Reviews

This drama basically started off with both main lead how they meet and all those. Then the girl ( Han Fei ) had a accident and died which the boy ( Wu Jing Hao ) regretted not to save her as Han Fei met him before the accident. So 10 years later, Jing Hao is a doctor and he went back 10 years ago, about 3 to 4 months before the accident and he tried ways to stopped it, Along this journey, he started to know more about Han Fei.
But on the day of the accident, Jing Hao saved Han Fei with his life. He left a letter for Han Fei about him coming back from the past and how he tried saving her So the drama skipped to 10 years later where Han Fei is a a doctor , went through what Jing Hao did, went back to 10 years and then she saved him and they both lived happily ever after.
( P.S. I am mentioning partly of the story )

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Tales of the Misfits

Characters are self obsessed, angsty, self-destructive and in some sense rejected by society. I was truly absorbed by these characters throughout the movie, and being a coming of age film lover, I really like the character study treatment they have given on each character especially the interview part. Film was deep, very philosophical, it tackles existentialism quite profoundly. I also heard it was based on a manga so if that's true that would make it the darkest and the most depressing manga based movie I've ever seen. I also love the setting, it is set in an industrial area in 1990's, and vibe is a blend between depressing and nostalgic.

I love the cinematography, it's very atmospheric, and camera work is documentary like, love character close up shots and the background. Music is simplistic but effective, it builds the tension for each scenes and the transition to the next. I also love how the ending credits song is upbeat such contrast to the whole theme of the film, it gives smile to my face.

Great acting from all of these young cast lead by the Fumi Nikaido which in my opinion the best young actress in Japan, she's really good with these type of characters. Yoshizawa Ryo is a revelation in this movie, I didn't know he can act like this, such intensity, reminds me of a young Kengo Kora. The rest of the cast did great job as well because it's not an easy feat to play these types of characters.

Not for everyone obviously, lots of gore and sex scenes. Also the narrative doesn't have anything to do with romanticism but existentialism. Slow but thought provoking film, it probably requires a rewatch to fully understand the message of the film.

Check my Blog for other reviews & other JDramas stuffs. (｡◕‿‿◕｡)
https://thatjapanesedramaguy.blogspot.com/

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A weirdly pure love in an affair. Raw.

I never thought I'd watch a drama about adultery, but here I am. This drama had some of the best acting I have seen in a kdrama (looking at you, Jung Sang Hoon). I definitely cried watching it. This drama will stick with me, that's for sure.

It was poetic, a slow-burn, but hooked me; some might feel conflicted to rate this drama high due to the implications and subject matter, but just because you rate it high doesn't mean you approve of what the characters are doing. Just because I give this drama a 10 doesn't mean I approve of affairs or cheating. The reason why this drama is a 10 for me is because everything was perfect: the acting, storytelling, music, etc. You could FEEL the emotions and turmoil that the characters went through and see how their actions hurt them and the people around them. I thought it was perfect, and wish more dramas could be so beautiful to watch.

Also, side note, but DAMN episode 12. That episode...best of the show. Had my heart nearly bursting out of my chest from anxiety and pain. I would defnitely go back and rewatch that episode. Like I said, some of the best acting I've seen in a kdrama.

I have not seen the Japanese version of this, so I cannot compare the two, but I will just say that this drama is worth your time.

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A cdrama gem that is relatable and inspirational

For a third generation immigrant of chinese descent who grew up in South East Asia but practically lived most of her life in North America, I loved everything about this cdrama. Though kdramas are my mainstream entertainment there’s something about slice of life cdramas that resonate with me. Nothing but Thirty simply tops it all and rivals some of the best kdramas out there.

The story of three women, neither of them perfect but over the course of the forty-three episodes we see each character blossomed in such a natural way that never once I questioned it as unrealistic or rushed. There is none of the make belief fairy-tale ending but each woman emerged a stronger, happier, and wiser version of herself.

In the beginning we saw an ambitious supermom Gu Jia currying favours from the wealthy so her son can get into the prestigious kindergarten and to improve her family connections. But what made Gu Jia different from other idle trophy moms was her integrity. She stopped short of selling her soul. She maintained her dignity throughout the show whether it was to fight back against the moms who mistreated her son or against opportunistic women leeching off her husband.

Man Ni overcame hardships in her career and relationships and there were moments where I questioned her motives or actions but ultimately she showed me she had a backbone and she was not going to let men or traditions, well-intended or not, define her.

Xiao Qin’s character might have been the most simple-minded of the three but her story was also one of self-discovery, owning up to her flaws and taking responsibilities.

All the love interests in this show were well-matched, from Gu Jia’s shitty husband Xu Huan Shan, to Xiao Qin’s introvert hubby Chen Yu and man-child boyfriend Zhong Xiao Yang to Man Ni’s playboy boyfriend Liang Zheng Xian, kindhearted barista Jiang Chen and smug hometown hero Zhang Zhi. These men complemented the story perfectly. They made you hate them, love them, pity them but ultimately their characters propped up the three women and provided the backstory for Gu Jia, Man Ni and Xiao Qin to shine.

The other supporting characters were fabulous and did their parts to make this a successful drama. I hated Lin You You to the bones. She reminded me of Glenn Close’s character in Fatal Attraction. My favourites got to be Gu Jia’s dad and Uncle Yu. Both were wise and giving in their quiet ways. I especially loved the advice Gu Jia’s dad gave to his friend, ‘Children are debts we owe from our previous life…..’ So profound and insightful.

Kudos go to the writer, director and production team for putting together a masterpiece that is relatable but also inspirational. This is truly a show about the sum of the parts. It does not rely on the good looks of its leads, fairy-tale romances, over the top acting or heart-pumping thrillers. It simply works.

If you haven’t given cdramas a try, this is one that won’t disappoint. As for me, I will be waiting patiently for the next chapter of Gu Jia, Man Ni and Xiao Qin’s stories.

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A must watch politically-driven romantic-comedy drama, City Hall is a story of two individuals who crossed paths in the arena of small town politics and corporate-political intrigues, infused with family secrets, driven with personal convictions and beliefs, and highly-charged with honey sweet, yet tastefully romantic scenes.



Shin Mi Rae, played by Kim Sun Ah, is a lowly government official, financially driven to join a beauty pageant, crosses paths with Jo Gook, played by Cha Seung Won, an ambitious and highly driven politician with a hidden agenda of political advancement. Propelled into the political arena in her small town, Mi Rae finds herself running for mayor, backed by her very supporting and hilarious friends, with Jo Gook as her campaign manager, only to be embroiled in small town and national partisan politics. City Hall is a trial of two opposite people's determination to keep their individual conviction, beliefs, and political ambitions, while keeping their blossoming romance under wraps from the critical and career damaging eye of the media, political intrigues and ambitions of others.



Kim Suh Ah continues to impress with her amazing acting in her role as Shin Mi Rae, whose conscience and idealistic nature, clashes with those who are more driven with personal benefits than social and political obligations, and torn between protecting the town and its people, keeping her personal beliefs and convictions, entangled in political intrigues, and her unflinching love for the ambitious Jo Gook.



Cha Seung Won unarguably pulled the stops as he embodies the smart, cynical, confident, charismatic, and ambitious Jo Gook, yet still charmingly capture the quirky, romantic side of a man pulled apart by his desire to follow his heart, achieve his political dreams, familial loyalty and paternal approval, and protect the person he loves most from the damaging life of politics.





Amazing chemistry and solid acting by the two leads, as well as the supporting casts, makes this a must watch drama with its witty lines, political and partisan intrigues, and touchingly wishful and uplifting romance. A hands-down, fantastic plot!

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Did not get the attention as Double Helix and Sammy's Children Day

While we were in a slump with most thai BLs, China got us three good shows. Sadly for this show, it was overshadowed by Double Helix and Sammy's Children Day even when in parts it was much better than the other ones. First of course there is the historical settings, gorgeous costumes and a budget which got strained, so we only have two nice fighting scenes.

While the script was not as polished as it could be, the actors compensated for most of it. Especially the scheming crown price was a delight to watch. Of course it was a bit too gay. 🤣 We not also got a BL we also get a GL but in subdued undertones but very obvious. Combine this with great cinematography and you get a good show.

You get the scheming, the fighting, the fluffyness, tasteful nc-scenes and a bit of sillyness (6th princess). Of course, they could not go with a sad end, because it's a BL after all. You get everything you can wish for in a setting which is interesting with a story-arc which made sense and compared to most other chinese BLs a story without toxicit., Just a fairy tale where the good gals/guys win. For me it was very entertaining, everything is like a small river flowing evenly and then comes the thunderstorm and water is cascading down the hills and flooded everything in it's way. And after the flood comes the time to rebuilding, in this case the search for a cure for Yanzhi with an happy end. So, this is definitively worth a watch!

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The title of this movie has been haunting me for about a year now. When I finally decided to watch it, I didnt regret it. Great action, great actors and dashes of comedy here and there. The comedy scenes were quick but highly effective as you need some kind of comedic relief in movies like this. As the movie progresses, your level of frustration gets almost as high as Dae-Su's, wanting to know WHY he was held captive!

When I finally get to know the reason of his captivity..........I was disappointed. Also,the ending makes you question the validity of the situation, which I really hate when movies do that. Despite that,there were many, many twists and turns. I enjoyed the time I watched this and would highly recommend this movie to others. I also suggest that sensitive people DO NOT watch this film. If you know that you can't handle violent or sexual content, don't even bother watching this movie and then give it a low rating. That would be illogical.

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SANA ALL!
(HOPEFULLY ALL!)
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After watching Right or Wrong, this series comes the way but i didn't expect something from this series. I just see random screenshots from viewers and since i'm busy preparing for graduation requirements, i have this ample time to watch BL series.

Qiu Zi Xuan is a sleek and small pointed eye guy who captures my feeling for this series. I don't knokw, but since highschool days, I adore those guys with small and pointed yes(sleek eyes haha). He is serious to his studies, loves volleyball and just a quiet guy. Then his world stumble upon when Hsia Yu Hao came. He is so sexy and hot in every single way. He make the life of Zi Xuan more colorful. He is that guy that is tough on the outside but very soft and jolly on the inside. I thought he would be like that guy from Addicted but hell no, they are different!

When Yu Hao started showing his true colors, letting us see his perspective in life and being undenial of his feeling towards Zi Xuan, that really captures my heart! He is just being tru to himself, doing the things that will make him happy and make his love being reflected on Zi Xuan. He is unafraid, ignoring the rules of the world. He just focused on his love, his passionate intimacy toward Zi Xuan! Sana All!

I also love the brotherly love between the two guys. They reminded me of Addicted Gu HAi and Bai Lou Yin. Is this called incess afterall? Anyway, i stilll adore their love for each other.

The song and music choice all thoughout the series is perfect especially that song played on the last episode, on their confession scene, the magical kiss! I just wonder how did they doi it very professionally? It's perfect and really hot! The thrusting of their mouths, hahaha, sorry, it's very passionate and full of love and affection. (and they are both straight, gosh!)
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HIStory 2: Crossing The Line
10/10
032918

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I watched this over the course of 2 days and honestly it's nowhere as bad as some reviews rated it. I admit I started the drama for the cast of flower boys and ZYT from The Journey, but surprisingly I quite enjoyed the show.

I liked the fantasy/romance storyline, in some scenes it felt kinda disjointed, like they skipped over something, but I didn't mind that much since I still got a sense of what was happening and this made the storyline move along quickly. Afterall, this is less than 25 minutes an episode, so it's more like a 10 episode drama, instead of a 20.

The cinematography was on point, I felt like I was watching a high budget movie and there is a ethereal aura to the filming (it had that Goblin feel to it), The OST was great and went with the drama perfectly. I also loved everyone's outfits, props to the stylist.

What I enjoyed most was the leading female's character. She comes off as this happy go lucky person, but you soon realize very quickly that she is actually very wise and strong from the knowledge/experiences that she accumulated over the course of her 1000 year life.

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I was liking it but it kinda lost its wholeness. 1) I still cannot pinpoint when he did fall in love with her; 2) the lead actor looks good on screen but his acting is sort of forced - like the when he smiles, it is like asking somebody to say "cheese";; 3) the director was showing that Mr. BLack's team had it all together and yet there were allot of like unnecessary mistakes they made as a team as they make the revenge; 4) the 5 years in the plot seems unrealistic, and is not cohesive to the whole story (I'm trying not to divulge the story here); 5) the revenge/twist - I've had enough of it... They could have ended this at 16 eps; 6) the evil guy was first very composed in the beginning and then at the end they made him laugh the "evil laugh" , like totally out of character; 7) this guy got out in 2 years of being in prison and they go back to the couple ( it was obvious, it was not even in the same time frame)

This is still watchable, but when it comes to crimes, laws, the story has to be really tight. The twists in the story was pretty good, but I can only take so much "twisting" before I begin to just say, just get on with it... So, yes, I do have gripes about it but I have seen worst dramas.

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How can i even review this marvelous story!

I had watched this drama with the title "THE ROSE IS POISONOUS" and totally got blowed away by the fantastic story and the two mainleads that totally put it on fire with their EXPLOSIVE chemistry! Its about redemption, survival and recovery. A quite cruel and heartbreaking story actually, what the poor heroine had to do to survive the hell she had endured for 10 years. Even the badass Male hero cried his heart out for her misery. Both of them had some Anti and villain characteristics that could be conisdered redflags-but they matched even more for that! The beautiful Male hero never wavered in his commitment and love for his heroine, every step of the freaking way!

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I get teary-eyed and always have a stupid grin plastered on my face every time I think about how perfect Tiger & Dragon is.

Where to even begin? The feels! The freaking feels I get from this drama. Not only is it funny (seriously, it's impossible not to kneel over from laughter every episode), but it's so touching and heartfelt. The bonds each character has with one another is not easily forgotten, and it's hard to choose which interactions I enjoy the most. Honestly, I love all of them! That is probably a prime example why I prefer jdramas over all the other asian dramas. There is so much heart in this drama, it makes my own heart want to explode.

And can I just say again how funny this drama is. Honestly, it's one of the funniest dramas I've ever seen. Kotora, the main character, is yakuza but wants to do rakugo (a form of classical Japanese storytelling), and each episode he learns a different story and incorporates it into reality (whatever situation the characters happen to find themselves in that day) and performs it. It's really so funny, I seriously can't stress that enough. If you're going to watch this, be prepared to bust a gut.

Omg please watch this. Please? If you love jdramas and you've never seen this, you need to get on it. If you're new to the genre, WATCH IT. Just everyone should watch it. You really won't regret it.

Btw, Tiger & Dragon has THE PERFECT ENDING. Honestly, I was just so happy and giddy, and I was grinning from ear to ear. Just, everything comes together so nicely at the end. Outstanding drama!

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Let's start off by saying that this dramas strengths lie not with its story, but with its other areas. The basic story trope has been done before. Rich and selfish boy gets enchanted by poor and humble girl. We've seen it before. This drama attempts something fresh though, namely body swapping. Now, body swapping as a plot device isn't anything new in itself, but it has in this drama a condition for occurring.

The story's biggest weakness is its characters. Characters make or break a story, and Kim Joo Won just isn't as romantic as he is made out to be. Repeatedly seeking out a girl that has made it clear that there is no mutual interest isn't the way to go. Invading personal space and not laying off her when she is obviously extremely uncomfortable isn't the way to go, either. I do dig his sparkly tracksuit, though. Not only aesthetically, but as a recurring gag. I'm not saying that all characters are 100% trash, because that's not it. There are several good characters, like Ah Young, Han Tae Sung and Oska, to name a few. The acting and the cast, on the other hand, is great. No complaints. Hyun Bin especially did a great job with the body swapping, and Ha Ji Won's emotional performance was up there, but there's only so much you can do with shallow characters.

The story did drag on for half an eternity during the middle episodes 8-12. I would have dropped it if it had dragged on for one more episode. After that, the pace is quickly picked up again and sustained throughout the rest of the series, though. So be warned. There are a few snooze-episodes that are about as fun as watching paint dry. Or something.

The comedy during the body swapping is great. There are several scenes that had me laughing out loud.

The music wasn't anything special. It wasn't bad, it definitively wasn't, it just wasn't great either. It did its job well, and that's what's important. I just won't add it to my iPod, is all.

I personally won't watch it again, because I suspect I might become so frustrated that I'll do something I regret, like eating 15 tangerines, again. I shall avoid that if possible. But if I were stranded on a deserted island, or snowed in or something, and could watch only this to pass the time, of course I would. Just not as a first choice. And who knows, maybe it would enchant me on a second go? Like Kim Joo Won? I won't take the risk.

Did I just completely waste 20+ hours? No. I'd say this drama is worth a watch, even if it's just to be able to say you've seen it.

Final score: 6.5 / 10

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Beautiful love story!
The film relies on a careful exchange of romanticism with that of the supernatural elements that, plausibly, promote the growth of its two main characters and their love relationship. It does not fit into the overly tempted notion of the tragic and common loss in novels, especially considering how many other films usually have one of the characters with some deteriorating disease or terminal illness to defend ideas of forced separation. His uniqueness in the narrative structure separates it from similar films that maintains the genre and, along with an excellent cast and direction, produces an emotionally touching, unconventional, and ultimately quite memorable viewing experience.
"Tomorrow I Will Date With Yesterday's You" makes you think more about the situation in which the two main characters were and the consequences that this would mean to them.
By Japanese standards it may have been some movie, but it is not, the story is well written, it has a coherent logic, it seems to be difficult to understand at first, but they have a transition of interest that makes you understand it perfectly. It's worth it!

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