Reviews

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, party because of Han Hyo Joo and Park Hyung Sik. They both play likeable and relatable characters whose friendship to lovers story is natural, despite the unnatural setting of the story. I've always enjoyed Han Hyo Joo's dramas. Park Hyung Sik is more hit and miss for me but this one is a hit for me. The drama raises interesting questions about how a government might respond to a frightening and highly contagious epidemic, how infected people are treated not just by the government but also by each other, and what people might do to fight for survival. It can be ugly -- people can behave pretty badly when they're frightened -- but this drama shows that people can also be surprisingly generous and self-sacrificing. I suspect that the inspiration for this drama comes from the first major COVID epidemic before vaccines were developed and the world was terrified.

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This series is definitely not everyone's cup of tea just by reading at the reviews, well I am disagreeing with them.

The story is so good. Yes, it started like a school drama but doesn't we except it to go into action just by the start scene and just by role that is played by Palm?

It was well acted, storyline was good, and cinematography was perfect (a fan of ITSAY, Your Name Engraved Herein...). Never imagined to have PondPhuwin to be in this kind of genre considering their other series but they really fitted well, I commended their acting a lot. And can I just say that Perth is an actor to look foward to. I knew him from Love Chance and he keeps on improving not just in acting but visually too. PerthChimon is a great pairing too.

Current rewatching the series because I miss them. I just hope to have another series from them soon.

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How good is the Korean Drama ‘Love Song for Illusion’ 2024, with Park Ji Hoon?

I am so excited about this Korean Drama I can’t wait for the next episode to drop. Crown Prince has Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), brought on by childhood trauma. The premise is unusual, like ‘Kill Me, Heal Me’ Joseon style. The passion of the Crown Prince is dress designing. The Crown Prince is hated by a father who is an illegitimate King who stole the throne. Love Song for Illusion is based off of a Naver Webtoon by the same name by Vanziun.

The Crown Prince is his own evil twin. The drama music is smoking. The Crown Prince has great bravado when he is the “Evil Twin” and is the nicest wimp as the “Good Twin” in this Romance Action Thriller, with Court intrigue. There is great choreographed dancing in this drama. Frankly, Love Song for Illusions has one of the more inventive storylines in a while, as more Korean writers are starting to think outside of the box when writing Korean dramas. A King with DID, a revenging Assassin who has lost her memory and finds herself a Concubine to the Crown Prince and she likes the Wimp better, a Crown Prince who is competing with his other personality as the Second Lead, a rebellious second half-brother scheming for the Throne. It is all working for me. Love Song for Illusion for me is making me just as excited as the Korean Drama Perfect Marriage and Revenge. I am viewing this real-time. Head Talk Galore.


Actors Corner

Hong Ye-ji is a star. She can act. She can dance. She looks good doing Martial Arts skills. I am totally impressed with the female lead. And Hong Ye-ji and Park Ji Hoon have great chemistry. Look for Hong Ye-ji in the upcoming 2024 drama The Crown Prince Has Disappeared, with Suho from EXO.

Park Ji Hoon is a K-pop star and actor who began his acting career as a child. Park Ji Hoon always gives great unusual performances. He is called upon for a double role in Love Song for Illusions. Park Ji Hoon brings great bravado and simpleness to the roles as he plays opposite personalities.

Hwang Hee—I have always loved this underrated actor, who has appeared in Dali and the Cocky Prince and Arthdal Chronicles among many Korean dramas.


Chinese drama equivalent is Fall In Love, also about Dissociative Disorder (DID) and both personalities are the First and Second Leads.

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Finally Over

I you don't have a VIP membership with IQYI to watch these two episodes, don't bother getting it, they're not worth it unless you absolutely loved the rest of the series. It's simply more unnecessary drama, awkward NSFW scenes of Dino shoving his tongue down Rak's throat, and concluding with Chalam, Suea and Mhee talking about their notably absent lovers.

The whole plot line with Tart was absurd. Again, in what way is Rak such a catch that men are willing to throw any kind of boundaries and societal niceties out the door? I truly do not understand. But here comes Tart who's apparently harbored a crush on Rak for years and suddenly decides to pursue him and who gives a damn if he has a boyfriend. There's nothing likeable about the character. He aggressively and creepily pursues Rak, stalking him, even buying his phone number from a fellow classmate so he can call and text him. This culminates in a confrontation between Dino and Tart with Dino inexplicably resorting to his fists. This would have been a great time to acknowledge and potentially rectify Dino's temper, but the whole thing is conveniently swept under the rug. Even the two women filming the scene are stopped and convinced to delete the video with very little effort.

The second episode turns its focus to the characters of Chalam, Suea, and Mhee who talk about their lovers. It's very awkward because we never actually see their lovers' faces. We hear voices, see some hair or a shoulder maybe, but that's it. I'm going to assume it has something to do with the upcoming Buddy Line Y Animal series, but it just made for some strange camera angles and uncomfortable close ups of the actors. I was not a fan.

More of the same mediocre acting and poor production. More of the annoying comedic sound effects and more bad music. Although these episodes took the cake with the scene where Dino and Rak go meet his parents and the girl they wanted to arrange a marriage with. The back and forth with the music was maddening.

I will reiterate, don't spend your money for these episodes, they add very little of substance. Save yourself the two hours you would have wasted and find something worthwhile to watch.

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What type of time travel drama is Marry My Husband? How good is this Korean drama?

Marry My Husband is a time slip (Time Travel) drama.

This is a story about a woman in her forties. Her husband in Marry My Husband is a real loser, a real piece of work. Her best friend is having an affair with her husband and she is dying of cancer. The heroine of the story then is killed by her husband. Right before her death, she time slips into the past, back ten years. This information is not a spoiler, because all this action takes place in the first 15 minute. (Time Slip: Having no apparent means of traveling through time).

Quote: “The living should go on living. You are going to die anyway”. Best girlfriend explaining why she cheated with her with the husband of the heroine.

Marry My Husband is a great time slip Korean Drama, which is from a web novel and serialized Webtoon by the same name. In this drama, the Time Slip (Time Travel) is not just used as a cab ride to the past. Marry My Husband is trying to observe present assumptions about time slip (time travel). Our heroine is thrust back in time. While in the past, she attempts to change small details about her future miserable life that leads to an untimely death. However, she is not succeeding at making even very small changes. Her course for the future seems fixed and doomed to repeat itself. The heroine appears to have entered the crack of a parallel universe where changes to the future is not possible. The events keep readjusting itself to preserve the original outcome to preserve the past. This eliminates paradoxes. Changes to the future is assumed only possible when entering the open time loop section of the past or the open time loop of the wormhole. When changes are made, this sets up an alternative universe in the future which is different from before (A wormhole is a shortcut through time).

Even though the heroine may not be able to change her future, she reckons that she might be able to get someone else to substitute into her misfortune. Maybe she could get someone else to marry her no good husband, before it is time for her to do so. That way she will change her own time vector, because hers is now occupied by someone else. WOW! Whether the idea follows the science or not, this unique idea tries to address what to do if you don’t fall into the correct wormhole.

This substitution concept idea of Time Slip (Time Travel) is uniquely different from any time slip (time travel) ideas which I have explored thus far. As the Korean drama Marry My Husband progresses, we will see if she is successful with the time substitution idea. I am surely good for the ride though. It is a go for me for the Korean Drama Marry My Husband. Our heroine gets a second chance at second chances.

I think that Marry My Husband is going to be a major hit.

Cast
Multiple Baeksang Arts Award winner Park Min-young (Marriage in Contract), Na In Woo (River Where the Moon Rises), and Lee Yi-kyung (Welcome to Waikiki).

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One of the best dramas of 2023! Watch it, please!

This whole show from top to bottom broke my heart, made me smile and laugh, made me soooooo upset, and made me wish there was 4 more episodes. Lee Se Young and Bae In Hyuk acted their hearts out and had beautiful chemistry, with a natural build up. Even with the parts that move slower and makes you want to pull your hair out because you wish the characters could speak up sooner or make another decision, it is more than worth the watch. You'll find yourself watching episodes just because you don't want it to be over yet. The side characters stories were good as well, I can't forgive some of them but their endings were well deserved and well ended as well. Congrats to them. One of my fav 2023 shows.

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Very nice for a short drama

This was a very nice short drama in my opinion. The acting was terrific and the production was very well-done. The only issue I found was the background music was sometimes a little loud. And there were a few lapses where the actors' lines were not audible, as though the audio was cut or the voice-over missed the sentences.

The actors and actresses performed very nicely, even with this being a mini-drama. The story was well-paced and didn't crash land at the end like many short dramas, where most of the action rushes in the last 30 minutes. The story doesn't go deep in to side plots or history, just as i would expect a from a short story and was very nice to just sit and relax while watching.

The OSTs and the BGM were very nice and helped set the mood for the scenes. I'm looking for them to add to my listening lists.

I look forward to seeing more from the lead and support actors, they did a very nice job, and kept the story feeling light.

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Bury the Dinosaur

There is really not much, if anything, to love about Dinosaur Love. The only reason I even took an interest in it initially was because of Pepper who I liked in Love in the Air. But I found that I wasn't a fan of either his character or acting in this series, and I saw far more of his tongue than I ever wanted to. This isn't even one of those dramas that could have been better if X, Y, Z was different. This is one that probably would have been better off left on the cutting room floor in it's entirety.

The plot is completely nonsensical. It jumps from point to point without necessarily wrapping things up and the transitions are abrupt. The beginning with Mek and See-Kram getting together and cheating on Rak was poorly done. Why either of them chose to betray their friend and lover was not well explained. The fact that they both came back begging for forgiveness was pretty rich of them, particularly Mek considering he'd tried to rape Rak. That mess really only served to make Rak single and available to get together with Dino, but could have been utilized far more wisely to establish the characters and build on them. There are a few plot holes that are more annoying that they're not explained than anything terribly critical and multitude of unanswered questions. The passage of time is not well established either. It would have been nice with some events to know how much time had passed just to get a grasp on how quickly things were progressing. The ending, if you stop at Episode 8 is jarring and doesn't feel like a conclusion. The pacing was all over the place and generally just frustrating. I got to episode 6 and very nearly dropped this drama because I was so done with it. Not that I got anything out of finishing it. It really wasn't worth it.

Dinosaur Love suffers from an overinflated cast. There are so many supporting and guest characters that it got really hard to keep all of them straight, especially Dino's multitude of friends. There was no need for all of them and they took away time that could have been better spent trying to sort out the mess of a storyline. There was also a tendency for characters either pop up unexpectedly after being absent for a while or just disappearing. After apologizing and saying that he would win Rak back, Mek was never seen again. See-Kram is last seen in the hospital and then is absent for multiple episodes before suddenly popping up to ask for Rak's forgiveness. Guy had a mental break down and was suicidal last we saw him, but suddenly he's out and about and fine? Unsurprisingly the few ladies of the cast were completely underutilized. Sammy as Plabu was there for the jokes and Michelle as Please was present to be a "rival" for Dino's affection, but not really, and once she and Rak had their talk, she was another one who disappeared. I will never not be disappointed when they do that. If you're going to cast women, use them.
-Dino simply looked too old to believably be in college. I think the story would have worked better with him having already graduated from a realistic point of view. He was a weird combination of red and green flag moments. He had moments where he was an absolute green flag like when Rak offered to be his boyfriend in a panic after almost being raped and he declined. But he had other moments where he pushed Rak's boundaries and was pushy in general. He did generally back off, but sometimes Rak had to say it more than once. His temper was also a serious concern. It took very little to set him off and make him turn physical and that was not addressed in a satisfactory way. Also, what exactly was Dino a part of? That's never established and once that point was no longer useful, it was thrown out, but I was genuinely curious if he was part of a gang or just a good old fashioned thug.
-Rak's whole personality almost was him being cute and that got old really fast. He was this odd combination of naive and innocent and yet at the same time, not. I will give him credit for his consistency, once he'd made a decision, he really didn't waver. And despite his kind and innocent nature, he never led any of the multitude of men pursuing him on if he wasn't interested in them. Why he had that many men interested in him in the first place, I cannot begin to fathom. While I generally would commend his honesty, there were times where he kept secrets from Dino despite knowing it would cause conflict since Dino hated lies and secrets. While I have no doubt that Dino's temper was the primary reason, it's something that Rak should have felt comfortable addressing.
-Chalam was moderately amusing initially, but quickly grew boring and repetitive. He just had no personality outside his obsession with omelets and he was featured far too heavily to have that and his manner of talking be his only traits.
-Suea was fairly entertaining and was one of the sole bright spots. Not a great character, but Aomstin was expressive and that helped.

The acting was fairly disappointing. I was not a fan of Pepper here, he didn't suit the role for me. Kong was boring. He lacked any kind of diversity in his expressions and mostly just walked around with this wide-eyed, innocent look. The chemistry between him and Pepper was overall lacking. There were a few moments where I felt a spark, but for the majority of the series I was left unimpressed. Again, Aomstin was entertaining as Suea at moments if nothing else because he knew how to use his facial muscles. Even if a lot of is expression were a bit exaggerated, he had some variety. I love Sammy, but this was such a stupid role she really did not get a chance to shine unfortunately.

The production was lacking a lot. The lighting within scenes was off at times with one angle being bright and another being dark. It lacked consistency. The comedic sound effects were severely overused and had me hitting mute more than once. That horrible bird sound was used so much. The music was extremely generic and at times annoying. The transitions were also very poorly done. They'd go from relatively intense music to something perky and upbeat which did not work. The opening credit song wasn't bad though and I ended up kind of liking it.

I can't recommend this drama in any way. It was a positive chore to get through and I don't feel like I gained anything from it other than disappointment and lost time. Go find something better to watch and avoid this one.

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The upstanding, straightforward & gullible version of Conan | Teamwork of Noblemen's brilliant minds

I know it's weird to say this, but I find this crime and investigation drama easy, comfortable and exciting to watch. Although there is that one moment when the show went astray of its usual set up (that I will talk about later) I'm glad that they were still able to pull it all together and end it nicely following how it started with a peaceful and cozy vibe to it.

In order not to spoil the good image I have created with the introduction of this drama. Let me start this review by listing down some of the best attributes I like about it.

Plot and story flow is neat and meticulously constructed. I was so indulged that time flew by while I was watching it. The introduction of the characters were smooth, clean and I really love how they started it with a casual yet interesting incident that gradually became a bigger case. The scenes of the story is well connected and I'm glad that they didn't simply threw out cases after cases and instead created a sequence of events that slowly build the relationship between the main leads while working/clashing with each other.

Chemistry of the main Leads including the supporting roles are surprisingly good. I love how they didn't immediately set both of the leads as partners in crime and solving cases after their initial meeting and rather gave us an opposite context of them fighting and competing with each other in a harmless way while showing us their capabilities along with their strengths and weaknesses. In adddition, I just wanna mention how the male supporting roles connected to Lan Jue felt like a great romantic pair for him e.g Wang Yan and Gu Qing Zhang. I even thought their relationship can pass as a side story for a romantic affair of some sorts just base on how they set it up and portrayed it. Lol!

And while we're at it. Let me talk about that one moment this drama took the bland and unexpected route AKA the introduction of Gu Qing Zhang. I was bothered by this for quite some time because I was thinking what has gone wrong that made me feel that empty space in my stomach; and after pondering a lot about it, I realized that it was a result of the sudden mood change of the drama. We're on the 'Rising Action' part of the story where all the conflicts and problems are happening. Then all of a sudden we were given this melodramatic back story, reminiscing of the past and introduction of GQZ and his relationship with Lan Jue. Like, what the hell was that? those moments truly threw me off of my mood and made me feel tasteless about this drama. I get that he's the main villain of the story but was it really necessary to make his back story that dramatic and subtle romantic? Thank god it only lasted for 2½ episodes because more of it would have completely change my view of this drama.

In regards to the entire cinematic experience of this drama. I must say I'm extremely satisfied. I love the balance of the colors, more specifically between the grayness and darkness of the scenes. It gave me chills and somehow has this cozy effect on me that made me feel relaxed while watching it. I even reached a point where even when the tension is high and conflicts are rising left and right I still feel calm, at ease and simply enjoying the whole show.

Lastly, I want to recognize the state of mind and/or behavioral disorder of the characters; specially Lan Jue's episodes of having confusion and anxiety whether to continue taking his revenge in a rightful way or to cheat his way to claim justice. Those sequences are some of my most favorite scenes of this show and has left this significant mark on me that made me acknowledged Jing Bo Ran's acting capabilities. Special mentions are GQZs strong obsession to hear his Mother's regret of abandoning him and getting the acknowledgement as her son and Zhang Ping recovering his memories after going a traumatic experience as a child.

Story - 9.5, The story construction is great! same goes on how they connected each of the scenes. The only issue I have had is the sudden change of mood when GQZ was introduced. That section truly left me hanging for quite some time and made me felt tasteless and bothered inside.

Acting/Cast - 10, This is my first time watching all of the actors casted in this drama; and all I can say is that it created a good impression to me of them and their acting capabilities/skills. Jing Bo Ran is great but Wan Duo and Song Wei Long are equally good too. Not to mention Hong Yao and Guo Cheng.

Music - 10, Overall it is excellent. I love the neutral sounds of the BGMs used. They are nice, harmonious and blended well with the vibe of the drama. I also love that the music didn't overpower any scene of show, not even once! and the sound effects are greatly emphasized. Specially the scene right after the bomb was detonated where it gave them that realistic echoing, defeaning and dreadful silence that we usually experience after hearing a loud explosive noise. Great Job!

Rewatch Value - 9.5, It could have been a perfect 10 only if they didn't caught me off guard with GQZs introduction. Sorry not sorry, but I can never let that pass. Nonetheless, I would still recommend it to people who love watching problem solving and case investigation genre of dramas.

Overall - 9.5, Still a note worthy drama to watch and Please don't get me wrong. GQZ as a character is great. It is just that the way the director had decided to introduce him in such a melodramatic way doesn't fit my palate at all. Overall, this drama is really good, nicely done and easy to watch. I would still recommend this to anyone who loves the actors' casted in it and those people who enjoys investigation and crime historical dramas.

IF you find my review helpful please let me know

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★▪︎°♡ Beyond the history ♡°▪︎★

It was definitely a series that went beyond the classic TV series, had a great plot, and would not seem cliché at all even if you watched it in 2024. Every moment and every character was entertaining. I enjoyed watching it very much, I still can't believe that this series was shot in 2007 because it is a series that is far beyond history. The scriptwriter really did a great job, the actors' chemistry and acting are 1000/10 with 5 stars ★★★★★


Firstly I watched 19 epidodes then gave a break about 6 months then finished the drama. I REALLY like it♡ ??. I think it is one of the best dramas for old ones.

You may think childish or slightly exaggerated for the some parts (as I see in some comments) but NO! those are parts of human-nature. I think this drama's content is also reality. Even you can find a part of you ?


So that everyone please doN'T hesitate and please go and give a chance♡

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masterpiece.

I binged this kdrama and it was so worth it. there were no boring episodes and they chose the perfect people for each role. many people have been dissatisfied with the ending, but personally, I actually liked the ending. It wasn‘t something I expected, but it isn‘t that bad like people say it is. I definitely want a season 2 and it has also been revealed that season 2 will be coming which I‘m very happy about because many things haven‘t been explained well and some things are still left open. imo best kdrama of 2023, I could literally rewatch it every day. love it so much

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???

Watched for Park Seo-Joon.. Storyline flowed well, no evil crazy rivals etc. Uhm Jung Hwa as his FL was unknown to me, they worked their professionalism well, and had good chemistry! Supporting cast also performed well in this mostly lighthearted rom/com. Would definitely recommend!!

Edit to fill required # of characters: would be nice to see a part 2 aka spinoff. After so many years… I suppose it wont happen. If anybody decides to create a remake, I highly doubt if anyone as balanced in handsome cuteness and acting performance skills as Park Seo-Joon can do a better job.

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PAINFUL

Absolutely terrible. This made me wanna poke my eyes out.
I was so excited to watch this. I was a fan of this couple in Cutie Pie and was hoping they would be SOMEWHAT similar to that in Middleman's Love. I really liked Jade in Bed Friend and I have no idea what happened to his character. He was the most annoying person on the planet and I hate to say that, because I like Yim very much. Tutor's character was nice as always, but I think this ship was ruined. I'm telling y'all, every minute of this was painful and cringy LOL I think I only watched till the end because I really love James. Everything about the show was poorly done. The script was terrible, the story didn't make sense, the side couple was very weak and I didn't like anyone but Uea. I like King but even he was annoying.

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