I have to admit I was very skeptical about watching this at first. I downloaded 10 episodes of it thinking its short and had even Mystic Nine on my list. Hearing that they both were from the same author I wasn't sure which one to watch first but my partiality towards Yixing(Lay) took over and I ended watching Mystic Nine first. Also it had the plus point of having William Chan and Zhao Zhanilla later whom I simply adore (after watching Boss and Me and Rise of a Tomboy). But unfortunately I was left completely disappointed in it and I think my love for Lay also reduced. I couldn't even finish the whole thing and ended after 17 episodes. After that catastrophe I was even more skeptical about this but one day when I had simply nothing else to watch I just gave this a chance and boy don't I regret not watching it before.

Let me tell you straight up other than having the same genre as Mystic Nine(and same Lt.Zhao) there is nothing similar of TM to Mystic Nine at all. This is a masterpiece compared to Mystic Nine and I can't believe that people don't talk about this more. I have seen that those who have watched both Mystic Nine and this always prefer this over it but it's only that minority.

The main reason for this to actually be better is the full fast paced story line with completely lovable characters. Starting from our MC Guo De You, he was simply amazing. He had everything I loved in my MCs. He was fine mix of intelligent and mischievous and was hilarious to boot. This was my first time watching Li Xian and now I'm an official fan of him. Having watched Medical Examiner Dr.Qin and Only Side by Side with you just for him I can't wait to see him in Go Go Squid too(which is I'm impatiently waiting for cuz it's based on one of my favorite books). Next we have Mao Ding. He was the perfect Dr.Watson to our Sherlock. Being a rich son didn't make the least annoying, he had his own agenda but that didn't mean he totally rebelled either. He cared enough for his company when needed. Next up is my favorite in the whole story, Gu Ying. I swear I didn't love female MC as much as I loved since Zheng Shuang in Love o2o. Despite the little knick of hers to totally follow Guo De You, this girl was the best. Not that I'm comlpaining about that either. She was the perfect badass leading lady we needed. She had so much spunk that I felt even if they put Guo De You and Mao Ding together they can't fight as well as her. She was hilarious to boot too. I saw few people complaining about her clothes but man I loved every single one of her outfits. That girl rocked them. I mean not everyone can have a freaking bird nest on top of their heads and make it look bad ass. Our second leading lady Xiao Lan Lan was the perfect rich girl and once again like Mao Ding she didn't act the spoilt rich girl. She had her own strengths and pulled similar weight of the group. Not only these character shone on their own but when you put them together in one screen, the chemistry was off charts. Each character fit with the other perfectly, The bromance, the romance (or lack of it) was perfect. Each adn every character added something to the story to make it amazingly balanced, from the ineffective police head to Master Guo to the Head Shaman to even Chairman Ding.

Talking about the story, like I told before it was fast paced and didn't leave the audience hanging even for a second. For me every single scene was engaging and believe me after having more than a decade of experience of watching all Asian dramas this is a first where I didn't skip even a second of a drama. The mystery kept me guessing even till the last moment and you won't believe what kind of secrets come up in the episodes at all.
The cinematography was also perfect for the tone of the series with a dark, aura being around through out the drama with perfectly balanced colors here and there. The republican China was adapted better here for me than that of Mystic Nine and we don't see the normally seen parties and high end houses but we get to see the more street life giving this a nice touch. The clothes were on point and I loved how different the four were in their own statuses.
And can I tell that I love the ending song. Jam Hsiao did an amazing job with that and it perfectly blended with the whole series.

This is also the first time I have written such a big review to a drama and first time I've given a complete 10 for everything. Another first fir me was rewatching the whole thing as soon as I finished it. I opened up a netflix account just to watch the rest of the drama. Take my word for this and do not miss this drama. Have no doubts when watching this drama. You will not regret it even for a second. Now patiently waiting for second season as I've heard rumors that it's been green lit. Hopefully the full cast returns for at least 4 episodes to give us closure for that open ending.

Read More

What can I say? I'm partial for super hot/cute guys fighting because of friendship and family.

This movie is literally made for all the Exile fans out there and who just love seeing all of their favorite actors in one film. The number of famous faces in this film is just countless. In a plus fact all the songs in the movie are pretty good too. I'm guessing Exile has some contract with Afrojack going on cuz I keep seeing them collaborate many times. Other than that I've got to say I'm becoming a little bit too over the whole we are not friends but in the end when one is being attacked Sword is gonna get together scenario. At first it was nice to see it but now it's becoming overrated. Get over your head people, you'll love each other and can't pretty much live without each other. Now hold hands and walk off to the sunset.
I wish I could see more of Nobaru though. My only real complaint.
My favorite scene, at the end when the Kuryu group leader comes and calls everyone kids while sucking on a freaking Popsicle. Yes very mature of you sir XD

Read More

This is by no far something a person of weak heart can watch. It is by no means graphical like many other movies but yet very disturbing. It shows the sad life of Korean comfort women.
As a fellow woman this story resonates within you. Your heart goes out to the countless women who were tortured. The brutality they faced cannot be just driven away by a simple forgiveness. For me I did not feel anger to the Japanese but pity, pity that they had their lives like that. Pity as to what went through their heads to become such inhuman beings. While reading of the Nanking Massacre this turned even worse for me. It made me think what kind of retribution they would have had after this life( Being a a Buddhist karma is something I believe in but this is entirely my own thoughts). The story had a single glimmer of hope within the story in the portrayal of Danaka and I was sad how he ended too. Being a romantic I couldn't help but wish he had reunited with his family or Jungmin.
Like I said this isn't for the weak heart, I was utterly sad by the end and had a very hard time coming back from this film.

Read More

Once in a while you get those films where you can just simply watch it. No angst, no forced laughter, no tears but just sit through it and feel refreshed just watching it? This movie is one of them. This is one of the most refreshing stories I've ever watched. The story was simple, with a simple message. How coming back to your own roots is actually helpful. This gives a certain feel of nostalgia too. It definitely reminded me of my own grandmother's house and how she did everything from scratch.
Being from the suburbs and living more than half of my life in the city, seeing such simple-ness was very refreshing for me. Part of me almost wanted to go and live there. Give up everything and just go to a village and farm and live. Then again it made me think, after being brought up in the city can we actually do that? I was jealous of Hae-won through out the movie. She had a place to return to and most importantly she knew how to return and live their comfortably.
I really wish there is another movie for this like the Japanese adaption of this because for some reason I felt this movie deep within. It was beautifully and artistically done.
One of the best films to just watch during summer, alone on the verandah, with a cool drink and a snack at hand. (Stressing on the snack cuz believe me this movie makes you want to eat)

Read More

Well what can I say? I went into this expecting a super great movie. I was clueless as what the hell I was gonna watch cuz I didn't even watch a trailer beforehand so I went into this knowing nothing about it except having heard it was amazing. Buuuuuuuuuut I got to say i was left kinda unsatisfied. In terms of the CGI and the action scenes I was blown away. Korea has improved alot in that area. I mostly liked seeing those than the story itself. Yes the CGI was done brilliantly and the acting was good too but i was left stranded. There wasn't that much plot in it except that the main character went through so many trials with his ridiculously good looking defense team. Actually I went in for Cha Tae Hyun but came out loving Ju Ji Hoon. Like someone else mentioned previously, Ju Ji Hoon was the gems here. Having seen Ju Ji Hoon in very serious roles, I was pretty surprised by him here. He managed to keep the funny scenes hilarious. I loved his expressions here. Even his crying scenes had me giggling (sorry if it sounds rude here)
One scene that resounded with me was the simple scene where the grandfather sees the Grim Reaper and says to himself that he might be closing near death. When the grandkid cried there something tugged at my heartstrings. How a life can be so precious. It might seems silly but that scene was the start where I started getting emotional with the whole story.
One plus side of this story is we see sooooooo many amazing cameos. Each trial brings out so many old faces we just love seeing on screen, that was a reason that made me keep watching till the end. To see who else is gonna pop in my screen. I won't say it was a bad film, no doubt it was a really really good film but I won't say brilliant. Watching this few minutes after Tori Girl, I felt even though Tori Girl was much less mature than this, it was done more brilliantly than Along with the Gods. But that won't stop me from watching the sequel of this.
Also if you are in doubt, just watch it for the sake of Ju Ji Hoon. The fellow is amazingly hilarious in this. You won't regret it. I only gave these ratings just for his expressions.

Read More

Wow. The first time I saw this on kissasian I just let it pass thinking it might be like Heroine Shikkaku (mainly cuz it's from the same team) and I just wasn't ready for a shoujo manga like drama but boy was I wrong. This is pretty awesome with an almost encouraging story. It was serious at the same time not serious. I loved Tao Tsuchiya in AniKoma and didn't think I could love her more but this changed it. So far this is my fav role of hers and her chemistry with Mamiya is incredible. This is no way a romantic chemistry but that true chemistry you see when two actors actually sync. Would love to see what happens to the whole team after this. As much as I loved this film I felt there were few questions left unsolved.
The chemistry between all the actors and the hilarious situations were on point. I want more of these character.
Without doubt one of the best J-film I've seen recently. Zero angst, zero tension. zero cheesiness. Everything was perfect. Also can I mention that my favorite character here is Kei? He was such a cutie and the end was just perfect.
Definite gem. 10/10. A must watch.

Read More