First five minutes, I keep breaking out off the immersion LOL. I mean...
I would have followed you, my brother, my captain, my king. Hehehe. (Well, not quite but you know what that reminds me of).
Gonna keep trying, but for some reason I really had hoped for something more serious. And better acted (not going to judge it by the first 5 mins, but still...)
Edit: half an hour in, nope, not this time. Maybe when it's finished and there are some actual reviews on it. This half hour feels like a revisited Bride of Habaek, and I didn't like that one either. Soft pass for now.
The story seems to have ran out of content at about the 4-5 ep mark...
And it started so strongly :(
WTH was it with the waterworks this ep?! A teary-eyed confession where someone decided more is always better - not it's not! - and then the faucets let loose. I kept getting distracted thinking about if they stopped from time to time to add more eye drops.
Everybody seems to have forgotten how to act and the pauses between question-reply-more-talk etc seem to keep getting longer. I know they could do better, because they DID in the beginning. WTH is this half-assed ending?!
No wonder the novel went nowhere fast - it looks like there wasn't much heat under it aside the amazing chemistry between the leads, and the author didn't really feel like making it a round new story. (No seriously, so they both confess and have some - awkward - make-up sex, then next morning they decide commenting on DeanPharm is the best way to spend their first official couple day?! LOL right. ANYthing would be better, even just looking at each other for way too long.)
And then the WaanTul thing - nope. Just nope.
I'm so sad about so much great chemistry being wasted...
I came in on a whim, stayed for the music, in the end went all in for Luo Bin. Despite some of the more rough…
I rewatched a few scenes - I keep thinking about how ZZT absolutely kills the Gu Nan death scene. I mean, he wakes up groggy after being on drugs and having fought with Gu Nan and Gu Nan is lying there with his head crushed or his neck broken or something, and unmoving.
And then follows an actual masterpiece - Luo Bin keeps looking away and back at the body basically every three seconds or so, in shock, considering what to do and what the hell happened. It's so natural - he's in horror of it, but can't look away, again and again and again. I'd expect that level of acting from someone who's been an actor for very long, but not really from a beginner. Awesome. I think it's the best scene, IMHO.
And the songs - the one playing when HCF confronts him about it, the one with the "dancing with the flames" verse, that's so awesome. I so so so so much want that OST!!
Who was the young guy who tried to recruit Chu Feng in the end? CH fought him when trying to save Luo Bin, but…
He's Ji XiuYi, someone who's family is heavily into art trading (and drugs and whatnot). A mob guy, if you will, but one who keeps up appeareances. Mr. Jin has some kind of relationship with JXY's sister that is not really explained, but JXY calls him out on it, saying he (Mr. Jin) really put their business into danger with his fake art and drugs shenaningans.
I guess JXY is the actual shady dealer, since Mr. Jin is a drug addict and probably not that trustworthy from the beginning. JXY and Mr. Jin were mentioned previously (in the eps involving The One and Only piece of art, and when Xiao An's not-really-ex-fiancé came into play, and when Mr. Jin tried to gift Sui Yi a rare wood fan or something that Luo Bin appraised) but they weren't actually shown. It was probably for the sake of keeping up the story of the mystery second man who wants to hurt HCF that turns out to be Gu Nan's alter persona instead.
Wait…this has incest in it? Could someone spoil it for me?
Jin GuangShan, former master of the Jin Clan, had always had a wandering eye (and only the one legitimate son, Jin ZiXuan). As a matter of fact, not only does Jin GuangYao being his bastard son have a huge importance to the plot, but it's heavily implied in the drama - and clearer in the novel - that Mo XuangYu is also JGS's bastard son.
The incest comes between JGY and his wife Qin Su, who - you guessed it - is a bastard daughter of JGS. They even had a child together, and JGY had him killed because he was afraid there would be some genetic defect because of the situation.
The part I liked best was when Frodo, err, I mean ChuFeng, knew Sam, err, I mean Robin, was coming through that…
I came in on a whim, stayed for the music, in the end went all in for Luo Bin. Despite some of the more rough parts, his character journey was the best, IMHO.
Though I have to say this first and foremost - WTH was everybody else doing, leaving the suicidal-despressed guy ALL ALONE after he had just had 1. the shock of his life when his BFF turned out to know a lot more about him than he had thought, 2. discovered he had placed his GF in mortal danger by existing in her general vicinity, 3. turned his BFF into a drug-addict killer AND still had him going obssessive over how to repay HCF for something that wasn't really his fault, 4. destroyed all trust with the local cops.
The HECK?! You don't do that to depressed people. I cheered when he decided he wouldn't leave (as in "leave", you know, going somewhere to lick his wounds and maybe have more suicidal ideations with no providential cat and BFF meeting this time).
So I don't really care about Sui Yi's motivations, she sucks big time with her time off request. And so does Xiao An - what, the only person she's coming for is Luo Bin? The other two are just fill-ins?! Eff that.
The bromance was so strong in this one I am not really sure if the hetero romance had any good fighting chance in the first place, LOL. Also, Zhu ZhengTing has amazing eyes and the camera man - he be praised! - should've found that out earlier. Just sayin'.
The clothing dep't, whatever it's called, should be fired en masse. They had no redeeming quality, despite some slick black suits that actually did fit the MCs, and the few paltry young people's outfits they allowed on set. My eyes are still smarting from all the ill-fitting, way-too-old-style for them clothing. No more, please.
The music was A-MA-ZING! And I seriously want it. Please China production company, release the OST and BGM!!
The plot itself - hm. There were some mysteries, the villains sometimes made sense, there were way too many overdramatic villains' actions, LOL, and the drug angle remained hinted-at instead of spoken out-loud, but it was kind of obvious. I wonder if China has the self-defense protection, or some rules to cut served time off for good behaviour. Even so, I'm satisfied with the ending. And I'll be looking out for these two guys in the future.
#3. Omg, same here, lol! For me, 'Death' has started creeping up too on my stat. I made a post on that:https://mydramalist.com/profile/ChouNa/feeds/rJL1Vh5Probably…
I highly recommend NiF. I also postponed it "until I have some spare time", then for some reason I started watching in the middle of a Wednesday night and I was finishing it by Saturday night. It's most binge-able, finally a revenge drama where the villains are actually pretty smart, and things happen that make sense and then there are the unforgettable characters, the amazing bromance (not even a hint of BL, I tell you, pure bromance) and the music!! I am easily addicted to OSTs, and this one's a keeper.
Don't forget the upcoming Home School (with Gun). The currently airing Midnight Motel with Off is not bad either…
I think HS is horror, though (watched the trailer a while back, seemed scary). I don't do well with horror, even if there's Gun in it LOL. (Made the mistake to watch Blue Hour before I read the synopsis, never again :D) And I even (kind of) like ghost stories. Hey, I watched The Sixth Sense twice in a row in cinema, that has to count for something LOL.
OMG... Only 7 from the lists above?! It sure felt I would've watched a lot more...
1. 32 dramas from 2022.
2. South Korea (16)
3. Drama (heh) (then Romance - but I pinky swear it's all accidental. All dramas have that romance part involved and I can't skip the genre tag, LOL. I'm more into mystery and thrillers). My most used tag - not genre - was Death, oops.
4. Reset (9/10)
5. I Don't Want To Be Brothers With You (because you sometimes need that heartwarming, found-family story that really IS about caring and where nobody is a bad guy, not even the bad guy (girl) themselves). Hon. mentions, though, The Oath of Love (because it's so cute!) and Under the Skin (because whoever drew those things is an artist. Or a whole bunch of them LOL).
6. I finally had time to just sit down and watch Nirvana in Fire. Yes, it holds up. Yes it broke my heart. But then again, I haven't felt that feeling since The Untamed and I needed it.
7. First, finish Sword Snow Stride (which I am watching.) Then maybe Joy of Life. I hear there'll be a new Nirvana in Fire - are we there yet?
PS OMG is the Thai Cave Rescue movie/drama out already?! I CANNOT put myself through that, though the ratings are pretty high. I watched it all develop in real-time, almost gave myself a cardiac arrest a few times, especially when the monsoon rains threatened to return. I am STILL so glad all the boys and their coach made it out, and that the stateless boys finally got their citizenship, too, but I still feel so bad for the brave people who risked their lives and lost them - Saman Kunan and later, Beirut Pakbara, in the process of bringing the boys up. Also gave myself second-hand PTSD after researching too much info on deep-cave diving (don't do it kids!!!)
From the list above, there's that Taiwanese drama, About Youth, that looks interesting, thanks for the rec!
(PPS I see the post date of the article as tomorrow, I have no idea how I can see it today, LOL. Don't ask. The Internet is drunk tonight probably :D)
I'll be there for any OffGun, though mostly for Gun. I'll maybe even try some supernatural vibes in Midnight Museum for his sake. But somebody better please tell this young man not to star in so many horror dramas, LOL, I get the chills and scares too easily :D
I want to watch because it’s rated so highly by 50 episodes is a lot.. I’m not sure I can stay invested in…
Because some of them, and DEFINITELY this one, are worth it.
Also, you just watched AoS S1 & S2, they're 30 eps of 1-1.5 hrs EACH with basically no OP and ED, which rounds them up to around 35-40 hours of content (for both seasons). TU has 50 eps of around 45 mins, including OP and ED, which means about 40 mins per episode, that is, 33-34 hours of total content.
So you see, it's not that they're long. It's just that you're used to count by episode number.
So, let's take it in order. A looooong setup for some support character losses, but no wait, they're undone because…
At least S1 did have its moments, besides the cool moments. I still remember some pretty emotional scenes where Uk did manage to LEARN magic and not just invent holy fiery bows to shoot magical overpowered beings with and NOT die as it was implied would happen, for like, the whole S2...
maybe budget wise I heard it was supposed to be 20 eps but they couldn't wrap the story into 20 so they added…
I mean, did you really not want to watch SO many scenes where Lord Park couldn't cook right, and so few scenes where things actually happen to move the plot forward? *sigh*
They're both extremely good in different ways. The MCs in this one are less emotional than in TU, and the plots are vastly different, so don't expect the same type of vibe. If you like it, it might drag you in as much as TU, but do NOT expect anything to be similar. (This, coming from someone who watched and loved both dramas).
No turtle. Sad. Also, so much exposition and so little action. Meh.
So, let's take it in order. A looooong setup for some support character losses, but no wait, they're undone because why not.
Then Seo Yul becomes the narrator for everything Bu-Yeon does because why not?
Then the fire bird is released and Uk fights it with the Ice Stone but he doesn't die, because why not?
Ex-priestess just came in and took over a dead baby's body, then waaited for twenty some years, then did magic (nothing really amazing either, why didn't she do it 200 years back?!), then released the body to another person - yay, zombie love for everyone!
Master Lee did stuff, off screen, because why not?
And also yay, Dang-Gu and Cho-Yeon had s*x, LOL. Yeah, important news for the story.
The MCs reuniting after both of them (inexplicably) survive a (rather un-impressive) final boss battle doesn't need to be shown on screen after 30 eps, because why not?
You know what? The first season wasn't the greatest fantasy ever, but it did have cohesion, a certain plot line, and a good resolution, even if not a HEA. I'll pretend the second season didn't happen. (Despite the CP-Uk-turtle cp happening.)
3 
I would have followed you, my brother, my captain, my king. Hehehe. (Well, not quite but you know what that reminds me of).
Gonna keep trying, but for some reason I really had hoped for something more serious. And better acted (not going to judge it by the first 5 mins, but still...)
Edit: half an hour in, nope, not this time. Maybe when it's finished and there are some actual reviews on it. This half hour feels like a revisited Bride of Habaek, and I didn't like that one either. Soft pass for now.
WTH was it with the waterworks this ep?! A teary-eyed confession where someone decided more is always better - not it's not! - and then the faucets let loose. I kept getting distracted thinking about if they stopped from time to time to add more eye drops.
Everybody seems to have forgotten how to act and the pauses between question-reply-more-talk etc seem to keep getting longer. I know they could do better, because they DID in the beginning. WTH is this half-assed ending?!
No wonder the novel went nowhere fast - it looks like there wasn't much heat under it aside the amazing chemistry between the leads, and the author didn't really feel like making it a round new story. (No seriously, so they both confess and have some - awkward - make-up sex, then next morning they decide commenting on DeanPharm is the best way to spend their first official couple day?! LOL right. ANYthing would be better, even just looking at each other for way too long.)
And then the WaanTul thing - nope. Just nope.
I'm so sad about so much great chemistry being wasted...
And then follows an actual masterpiece - Luo Bin keeps looking away and back at the body basically every three seconds or so, in shock, considering what to do and what the hell happened. It's so natural - he's in horror of it, but can't look away, again and again and again. I'd expect that level of acting from someone who's been an actor for very long, but not really from a beginner. Awesome. I think it's the best scene, IMHO.
And the songs - the one playing when HCF confronts him about it, the one with the "dancing with the flames" verse, that's so awesome. I so so so so much want that OST!!
I guess JXY is the actual shady dealer, since Mr. Jin is a drug addict and probably not that trustworthy from the beginning. JXY and Mr. Jin were mentioned previously (in the eps involving The One and Only piece of art, and when Xiao An's not-really-ex-fiancé came into play, and when Mr. Jin tried to gift Sui Yi a rare wood fan or something that Luo Bin appraised) but they weren't actually shown. It was probably for the sake of keeping up the story of the mystery second man who wants to hurt HCF that turns out to be Gu Nan's alter persona instead.
The incest comes between JGY and his wife Qin Su, who - you guessed it - is a bastard daughter of JGS. They even had a child together, and JGY had him killed because he was afraid there would be some genetic defect because of the situation.
It's all a ball of Jin Ling's uncles, LOL.
spoilers (but not really, because it's too confusing LOL)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrVNMEcPXws
Though I have to say this first and foremost - WTH was everybody else doing, leaving the suicidal-despressed guy ALL ALONE after he had just had 1. the shock of his life when his BFF turned out to know a lot more about him than he had thought, 2. discovered he had placed his GF in mortal danger by existing in her general vicinity, 3. turned his BFF into a drug-addict killer AND still had him going obssessive over how to repay HCF for something that wasn't really his fault, 4. destroyed all trust with the local cops.
The HECK?! You don't do that to depressed people. I cheered when he decided he wouldn't leave (as in "leave", you know, going somewhere to lick his wounds and maybe have more suicidal ideations with no providential cat and BFF meeting this time).
So I don't really care about Sui Yi's motivations, she sucks big time with her time off request. And so does Xiao An - what, the only person she's coming for is Luo Bin? The other two are just fill-ins?! Eff that.
The bromance was so strong in this one I am not really sure if the hetero romance had any good fighting chance in the first place, LOL. Also, Zhu ZhengTing has amazing eyes and the camera man - he be praised! - should've found that out earlier. Just sayin'.
The clothing dep't, whatever it's called, should be fired en masse. They had no redeeming quality, despite some slick black suits that actually did fit the MCs, and the few paltry young people's outfits they allowed on set. My eyes are still smarting from all the ill-fitting, way-too-old-style for them clothing. No more, please.
The music was A-MA-ZING! And I seriously want it. Please China production company, release the OST and BGM!!
The plot itself - hm. There were some mysteries, the villains sometimes made sense, there were way too many overdramatic villains' actions, LOL, and the drug angle remained hinted-at instead of spoken out-loud, but it was kind of obvious. I wonder if China has the self-defense protection, or some rules to cut served time off for good behaviour. Even so, I'm satisfied with the ending. And I'll be looking out for these two guys in the future.
Seriously though, I am all the way in Team Luo Bin.
Also, where the heck can I find that awesome soundtrack?! All the songs, not just the OP/ED, and the BGM too. I need those. For science.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWCtNwrCnUo&list=PL_gfTjL5_y7vpWtPOB49wEL5RRSeBv3w2
Can't sing its praises enough :D
1. 32 dramas from 2022.
2. South Korea (16)
3. Drama (heh) (then Romance - but I pinky swear it's all accidental. All dramas have that romance part involved and I can't skip the genre tag, LOL. I'm more into mystery and thrillers). My most used tag - not genre - was Death, oops.
4. Reset (9/10)
5. I Don't Want To Be Brothers With You (because you sometimes need that heartwarming, found-family story that really IS about caring and where nobody is a bad guy, not even the bad guy (girl) themselves). Hon. mentions, though, The Oath of Love (because it's so cute!) and Under the Skin (because whoever drew those things is an artist. Or a whole bunch of them LOL).
6. I finally had time to just sit down and watch Nirvana in Fire. Yes, it holds up. Yes it broke my heart. But then again, I haven't felt that feeling since The Untamed and I needed it.
7. First, finish Sword Snow Stride (which I am watching.) Then maybe Joy of Life. I hear there'll be a new Nirvana in Fire - are we there yet?
PS OMG is the Thai Cave Rescue movie/drama out already?! I CANNOT put myself through that, though the ratings are pretty high. I watched it all develop in real-time, almost gave myself a cardiac arrest a few times, especially when the monsoon rains threatened to return. I am STILL so glad all the boys and their coach made it out, and that the stateless boys finally got their citizenship, too, but I still feel so bad for the brave people who risked their lives and lost them - Saman Kunan and later, Beirut Pakbara, in the process of bringing the boys up. Also gave myself second-hand PTSD after researching too much info on deep-cave diving (don't do it kids!!!)
From the list above, there's that Taiwanese drama, About Youth, that looks interesting, thanks for the rec!
(PPS I see the post date of the article as tomorrow, I have no idea how I can see it today, LOL. Don't ask. The Internet is drunk tonight probably :D)
Also, you just watched AoS S1 & S2, they're 30 eps of 1-1.5 hrs EACH with basically no OP and ED, which rounds them up to around 35-40 hours of content (for both seasons). TU has 50 eps of around 45 mins, including OP and ED, which means about 40 mins per episode, that is, 33-34 hours of total content.
So you see, it's not that they're long. It's just that you're used to count by episode number.
Give it a try, it's completely worth the hype.
(subs on) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ldvydu34Is
Then Seo Yul becomes the narrator for everything Bu-Yeon does because why not?
Then the fire bird is released and Uk fights it with the Ice Stone but he doesn't die, because why not?
Ex-priestess just came in and took over a dead baby's body, then waaited for twenty some years, then did magic (nothing really amazing either, why didn't she do it 200 years back?!), then released the body to another person - yay, zombie love for everyone!
Master Lee did stuff, off screen, because why not?
And also yay, Dang-Gu and Cho-Yeon had s*x, LOL. Yeah, important news for the story.
The MCs reuniting after both of them (inexplicably) survive a (rather un-impressive) final boss battle doesn't need to be shown on screen after 30 eps, because why not?
You know what? The first season wasn't the greatest fantasy ever, but it did have cohesion, a certain plot line, and a good resolution, even if not a HEA. I'll pretend the second season didn't happen. (Despite the CP-Uk-turtle cp happening.)