A beautiful, very realistic love story. For once the girl chases the guy which was very refreshing. She is the strong one in this relationship. I loved it, how those two met each other. She found him in an alley all beaten up and brought him to the house of her father. In so many dramas the first encounter is something special. The leads feel attracted to each other immediately (or are fighting with each other). In any case there is something going on. In this drama the girl didn't even look at him enough to recognize him when she met him later. The male lead was looking for the girl who saved him, but not in a desperate way. He just saw her around and got interested in her (not in a romantic way at first). THIS was great. Really. They then gradually fall in love. Everything feels so real, like how he brought her to his house to read comics. Everything was cute, lovable and beautiful. Like I said before: the girl took the initiative which I really liked.
About the acting I must say Jun Ho (I didn't know him before) was spectacular. The female lead, Won Jin Ah, was great too, but Jun Ho's role seemed more difficult. He somehow managed to play a character who was strong and vulnerable at the same time. I must say I'm not a fan of those overly dramatic series where PTSD plays a big role. It becomes cheesy and unrealistic pretty fast. But Jun Ho did a really good job.
Enough praise. I would rate this series with a solid 10 if I only had to rate the first 9-10 episodes. But later on it became so cheesy suddenly. I know, other people may like this, but I felt it became so slow. Even Jun Ho's acting couldn't save this anymore. Don't get me wrong, it was still a good series, but they just dragged it out and made the character too emotional for me. Still the end was great and the series overall was just very well told. It was one of those series where I didn't feel like skipping parts (at least until episode 9-10).

Read More

Jesus Christ...! I binge watched this series until 4am and now I have a terrible headache and dry eyes.
Honestly, I don't even want to know what other people think about this. I can imagine some find it disturbing seeing a love story between a robot and a human. I know about the sexbots and AI development of recent years, the uncanny valley, so it wasn't surprising to me even though a had a strong reaction when I first heard about it. I think those kind of develompments tell us a lot of society and what a person is looking for in a partner. He has to be good looking, capable of doing everything, always kind and nice, never talking back etc. It seems we want the perfect partner and a human cannot be perfect. That said, I didn't mind the romance. It was cute and fluffy, the sexual issue was never adressed (thank god) which wasn't surprising. I mean, we are talking about a Korean drama where everything is innocent and lovey dovey. To make it short: the robot was cute, the romance enjoyable, but it wasn't the reason why I binge watched this until early morning. What I enjoyed was the conflict between the human Nam Shin, the robot and the whole envirnoment. This was extremely captivating. It's a while since I felt so much for a character. The human Nam Shin was very complex, but also a poor soul. He was the "bad guy", but it was obvious many cared for him, because they knew how kind he really was. The anger, pain and sadness made him behave like a jerk and cross the line. The relationship with his mother and his assistent made me tear up several times. I cried a lot watching this drama and I must give credit to the actor. This sure was a very difficult role. He had to change so often between playing the "robot" and the "human". It was always very clear which role he played at the moment (expect for the scenes where he intentionally tried to imitate the other one).
I must admit I wasn't a fan of the comic relief scenes in the gym with the father of the girl and the robot. Also, there was just too much fluffy romance going on (which is typical for Korean drama), but that doesn't make me love this series any less. I wished for more scenes with the human Nam Shin, I would have loved to see how he redeems himself. He did that at the end, but I really wished for a happier end for him. The robot was always the "good guy", the hero. That may arise many questions. The robot had a much better life than the human to begin with. The mother giving all of her love to a robot instead to the human ... I mean, come on! In my opionion the human was the bigger hero who had to survive many hardships (his father died when he was child, he was threatened by his grandfather, he lost his mother, he had to live in a hostile houshold). I honestly wondered throughout the drama why they insisted to make the robot the perfect guy, perfect lover, perfect son, while the human was always on second place.
Well, whatever. It was a good story and whoever wrote it did a good job. I would have changed some things, but that wouldn't have made it better or worse.
To sum it up: A great drama. One of the best I have ever seen. If I think about it, no other drama ever could draw me in so much as this one.
10/10. I'm thankful I found this one. It's proof that there are intriguing stories out there. Korean Drama can be really great.

Read More

When a series has such a high rating, there is only one explantion for it: It appeals to a majority of people. And what appeals to a majority of people? Something that's simple. Well, honestly, Goblin is really beautiful. If you want to watch something nice, calming and beautiful - watch Goblin. I cannot imagine that there are people out there who don't like it or don't enjoy it. The cinematography, the music, the scenery - spectacular. The best I have ever seen in any Korean drama to date. So why the rather low rating? It has no substance. The story isn't very exciting. After four episodes I felt like I knew everything I had to know about the main couple. What keeps you watching then? The love story of the Grim Reaper, I guess. Unfortunately he and Sunny only had a few scenes in every episode while the main couple is going back and forth. Again and again. There were so many recaps later on (I don't know when it started to annoy me), many flashbacks, I felt like they recycled scenes. The end product was somehow very artistic (I will admit that), but the story in general wasn't very deep. The emotions couldn't reach me. If I compare Goblin to the drama Korean Odyssee I recently watched I must say that the latter made me cry and weep like a baby many times while I had a hard time feeling sad for the Grim Reaper or the Goblin. I cried when the old men climbed the stairs to heaven and his dog was there waiting for him - just saying. That was sad. Maybe it was because of the comedy between the two characters (there was comedy between the couples too), but even though they had a tragic past, they lived pretty good lives for a very long time. I mean even if they would have died at the end of the series (for real) they had a satisfying life. This series was in general very "satisfying". Every single moment felt satisfying. I just think there was no real reason for being sad. I felt like they shared too many tears that couldn't reach me. So to make it short:
Story: 4/10 (not much depth), but the execution was 10/10, so I wil give it a solid 7
Acting: 9 (because I think Lee Dong Wook could have done a better job, I liked him a lot more in "Scent of a Woman")
Music: 10 (it cannot get any better)
Rewatch value: Well, if I want to relax and enjoy something that's beautiful for the sake of being beautiful ... 8.

Read More

I stopped watching korean dramas a while ago. I'm just tired and bored. It's only about looks, cute boys and girls doing cute things, damsels in distress who need the protection of a superhero. Where are strong female leads like in "Secret Garden" or "City Hall"? Where are the smart storylines? People talk about dramas like "Pinocchio", "Love from a distant star" or "Healer". Who can watch this until the end? It bores me to death, even though Ji Chang Wook ("Healer") is a terrific actor (everyone should see him in "Fabricated City"). Well, I don't want to bash other series, I'm just really disappointed with Korean Drama lately. So I came across THIS. First, I love Lee Seung Gi, he is my favorite actor (worldwide, honestly), his acting is incredible if he gets a good script. "Korean Odysee" had this kind of script. The fantasy elements, how the story progressed, the interaction between the characters - it is all great. Even minor characters are doing an incredible job. The first 10 episode of this drama deserve a 10/10 - or even more. I was not bored for one second, I didn't skip any parts (which I normally do, because ... I mean, who has the patience to go through a korean drama until the end? I sure don't). It is really, really good and highly entertaining. The love story is something I have never seen before and they did a really good job with it in the first half. Son Oh Gong is a great character who doesn't change over night and falls head over heels for the girl. It's a slow process which I really enjoyed. The whole drama (side stories included) is constantly pulling on your heart strings. The zombie girl was getting to me. Very charming actress. The secretary was also very likeable. I think I don't have to talk about Ma Wang, everyone seems to love him. Chae Seung Won plays this kind of role pretty often, but it never bores me. I have seen him in more serious roles like "Man in High Heels", he is very versatile. So why only 9,5 (which isn't a bad rating btw)? They dragged it out. That's pretty typical for Korean dramas. They start out incredible strong and then they lose their charm pretty fast. "Korean Odysee" lost it somewhere around ep 12/13 for me. I liked the female lead at the beginning, but to the end of the series, her face just looked like she was constantly crying. And, honestly, it annoyed me to death. So now I'm sitting here, glad that I could watch such a great drama, but also sad, that at the end the female lead had to became a mess. I'm still waiting for a strong woman to appear. No wonder I always loved Kim Sun Ah ("City Hall", "I Do, I Do", "My Name is Kim Sam Soon"). Korea, give us some charming and strong woman, please! Only then good actors like Lee Seung Gi can really shine.

Read More

Very crazy movie. Ji Chang Wook is a great actor. I mean ... let's be honest, this was INTENSE. I wonder why people are complaining about character development. I don't think this movie was really the type who wanted to explore different personalities. The action was great, the direction, the production - superb. The story nothing new, at least I have seen something like this before. I was constantly wondering why Ji Chang Wook was considered their "leader" when everyone else had great skills (hacking, building drones), the main lead's skill was driving a car and saving others. But well, it was a two hours action packed movie and, like I said, it was not supposed to be a character study. At least I didn't feel like something was missing. I enjoyed every second. The villain was over the top, but in a good way. It's a while since I got so shocked and excited because of a movie. Hollywood could learn something from Korea.

Read More

A breath of fresh air in the dry land of BL storytelling.
This is a very well written, well acted, well produced mini series I highly enjoyed.
The cast was very charming, their interactions felt natural, the chemistry was on point. I really liked how they included the volleyball theme. It's not only a series about cute boys falling in love, it's also about your dreams and not giving up (even though they had not enough time to explore this further). All the side characters were great to watch. It was funny, light hearted, romantic and really kept you on the edge of your seat. The music is worth mentioning too. Very, very beautiful. Unfortunately because of the low budget, the development felt rushed sometimes. Even so they did a lot with 8 episodes.
10/10

Read More

Oh boy! I found this yesterday and thought I would give it a try. After the first 10 minutes I wanted to turn it off, I don't know why, I just felt this woudn't be worth it. At the end I watched until midnight, I was completely sucked in by the story. It's really, really good. The acting was superb, the story itself makes you think and almost haunts you. I coudn't get it out of my head even in my dreams. It's a psychological work and it's a great one. I can recommend it to everyone who likes good psychological stories. The BL is real, btw. There is no doubt about it. But the focus is on jealousy and obsession.
Give it a try!

Read More

I wanted to write a long and elaborated review, but seeing how other people who are more capable than I am in expressing their thoughts (in English) did a much better job I could ever do, I decided to keep it simple and short (and hopefully funny).
Together With Me got me so excited like ... well, never before. For someone who loves BL stories since many, many years, it's like a dream coming true. To be honest, I never had such a good dream.

STORY: Nothing we haven't seen before, but the execution was okay - until the end. There were some things I found pretty silly looking back. You wonder what all the "drama" (I'm quoting Korn, ep13)  was for. Well, it's called a love story (I'm quoting Knock). They could have done a better job showing us Knock's conflict. The so called "love" between him and Pleng was not visible, that made Konck's inability to figure out his own heart a bit unbelievable. I'm not a fan of the Bright/Farm relationship, but I appreciate how they tried to show us something different. TWM is not a series where only cute boys fall in love, it's much more. Talking about cute boys, the buffed up guys (of course I mean Korn7Knock) had many beautiful scenes together. You feel the love.

ACTING/CAST: Korn7Knock (Max&Tul) did a fabolous job like everyone else. I woudn't be able to point out a single weak actor in this series. Everyone was convincing and everyone was charming in his/her own way, even the bad guys.  

MUSIC: Whoever put this series together, did a great job. I loved the background music.

REWATCH VALUE: There are some scenes I watched at least 20 times (no kidding!). I plan to continue with this schedule in the future. Nobody can take this away from me!!!

OVERALL: Not sure about the rating system here, I want to give it a 10. Even though the story didn't convince me 100% , other things did. 10 is well deserved. This series brightened up my sad little life. A big THANKS to the cast, the producers, and the writers.

On a sidenote: The kisses and intimate scenes were out of this world. Like I said, not even my best dreams could turn out that good :P

Read More

If you want to see the most stupid movie/drama on earth, then go for it. Seriously, it was ridiculous, but fun to watch. They could have chosen a better guy. It was so obvious he was a man. That muscular body? Hiding constantly the adam apple? Really? A girly face alone isn't enough. The movie "Jellyfish Princess" had a boy crossdressing as girl who was much more fitting for such a role. Boys with small bodies and slim figures do exist.
Overall it was cute, romantic, funny, entertaining. If you don't take it too serious, it is very enjoyable. I even watched it twice and I don't do that often.

Read More

I'm not a fan of this story. Back then when the anime came out I watched it because it was so popular. It's so exaggerated, the whole "we are otakus and are afraid of beautiful people because we will burn to ashes when we look them into the eye" is a bit strange. After seeing the movie AND the anime I only remember the two boys and the girl. I will admit that I'm very salty about the love triangle. I wanted to see her with ... well ... never mind. So even though I'm not a fan of this story I think the movie did GREAT. It's by far the best anime adaption I have ever seen. The actor played the girl VERY convincingly. I'm a sucker for gender bender and the actor did good. I was not bored for one second. I think I watched it even twice. If you want something fun and well made, and you like boys disguising as girls, then go for it.

Read More

I like gender bender stories a lot but there aren't many good ones out there. It's so obvious the girl is a girl and not a boy. Vice versa the same. Even boys with girly faces are looking like a dude in drag because of the broad shoulders. And girls disguised as boys can fool nobody because of the tiny figure, hands, feets.
That said Yoon Eun Hye played the tomboy convincingly. I have seen a few korean dramas but I'm not an expert. Compared to other dramas "Coffee Prince" seemed to me very fresh, not so much cliche. The guy was charismatic and how the love story evolved ... It was very nice. The kisses, the interaction between the characters, it all felt so natural, funny and passionate at the same time. It makes your heart beat faster. Don't miss this one. Just don't.

Read More

It's one of those series that make your heart beat like crazy. I don't really know why. It wasn't done very well, the male lead was cold (he was supposed to be like that I know), the kisses were stiff, the female lead was stupid and annoying. I never read the manga, didn't watch the anime and I don't feel like watching any other adaption of this story. The special episodes released were pretty stupid too. So why did I like it? Who knows ... It's about falling in love and being hurt by the one you love ... and never giving up on love ... sigh ... somehow it was touching and I started rooting for the girl ...

Read More

I felt in love with Lee Seung Gi after watching "My girlfriend is a Gumiho". That guy's smile is the most beautiful I have ever seen. Then I watched King2hearts because I was curious about how he would do with a more serious drama. I have seen Ha Ji Won in "Secret Garden" so what could go possibly wrong with King2hearts? Two talented and charismatic actors on the screen, an interesting story ... I was hooked. After watching the first episodes I was surprised how great the drama was. Story, acting, characters, everything was good. Lee Seung Gi's performance was one of the best (if not the best) I have ever seen in a korean drama to date. So what went wrong? I don't really know. The politics, Ha Ji Won's character, everything became so silly. The romance didn't work for me, the story become boring and cheesy. Ha Ji Won really overdid it here. I dropped the series somewhere in the middle. It's a shame, but look for yourself. Everyone should give this a try. It seems many liked it to the end.

Read More