Great, but forgettable

'Two Hearts' is a great, short-length sports drama that actually focuses on: guess what - the actual sport it is portraying! (Unlike other short-length sports dramas I've been a fool to watch in the past) a great bromance, the perfect amount and style of romance, and other issues such as teamwork, never giving up, fighting to the top of the ladder etc. which is quite prominent in this genre.

The main things I liked about Two Hearts were the acting, characters and story: in that order from first to third. The acting has to be good with short-themed dramas, and everyone delivered above and beyond my (already high) expectations. There was a perfect blend of characters that gave a perfect balance of underdog athletes, jealous girls, genuine girls, strict coaches etc. which is what is needed in a sports drama. The story isn't the most unique but it is unique enough to warrant it a mention. It wasn't anything breath-taking, but it was admirable and it made me feel good.

Two things that have decreased the rating for this drama: editing and directing, also, the fact that this will be quite a forgettable drama, which I can tell that it will be already, unfortunately. Editing and directing seem a little amateurish, and while the majority is fine, there are definite points where it is hard not to notice the mistakes or amateurish work.

All in all, I do recommend watching 'Two Hearts'.

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Insane

My first J-Drama completed, and perhaps the most insane Asian drama I've watched to date. Coincidence? From what I've heard about J-Dramas... actually, enough said, let's talk about Mosaic Japan. It was such a completely bizarre drama. But it can easily be loved, as long as you don't take it at all seriously. Throw all logic out of the window, and just sit back and take in whatever crazy thing is happening. It's a great drama for those times when you feel like having a "stupid day" or if you feel like watching a "stupid drama".

That being said, the story did feel very rushed, which is easily the biggest downfall of Mosaic Japan. It's so rushed that it feels like this should be a 10 episode drama, but the editors accidentally permanently deleted episodes 2,4,6,8 and 10. It had such great potential. I did like that there were some quite serious aspects of the story which was nice and unexpected. What I also liked about the story was how the company tried to find loopholes with their distribution and editing, the "mosaic" features due to Japanese law etc.

I absolutely loved the characters in this. Absolutely crazy, nearly all of them loveable. All having really interesting personalities and outlooks on life which in turn made for the conversations between them all really enjoyable and unpredictable. I am unfamiliar with all the cast, but I enjoyed the acting too. Especially from the main three characters (if you want to know who they are, feel free to message me, but you can just as easily watch it - which I do recommend, even though the overall score is just 6 out of 10). The OST was small but sweet.

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Short but Sweet

You & It, despite some problems with dialogue flow and camera work, is a short but sweet piece that was enjoyable to watch, and could have scored higher if the story was allowed to develop more. The story isn't the most original, but it is told in an original way to make it 'original enough'. The moral of the story was also something to appreciate.

Despite a few glaring moments that were too hard to miss and ignore, acting can be considered average. Like I said, most times the three actors did their part and performed well, but there were parts that they tried hard to keep professional, but whether it was due to bad dialogue or directing, couldn't do so, and unfortunately, definitely failed.

I think this is something to watch to kill time, honestly. It wasn't good, it wasn't bad, it's just something to watch, to kill time. If more time was allowed for the story, it could have gone either way. It had the potential to be something greater, but I could also see it nosediving into the 'terrible' category. The OST was very impressive, and fit well with the themes of the story.

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Extremely Disappointing

Thumping Spike 2 is the perfect example of an unneeded and irrelevant sequel that unfortunately tarnishes the 'Thumping Spike' name so much that I'm not surprised there hasn't been a third season. This second season felt so forced, and with the removal of the three previous leads, was destined to fail. Maybe it's just me, but the chemistry between the ML and FL in this season felt non-existent, perhaps the least amount of chemistry between a ML and FL I've seen so far in my life. I could go on and rant about how disappointed I have felt over Thumping Spike 2, but, I need to give credit where credit is due. There are a couple of things that I liked, even more so compared to the first season (if you haven't seen my review for the first season of Thumping Spike: spoiler alert, I actually genuinely enjoyed the first season and gave it an overall score of 8/10).

The most notable thing I liked, in fact I think it actually did better than the first season, was the focus on the volleyball/sport aspects. The story was definitely focused more on the playing aspect which I enjoyed, and I quite liked the camera angles and how they filmed the volleyball sequencing. I also loved the OST, which I prefer, only slightly, compared to the first season (although they are both a 10/10).

However, weighing these things that I like, and the things that I disliked, Thumping Spike 2 is a seriously disappointing sequel that I wouldn't recommend. If you haven't watched the original however, I still suggest you to watch that, just do not watch this abysmal of a sequel that feels like a chore to watch by the end.

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Has the ability to make your heart 'thump'

Thumping Spike, apart from a few notable cringe scenes and minor plot holes, is a decent and heart-warming sports-themed short-length drama that can easily be binge-watched. When it comes to the typical drama in the sports genre, the storyline isn't too unique but it wasn't predictable either, which is what I think was needed here. When sports dramas are either too unrealistic or predictable, it can ruin the drama for me, or at least the sporting elements and thankfully, Thumping Spike and its' creation of the Daehan Volleyball Team (the name of the volleyball team in this drama) had the right characterisation and chemistry to avoid this potential catastrophe. It wasn't perfect though, I would have definitely liked to have seen more screen time regarding the playing of volleyball - I understand that due to shorter episode length, this is a difficult feat to get everything right, but there was at one point when I told myself while watching "Oh, wait, they play volleyball, don't they? When will we see that again?", which is something a viewer shouldn't really be having to remind themselves of.

Acting was mostly solid, with a few exceptions, which can also be said about the casting choice. Maybe it is just me but when it comes to a school setting, I do prefer actors who actually look like they could be in school. One cast member was purposely chosen to look older, which I did find funny, but there were other members who were put in there seriously, but I wasn't too 'fooled' by it, if that is the right term or phrase. OST was absolute perfection however! Every song made my heart flutter, and I cannot wait to listen to each amazing song on this OST as soon as possible. I was also pleasantly surprised by the production value, I thought the camera work was done perfectly. Re-watch value may be 'low' in your terms, but I am known to have a lower-than-average 'rewatch value' rating so don't look into that too much.

All in all, would I recommend this drama? Absolutely. Check it out right now!

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One of the greatest surprises ever

I can understand why many people may dislike or even feel uncomfortable watching Tree of Heaven. However, for me, I found everything to complement each other perfectly, especially by making characters with totally different personalities and ideals to be mixed with one another, and the situations that resulted in this creation. I love this sort of 'slow burn/is it romance/what is this' type of romance, and the combination of this and the unpredictability of other events in this drama made Tree of Heaven something I didn't want to finish (because I wanted to savour every little moment), but was too brilliant not to binge by the end.

Park Shin Hye (FL) deserves an individual shout out for her phenomenal performance here - and this is even when the acting by all of the casted members was a great sight to see. This compliment is coming from someone who thought she was just a 'good' actress. Now I know she's definitely more than good! This character helped her performance shine so bright, a perfect casting choice.

OST was absolutely perfect too, there's even a 'song' that contains whistling only, and still manages to fit into the story perfectly and is so catchy that I kept humming or whistling during the times I wasn't watching Tree of Heaven. Also, I'm not much of a 're-watcher' but even I was replying scenes in my first watch through as I just loved watching the repeating moments.

Like I said before, I understand why people may not like this. But I definitely recommend people to give Tree of Heaven a try, and find out for yourself.

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A little too bizarre at times, but still a decent watch

'Happy And', a decent watch for someone who may be experiencing a slight drama slump and is looking to return back to watching dramas, due to it's focus on the vast range of different stories with multiple mains in a 'miniseries' type format. While some stories are certainly greater than others, they all focus on love, relationships, marriage etc. with some exploring this with the 'affair' route, and others without. I did quite like the seriousness of the relationships, although some storylines were just too bizarre for me to take seriously. Production quality was also pretty decent for 2011 standards, and I also liked the involvement of the sweet but subtle OST that lingered here and there.

Now, the acting. We have four female leads here, and I believe all four are involved in three separate stories each - while some support actors were in more than one story - confusing, isn't it? One thing I liked about the acting, when it worked at least, really showed the ability of the actors and their versatility playing different characters. However, this didn't work all the time, as some performances weren't that good (although I would be curious to see each female lead in another drama to see more of their acting). Acting wasn't terrible though, and like I said, for the most part, it was good!

I managed to finish this just in time. Netflix's 'last day to watch' is tomorrow on December 14th, 2021 in my country. Let's hope, if you're wanting to check out this drama (which I do recommend) , you'll be able to find a platform to watch it on.

'Happy And' - a little too bizarre at times, but still a decent watch!

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Improved Story, Dialogue seems to be repetitive

Chief of Staff 2 succeeds in having a greater story compared to it's first season, but it's enjoyment becomes a little weakened due to repetitive dialogue that eventually becomes tiresome. The story connects greatly from the first season and answers many questions viewers may have had after the final episode of the first season, along with many twists and turns to keep the viewer on the edge of their seats (some twists and turns were predictable, but others really weren't, which I really enjoyed). One thing I love about both seasons of Chief of Staff and Chief of Staff 2 respectively is the realism in their story, alongside greatly built characters and character development.

Even though it was ten episodes, some episodes, like in the first season, did feel quite slow, and that's the reason why the re-watch value may be a little low here, but I still recommend people to check this series out, especially if you enjoy dramas in the politics genre etc. Acting was again great, although the tiniest bit weaker compared to it's first season in my eyes, but nothing of a major difference so don't worry! OST was also amazing, so no complaints about that. All in all, again, a decent watch.

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Good Action...

Holy Land had some great action scenes, and is definitely a nice watch, if the only thing you crave is the fighting scenes, because in terms of an actual story, it doesn't offer too much - which unfortunately is a downside to having a drama with few episodes, as characters do need more time to be built, especially with a story like this one. However, the acting was great, and while I am unfamiliar with nearly all the cast members, has made me intrigued regarding the cast, to say the least. If Holy Land had more episodes, this could have perhaps had more potential - but then again, during the last episode, boredom was creeping in, so who knows what would have happened if there were more!

The OST was sublime until the very last song made me go 'What the - is this?!'. Rewatch value is low, but I still recommend people to watch Holy Land, like I said before, if they are craving some pure action, and not wanting too much (story-wise).

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Nice Surprise

Pinocchio was definitely a nice surprise, and if I hadn't found the last few episodes a tad underwhelming, could have scored a 9.5 or even perhaps a 10 as a final rating. The story was easy to follow, made sense, and had the right amount of characters to keep the interest going. The chemistry between the two main leads was definitely there, and while I did lose the connection with Pinocchio when it came to the final few episodes, I still have to admit that the two main leads here are one of my favourite on-screen couples I've witnessed to date. I also really liked the OST and acting and chemistry of nearly all the other cast members.

Pinocchio was definitely a nice surprise and I am sad now that I have finished it. There were a few cast members that I were unfamiliar with before watching this, and now since watching Pinocchio, I am interested in watching their other work. I recommend this drama to anyone and everyone.

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If you know the cast, you'll know it's a great watch

Just considering the fact that Healer was released in the year 2014 amazes me considering how far ahead of time it was and how much of a trend-setter this drama became for many future releases in the same sort of genre. Acting and casting was perfect - if you are familiar with the cast you'll know this is a great watch anyway - OST was surprisingly superb too! I wasn't too sure on the 20 episode length at first but Healer was never boring so the 20 episode length was a success!

I did get K2 and Vagabond vibes from this however since Healer was released first, I should say the opposite now! I am not surprised that Healer is in the top #10 most popular K-Dramas on MDL right now. Simply amazing!

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Ehh.

First things first, for me, the first two episodes of Lovestruck in the City were so slow I think I would have preferred to watch paint dry. I was heavily considering to drop it after watching the first two episodes - but decided to give the next episode a chance before I did. Thankfully from the third episode onwards - improvement! While I still was never really truly brought into the universe of Lovestruck in the City there were good parts - most notably the acting and chemistry of the cast.

I don't think there should be a second season, but it's possible. I might check it out but it won't be a high priority for me. Also, I think people who watch romance dramas on a regular basis compared to someone like me will enjoy this more, so check it out!

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Emotion. Emotions. Emotional.

Prison Playbook makes you think leaps and bounds about the society of the world which has been structured into the modern day. Okay, well, maybe it's not that deep, but it could be on the perspective. An all-star cast and the chemistry that goes along with it create a spectacular story which will open your hearts and at least open your mind into having a conversation to yourself about the real world. Maybe not ALL prisoners are bad people.

The OST was perfect, it included songs from all different genres and was placed in perfect appropriateness when in-line with scene selection. The rewatch value may be a little high, but thanks to lockdown it has an advantage. Plus, although the episodes are roughly 1 hour and 30 minutes long, it really doesn't feel that way.

I suggest everyone to watch Prison Playbook - that is, of course, if they like amazing dramas.

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The first episode alone is the greatest first episode not only in K-Drama but in television as a whole, after you watch the first episode you are guaranteed to be hooked. Thankfully, the amazing episodes didn't stop there, it continued to be amazing and more amazing.

Biggest plot twist I think I have ever seen, I honestly which English television shows could think of something so great! Acting is phenomenal and each and every character you will gain a strong opinion on. I was familiar with a few actors/actresses before watching Stranger and some I haven't been so familiar on, but they all work so great together I have to admit this is perhaps the greatest cast ensemble too!

I may be living under a rock but I believe the second series has been confirmed? If not then make another season!! I could name so many events that could happen in the next one it legitimately makes me so excited. Stranger is a must watch show!

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I have to be honest, the first few episodes and I was only partly interested in the series, however, by the fourth or fifth episode, I was completely hooked. What I love about this show is that there are many different characters, but they all include strong lovable or dark personalities, really making you engage in the show.

I hope there is a second season, however, considering the first series was in 2018, I think if there was a second season, it would have been released by now (unless I am dumb and a second season is already confirmed).

The last three or four episodes are absolute masterpieces, maybe the best episodes of K-Drama in existence, every single actor played their part significantly well and the scriptwriting was easy to follow and enjoy.

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