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Completed
Save Me
14 people found this review helpful
Sep 26, 2017
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 2
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 5.5
Rewatch Value 6.0
“Save Me” aired August 05, 2017 to September 24, 2017, and had a cast that consisted of some rather new actors and actresses alongside seasoned well-known actors and actresses. The drama deals with religion and cults, which from the beginning caught my eye. I had never seen a drama that dealt with that topic, so I was intrigued by it and really wanted to give this drama the full go. Sadly the drama wasn’t as amazing I was hoping, but it wasn’t as bad as it could have been either. This drama has me in the middle. I am on the fence of if I actually enjoyed it or not.
The pacing in this drama really threw me for a loop. I felt as though nothing really happened for a very long time. I understand that there are things like character development and setting the plot, but I felt that the drama was being a little more dramatic and dragging things out more than it really needed to be. I am one for a slow-paced drama, but for me, this one just seemed way too long, and I felt that I would find myself skipping through the drama or just putting it on, on the background and doing other things while it played. Now I usually stop watching dramas that do not catch my interest after about the fourth episode but I kept seeing people who liked it and I wanted to know what eh fuss was all about, and I have to say I don’t think I truly ever figured it out. Some people were right though, after the ninth episode of this sixteen episode long drama, I felt like the pacing and the plot truly started to move along. (Yes it took nine whole episodes for it to actually start running at a decent speed in my opinion.) Once the ball gets rolling things do get rather interesting, and I wish the drama pulled me in like that from episode one, but nine hours had to pass for this to happen and that isn’t a good thing in my book. Now I know some people really liked it, but that pacing just wasn’t for me.
Apparently, there is an Original Soundtrack for this drama, which is news to me since there really wasn’t any music playing through the drama but perhaps the songs played when the credits rolled, so I really don’t know about it. Which to me is a rather disappointing thing, since I am one to truly love an original soundtrack. I love the music in Asian dramas and the lack of it really bummed me out, however, I cant knock it down too much for not having one since I don’t think it most likely would have fit in with the drama in the first place. So once again I am on the fence about aspects of this drama.
I know I am going on and on about how I don’t like this drama or how I was disappointed, but I do want to point out some good things about the drama as well. The cinematography and the color correction on this drama were fantastic. The eery feeling the camera angles and pans gave the drama worked like a charm. The cold blue effect on the drama that you can see throughout most of it is really beautiful and does give it a more mysterious and chilling look to the whole drama. The acting was also done rather well in this drama.
The actors and actresses that starred in this drama where mostly the saving grace for this drama for me personally. I found them to be charming and portraying their characters well, so I wanted to see how they developed through the show. Ok Taecyeon of the K-pop group 2PM did a rather good job with his role. I have not seen him in a drama since he starred in “Who Are You” in 2013. He is a pretty decent actor and I think he did well for his role, I don’t know if I was really into his accent but I will let it slide since I’m not an accent expert or anything, I just thought his faded in and out more than the rest of the actors. Seo Ye Ji as our female lead really did a wonderful job. I have not seen her in any other dramas but I am wanting to go back through her filmography and check her out. She has a unique look and voice with skill so, I am actually interested in her as an actress. Jo Sung Ha did a wonderful job as our cult leader, he had a way with words and way of presenting himself in the drama that made me believe that what his character believed was true, if that makes sense. I thought he did a great job and he truly had my side eyeing him the entire drama.
Overall the drama was pretty good I suppose. I liked the last half of the drama more than the first half. I felt it was too slow but I am happy they picked up the pace later on. The acting was good and that really kept my interest. I think that perhaps the drama could have been a bit shorter, but that is just my opinion on the matter. I wouldn’t say that its an amazing drama that you must see this year but it truly does have a unique plot which I hope I can see another drama with similar themes in the future. So I guess, overall it was an okay drama to me, not great but not bad either. Just so-so.

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Completed
Duel
7 people found this review helpful
Sep 9, 2017
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 4.0
Rewatch Value 9.0
I’ve finally gotten back into watching dramas after a few years of just not really having the time to do so, nit that I actually have the time now, but I am making it. Im so excited to say that Duel was my first drama after a long hiatus, because it truly was my type of dramas. For those who knew me when I was DramaAddiction, should know that I am really into the whole crime and mystery type dramas, add a dash of melodrama in there and Im in my perfect world. Duel offered me both of those and I was extremely happy to have fallen into such a unique and mesmerizing drama for my first time back in the saddle.

I would say Duel is a unique drama, it deals with things that we really don’t see in the drama world, perhaps a couple times on the Hollywood screen, though I have never seen any, but I think that Duel has taken an unique approach to the whole human cloning situation and science fiction genre and put well, heart into it. This show has heart, the characters, the main ones at least, have heart. They care, and they have feelings and feel pain and urge and want to do things that they think are right and they think should be done because of the pain that all the science in the drama has done to them and would do to help them. The show revolving around a father who happens to be cop, who is trying to save his dying daughter who has been kidnapped by a clone or perhaps by two clones is a very interesting story. Now you would think that it wouldnt take long for things to get over with, the dad just saves the daughter the end, but you would be wrong. This show dives deep into the history and world that is built around this plot. There are twists and turns everywhere and its all a mystery. I found myself pulling out a notepad and writing down my theories and trying to connect the dots to why this is all happening and I think it was beautifully done. I’m not much of a crier in real life, not many things in real world situations can pull tears from my eyes, but dang dramas can and I love it. This drama left me a crying fool, not sobbing, but a nice cry and that my friends is a good thing. Having the ability to write such detailed and wonderful characters with story-lines that actually make you feel something is important when it comes to dramas and at times I find that criminal dramas do lack in that situation at times, however this one really got me. I was in for the ride and feeling all the emotions from episode one.

The story telling in this drama was fantastic. The writer of this drama did a fantastic job flushing out such a fantastic cast of characters with their own history and motives that really keeps you on the edge wondering why they think this sort of way an why they do things. It has you rooting for your heroes, and cringing at the thought that perhaps the evil person may win, or perhaps they arent even evil to begin with. Finding out how these people became this way and how the their present selves are going to use this knowledge in the end to achieve goals was really great. So props to them. I dont want to spoil anything so I am keeping it kind of vague, sorry about that.



The cinematography for this drama was great, I enjoyed it, there were a few times I thought the editing was a little choppy, however it may have just been my copy of the drama so I am not quite sure about that to be honest, since the rest of it, like 99% seemed to be doing just fine. The color correction on this drama as well, was really pretty. The blue and gray lighting really amplified the feel of the drama and helped it with the tones throughout. The original soundtrack however, there was only 1 original song which is kind of disappointing to me, since Im a sucker for a good OST. One of my favorite parts of a Korean drama is the OST but sadly there was only 1 song, however the song was pretty good and by the end did get me in the emotions when it came up, however I dont think it is by far the best OST ever.



The acting in this drama was superb. I really enjoyed most of the casts portrayal of their characters. Jung Jae Young as Jang Deuk Cheon was fantastic. This older gentlemen really pulled it out and even though Ive seen over 200 dramas I dont think I have seen him in any other dramas. He did really well with all his scenes, making me tear up now and then, I really felt his pain and I was rooting for him for the most part. I really should check out some of his other work. Yang Se Jong playing two of the most vital roles in this drama was fantastic. I have never seen this actor before and from my understanding this was only his second drama. I thought he did an amazing job. He protrayed two different characters with extremely different personalities and it was flawless. I really enjoyed his work and he is a very handsome man and I am looking forward to seeing more of his work. Lastly there was Kim Jung Eun. I have never any of her work actually and to be honest I was far from impressed. I got the feeling her character was suppose to be a little cold, but the lack of emotion in her face really bothered me throughout the drama and its such a shame because I thought her scene brought down the drama tad bit. She just had the same look on her face the entire time, even when she was surprised she just had this small smirk on her face. Now I am not one to judge, and I think more power to you if you get plastic surgery because fuck what anyone else has to say its your body, but I am no expert on her or her personal life but I am assuming from what I saw in this drama, that she had gotten Botox of some sort. Im thinking that the Botox was keeping her from showing more emotion and I know you can get the amount of Botox that doesnt do this but I think she really was suffering from stiff face, I could kind of see a lift in her face that didnt seem natural but I could be wrong, that could be her face and if it is, Im sorry to say but I dont like her acting if that is the range of emotion she can show. She disappointing me greatly in this. Its too bad to be honest.

Overall I thought this was an amazing drama and yet again I find myself a little behind on dramas, however loving one that I dont see a lot of talk about. I would highly recommend this drama if someone is looking for a change of pace from the typical romantic drama. I think this is a pretty great hit and I would be looking out for most of these actors and actresses in future dramas because they really impressed me.

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Completed
It's Okay, That's Love
5 people found this review helpful
Sep 15, 2017
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 9.0
It’s that time again, where another amazing drama must come to an end. I always hate these times, when dramas are so well written, acted, shot that I never want them to end, let alone be only 16 episodes long. It’s Okay, That’s Love is one of those dramas that I wish, and I think deserved 20 episodes, but who knows how the story would have turned out if it was extended? Well, we will never know because we got our ending and we have to deal with it.

A drama dealing with mental illness and love, that is right up my alley if you know the type of dramas I am into. The ones that can make you cry, sobbing and wondering how you will go on after that episode, and yet can make you smile from ear to ear from the romance and laugh till your stomach hurts from the comedy. Those types of dramas have a specific mixture that if one out does the other, it just might fall apart, but luckily this drama was balanced well. I am all for dramas where I cry every single episode, however, I think I may not have cried in a few because they were so heartwarming, and I loved that. It didn't have me dying of dehydration from lack of tears, but it didn't leave me wanting an emotional connection between the characters and their circumstances either.

There is so much I want to say about this drama, and yet I will not ruin it for those who have yet to see it. It is a drama you have to watch to be able to truly understand its greatness. The writing in this drama is fantastic. The way the characters are written and how the twists and turns in this drama come together, and when you finally see a character realize their situation and come clean about how they feel, it leaves you in an emotional state, whether happy for them or bad for them. I didn't feel like one character was written in, just to have a certain person play them or to be there for no reason, I felt that everyone had their part and they contributed to the overall story, even if they were not the main character, which is always good. I hate when there are random characters and they serve no purpose, but this drama gave them reasons and they fit well into the story line.

The acting in this drama was fantastic, how else can I put it? We had some of my favorite actors and actresses in this drama and I was not disappointed at all. It was really good to see Zo In Sung in a drama since his drama That Winter The Wind Blows last year, which still is one of my favorites. I’m going to have to add another one of his dramas to my all time favorite lists yet again. He did such a fabulous job as our main character. His story is our main focus and he did a wonderful job playing his broken character. The character we could connect with and love, and feel for. He did an amazing job and I expect nothing less from him. His acting, to me, is always top notch and I enjoyed him in this drama and I hope to see him in another drama this year if possible, if not I suppose I can wait till next year. Kong Hyo Jin is one of my favorite Korean actresses and I think she did an amazing job as well, coming back from her fantastic performance in Master’s Sun, which is one of my favorites from last year as well, I was not disappointed at all with her in this drama. I think she always plays a character that seems to go well with her appearance, and this is no exception. Her character can be rude and needed sometimes, but in the end, you have to love her, and she pulled it off well. I couldn’t see anyone else playing that role, and the two of them, In Sung and herself, make the best couple.

Sung Dong Il and Lee Kwang Soo did an amazing job as well, playing our housemates and fellow doctor and patients. Sometimes I feel like Kwang Soo isn't given the credit that he deserves, but after seeing this drama I think it’s safe to say that our baby Kwang Soo (even though he is much older than me) is a great actor. No one ever doubted Sung Dong Il, I love seeing him in more and more dramas as the years go by. He is such a hot tempered man, if you have seen Dad, Where Are We Going, and he plays characters like that well, as well. However he can put his emotions into a scene too, so he is the total package. I love that man and Kwang Soo and I was so happy to see them perform in such a great drama with such well-rounded characters. Jin Kyung also did a fantastic job as well. I love her, and she always plays characters that I love for some reason. I loved her in this and I thought she was a fantastic addition to the drama cast. Lastly, I want to talk about D.O. from EXO. I would love to talk about the rest of the cast but for time sake, I will have to sadly gloss over them, however, D.O. is someone I must talk about. He played such an important role in this drama, and I was a little apprehensive, to begin with. You know I'm not a huge fan of dramas using idols, especially since in my opinion 95% of them cannot act and are only put in dramas to raise the viewer ratings. However, D.O. can act, and I was super surprised by that. I'm not an EXO fan at all, but I'm giving him credit. He did a fantastic job playing such an important character. He had me tearing up so much in this drama and I think he will make such a great actor as time goes by.

This drama had one of the best OSTs of this drama season, and I may go as far as one of my all time favorites. The songs went with the scenes well, and they had lyrics that made you feel even more when the scene was going on. I loved it, and it's a total must buy in my opinion. The cinematography was also outstanding in this drama, and that is a very big deal to me. I loved all the shots, and the drama just looked so clean and bright, when it needed to and dark and bleak when the scene called for it. There weren't any strange and out of place angles or extreme close-ups for no reason. I love that. Though everything seemed to be flawless in this drama, in my opinion, it did have one setback, which I don't think is really such a big deal, but I want to point it out anyway. The ending.

[READ ON IF YOU DONT CARE ABOUT KNOWING IF THE ENDING IS HAPPY OR NOT]

The ending left me happy, and that’s a good thing, however, it didn't leave such a strong impact like I was expecting. I went into the last episode thinking I was going to bawl my eyes out and die after watching it, but in the end, I cried maybe in the first half or so but the ending just made me smile. I thought that maybe more details on the life of Jae Yoel after he had said goodbye to Kang Woo would have been more interesting, not really happy, but more interesting than a cheerful happy ending, however that being said I still loved the ending and I was happy things worked out in the end.

[END THOUGHTS..SAFE TO READ]

Overall, I thought this drama was fantastic. It's a drama I can see showing my friends and watching over and over again because it has such an impact on me. I had such an emotional and strong connection to its characters and it always left me wanting more and more. It had all the makings of what I love in a drama, so if you like tears, cheers, and love then I think you will like this drama, and I recommend it to hell and back for everyone because of Im pretty sure this is one of my all time favorite dramas now.

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Completed
Age of Youth
3 people found this review helpful
Oct 6, 2017
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
This review may contain spoilers
“Age of Youth” aired July 22, 2016, to August 27, 2016, and had a cast that I am personally not all that acquainted with. There were familiar faces here and there, but it was my first time encountering our 5 female leads, so that was pretty interesting. I’m not one to be a huge fan of the romantic comedy genre, but I have to say I am quite surprised. This drama had me laughing, crying, and sometimes even a little bit spooked and I like that about this drama. However, with all the changing mood shifts throughout the drama, I sometimes found it to be a bit jarring. The first few episodes I couldn’t really tell where and what the show was going for, but after a while, I could see that perhaps it was trying to be a little different than most coming of age melancholy shows. The dynamic between the five women who lived in this house was my favorite part of the entire show itself. The female leads were all distinctive, and had different points of views on life, and lived vastly different lifestyles. The way they all interreacted and how their friendship grew throughout the show was really the most satisfying part. Having seen them grow individually as characters and how they dealt with the obstacles that life threw at them was compelling. I think this drama has some really special qualities about it and I really did enjoy it, but I still have some gripes with it.
The intro sequences were really strange to me, the openings really seemed out of left field. I guess they sort of matched the title of each episode, but I wasn’t really about it. I enjoyed the first episodes’ little drawings incorporated throughout but wished that it would persist the entire drama itself. The ending of the drama was strange to me, it was a little forced to wrap things up, and still left us with a lot of questions. I know there is a season two but for a first-time watcher during the broadcast of the show, we are left wondering so many things. Like whatever happened to the roommate that Jung Ye Eun replaced? We heard a little about her situations but it seemed more serious than that and we never really got anything more about it. They built it up and then nothing really came of it. There are other questions to be asked about each female lead, but I don’t want to really go into spoilers about it so I can’t really talk about it. I felt that this drama dealt with some pretty serious issues but I don’t think that 12 episodes were enough to get fully fleshed out storylines for each of the girls. We would see things happen and situations they were all in, and of course, we got our outcomes, but truly it wasn’t enough time to sort through it all. It sometimes felt just a tad rushed for my liking and I think that perhaps 20 episodes would have done this show better justice.
The female leads in this drama were all great. They all won my heart in some way or another, even though during the first few episodes I was unsure about some of them. I have to say that Ryu Hwa Young as Kang Yi Na was my favorite housemate, and her lifestyle and “job” were my favorite. I know this may sound weird if you have seen it, but I kind of wanted to dive deeper into her lifestyle because I genuinely found it interesting. Han Ye Ri as Yoon Jin Myung was great as well and I think she is a great actress. Her emotional scenes had me in tears and I really want to watch some more dramas with her in it. Park Hye Soo as Yoo Eun Jae was pretty good as well, her character was a little wishy-washy for my liking because she just never seemed very strong and so unsure about everything, that I have to say I was a little annoyed with her. But, I grew to be attached to her character anyways, especially when she had scenes with Shin Hyun Soo as Yoon Jong Yul. Han Seung Yeon as Jung Ye Eun was the girl that I’m sure most were annoyed with. She was the typical Korean female lead that you see where you are just not sure why she is so attached to someone who treats her the way they do. She is whinny and overreacts to everything, but even though she can be annoying she was still fun to watch. She just seemed the most generic to me out of the five girls. Lastly Park Eun Bin as Song Ji Won was great. I loved her character and her personality. Her confidence and boldness was pretty important to the story, and was infectious as a viewer, as she got a lot of balls got rolling which leads to bigger events, and I appreciate that about her character. I just wish the writers would have flushed out her storyline a little more. We just never got enough time with her.
Like I said before the show could have had more episodes to really pull us in and give us more information on each girl; their love and personal lives were all intriguing and I think I would have enjoyed the drama so much more with more development. But with what we had to work with, I’m still pretty fond of this drama. The girls have latched onto my heart, and each of them truly was great characters, I just wish they had more time to shine. This romantic comedy was something that I really enjoyed and may get me more into the romantic comedy genre. I hope that I can watch more of what each of our leads has done because I was impressed by them all. I also hope that season 2 will give us a little more information on some of the girls because the ending was a little too vague. Overall though, I thought it was a pretty great drama that drew you into the world and got you invested into each one of the characters enough for me to want more.

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Completed
Triangle
3 people found this review helpful
Sep 15, 2017
26 of 26 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 10
This review may contain spoilers
I'm exhausted. I'm emotionally drained from watching this drama, and that’s a good thing! I am so happy that I actually didn't watch this drama while it was airing, because I know I would have had a hard time waiting for all the episodes to come out, and though I got a few spoilers here and there it made no difference because the journey was amazing. I still felt the stings in my heart from every single heartbreaking moment in this drama. This drama is a hard hitter, in my opinion, it had all the right plot points to make me interested, the characters were deep and complex, and the acting was compelling. I found myself immersed in the world of Triangle, and never wanting to get out. 26 episodes seemed to go by so quickly in the last three days, and it was glorious the entire way through.

The story of three brothers who were separated at a young age and finding one another may seem like an overplayed scenario, but when you write this well and have a cast of outstanding actors and supporting actors it isn't hard to get a viewer emotionally attached. The relationship and the turmoil between the brothers were what kept me going, the fight inside myself that wanted to see them together and happy as a family was extremely strong. It was better than any romance could have brought me. But don't get me wrong, the love lines in this drama as great as well. They may not have as much screen time as many people may like, but it was enough to get you invested in their relationships (romantic) and have you rooting for whoever you wanted. The money, business, gambling, and mob side of this drama is not to be overlooked either. I found all that part of the plot interesting as well. The gambling kept me on the edge of my seat, I was so nervous throughout most of it, if World Poker Tournament on TV was this exciting I would be watching it, however, its not so I don't, but maybe if someone’s life or pride was on the line it would be. All the aspects of this drama, in my opinion, were really well-rounded and brought together well, I didn't find myself wondering what happened to so and so, or how this and this turned out, I thought everything ended the way it should have, and though it brought me to tears and I felt like I had been shot in the heart, it was great.

The acting in this drama like I said before was outstanding. Kim Jaejoong blew me out of the water in this one. Though I never really considered him a top actor, though I’ve always thought he was good, I found his performance in this drama to be outstanding. I enjoyed seeing him play his emotional scenes and his action scenes were top as well. He has improved so much and I'm glad, though I might cry, that this will be his last performance before shipping off to the military. He did a great job and it's really a great piece of work to leave us with while he is gone. Lee Beom Soo redeemed himself to me, though I've never thought he was a bad actor, his role in Prime Minister and I disappointed me, maybe because I didn't like that drama, but here I thought he did a fantastic job. He fit the role perfectly and he made me feel so many things. I thought this was one of the best performances I have seen of him, and I really got into his character. I hope I can see him in more compelling dramas like this in the future and less romantic comedies because he did so well in this. Siwan did a fantastic job as well. He had that look of crazy and sadness in his eyes the entire time, and it fit his role perfectly. His character was damaged and he showed it with a simple look and his body language. He was great, and I didn't expect any less from him. He is one of the idol actors that I think can go so far in the acting field because he just gets better with each drama he is in. I am excited to see him in another drama sometime soon (I hope). Both Oh Yeon Su and Baek Jin Hee played their roles fantastically as well. As the main females in the drama, they had a lot of space to fill especially with main actors who did such a fantastic job. I didn't find them to bring them down at all, and they heightened the scenes they were in. Sometimes I'm not really all the keen on the romantic interested (females) in dramas but they were interesting characters that were written well and played by two talented actresses that I would love to see again. The rest of the cast, who I wish I could talk about separately, Jang Dong Jik, Kim Byeong Ki, Lee Youn Mi, Hong Seok Cheon, SHin Seung Hwan, Kim Byung Ok, and the rest of the cast did an amazing job. All their performances were outstanding and I thought they each fit their roles perfectly. This cast was great!

Overall from the music, to the cinematography, to the script, to the acting it all came together so well for me. I thought that this drama was nearly perfect and it saddens me that I didn't see so many gifs or photo sets of this drama when it was so good. I would recommend it to every, even if you're not much of a melodrama watcher I think there is something in this for everyone. You have action and romance, and tears there isn't really anything better than that in my opinion. To me, this has to be one of the best 2014 dramas I have seen, so I highly recommend it to everyone.

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Completed
Marriage, Not Dating
3 people found this review helpful
Sep 15, 2017
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 9.0
“There’s no such thing as eternal love. Nevertheless, I want to love you forever.”

I was really excited to watch this drama since by running this blog, I see so many gifs and pictures from dramas I get to know the story, this being a drama I saw a whole lot of while it aired. Though I knew most of what was going to happen from all the gifs I posted, and the fact that it isn’t the most original drama out there, I still enjoyed it nonetheless. I feel like contract relationships are back in style in dramas, but who’s to say they ever went out of style. With a contract marriage, you can add your twists and turns but we always know exactly how they are going to end up, and though we know how the ending is going to be..it’s still fun to watch all the events unfold in front of us.

I thought this drama was extremely cute and had a great sense of humor when it came to the situations that the characters were put in. The little cute sound effects are usually not my style, something that I really don’t care for, but for some strange reason, I really enjoyed them here. The cheesiness of this drama was to the point where I could take it, it didn’t go way over the top and it wasn’t such a serious drama that it made itself look too serious for the sake of having serious moments. It was balanced. It gave me just the right amount of laughter, cute moments, and sadness where I was able to shed tears, and I like that with romantic comedies, I still want to be able to have some sort of emotional connection with the characters and it, not all to be too big of a joke. So I really appreciate this drama for that. One thing that did bother me, but it's not that big of deal, is how our characters towards the end did a real big 180 in their personalities and affection towards one another, it seemed a little out of character and I didn’t feel as though their relationship was up to the point where they could be all cute together yet, but I don’t mind since it was cute. Maybe they just wanted to explode with the cuteness that they held inside during their relationship together? Who knows, but other than that, I thought the writing for this drama was good. I really connected with the characters, and characters I disliked, in the beginning, I found myself fond of when it all came to an end.

I thought the acting in this drama was good. The actors had good scripts where they didn’t need to act too serious, and they could be lighthearted and fun, and yet turn on the water works when needed and I appreciated that so much. I thought Han Groo did an excellent job. I wasn’t very sure about her in the beginning of the first episodes but I grew to love her character and her acting. I thought she fit the role perfectly. I haven’t seen her in any other drama, though she has been in a few, I will be careful to keep an eye out for her in the future, and the same goes for our leading male Yeon Woo Jin. He was really good, and I loved his character. I appreciate a man who isn’t just a handsome face, he is realistically handsome, and that goes for the rest of the cast, excluding out Idol co-stars of course. All the characters weren’t drop dead gorgeous, but just realistically attractive, like every day people and I really like seeing that in a drama, it makes it more “real” for me. I thought Yeon Woo Jin did a great job, and his cute scenes were the best, he brought the laughs with his little eye looks and shakes and I loved it. Heo Jeong Min also brought the laughs with his jesters as well, in the beginning, I thought I was going to hate his character, but how could I hate someone who brings such a smile to my face? His character was written so well, and every time he was on screen I could help but let out a little giggle. I thought he did such a good job of acting pretty much like a fool the entire time. Jinwoo of 2AM and Han Sun Hwa of Secret both did a great job as well. It's no secret, pardon the pun, that I don’t usually enjoy Idol actors but these guys did a pretty dang good job for the most part. I wouldn’t say they were amazing and fantastic, but they fit the mood and characters and that’s all I can really ask. I can see that they have the spark in them to become more talented as actors (I haven’t seen them in anything else..) so I won't let them being Idols stir me away from any other dramas they perform in the future. The rest of the cast was fantastic as well, we had many older actors and actresses that I have seen plenty of times doing wonderful as always and its always good to see familiar faces in dramas.

Overall I thought this was a good watch. It was something to give me a smile, and I watched all sixteen episodes in three days so that must mean it was worth my time. I wouldn’t watch sixteen episodes in three days if it was a drama that bored me. Though you can get frustrated with characters and want to throw something at them through your TV, that’s a part of drama watching, and the drama made me feel many other feelings and emotions and that’s all I can ask it to do. It's a cute romantic comedy, that may be a little bit predictable, but we all know what we are getting ourselves into with the contract relationship/marriage type dramas in the first place, so when it comes to one of those dramas it's a really good watch and worth the time.

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Completed
Are You Human Too?
2 people found this review helpful
Aug 14, 2018
36 of 36 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 6.0
Music 4.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
It’s been such a long time since I have last watched any type of Asian drama. I really want to get back into it, and start pumping out reviews, but I haven’t found a drama that really caught my attention. That’s one of the reasons I haven’t watched a drama in over a year, I hadn’t seen anything that pulled me in. But I thought I would come back, scroll through some shows, and just put one on and that’s when I ended up with “Are You Human Too?”

With the success of “West World”, it was just a matter of time before people started making more AI themed dramas. I’m sure “West World” wasn’t the first AI based television show, nor is “Are You Human Too?” the first AI based drama in Asia. But with the popularity of West World sweeping the world, it make’s sense that AI is going to start popping up as the new it thing in dramas. “Are You Human Too?” focuses on the relationships between AI (Nam Shin I through Nam Shin III) and the people around him. I actually went into this drama blind. I had no idea what the plot was, or who was in this drama. Other than seeing the poster, I knew absolutely nothing about this drama. I obviously knew it was about AI since the poster gives that away, but I never read the synopsis or the cast list before hand. I think that’s a pretty good way to go into a drama. It keeps you open-minded about whatever is going to happen within the script.

“Are You Human Too?” was a pretty good drama. As things are with me right now, it was a pretty good time. Being the first drama I have watched in a year, it needed to pull me in, and I think it did. It pulled me in and makes me want to watch more dramas, so that’s pretty good. I would say it was a pretty decent start to coming back to dramas. I’m the type of person who enjoys melodramas so I guess I had a little bit of that sprinkled into this drama for me, but I am going to be honest I never cried once. Now this is pretty big news because I’m a big old baby, and I cry a lot during the shows, but for some reason this didn’t make me cry at all. I assume it made other people cry, but it just never got to me. I was never truly invested in any of the characters other than Nam Shin III. Literally everyone else in the drama, could of did anything and or lets say died, and I would of been like “uh huh they died,” and shrugged it off. I felt like that character never really gave me a reason to feel for them. I don’t know, they just never really connected with me.

The acting in “Are You Human Too?” was pretty good. I never once thought someone’s acting was so bad that I couldn’t watch, but that acting was so good that I felt like they deserved awards either. They were all just well, pretty decent. I feel like that’s the theme with this drama, to me at least, everything is pretty decent. The concept, the story, the acting, the execution, the editing, the music, it was all just pretty decent to me. I guess this drama has the curse of being the first drama I have watched in a long time. I have higher expectations from what I want and what I expect to feel or see in dramas, because I want them to pull me back into the world I was so deeply invested in for years. However, this drama did give me hope that perhaps I will fall back in love with binge watching dramas for days and days, because I did watch it in pretty much a few days. I will be honest, however, that I did find myself more preoccupied with other things, because it wasn’t all that interesting to me. I don’t know, it just couldn’t hold my attention that long, and I will admit I skipped through a few episodes because I was like ” can you please just do something of importance ” or something along those lines. But that goes back to me not really feeling connections or emotions with the characters other than one.
Overall I thought “Are You Human Too?” was a pretty decent drama. It wasn’t mind blowing or life changing. It was just a drama that I personally think could be played on in the background and you don’t have to actually pay all that much attention to. Now I know I’m probably alone in thinking that, since when watching the drama on Dramafever, it had a pretty high rating. People seem to love it. But I always find myself against the crowd anyways when it comes to dramas that I love and dramas that I hate. This drama doesn’t fit into either of those categories, it has been just… alright. An alright drama that perhaps boosted my interest to get back into dramas so that’s pretty good. I think maybe, it would be a pretty good beginner drama for people. It had the sense of “This is my first drama” kind of drama feel for me. So there is always that as a positive. The rest, to be honest was just not memorable, I literally don’t remember any of the OST, which is a pretty important to me. Listening to OSTs after the fact should rush back memories of the drama and have me remember things I loved about it, but the OST for this drama isn’t even memorable itself. I feel like I am flip flopping with my thoughts on this drama, but I guess I would say that I think it started a spark in me to get into dramas again so I thank it for that.

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Completed
Secret Love Affair
1 people found this review helpful
Sep 15, 2017
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.5
Music can be something that brings passion and fire out of people. It can be soft and delicate, and sometimes very sensual. Secret Love Affair brought that to the table and I have to say it was a huge factor in why I loved this drama. The music, it was breathtaking, and the way it was used in this drama was also beautifully done. I'm a sucker for music, instrumental music, since I was in the orchestra from sixth grade through my senior year of high school, I played the flute, but something about a piano always got to me. I wasn’t lucky enough to be able to afford or learn to play this beautiful sounding instrument, but dramas like this one make me want to start right now. There is something so sexy and sensual about a man playing the piano, and throw in a woman with him and that is something better than any sex scene could ever give you. You see the passion, the sexual tension, and the climax (almost and sometimes orgasmic) when these two characters play together, and I have to say..sometimes I could help but scream and have to fan myself from the hotness they solely brought through playing together.

This is a drama with an age gap, quite a big one. I'm not usually a fan of noona romance dramas, as you can tell through some of my reviews of such dramas like Flower Boy Ramyun Shop, I Hear Your Voice ..etc But something about this made it okay for me. I think it was the chemistry. The chemistry between our two main characters was electrifying and I couldn’t look away. And though this drama is about an affair, I don’t condone them and I don’t think they are right, I couldn’t help myself but root them on. They lived in a world where people were using them for their own gratification. Being abused by power, money, and greed, I thought these characters found each other in a rather important moment in each of their lives. Dramas like this, where the characters chemistry is beyond amazing, where you can cut the sexual tension with a knife, where the greed and money hungry people make you sick and you can’t help but weep a little, are the types of dramas I live for. Even though this drama was on the slower side, I didn’t mind it. I love a slow drama if it has a purpose and it did. It helped along with really getting to know the core of a character and seeing the situation in which they were forced into. It gave you a sort of suspenseful feeling to it because it seemed that all the love and drama was happening minute by minute.

This drama was shot in a unique way. I loved the camera work in this drama, and I felt like it was shot like a movie more than a drama. Each episode just seemed like its own short film, and I loved it. The artistic shots along with the beautiful music and outstanding acting really did it for me. It was a drama that I fell hard for, however, it may not be for everyone. Everyone might not be into the type of camera work that was put into this drama, nor the pacing of it either. Some may find it boring with all the business talk and mind games that the secondary characters were playing or even their story-lines. But I found myself impressed with it, and I couldn’t get enough. Sixteen episodes, though it did its job, really seems so short to me. I wanted more! But I got my fill and I loved it. I am a little disappointed in the fact that more people aren’t talking about this drama, but as I said before its, not for everyone and I think it takes a more “mature” mindset to really enjoy this drama for what it is and not just for the “oh he is so hot”, “where are the bed scenes”, “Look at them lips and booty”, type of person. Someone who wants to enjoy a well put together story with acting to go along with it, and isn’t only interested in the more romantic and superficial elements of dramas.

I thought Yoo Ah In did a fantastic job. He is really a great actor and I’m going to be sad when he enters the military soon. I think beyond his physical appearance, he brings a lot to the table. Sometimes he doesn’t choose his dramas well, *cough* Fashion King *cough*, but any role he is in, I can tell he gives it a 100% and I enjoy that about him. He seems to play characters that are not as straightforward as they may seem and they have depth, and like this character, I really enjoy that. He pulls it off well. His chemistry with Kim Hee Ae was fantastic and I really enjoyed seeing them work off each other throughout this drama. I thought Kim Hee Ae did a fantastic job as well. This beautiful woman actually looks her age, and I loved that about it. They didn’t dress her up in young clothes or try to make her seem younger than she really was, her natural beauty shined through. Her acting was fantastic and I thought she played her role well. I loved her character and I thought she was so elegant even when she was pissed off, and I loved it.

Overall I thought this drama was fantastic. Though I am still suffering from some major depression because of it, I really liked it a lot. It was the type of drama that really gets me. I can go for romantic comedies sometimes, but a real deep and interesting intense melodrama are always going to be welcomed in my heart, and this was it. The music was amazing and it's a shame that it wasn’t released as an OST because I would have bought it right away. This drama had amazing writing with amazing actors and actresses who pulled it off well. The entire production seemed to be like watching an independent foreign film that you like to brag to your friends about because it's so artsy. I loved that about it. I would highly recommend this drama to those who are into more mature dramas, who don’t mind slow pacing and a lot of character development and story-line development along with it.

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Completed
Boarding House #24
1 people found this review helpful
Sep 15, 2017
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 6.0
Music 6.5
Rewatch Value 5.0
I’ve never attempted to watch a sitcom before but seeing that Jaehwan from Vixx (Ken) was in a drama, it was my duty as a Starlight to watch it! I was really nervous about watching this drama because sitcom isn't something that seemed like it would be my style, just like many romantic comedies aren’t really my thing either. However, I had seen a lot of gifs and photo sets of this drama, obviously from running my blog, and there seemed to be some really cute scenes so I just knew that I must watch it, even though I was scared at first…Jaehwan or not! The fact that this drama was filled to the brim with Idols was also another reason I was hesitant for this drama, though I know for a fact that DoHee can act, I still wasn't sure about the rest of the cast of youth. Everything about this drama seemed to make me nervous.

From body gags to laugh tracks a sitcom was exactly what I was expecting, something over the top and cheesy that really isn't my style. Boarding House 24 is full of those extreme jokes and gags that you would find yourself seeing on variety shows and gag concert, Korean humor which I get sometimes but the over the top stuff really isn't my style. This was far from anything I really was hoping for, and the acting as well wasn't the best. It kind of disappoints me through and through, HOWEVER, I did find myself extremely entertained by it at the same time. Though I wanted a more serious drama, I did find myself laughing at the twelve episode long sitcom. It was kind of refreshing watching something that wasn't all the serious for once, and it's strange how I actually found myself interested in it when this type of thing usually turns me off. I guess I just wanted to stick with it because I knew about some the cute things that were going to happen.

Overall, it's the type of show I can’t say I love or would enjoy watching several times over, but I don't regret the experience at all. Sitcoms are something new to me, and it's not really my taste and even though I really was disappointed with how over the top the show was, and how some of the jokes were rather lame, it made up for it with a lot of cuteness and some jokes that actually made me laugh. It was an experience and I can't dock it for that, it's a show that I think a lot of people would enjoy watching..it's just not my cup of tea. However, I did enjoy the 12 episodes as much as a person like me could, and I think it's defiantly worth giving a shot if you are mildly interested in it.

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Completed
Descendants of the Sun
1 people found this review helpful
Sep 13, 2017
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0
I will be honest, I was going into this with a lot of skeptical as always because you know I don’t like to fall for the hype train, but to be honest it really was a great drama. Now was it perfect? No way. But it was a drama that really made me feel a wide range of emotions while watching it that is for sure. There were a lot of heart touching moments in the drama that had me either on the verge of tears or completely sobbing over my keyboard. There were also moments that had me laughing very loudly so it evened itself out a lot of the time. I felt as the drama could have ended at episode 12 and it would have been a pretty fantastic drama. After that, there were moments in this drama where I was very confused and wondering why things were happening. Now there was a scene where someone got shot then and died and got brought back to life in the hospital then just casually strolled out after being shot several times that really confused me. Now there are some things in this drama that are unrealistic of course and we just brush those off, but that was pretty much where I was like Okay well that’s some bullshit haha.

I watched this drama on Viki and had the comments on for the first time in many many drama viewings and I remembered why I did not watch with comments on any longer. I think these were some of the most ignorant and down right childish comments I had seen in a drama. A lot of name calling and basically people bitching about our main female, which I happened to enjoy. I think it was a lot of teenage girls who had an intense crush on Song Joong Ki and didn’t understand the female characters choices, and I assumed many of them have never been in a real relationship to understand the choices someone has to make that may change their lives, so for that I would warn anyone who has never seen this drama to watch it on another site or without the comments on.

The acting in this drama was great, from the four leads to the small characters, the Korean cast of this drama were off the charts. Now I am not here to judge the foreign (non-Korean) actors and actresses in this drama because I know that even though they may be speaking English in their scenes that may not mean they are native English speakers, and many Non-Korean actors (non-Asian) have really weak lines and don’t seem to be well-trained actors and actresses in the first place, along with that I wouldn’t even begin to critique our Koreans for speaking English or another language along with them so to keep it fair I would only ever talk about our Korean or Asian actors Song Joong Ki has been a love of mine for many years and when he left to go to the military I was heart broken, and it is lovely to see him back in the drama scene once again. He definitely did not let down either, the boy is back and man his acting has upgraded some as well. I don’t know where they have acting lessons in the military or the fact that it has made him more of man (though he has always been rather manly to me) I am proud of him in this drama. He sweeps you away with his charm and when he takes charge and when he is cute and funny it is even more endearing. I have not seen Song Hye Kyo since That Winter The Wind Blows which is one of my favorite dramas, and she didn’t disappoint me here either. I thought she did a fantastic job of portraying a woman who is confused and has a lot of things she has to consider when going into a relationship with a man such as Yoo Shi Jin.

Now I know many people did not like her character but I found her realistic and had so much depth and I think she is the type of woman more dramas should portray. A hardworking female who has to consider her options and not just jump head first into a relationship that may cause her emotional harm, unlike many dramas where the female just jumps in head first. Jin Goo was also very good in this drama and his relationship with Kim Ji Won may have even out-shined our leading male and female. Both these actors did a fantastic job in portraying their characters and their story was very heartwarming and breaking. The rest of the cast from the soldiers to the nurses and doctors were all well put and we got to see so many side stories that one may think it would have taken away from the main focus of the show, but without them, there were would be so much less to this drama. Each character had a role that really felt needed for the drama. They all portrayed emotions and their characters to a T and I loved this cast so much, even our bad guy was great.

The music and cinematography for this drama were outstanding. So many good angles and transitions throughout this drama that really need to be praised. I found myself even more fixated due to that. The songs in this drama were also very good, they would get stuck in your head and you had to sing along. The songs brought more emotions to the drama as well, and I was happy to hear some great music in dramas after such a long hiatus from dramas.

Overall I thought that this drama was pretty freaking great, that I can see why it had so much hype for it. Now it was perfect, at all, but it was something that kept you on an emotional roller coaster ride to where you were emotionally attached to all of its characters and wanted the best for them and their lives and family and friends. For those who are in doubt about watching, the probably 3 of you out there by now, I would say hey give it a shot, its worth it.

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Completed
A Gentleman's Dignity
0 people found this review helpful
Sep 17, 2017
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 8.5
“You will be happy. Will it satisfy you if I say again I will keep a promise I made before? Tomorrow you will be happier than today, the day after tomorrow you will be happier than tomorrow. I promise you.”

Well, another great drama is over, and it leaves me with a little empty space in my heart. Only a good drama can make you cry tears of joy and sadness all at the same time, for you are happy because of the ending and you are sad because it is over. A Gentleman’s Dignity is one of those dramas, one that you wish would continue on forever, or at least that is my opinion. I would really be excited if there was a second season because they could go on from where they left off, and no one would mind, for a story of four couples, never gets boring. I love dramas where they focus on more than one couple, and how they are completely different and have their own problems, it leaves you more interested and ready for the next episode to come out. And though you may find it lagging on and on about certain topics, it's more realistic that way. No one gets over a situation, of a larger magnitude, in a couple days, it takes time, and conflicts will arise within the main conflict, and I liked that about the drama, because it made it seem more realistic, because they all had their own opinions, ideas, and sufferings that made them feel certain ways, and they weren’t changing their minds about it quickly, like in most dramas. So bravo to that.

The acting in this drama was fantastic. They are all pretty much older, seasoned actors and actresses, for the most part (not all) and they played their roles perfectly. I never once thought that there was a moment that the acting was lacking, unlike some people. Though when some characters cry, they make a noise, that some find annoying, but I find that more realistic, it’s not a pretty cry, and when you are in pain, and crying over that pain, some people make noises, like myself, so I found that to be pretty point on. Though I had never seen any of these actors and actresses, except Kim Ha Neul (You Are My Pet) & Kim Woo Bin (White Christmas), it made me want to go out and find more dramas and movies with them in it, because I was that impressed by their acting. But now that I have hyped up the acting, I want to go into each couple and say what I liked and didn’t like about them.

The Kim Do Jin & Seo Yi Soo Couple: This couple is the main couple, who has the most focused, so we see more of them. I liked this couple for the most part. Kim Do Jin was a playboy who spoke his mind but had a soft spot, and I liked him for that. He didn’t mind being crude and rude, and that is admiral about him. Though he may do some dumb stuff, I could never find myself disliking him. Seo Yi Soo, he character was a little tough, but somehow she was a little bit more of a baby than I thought she was going to be. She was an over the reactor and she was a little immature at the time, but I also couldn’t help but like her anyway. This couple was adorable, and gave me goosebumps with their lovey-dovey moments, and brought tears to my eyes with their fights and arguments.

I'm Tae San & Hong Se Ra Couple: To be honest, these characters apart are sometimes annoying and they make you want to smack them for different reasons, but then again you can’t help but love them for, I'm Tae San is funny and at least he stands up for what he believes in and is an amazing brother and boyfriend, and Hong Se Ra may seem a little bit of a bitch, but she is a woman who knows what she wants and does what she wants, because she a strong independent woman, and I like that about her. This couple has a lot of ups and downs, fallouts, and fall-ins, but overall they are a great couple in my eye and kept me very entertained and aggravated.

Choi Yoon & I'm Me Ah Ri Couple: This couple may be the most controversial to most but I found them to be one of my favorite couples. Their love may be on the limits of its own boundaries, but they show that love knows no age and that no matter what their love will come out on top, no matter how big of a mountain they have to climb. Choi Yoon stole my heart, with his sweetness, his handsome face, and his beautiful singing voice (OST). There was just something about him, that makes you have butterflies in your stomach. As for Me Ah Ri, she may be a little immature, and sometimes too pushy, but the girl knows what she wants, and she will do all she can to get it, and I admire her for that, though I may not always approve of her methods, I still found that I loved her anyways/

Lee Jung Rok & Park Min Sook Couple: Oh this couple, how they make you laugh and make you cry, and make you feel bad for one another. Though Rok may be a playboy, big ass flirt I still thought he was pretty much was my favorite male character, because he could make me laugh and yet he brought me a lot of aww moments in the end. Park Min Sook, is basically a bad bitch. She is the queen bee and knows what’s up. I have to say she is probably my favorite female character of all time, she doesn’t take prisoners when it comes to her business or her personal life. Though she seems cold and a huge hard ass, she still is sensitive and can laugh and cry like everyone else. I love this woman, god I loved this couple.

Overall I thought this drama was pretty amazing, one of the better dramas of 2012. The couples and the friendships in this drama will live on for a long time because for those who have seen it, they won’t forget them. Their ties to characters in this drama are so strong, and as actors and actresses, their work is amazing as well. I would give it a standing ovation but alas I am too lazy to stand up right now.So overall, as you can tell, I enjoyed this dram thoroughly and I recommend it to those who like romance and some fun times. This drama is about older people and their romance, and though it’s like that, it doesn’t mean it’s dull at all, sometimes older people have more fun, and sometimes they have childish fits just like young love. So I recommend this to you RomCom lovers out there, go and watch this, you won’t regret it because it has a rocking cast, a beautiful story, and a jamming OST.

Oh and P.S.: Gosh dang this drama is filled with good-looking men, from the old ones (F40 Fighting!) to the young ones, everyone is good looking, hey and even the women, I may just have a lady crush or two…

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Completed
Discovery of Romance
0 people found this review helpful
Sep 15, 2017
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 8.5
I finally watched and finished Discovery of Romance. I had heard a lot of different opinions and read a lot of different reviews about this drama. I heard from many people that they thought it was terrible, but the same amount of people really enjoyed it, so I was stuck on whether or not I should actually give it a try..but as the year is coming to an end, it's time for me to start watching all the dramas I've missed through the 2014 season, and I thought I would start with this one.
To my surprise, I didn't hate this drama. I know a lot of people thought maybe I wouldn't be into it, but I actually was. I think I am being a little bias however since I was just really excited to see Eric and Jung Yu Mi in a drama/romance together since Que Sera Sera…which is one of my all time favorite dramas ever…plus it had Sung Joon, one of my White Christmas babies in it so I like to support them as much as I can. Now I know a lot of people didn't like Yu Mi’s character, from the viki comments…god they are scary and annoying, however, I enjoyed her. I think that people bashed her because she didn't live up to the expectations that we have of people in a relationship, however, she was real..maybe too real for some people. Yes, she played games to get here way and what not, but if you want to admit it or not…we all do in relationship..now maybe not as much as she does but she is a fictional character where things are dramatized obviously. I also found that both Eric and Sung Joon’s characters were both likable and dislikable at the same time, which is also realistic to people..one day you really like someone and then the next day they do something that you personally don't like and you dislike them. That's just life. I thought this drama just gave an extra realistic outlook on life and relationships between people, I mean just like their Que Sera Sera characters they were only human and make mistakes and have trial and error to go on with life and to find the type of love and lifestyle they ultimately want to live, and in real life, just like the drama, you can end up hurting people along the way.
The cast in this drama was fantastic, for the most part. Eric obviously did a great job, I'm usually always impressed by him. I think he pulls in emotions very well, especially for an idol actor..which I do consider him since is in an idol group..and I tend to be very opinionated about the acting abilities of idols. Jung Yu Mi was great like always, as well. I love her acting style because she can emote emotions from her eyebrows to her toes, her whole body shows how she is feeling as a character and it always impresses me…she is a full body actress and I love that. Sung Joon did a decent job, this, to be honest, want his best performance I have seen of him, but he did well enough that it didn't take away from the drama, and given the circumstances of the drama and his character I thought he did a pretty decent job. Yoon Hyun Min, it's good to keep seeing him since Heartless City, he is a very appealing actor and he plays a role that you can't help but love.I think he keeps getting better and better as an actor as he becomes more and more popular, and that can be said for Kim Seul Gi, coming from a comedian standpoint, she always brings the laughs but she is also a great actress and she can pull of more emotional and serious scenes as well, and I can't wait for the day that she becomes a leading female and not just a side character or the best friend character. Lastly, Yoon Jin Yi was the only person I really had a problem with in this drama. I'm indifferent about her character, to be honest, but her acting wasn't something that I particularly liked. I thought she was decent in A Gentleman’s Dignity, and that's the last time I've seen her, but in this, it seemed more rookie than she was in AGD. I don't know, she just didn't do it for me, and she just didn't pull off the emotions I thought she should be showing, very well. I don’t know it was just a stale and lackluster performance on her part, in my opinion.
Overall, I am surprised that I really actually enjoyed this drama, I was in the opposite half of the spectrum that I thought I would be. And to point out about the documentary style setting where they would speak to the camera, I know some people didn't like that but I actually found it interesting and helped with being able to hear what the characters really thought without having to put them into some over-dramatic, out of place scenario or some boring voice over..it was creative and I didn't mind it at all. Overall I thought that Discovery of Romance took me on a journey about love and life, and how it can all come crashing down in a second and how nothing in love and life is easy and has a simple one answer..its a roller coaster ride and they don't say “love is a battlefield” for no reason because in the end..no matter what someone is going to get hurt, even if you don’t know about it.

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Completed
Doctor Stranger
0 people found this review helpful
Sep 15, 2017
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 5.5
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 5.5
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 5.5
The hype train is at it again in Korean drama town. Everyone hyped up this drama to no end, and I’m not a believer in those sorts of things, but in the end..I gave it a try. I finally watched Doctor Stranger and you know what….they hype was half true.I think.

Doctor Stranger has been one of the most hyped up dramas of 2014, with everyone oozing their love for the drama and its leading male star Lee Jong Suk. I’ll be the first to admit that yes indeed he is a handsome actor and yes indeed he can act well, but just because amazing actors are in the drama doesn’t mean that the drama always turns out to be the best ever. The last two Lee Jong Suk dramas I’ve watched were both hyped up, however, I don’t feel all that excited about them as most people do. Doctor Stranger was a good medical drama, but the rest of the plot line wasn’t worth all that, in my opinion. I was more excited about the surgeries than anything in this drama really and found myself either dozing off and blanking out during the rest. When I watch a medical drama, I do embrace all the political drama that goes on in the hospital, but for some reason this story just didn’t really grip me, and I felt as though all that had happened, for what was executed by the drama could have been done in a shorter time frame, and didn’t really need to be dragged on and on. But that happens in a lot of 20 plus dramas, sometimes they don’t need to be that long but they stretch them out. The whole North Korean refugee thing really didn’t come that much into play, in a personality and social circumstance type of way as they made you believe in the plot line and in the first few episodes. It seemed that they got over that rather quickly, though myself wouldn’t have seen it as much drama in the first place, however, I am not a South Korean citizen so I don’t have those types of feelings towards North Korean people. The romance left me wanting more, and for the first time, I had second leading female syndrome instead of second leading male, which is always cool I suppose. I just didn’t find myself emotionally attached to these characters are that interested in their stories which is a bummer, and has seemed to happen to me too often in this 2014 season of Korean dramas. I need more, I need real character development and I found that the writing in this drama didn’t give it all to me, what could have came from this drama, with better writing, less fillers, and more character development and not just sudden “Oh I’ve changed my personality or my ideas” would of did this drama a lot better I think, then again I’m just giving my personal thoughts so you don’t have to take that to heart.

One thing that this drama had going for it, was the big cast with the amazing actors and actresses in it, for the most part, that is. Lee Jong Suk as I have said a million times before is a great actor. I think he can portray his characters well, and he can give an emotional performance throughout it. He can be funny and goofy at times and give us seriousness when needed, and I really appreciate him for that. He isn’t just a pretty face that girls and guys alike can squeal over, he actually has talent and I admire him for that. However, our leading female, Jin Se Yeon isn’t my favorite actress of all time. Her acting style is not just for me, and half the time I don’t believe the emotion that she is portraying. I don’t think she was up to par with the rest of the cast, however that being said I think she has greatly improved since the last time I’ve watched her in a drama, and that’s something to be proud of. I just found that maybe if they had a different actress in her place, the emotional scenes between her and Lee Jong Suk and their situations would have been more powerful to me. It was nice to see Park Hae Jin again, even if he wasn’t the lovable second leading male character like he was in You Who Came From The Stars. This time he was serious and wasn’t there for comic relief, his performance was great. I found myself entranced in his performance, he did a 360 from the last time I watched him and it really showed me the diversity he has as an actor. I hope to see more of him in the future. This was also my first time seeing Kan So Ra, she hasn’t been in that many dramas, and I can say I was somewhat impressed by her. I thought she did a great job with her role and portrayed the emotions well, I did find her crying a little fake, somewhere between the pretty cry and the real emotional ugly cry that people actually do in real life, and I’m hoping that she can pull from the whole pretty cry and embrace the ugly cry which is more realistic to me, then I think she would be a pretty awesome actress. I also want to lastly comment on Cheon Ho Jin. He played a rather bad man this time around, from the last drama, and every time I see him as a great old man who is so kind and sweet my heart melts, but when he plays an “evil” character I find myself scared of him. He is an amazing actor, and his entire speech he gives in episode 19, at the end, was fantastic and showed how great of an actor he is. I really enjoyed his performance the most, and I love watching him in dramas, and I would say that he is the actor that brought this drama to life for me.

Overall, I thought the drama was pretty good but not as great as everyone led me to believe with all the hype, though I never believed that in the first place. I enjoy medical dramas, and from the medical perspective of the show, I enjoyed that the most, the rest of the story were just plain okay to me. It didn’t grip me like it should have, but the actors and actresses brought it along. The plot could have been really great to me, if it was just taken a few steps forward and really pushed, but just didn’t have the pizazz that I was expecting or looking for, leaving me uninterested and rather bored of it, however the actors and actresses got me along through the parts that weren’t about surgeries with their amazing acting skill. I say this drama was pretty good, and I would recommend it, it’s just not the big amazing deal that people made it out to seem, in my opinion. So if you’re just a little bit interested in the drama, I say hey why not go for it, what do you have to lose?

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Completed
Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo
0 people found this review helpful
Sep 11, 2017
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
Today I want to talk about a Korean drama that is considered to be a total flop. Yet, many reviews from people I know consider this drama to be one of their personal favorites from 2016. With an abundant amount of mixed reviews surrounding this historical drama, I wanted to go back to 2016 and watch it for myself.

"Scarlet Heart: Reyo" is a 2016 South Korean Historical drama that starred many talented and well-known actors and actresses. The main characters were played by one of the nation's sisters' IU and heartthrob actor Lee Jung Ki. With such an array of actors and actresses and a plethora of artists jumping in to make the OST, this drama should have been considered a major hit in South Korea. Yet, many criticized it for its writing, original soundtrack, and performances.

I do, however, want to say that I am a huge fan of many Historical dramas. From the settings to the political turmoil, to the romance and music put into many historical dramas, I find them to sometimes be the most interesting types of story telling in the South Korean drama world. When hearing many mixed reviews about this drama, and seeing the average rating in South Korea, I wanted to dive into it with an open mind and open heart. Many times I have found myself loving dramas that seem to be disliked or not as appreciated as others. However, on the other hand, I have found myself disliking many beloved dramas out there. I wanted to go in with no expectations with this drama so that I could give my honest opinion to you all.

This drama had a lot of things going for it and you can see that it was on the cusp of being a truly amazing drama, but there were some things that held it back. I believe that even though there were some flaws in this drama, that the reason in which it is considered a commercial failure is due to poor timing when it was released. The dramas out there may have had more compelling storylines than this one did, which is a reason that it had such low viewer ratings. Watching this drama on it's on, and not comparing it to others at the same time, I found that I enjoyed the show. THe plot to the drama, may not be the most compelling, however, there were sub-stories that truly had me in my feelings. I found that the stories of both Court Lady Oh and Madam Hae were ones that truly had me in tears. Their storylines that intertwined with our main character really shook me to the core and I will admit I was in an ocean of tears during their screen time. The end story between our main character played by IU and Wang Jung also had me feeling quite emotional at the end, and the story of Wang Eun towards the end also came to an emotional end, I can not deny that. Our main story had many ups and downs, at times I was truly invested in it and at others I wanted it to really give me a little more. The romance that was between our main characters and our secondary lead, I found myself rooting for the secondary lead until his character development kicked in. After the changes that the character went through I found myself more on the main male leads side, however, the writing in this drama has me conflicted. The way the writers developed the characters was confusing, I think there were truly no "good" main leads, many of them made choices that are questionable. Even IU's character had choices she did that made me question whether or not she should be doing things she was doing. I would say things about the ending, and how it wrapped up the story from being a not happy ever after ending, which I enjoy those because not everything needs a happy ending, into an oh well if you look at it this way its sort of happy ever after kind of threw me off. I think that perhaps they were planning on this drama to be a huge success and planning for another season of it, which I wouldn't mind but considering its rating its is most likely not ever going to happen.

ans but the ending left you to guess, and mostly was due to over thinking that the drama would truly be a hit and another season would unfold from it. I don't blame them for thinking it would be a hit because there were many elements of this drama that were outstanding, the cast was huge and had many amazing actors and actresses and the music was filled with artists that you could recognize with songs that would get stuck in your head. However, at the end of the day I think this drama just did not get released at the right time, and if it was airing right now (as of 9/11/2017) I think it would be doing pretty well, much better than when it aired. Overall, I liked the drama. I see why some think it was a flop and why some love it. Myself, I'm in between, there are many elements in which I enjoyed and many where the drama was questionable. It is far from a bad drama I will say that, is it a master piece? No. Obviously not. But in the end Scarlet Heart: Reyo took me on a journey of love and time travel that I enjoyed and I did become emotionally invested in, so I can't knock it for that. It was a good time, and I would recommend it to anyone.d could take away from the moments. However, I still really enjoyed the music. I am torn between loving the music and disliking its usage in this drama. I cant decide how I truly feel all together but I do know that I did enjoy the music for what it is.Many criticized the acting in this drama. I, however, don't see a real problem with it. Yes there were times I was unimpressed by IU's acting or sometimes some of the princes weren't strong, such as the idol Baekhyun and Seohyun, but as an overall package, I felt that most of the actors and actresses most of the time did a pretty great job. They allowed me into their world and I believed their pain, sadness, anger and every other emotion they felt. So when it comes to the criticism for their acting, I can see why some people found it to be poor but I personally am okay with it and some of the actors really did a great job in my opinion. There is a large cast so I can't really go into who did well and who did not and if I wanted to I couldn't help but spoil some of the scenes for those who have not seen the drama yet, which I won't do. Another criticism people had for the drama was the original sound track or OST for short. Now I am on board with this opinion, to be honest, but not in a way many may think. I loved the soundtrack. I found myself singing to all the songs and there were many well produced and catchy songs through out the drama. The problem I had with it was, it did not fit the setting on the drama. I felt like many of the songs were too poppy to fit into a historical drama. I enjoy my historical dramas OSTs to have more of an authentic sounding song to the time frame and these did not. I felt like they were out of place, d could take away from the moments. However, I still really enjoyed the music. I am torn between loving the music and disliking its usage in this drama. I cant decide how I truly feel all together but I do know that I did enjoy the music for what it is.

This drama had beautiful sets, makeup, and costumes. The music for what it was, was beautiful and had many catchy songs through out. For the most part, the acting in this drama was great. The plot was a tad bit weak, with an ending that satisfied you for the first 3/4s but the ending left you to guess, and mostly was due to over thinking that the drama would truly be a hit and another season would unfold from it. I don't blame them for thinking it would be a hit because there were many elements of this drama that were outstanding, the cast was huge and had many amazing actors and actresses and the music was filled with artists that you could recognize with songs that would get stuck in your head. However, at the end of the day I think this drama just did not get released at the right time, and if it was airing right now (as of 9/11/2017) I think it would be doing pretty well, much better than when it aired. Overall, I liked the drama. I see why some think it was a flop and why some love it. Myself, I'm in between, there are many elements in which I enjoyed and many where the drama was questionable. It is far from a bad drama I will say that, is it a master piece? No. Obviously not. But in the end Scarlet Heart: Reyo took me on a journey of love and time travel that I enjoyed and I did become emotionally invested in, so I can't knock it for that. It was a good time, and I would recommend it to anyone.

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Completed
Goblin
1 people found this review helpful
Sep 20, 2017
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 10
“Goblin: The Lonely and Great God” which aired from December 02, 2016 to January 21, 2017, stars a very wide range of actors and actresses in its cast lineup. From the Original Soundtrack to the cast, to the way this drama was filmed, I could tell that this was going to be a hit from the moment I sat down to watch it. From the very first 5 minutes of this drama, I was already hooked and ready to ride it out. I remember I watched the first 9 episodes in 1 night. An addicting and emotional story of the Goblin, his bride, his friend, his enemy, his sister, and his family is an amazing drama that I really enjoyed with all my heart.

The story, the tragic story at that, of Goblin, is really compelling. Kim Eun Sook is really a master storyteller. She writes characters and situations that make your heart skip a beat or even break. I found myself extremely emotionally invested in the love and friendship of the characters in this drama. However, I will be honest, I didn’t know if I actually liked our main female lead until about episode 11, I was on the fence about her, but in the end, I did really enjoy her. There were no characters that I thought were poorly written or not worth the emotional investment, I found each of them to be extremely well thought out and very realistic. Well, as realistic as you can get for a fantasy drama that is.

This drama had so much going for it. It was literally the most aesthetically pleasing drama I have ever watched. The cinematography, the lighting, the color correction, just everything was so beautiful. The way they made this drama look fit the fantasy aesthetic of the drama as well, everything seemed so dream and wonderland like. The original soundtrack for this drama did have me on the fence for a while as well. I was wondering if I really enjoyed the music for the drama or not, but in the end, I found myself humming and singing along to all the songs. They all fit the drama well and put a certain tone and mood to each scene which is what I always say I want. I love OSTs that can give me songs to sing later in life and that make the scene more impactful, and it gave me both.

The acting in this drama was fantastic for the most part, there was one part where I was iffy about it, but it was a really minor character crying so I will let that slide. Gong Yoo was fantastic, it is great to see him in another drama, not just movies, since BIG which was a total flop for me. I have always thought we were a great actor and that BIG was a bad choice on his part. Perhaps that is why he has strayed away from dramas for a few years, but I am glad to see him back in action. His sad smile and his eyes always filled with pain were really convincing and I hope I see him in more and more drama now that he is back in the drama game. It was my first time encountering Kim Go Eun, I know that her first drama was Cheese in the Trap which I know a lot of people loved, but I also heard the ending to the drama was pretty lame, so I have yet to go and see it. She is a young woman, my age (I’m trying to say I’m young at 26 lol). I did have questions about my liking for her character at times, but I thought she did a fantastic job either way. Lee Dong Wook never lets me down, he always brings his A game, and I was happy to see him again after my long drama hiatus. His character was possibly my favorite, I felt his pain and I loved the way his character developed throughout the entire drama itself. He was just great and there really isn’t more to say about that. Yoo In Na surprised me, I really liked her. The last drama I watched her in was You Who Came From The Stars which I actually don’t remember her in, so I don’t know what that says about her role. All I can remember is Queen In Hyun’s Man which I was really not that impressed with, so I’m kind of happy to be discovering her like she is fresh and new in my mind. Overall, the acting was just fantastic and everyone portrayed their characters well.

This drama was an emotional roller coaster. From laughs to tears within the same episode, this drama really had a way with playing with your emotions. You can get extremely invested in the characters of this drama and you hope and pray for a happy ending for them all, and I found myself truly infatuated with it. From the scenery to the story itself, and the music that will forever be ingrained in my mind, the drama was just plain old fantastic. This time, the hype train didn’t let me down, and I am proud of it for that. There is drama out there that are truly worth the hype. I would assume that everyone has already seen this drama. But, if you haven’t I hope that you will settle down for 16 episodes of pure fantasy, magic, and beauty that this drama has to offer. It is worth the watch and worth a re-watch while you are at it.

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