Between finding yourself once again in the workplace, toxic mentalities and office romances

This is a drama that focuses on our main lead finding herself once more after having worked in a toxic TV production and venturing into a beauty company. I watched this in one sweep, and after the ending, i started to contemplate various of the plotpoints that are highlighted. Whilst the premise seems great, with a story surrounding a "cinderella" transformational makeover where FL looks cute and stylish, it left me thinking about some issues.

The most important aspect that is regarded as something positive about the FL is the fact that she is a huge workaholic. She seems to ALWAYS be working even during her off-time (evenings/nights and weekdays) and this is encouraged in both her old workplace as well as the new one. On top of that, she seems to always be driven to try to solve an issue or problem in a one-way direction without even trying to find other solutions. Examples like going to another city to persuade an athlete to accept their offer even if they declined it in a previous meeting or in another instance running on the highway to stop an influencer midway in his journey to give him a beautybox are extreme ways to try to solve these office/company problems.

This is highlighted as merits and successful achievements that everyone supports and meanwhile i'm thinking about how negative this mentality is in most of these instances. Neither FL nor the company sees any flaws in it and whilst we don't really see how the office mentality was before she started working there, I personally felt that she brought with her a very toxic way of working and this also changed how her coworkers had to work as well.

The romance was kinda awkward since the supposed love triangle is nonexistent because she isn't aware that her BOSS is trying to go on dates with her. I did like who FL ends up with romantically at the end tho!

Whilst the story tries to be positive and highlights toxic work mentalities, it is a overall aestetically cute show with a slowburn friends to lovers romance.

Read More

Heartwarming and fluttering

I absolutely adore this drama.
The drama adaptation of a novel by the same name develops a friendship turned romance.

We follow the FL, Sang Zhi, growing up and developing a crush turned first love towards her brothers best friend Duan Jiaxu. During her childhood, he is a supporting friend who sees her as a little sister. During this time, their relationship is truly that of friendship or siblings, with him helping her out with school and her harboring this secret crush.

Heartbroken and young, Sang Zhi looses contact with him on purpose to get over her love for him. When they reunite, her being in university in the same city as him, they restart their friendship and support each other. Slowly a budding romance starts to bloom that had me smiling and giggling all the time. By the time they are romantically interested in each other and developing a romance, they are both consenting adults with a 5 years age gap. This is something they both take into account and thus the romance and chemistry is immensly there whilst going at a slower pace to respect both of the characters consent and pace.

FL's older brother Sang Yan adds an comedic and warming place in the story. Him being the overprotective older brother that likes to joke a little much with Sang Zhi, further reminds us of the playful ways Sang Zhi used to behave towards her brother when she was younger.

Both Sang Zhi and Duan Jiaxu have their troubles along the way but their relationship is for the most part, very impressive with great communication and trust between each other.

I binged this drama in two weeks and didn't really feel the urge to skip forward in most of the scenes. Both main characters are exceptionally acted by their actors Zhao Lusi and Chen Zheyuan, and Victor Ma as the brother, who each really gave wonderful light to the story with brilliant portrayal. The music complimented the story so much with its love-themed ballads and song. This is one of the few dramas that I would consider 10/10 for me.

Its the perfect youth-drama if you are looking for an fluttering romance where the actors have ALOT of chemistry and lovely dovey scenes. The first part of the drama focuses on family and one-sided first love. Moving on to the second part where FL has grown, focuses on friendship, a slowgrowing romance (between adults!) and family.
I really do recommend this to everyone that likes a drama where romance can be portrayed in various ways and where the young protagonist San Zhi grows with time and experience new things when reaching adult age.

Read More

Starting off so good only to end with lackluster

Tonari no Otoko wa Yoku Taberu/ The Man Next Door Eats Well starts of great with a good theme of the main leads being neighbours who start to share meals. It's definitely not a "food"-centered drama in the way that some other series I've seen, instead, the food is just a means for the couple to get to know each other.

One of the best things about this drama is that it is fairly short given the 20 min episodes. The short episodes start to be a blessing in disguise since the story turns into a lackluster struggle of the main couples relationship. The biggest flaw in the drama is in fact the relationship between the main leads and their personalities. I got so disappointed in the story and the fact that the writers dragged out the conflict with lack of communication, insecurities and trust in their relationship for so long. Add (various) people wanting romantic relationships with both female lead and male lead (aka "romantic competition") and mix it up with the main leads being disappointed in each other whilst not talking it out and that is the latter part of the drama.

The OST music is nice and every episode ends with a cute montage of the two apartments where you progressively see them get closer and further away depending on the episode. I actually enjoyed the ending montages alot and found them to be a good reflection on how their relationship is going as you watch each episode. The main actors do a good job in their roles given the fact that the writers fail to flesh out their respective characters and if you are a fan of the actors you will probably be happy watching nonetheless.

In conclusion: the drama started off GREAT but as they actually develop a relationship, it gradually starts to sink and at the end its just frustrating. The ending is very rushed and lacked the spark that the drama had in the beginning. It's conclusion does have a happy ending! If you are in the mood for a shorter japanese drama about an age-gap relationship with some struggles this could very much be it.

Read More

Good concept, bad execution

The show's premise IS good, if handled well....the problem is that it wasn't.
This show infuriated me. And it all boils down to mostly the production and the choosing of the cast and their "lies".

The immense difference in how serious the lies where, was ridiculous. They basically used a very few selected members of the cast to draw attention and provocation towards the show, whilst other mostly were chosen for looks and or exposure to media.
They had their main clickbait, Hanui, and her secret revealed in the first episode. This made me as a watcher, anticipate the other members lies and thinking they would be on the same level, only to be mostly disappointed. Hanui even had a panic attack and were extremely anxious towards the end.

The show wanted to provoke and shed light to the possibility to look beyond prejudice, and for the cast to "reinvent themselves" with an possibility to start over. Only, when majority of the casts " hidden lies" are kinda the common persons problems, and in result, it fails to deliver. In all, I believe only about 3 or max 4 of the participants had a lie that I would consider on a level of usual "taboo" when dating.

It is a mature-focused show that isn't really suitable for younger adults. There's alot of context where I feel like male participants overstepped and straight up emotionally abused some participants. I would have liked to have the participants have scheduled appointments with a therapist DURING the show. Since the cameras kept rolling even as the people were fighting, no one could really stop when there was a wrongdoing and the participants doing wrong mostly just kept going with their day with a very small minded way of thinking. All in all, I felt huge red flags from a couple of people. Yes, they can edit the scenes to be more dramatic but at the end, the things said remained said and I grew to really dislike some participants. I realised that the conservative mindset of some of the participants was blatantly present and prevented them from growing mentally.

I took a break from watching the show right before the last episode, and it took me a month long break to actually watch the last episode because I felt like the production of the show failed the few participants (mostly Hanui) that had taken this as an golden opportunity to find a meaningful relationship.

The commentators, whilst repeating the same things you see and analyzing them, were a fun part towards the show, although not exactly always needed, were a good way for the show to "pause" when the scenes got heavy.

If you're looking for a good dating show, there is definitely better dating shows than this.
If you are bored and interested in the concept and execution of the show, go for it! Maybe you'll like it or maybe not :)

Read More

It looks pretty, has solid fluffy romance and goes awry towards the latter part

First of all, the drama has a great budget and has spent alot of time making sure that the scenes look nice. There isn't alot that you can point out to be "ugly" in the drama (except for the whole aspect of murder) on the visual part. I was kinda excited to watch this since it was a LONG time since I had seen Kim So Hyun in a drama. Both Kim So Hyun and Hwang Min Hyun as the leads look (on paper) as a great pair and I had big expectations since the romance surrounded heavy topics of murder and lies.

The biggest thing that failed the drama was unfortunately the writers.
Both main leads lack to have great chemistry because the characters themselves are SO BLAND. You could argue that the ML is the greenest flag in the whole drama, but it just felt like he wasn't a real person and lacked any personality. Nothing he every did was wrong, but during all the accusations and threats thrown his way, he let people treat him like a villain and as the murderer even if he never was to fault. Hwang Min Hyun played the "perfect guy" and it felt like it was more about how handsome the character is rather than his personality or talent.

I stopped watching the drama when I got around the halfway mark since I was SO frustrated with the way the murder mystery-plot was being handled. It was messy and ridiculous. When I finally got through to finish the drama, with everybody got their happy ending and with the true murderer behind bars, I felt mostly annoyed by the choices that the writers took with the story. Alot of the characters just felt annoying throughout the drama.

DO watch this drama if you are looking for something that deals with a murder mystery in a mostly unserious comedic (in a k-drama comedy) kinda way with romance and if you like the actors.

Read More

A wonderful adaptation for fans! For first timers: check out the story so its less confusing

My Happy Marriage is a popular light-novel that has been adapted into various versions such as a manga and recently as an anime that ended its first season with plans for a second season in the making. I have long been a fan and had previously mostly read the manga and watched the anime and felt like this was perfect for me.

Imada Mio in the main role as Saimori Miyo does an incredible job and she really interpreted Miyo as how I read her in the manga. All of the cast felt good and delivered with what they were given to work with.

That being said, the main issue in the movie is the fact that they try to squeeze in too much in the time-frame that is offered. If I hadn't had a previous knowledge about the story and the worldbuilding, this would have been very confusing. I did feel like the story was unfortunately rushed and would've loved it more if it had focused on the main leads relationship and Miyo's past struggles in her household she grew up in instead of the emperial storyline. There were many plotpoints that were shaved off or stripped down to the bare minimum for the story to fit into the movie and if I had no prior knowledge of the storyline I do feel like many things would have flown over my head completely.

The story mainly centers on the romance between the main leads so this is definitely a budding romance movie at its core with alot of fantasy and action in a historical setting.

You can't deny, even with the changes in pacing, the budget for the special effects and for the cinematography is really nice and you can see how much care they have put into the movie visually. It is also quite clear that they released the movie with plans to produce a sequel movie. (Do check out the ending credits for a mini-extra scene hinting that they are planning the sequel!)

I really do suggest to watch the movie but I highly recommend to do some research about the story by reading the manga/light novel or watching some episodes of the anime if this is completely new to you. That way, it will be easier to follow the story and you can enjoy the visual aspect and the acting without struggling with the plot.

Read More

It's all about the simple things

I really liked the plot.

There was a simple and comforting story to the core of it all and with each episode, the story added small details or changes which made it intriguing and curiously funny. Apart from the whole "beginning her life again" story, the focus is on human behaviour, family and most importantly friendship.

I binged this drama in 2 days and later recommended my family to watch it who also completed the drama with happy feelings.

The best thing to do is to head into this drama without having read any spoilers. It is a japanese drama, with an excellent cast of both young and adult actors and a solid story that brings it all to life, so if that sounds interesting give it a try and see how you feel after the first episode. The first episode seems kinda slow for the first 30 min, but after that it takes off so don't drop it until after the first episode if it wasn't your cup of tea!

Read More

Cute romance with an overwhelming story

If this was just focused on the romance, I would have given a rating of 10/10. The problem is exactly that it isn't only about their romance. The gaming aspect took a big chunk of the focus in the drama, and surprisingly didn't bother me as much. Yes, I did skip some gaming parts where it was just dragging but overall it was a great way for the main leads to actually become closer and eventually develope feelings for each other. I do feel like this is one of those dramas where the characters are far from being realistic given their achievments and them being in their 30s (her being a famous actress and him a genius aerospace engineer who is also on a professional level at gaming).

However, the biggest flaw this drama has is unfortunately the space theme regarding Yu To's work. With him being an aerospace engineer, the storytelling towards the final part of the drama just kept on being about China launching satellites and working out troubles he and his colleagues encounter in their workforce. It strays too far from their romance and relationship, especially since the whole space-related plot was a big patriotic stamp of politics. In my opinion, this changed the whole vibe of the drama and I enjoyed it far less, even if the actors tried to keep the romance between the characters as vibrant as before. I loved the healthy romance between the leads, they resolved misunderstandings between each other and had good communication and trust.

If you are a fan of one of the leads, of in the search for a fluffy romance with alot of gaming, this is definitely for you! And if you find yourself skipping the space-scenes, don't worry, I did the same.

Overall, the drama looks good, the actors did a good job but the story lacks towards the end. It would have been better to just stick to their romance instead of forcing the space-thing to be at the center for the last part of the drama

Read More

Looking camp right in the eye

This was a short drama with around 20 min playtime for 9 episodes, but that doesn't stop it from feeling like both everything and nothing happened. With the source material being a heavily smut-based josei manga about a young college student and a Yakuza boss, there isn't alot that implies this wouldn't be dramatic almost fanfic-esque. The story is cliché so if you are watching it better get ready for the "obsessive love"-trope with a hint of "We will never know when it's our last day together"-trope.

Apart from the shows storyline, the campy feeling derives alot from the cinematography and the lighting/cuts in the scenes. The director has made some creative liberties to try to emphasise emotions like the main leads strong passion/love for each other, chock and other emotions. The fact that they get emotionally "transported" to a entirerly different setting decorated with neon lighting in blue and pinks with flowers everywhere everytime they make love was fun and definitely serves to aid in the campy-ness. There was also a filtering blurring effect and bright BRIGHT lights adding an almost washy effect over the whole thing.

I had a hard time liking the acting of the main leads.
The male lead felt like a bootleg version of what the hot Yakuza leader Oya was in the manga. It might be because I had read the series beforehand, but he was just not it for me. Got to give the production an applause for the very good shoulders and back tattoo that was similar to the 2d version of Oya.
The female lead delivered a more toned down version of Yuri as a character comparing to the manga. In the manga, Yuri is alot more bubbly in personality and that is something that sets apart and highlights how differently Oya interact when he is Yuri. Since she no longer has that clear personality, the whole chemistry between them changes (even if the actors stay true to their lines).

Lastly, I gotta touch upon the fashion/styling. With the low-budget production, it is not per se atrocious but it was by no means good. Over the top patterned furniture and clothing choices for characters that felt odd, some of the time, the clothes really felt like costumes more than something that people would actually put on. It felt like it was fashion from like 2015 instead of being 2022.

Storywise, there definitely felt like they ended the show on a happy ending with opportunity to continue alternatively get the watchers to read the manga.

In conclusion: If you are in search of something campy, with a short lenght and over the top romance, this might just be it!

Read More

A sweet short drama focused on friendship and romance!

Focusing on both the ages of Gen Z and millenialls, this drama has a calming cinematography that focuses on the relationship (friendship and love) of the characters. Albeit with only 5 episodes running at around 15 min each, it still manages to give enough context and content to understand what is happening and the solutions that comes towards the end. I liked all the characters and would love a S2 where you can explore the storytelling more and give more light to each character in the friendgroup.

It's a perfect drama to watch if you need something that is short but can give you a happy ending (and hopefully leave you wanting to see more from the story!).

Read More

The chemistry is through the roof!

I started watching this drama after being recommended to check it out and I was instantly hooked.

This really is a drama straight away goes into the main couples romance. There is quite a big age gap between FL and ML and I'm not gonna deny that it is really noticable. Not only is the FL playful and bold with her flirting, but ther were a few moments where I felt that if FL would have been older, she wouldn't have acted as immature. Whats lacking in the storyline is nonetheless covered by the chemistry between the leads and it is sizzling with passion. There are ALOT of montages where nothing happens in general in the drama (like the main leads just walking around in different clothes) and some plotlines are really inconsistent regarding timing and reality. The whole drama consists probably around 50% of just watching long edited montages of the main actors without any plot and just music, flowers or staring into some corner.

The music, although being quite repetitive, is really good (in my opinion) with a oldschool tropical song that is fantastic (It's the band Grasshopper and the song is called Half Heart or 半點心) and a few ballad songs that are dramatic and where the lyrics goes well with the plotline.

It is quite obvious how all the other characters have been written around the romantic main lead. Towards the latter part of the drama, the melodrama really takes of and everything gets more tangled than it needs to be. In the last few episodes, we start to see more scenes about the FLs mother and the story suddenly starts to shift towards her love story with a younger man in comparison to her daughter (the FL) who has a romance with an older man.

Regarding the open ending, there is an extra scene after the final credits that can be interpreted in different ways.
Honestly, I did not like the ending and feel like it is muddy and unclear.

SPOILER!!
Towards the end, FL who has been slightly sickly suddenly deteriorates and has a health obstacle that leaves the viewer with an open ending. The FL who has had jealous tendencies throughout the story comes off as extremely incompassionate towards her lover when she selfishly declares that he cannot move on if she passes away. The post-credit scene in my opinion is just an imagination or them meeting in the afterlife. Some viewers have expressed that they will interpret the ending as happy because it is just so sad if not.

Read More

A fluffy romance with work in the centre...but where was HR????

This is one of the most hyped dramas of the year with the main leads being Yoona and Junho who both are talanted idols turned actors. The drama is mostly centered on romance in the workplace and has some comedy here and there. The main couple come to have really good, healthy communication. It is a modern cute version of a fairytale cinderella story of the happy, hardworking sunshine-y girl-next-door meets grumpy knight in shining armour prince/chaebol. There will be various clichés throughout the whole story, and this really is a drama to watch if you want something rom-com without heavy plot.

There were some plotpoints that irked me.
- Firstly, the whole story about the arabian prince and his visit felt weird and it did not feel funny to me how they put Sarang (FL) in the spot where she had a hard time working since the guest kept on trying to propose to her.

- FL's bestfriend (the mom) and her whole situation at home with the inlaws was horrible and all I wanted was for her to get a Divorce and live happy with her daughter.

- The big sister of ML and her whole ark was infuriating and I don't think she had a redemption ark

But the biggest irk throughout the whole series was that all I could think of is...WHERE IS HR? Why did no one report any of the abuse they endured to HR? There were SO many instances where superiors would abuse their power against the main characters and the only way things get better for most part is when ML comes to save the day.

The acting is kinda stiff in general and the focus is very much on just looking pretty and romantic. My viewing was mostly because I really liked FLs flight attendant friend and herbudding romance. Loved that couple. The OST is catchy and really helps out in bringing out more emotion in some scenes.

I do think the story lacks in various aspects where they use problematic/toxic workspace without having any repercussions and at the end you are just left with the feeling that the writers, the production, and overall sentiments is that these instances are commonplace and should be tolerated.

Read More

When payback is being handled, there will be drama!

With the drama titled "Until I Destroy My Husband's Family" the storyline points towards being a heavy revenge-driven drama. Which it definitely is!

The plot is wrapped in a slice of life- and thrilleresque way which drives forward the plot unveiling of a long scam.
Minori, the female lead, actress portrays her with so many emotions which is a huge interested from my perspective. The silent
retribution she takes is beyond gratifying!

A big part of setting the tone to the drama is the music. Both the opening and ending songs add character to the plot and is incorporated to add the finesse and the emotions when needed. Not only that, they come to be very catchy!

After finishing the show, I did believe that the drama sadly dragged on for too long. After a dramatic vengeance that was wrapped up and with various episodes to go before the end, the show lost the "spark" it previously had as it now tackled the characters trying to move on from the events. As the revenge no longer drives the story forward, romance and angst took its place. The ending wasn't perfect and turned more into soap drama.

Given that, I do think this is a fun watch if you are looking for a revenge drama with dramatics. And if the music hooks you in, you know you will be watching the story unfold!

Read More

A critique of social media with a cinderella spin on it with glitz and glamour

Following an highly popular influencer's path rising to complete stardom status is a good storyline. We get the cinderella type of feeling towards the main character who builds an career out of nothing but sheer willpower and struggles. Yet, when I think back on the story, it felt lacking in various aspects where it could have benefitted from fleshing out of the competetive hostile influencer-storyline.

As we follow two different timelines (the past and the present, which can be distinguished by the changing format on the screen) each time that the present seems somewhat stagnant, they slam something highly dramatic to get the story moving forward. The writers truly went all in on the dramatics and I did enjoy that alot! In the 12 episodes released, we get an fast paced story with some truly drama-worthy plotpoints and interesting directions.

The most lacking part in all honesty is the romance. It feels like the writers and the director had the vision for a "chic" main couple with intense chemistry that would show the love between the main leads so much that there would be no need to flesh out their dialogue and scenes. Maybe the romance scenes got chopped in the editing process and therefore feels lacking? We get the gist that there is romance, but I never felt an genuine romance that would spark the drama needed for the big plotpoints that are presented towards the latter part of the show. Male lead is smitten with the female lead, but I felt like we missed seeing them on actual dates and enjoying each others company.

The ending was...special. It does feel like the drama tried to convey a message about social media presence and the negative impact hateful comments can have on individuals as well as society in general. I was fine with the ending UNTIL the very last minutes when we get an out of the blue cameo by actor Lee Junho. Is it forshadowing a possible second season? Is it just Netflix trying to put an easter egg surprise since his highly anticipated drama King the Land was gonna be released soon after this drama? WHY was that cameo necessary for the story?

This is a drama that I really recommend to watch if you're in the mood for something that looks really nice and centers around social media/fashion, an almost detective-style storyline that fastpacingly goes back and forth in time to reveal more details and context to what is going on. I binged this in 2 days when I just wanted to watch something without expectations, and overall had a good time!

Read More

When the act of conning takes time

I went into this drama with so much interest and LOVED the first 4 episodes.
The episodes layed heavy on the crime-theme and had fun scenes using, among other things, breaking of the 4th wall to interact with the viewer which was nice and made for a clever way of explaining.

From there, we are introduced to the core group of people that revolve our main protagonists and the reality that they have all grown apart and struggled to get together as a working group again. This is where the plot starts to falter. Their overall struggles in a plot that starts unraveling more and more sinister crimes unfortunately makes the story drag. At one point midway, none of their plans have actually succeeded when doing it in the team. There is always something that goes wrong or derails them from their plans. While that is frustrating and feels like we are getting nowhere, it is really nice to see them try to improvise more and more each time. By the middle of the series, there is a huge lack of the comedy that was seen earlier. It is kinda hard to skip most of the middle, since there are alot of fragments and things that all connects by the end of the story.

Towards the ending we kinda got back the "old" format that we had grown fond of in the first episodes. This emphazises even more how far the storytelling/cinematography/script from the first episodes the drama went during the middle part that just did its own thing without any of the comedy.

Overall I did enjoy the drama alot!
Is is really heavy on the theme of crime and overall else, building friendships (there is practially no romance at all). The FL is a confident smart con-person and the ML is an compassionate lawyer, so if that partnership peaks your interest, give the drama a try!
We also got an AMAZING cameo by the talented Moon Ga Young that I enjoyed. The story tied up nicely towards the end with an happy ending :)

Read More