Alchemy of Souls (2022)

Probably my favorite historical-fantasy drama

I write this because I want to remember how this show affected me. I re watch this many times and only this moment I finally thought to write a review.

A wonderful show that's it.

Definitely recommended you to watch it and its getting better if you rewatch it with your friends and family... the feels idk.
Anyways the cast are great, the osts, ( oh I love "just watching you by jeong sewoon :((((<3 ) and the show itself is so good.

I just wish this will have more seasons and be consistent of the good writing and directing, for sure I will be there to watch it.

ps. Can not wait for december! :>>>>>

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No words

I just watched the last episode and I must say that this show didn't let down my expectations. I tent to get bored after a few episodes while watching dramas, but this show is just top tier. I love the storyline, the acting, the cinematography, just everything. The relationship between the main couple is just so beautiful. <33333 The ending itself is not satisfying but it had to be this way for the next season to be good and interesting. I highly recommend and I can proudly say that it's in my top 3. I'm also glad that they didn't hurry the story and just made the second season. Now I'll be waiting every minute till second season <3333333

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One of the best Kdrama of 2022

I watched countless Dramas over the past few years, and I will say to everyone this is one of the best Kdrama so far!

I will write the following reason why this is one of the best Kdrama of 2022:
1. THE STORY. The plot/story of the Alchemy of Souls is so unique that you cannot find it in other dramas. It is based on the historical genre and adds some fantasy. If you are familiar with Chinese Dramas, you might find them similar to the Wuxia genre. It is pretty new to Korean dramas, and I hope they will make more dramas like this one!
2. THE CAST / ACTORS AND ACTRESSES. The chemistry between Lee Jae Wook and Jung So Min is so perfect. Not only them but many support actors and actresses did their job well. I am super happy with the casting of Hwang Min Yun, Shin Seung Ho, Yoo In Soo, Yoo Joon Sang, and Oh Na Ra. They are the best mixture of supporting actors/actresses.
3. COSTUME AND CINEMATOGRAPHY. If you love the historical and fantasy genre, you will love the costume and cinematography in this Drama. The way they looked in their outfits was perfect. The perfect costume with the perfect shots of the scenery will make you fall in love with this Drama.
4. THE ROMANCE. As I mentioned earlier, the leading actor and actress of this Drama have perfect chemistry with each other. You will find yourself smiling every time you see them together. Not only the leading actor and actress but also the supporting actors! The Romance and Action in this Drama are pretty well balanced, and that makes this Drama unique from other dramas.
5. IT HAS SEASON 2. Yes, you heard it, the story is not yet finished, and that is what I love with this drama. They did not end it with just 20 episodes, and more are coming in the next few months! That means we will see the casts again in Season 2.

I hope that by listing why this Kdrama is one of the best in 2022, you will watch it too! Let us spread the love and adventure with this Kdrama!

Additional Comment:
I found the story/plot of this drama similar to those of the Chinese dramas I watched. Maybe because of that, I fell in love with this drama. It has some Wuxia elements on it. I hope by Season 2, they will add more action to the series. Naksu's sword fight is fantastic, and I hope I can watch more of that in Season 2.

Written review by ChickenAdobo (August 29, 2022)
- Your number 1 ulam here in MyDramaList

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Disappointed

It's my first time to make a review so bear with me on this one.
AOS is one of the kdrama that I got hyped watching. The first episode will always be the best episode of this series and is one of the reasons why I got into this series.

Story: This is one of those series that has the potential to be one of the best but ended up not living to its hype. I think the writers got influenced by the fans and didn't know how to continue the story later on.
So many questions left unanswered. So many plot mysteries that was left hanging - because the story started to focus on romance - almost each characters has romance shown in the series.

There are four young mages - yet, there was nothing for them to do - except to be part of love story.

The most disappointing is Jang Gang's return. He was the biggest mystery in this series but they made him come back just to die like that...

It would of been better if they announced that there will be season 3 - so the plots will be cleaned but they choose a rushed ending.

Cast: One of the best aspect of this drama is the casts. They all did a great job. The Somin did a great job portraying two different personalities - so it didn't take long for me to get use to her as new Naksu because her acting as Naksu was so close to the real one.
The rest of the casts did great job as well - even the extras.

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The synopsis does not do it justice!

It will surely pique your interest if you enjoyed 'Lovers of the Red Sky.'

A historical drama with a dynamic female lead! The magic system in this fictional place called Daeho is very very... petrifying (pun intended).

The storyline really pulls you in, especially the whole context behind the female lead's soul and reason for vengeance. The male lead is endearing in a way that does not let him outshine Naksu/Mu Deok Yi, which I genuinely appreciate. Overall, this drama's cast is one to watch out for. There are so many promising actors and their interactions are super adorable. The special effects have been elegantly carried out and the action sequences have been skillfully enacted, further complimented by the exquisite production quality. It all ties together handsomely, showcasing a superior level of storytelling. It does not follow the most cliched plot (although a few cliches were necessary) or have plot armour. This enhances its shock elements. The soundtrack is also very catchy and has a modern touch to it! Look forward to hearing a sageuk rendition of Oh My Girl's 'Nonstop.'

I came in with little expectations, but this has turned into one of the most anticipated historical dramas of 2022 for me.

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My most favorite historical drama

The show kept me loving it from the very first moment to the last. At first I hesitated to start watching it as it had 20 episodes and runtime of almost 80 minutes. Now I'm sad why it ended so quickly. I'm glad to know it'll have another season. Hope they'll bring a sequel along with the prequel. I'd love to see all the actors playing the same roles again. The story with all those twists and turns was so entertaining to watch. It's a perfect package of action, romance, comedy, emotion, mystery, thriller and so on. music was awesome too. I was really tensed when there was so much to reveal but only 2 eps were left and was afraid as well thinking they might ruin the end. I can sleep peacefully now that I know it had a perfect ending and ended with a cliffhanger.

I loved all the characters so much. Normally I'm not fond of second leads. But in this drama I loved Jang Uk, Seo Yul, Crown Prince equally, also Young Lady Heo. none of the second leads were toxic and were always supporting. Cinematography was topnotch. kudos to the vfx team.

In the last moment, when I saw Jang Uk die, I literally had tears in my eyes ( I don't cry easily) I don't remember when I was this sad while watching any series' or movies'. I'm now glad to know that he's alive. Hope Naksu is also alive. I hope for their happy ending in the next season.

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Surprising until the very end

SPOILERS ARE MARKED, READ WITH EASE

I've been waiting to write this review since somewhere around episode 10-12. Never seen such a well made drama in fantasy genre, so let me start to go into detail and be straight forward.

The story
Having a good plot doesn't mean viewers can't guess the ending, you can fully somewhat know the ending yet enjoy the show but having a plot and keeping the viewers at the edge of their seat until the very end is something else. At least I haven't encountered such show. The story was eye catching from the first episode. Characters were understandable since the very moment they were introduced. Their actions and way of logic was relatable. The story remained true to itself, clichés weren't involved, at least not to the point to ruin the unique story. I would say the story line kept getting better as time passed and the sub-plots were added smoothly. They all gracefully came together. Overall the story was unique and entertaining.

The characters
As I said before, characters were well made. They stayed true to themselves, their actions were based on the character NOT on the story. The character's choices made the story, there weren't out of character decisions just for the sake of plot.
For instance, (spoiler on this paragraph), Jung Uk's lack of motivation didn't magically disappear after Mu-Deok's entrance. As the love grew, we saw character development and it all made sense. Mu-Doek's character, unlike some opinions, was very well written and well used up until the end. (spoiler alert) For example the way she used Jung Uk to gain both of their powers, again, their love actually grew into them, it wasn't something to happen over night, yet I hope to see more of her own arc in the up coming season.

(spoiler ended.)

The action scenes were absolutely mind blowing, the casting was on point, the music was heartwarming, the only criticize I dare to make is the filler episodes, although it get back on track very soon.

I would say this drama was the best of 2022, probably be the best of 2023 if they maintain the same level of production in the next season, I keep my finger crossed and pray to have a well made 2nd season too.

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THIS SHOW IS EVERYTHING ❤️

i will just say that is show is a must watch!
the story, the characters, the chemistry everything is literally perfect.

the chemistry between jae wook and soo min is literally everything.
they made the cutest couple ever.

all the lines in this drama grow together perfectly. there is no boring details or unwanted characters. every character is there for a reason.

little sad that jung soo min wouldn't be our main lead the next season but i am sure the real naksu would do a great job.

+

the OST are magical ✨️

i hope su yeol find someone that he can love and end up happy also the crowned princes i really don't want him to turn bad.

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Typical Hong Sister's script problems

Although this drama has entertainment value and good actors in the roles, the Hong Sisters script is full of plot holes as usual. About Avery 15 min, I stop and say ' wait, that doesn't make sense". Yes, I understand it is a fantasy world, but fantasy's still need to make sense within the context of that fantasy. I think viewers willing suspend disbelief and brush aside these plot inconstancies and frankly dumb moments because of the entertaining pace of the story and likable characters. It could have been entertaining and well thought out if they had just thought the storyline through in detail. The Hong Sisters don't bother to do that, because they have a large fan base that is willing to go will the sloppy flow, so they don't make the effort. This could have been much better than it was.

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Intricate world, great characters, unpredictable story, but pacing is inconsistent

WARNING: Don't watch this separately from part 2 if you can't handle sad endings, because it has a crazy angsty plot twist in the end akin to "red wedding" from GoT!

Other than that this drama has a great mix of genres - fantasy, drama, comedy, action. The world is intricately built, all characters are given enough time to introduce themselves and most lead characters have great character development. The plot is very complicated and twisted, with deliberate hints about late spoilers dropped for attentive watchers from early episodes. It will keep you hooked and guessing what will happen next without you actually being able to figure it out, so unpredictable it is.
However, in later half of the show for the sake of dragging it out to 20 episodes the plot started to stall and meander around the issues with no real resolutions until the last two episodes, where everything was dumped on the audience - a common problem of many kdramas that just have no sense of pace and don't know how to end themselves properly. Some sub-plots especially took an egregious amount of screen time, like that "fake Bu-Yeon" plot. The ending was shocking for sheer shock value with lots of unresolved dangling loose ends. The sins of FL, who's occupying the body of an innocent girl, finally caught up with her in the end, but said innocent girl was done dirty, she didn't deserve any of this. In any case, stay tuned for part 2 to see the real ending, they're not done yet.

The cast did a stellar job at portraying their characters. Special props for FL who played a difficult 3 in 1 role.

OST and production value of this drama are also through the roof.

Overall, an 8.5. A very solid and unique kind of drama. But I can't give it a higher score in good conscience because of the problems with the plot I highlighted above.

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It's not how you start it's how you finish

I don't know what happened in the finale but they just decided to jump off a cliff, I found myself losing interest in the finale with all the filler information, to then in the last 15 minutes run rampant. You cant say it is a cliff hanger because the new series appears to be a prequel with Naksu instead of Bu Yeon. So it just begs the question what were they thinking ? Were they going to fill in the blanks or expect the audience create their own story? The ending just left a bad taste in my mouth, I cant say I watch many historical or fantasy KDramas but I cant say I would tune in for part 2

The acting was great, Jin Mu does well to make you hate him, the 3 love stories of the young, mature and older loves were fantastic, the chemistry was great, i found myself laughing numerous times, the battles were nice as well. You find yourself wanting to believe in those charcters and the story, to only find yourself disappointed with none of those plot lines coming to a close. I suppose they would of had that in mind leaving it as an open ending.

I may be wrong and this is a review of the halfway point but im not going to stay tuned to be potentially let down with the same situation at the end of part 2

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