15
38
5
Mic Lo
Strange but worth it.
This drama asked me to suspend my disbelief, and in return, it gave me characters that I came to love and an emotional life lesson about love, anger, loneliness and grief. I appreciate the underlying message that we can destroy each other but also save each other. The acting was superb, and the script was the perfect balance between comedy, action, and an emotional wild ride.And of course there is the child actress. She was so spectacular and a lot of my high rating is because of her. At such a young age she can switch between a carefree girl and an old soul in the body of a child. Her whole body language changes and the look in her eyes as well. It makes me really hopeful for what she'll do in the future.
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Very good, could have been perfect if shorter.
The greatness of this drama is in its main characters. They are mature, thinking people with none of the usual simpering of the ganre. They are all complex and rounded and aren't so easily put into the usual boxes of good or bad.The music and costumes were good, but as usual the white skin filtering was too much. Wish the Chinese industry would stop with this nonsense, since they already have such good looking actors without the filters.
The downside of the drama was the number of episodes. Forty episodes were too much for the story and the last five episodes I was mostly skipping and skimming. It was a good drama but it could have been excellent if it was shorter.
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Started out entertaining but dumb and ended up just being dumb.
This wasn't anything like the Chinese original version but I was willing to forgive this version because it was so much fun. I liked that there was more humour and that the romance was less of a slow burn and was more sexy, though I missed the little animal drawings.But then in the last few episodes everything went wrong somehow: the writing and acting got so sloppy, it was like the police and the criminals were competing on who's less competent...
This could have been (and was for a while) a nice, lighthearted take. It's a pity that they didn't follow through and let their standard slip.
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Could have been good with much better editing.
A lesson that Thai drama creators never seem to learn: if you don't have enough of a story for twelve movie length episodes, you have to make the drama shorter. Audiences aren't interested in ridiculous supporting characters that have no purpose other than filling time.I watched half the drama and the combined IQ and EQ of all the characters was going down instead of them growing up and learning from their mistakes. Only one of the main characters showed any amount of growth, so I don't buy into him falling for the hormonal teenage brained crying disaster that they gave him as a love interest. But I think this imbalance was also the result of them trying to stretch the story.
Too long, too stupid and just not good enough for the obvious amount of money they put in.
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Warm and hopeful.
This Korean drama had the slice of life vibe and colour scheme of a good Japanese drama, the story was low key but all the characters felt so real and were relaxin to watch. I loved the theme of appreciating family and learning forgiveness through food.The only thing is that the tags are misleading: there is definitely a romance here and it's a feel good one, but it isn't your typical romance centered plot. If you are looking for a drama to warm your heart without being a classic fluffy romance, thisone is definitely worth a try.
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Storytelling mess that's saved by an actor. Gourmet garbage at its best.
This had so many good points: music, acting, good CGI and beautiful cinematography. The story was compelling and everything was great for the first half - until it wasn't.I don't know if it was the script or the fact that the drama was cut by almost half and maybe too many things got lost in the editing room, but the result is a storyline that feels clunky and disjointed. I didn't really follow the reasoning of some characters for their actions and the things I needed to remember from one timeline to the next were lost on me.
On the plus side, this was very entertaining even without logic and Luo Yun Xi was a mesmerising glue that kept me avidly gazing at my screen.
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Such a waste, had to drop.
This started out so good, with two strong and fascinating leads, so why did they suddenly make them juvenile and stupid?This story had such a good premise, but it gradually turned into a very slow and overdramatic lakorn, with too many fillers and too little common sense. The chemistry between the leads was still scorching, but it wasn't enough to make up for the bad script writing.
What I did love about this drama was the styling. The wardrobe department knew more about the characters than the writers did: at one glance the viewer can tell who is rich or poor, who is tough and who is sweet. Great job.
To summarise, my wish is to see the two actresses together again in a drama that has better writing and less obnoxious supporting characters.
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Sweet, simple and meaningful.
This cute little drama is a bit deceptive. It looks like a fluffy, romantic slice of life drama, but it also has a very important message to convey. I was so touched by how the characters here change each others lives and outlook, and by the delicate way the writers dealt with some tough issues. They got the perfect balance between sweet and a bit sour.A perfect series for anyone looking for a nice and smart romance, with no unnecessary forced drama, full of characters who are very ordinary and likable.
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A drama that deserves more respect and love.
This drama was full of fantastic stories and great actors, but the romance was not the focus here and that's probably why some viewers felt disappointed - they were expecting a light medical romance. Instead, they got some heart warming family dramas, gritty medical dilemmas and a surprisingly sharp critical insight into the highs and lows of the Chinese medical system.Everything here was expertly done. All the guest actors did an excellent job and the medical cases kept me glued to the screen. The romance wasn't the focus but it was good and left me with a smile on my face. I loved how we got to see the lives of the medical staff, but not to the point that it became a medical soap opera.
If you are looking for a good drama that is full of strong storytelling, this drama is for you.
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The first half was nice but then it became so boring.
They had such good materials and it could and SHOULD have been another Tale Of A Thousand Stars, but it fell short.The views were there, the story had potential so I think what let this one down was mainly a bad script and one of the main actors. The lines the actors were given sounded a bit juvenile and one of the episodes focused mostly on kids playing. REALLY? Why would I watch a BL if I want to spend almost an hour watching kids play??? And I'm very sorry, but the actor playing the doctor can't act.
This drama wasn't really bad but it was very disappointing because it never became good. It would have been OK if we were in 2019, but after two years of ATOTS and Triage, this kind of mediocre is no longer acceptable.
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A feminist unexpected delight, a champion of dreams and redemption.
Never in a million years would I have thought that one of the best stories told by women and for women would come from China. For a country that tends to gloss over issues this drama dealt so beautifully with corruption, sexism, abuse and abuse of power, but with all these heavy topics it never lost its heart and was never anything other than highly entertaining.I fell in love with all the characters, and felt compassion for both the goodies and the baddies, a sign of how good the script truly was. But obviously my favourites were the two leads and the journey this took them through - and that was the greatest strength of this drama, the idea of a journey and a process that we all need to go through for our dreams and romance to come true.
If you are looking for a smart drama that wants to teach you something and isn't just your average rom-com than this one is for you. There is romantic in this one and it's lovely, but it isn't the sole focus and purpose because the FL Ning Meng knows she is worth more than her romantic status.
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This review may contain spoilers
Pure Adrenaline to the heart!
First off, if your heart is fragile don't try this one. It's one of the best dramas I've seen, but it has a lot in common with Game Of Thrones and a certain wedding...With that out of the way for the people who don't like nasty surprises, lets start.
Everything in this drama may have been low budget, but the love and professionalism that went into this are undeniable. In so many Chinese action dramas the plot is messy because of censorship editing, but in this one everything made sense.
And the characters, so expertly written, even the side characters had a distinct and rounded personality, especially the FL - a rare treat when it comes to BLs. But the stars of this were definitely the two couples and they all grabbed my heart with their stories and the superb acting.
That is the bottom line for me: If you want a gripping, gritty story with gifted actors, fine music and you don't mind the aches and pains, you have to try it.
(And then go and watch the Happy Ending Version on YouTube...)
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What a wild ride!
The bottom line first, I loved everything about it: the vintage feel, the great characters, the story that kept me on the edge of my seat. And of course the romance - what a great romance!I know this drama had a very low budget, but the scope of the story was truly epic, especially the war scenes. There weren't many of those, thank god, but the little there was very high impact. I am a viewer who usually prefers a light rom-com, but in this drama I wasn't bothered about the heavier themes, because they balanced with the beautiful love story and were done well.
As with most Asian dramas it could have been shorter, the usual two episodes overflow, and that was the one point I took off the overall rating, but it was still one of the best dramas of 2021 for me.
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One of the most refreshing Kdramas!
It starts straight away with the looks. Everything is a visual masterpiece, from the sets to the crazy smart retro outfits everyone is wearing. It all feels like the art it's honouring.Then there are the two leads that are as unique as the clothes they wear, both looking like the best of the 50s, but with the most modern relationship of balance and mutual respect. And that same respect carries through to the support cast as well. This drama treats almost everyone kindly, showing a grace and sense of hope even towards the moraly gray characters.
It's rare that a drama that is so visually spectacular has something meaningful to convey, or has such a good script and storyline. Dali has everything, and it was very hard to find faults in it. Like most dramas it could have been an episode shorter, but otherwise it was as good as it gets. And then some, wrapped in a vintage package...
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This review may contain spoilers
Great Cells, mediocre everything else.
You know the storyline is in trouble when the writers revert to poop jokes like five year olds...I know this is a favourite of many, and it broke my heart a bit to drop it because the cells really were fantastic and if they had their own show I'd love it! But unfortunately, the cells were never meant to be the main characters of this drama, it's a love story between two flesh and blood people and it isn't a very interesting one. We have misunderstanding after misunderstanding, an Evil Other Woman and of course, the famous poop humour. All these "delights" can take up half an episode, and that just makes the overly long episodes seem even longer.
No show can survive on only a cute gimmick, there has to be good writing involved. Sadly, the writers concentrated too much on good lines for the little cells, and the main couple was left with second hand scraps. And that's my cue to run far away from this drama.
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