Reviews

Tough and nail biting

Oct 2023
The very early episodes that lay the foundations for this very violent, gripping and fast paced drama, go from causing feelings of mild anxiousness to all out threat, fairly quickly.
It is not easy watching ordinary people being strong armed out of their livelihoods, all their savings and conned into crippling debts they'll never be able to repay.
The ferocity with which the strong-arm gangs operate is sickening. That people could do this to others, totally blows my mind (gang wars happen in real life).
We are then moved on to Geon-woo (Woo Do-hwan) and his new found friend from boxing, Woo-jin (Lee Sang-yi), getting drawn ever deeper into conflict with the legitimate business fronted, highly successful and wealthy loan shark, Myung-gil (Park Sung-woong ~ always a brilliant villain).
The story sees them joining forces with someone whose past has a strong connection to Myung-gil. Then, together with characters involved with one another as veterans and members of the Marines (their military service), they decide they have no choice but to take him and his entire organisation, down.
The fight scenes are something else and the efforts both WDH and LSY must have gone to, to get as fit as they look in this, don't bear thinking about!
In terms of how characters are dealt with by the drama/writer, it reminded me of the early days of The Walking Dead... no one is safe and there are shocks aplenty. The sudden departure of one character in particular was very odd but might be to do with the actress.
Excellent writing, as some very witty dialogue and interactions pepper most episodes, which counters the angst and violence.
I love the cast and was really surprised to see Choi Siwan (didn't even realise he was in it), in a very different and [to me] surprising role for him.
Much of it is very OTT in terms of being a long way from what's possible, but, this is an action and justice/revenge drama, not a slice- of-real-life story or a documentary. It's entertainment and I loved it!
The ending held some shocks and I wasn't disappointed, but (why's there always a but?
;-D ), I would have loved to see some characters actually suffer the consequences of their disgusting deeds, and get legally punished by the system, with a nightmare life behind bars!
The most hateful character for me was In-beom, MG's muscle and right-hand man... what a mindless neanderthal. One of my favourites was the quirky and unflappable Oh Da-min, who makes her appearance in later episodes.
If the brutal treatment of others and quite high levels of threat are not for you, then the drama probably won't be either, but otherwise, it's a great and compact watch.

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A stunningly mature and realistic drama

Doona! grabbed my attention from the first episode, the gorgeous visuals, beautiful characters and setting made me immediately intrigued. This is not your typical K-Drama, for me it felt more similar to western shows which I personally really liked. They especially gave us an deep insight into these characters making them more three-dimensional than most K-Dramas I have seen. Which also made their flourishing relationship so realistic and interesting to me. There was no cringy over-acting or big romantic gestures, it was just real and I could feel their love and yearning for each other through the screen.

I read that the director used the series "Normal People" as a reference and I totally got that vibe, especially in that (very hot) scene in ep 6. It was shot and performed in a way that should be the new standard for Korean make-out scenes because it was so intimate and passionate. And it's really because of Suzy and Sejong, their chemistry and acting should not be overlooked here. Every scene between them just takes you into their world, they deserve all the awards!

Overall I am truly in love with this drama, I love seeing people making up theories about the ending (especially the one about the intros). I liked that it was open but not sad, there are so many possibilities, just like in real life. If you're still in doubt just watch it and you will surely get swept away.

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ABOUT IT

First, if you're not into slice of life genre, you won't love this drama. I love slice of life genres so I enjoyed it. The cast was beautiful and Bae Suzy gave it her best AGAIN. She acted so well. The ending made me sad tho. but oh well, it's life. Plus, this reminded me so much of ANNA (K-drama), I loved the romance, friendships, sadness, happiness and everything about this drama. I highly recommend They said my review must be 500 character but I don't know what else to talk about so I'll talk about the OST. It was nice and I sang along too but not too nice if you get what I mean. The reason why my re-watch value is rated 5.0 is because I find it hard to re-watch dramas sometimes so, don't get me wrong. It's a good drama to watch.

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ITS JUST A GAY BUSINESS

This is a trap - a Business Gay Performance, and im a sucker cause I fell for it.

As a KPOP fan, i loved the concept. Also, as a KPOP fan, i felt disrespected.

Like some of the other Korean BLs out there, i dont know why they couldn't just add maybe 5 or 10 more minutes in each episode to make the story a little bit more cohesive and enjoyable. Its such a waste cause there are so many hints that this could be a good show.

Its the story of an idol Eden, being selected and paired with Jihoon to be in a duo, What 's unique is that they are marketing the group as a gay lover - supposed to be just a business concept, only for the pair to really fall for each other.

There are too many characters and too many subplots but everything felt rushed. They spent so much time with the antagonist, when they could have used that time to build up the chemistry between the main leads and show us when or how the two exactly fell for each other. In episode 7 and 8, i kept checking the runtime cause it feels like the show is just rushing to go to the end and yet I still havent seen what I wanted to see between the 2 leads. Unfortunately as i feared, the show ended too soon without giving any satisying ending. This is a problem with translating a 40-chapter webtoon into an eight 15-minute drama.

It is such a shame really cause the leads are very charming - and Nine kept reminding me of a young Seo Kang Joon. They were both amatuer-ish but they both did enough to be likeable. a few times I was on the verge of really caring about their characters but the show just didnt show enough to make me really reach that level.

I wont forget that cringy scene in the plane where they were both holding hands and sleeping head to head with a smile on their faces looking so uncomfortable when they both could very well be sleeping comfortably in that cushy business class seats even if they were holding hands.

From the onset it felt like a small project conjured up to promote the idol group. The "Business Gay Performance" using homosexuality as a concept was a little bit offensive if you think about it and at first i was thinking they were trying to mock and expose it, but by the end I felt even more ashamed of myself for being a fool and falling for it, even though they were clearly saying FROM THE BEGINNING that this is a Business Gay show and nothing more.

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A bit raw, but still great

ATTENTION SHORT REVIEW (if you want something more in detail pick another one)

This was featuring the members of OnlyOneOf. Sadly, Rie and Junji didn't have a lot of screentime but well. I'm pretty happy about this drama. As for KB and Yoojung, they were amazing. I profoundly despised KB's character, which proves how good of an actor he is, eve though all mmbers are rookies to acting. Mill and Nine were good too. Eden kind of annoyed me, his character is really, really an idiot, but that was in the script. He did well for being an idiot. As for Jihoon, wow, just wow. Nine really did a really good job. I think his acting is my favorite of the drama. Now, the plot was pretty simple, but still it worked well. There was a bit of misunderstandings, but not too much. As someone who is really sensible to the "cringe" (I still don't have a word to define it but you know what I mean), I didn't have to pause it too much which is a good sign. Though, I'm pretty mad that we didn't have a kiss scene (I mean, normally I'm not bothered but this time they were litterally about to kiss and were interupted FOR WHAT? WHYYY). I supposed that it was pretty complicated to have a kiss scene since, you know, they're idols, but yeah, I'm kinda pissed. Music was good. The OST is made by Nine and Mill, and since they are singers in real life, it was really good. Stan OnlyOneOf yall. Wish we could have seen more. One problem is, it kinda feels rushed. They didn't have a lot of episodes and they were short, so of course they had to fit all in such a short amount of time and it felt like we didn't have much depth to it. I would have really liked an insight on Jihoon and Hyunbin's past relationship but I guess this it all that we will get... Overall, pretty good drama, of course a bit raw, but still great for something made in 8 ep. of 15 min.

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Ok

It's a short drama, with an interesting story, even though I've seen similar dramas before. Was the drama something special? Not really, but still interesting to watch.
The main actress was very good and played her role nicely. The other actors made an effort, although I didn't think Yuda Kazuma was that good. He seems way too awkward and in my opinion he didn't act that well. But you can look past this flaw.
It is still a good drama that you can watch in the meantime. The story is not too complex. Some plot twists that I liked. This drama is definitely worth watching.

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Better K Style even...

When writing my review for the original Thai version - you can see I was very frustrated with some of the storyline. Using people for personal gain is not my cup of tea and that is all over the original.

For the Korean version - while they had 17 episodes of material to work with - this slimmed down version almost gets it right. For some of it, you can see they were dealing with a low budget and didn't make the time to find product placement deals to help it all out. Their location shots were real - even to the point of not fixing the curtains in the classroom to give it a better feel. If that's the way the students see it everyday - leave it. Same with the other location shots - real. But, the sound person - OMG - they should have been given everything they needed. When the insects have more time on the screen than the actors - ugh. And, the voice overs were as bad as the Chinese dramas we see. The voices - from a studio somewhere in Korea - have nothing to do with the environments they are in. Outside noise? Wind? People walking by in a cafeteria? Someone putting a pen or, pencil down in a classroom? None of that is here in this world - just their voice - in a personality deprived vacuum.

The Korean version threw away most of the mistakes from the Thai version. The sister is not as self serving and evil as the Thai version. This sister takes the time to tell her brother that the story is too far along to make such changes and she is truly sorry. You believe it. In the Thai version - she never is sincere about what she has done and the writers had to add three extra episodes to make up for it. If you couldn't do it in the first 14 - why do you think the fans will accept the new version in 15-17?
Gone are the fair weather friends who were only there to make fun of people and use them for personal favors or, gain. Gone are the side storylines that were never fully developed in the Thai version.

In this version - we get some characters actions and such changed - so, try not to bring the baggage of the Thai version with you - it will confuse you for a bit as you adjust. Because this is only an 8 episode miniature version - they leave out important parts and leave you hanging (often) from badly cut scenes and wasting your time revisiting the whole story at the beginning of each episode - lazy on the production and directing side.

What saves this (and I have already watched the series twice) is the casting and acting on our main characters parts. They do a great job and you do get invested in them. I loved the scene between Sun Woo and Ko Yoo at the bus stop. It helps put those two characters in the proper perspective - showing both personalities clearly and you understand why they don't understand each other. This moment gives them both time to reflect on how they have lived their lives and how their own prejudices against themselves have held them back. When they get together - you believe it and cheer them on.

The whole relationship/interaction between our other two main characters between Kim Ji Oh and Jung Lee Won are also believable if you take into account time passing in a school sense. LOVED the versions of the same shots as seen from different eyes. When the girls watch the interactions - they see the lovers. Those wonderful scenes add some fun to the production and must have been fun to film. We get to see both versions and judge for ourselves.

It would have been nice to see this company take all of those 17 episodes and improve/fix for the Korean version - with a nice budget but, I do understand that the K-Drama world is still treading lightly into the BL world. I have seen some dramas redone with larger budgets - at a later date. There is a Chinese one where we get to see two versions of the same story and then, a Thai one. Let's see this one with better treatment when everyone is ready. Would love to see a full budget 16 episode K-Drama of this one - even if they have to buy and use Red Ginseng and go to Subway - soon.

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Didn’t Live Up to Its Full Potential

I was honestly kind of disappointed in this drama… I’d still give it a 6.5 out of 10 because of the overall production and excellent acting. However, I found the ending to be pretty underwhelming. I’ll explain why below (SPOILERS AHEAD).

First, I understand that Pildo was able to get through to Jiwoo and convince her that revenge was not the best path forward. She embraced the idea of a new life with Pildo by her side. What I don’t understand is why Pildo had to die. Sure, his death motivated Jiwoo to once again seek revenge. But why did Mujin kill Pildo when he knew Jiwoo would come after him? Wouldn’t he benefit more if Jiwoo looked the other way (especially since she finally seemed content to move on and leave Mujin to his own devices)? And if Mujin wanted to get rid of Jiwoo to ensure that she wouldn’t share his wrongdoings with the authorities, why did he shoot Pildo instead of her? Thinking from Mujin’s perspective, he could have saved himself a lot of trouble if he had taken Jiwoo out when he had the opportunity.


Another gripe I have relates to the final showdown between Jiwoo and Mujin. I’m not someone who needs fight scenes to be super realistic. However, I was disappointed by just how unbelievable the scene ended up being. With the number of injuries Jiwoo sustained, it seems nearly impossible that she could have defeated Mujin, let alone survived to fight another day. Although I’m glad Jiwoo didn’t die, I honestly think her collapsing in the tunnel would have been a more fitting, albeit darker, ending to the story. Jiwoo got her revenge, but it took a toll on her. She lost everyone she cared about and gave everything to kill the man responsible. Now that Mujin is dead, Jiwoo will need to find another purpose in life, but we really don’t get any hint as to what that will be. If Jiwoo had died in the tunnel, it would have at least given us a solid ending to the story, rather than leaving it open-ended like so many kdrama writers love to do.

One final thing that stood out to me was how suddenly Pildo and Jiwoo developed a romantic relationship with one another. Now don’t get me wrong: I love a bit of romance, so this didn’t bother me as much as the previous things I mentioned. However, it still felt rather rushed. Pildo and Jiwoo gave no indication of being interested in each other until episode 7, at which point they quickly became romantically involved. To me, it felt like the writers threw the romance in at the last minute to make Pildo’s death more impactful—even though it didn’t make much sense based on how Jiwoo and Pildo’s relationship had been portrayed previously.

All in all, My Name was an enjoyable enough drama, but one that certainly had its fair share of plot holes. I wanted to love this show - Han So Hee is a great actress and I’m happy to see strong female leads take the spotlight. However, I felt like the execution of this story left something to be desired, especially after having just watched another, more well-developed mafia/mob drama (Bloodhounds). I know some people may disagree with me, but overall, I’d classify My Name as an exciting yet flawed kdrama.

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they could've done better

Doona is edited weirdly, its very oddly made, Especially for a Netflix kdrama, they usually have a high production quality and editing is usually done well so I am genuinely surprised by this one...

The editing feels like you’re in a sort of fever dream, or a state of lucid dreaming. It has a fantasy feel to it in an odd way, and it jumps between takes oddly too. This is very clear with the ending that intentionally does not clarify year timelines which would’ve been helpful for us to know any time skips....

My issue with this kind of endings is how unnecessarily ambiguous they are. Open endings work, but in few cases. In this case, it was leading up to how the couple wouldn’t make it with this industry, they should’ve been more frank and gave it like it is, either they break up and find their way back to each other eventually, or they break up, that’s it.....

My feelings this lne are complicated. On one hand, I liked the casting overall and the story has many interesting elements, and on the other hand, I feel the drama is missing a good chunk of what could’ve made it special...... but over all it's an okay drama...

And The ending was…. Fine.

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Imagine the most predictably unpredictable main character. Yeah.

I love dramas where the main character is in peril (character development! high emotion! fun!), and I definitely started this show absolutely knowing that this main character is going to be put through the wringer every second of her screentime. I was ready. I was so ready.

But...she, supposedly, saw it all coming. What? All the lying, the scheming, the action, the nail-baiting tension...she was always, ALWAYS, one step ahead of everybody else. And that's just unbelievable.

Therefore, this character had zero growth and zero flaws. Her only "flaw" was loving her sons too much? Give me a break! All the other characters, including the Queen Dowager and the concubines, are given well-fleshed out, thoughtful arcs where they grow as characters, but our main character is born so perfect that from start to finish, every decision she makes, every word she speaks, every punishment she mettles out, is thought through with the world's most elaborate game of 3D chess playing in her head.

Acting wise, while everyone was okay, the Queen Dowager and First Consort really stole EVERY scene they were part of! And with characters as rich, deep and well-rounded as them, it's a real treat to see how these talented actors make them come alive so incredibly. Which brings me back to the conversation about the Queen's character because this is, after all, an entire 16 episode TV show about the Queen protecting her children from certain death. The slight overacting aside, I really don't think the Queen's character really made me feel anything for her except, "Damn, she thought of this too?" Some of the "logical deductions" she made were absolutely insane given how shoddy, incomplete and limited the evidence for it was, and yet, with an eyebrow twitch and run-walking, she managed to outsmart some really, really smart people/plans.

Which is just boring, in my opinion.

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not enough runtime for the plot/characters

Overall: this was the victim of the same pitfall as many Korean BLs, 2 hours was not enough time to adequately develop the number of characters/plots that they had. 8 episodes 15 minutes each. Aired on iQIYI and GagaOOLala (Taiwan/SEA countries).

Content Warnings: drugging?, non con touching, manipulation

What I Liked
- ost/their dance/singing numbers
- touched on gay for pay/fanservice
- their visuals

Room For Improvement
- starting with a flashback didn't hook me
- too many characters/plots that weren't developed enough, I didn't really understand the villains "plans", plot was rushed and choppy at times
- cliche plot points like being drunk and forgetting a kiss
- nonsense things (i.e. a deep rooted fear being cured by the power of love)
- too many near kisses (including the one at the end)
- a cold/confident guy paired up with a warm/reluctant guy isn't my favorite dynamic
- confusing release that was announced last minute, all 8 episodes were out for some subscribers/countries on iQIYI, some had 1 or 2 episodes available, Gaga will have 3 episodes a week later
- the odd background music

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