Great acting yet no chemistry

Plot: Typical political plot of dethroning Kings and backstabbing. Nothing much special with the plot as it quite reflected that the king will always have his hidden moves to win just as how he plays baduk. I was hoping for some twist and turns but nothing really happened.

Acting: Most of the characters did great in portraying their characters, however, despite the actress being able to cry, I just couldn’t sympathize with her. Her way of acting is not infectious enough to make feel her sufferings or even her happiness. I believe, the Main male lead did all the heavy acting and carrying for the drama but there’s still no chemistry between the leads. There were no ‘captivating’ parts, to be honest. It was nice to see Jo Jung Suk’s acting range though. I’m quite impressed.

Music: I think most songs are quite appropriate or nice but nothing memorable.

Rewatch Value: I personally wouldn’t rewatch.

Overall: It is a so-so drama that it can be forgettable to an extent.

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Overrated; fast forwardable (if there’s such a word)

Plot: weak, mostly focused on the male lead’s talent and work, slow-paced romance is okay with me but there are too many unnecessary scenes like gaming and aerospace; they should have made a movie out of this than a drama. Finished this in one day because i pressed the fast forward button a lot; no deep character development just passion for their job and each other; humor is okay

Acting: I like reba but her acting here is just the same in fashion designer — bland and restrained. She’s better in TLB. I like yangyang too, compared to love o2o, his acting is better here. His eyes are more expressive. Both actors definitely have chemistry together, if there’s one thing I love about this drama, it’s their romance. Normal conflicts of couples that get resolved easily; to compromise; more on slice of life

Music: forgettable

Rewatch value: only all the kissing scenes and their banter

Overall: it was okay. Or maybe I expected too much and it didn’t reach my expectations. Just overhyped and full of visual attacks from these two good~looking actors. I wish they collaborate again but not with this kind of plot.

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Quite disappointing

Story: A love triangle mixed with gangsters & a serial murderer. A superhero theme with mediocre plot and too many unnecessary side characters. Bong soon’s character wasn’t loveable but I forgive her because she’s too cute. I love PBY but I really don’t get how she chooses her scripts. Her characters are always terrible. The only good thing about this drama is PHS/Min min. All side characters are skippable. Disgusting, even.

Acting: Acting wise, they all did good. The plot is just what’s wrong with this drama. Such a letdown.

Music: nothing worth remembering.

Rewatch value: what you see on Instagram reels, short clips on YouTube or tiktok, those were the only highlights of the drama. Nothing much to see, unfortunately.

Overall: A 4-5 for me. Min min saved this drama along with bong bong’s cuteness even when she was being annoying. That’s it. I hate to review this but I felt like I wasted a day of my life from watching this. Those short clips you see online would make you look forward to this but ended up being disappointed because it has nothing much to offer. If I have to summarize the message of this drama it would be about not bullying the weak and policemen are useless.

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Tolerable

Story: I like the idea but poorly executed. You would think it’s a zombie apocalypse kind of drama but not really. More like a worse version of covid but here, they were able to find the cure way faster than covid vaccines. But that’s not really the issue, the way how they came up with scenes or different reactions of different type of people with their own motives were pretty annoying. It’s not because they acted poorly but because that’s how they were written. It’s like watching ‘sweet home’ but this is more tolerable. This first few episodes were just okay, middle ones were more thrilling but a major smh and last few episodes were just flat that all I did was fast forward just so I could finish this drama. If I were living in that building, I would definitely not come out of my apartment after getting my groceries. I mean, duh, staying at home is more safe than being exposed outside. But I guess, a drama is more interesting if it’s full of people with complex issues then you add a kid and a kind wife to make it more bearable.

Acting: I think they all did pretty good. I was pretty much annoyed with every character, even the kid. Not always, but somehow they did some things that were obviously shouldn’t be done no matter how many warnings they received. Their selfish reactions weren’t justified well that would make you pity them or at least give them another chance. The main female lead was always reckless that made me almost dropped this. I mean, isn’t she supposed to be more logical because of her job?

Music: Nothing worth remembering but still not bad.

Rewatch value: Definitely wouldn’t rewatch. This gave me headache for a while.

Overall: 6-6.5. It wasn’t bad but it was not THAT good either. Overhyped, honestly. I have more bad memories than good ones with this drama. You would appreciate the villains’ acting here and some cliche moves were prevented in some scenes however, the bad still outweighs the good. Too many plot holes, unanswered questions and lack of chemistry of the two. I honestly don’t get that special chemistry that others were talking about. The supposed additional twist/murderer towards the last 2 episodes was just poor idea from the writer. I wish they could have done better with his character because he seemed mysterious at first. Same with the guy on the 15th floor. The plot was rushed and it didn’t end well but provided us a HEA.

The gist(for me): Self-control/self discipline is definitely important in life, especially when there’s a crisis. Secondly, family will always be there for you. To help you heal and be your cure. Happiness will start with yourself then with others close to you. No matter how you love your family if you can’t control yourself then you’ll bring them down too.

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Things don’t make sense just to cater the plot

Warning ⚠️: Might contain spoilers

Plot: Basically it’s like little mermaid but with past life and sprinkle of murder(which is interesting). However, for theatrics to work, some things don’t make sense. For example, she can’t be rained on or get wet or she’ll turn to be a mermaid, so she doesn’t shower or wash hands(?), she claims she doesn’t have money but she actually received money from Chi Hyun, how can the police not remember her when she didn’t even erase his memories( it’s not like she knows where he lives), the doctor’s role and purpose was questionable as well(even in the joseon period) and that made this drama less convincing despite the fantasy element. Still, it was watchable to the extent that you wanna know how it will end so you binge watch it. If you’re not particular with small stuff then you wouldn’t notice what I mentioned.

Acting: The kid(Yoon Ah) is the cutest. I adore her here. LMH did great, JJH decent acting. Their chemistry wasn’t explosive for me. I was more excited about Hye Sun(Shi Ah) and Won ho(Tae Yo)’s love development. The rest of the characters were good and satisfying.

Music: Not catchy enough, even the songs for the sad scenes.

Rewatch Value: Definitely a ‘no’ for me. Even the kissing scenes of main leads feel forced. I do like some of the bed scenes.

Overall: 5-6 stars for the thrill, animation and acting. Spain looks stunning and they showed that very well in the drama. Legend of the blue sea is not droppable but not excellent either.

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feel-good & funny

Story: A soccer player with bad image was invited to be a coach for homeless football team to compete for world cup to represent Korea. A predictable movie with lots of funny moments, some touching scenes and no love story between the two popular idols. If you are okay with that, then you'll enjoy the movie.

Acting: Everyone did great in the movie.

Music: Nothing memorable for me but i guess songs used were appropriate.

Rewatch Value: Not the type of movie i will rewatch but it's definitely recommendable to those who just want to past the time, or feel inspired.

Overall: It was a cute and comical watch, i had a lot of laugh out loud moments so i finished this movie in a good mood. Nothing to deep, just an inspiring movie about those who don't want to give up and that life is full of hope and we will have our own shining moments with our own hard work and faith with those who support and appreciate us. 7 stars. Just don't expect much and you'll have a good time watching the movie.

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Hypocrisy at its best

Plot: A family who has been wrongfully accused because of what the media created. The story didn’t start as a revenge plot but it was full of hatred to all the reporters. Accidentally knowing the truth of their father’s death after a few years, both brothers wanted to clear their father’s name. The Pinocchio syndrome was only used not in front of the camera despite it’s original purpose and mostly done for In Ha’s personal reasons. Even so, they injected a few comedy scenes that helped me to move forward with the plot.

Acting: Most of them did amazing in terms of acting. Although I was slightly unconvinced by Beom Jo’s fake smile in the first few episodes, I got used to it eventually. My favorite characters were grandpa, in ha’s dad, nitpicker and msc captain. Flawless acting from these men and the ‘villains’ as well.

Music: The OSTs are good but not memorable.

Rewatch Value: I don’t think I will be rewatching this as the second half of the drama failed to impress me. It became predictable and too convenient.

Overall: 7.5 to 8 stars. I’m impressed with everyone’s acting and I love the concept of Pinocchio and the plot(uncovering family’s masked face, police-reporter relationship, power tripping) has so much potential however, it was not executed properly in terms of reasoning and their actions. What the characters say contradict to the things they do, especially the female lead, In Ha. No character development, a hypocrite and above all, I felt like she was a burden to everyone. The writer tried to give her a strong personality since she was a kid but she was not reasonable at all and never grew up. Her actions didn’t match what she preached. She was supposed to be the ‘center’ of the series but ended up having her self-pity party. Although there are things that can be considered a good twist, it was ruined by the forced romantic/separation set up and poor communication or dialogues between the leads. They kept on going in circles that felt like a filler and also gave me a headache. Yoo rae and her captain’s love story was actually more interesting. The ending was kind of bland too. Despite my disappointments with the drama, I definitely learned a lot when it comes to media/reporters. I may have an idea to what goes behind the camera, the drama gave me more information and understanding about the essence of ‘NEWS’. Unlike coins, a story can have more than two sides. There are many quotable lines and thought provoking comments. The message of the drama is clear with a good impact and facts about life. What could be just a story/rumor to you may be someone else’s entire life.

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Meh

Plot: First half had me guessing, like what actually happened and it had some mystery and horror aura but then felt flat on the last 30 minutes of the movie. Many unanswered questions that will make you confuse as to why was the ending like that, especially to the victim. Didn’t make sense to me, honestly. He was supposed to have this strong personality plus he had to go through all the trouble just to find out the truth but then ‘bam’. Would have been nice if they added something to the ending apart from their ‘supposed’ destiny. It was supposed to be the icing on the cake but turned out to be a styrofoam.

Acting: All did great and convincing.

Music: Pretty appropriate and creepy especially on the first half of the movie.

Rewatch value: I don’t think there’s something to rewatch.

Overall: 5 for acting and great suspense of first half. They didn’t maintain the momentum and ended up with a disappointing ending despite the so-called ‘twist’. It wasn’t predictable but it didn’t have the ‘wow’ factor too. I guess I watched and read too many psychological/mystery dramas and movies already.

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They are each other’s prescription.

Plot: The plot is actually good but the execution and some lines can be less appealing. The selective amnesia wasn’t really the focus of the drama but it’s about the aftermath of their story, creating a new foundation of their ‘forgotten/lost’ love and growth of their relationship along with their targets in life. It was also sprinkled with loads of sugar and humor.

Acting: They all did good, convincing most of the time but definitely not top tier acting. Xing Fei’s Tang Xin character is my least favorite of hers in all her dramas, however, that doesn’t mean she didn’t do justice in it. She actually did great in interpreting a meek girl with low self confidence/esteem(but not to the point of being a doormat) that you can actually tell the difference of her acting from her previous dramas. However, I believe that Hu yitian shines the most in this drama. His acting improved a lot and you can see a lot of unseen or new facial expressions of him, especially the playful and boyish charm side of his character that looked natural and real. You won’t be able to count how many times he genuinely smiled here because there’s a lot! His eyes also speak volumes. The rest of the team did all good as well, even the villains.

Music: No complaints. I love every song and even the sound effects.

Rewatch value: I definitely rewatched all the sweet moments, even the tantrums of Captain Shen because it’s just too cute. Some may be cheesy but the execution and acting was really funny, I just can’t take it seriously. ? Especially those laugh out loud moments of Haiya Team(including DLF, of course).

Things I didn’t like:
•Some dialogues are just cringe-y and embarrassing, you’ll know when you watch it but it’s not the fault of the actors. They did their best, especially Xing Fei. Despite many embarrassing lines, you just can’t help but adore her cuteness! I just wanna pinch her cheeks most of the time. ☺️
•The sudden stuttering — I wish they could have done better in highlighting the root of the problem because it took a few episodes for that to get over with and the explanation wasn’t convincing enough for me.
•Dubbing. There were some scenes that their dubbing sounds weird and unpleasant that ruined the overall feeling of the scene or conversation. Even the sound of the steps were distracting. ? (I can be very particular with that but I guess external noise can’t be controlled)

Overall: It’s definitely not a perfect drama, or even close to being a masterpiece, however, it was entertaining for me and has a lot of meaningful foreshadowing and underlying message. Although they didn’t go deep to the topic of trauma, sexual harassment, and gender equality, the fact that they raised awareness and touched the sensitive matters of society is a plus for me. It was also a good introduction on the importance of mental health and basic information about pistol shooting and the game.
Basically, this drama shows a new meaning to ‘soul mates through thick & thin’ and gives that warm fuzzy feeling of Pure Love. Executed in a conservative way because the entire drama was a tease. Haha! Here’s a reminder: Don’t expect too much intimate scenes and you’ll enjoy their love story. In the cdrama world full of kissing scenes, this will probably be not included on top of your list but it was also a reality slap to me that not all love can be measured by the amount of skinship they show you but rather by expressing it with actions and deep understanding of your partner.

Additional message/favorites: Apart from other issues of the side characters, the irony of a psychiatrist having her own problem is actually a good idea. It was realistic and it signifies that we are just normal human beings, despite our status, professionalism, age and environment, we have our own struggles and issues in life and the things we can initially offer to others are patience and understanding, same goes when it comes to watching the drama. The pace of revealing both of their pasts is quite realistic as well, I mean, if I were in tang xin’s shoes I wouldn’t also expose everything in an instant especially if it caused a traumatic experience for me. However, the power of being able to tell everything to someone you trust and still respects and loves you is a big step in healing. It’s like getting out a thorn in your heart and you can finally breathe easily. I also like how the recovery of Captain Shen’s memory doesn’t feel rushed, it needed therapy and triggers. Plus, I totally love the ending. It was a beautiful ending for Captain Shen/Tang Xin and Dr. Ding/Boss Zhou. Their lines were subtle, warm and precious. I can’t fully explain how beautiful it was but it was like a much-needed hug that can give you energy to tackle the day. Or that first sip of your favorite hot coffee in the morning. That’s how this drama made me feel.

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Waste of time

Plot: A story of a clumsy and pushover heroine who is meeting with her first childhood love but decided to hide because she’s not confident with her current self. I didn’t expect much because the story line sounds like a cliché already so I was just hoping it would be entertaining at least, however, it was more annoying even though I tried being patient for any character development.

Acting: Terrible acting from the female lead. She tried too hard to be the stupid, doormat type and that made me dislike her character. Even so, I kept watching because characters tend to improve over time, however, nothing happened whatsoever. She was still the old, immature version of herself who just ‘realized’ her dream at the end. They tried injecting random act of kindness from her but it still looked pretentious or unnatural by the way her character was written or shown. Despite that, other characters did good or at least were more convincing and tolerable than the heroine.

Music: I only like one song and the rest were not memorable. Not too much sound effects too.

Rewatch value: Definitely 0. No highlights worth rewatching as my eyes kept on rolling from the over the top acting of the heroine. She wasn’t ugly physically but her attitude was. Her mouth says something but her actions are different. I could also count the times I laughed or found something funny with one hand.

Overall: If you love Park Seo Jeon as much I do, I suggest to skip this. Despite him looking sexy and charming, the overall feeling of the drama isn’t enough for me to recommend it. I felt like I wasted my 1 day of watching this. I’m just glad this wasn’t my first PSJ drama because I probably wouldn’t appreciate him here. He did good in creating chemistry with her but it was still lacking. Their relationship and dialogues were too shallow and the only line that made more sense said by the female lead was her ending monologue.

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Keep your regrets short but remember it for a long time.

Plot: A woman who dreams about future events and no matter what she does, she couldn’t change it, until someone did. Although the plot may seem weird or too favorable for the flow of the story, the cases were interesting enough to move forward.

Acting: The other main leads shone brightly than the couple, their chemistry was off as well. The female lead can cry but the emotion is not in place for me. Her line delivery is sometimes awkward, probably because of her mouth and it makes her acting awkward as well. While the male lead tried to be silly but had some unconvincing or unnatural facial expressions. Even so, Suzy Bae and Lee Jong Suk still did a decent job in most scenes.

Music: I love the Ost/bgm especially Henry Lau’s.

Rewatch Value: I might not rewatch but there could be some scenes people may find rewatchable.

Overall: 8 stars for the comforting message and goosebumps moments. Mr. Choi made me cry a lot and there were also some scenes that I found relatable. The series was frustrating initially because their decisions were kind of contradicting but fortunately, every episode ended up nicely. They keep having these dangerous dreams, and they try to change the flow and yet they still think about not sharing it or brainstorming about it. It’s like they haven’t learned anything from their experiences. Luckily, it ended up in a satisfying way or somehow acceptable. Jae Chan didn’t have to find the earring to prove that Hong Ju was lying about not visiting him in ICU because clearly, they had a conversation before about him punching her when they were younger, and she was the one who remembered it. There were some bothersome events like hiding stuff in a very obvious place or stealing phones and left it open all day that could make your eyes roll. The ending was not memorable as well. The inconsistencies of the plot could be a turn off to some but since I enjoyed the dialogues, it didn’t affect my overall rating and feeling for the drama.

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Emotional tangled mess

Plot: A runaway suspect changed his identity and discovered the truth behind his family when his case was re-opened. It was a tangled mess that you can’t help and find out more. It was fast-paced initially then it became messy.

Acting: Everyone did an amazing job in portraying their characters and creating emotional scenes, although I think Lee Jun Ki went overboard with his acting(I guess, instructed by the director to make his character a bit evil-convincing for the viewers).

Music: Since it’s a thriller/suspense drama, there’s not much catchy or worth-remembering OST for me. Although the sound effects/bgm were appropriate for most scenes.

Rewatch Value: Not the type that I can rewatch as it was a heavy drama in a way that watching it again won’t give you the same suspense feeling since you already know what’s gonna happen.

Overall: 7 stars for acting and visuals. It’s not for everyone, especially if you are a fan of fluffy romance. It can be frustrating or boring for some. It wasn’t gripping or something that would keep you on your toes but I liked the fast-paced unfolding of the story.

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Throw away the logic, admire the stunning visual effects

Plot/Story: An unknown fairy accidentally ‘saved’ the most ruthless immortal moon supreme while helping her ‘crush’ not to die. The first few episodes were easy to follow and binge-able but the flow went downhill in the middle and became draggy and boring. Despite being sleepy from the middle part, I tried to move forward as it had subtle humor which made me chuckle a few times. The humor is not ‘in your face’ and I really like that. The plot got better after episode 22 or when they went to the mortal world. It’s full of cliches but they are tolerable.

Acting: This is my first drama of Dylan Wang and I have to say I’m impressed with him. He carried the whole show, honestly. His acting was not on the same level with Esther Yu. Unfortunately, while I liked her on ‘Moonlight’, I quite struggled with her acting in LBFAD. She has her own charms but the low quality of her acting was evident in this drama. Apart from the acting, the dub was also terrible. Most of the time, it didn’t match orchid’s facial expressions or mouth that it takes away the authenticity of the emotion. However, she made me sympathize and cry (just from her dub) on episodes 32 and 36. Esther Yu still needs to improve her facial expressions, especially the emotional scenes. Zhang Ling He also did great in acting, while Jiele, the Poison girl, Stupid Black Dragon and Fairy Danyin were so-so. The rest of the cast was convincing enough.

Music: High quality CGI with excellent background music. Literally gave me goosebumps whenever there’s an animation scene. I would say DFQC’s 500 years of marriage dream with Orchid is my most favorite. Felt like I was watching fantasy and anime at the same time. It would be nice if they removed all this weird accessories/gear they wore(moon supreme’s and god of war battle outfits)because it kinda ruined the visuals.

Rewatch Value: DFQC’s love to orchid deserves to be watched again and again.

Overall: Good start, boring middle, emotional last few episodes then rushed and questionable ending – this is the flow of the drama for me. As this is is my first Xianxia drama, I would give this a 7.5-8 stars for the graphics and acting of Dylan, which I totally loved. LBFAD has given me highs and lows, unfortunately, there are more lows than highs that I remember, even so, I still quite enjoyed this series. I just think that it could be better— in a lot of aspects.

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Not your typical sweet romance

Story/Plot:
Lu Anran was given a second life after encountering an annihilation of her entire clan and those who are close to her done by her husband... or was it really him? There are plot twists, revenge, calculation and just when you think she has the upper hand, she’s back to square one.
I love the concept but few of the executions are quite questionable that makes
me wonder the real purpose of their tug-of-war.

Acting: Xing Fei has showed more range and versatility in this drama. She only needs to polish the intensity of her expressions in some scenes but overall, she did amazingly well especially in her emotional scenes. As for Zhai Zilu, this is my first drama of him, as a newcomer, he’s quite natural in most of his scenes(whether he’s being gentle, suspicious or mad)and just need to smoothen his emotional scenes. Jing Chao, very much convinced by his performance, was also great as Mu Ze. I cannot imagine anyone other than them to act their given roles. They gave birth to each character with their own uniqueness that only them can deliver. While others think that Xing Fei should have used her original voice, I quite disagree. Her diction, pronunciation and line delivery are not suitable for historical dramas, this is also another thing that she needs to work on in the future. The other female villains also did excellent in making their characters alive and hateful. The only weakest acting is of ‘Lu Yun’ or Lu Anran’s brother. It was quite evident that he couldn’t keep up with the rest of the actors and looked like a rookie among all the rookies.

Music: Every sound effect, background music and opening/closing song is just perfect for every scene. The sound director deserves high remarks for his or her choices.

Rewatch Value: Lu Anran and Mu Chuan’s scenes are rewatchable. Their sincere love for each other is just so sweet to watch and it reminds me of a classic historical romance of Shakespeare.

Overall: 8.5-9 stars because it was a different drama from all I’ve watched(especially of Xing Fei’s) and their dialogues/lines are so good and profound. Each of them, even the side characters, has a quotable phrase or words of wisdom that will give you an awakening or reminder in life. It kinda made up for the bad CGI and not so good editing. Different angles show different emotions, and if the editing was lousy, it will take away the initial raw emotion they gave on the first scene and it will look unnatural on the next. Even so, thumbs up for the maze yet compact plot, amazing dialogues and effective acting of everyone.

Season 2 is unlikely to happen but I hope all of them can work again. Whether it’s costume or modern, i wish they will be given a higher budget next time. It’s such a waste that this kind of drama didn’t have enough money for post-production, it truly deserves more.

PS: Quite sad that there’s no EngSub for the epilogue, although someone explained the summary, I still wish I could watch it with subtitle.

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Worth the hype not the hate

Plot: The normal revenge plot with some predictable outcomes but convincing and believable acting and time stamps. Diverse cast integrated with topics of lgbt, morals, self-worth, business and second chances in everything.

Acting: PSJ will always be the most charming man for me. He did all the work with lots of help from the villains. The rest of the characters did good too.

Music: Only like a few songs but nothing remarkable.

Rewatch Value: I don’t think it’s a rewatchable type of drama but I believe it should be watched by everyone because the message of the drama is very important, especially in everyday life.

Overall: 8.5-9. The drama made an impact for me or maybe because i got the message or probably I understood something that some people didn’t notice because I’m the type of person who observes foreshadowing or meaning of every action. For example, as soon as Saeroyi woke up from his dream and cried like a baby, it made me think of a new born child who cries nonstop as soon as he was out of the womb. That moment, it reminded me that Saeroyi will be reborn, and I just knew that his revenge was not his priority anymore. Him kneeling down is not about his pride but more about peace of mind. I wasn’t annoyed with the female leads, I find them relevant with different personalities but still empowered. I like the diamond poem a lot too. Although some characters weren’t as amazing as the main leads they still deserve the recognition for their efforts and rather convincing roles. I didn’t expect romance in this drama as it wasn’t the main focus but the bonus was still cute. I didn’t feel like it’s forced too given the time stamps and their hardships together. It has some thought-provoking sentiments and lessons which are important for the youth and that’s why I gave high marks for this series.

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