Reviews

Ode to Unchangeable,Unstoppable Nurture.

Humans will be Humans, it's either you trust them or you don't. This drama was filled with action and very entertaining however i would have preferred a different ending.

Looking back from episode 1 all the way to 16 I would really like to applaud Gu Reum, this incredible woman was a hard worker, persistent, stayed true to her self and a very good fighter, however I honestly think she was never genuinely happy. What she didn't realize was that you can't change people, people only change if they choose to and on their own terms and free will.

The fight for justice for her parents, being left alone from a very young age and the battle of being alone and lonely was all too much for her. I was deeply saddened by the way things ended for her. The little happiness she got was quickly taken away from her.

Zi-0 being born by a form of genetic mutation and genetically modified was incapable of feeling emotions until he met Gu Reum and like her he was alone & lonely and even more so always on the run escaping death.

I believe things would have ended differently if he went through therapy, to me he changed his perspective on life again because he was never free from the mental chained state he was in since childhood and then meeting the same people again who put him through hell, calling him a monster led him to believe that that is who he really is.
To free yourself from mental slavery, you must go through a form of therapy, sadly he did not and the result was a reflection of that.

People will only cry help and say they're changed only when death are at their doors, humans are evil selfish beings that worship money and just like those from the drama they lack humanity and never changed.

This drama is a little gem, there will be frustrating scenes that will have you wanting to drop it but I personally think it's worth a try. Not a ending I was hoping for but it is what it is and somewhat realistic.
8.5/10{overall}

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First, if you liked white night (?) you have to watch this drama, i don't know how to say it but is beautiful and painful at the same time.
The story, well i thought that it was about a first love but not at all, it's cute and sad *remembering* and it begins with a guy that is dying in the street and we back again how they met until nowadays.
The acting, well if you put Yamada Takayuki with Hayase Haruka is like JACKPOT! The acting it was great by the two leads and the rest was okay...
The music, well only the song at the end of the drama is pretty sad and i love it so it went to my ipad.
Rewatch value, i gave it 6 because i liked a lot but it's hard to me to watch it again and because Yamada Takayuki cries very good and i'll die because i cried only with him lol
Overall, if you're in the mood to watch some drama, you have to wath this, you're going to enjoy it and i'm angry that most of people don't know this drama LOL

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Story: I stumbled upon OHSHC a couple years ago, read the manga (several times over) and watched the anime. I eagerly awaited the episodes to be aired and was not disappointed. The directors and producers stuck very close to the manga and even kept the exaggerated feel, such as when Tamaki’s feelings are hurt, he is plastered to the wall in shock. You can tell that they put a lot of effort into this drama and the script.

I was a bit disappointed at how short the episodes were, and that there were only 11. However, a movie was announced during a fan meeting on August 25, 2011 and will continue off from the conclusion of the television series. The film is set to be released in March 2012.

Music: The classical inputs that they have really have that ‘royalty’ sound to it whenever it’s played. I would have liked to have seen the original theme from the anime but the new theme fit perfectly as well.

Cast/Acting: It’s not just the content of the drama that stuck close to the manga, the actors did too. Not only did they all look the part, they even acted it. When the cast was first announced I remember there was a lot of talk that Yamamoto Yusuke wasn’t fit for the role of the Prince. I believe he is the Prince. He did a wonderful job getting into his role and staying with the character, especially with all the weird expressions and voices.

I could go on and on about how each and every actor suited their roles perfectly. But that would make this review way too long. Honestly, they were all so brilliant that I’m rewatching it again.


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Enjoyable, but perhaps a wee bit overrated. (and the Love Triangle is fairly strong)

I've been had. I've read in the comment section that the love triangle is not an issue & so I started watching this with no reservations, unfortunately that is definitely not he case. The triangle is - at least from my perspective - pretty bad, not only is it present throughout most of the drama, but also the plot devices used to keep it going were not great. Okay, it's objectively not horrible compared to some of the worst offenders, like it's nowhere near Jealousy Incarnate bad. Yes, the FL never hesitates about whom she wants, but her rejections were most of the time half-hearted & she got teary eyed due to the second ML way too many times. I couldn't even FF button his scenes, because the second ML is just to integral to the plot.
I'm guessing that people that like this trope would love this though..

Okay with that out of the way, I think the second biggest problem with the drama is that it's quite draggy at times, the same misunderstanding is recycled over and over to make it far longer than it should've been. Also the plot is not very polished or coherent, there are some really weird shifts in the story. For example how we transition from e27's cliffhanger to e28 makes less than zero sense to me. The corporate embezzlement/laundering case in the final episodes was quite bad as customary, but I've seen worse.

So why is it still 7.5? Well, the things that everyone else is saying are true. Both couples had great chemistry, the acting is great, the comedy is on point as well. Also the macro plot is pretty amazing. Annoyances aside it's fantastic how they handled the dream situation. Before watching this I was totally prepared to talk about how cdrama time travel shows always have to be dreams, novels, or just imaginations due to recent changes in Chinese censorship guidelines, but they've really killed it here. They way how the dream ended is just about perfect. The way we transitioned back to real life & how they kept the fantasy going was also pretty great. (I mean While You Were Sleeping is a hundred times better, but for a contemporary Chinese drama this is really pushing the limits of what's possible to be shown on TV) I've recently complained about how in Business Proposal they've cut out my favorite part of the webtoon and the Asian drama gods have heard my plea, because that exact plot is here in this drama. (It's about the FL wanting to turn fake into real & pursuing the ML real hard) The second couple was pretty fun, though their story is 1:1 Toradora.

The OST is not bad, at least as a completely separate entity from the drama. However I think the tracks often did not fit the drama's mood & the mixing is just strange.

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Honestly, if you're a fan of the leads and are easily satisfied if the drama is aesthetically pleasing, you'll enjoy this drama. If you're looking for a substantial drama with a good plot, character development, and acting, then Flame's Daughter misses all that. Honestly, I only finished the drama because I watched it in double speed and everyone was so good looking.

Story line: Nothing surprising or intriguing. I'd say it was rather boring. I won't spoil it, but the plot seemed interesting at first, but the plot just started slowing down and nothing was actually happening each episode.

Acting/Characters: I'd say everyone's acting was pretty decent, with Dilraba's being the weakest (I hope she continues growing as an actor though!). However, their characters were written in a way that didn't give them much to work with. For example, I think Zhang Bin Bin is a promising actor, but he was limited to the same, one-dimensional character during the whole drama. I was expecting the director to let him finally say/reveal something that would break my heart, but he really was like a stagnant river the whole drama (like, he was GOOD at the role he was given, but that role sucked!).

Idk. There was so much potential. Again, this is another example of a drama that could have really won the crowd over, if only it was a good drama in the first place.

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Enjoyable and funny mini-show with time travel theme

What a wonderful mini-show. This is one of these small hidden gems I’m sometimes lucky enough to stumble upon. The storyline of traveling between two worlds (or time travel) isn’t new but I don’t think I have ever seen one where the portal connects a living room in modern time and a bedroom in ancient time - allowing them to go through time/space any time they want.
Character wise we get this sweet FL that is a bit air headed but resourceful, a ML who is strong and clever, a not too smart princess and a general that is kind of a genius but also soft hearted. There are also a couple of interesting side characters.
Acting wise this might not reach the top but the actors all do a good job portraying their characters. Since it’s a comedy we always have to take into account that the characters are supposed to be a bit silly. Especially the general’s Kung Fu, is hilarious. I also loved the princess the King was originally supposed to marry - what a strong woman, LOL.
I enjoyed this mini-show a lot and since the ending is kind of open, I hope to see a season 2.
Anyway, if you like a sweet and romantic comedy - with a parallel world/time travel theme - this is well worth watching.

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A good try

I'll start by saying I thoroughly enjoyed this despite it's ever more obvious flaws.

The first few episodes work pretty well - it's a bit too quick in places and has some jarring switches in pace but the cast and the effort they put into the setting pull you through.
The initial foray into the Lunar complex and the rising tensions between the characters are probably some of the strongest and best parts of the whole drama. Aided by some strong performances and unique characters.
Unfortunately the 'homage' to Alien amongst others and the risible main elements of the plot don't mesh well. This some fairly pointless twists and revelations starts to chip away at the foundation that was laid so well. Some terrible CGI takes things down further and the Oh So Inevitable betrayals and bizarrely foolish decisions by characters really pull things down.
The ending is unfortunately muddled and rushed to the point of loosing a great deal of the dramatic tension it initially promised.
It could have been so much more, a more consistent first half, maybe even a longer wait for the 'why we are really here' reveal. A more convincing Alien Thing (sorry hard to say without spoilers) better cgi a decision to go with the slow dark tension or the action horror or rather than pay homage to Alien to learn how to mesh the two from it.


Still some fine actors and a whole hearted attempt to do Sci-Fi kept me watching. I appreciated the effort put in and the little things they attempted - no eye candy here - lots of space suits and lab coats though. enjoyable but probably not rewatchable. I should really rate it lower but I'm a sucker for Sci-Fi and I did watch it all.

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The shining part of this drama was IU, if I'm being completely honest. Her acting has improved tenfold since she entered the game, and she's just such a captivating lead. Not to mention, her makeup, styling, and wardrobe team were absolutely on fire for this drama — props to them for dressing and styling her so gorgeously and uniquely for every single scene.

As for the overall drama, while it's not bad, it's really not anything super captivating. It was also definitely way longer than it had to be. Most conflicts were either too easily resolved, or resolved in a way that I didn't understand why there was a conflict in the first place. And while I loved the cast, there was just a huge lack of chemistry between them for some reason.

I loved the was Man Wol was written, but what lost me was the romance. The romance really lacked progression. Suddenly Man Wol and Chan Sung were in love and I had just zero idea why. There was just no real process to it, plus the leads had NO chemistry. I'm sorry y'all — I love IU and Yeo Jin Goo, but just not together.

What saved this drama was nice production quality, a killer soundtrack, and great acting from IU though.

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:(

Can i be honest. I was very disappointed about season 2. Makes me think what even was the point of season 1? they should of either left season 1 as it was and changed the ending to not being a cliffhanger. Season 2 was very confusing and frustrating suddenly shes dating the dude who would stalk her all the time , still dated him even tho she had no feelings for him which makes me feel bad for Hye Yeong she was literally playing with this dudes heart honestly Hye Yeong should be with someone who actually loves him i can't help but feel that she forced herself to like Hye Yeong because she already dumped Sun Oh and Sun Oh is in a new relationship. Don't even get me started on how much she played with Sun Oh feelings as well. Season 1 they were perfectly fine together. Near the end of season 1 they split ways all because she decides to get a shield so that her love alarm wouldn't go off she was a afraid to lose him? why? they were perfectly happy and Sun Oh didn't do anything to make her think that they wouldn't last Sun Oh really loved her and she loved him so why did she do this to herself? and break Sun Oh and her heart and relationship , also making matters worse she didn't even tell Sun Oh the reason why she broke up with him until season 2 which is what like a few YEARS later?? Also the fact that Sun Oh still loved her after all these years even when she dumped him without a reason and left , you can tell by this that Sun Oh must of really loved her. Now onto season 2 ugh i don't even wanna talk about season 2. Season 2.. Sun Oh meets Jojo after these years and what does jojo do? run away again like she did before. Sun Oh chased after her. Sun Oh asks Jojo the reason why she dumped him and FINALLY she tells him the truth Sun Oh confesses he still loves her and Jojo runs away AGAIN. They meet somewhere and Sun Oh kisses Jojo and says something like "im going to believe what ur eyes say". Also Jojo doesn't avoid the kiss. Which makes us think that she still had feelings for him but would keep denying it that she loves Sun Oh. This obviously makes Sun Oh upset and confused just as i felt lmao. Anyway at this point she runs away while Sun Oh is left standing there in the rain crying.. then like idk weeks or a month later? shes dating Hye Yeong. This season was a Roller Coaster for sure it was all over the place. Sun Oh and Jojo should of been together in the end. Most of the viewers wanted Sun Oh and Jojo to be together as well. Also id like to point out that this is MY OPINION everyone has a right to have an opinion. I wanted to share my honest review. not everyone will agree with me obviously and that's fine , like i said everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Nothing will change my mind about this show so i'm will stick to my opinion thank you.

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The best revenge is to move on and let karma do the rest

This review is for Season 1 and 2.

Krachao Seeda delivered the emotional rollercoaster that I expect from a Thai lakorn! The plotline is nothing new, but I enjoyed the story, and the pacing was good. There's definitely tons of slapping where almost no one was spared, and there was melodrama and angst when I found my heart wrenching or my blood pressure rising numerous times. However, throw in the happy and satisfying scenes, and you get an addictive drama that kept me binge-watching it. The main messages were karma, knowing one's self-worth, and valuing one's dignity.

After having experienced the spectrum of emotions, from the villains making my blood boil watching them plot and play dirty to the feelings of enjoyable romance watching the interactions between the ML and FL, the best part by far was seeing the good guys triumphed over the evil schemes repeatedly. This is so gratifying since there are so many lakorns where the bad guys keep winning until the last episode when they finally get their due punishment or redemption because forgiveness is a key virtue. The rating should be higher, but I guess a rating above 7.5 is considered high for a Thai drama on MDL.

I started this show because of Nune Woranuch, who played Nampink, the FL, but ultimately I binge-watched because of Got Jirayu, who portrayed the ML, Aumpon. I first noticed him in Love Destiny, looking so fine as Luang Surasak, but he stole my heart in this drama. A perfect ML, so charming, charismatic, and attractive...Aumpon may be younger than Nampink, but he was mature, thoughtful, protective, and committed to his love for Nampink. One of my favorite genres is when the ML falls for the FL first, and it was cute how Aumpon smoothly expressed his feelings to Nampink. I love how Got's eyes crinkled as he smiled widely, but his playful expressions can transform so effortlessly into serious and menacing ones when he stared down the villains. I have nothing but praises for Got's acting in this show, and I look forward to him playing more lead roles.

Nampink was a strong female lead, like an iron fist in a velvet glove. Beautiful, decisive, and resourceful, she handled herself with elegance and grace even through heartbreak and betrayal. I like that Nampink was intelligent, and even when she felt devastated, she executed her revenge so nicely and cleanly against the people who did her wrong. Nune has the aura of a commanding female lead, and it is not surprising that she was proclaimed as one of the royalty of Thai dramas. She is gorgeous and I spent the whole show admiring her hair and fashion. In fact, I loved all the female characters' outfits! The production designer deserved a shout-out for such excellent choices but seriously, does the Thai high society really dress like the way they do in the dramas?

As individual characters, our leads were likable, and as a couple, they were admirable and endearing. So supportive and understanding of each other, they were able to take down the villains by anticipating their next moves and laying traps for the bad guys. The chemistry was good, and I wish they had more kissing scenes. That said, both actors were so on point with their expressions and body language that I did not need obvious gestures like kissing to see how well they played off each other. They have a unique dynamic that made it so interesting to watch them. Plus, Got just oozed sexiness, and the show enhanced that impression by playing the sexy background song almost every time he appeared on screen to charm Nampink.

The supporting cast was good, but I was not interested in the second couple's relationship. I don't think it was executed very well, and I didn't exactly buy the idea that Ramnam and Lue loved each other in the end. Green Ausadaporn is lovely and was good as Ramnam, the scheming nangrai who stopped at nothing to get what she wanted, but something was lacking in her overall delivery. I think that the SFL was supposed to be a more complex character, fighting against societal prejudice and oppression, but Green's acting did not come through for me. She was good with her smirks and sneers, and she totally brought out the dislike in me. However, she did not do as well in the more emotional scenes. The same thing with Peter Corp Dyrendal, who played Lue, the SML who was supposed to be in love with Nampink even after he betrayed her but then all of a sudden, he was in love with Ramnam towards the end. I pitied Ramnam's mother the most, but in a way, she was the one who enabled Ramnan's wickedness.

The music list was not long, but the soundtrack was memorable, including the sexy song I now will always associate with Got…Haha! For posterity, I have listed the main songs below. Unfortunately, the show did not balance the dramatic background music well, and it can be quite jarring.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tCPuOIeSHo
เพลง : พิง (Song: Lean)
นักร้อง : NONT TANONT (Singer)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SHtrQNYE90
เพลง : ความรัก (Song: Love)
ศิลปิน : โรส ศิรินทิพย์ (Singer: Rose Sirinthip)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUhlXxelZZA
เพลง : ปม (Song:Crux)
ศิลปิน : ZANI ( ซานิ นิภาภรณ์ ) (Singer: ZANI (Sani Nipaporn))

I gave a decent rating for the re-watch value since I expect I will replay scenes of Aumpon and Nampink. On the whole, I do recommend this Lakorn. The story moved quickly with a great ending, good-looking actors who can act, and great music. So give it a try, and who knows, you may get hooked onto it just like I was.

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The hunt for a serial killer.

Who is He is an intensely gripping police procedural that narrates the hunt for a serial killer that evaded justice for decades. It draws inspiration from two well known, real life cases - the 1988 Gansu serial killer case and the 1996 Nanjing University dismemberment case. These investigations were hampered by a lack of access to modern forensic technology, especially DNA evidence. The brutality and horror of these cases instilled national shock and outrage. For those following the heinous Abby Choi case in Hong Kong, the dismemberment case invokes chilling parallels.

During the hunt for a serial killer in 1988, Wei Guoping comes within a hairsbreadth of capturing him. In a close encounter, Guoping saves the intended victim Nie Xiaoyi but loses his partner. He has survivor's remorse and the case continues to cast a shadow over his existence long after it goes cold. Eight years later, he is convinced that the 1988 killer has resurfaced in the shocking Nanjing University dismemberment case.. His peers and superiors however are concerned that his rushed conclusion could steer the investigation down the wrong path. The drama dives into the inner workings of the department and how they collaborate and resolve internal conflict. It shows us that there are many ways to skin a cat and internal debate is healthy and produces a more rigorous process with defensible chain of evidence, and effective witness and suspect testimony.

This drama does a fantastic job zooming in on the procedural aspects of an investigation from the thankless, painstaking and smelly task of collecting and analyzing evidence to effective (and not so effective) methods of interviewing persons of interest. Without modern forensic technology, it is like looking for a needle in a haystack and can span decades. The show's meticulous attention to detail and commitment to vivid realism makes it stand out in the genre. The uncanny simillarity in the dumpster dive scenes to real footage from the recent Abby Choi case adds another layer of intrigue and sense of real life horror. There is an everpresent sense of urgency and suspense that is captured by highlighting the terror of the witnesses, survivors and the afflicted communities. The audience is also kept invested by dramatising the character aspects of the investigative teams and how unsolved cases can haunt key members of the investigative team.

The character writing and portrayals are among the drama's strongest aspects. Zhang Yi delivers yet another exceptional performance as a hard core detective single-mindedly focused on hunting down the 1988 killer. His Wei Guoping is a much less perfect character than An Xin (from The Knockout), which makes him more interesting and relatable. I loved how Gu Kaiyan calmly puts him in his place, asserts her authority and earns his grudging respect. The rapier-like way she breaks down and corners a suspect in interrogation is insanely awesome. Xu Fangyi steals the show with this riveting portrayal of a cooly logical and formidable female cop. The unique mixture of camaraderie, conflict and attraction between Wei Guoping, Song Zhe and Gu Kaiyan really made the team dynamics fun to watch.

Where the drama falters is in plot. This is somewhat unavoidable as the underlying cases are true crimes where major breakthroughs were only achieved with the help of DNA, which is ultimately anti-climatic. Maybe it would have been better if they went with something similar to Netflix's wildly successful serial killer docu-drama format rather than to try to dramatise it. The less interesting crime syndicate arc with the overused "forbidden" romance with a gangster's sister trope grew bigger than itself in the final third of the drama. Logic holes emerged and there were simply too many coincidences to force disparate cases to converge. The antagonists' motives in particular were contrived and in the Gansu case, deviates too markedly from the profile of the real serial killer. This may have been one of the reasons it was so harshly criticised by Chinese audiences. Because of well written protagonists and all around strong acting, I don't think this was that bad of a drama although it did not live up to its early promise. As a fan of the genre, I still enjoyed this well enough and rate it 7.5/10.0

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The Bachelor + The Hunger Games = The hilarious and fun Ready, Set, Love

Subjective Gut Rating: 8.25

My first impression of “Ready, Set, Love” is BRIGHT! The colors are so vibrant and it feels so cartoonish! This is the perfect drama to watch if you want something light, a little over-the-top and hilarious!! Is it the best drama out there? Definitely not! But it brings me joy when I need some lightheartedness in my daily life. It feels like a live action adaptation of an anime.

The plot is nothing unique and is actually quite predictable. I would describe this as a combo of the American reality TV show, “The Bachelor” plus the movie, “The Hunger Games”. We have women competing for the love and attention of 5 eligible bachelors aka Gentlemen. The ladies are thrown into ridiculous games to beat out each other, in order to win the chance to choose one of the 5 gentlemen they want to marry. Additionally, in this dystopian world, you can’t really escape the political commentary of this supposedly perfect world inside The Farm.

I really enjoy the competition part of the drama including all the hilarious characters from the Gentlemen, Ladies to the commentators. If you don’t mind over dramatic acting, this is perfect. The romance is not bad, just not quite enough for my taste. The couples are cute, but I wanted more fluffy scenes. I do appreciate the inclusion of a lesbian couple and a gay couple (just not enough screen time). On the other hand, I like the portrayal of sisterhoods between FL and her sister, and 2FL and her BFF. With only 6 episodes, the political plot and commentary might be the weaker part of the story. It’s no surprise they included this in the drama, but there is just not enough time to develop and write a satisfactory ending to that. Everything seems too easily resolved, and I was never worried that things would turn out badly for them. You can probably see from a mile away how the drama is going to end.

Nevertheless, I had a lovely time watching this. I will recommend this if you are looking for some over-the-top fun with decent acting and chemistry, a good-looking male cast (especially one who wants to show off his abs at any given chance) in very vibrant HDR colors but am OK with a simple plot.


Completed: 3/15/2024 - Review #418

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Sweet & Moved along very nicely ....

Regarding the story there were some plot holes here and there, and I feel like the running time of each episode was poorly used in many occasions, some added things felt unnecessary to the plot as a whole, and some things could've been explained in a better way. I love a slow burn romance, the whole enemies-to-lovers trope, the two main leads were really attractive and you could feel the chemistry between them, and how they come together. It flowed through without any hiccups and the characters were well suited, my attention was how attractive both main leads were. They have different vibes, and I think they fit perfectly in what was presented,.

The second couple was really sweet, they story just came in and when right to the marriage proposal, its like they knew what they wanted and didn't bother with wasting time, and being dramatic. they did seem to have more screen time than I was expecting. They were super cute, I'd admit, but their relationship was way advanced compared to the main leads.

For me this series is worth watching, it's simple, it's cute, it's easy, and the end is refreshing.

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