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This review may contain spoilers
A Gem
Passed by this series on a number of occasions because yes, I did judge it based on its cover page/summary and assumed it was another palace drama with the typical romance story between a poor woman and the prince/king. However based on another reviewer's comment on the uniqueness to their story, I took a chance and wasn't disappointed.Although the plot does seem to follow the usual servant girl turned concubine, the evolution of their romance is not as glorified as with some other historical dramas. It progresses more realistically in terms of how helpless women were at those times, without the option of having a choice when men decided to turn their attention towards you. While some women fantasize about social climbing and reaching a certain status, many don't realize what they are sacrificing in return.
I absolutely loved the FL and ML actors here as they did a fantastic job with both their subtleties and command of the screen. There are multiple complex webs of relationships with equally complex characters which really makes the series feel full. The pacing of the story was done really well with very little plot lag. Also while fictional, it does nod towards historical facts with respect to Royal Noble Consort Ui and Jeongjo of Joseon for that extra something special.
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Based on a true figure in history
Series made like this is what made me really fall in love with Chinese dramas. Having seen this in 2024, I'm reminded yet again about how crude it makes many of the newer shows appear with focuses only "good-looking" actors, not-so-great CG work, cheap-looking and non-era related costumes, and mediocre plots. For the generations that are accustomed to the newer style of c-drama, it may take some effort for them to transition to these types of older ones.However, if you are a plot-focused viewer who loves detective series, this is highly recommended. While it isn't perfect with some slight drags and would have done well with more character development scenes or character histories, the pacing of each case is still completely enjoyable. The actors are all as high quality as most older series are and both the story and subtle romantic relationships offers much realism. The only slight dramatization being that many cases being based on high-ranking officials and the idealistic portrayal of our protagonist, Song Ci (as with many other dramas). But it is refreshing that they depicted how his idealism was also his flaw. It was equally refreshing how female inequality in the field was highlighted through one of Song Ci's assistants.
Highly recommended and I'm hoping to seek out more of these types of series. These series are underrated because of its age and number of viewers, and unfortunately doesn't show up on the list of recommendations often.
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Slice of Life Treat
I normally don't have much interest in slice of life genres but finally found one that gave a similar feel to The Fiery Priest with lesser dramatics. You wouldn't think a series following prosecutors living their day-to-day jobs would be interesting enough to pull off a 16-episode run but if a season two came out, I'd jump on it. Not only was the cast and their comradery fantastic, the cases based on real life that impacts regular people such as ourselves has the advantage of hitting close to home when it comes to empathy.It's difficult to describe what makes this series great without it coming across as boring for those who are used to more action or romance heavy plots. All I can say is that it provides a great prospective on what prosecutors have to deal with or shoulder, while trying to balance the black and white facts of a case and humanizing the people involved. There's no dramatic tear-jerks but there is plenty of literal laugh out loud moments as well as warm and fuzzy moments.
All of the actors had great chemistry with one another that only continued to grow with each passing episode. There are some morals to learn and some self-reflecting triggers. Highly recommend for anyone who needs a break from heavy action, needs a good laugh, or just wants to watch something that manages to stay intriguing without the enhanced drama (other than some hilarious silliness). There's thankfully no romance other than a very adorable and lighthearted development between a young couple. Not sure why some reviewers felt the early episodes were slow when it was a good in-depth introduction of the team. I surprisingly never felt the desire to skip through any scenes or conversations.
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Exceeded Expectations
This is one that does a good job with blending drama/horror, humor, and tear-jerking moments. I've been holding off on watching this for quite some time because this is a genre/plot that usually isn't done very well. But happily, it became one where I continued to look forward to every next episode until the last.The main crew of the cast had fantastic chemistry with one another- one that makes you smile with them, cry with them, and root for them. The plot flow was done really well and there was enough "houses to sell" stories in addition to the main underlying story to keep it satisfying. (Sometimes feel tricked with other series where they start off with one or two individual stories and then just drag the rest of episodes into the main one.) It isn't the most complex plot you'll come across but it also isn't an overly simplified one. There are some plot holes but a perfect plot with heavy attention to detail isn't something that should be expected too much for a supernatural genre.
There is a light layer of corny such as the FL always being dressed in black and the ML being dressed mostly in white, etc. But in this case, it works well as it's part of the charm. It is quite difficult to be able to smoothly incorporate a natural lighthearted feel for a plot with multiple darker undertones, so the higher score for the series is well deserved. The only distracting negative was the very obvious ad placement/marketing in certain scenes where it took it a bit too far with the selling of the drinks/snacks/skincare. Nevertheless, highly recommend for anyone who is looking for a balance of emotional triggers.
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Good but not stimulating
This series is a bit difficult to describe because the acting and character chemistry were pretty good. The plot (with exception of the ending) flowed relatively well. But for a 29-episode series, it was lacking that "entertaining" factor and the entire series felt like it was playing to a single note. The drama wasn't dramatized enough and the humor wasn't humorous enough. The cases and mysteries that revolve solely around the protagonists were interesting in the beginning but started to falter when they began to poorly insert new characters. And the ending is really where it begins to crack because there wasn't great character development for the aforementioned new characters and some existing ones. They made attempts to do so with some flashbacks but unsuccessfully. However, as with other average series, this one was still entertaining enough to complete with some time skips. Not much actions scenes and no romance (which I usually prefer).Was this review helpful to you?
At the same time, although there really isn't a glaring lull, the first half of the series was particularly prolonged and the flashbacks bordered excessive. I did find myself fast-forwarding every so often but not in the way where it deterred too much from the enjoyment. Instead of repeat flashbacks, providing more background on some of the supporting characters would have taken this up a notch.
Nevertheless, would recommend it for the days when you're in the right mood for its pacing.
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What really makes this one great however, is how all the actors do a fantastic job in their roles and the chemistry between them is what will trigger emotions. Character developments were also on point. They do a decent job with showing empathy for both sides as well as the hypocrisy of those who only know how to feel sorry for themselves, cry victim when they get a taste of their own medicine, and those who cry about life but do nothing except to hope others will take care of it for them.
The only flaw that is difficult to describe is that while the story itself flowed well, the actual transitions felt blotchy at times so it didn't feel natural. This also impacted the romance aspect which wasn't that impressive to me personally but Lee Ha Nee is still one of my favorite actresses. This is why I labeled the review as straightforward. Even though they tried to keep the viewers in suspense at times, it doesn't require much thought process and there's no deeper meaning to have to uncover. You just kick back and enjoy the ride.
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When I first saw this years ago available for stream on Netflix when they still used the star system, I kept avoiding it. The title and the cover did not appeal to me at all. But after exhausting the other high-starred foreign films and enjoying them, I finally caved on this one. Ultimately, the concept of don't judge a book by its cover came into play once again.
This slice-of-life was really well put together and had that magical ability to make you laugh, smile, and cry. For me, one who is far from her teen years, it also instigated self-reflection and a look-back on how much has changed since then.
The plot is seemingly simplistic- a reunion of a group of women who knew one another in high school. It sounds a little bland and a little predictable but it really is much more than that. If you're like me who isn't usually interested in these types of plots, you may also be pleasantly surprised at how much you'll enjoy it.
This is one of the main ones I have recommended to many as an intro into Korean films, all of whom have varying preferences in genres, and I've only ever received positive feedback from them.
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This chronicle of Ji Gong's deeds/travels was still as fun to watch today as it was so many years ago. It is on par with the classic version of Journey to the West and I was ecstatic to find the series on YouTube.
It's worth a search on the internet for the history of this legendary rebellious monk who goes around helping people in need while tricking others out of hurting others. He offends other monks with his ways but is also admired by them. Sad that even those in my generation, particularly those born in the US, likely never even heard of him.
There is also another 20-episode Ji Gong series starring You Benchang in 1998 as well, where he continues to work his magic. It's not necessary a direct sequel, but I considered it as one for this particular actor.
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When I read about the "pink rabbit" in the synopsis, it lowered expectations initially. But I loved it- it added that special element.
Despite the humorous over-exaggeration and the simplistic feel, they managed to incorporate some depth with every personal story. The supernatural aspect was also done much better than many of the more mainstream series in its genre as they didn't attempt to dramatize or glamorize it. And those subtle aspects where they somehow managed to cast actors that actually resemble one another between their youth and later years was also really appreciated. All the characters were likeable in a natural way and the actors fit really well in their roles.
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All of the actors were a brilliant combination and the little girl was not only adorable but amazingly emotive.
No matter what genre you usually prefer, this is one of the few that will cater to most. Don't expect hardcore prisoners, sob stories, exploitation of the handicap, or anything else that is heavy in theme. It isn't trying to be anything. Only for you to follow a turning point in an accused man's life who loves his daughter and experience the impact these two will have on those around them, including you as the viewer.
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Not someone who goes for the romance-heavy genre, but this one was fun and it tugged at the heart-strings. One of its main strengths here is we have a great lead-couple combination and a well-paced relationship development. The star for me is the male lead. I thoroughly enjoyed his micro-expressions, his way of speech, and never got tired of his get out of my face hand gestures. The female lead had the more obvious and emotional expressions which worked great alongside his. Both were pretty well-balanced in personalities. None of them were overly arrogance, overly kindhearted, etc. as you sometimes find with characters in the same genre. It felt natural and the straight-forwardness of their interactions is my cup of tea.
Initially in the early episodes, the female lead's clingy ways were a bit off-putting but given her situation, most people would likely be just as desperate. She won me over in due time.
The blanketing story of our lead female encountering ghosts and assisting them with their requests was done much better than expected. It is imperfect with its inconsistencies, such as the portrayal of them looking horrifying at times and them semi-normal at other times. There also isn't much explanations about their existence. But it isn't meant to be a horror genre and the blend of humor around it forgives this. Instead, it worked very well with the plot momentum and prevented it from having romance drag.
It definitely should be mentioned as well that one of my favorite things about this was the many hilarious statements in the script. One of the earlier ones that come to mind is "I didn't listen to you because I cared. I listened because I've got these ears attached to my head."
While the series has its scattered flaws with an imperfect pacing towards the end, it was one of the rare romance-heavy ones that I enjoyed in its entirety.
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This review may contain spoilers
This series has a little bit of everything so difficult to describe. So let's just say it has a nice combination of that bit of everything when it comes to a crime drama. Nothing was overwhelmingly focused on so it kept my attention at each episode. The dynamics between all of the actors/characters was good and our main defendant did a wonderful job at his role. There wasn't any particular character that was just miraculously tough or continuously useless all the time which was nice.My only negative comments would be the very slightly overly emotional aspect of our main defendant in certain scenes, but also realistic if one can even fathom being in his shoes. I would have appreciated a more brutal and prolonged punishment of our antagonist as he seemed to have been let off a bit too easy. This applies as well to the prosecutor who was supposed to have been a family friend who was apparently forgiven so easily. The guy couldn't properly play the good person or the bad person and only ended up making the choice he did when he realized he was losing. The comedy aspect was a bit off with timing occasionally but was still fun to watch.
Nevertheless, definitely recommend. It does justice to its plot summary.
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The main character was slightly bland but acceptable as that is part of his character. However, the prison guards and the prisoners which had the majority of screen time really made the drama worthwhile. There was a good blend of tearjerker moments and laugh out loud moments. There was a slight discomfort in the ending as I had hoped there would have been better follow-ups on the characters that grew on me, but wasn't bad enough to ruin the series as proven in many other series.
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This review may contain spoilers
A Good Casual Watch
After several starts and drops of various historical dramas, this one was finally able to keep my attention long enough to become invested. The first couple of episodes may be slightly off-putting but it does evolve well and the layer of corniness is part of its charm.Positives:
- There's a good blend of serious moments and light-heartedness/comedy.
- Most of the actors did a good job with their roles.
- The mystery aspect was decent as well as the action scenes but nothing to write home about.
- Almost no romance.
- A good series if you need a break from heavy politics and melodrama.
Negatives:
- The biggest negative for me was the ML (Ding Yu Xi). His acting became increasingly not believable and he only seemed to utilize 3-4 different facial expressions throughout the series. Unfortunate because this really brought the series down a few notches. (And this is already overlooking the extreme corniness to his cat-human form).
- The story takes a somewhat convoluted turn somewhere in the middle, and the flow became messier. It's as if they spend the first half working on the build-up and then just decided to throw everything that was necessary for the plot all in at once, just to be able to complete it.
- While I may able to overlook things like poor villagers suddenly being able to build a hot air balloon in almost no time at all, it was difficult to overlook the reactions to character deaths. There is almost a zero grieving period or any needed emphasis on the deaths of even relevant support characters. Providing flashbacks that doesn't trigger any emotes doesn't cut it, and the almost instantaneous leap to laughing and having a good time shortly thereafter was just not okay.
However, it is a good series that one doesn't need to take seriously and is good for a casual watch. Despite some significant negatives, it still did provide some actual laugh out loud moments.
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