1
JessicaMDawn
I don't understand why people like these kinds of shows. Typically bubbly, happy girl with so-so or terrible grades + good at everything, rarely talks, absurdly popular guy who treats her like shit but she's 150% devoted to him anyway?
In this show, Nao will ask Uehara a question, a simple one similar to 'What would you like for dinner tonight?' and Uehara will blow up at her for being annoying or butting into his life and then someone will tell Nao about how today is some hard day in Uehara's life or something bad happened at work/school with Uehara that day and then Nao rushes to find some way to apologize to Uehara for being so stupid and not realizing that he's having a hard time, when she did nothing wrong and definitely nothing to deserve him lashing out at her. Every time she finds joy in something, he criticizes her for it. Literally every time she's happy imagining something, typically involving her and Uehara, Uehara walks into the room and in ONE SENTENCE has her frowning and fidgeting, unsure of how to respond without making him more upset. Nao is surrounded by people who care about her, who SHOW HER they care about her, who make her smile and laugh and feel good. The only time Uehara makes her feel good is when he's in her mind. And we're meant to believe he loves her too because every once in awhile he frowns when some other guy is being nice to her, or because, when other characters practically force him into it, he does something nice for her, because that one time they had a meal together and he didn't immediately tell her she was stupid for thinking he was enjoying himself, because they had one scene where they slept in the same room because the heating was broken. Except 90% of the time Uehara accompanies such scenes with dialogue calling Nao an idiot or stupid for thinking it's romantic, for thinking he would ever do anything just for her, for thinking that the moment is nice, happy, or that he's kind. And not in the endearing way some characters do, where you can tell 'stupid' is a term of endearment, but as an actual insult.
That's not a loving relationship. That's abusive. That's toxic. And I put up with it for all but the last 2 episodes, waiting and hoping that Uehara was going to wake the f*ck up and stop being like that, learn from past mistakes and events, grow up and stop acting like a 4 year old who doesn't understand that other people have feelings too. But it didn't happen. And I couldn't finish the show. I couldn't stand to watch a finale where, I assume, everything is tied up with a neat little bow and we're promised that Nao and Uehara are going to have a wonderful, happy, love filled life together. Because I can't believe it. I can't watch what I know is going to be a loveless, abusive relationship. I hated every second of it.
Was this review helpful to you?
Yoo Tak is such a jerk at the beginning - disillusioned with life and empty inside, and taking it out on everyone around him. And this show takes him, and the viewers, on a rollercoaster of a ride. The depth to this show is astounding. It starts out pretty light, with Yoo Tak doing what most people say they'd do in this kind of situation and living it up, but the longer the show goes on the more it pulls at your heart and makes you care So Much for the characters. This show is an emotional tidal wave. The lessons Yoo Tak learns are so hard but so vital and I loved every moment of watching him learn them.
The acting is phenomenal as well. Like wow. L displays the spectrum of emotions, from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows; love, depression, grief, regret, happiness, optimism, hope, hopelessness, anger, acceptance, and all the chaotic shades that blend them together. And Yoon So Hee portrays Da In in such a realistic way. I never doubted the way these two felt, about life or about each other.
As a show about an Indie band, you can expect that the OST for the show is pretty great, and it really is. Music is used wonderfully in this. It never threw me out of the plot or cringe because it didn't fit. It doesn't drown out what's happening in the show or fade to the background.
I went into this show confused and not expecting much, and came out the other side listing it as one of my favorite kdramas and recommending it to anyone I know who watches kdramas (or might, with enough persuasion, watch them).
Was this review helpful to you?
These characters felt incredibly real. With a lot of shows, even if you like the acting and never doubt that the actor is their character, it remains that they are playing a character. The people in this drama felt like people. The events that happened could actually happen. Anyone here could be someone you meet on the street. And I think that feeling, like these could be people you know, really lent itself to how emotional this drama was. This drama was equal parts heart-wrenching and heart-warming.
The relationships in this drama are also noteworthy, and I'm not talking just about the romance. Our main male lead has a 'found family' of so many different, odd, beautiful people. The way people care for each other throughout this show was wonderful.
Just Between Lovers is a marvel. I recommend it to anyone who doesn't mind heartache and likes emotional connection with their shows.
I do NOT recommend this show to people who have been through traumatic experiences similar to being trapped underground or having a building collapse and suffered PTSD, because this show does not hold back in that regard and I would hate if it triggered their PTSD and/or made them panic.
Was this review helpful to you?
They start you out by showing you how our main character is a great salesman and can pick out details about a person to draw a complete image of what their life is like, and then this Never Gets Brought Up Again. It's not a character strength later. It's not a plot point. It's literally never important again, even though they spent the entire beginning of the show detailing it.
The bad guys realize exactly how the phone works after only seeing it happen once, and not even seeing the phone itself during that one time. The final confrontation is very overplayed. The acting is overdone the whole show, actually. And the idols in the company are so obviously unhappy and uncomfortable around their managers/CEO/etc that it seems incredibly unbelievable that no one has noticed there's a problem. There are side characters that apparently had side plot things happening but we never actually see it, so randomly at the end we're told about how this dream or that dream came true for them, but we never knew they had that dream in the first place, or that any of this side plot related stuff even existed?
I did like that the ending stuck to the original statements made about the magic cell phone, but that's about it. And then the very end of the show felt like it negated its own lore.
I didn't connect with any of the characters and I only marginally cared what happened to them. The longer it went on, the more aggravated and disappointed I was.
I do not recommend it.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Final thoughts on Run On: They did a lot of stuff well. It was simple and had some heartwarming moments. They touched on a lot of topics or issues that are important, and I liked that, but by the end of the show I'm not sure they fully handled most of those issues. I liked that they had characters meet random other people from their lives that never came back in - it gave a sense that they have lives outside of the events we're seeing.However, there were some supporting characters that felt forgotten that weren't meant to be. Like the gay character's coming out. We could tell he was throughout so him coming out was a given to happen, but then the outing scene was oddly sudden and out of place and then never really covered ever again. It's like he was forgotten once he came out. And I didn't like the fact that there was an asexual character who, at the very end, met the 'right guy' and suddenly wasn't asexual anymore. Like, they could've handled that better. Said something like, she's still asexual but she loves him romantically, or that their relationship had nothing to do with sex, or something. I did like that the second female lead apologized to the actually gay character on the show for the fact that she'd used the lie that she was a lesbian to keep her family from forcing marriage on her when people who were actually gay really struggled with it.
I also wish there had been more development of the second couple, because the second female lead didn't change enough for me to honestly think their relationship is going to go well. She still needs to learn empathy. I would've liked a scene where she blatantly does something for someone else's benefit, where she was scene to understand their emotional state and respond appropriately. A scene that didn't involve her love interest.
Oh, and I adored the second female lead's little brother. More of him, please. I love him. He's so cute.
But over all, I did enjoy the show. I liked the development in the male lead, and I loved his mom's final mic drop moment with dad. And I LOVED every scene with the male lead and his running buddies. I would watch a whole series just of them and their antics and him being an agent with one hype man and one guy who roasts him all the time.
I wish we'd heard more of the backstory between the female lead and her roommate/boss/friend, because their relationship was also good. We got flashbacks of a few moments in the lead's lives, and I wish one of them had been about a time earlier in these two's relationship.
Oh yeah, and near the end of the show - and in the final montage of 'what happened after' - we're shown scenes that are meant to make us feel bad for the male lead's dad. Sorry. No. No pity for that man. No forgiveness. He did nothing to earn it and so he shall not receive it.
Was this review helpful to you?
The entire cast of characters, both main characters and supporting characters, are wonderful (except for Won Il's parents, obvs, and Dong Goo for the first half of the show) and I loved all of them. Won Yi is so fantastic and over the top. I once said that I would take a punch to the face for her, and then she would turn around and beat the daylights out of whomever had dared to hit me. She's such a gem. Beom Bo is another gem. A literal ball of sunshine and fluff that deserves your love and protection. I could go on and on about all of the supporting characters for days!
Our main group is great too. Won Il is a disaster but that's what's so endearing about him. He's awkward and trying too hard but his intentions are good, as is his caring heart. I've seen Jin Hyuk in several dramas and movies now and he's always so good in his roles, even when the roles are so vastly different from each other. Seung Ji is so spindly and defensive but you can see how much he cares, and kudos to Donghae for portraying that so well. I thought his feelings for Da Yang developed too fast, but that's a plot and script problem more than an acting one. Da Yang is actually the main character I had the most issue with. I appreciate that she tries very hard and is very Go Get 'Em and optimistic, but she annoyed me by complaining so much.
I cared more about the love story the longer the show went on, probably because I felt it appeared too suddenly, so I liked it more as I saw more evidence of their love rather than when I was simply told they loved each other. There were two relationships I was more invested in than the love story though, and those are
1) Won Il and Won Yi's brother-sister relationship, how they overcome that barrier in being step-siblings and would do anything for each other, and how realistic their interactions are to actual siblings
2) Seung Ji and Grandpa, who I would die for. This is the best relationship in the entire show, hands down. Grandpa and Seung Ji are precious, beautiful. They love each other so much, even without actual blood relation. They support each other and take care of each other, they know how each other's minds work and their smallest personality quirks. Ugh, I love them so much.
There's nothing astounding or groundbreaking about the plot. Some plot points you can see coming from a mile away or more. However, this show is my 'happy place.' If I've had a bad day, if I'm really stressed out, I can rewatch Panda and Hedgehog and be smiling within minutes. This show is very Feel Good for most of its run, lifting your spirits with the silly antics of its characters. And I liked how the more serious, dramatic aspects of the show presented themselves, never dragging the show down too far. Until the final episode or so at least, but by then you're expecting the shit to hit the fan.
The music gets a 7 because most of it is forgettable. However there were a few songs that were very touching and used very well. The ability to watch Seung Ji creates baking MAGIC every episode gets a 10 because that was absolutely fantastic!
Overall, I recommend this show to anyone looking for something lighthearted and cute, and a little bit nuts.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Bohn is good at the Lovey Dovey eyes, but Duen couldn't act his way out of a paper bag. He's also a pod person that I cannot believe have lived on this planet long enough to make it to college, let alone medical school. I'd give examples, but the sheer frustration I had at Duen's existence would be a rant not fit for this review. Also, really really didn't like Bohn going 'I've decided I'm going to date you, so you don't have a choice in the matter' and just flat out refusing to back off even though Duen wasn't giving a single signal that he reciprocated, and in fact was adamantly *against* it. Right up to the end, Duen is averse to anything remotely physical happening between them, even a hug or holding hands. And the constant pretending-to-be-upset to get attention and you-can't-be-SEEN-with-another-man-because-that-means-you're-flirting was aggravating.Mek and Boss were better. Mek's actor being the ONLY ONE with a voice over was jarring and always ripped me out of the story, but their story itself wasn't bad. I wish Boss's feelings had been given more time to explain - how he'd loved Mek for so long but didn't think anything would come of it, while at the same time he tried giving his heart to others only to be rebuffed over and over, and even to loving Fon. How he loved them both, not more or less, just different, and in the end chose Mek. I seriously felt so bad for Boss this whole series. He tries so hard to be liked and then everyone except his tiny friend group treats him like he doesn't exist. The acting subplot was hard to watch for that reason.
Ram and King. Oh. My. God. RamKing. Best actors in the whole show, for one. Best story in the whole show, for two. I could watch a full ten episode series just of them falling in love, Ram staring at King like he hung the stars, King understanding what Ram means without Ram having to speak. Both of them knowing each other's fears and protecting each other from them. King, who takes an interest in anything weird or different, finding that this man's happiness is what's important to him, that he feels Good when he's with Ram, and not knowing how to handle those emotions. Ram, his heart closed off, struggling to be understood by the world, finding someone who just seems to Understand Him in ways the rest of the world doesn't. King planted a seed of care in Ram's heart, cared for it tenderly, carefully, and watched it bloom. And that bloom was so beautiful it changed King's whole world.
I watched this entire series just for them. Everyone else was filler.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
The acting in Accidentally In Love is decent, if not up to par with the majority of the k-dramas I've watched - or Taiwanese or Japanese. It has matched others though.My favorite character was Yi Yang. He's supposed to be a bully but he just came off as so awkward - a cat with resting bitch face that acts like it doesn't like you because other people haven't been kind to it but it actually really like gets head pets and neck scritches. Everything involving him and Fang Fang was great. I like how she handled him and all the stuff that happened because of/around him. He makes her more outspoken and she softens his edges and I love how complementary they are for each other. (I'm also curious, since it was never actually mentioned - exactly how loaded is Yi Yang's family? They own a restaurant the Fang Fang worked at for a hot minute, but that can't be all they own if he's got money coming out his ears, like Xin Ya and others at the school suggest.)
The scenes with Qing Qing and Si Tu Feng where they acted like regular people - just friends hanging out - were my favorites. The entire episode where she 'tricked him' into exercising. When they played basketball like fools. Playing in the fountain. Dancing in the street and visiting street stalls. Him climbing up the wall of the dorm to deliver a gift to her. Teasing each other in the green house. Playing on the beach. His moments of 'oh no, she's gorgeous' (the Boyfriend Shirt moment and her in an evening gown performance). I loved every minute of it.
The Xin Ya/Mu Nian plot line needed to die. "Your kiss broke my spell" actually made me gag. That whole subplot was utter garbage. And the suicide plot line was awful. I hated both Xin Ya and that other girl whose name I don't even remember(Linyang? I don't even care). Neither of them were given any redeeming qualities, so the suicide plot came on suddenly, fell flat, and felt improperly handled. I also hated that 90% of the females that showed up in this show are absolutely horrible, awful people. Qing Qing, Fang Fang, and those three girls from the Student Council that make periodic appearances are okay, and the three Your Highness fangirls get better with time, but all the rich girls and all the classmates and the fangirls at first, and ugh. I got tired of bitchy, petty, nasty women showing up.
I wish that Qing Qing would have resumed her normal look after everyone knew who she was. That plot point never even...went anywhere? Like, that guy released her info in order to 'drive a wedge' between our leads and then...there was no wedge formed and he never came back in?
So basically the end of the show post-wedding-escape was kind of wonky and confused about what it was trying to do. But the show was fun to watch - wacky, silly, cute good times.....for most of the show at least. And I adored Yi Yang and Fang Fang's developing relationship, from 'we happen to attend the same school' to 'accidentally involved because our friends are involved' to 'acquaintances' to 'friends' to 'couple.' I just love them so much. So so much. Faves.
If I rewatch this show, it'll be scenes with Fang Fang and Yi Yang or scenes for the main couple like I mentioned above - where they're just having fun.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Pros:Yanuo is passably male for a good portion of the show.
She is a master martial artist and she doesn’t ever have a scene where she loses to someone and then someone tells her, or she thinks, it’s because she’s ‘still a girl’ or some other bullshit.
The friendship is strong in this show. And it is beautiful. Seriously my favorite scenes were of their wonderful, amazing friendships. The teasing, the playfulness, the loyalty, the mindfulness. Gorgeous.
All the characters are lovable (except that one asshat, but that’s rather the point).
There is no point where Zifeng has a gay panic, so if that's something that puts you off a gender-bender show, don't worry. He does think he's gay, but there's no panic.
It’s bazonkers, but that makes it funny. Several times I was like ‘this is so unnecessary, why is this happening?’ because something silly and easily avoided was happening.
There’s a love triangle, but not really, because the other guy was never an option.
Zifeng finds out Yanuo is a woman partway through the show (won’t say when because spoilers and all), but he doesn’t alter how he treats her in the slightest. He doesn’t start telling her to not come do Triad business with him, or not to get into a fight, that something is too dangerous, etc. He does caring, thoughtful things for her just as much before as after he knows.
Qingyang is Soft Boy. The softest boy. So many times he came on screen and I was just like ‘heeee’s sooo sooooooooooooooft.’ This has nothing to do with the plot, but I felt you should know.
Cons:
The cinematography is awful. Camera angles were terrible. Everything was so close up. I was like ‘wow, do I need to see their pores in this scene?’
“Give him this cup of water.” What cup? I don’t even see you, the person offering the cup, let alone the cup, because the camera is focused so close up on the lady you’re talking to.
“How do I look?” I have no idea, because I can only see the barest slice of you, in 4 different shots, while the camera shows us your hesitant face and his ‘wow’ face.
The kissing scenes were really awkward. Like, they seemed to be trying to make it look natural, but I was like just ‘I feel bad for any actual significant others you two have if this is how you really kiss.’
Zifeng is a mafia boss, the head of a Triad even, but nothing illegal happens under his watch. He runs an amusement park and pulled the Triad out of all illegal business. It’s a Thing in the show. (and it's literally the first thing you learn in the show via Zifeng talking to his dad, so Not Spoilers). It took 28 out of Netflix’s 30 episodes for there to be any real threat (imo) to someone's life.
The longer the show went on, the more Yanuo acted like a girl. Like, sitting like a girl and demurring in a very feminine way and speaking in a quieter, almost breathy tone all the time. She started out acting very boyish, and I don’t believe that 25 years of acting like a guy would vanish that fast (<100 days) just because you fell in love. They even started giving her more feminine makeup the longer the show went on, though the character never started wearing make up within the show.
Whomever did the music for the show is on par with whomever did the cinematography for the show. Music starts and ends randomly, sometimes switching songs mid-scene and mid-music swell, music abruptly stopping mid-scene and with nothing happening on screen to signal why the music would stop.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Great Start, Disappointing Ending - Major Spoilers Below
This movie is bonkers. It's over the top. It's wacky. And I don't hate it.I unironically love the witch Barbara, and Red Riding Hood is great as the Only Sane One. The attention to detail was great. I love that the prince was in love with someone who has freckles, and loves her even with a big ass scar on her face (that they actually made look pretty bad, not just a tiny thing).
I hate how it treats Cinderella.
Let's be honest, if this movie took place in real life, the hairdresser wouldn't be a guy who 'cuts women's hair off against their will.' He would be a serial rapist. He assaulted all those women and kept their hair as trophies (like a mass murderer). So this guy finds a woman who has been emotionally, verbally, and even possibly physically abused her entire life and convinces her to come back to his house by making her think he can help her. Then he assaults her. She defends herself and accidentally kills him.
Is she wrong for trying to pin the murder on someone else? Sure. But the person she tried to pin it on had, again, abused her her whole life and had, just that morning, killed the only friend she had (the pigeon). She wanted some form of justice. So was Cinderella in the wrong? Absolutely. Give her a punishment, sure. Put her in jail, even. But the movie shows her zero sympathy and she's painted as the only one in the wrong. Even her step-mother and step-sisters aren't treated as poorly and they were her abusers and, in Margot's case, animal killers. Because the bird ate a scone she dropped on the grass. The HAIRDRESSER isn't painted as poorly!
So I didn't hate the movie. If Red Riding Hood hadn't been there and Cinderella made the deductions and found the killer (maybe Anne or Margot really did do it?), even keeping that the prince is in love with someone else, I would have loved it. I enjoyed the first 3/4 of the movie, honestly. But I dislike what happened in that last 1/4 so much that I can't rate it higher than a 6. Sorry, not sorry.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
It's a rough road
The cast acts very well throughout this series, except for that bike crash scene. That was--That was a travesty. What soap opera invaded my drama? Also, Off was not good at crying or sadness 90% of the time he tried it. Not like Gun, who can bust out the waterworks at the drop of a hat. Other than that, I thought the acting was great and all the actors picked did very well in their roles.I wanted more P'Un and Two. I've never seen Earth do a tsundere type character before, so this was fascinating and hilarious to me. And Two was adorable once they cleared things up, so excited to finally be together.
I feel bad about it, but I actually got bored of Bone's story before the end. I liked how mature he was about it all, though.
Khai's turn around could've been built up/shown better. He has a pretty much 180 flip there after his big revelation. I did *love* the vivid flashbacks he had while trying to kiss a random woman at that beach bar though, unable to perform even a peck on the cheek because of the memories of what he did to Third.
More smiling Gun, please!
Music gets a 5/10. The same two bits of music played constantly, and none of it was memorable.
Rewatch Value 2/10 - because damn those first episodes made me want to *rend the flesh* from Khai's bones. I wanted to turn him into a meat smoothie and sell him to Sweeney Todd. I wanted to make his insides his outsides. I wanted to peel him like a potato. And I'm not a violent person (despite what that rather graphic imagery suggests).
Not a series I would recommend, because while the series post-Khai realizing he's an asshole was good, that was...that was a lot to put up with, honestly.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
The part that a lot of people liked....I didn't?
I liked this movie because Akira keeps an upbeat attitude, even during an apocalypse. He looks toward the future with hope. I liked the bucket list and how it started with something as simple as 'clean my room.' Watching him chuck garbage out the window was amazing.We're not gonna ask how the hell they managed to go paragliding. I'll assume they passed a store with the surf board things on the way to the lake. The way Akira lit up with such innocent joy at the sight of the camper and loved it so much was wonderful. Like, all of his dreams were coming true.
I wasn't a huge fan of the flight attendants, but the end of the world makes people do things, okay? Whatever. And some of the choices that were made were dumb--like throwing away your best weapon and for some reason not wearing Kevlar anymore? Or the movie broke its own rules--why did the zombies in the store follow them outside if the fireworks were still going? Why were no zombies attracted to the motorcycle sounds but followed the speaker? But I can ignore that for the sake of a good time.
The run through the street to get to the love motel was a wonderful, epic shot. Shizuka's final fight with -sound- was also epically shot. The message about living your life to the fullest was great. Akira became a flipping Kamen Rider at the end. Like, what~
I hated the zombie shark. And I've seen several comments that said the shark was their favorite part. It was my least favorite bit used in the movie. The shark being a zombie 1) didn't make sense, as no other animals were shown to be zombies or even suggested that they COULD become zombies and 2) it fucking grew human legs from the people it had eaten. Since when did a zombie virus give creatures the ability to mass alter their biological structure?
Literally give me the whole movie but without the shark and I would've adored it. The shark dragged down the Story and Rewatch Value of the movie for me.
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
