PHope

Good Enough

" Amanza" is an emotional journey of what a terminally ill patient and his family and friends go through. The series is short and it manages to combine not only the various stories of the people around the main lead, his own story but also the animation parts that were a universe of its own. In the end, the drama didn't shy off from showing the hard truth of what happens at the end of a situation like this. No miracles, no fairytale endings, but a closure that somehow made the ending bittersweet.

The performances, in addition, were spot on, with the roller coaster of emotions handled masterfully.

So, overall, eight out of ten.

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" Welcome 2 Life " had a good idea, but they didn't mushed up the two plots nicely.

First of all, although the idea of returning back to life is not original, they did a nice job with the whole building up a nice family atmosphere. The two leads had chemistry, to top it all, so their family dynamics were really good. They had some interesting cases too.

However, they lost the grip on the story flow and in the end it was awkward and it ruined the love story and, worst, the dynamics of the team. The performances, however, were pretty good.

So, overall, five out of ten.

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Good Enough

Korean Drama '' To My Hyeri '' is a psychological melodrama with a romantic story at its core.

The drama starts out pretty strong, with the leading lady killing it with her double personality performance.

The mystery was also intriguing and the melodrama fitted the story nicely.

And yet, everything went downhill halfway through. The drama changed course and emphasized more on the love story and less on its main character, which didn't fit the tone of the drama and made it generic.

Also, the pace was messy and the story felt random.

So, overall, five out of ten.

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Hajimete Koi wo Shita Hi ni Yomu Hanashi reminded me of two other dramas : at first, the Flying Colors (2015), as the guy was trying to overcome himself and everyone's expectations and to score enough to get into uni, and then Chugakusei Nikki, with the younger boy falling for his teacher. And even though I loved these two, I can't say I felt the same about Hajimete Koi wo Shita Hi ni Yomu Hanashi. The story was nice and clever, with the girl having to choose between three quite different men. The rivals in love were actually pretty decent, although the student, who had the coolest hair in 2019, hands down, felt more like a puppy love than anything. Actually, I saw the main character as a strong woman who, yet, needed someone to support her and Yuri was just too young for that. But, there were two other men waiting for her, right?
Part of that part of the romance that just didn't feat for me, the story was kind of slice of life and cute, but, sometimes, it lacked intensity and there were some scenes that were, unfortunately, boring. That said, the performances were really good from everyone and the story's pace well managed.

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The light in your eyes is an odd, surprising drama. It is not what is seemed to be. The story started as a comedy, then it turned into a fantasy drama, and, eventually, it all made sense. The dramatic, melodrama element was really good and the family dynamics touching and strong. The comedy element, however, could have been a bit less, as the story was very dark and sometimes it didn't blend well with it. I also enjoyed the slice of life concept. But the highlight of the drama was the performances that were really good by everyone in the cast, though the younger version of the leading lady kind of didn't match with her older version. Finally, the twist in the ending was probably one of the best twists I've ever watched. So, 8 out of 10.

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A short drama with an okay story but not so great romance. Maybe it was the chemistry that was kind of lacking. At least the ending was original and kind of unexpected, though it did feel like it was cut short. Back to the story, the plot was interesting and kind of heart warming for at least the first few episodes, but then it got a bit too much character centred and lost the family valued dynamics. So, the family drama was entertaining and interesting, but the romance and background story, not so much. Aslo, it was kind of tricky to use a korean idol for the main role, due to the language barrier. Though he wasn't bad with his japanese dialogues, he didn't have much in general, or the girl just narrated his parts or there were korean dialogues to work with.
So, 4 out of 10.

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Sometimes, these old dramas can prove to be gold. As the very first to start the trends of the popular themes in today's dramas, they have an innocence and a nostalgic note to them. However, Sungkyunkwan Scandal was just okay, and after a while, tiring. The story started really well, with an interesting plot and the theme was kind of original and cute. However, the story started to drag after a while. Plus, the leading lady was annoying (not her performance of course, she was really good, but her character was just...eh...) The dynamics of friendship were okay and nice, but the big Scandal didn't have the gravity that it should have unfortunately. So, 3 out of 10.

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On the way to the airport didn't seem like a promising drama. It turns out, it wasn't. The performances were okay, but the drama was quite boring. The drama focuses on the story of two strangers who meet after a tragedy. They are both unhappy with their marriages and after the tragedy they bond till they start an affair. Towards the end, the story got very boring and tiring. Maybe that's because the romance wasn't very strong. The couple's chemistry was weak, and it was hard to identify with them. The family drama was nice enough, especially the story about Annie's background and the mystery concerning her parents. But, that turned out to be a big flop too. The leading lady was very bleak and with no passion, though the actress seemed to have done her best. Maybe one thing that I have to take from this drama was the way it presented the working woman's position in the society and her struggles to maintain a family and a career, though her background is against it. So, 3 out of 10.

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As Chinese dramas tend to be more than 50 episodes long, this one seemed like a treat. That and also the fact that many popular actors were staring in it. So, the first half of the drama was amusing and actually interesting enough. The story was cute and light and had a youthfull vibe into it, with the friendship between the students and the cute love triangle. However, the second half was kind of boring and I've only watched it because of the second couple's story. It just seemed to me that they kept adding twists that were too cliche and unoriginal. Plus, the main couple didn't have enough chemistry, even though in the first half they seemed like they did. I just felt that Tian was more competable with the cute kitty cat girl. The performances were at least nice and the soundtrack good.

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I really really really tried to finish this one. But the story was so tiring that I couldn't commit to it. So, here I am, twelve episodes later, finally giving up on it. So, overall, the story was predictable, unoriginal and bad. The couple didn't really have chemistry, to top that. Also, the pace was slow, and, in addition to the weak twists, made this drama boring. The few positive things about this drama were: the actors, especially the ones in the side stories. Plus, I loved the guy who played the second lead in the love triangle. And, the leading lady was really adorable. The procuction wasn't that bad as well. But, as I am dropping this one (and a few dramas had actually succeeded in making me drop them...) I can't really give this one more than two stars...

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Good Enough

" Backstreet Rookie " is an okay drama.

One should watch it keeping in mind that this is more of a comedy and light-superficial drama, as well as that there were some controversies when it came to some scenes or plotlines. That said, most of the drama was a fun ride. The two main characters were interesting and the leads had chemistry, even though the romance was boring and it didn't have the traditional road.

The side characters were entertaining as well. As for the family drama, it was just enough to keep things interesting for a while. The whole vibes of the drama, in addition, with the action scenes, the webtoon refrences and the colourful background were all a nice touch and were handled masterfully.

However, the final episodes were draggy and boring, not to mention predictable. The whole drama with the ex was just overused after a while.

So, overall, five out of ten.

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I haven't watched the anime, so this review is based only on my experience from the movie. The later, got me confused way too many times. The whole universe that was presented wasn't clear and they didn't explain it properly enough for those of us who had no idea what was all these about. You did get a basic idea as the movie proceeds, but only because you are forced to link things together. Part from that, the idea was interesting, I guess, and the performances very good, as it is expected from Japan's hottest young actors today. The costumes were nice too and the special effects visually pleasing. So, 4 out of 10.

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