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KimchiByTheSea
This review may contain spoilers
A foundational story about self love and the importance of leaning on others
This was a roller-coaster ride of emotions, and one I will likely jump back into again. I came for the story, but stayed for the message and wonderful acting. Top notch kudos to everyone involved in this.Okie dokie, lets get to it. This drama is likely not for everyone, and I struggled to get past the first couple episodes with a love/hate relationship for Ko Mun-yeong. There were certain elements that came off as highly manipulative and downright unhealthy between the two main leads, but it gets better later on. If you're looking for a healing message, character development, chemistry, and spot on acting then this is a one stop shop. It is also so aesthetically shot that it is a pleasure to watch. They were very meticulous about the appearance of the set, clothes, and angles/lighting. I got some Hotel Del Luna/IU vibes from Ko Mun-yoeng for sure.
The story, while I found it a little vague, was really propelled forward by the growing relationships between the characters. There are definitely some common tropes in here, but I easily overlooked them in favor of the messages sprinkled generously throughout. I would have liked some better explanations of a few happenings, but I was so focused on the emotions portrayed, I barely noticed the inconsistencies. I was thoroughly pulled in by everybody's acting and backstories. They really did a wonderful job at approaching parental abuse, denial, alcohol abuse, and ptsd. There were many other messages in here, and I honestly can't write about all of them, but I have such an appreciation for the healing part of this drama. It truly teaches it's okay to not be okay.
While there were many tropes throughout this (I can't stand the leave for your own good cliché) they handled it so well, and portrayed the need to lean and help others in a heart touching way. It was beautiful. There are serious elements, but they do keep humor sprinkled in there with it to break up the monotony. I really could go on and on about the acting. It really shined in here and I have no complaints.
The OST is stunning. I will definitely listen to that on its own. There are some OST's that stand out, and this is one of them.
All in all, a drama with a beautiful message and damn good acting. I would recommend if you're looking for something character driven and emotionally provoking.
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If you are searching for a fluffy, relatively light show to fill your time, then Girlfriend fits the bill. The series has three couples it follows, as well as your requisite "villians" of the story. The plot is nothing we haven't seen before, but I appreciate the female leads in this drama greatly as they, for the most part, were strong and stood up for themselves. Their relationships are sweet and caring, and you get to watch as they get past the growing pains of they respective relationships. Also, shout-out to the writers for skipping the evil mother trope, and replacing her with a kind and caring mother instead. She was fierce but supportive, and that was lovely.
The con on this is that it was longer than it needed to be. If you want to do yourself a favor, skip through episodes 30-34. You won't be missing much, and it's less tiring than trying to deal with the unneeded drama crammed into those few episodes. Right around then, several of the characters start acting out of character as well, which makes it a little annoying.
All is well in drama land though as they pick it back in the last two episodes and everybody lives happily ever after. Even our villians, who learn that their efforts were superficial at best. The acting is fine, nothing too ground breaking, but the actors convey the story well. The music was sub-par. Nothing really emotionally evoking.
All in all, Girlfriend is not a bad drama, and is pretty enjoyable for the most part. If your looking for something light and sweet, this may be your boo.
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If I had to say one thing about this series, it would be probably be that it's short, sweet, and to the point. I loved the short words about love at the end of each episode, and all the characters contributed to the overall storyline. This short drama follows the lives of several tenants in an all boys apartment building. The landlord is Yaoi loving and crazy, which leads to a lot of fun and out of the blue scenarios. The music is fun, and humor in YYY is wild and off the wall.
If chaotic humor and BL is your thing, then this is probably for you.
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The two main actors did a wonderful job. Because the drama is so short (each episode is only ten minutes long) it would have been necessary to cram as much in each episode as possible. And they did. The interactions between Gang Gook and Tae Joo are sweet, angsty, and filled with repressed tension. The takes are shot nicely, and make everything feel more intimate between the two. The music is wonderful as well. Kudos to everyone involved in this, I enjoyed it thoroughly.
My only complaint is that it's too short. I could have happily watched way more of these two.
Definitely give this one a try. It's short, sweet, and to the point, but oh so worth it!
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Three Fates Intertwined
Is it the demons we should be afraid of, or are humans the scariest of all?First things first, TW's for explicit gore (even though they blur it out, it is pretty aggressive), excessive violence, and other dark elements.
This is the dark tale of a demon who is determined to wreak havoc on the world and the three people who fight him with everything they have. They say Sohn comes from the East Sea, and he comes to prey on those who have fears or anger living inside them. By the hand of fate, three children's lives intertwine through Park II Do (Sohn) after he kills their parents/loved ones. They all meet again when they get older and come together to hunt down and eradicate Park II Do who has been hiding the whole time. We follow along on their exorcisms and dangerous mishaps. There is plenty of mystery to go around, and they basically run circles around who the true culprit is. I was quite impressed with how well the story continued to lead bread crumbs while keeping me on my toes to the very end.
The acting is very on point. I cringed, cried, and cheered our good guys on. Everything was believable right down to the demonic possession and the desperation in our main characters. There is no romance, but there wasn't any room for it in the plot and the chemistry between the three mains stands out wonderfully. I think the only thing I would critique about The Guest would be how lengthy it was. I'm not sure if it was all the dark elements with barely any reprieve, but it did feel a little long for my liking. It was to build suspense, which it did well, but I think it could have been shortened a little bit along the way. However, it hit the nail on the head for the horror, thriller, and mystery storyline so I'm not too hung up on it. The OST is hauntingly beautiful and I suggest checking it out even if this drama doesn't seem like your cup of tea.
All in all, a good drama and well worth the watch. I would recommend if you're looking for something with dark, serious, and rewarding content.
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Provocative, Deep, & Sadly Beautiful
Persona is a mini-series with four episodes, each clocking at about twenty-ish minutes each, and each episode is beautifully shot. The director caught every movement and shift of IU and the other actors in an entrancing way.Each story has a meaning behind it, and really one you have to look for. The first episode is a little twisted in it's plotline, and didn't seem to have any real meaning to interpret, but the acting is very up close and personal in it. The stories do not connect in any way, but I think show the different sides of human nature (hence the name). It ultimately confronts the personas that we present to the world. This is definitely a look deeper kind of drama, and not made for a lighthearted watch.
While I have so many mixed feelings about Persona, I will probably watch again at some point to see if I can pick up on anything else. All in all, I would recommend if you're looking for a short watch with good acting, and not too many strings attached to the plotlines.
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Full of plotholes, but endlessly endearing
Twinkling Watermelon is about eighteen year old Ha Eun Gyeol traversing through life as his parents "angel" and how that stacked a burden on his shoulders until he blows up. In a fun bit of magic, he then becomes a blast from the past and meets his father. Shenanigans ensue.To be quite honest, I struggled to get through the first half of this drama and failed to see what others enjoyed so much. Characters were annoying, I disliked certain plotlines, and thought it had no direction besides relying on chaotic humor and a prevailing feeling of anticipation for already known events. The MC's everyday adventures were not enough to capture my interest, and I wondered if I should continue.
Probably around episode seven or eight is when I felt myself being pulled in, and I'm extremely glad I continued watching. The plotlines all gather up in a cohesive bundle, the characters redeem themselves without sacrificing their base motivations, and the developed relationships between all of them tugged on my heartstrings continuously. Twinkling Watermelon has a perfect blend of magic, storyline, and family relations to keep you watching. It's a bit cheesy at points but endearing, enough angst to keep the plot propelled but not so much it bogged it down, and everything was drawn up neatly.
There are plotholes concerning the time travel, but I just squinted and pretended they weren't there. It's not too glaring of an issue at the end of the day.
All in all, I would recommend you watch for a lovely story about found family. It's not a wholly light watch, but it is a pleasantly surprising one.
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A smile on a silver platter
King the Land is a wholesome delight.It mainly follows the lives of Sa Rang and her three friends, along with Gu Won and his assistant. Honestly, there's nothing new to this story. It's your typical CEO and the beautiful woman that catches his attention and never lets it go kind of drama. King the Land is the tropiest of the tropes. If you don't want cliches and overused scenes (one even so closely recycled from another series I thought I was hallucinating) then give this drama a pass.
That being said, I really enjoyed this! The storyline is bland at best but the interactions, character growth, and and acting is fun to watch. There are hardly any drawn out misunderstandings and battles are won quickly, which was refreshing as I sometimes am looking for something a little less stressful. This drama is full of wholesomeness at every turn, healthy couples (even the one that wasn't) and supportive relationships. Any ounce of negativity is quickly demolished.
The last two episodes did drag a bit, especially since all the storylines had been tied up nicely by that point, but it was still easy to watch.
All in all, I would recommend if you're looking for something light, fun, and sweet to watch!
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If you're looking for an in between heavy drama filler, than this is definitely your boo. The story itself is nothing new, but the two main actors and the secondary characters give it life. The cinematography is very lovely and, given the extremely short length, the BL relationship develops quite quickly. I feel like a Korean BL pro at this point because, in due form to their current LGBTQ acceptance, the series was over quickly but was still enjoyable for me. Don't go in to this expecting amazing plot development, well fleshed out characters, and neatly tied bows on the storyline. This doesn't have any of those. That being said, I would fully welcome a complete series featuring this storyline as there is so much they didn't follow up on. The chemistry between the two leads is spot on and we get A LOT of up close an personal shots of them looking into each other's eyes. My BL heart was screaming in happiness and second-hand embarrassment the whole time. The acting was really good and I actually loved Sang Yi's character. The music was pretty decent and nice to listen to, which I would expect from a music based series. There are no surprises here, but it did keep a smile on my face.
All all all, a cute and short series that doesn't accomplish too much but left a very sweet, albeit cheesy, feeling behind. I would say give it a go as it doesn't take up too much time and is a nice filler mini-series.
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If you're not looking for clichés or seeking jaw-dropping acting and plotlines, stop here. This is not for you. The storyline is very rich man and poor love interest, but the BL version. The first few episodes are hard to watch to be honest. I fully embraced skipping through just enough to understand the characters, and mustered through to the better parts. Around episode four is when the plot and acting picks up, and it becomes more watchable. The acting is still just passable until the last three episodes, but the casts chemistry with each other makes up for all the downfalls of My Day.
This has a very Disney feel to it, which fanciful music and over the top scenes with many being laughably dramatic. The villain is believably awful. There a couple things I would have ultimately have liked to be fixed in My Day, but it was an enjoyable watch past a certain point. Definitely not groundbreaking, but cute.
What really shines in this is the chemistry between the two ML's. They're adorable, act naturally together (even in their awkwardness) and have some fire scenes. I came for the ship and stayed for their interactions. Their acting in the last two episodes was great (in my opinion) and they delivered some emotional scenes well.
All in all, not the best series of the year, but the couple outshines its surroundings. I would recommend if you're looking for a light BL, but are okay with a tolerable storyline.
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Lust & Love
Buckle up for this movie, because for two hours, The Handmaiden will pull you in, disgust, and captivate you.I went into this honestly not expecting too much, but the cinematography really captured me immediately. It is shot beautifully, albeit bluntly, and is very vibrant. I got some The Illusionist vibes from this movie with they way they approached the mystery and trickery. A forewarning though, this is by no means a light watch. There is sexual abuse, torture, serious themes, a suicide flashback (not the main characters, so no worries), and some pretty explicit sex scenes in this. If you're not comfortable with those, this might not be for you. Kay, on to the rest.
The acting was on point for TH. Everything and everybody pulled this together, and it is a very intense watch. I was thoroughly disgusted, happy, and thrilled throughout. There really was no disappointment for this. There was a scene where Sook Hee destroys erotic books, and that scene especially stood out. It was truly heartbreaking and freeing to watch. The acting shone and the chemistry between the two FL's is off the charts.
The story is a deep one. It follows a woman who is being used for her beauty and her uncle who is sexually obsessed with her, and plans to marry her for her fortune and to own her. It's some pretty raunchy stuff. There is some near full on nudity as well as genitals depicted in this so prepare yourself. This deals with mature elements such as sexual abuse (I'm reiterating because it is HEAVY) and mental abuse. Escaping her torturer was her only goal, but Hideko finds love in Sook Hee instead. There are some twists to this story, which I really enjoyed. TH was ultimately about escaping your abuser and the happiness you can find in the right person. The ending was wonderful as I only wanted happiness for the two.
Music wasn't such a heavy element in this, but the ending song was quite pretty.
All in all, I would recommend if you're looking for a short watch with depth to it. It is dark, but rewarding.
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Disclaimer: I have not watched the prequel to this so this review is purely on the mini series.
When I read the synopsis about a crime solving unit made up entirely of women, for women, I jumped in with high expectations. I'm all there for a supernatural crime show. This gave me some very light Memorist/He is Psychometric vibes, and I wanted a lot from this show. I would have been totally happy watching twenty episodes of this with a fully fleshed out backstory and mystery/romance line. Although I felt it was too short to completely show the storyline the love it deserved, they did put as much content into ten episodes as possible.
The story was definitely there though, and they work hard to give you a gradual reveal. I enjoyed the development throughout the episodes, along with the side crimes that they solved to connect the dots and fill time. The music was fun and catchy, and they used instrumental pieces in scenes to set the tone nicely. There is a tiny amount of cheesiness, but I think that goes along with the territory of most J-dramas. I loved the cast and the diversity of the woman on the unit, and what each brought to the screen. There is sadness, humor, mystery, and some very light romance in this.
A quick TW: There is a full episode devoted to a serial rapist case that has a couple scenes which could be triggering for some. (Some scenes where they pin girls, talk provocatively to them, and wave a knife in their face) The episode was great for addressing the way society views rape, and its affects on the victims, but could be sensitive for some.
All in a good, light commitment, watch, and definitely girl power friendly. I would recommend if you're in between series or looking for short but enjoyable watch.
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Mystery, Murder & Malcontents
If Agatha Christie had been a mystery solving trio, it would be the three mains of this drama.Miss Truth follows the two mains story, Ran Yan and Xiao Song, along with the third loveable (in his own way) assassin, Su Fu. Ran Yan is a rebellious body examiner who sticks her nose in all sorts of happenings and is smart and capable. It was highly enjoyable to watch her run around and bargain her way into cases. This is very much a Sherlock-esque drama that is based in the Tang dynasty. There is an overall plot in Miss Truth with little cases peppered all throughout that tie together at the end.
It was a fun journey to get to know the characters and try to figure out the ultimate villains. There are enough twists and turns to make for an easy and riveting watch. The acting was decent, and each character has their own unique qualities. There were equal parts comedy, romance, and thrill to this that kept it from be monotonous. Sang Chen and Bai Yi were probably my favorite characters in this as they made for a lovely comedic pair.
The only thing I could complain about is the romance in this. It was quite lackluster, and there is a love triangle. If you're not into super dramatic and sad love triangles, you might want to steer clear of this. The main relationship came off as more possessive rather than undying love. There was also some heavy SLS in this one, and it made it difficult to enjoy the main couple.
All in all, an enjoyable mystery drama with enough suspense to keep you wanting to watch. I would recommend if you're looking for something with plot and enjoyable relationships, with a peppering of dramatic romance.
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"We're just little dots that were forced into a world like this. That's why someday we search for another dot to connect with. Someone that we can form a line with and live on."Disclaimer: I have not read the manga that this is based on, so this is purely based on the live action adaptation.
This is a sweet miniseries about being true to your happiness and not living your life according to others expectations. It was cute, happy, and sad. I couldn't help but be angered at the sudden in life makes mistakes. The story line is a little rushed along the way, but it is only four episodes, so I wasn't surprised. The development of their lives together was lovely, and for the most part adorable. Make sure to watch past the credits in the last episodes as there are two more scenes that really tie up the drama nicely.
The acting was done well. At no point did I feel it was lacking. The ML's had lovely chemistry and conveyed their emotions across the screen. The music was very pretty and suited Life nicely.
Also, if you're a fan of Make Our Days Count, but dissatisfied at the ending, the last episode has a very random, but awesome easter egg.
All in all, a nice watch. It was romantic and heartwarming with a touch of angst for conflict. I would give it a go if you're looking for a short and sweet BL to watch.
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The main couple is extremely cute and are quick to work out misunderstandings. There really wasn't a second male love interest, which I appreciated. If the couple had problems, they were quickly worked out, and the male lead works really hard to learn about love. There were a lot of cute moments in here between the side characters as well. The biggest thing I didn't care for out of this drama was Fu Pei's character. I just couldn't make myself like his storyline. Also, the mom who kept pressuring them about dating and marriage. Wasn't a huge fan of that.
All in all, nice filler drama to occupy your time if your looking for something that is relatively noncommittal and sweet.
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