Interesting 2nd life (redemption arc) but unsatisfying romance
“Scent of Time” does not seem to be a very popular drama and the main reason is due to its unavailability. I believe Youku did not have the drama available for their international audience. But HBO seems to be picking that up! The synopsis of the drama on MDL is also incorrect as this is not a drama about transmigration (since it’s a censored topic in China). The novel is about transmigration, but not the drama.I don’t have much expectations, but because I liked Zhou Ye very much in “Back from the Brink”, I want to check this out for her. And, she did not disappoint. Her acting was a standout among all the younger actors and she carries the show on her back. Her character, Hua Qian, is very easy to root for. She's smart, observant, and courageous. She was given a second chance to correct her past mistakes so that there’s a better outcome for her and her family in this second life. The redemption arc is a highlight of the show and I think it’s pretty well-written. There are plot twists I did not expect and the story is very engaging throughout the 30 episodes. I just wish the ending was a little better and longer.
Before I watched the show, I thought the romance plot with 3 male leads would be the highlight for me. You would think a reverse-harem would be a focus. Not quite what I expected. This story is about Hua Qian’s growth as a person. The men in her life are just a part of her character development.
Zhong Ye Lan was the first man in her life. One she was obsessed with in her past life and tries to undo all of that. Zhou Ye Lan has a lot of screen time in the first half of the drama. Though I like parts of their story, I do find Peng Chu Yue’s acting a little lacking, especially when compared to Zhou Ye. His character is more muted, and more quiet. Thus, it requires good acting to not appear bland and wooden.
Zhong Xi Wu as the Lord is an interesting character. He has a unique relationship with Hua Qian and has much better chemistry with her than the other two male leads. I just wish we got more screen time of the two together. Their romance is quite subtle on Hua Qian’s part. It was hard to see whether she had feelings for him, except for that one item (which I shall not spoil) and was shown in the later part of the drama. It’s also interesting to see Zhong Xi Wu lose his cool when it comes to Hua Qian. He actually lost his cool a little too fast and uncharacter-like for a lord.
Hua Rong Zhou is the trusted guard who vows to protect Hua Qian with his life. This character appears too perfect and boring. He’s also bland in the beginning and Zhang Yi Jie’s acting is a little wooden. He was much better when he wasn’t a lovesick puppy following Hua Qian around. I like that when he’s talking back and being a little bossy. Other than that, Hua rong Zhou is not charismatic enough to be a male lead.
The rest of the supporting cast isn’t bad, except for Mu Yao, played by Zhao Qing. Her acting is the worst of the bunch for me. She has that one bland look and dead eyes on her face all the time. The veteran cast (Elder Princess and FL’s parents) obviously did a much better job than the younger cast.
The production quality is pretty good. I like the hairdos, accessories and the costumes of the female cast, and the sets and props look decent. “Scent of Time” only has 3 songs in its OST but they are lovely, just a little overplayed. I am however disappointed with the dubbing. I wish the main cast had used their own voice.
Overall, I had a great time watching this drama. It has its fault, but as a whole, I like the pacing, the redemption and character growth, and I am really becoming a fan of Zhou Ye.
Completed: 11/9/2023 - Review #375
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As I hope this review will be helpfull to others in deciding whether to watch "Baby-faced Beauty" or not, I made a list of the topics of this drama and my rates for some of the topics.
37% Work/Bussiness: Fashion Designing (7/10)
Ofcourse it is about the process of designing, getting ideas, drawing, choosing the materials an so on. But it's not just that. It's also about how the antagonists always try to prevent the protagonists from success with dirty tricks and how the protagonists overcome it.
35% Romance (7/10)
It might not be a thrilling romance, since we can guess who she'll end up with. But I liked it. It's quite interesting to see how the feelings of the 2 male leads grow. At some point there was the topic about the age difference, but as I see it, it was not a huge barrier for the romantic relationship.
18% Comedy
5% Family
Others
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A great drama however, if you don't mind watching one that has zero romance. I cried a few times while watching it and cried at the end too :'( It's more sad b/c you basically see history take place before your eyes :'(
This drama follows the writings left by Ryu Seong Ryung about the Imjin War that he titled 'Jing Bi Rok' - and we watch this unfold before our eyes, the invasion of the Japanese army, the fights in the court, the actions of King Seonjo as he tries to hold onto his power and suspects everyone. The righteous leading of Ryu Seong Ryung & his followers, the Bravery & Heart of Lee Soon Shin, the anger of Prince Gwanghae, the secret "peace talks" between Wae & Ming, the deception of the envoys, the patriotic spirits of the Righteous armies, the punishment brought out by Seonjo b/c of his fear of praise being taken away from him....the Japanese internal struggle with each other, and Toyotomi's crazy greed for power.
Ryu Seong Ryung is a character I admired throughout the entire drama & I respected anyone who followed him & believed in him. Lee Soon Shin a man who no matter who asked what of him would only do what he felt was right - he never brought harm to his men. He was upright, brave, unyielding and strong of heart - another man to be greatly admired - without him who knows what would have happened in history... I loved his friendship with Ryu Seong Ryung ^^ Both of these men are so brave - they go so well together - definitely the best of friends <3 While watching King Seonjo all I could do was shake my head at his childish, and petty ways.... and there were several other great characters throughout the drama :)
Actors I have to give a shoutout to:
~ Kim Sang Joon (Ryu Seong Ryung), Kim Suk Hoon (Lee Soon Shin), Kim Tae Woo (King Seonjo), Jung Tae Woo (Cheon Ri), Choi Chul Ho (Lee Hang Bok), Noh Young Hak (Prince Gwanghae), Lee Kwan Hoon (Shin Myeong Chul), Nam Sung Jin (Lee Deok Hyeong), & Jeon Kwang Jin (Song Hee Rib) ~
I for one would re-watch this drama if time allowed. If you like historicals - especially factual based historicals then you should enjoy this one as we watch history unfold.
The only OST I remember is just an instrumental that came on at the beginning and during the drama - nothing spectacular but it fit very well with this drama.
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This review may contain spoilers
Your sometimes friendly BL watcher. (Who is extremely fucking emotional atm and silently throwing a tantrum)I honestly love this HIStory series as it makes me happy for some weird reason. (Mostly Trapped, Boundary Crossing)
I've seen some gay dramas with happy ending and explainable sad endings. So what the actual fuck was that. The series was going so good until the last episode. I was prepared for them to at least say homeboy got memory loss or some shit but he literally goes *POOF*. You could've killed off one of the friends or even the dada idk Like what the friggin hell.
While sitting on my computer chair crying into my popcorn, I'm trying to piece together that last episode.
First of all yall had the story going great everyone happy and all that jazz. I understand that there wasn't a major conflict in the plot and you wanted to add an accident. That is understandable. You could've added cheating. That would be understandable. BUT HOW COULD YOU KILL OFF EVERYONES SMOL BOY LIKE WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK. I honestly hope that Boundary Crossing 2 isn't like this.
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the story was amazing it wasn't just love, it was about the past the present, friendship, family and mysteries
I was rather upset with the ending thou, it was not what i expected I expected alot better ending for the excellant story so far
Music was outstanding, actors was outstanding and I would defently watch it again :)
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Sweet and Simple
I read a lot of negative comments about this drama and I didn't want to give it a chance anymore, but then I read someone's comment and decided to give it a chance. I have no regrets, this drama was very sweet, cute and pretty simple.Almost every drama have a cliché, and plot holes, I really don't see why this drama has so many negative reviews, it has no negative reviews than drama's I've actually put on hold or drop with higher ratings but turned out so boring and no chemistry. The leads have such a great chemistry in this show, and with the son it was even better. I actually enjoyed this show so much, even with some little plot holes and so on, if you look that that then you'll also enjoy it.
My expectations going into this show was zero, because of all the negative comments etc, i went into the show with a blank mind and wanted to experience it myself, and I'm so happy i did. i loved this, if the couple did not have any chemistry and couldn't act then I would have dropped, but the chemistry and acting was great, it was really sweet. Apart from the reason why they got together with the contract and the lack of scenes regarding the explanation for the accident, and the FL kept leaving now and then (this was my biggest issue). I had no other issues, those were the only major things I can see anyone having a issue with, but they're not deal breakers.
My review overall score is 8.5/10 this is my own personal review of what i think the show is wroth based on what i look for in a show, everyone has there own taste in drama's so there review would also be different, but it doesn't mean you shouldn't give a show a chance. try it for yourself as I did, its wither you'll love it or you wouldn't.
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This review may contain spoilers
it's not in the same league with Hospital Playlist.
The Good:-Seo Hyun Jin
-The show has charm.
-There is no love triangle.
-The head nurse and her ?ex-husband?
The Neutral:
-The romance is alright, but there is very little of it.
-It's not a very well researched medical drama
-The overdramatized surgeries
-I could just not warm up to Teacher Kim.
-Hospital Playlist is just a thousand times better in almost every way.
The Bad:
-There is not much plot beyond going from emergency to another emergency, but what plot there is, it is just pretty bad.
-The hospital politics
-In Bum is a somewhat poorly written character
-Surgeons do crazy non surgery related med things.
-The silly main villain
-There were way too many unreasonable BS characters.
-Yoo Yeon Seok's acting (It's crazy how much he has improved since this drama finished airing)
-The big cheating/drunk driving reveal never really happened.
-Seo Jung's PTSD faded into nothing. "It's alright, the audience won't remember!"
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The story starts off with friends but topping it off with your main main characters and everyone plays such an amazing part; it's a slice of life thrown in with some romance but friendship turned into family and even more. Everyone has their own story and something going on but at the end of the day, they love each other to no end. On an honest level, this show will also make you mad, make you cry and frustrated, all at the same time. There's a lot going on and they go through so much together but thoroughly this is a nice warm story. Even though some parts are so nerve wrecking and anxiety riding, to be honest, it's just a realistic look on slice of life from complications in your relationship to learning how to move on from an old flame as well.
The acting was done amazing, Zhang Ting Hu was just an amazing man overall and Gingle Wang played an amazing person in her character and the chemistry between them was wonderful. Edison Song was the best friend you always wanted, that was affectionate, sweet and hard headed all in the same sitting along with Sylvia Hsieh who was just an amazing friend overall, every single person did so amazing as they acted, 10/10 for them for sure.
The music was nice and effortless; during the sad scenes it made you feel the feels basically and the piano melodies were nice to hear as well.
Rewatch level? 10/10 for sure. This show was such a beautiful show to watch, the acting was easy, the story was nice, even if you were mad out of your mind, you weren't really mad. Like even though you got frustrated at certain parts; it's nice for a show to make you feel some emotion so it'll be nice to go back and watch for sure if you want a tear jerk er for something warm for friendship.
Overall? 100/100. This show is good, easy, fun and nice and basic. The acting was nice; they were also extremely easy on the eyes to watch as well. So would I watch it? Yes and it may or may not be your cup of tea but everything's worth a shot!
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This review may contain spoilers
The show is about Iron Triangle. So you'd hope that Qi Ling would at least appear as much as some supporting character AT THE LEAST - let alone giving him the actual deserved screen time.
The second Yangyangs Qi Ling disappears, you watch season after season, episode after episode, spin off after another spin off, only to get to Reboot (Reunion) and have him still pretty much either so far in the background, or just simply gone.
And okay, I loved Baron Chens romance with the mute girl, it was genuine, had everything in the right amount even though in the end even that didn't go anywhere.
And then you think omg Yi long is the perfect older, mature Wu Xie, so please give me SOMETHING WITHMY OTP I'm not asking for much, but they could have done something along the lines of Untamed or Guardian - I mean I thought I was going to leave confused considering Yilong and Bai yu are one of my top couples.
And in the beginning it looked like that was a possibility, because you guys know I'm extremely partial for Yangyang and for the first time the actor for me had the potential to be a close second to YY buuuut the poor boy never got a chance.
Because halfway through they got into some bullshit office romance - which they probably thought was a clever Warehouse 11 storyline, but seriously the only clever aspect was how much money they saved on the production that went from badass, dangerous, and rather narrow escapes, showing the Uncle and Baron Chen, and the rest like a family - however screwed up it might be, you were still rooting for them.
And then someone gets the great idea that screw tomb raiding, and badass action, or even focusing on the fact that his uncle was being so nonchalant about the cancer news, like WTF.
And then they took my last bromance hope Pan Zi to some hetero storyline too, TWO SECONDS AFTER he confessed his love to Wu Xie lol most likely to give Wu Xie that completely contrived 'romance' which okay not going to lie I was shipping them during that one bonding scene where they lay down and 'watched the stars' XD but apart from that Wu Xie was being so wishy washy. It didn't seem sincere AT ALL not from his side anyway, not like Baron Chen was so into the chick and doesn't just go save her in some ending scene twist.
And omg that ending ugh are they still going to be in the warehouse lol I don't know if I can take the torture.
So, yes, for me it was fantastic till Wu Xie joins the warehouse and then it had it moments - Jia Le story, especially, or Kan Jians ADORABLENESS XD
Anyway, I loved the characters, actors, but I hope the story lines improve and I see more of Qi Ling and iron triangle ACTUALLY BEING TOGETHER AND BONDING TOGETHER instead of being apart and just talking about each other. I mean where is the pining, where's the eye fucking XDwhere's the WORRYING ABOUT THE GUY WHO HAS FREAKING CANCER.
Okay anyway, waiting for next part lol because I'm a sucker for pain.
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You know those dramas you anticipate but are afraid to watch because you're not sure it would live up to it's hype? KMHM lives up to the hype and surpasses it.
The story was phenomenal. Ji Sung is a very versatile actor and deserves all the awards he got for his work. He's excellent. Aside from him, all of the cast did excellent jobs. You forgot you were watching acting, because it didn't seem like acting. It seemed like true heartbreaking emotions. I sometimes wondered if the actors themselves haven't developed split personalities, they were that good.
Some people complained about the flashback scenes being too much, too repetitive and making parts of the drama boring. I disagree. The flashbacks were numerous, yes, but each was tastefully done and told a different story every time it was shown.
This drama was worth watching. I think I wanted it to be longer, to go into the origins etc of all the different personalities. I felt sorry in a different way for each of them, and it was hilarious how one of them was jealous of the other. Imagine being in a love triangle with you, yourself, and a woman. Seeing the story, developed by the excellent, flawless acting, makes you understand that each and everyone goes through difficult times and not to judge or treat people harshly. It really appeals to your empathy.
The music deserves Best OST. Jang Jae In is my new favourite.
Writer of the script gets 100/10. It was that good.
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Good Weights
Kim Woo Bin’s Acting: Honestly, when I saw Kim Woo Bin in The Heirs, I got scared. He looks a little intimidating with those bushy eyebrows and glaring eyes. But when I saw the trailer of this show. I started to see him in a completely different light. And despite the show’s disappointing script, Woo Bin managed to carry it gracefully to its climax. His acting was simply stupendous! He gave more than a 100% to make Joon Young convincing and managed to shine even in a dull show like this. Be it the flirty Joon Young or the sick and dying Joon Young or the jerk Joon Young he did it all with ease. I wouldn’t be wrong in saying that the show was bearable only because of him.
Unexpected Chemistry: Joon Young and Noh Eul’s chemistry was rather bland but there was a couple that brought a smile to my face. Noh Eul’s brother, Noh Jik’s pairing with Ji Tae’s sister Ha Ru was simply adorable. Their chemistry is evident from their first scene together. And their little love story gets better and better with each episode. I used to actually look forward to seeing them on the show. Their puppy love definitely stood out and brought some liveliness to the drama. Sadly, this cute pair hardly has any screen time. I wish the makers could give these lovebirds some more role.
Music: Whoever selected the background scores for the show must be applauded. The soundtracks suited the show’s melancholy theme and gave life to scenes.
Bad Weights
Snoozy Suzy: I have never seen any of her previous shows so I wasn’t aware of her acting skills. Sadly, she was the show killer for me. Being the show’s lead, with two men fighting for her, she looked terribly clueless as an actor. I realised her lack of acting skills in the first episode itself when Joon Young asks her if she remembers him and she says that she does and abuses him. Such a well-written scene and well performed by Woo Bin but Suzy managed to ruin the classic cliffhanger with her blank expression and shallow dialogue delivery. Actually, I should have understood from the much exciting promo itself when Joon Young asks if she was willing to date him for three months and she gives him a blank look. The show could have been much better had she put more efforts in her acting. Though she started acting better in the last 4 episodes where her character experiences major ups and downs in life and she changes as a person, but the improvement came too late. She’s cute but pales before Kim Woo Bin’s strong screen presence.
Sad Script: The show is about a dying person’s past and his last few days of life. So the general theme of the drama is ought to be sad but more than that the show was confusing for me. Joon Young was perpetually temperamental. He kept going back and forth with his love for Noh Eul each time for a different reason. One day he is flirting with her, wooing her and then the next day he treats her like trash. And it’s not even because of his sickness. His character was so capricious that I found it difficult to keep up with the story. OK! He has a plan and is working according to it but this only makes the female lead look utterly pathetic. His actions make her look too needy and weak as the main character.
Characters on the show seemed to have no other work than mess with Noh Eul’s life. Everyone seemed to be doing something that directly or indirectly affected her. It’s funny how both the sons of Assemblyman Choi were madly in love with the same girl. What’s surprising is that both the guys are super successful but are still fighting for the attention of a miserable girl who has absolutely no zeal in life. The drama was so slow-paced that only those with great patience or great love for Woo Bin could manage to follow it dedicatedly.
Though the show’s beam balance has tilted with good weights, it’s bad weights still weigh it down on the negative side. Apart from the OST and Kim Woo Bin, there is nothing great about this show.
Uncontrollably Fond is strictly for those who love Kim Woo Bin. It is one of his best performances and he shines like the brightest star in this drama. Others can ignore this one. There are better shows to watch in 2016.
Originally posted on www.alphagirl.in
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Why watch? Not sure - some nice scenery and deals w poachers. Sorry this was just weak and poorly acted. This is my second Tdrama - not a good track record of good drama.
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This review may contain spoilers
Low budget, great quality
The Day I Loved You is, in my opinion, the best BL to come out of the Philippines since Gameboys. Here are my pros and cons:PROS
UNUSUAL STORY. Kudos to the writers and producers for tackling the story of a devastating illness with respect, along with warmth and just the right amount of humor. To my knowledge, ALS has not been the subject of a BL before. Bravo!
TOMMY, TOMMY, TOMMY. He gave a tour-de-force portrayal as the ailing Nikko. The guy is very talented. Raynold Tan as Eli held his own pretty well, especially with such a strong acting partner.
BREVITY. I love how this series packed so much into such short episodes. Other BLs (many with dragged out, looooong episodes that seem never ending) should take note. This is how it's done, folks.
CONS
JUSTIN AND NIKKO'S MOM. The actor who plays Justin has about as much charisma and acting chops as a wooden spoon, and the actress who played Nikko's mom wasn't much better.
PROM. Not a deal breaker, but I would have preferred to see Nikko attend the REAL prom.
Were there some areas to pick at? Sure. So why am I giving it a 10? (Especially when I rarely give them.)
Because this is one of the very few BLs I've seen in the last couple of years where I found myself counting the days/hours to see the next episode. And, for me, that counts for a lot.
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Kim Hee Sun and Ahn Jae Wook have great chemistry (I need to check out their previous drama together 'Sunflower' now ^^ hehe). I enjoyed their scenes together, they were entertaining at times, romantic at times and painfully sad at times :'( Min Su (AJW) works for Ki Tae whom he saved from being kidnapped 13yrs ago - Ki Tae says Min Su is his friend - but he treats him more like a slave than a friend (a friend would never do the things Ki Tae does to Min Su...ever.) Min Su knows this but puts up with it b/c his job is ok and he gets paid well - but when he meets Yeon Ju (KHS) he starts getting tired of how Ki Tae has been treating him. As the description says he meets Yeon Ju and her friend Jung Ae at a club where they lie to each other (which they later regret). I liked Min Su, Yeon Ju, Jung Ae (once she started acting more mature) and Hee Jung (Ki Tae's sister) Lee Tae Ran plays Hee Jung and she's so young and pretty on here ^^ (yes I'm a fan) luckily she's nothing like her brother on this drama who I will describe as a despicable scumbag. No HJ is nice, kind and bold (I liked that I could like her character on this drama). I will be following more of KHS' dramas in the future too (she too is really pretty in this drama).
Music: All classic stuff, I liked it but my two favorites were: 'Last Promise' by Choi Jae Hoon and 'Sad Fate' by Choi Jae Hoon & Choi Won Suk ^^ - Other songs: 'Doesn't Matter Now' by Oh Se Hyung, 'Confession' by Oh Se Hyung & Choi Jae Hoon, 'To Me' by Jang Hyun Chul, & 'Goodbye My Love' Epilogue by Ahn Jae Wook :)
I probably won't re-watch this b/c sad melo's are something I can usually only watch once.
I would recommend this to anyone who likes classic old dramas and or are a fan of sad melodramas.
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Only good for it's cast?
When starting a new drama I usually go in expecting nothing because the drama ends up being more impressive without expectations and gives me a lot to drool over. But this drama gave me nothing. The twists were expected, the storyline was boring and the characters were less than likable, a big problem because there are so many. It tries to do way more than what it has time for. Just barely exploring the plot points it brings up. Details are just flat out told to viewers via character dialogue/flashbacks (there are so many flashbacks). I wanna see some action not storylines handfed to me. I don't know who the director is but I would avoid future dramas shot by this person seeing how bad and bland the shots were. At times the camera cuts to this first person shaky frame which is so unflattering.As for acting, I think everybody did their best with what was given to them. Though, I did find Kang Sol A's acting way over the top. No show stealers here though. There's a lot of screaming (thank you old office man who has zero significance to the plot), this show seems to think loud equals funny or emotional. You're not delivering anything, just hurting my ears. I can't handle the morally righteousness of the main characters. The one character that strays from that; Sungjae is given the bare minimum. There being so many characters is the downfall of this show. You can't establish an emotional connection with them because of the lack of deep diving characters are supposed to be given. So at the end I don't care about who gets to be happy, I just want the show to be over.
As for music, there are only 3 songs here. It gets really old really fast. It's annoying that the songs come on and basically tell you hey this scene is supposed to be emotional, hey this scene is supposed to be suspenseful, and oh hey look the characters are studying. It's annoying when the emotional music comes on and you're not even moved by the scene. You're stuck there cringing because what the characters said wasn't deep at all and here plays th-We are We are Where are we? We are We are.
With all that said, I don't like this drama, I feel like I wasted my time and was blinded by an all star cast. I would still recommend you watch it, it might be your cup of lukewarm tea. But there are way better dramas out there, enjoy watching.
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