Ruined itself trying to be clever

0/10 do NOT recommend. I spite-watched it until the end just so I could write a review and save others from losing 30 episodes worth of their lives.

This drama was a solid good fluffy silly rom/com set in historical period until about half way through and then it devolved into constant plots, tons of lying, lots of schemes and just bs...by the 20th episode I wanted to strangle the writers and by the end of this I want to say they absolutely took a great idea for a drama and DESTROYED everything good about it and left nothing but a mess.

By the end of the drama I didn't want the leads to end up together, they do not have a healthy relationship and ML continues with his lies (the thing she hates above all else) right up until the final moments of the drama.

Dear writers, manipulation isn't romantic please leave this toxic trait in the garbage can!!

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Extraordinary You/ Tiger and Rose vibes

There are a lot of dramas out there that are jumping on the "person falls into a novel" idea that Tiger and Rose did so well, sadly a LOT of them fail to live up to their hype and the story ends up not making any sense. This one though I think really did a great job of coming up with a unique take on it. The episodes are a little less than 30 minutes, and topping out at at 20 ep total it's a pretty quick watch. I recommend putting this on your watchlist asap.

It's a high school romance drama set inside a novel but it deals with a lot of real world topics in a realistic way including bullying, eating disorders, escapism, and personal growth. Will those issue really resolve themselves the way they do in the drama if we act in the same way as they did? Probably not, but how do we know if we don't try? I liked the overall message that was delivered and thought it was done well, entertaining, engaging ,and still gave us the lesson.

There's a bit of existential crisis/edge to the final third of the series but I like how it was addressed and wrapped up in the final episode.

Final Grades:
Story was pretty good, had one or two things that could have been tweaked a little so I gave it 9.0
Actors did a great job, I never fell out of any scene. 10
Music was enjoyable but forgettable, I don't remember any songs and I'm not humming it after it's over. 6.0
Rewatch, definitely. It's a short and cute series and I'll watch it again someday soon. 10.

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Badass but adorable AF

I just wanted to mention both the two main women characters were drop dead adorable! Each of them were attractive in a different way, FL was tiny but feisty and I loved her short hair. The second female lead is almost otherworldly in her beauty and pulls off a very feminine look that just works for her so well!

This isn't going to win any major awards, it's pretty much a fluff filler drama. The acting was slightly above average but you could tell there was still room for improvement especially in a few scenes where it was supposed to be dramatic and it just felt a little stiff and forced.
The kisses on the part of the FL felt like she had no experience, the ML was slightly better but they both definitely need real world experiences to draw on and it pretty obvious they don't have much of that. :/

Now about the general story, this is set up as a very badass female lead and for the most part she pulled it off well, though there were a few separate situations where she was made weak by the writers so that she could be "saved" by ML but for the most part HE was the weak one and she saved him and everyone else from start to finish. I loved how she had a great personal code of responsibility for the greater good and she was the same while in the army as well as when she was just a civilian.

Ling Ting (SML) is set up as a character to be love interest triangle potential for FL but don't worry that never really materializes and the majority of the drama is focused on the main couple's interactions and their slowly warming up relationship.
Fair warning in this 23 episode drama it takes 12 episodes for the main couple to be official and that's all I'm going to say without spoiling anything.

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Random but still somewhat watchable

Its a random weird drama that starts out super cliche "rich ceo tricks poor FL into working for him just to keep her around" for the first 4 episodes I was really questioning if i wanted to keep watching, but I slowly started getting interested. I wanted to watch the whole thing to find out what the heck is going on as well as why on earth there is sooo many good looking guys in one drama!?!
It has a story that for me at least started predictable, became interesting, then slowly it went back to being recycled tired old tropes as we race to the ending. A few questions have been answered but one of the biggest things about the series still hasn't really been touched on that much. Since I've already watched 20 episodes, I'm going to go ahead and keep going for the final 4 as soon as I find them subbed in english. If there was still 10 more episodes, I'd honestly be dropping it just because they brought a VERY overused plot device into the show and it really killed the momentum.
update to add: I finished by sheer force of will.

In conclusion:
Music is unnoticeable and unremarkable
Story HAD a good hook that is underutilized
Actors are pure eye candy
Tons of tropes
Would only recommend if you're patient and have time to kill waiting for something beefier

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Really silly but enjoyable

This drama starts out with a poor overworked author who ends up dying and getting sucked into her own novel.
Got to love the recent flurry of similar dramas, but what I like about this one is the ML is almost a parody of similar types...the cold, arrogant, overbearing CEO is actually quite silly and a bit insecure. His handy dandy assistant is always having to reassure him that FL is for sure in love with him. ?
I don't want to give away too much of the plot but the original FL of the novel, ends up being a bit of SFL since the author has fallen into the novel and become the new FL, but then suddenly a secret is revealed about the original. Their interactions all fall into place, it makes the rest of the drama a lot funnier and unpredictable after the reveal.
I found this a bit cheesy but still very enjoyable. The FL author has a mission, she has to fall in love in 3 months time or she can't go back into the real world...but in the novel, she's rich and has parents to take care of her...so why would she want to go back to being a poor and overworked author in the real world? She spends a lot of time and effort avoiding love at all costs!

Give this drama chance, it's about 3 and 1/2 hours long total. It never takes itself too seriously overall I found it entertaining enough for an evening.

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Just the endings

Did you watch 7 First Kisses and love it? Such a silly but fun mini drama that was basically an ad for Lotte Duty Free stores, but who cares with 7 gorgeous MLs and 7 ridiculous, hilarious, and lovely mini stories?? Anyway, this is a set of 1-2 minute endings for what happens after the scene was cut at the almost kiss moments. It's a good little wrap up and gives us some more cute and funny moments with our actors. Search for it on Ytube and you'll be able to watch them all.
Apparently I need to write a few more words to finish off this review, but if I write too much more, it will be longer than the series was!

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Let's Transmigrate again

This is a short format drama which thankfully has been compiled into a single 3 hour 20 minute video if you search for it on Youtube under the name The Magic Pen .

The story was cute, had a little bit of suspense, a little bit of danger, a little bit of love. Overall not bad. The FL is an overworked artist who faints and ends up in a comic world. She doesn't seem to take over the personality/body of an existing person as she has no identity there that she has to pretend to be, so she just presents herself with her own name. The main leads have decent enough chemistry but that doesn't really get explored until a little too close to the end.

The ending kind of fizzled. They did leave enough room that there's a possibility of a second season but we rarely get those on short format dramas. The way it's currently set though does not make this a happy ending. It's not a bad one, but it's not a happy ever after ending either. I won't say more without spoiling.

The costumes were acceptable especially considering the budget restraints.

The wigs though, oh god the wigs. The hair and makeup team was obviously an area that they skimped on and it showed. Often you could see the lace on the wigs and the makeup on any close up was caked on and distracting.

Overall, I'd recommend this as a good timewaster, but I definitely wouldn't rewatch it. Somewhere between a 7 and a 7.5

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More comedic than expected

Zhi Fei presents as a cold boss in charge and tries his hardest to project a certain image about himself at all times. However, on more than one occasion when Zhi Fei is at home and he's happy or excited, he transforms into a giant goofball. His dance moments will come on unexpectedly and if you don't burst out laughing at least once, I'd be surprised.

I think why a lot of people don't appreciate the FL in this drama is that they are expecting her to be the helpless damsel in a "cold ceo/warm woman" typical drama, but Huahua is actually the more dominant one and takes charge of the Zhi Fei's life pretty much from their first meeting, and honestly though he says he doesn't like it he very quickly adapts to it and even comes to crave the attention and care she lavishes on him. When she suddenly disappears he can't focus until she's back.

The secondary couple should have gotten a little more screen time, but I like their storyline and I love that there was a moment that talked about consent during one of their scenes. So many dramas often skip that or worse try to make it seem that it's the normal thing to do when you have one drunk and one sober person. This drama didn't get too heavy handed in the message but at least it was spoken out loud, and I, for one, appreciated that.

The trio of gossipy secretaries are a DELIGHT! You think this is going to be that standard and overused group who are malicious and vicious, but in reality they instantly are on Team Huahua the minute they meet her!! They ship the leads so hard core and I love their interactions among themselves and with Zhi Fei and Huahua.

The one woman character that is always obsessed with the ML but never had a chance was mostly comically in her failed attempts to gain Zhi Fei's attention and towards the end she's still stubborn but obviously not an obstacle or really even a blip on ZF's radar.

There wasn't a ton of skinship in this drama, but you have to remember their romance took awhile to fully start and it is literally the very first romantic relationship either of them have had, especially with Huahua coming from a more emotionally and physically controlled as well as more conservative background it took awhile for her cylinders to get firing, if you know what I mean.

Minor spoiler below
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The writers really didn't know what to do with the little brother character, they tried to make him into an evil mastermind in one part of the drama but in the overall plot they wanted to show that he was a lost little boy who just hasn't grown up yet. ZhiRan is very smart when it comes to business and people, but when it comes to relationships and understanding that love is multiplied not hoarded...he has a lot of growing up to do in that department. I felt his redemption arc was kind of out of left field and I thought it dominated the final episode too much. That screen time could have been given to the leads and the second couple with better effect.

I give the overall drama a 9/10 but honestly give the final episode only a 5/10

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Not that bad

I agree with a lot of points that the other reviewer (Ariel) made and I think her review is really well reasoned out, however I tend to grade a little more favorably when it comes to mini-dramas. I usually drop it or like it enough to watch to the end and this one I finished.

The plot is pretty is a little different from the typical stuck in a video game dramas, because the FL and SML are fully aware that it's a game and he is constantly trying to keep her for falling for a character and to safely return to the real world. Most versions of this plot don't have one character who can pop in and out of the game safely and help the FL. A lot of SML's NPC character jumps were funny and cute, I really appreciated the comedy it added.

There is some ambiguity on the ending, which some have interpreted to mean that the soul of the game character could actually have been another player but I disbelieve that because though they do look similar (the ML and the Investor), the code that the FL injected into the character is what made him different enough to base an entire other game around. This wouldn't be possible if he was actually another human who snuck into the game during development...so I believe he is just a character and they are forever separated by real vs game world.

I most probably wouldn't rewatch this or go out of my way to recommend this as "one the best things you'll ever watch", but if you're a fan of short format dramas and want something to watch on your morning train commute, this is a quick little watch that you could finish in one or two round trips and it's engaging enough to keep watching to the end.

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Need to kill time?

Considering the short length of the series, I won't go into too much detail or I'll give the entire plot away.

The ML did a decent job with acting though his character wasn't fleshed out very well. He seemed to be in deeply in love with the FL but still had his other concubines, so there's that. It is a palace based drama so it is what it is.

Unlike most timeslip/novel transfer dramas, this FL wasn't written to be a prude or all virginal. When it was her turn to be with the Emperor, she didn't hesitate and sealed the deal without being all shy about it, most of which is left to the imagination of course.

I do have to say though the actress they had to play the FL was miscast or the character was just written poorly in my opinion. The actress's acting, facial expressions, and even her character's choices, all painted her as not really a heroine but more of a mild villain who just happened to be the main character. She wasn't evil but she did do some questionable things along the way.

The ending was about 30 seconds of wtf'er and I'm not exactly sure what happened. but I think it's supposed to leave it open for a second season.

Anyway, I give this show about a 7 and it's a quick little time killer. It doesn't stand out but it's not horrible.

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Missed this when first released, glad I came around to it now

I really enjoyed this drama, there's a ton of other reviews and loads of people have already said why it's such an amazing drama so I'll just take this opportunity to say there were a few problematic issues but they really didn't overshadow the good vibe that was the overall tone of the story.
Things I wish were different:

The FL actress lacked kissing experience and it showed, her kisses never got any better. Her first kiss looked like a real first kiss, but by the third or fourth one she should have been responding and moving her lips too or at least puckering them a little ffs.

There were WAY too many mentions of weight, eating too much, being fat ect. NONE of the characters had a spare ounce on their bodies.

The overwhelming attention paid to people's physical beauty. Our FL and ML both had good personalities that would have made them wonderful partners even if they looked average or unattractive, but somehow because they were both the MOST beautiful people in the world apparently, everyone would stop to tell them how good looking they were. That's a little weird.

Several times various characters would belittle someone for not being pretty "enough" though who gets to determine that is random consensus?

There were several problematic mean girl characters who never really faced any consequences for their behavior, they were promptly ignored and forgotten by the leads (as they should be) but they also should have paid the price for their bad behaviors and they never really got called to account for that.

Despite these 4-5 things, EVERYTHING else was amazing about this drama. Relationship free of drama, best friends that stick through thick and thin, intelligent and fun? Check, check, check, and CHECK! Amazing show. Absolutely watch it if you haven't yet.

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Don't be deterred by the ending

I put off watching this one despite really enjoying Lusi's other dramas because I'd been told it had a sad ending and I want to avoid bawling my eyes out if I have the heads up already...but then I was told that the ending was happy and I was like, is it really? So I gave in and watched it.

I have to say it's a really well done story, the ending is open to interpretation...it could be a sad ending or it could be a happy ending depending on what you make of it. It is never spelled out to the viewers and it's a confusing final episode, but I understand why the writer chose to go that route. If you don't like ambiguous endings, I'd skip this one...but for everyone else I'd highly recommend it.

I liked a lot of the characters who I didn't like in the beginning and several of them did surprise me dramatically on multiple incidents, some for the good, some for the bad, and some for the temporarily bad and then surprisingly also really did it for the good. It will make sense if you watch, I swear!

I really felt a lot of viewers misinterpreted Xuan Zhu as a character, I felt she was the most complex and realistic type...she wasn't one dimensional which a lot of people seemed to want her to be. They wanted her to be vain and selfish and that be her only motivation, and it's not, it is a LOT more complicated than that. You have a young girl who is ever in the shadow of her cousin, her cousin that has it all without even trying it seems...FL has the love from her parents that Xuan Zhu didn't get from her mother, FL has the love of the guy that Xuan Zhu fell for first and FL never even had to try to attract his attention...his eyes only saw her. Everything that Xuan Zhu wanted and even fought for, was never hers, while FL just existed and things fell in her lap....or so Xuan Zhu thought. During the course of the series, there is a lot of growth on XZ's part and I feel that her choice at the end was done for the right reasons, though there were still viewers calling her selfish and attention seeking, and I'm left wondering if those particular viewers are 12 years old or what?

I can't go too much into it or I'll spoil the whole show but I really enjoyed the acting of
Zheng Ye Cheng too, in this drama he was so polar opposite of some of his other roles but he was very believable. He was softer, sillier, more honest with feelings, just everything about this character was so different from his other roles and yet Zhen Ye Cheng made you believe he was an ancient immortal helplessly in love with a soul that he followed for a thousand years. You also at the same time absolutely believed he was a flamboyant flirty playboy of the worst type at the beginning of the series, this character also was very much not one dimensional. He has a secret and a reason for the way he acts along the way...but first you have to watch deeper in to the series to discover it all.

For a drama that has 30 episodes, it still managed to keep me connected and aching for more. I never got bored or felt it was repetitive for more than half an episode before we moved onto something new and bigger looming adventures. I felt this is what those 60 episode fantasy dramas could and should be like, cut it down to 30-35 episodes, get rid of the filler and concentrate on world building, character building, and real story telling. It gripped my heart and made me cry when I tried to describe important moments to someone else...if I'm not actively watching a show and I'm just remembering a character or a scene and I can still feel the emotions, then that marks it as a good drama in my heart.
I wish the ending had been a little more clear, so I'd give this a 9-9.5/10 but really other than the ending, it was a pretty dang good drama and I'll probably watch it again!

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I can't believe I've never seen this one, it's worth the 36 episodes!

Took me some time to work through all the episodes...but I'm glad I watched it. One of the better older melodramas and except for "That Person" coming back (and her portion of the missing 10 years) the rest felt very true to life. I liked the FL more than most did because I can step back a bit and think about the drama's background and setting. Based on their culture's 2,500 years of confucian roots FL's behaviors make a lot of sense in ways that a young country like mine couldn't easily understand.

We don't have traditions spanning thousands of years that are ingrained and very hard to overcome ie. that of obedience to those in power, but they do...it's buried in their culture, their nation, their history, everything/everyone around them tells them that they should follow and obey those who are "higher" than them, be it by age, gender, social status, wealth, or power.

If you have that understanding built into the cultural background of the childhood of the FL, it makes it a LOT easier to understand her and why she behaves they way she does. It frustrates us to no end because we are used to standing up for ourselves and fighting back, but she isn't because she's used to being powerless, a single mother, and poor AF, basically the lowest person on the totem pole of status in their country. Put all that together with her natural tendencies to want to be a peacemaker and to us looking in she seems to be a doormat...but in reality I think it makes her a stronger person, one who despite all her disadvantages kept struggling, kept going, avoided the pitfalls of hate and came out the other side better. But that's just my perspective and part of why I could enjoy her and the show in a way that maybe others might not be able to.

I also appreciated the friendship between the FL and her group of ride or die friends, I wish more dramas had characters that were as well rounded and fleshed out as they were. I went back and forth on liking and disliking the SML, but in the end he proved to have a lot of growth throughout the series too. Even Shadow went from my most loathed character to one that I was willing to let go and see her go on with her life without spitting nails at the screen anymore, though tbf it took way too long of a time for her fake white rabbit storyline to play out before she became herself again.

I do recommend giving this one a try and I'll more than likely rewatch this even if it is an older drama.

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Fairly predictable and not in a good way

Managed to finish episode 4 and decided I'll drop it there. This drama is pretty trope filled and looks to be very predictable.

ML is obsessively possessive and controlling even before any romantic connection is established. I wouldn't want him as a friend let alone as a partner for life.
SML is pathetically and relentlessly pursuing FL despite her repeatedly telling him they are just friends and will never be anything more. Neither of the men in this drama respect boundaries.
This particular drama seems to be following the script of the man with a trauma that magically is cured by the sunshine girl's appearance in his life. It's a trope that's way overdone and I wish more characters suffering mental health issues would instead head to therapy.
I try to give dramas a fair shot before I drop them, but I don't want to waste my time with this one as it seems too predictable and not engaging enough.

Updated: I did come back and finish the show after it's completed airing and my rating did improve for the show from a 3.5 to a 6.5
I swear it's like they switched writers half way through the series, it finally starts to pick up steam and when the leads FINALLY get close and then do get together, it starts to be funny, have cute moments and I end up laughing a lot. I wish they had that level of energy for the whole series, it really would have elevated it.

I think a lot of people probably dropped the drama well before it had a chance to redeem itself. If I hadn't committed myself to finishing this I would have dropped it again and missed out on some of the funniest things I've ever seen in a modern c-drama. I just wish the amazing scenes weren't so few and very far between.

This drama is one of those that is perfect if you want to watch clips of it on youtube, it will make you laugh but you don't have to wade through the endless hours it took to get to that one or two funny scenes.

ps. When the ML finally starts smiling, he has really cute dimples and his entire character changes for the better like a light switch, the difference was like night and day. I think this was a mis-step by the writer and if it had been a little more gradual and more noticeable it would have made the series MUCH more enjoyable for the audience.

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7 minutes of whatever that was

This is a series that is 7 minutes per episode, 4 episodes total.
There is a second season for some reason and I won't be watching it.

Each episode is 3 minutes or so of office politics and the rest is yummy looking food at very clean, tidy, fantastic, but not busy restaurants.

I'm not from S. Korea so I'm not sure if any of these places are real or not, but honestly it seems like these episodes are created as advertisement for the food cause she spends half the episode eating in a very gratuitous manner making it obvious how awful her job is but how amazing this food is and how that makes life liveable because of how delicious this meal is.

They make you leave a star, but honestly I'd give it -1 star for rewatch. There is some sort of story, so it does get some effort for acting and storytelling but for music ( I never noticed any) and for rewatching...that's a solid NO for me.

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