Reviews

Students Fight For Their Lives Inside Of A School Overrun By Zombies

From the moment the series begins, All of Us Are Dead hooks viewers with its intense atmosphere and deeply emotional narrative. It’s more than just another zombie drama; it’s a layered story that delves into the harsh realities of adolescence, social pressures, and human resilience, all set against the backdrop of a zombie apocalypse.

The show wastes no time immersing us in the daily struggles faced by its young protagonists. The South Korean educational system, infamous for its relentless academic demands, becomes the stage for a gripping tale of survival. The series sheds light on the emotional toll these pressures take, with bullying, mental health struggles, and societal neglect forming the core of the characters’ pre-apocalypse lives. This grounded realism elevates the story, making the characters’ fight for survival all the more impactful.

One of the show’s standout elements is its exploration of relationships. Each character brings unique perspectives and motives, and their interactions—whether strained, supportive, or heart-wrenching—add layers of depth to the narrative. The camaraderie, conflicts, and sacrifices they share make them feel incredibly real. You can't help but root for their survival, mourn their losses, and celebrate their small victories.

Thematically, All of Us Are Dead shines by addressing societal issues faced by youth, not just in South Korea but globally. The narrative doesn't shy away from heavy subjects like bullying, depression, and the unforgiving pressures of academic excellence. These themes are woven seamlessly into the story, creating a poignant reflection on the struggles of modern youth.

As the zombie outbreak takes hold, the series shifts into an adrenaline-fueled thriller. The chaos, desperation, and heartbreak of the students’ fight for survival are depicted with unrelenting intensity. The relentless pace, paired with exceptional storytelling, keeps you glued to the screen.

The parallels to the Covid-19 pandemic are impossible to miss. From quarantine measures to the fear of infection and the divide between personal concerns and societal demands, the series captures the uncertainty and tension of living through a global crisis. This connection makes the story even more resonant, as viewers are reminded of the fragility of life and the importance of community and hope.

On the technical front, the series is a visual masterpiece. The cinematography captures both the beauty and the horror of the unfolding events. The special effects and makeup are stunning, particularly in portraying the terrifying transformation of infected individuals. Every frame feels deliberate, adding to the immersive experience.

Despite its brutal moments, the show never loses sight of its emotional core. The acts of love, friendship, and selflessness scattered throughout the series create a powerful contrast to the violence. These moments of humanity serve as the heart of the story, reminding us that even in the darkest times, compassion and connection endure.

The finale of All of Us Are Dead leaves a profound impact. Without giving away spoilers, it’s a conclusion that feels both devastating and hopeful, offering closure while leaving room for reflection. It’s a fitting end to a series that balances horror with heartfelt storytelling.

In summary, All of Us Are Dead is an unforgettable journey that combines action, emotion, and social commentary. It’s more than just a zombie drama—it’s a reflection on the resilience of the human spirit and the complexities of growing up in a harsh world. This series is a must-watch, not only for fans of the genre but for anyone seeking a story that stays with you long after the credits roll.

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Poor Editing, Poor Script Writing, Sub-standard Acting

As of the writing of this review, this drama scores a dismal 3.9 on Douban, a platform that reflects the sentiment of the viewers from China, which may not be 100% reliable as we well know how this score can be manipulated by fans and haters. I must admit I have not read the novel which this drama has adapted from, so cannot compare how it has deviated from the original story. According to many readers, the characters have almost gone through a total metamorphosis and thus has rendered a totally different experience for the readers.

This story is rather similar to the biblical Moses story whereby the Lord of the Sea (Li Yifeng) tries to bring his people (the fish people) back to the sea from the land where they are being persecuted. Another character, a crown prince (Zheng Yecheng), who vows to take back his kingdom so that his people can live openly in the warmth of the sun again. Between them, comes a woman with whom they both fall in love. So, in a gist, this is a love triangle and the actual plot from the original story where the characters try to save their people and bring them home, has become a background story. Both men are desirable and the female lead is torn (initially at least): to follow her heart or to fulfill her duty.

Many reviewers have provided in-depth description of the story, so I’m not going to repeat what they have written. Here, I’m pointing out what I like and dislike about this drama, so that viewers have better understanding and if they’d want to pursue this drama or not.

Most of the online criticisms I’ve read are about the poor editing. Rightly so. I find the joining of scenes poorly done with noticeably long pauses, making the overall pace excruciatingly slow. The long pauses between conversations also make it feel like the characters are hesitant or even calculative; there's too much waiting around with no one doing anything, just prolong staring at each other. As much as I want to like this story, I dozed off multiple times within one episode, like some old folks do.

The screen writing is terribly poor as it feels like haphazard and not being well thought out as it has changed so much of the personalities of the characters from their original version. This has also reflected badly on the acting which I don’t totally blame the actors; how can the actors perform if they are not provided proper direction how the characters are supposed to be? Had Su Mo been a cold and ruthless person as described in the novel, then maybe Li Yifeng’s acting fits the bill (not perfectly, but not as bad too). But here in the drama, Su Mo seems to be a compassionate and upstanding person who would go all the way out to help anyone in need, with or without the power himself. In this respect, Li Yifeng’s acting seems to be lacking as he is stiff and doesn’t carry any emotions on his face, and his shifting eyes make him even less believable. I do love the Su Mo character and Li Yifeng's physical portrayal of the character. With clear directing, Li Yifeng should have done better.

Chen Yuqi’s acting as Bai Ying is passable, but again, she has very limited facial expressions here. For both Chen Yuqi and Li Yifeng, they have not brought out the emotions that their characters are suffering from, especially in times of loss and regrets. Both actors have totally failed in this respect. Viewers also complain that the selection of the main couple pairing is poor as the two main leads’ chemistry is at rock bottom. They seem to be stiff and awkward; there’s no longing, no affection, no emotion that doesn’t seem forced. Despite these criticisms, I do at times sense some chemistry between the lovers, which unfortunately not frequent and consistent enough.

The sequence of some scenes seem to be repeatedly used, and this has made the whole thing rather dull at times. One such scene which is being repeated multiple times that I can predict what is to follow when that event happens: when Bai Ying is injured and unconscious, Su Mo would try to heal her, and in turn, he goes into a coma. This sequence is overdone and gets really boring to say the least.

Zheng Yecheng’s acting here is acceptable. Like in all his other dramas, he doesn’t get his girl in the end. For me, the most annoying character is probably Na Sheng (Yang Zhiwen) with her bubbly demeanor which doesn’t stop despite whatever predicament everyone is in. Her clinginess is even more irritating and hard to watch.

My Verdict
This is supposed to be a story about hatred between the conquered and the conqueror, and between the various races. Love is blind and love blossoms between the enemies; we have multiple cross racial romantic couples here, and the story is supposed to show their torn emotions and pains – choose love or loyalty/duty for one’s country/race. This emotion is totally lacking here. In its place, tropey romances reign. It would have been acceptable had the script writing not been this bad, making the whole story laden with plot holes, bad logic, and poor character development. The ending is probably inspired by the resurrection of Jesus Christ with Su Mo floating/walking on water shrouded in an halo, three years later (versus three days later for Jesus). It is so bizarre.

I am totally untouched by the supposedly heart wrenching story of forbidden love - love for an enemy or a different race in this case. This is rather unfortunate as the original novel is said to be very interesting and touching. It is also said that the animation that has come before this drama is more faithful to the original story and I’m off for it next.

Don’t be deceived by the big names. Unless you don’t have anything better to watch, you may be better off reading the original novel or watching the anime.

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Interesting Premise that Ends Up Falling Short

When I first heard about this drama and the influx of supporting idol actors, I was very skeptical.
The beginning was extremely painful and it only got interesting around episode 4/5.
I think the storyline could have discussed Eunjo and Annie's circumstances for longer, especially focusing on the mystery of Eunjo's disappearance.
Maha and Ryok's romance was lackluster, they had chemistry but the writer's skills were lacking a bit. I was far more interested in the friendships of the different idol groups than the romantic relationships. Certain things were not making sense, but it seemed that the writers' purpose was tie everything into a pretty bow which ending up leaving a lot of plot holes.
The music production was terrible for almost all the groups except for Tea Party which was disappointing but I'm assuming that budget was smaller than they had anticipated.
Overall, it was better than I thought, but the ending was lackluster and I probably would've rather binged the show that spending 12 weeks watching each episode.

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Can I just say that I didn\''t see the ending coming?? Wow the story was unpredictable right from the beginning! I got a little bored here and there but the last part of the movie was really mind blowing. This movie is both sad and happy. You\''ll have to watch to see why!

The acting was really well done.

The music was really good for a movie.

Rewatch is ordinary just because this is one of those movies where if you know what happens theres no fun in watching again unless you really loved the characters.

Overall Cyborg She is entertaining and very interesting.

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This is 100% a must watch!

From story to the character build-up, and even the twist plots had me almost falling off my seat! The ideas and thought process for each episode was splendid and nothing too predictable.

There wasn't extreme depth into all the characters pasts, and there were times other characters were acting a little too stupid. However, when I think about there are people who would act like that so I didn't pay to much mind to it.

If I am to be candid, the story felt very real and up close. It didn't step away from what people would think their job is and even the dialogue was realistic to a point that I cried (I will not spoil why).

So if your looking for an action/friendship j-drama, don't hesitate! GO WATCH THIS!

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I love you for you

Such a cute a sweet drama! Im glad this drama didnt take the route of psycho where the main lead was both. I'm glad that he was justing acting like his brother. The male lead has a twin brother but he died so he would act as the younger brother in front of his ill mother. This was his secret that no one knew about. The female lead and male lead were high school classmates. At that time the male lead liked the female lead and even confessed his love through a love letter. Unfortunately that love letter got posted up in the whole school for everyone to see.
The female lead is a reporter which she needs to interview the male lead. The male lead acted like his twin brother and helped to her to lie about their marriage to the female lead's mom. Thus creating a co habiting.
Their relationship is pretty cute and believeable. They have a good chemistry together. I liked that the female lead has brains and is smart. She wont give up without a fight. There are some annoying characters but they have little screen time which is good.

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(spoiler free review)
It's a little complicated to do a review of this movie.

If you asked me to rate this movie before I watched the last 30 minutes, I would have said it deserved a 7 or a 7,5.
The "mystery" wasn't even a mystery, because nobody cared; the characters are one-dimensionnal at best; and I didn't know what the story wanted, and where we were going.

But the "revelation" happens 30 minutes before the end, and everything makes sense. That's why I made my final rating a 8,5.
This is also the reason why I didn't rate higher. Because before the 30 minutes mark, the movie is just way too "mysterious" :
The hints aren't really hints, or makes us think of something entirely different.
Sometimes I wondered if the characters were boring, or if the actors were just bad.
And the heroine was annoying, even though everybody seemed interested in her.

Of course, it all makes sense, now, but I still watched 1h15 of a not bad but not amazing movie. I watched it till the end, because I wanted to know if I was right about the "secret" of the island (I was very wrong, of course, it's impossible to guess).
That's why, it's a little complicated to review. It's a good movie, but you really need to watch till the end to find it good.

Acting wise, I expected good things from Yokohama Ryusei, and wasn't disapointed. He's interesting to watch, and takes you attention away even with a "boring" character. The secondary actors were pretty amazing, especially the boys, Kuroba Mario & Matsuoka Koudai, one making a one dimensionnal character attching, and the other for almost never appearing, but still having all of our attention.

Talking about not appearing, and almost without any lines : Yahagi Honoka.
She's amazing. She's sucking all the attention of the viewer without even talking. Maybe that's why I felt like Iitoyo Marie was kinda lacking. She's not a bad actress at all. But next to a strong casting, she fell flat. Her character was really difficult to act (well, not relly, but it was difficult to make her attaching), so I think a stronger actress hsould have been casted. BECAUSE it's difficult. But it wasn't bad, just not as good as the others

I have ZERO real knowledge about movie music, so I can't really judge. But I'm obsessed with the ending song, so I rated it 9.

Still, the movie was very interesting, the concept is pretty amazing, and well done. I can't wait for people to watch it to discuss about it!

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A VERY well-executed drama. Bravo Japan! Well done well done! I watched Lady Girls while it was airing, and it was my number 1 anticipated drama each and every week.

The story is so simple, but the messages are so very impactful, they hit u right in ur soul. This drama meant a great deal to me as a woman. Here you have Aki Nakahara, this beautiful successful business woman in her 40s who's judged by society because she isn't married and "behaves like she's still young." She's got two friends who are in the same boat as her. Haters to the left plz. Society judges women like them all the time. Oh, since you're over 40 that means you shouldn't have girl nights, be single and mingle, look or do anything young, or just have fun anymore. It's infuriating. But u know what, Aki Nakahara doesn't let that down, and neither do her friends. They don't have to try to be beautiful, because they already are. And they certainly don't conform to what society wants.

Nakahara, and her friends Moeko Osaki and Midori Sakata, each have their own stories. Nakahara's love life isn't that great, in fact, she goes through a lot of downs. But, she meets an author named Fumio Takayama, and by making his acquaintance she garners life lessons and their romance slowly blooms. Moeko Osaki also has some trouble in the love department. Her biggest crutch is her mother, but she's still successful in her own right. Midori Sakata is a divorcee (oh no *rolls eyes*) with three sons. I'm not going to go into all of their stories, but they're all pretty interesting and address topics I find important as a female. These are three intelligent hard-working BEAUTIFUL ladies who refuse to let their youth die.

Midori's love story was the least interesting to me, but it ended well so I didn't mind it. Plus, everything else about her story was so great and it's that which kept me captivated. Besides Nakahara, it's gotta be Moeko who I'm the most proud of. She grew a lot during this drama, was no push-over, and her resolve was fantastic. Now, I obviously enjoyed watching Nakahara the most. Her love story was the most interesting, she doesn't conform to society, and she's just so damn likable.

The acting/cast was excellent! Fantastic on all sides, especially Shinohara Ryoko. Wow, I was so excited to see her each week. Eguchi Yosuke was excellent as well! All of them were, but I already said tht lol. The music fits this drama so perfectly i can't even describe the feels I got hearing it! This drama is definitely rewatchable because it was such a good drama, but I don't really see myself doing tht tbh. And again, the story was just so well written. The ending was great, and overall it was just really well executed.

Lady Girls was a simple drama, but man oh man does this drama show you how a well executed drama should be. It has a similar feel to Last Cinderella (which also stars Shinohara Ryoko, but I absolutely hated it), but Lady Girls has got to be at least a thousand times better. More than anything, this drama was enjoyable, and I had a good time watching it. I totally recommend!

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This movie is a total perfect 10! I was pretty excited for this because I’m a huge fan of Tao, but I didn't think it would be THIS good! The synopsis and poster just don't do this fantastic movie justice! This movie takes a little while to get going, but then it really “takes off” (flying puns galore) and you'll never feel bored. I was smiling and laughing the whole way through!

I had no real expectations for the story, but was a little hesitant about the genre. I’m not really into sports themed movies because I often find they’re way too bogged down with cheesy tropes. If you’re like me, never fear! This movie strikes a perfect balance between sports and story, and I was completely glued to the screen near the end, holding my breath with excitement. Human-powered aircraft is actually really cool and the movie makes it look very thrilling!

The best thing about this movie is definitely the electric chemistry between Yukina (Tsuchiya Tao) and Sakaba (Mamiya Shotaro). They’re both so hot-headed that it felt like a genuine love/hate relationship and I was laughing my head off at their crazy attempts to outdo each other. Their bickering and yelling contrasted so well with their quietly beautiful friendship. It’s not a romance movie, but you will fall in love this couple! Needless to say I definitely fell a little in love with Mamiya Shotaro. This movie brought a really hilarious ensemble cast together and they made everything work. The comedy is top notch!

The music was also awesome! The periodic use of “secret base" was hilarious. I love that song and they made it both a comedic choice and a more emotional choice. I loved it!

Rewatch value for this one is definitely high. I would probably rewatch it tonight! Definitely don’t miss this movie!!

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A sequel with a personality of its own

The finale was great, maybe not completely flawless, but the wrap-up for every couple hit the right notes.

JackDean: Their reunion left me feeling conflicted, particularly regarding Jack’s reaction to Great, but that tension is exactly what made their ending stand out. You can interpret it in two different ways: either Jack has finally matured and will fiercely defend his relationship with Dean against any future threats, OR the two of them are tragically trapped in an endless, repetitive cycle of breaking up and making up.

ArnoldTua: A tiny part of me craved more drama from their storyline, but ultimately, I adored their gentle and mutually respectful dynamic. They were easily the most balanced pair of the bunch, despite the economic status differences. Even during their worst arguments, neither ever talked down to the other, something I can’t say for the other two couples.

RomeRaffy: This fiery duo started off with a bang but eventually fell into a push and pull routine. Their storyline was a mixed bag for me because I’m still not convinced Rome views Raffy as a true equal. Even after Raffy's personal growth, it feels like Rome’s judgment is always lingering over him. I really wanted to see Raffy fully step into his confidence by the end, but it never quite materialized the way I wished.

Ultimately, all three couples have their flaws, but they are incredibly endearing and easy to cheer for. Honestly, I found their dynamics much more grounded and relatable than the pairings we got in the first season. As for non-couple moments, I adored the friendship between Dean and Tua and I needed more.

Honorable Mentions: A massive shoutout to Timmy for surviving all the chaos. I also really appreciated the brief, beautifully bittersweet moment between Boston and Nick 🥲

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WeirMin

I really love this lakorn eventhough the FL is so innocent. You'll get angrier whenever the FL is being used for the ML and for some instances but she's strong to face the battle. When we can feel loved, anger, hatred, etc towards the cast most especially for the FL and ML, it means to say that their acting skills were very great! Kudos for them most especially for Weir and Min because they portrayed their role that is why I'm watching Thai drama because of them. Their one of my favorite onscsreen Thai couple! I've also watched their Koo Za Rot Zab and La Ruk Sot Kob Fah. I just can't get enough of this two. I hope they will be paired again for a new lakorn. It might be a RomCom co'z they are good ai it, miss them (WeirMin).

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It's really good, especially for the hopeless romantic like me. And it reminded me of Our Times (2015), also a good romance movie with a good plot and great acting.

Even though there's no kissing scene in the movie, the actors really portrayed youthful, nostalgic first love feelings. And the cinematography was great. And I really like how they act, it was so natural, especially the supporting roles.

All in all, it was a great film and recommendable for others to watch where it leaves you that overwhelming feelings at the end. And you still craved for it to continue.

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Hello, my friends from MDL! Here am I after so long... After watching it, and seeing how it had never been reviewed, I decided to give it a try ^^
This drama holds now a very special place in my heart. First of all, it was the longest drama I watched. And, on top of that, it was very light and funny without overlooking its story/cultural thing.

The cast was spectacular. Jihoon never disappoints me, be either on acting or on looks (damn it, he's hot in whatever he does). And it had a luxous old cast, with the best actors from the old generation.

About the characters - they were pretty acceptable if not for the childishness of Minjin (the main female). Giha (character) was also very nice but someone should teach him how to kiss/behave properlu without seeming a maniac/raping man. It was such a turnoff sometimes. Really!

The plot was also pretty acceaptable. Not only each episode had around 50 minutes, but also the story was pretty light and quick (and very, very, very funny!!!). If you give it a try, watch it until the first 10 episodes, around that you may become hooked just like myself.
It had also a lot of cultural aspects we see treated lightly in another dramas (like in laws and how mothers-in-law are seen by korean families (I give up my idea of having a korean husband after this :PP Just kidding.) Not to mention every character had his story and his own 'happy ending'. Oh, and.. thumbs up for the ending.
I was a bit anxious to finish it, but I can't say it became boring. Actually, it was pretty nice to watch, that's why I'm reviewing and recommending for you. I watched this after downloading it from asiatorrents, I don't know other websites (but I saw some episodes on youtube as well).

I recommend you: give it a try if you can ^^ It's worth it.

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