focused too much on one particular case involving the main antagonists and some of the protagonists, leaving little room to explore other themes. It felt like watching an action movie, with numerous fights and a drug smuggling organization typical of thriller films. I watched the last few episodes and thought, "This has nothing to do with the Han River lol."

Overall, I enjoyed the show to some extent, and I must give credit to Lee Sang Yi, who played a villain role here. I had never seen him in this kind of role before, and he did an excellent job. I'm used to seeing him play goofy and friendly characters in other dramas, so it was a refreshing experience to see him go full 180 degrees in this one.

Despite my criticisms of this series, if you are a fan of Sang Yi and want to see him play a ruthless man, check this one out!

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Completed
Weak Hero Class 1
0 people found this review helpful
Sep 30, 2023
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 1.0

Heartbreaking ?

Yeon Shi Eun est un étudiant modèle qui se classe au sommet de son lycée. Physiquement, Yeon Shi Eun semble faible, mais en utilisant son intelligence et sa psychologie, il lutte contre la violence qui a lieu à l'intérieur et à l'extérieur de son école. (Source : Asianwiki) ~~ Adapté du webtoon « Weak Hero » (약한영웅) écrit par SeoPass (서패스) et illustré par Kim Jin Seok (김진석). ~~ Dates de sortie : 7 octobre 2022 (Festival) || 18 novembre 2022 (En ligne)gdghhjjjjjjjjjjjkkk
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Completed
Hidden Agenda
1 people found this review helpful
by Pebee
Sep 30, 2023
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.0
Story 4.5
Acting/Cast 6.5
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 5.5
This review may contain spoilers

The concept was better than execution

From the first episode Hidden Agenda felt like a improved version of Star In My Mind with some elements from Fish Upon The Sky, but it showed some potential having a lot of the situations being solved with dialogue what is something that you don't see happen a lot in those type of stories where misundertandings are the base of the plot. But soon the series became too much talk and little to no story.

The pacing was weird, some things were dealt with too fast and others too little too late, multiple arcs coming and going without a really satisfying conclusion. It is like the writers were rushing in to put all the elements that they had planned without worrying if it would add or not the the overall plot.

They carried the parents approval arc until the very last minute, making it the core of the story, but still were not able to build it up as they should. Introducing Joke's father on the second to last episode felt like there was little thought before writing, making the resolution fall flat and out of place. Zo needing two different talks with his mother to finally accept and understand his feelings for Joke and his mother's feeling for him, looked as if they had wrote two different version of the same scene and in the end decided to keep both instead of bothering to write another one.

Acting wise, it is clear that there was some improvement, Joong had some solid acting moments even if his character was underdevelopted and with little to no space to shine in more dramatic scenes. Dunk would favor himself by taking some acting classes that could help him control his expressions better to learn how to emulate the characters feelings without so obviously struggling to do so. They do have good chemistry what makes me believe that if they were given a better script with better directing they would do much better than they have been doing so far..

The story was all over the place, the second couple was criminally forgotten, the third and possible couple that actually seemed to have something interesting going on were left as a foot note and Nita was there to serve as a type of foil to Zo's character, once as the objection of his affection and later as his rival.

In my opinion the story managed to walk well for the first four episodes but after that it started to go downhill, on the last two episodes it was nothing but a shadow of what it could have been. I can safely say we are tired of this type of story being told and retold thousands of times in the laziest way possible. It's time to write different characters in different sets with different plots and then maybe we can get something good out of it.

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Completed
My Journey to You
0 people found this review helpful
Sep 30, 2023
24 of 24 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 1.5

incroyable sauf la fin pitoyable

wuxia extraordinaire jusqu'à la dernière minute...qui n'a aucun sens au regard de l'intrigue globale. la fin est illogique et en rupture totale avec tout le reste. c'était un drama intelligent, contemplatif, tout en finesse. la fin de l'épisode 24 est absurde et frustrante.
quel gâchis !
je suis désolée. manifestement, une saison 2 était envisagée....
elle n'apportera rien...
quelle déception !!!!
je recommande ce drama si vous n'êtes pas sensible aux dernières minutes...
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Completed
TharnType Season 2: 7 Years of Love
1 people found this review helpful
Sep 30, 2023
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
This review may contain spoilers

Here we are again...

Seing many review write about negative thing make me want to write something.... Hahaha....

After read a bunch of the review here must be agreed with some point they all wrote, 7 years in the relationship don't make them be mature. 7 years in relationships don't make them learn how to communicate or talk about thing that important in their life. Just the steamy scene become much better... Haha....

Especially agreed with what yoonthethicc wrote in their review. The biggest problem that this couple have is the lack of trust they have with each other. But sometimes that what the writer did in all the drama, they make jealousy looked like what every couple must have, jealousy mean love sort of thing, without jealousy mean you don't love....

Yeah after read a bunch of review here I also realise this season gonna be better if they just focus on make their relationship better, instead give new characters that didn't help with character development, like Fiat & Leo. Ugh another toxic to the max couple we don't need in the drama.

Like many other i also like doc & champ. Although somethimes i shake my head how stupid champ can actually be...

What i like is the end when FINALLY Type talk about the problem in their relationship. But we can't really make sure will they be mature or not cause this is the end of our journey with Tharn & Type. And in the end i really think they cute couple & just can't bring myself to lower the score even with all the toxic thing that happen in this series.

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