You'll Love this Couple

This drama was so amazing for the simple reason that the couple was all grown-up - no stupid misunderstandings because of miscommunication. I loved the build to the romance and all the shy embarrassed experiences they had before finally admitting their feelings. Kim Jae-uk and Park Min-young had such great chemistry together which means this is one of those rare couples that just melt your heart, plus their banter was just soooo cute.

These two were couple goals truly!

The fangirling was really well woven into the story. Other aspects weren't well incorporated and ended up being...well...boring. My complaint really is that the drama dragged towards the end.

But overall fabulous drama that I would recommend.

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I Never Actually Hated a Drama Until This One

I am so pained right now!!!!! I can't believe I wasted my time to get that horrible ending. This drama was badly written and the character development was so poor.

Okay, I lied all the time I said I wanted the girl to end up with the second lead. No, it didn't work.

As a firm member of Team Sun-oh, I was stupidly waiting for Jojo and Sun-oh to resolve their misunderstanding and have a happy ending. It's the only reason I watched until the very end. Otherwise, it was too painful to watch a heartbroken Sun-oh struggle to handle his emotions and get hopeful when he thought he had a chance. Oh my gaaaaash, I ended up hating Jojo for doing that to him.

This drama was just the worst things about love triangles in full brightness with absolutely no comic relief.

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Short and Sweet and Totally Underrated

A perfect sweet romance to make you forget your woes and just smile for a couple of hours.

This may be the fastest drama I've binged, noting how I sat through it in 2 days without feeling overtaken by the drama.

The leads were so cute and I appreciated the maturity...After checking out the MDL rating I was fully prepared to experience annoying characters and plot holes but....wow. What a pleasant surprise! (NB to self...do not judge a drama by its ratings). Here's the thing about this drama, it is your typical high school/college rom-com with some familiar tropes - enemies-to-lovers, second-chance, ML-has-amnesia love-triangles first-love etc (and I will be quick to say that I sometimes crave just that...) yet, it was light and so well done, I just breezed through it in true delight. Did I say the lead couple was so cute? Plus, the slow-burn was just right - not dragged-out and exactly as long as it should have been.

OST - Beautiful

Also appreciated the second lead couple. Feifei played by Wen Mo Yan was just chef's-kiss BFF goals.

My only issue was with translation (as is with all c-dramas on Youtube)...where do I write a complaint to C-Drama translation teams and express how extremely annoying it is to read poorly-phrased error-ridden English because aaargh! I could correct the grammatical errors for free if someone gave me the job.

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Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!

Breathe in, breathe out...First of all, Fujino Shun is my ultimate fantasy...a dreamy boyfriend, with the most gorgeous smile who's always cooking delicious food for me. and acts out scenes from anime to make me smile *sigh*

I loooooved Kikazaru Koi ni wa Riyuu ga Atte. It's only my 4th ever JDrama and I am so blown away by how incredible this drama was as a whole.

Let's start with the story and the writing...I have fallen in love with the Japanese language, just listening to the poetic way that the characters here spoke with layering so that there were different meanings; loved the references to the sayings or lyrics from old songs, coming in to underscore sth that someone said (I noticed this especially with the ML - Fujino-san) plus hats off to the translators because while so much is lost for us non-native speakers, the beautiful message came through.

This drama was also healing...the characters were caring towards each other and a wealth of respect defined their relationships so much so that it was therapeutic for me. The characters were so real...and lovable in their vulnerabilities and strengths. Mashiba 's dilemma is so relatable...why do I do the things I do? Does my job make me happy? Am I dreaming big enough? And then Fujino Shun! His character development was amazing to watch. In fact, he has the most expressive face and the dreamiest eyes - I was sunk, I mean I fell hard to this one.

The other characters were also so cute to watch and well-woven into the main story that I was invested in them as well. Overall, the drama had an incredible message about facing our fear and dreaming big and taking the leap of faith.

This one is one for the ages.

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First C-Historical and mind is blooooooown

I am writing this review in an attempt to relieve my post-TLB hangover...I refuse to believe that it's actually over.

So,,,I came to The Long Balland "blind" I'd never watched a historical c-drama, have no idea (still) what wuxia and that other one (is it xianxia??) is, have a sketchy background on the Tang Dynasty, totally unfamiliar with the cast and well, just generally prepared to inducted into this brand new world by the cast of TLB and boy was happy about that fact. TLB just built up and then smashed my conceptualization of what this genre can offer.

Okay, let's talk about Changge....first time I have watched a Female Lead character whose baddassery is not watered down by romance....first time a FL has a line saying, "Okay I am going to go save my man" and then proceeds to do just that!!! I was so excited about the beautiful depiction of Li Changge as the woman we all are. I mean we had real character development, we watched her cry and plot revenge, feed her anger with grief, then make mistakes and then grow up and face her fears and her beliefs and then come full circle and see the futility of her revenge mission. I loved especially that she could see the folly of taking the wrong path in the life of another wounded and vengeful woman (and then helped us the audience understand the writer's overarching message). Li Changge was never portrayed as the woman with everything, in fact, we saw so many of her faults that we could truly appreciate her strength and therefore the power and charm she had over those who loved her and trusted her and chose to follow her.

Now, enter Ashile Sun....wuuuuwi. Helluuuuurrrr! Somebody give that guy a medal. Do you know I was a third-way through the drama when I finally googled Wu Lei and learnt he's 21?! Whaaaat?! It was all in the eyes! And together, Changge and Sun had some blazing chemistry. I loved that he stepped in not to reign her in but to be a part of her life. The slow burn was a bitter-sweet torment to watch. The lack of pretensions was just a breath of fresh air as well.

And then the second lead couple...I fell hard for HanYan...just wow! So cute!

This was not a flawless drama. While there were was some epic production feats., the fact remains that the battle scenes were an anti-climax. I appreciate the artistic use of manhua comic scenes to translate what could have been a mass production to scale a depiction of war scenes from that era but...uhm...its a let-down to have suspense building towards a royal battle and then have no proper imagery to support it. Some CGI scenes were also just awful.

All that said TLB is one to watch and definitely deserving of the hype.

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That 1 Litre of Tears...it'll be yours when you watch this

My rating of this drama is entirely objective; based on the story's overwhelming impact on me. It was all the more heartbreaking to think that this is drama is based on a real story and is really the story of millions of persons who live boldly with disabilities, I say boldly because how else can you describe a person gripped with fear and pain and who nonetheless chooses to face an uncertain future head-on.

This drama really made me reflect on my own life and ask a couple of difficult questions: I couldn't imagine living the life that Ikeuchi Aya lived for 10 years as a victim of spinocerebellar degeneration disease...knowing that she would lose her ability to walk, move, speak and eventually die. But does this mean, I live life only to walk, talk, write, move, etc. I think it didn't matter that she never got the answer to the question: "why did this disease choose me?" None of us chose our life. I think this was a groundshaking reminder that strength, purpose, faith, courage...these things are far more precious than we imagine and they look so different from what we have been taught to believe. They probably lie dormant in all of us and could probably take form in the face of our deepest and greatest suffering.

If you have the courage to watch this, you'll probably be crying (ugly face...get a box of tissues crying btw) throughout but there's a gem of an inspiring story to learn from. It will be worth it.

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Cute Leads, Amazing Cast, Not-so-original Plot

Straight of the bat, I need to say I was pleasantly surprised at how much depth we got out of the second lead and other secondary stories. I mean, the focus was not forced on the lead couple so much so that I got to really enjoy other plotlines. I had enough of second and third lead couples to have loved their characters. Which was so smart of the producers, otherwise this would have been a very looooong story.

But therein lies my main problem with this drama. There was very little of the main leads' growth and depth or even a suspenseful plot to have sustained an entire 40-episode drama. The plot got draggy and boring with arches that were stretched out for no good reason. The side story about the Shen sisters is a prime example, other than gap-filling, what was that?! The earthquake arch was also really long, I just skimmed through it. I almost felt like I was watching a remake of DOTS with storylines also from My Little Happiness.

Still, the main leads were a joy to watch. I love nice leads, they just make me so happy! And these 2 were incredibly sweet. Bai Jing Ting, hats off for some great acting. I didn't notice the age gap and actually appreciated that he pulled off the tough guy Special Policeman really really well. I loved Sandra Ma's character Dr Mi Ka - really inspiring. Here is a thought to the producers - did you know that a woman can be both brilliant at her job and actually also look good. What was she wearing?!

Anyway, I didn't think this one lived up to my expectations.

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Let's trash all the fantasy rom-com cliches

First of all, this was not a drama, it was a MUKBANG and I loooooved it! All the food ...I was in foodie heaven.

Oh my gosh...there are so many incredible things about MRIAG....

- the FL! Lee Dam was chef's kiss and now one of my absolute favourite actors...I mean, she was a fabulously written, immaculately executed character. Quirky, straightforward, no BS, no pretense, straight-up hilarious FL. Someone just give Lee Hye Ri a medal

- the writing! This drama just cements Baek Sun Woo, and Choi Bo Rim as my favourite k-drama screenwriters (actually, I picked this drama because of the MDL "watch a drama by the same writer as one of your favorite dramas" Challenge because of WWWSK and Touch Your Heart and wow....another winner guys)

- the comedy in this drama...sheeeesh (cue my brothers rolling their eyes in the morning because I was laughing out loud in the middle of the night again)

- tooooo many awesome scenes (evidenced by the numerous screenshots) and while this drama may have started out slow, there was no boring moment

- Jang Ki Yong *bats eyelashes* I am having an aegyo moment rn. I didn't think he started out strong but olala....just giving him points for all the times he had me melting. I love nice male leads! You're polite and respectful...you gat me.

- and finally my absolute favourite thing about this drama - it took all the usual cliches and threw them out the window. Let me tell y'all, I did not see that SML plot twist coming...I was so bamboozled by that, I'm still reeling. I was waiting for FL to change the rude SML and transform him into a good guy and then we all have SL syndrome....Nope not this time (but did they really do that to Seon Woo ?....it was still heartbreaking) This drama also threw out the SFL as the rude we-hate-her type who antagonises the lead couple as the ML romantic interest...Instead we got an amazing old-couple bickering kind of friendship between the ML and the SFL....and the amazing dynamic between Lee Dam and her friends ...loved it

This was a winner....go watch it. It's absolutely worth your approximately-16 hours.

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This show was absolutely hilarious!

Sometimes I take dramas too seriously and even my drama watching too seriously so that I miss out on just enjoying a show because it is really just enjoyable. I'm glad that Mad for Each Other was the refreshing, breeze of fantastic entertainment because I remembered why I love TV so much.

This was enemies-to-lovers done really well. I loooved the uproariously-funny bickering between Hwi-Oh and Min-Kyung so much that I wouldn't even realize I was in tears ...You just didn't know what to expect between the two and the development of their relationship was so beautifully crafted into their unique personalities. The chemistry was palpable and when they finally end up together, they are so cute that I was blushing. The acting by the 2 main leads was incredibly good; they were both charming in their quirky crazy way. Jung Woo as Hwi-Oh just blew me away.

I loved that mental illness and trauma was a big part of the story without overwhelming the plot so much; sth I appreciate about this show compared to other mental-illness-tagged shows where the topic is too much in your face. Instead, we had real character development. The flow of the plot was natural so that the captivating parts of the show hit the climax. Plus, the ending was just chef's kiss

This show failed to get a 10/10 rating only because I didn't get that certain je ne sais quoi ...can't explain it. Still, a great short rom-com that will make your day.

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Confusing Plot and Annoying FL

I watched a clip of this show and thought it would an easy fluffy watch...I am so disappointed.

This was a trainwreck of a plot....half the time, the story didn't make sense. Say for example, in the beginning, the FL is struggling with school work in high school but then miraculously (or is it because only the ML could save her from her bad grades..?) she gets into med school, is overworking at her partime job and is at the top of her class???? Actually, the change in character of the FL in university doesn't make sense. She becomes so annoying! Aaaaargh! How would you believe a random stranger instead of your loving foster parents when the stranger says to you that they killed your biological parents? I hated her for turning her back on her foster parents like that...and that's how the plot gets frustratingly confusing, you'd think she will take time to investigate the matter. Instead, she is focused 100% on her best friend and doing everything to ignore the ML? The main conflict isn't resolved until the very end and so you have story that just draaaaaaags

On the other hand, the ML botched all the romantic scenes, was too obsessive and then all those times he forces a kiss or tries to manipulate the FL...ewww.

Anyway, I finished the drama which says a lot.

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This Drama Has an Underrated Charm

I cannot remember ever rooting for a couple as I did with the 2 main leads - Qiaoyi and Yan Mo because the love story in this one was just incredible. I started watching the first episode and just knew it was going to be a good one when I realized that the 2 leads have such great chemistry. How do I know that this drama completely blew my mind? The fact that it had my absolute worst Asian drama trope (the "smart guy, stupid/dumb girl") AND YET still got me hooked. I felt every heartbreak, mourned the misunderstandings and rejoiced when Qiaoyi and Yan Mo finally got together (yeeees, there's a happy ending!!!)

Let's talk about the story (which I learnt after finishing the drama was based on a real couple). It is so realistic, which makes sense in hindsight. because there weren't any cliches (I promise) Instead we got an imperfect supposed-to-be-ordinary-but-completely-isn't kind of love story. The casting for this drama was perfect. The acting was a bit lacking. But did I mention the chemistry? I really loved the documentary camera style and the seamless way the plot weaved through the past and the future.

In sum, binge-worthy, great love story.

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This Drama is Overrated

This review will be short.

I liked the cinematography...really beautiful
The 2 OSTs by PUNCH were incredible
The cameo at the end - damn fantastic
Jung Mal Wol was quirky and not your typical FL - that was interesting to watch

That's it for me.

Even the great acting by the 2 leads could not save a lackluster plot. This drama is totally overrated.

The episodes were soooo long and they dragged and dragged. I just hate the fact that I can't not finish a drama once I am a few episodes in. That and my respect for IU as an actress were the only reasons I made it to the end.

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My First Healing Drama

The haters gonna hate hate hate hate hate.

I swear I almost didn't watch ROY for all the bad rep it got here on MDL. I am so glad I ignored all that and watched this beautifully written show. Obviously, I wanted to watch PBG and PSD on screen again...both incredibly talented actors.

I love going into a show with as little info as possible...most of the time, I want to be surprised and I want the story to tell itself so I was pretty amazed to discover that this was less of a romance drama and more of a slice of life piece. If you love poems, this is the kind of show that opens up your mind like poems do - with the weight of the words and the waves of emotions. This show was my first ever healing drama. It reached down deep and my own emotions came to the surface.

This could only have happened with the great acting, particularly by Park Bo-Gum as Hye-Jun. We all sort of want to achieve sth really really badly. It doesn't usually matter why...you just hope that you could live a life where all your dreams could come true. But what ends up happening to us is life and the reality that everything comes at a cost. This very real aspect of life was intertwined so intricately into the show and came to a head when An Jeong-Ha said to Hye-Jun. "are you happy now? You have everything that you ever wanted..," (I paraphrase).

I will admit that I am not a big fan of slice-of-life. I come to dramas to escape reality but this show has an underlying note of hope and that's why at the end you are grateful that all your projected emotions bring a sense of "its okay..it didn't work out the way I thought it would but that's also okay". I have had it said that there were far too many side characters that were not well developed. In my opinion, we had a healthy dose of the different relationships with family and friends and with co-workers and with people you just happened to meet so that we had a beautiful picture of the whole. I still appreciated the growth in Hye-Jun's family and how that affected him.

I could talk the whole day about this drama so I'll just summarise here that this was top-notch acting from the leads, the writing and dialogue were superb and it was slice-of-life the way slice-of-life should be done plus the music was beautiful.

9/10.

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