I have to admit, this drama might not be for everyone. As I'm writing this review, I'm having a hard time gathering all my thoughts because this drama is very deep and I wasn't attentive enough to make an in-depth review.

Personally, at first, I wasn't that hooked; I was watching this drama every weekend because of the cast. Eventually, in the second half of the drama, it started becoming really interesting. I was more interested in seeing the 'main story' progress rather than seeing the romance and side plots. And that was something I did wrong. I suggest paying close attention to everything in the story because a lot of it is actually connected to one another.

I was initially a bit disappointed because, after much build-up, a few things I found were a bit anti-climactic. I was hungry for conflicts in the story, not knowing that this drama isn't about day to day problems but how you get through them. It's Okay Not to Be Okay is a drama that is unexpectedly heartwarming. This drama is so heartwarming, you can connect with it at a personal level. The story tackles a lot of different life crises in different perspectives and shows how one can cope up with it and overcome all obstacles with the help of people surrounding you.

I don't know about other people's thoughts, but I didn't like the romance elements at first. Everything else seemed more interesting than the romance, but eventually, I thought that the romance was necessary once a few things were revealed.

Now I'll just list down a few things that overwhelmingly stood out in the drama:

The cast: Wow, just wow! Acting in this drama is on point. I don't even have to explain this. I'm sure at least one of them will win a best acting award at the end-of-the-year film awards.

Life lessons: watching all episodes you'll realize that you can learn a lot from this drama. One thing that was mentioned in the drama that really hit me was "The law of the total number of misfortunes. I heard we all have a set amount of happiness and misfortunes assigned to us. If their lives have been filled with misfortunes up till now, it means only happiness awaits them.".

Seo Ye Ji's Visuals: Okay, so I just wanted to put it out there. Seo Ye Ji is just out of this world beautiful. ( 8/10/2020) I now consider Seo Ye Ji's character, Ko Mun Yeong, the prettiest among all other female leads I've watched.

Sorry about the worthless review. I was just not attentive enough when I started watching this. But all in all, this is a really good drama.

Read More

Prison Playbook is a PERFECT DRAMA! Everything about it is perfect and I can't stress this enough! Let's start with the minor things; the OSTs perfectly suit every moment of this drama, and I guarantee you that you'll add all songs to your playlists. This was probably the funniest drama I've ever watched. There were so many funny scenes in this drama; the writers would squeeze a funny scene every now and then to ease the tension coming from very serious ones. But don't get me wrong, this drama isn't one of the best just because it's funny; this drama is actually perfect because of the seriousness of the whole plot and how it was told and directed. There were no mistakes and I have no complaints regarding how the story was told and how the story was overwhelmingly rich. I'm telling you, EVERY IMPORTANT CHARACTER HAD A BACKSTORY. Everything was just so touching and warm. How can a drama be so heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time??

Honestly, I had my doubts going into this drama, as I didn't find the synopsis interesting. But I decided to give it a shot, and right after watching the first episode I immediately knew that I'll add a new drama to my "favorite dramas list". Seriously, give a shot, for sure you won't regret it. Like I haven't said it enough, THIS DRAMA IS PERFECT! If I were to be overly critical and change one thing.......... just watch it yourself, I'm sure everyone would want to change "that" one thing in this drama.

Read More

I honestly decided to watch this drama just because of Seohyun. I expected not to be impressed, and that's exactly how I felt. For me, the whole drama was consistently good enough though confusing at times. This drama was meant to be binge-watched as some things remain unclear till the end. Watching as things start to unfold you'll clearly see the intentions but to an extent lack proper explanation. There were a number of dialogues and scenes where I desperately wished they could've given some kind of explanation for context; this made the drama look a bit rushed. I loved the overall battle between the protagonists and the antagonists. I could truly feel the battle between them like a very interesting game of tug-of-war. However, I felt like the conclusion to this very long war of attrition was very underwhelming. After such a long build-up for the final battle, everything ended too quickly and easily. The thing that I loved the most is the chemistry of the cast, both as characters and actors/actresses. Almost no one seemed annoying to me and everyone truly had a part to play.

Overall, I'd still say that this drama is 'good'. An interesting story that lacked proper execution I'd say.

Read More

I started watching this drama on a whim; without any expectations at all, besides 'Lee Do Hyun'. After binge-watching the first 10 episodes, I was pleasantly surprised. Think of the American movie '17 Again' but so much better. Unlike the original American counterpart, 18 Again didn't feel too forced when the story progressed.

This drama is the type that will really stir-up your emotions without the need for extreme situations and thrilling suspense. This may sound silly, but if you made the fantasy portion of this drama a normal occurrence, this drama could definitely be one of the most realistic dramas out there. And the realisticness of this drama is definitely its charm; everything is relatable and you can totally feel the emotions and warmth the script and dialogue are trying to portray.

Well, there are some things I didn't particularly like, but these things are purely subjective. First things first, I don't really react well with really cringy and awkward scenes, and 18 Again at the start was not short of them. And probably the only other thing I can pick on, the drama lacked depth. I know that it's like I'm contradicting what I've been saying in this review, but it just feels like something is missing despite the praise I've given this drama; it's just hard to explain. I personally think it could've been better if they added more of a melodrama vibe in order to make the drama a bit heavier.

OST- this deserves its own short paragraph. No kidding, the songs in this drama are bombs!

Overall, this drama is pretty good. Definitely a drama you could watch when you've run out of highly publicized-mainstream dramas.

Read More

This is a good movie. Everything seemed realistic and nothing was too over the top. But I have to say, the zombies felt a bit underwhelming, especially comparing it to other Korean zombie films of recent years. The movie itself is more on how to survive and the struggles that come with it. You don't really get much of a storyline outside of this surviving a zombie apocalypse plot. If you've watched EXIT ( Jo Jung Suk and Yoona) before you might find it similar to #Alive.

Nothing much can really be said about the movie as I felt there was nothing complicated about the movie in any aspect. All in all, it was fairly good.

Read More

Dramas released since 2020 have mostly been score-bloated but this one deserves all the praise.

Another case of crippling depression after finishing such a good drama.

I can't stress how good this drama is. Let's start with the strengths:

- the cast: I dare anyone to find a better cast for this drama; I'd bet it would be nearly impossible.

- the soundtrack: surely the soundtrack for this drama is underrated. even the instrumentals for specific scenes fit so well.

- CGI: its hard to create these 'fantasy' dramas. They have to orchestrate a fantasy drama without making certain things corny, cartoony, and cringey all whilst making things look realistic. In that department, they nailed it.

- the story: this is just an absolute chef's kiss

To what felt like a possibly rushed, disappointing ending after only 3 episodes left they managed to create a quite satisfying and conclusive ending all whilst teasing for a possible continuation to the series.

Despite all the hype and love I have for this drama, even though this drama was so good in all aspects, things should only go up from here (as long as they re-sign the cast). Season 1 was more of an origin story, a build up season, and we've yet to actually see the real payoff of all the world building.

My theory: The writer of moving said there were already webtoons that took place before and after Moving that could be adapted for the next chapter of the series, but I think they won't "fully" adapt those webtoons. I'm not sure because I have no clue in what direction the following webtoon goes, but surely the priority is trying to capitalize on the success of Moving. They are trying to create a bigger world after Moving, and now it should be easier since the groundwork has been laid.

Read More

I initially started watching Live for the sole reason that Lee Kwang Soo is a main character in this drama. Not really expecting much, I started watching and I didn't get hooked right away. I started liking the drama at around episode 4; I couldn't stop watching then.

This drama had me take a roller coaster full of mood swings. Crime scenes would make me all flustered, love-related scenes would make my heart flutter, and all the sad scenes would make me down right cry a bucket of tears. The relationship of all the cops in the patrol division is nothing but lovable. The characters in this drama are complex; you could hate one or more of them by the start of the drama, but you'll most likely be attached to everyone in the patrol division at the end of the drama because of the incredible character and relationship development of everyone.

I rated this drama a 9.5. Along with Live, I rated Healer, Mr. Sunshine, and Scarlet Heart the same. Live isn't as heartbreaking as Scarlet Heart and Mr. Sunshine nor does it have an extremely rich story as Healer with a lot of plot twists but Live has this unique characteristic of reeling you in despite the plot being simple. I guess it's the complexity of everything coming from a simple story that makes this drama so appealing (if that made any sense at all).

Something I realized after watching this drama is that you should trust the rating of the dramas in MLD. I usually hesitate first before watching a drama due to various reasons. I hesitate maybe because the synopsis doesn't appeal to me, or because I subjectively don't like the cast. You should get rid of these standards when choosing a drama to watch. Trust the ratings! If you're still unsure of a drama, read a few reviews then make a final decision. But I guarantee you, most of the time, the ratings won't disappoint!

I'm sorry for the vague review, because this is my first time writing one.

To cut things short, this drama is a must watch! I cant recommend this drama enough.

Read More

This drama was a pleasant surprise. I'm usually up-to-date with upcoming and on-going Korean dramas, but somehow The Uncanny Counter managed to escape my radar upon release. Aside from seeing news about the viewership ratings, I knew nothing about this drama before I started watching. I could even say I avoided this drama for the most part because it looked like some kind of full comedy-action film just judging from the cover on Netflix. But oh boy was I wrong. After watching the first episode I could tell that this drama would be special, I was caught completely off guard as I didn't have a lot of expectations. This drama has a surprisingly deep story and the characters aren't one-dimensional. All the relevant characters had some kind of tearjerking backstory which contributed to some of the tears I shed. The chemistry of the main cast is to die for. There's just no way you won't be attached to the main characters once you finish this drama. The Uncanny Counter is a very exciting drama that makes you want to binge-watch all-day. This drama is filled with funny, sad, and action-packed scenes that will have you craving for more.

Flaws? There probably are a few here and there, but I enjoyed the drama too much to even notice. Overall, this drama is a masterpiece, one of the best dramas released in 2020!

Read More

A very promising start that couldn't hold on until the end.

I'll try to make this my simplest review ever.

This is actually a good show; it's very easy to binge watch and the show itself is very enjoyable. These types of shows can easily reignite your interest in dramas if you haven't felt like watching any.

Things I liked:
- I liked the cast
- Comedic scenes were actually very funny
- Bromance in this drama is topnotch
- The fighting scenes were really good for the most part

Things I didn't like:
- The acting of some people kind of looked awkward. I'm pretty sure there were a few mistakes that were overlooked
- Majority of the series was fine, but towards the end, things started to go south plot-wise
- Maybe because this drama is based on a webtoon, but it kind of felt more like an anime towards the end of the series
- Again, towards the end of the drama, I felt like the writers lost their touch and became ambiguous

If I were incharge of finishing this drama, I would've gone a different route and made things a bit more interesting.

Overall, this is still a good watch and I would still recommend.

Read More

A fantastic drama that could've been even better

Season 1 was an incredible build-up season and season 2 totally delivered on the expectations set by the previous one. Season 2 was a masterclass, but I felt like some things could've been better.

As anyone familiar with this drama knows, the story is about the main character's journey to achieving revenge. And I'd say that satisfaction from this drama would ultimately come from the antagonists' downfall -- and how it led to their downfall. So let's talk about who's ending I liked and who's ending could've been changed.

List of antagonists' endings I liked:
- Dong-Eun's mom
- Yeon-Jin
- Myeong-Oh
- Mr. Shin
- Yeon-Jin's mom
- Lee Seok Jae
- Kang Yeong Cheon

List of things that could be changed:
- Sa-Ra: Leading to her ending, the things that were happening to her was perfect, but the final thing she did to end everything was stupid imo.
- Hye Jeong: It would've been better if instead of her voice, her face should've been the thing taken from her.
- Jae Jun: They shouldn't have killed him. And Ha Do Young "killing" him just tainted Ha Do young's clean image.
- Kim Gyeong Ran: Her being revealed to have dealt the final blow to Myeong-Oh's death ruined things for me. Because of this, I felt like Dong-Eun failed to complete her revenge "honestly" at the last hurdle. It would've been better if she just sided with the antagonists, her existence in the drama was unnecessary to be honest.

Overall, the drama was great, and the Glory as a whole has great rewatch value. 10/10 would recommend.

Read More

I was looking for a bubbly drama but my instincts said otherwise

I'm not really a fan of Song Hye Kyo and even after this drama, I'm still not a fan. But there's no denying that she did such an amazing job portraying her character in this drama (kudos to Jung Si So as well)

On the other hand, I'm a fan of Lee Do Hyun -- and what a versatile actor this guy is!

Now on the drama:
This is a great drama that I actually just watched because of its ratings and because of curiosity about why it was trending on Netflix. Words that could describe the Glory: dark, gripping, and unpredictable. It seems like the plot, events, basically, everything was planned meticulously by the writers and directors. I like revenge dramas like this when the main character just plans everything so perfectly. What's so good about this drama is how they reveal each plan subtly but still impactfully. All I'm waiting for now is a big f*ck up since in my opinion, it would make no sense if nothing gets ruined on the side of the main character. This drama needs to just at least continue its pace and trajectory it is holding to overall become an excellent drama. They have to do a really bad job in the second season to turn this drama into something not particularly good.

Overall, The Glory Season 1 is an incredible drama despite being a build-up season.

Read More

Good, but could have been better

It's been way more than a year since I last made a review but I feel the need to give my opinions on this series.

I'll be honest and say I would've given this a 9.5 if they managed to keep up the incredible directing and writing the first four and a half episodes had to offer. But it felt like things were starting to go a bit downhill since the Queen of Spades game started and the story became less interesting and all over the place at times.

I was gushing over this drama for the first episodes for various reasons. Season 2 provided excellent story-telling as they provided backstories for a lot of the characters and also gave more context about the games they were playing as if to state that the games weren't only an obstacle a player needs to get past, but also a lesson a player can learn from. The games were exciting and the stakes couldn't be any higher; it truly felt like the games were more difficult than the numbered cards back in season 1. The drama felt more interactive from the perspective of the viewers because I felt like I needed to be more attentive to the details of the story so I can make assumptions and hypotheses in correlation to how the story will unfold and how the players could possibly beat the games. The first half of season 2 felt like it was perfectly making use of the groundwork season 1 provided.

As I said, things were going a bit downhill from the half of episode 5 where they play the Queen of Spades game. From there on out, games started to become less interesting and difficult, we're introduced to a few less interesting characters, the actions and consequences of the players would feel nonsensical and weird at times, and overall I feel like they could've done a much better job with how things transpired. At this point, I was beginning to think everything was falling apart and the story totally progressed in the wrong direction, but things changed after the long-awaited conclusion.

From the things that happened between episodes 4 and 10, things would only make sense with the ending they provided us with; if it was a different ending, nothing would make sense at all.

Alice in Borderland explained:

So from my understanding, Borderland is the place between life and the afterlife. The players found in Borderland are the victims of the accident that happened in and around the ward of Shibuya. Players didn't all enter Borderland at the same time because not all of them entered a state of "death" at the same time as well. Time worked differently compared to how time worked in reality, so people who entered Borderland first would've made a lot of progress already before other players would join. And this is where one of my questions about survivability was answered thanks to the ending. Some players died early, some players would die easily, some players just have a knack for staying alive no matter what happens, and that is all decided by your fate or your will to live. If you died early or easily it just means that you were fated to die or that your will to live was not strong enough, but if you survive and beat all the games, you'll be given a choice to stay in Borderland or come back to life in reality. Beating games and being given the choice to continue living or dying gives the players realizations about their life and whether or not life is worth living; Borderland is a place where unless fate decides for you, you yourself have the power to make your own decisions stemmed from how you value life. In the end, those who truly longed for a second shot at life prevailed and got a chance to live the remainder of their life with a renewed perspective.

The ending was satisfactory, but there is a world where I'd prefer a different ending where Borderland was also part of reality just in a different world.

Things that I really liked about season 2:
- Arisu being the smart, caring, awkward virgin protagonist we all needed.
- Chisiya being the coolest character
- Usagi's cuteness
- The charismatic duo Ann and Kuina
- The immortal Aguni
- Overall the characters were a joy to watch, and their actors/actresses we amazing
- And the best thing I liked about season 2 is the storytelling

Read More

The King: Eternal Monarch is a drama made to binge-watch. Trust me when I say this, taking this drama slowly would only do more harm than good. Watching this in a span of 9 weeks kept me in the dark most of the time; not knowing what's happening and how they're happening. Naturally, like other dramas, there are things you wouldn't understand at the start but would eventually understand as episodes pass by, but in this case, a lot of things didn't make sense and the drama would just keep on going as if the viewers understood everything.

This drama deals with parallel universes and anything related to it. Whatever knowledge you have regarding this, forget it; it's much better keeping your mind open on the rules of parallel universes because the whole drama has rules of its own. It would be easier to understand everything if you don't try to overanalyze how things happen.

Now let's talk about why The King: Eternal Monarch was a decent drama despite all the shortcomings:
-The cast is nothing short of amazing. On the surface, just the thought of Lee Min Ho and Kim Go Eun is amazing in itself; they are definitely stars, albeit Woo Do Hwan was personally my favorite in this drama.
-Woo Do Hwan: He deserves all the love in the world. His acting versatility was somewhat showed through this drama and his role itself was just the best.
-The visuals of this drama are amazing! This is to be expected from a high production cost drama.
-There were a lot of nice scenes in this drama and I loved all of them, but the underlying problem comes from the overall combination of all these scenes and how they mesh.

If you were expecting some kind of bubbly, full of heart-fluttering moments kind of drama, this isn't it. The romance was fairly nice, despite the speed of it all, but it isn't the main interest point of this drama. What makes this drama special is its complicated structure, which is parallel universes. It's very interesting but confusing at the same time; a double-edge sword. I rated the rewatch value 10/10 because this is the type of drama where you'd want to watch everything again to catch all the details. As I said, this drama could've been a lot better; if only they managed to write a more cohesive plot. Overall, this drama is interesting, and something new; certainly not the best but would still recommend.

Read More

When the weather is fine is nothing out of the ordinary, but it has its own charms here and there. This drama isn't for everyone, however, do try watching it if you're sick of the common romantic comedies and want something warm. This drama is relatively light for a melodrama so it can cater to some people who hate the heaviness of a full-blown melodrama.

The main attraction point of this drama comes from the backstory of the leads. Cheesy-romantic scenes are nice and all, but what really should get you hooked is how the story of each character unfolds. I'd put this drama in the "slice-of-life" genre, as it deals with day to day routines and struggles. I feel like many people could relate to this drama because of the raw and realistic features of it all. One drama that has the same vibe to this one is "a piece of your mind"; so if you liked this or liked that one, I suggest watching one or the other. Overall, this drama is a good one, and dramas like this should be more appreciated.

Read More