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My heart
I've previously watched the Taiwanese movie and drama so I already knew what the plot was, but there hasn't been a version of this story I haven't cried at. I've got a soft spot for the Taiwanese film just because I watched it first, but this one still tugged at all my heartstrings and made me shed tears.Was this review helpful to you?
Sweet little sports drama
For something that came in the early 2000s, this drama is surprisingly down-to-earth and grounded. The leads have fantastic chemistry and I really am a big fan of the fun little banter that they have, while also having very mature conversations.There are some moments here and there that do show this drama's time — some lines that don't age too well — but ultimately I found this show pretty sweet.
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Confusing
I absolutely loved the first season — it hit all the emotional beats and had a fantastic balance of political, social and emotional arcs. I was really looking forward to this season, and while I think it has some really strong moments, it ultimately felt more confusing than anything to me.There are a LOT of characters and I don't think any of them really stood out to me; it doesn't help that the timeline seems very muddy. The arson incident is not really given enough weight that clarifies exactly what happens "before" and what happens "after," and I also just missed the journalism and legal fall-out we saw in S1. This season seemed to go for more of a political perspective, but it didn't seem to be tied to the incident directly, and was instead just there as a more general backdrop.
Ultimately, I still liked a lot of the social commentary this season tried to give, but I don't think the story was told in a very memorable or clear way.
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Nice case-of-the-week
Another case-of-the-week jdrama, similar to Gossip: #Kanojo ga Shiritai Honto no 〇〇 or Don’t Call It Mystery. I feel like the cases in this one weren’t as memorable though (barring the LGBT one, which made me cry).The strongest part of this one is probably our trio of main characters, who have a really cozy dynamic together. One thing I would ask for though would be for the climax to hit harder — I’m not sure the big, personal case at the end really hit hard enough for me. Still, I could see this being a show that could go on for many more episodes as they went through different cases.
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Feel-good
I don't watch a lot of historical dramas but I found this one modernized in a way that made it very easy to get into and easy to love. The balance of humor and serious topics was done really well, and I will always love a drama that also focuses on female friendships — especially one that subverts the evil second female lead trope. The communication between the leads from start to end is very refreshing, and it made this drama a very pleasant watch overall. The leads are super cute.I do wish a little bit that the romance developed more slowly. The pacing isn't bad by any means, but they get together pretty early considering how many episodes the drama is. Still, this was a really delightful watch overall. If more historical dramas were like this, I would tune in more.
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Mainly cinematography
Beautiful cinematography, though I'm not sure the time travel aspect really worked for me. It's a trope I typically like, but it felt kind of misplaced here. Everything does fall into place at the end but ultimately I think I needed either a little more exploration of the fantasy mechanism itself if it was going to be used.Was this review helpful to you?
Surprisingly adorable and enjoyable
I didn't realize that each episode was only 3-5 minutes when I started watching this, but everything was surprisingly solid, from the pacing of the story to the growing romance between the characters. Despite touching on some heavy topics, this drama is light-hearted in a comforting way and the lack of annoying villains or drawn-out misunderstandings is refreshing. I'm not one to rewatch things but this would be a great one to re-binge considering how short it is.Was this review helpful to you?
Steady
A very steady and consistently written season, though I think season 1 was just a little stronger in terms of both the mystery and the relationships between our main characters. I personally preferred the episodes where stakes felt a little higher and closer to home — the earlier ones in this season where our lead was getting falsely accused and trying to get there before the next kill.The story loses a bit of steam as it goes on and the backstory turns out to be kind of predictable, but I thought everything was wrapped up pretty neatly.
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This review may contain spoilers
Comforting
Oh I enjoyed this one so much. It has to be one of the best slow burn shows that I've seen, and I loved how much it focused on the emotional aspect of them growing closer. Their scenes feel so down-to-earth, realistic, and intimate, and I really appreciate how even the tropes don't feel tropey.It's so sad that it ends on a low note — and I know season 2 is a long shot at this point — but honestly, the ending doesn't diminish my love for the show at all. I've grown to really care about both main characters so much, and I'll definitely be reading the novel just to see how their story ends.
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Good themes but confusing
This film has several extremely emotional scenes between the leads that absolutely blew me away, but as a whole, it feels very janky and choppy.There's not a lot of development between the characters in between the big moments, and the timeline just feels really unclear, as if we're jumping from scene to scene instead of experiencing the passing of time. I found myself pretty confused about what had happened between the characters and how long it took.
The acting is pretty good, but I think the script needed more tightening.
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Didn't click
When I saw that this was a friends-to-lovers story, I jumped into it right away. But it turned out that it wasn't the plot I typically enjoy, where we get to watch two people realize they're in love with each other and slowly make their way to each other. Instead, the leads pretty much get together in the first episode, and the drama revolves more around little bumps in their relationship, some of which are awkwardly realistic like figuring out how to communicate after living together, and some of which are more trope-y like third parties trying to get in between their relationship. The last episode is also pretty rushed.Ultimately, this was pretty light-hearted and low stakes, but it didn't really click with me.
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Soft romance goodness
Between the other dramas from this author, Amidst a Snowstorm of Love and Love Me, Love My Voice, this one was definitely my favorite. I loved how quiet and comforting this drama was, and the acting from both leads was phenomenal.The flashbacks weaved in and out of the present day timeline perfectly and really added to the angst of their second-chance romance. Even after the leads got together, I never felt bored; the chemistry was just that great. I wish the second half of the drama let us mellow in their little moments more and did less of the time jumps. The only other bump in the road for me was the ending, which ended in a flashback. Don't get me wrong — I like the flashback itself and we definitely get full closure, but the last episode just didn't quite pack the punch I craved where we were looking to the future.
I also have mixed feelings on some of the family-related arcs. While I like that nothing was over-dramatic or blown out of proportion, I also felt sometimes that arcs ended abruptly and emptily. People became "good" or changed their tune suddenly, in a way that was not satisfying or realistic.
I also want to mention that we don't get to know too much of either of the lead's jobs, even though it's always in the background. For a drama where the character's occupations are more in the forefront, I'd look to something like You Are My Hero (which I also loved). However, I actually liked that this drama focused on the romance more. It also highlighted the friendships, both of which were really heart-warming. The second lead romance was minor, but quite well done also.
With all this being said, this is a romance drama. The romance IS the best part and it was done really well. I'd definitely recommend this one.
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A throwback to rom-com excellence
It's been a while since a show felt like a quintessential kdrama rom-com to me, but this one definitely scratched the itch. The romance — both past and present — hit the right balance between serious/angsty and funny, and even when the storyline got very dramatic, it felt very peak kdrama.As much as I enjoyed most of this, I do think there was one particular standout, and that was the younger versions of the Jiwons; the chemistry for their banter was so fun, and they were brilliant at the sad and heart-wrenching scenes. I loved the adult versions, but their younger counterparts have a special place in my heart.
Overall, it's not anything ground-breaking, and the "same name" premise actually doesn't play a huge role in the drama. It's what you'd expect out of a rom-com, but it's a fun ride nonetheless.
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Wish I'd liked it more
Oh I really wish I liked this more, but it does exactly what I don't like about the soulmate trope.I like the idea of two people who get dreams about their past lives and feel like they've always been missing their other half, but it's much more interesting when two people fall in love with each other when they are reincarnated, rather than because of it. Dean and Pharm see each other from across the room and just know each other; from there, the romance seems to happen pretty quickly. I don't know, it all just felt...too easy? Dean/Pharm scenes overall got very repetitive to me. There are a lot of scenes where Pharm just ends up crying and I don't think any of it hit me emotionally, whether it was because of the acting or lack of development for the character himself.
Some other things about the drama also just feel like they jumped the gun, like all the students hyping up the Dean/Pharm ship when they haven't even met. The pacing of the second couple was also weird to me, and overall I think none of the acting was that immersive for me.
On the other hand, I think the past lives scenes with Intouch and Korn were the strongest scenes. I still wish there was a little more meat to how they fell in love (and not just how their story ended) but ultimately I still enjoyed their scenes the most.
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This review may contain spoilers
A real slow burn
I see a bunch of comments saying that this drama barely has romance in it and in my opinion, those people could not be more wrong. This drama is EXACTLY what I want out of my romance — quiet contemplation, and the ultimate slow burn of two people who just love spending time with each other and don't realize it's love until it's too late. I just loved the vibes of this entire show; it's quiet but bubbly and comforting, and there are characters that make bad decisions, but they're not portrayed as cartoonishly evil.With that being said, however, I do wish this drama had subverted some of the cliches instead. Towards the end, there are miscommunication tropes that were frustrating; I prefer my romance to burn slowly as a result of "it was never the right time," rather than because a third character did something underhanded, and they also ended up doing the time jump reunion, which I always just hate, because it feels lazy and unearned. Without this part, I would've probably given this drama an 8. Still, the episodes before this are fantastic.
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