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watched weekly as it aired
WOW!.. i have a lot to say but this drama was genuinely such a thrill and a ROLLERCOASTER from the start. i was so excited when it was announced that there was going to be a Korean drama loosely based on the original western little women because i loved the movie, tho i was not expecting much because i don't like to get my hopes up and then get disappointed later on :) but i was mostly anticipated to watch because of the main lead i mean there's so many good recognizable actors and a talented director and writer! i was happy to see them together and see more women working in these big projects !onto the storyline: from the very first episode, i will say it started a bit slow, not too much but i did slightly feel the same when i watched Vincenzo (a drama with the same director) but i knew the pacing would pick up later on and it did. the oh sisters were all such unique character until the end and i loved that each had their own storyline, though i wish we could have seen a bit more of in hye (the youngest). throughout the show i did notice some similarities between certain characters and storylines with both little women adaptations but i also loved the thriller twist they made with this one, though i would not recommend someone to watch this expecting it to be the same, but there are huge differences! onto the characters: i think every single characters honestly gave it their all and you can tell especially kim go-eun, i mean she really deserves all awards because the endings she gives us is just amazing and i became a fan of her after the drama since this is the first time i fully watch a drama with her in it!
- there were many annoying characters who are obviously the villians but i gotta say won sang-ah absolutely slayed this as a villian and i was not expecting her to become the "final boss" instead of park jaesang. there was so many twists in this show that just left me gasping for air and it reminded me so much of Vincenzo and i looooved it so it made me happy (ALSO THAT SONG JOONG-KI CAMEO?!?) . i do wish oh in-joo and do-il would have at least kissed ONCE or said i love your or SOMETHING more than just a simple goodbye at the airport that reminded all of us of vincenzo and cha-young 3 this man was so in love with her idc!!! but at least in-kyung and jong-ho are happy as well as in-hye and hyo-rin those girls deserved to get away from these evil people. the cinematography was great, you can just tell it was from kim hee-won
sometimes the storyline would get confusing for me especially with the orchid history and the history distortion was just not it, they should have fixed that from the beginning and there were things i wish they would have added.
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watched 10/7 - 10/15
im sure everyone was super hyped for this drama and i definetly see why! yeobeen and nana delivered a lot of good moments and their duo was the best part. the pacing was..alright? though it didn't bother me that much honestly it was just slow for the first couple eps and took too many turns and side plots and kind of just felt unnecessary in a way? (i.e jihyo's co worker working with the police guy) and some side characters felt kind of just there if that makes sense. i would not go headfirst watching this drama with high expectations of crazy alien stuff because many of the plotlines tie into this cult which i found interesting honestly i think some may not have liked that though. i think the best scene(s) of this drama would have to be the last ep where the big ufo and alien reveal happened (reminded me of the movie 'arrival') and when the cult members find out everything they have been told was a lie and so on. with all of the stuff aside, the cinematography was amazing down to the last second and the thriller elements are just as good imo. yeobeen and nana make it worth the ending and i hope they ended up happy and are living together because they deserve that!Was this review helpful to you?
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watched july 17th to 20th
honestly some of the most fun ive had when binge watching a kdrama! immediately fell in love with the characters, especially geumga plaza squad ?❤️ i love how different they all were but always had each others backs and kept wanting to protect the plaza and vincenzo. hong cha young became one of my fav female leads from how badass she is. I LOVE HER SM. same with vincenzo i loved his backstory with his mom and it made me cry so much when she died, he deserved to know she knew he was her son ? and the scene where he kept calling her “mom” just made me BAWL my eyes. the cinamotagraphy is no joke and same with the ost, so many good songs even the intro and outro! tho, i will admit i was very confused throughout the show about certain plots and characters, but nevertheless i still had an idea about the direction of the show and kept going. song joong-ki gave one heck of a performance all throughout the show, playing an anti hero definitely suits him and would love to see him in more projects soon. the same goes for taecyeon, he did not JOKE!finally, i liked the scene and how it showed that in the end, he is still the “villian” he always was and never changed that.
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misunderstood!!
many people have found it “boring” or too slow paced, but it definitely isn’t for everyone. i think bae suzy gave one of the best acting performances of kdramas this year. this was my first time watching a kdrama with suzy, so i can’t compare her acting with another project she’s done but i can definitely say this might be one of, if not her best yet acting performance. the buildup is not as exciting / fast paced as others, but still gives it’s dramatic effect on the viewers. one of my favorite parts of this drama was how anna/ yu-mi was never meant to be a “hero” or the exact “villain” of the story and throughout the drama that is shown. her life just wasn’t meant to be “ordinary”, and even in the very ending (SPOILERS!) she has isolated herself so i don’t really know if that would be her “happy ending” as others presume she is dead.Was this review helpful to you?
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binge watched 12/22
ill try to keep this as brief as possible but that might be hard to do but anyways. im glad i rewatched the first season right before i started watched the second as it picks up right after the ending of s1. i would say as an "overall" perspective this season passed my expectations by A LOT and it was very much more action and violent packed than the 1st season was. im glad they decided to add more time in the episodes, and it made things feel not so rushed and i thought the passing was normal even until the end. starting with characters, arisu and usagi remained the best characters no questions asked all throughout the show, the actors worked very well and were able to portray their own characters amazing as always. we got some new supporting characters (and returned as well) and i always love how they always show some backstory to them (and even included of some already existing characters) to already get a sense of how the character is and such. the games also felt more intense and longer this season (don't think that was a bad thing). i found them all to be interesting and whenever there would be a "twist" it was always a "woahh didn't think of that" moment lmao. im so glad we got to see some more romance between arisu and usagi (their kiss scene!!) and even until the ending i knew they were always meant to be by each other's side. one thing i did not enjoy was how niragi came back (and still decided to betray the crew twice..). onto the last episode: that was such a crazy rollercoster of emotions and i have a lot to say about it so.. picking up from when arisu and usagi went into the last game, i never really trusted mira (duh!) and the overall episode felt a bit slow but actually liked that. when arisu started to ask mira questions about what the world they were in really was and mira's first response on them being controlled by virtual reality kind of gagged me and was like what?? even the second time she gave an "answer" just showed how unserious she was LMAOO but when she said chota and karube 'died" before the fireworks went off in the beginning i was like HUHH? and she started talking about trauma and suddenly they were in a room together and mira was his therapist?? i know i should not have trusted her but she really does sound convincing and i started to believe her but the whole "this was a figment of your imagination" ending just didnt do it for me and im so glad that wasn't the case because i was lowkey going to throw some hands at the writer.. now onto the REAL ending. im so glad the rest of the crew was alive and chose to "decline" their stay at the other world but the explosion happening in the "real world" was so crazy and i would have never guessed it! the way all the characters were there all the same place at the same time just made so much sense and clicked like WOW. i can see why people weren't that pleased with the ending but i would rather them not suffer again with all the trauma they had in the "other world " and i would love to just assume they all became friends coincidentally afterwards. some things im still confused about (like who actually created the games, why bomb that specific place, who killed mira) anyways, the cinematography was amazing as always and i would rate a 9/10Was this review helpful to you?
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watched weekly as it aired
lets ignore the fact that this review is a week overdue...ANYWAYS. i started watching this drama when it first came out because one of my fav editors was also watching bc of the main lead (jung so-min) and i saw EVERYONE talking about it so i decided to see what it was about. what first drew me in was how POWERFUL the action scenes looked. I mean what convinced made me want to watch was the go youn-jung (nasksu) action scene in the beginning. I also felt like this was really different than what i usually watch and I liked that because it had everything I was looking for in a drama and it all just felt complete. I found all the plots interesting and throughout the show I was amazed at how well made the cgi and scenes were. Not to mention the actors are just as great and I recognized most of them and I was happy about that! Theres so much I want to say without writing a whole essay lmao. First: The plot. I feel like the comedy-action-historical-romance-fantasy genre blend was done great, tho i never really considered it a heavy historical drama like the others, also since its heavy on the fantasy. I genuinely fell in love with (most of) the characters, especially mudeok/naksu and jang uk. The backstory / character development for both of these characters is just INSANE and i disagree with everyone who says the two didn't have chemistry. Their romance was just not like the others!! Tho, I will say it feels (slightly) overwhelming at times having to keep up with so many relationships, romances, backstories, characters, etc. Overall the pacing was fairly good, even the ending wasn't that rushed (i think). The OST for this drama is definitely going to the top 5 of kdramas (Aching by Kassy has my heart). I just loved watching this drama every weekend and waiting for it to be the weekend during the weekday hehe. Lastly, the ending had me completely shocked, I was screaming, crying yelling thinking jang uk was killed by mudeok when she hadn't even realized. like damn that hit hard. BUT HE DIDNT DIE HAHA. Anyways, there's more I would say but i wouldn't be able to fit it all here but I seriously recommend everyone to watch this. 9.5/10Was this review helpful to you?
watched weekly as it came out
for only 4 eps, this drama did a good job on telling the storylines and didn't have too many characters which i liked. the story on how the ML struggled much in her career says a lot on how it really is in the real world and sooyoung did an incredible job. overall nice and cliche (liked it in fact) the main couple is really cute too! never felt too rushed so it felt good as a mini series instead of more eps as people said but i feel like it makes it easier to people to watch-----------------------Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
watched weekly as it came out (starting from ep 4)
WOW!! did not expect to grow very fond of this drama but i did and im glad i watched because it was refreshing to see an ongoing drama this year and was not very depressing lmao it was the opposite and very funny! anyone who dropped from the first ep or the second should try and pick it back up again because it REALLY does progress much better and i think they combine the comedy and romance genre with the office setting nicely. the friendships and relationships in the drama are addictive and i think all characters were written good aswell! the only thing is i did not understand some of the plotlines BUT nevertheless i did mostly watch for the characters lol. an easy watch and short sadly! i will miss it and sang sik and na rae set the bar for enemies to lovers workplace couples this year i dont care what anyone says!!Was this review helpful to you?
Alchemy of Souls Season 2: Light and Shadow
1 people found this review helpful
This review may contain spoilers
watched weekly as it came out
LOVED the first season / part and was super excited for this one as well!! the main actress change didnt bother me and i love yoonjung sm the change made sense and the overall romance between the leads & chemistry was off the charts i hope we see them in another project together hopefully.. ?,, for 10 eps the pacing done really well, rarely slow and i would have liked jang uk to realize buyeon’s real identity just a bit sooner but no complaints ? that last ep was definitely the SADDEST. just the thought that kim doju and park jim could’ve died breaks my heart ❤️? but they didnt die and naksu’s soul is still alive so we thank the hong sisters for that ? im seriously going to miss this show i did not expect to love it so much but the things we dont pay too much attention to at first soon are cherished! this drama was my personality for months and now you’re telling to find something else?!? ? anyways 10/10 acting & ost we love you blue flower by lia ❤️Was this review helpful to you?
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watched 11/24-25
when i first saw the trailer i knew i was definitely going to be tuning in tho i do not know much of hikaru utada's songs, the trailer was enough to get me hooked. fist love stories may be cliche but it's a classic and if it's done well then im sold! what made me interest to even watch was the early 2000s/late 1990s setting (tho they can absolutely be heartbreaking - looking at you 2521 and 20th century girl) and the cinematography, let alone i had never seen a drama based on a song before. on an 'overall' note, the drama does not only touch on the main first love storyline, but as well as a youthful coming of age story of two people you see growing up and how it unfolds. it's also a story about a mother who works two jobs day and night to support her family. its about teenagers having dreams and goals of their own. it's about a man and woman finding themselves years later. i loved this drama on how it would give us a certain 'piece of the puzzle' then showing the backstory leading up to the exact 'moment'. i tried veryyy hard to avoid spoilers and the way yae (FL) got into the car crash and HER GETTING AMNSESIA??? had me shocked because i know the way dramas try to work around the trope and it sometimes does not end up as good as it should have been, but let me say that if yae never regained her memories with harumichi i would be pissed off and im so glad they did not do them dirty <3 i also loved harumichis relationship with his family (especially w/ his sister)the cinematography was breathtaking, every shot was so beautifully done - i think one of the best this year! as well as the writing, it was so inspiring sometimes. the soundtrack was great as always i think using 'first love' by hikaru utada was a perfect option for a drama based on it. rewatch value 3/5, not bad i think i see myself rewatching on a cold or rainy day when im sad or bored a year from now since its such a quick watch anyways. it really sucks how little promo there's been for the drama but i better see more people watching so it gets higher ratings and im very content this was my first japanese drama for 2022!!
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This review may contain spoilers
watched weekly as it came out
when i first decided to watch this i was unaware of park eun-bin playing the main character, and i loved her in “hello, my twenties” so i was quite surprised to see her bc i havent watched her recent dramas. to start off, i think the first couple episodes were a good start. woo young woo’s childhood, the cases. most of the side characters were pretty good aswell. i liked the format of different episodes, different cases type of thing but still keeping the characters storyline all throughout the drama. some of the cases made me tear up and some were crazy.now onto the characters: i loved young-woo. i think the way she would stand up for herself and do what was right for her was something i adored about her. jun-ho was a loveable character too, tho i think everyone can agree that they should have given him a little more “depth in character” instead of just being “young-woo’s love interest”. BUT nevertheless their relationship was the cutest throughout except for their rough patches and random breakup in the LAST COUPLE EPS?!? but happy ending for them made it up so. i was a bit iffy on su-yeon at fist but then i loved her later on ofc. dont even get me stated on min-woo. he didnt deserve his little “redemption arc” or wtv it was that happened in the last eps because not once did he apologize to young-woo for trying to bring her down many times and the writing pushing this relationship btwn su-yeon and him was ridiculous. she doesn’t deserve him.!!!!! i think everyone else was alright i did like more characters than other and some i just did.
overall: it may have had rough patches and random storylines that i dont think fit in, as well as i sometimes it would feel like the storylines weren’t going anywhere?? idk, but overall it was still good and a light watch for most of the time! 8/10
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watched 3/11 - 3/14
waited to watch until part 2 came out so i could watch w/o waiting and it was..good! the story was interesting tho i am not fond of bullying kdramas i do like revenge dramas but it feels like something was missing from the drama idk maybe just me! i lowkey felt there was going to be revenger similar to that of vincenzo but i understand the way the drama was going so it wasn't completely unsatisfying. some parts / sideplots i didnt understand but the acting was good and i loved seeing dong-euns relationships with other characters! 8/10Was this review helpful to you?
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watched weekly as it came out
not sure if i liked better than the first season but i missed my girls so much i had to tune in and i did forget some characters bc i didnt rewatch s1 beforehand but i still understood the storylines and i personally loved the first episodes i dont really understand people not liking them but then again we have our own prefences :) everything went well until the later eps when the trio had issues and jiyeon left home. jiyeon was my fav character and what she had done made me feel disappointed but i understand the way the writers were trying to go with the story that long term friendships can have hardships too but i still feel that there shouls have been a talk between them after jiyeon came back home as if nothing happened. im glad we got different sides and new characters throughout this whole season it really felt like a different direction than last season with more character backstory and development i enjoyed it. overall i still enjoyed it and glad my girls are still a trio after so much time has passed by the end of the season!Was this review helpful to you?
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watched weekly as it came out
lee yeo reum my fav summer girl <3 i wanted to watch even before it came out because it seemed like the typical slice of life type of show that i love and i did! the slowburn was SLOW and i do feel like we should have gotten at least a kiss 3 the buildup of yeo reum and dae bum's relationship was really good to see. the dynamics/relationships and growth development of the characters was def the best part of the drama and i really want to see more dramas around rural nature, ect. the thriller (?) part wasn't as interesting in my opinion and i think only a few dramas can pull of the double genre of relaxing and thriller/ suspense, but this drama did not such a bad job at delivering that. yeo reums message at the end was so special to me and i loved watching the scenery around angok during the summer as it is also my favorite season heheWas this review helpful to you?
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rewatched 12/21-12/22
its been a year since my first watch of the drama so i rewatched before the 2nd season came out and wow! the drama never really failed me and i still was impressed after a second watch a year later! the best parts in my opinion were the first half of the season and the last episode..(no hate just didnt like hiragi and the other men). with only 8 eps and each having 45 min avg run time, it never managed to feel rushed or too slow for me, the cinematography was excellent as always and episode 3 remains as one of the saddest episodes in drama history in my books?Was this review helpful to you?