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JulyMoon

夢の中で

JulyMoon

夢の中で
Completed
Break the Silence: The Movie
11 people found this review helpful
Sep 10, 2020
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

The newest movie from BTS

I've been planning to go and watch Break The Silence on the big screen in the cinema again just like last year with Bring The Soul and today I watched it. I'm going to compare those two movies as it helps to explain what I liked and disliked.

When I had watched Bring The Soul I had been so flashed that I felt rather strange when I came out of the cinema. This feeling was non-existent today and that's probably because Break The Silence is not as much an emotional rollercoaster as Bring The Soul had been.
I'm not saying it was boring, because I never find any BTS content boring. The guys have so many wise things to say in their interviews and it's always a pleasure to listen to their thoughts on concerts and their career so far.
They once again impressed me with their insights and how open they are talking about their feelings and insecurities.
A lot of times in this movie they reflect on their beginnings, saying no one of them expected to ever be this successful.
They also left negative things behind and I got the impression that they grew from these hardships and have a new perspective on such things. You can certainly see that they changed/grew and that this also goes for their motivations.

Unlike last year's movie Bring The Soul, there are less funny moments in Break The Silence. There are scenes where you have to smile and think "that's so Jin" or "typical J-Hope" for example but it's not the same. I remember crying from laughter during their last movie and being really touched by sad moments and that certainly wasn't the case here.
So on the emotional part this movie didn't have the same effect on me.
Personally, I miss such scenes because it was a joy to giggle due to a lot of small moments between them or wipe a tear when it was sad and it's what made me feel like I've been on a rollercoaster ride of life with all its ups and downs last year after the movie.
The positive aspect is that we get to see a lot of their tour material and more insight to their on and off stage personalities as they are talking about what the difference is between them (if there is such a thing).
The footage of their concerts includes Chicago, New York, São Paulo, London, Paris, Osaka, Riyadh and Seoul.
It surprised me to see that "Hitman" Bang, Bang Si-hyuk, their producer and founder of Big Hit was attending their concert in London. This definitely hits differently when you were there too.

All in all I do not regret watching this movie. It gave wonderful insight to their Love Yourself, Speak Yourself Tour and I enjoyed watching. I might like it slightly less than Bring The Soul but the movie is another worthwhile 90 minutes spent on it.

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Completed
Code Blue: The Movie
7 people found this review helpful
Jun 13, 2021
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 10

Wrap up of the entire series

First of all, I highly recommend watching Code Blue in the right order. From season 1 to the movie which is the official end, this series has a red thread going through.

The order of watching is:
Code Blue Season 1 (2008)
Code Blue Special (Farewell Facing Tomorrow) (2009) (connects Season 1 and 2)
Code Blue Season 2 (2010)
Code Blue Season 3 (2017)
Code Blue: Another Everyday (Spin-Off) (2018)
Code Blue Mou Hitotsu No Senjou Special (2018) (Sequel and bridge to movie)
Code Blue: The Movie (2018)

The Movie is the last adaption and tells the story of the flight doctors until their future paths.
Maybe the story is a bit dramatic but it's not getting to a point of being ridiculous or unrealistic for me. Also from scriptwriters/production point of view it's understandable they want to fill in action and some "blasts" before the end.
I can hardly even think of anything negative because I liked the series from the beginning and the script convinced me.

The drama has a good balance between personal life (and struggles) of the characters and the medical part (which is well written). Not to mention, that the medical accuracy is given here, which I appreciate a lot because I can't stand when even basic things like CPR are portrayed wrong in dramas. Doctors are not "gods in white" in this but they have insecurities, private matters and other problems they have to deal with. Code Blue managed to show the progress of the main characters and how they grow from the fresh trainees to full-fledged doctors that people and fellow trainees now depend on. This depth is a bit shortcut in the movie (due to it's limited runtime) but it's there if you followed the series.

The cast is mostly the same minus some faces we have seen in Season 3. The focus of this movie is on the "main 5" (Shiraishi, Aizawa, Hiyama, Fujikawa and Saejima). All did a wonderful job in portraying their character.

As for the music, you either grew tired of the same tunes by now or they've grown to you. For me it's the second and whenever I hear the melodies, I think of Code Blue.

The movie as the entire series have a high rewatch value. I loved to watch the development of the characters. The medical part is good, the characters likeable, there's a bit of humor and romance. Overall a nice package that will entertain you.

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Completed
I Told Sunset about You
21 people found this review helpful
Jul 8, 2021
5 of 5 episodes seen
Completed 8
Overall 4.0
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 4.0
Music 4.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
I really wanted to like this drama and went in with positive expectations after reading the praises of it. Too bad it did not really capture me and left me rather disappointed in the end. Let me explain why. (On a side note, this review is based on my feelings and enjoyment I felt while I watched the drama.)

The beginning was promising and I liked the first two episodes but that changed when the story progressed and things between Teh and Oh Aew got (even more) complicated.
I tried hard to understand the characters, their motives, feelings and actions. I can imagine how confusing it must be for Teh to being sure he's straight but getting confronted with growing feelings towards his friend Oh Aew, but for me that does not justify his actions especially when he saw how much he hurt Oh Aew with them.
As for Oh Aew I wondered why he stayed close to Teh when he got repeatedly hurt because Teh was unable to be true to himself and others and actually speak out about that. When you care for someone no matter if it's out of love or friendship or any other reason wouldn't it be only natural to talk to them honestly when you see they get hurt by your silence or actions?
Sorry, but I could absolutely not relate to that and many other things Teh did. A lot of his actions seemed selfish to me and at some point I just lost all sympathy for him. To be honest, I didn't want him to end up happily ever after with Oh Aew. Oh Aew surely deserved better.
I'm not saying the entire story was bad, actually the general plot is really good. I just think they overdid it a bit with the drama and heartache. To me that didn't look realistic anymore but rather self-produced by the characters due to lack of honest conversations paired with dumb decisions.

Another issue I have is actually the acting of Billkin as Teh and his facial expressions, especially the crying. The scenes when he cried made me cringe really badly. Those scenes should be emotional, captivate the viewer and make them feel sympathy for the character yet I just wanted to fast forward or skip those scenes completely as they looked too extreme and I could not relate nor connect to it because in my opinion someone other than Teh had way more reason to cry their eyes out.
I think PP did better acting-wise, at least his portrayal of his character looked more authentic to me and actually made me feel sympathy for him. Well, except for one scene that gave me strange vibes because Oh Aew is questioning himself as a male and what he does is really exaggerating. Why did he even have that in his wardrobe? A bit too far fetched and just added to other scenes that failed in trying to show emotions because they went overboard by trying too hard.
Together Billkin and PP/Teh and Oh Aew lacked chemistry in my opinion. For me Oh Aew was a better match with Bas and that's not just based on the fact that Bas is a true friend to Oh Aew.

The music did not stick to my memory, sorry. It wasn't annoying because that would be something I would certainly not forget but that also means it wasn't outstanding nor memorable.

Rewatch value is non-existent for me. Teh as a character was too annoying for me and that's exactly why I decided not to watch IPYTM (season 2 of ITSAY). I read enough about it to know that I would only end up disliking Teh even more. In my opinion Teh's behavior in ITSAY was toxic enough for the relationship between him and Oh Aew.
Overall ITSAY did address some serious topics and I think it's good and important to do that because real life isn't a fluffy rom-com, but the way they did it might not work for everyone or even put some people off.

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Completed
The King: Eternal Monarch
9 people found this review helpful
Jun 13, 2020
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.5
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 2.0
I still don't think the drama deserved the hate it received right from the beginning. How people could go and judge it after 4 aired episodes is beyond me. So I'll try to give this constructive criticism, because I don't say that this drama is a masterpiece when it isn't.

After the first 4 episodes I had a blank mind, couldn't say if I liked or disliked the drama. I didn't feel bored, nor excited.
It's the same after I completed it, just that my head is now full of thoughts about all the questions that were left unanswered. I won't go into detail but if you like your drama end to tie all loose ends, look elsewhere because the writer left us with lots of empty room for interpretation.

What's positive about the story is the setting and the idea itself. I found it interesting and still think it could make a good drama. Sadly, as the drama kept going it only got more confusing. There were some moments when I wasn't sure if I missed something or the scriptwriter herself got more and more confused with all this traveling between worlds.
It might have been better to keep it more simple but that's not how it is. And yes I have to admit there are some filler scenes that we could do without and plot holes throughout the drama. But just as much plot holes there are product placements which personally I find just as distracting and annoying.
Bottles with coffee, chicken, food delivery service, beauty products, bakeries, car brands and more. The most annoying for me was the coffee and beauty stuff. More than once it looked like I had accidentally turned the teleshopping channel on. No joke. We even get praising lines with this products telling us how good it tastes or an explanation how to use the beauty product. This might be allowed but it's definitely not what I want to see in a drama. Sponsoring is okay and important, I get it, but please don't shove those products in our faces like that and mess up the flow and logic of the story with them. There were nice scenes that lost its meaning when another product popped up and stole the attention. There are way more subtle ways to do this...

The whole cast did a great job and the acting was really good. If anything I would blame the scriptwriter that made the female lead cry so often and not the actress for having to follow the script. It was my first drama with Kim Go Eun and Lee Min Ho and I liked them both a lot. Woo Do Hwan was the only one I knew from the cast/who was already among my favorites before this drama and he once again showed how good he can portray different personality types. I enjoyed every scene with him the most. I would wish for more scenes with him and Kim Yong Ji who also left a good impression. ^^ I liked the acting of Jung Eun Chae and Lee Jung Jin. Sadly their characters kept staying pretty much in the dark.

The OST is good, probably not going to be a favorite of mine but it's fitting the scenes of the drama and also nice to listen to on it's own.

As for the rewatch value. Chances I'm gonna rewatch this drama are pretty slim. Maybe a few scenes, mostly from the first couple of episodes when the traveling still caused funny scenes and didn't turn into a who's who.

I recommend everyone to go and see for themselves if this drama is to their liking or not. As I said, it received a lot of hate and I think not all of it was fair and appropriate so go and decide for yourself. Maybe this is your next favorite?
For me it was decent despite flaws in the writing and how the story progressed. I don't regret watching it.

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Completed
Killer and Healer
8 people found this review helpful
May 29, 2021
37 of 37 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 3.0
This review may contain spoilers

The story lacked and left me disappointed

Story: The story starts with a bang and picked my interest right away. Within a couple episodes I had my hands full with some characters I got attached to already. I feel grateful that the viewer gets a strong female character with Chu Ran that doesn't act silly or jealous even though she has feelings for one of the male leads.
What I disliked was the story development. There's a lot of dead ends because people who have information on the bad organisation repeatedly die without revealing anything. At some point it's getting predictable and frustrating. Also because the "good side" suffers setbacks often, maybe even too often to still look realistic.
Closer to the end the cat and mouse play between the evil mastermind and Jiang Yuelou gets overwhelming and by that point I could already predict with 100% accuracy what will happen next which left a real bitter taste.
Also, the story does not do the characters justice, the least for the main leads. In the end it leaves you disappointed or even enraged, depending on how much you rooted for certain characters. Personally, I think this drama should come with a disclaimer to not get emotionally attached to ANY character in the drama unless you like to see your favorite character suffer.

Characters: This drama has lots of interesting characters. It starts with Jiang Yuelou who's a character with a backstory that shaped him to the person we see in the drama. (I have to say though, I don't buy the psychic component of Jiang Yuelou's character development. His past is affecting him a lot, so his psychic condition in the end leaves quite some doubts to me.)
In the beginning it's like black n' white to see Yuelou with Chen Yuzhi, a kind and dedicated doctor who does not differ between good or evil when it comes to his patients. Their relationship progress and forming bond of brothers/soulmates becomes a joy to watch throughout the drama. I mentioned Chu Ran before, she's a smart, mature character.
Jin Dacheng comes off as arrogant and shady at first but he was the one responsible for the funniest moments in the drama.
To avoid spoilers I won't mention names. Let's just say that the villain was indeed a twisted/complex character and one you could actually feel sympathy for because there's no clear black or white.

Acting/Cast: The cast did a good job and I think the actors/actresses where well-chosen for their roles. I just wish the script would give them justice because to me it seems like great talent being wasted to a storyline that could've been so much better.

Music: One of my favorites in the drama. It has really beautiful background music and melodic theme songs. Definitely an OST I will keep listen to.

Rewatch Value: Really low because once you know who's the villain the fun of guessing and combining clues is gone. Since the drama contains lots of (emotional) suffering for the characters and the audience I'm not really fond of repeating that.

Overall: 7/10 This could've been such a great drama if it wasn't for the lack of story progress and logic here and there and the disappointing plot in general that lead to an unsatisfying end. Without this flaws I could've easily given the drama a higher rating because I liked the characters, the setting in Republican Era (the costumes), the OST, the acting.

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Completed
Wild Grass
5 people found this review helpful
Jun 12, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 7.0

Like a puzzle...

That was my first thought after completing the movie because in the end all three storylines connect to each other and make the movie whole despite an open for interpretation ending which I find quite fitting actually.
This is why I think this is a good movie, despite the negative reviews. It's not something you can watch while focusing on other things though. It needs your full attention, otherwise you'll get lost as the movie does not follow a consistent line but jumps between the three different storylines of the three main characters.
Only in the end will you see how these puzzle pieces connect. To some it will feel chopped, I find this sort of storytelling interesting. I also loved the color design of the movie with lots of warm colors in contrast with grey or black just like in the cover.
The acting was great. I watched it for Ma Si Chun, Vivienne Tien and Xin Peng which I've seen before in other dramas but Elaine Zhong and Johnny Huang also caught my eyes.
Plus, the OST was totally my cup of tea. Not sure if it's because I'm a 90's child or it just happened to get straight into my ear but I immediately went on a search for it.
I'm not sure if I'll rewatch it someday but I definitely recommend it for a one-time watch.

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Completed
Short
5 people found this review helpful
Jun 3, 2021
4 of 4 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 9.0

Great miniseries

The story might not be new with two main leads competing in sports but that's absolutely okay because the drama is entertaining. I laughed a lot in the first episode, the humor was exactly my cup of tea.

For those looking for bromance, well, I see why it's tagged as such because there are scenes of three boys sleeping in one room and accidentally end up cuddling but calling it a bromance is misinterpreting. This drama has no bromance like you see in Goblin or other dramas. It's more like a friendship and sharing the same passion, short track speed skating. That's not a minus though.

The story is perfectly paced in the four episodes. I was a bit sad when it was over, in length it's more like a movie than a drama.
With a bit more focus and backstory on side characters and more scenes of their competitions and trainings it could totally be a longer drama.

The characters are well written and likeable. We even get bits of character development which I don't take for granted in a short drama with only four episodes, even though the shortness makes this development seem a bit abrupt.

In my opinion the cast did a great job. I didn't see any flaws or bad acting.

As for the music, the main theme got into my ears rather fast because the tune is catchy. So definitely another plus.

Would rewatch this drama anytime when I'm in need of something entertaining and light.
Overall a really good watch that I wholeheartedly recommend to check out.

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Completed
It's Okay to Be Sensitive
5 people found this review helpful
Jul 6, 2020
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

A short web drama with really important messages

That's how I would sum up this drama.
It's about different gender issues in real life and always ends the episode with a comforting message, giving you good advise.

While they do show clearly who's doing wrong and why this drama is not pointing fingers or using stereotypes we might expect which I truly appreciate.
Not every male being is an offender and not every feminist is a man-hating fury.
The drama deals with the negative perception of the term feminist and gives a good answer to that.

Here we have different personality types, Chae Ah is the outgoing type who has no problem speaking out when she thinks something is unfair, Ye Ji is the complete opposite being shy and introverted, worried about how speaking out could affect her social life.
I could relate to Shin Hye the most. She's feels that it's wrong of a guy to casually touch her leg while they are out drinking something with others but doesn't want to jump to wrong conclusions or misjudge anyone. She's thinking a lot before acting and also considers the other person. We get to see how she changes, learning that you have to listen to your heart and when something feels wrong it's okay to be sensitive about it and speak out.

It shouldn't be "normal" for a woman to get stared at like a piece of meat when she's wearing a short skirt or okay for man to speak with a woman and look at her boobs all the time instead of her eyes (this really happened to me by the way and it really felt disgusting). This drama addresses such issues and that's why I enjoyed it. It's not exaggerating such situations but show them how they really are. That also includes sexual harassment against man, which is why I recommend to watch this no matter what your gender is.

To sum it up: It's a heartwarming, comforting and healing drama with funny scenes but also a lot that make you think.
For me the core message of this drama is to be considerate of each other and that's something entirely unrelated to gender.

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Completed
In the Absence
4 people found this review helpful
Feb 12, 2020
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
It's hard to write a review about this but I feel obliged to because it's such a heartbreaking tragedy and shouldn't be forgotten.

On 16 April 2014 the ferry 'Sewol' sank on it's way to Jeju Island and 304 people (mostly students) died. They were given instructions to stay put and don't move from where they are even when the ship was tilting. The captain who is supposed to leave a sinking ship last and responsible for the safety of passengers left the ferry and was rescued when more than half of the passengers were still on board...

This documentary includes recorded conversations between Coast Guard and President Office for example which sent shivers down my spine. In just 29 minutes this documentary portrays openly what went wrong and let survivors, helpers and victims relatives speak. There's footage from students who were still on the ferry when it already tilts to the side and footage from dash cams in the ferry that show vehicles moving sideways inside the ferry like they weight nothing. This beside the interviews with the civilian divers who searched for bodies and interviews with parents of victims leaves a huge depressing impression. It surely isn't easy to watch for the soft hearted but I prefer the brutal truth over all the lies that were told about this tragedy. Media reported that all passengers were rescued when in truth it was well known that over 290 people were missing. Almost 3 years after the ferry sank they brought it back up and retrieved things such as cell phones and searched for the still missing bodies of 9 people.

2019 had marked the 5th anniversary of this tragedy and this documentary might once again rise awareness with its nomination for the Oscars 2020 and even if it didn't win the award I like the symbolism. I recommend this to everyone who is interested in background information about this tragedy and its aftermath.

The documentary was posted on Youtube by 'The New Yorker' under the title "What Went Wrong in the South Korean Ferry Disaster? | The New Yorker". I'll post the link in the comments.

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Completed
Guardian
5 people found this review helpful
Feb 15, 2019
40 of 40 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
Maybe one could say I'm hardly objective after watching this drama twice in a little over one month but on the other hand I do know that even this drama is not perfect.
Don't get me wrong, I really love it but due to Chinese political restrictions the original novel on which this drama is based on couldn't be adapted as one might wish.
Zhen Hun (original title) is a Boys Love novel and includes supernatural elements on a regular basis, two themes that are forbidden and because of that quite delicate in China or directly banned.
With that I wonder why it even was adapted as drama, but I'm glad it was.
While the script needed to rewrite a significant amount of the original storyline it still shows many things you could call "easter eggs" you'll only fully get when you read the novel. Therefore I recommend to watch this drama at least twice. Once before and once after you've read the novel (which is translated to english).

So the story: Of course Boys Love couldn't be shown so the relationship between Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan is mostly described as Brotherhood or Soulmates. Still, when you see the actors in their roles it basically screams "love" all over. Nothing explicit is seen but they portray their characters perfectly and I got lost in their mimic as both of them can easily deliver feelings only through their faces or subtle small things like a finger lingering on the other's hand for a while longer than necessary. The supernatural parts were mostly removed so we get to see a bit of ghosts here and there though anything is rarely named as such whatsoever and some CGIs that don't reach the requirements of Hollywood-spoiled eyes but is pretty decent and thankfully spares us badly animated things.

As mentioned the acting is superb. Both main characters are totally convincing and carry the story. But also the support characters and those with smaller roles fit in perfectly and make it whole. In fact many of those that appear as side characters reappear through the drama and I grew quite fond of them. The cast has a great chemistry and I think you can see it in the final product if a cast got along with each other or not.

Before I even watched the drama completely I had to get my fingers on the OST. The soundtrack is fantastic. The drama has an english opening song and each track on the OST is recognizable which is rare in my opinion. I love to listen to this soundtrack and kept it playing all the time when I wasn't watching an episode. It's worth to mention that the main actors Zhu Yilong and Bai Yu contributed a song to the OST that they sang together.

This drama has a high rewatch value for me. There are many things that might not be seen at the first glance and the scenes that they included from the novel will give you more once you've read the novel and know on what details you have to focus. But the first watch is enjoyable too. The drama has comedy, suspense, mystery and more.
I always watched a couple of episodes in a row and spent many long nights as it's hard to stop.

Overall I have nothing to complain on this drama. They made the best out of what they were given to work with and even with the knowledge that there could be more supernatural stuff if it wasn't for the strict policy of the Chinese government I think it's pretty good. The episodes often ended with cliffhangers which could annoy people but that's mostly because the storyline flows through the whole series and cases of the Investigation team are intertwined through episodes. I like this way of storytelling so it's not a negative aspect for me.

I can recommend this drama to everyone who wants to watch a good storyline with loveable characters or is curious in any way. Check it out, it's absolutely worth it. ^.^

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Completed
Kingyo Tsuma
4 people found this review helpful
Jun 12, 2022
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 5.0
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 1.0

Disappointing and giving questionable messages

When I completed the drama, I wasn't sure what to think of it at first. There are things I truly liked and some I really hated.

One thing I appreciate was how they showed the story from the wifes point of view. Each of them struggled in their marriage due to different reasons and it showed how many reasons can exist for two people in marriage to separate from each other.

The downside was that the drama failed in handling those situations the couples were in. In almost every episode I was thinking "why did they marry, they absolutely do NOT match" and it wasn't interesting to watch how remarkable the couples are in misunderstanding each other or lack a genuine talk on equal footing.
What I really hated though was how the FL Sakura was treated by many (especially women) like a bad person because she ran from her abusive husband and cheated on him. On a side note, she never intended to cheat on him, she just ran when he beat her brutally and he was the one who had repeatedly cheated on her already at this point and everyone except her seemed to be aware of that. It's easy to point fingers when you never listen to the other party and just jump to (wrong) conclusions. Sad truth is though that this moral condemnation shown is actually pretty accurate as society tends to blame/judge women harsher for infidelity than they do with men.

What really irks me (though also accurate) is the portrayal of how a woman who's being cheated on is looked at with pity for being too dumb to see what her husband does behind her back or laughed at for not being able to "please/satisfy" her husbands needs.
When she's the one who's cheating, she's the lowest kind of being and judged while a cheating man is desirable and attractive. This drama reminded me a lot that I do not condemn infidelity per se as many others do. I'm not saying nor thinking cheating is okay but I'm able to feel sympathy for the characters who cheated, yes even a tiny little bit for Takuya though I strongly despise his actions towards Sakura.
Still, I think the drama missed a big chance to not only display societies current reaction towards infidelity but also a try to make people question that judgement. Not to mention that infidelity is presented like the "solution" for each couple in the drama when in truth a honest talk would've prevented the worse and the separation of them in the first place.

Being already frustrated with the drama at this point, I binged the rest to see if the ending would make it slightly better only to find myself being utterly done with it. I hate the last events and the end as they are entirely contrary to what I hoped for or rather what I could relate to and on top of that the end is kinda open. It hints at something but for me that wasn't enough to make it "good" or satisfying. Overall I think Kingyo Tsuma is an okay watch. Not life changing and not really making a huge difference in portraying infidelity. The more I think of it, the lower I wanna rate it because I hoped it would give a fresh insight to maternal problems and portray infidelity as something else than "an easy way out of struggles in marriage". The drama might be good for a one-time watch but isn't a must watch in my opinion. Simply speaking, you miss out on beautiful shots of gold fish but that alone is not reason enough to watch it.

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The Untamed
8 people found this review helpful
Dec 3, 2019
50 of 50 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
I had this title on my PTW list but with the thought of watching it sometime later. After a recommendation I went to watch the first episode. The first episode was followed by the next ones and after a couple of them I liked this so much that I couldn't stop. I just finished this drama so all my feelings are fresh and maybe still subjective therefore. I haven't watched any other adaption and didn't read the novel (yet) so this was my first time "meeting" Wei Wuxian, Lan Zhan and the others.

First of all, this is my 7th watched C-Drama and I have already seen really good and average ones. The Untamed gave me the same good vibes I got while watching Guardian (2018) before (first favorite C-drama of mine). I agree it's not everyone's cup of tea but if you enjoy historical, fantasy with some horror elements and Xianxia dramas you should give it a try.

As for the story I really liked it. Maybe it's because I didn't know anything about the setting but the first episode was a bit confusing for me at first. The drama starts with the male lead character's present and then jumps back in time for 16 years in episode 2. More than the half of the drama is spent on telling the back-story which might sound like a lot but I found it well balanced and the pacing absolutely fitting. There wasn't one episode that didn't entertain me so a thumbs up from me. The story is interesting and I liked the mix of action, sad and funny scenes. It sent me on a rollercoaster of feelings and I had my moments when the scenes were so touching that I shed tears (which I rarely do while watching something and only when it manages to totally capture me). The story comes to a (in my opinion satisfying) closure.

Which leads me to the cast. I'm a sucker for a good cast and characters with depth and development. All of that you'll find in The Untamed. The acting was on point and supporting characters had their fair share of screen time and didn't turn into colorless props like I've seen in other dramas. Xiao Zhan and Wang Yi Bo made it straight to my favorites list among some others and I'm looking forward to see them in other dramas. I haven't seen any of them before and can't compare their previous works but think that every one did a great and absolutely convincing job here. Without downgrading the others, Xiao Zhan's facial expressions were such a joy.

The soundtrack is totally to my liking. It has many great instrumentals and of course the character songs as well as the opening and ending tunes. It's a pleasure to listen to on its own and I do so often.

For me it's already sure that I will rewatch this drama. I liked it from the beginning to the end and can't believe I finished it so fast. I kept being curious as how it would go on and always looked forward to the next episode.

Overall I can only recommend to give this drama a try if you're curious. I fell pretty fast in love with it and don't regret anything. It's really a gem.

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Completed
The Captain
3 people found this review helpful
Jan 11, 2024
Completed 2
Overall 6.0
Story 4.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 2.0
This review may contain spoilers

Good, but way overdramatized

To be fair, I have watched a documentary about Sichuan Flight 8633 before I have watched this movie.
This is why I'm not overly enthusiastic about this movie. It was overall okay, but too draggy and I can't oversee the scenes that look as if they were put into the movie in order to let the entire crew and staff shine. Maybe there is such "drill" on Chinese airports but still it leaves me with doubt as I'm also aware of Chinese propaganda and they wouldn't allow their people to appear less than perfect in a movie of this sort.

What truly irks me is the fact that they overdramatized things. Really unnecessary in my opinion, because let's be honest, a broken window in an airplane is dramatic enough.
The facts: The co-pilot really got sucked out of the window which first cracked, before it broke completely. The co-pilot was halfway outside the window, his legs got stuck under the control stick, pushing it forward which sent the airplane downwards. The captain couldn't draw him back in, he also had to stop the airplane from its "fall" and get out of the mountains quickly in order to get to a height that allows breathing without oxygen masks.
The co-pilot was too badly hurt to help with anything, it was the third pilot who took over for him.

In real life there was no storm though, turbulences yes, but nothing major and no storm they had to fly through in order to leave the mountain area. Also how on earth did people on ground knew in the movie, that Sichuan Flight 8633 was in trouble, like one minute after the incident happened? That's nonsense.

The movie overdid it with the drama which makes the captain and others look like some sort of superhuman. He's a hero (I will not deny that), but that was too much for me. I prefer the documentary over this or the movie "Sully" that is also based on the real life event of an airplane landing on the Hudson River but not overdramatic.

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Completed
Reunion: The Sound of the Providence
3 people found this review helpful
Nov 22, 2020
32 of 32 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.0

I'm ready for Season 2!

I started this drama because of Zhu Yi Long and because I found the promo photos picking my interest.
I must say though that I usually try to stay away from anything with Horror elements such as zombies or corpses and I'm not interested in movies and dramas about Tomb Raiding. Yes, this was the perfect drama choice for me. xD
After completing it I can say I don't regret my decision.

Even for a horror avoider like me Reunion is worth a watch. Simply because the main focus is on solving riddles and mysteries and the characters. I actually had fun trying to figure out clues myself, thinking of solutions for problems or predict what certain characters would do next. Not to mention that in the later episodes Wu Xie gets into a cat and mouse game.

A summarize of things I liked and didn't like:
+ Main Story is interesting and pace of storytelling good
+ Characters
+ Cast and Acting
+ OST (the soundtrack is great)
+ Teamwork/Friendship of main leads
+ Comedy

- A few side arcs where not that interesting for me (Piaopiao for example)
- we don't get to see the Iron Triangle together in the second half which is a bit disappointing
- some flashbacks seemed unnecessary to me and looked like they were included for a "little scare"
- Second half is not as interesting as first half, is even a bit boring at first but gets better
- flashback episode to Qi Jin does not benefit to the story in my opinion

The OST is really good and the tracks fit the story and characters excellently.

I'll be back for a rewatch. The drama missed the 10 rating by an inch but it's still a new favorite of mine.

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Completed
JIN
3 people found this review helpful
Feb 14, 2019
11 of 11 episodes seen
Completed 2
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
I first watched the Korean remake of JIN and found it enjoyable but now that I watched the original I understand why watchers mostly prefer the Japanese one. JIN is doing everything right and I hardly have anything to complain about, beside the fact that even though it has two seasons I want more.

The main storyline is easy to summarize but interesting with mystery and suspense which makes it a good watch. I kept watching and watching and forgetting time. You get a wonderful view into the Edo period and great setting. The costumes are beautiful and overall everything looks coherent. The story isn't finished with this first season so it's understandable why it ends open. It's an end that makes you curious for the next season.

The actors were all new to me, I haven't seen any of their other works yet. They immediately got me and I now have a few more favorites on my list. For me Osawa Takao stand out as he truly is JIN, to say it with the words of a previous reviewer. I liked how much Jin fears about possibly changing the future with his actions while he's struggling with his ethics of being a doctor. This conflict is well portrayed and adds to the depth the drama has.
Saki is such a lovely character and I enjoyed the scenes with her. Ayase Haruka both perfectly captured Saki's innocence when she didn't know something and determination when it came to learning more about medicine.
The other characters and actors also left an impression and it was a joy to watch them.

In comparison to the Korean version where I mentioned that the music was sometimes out of place, the music of JIN always merged good with the scenes and is also recognizable. It's not a soundtrack I would listen to on its own but it completes the drama. Okay, screw that, I'm listening to it now... ^^'

The rewatch value of this drama is high for me. I already caught myself rewatching particular scenes and ending up watching the whole episode cause I can't stop so it's definitely not the last time I watch it. It made it straight into my favorites list.

Overall I can only recommend this drama. It's a must watch for everyone who likes any of the genres that are included in this drama or someone who knows any of the cast members. Even if you're not into medical or historical drama it's worth a try. As for me I think this drama has this certain something that you can't name but feel it's there.

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