Give it a try

This review is based SOLELY on my own opinion/enjoyment of this short drama. I haven't read/watched either the manga or the anime.

What I liked:
-The special effects were good.
-I really liked the stylized outfits that the main characters wore. School uniforms with a twist?
-I liked the cinematic coloring. I don't know quite how to explain it, but the blue/gray hues used throughout, especially in the dark fight scenes, were effective.
-It was a short five episodes.

What let me down:
-Lack of character development. The focus in this drama was fighting "the big bad", and there was A LOT of fighting. Unfortunately, I felt that the characters took a back seat to the violence. As a result, I didn't feel too invested in what happened to any of the characters.
-Overacting. I think this may have been due to the fact that this was purposely comic book-like. Everything was exaggerated. The fighting, the facial expressions, the yelling, etc.

I think that if someone enjoys anime/manga, they would probably like this drama.

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Quick watch

What I liked:

Yoo Ah In and Park Shin Hye were both good in this. I especially liked Yoo Ah In in his solitude at the beginning. Here is a young man that appears to live vicariously through the games on his computer. When everything goes south, he has no idea what to do. The scenes between the two of them were good, especially when they were talking to each other on the walkie talkies.

What I didn't care for:

I don't think this needed to be a series, but I didn't feel we got enough back story of the two main characters, especially her. What's her story?
I really have difficulty with the idea of zombies being smart and fast. Maybe it's from my days of watching The Walking Dead, but this movie gave so much credit to the zombies, like they were smarter than those that weren't infected (maybe that was their intent?).
She made a big deal out of being afraid of heights, but then that went out the window, literally.
What was with the other survivor who helped them? That whole, brief storyline was useless.

If you have a couple of free hours and you like zombie shows, give this one a try. It has more questions than answers, but it's an easy watch.

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I hate melodramas but...

from my point of view this melodrama didn't take itself too seriously and I enjoyed the ride! I made me think of the Mexican Telenovela soap operas, a progressive revelation of deeply buried secrets, plans, and schemes. I can't remember when I watched a show with more unlikeable/evil characters, and boy were they fun to watch! The evil stepmother, hungry with power, seemed unhinged to me from the beginning. The stepsister - she inherited that from her mother, and watching her throw tantrum after tantrum - shrieking, throwing things, breaking things, stomping her feet - how could you NOT enjoy something so over the top? The plotline required a flow chart - who was related to who, who THOUGHT they were related to who, who hated who, who had the power, who wanted the power, etc. Every time some new secret was revealed, I heard that three note DUM-DUM-DUM from old movies in my head.

2023 was the year of time travel, and this one jumped on the bandwagon. I was surprised, however, that she had a date on her wrist and didn't seem too overly concerned about it. Plus, he was able to see it, did he just ignore it? Then, they get to the date in question, decide to stay home to stay safe, yet he leaves to talk to someone? You couldn't say these things over the phone? I know, it drove the plot, but it was an obvious "duh" moment.

I thought all the acting was good. I've seen some of the seasoned actors in other things and found them to be overacting, but it absolutely worked here. Sung Hoon as Do Guk - for me, in things I've seen him in previously, he plays a one note character. Stoic, he never smiles (is he supposed to be mysterious?), yells at and/or mistreats the person he supposedly likes. He was excellent in this, he got to smile more and be a more realistic character. And he was all sorts of "green flag". Jung Yoo Min as Yi Joo - I've only seen her in support roles in the past. She was excellent here. She is stunning to look at, she cries beautifully, and I liked how her characters became stronger without resorting to becoming a mean girl. i liked how she was able to get people to like her by just being herself. I don't know if it was his acting or his character, but Byun Jun Seo as Jung Hye's secretary was great. As you watched him watch everything around him, was he a good guy or a bad guy? You never quite knew which side of the fence he was on.

Music - the song about the halo at the beginning of every episode. Didn't like it or hate it. I didn't notice the music throughout the rest of the show.

Rewatch value - since I know the story, probably not. I can see a mashup of all the great main couple scenes on YouTube.

My only complaint - The stylist put Sung Hoon in the WORST outfits! He always looked like he was wearing oversized clothing, and that's just criminal as far as I'm concerned.

So, for me, this was an escape from realism for me, and it was a lot of fun to watch.

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Loved the relationships

It was like watching a Korean Marvel movie. Sure, there were some plot holes, but in general there was plenty of action and plenty of heart. For me, I liked the episodes with the adults the best. How their relationships began and progressed. I also liked the relationship between Joo Won and Doo Shik.

Off of the top of my head, I can't remember the last time I totally fell in love with a character like I did Bong Seok. Just a big teddy bear of a young man, with that intrinsic sweetness always on display. His relationship with Hee Soo was so cute! They seemed like a couple that, on the surface, would never work. But they both had secrets, were loners and I think they found their kindred spirit in the other.

I have already recommended this show to someone. The only reason it doesn't have a higher score from me:
- way too much blood, violence
- terrible language. Sometimes what they were saying was not a curse word, and when it was, why did they have to print it? This is something I feel very strongly about and am really bothered by.
- the setup for a season 2. Why? I'm not liking this current trend of dividing the show in half or having a season 2.
-I would have loved to see a bit of Bong Seok and Hee Soo together at the end.

So, I'd say give it a try. You'll probably like it.

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Enjoyable

It's not going to change the world or anything, but this show had a lot going for it. I laughed, I cried, I binged.

STORY: Yeong Min has taken over being a taxi driver following the hit and run murder of his mom. He lives with his grandmother (loved her!) and the bank is going to take away their house If he doesn't come up with a large amount of money that's owed, and quickly. Suddenly he's got an amnesiac ghost in his car, which certainly doesn't help him bring in any money. She wants help figuring out who she is, he's totally focused on getting money for his debt, and at the beginning they are like oil and water. There are quite a few comedic scenes revolving around this. This is a story about how they go about getting what both of them want/need. There seemed to be a new storyline in every episode or so that gave us new ghosts, as well as clues as to what happened to mom and the identity of the ghost passenger. Red herrings are thrown out left and right, making us wonder who the evil people are, and everyone got their turn. Are the police on the take? What's happening at the hospital? Do the ghosts play any part in getting to the bottom of everything? There was a little romance, and I have to say I appreciated the time that the leads spent together and the conversations they had. It was a progressive building of a relationship that made sense, plus the addition of "How in the heck will this relationship ever work?!"

ACTING: It was good. I quite enjoyed Yoon Chan Young as Yeong Min. Maybe because he's not a famous actor, I could focus on the character. I thought he did a good job. The FL was irritating at times, but mostly just in the first episode or so. I know that writing had a lot to do with it, but I appreciated how, other than the two leads, you never really knew if someone was a bad guy or not. Bonus: Jeon So Min (Something About 1%) had a cameo as a ghost...cute.

I don't really remember the music. I probably won't rewatch for two reasons: 1) Now I know what happens; and 2) My To Watch list is seriously long.

It was an enjoyable way to completely waste a Saturday.

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Don't come looking for romance

Very well-acted by the leads. Lee Joon Gi is always excellent. First, he's not a "pretty boy". Additionally, he seems to take on parts that allow him to be kind of morally gray. Seo Yi Ji was good, and for her part, she tends to pick strong female roles, which she does well. Storyline was very good. This isn't my go-to genre, but it was well done. This was NOT a romance (except ep 6) and I’m all about the romance. However, worse than that was the main bad guy - he was like a caricature of a bad guy (trying to be like Marlon Brando in The Godfather talking with a mouthful of marbles.,. His acting Really took me out of the story).

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Those that don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it

First, this show has nothing to do with Soundtrack #1, if anyone is wondering, other than them using the same bar/restaurant. You don't need to watch Soundtrack #1 before watching this.

This show actually made me mad. It's been a while since I have REALLY not cared for a FL. Here we have a wonderfully talented pianist, who loves playing the piano, but has decided to give it up. She has had surgery to her wrist and sometimes gets pain and stiffness, so she's going to forego all of her training in piano, the fact that the only time she is happy is when she is playing piano and become a food delivery person. We see her struggling to pay bills, we see that she hates being a delivery person. I don't feel her struggle. I see that she is prideful, she's got that "poor me" mentality going on, and we see her either sitting in corners being unhappy, or looking at the city, being unhappy. This girl would benefit greatly by some occupational therapy for her hand and a good therapist.

Then, the relationship. First, she's always mad at the ML because he doesn't have any money, doesn't seem to have any drive, and has delusions of grandeur. This was one of the reasons for the breakup (but, in my opinion, she was always so unhappy with herself that she would never be happy with another person). Years pass and they cross paths again. Now that he is successful, she's mad because he DOES have money! We see that she is STILL not happy with herself or her life, so why would we think the relationship would be any better?

Triangle - pointless.

I'm a sucker for a happy ending. I wait until shows are completely released so I can find out about the ending from others. If it's supposedly a romance and I invest hours in a show, the whole romance (to me) is a waste if the leads don't end up together (25/21, I'm looking at you!). That being said, the writers of Soundtrack #2 made a big mistake with having him show up at the airport. It would have been much better if she had just gotten on the plane and left by herself, then in my mind I could have convinced myself that she was on a voyage of self-discovery and would eventually get herself together. But this ending is like waiting for the other shoe to drop, you know they will ultimately break up again.

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Good movie

Loneliness is a terrible thing. When you are alone and think, "What is the point in living?" This movie addresses this issue. I'm certainly no writer or director, but I wished that the ghosts hadn't been so caricature-like. I felt at the beginning I was watching a cartoon. I felt the same way in the Chinese version. For me, it made it hard to bond with the characters because they seemed unbelievable. The rating came up for me because of the ending, which was wonderful.

The music was overpowering and irritating during the beginning of the movie, I think it was to make us feel like this was a comedy?

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What the heck?!

I put off watching this for the longest time because I had heard about the ending. I decided to pull up my big girl panties, suck it up and give it a watch. Well, I do have to say that the ending really affected my rating.

The concept for the story was cute. Bo Ra's best friend has a crush on a boy and wants Bo Ra to find out everything she can about him while said friend is in America. Bo Ra's detective work was very cute. She was certainly creative in the means that she used to glean information! In the process, Bo Ra starts to like Woon Ho. When her friend comes back, she finds out that Woon Ho is the one she actually likes. This is where the power of friendship was displayed very well, between Bo Ra and her friend. It was sad, you could feel the emotions of the girls, but their friendship was beautiful and strong.

Kim Yoo Jung as Bo Ra, and Byeon Woo Seok as Woon Ho were terrific. They made such a cute couple. Bo Ra beginning to feel the emotions of love that her friend had described to her, her journey of discovery in her first love was a treat to watch. And I thought that Woon Ho was written really well. His emotions just showed on his face every time he looked at Bo Ra, he didn't try to hide it, he was feeling the feels, and he went with it. I can't count the number of times I was taken with his beatific smile. There was no hidden agenda, no game playing, it was just there for the world to see.

So, for three quarters of the way through the movie, I was thinking that I was probably going to rate this pretty high, such was my enjoyment of it. Though there was one head-scratching moment early on, I probably could have overlooked that, but the other two points, just no:
1) There was mistaken identity because Woon Ho had worn his friend's school uniform. There is no way he could have worn his friend's uniform, Woon Ho was about a foot taller!
2) Why in the world did they feel the need to have a different actress play Bo Ra as an adult? That ruined the flow.
3) And the WORST? A ton of time goes by, and she finds out that Woon Ho died years ago!?!? The first thing out of anyone's mouth would be to ask how he died. That is never explained, and it remains this huge clunky rock of disappointment to an otherwise good movie. I mean, just why? There are certainly more satisfactory ways this movie could have ended. I'm just mad.

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Just wow!

Let me start by saying that this is not my go-to genre. It's kind of hard for me to rate, because usually I rate on my enjoyment of a series. I, truthfully, can say that I didn't really enjoy it - wait, before you jump down my throat, hear me out. I didn't like the way it made me feel. It was dark and depressing, with the barest hint of clever repartee to lighten the mood slightly every so often. So, bottom line, the show achieved what it set out to do. It was so well written, and the acting was absolutely top-notch. I felt uncomfortable while watching it, watching morally/mentally gray characters. It raised a lot of questions while watching it: Where is the line between right and wrong? Is it hard to keep trying to straddle that line? Does absolute power corrupt absolutely? Do we ever really know those around us?

Most of the actors I had seen in other works, and they all seemed to be different versions of themselves than I had seen before. The sign of good acting.

If I didn't have to have a minimum word count, my review would consist of these two words - Namkoong Min. Always brilliant. I do have to make a complaint about the makeup on him. It looked like they went overboard on the self-tanner. His skin was so much darker than everyone else, it really bothered me. And I could have done without the sleazy moustache.

So, my suggestion is that you watch it, but be prepared to want to give up your daily life until you've finished it. It's just that good.

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Loved the actors

I loved the actors in this show, but I felt that the pacing was uneven, not very well written and brought up a lot more questions than it answered. As usual, there's a time skip, and a rushed ending.

I love PBY, except when she cries, and she cried a lot in this show (more than once is too much). I feel like her crying moves into overacting, and it really takes me out of the story. And constantly saying that she's "plain"? What's with that?! I think this drama might have been trying to take on society's obsession with the way someone looks, but that message really got lost in the weeds.

For me, I went back and forth between being bored, being confused, and just wishing it was over.

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I'll admit I cheated and watched only episodes 3-5!

The subject matter for the first story - just no. The ending of the third story - nope. So, the second story it is.

The chemistry between the ML and the FL was fire seriously! I'm really liking Ryeoun as an actor. I would have liked for the second story to be longer, maybe eight episodes, so we could get more of a back story for both of them. There was the typical teenage drama, but I enjoyed watching them together. I, personally, like the friends to lovers trope, and this would have benefitted from more episodes as well.

I'm hoping that these two actors work together again in the future.

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Very pleasantly surprised

I watched this in two days, if that tells you anything. If you are looking for something fluffy and easy to watch, give this a try. There's nothing new and groundbreaking here, other than the fact that this show bypasses so many of the tropes that I hate. I do have to say that the tendency to make the FL a bad student is overused. The dubbing was terrible in places (their mouths weren't even moving with the words), but other than that, this show had me smiling, laughing, and I even cried a little.

Actors - Jun as Ling Chao. He was pretty one-note, as I've come to expect from most of the MLs in these types of dramas. There wasn't much acting required, really, since his character was pretty much the same throughout. His characterization was a terrific foil for the ebullient Xiao Tu (played by Zhang Miao Yi). She was outgoing and friendly, with a ready smile that absolutely lights up the screen. She is made for these school dramas, she's so tiny and youthful.

Enjoyed:
1) Main actors and their chemistry. I love that they'd known each other for years, more like brother and sister. It was fun to watch their relationship and watch them try to navigate the uncharted territory of their newly discovered feelings for one another. There was a lot of handholding and there were quite a few kisses, which started out as the eyes-wide-open fish kisses, but they definitely got better. I loved how well he knew her - giving her a bouquet of snacks rather than flowers, because she was constantly eating.
2) I thought the constant snacking of the FL was cute, I don't know why.
3) Second couple. Here's where things usually fall apart for me. They tend to have a second couple that is extremely irritating. I loved this couple. Granted, their breakup was pretty ridiculous, but their scenes were touching and made me cry. Again, their relationship grew from friendship. The relationships of both couples felt very organic to me and made sense.
4) No triangle to speak of. There was a girl that liked him throughout, but I think even she knew she was deluding herself. I appreciated that they had her be caught up in the fantasy of liking him, yet she wasn't trying to break them up all the time.
5) Parents that didn't disapprove of their relationship. Her dad had a hard time of letting her go, but other than that, they were supportive.
6) Friendships. The friendships of these characters, from birth all the way through school and into their careers, was special. I was just caught up in the fact that there were no overly irritating characters!
7) A surprising antagonist (that didn't go on too long).
8) We got to see a bit of marriage and kids.
9) I thought the scenes at the end on the carousel, from children through to their wedding, was lovely.
10) The music, that stayed in the background for the most part, went with the show well. Every so often you'd hear Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star or some other music reminiscent of childhood.
11) The time skip. It was used just to move the storyline at all, and there was no drama associated with it.
12) No stupid breakups for the main couple.

I liked this show for all the things it DIDN'T have, I guess. It's one of those shows where there's not a lot of drama, and really not a lot going on at all, we are just privileged to be able to watch them in their daily lives. An easy watch.

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Cute retelling

This was a re-telling that was fun. It has a happy ending, yet leaves the door open for future re-telling. As is often the case with Japanese productions, there are always one or two people that overact. The witch was such a person, but finally settled into her role.

There was a fun twist to the story that I didn’t see coming. The actress playing Little Red Riding hood was very good. I just wish they hadn’t made her hair red, it blended too much with her cape. Small quibble. Since there is a requirement for a certain number of words in reviews, I’ll say that I would recommend this if you don’t want to make too much of a time commitment.

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