The cast & plot make up for the poor editing & transitions
Despite the classic chinese drama style bad scene transitions, this drama roped me in firstly for its plot, and then for its cast. I have new favourites in, especially Bai Shu (yang bawan) & Sun Qian (chun yu) - their reactive acting was exceptional, and the rest of the cast were great too! In the beginning, I found Chun Yu's acting quite expressionless but, in time, that explains itself.Few scenes (especially in the beginning) were not convincing enough, and repetitive dialogues made me roll my eyes, but again, the plot (what happens next) kept me going.
It's purely the cast and visual fx that pulled the 9 star rating. Even when I got bored in parts, I came back for them. I will definitely rewatch this drama for the cast. Their chemistry was spot on.
All in all, I highly recommend the drama.
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Very Entertaining
This was surprisingly good. all graphics and everything was very well done. They chose experienced and good actors which made it even more entertaining cuz even scenes between side characters were enjoyable. that suspense factor was there in every episode till the last episode. and ending was very wholesome cuz everyone got a happy ending. I was annoyed with the evil girl but thankfully she didn't get to do much damage.There are many loopholes, yeah definitely there were times when I felt that this was unnecessary or that didn't make any sense but that happens in almost every drama, nothing major, overall everything was neatly tied by the end. I binge-watched it and didn't feel like I wasted my time cuz it was worth watching.
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INCREDIBLE
This drama was just soooooooooo good! So the story is about this group of people that enter a game that turns dangerous because they realise that when people die in the game they go into a come in reality. So it's just about them growing together, building a bond and figuring out what happened, and why it is happening. It SUCH a well played out drama that it's truly exciting. The games were very innovative and different and I absolutely loved watching the growing relationships between each character, whether it be friendship, comradeship or romance, it was just magical. Loved watching this drama soo much and in sure you will too if you like dramas with exciting, clever plots and just as much romance and growing friendships. The storyline was really interesting and each episode was enticing! Watching this brilliantly laid out drama was truly incredible. The actors have done SUCHHH a good job in this drama, like they truly brought their characters to life, I absolutely enjoyed watching their onscreen chemistry with each other. And the music was just perfect! It perfectly suited the vibe of this drama, and it's soo great! Overall, it's an incredible drama that has a clever plot and brilliant storyline with cute characters that are so fun to watch, as fathers-daughters, friends, and something more. ?️????????️Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
The weight of the world in the FL shoulders
Well.... i need to rant about this one so, please bear with me. Also i'm going to talk about a MAJOR SPOILER of the last episode so don't read if you don't want to know.The story started pretty well, very "Alice in borderland" vibe, i was enjoying it. I didn't particulary like when they where in the real world because this people were highly annoying and boundary crossing jerks (Specially the FL) but it was mostly everything on the game so all good.
The moment we know all the truth and the main mystery ends everything started to get incredible boring. Sooo boring.
For me the main leads have to complement each other. Normally the story have one main character sure but the second main is there to balance the story. For example in "The untamed" (Again with this drama woman???) we know Wei Wuxian is the main lead, we follow his story in demonic cultivation and tragedy, but Lan Zhan is his perfect counterpart as someone firm on his believes and his love to balance his story. Or the most recent "Love next door" were the main lead is Baek Seok Ryu, we follow her journey back to Korea and a diferent life, but we have Choi Seung Hyo to balance her story being someone already stable in his life and his place in the world.
In this one.... there is no balance. Everything is about the main lead, Chun Yu. She is OP in the game, finding out everything about all the game before any of them. At some point we get to know that her father help her at points but still... he could have help the ML. To balance a little. But no. Still the ML, Gao Xuan, was pretty good in reading the game (Since he is also a programmer) and they play each other pretty good in the game.
But in real life is all about her: Suddenly we get to know all the game was just about her and the rest were just casualties, coincidences. This deminish the important sacrifices and choices all team did. Also it put a incredible pressure on the character of the FL since, being everything about her, you are suppose to be on her side and like her.
I'm sorry, but i don't like her. The actress Sun Quian was incredible good on her performance of Chun Yu because this characters is unbereable. I know she is depressed because she lost her mother at a young age and it seems her father neglected her but she is so hostile with everyone. She also seems unable to speak her mind no matter what. We saw her father trying with her at some point when she was little and she didn't even talk to him, she save Quin You for being bullied but then treated her like she don't like her around, she seems to have feeling for Gao Xuan but she is unable to talk to him when she believes he is hiding something. I also don't particulary like how she treats her grandma.
I really, for real, knows how hard depression is. for real. But there have to be someone you have to be able to talk to and be yourself with or you will end up dying in your own grief. So i feel her character was just too much.
And then, after all this problems, in the very last episode, episode 30, we have amnesia plot for the ML!!! ???. It is also done super weird because they cramped a lot of the romance in the last episodes (Unnecesary because this wasn't romance) and he seems to not recognize her but then he did but then not in their time in the game... it was just a mess.
I will recommend it? clearly, not. It is just too long and it is really not worth it.
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In another world...
The series has an interesting script. The first half is emotional, and it goes more into the concept phase than the second half, which lowers the tension a bit. There is a lot of positive characterization growth for all the characters, but the characterization of the main female character is really difficult and the author completely transforms her into someone else.It have romance. They are two couples who are very beautiful together, but I would have preferred the romance of the main couple in the series to have a different form and instead of childhood love, they gave us a hot couple, which is just my personal opinion. I wanted their feelings to spark during these games and I really wanted those romantic relationships...
The special effects of the series and the locations are really good. I don't say it's great, but it had good special effects. It was a successful series. action sequences were no joke. In some places, it was really stressful to watch. The theme song that was playing also helped in this matter. Between the osts, I loved the ending ost.
In short, if you are looking for a series in the style of survival game, it is interesting to see the series for once. If the screen writer had worked better at last 10 eps, it would definitely be one of my suggestions...
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This review may contain spoilers
"19th Floor" - A Captivating Chinese Drama Review
Overview:"19th Floor" is a Chinese drama series that delves into similar themes as "Night Has Come." Initially stumbled upon while searching for a mystery death game series, this show surpassed my expectations. While I had previously thought only K-dramas could handle such intricate themes effectively, "19th Floor" blew me away with its captivating storyline and capable main leads.
Plot and Characters:
The plot revolves around Chun Yu, who finds herself in a mysterious game environment after an accident with her classmates. Alongside other players, she embarks on a journey to survive each game and ultimately take down the game's creator. Despite being new faces to me, the cast, particularly the female lead Chun Yu's actress, delivered impressive performances. The series boasts a cast of characters with depth and smarts, keeping viewers engaged throughout.
Execution and Pacing:
"19th Floor" kicks off with a promising start, hooking the audience with its intriguing premise. The mind games portrayed become increasingly complex, though there is a slight dip in clarity during the middle parts. However, the series manages to catch up, ensuring that any initial confusion doesn't detract from the overall enjoyment. While some viewers may find certain plot points predictable, I would argue that the narrative still holds enough surprises to keep audiences guessing.
Production Values:
The music in "19th Floor" is decent and effectively adds to the atmosphere of each scene. Understandably, as a death game series, it may not be the highlight, but it complements the storyline well and enhances the viewing experience.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, "19th Floor" stands out as one of the best series I've watched in this genre. With its compelling plot, capable main leads, and intricate mind games, it offers a thrilling viewing experience from start to finish. Despite minor pacing issues and some predictability, the series succeeds in delivering an engaging narrative that keeps viewers invested throughout.
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Gripping start, slippery finish
I'm not entirely sure where to begin because this drama left me with a whirlwind of mixed feelings. The first half was exhilarating, keeping me on the edge of my seat, but from episode 20 onward, it felt like everything started to unravel into a chaotic mess.It’s as though the drama desperately wanted to inject more excitement with some unexpected plot twists, but unfortunately, they just didn’t hit the mark. Instead of adding depth, these twists only served to complicate the storyline, making it increasingly disjointed and hard to follow.
There were several aspects that really bothered me, but the worst offender was the depiction of the equipment in the control room. This was supposed to be a high-tech environment, where characters were dealing with the complexities of consciousness, the brain, and other advanced scientific concepts. Yet, the control room looked like it was cobbled together from a low-budget music or recording studio. It irked me to no end watching the characters randomly press and twist buttons, completely undermining the gravity of what they were supposed to be doing. It felt like a slap in the face to anyone expecting a serious portrayal of cutting-edge technology.
Another glaring issue was the sudden transfer of Chun Yu’s father’s consciousness to Uncle Lin. It made absolutely no sense—none at all. Sure, I get that it’s a sci-fi drama, but even within that genre, the reasoning they provided was absurdly weak. It felt like a lazy attempt to introduce a shocking twist, but without any solid foundation to back it up, it just came across as nonsensical.
It seems the writers were aiming for a dramatic revelation to explain the villain's motivations, but once again, it fell flat. The attempt at adding depth to the villain’s backstory was so poorly executed that it only highlighted the overall sloppiness of the writing.
By the time I hit episode 20, my patience had worn thin. I ended up watching everything at 2x speed, and even then, I found myself fast-forwarding through scenes that dragged on with no real purpose. It’s a shame because the drama started with so much potential, only to lose its way in such a disappointing manner.
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Unpredictable and Riveting: Why 19th Floor Deserves Your Attention
19th Floor is such an underrated show, and definitely a star among the released 2024 c-dramas. From the start, I was hooked with the interesting storyline, that for me was quite unpredictable. In each round of the game that they played, I was left surprised with the unfolding of the events which made me very invested and excited for each new episode. A highlight was the characters, I was very attached to all of them and I loved seeing all their character growth as they either solve their own problems or explore their past. Seeing them all support each other despite literally being pitted against each other in life or death situations gives a very warm sense of feeling. There is a good balance of thrilling, emotional and comedic moments throughout 19th Floor that are delivered by a set of very capable actors! Despite this, I found this drama to be quite unrealistic, especially how gullible the team is despite being done dirty so many time, and how they managed to sneak into a high tech facility multiple times without being caught? Having 30 episodes does make this drama tend to drag towards the end, and I think it could of been done with much fewer episodes. Overall, this is a drama you won't want to miss in 2024, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it!Was this review helpful to you?
A game that tests your emotions
This series is really good. I finished it in February. I'm still very much in love with the concept. A group of people end up in a VR game every night and have to pass dangerous levels that take them to different places. They have to fight against beasts and solve riddles. This alternates with events outside the game where the characters have to deal with personal problems like their imperfect family life. At the same time they have to figure out why the VR game was created and how to escape and - more importantly - how to survive it every night.Unfortunately, the suspense wasn't quite balanced. There were very exciting phases and then very calm and perhaps rather boring phases - but I actually liked this duality. It worked for me.
The plot is very character-driven, and it's done well, which is a BIG PLUS for me!
One of my favorite characters is female lead Chun Yu. She's smart but not very talkative, seems cold and unshakeable at first. I love her tomboyish style. Her hair is usually slightly disheveled and her lips rather dry. It felt so natural to me. And she rides a big motorcycle!
My other favorite character is Zhang Tian Qiang. I didn't like him at first. He was so annoying. But that changed quickly. Well, he is still annoying but at the same time such a dumb and lovable cutie. He has the best character development. Very believable and heartwarming.
I cried happy tears because of all the good teamwork in the end.
P.S.
The outro song of 19th Floor is such a banger~!
[finished watching on 17 February 2024]
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This review may contain spoilers
Great First 10 Episodes, but fell off after
I guess to compare, it's basically squid game but a watered-down version. No, I think it would be more similar to Alice in Borderland.The story at the beginning was really, really good. It's hype, it's intense, and the stakes are high. But after you get past episode 10, that's where it goes downhill. I'm not the type who reads comments when I'm currently watching the show, just to avoid poisoning my own judgment and enjoyment of the media, but when I was still probably in the first 5 episodes, I couldn't help but read a few just to see what's up because I'm liking it! It had a strong start! And some people said, "Ohh, fell off in 2nd half, fell off after the 3rd death game," and yeah, I can kinda see why. I didn't fall off after episode 10 like other people. I fell off around 17-18, and that's when I started watching this show at 2x speed just so I could move on to the next show.
Here's why: I think the main problem is that the writer has overwritten the side characters too much. I get that they want to make the viewers get invested with the side characters too, and it worked, but they did too much, to the point that it made the show draggy. The writers know that, of course, ML and FL are going to stand out; they're strong and smart, people are gonna like them, but they didn't want them to be the only main stars of the show; they didn't want them to overshadow the others. So to offset that, they tried to give more screentime to the side characters by giving them a lot of exploration, but I didn't like it sometimes, especially when it comes to 'Zhang Tian Qiang' This guy is introduced clearly to be the asshole of the show, but they showed some vulnerable moments of him too. At first, I liked it because it gave balance to his character, but when they kept repeating it over and over, is where it starts to get annoying. Like we barely got any exploration for ML; we did, but personally, I feel like that was just the tip of the iceberg. I had a lot of curiosity towards him. With FL it was fine since we got some, but it got confusing a little bit because of the twists and turns. I can also see why the romance aspect got in the way of the show; at first, I liked the subtleness of it, and I wished for it to develop even further, but when it did become obvious, I don't know... there's just something about it that made me feel like "Naaah... can we just go back to making it open for interpretation?"
The games in this show were good; they gave each character a chance to shine and show their strengths. The CGI was alright, nothing to complain about, but I couldn't wrap my head around that dungeon space that they've introduced, where the people who died in-game are just trapped there and can still live normally like in real life. Like "Yeah sure, while your real-life body is barely living off of dextrose." And I feel like there could've been other sci-fi ways to realize the vision for that part. I don't know if it's culturally rooted or not, but I liked the 2nd game, where they listen to a song and guess which symbol they're gonna insert through the door. And I don't know about you guys, but I was so annoyed that they kept being mysterious about how these people were entering a VR game without a helmet (I'm so dumb!!! That's why it's a mystery!!). But when they did explain it, I was still dissatisfied because the one thing that made me question it was, how did these people not feel the sting when the chip was injected into their head? Because it was revealed that it was injected in real time when they were testing out the helmet. So you're telling me, you can feel the mosquito biting into you, but you can't feel a chip being injected deep into your brain? That sounds like crap.
As for the characters, since I've said my piece regarding the side characters being overwritten, no one really stood out to me like he/she is my favorite character, so I'm just gonna try to comment on each one.
For FL, it's more about her actress Sun Qian, and probably an unpopular opinion, but this is what I've been meaning for her. I've watched 3 works of hers at this point with 'All These Years' and 'A Robot in the Orange Orchard' being the others. From what I can gather, I think her strength lies in characters where she's not required to act cutesy. Now, I still need to watch her other cutesy character dramas to confirm it, but that's how I feel currently. She's rocking this tomboy concept by the way.
For ML, This is my first drama of him, and I love it when he speaks very low, ghaaad!! I can feel it deep in my eardrums, and he's a great actor. If Sun Qian and Wei Zhe Ming get paired again, I hope it's a romance drama because I liked the spark of chemistry that I felt from them.
For Yang Ba Wan, my ghad! I hate him so much; he's such a cringe character. He's the type of person who would get bullied a lot in real life for being such a dork and cringe, but because of his development throughout the show, he's become somewhat okay, like whatever.
Nan Xiao Qing, I think she's okay, but I didn't liked her romantic development with Bawan. I was like "No, No, No! I do not approve this relationship!" But they have a good dynamic together later on. As for the actress Rachel Wang, I was amazed by her look. At first, I was shocked, but I think she rocked it.
Zhang Tian Qiang, bro, it would've been fine for me after the scene of you caring for your bros who are in a coma, but after it kept repeating like it became annoying to me because they would show a scene, then he would fumble the next episode. And you pair him with Bawan, It's like a match made in heaven of Annoying and Cringe. I can also feel his actor being 200% into this character.
Qing You, girl, I feel what it's like when your bff is being stolen by other people, but there was something about it to me that didn't look smooth as it was being built up.
For the rest, they are all okay. I laughed when the CEO antagonist chased after FL after some sad family drama happened to her and just casually asked "Please help us finish this death game project." like what????... Yeah, sure Mr. CEO even though it will cost us our lives. lmao.
Overall, it's alright. started strong, but slowly dwindled because of the over-written side characters. This could've been shorter if you cut all the draggy scenes. I wouldn't recommend it personally.
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Something New and adventurous
I usually don't write reviews but looking at the popularity and reviews on this drama page I thought maybe many people don't know how good this was...I didn't have any expectations before watching this one...but this is so good it keeps you intrigued in the show with the mystery and adventurous setting.CGI, OST, Production everything was perfect I came here to watch this for "Miles Wei" but storyline itself will not disappoint you.
I did not want to give any spoiler about the storyline so watch this yourself and then decide how it was ??? And It was a happy ending for Lead CP.
I wish you will have a great journey while watching this...I'll definitely recommend everyone to watch this at least one time.
(◔‿◔)
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The story got weirder from episodes 18 onward, I am no longer interested and dropped it.
19th Floor is a suspense drama about a group of college students recruited to play a virtual reality game to save lives.The Synopsis:
Unconscious after a car accident, university student Chun Yu and her best friend Qing You mysteriously find themselves inside the dangerous world of a VR game. Several other people have also unwittingly ended up here, and they soon discover they were all involved in the accident - except for substitute teacher Gao Xuan, who claims to have fallen asleep. Seeing no other option than to play the game, they eventually beat the level and wake up ... only to return the next night immediately.
Faced with deadly monsters, puzzles, and mind games, the players must learn to cooperate despite being unsure if they can trust each other. The pressure increases when it turns out that people who die in the game fall into a coma in real life. And then several more students are dragged into the game! The group spends their night.
My Reviews:
1. It is like Squid Game but less gory.
2. It had interesting plots with good thrillers and suspense values in the first 8-10 episodes. Still, as it progressed, it became draggy and boring. It would be better if it finished in 16 episodes instead of 30.
3. It was something different for Miles Wei, unlike his typical rom-com role. I am glad that he is branching out to other genres.
There is no romance between the main CP, even though it is insinuated.
4. It is predictable, and for every challenge they take, I know they do it without sacrificing someone.
5. I have watched 23 episodes and am no longer interested in completing them. I am dropping it.
6. The FL was hypnotized and stuck into a cocoon, and her dad is a chef who sacrificed himself to save her, which was weird.
I am giving a 5.5 rating because the story is getting stupid and draggy from episode 10 onward.
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