Reviews

Bad acting from lead pair - one time watch for the visual that main lead pair is bringing

Just my personal opinion. I started this series just because of kim yoo-jung. But ended as a fan of Jo Hye Joo. Even though she only had a few scenes her screen presence was good.
Acting wise main pair was not good at all. May be production team might have thought like they can sell this drama based on looks of lead pair. As usual Song Kang again shown us that he is only good at make out scene and not in acting.
VFX was nice. Even the OST.
Kim Tae Hoon, Kang Seung Ho did a fantastic job in this series.

I would say this again : :D Special mention to Jo Hye Joo, she should get a main role drama soon. She was perfect.

I wont suggest this drama to a any person

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Just a small story - one time watch

I would like to start with saying female lead was not perfect for this role. They should have casted someone else for this role(This is just my personal opinion). Writers try to include most aspect of one persons life in this drama which was nice. They tried to show us friendship and love. There was some unwanted storyline in this series which was dragging.
Jo Yoon Seo did a exceptional job. The way she acted as Bang Eun Joo, she was not acting, she was actually living the role. When she appeared on screen we will feel like going and kicking her.

Scenic beauty of the place that have shown in this dram is damn good.

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Best xianxia drama

LBFAD is what you call a masterpiece xianxia drama, they rarely make such dramas which has all ur expectations ticked n delivered. It's so well made n acted out so well too. I literally had a hangover of this drama after i finished it, n kept watching few scenes n episodes on repeat after I finished watching as I wasnt able to move on to another one easily. The ost is so addictive, I find it hard to point any shortcomings in this drama, it's the standard for me in xianxia dramas, how I wish we get similar made drama or part 2 of this drama only. I Highly recommend it, U won't be disappointed.

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Romantic series "2nd chance" and "return to the countryside", with Ji Chang Wok & Shin Hye Sun.

PLOT: FL, a renowned photographer, returns home to Jeju with her sisters, to escape a scandal. There she finds the ML, her childhood friend - ex lover, who will help her face the situation.

PROS:
+ 2 great leads for the CL: Ji Chang Wok & Shin Hye Sun.
+ endearing characters, fairly well described (but a little one-dimensional).
+ a magnificent setting which highlights the island, its culture, its values.
+ “relatively” realistic story.
+ Dynamic production, but the plot is simple and the rhythm is slow at times.
+ This series aims to be feel-good, with a light and “comedy” tone.

CONS:
- the characters lack depth.
- the narration is sometimes slow, which does not make the series addictive.
- Some narrative arcs are not credible: I am willing to believe that the media have a significant influence in some industries, but the fact that journalists are unleashed on a popular photographer based on a simple denunciation? The fact that they arrive in force for a small exhibition in the lobby of a remote weather station?? Seriously ?? The FL could solve everything by simply telling the truth about her ex's betrayal with her assistant. Why did she never say anything?

=> The series is nice, light, and it's an opportunity to see JCW, but it won't go down in history...
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Série romantique "2e chance" et "retour à la campagne", avec Ji Chang Wok & Shin Hye Sun.

PLOT: la FL, photographe renommée, rentre chez elle à Jeju avec ses sœurs, pour fuir un scandale. Elle y retrouve le ML, son alter ego (ami d'enfance - ex lover) qui va l'aider à affronter la situation.

PROS:
+ 2 super leads pour le CL : Ji Chang Wok & Shin Hye Sun.
+ des personnages attachants, assez bien décrits (mais un peu unidimensionnels).
+ un cadre magnifique qui met en valeur l'ile, sa culture, ses valeurs.
+ story "relativement" réaliste.
+ Réalisation dynamique, mais l'intrigue est simple et le rythme connait des longueurs par moments.
+ Cette série se veut feel-good, avec un ton léger et "comédie".

CONS:
- les personnages manquent de profondeur.
- la narration est parfois lente, ce qui ne rend pas la série addictive.
- certains arcs narratifs ne sont pas crédibles : je veux bien que les médias aient un poids important dans certaines industries, mais que les journalistes se déchainent sur un photographe en vogue sur une simple dénonciation ? qu'ils débarquent en force pour une petite expo dans le hall d'une station météo reculée ?? La FL pouvait tout résoudre en disant simplement la vérité à propos de la trahison de son ex avec son assistante. Pourquoi n'a-t-elle jamais rien dit ?

=> La série est sympa, permet de voir JCW, mais elle ne restera pas dans les annales...

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I loved Rosy and CZY
best drama of 2023
I loved this drama I rewatch so many times on Netflix
Dream is to see them together again in a drama
On 12 episodes. Don't find it entertaining so stopped. I like Xu Kai and Esther and Wan Peng but it is boring

Xu Kai is very funny and Esther also very good to watch but it could be that I haven't watched the other dramas in the series struggling understanding the plot. I have not played the games so could be a reason. I am watching Part 4 which have also stopped watching but liked that drama more ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

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If I could rate this drama a 15/10 I would

I was hooked on this drama from the first episode. I’m usually a very BIG fan of xanxia dramas but this wuxia drama has stolen my heart and has easily become my favourite drama. I’m only on episode 17 but I already want to go back and rewatch the episodes. I’m SO obsessed. The acting, the CHEMISTRY, the action, the plot, the characters themselves are all so good. The fl especially is different from your usual soft fl. Shes a notorious assassin and she’s good at it. It has comedy and everything just comes together so well. Also Liu Yu Ning >>>>>>>> OBSESSED with him. He needs more recognition and more dramas.

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It should have a sad ending and then everything will be alright

I am trying to think of the series as a whole thing and judge it based on all the episodes. But I just can't, the ending killed every little good thing about it (and there weren't that many, to begin with). The cast was good. I think they fulfilled the roles they were given, but I admit it wasn't anything exceptional. Since 5e whole plot is travelling into the future, you are prepared from the beginning that there is a big possibility, that it won't end well. You have a mother who died after her son went missing so of course he has to go back. But the fact that many many years later he still approaches a teenage guy like that really didn't sit well with me. He should have cherished him as a beautiful memory and even if they met so many years later he should just step back and watch him from afar. I admit the ending was kinda making me a little Ill. Maybe it's thanks to the fact I am now over 30 but relationship where there is a big age gap and one of the couple is still a kid, it just doesn't sit a well with me.

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Welcome to Ji Chang-wook!

Fans of small-town dramas will feel right at home here.

To be fair, the village based plot doesn't start in earnest until a few episodes in but once in place, all the typical elements are on full display. Bucolic setting, tight knit community and "colourful" locals all slot in seamlessly.

It doesn't mean this drama is all sunshine and sea breezes, quite the contrary. The first few episodes can be titled, "How low can the FL go?". The simple answer is very low. Not only did her professional and personal life collapsed in Seoul but her troubles follow her back to her hometown on Jeju.

To be honest, the first few episodes are hard to watch. Not because of bad acting but it was an endless series of setbacks, angst and tears. There is little concrete reasoning behind her fall from grace other than the A-plot demands it. The problem is that the shouting and crying only got worse when she arrived home because now it involves the whole family unit and sundry other characters. It was surprisingly relentless when you consider this is supposed to be a rom-com.

Fear not, Ji Chang-wook is here! Our ML is the soothing influence, the voice of reason and the mirror for the FL to see the truth behind all the ill feelings and maltreatment she has suffered for years. Members of the 5 Eagles Brotherhood helped as well. They might not be the sharpest tool in the shed but their total dedication to Cho Sam-dal is a sight to behold and woe to anyone who stood in their way.

Thankfully, the feel of the series changes completely once the OTP acknowledge their feelings for each other. There is nothing a united village can't handle and while they still face challenges, we know they are just speed bumps on their road to success.

Speaking of romance, the OTP is always going to be front and centre, but it is relatively uneventful once they clear the air. The shaky romance between the eldest sister and her ex-husband is more engaging. Props to the actor playing the ex-husband. He could have been a typical spoiled heir, but he is so earnest and sweet that you just have to love him, warts and all. The scene with the cockroach is unmissable.

As I mentioned before, the show is angst heavy, but it is not well balanced. This is largely because the antagonist is light weight. There is no dastardly master plan. She got desperate and the fourth estate took care of the rest. She rode the tiger but have no idea how to get off. This also means the resolution, when it came, felt underdone. It closed the chapter but there is not a lot of satisfaction to be had.

The last EP is total fan service. There is a lot of lovely scenes that wrap up the various threads but the best one is probably the photo exhibition. It is a lot more about the ensemble cast of locals than the weather and it was very touching and uplifting.

All in all, it is an uplifting story that ticked a lot of boxes. Fans of JCW will rejoice. He is such a versatile actor nowadays. Honourable mention must go to Kim Mi-kyung. The veteran actor really gave us her all. Bravo!

Is it the best example of this genre, not quite. There are shows which nailed the formula better and/or the ensemble cast turned in better performances but it is good enough to earn my recommendation, for now. Enjoy!

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Not my cuppa tea

I actually dropped this after ep 6 I think but then I told myself that I'd power through, pick it up again and finish..... I could: not
I saw only much praise on the original story, and I also wanted to watch because of one actor.... To sum everything up, this type of story is just not my cup of tea.
It felt like the story was dragging on like a chewing gum stuck to your shoe. Personally, I dislike characters like little fox princess portrayed by Dilraba (her acting was really great though) who simply will. Not. Learn. Their lesson.
If you like romance oriented, main female character is running after main male character, unrequited love, cold guy Vs. bubbly girl this is for you. For me, this plot is a little annoying.

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I asked myself why did I started watching this drama. (I never leave dramas unfinished. If it's bad, i just glance at it once in a while and keep it playing as a background sound while doing other things). This drama has the worst female character and lead I've ever watched! She is whiny, annoying and (pardon me) not good looking or attractive with bad acting. I regret clicking this drama in the first place. I thought it was a short and interesting and easy drama to watch, but it was excruciatingly painful just to watch the female lead LoL. The only good thing about this drama is its short episodes. But in my opinion, short episodes don't work well for costume dramas. They need screen time to build characters and to get me to get to know them and their story. Short episodes make me loose the story most of the time and failed to understand the characters' background. Not recommended

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What A Waste of Time.

Umm ... wow! That's really all I can say to start this review off because there's just so much to talk about. To start things off, I will say there's no logical explanation for why this show had a college setting. Absolutely none. Granted, I prefer college-aged characters because it's more interesting in my opinion. However, the things these characters talked about and the things they did felt more juvenile. It didn't fit with the vibe of college students. Sure, college students are young and wild but they're not this juvenile. Maybe it's a cultural thing but most college students don't care that much about their looks. Here, in the States, most college students don't care enough about their appearance to constantly talk about who and what is good-looking 24/7. There are far more pressing matters to worry about rather than nitpicking someone's looks. These characters spent an unnecessarily unusual time discussing people's appearance, which I understand. That's the whole point of the show, right? Yeah, but that gets old.

I want to talk about the thing that truly made me drop this show. Rapey McRaperson. I don't know the character's name but I know he's the Little Guy. Now, Little Guy (or Mr. McRaperson) had way more screen time than he deserved. I don't understand why he was allowed to be apart of the primary friend group of the main characters. In the very first episode, we watched this man attempt to sexually assault and coerce the main female lead by trying to trap her in a room alone with him before the male lead saved the day. Not just that, but he continued being an absolute creeper. He never stopped being a creeper. I didn't make it past the second episode, so I don't know if he ever got better or if he finally received his comeuppance but I would rather not deal with him. Now, I know you're wondering - why would you drop this show for a side character that's awful but is still very much a side character? The unfortunate part about this is that Little Guy isn't the only character in this show that gave me strange, sexual assault-y, rape-y -like vibes. Even some of the women in this show were giving me these strange vibes that told me they clearly don't understand the word "no." There was this one woman who hit on the male lead a few times, even though he'd already told her that he wasn't interested. He was very direct about it, and yet .. she didn't get the memo. What the fuck is that about?

Now, Soo Ah is interesting but I've never been the type of person to stay and watch a show for the antagonist/villain. It just doesn't make any sense to me to do so. While she is interesting, she is awful and I honestly didn't like her. I had second thoughts about possibly sticking around to watch her manipulate these awful guys in the show, but she intentionally lied to Rapey McRaperson, which caused him to lash out at the female lead and I bounced! That was it for me. I didn't want to have to deal with situations like that happening over and over again for the remainder of this show because I get the feeling that would be a running theme. I already saw the forest for the trees.

It's finally time to talk about our lovely main couple, yeah? The female lead in this show was awful. Just completely and utterly awful. She's not awful in the sense that her character does awful and irredeemable things. She's awful in the sense that she's absolutely dull. There's nothing compelling or interesting about her. She has no personality. She doesn't have anything that makes her more dynamic than the other characters and that's troubling because she's the fucking lead. Sure, she got plastic surgery to deal with her self-esteem woes but it clearly didn't help because she's still the same pathetic person she was before. One of my biggest pet peeves is watching a show with a promising story go down the drain because they write a weak, pitiful female lead. I don't even care enough to write her name here because I don't even remember it honestly. Her love interest is .. alright? He was more interesting than her, but that's not saying much because it's pretty easy to be more compelling than she was. I don't have much to say about the actor because I watched True Beauty and he played the exact same character in that show too, so ...

Which brings me to my final point - if you want to watch a show that has a similar concept to this, just watch True Beauty. It's essentially the same plot and it even has some of the same actors in it. I kid you not, The male lead in this show is the male lead in that one, plus a couple of the other actors. (ETA: Also, the male lead in BOTH shows is the only person who knew and saw the female lead before she undergoes her great "transformation," which speaks volumes about the lack of creativity and originality within this market of drama.) The only difference is that the female lead/actress in True Beauty is actually a lot more animated and interesting. You would enjoy watching her on-screen a lot more. Now, don't get me wrong. I hated True Beauty and I dropped that one too, but I hate TB a LOT less than I hate this show. Not only is it slow and there's copious amounts of sexual harassment, but the female lead isn't enough to make you stick around. Which defeats the purpose of watching the show because no one goes out of their way to watch a show for the supporting characters, and I'm definitely not one to continue on with a show knowing that I have to skip through the entire main plot just to get to the interesting parts that don't include the primary cast.

Would I recommend this show? No. Did I enjoy it? Also, no. Don't waste your time. Pass on this one and find something better.

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I like to watch slice of life stories in between period dramas. Nowadays there are many slice of life c-drama that depicts strong, independent woman. This is just one of them. Unlike Nothing But Thirty where the three main female characters are friends, Zhang Zhi Zhi, Li Si Yu, and Gu Xiao Ling are all related by family ties. Zhi Zhi is Si Yu's cousin and Xiao Ling is Si Yu's step sister. This however is not as good as Nothing But Thirty. The only interesting character for me is Zhang Zhi Zhi. She started out as this weak character, one who is boring and just focused on taking care of her husband and child. But since life has unexpected turn, I thought she shows that she is a strong and independent character by the way she handled her husband's promiscuity. Zhu Yi Long's character is the one I despised the most! He is annoying and thinks that he's so righteous and so annoyed that he tried to salvaged his relationship with the older shark lady after what she's done! I just want to smash my screen! So irritating LoL. Overall, this was just an okay drama. One that I would gladly put at the bottom of the list and not watch again nor recommend.

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As boring as watching paint dry

As the saying goes: "Expectations are the root of disappointment."

Despite the promising casts, this drama fell short of expectations, leaving me thoroughly disappointed. While it had an intriguing start, the narrative took a nosedive as it progressed. The perplexity of Dohee's decision to give up the fight for the company remains inexplicable to me. With a demon as her companion, what could possibly induce fear in her? :[

The narrative, midway through, hinted at potential plot twists surrounding the villains, aiming to engage the audience's imagination. However, this attempt at complexity fell flat once again, failing to deliver the anticipated twists and leaving the audience with unfulfilled expectations.

And... The final episodes added little novelty to the narrative, presenting a familiar plot that lacked originality. The forced happy ending for the couple felt like a repetitive trope. Truly a wasted potential. I feel bad for the casts.

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