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in the end, mr. plankton did receive unconditional love :')
Overall, this was bittersweet. It has a sad theme yes, and it had its emotional moments for sure but the tone of the show is adventurous and fun. There were high highs and a few lows. I think the biggest strength of this is the acting and chemistry between the actors. From the humorous scenes to the tearjerkers, all three main actors brought their A-game. Our main lead Haejo (or Seunghyuk)... Woo Dohwan successfully made this character so likeable despite his flaws. Lee Yumi, playing Jo Jaemi, your classic kdrama leading lady, the sunshine the baby the baddie. And ofcourse Oh Jungse, we know him, we love him and he will always act ACT. I actually want to highlight how much I love Eo Heung's character arc because I think it's one of my favorite parts. I love that he had a coming-of-age story and the way it was incorporated in the middle of all the storylines without it feeling messy is really good. Plus the fact that he's the oldest one in the group makes it even greater because it shows growth and learning never stops.Now with the romance, as I said, the chemistry between the actors/characters are so great. Haejo and Jaemi are so fun AND funny. They did the bickering and banters so good, I was giggling alright. Personally, I am a sucker for a second chance romance. It's not for everyone but it is for me. I love that yearning and when the characters know each other really well. WITH THAT SAID, I gotta say, Haejo put Jaemi through it oh my goodness. The push and pull? Yes, he's going through something that's really hard but you can't always use that as an excuse especially if he kept repeating it. I just wish they gave Jaemi a big emotional scene calling out Haejo's behavior. I mean I guess they did have multiple "That's not right" "I'm sorry" scenes but man, I wish she made him grovel way more. Again, I love those two but whew, it was a lot.
Also, to highlight Lee El's character Bongsuk. Omg talk about kindness?! That whole storyline is of course the heart of the show. Unconditional love. I was so sad when Haejo said he stopped believing in unconditional love when he had been receiving it from Bongsuk all that time. I mean I really can't blame him for it after what his adoptive parents did to him. I'm just glad to know that in the end, he knew and realized he had people on his side that truly loved him.
Now one thing that did not feel satisying to me was the storyline with his adoptive father. Only because I did not hear that man really apologized for what he did. If anything, it was still Haejo who came to him. That does not feel right. Yes, he kept his pictures and room but I wanted him to do more than that especially after he got his contact number. Not Haejo's baby sister doing the moves instead of the adult. Yeah whatever, I just feel like that could have been fleshed out more. Same goes with Jaemi's biological parents storyline. Still, I did like that this whole thing is Haejo and Jaemi accepting that these issues with people who abandoned them do not matter anymore in the end because they already found their people.
Yeah, I really liked this drama. It made me laugh and it made me cry and give me a little existensial crisis too lol I'm so glad to see Woo Dohwan again and in a lead role like this where he was able to show his range.
Alex Landi being here is so weird btw lmao
PS. So bold of them to use California Dreamin?!
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did i expect too much or what
i just thought the story would be more exciting and fun than that, you know. this just didn't work for me personally and it just became boring as it went on. as soon as i found out the dad knew all along about the "kidnapping" and it actually just lined up with his plan, they lost me lol the romance is just eh, i also thought it'd be angstier than that but min was a goner the second he saw q with a guitar (lmao a classic). i feel like they could do so much (so! much!) with the romance with the themes that they had but it just never went there. because of this, i didn't really feel emotionally attached by the characters either. i guess mhen and and min's sibling relationship is nice and sweet but not really enough to emotionally move me.ohm as a simp is always a good time tho because that guy knows how to do the heart-eyes lol like i just instantly believe him everytime. he's just good at acting being in love. when it comes to emotional scenes, i think leng's acting is still lacking. i mean there's always room for improvement but yeah, just like i said, didn't really move me emotionally.
i would be interested to see ohmleng again in a a different story. maybe they should just give them something light and fun instead! (but not in a school setting pls lol)
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they just sort of happened i guess
it's hard to judge something this short for lacking depth but i wish they should have just focused more on the actual romance like the two just getting to know each other/bonding instead of adding irrelevant elements like that other guy or the misunderstanding phone call bit or even the friend who is a manhwa artist. the romance would've been more believable that way even if it was short i think. i just did not fully believe the romance since in my eyes, those two are strangers. nevertheless, they're cute and i did see chemistry so ?♀️Was this review helpful to you?
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don't overthink it ;)
honestly, it's just simply fun and silly and cute. you get fantasy, action sequences, romance, found family dynamics and friendships. it's perfect for if you want to watch something entertaining and choose not to think too much into the plot because, yes, if you do, you will find it unsatisfying and see loopholes for sure lol. i don't just love the chemistry between the two couples but the overall chemistry of the ensemble. a group of people going on an adventure to complete a goal and bonding and building genuine friendships along the way, that's just my favorite thing. they were able to make me care about everybody in the group so that's really nice.i have watched ding yuxi and esther yu before in "moonlight" so i know they got on-screen chemistry. so fun to see actors get to have a drama together again tho (because that's rare in cdramas right?). acting-wise, they were decent and have managed to moved me during emotional scenes. they seemed to have improved since their first drama. not gonna lie tho, i wasn't the biggest fan of esther's acting style especially when they make her do child-like things. but then i guess it works for the roles she gets. this is my first time watching zhu xudan tho and boy, is she beautiful. i think she's my favorite character. i was anticipating for a big emotional scene for when she finds out his brother is half-demon and it ended being anti-climactic and ziqi got away with it easily lol so yeah as i said, some unsatisying scenes and plot lines for me especially in the end there (i wish we saw them actually see each other aw) but i'm choosing not to overthink it because i was very much entertained overall.
and of course i was really shocked too that there's no kissing scene between the main couple. good thing, i adore their hugs and banters and little sweet moments here and there but what's up with that?
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