Reviews

Life & emotions

Who plays the main role of your life? How do you play the main role?

Here is another proof that you do not need huge budgets to make an extraordinary drama. Writing, writing, writing! Someone should tell this to K drama and thai bl screenplay writers....

On the surface a simple story of young people on the cusp of adulthood: finishing school, looking for job, finding love, figuring out who they are and what they strive to become. Slice of life drama, about 12 young people and their main life questions shown, explained and solved in a series of short but tight and to the point vignettes. The characters are a bit stereotypical but the drama is better for it since it talks to everyone.

And we have all been there: how to become a responsible adult?

The acting is top notch especially the actor playing the empath, someone with capacity to understand other people's emotions beyond the ordinary. He brings solace and proposes solutions for his friends' questions about life.

This web drama has that indie feel, the cinematography is actually pretty good since it correspond to the feelings the characters are trying to figure out: sometimes sunny, sometimes blue, sometimes sad.

Definitely worth the watch!

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I know I stand alone but I did not get the hype.

I've loved Park Bo Young since Strong Woman and this was my first drama with Seo In Guk so I was optimistic, but this show was just ugh. There was no chemistry between them and even though many k-dramas have their leads barely meet and suddenly be in love for no real reason, I feel like that was extra atrocious in this show. I finished it but only because I felt like if I didn't, I would've wasted the seven hours it took me to get halfway through it.

Maybe it's because her chemistry with Park Hyung Sik was off the charts, and so this in comparison is awful, but I don't know because I watched this BECAUSE people said it was their fave drama ever. The other reason I finished this is because I didn't want to have multiple dramas I quit (I had just quit Kill Me Heal Me because the main female lead is absolutely insufferable).

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Repititve storyline

Season 1 was great. Though it was not my usual cup of drama, the plot kept me on edge and I binged through the whole season. Moving on to Seasons 2 and 3, I realised the storyline is pretty much repeating.
It's just stupid, rich, snobby people who think they can get away with anything with their wealth.
Killing people for personal gain and then their loved ones seeking justice and revenge for the dead ones.
I'm sooooooooo sick of people coming back from the dead.

Watching The Penthouse I realised that it does not have THAT big of a story. No, the storyline was predictable and ordinary. The only reason it gained huge success was the execution of the plot. It's remarkable how well the did the production and execution of The Penthouse. And the acting? Top-notch acting skills and a great cast. Everyone did their role well.

So, the drama was ok, ig? But I'm not up for a rewatch though.

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Painfully Cliche And Poorly Written But I Still Continued Watching

There's so much I found frustrating with this show that I don't even know where to begin. Going into it I had my expectations set really low since the rating wasn't the highest, but I thought I'd give it a chance since I liked the cast. Unfortunately, the show probably deserves a lower rating than what reviews indicate. Since I can't organize my dislikes in a coherent storied way, I'll just provide a list of things I liked and didn't like instead.

What I liked:
- The cast (for the most part). Lin Xin Yi and Luo Zheng played their parts well, although the cliche scenes and poorly written story didn't make it easy for them.
- The chemistry between Xin Yi and Zheng was good (when they weren't fighting or misunderstanding), as much as the script allowed.

What I disliked:
- The story is very poorly written. Full of cliches that I physically cringed when sitting through. Characters don't really make logical decisions or communicate with one another. Kind of felt like a fanfiction story written by someone who wanted to make themselves the main character and live vicariously through Yan Xi.
- The way conflicts were handled and resolved. It seemed like every time something happened that added conflict to the story, Xi Cheng was the one who had to step up and try to fix things, whereas Yan Xi was portrayed as the victim in every situation (even when it was her fault or partially her fault). It seemed like Xi Cheng had to take responsibility for so many of the conflicts that occurred, even when he wasn't really at fault, yet the show tries to brush past it like it's normal. For example, when Yan Xi gets annoyed at Xi Cheng because she sees him interacting with his "ex" (even though they work together so it can't be avoided), so she goes out to an arcade with Fu Bo Ya and even takes him out to dinner. Then she happens to run into Xi Cheng and the "ex" eating at the same restaurant (yet another cliche), and gets so mad to the point that she storms out and Xi Cheng has to chase after her. She then proceeds to kick him in the shin and yell at him for eating with another girl, even though she's literally doing the exact same thing eating with Fu Bo Ya. At least Xi Cheng tried to draw the line between him and his "ex" early on (and acted mean/indifferent to her most of the time), whereas Yan Xi was openly friendly and hung out with Fu Bo Ya so many times, even though Xi Cheng expressed his discomfort with it. Such a large portion of the show was spent on the two leads getting jealous of each other for no good reason, and Yan Xi acting hypocritical made it so much harder to watch.
- Speaking of love triangles, this show has some of the most painfully hard-to-sit-through love triangles I have ever seen. Fu Bo Ya and Nangong Lui Li were so incredibly annoying that I actually skipped through some of their scenes (which is something I rarely do). Fu Bo Ya was conveniently everywhere all at once, and was always there to swoop in whenever one of the female characters was going through a hard time and it was so annoying. He just felt like a forced constant distraction that just slowed everything down and added unnecessary drama. Lui Li was just as annoying, but at least she was kind of supposed to be annoying for most of her screentime, whereas Bo Ya wasn't "intentionally" a nuisance until later on in the show. Bo Ya's sudden "departure" from the show near the end was so cliche and out-of-the-blue that I actually laughed a little when it happened because of how absurd it was. And why was Lui Li depicted as such a psychopath for the majority of the show? Her character went full psychotic Joker villain mode and it didn't really make sense to me.

...I'm going to try and keep the rest of these points short since I've typed too much already.

- Xi Cheng gets blamed for everything. Even when it's not entirely his fault, everyone blames him (including his grandma).
- The whole "secret" thing goes on for way too long. Yan Xi not explaining herself was so painful.
- Very cliche and unrealistic views on relationships. The scene when Situ Shuo has to box a professional boxer in order to get Lu An An's number was weird. I don't know why it was supposed to be romantic, and I don't know why she didn't stop him from getting hurt sooner.
- Xi Cheng's OCD thing didn't really play as big of a role as I thought it would. That one time Yan Xi tried to use his OCD against him because she was jealous of him eating with Liu Li was kind of messed up and just brushed off.
- Some of the acting was off at times, even with the leads (I think Lin Xin Yi did a very good job though).

I'm probably missing so much that I wanted to mention, but this review is so long already. Thanks for sitting through my complaints if you read this far!

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Cliche Kdrama, what more do ya need?

It’s basically soulmates trope, who get their destiny messed with but still find their way to each other yadda yadda…

To be quite frank, I felt a little sad when the show ended, it was probably because I started watching it while the episodes were still airing, so I spent quite some time watching this show. It was really cutesy at first, I mean who doesn’t love a good cat and mouse chase between the ML and FL am i right?

But at some point I felt like things just got super repetitive. From the stalker being the whole plotline the ENTIRE show like thats legit the only conflict they had in the show, along with some past bullying which was resolved pretty quickly and summarised in one episode…I mean they showed flashbacks but it still felt super rushed imo.

Also about the daughter getting arrested, like, what happened there? Why’d hongjo look at her as if she believed that she wasn’t an accomplice? I thought they would make a whole plot out of that or something but it just got shut down and onto the next plot of the show which was just showing what happened next with other characters.

The beginning of the show was pretty good and ropes you in, i’m not calling this show bad of course, just not that special. The spicy scene definitely made up for the boring scenes though, I’m not even gonna lie i felt butterflies ooppppss

But yeah, not a bad kdrama but it was just a tad bit too cliche and most of the time i could always guess what was gonna happen next, it was very predictable.

Also the bloody hand though, it was such a good add in the show and made you curious about it but the reveal was lowkey boring. I expected a bit more…it felt like they were going for supernatural but then halfway decided against it idk…and the whole love potion thing, i’m not even sure if that was real or not, they just…forgot about it…lol

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Is it or isn't it?....

It's weird...It's not weird...it's weird...it's not weird..and the final verdict is ................................................................................................................................................................IT"S WEIRD.....

Seriously maybe I need to watch this again....I think I kept thinking they were going to cross the line! The 1st Ep really put me off! Maybe I didn't catch a lot of the attributes I see posted here in other reviews. I'll admit another viewing mabe be needed here.
Yes, ??to writers and producers for presenting a different type of human relationship and the turmoil associated with same sex relationship in a still very unaccepting world....no role models...no family or societal acceptance...In an over-all general sense. I could go on....which this lack of emotional support all leads to insecurity, communication issues and in this case weirdness.
However, to me this series seems like a stage play that was adapted to film. I think it needed more density. The intent and intensity seemed very inconsistent a lot of the time.
I kept thinking Yoh was going to run away... and I think he should have!
To me his internal dialogue didn't match his outward behavior which is troublesome for me to watch and see. I hope to see Mashiko in a less controversial BL in the future. I think he could be very charismatic in the right role.

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An all time favorite

This is seriously my favorite kdrama of all time. I've rewatched it multiple times even tho it's pretty long lol... I wasn't a big fan of historical dramas before but this definitely changed my mind!

I felt a lot of emotions during this. I laughed a lot but I also cried my eyes out lol... Idk how they did this honestly. The comedy was amazing and almost all the characters had funny moments. But then again, it was also very sad. My heart was genuinely hurting at some moments. It was definitely a roller coaster haha... It was the perfect mix between comedy and drama and that's a big reason why I love it so much.

I never felt bored while watching this even tho I get bored easily and often watch dramas at 2x speed haha... This was a longer kdrama but it didn't feel like it. I kinda wished it had more eps lol (that might've been too much tho).

The cast in this is incredible and I became a fan of almost all of them after watching this. I knew Shin Hyesun was a good actor before but she's truly an incredible actor. I became a big fan after this. I was really surprised by Kim Junghyun since I haven't seen him in a lot of dramas. He was amazing! I was also really happy to see Na Inwoo in this since I really like him!

I liked a lot of the characters, almost all of them. Obviously, many of them made mistakes and I disliked them at the beginning but they made up for it and I liked most of them at the end. I also liked how all of them were relevant to the actual story and weren't "forgotten".

The only thing I didn't LOVE was the ending. It was very bittersweet. I don't mind it that much though!

(I think I'll actually go rewatch it again now hahah)

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It is a suspenseful spy drama with many twists and an open-ended ending.

Spy Game is a spy drama that turns real-life spies through an online game where the organization crime recruits players and turns them into real spies.

The Synopsis: In Jinhai, China, a spy game has become popular among young people. As it turns out, the game was developed by an overseas intelligence organization known as "Night Fog." They are using players to engage in espionage activities without their knowledge and seizing the opportunity to cultivate spies among them. The evil seeds of the game have been spreading silently throughout the city. At this time, Gao Tian Yang, the head of reconnaissance at Jinhai National Security Bureau, works with intelligence officer Wu Xi to dive deep into the game as they investigate a case surrounding leaked laboratory secrets. During their investigation, the two rescue Huang Zi Cheng from a conspiracy, who is like a little brother to Gao Tian Yang, and in turn, he becomes their informant thanks to his rich experience in the spy game.

It has a good start and supporting casts like Li Yi Tong, Wei Da Xun, Wang Li Kun, Tony Yang, Wang Yang, etc.; it is an interesting story with decent acting from lead actors/actresses and supporting cast, with interesting twists.

The only complaint I have so far is the synthesized voices that they use to distinguish the characters in the games vs. the real voice in the present time of the drama. It is watchable, and the ending is open for Spy Game 2 since it is open-ended. I give it a 7.5 rating.

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The kungfu fighting scenes are good, but I didn't like the plot. I am dropping it.

Tiger and Crane is a historical/costume drama about young people fighting demons.

The Synopsis: This tells the story of a group of teenagers who, for the sake of their dreams, love, and responsibility, trudge through the gloom of the chaotic world to save the world. The optimistic and cheerful mountain orphan Huzi accidentally swallows a red pearl, a treasure of Yang, and befriends the cold captain, a clean freak, Qi Xiao Xuan, a national demon master. The two young people with very different personalities are forced to go on the road together because of a red pearl, and they make friends with Zhao Xin Tong, Wang Yu Qian, and others.

Each other's differences attract them, and through some adventures, they become life-and-death friends when Qi Xiaoxuan is imprisoned to protect Huzi. To save Qi Xiaoxuan, Huzi, and his partners come together to participate in selecting the national imperial demon master. Still, they uncover the great conspiracy of the national imperial demon master and seek to find the truth about the human-demon war five hundred years ago.

The Kungfu fighting scenes in this drama have some funny moments. I think Jiang Long did a decent job, and I am watching this drama because I like Wang Yu Wen. I was not too fond of the character she played in this drama, and I believe she is better in modern drama than historical one.

Zhang Ling He is popular and has been in many dramas this year; however, I don't particularly like his acting. He is another one-dimensional actor with the same facial expression regardless of joyful or emotional/suspenseful scenes.

I watched 16 episodes already, and I am dropping it because I don't like the plot and am not interested in demons fighting. I give it a 5.0 rating.

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Love this drama, and the acting was fantastic. It is funny, edgy, and tear-jerky.

Destined with You is a funny and enjoyable Kdrama. I normally don't watch too much Kdrama because I don't like to read subtitles, but this one is quite funny, and I like Rowoon the actor. I first like him in the King's Affection.

The Synopsis: Lee Hong Jo is the lowest-grade civil servant. She always does her best at work, even though she suffers from many civil complaints. In her personal life, she is used to being alone. One day, she becomes the owner of an old wooden chest and the key to lift a curse from Jang Shin Yu.

Jang Shin Yu is a competent lawyer who is smart and good-looking. He is usually in the spotlight wherever he goes but suffers from an unexplained disease. His condition gets progressively worse. He is desperate to lift the curse that has run through his family for generations. A lawyer bound by a centuries-old curse becomes entangled with a civil servant who holds the key to his freedom — igniting an unexpected romance.

I love and enjoy this drama a lot, and Jo Bo Ah did a great job playing Lee Hong Jo, and her onscreen chemistry with Rowoon is also good. They did a phenomenal job, especially Rowoon. I gave it an 8.5 rating. Highly recommended, and the ending leaves a cliffhanger for possible season 2. The

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A bizarre sci-fi drama with some interesting special effects. Good acting and the rooster rock.

Parallel World is a weird ancient sci-fi drama produced out of Cdrama.

The Synopsis: A beautiful melon seller, Ye Liu Xi, and a shadow puppet performer, Chang Dong, join forces to venture deep into the desert. One seeks to unravel the mystery of her origins, while the other aims to retrieve the remains of his girlfriend and 17 others who perished under mysterious circumstances. As they encounter numerous anomalies in the uninhabited area, they are led to the weathered and supernatural Yumen Pass. They navigate between the Imperial Guards, Taoist Priests, and the Scorpion-Eyed creatures, unraveling the truth amidst various enigmas and gaining insights into true love through numerous life-and-death experiences. The answers seem within reach but are entangled in an even larger conspiracy. Will the truth and their love prevail?

The acting is good, especially the main CP, played by Bai Yu and Ni Ni. The flow of the story is bizarre as they travel into many dimensions of the parallel worlds. It is interesting to watch; however, I wouldn't say I like the production quality of the drama, where everything is blurred and blue when they travel into a parallel world. It is my biggest complaint about this drama.

The cinematography for this drama is quite good, but why blur the sandman's face? It looks distorted. It is okay, and I like the acting, but I am not sure I will watch this genre in the future. I gave it a 7.5 rating.

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20 EPISODES FULL OF FILLERS

I'd say that this drama can finish in 10-12 episodes instead of 20 episodes which they filled it with more twists, plots, confusion over feeling or self-realization, back-on-forth love (or not to love). The main idea of every damn 'Choi' family created such terrible connection that every 'Shin' had to bear hardship and sadness. Yeah...every plots went around about these 2 family names.

Shin Joon-young (Kim Woo-bin) and No-Eul (Bae Suzy) were high school classmates who were separated during their teenage years due to an ill-fated relationship, but later meet each other in adulthood. Shin Joon-young is now a top actor-singer (Jerk, rude, devilish gorgeous, rich, sickly, cold), while No-Eul (emotional, unlucky, beautiful, poor, pity, money minded) was a documentary producer. No-Eul had a tough childhood; her father died in a hit-and-run, prompting No-Eul to quit school and make a living for herself and her brother. Shin Joon-young, had his life planned out for him. His mother wanted him to become a prosecutor to follow in the footsteps of his estranged father, but an incident caused him to quit law school and become a singer-actor. His mother disowned him, couldn't understand why he quit law, she hated his celebrity status. She had him when she's 22 and impregnated by boyfriend Choi Hyeon-joon which he left her for another woman and became the source of suffering for all characters in this drama.

The two later reunite when No-Eul is tasked to film Shin Joon-young's documentary. She convinced the producer that she can obtain his consent for the documentary shoot. Initially, Joon-young gave No-Eul a hard time, but he eventually agrees to participate in the documentary. Working together didn't give them solitude, more like battle of heart, like one pulling rope tight and lose, never ending confusion because of circumstances. Joon-Young didn't give shit to anything (breaking contracts, change mind in last minute, rude, dismiss press), nothing to lose demeanor that made every person frustrated, but he had secrets that he wouldn't admit...he's terminally ill - a cancer that only allowed him 3 months to live...he's also guilty on action he caused car accident to No-Eul 5 years earlier....and he's the son of congressman Choi Hyeon-joon out of wedlock.

Okay, I think Kim Woo-Bin is gorgeous and he has the cold eyes good for a rude guy character while he also could be a charmer for his mom. Bae Suzy....she often delivered her dialog screaming on top of her lung! Not to mention her acting cute (ackh...) I don't understand where they supposedly madly in love each other but there wasn't warmness in relationship, she didn't hug him back, kiss on peck, no tender glances. I can shorten the episode by suggesting some changes in plots: give No-Eul compensation for the death of her father, move away and move on, be transparent (seems everybody loves to held grudges and keeping secrets). Of course, this is drama, the more melodramatic the longer episode becomes. At the end though, did Shin Joon-Yong died from his cancer? As No-Eul wishing to see him tomorrow? Possibly season 2? Hope not but I don't mind to see Kim Woo-BIn again. LOL

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Shallow as Glass

I can't think what the screenwriter was thinking when she put this one together. The story itself had potential, but somehow got lost in the very shallow characters portrayed in the drama. The premise of a man growing up with the psychological scars of a trauma in his childhood, then finding a love to heal him was intriguing. This writer certainly did not do that scenario any justice!

The performance by the actors wasn't the problem, as I quite liked the ML's character and his growth by the end of the series. I liked the FL's brother and his silly girlfriend; I liked the ML's assistant and the FL's 'assistant'. I even liked the ML's mother. The character played by the FL was the one that spoiled this for me. She looked like a schoolgirl in a group of adults and professionals. She was so shallow, self-centered and insensitive to everyone and everything around her. She was petulant and demanding and spoiled. The choice of clothing for her was very unfortunate - making her look like a child, again, playing in the midst of adults. It was almost cringeworthy to watch the love scenes because while the ML looked hot, she managed to look like a frightened child who didn't know what was happening to her. (I hate the fish-eye trope when these couples are kissing. It is so unattractive!)

Let's mention the 'bad guys', shall we? Talk about plot holes and loose ends. What happened to the evil 'uncle' who was trying to sabotage the company every which way? What happened the bitch girlfriend-wannabe after ML found out she had tampered with the papers and caused all the plagiarism backlash? And they never even found out that she had sabotaged the FL in the first place. Again - the screenwriter dropped that ball!

I suffered through the 30 episodes with the help of the fast-forward button and a morbid curiosity to see how Karma might be served to those who deserved it. I got no such satisfaction. I persevered to see if the romance factor of both the couples would compensate me for my time and effort. Very little satisfaction there, although I will admit to some sizzle between the second couple - and a little between the lead couple if I could get past her looking like a minor. Still, there was very little development of the romances per se - one minute they were enemies the next, they were kissing and voila! A couple!

OST wasn't all that - so I couldn't give many points for that. And I definitely wouldn't re-watch this.

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