52-WEEK DRAMA CHALLENGE 2024

The use of symbolism in this series was so masterfully crafted.

The series will make you think about each case and how you portray yourself to the world: you will question what evil truly is and is not. I had an absolute blast trying to figure this out. As I had not read the Manga, I was pleasantly surprised. Totono is such an interesting character to me. Throughout the series, we get hints of his backstory, hinting that he could have gone down a different path like many criminals in the cases he assists the officers with. That may be why he has such an innate ability to show compassion and empathy to individuals around him. Corky in his way, yet strangely disconnected and sad.  Still, he was able to tug at my heartstrings. I got so emotional in one episode that I started crying. This series is more than just the main character: I found each character Totono interacts with equally fascinating. I'm excited to hear there will be a season 2 and look forward to it.  

"You usually would have researched this much, too. You lost your composure, I suppose." OOOH MIC DROP !!!

I cried. I cried so hard, and it was so good, ahaha

This film deserves more recognition on this site. It's hilariously cheesy. It is just the right mix of action and comedy. All the death scenes in this film had me in stitches. The bad guys are ridiculous enough in their poor choreography to keep you entertained. A couple of times, I caught myself asking why would you do that, LOL. If you grew up watching classic 80s films, this one should be right up your alley. It gave me such Nostalgia, and I didn't grow up watching it. This is a film for the rewatch list. Just one guy taking down some cops and a bunch of mobsters.

Its Nana. What else can I say <3  Nakashima Mika, you beautiful human! T.T

Something about this seemed a little off, but  I can't determine what that would be.  That being said, the actors did an okay job betraying their characters.  Melody Lane was an excellent OST.

I don't care if this was supposed to be an hour-long advertisement. I enjoyed the acting. This could have been at least 30- 45-minute episodes. The chemistry between the ML and FL has so much potential. Also, I don't know who the little boy is, but he is delightful to watch on screen.

Although I love the series, I had to rate this one low. The first half of this was a recap of the first case in the series. And I found the second half less intriguing; I was disappointed, to say the least. 

The action was intense in this one, but the plot was lacking compared to the first film. I like how the cops had to take down two rival gangs. This one just had a fugitive chasing after his money and committing mass murders. There were some subtle, funny moments, but you can only notice them if your focus is 100% there. The one thing I enjoyed the most about this film was the team of cops. They are all excellent at their job. The great communication with each other makes taking down the criminals seem effortless. Even when they have a hard time, they always bounce back quickly. I recommend this film to anybody who likes action and seeing Ma Dong Seok throw people around. LOL

I know this is an adaptation of the manga that I still need to read, so I may be wrong, but the story could have used a couple more episodes to flush out the underlying conflict between the two MLs. The abrupt personality change to reach the conflict at the end of the series threw me off.  It didn't quite fit Hajime's personality in the first two episodes.  However, I would still recommend this one. This drama did get me to laugh a couple of times, and both male leads are adorable. Akafuji is best boy!

A part of me wishes they would have gotten rid of the two cupids and kept  Dong Chil as the protector for Sang Hyuk. Dong Pal literally serves no purpose to the plot. As annoying as Dong Koo was, he at least got a storyline with An Do Ra. He learned to have confidence in himself. It's a shame that they didn't use Seo Jae Hee in a better way. If he had sacrificed himself for the ML and FL, wouldn't it not make for a better storyline?  His character would have grown from his past mistakes, and then maybe he could have even become a cupid himself, making others happy in love instead of taking it away. Don't even get me started on the female lead. Her personality was so dull. Sang Hyuk deserved a better love interest. I'm not satisfied with this happy ending. I'm making my ending', shipping him with my best boy, labrador Dong Chil!  Yeah, that's right. I said it, man. He and his best friend spend the rest of their days together.

The story was utterly rushed. It felt like the male and female lead had no time to establish an emotional connection to form a believable relationship. This movie made it seem like they were rushing into a relationship because of the toxic environments at home. In the manga, the relationship was formed out of a period of building trust with each other. The actors that played Meiko and Namura had more chemistry, and that's saying something.

99% of this movie is two men moaning over food and not in an attractive way

I'm sorry, but how is this romantic in any way- Ji Woo is a giant red flag! For the better part of this drama, he treats Seo Joon like an annoying gum stain on the bottom of his shoes. Yes, what happened in the restaurant in episode 1 would leave a wrong impression on anyone, but Seo Joon realizes his actions were rude and tries to make amends. He was constantly trying to be cordial and a good housemate. Ji Woo throws daggers at him at any chance he can get. This is not a cute depiction of a tsundere. Countless others in BL dramas were portrayed in a better way. Sang Woo -Semantic Error comes to mind, same stoic expression better character development. Also, I would like to talk about the fact that almost every side character in some form was out to use  Seo Joon in some way; this does not include the manager and assistant. I don't care if the reporter had a redeeming arc. It still took her too long to realize a human being was suffering. The argument that it's her job to report the truth does not work for me. In my eyes, she's just a gossip columnist. She seemed way too happy to try and take someone down with her version of the truth. I know there's a season 2, but I won't be watching it.  Seo Joon was robbed of a great love he deserved so much more.