Reviews

A game of chess that is masterfully crafted

Admittingly, grasping this drama could be a tad bit difficult to achieve. It is like hanging on a fast train. Multiple characters will be thrown and their role on the show will perplex the viewers at first. Should they be trusted or not? Who are the villains? Who is the third person? The rebellion that happened in the past – which obviously is the driving force for the motivation of most characters -- will not be explained in detail and therefore adds more confusion to the viewers. BUT FEAR NOT, because once you get your footing of everyone and everything, you are in for a good ride. Now you are welcomed to a rather fun (or distressing) game of chess.

This drama is full of characters that have so much depth. From the main to supporting leads, you will gain a better understanding of the reason for their actions. Redundant or useless characters are nonexistent. Everyone will be used as a pawn and will contribute to the game. Every move will put your brain on a gutter, trying to figure out what their next step would be. This brings us to what I love most about this show – unpredictability. The plan of the other would create a ripple effect and would, at most times, ruin the initial plan of the other. One decision or action could elevate to a bigger event which makes it even more interesting.

Even though the romance is not the focus, the tandem of the main leads is commendable. No skinship is even necessary, their joint venture to team up and knock down the eunuch faction is more than enough. Their utmost trust between each other throughout the drama did not falter. The loyalty that Ruo Yu have towards Qi Yan is admirable. No annoying misunderstandings are present as even though the male lead has continuously pushed the female lead away multiple times, she stood by her purpose – and that is to protect the emperor no matter what it takes. I love how both leads are smart and attempts not to bring their emotions to spoil their plans. The drama did a good job with displaying how much the emperor cares about his love, and yet he does not treat her as someone who is always in constant need of his protection. He trusts her by letting her go and have full confidence that she will get the job done. The female lead may be naïve at times, but she is strong and is someone that the emperor could greatly confide into.

The acting is brilliant and the heartbreaking scenes are beautifully captured. In fact, this is the first drama of Yu Xi that I have been truly impressed by her performance. Cheng Yi’s acting is already a given, and he indeed shined the brightest here. But flowers should also be given to other supporting casts (Yu Xi, Xuan Lu, etc.) whose crying scenes have broke my heart many many times.

Overall, this is one of the best palace dramas I’ve watched. It is fast paced with all the intriguing movements from every character. It did not drag at all as it kept my interest from beginning until the end. An emotional roller coaster ride that is worth every second. You will cry, smile, empathize, and lastly, gain a deeper understanding of everyone as the story progresses.

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If you want too see the ass of the main leads this is the movie for you.

This movie actually doesn't have a story, they tried it by throwing in some political stuff, which was quite incoherent, it was all about the erotic scenes to be honest. It just doesn't flow and it is lacking almost everything, from character development and loads of movie mistakes.
The actors tried, I am amazed that they didn't turn this offer down because they should. How could they read the script and thought 'lets do this'. No, they should have declined it.
They tried it, and their butts and bodies looks amazing but that should not be the main theme about this movie.
The music was fine, but I would not rewatch this movie, it was a waste of my time.

Watch this if you want to see (hot) naked men and bloody scenes.
Skip this if you are looking for a movie with a coherent story, full character development and great acting.

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Please don’t waste your time

I only give it a 4/10, cause the first two episodes were amazing and the cinematography was excellent, other than that: full garbage.

I have never seen such miserable and annoying characters. The ML is the most miserable person ever. The lack of self respect drove me INSANE. How can someone hate themselves that much? His character was really interesting at first, but they ruined it by making him a simp. They should have give his character more in depth scenes, the character was much more than an idiot waiting his whole life for someone who left him.

The female character is the exact opposite, super selfish. She was so angry and mad about.. what? I couldn’t understand her at all. Everyone is loving her and open to help her, but she is just an ungrateful brat.
I appreciate people who choose themselves and go for their own dreams, but she should’ve never interrupted the ML’s live. She made things only worse and left, again.

I can rant about the absolute RAGE I am feeling right now, but I will spare you guys, just don’t watch it for you own sake.

The only good thing about this shit drama is that they didn’t end up together, THANK GOD! Or i would’ve given it 0/10

I am so disappointed that they ruined absolute perfect two episodes. I can absolutely love second chance romances, but not like this ever again please.

They WASTED an great opportunity the worst way possible and I will have to mourn for this now.. THANKS.

edit (and spoiler): I forgot to mention that the FL is really the worst girlfriend ever. she drank wine with her ex, whom she hid from her boyfriend, while her boyfriend was having a hard time, because his grandma was almost dying. i think i won’t be forgetting this awful situation ever 💀

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This drama was sweet, warm, and made me feel very cozy every time I tuned in for an episode.

It doesn't have the best script in the world, and sometimes the relationships were an absolute jumble of confused push and pull, but the actors managed to always bring some light and smiles.

Every episode made me want another, simply for the beautiful scenery and the delightful acting. Each actor was so talented and I cannot wait to see what they do next. To put it simply, Warm and Cozy was a fun simple romantic delight.

P.S. It's a nice break from super heavy melodramas

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L&P DESERVES AN AWARD! MUST WATCH CDRAMA OF 2022!!!

I am not exaggerating, this drama is phenomenal, I highly recommend it if this is your first time watching cdramas!

The storyline begins in the present time which is actually a good attention grabber. It will make you wonder what happened, why and how did it come to this point. The drama will then take us back to the past where it all began, freshmen year of college. The concept of this drama is computer programming, and you really see them mostly focused on typing codes, and make programs, etc. Albeit, I'm not sure if the coding itself is real but I have not seen this kind of drama elsewhere which is quite unique.

What really makes this drama come to life and why its so popular is the acting, the chemistry, character development and the storyline.

Zhu Yun (Zhang Jing Yi) : Zhu Yun as a character is a book smart, follow the leader kind of gal in the beginning but eventually she will find her voice. She can get a little bossy, and sometimes I think she lets her emotions make the decision instead of thinking from a practical point of view. She's very passionate when she wants to prove she can do something, as well as very caring and understanding of her friends espeically towards Li Xun. Zhang Jing Yi played her part very well, nothing to outstanding and her acting is quite natural - like she truly is the character itself who's in love and willing to do anything for the love of her life. I have only seen one drama of hers so its difficult to judge if she improved or not - seems like the same to me.

Li Xun (Chen Fei Yu) : Li Xun is your typical rude, selfish, arrogant male lead who believes everyone sucks at computer programming compare to him. However, he's very misunderstood, he's more of a practical guy - he has more experience in the field thus he knows what is sellable or not. Many viewers, espeically if they don't understand mandarin, would think that he's always rude but most of his replies esp to Zhu Yun are quite funny or sarcastic - its unfortunate its not translated well into english. :( Li Xun may be your nerdy, introverted quiet kind of guy but towards Zhu Yun - he cares in a subtle way, and tend to keep a lot of things to himself which is a double edge sword. His character develops pretty nicely, he's not always like he was in the first few episodes. He learned to be apologetic and show remorse for what he has done. However, he still keep things to himself, and sometimes he believes its better to work alone than to bring people in to help him. Yeah, he definitely needs therapy to deal with the losses and feelings. Chen Fei Yu did an amazing job as Li Xun because his eyes does a lot of the acting when he doesn't talk, and it really sucks you in. I also only seen one other drama of his, but despite of that, there's a huge improvement in his acting!

There is a couple time skips and unfortunately we do not see much of the beginning relationship between the leads, but regardless, their relationship was very cute, fluffy, and natural - its like they're a real couple honestly. Amazing acting from both of them!
There's many other great actors in this drama but I have to highlight is Gao Jian Hong played by Zhao Zhi Wei. Without spoiling too much, his character is very competitive, and insecure in his computer programming skills. I did not like his character from the get-go, he seemed fake - a two-faced character. Other than that, you would have to watch and see why his acting was amazing.

Ren Di played by Jenny Zheng: From the beginning of the drama, the way Jenny acted as Ren Di seem so incredibly natural as if she played herself. I just wanted to point that out, the outfits, and her personality fits the actress so well - its very natural and I hope she gets a main role. She honestly compliments well with Chen Fei Yu - the tall couple. hahaa Okay but in reailty, the characters have no romantic interest to one another.

In terms of love triangle, there is one, however it will not make you pull your hairs out so its not a big deal.
Music is amazing, the settings are amazing esp when the main leads got together - the background, the cinematography was beautiful.

Definitely highly recommend this drama if you enjoy watching dramas in a college setting, slow burn but realistic and natural romance, computer programming, games, the dreaded angst, friendship, and betrayals.

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"Jirisan" radiates within the slowed down, yet powerful dynamic of the mountain world

"Jirisan" pays tribute to South Korea's first and largest national park and its rangers, who ensure security and order here. The KDrama weaves an exciting story that also takes into account the special aura of the mountains, adding a good portion of mysticism. Actually Jiri Mountain is quite legendary and downright sacred for Korea. It's worth watching the KDrama for that alone.

Other quality guarantees are given by the handpicked cast and high-end production.

A joy for some, a curse for others: "Jirisan" radiates within the slowed down, yet powerful dynamic of the mountain world. The story itself is a bit reminiscent of a mountain hiking tour: it's not a stroll. You need the right footwear. Sometimes you might think you've lost your way. The story is told in several timelines. Yet it chooses its own rhythm with a sure step, that leads to the final destination. On the way it is continuously enriched with worthwhile vistas along the entire route... Fast pace and airy love story are not part of the baggage. But exciting entanglement over time, unconditional trust as a topic in the team of rangers, as well as love in its essential form and various expressions (... e.g. for the mountain).

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Very good, could have been perfect if shorter.

The greatness of this drama is in its main characters. They are mature, thinking people with none of the usual simpering of the ganre. They are all complex and rounded and aren't so easily put into the usual boxes of good or bad.
The music and costumes were good, but as usual the white skin filtering was too much. Wish the Chinese industry would stop with this nonsense, since they already have such good looking actors without the filters.
The downside of the drama was the number of episodes. Forty episodes were too much for the story and the last five episodes I was mostly skipping and skimming. It was a good drama but it could have been excellent if it was shorter.

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Charmingly funny show with two endings

Delicacies Destiny was not a big-budget production, with nondescript sets and unmemorable costumes and props. Still, those factors did not detract from the show's charm, and one can tell that quite a bit of the budget was invested in the cooking scenes and the resulting dishes.

This light-hearted story was primarily about the relationship between a Crown Prince and his Imperial Chef, with a side focus on the female lead's ambition to be the best Imperial Chef in the palace regardless of her gender. It was not a typical historical rom-com with strict palace rules and protocols. The royals in this show interacted casually with their servants and the Queen was not the usual domineering character who controlled her son's harem and marriage. She was unexpectedly very supportive of her son and prioritized his happiness. It was refreshing to see some emphasis on on positive body image.

I was thoroughly entertained with the food porn, cute romance, on-point comedy, and catchy OSTs...until the last episode.

From episodes 1 to 15, I found this drama hilarious and quirky. Still, the ending left me so dissatisfied that it took me time to calm down before I could write a reasonably objective review. Without spoilers, I can say that it was an open ending that irritated me so much that it dimmed my anticipation for a potential season 2 and, like the male lead, left me angry at the female lead.

EDIT: I increased my rating after watching the alternate ending. While it was not the best ending, it provided a proper happy closure that was much better than a clumsily executed open ending.

Our main couple was lovable and dorky. The slow-burn, sincere, and simple romance between them was endearing and fun to watch. Both lead characters were emotionally immature in their own ways which created plenty of opportunities for funny scenes. I smiled and laughed so much throughout the show.

The male lead, Zhu Shou Kui, the Crown Prince, started off being spoiled and entitled and was used to throwing tantrums. Yet, at the same time, he was compassionate and often protected the people he cared about at his own expense. It was great to see his character develop and mature. With the female lead's help, he realized that it was not always about him, and it was all right to let other people share his burdens. As for the female lead, Ling Xiao Xiao, who ended up as the Imperial Chef of the prince's kitchen, she was initially clueless about love. It took more than halfway through the drama for her to finally "kāi qiào" or realize her feelings for the prince.

He Rui Xian as Xiao Xiao is lovely, but she does not quite have the aura of a female lead yet. Her acting was pretty decent, though, and with a few more dramas under her belt, I think that she will get to the next level. I first watched her in the Royal Feast and liked her character there. Her acting range was wider in that drama compared to this show. In Delicacies Destiny, as Xiao-Xiao, she has too much of the wide-eyed, huh? look or a deadpan look, and it was towards the last couple of episodes when I saw more emotional acting from her.

It is my first time watching Wang Xing Yue, and like He Rui Xian, there is room for improvement, especially when it comes to his micro-expressions. I find it hard to believe that he is only 20 years old since he exudes a level of maturity beyond his age. He definitely has potential with his good looks for more male lead roles.

The supporting cast was fine, doing what they needed to do. There was some over-acting but nothing much to complain about and nothing much to praise. A secondary couple provided extra entertainment but did not distract from the main couple's journey.

Music-wise, the tracks were great, and a couple of them were not what you would expect from a historical drama. Still, they were fitting for this drama. For posterity, I have recorded the main tracks after my review.

Overall, I would recommend this show. If you don't like a ridiculous open ending, I would advise to stop watching before the last 4 minutes of the final episode. Or you could watch the alternate ending if you prefer to have closure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XdcFM5zhQo
00:00 陆虎 - 珍馐记 (Lu Hu - Delicacies Destiny)
03:03 锤娜丽莎 - 吃货一枚 (Jiahe Ji - A Foodie)
06:35 徐均朔 - 落尘 (Xu Junshuo - Falling Dust)
10:15 银临 - 七夕 (Yin Lin - Tanabata)

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An easy-going romance

Don't expect anything too serious or complicated, this is just something to watch if you want to keep smiling at two dorks that fell for each other. The main characters are lovable and the actors portray them well.

There's no cringy humor, nor anything too corny. There're cliches but they are mostly done in a self-aware way, which is refreshing, and if there's angst (concerning the leads), it lasts almost nothing, they don't dwell on that. I honestly just focused on the leads though, so I skimmed through all the drama the other couples went through.

Big plus, which made the drama so enjoyable, the heroine is smart and resourceful and hilarious in a really good way. The leads respect, trust and protect each other throughout the story consistently too, which doesn't happen often, so it's really good to see.

So it's nothing outstanding, but I often need this kind of drama, where everything bad breezes past and the focus is in the good times, so that's why I put a high score. Totally watchable too, in fact, perfect if you're seeing a melodrama and want a little dosis of silliness and happiness.

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This is a very endearing and cute drama. It's funny and not too dramatic - there are no massive and overwhelming problems/obstacles, but enough plot twists to keep you interested. The main characters are portrayed very convincingly by Kato Koyuki (Sumire) and Matsumoto Jun (Momo). Supporting characters are good as well. The plot flows nicely and I found the ending was satisfying enough, although not perfect. The instrumental soundtrack suits the drama very well, and the theme song, V6's "Darling", is sure to stick in your head for a long time.



Despite the weirdish pet/owner relationship between the main characters, this drama is somehow very realistic. In the end, it is about people searching for someone with whom they can be themselves and that is a something everyone can relate to. Even if you don't like Matsumoto Jun - who, by the way, does a superb job in this drama, very adorable - you should give this drama a try. It might well be that at the end of this drama you too hope to have an adorable Momo as your pet! ;)



If you have read the manga, I think that this drama adaptation isn't a bad one at all. It's different, of course, and it doesn't follow the manga faithfully: there are quite a few changes and some characters omitted, some added/having bigger roles. However, I do think that the drama has the same spirit as the manga, and the main characters are quite the same. Anyways, I read the manga after watching this, so my opinion might be a bit biased since I was charmed by Matsumoto Jun's Momo first. :)

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worst season / wat happened

taynew firstkhao and sing - the only ppl that actually didnt disappoint anyone

this was a boring season the games were boring and the king of the day was the same person 5 days in a row, not only that but homophobic jokes were made by foei and white towards tay and first while others like chimon laughed at the table. not only that but first expressed that he found khao cute "the voices in my head keep saying khao is cute" they kept teasing later on about it and it was starting to become uncomfortable it was a harmless comment it felt like it was rooted from homophobia. not only did they make that joke but also a rape joke towards first and tay and later apologised and made first sit there w them but u can clearly see that he was still down the atmosphere in the house was bad and ppl wanted it to be over u can tell that 2 ppl wanted to leave the house.


so by now taynew and sing left to do work i assume leaving firstkhao, there was a game tht they had to disguise themselves and guess who it is. black paint and afro wigs were used and many ppl did blackface and laughed at the others who did it even if they didnt have ill intentions (mond knew what he was doing) they still should have known the only ppl who didnt take part in any of this was firstkhao by the end of challenge u can see khao being moody the atmosphere was gone again this was on the 6th day. https://twitter.com/ickyfeeI/status/1568519437770436608?s=20&t=YSzapkOrXH2WA1SJT6lFQg (<<<< what happened) pics are still up after 7hrs no apology

gmmtv ignored ppl calling them out and continued to post more pics of the group dressed like that. one more thing do not go after firstkhao for not saying anything we have to remember that in thai culture respecting ur seniors is a big thing there everyone is responsible for their own actions and consequences that come after dont blame others for the actions they did not do.

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This review is based totally on this adaptation. I have never seen any of the others or read the manga. What I like about this drama is that it is easy to watch. There are no villains and the adversity that the characters face is resolved quickly. The story isn't new or special. However, I enjoyed the over all good feeling that I felt while watching the characters grow as they faced trials and over came obstacles both personal and as a group. I don't usually enjoy lot of characters and side stories, but in this case it seemed appropriate. I'm so glad the writer didn't make Cha Yoo Jin too much of a jerk or Seol Na Il stupid. Also, I like that Yoo Jin pretty much takes care of Na Il from the start even if it subconsciously. I don't know how much this varies from the original, but I like this version.

I have never seen Shim Eun Kyeong in anything else, but I couldn't picture anyone better for this role. She was totally adorable as quirky, naive and genious Na Il. I know not everyone is a Joo won fan, but I love him. He has played a variety of roles and doesn't disappoint as Yoo Jin. It seemed real as he fumbled around learning to have friends and care for people. The other actors are good also. Go Gyeong Pyo is good as Il Rak.

The music is outstanding. It is worth watching this drama for that alone.

I will probably rewatch this at some point.

No matter what genre you enjoy, I recommend this drama. It is a comfortable and easy watch.

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