scenophile

A perfect slow burn

The plot here is something I'm sure we've all seen before — it's a typical revenge + political intrigue type story. But between this and The Prisoner of Beauty, I'm loving our new female leads that aren't physical fighters but are intelligent, brilliant strategists. Jiang Li is a fantastic main character to follow; I really liked how multi-layered the story here is and how she is the main driver of her own story. While I LOVED the romance here, it was wonderful to see the ML be supportive while the FL got to make the plans and carry them out.

With that being said, I also really liked the romance; this is always what I wanted from a slow burn: two characters who fall in love over a long period of time based on mutual support and care as they each work towards their own goals. It was actually great that romance wasn't the main arc here, and it made for very consistent tone throughout all 40 episodes. One complaint I have with some long historical c-dramas are that the first half is very light-hearted and romance-focused. while the second half becomes really dark and angsty once the main plot is addressed. This drama did not have that issue, which was refreshing.

There are some plot points that you'll have to suspend your disbelief for. Imagine how speechless when this show suddenly used the hyper-realistic masks from PLL. For the most part, though, I didn't have an issue with anything.

With that being said, my one complaint (and probably one that many people agree with) is probably the last episode/the ending. It had the perfect ending but tacks on a few more scenes that try to add some more darkness and angst to the story, but it only feels confusing because we didn't explore any of the plot points around it. In my head, that part doesn't exist, and without it, this was a fabulous show.

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Cute but awkward

So Ao Haru Ride is one of my favorite mangas and I was really excited for this one after watching a super cute FMV on YouTube (link here if anyone wants to watch it: https://youtu.be/uqdrmW9-g_8), but I think the music video turned out to be a little better than the actual movie, just because a lot of awkward line delivery wasn't noticeable.

That's the first thing that stands out about the film — it very clearly feels like a manga adaptation and like most of those, the exaggeration really doesn't work too well. The lead characters clearly have chemistry but some of the dialogue really hampers that.

I know it's hard cutting such a long story into 1.5 hours and they definitely did the best they could with it, but it still comes at the cost. The friend group doesn't feel as tight, side characters are less layered, and some of the story beats feel a bit choppy, with a few iconic scenes being cut. It's ultimately fine because I'd rather have more focus on the leads and the romance though, but it makes the stakes feel a little lower.

Romance-wise, I think this did an okay job; I'm more forgiving of Kou than a lot of people seem to be, and this was no different. I found his struggles very relatable, though I'm not sure it would come across as strongly to someone who came in without any prior knowledge of the story.

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My most hated trope...twice

Welp. I was hoping I'd understand the hype after Part 2 since Part 1 disappointed me, but that's not the case.

While, once again, I like the higher stakes — of which this part has more of, it also starts to feel much more aimless after the first few episodes, going so far as to use amnesia, my most hated trope, as a plot device not once, but twice.

The acting is really great from both leads but particularly the ML; I just wished it was used on more fight scenes or political maneuvering instead of reverting his character to a ditz for multiple episodes.

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Healing

Wow, I really loved this one. The premise of a twin swap is already very promising, and the first episode was really strong. I was immediately captivated by the younger scenes of Miji/Hosu, and their friends-to-lovers romance went on to become one of my on-screen favorites.

This show really did a fantastic job balancing romance with more serious, darker topics. Each character had their own struggles and their stories, and I really loved seeing everyone grow individually and together. But the most important theme in this show actually turned out to be motherhood; I loved seeing different mother-child relationships throughout the show, whether it was about the twins vying for their mother’s attention, or about the struggles of being adopted, or about generational trauma. I was really impressed with how much nuance this drama had towards each story.

Aside from motherhood, it’s just a really touching story about growing up, healing from trauma, and dealing with adulthood, and I found every plot point to be really relatable.

There are a few things that I’m not the biggest fan of, even if this show handled it okay. One of those is the very well-known final act break-up. While I think Hosu’s reasoning of not wanting to burden his loved ones with his disability is very realistic and aligned with his character, I’m just never going to enjoy the final act break-up trope in media because it feels like introducing a new conflict near the end; in this show, I would’ve preferred if we took some more time to confront the twin’s relationship with each other or with their mother.

The other thing is the second ship, Mirae and Sejin. I don’t have any particular criticism here; I just didn’t really connect to the romance as much.

I’m ultimately satisfied with the ending but it is a tad bit open-ended; my heart wants to see more Mirae confronting the office bullies but my brain knows that it’s actually healthier for her to just remove herself from the situation and have her legal representatives deal with it. Either way, the message the show left me with is very true to life — life goes on.

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Solid but not mindblowing

This was pretty solid across the board — interesting characters, a fun supernatural twist, a well-rounded mystery (with actual consequences), but it was still somehow missing the spark that would give it more tension and suspense.

While the mystery is well-written overall, it didn’t necessarily blow my mind and the pacing sometimes felt a bit slow. I also think the flashbacks at the start, while nice and did slowly reveal more about the story, did get a little repetitive and retread the same thing multiple times. The acting is also decent, but having many of Jin-young’s later dramas, it’s clear that he improved a lot since this one.

Still, this was nice watch, with a good mix of mystery and romance.

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Watch the drama

Coming-of-age Asian movies will always fill me with a warm, fuzzy feeling, but I really do prefer the drama version of this story purely because of the runtime.

The chemistry between the leads is decent in certain scenes, but I didn't really feel the longing or the slow build that the story requires, and the characters don't have as much depth as I wish. The plot also feels somewhat nonsensical, like we're skipping through scenes.

This movie does what most Asian coming-of-age dramas do — which is introduce a final act conflict and separation — and while it's necessary for the male lead's arc, the resolution still feels pretty rushed.

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Great mystery

This was great! I went into this one without any expectations and it turned out to be a really wonderful medical mystery. There’s a great mix of case-of-the-week mystery and an overarching thriller, and the pacing is done really well.

I ended up being far more attached to the cast than I expected; one thing Japanese dramas are really good at is giving each character backstory without making it the entire plot, and this one was no different. Everyone had their own mini arcs and backstories, but they felt a lot like real life people outside of them too. The female lead in particular was really likeable and down-to-earth, and I loved her relationship with her family.

This isn’t the most mind-blowing mystery out there but it was a really solidly written one from beginning to end, and I felt really satisfied when it was over.

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Action-packed bromance

The best part of Season 1 was the bromance and friendship between the two leads, so I’m really happy that the writers understood that and kept the heart of the show in season 2. The main leads (plus the other people in the gang) continue to stick together and it makes for both really good fight scenes and really heart-warming friendships.

I think the action in this one is better than the first one — the villain feels genuinely intimidating, and the fight scenes feel so much more brutal; huge props to the choreographer and the sound designer in particular. I felt every punch. I do think the emotional motivation for the villain is a little weaker than S1 where we had more backstory; here, the motivation is a little thin. Nevertheless, the actor killed the role.

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The cutest kid actor ever

I was looking forward to this one because of the good reviews, but it ended up not hitting the spot.

I've looked it up and while this show doesn't seem to be dubbed, the line delivery just felt very artificial and awkward, while made it hard to connect with right off the bat. And the way the plot develops feels very forced, especially with the annoying miscommunications in later episodes.

Both leads are okay, but I found the side characters to be pretty cliche and annoying; the SFL is your typical feminine, manipulative villain, and the SML the nice, long-term friend. I'm tired of seeing antagonists like the SFL, and the SML's character was bland and had no believable chemistry with the FL. The second couple also feels very fake and I didn't care much for them.

On the other hand, that kid actor was awesome and just SO cute. His character was definitely used as a plot device, but he was so adorable I kind of just let it slide.

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Your typical Taiwanese BL

I went into this one with pretty high expectations considering its high rating, but it ended up being okay and not so different from other Taiwanese BLs, where there's silly humor and. heart-warming home scenes mixed with random dramatic plot points like attempted assassination. The side ship also started off strong, but the short runtime really worked against them; they didn't really have time to develop, but I ultimately think this was the right decision because our main leads used the screentime well.

What this drama does do really well though, is deaf representation. It approached the topic with sensitivity while showing many different ways to communicate through his relationships with his family and friends. The male lead ended up being my favorite part of the drama and he brought a very soft tenderness to the show.

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Great to see them again

I liked this one still, but I definitely think it's generally weaker than the first season.

It doesn't have the more grounded plot of So Mun's normal life — and the bullying plot and So Mun's relationship with his childhood friends were my favorite aspect of last season. Do Hana has this this year, and while it's not a lot, it's once again my favorite part.

I like how this season similarly tries to make a personal connection with its choice of antagonist, and it definitely works. The emotional scenes are great and everyone's acting is great. However, this antagonist and the main villain really were the only ones I cared about, and the smaller villains came across as more annoying and unnecessary to me (especially when the characters spoke in very bad Mandarin sorry).

Of course, we also have a new addition to the Counter family, and while he's fun and well acted, I think he really needed more backstory so his character would have more depth and he'd have a more purposeful character arc.

Overall, still a nice watch, though I really miss the "underdog" feeling we got from the first season.

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