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Completed
Healer
71 people found this review helpful
by Bodea
Feb 12, 2015
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 5
Overall 10
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
As an American, I watch way more Asian dramas than I do anything else. I find I enjoy even the worst ones more than I do most American shows. Every so often, a drama like Healer comes along and just does everything to perfection, reminding me why I started down this road to begin with.

Healer has everything - a perfect OST, an epic OTP, an amazing cast, and a script that keeps you invested from start to finish. I found myself falling more and more in love with this show after each episode. The battle between good and bad/ right and wrong just grabs you and makes you want to root for the guys fighting to make sure truth prevails.

The acting is top notch. It's adorable, sincere, cool - everything you need to fully invest in the story. The music is beautiful. The synopsis really doesn't do this story justice. You might think that watching a story about reporters would be extremely boring, but Healer is anything but. It's a great mix of action, romance, and mystery. If you only watch one kdrama this year, it should be this one.

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Completed
Full House
11 people found this review helpful
by Bodea
May 29, 2014
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.0
So Full House was one of my first kdramas. I enjoyed it well enough and it made me a Bi fan (I found out shortly after he was a musician). I think it's safe to safe, it wasn't a perfect drama. It was repititious, draggy, and down right frustrated in a lot of ways. I won't even talk about the fashion. Still, there was something about it that made it a lot of fun. I thik it was the actors and the story potential. It could have been great, but fell short in a lot of areas. Still, this drama will always have a special place in my heart because it was one of my first.

I said all of that to highlight why the Thai version of Full House is absolute perfection. Where the kdrama failed to deliver, this one did. The plot was cohesive. No repetition or frustration (well, only the good kind). They took the holes in the original version and filled them. This resulted in a simple, but well executed plot, just the right amount of douche in our male lead, great supporting characters and angst providers, and a very good ending.

I really only have one bad thing to say abou this lakorn. The last three episodes dragged a bit. That's all, but they were still enjoyable. The two leads had great chemistry and I loved the acting. Mike was sweet, funny. He was mean at times, but sympathetic. Sucharat was freakin adorable. She was a great mix of sweet and fiesty. When she cried, I cried. I loved Guy as well. He and Mintra served their purpose well. I love the theme song for this too. All in all, this was a great remake in my opinion.

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Completed
Pin to Kona
11 people found this review helpful
by Bodea
Nov 6, 2013
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
Overall, I give this drama a 9 out of 10. I took off the one point because the last ep didn't feel rushed, but I felt like more time could have been spent on Ayame and Kawamura in the last three eps. I mean, why not? Everything that was an obstacle had been resolved (very well too). So while I liked the ending, I was kinda mad that we didn't get more. I'd love it if they did a special for this one.

Other than that, I loved it. The cast was great, everyone's acting was excellent. I enjoyed all of the characters and appreciated their complexity. I loved that this drama was such a great mix of drama, romance, and education.

At first, I wasn't going to watch because I thought Kabuki (which I knew nothing about) being the center of the story would bore me. I'm glad I decided to watch in the end because I found the Kabuki aspect very interesting and well done. I can honestly say there wasn't anything that I didn't like about this drama. I recommend that anyone tired of the same old detective/mystery dramas give this a chance. You won't be disappointed. Overall, this drama left me feeling happy and satisfied.

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Completed
CHOCOLAT
6 people found this review helpful
by Bodea
Sep 30, 2014
15 of 15 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 10
Rewatch Value 7.0
I've seen about three dramas with Lan Blue in them. He's not a very strong actor, but there's something that I like about him so I watch his work. He's improved a bit over the years. I really liked him here, and perhaps it has to do with his lead actress, Nagasawa Masami. They worked well together and she's a great actress. I liked the chemistry between the two, but I wish the writing had done just a little more with them.

The story itself was simple. A gang of gangsters trying to go straight, mainly because that;s what the boss wants. There were ups and downs and I appreciated that. It made the story more enjoyable. There was just something about the struggle and them making a family of their own together that really pulled me in.

I really liked the music here, especially the ending theme. The song is beautiful and the lyrics are really touching. I thought it described the relationships between the two leads perfectly. I found their romance really appealing because they were both trying to be really selfless. They wanted the other safe and happy, even if that meant they couldn't be together. The supporting characters were also great (super funny) and the ending was perfect.

All in all, I say give this a try. I haven't read the manga and when I first heard about this I didn't see the appeal. I decided recently to watch the first ep since I hadn't watched a twdrama in a while and ended up watching all 15 eps in 3 days.

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Completed
The Liar and His Lover
12 people found this review helpful
by Bodea
Aug 2, 2014
Completed 3
Overall 6.5
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 4.5
I haven't read the manga, but I think I will now because my main issue with the movie is that it felt incomplete. The story had lots of potential, but not enough development.

First, the cast was good. I loved the leads (the girl was adorable!). The acting was nice and they had great chemistry. The problem was they didn't share enough scenes for me. I wanted their relationship to get more development. As it was, everything felt rushed and a little silly.

The plot is interesting enough. I get the pain associated with music and love, but it fell flat because everything was kind of slapped together. The music was nice though.

My number one problem with this movie is the ending. I hate endings that are nicely tied up, darnit! All in all, watch this if you're a fan of the manga or actors when you have the time. It's not a must see movie though. It's cute and a nice enough way to pass the time.

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Completed
Yah Leum Chan
5 people found this review helpful
by Bodea
Sep 30, 2014
14 of 13 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 5.0
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 3.0
I'm a huge Anne fan. I've seen just about all her lakorns and I think she's a fabulous actress. I've seen Tik in one or two shows before and his acting is good as well, but together these two just didn't work for me. I know a lot of fans were clamoring for this pairing, but the chemistry between these two just wasn't that good. I honestly don't know if it's just not there or if it was that the plot was a hot mess. There were spots of nice chem here and there, but nothing consistent.

Speaking of the story. I was confused for the first few eps and then frustrated for the rest of the show. I thought it was just silly that Suri didn't try to explain herself more often. I know it was for dramatic purposes, but it's just sloppy writing. I also hated how demure Suri was. Chem was just a major jerk who just got all kinds of ideas in his head and ran with them. I didn't care for either of our lead characters here.

What's funny is that I actually liked Rita's character more here. She was funny and kinda feisty. Still dumb for dealing with Chem, but she wasn't at all pressed about him and she seemed like a woman that knew she deserved the best because she had a lot to offer. I don't really remember much about the other supporting characters. They were annoying or just didn't register. Personally, I tell fans that want to see Tik and Anne pair up to skip this one and pray that they team up again. If you're gonna watch in, go in with low expectations.

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Completed
Itazura na Kiss: Love in Tokyo
5 people found this review helpful
by Bodea
May 29, 2014
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 1.0
Rewatch Value 5.5
I've watched evey version/remake of this frama and I think that the awesome thing about it is that there's always somethign to enjoy. There's just something appealing about watching a story like this about a one sided love being cherished and turnign into more.

While The Twdrama version starring Ariel Lin and Joe Cheng is still my favorite, I enjoyed this one a lot. Better than the original Jversion. It strated off really strong and ending strong, but my main complaint was that the pacing of the relationship between the two main characters was a bit slow and then way rushed in the end.

First, I loved all the actors. Out two leads had great chemistry and embodied the characters nicely. Kotoko was really adorable without being over the top. She was sweet and I really sympathised with her. My only issue was that she was too much of a door mat for Irie, especially towards the end. I really wanted her to mirror Ariel Lin's portrayal and really pull away from Irie towards the end. I enjoyed Furukawa Yuki's portrayal here, but I wished he showed a little more in the way of being charmed by Kotoko and fallign for her despite his issues with his parents expectations and figuring out his own feelings.

The plot was dealt with nicely here. They hit all the beats we were expecting (except the guy showing interest in Kotoko like in the other versions. I was looking forward to that). I just wish they would have paced the romantic development between our main characters better. I felt like we didn't really get an of the subtle, but strong hints from Irie leadign up to the ending that making this story so great. As a result, the ended felt sort of rushed and I was a bit disappointed.

Oh, and ISWAK (the TWdrama remake) still has the best soundtrack. Seriously, what happened here?

All in all, this was a really good remake with some rough spots here and there. Still I recommend you watch this and the other versions if you have time. They all have somethign to offer.

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Completed
Kamen Rider Amazons
2 people found this review helpful
by Bodea
Jun 15, 2017
13 of 13 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 7.0
So, it's been a minute sense I've completed a Kamen Rider series. My first was Kamen Rider 555 and I thoroughly enjoyed that one because the tone was more serious/mature. I immediately went in search of more Kamen series with a serious feel and found the ones I tried to be lacking. I did discover GARO and that was an awesome ride.

I stumbled across Kamen Rider Amazons recently and decided to give it a try because the synopsis caught my interest. I'm so glad I did. This series is exactly what I've been looking for since KR555 - fun, but mature and not cheesy.

The characters are complex. Even though I don't always agree with their actions, I like that they are flawed and dealing with serious issues. The transformations are great and I think the story progresses nicely. In essence, the Amazons and humans are basically on a journey to figure out what makes you human and is being human in direct conflict with being an Amazon or sympathizing with their struggle.

I think my only complaint is that I would have liked more screen time for the female characters. They are all interesting and really tough in their own right. Hopefully season 2 delivers on that front. I think if you're a fan of the Kamen Rider franchise, you'll be happy with this one.

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Completed
Better Man
2 people found this review helpful
by Bodea
Oct 10, 2016
60 of 60 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.0
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 10
Rewatch Value 3.0
Overall, this drama was a six for me. I thought it was cute. I loved the premise of these three brothers coming together and growing into better men because of the relationships they find themselves in. Unfortunately, the drama had problems with development and balancing out the screen time between the three couples. Early on, the second brother and is love interest got most of the focus, for almost 30 eps. The other couples really dragged on during this time. As a result, some of the steps for the couples were rushed and the ending felt disjointed, but still satisfying.

I thought all three couple were cute, but the relationships with the youngest and oldest brother were my favorite. I felt Zhen Zhen and Kai Kai were a great example of how opposites attract and my struggle to come together, but still make for a great dynamic. The youngest sister with the oldest brother was a nice example of how difficult a May December romance can be. The writers did drop the ball a bit on them and rush things toward the end, but it was still a cute relationship. The supporting cast of family members were very nice as well.

The music for this drama is addictive! I love every track. This is not a must see, but if you're looking for a simple daily drama that's cute, a little more than decent, and you like the premise, try this.

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Completed
Hard Nut!
2 people found this review helpful
by Bodea
Mar 2, 2015
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 6.5
Rewatch Value 7.0
I wish this drama had been longer, even just one more episode of Kurumi and Tomoda would have been great. I thoroughly enjoyed everything about this one.

I loved the leads together. They were funny and were really well together. I really got into their characters, Nanba more so than Tomoda because I felt like the filled in all the blanks.

The story for each ep was great. I felt like it kept the flow going and they did a fairly good job building Kurumi and Tomoda's partnership. I also really liked how Kurumi went about using Mathematics to solve the case. Her methods seems off at first and not exact, but it all came together nicely in the end. The one thing that bugged me about the story was how they handled Tomoda's background. I felt like they could have put more into it and given us more.

The romance here is light, but it's fun too. I find Kurumi's thoughts about Tomoda and how to snag a guy hilarious and I love the way he responds to her antics. All in all, this is a nice and quirky detective drama in the sea of detective dramas coming out of Japan. It's got it's own charm and for that alone I rec it.

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