PHope

My first ever Japanese drama was like a shoujo movie mixed with a nice k drama like ending. The story was cute and sweet, the romance okay and the twists interesting. The best thing, however, about this drama was the great scenery. Every place that they visited was beautiful, with the sea side and the summer atmosphere. The cooking scenes were nicely executed, without showing the characters as armatures or that the dishes were already made and the actors just added a few touched here and there. The romance was nice, though the love triangle weak and it only happened towards the end. But because the drama didn't focus mostly on the romantic story, and added depth regarding each character and their personality, it helped it to avoid being boring. The ending was classic cheesy cliché airport ending, which didn't have any originality. Finally, the performances were really good, supporting the drama greatly. So, 7 out of 10.

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Not Good Enough

Korean Drama " Through The Darkness " is a chronicle of criminal cases through the lenses of a homicide team.

The drama has some interesting aspects, like the first few criminal cases. But, quickly, it became predictable and messy. Especially messy due to the time jumps that got confusing and tiring. The entertaining factor got less and less with the episode as well.

The performances, on the other hand, were all pretty great and aided the drama a lot, mainly since the main characters were dominating the scenes.

The cinematography, on the other hand, was messing the timeline.

So, overall, 4 out of 10.

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Good Enough

" My Unfamiliar Family " had loads and loads of drama. One misfortune followed another, as we follow the 'misadventures' of a family with three grown up kids.

We are immediatly droped into their family life, at the time when the mother decides to graduate from her marriage, a decision that provoked a series of revealed secrets, dramas and revelations. We get to see what had happened and their relationships, as well as who's who through flashbacks, narrations and some recollections from the main characters. The way that all these were presented was quite interesting, actually, and made the drama pretty intense and exciting.

However, there were times when all these things that kept happening turned the story a bit stuffy and, thus, tiring. The romance was a slow burn love story, that, unfortunately, was rushed in the ending.

Other than that, the performances were top notch and the pacing matched the story perfectly.

So, overall, seven out of ten.

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Not Good Enough

" Dinner Mate " started smoothly, but quickly started dragging.

The first few episodes of the drama were interesting. It was a fun ride to watch the main characters meet by chance again and again, but being ignorant of who they were in reality (him being the doctor the girl was trying to track down and her being the broadcasting employee whom he was trying to avoid). That scene with the cheating boyfriend on the island was pure entertainment as well and it gave the couple a solid start. Finally, the female lead was one of the best characters of the drama, as she was unconventional for Korean drama standards, dynamic, strong opinioned, and a delight to watch till the very final episode. In addition, the story of the homeless man and the director of the broadcasting company was quite interesting and sweet.

However, the drama started lagging after those first episodes. It was disappointing to discover that, even though the description and the name itself indicated that the couple will bond over food, there were few to non foodie moments. So why go with that concept if you aren't going to use it? Just say that is about people with exes and emotional problems that heal each other. I mean, I get this is based on a manhwa which probably used the two characters as dinner mates, but the drama did not. Also, speaking about the exes, they were okay at first, but they got way too annoying. In addition, the introduction of them wasn't smooth when it came to the female lead. We first saw her going on a surprise trip, hoping to get proposed by her boyfriend, so she clearly was over her, let's call him main ex. But no, another one was thrown to us out of nowhere. I mean, the male lead was straight forward about his ex girlfriend and his feelings for her. But for the girl, the whole situation was messy. However, that was not the main problem with the exes. It was interesting that they had a background story to boot their motives, but they were way too obsessive, especially the girl's ex, and that got tiring after a while, as she kept telling him that she was over him and he just kept bothering her.

Also, the main romance was boring. They didn't start on romantic premises, which was a relief and refreshing. However, they became a couple a bit too rushly and that did not help with the built-up of the love story. The drama got boring too, as the story repeated cliche trops when it came to the main plot.

So, overall, four out of ten.

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" Hyena " was a legal drama with two intense characters.

Actually, the two main characters were the heart and soul of the whole drama. Especially the leading lady, who, more often than not, dominated her scenes and overshadowed her partner. However, she did got a bit endearing after a while. The subtle romance with the male lead was messy and probably should have been avoided, as they have better chemistry as partners rather than lovers. The theme about lawyers representing the elite was kind of refreshing, as most legal dramas tend to go for the more emotional, underdog stories. However, soon it was obvious that the cases were more about one family in particular rather than a series of cases. And it got a bit boring too.

So, overall, six and a half out of ten.

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Good Enough

Korean Drama '' Doona! '' is a romantic melodrama about a troubled celebrity who meets an ordinary man who seems to not know who she is.

The drama starts off pretty great, with the story being intriguing enough to make the audience want to know more about Doona and her past as she struggles with her relationship with her ex agend, her family, her career, and her current loneliness, as she is only now starting to get to know who she is really as a person and not as an idol persona. So, her story was interesting and nicely presented, as it shows the dark side of showbiz.

On the other hand, the romance was boring. The pace of the love story was all over the place, the story too basic, and the ending more or less predictable. However, it was interesting to watch how the couple help each other grow and change.

Finally, the performances were all great by everyone in the cast, especially the main leads. The cinematography was impressive as well.

So, overall, five out of ten.

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I've expected this to be better than it ended up being, as the story seemed intriguing and the mange on which this film was based on is quite popular. However, the result was rather boring. The story did had some originality at first and it had it's funny moments, mainly due to the leading actor who was really good portraying a man who was turned into a teenager again. However, most of the events of this film were just the same ones you'll probably find in any other Japanese manga school movie: the festival, the school fair, the trip etc. I would rather had the story focusing more on the main character and his journey to change himself and become a better future self. Finally, the love story was okay, had it's twists and surprises, but the two actors didn't have much chemistry to work with. So, 4 out of 10.

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Good Enough

" It's okay to not be okay " is a conceptional drama. It nailed the atmosphere and the whole gothic, fairytale, mysterious, dark and eerie. The addition of the books worked fantastically, the setting was brilliant and the clothes of the leading lady influential.

The story, however, of the drama was stretched. Looking back into it, nothing happened for some episodes, and the final result was the kind of 'easy' conclusion of the whole mother mystery. The side stories were underdeveloped and boring too. So, no, they didn't work on the story too much, as they focused on the clever dialogue and the atmosphere.

Nevertheless, even though storywise my rating would have been 5.5, I can't really rate it less than 7 because of the performances. The three main actors were breathtaking, especially in the dramatic scenes and one should only watch it for those performances only! (and no, I'm not a fan of the actors, but I can't stress enough how excellent they were! plz give them an award!!)

So, overall, seven out of ten (10/10 for the actors, 5/10 for the story)

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" Memorist " was a heavy drama, but with a nice mystery.

The plot was packed with action, twists, and drama that at some point it got tiring. However, the two main characters were dominating without overshadowing each other, or having a romantic plot to follow, which would have ruined their dynamics and the atmosphere of the drama. Actually, all the characters were complex and interesting.

The fantasy element was handled perfectly as well. And the mystery was unpredictable enough to keep things interesting till the very ending. The friendship of the police team was, in addition, a nice comedy relief.

Finally, the performances were great from all the members of the cast.

So, overall, seven out of ten.

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Good Enough

Korean Drama "Run On" is a healing slow-paced drama with a realistic view when it came to the romantic relationships. However, the drama's story other than the romance was weak. They didn't really expand on it, the family drama was rushly resolved, the sports theme that was pretty interesting at first with the scandal, was lukewarm and the side characters were added here and there to provide coverage of the gaps between the love stories.

The drama also lost its charm in the final episodes, with some boring scenes and a pretty slow pace. The product placement in this one was also ridiculous, with actual scenes being created for the sole purpose of the placement. Another minus of this drama was the fact that, except for the leading lady, the other characters felt pretentious at times, like they were trying hard to fit in the description of their personalities.

Other than that, the drama had a nice atmosphere, with a slow tempo and some nice aesthetics. The female lead was an interesting character and the performances from everyone in the cast were pretty good. The love stories had a realistic aspect to them, as well, which was refreshing and unique.

So, overall, 6.5 out of 10.

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