[✔] Completed Dramas in 2023

great build up of the characters in the first season. 

sadly it seems like writers decided to deter away from the first season's build ups, and made the characters become very textbook "good vs evil" in the 2nd season. :( was really hoping for more grey lined characters as nobody is pure good and bad. also disappointed with the sudden downgrade of ha do young to more of a supporting character. they really didn't know what to do with this man and just decided to blur him into the background when he could've been such a great plot character.

started out so good! was glued the the whole thing until last couple of episodes when the story just became more of like "okay lets wrap this up quick" and things just suddenly gets resolved ?

their chemistryy and beauty just compliments each other so well! 

does she have ANY emotions at all? literally has one expression the whole drama. no feelings in the character whatsoever.

why do they all start out good and then become repetitive ;(

*chefs kiss* korean dramas has branched out soo much in the last decade! love these new storylines.

the baaaittt of putting ohmnanon in there to make us watch ittt. it started out goood, and then it got boring and repetitive. i wouldn't have minded if their chemistry was better. still love jimmy & sea though, but not sm together ><

it really did what it was intended to do: a lighthearted drama, good acting, good chemistry, to the point. i thought it was super innocent and cute!

lemme tell you the acting impresseddd me! i find many explicit scenes in dramas are acted awkwardly, but these two really did well, especially Takezai Terunosuke.

they're both soo pretty to watch! but i also wanna give the actresses (in these types of overly-passive-aggressive-female-character dramas) the benefit of the doubt that they were forced to act this way, and that this is not their acting capabilities. 

It got repetitive real fast. But I still enjoyed it for the character development.

7/10 but extra 1 point for great acting.

I wish I can take this drama and rewrite (a lot of) it cuz aaaahh the frustrationnn!
The concept was good, the casting A+, their chemistry no complaints, but the writinggg (and sometimes the directing, as some scenes could've been more powerful with a different angle shot or lighting)
It goes so back and forth for me that I'm torn! some eps/scenes were just A+ and some just made me go "do you (the writer) even remember how you created your character's personality? why are they saying/acting diff from their personality?"

They were all great in their roles though, but Lee Soo Hyuk stuck out the most with his phenomenal micro expressions!! Like his character is supposed to be cold/emotionless, but there were so many emotions emitting from his very delicate expressions in each scene, he did SOO WELL!

All in all,,. I was really hoping for more action, funny scenes, and devastating scenes to contrast the humor. Nothing wrong with melodrama fantasy, but it was a little too melodramatic that it became boring. At least utilize these actors' acting abilities! Too much talking about feelings instead of actions, because we all know this cast CAN ACT, and they are wonderful at acting different emotions, so USE THAT TO YOUR ADVANTAGE DIRECTORS.

Alchemy of Souls is basically what I was expecting from Doom at Your Service, because damn I was invested! No dull moments, just story development one after another. Maybe some parts near the end, but that's with almost every drama trying to close its story smoothly.

I'm able to overlook other flaws because of the original story concept, and good character development. And the actors did real well.

7/10 but extra 1 point for acting.

The acting!! You don't get those realistic explicit scenes often from BL dramas! Now I see why this drama jumped up high in the most popular list.

The story is typical, and I know a lot of people had problems with BibleBuild's characters' story. But the acting by MileApo was really what made it what it was! They deserve the recognition.

i was trying to figure out why i couldn't get into this drama...and i realize it was due to the filming itself.
the directing of this drama was so boring, no cinematography, no inticement. it's like. just. recording.
no foreground emphasis to engage the audience. actors just blend in with the background.
didn't realize how important it is for good cinematic to get your eyes to engage and not drift off.
the acting was good though, so they really did the actors dirty with this one.

The hardest for an actor/actress to act out, I feel, is real love, and real despair. Because these are very strong feelings to express on the face.

I adore Ohm and Tu and this is in no way hate towards them. I've also watched so many tragedy dramas/movies to know what angst and resentment should look. Ohm and Tu are still young, I'm sure overtime those despair expressions will only improve. But for now, I just couldn't buy how resentful they truly were. It was more of just...acting. And too much crying lol.

However, View did really well in her role! And I loved View and June's friendship in this, my favorite part about the drama! 

I sometimes miss the old school TVB dramas. Many flaws and old school thinking of course, but they do focus more on actual investigation and not just all boring talks and forced love storylines (I will never forget what TVB did to The Mystery of Love, they really didn't need a love storyline for that one)

Koshiba Fuka did SO WELL! She stole the show for me. All the expressions, the emotions, she really exceeded my expectations of this remake, and if I dare say, I may actually like this one more than the original Korean version, it was short and to the point.

Oh man, Yang Zi really stole the show in the second half of the drama! 

Now I remember why Toda Erika is one of my most favorite actresses to watch. She excels in any role she takes on. I believed all the emotions her character went through in this drama.

It started off soo good and cute, but it got a little draggy near the end with ML just nonstop tantrums towards his mom. And the ending is wtff

Kang Ha Neul steals the show!! His character was just so fun to watch, so cute and his expressions were everything!

How disappointing :( drama had so much potential, but it seems like the writing just got sloppy by the end.

Ahh I love this role for Shin Hye Sun! She portrayed it so well. I just wasn't that satisfied with the ending. Or else I love the concept of this drama.