Akage Girl
Northern New England
Depressing subject but Masterfully Executed
This is the first drama I’ve watched that I would term “important”. Tomorrow is important. It is an episodic drama based around the subject of suicide. It is sad, I won’t lie. The Korean War veteran episode had me crying ten minutes in until the very end……sobbing.The story follows Choi Joon Woong, played by Rowoon, who in doing a good deed, ends up in a coma and the new volunteer with the Grim Reapers Crisis Management Team. The team consists of Goo Ryun and Im Ryung Goo portrayed brilliantly by Kim Hee Sun and Yun Ji On. Those two were amazing and their back stories destroyed me.
Lee Soo Hyuk is the conflicted Grim Reaper Park Joong Gil and Kim Hae Sook plays the head honcho, Jade Emperor. Again, amazing amazing amazing. I was never bored when either of these characters were on the screen. Park Joong Gil definitely is a character we can love to hate then love again.
Each episode is a new character pushed to the brink of suicide. Each story is relatable and painful. They do have comic relief in each show so the viewer doesn’t need medication to survive the show.
In the first episode, the Jade Emperor advises the Grim Reapers that South Korea’s suicide rate is extremely high. Actually, it is very high. For a country with the resources it has, it is rather surprising. This show calls attention to some of the reasons behind that ridiculously high rate. THIS IS WHY TOMORROW IS IMPORTANT.
And if you need some eye candy, all the grim reapers are just plain…..pretty.
The soundtrack is well done. The story was well done. The acting was well done. I will NEVER watch this show again.
Really, please watch it. One episode a week should work. I managed once every 2 or so days. There are many that would benefit from watching this show and I have never said this about a drama……ever.
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Lawyer/Political stuff that isn't the usual boring fare - its rather fun
I’ll admit that I am in a big drama slump. Part of me doesn’t want to sit through the angst and the other part of me can’t stand weak fluff. Good news, Again My Life is neither. It is intelligent, humorous and full of some serious action….I do mean serious.The Characters:
This is my first show with Lee Joon Gi in it. Can I tell you how awesome he was? Why didn’t any of you tell me about him before? He played the fearless prosecutor Kim Hee Woo. At first, I thought he was a dope. It took fifteen minutes into episode 1 to realize that everyone around him was pretty crooked. Before the half-hour point, the viewer can tell that poor Kim Hee Woo is hopelessly deluded that he would defeat the uber bad guy Cho Tae Seob.
This is not a spoiler, but Cho Tae Seob (nicely played by Lee Kyung Young), the evil but self-righteous assemblyman, has the reckless Hee Woo killed before the end of episode 1 (this point is in the plot summary). Our dead leading man meets a mysterious grim reaper who gives him another chance, asking the dead man to defeat Cho Tae Seob this time.
There are no other leads. I know it says there are in the recap but really this show is about these two men and the cast of characters they surround themselves with. Most of the women, who are awesome and strong, are on Kim Hee Woo’s side (as would I). All the politicians and government officials appear to be on the bad side with Cho Tae Seob.
What makes it more interesting is the two swap minions throughout the episodes. I won’t give a spoiler but there are a few on each side that at times make your head spin because you can’t figure out if they are bad or good. So cool….I mean how entertaining is that! Each week is a surprise who is helping the prosecutor and who is helping the politician.
My favorite of large and fascinating group of folks are Lee Min Soo played by Jung Sang Hoon……a “friend?” of Kim Hee Woo. He has almost all the best lines in the show. My next favorite character is a cameo by Bae Jong Ok who does a 5 minute scene as Chairwoman Chun Ho Ryung. She was bad-a** in Graceful Family and again in the last 5 minutes of this Again My Life.
The Music:
The music for this was FANTASTIC. I will be downloading some of these songs. They never got old……like ever……throughout the entire 16 episodes. Some of my favorites: Bring it on by Sonnet, Til the End by Yoo Sung Eun, and What the gang? By Yoon Do Hyun.
Re-watchability:
This one is hard because I am intrigued by another drama that just came out. I want to rewatch it, especially since they left it as if there would be another 16 episodes but won’t be doing it right away. I loved the show but not enough to immediately watch all over again.
If you like lawyer stuff and political stuff, not a lot of romance, and just enough fantasy to get by, I think Again My Life is for you…..I certainly enjoyed it.
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Warning: You won’t like my review if you haven’t read the book
Last year my love for Guardian and The Untamed led me to find Priest and MXTX. Both are excellent writers with a fabulous sense of character and world building. Is it any wonder that I’ve read more of their books? For MXTX I like Heaven’s Official Blessing best and I am anxiously waiting for the release of season 2 of the animation series. Priest….she’s a goddess of the genre and I love her books (yes…I wrote a whole article about her). I was excited for Word of Honor (based on Priest’s Faraway Wanderers).This book wasn’t my favorite of Priest’s and neither were Zhou ZiShu and Wen KeXing my favorite characters. What I did like about the book was that these two nasty, morally grey characters joined forces to do some good and right some wrongs. Word of Honor started out the same way. Two not so upright and forthright characters join forces to right those wrongs. It was exciting to watch the very sketchy Wen KeXing and all the viciousness…..just like the book! And Zhou ZiShu was the pretty assassin from the very first scene…..LOVED IT!
The introduction of the characters of Gu Xiang, Cao Wei Ning, and Cheng Ling was just perfect. Zhou Ye, Asher Ma, and Sun Xi Lun played them just like I pictured them in the book……..thank you. Ye Bai Yi’s story line was different than the book, but I got the same feeling from Huang You Ming’s performance (he must have read the book too). The Scorpion King was actually more sympathetic in Word of Honor than the book and I actually liked it. Truth be told, Li Dai Kun’s portrayal of the Scorpion King was rather compelling and towards the end, my favorite part of the show…..even though it wasn’t true to the book.
This is where my good feelings about Word of Honor ends. I understand Chinese censorship (wrote an article on it) and I get what they can and can not show on TV. Since I’ve read the book, I also know that pretty much the entire book can be televised in mainland China with the exception of some of the things the Scorpion King does and the final bit of the book detailing the type of relationship the two main characters have and how Wen KeXing came to be in the ghost realm. In fact, in Word of Honor, Wen KeXing says and does a lot of things I didn’t think would get past censors.
So why why why why why did they have to whitewash Zhou ZiShu like they did? Does censorship include not having characters with a history of bad deeds? Isn’t that Wei Ying in The Untamed? Maybe he was toned down a bit in the end compared to the book but why Zhou ZiShu? He went from being the very hot morally ambiguous man to a Boy Scout and long before the end of the show. It happened right there, in the middle……gone was the vague good guy who’s only difference between him and the bad guy was his refusal to seek power and instead seek a comfortable life for his last days. By episode 24, he had ceased being Zhou ZiShu as written by Priest and became someone else……I blame the screen writer for this.
Zhang Zhe Han and Simon Gong were phenomenal as the leads and at no point did I question the type of relationship they had from the moment they started traveling together. The flirting, the looks, the body language……MUCH MUCH more overt than any other c-drama I’ve ever seen. And don’t get me started on their portrayal of Lord Seventh and Wuxi…..completely did away with their relevance and their purpose……I hated that because I LOVE THE BOOK ABOUT LORD SEVENTH!!!
However, I won’t be giving this the highest marks….because how far it strayed from the book. Please know this was a wonderful show (not as good as The Untamed if you’re interested in the comparison). Watch for the fun of it, but if you’re looking for the real Faraway Wanderers………..you’ll only find that in the book.
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Watch this for Leo Luo and Huang Jun Jie...if you have nothing better to do
Whew, I finished Fox in the Screen. It was no easy feat. First, I couldn’t get all the episodes on YouTube, then FINALLY Amazon Prime picked it up. Why oh why did I search diligently and wait patiently to watch the end of this mediocre show? Because of Leo Luo of course. After Ashes of Love, well, he can do no wrong. I just love him. If you don’t believe me, read one of several articles that I’ve written about him (link to his page below) for MDL. He’s the cat’s meow.https://mydramalist.com/people/11095-luo-yunxi
STORY:
Fox in the Screen is the story of Xue Jing the orphan artist and her struggle to survive during this Xania (I think?) piece of fluff. In the first episode she paints a screen with a magical pen and frees three magical foxes played by Leo Luo (sigh), Huang Jun Jie (Yowza he was good), and Xiao Hei (meh – not bad). Cue the evil old/young sorceress, jealous son of the emperor, and strange goddess of the flowers and you’ve got twenty something episodes filled with magic, a little palace intrigue, and a poor woman with an unfortunate aging complex (don’t we all have one?).
CHARACTERS:
Liu Xin Qi plays Xue Jing very well. She had the right amount of spirit as well as a burning desire to beat up the bad guys all on her own. Her character was loyal, loving, and bound and determined to save those within her care…..sometimes females can be portrayed as two dimensional….this one was not.
The foxes were just plain fun. At first Yu Yan (Leo Luo….sigh) was kind of a bad guy but not really. Either way, I found him quite fun whether he was mean, jealous, or just a plain old super hero. I don’t think its possible for him to do a bad job with any of his characters. I realize that I may be biased.
Xiao Hei played Little Blackie the fox missing his feet for a good chunk of the show. He was loyal and sweet but a little annoying after a while. There is only so much of the sweet stupid little guy that I can take in any series.
Huang Jun Jie played Bai Sheng by far the best and most mysterious character in the show….and might I say that the end of his storyline tugged the heart strings and also made me question his relationship with the emperor’s son. Truth be told, I liked him best. He was just the right amount of sweet and enigmatic that kept me wanting more. If you’re going to watch this, keep going to the end just for him. He played one of the most delightful characters in Eternal Love of Dream as well, so I hope to see more of him going forward.
The token bad guy is played by Long Ni. Yun Tao is sufficiently evil that completely degenerates into miserable when we see why she is the way she is. I love it when there’s an interesting female lead but I don’t necessarily love it when her motivations are barely skin deep (pun intended). I prefer they either make the woman a psychopath or suffering from a traumatic experience like their dog was killed in front of them, not for superficial reasons (just my opinion).
MUSIC:
The music was so-so. I did recognize Leo Luo’s voice singing one of the songs. It looks like he sings the theme song….yeah Leo! But still……..nothing special worth mentioning.
REWATCH VALUE:
I have no plans whatsoever to watch this again. It wasn’t hideous….sort of mildly entertaining. The episodes are short, so it goes fast. Watching it once isn’t a complete waste of time, but twice or more……even for Leo Luo that would be a resounding snooze fest.
OVERALL:
I liked Fox in the Screen for Leo, I loved Huang Jun Jie’s characterization of the shadowy Bai Sheng and almost (not quite) want to watch it again to see if I can see a little more subtext. Everything else was just okay…..a decent way to spend an evening to calm down from the latest gut-wrenching k-drama (ie. Tales of a Gumhio) I’ve been binging. So give it a try, if you need something light and frivolous….BUT if you are looking for the next Untamed or Eternal Love….this certainly AIN’T it.
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Quirky but NO Kissing Scenes - Dang it
I love the idea of bad things being cute jelly like creatures rather than scary monsters. The School Nurse Files promised to be just that. Strangely enough, The School Nurse Files also managed to make jelly like creatures be very far away from cute and instead are gross and scary so it goes to show….a little production money spent on special effects is worth it……you can turn gummy bears into monsters.STORY:
Ahn Eun Young is a school nurse that has been able to see ghosts and jellies (manifested in weird colorful gelatinous-like creatures) all her life – especially since the death of her mother. She works at a very strange high school that appears to be overrun by these jellies and so she is never bored. She meets Hong In Pyo a Chinese teacher (teacher of Chinese not a character from China). He has an aura she is attracted too and the two pair up to fight the jellies….and a bad guy or two.
CHARACTERS:
Nurse Ahn is a very well-done character. I actually feel sorry for her throughout the show because its as if she doesn’t want to have to see ghosts and jellies, she just does and feels compelled to rid the world of the bad creatures.
Hong In Pyo appears to like Nurse Ahn (although I never saw that she reciprocated – dang it). He also wants to help her make the school a more normal place.
The two seem to collect students along the way helping them. These students then are in on the secret that they are fighting the bad things. The high school students were actually quite interesting but with only 6 episodes, not too much story on them.
MUSIC:
The music is considerably creepy which works well with the story, but I’m not interested in downloading a single song. Truthfully, the music just freaked me out…..very chilling.
REWATCH:
I am not a horror-genre loving person and the jellies were just a bit to gross for my tastes (especially the character brought in to take care of the mites) but if you like horror or really strange creatures, this could be something to watch over and over. Me….not so much.
OVERALL:
If there will be a season 2 (only 6 episodes in season 1), then I’d watch it, but only if they promised me a little heat between Nurse Ahn and Teacher Hong…..dang it. It’s a great horror k-drama, and it showed the realism of school life with just enough ick that made me grateful that I was no longer high school age. Give it a try if you like this kind of thing but don’t expect any kissing or declarations of affection….dang it.
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If you loved Bai Feng Jiu and Dong Hua Dijun in Eternal Love, you might want to watch this show.
This was the first drama I couldn’t wait for. I watched all the YouTube videos showing the making of. I patiently waited until my streaming service had the English translations ready to go. Then in January, I sat down and began what I hoped was the next EL…..which……..sigh, it wasn’t.STORY:
Eternal Love of Dream is the love story of two fun characters from Eternal Love adapted from the novel by the same writer as Eternal Love. The problem with this story is Bai Feng Jiu’s and Dong Hua Dijun’s story is pretty much the only interesting storyline in this entire show. One of the beauties of EL is that it had so many fun characters that it wasn’t just about the leads. Other than the character of Chi Wu played very nicely by Wayne Liu, everyone else was just so-so. Okay. I take that back….Zhe Yan and Bai Zhen’s relationship was very nicely defined (more so than EL) and I will admit I didn’t see anything but bromance in EL, but it is very easy to see there is more to those two in ELOD (It was almost as if they said…..What Censors?).
CHARACTERS:
Of course, Bai Feng Jiu and Dong Hua Dijun are so much more interesting in ELOD because they are fleshed out and have lots of good and bad about them. I didn’t appreciate their mortal arc (but it was well thought out). I do love how Bai Feng Jiu is really good at some things like cooking and sword fighting but still childish and immature up until the Aranya arc. Dilraba is probably one of my favorite Chinese actresses if not the very top. The same goes with Vengo Gao’s performance as the cold and aloof Dong Hua Di Jun. He warms up about the same time the Feng Jiu grows up. Their conclusion was quite nicely done.
Wayne Liu played Yan Chi Wu the obnoxious demon prince out to challenge Dong Hua Dijun to several duels all the time because he thinks his true love Ji Heng will marry Dong Hua. By far, Chi Wu is the MOST interesting character in the entire show. Wayne Liu played 15th Disciple in EL but in this, he is WAY more fun (they even explain the likeness which is silly but who cares).
That’s it. Si Ming’s and Feng Jiu’s relationship in EL was more fun. Lian Song and Cheng Yu were more interesting in ELOD but meh…I didn’t even see their story was concluded. Other than the strangely fascinating pair of Bai Zhen and Zhe Yan (by the end….it was obvious), not one of the characters were fun or deliciously evil.
Ji Heng (Angel Liu), well I feel very sad for the actress. Here she bought the rights to ELOD before EL was released. After EL, there was no female that could play Feng Jiu properly other than Dilraba. If Ji Heng was written the way Angel Liu portrayed her, then eeeeek. She would have been better off trying for the Cheng Yu part. From the first moment Ji Heng was introduced, I hated her and didn’t change my mind with her ending either. I don’t think that was because of Angel Liu but how it was written. (Poor Angel Liu)
MUSIC:
The music was nice, but I didn’t download anything. It was very reminiscent of EL. Again….meh.
REWATCH VALUE:
I’ll admit, I went back to watch the beginning parts with Zhe Yan and Bai Zhen (because the end was so blatant) just to see if they were a couple from the beginning……yep. Other than that, I just couldn’t do it. I may go back and re-watch the bird tribe arc with Chi Wu and Feng Jiu. That was just fun all around.
OVERALL:
If you liked EL, you should watch ELOD. If you like Vengo Gao or Dilraba (and I love them both), then watch ELOD. If you like lots of fun characters which makes Wuxia so much fun…..ELOD, not so much. Truth be told, I put ELOD on hold in March and did not pick it back up to complete until August. It didn't capture my heart as well as EL did. BUT! It was worth finishing.
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This review may contain spoilers
Intelligent Drama on Love and Marriage
I gave it a few days before I wrote about this show, but my opinion hasn’t settled down yet. So here it goes. If you want something cute and fluffy…….this AIN’T it. If you want some comedy thrown in with some WAY TOO realistic drama……please watch Because This is my First Life.STORY:
This is a story of 3 different couples and how they negotiate love and marriage and its very messy. Truly….that’s it. THAT is what this drama is about. The spoilers will now commence.
COUPLE #1: Yoon Ji Ho (played by Jung So Min) and Nam Se Hee (played by Lee Min Ki) are two people who need each other for convenience purposes. She needs a place to live and he needs a reliable room mate that will take care of his cat and the recycling (and not pee in his fridge – who does that? I can’t believe they put that in there). He hides all emotions behind logic and science because it hurts too much to feel (I can relate) and she can’t figure herself out and what she wants out of life despite being a smart and driven woman up until the 2nd episode (kinda ticked me off watching her get a little wimpy). They get married because his parents threatened him (even though he’s nearing 40, I guess that’s a thing in South Korea) and she doesn’t want to leave Seoul.
COUPLE#2: I hated these two more than anyone. Yang Ho Rang (played by Kim Ga Eun) and Shim Won Seok (Played by Kim Min Seok) have been dating for 7 years and living together for much of that time. She wants to get married and have kids and he doesn’t know what he wants, and he developed an unsaleable up that he’s been spending a lot of time trying to sell. (For someone so smart, he was way stupid on what is a good idea.) He is fighting marriage and she wants marriage……and they break up and get back together only to break up to get back together again….lather, rinse, repeat.
COUPLE#3: Woo Soo Ji (played by Lee Som) wants to be a CEO and never get married so she can care for her mother. Ma Sang Goo (played by Park Byung Eun) is a CEO and seems to be a player but ends up wanting to have a serious stable relationship with Soo Ji who fights him tooth and nail. She fears taking risks that might hurt her income because she is worried about her mother…..more confusion and sadness ensues.
This isn’t a bad show, I’m feeling a little sarcastic writing this review because it put me through the ringer. To be honest, I cried through episode 7 – 9 and sometimes out loud sobbing (how embarrassing). I’ve never cried so hard through any drama including Goblin and The Untamed. Why? Why did they need to do that to me? This is why I prefer fantasy or comedy shows instead of these painful realistic dramas that remind me that life is WAY TOO hard sometimes.
I will give it a good rating, but I’ll never watch it again. It hurts too much, and no show should hurt this much. From sexual assault to sexual harassment to revolting parents (his parents are just too much for me), this show touches (very nicely) on some uncomfortable subjects which they deal with head on and in technicolor. This show illustrates a lot of important women’s issues and does so with elegance and strength. Hat’s off to the screen writer. She did an incredible job! The friendship between the 3 women is so AWESOME.......but it would take too long to write about it here. I'll write an article about it. Again.....this writer is very talented.
MUSIC:
It was good but frankly, I just can’t relive a single second of this show so no interest in downloading anything.
REWATCH VALUE:
No way. That would just be considerably difficult, and tissues are in short supply in my area of the country.
OVERALL:
This is a good show. It’s a sad show at times, but the writing, the plot, the dialogue are insightful, smart, and quite lovely. So watch it, but please….only if you have tissues on hand.
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Different from the Normal Cliched Drama
Mystic Pop-Up Bar or Ssang Gap Pocha is not your standard k-drama. In fact, it is just different enough, that I’d recommend it to anyone who wants to watch something out of the ordinary. It is the story of Wol Joo (well done by Hwang Jung Eum) and her tragic death five hundred years ago which means for the last five hundred years, she’s been working as a after-life employee helping people deal with their life long regrets through dreams.STORY: Wol Joo is someone who can enter others dreams (even when she was alive and mortal 500 years ago. In the beginning, we see that she is called in to help the crown prince who appears to be in a coma because of some bad vibes. Because she’s young and pretty and so is he…..well, you know what happens. The resulting turmoil leads to Wol Joo committing a sin involving a spirit tree and a curse. Now 500 years later, she only has a few more people to help. She is aided by Chief Gwi and her friend the Sam Shin. She also finds a mortal (Han Kang Bae) who can help her and agrees to help him with his problem if he helps her with hers. I’d say more but then I’d be giving spoilers and frankly……you don’t want to know these spoilers ahead of time.
Its enough to know that Wol Joo is doing time as an afterlife government employee and over the next twelve episodes, she needs to complete her quota in order to save those she loves most. There is very little romance in the show, but I didn’t miss it (There is some….don’t worry). There is a good amount of comedy which made all the difference in the world!
CHARACTERS: Han Kang Bae played by Yook Sung Jae is actually the most fascinating character as the mortal who would love to give up his spiritual abilities and live a normal life. Is there anyone sweeter in this show? He’s nice, he’s caring, and all he wants is a family. A character such as him sometimes can be played too melodramatic making us pity him, instead I found myself cheering him on. Maybe its that super sweet smile of Yook Sung Jae, but I just loved his character and how selfless and loving he was. Watch the show just for him.
Choi Won Young plays Chief Gwi who is kind of goofy and a little mysterious. He’s also a civil servant that helps Wol Joo with her quest. We don’t find out the truth about him until much much later into the episodes (not that we didn’t see it coming). His story line is interesting, and his character is both funny and engaging with just enough enigmatic behavior to make me curious to keep watching and hoping he was who I thought he was. Okay…Watch the show just for him.
Wol Joo (great job by Hwang Jung Eum) was loud, funny, sad, strong, but NEVER whiny. Oh, how I love strong female characters and Wol Joo is up there as a strong female character. The more we watch her the more we see that Wol Joo has her heart in the right place and is willing to sacrifice EVERYTHING and I do mean everything for those she loves. This is my first show with Hwang Jung Eum in it and I will say, she’s got fabulous comic timing and I do love that she was able to be vulnerable without being weak. I have no patience for weak female characters. Now that I think about it….Watch this show just for her!
There is a whole cast of smaller characters including Jung Da Eun playing a young mortal and an old immortal (great job…by the way). Each enhance the story of the three main leads instead of taking from it. I especially enjoyed the friendship between Sam Shin and Wol Joo……again with those strong and interesting female relationships.
MUSIC: The music was good and enhanced the show. None of the songs stood out to me but its likely because there were only 12 episodes instead of the usual 16ish….barely enough time to really flesh out the characters let alone the music.
REWATCH VALUE: I haven’t re-watched it yet (because I’ve moved on to something else) but I will likely revisit Mystic Pop-Up Bar again. It’s a very interesting story that I wouldn’t mind viewing it again and again. Its doesn’t have me in the throws of obsession like some dramas (ahem…I’ve written many articles about those), but it was really well done.
OVERALL: Mystic Pop-Up Bar was a refreshing and new type of drama for me. It was a gripping story line that blended magic, mythology, and modern-day issues in a very entertaining way and I just loved all those fun characters. Heck! In the end…..I’d watch it again, just for all those enjoyable characters.
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Watch it for the female characters or Xiao Zhan - either way you won't be disappointed
In case anyone is wondering, I picked this movie to see if Xiao Zhan is fun to watch without Wang Yi Bo. I am happy to report……the answer is YES. And if any of you reading this review haven’t watched The Untamed….For Heaven’s Sake! Stop reading and start the drama!Story: Jade Dynasty is the story of Zhang Xiao Fan who is orphaned (or at least it looks like it) and apprentices with a sect and is a hopeless bumbling practitioner of martial arts. Everyone in the sect loves him like a brother and he appears to have a strange but loving place to live. There’s a big contest amongst all the secs and he gets to go….kinda like Cinderella because he’s not remotely qualified. Somehow, he has a special rock that merges with a stick and it becomes a weapon…..then all hell breaks loose.
Characters: I didn’t like the character of Zhang Xiao Fan at first. He was just too nice and too perfect. I did love all the female characters. Man oh man were there some fun female characters from his adopted older sister to an enemy or girlfriend (I’m still not sure) and then a kick-butt swords woman from another sect. The male characters were almost as interesting.
The problem with this show is it should have been a drama instead of movie. There is so much back story that could have made this more interesting. I almost felt like I was left hanging. How did he get the rock? What about these fun female characters? Can we see more of them? Who killed his parents? What the heck with that demon guy? Which female does Zhang Xiao Fan actually like? Can we see more of Zhang Xiao Fan now that his voice has changed and he looks a little demonic?
Did I love this movie? YOU BETCHA!!! XIAO ZHAN WAS THAT GOOD! Man oh man. From naïve boy to a kind of demon (and a sexy one at that) he was so so so so. I don’t know but whatever it is, Xiao Zhan has it. Yes, the female characters were wonderful even with the short story (especially Lu Xue Qi with her conflicted self – I could have watched a whole movie about her story.)
The music was cool and yes…..I’m going to watch this again to see if I can see who killed his parents. Just saying……This should have been a 30 episode drama, not a movie. So watch it for the story or the strong female representation or just for Xiao Zhan. Don’t expect him to play another Wei Wuxian. His performance as Zhang Xiao Fan was just different enough that I enjoyed it and didn’t wonder where Lan Zhan was.
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STORY: This story is about a mermaid and a man (yep….story that has been around for hundreds…if not thousands of years in many cultures). There is an intriguing back story that goes right along with the current modern-day story that makes it all just a little more suspenseful and a little more fun to watch. And yes, the mermaid and the man meet and fall in love and do they have the happy Disney ending or the tragic fairy tale ending? Well I won’t give you a spoiler except to say, probably (yes, I’m being ambiguous)……just watch it…..okay?
CHARACTERS: The best character of all is the mermaid (Sim Chung) played by Jun Ji Hyun. She meets Heo Joon Jae in Spain and hilariously learns about being human and of course, he doesn’t know she’s a mermaid. I laughed out loud for the first ten episodes as she stays true to her mermaid self-dealing with the human world. From the moment Heo Joon Jae finds her in his closet wearing his hoodie eating his food, its just more fun than a barrel of monkeys. I can’t say enough good things about her performance. Just know that it isn’t all fun and games and when she gets serious or sad………wow, the audience follows her right down the emotional drain.
Heo Joon Jae is played by Lee Min Ho and he does a great job of creating an interesting character that is fun, serious, broody, and intelligent all at the same time. From the first moment he graces the screen as the town agent, we know there is more to Lee Min Ho than broody good looks. While he wasn’t as funny as Jun Ji Hyun, Lee Min Ho gave us two distinct characters that worked towards the same goal quite nicely.
The side characters were very very very well done. From Lee Hee Joon’s (is he a bad guy or good guy?) portrayal of Jo Nam Doo to Tae Ho’s (Shin Won Ho) and Cha Shi Ah’s (Shin Hye Sun) very strange relationship to the money grabbing Ahn Jin Joo (Moon So Ri)…..they are all very interesting, including the serial killer, and Heo Joon Jae’s very sad family situation. Not one character bored me. I would have loved to have seen more of little Yoon Ah and the very funny homeless woman (who actually does not have a name), but they wisely stopped at 20 episodes.
MUSIC: The music was enjoyable, but not killer…..whether or not the soundtrack is fabulous depends on if I buy one of the songs. None of the songs really stood out but were nicely used and not overly annoying.
RE-WATCH: I plan on re-watching but I wasn’t compelled to with episode 20…….lets face it….some shows you are just compelled to watch over and over and over. Legend of the Blue Sea is sweet and lovely, but once through might be enough.
OVERALL: If nothing else, watch this for Jun Ji Hyun. I thought she was funny in You Who Came from the Stars, but she was doubly hilarious in this show. This woman is not afraid to take on anything and sure has incredible timing, whether it be comedic or dramatic. I plan on watching everything she’s in because so far, she’s never disappointed me. Good News! Legend of the Blue Sea is entertaining. The characters are amusing and for twenty episodes, you keep biting your nails, asking the question…..Disney ending or Sad Fairy Tale ending?
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STORY:
Du Aisha is a tough no nonsense business woman who will do a lot (but not everything) to be successful. Her mother and brothers are an emotional mess and her father abandoned her when she was a child. Yi Fei Yang is a rich business man running a competing company who wants Du Aisha’s company and her expertise on his team. His own family is quite dysfunctional as well, with his father and mother married but pretending to be invalid and caretaker rather than husband and wife.
Each have a group of family, friends, and co-workers that may or may not want the best for the two and their prospective companies. Standard corporate hijinks ensue and oh yeah, they fall in love (betcha didn’t see that one coming).
CHARACTERS:
Aviis Zhong does a fabulous job of creating a tough but loveable Du Aisha with just the right amount of strength and enough vulnerability to make her appealing watch. Wes Lo’s Yi Feiyang is playful and fun and loyal, and I loved the dichotomy between the two played out on screen. Du Aisha isn’t mean, just gruff and Yi Feiyang isn’t weak, just flexible. A match made in heaven. There wasn’t riveting chemistry between the two but wasn’t it off putting.
Jack Li and Lan Zhang play the 2nd leads and their chemistry certainly never manifested on screen. Perhaps it was because I found Ye Xuan (Jack Li) to be a weak and almost whiny character. Xiao An was big time whiner almost to the point of off putting. She was saved from being completely forgettable with her short foray on the dark side during the last few episodes.
The other characters were interesting from Demi Yin’s Wen Jing Jing, the conflicted business manager to Steven played by Ckay. Both showed more depth and conflict even though the writing didn’t give them a lot to work with. I thought they were complicated and interesting. Qi Zhen Kai played by Gabriel Lan was a decent bad guy, but I would have liked a little more of a life lesson taught to Vicky and Du Nan Cheng (Du Aisha’s brother). Both of which weren’t bad, necessarily, but sure were obnoxious and needed a good spanking.
SOUNDTRACK:
If I can’t remember a single song, its not a great soundtrack, but it also means that there wasn’t an annoying repeating song. So again, “meh”.
RE-WATCH VALUE:
Well, I’m not planning on re-watching this anytime soon. It was entertaining, just not enough to watch over and over and over (PS. I have a list if you’re interested).
OVERALL:
The Wonder Woman is a great show for female characters…..its just that, other than Du Aisha, they just don’t get to really shine as they could, given the dialogue and episodes (focusing more on them and less on Yi Fei Yang and his strange parentage). Watch it if you need to calm down from binge watching one of those shows that you just can’t let go of (ie. Ashes of Love, The Untamed, Goblin, Hotel Del Luna, etc).
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STORY: This show is about Wei Wuxian, an orphan who grows up in the Yunmeng Jian Sec as a brother with the sect leader’s children. This is based off of the book Mo Dao Zu Shi and due to censors, some parts of the book are not included but there is no mistaking, the main relationship in the show is between Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, the second son in the Gusu Lan sect. What plays out on the screen is so incredibly beautiful and poignant, it is breathtaking. The two spend their time fighting for justice and truth and a clear conscience. The genius of the show is the very first episode starts in the middle of the story of Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji. When you meet Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji, and Jiang Cheng in the very first scene, it becomes a tantalizing bait to ensure the unsuspecting audience just keeps on watching.
CHARACTERS:
Wei Wuxian is played by Sean Xiao just masterfully. He is just the right amount of playful, intense, loving, and flirty; a perfect foil to Wang Yibo’s version of Lan Wangji. These two just have chemistry in spades and it is probably the most entertaining couple I’ve had the pleasure of watching in a long time. But it doesn’t stop there. I read an article recently that said that Lan Wangji was a bit wooden, but I disagree. He had to be the polar opposite of Wei Wuxan and Wang Yibo did an INCREDIBLE job pulling off such an interesting character. He spoke so much with his eyes, that he must have practiced for weeks to get them just right.
The characters grow exponentially with Wei Wuxian’s two siblings, the loving Yanli (Lulu Xuan) and the combative but family-oriented Jiang Cheng (Marius Wang). There are the Wen siblings of Qing and Ning (Zoey Meng and Paul Yu) and several other family groups of various dysfunctional dynamics. Add a few psychopath bad guys, some weird monsters, a token female or two, and you’ve got yourself a cast that delivers large amounts of fun and excitement for 50 jam packed episodes.
I held off watching this show for almost a year (I prefer binge watching to waiting for things to come out). I’m also not a big fan of playing a favorite, but there is a reason why this was one of the most popular c-dramas in 2019. Truth be told, the only reason I’m not giving it a 10 is because of the lack of well-developed female characters. Outside of that flaw, this show is 100% perfection from the vicious sword fighting to the bunny metaphor (you’ll love it……I promise).
MUSIC:
Within one week of starting this show, I downloaded all of Lin Hai’s soundtrack for The Untamed and the duet sung between Xean Xiao and Wang Yibo. I have not been moved by a soundtrack so much since my last John Williams download. Certainly, this is one of the best soundtracks I have ever heard for any drama. If you like good music, you can always watch the show just for all the awesome flute and zither pieces (and every time you hear the songs, they remind you of Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji…..sigh).
RE-WATCH VALUE:
As I write this, I’m on the 3rd time through watching. I’m still addicted. Hopefully, there is a cure and I can move on to finish Eternal Love of Dream soon or anything else for that matter. So re-watch at your own discretion and if you are addicted like me…..well, you can’t say that I didn’t warn you.
OVERALL:
The Untamed is just perfect. Its more than a love story, more than adventure, and more than I can describe in just one review (so I’ll write an article or two later on). I tried to avoid spoilers in this review but if any of you are hesitating the only thing off putting in the show might be the violence (it gets a little bloody in spots and I have to admit there was a few things I didn’t think I’d see on TV like cutting off of tongues and branding). If you have some time and tissues (I cried), then snuggle up and watch The Untamed.
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STORY:
My Holo Love is about a company that develops a companion AI product (kinda of timely for this particular moment in history) that is all wrapped up in a pair of glasses that project Holo in front of them. The AI is called Holo and he is designed to be in the image of his creator and recluse Go Nan Do (both very well done by Yoon Hyun Min). Some bad guys want to steel the Holo technology and chase the company’s CEO Go Yoo Jin (played by Choi Yeo Jin) until Holo helps her pick a poor unsuspecting civilian on the street to hide the glasses. That person is Han So Yun (Go Sun Hee) who works in marketing and suffers from face blindness (is there such a thing?).
Han So Yun develops feelings for Holo as he also becomes attached to her (hence the question begins, is AI a living being?). Because Go Nan Do needs the Holo glasses back, he is introduced into the mix between Han So Yun and Holo. It wasn’t until the police got involved (the story gets more complicated as it progresses), that I started to ask the question…..what constitutes a living being if that being can feel attachment to a human.
CHARACTERS:
I’ll be honest. Most of the time, I could tell when Yoon Hyun Min was playing Holo and when he was Go Nan Do, which tells you how good he was in this show. I was impressed because I loved both Holo and Go Nan Do. I could see the differences between them which fascinated me…….it also helped me overcome the almost creepy minimalist music.
I loved Han So Yun and her ability to develop a relationship with both Holo and Go Nan Do. The development of her feelings for both appeared natural and appropriate especially towards the end (romantic relationship with AI is fraught will all kinds of issues). She wasn’t whiny nor clingy and was strong and take charge when she needed to be (I’m getting annoyed with whiny female leads). She had good chemistry with both Holo and Go Nan Do.
The characters of Goo Yoo Jin and Baek Chan Sung added to the story, although I feel Chan Sung’s character could have better development from where he started and where he ended. If they had made a couple more episodes, probably he could have been fleshed out more fully…..the same as Yoo Jin’s character as well.
My guess is the production values were so high with all the technology used (and it was American Blockbuster grade technology) that they couldn’t afford to make more than the 12 episodes so only the two main leads were truly developed fully.
MUSIC:
As I said in the beginning this will either make or break the show for the watcher. Its not that there wasn’t music, but it was very minimalist. At one point it sounded like the piano music that plays in the lobbies of fancy hotels (very classy but just a piano). The subject matter is serious so kitschy songs would not work AT ALL for this show. Its likely they couldn’t spring for the full-on orchestra bit because all the technology soaked up the budget. Its not bad, its just makes the show appear more sad that it really is.
REWATCH VALUE:
I haven’t started re-watching this yet, but I plan to. Both Yoon Hyn Min and Go Sung Hee were compelling enough that I want to revisit them again. But first I’m making my way through some cleansing Chinese offerings.
OVERALL:
By the last episode, I felt more hopeful about the world than I thought I would. In the middle, the conflict was believable and pretty intense. I did find it amusing that in Falling for Innocence, Yoon Hyun Min and Nam Myung Ryul played father and son with one of them being a bad guy and in this show they again face off with each other and this time the other is the bad guy.
My Holo Love is an interesting watch. It didn’t make me cry nor did it make me scream so it is not one of my favorite shows……however, it was compelling and fascinating, and the love story was out of the ordinary for a K-drama. Very refreshing. And again…it makes you think about what AI truly means.
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STORY:
Hmmm. In a nutshell it’s a story about Jin Seon Mi who is a human who can see ghosts and her escapades with a cadre of fabulous monsters of the very best kind. I know it sounds simplistic but truly, it’s the characters that drive this story (which is indicative of Hong Sisters shows). If you are looking for a standard drama with a love triangle (ok this has one) and a second male lead that you love (ok this show has one) and childhood flash backs (ok there is that as well) and amnesia (oh alright, there is that) but all of that aside, whatever might be a trope……just doesn’t feel the same in Korean Odyssey.
CHARACTERS:
This is where my mind is blown. There is not a character in the entire show that isn’t crazy fun. From Son Oh Gong, the Great Sage and monkey monster to Ma Wang the devil king and their litany of side kicks like P.K. the pig monster who is adorable, Secretary Ma the loyal and blood thirsty dog monster, or the incredible Zombie girl so nicely done by Lee Se Young, this show is chocked full of incredible characters or more. At one point, there is a billionaire chaebol doing house work and cooking to an octopus monster possessing the body of a ditsy actress and the lone non-supernatural person, Lee Han Joo, alternating between being horrified at the strange things around him and star struck with all the celebrities visiting his boss.
I especially loved the two male leads and frankly I think the Hong Sisters wrote this for these two men. Lee Seung Gi plays Son Oh Gong and Cha Seung Won plays the devil king and the two play off each other from the first episode. Lee Seung Gi creates a compelling character on the screen and frankly I couldn’t not stop watching him every moment he was on the screen. Same went for Cha Seung Won. He played a completely different type of character than Lee Seung Gi but the two just worked together. Truth be told, I still like the Goblin bromance better, but this one was one for the books, especially the fighting.
In the end, there is not a bad character in the bunch. Love or hate how the simplistic story plays out, each character is incredible, even Jin Seon Mi who is quite bland next to the liks of Son Oh Gong and Wa Wang, she is what is called the straight man in the comedy team. While all the monsters act and react around her, she remains calm, cool, and collected……there had to be at least one calm person in this show of crazy monsters.
MUSIC:
The music was incredibly good (again my opinion). My favorite song was Let Me Out by Nu’est W. I’m pondering downloading that one. The rest was good and not too cliché or repetitive. It worked well with the storyline.
REWATCH VALUE:
Heck yeah! Whether its fun scenes or just watching this again for a deeper dive into the characters…..its worth another go ‘round.
OVERALL:
Korean Odyssey is worth your time just for the characters alone. The rest is not as important but a nice addition. Its not perfect….Jin Seon Mi wasn’t written as well as the 2 male leads (kinda sad). Plus I’m not sure many actresses outside Gong Hyo Jin, Yoo In Na, or Kim Go Eun could go toe to toe with such strong male leads like Lee Seung Gi and Cha Seung Won. Now wouldn't that be a fun show to watch?
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STORY:
The story is fairly simple, poor Tae Gong Shil (well done by Gong Hyo Jin) sees ghosts and that makes her life miserable. On a fateful rainy night, the driver of a car picks up Tae Gong Shil who is waving from the side of the road; even though the passenger tells him to drive on. Tae Gong Shil climbs into the back with Joo Joong Won, the CEO of Kingdom (delicious performance from So Ji Sub). From the moment she touches him she realizes the physical touch from Joo Joong Won blocks her ability to see ghosts and soon after that she just can’t get enough of physical time with CEO Joo……yeah……me either. He was a fun character……and very easy on the eyes.
Like all good shows, they start to form a strange relationship fraught with ghosts, jealous rivals, a childhood kidnapping, and a few not very nice people. Will they fall in love? Sounds inevitable to me.
CHARACTERS:
The best character by far is Tae Gong Shil, she has so many conflicting facets to her character that we can’t help but be captivated. At first I didn’t think the character of Joo Joong Won was keeping up but come episode 10…..wow, he practically burst on the screen all over again and became so much more fun and multi-dimensional. Both these characters kept me on my toes the entire show. The other supporting characters did a great job but, in the end, when one of these two were on the screen, that is all you see.
MUSIC:
The music wasn’t very memorable except the song Touch Love, I am considering downloading it as it was pretty cool. The rest didn’t detract from the story but didn’t add much as well.
REWATCH:
Please watch it again just to see if the characters are as interesting the second time around. I just can’t stop thinking about Tae Gong Shil and Joo Jong Won. There are many words to describe them, frustrating, lively, infuriating, good-looking, funny, but NOT boring.
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