~ Review originally posted on unbotheredunnies.com ~

Previously, I had started this drama three times within the last two years and each time I never made it beyond 10 minutes. So how did I make it through all sixteen episodes this round? Peak boredom? I don’t know. I guess when boredom strikes, I watch anything. I needed something mindless while I waited on Joy of Life subs. SEE FRAME OF MIND! As I made my way through episode after episode I kept saying to myself that I really should just stop this, but I didn’t because I’m not weak and also it wasn’t really like I was wasting any time. Granted, it did take me longer to get done with episodes 13 through 16 which I could just say is due to my inability to complete dramas, but that would mean doing some self-reflection and I don’t do that. IT WAS THE DRAMA’S FAULT FOR BEING SO DUMB AND DRAGGING ON STUFF THAT NO ONE CARED ABOUT.

Of all the Chinese dramas that I have gorged on in the last two years since I have started watching them, this by far has to be the one that feels like a standard typical Korean Drama. Maybe it was due to it being sixteen episodes and not nine million, but I got such a strong Kdrama vibe from it. The story was very simple and surface level. It was a ‘what you see is what you get’ type of situation. I felt like it mirrored your typical Boys over Flowers narrative, except that our female lead isn’t a poor moron, but a rich moron instead. She was cursed with the fate that any man who she likes will not like her back. Who cursed her? Idk.. My main problem with this story was how painfully unaware the characters were during the crucial moments. I could not understand how they would openly say things or do things with no regard to who could be easily eavesdropping/watching. I also laughed at how unbelievable the scenes of them being in the orchestra and playing the instruments were—THEY DIDN’T EVEN SYNC UP WITH THE MUSIC. Speaking of synching up, the editing…. Yall.. Yall….. YALL….. I kid you not, there are episodes where they use stock photos while transitioning to another scene and THE FUCKING SHUTTERSTOCK WATERMARK IS RIGHT THERE.

Now let me tell you about the four leads; A spoiled girl with princess syndrome, a reliable male genius with captain save a hoe complex, an egocentric boy with prince syndrome and an “innocent” poor lovable girl. The best character was certainly our female lead, Lin Xing Chen. She grew up rich with butlers and having her paintings in gallerias before she was even a teenager. This is why everyone claims that she has princess syndrome because she has had quite the privileged life thus far. However, the truth of the matter is that there is a secret behind her birth. You see, Xing Chen’s real mother is actually Zheng Mu and not Chen Ming Le. Xing Chen was a child born out of an extra martial affair. Since Ming Le didn’t have a child for herself, Zheng Mu decided to give her daughter up so that she could have a better life. Which would have been a sweet idea had Zheng Mu not been a greedy waste of space. So because of the pressure of not being a “real” princess, our female lead had no choice but to try to pull our prince at any cost. Xing Chen could have very easily been an intolerable character, but she was more or less the “b*tch” with a heart of gold. Except I never thought she was a b*tch at any point in time. I did think she was stupid though and was probably why she was failing so many classes. Nevertheless, I liked seeing her obsess over BL mangas and I liked seeing her moments where she would assert herself.

On the opposite end, the worst character in the show was by far Yu Yang Yang. Yu Yang Yang was a supposedly good natured poor girl who got into the college because her father is close with the principal. However, homegirl was a bonafide sneaky ass sly little b*tch. One minute she pretends to be all nice and helpless the next she’s purposely saying and doing things that would have Xing Chen appear in the bad light in front of the boys. If you’re gonna be a b*tch then be it with ya whole damn chest!! Speaking of the boys…. I liked Zheng Chu Yao more than I liked Jiang Nian Yu and it was solely because I found him to be more entertaining annnnddd he had the better chemistry with Xing Chen. Could it have been that it was because Kenji was likely blowing out Yuxi’s back at the time? Yes.. Probably.. but that doesn’t negate anything! Jiang Nian Yu was just too average and forgettable even with him being poor and having trauma that no one cares about.

Overall, this drama didn’t have the best storyline nor the best acting nor fully developed and functioning characters, but you know what this drama did have?—An abundance of pervy moments! We got to see naked chests and laugh occasionally. That is all one could ask for when picking a mindless drama. So if you’re bored like me and want to put something on in the background while you do literally anything else then have at it!

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Here we have Japanese Bachelor in Paradise and if you’re wondering why there is four guys but only three girls it is because no piece of media can exist in which there is not a love triangle. The story was predictable even when it tried to throw a curve ball. Nothing was surprising and the problems that arose were shit that really shouldn’t have matter anyways but what do I know? I am not rich and do not understand the intricacy of wanting to become a manga writer or a sushi chef and not running the family business. However, I think the strength of this drama was with the fact that it was only 18 episodes in total and the episodes were only 15 mins each. I didn’t have time to marinate on how wack this whole setup was because it was already over.

All the characters were insipid and man I would kill to see a romantic Japanese drama where the female lead wasn’t poor, happy go lucky and ridiculously naive. (If yall have any suggestions let me know!) That being said, Mugi wasn’t all bad just basic as fuck and definitely my least favorite girl next to the mega bitch, Tsubaki. My favorite boy was actually, Teru, because I love guys with curly hair. My least favorite boy was Taiga and that was because he was so cute until he smiled; I don’t like his teeth. At this point you’re thinking to yourself, why such vain commentary? Because it is a vain drama. Yup yup. I don’t know why anyone fell for anyone except that someone said something nice and they kept thinking about it. There was apparently growth or whatever with the characters but yawn. I’m sorry but exactly why are 17 year olds promising men in their 20s to be with them forever? Mmm. These relationships cannot be sustained in any way, shape or form.

Overall, I think you could check this out if the depression kitty has snuck up on you like it did to me! Like, if you have better things to do, but can’t seem to get out of bed to do it then here’s something that’ll make four hours go by like nothing.

Full review posted on: https://unbotheredunnies.com/2019/11/09/sugar-babys-review-corner-noble-guys-onzoshi-boys/

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Fluffy Romance! Don't take anything seriously because the drama didn't.

If I had to describe my journey with this drama, it would be like overindulging on dessert at a wedding. Now you may think that with me saying overindulging that this drama was bad but it wasn't, it was cute. Sickly cute, even with the terribly problematic moments. This drama was about as cliche as romantic comedy dramas in kdramaland could get. Literally grab a kdrama bingo card and play along while watching this.. I bet you can score bingo within the first four (eight) episodes. That being said as cliched as this drama is I still enjoyed it to the end of the world because the chemistry between Gal Hee and Min Ik was absolutely sickening.

Plot: As mentioned beforehand what a bunch of cliches and also absolute madness. Literally. Things did not make sense.. I tried to rationalize it being that since he's lost his sight it takes him a while to get used to his other sense but holy sh*t the stupidity was wild in this one. I am a fan of messy plots and find them entertaining if done correctly, unfortunately the gaps were quite glaring in this one. I did appreciate that it portrayed face blindness in a way you don't typically see in these kdramas and that he wasn't magically cured at the end. +1 point

Romance: Minus the obvious theme of lying and betrayal the romance was so decadent!! Legit both between our main couple and the second leads and it was the reason I kept watching because I can and will excuse anything for fluffy romance and good chemistry. (Actually not true total depends on my mood)

Characters: I was equally charmed by Do Min Ik as I was irritated by his some of his earlier actions. I have a soft spot for Young Kwang so I felt his pain in the moments when he had to adapt to not being able to recognize faces. I also thought his character was a tad inconsistent but nontheless very cute.  There was some growth in there somewhere and it may have taken fourteen or so episodes to truly see it but it was there.. Shhh.. Just focus on the cute moments guys! Gal Hee was adorable and I really fell for Jin Koo in this drama. Her expressions were so cute and she was adorable even while blatantly lying to his face. I was supposed to feel sorry for her when she got exposed but instead I was like "damn this is dumb". Dae Ju... Yeah nothing against the actor cause he did what he had to do but it was just very blah, his best scenes were naturally with VERONICA PARK. Speaking of... The highlight of the show was for sure Ms. ORIGINAL Veronica Park, right off the bat we are expected to see this vain, b*tch, maneater and while she is certainly all of that and more, you can see that above all else she is a child who is afraid of her mother and immature in love. She was endearing and funny and smart and certainly a scene stealer.

Final Thoughts: I would recommend if you want something sweet to cleanse your palette after something despicably harsh or disappointing, but literally hold no expectations while going in. If you focus on the fluff and don't think too much (clearly something the writer/directors didn't do) then it will be easy and breezy to get through... Be warned though, the sweetness may get you full and then you'll have an upset stomach at the end of the night.

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Emily’s Five Things really started off strong and solid. It drew me in because I have such a soft spot for slice of life dramas, and I can enjoy a female lead who has kinda lost her way as it resonates with my feelings. I liked that every episode started with a flashback to her high school days because you were able to see how different Emily was back then and understand Dofuru’s (Dou Ru) frustration with the way she was dealing with her relationships with the people around her. I especially needed her to break up with her boyfriend ASAP because he was just straight trash.. How she even started dating him was beyond me.

When it came to the plot everything felt like it moved very quickly, but also extremely slow.. I was on episode 7 thinking it was at least episode 21 but in the same breath, thinking the story needed to move faster. There were very good themes and a strong cast. The overarching theme of being yourself was well done. Although the synopsis hints at the possibility of some supernatural events occurring and frankly so does the first few episodes, that is not the case whatsoever. It truly is just a slice of life comedy with its few eccentric moments.. I will admit that I did end up feeling a bit cheated because of this.

So while this show was very enjoyable in it’s earlier times, my biggest gripe came down to how they chose to do this friends to lovers thing.. MILD SPOILERS... Emily and Doufuru love each other. Sure they both have liked each other for more than ten years and may have paused liking each other while they were dating other people but at the very root of it all, they loved each other. Emily always called him her best friend and he did the same. They were always jealous of the other's romantic interests. It was frustrating watching these two idiots deal with their emotions. I think the biggest flaw was that the screenwriter gave us the moments of them being a couple that when it came down to the reason why they couldn’t be together, it felt like the cheapest of cop outs and made up tension. I hate the "break your heart to save them" trope.

In the end I just wanted this show to be over. Would I recommend it? Maybe the first 12 episodes.. after that it is a skip.

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As I am writing this it is still very fresh in my mind.. I pose the question to you, viewers.. Which do you prefer, a drama that is transparent and honest about what is to be expected or one that pulls the rug from under your feet by luring you in under false pretenses?

I am conflicted when it comes to I Will Never Let You, this isn't my first Chinese drama and it certainly won't be my last. I know how these things go especially when it comes to historical ones.. I have to admit that like many viewers, I feel a bit cheated once it got to the last stretch of episodes. So let's dive in...

The Good: There were many positive things to enjoy with this drama. The chemistry between the Bin Bin and Ariel was extremely palpable. Matter of fact the overall chemistry of the cast was excellent.The acting was quite enjoyable for the most part (Kris Sun was not impressive). The story immediately grabbed your attention and kept it for awhile. The women were quite exceptional in this drama, a majority of them and their scenes ranking as the most memorable parts. It was really funny and didn't seem to take itself very seriously...until it did.

The Bad: I know this drama is set in a patriarchal society as it was back in those days, but oh my gosh, the men in this f**king story SUCK (Chen Yu, Yuan Chong and his teacher arguably being the only exceptions). So many irritating moments that warrant the biggest eye roll in history. The storyline while compelling truly took a drag when it got to the later episodes.We went twelve whole episodes without our leads sharing a scene. TWELVE. Not to mention how as we got to these later episodes plot points just were not connecting the way they should have been and when they did connect it felt rushed and unsatisfactory.

The Ugly: The ending. It is true what they say.. an ending can really make or break a piece of work and for many, I fear this ending may have broken it. I understood and I expected most of what happened in the last six episodes to be the case, however, it still left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Since I don't want to riddle this review with spoilers, I will just say that even though the ending was less than satisfactory, I would still do a rewatch. I would rewatch to see the twins being absolute bad ass b*tches. I would rewatch to see Xiao Xia and Yuan Chong bicker. I would rewatch to see Master Zhu being a lazy old fart. I would rewatch to see all the genuinely comedic moments and the impressively strong acting in this drama. I would rewatch because Buqi and Chen Yu are so freaking cute that I am willing to overlook it all and reminisce on the good times.

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*Sighs*

I decided to sit and marinate before I wrote this review because I didn't want hostility or judgement to be my voice. So after waiting about two hours I realized that the more I waited, the angrier I got. This isn't a terrible drama. It's decent and utilizes a lot of tropes to propel the plot forward. It's kind of a typical fanatsy romcom. I won't get into details about what upsetted me the most about this drama because that would be spoilers but to sum it up, all that build up with no pay off. The ending was unsatisfactory.

I started this drama randomly one day when I was drunk and clicked on the first thing that dramafever assaulted my eyes with on the main page. Fortunately, I believe it had just started that week so I watched all four. I wasn't compelled by the main leads, but rather the secondary characters.. I found that I stuck around because I wanted more of them. Naturally the standouts would be the trio (the idea of this polyam relationship on an asian drama was very new to me) and Qian Hua. Therefore, I was less than please by what we got as their end.

The acting was okay. I do think Victoria was the weakest one and I can't comment on if she's grown or not because i have never seen anything with her in it. I will say that I have heard she is not very good, but I didn't find her acting to be unbearable. I'm not sure how much of it was her abilities or the way the character was written. A standout for me was Bai Jia. I could feel every emotion she held without her even opening her mouth. I also liked the one particular scene with the Fox actress.

Overall, a decent drama with a decent storyline and decent acting. Not sure if I would rewatch.. Not sure if I would recommend. .... I mean some parts of the story was a little YIKES and don't even let me talk about how uncomfortable episode 24 actually made me..... To me this drama seemed like Twilight without the vampires.. OHMYGOD it IS twilight. like so many things felt very twilight. Mind blowN right now... I mean i've never actually watched a full twilight movie but we all know sh*t that happens there. Anyways, watch it or don't.... You're not missing much either way.

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When it takes ten episodes for me to not completely despise every single character then you know its probably not worthwhile... As an advocate for dropping dramas as soon as you cba, I only ended up completing this because I was watching it with my mom.

My biggest problem with this drama wasn't the blatant lack of chemistry amongst the three leads (I would've been content with the romantic storyline being dropped all together), but rather how uneventful and contrite everything felt. I felt like the writer expected the viewers of this drama to be imbeciles like it's character and thus tried to throw together a bunch of cliches and call it a functioning story. It moved so slowly while also managing to feel extremely repetitive.  I felt like I gained nothing from the sixteen episodes that I watched.

I believe its hard to criticize acting objectively, especially when you have a bias towards a certain actor. I was disappointed by the extremely weak performances of our leads. I do genuinely believe its not entirely their fault, but the characters felt so one dimensional that no amount of sad music in the background could evoke any kind of emotion from me. I was a fan of Choi Si Won in She Was Pretty and looked forward to this being his project fresh out of the military, I'm not sure if its because he's out of wack due to his scandal amongst other things, but I was left so underwhelmed. Then we have Kang So Ra, whom I first watched in Doctor Stranger and never felt like she was lacking in anything, however her character here always had her walking around with a question mark on her face that I wonder if the directors note was to always look confused.. Gong Myung, I had never seen before (I never made it long enough in Bride of Habaek to see his character) and with him I can say that I can see potential in his acting, but as for the character here? Always looking like a sad wounded puppy and that's it. The secondary characters seemed like they were just doing the bare minimum. Side note: Lee Jae Joon literally plays one of two characters: the painstakingly sweet guy or the vengeful evil guy.. kind of a one dimensional actor it seems.

Now I wouldn't say this was the worst drama I've ever watched and its not particularly terrible, its just aggravating, plain and goes around in a circle. The only thing I enjoyed was the OST and that the main leads were good looking. I would never rewatch this unless someone is offering me a million dollars to do so. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone unless you're a huge fan of the leads and even then it might still be difficult to get through.

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What to say about this one?? This drama is one of the better ones that I've watched this year and that's simply because of Ma Yi Deum. She was honestly one of the best female leads, I've ever come across throughout my years of watching dramas. She made every part of this drama. Jung Ryeo Won OWNED THIS ROLE. She is the reason this drama is being recorded as one of my favorites.

I can find a lot of flaws within this drama, I wouldn't have to look very hard but I'm willing to overlook these for the sake of how much I enjoyed Ma Yi Deum and the initial premise of the story. I was hooked on the first episode cause it felt like I was watching the Korean version of Law and Order: SVU. I enjoyed the episodes that focused on a different individual each episode because it did well at showcasing that many sexual crimes are about power. For a majority of the earlier episodes, I found myself yelling at the screen saying that 'Men Are Trash'...

I was not a big fan of the overarching storyline only because it just felt moot point whenever they caught him for something in the earlier episodes because we knew it wouldn't have amounted to anything and then it made me feel annoyed because at the end the solutions seems so easy and efficient that it was like "why wasn't this done episodes ago." I will say though, it was kind of satisfying but also not with the way the overarching storyline ended. I'm equal parts satisfied and dissatisfied, probably because I kinda wanted something a little more sinister, but I mean it went with the theme of the show so good for it.

I would not recommend this drama if you're looking for something that is  romance heavy which if we're honest was kind of a waste of Hyun-min and Ryeo-won's chemistry. The romance was hinted at, pushed forward, fell off, creeped back, ignored then put back again. Honestly there was nothing that convinced me of why they even fell for each other but like i said the chemistry was lit so I'm not even mad.

Side characters? Didn't care about them. Matter of fact i didn't care about anyone that wasn't Ma Yi Deum and just wanted her to get her happy ending. I was very confused because I felt like the last few minutes of the finale made it seem like these were people we've been invested in and i'm like huh? I literally knew more about Gap Soo's secretary than the other members of the prosecution team.

So the story was okay in some aspect. Acting was superb. OST was beautiful to an extent (really enjoyed Solji's voice and the pump up one). Would I rewatch this? Definitely. I would probably skip a few episodes or at least fast forward scenes that don't feature Ma Yi Deum.

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Let me start off by saying, that there is so many cliches and absurd plot devices  in this drama that you would think it was a makjang drama.

This was by no means a perfect work of art and I get the distinct impression that the writer kind of lost her way when it got to the end of it. However, I liked this drama and I'm not sure if it's because I've gotten soft when it comes to dramas or if I'm being blinded by my new love of Min-Hyuk. As someone who always scrutinizes stories and will drop a drama in a millisecond if I'm displeased, I never once felt the urge to drop this drama even though there were quite a few "are you fxkjncvkkj serious?" and "fx!!k this crap" moments. I even fell behind and usually when I fall behind on episodes is when I realize I don't miss them and drop, but I still managed to get caught up with this one.

I think Ha Ji-won did an excellent job at portraying her role of Dr. Song Eun-Jae.. She was especially good when it was the emotional scenes because I thought that was when we got to see the strength of her acting. Kang Min-hyuk surprised me a lot. I have never seen anything with him in it before (i never made it long enough with The Heirs to even notice he was in that.) I think Min-hyuk did a pretty good job at portraying the Dr. Kwak Hyun.. I enjoyed how .. for lack of a better word.. "sweet" Hyun was. He always was genuine in whatever he did and I felt the sincerity every time. A lot of people have complained that he is the weakest part of the drama and I wholeheartedly disagree. Min-hyuk may not have been playing some revolutionary character, but he definitely got the job done. This brings me to the people who said there was a lack of chemistry.. I truly believe chemistry is subjective because I can tell you that I did not feel an ounce of chemistry between a certain kdrama couple that everyone and their mama loves which have a similar age gap that I thought was painfully noticeable. I guess when its top stars yall have different standards. Truthfully, I wasn't even aware that there was a 13 year age gap until I tried to find out who Min-hyuk was.

Another thing I liked about the drama was the moments where we got to see the Hospital Ship really shine as a family. I felt as though those scenes were far and few in between and would've been more impactful if they were more frequent. Nonetheless, the cast worked well together and the few things that I found to be amiss were generally the points where everything felt overly saturated with nonsense. Like the dentist was listed as a main (on wiki), but I literally cannot tell you a darn thing about him. I also felt some of the plot lines existed for no reason and feel kind of half done? The last two episodes felt like a bit of a "we forgot to really sell the romance, lets do bullcrap." /I/ would've done this a different way but I am not Yoon Sun-Ho so I mean whatever.

Is it the best medical drama out there? No. Is it the best storyline ever? No. However, I think Hospital ship was a quite pleasant drama.

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I'm biased as hell. I really don't care. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this drama. This drama, really truly, made the episodes of frustration worth it in the end. Typically, I find dramas lose their appeal to me once we get to the half way mark, so I was very nervous that this drama would do the same. However, I just found myself so immersed in the story that I never once felt bored.

I'm basically just gonna post what I had written about it on my blog when I was only ten episodes in...

This drama was an unexpected surprise for me. I’m a fan of Seo Ye Ji ever since I watched her in Moorim School and I wanted to see more of her, but I’m gonna be honest Hwarang wasn’t going to get my view (it looked boring and there were better things I could and did watch) and I wasn’t interested in any drama where she wasn’t the lead especially if I was gonna have to see ant face. I had made a note that I wanted to see this drama without virtually any clue what it was about. I eventually found out that Ok Taecyeon was also going to be in this drama and he’s pretty easy on the eyes so yeah… I didn’t read the synopsis on the drama until I was midway through episode one because I immediately thought to myself, what the actual !$!@ have I gotten myself into? I was equally repulsed and obsessed by the time I finished the second episode and waited anxiously for every new episode.

The drama absolutely captivates from the acting to the symbolism to the scenery to the background music. The funny and relaxed moments, although far and few in between, are as believable as the thrilling and spooky moments.

As someone who was a fan of Seo Ye Ji, I must say that Im Sang Mi has easily become one of my favorite kdrama heroines of all time and that was because of her. There was strength and courage inside this character that had felt so much pain and to come out of it with everything still in tact? I AM FLOORED AND PROUD.

Of course we know that the rest of the cast did amazing as well and truthfully there is such a satisfaction that i am feeling right now that I can't explain.

Give the drama a chance. It may surprise you.

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Perhaps I feel differently than most because I'm in my early 20s and felt a connection to most of the characters in this drama. For me personally, this drama really grew on me to the point where I was a little disappointed that the end came so quickly. I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did.

The first few episodes were kinda meh to say the least, not terrible, but not amazing. However, I always had an affinity for slice of life dramas and I continued watching. I think the shift happened right around when they decided to become 'Strongest Deliveryman' and that's when it started to feel like I was watching a whole new and exciting show. I will have to disagree with the majority and say that i absolutely loved Kang Soo and Dan Ah's relationship more than I did the second leads. Don't get me wrong though, the second leads were lit and sooooo funny but the first leads were more impactful to me, because I wasn't sold on their compatibility as a couple initially. In the earlier episodes I never felt the chemistry, but as the episodes progressed I fell for how well it was portrayed as a realistic relationship.

What I really enjoyed in this drama was how it made me feel as young adult who often felt like the world and everything was against me. Dan Ah calling Korea hell resonated with me so much because I feel that everyday here in America. I'm not rich, I'm not even "comfortable" in that sense. I have student loans and car payments and rent and its hard to not feel discouraged at times. Kang Soo was relatable to me because I'm the type of person that would give the clothing off her own back if it meant someone else was comfortable. Min chan, I saw myself in the way he was trying to live up to his parent's expectations; i also saw my friends who have graduated from college, but still cab't secure a job. This drama really was like a breath of air and a word of encouragement for me (so corny, I know!).

I appreciated Kim Sunho's portrayal of Jin Gyu so much because brought such depth to his character that it was ridiculous to even think that he was supposed to be a "villain" earlier in the story. Honestly, Ji Yoon's character was comedic, but that's really the extent of it which wasn't bad in the least.

I'm kind of rambling now, but yeah, I really digged this one. And I'll definitely miss it.

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My favorite drama of the year so far. I love the cast and the way everyone works so well with each other. The chemistry between Bo Young and Hyung Sik really got me shook to the core. I found certain aspects of this show lacking, but honestly I was willing to overlook it because it wasn't anything that I found extremely alarming. I will say though, these damn drama cops are really f*cking stupid?! But also I had another issue with how it seemed like they suddenly dumbed down the culprit to get to the ending. Especially as he was working them and deceived them so well. Also [redacted] was kinda frustrating because [redacted] eventually happened therefore I find it so unbelievable that it even happened in the first place. But whatever let's talk about how Ahn Minhyuk is THE PERFECT boyfriend! Ugghhh I love him. JiSoo baby, you'll get to be the first lead one day and you'll get the girl but at no point was I rooting for you to get Bong Soon in this series, not even remotely. SUCH A GREAT DRAMA THOUGH. WATCH IT.

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