Reviews

Gosh, no one has ventured to write a review on this show? Well, this comes a little bit late but better late than never, right? So here goes.

STORY (No spoilers)
It was only after I had completed watching this show that I later discovered that this was a re-make of an older and, at that time popular, Taiwanese show titled "Prince Turns Into A Frog". Having never seen that older show but afterwards read about its content, it would appear that the overall storyline for both shows essentially remains the same. So, for those of you who have seen "Prince Turns Into A Frog" and loved it, you might want to consider giving this re-make a try.

I think it is also worth mentioning that the overall vibe of this show is that of a cheesy, light-hearted, funny and rather silly show. This show does not take itself seriously at all and has a lot of cartoonish, slapstick funny moments liberally sprinkled with your over-the-top dramatic scenes which, in another show, would probably make you roll your eyes. Since this show doesn't take itself seriously, viewers intending to watch this should also leave your brain at the door and just sit back and enjoy this crazy ride.
If you enjoy a bit of fun and silliness, as well as willing to suspend belief and swallow the cheese as well as the salt as this show turns on the drama, this show is a great one to watch.

ACTING/ CHARACTERS
LIU XIAO BEI - Tiffany Tang plays the loud, cheeky and bubbly Liu Xiao Bei really well here. While the vibe of the show promotes cartoonish actions and caricature personalities, Tiffany gives Liu Xiao Bei enough of a personality to make her a bit more than just a one-dimensional character. I found her character to be actually cute and likeable in this show, despite its inherent silliness, and that speaks of Tiffany's ability to breathe more life into her. She also enjoys good chemistry with her co-actors, especially with the main male lead (no surprise as they were actually dating in real life at time of filming).

XIANG TIAN QI - Roy Qiu plays this cold, rich, genius CEO as well as can be, given the craziness of the show and what the character himself has to go through. The first round of memory loss brought an almost complete change of character personality to Xiang Tian Qi, and Roy did a good job in making that difference palpable, believable and utterly charming to boot. I thought he portrayed the various personalities and emotions of his character pretty well, especially considering the playful nature of this show.

The second leads, as well as the supporting characters in this show, were played by actors who didn't mind looking a little silly or participating in scenes that were extremely cheesy and almost cringe-worthy. Not all characters were one-dimensional or one-note all the time in this show. There were moments of poignancy and feeling which added depth to certain key scenes and moments in the show, but on the flip side, there were also moments where suspension of belief was required and you'd need to roll with the punches.

It is difficult to therefore rate the quality of acting in this show, simply because of its rather quirky and erratic nature.

MUSIC
In line with its let's-not-take-ourselves-seriously vibe, the music in this show varies from hip-hop and rap, to pop and rock, to love ballads. A truly eclectic mix of genres rolled into a show, but you know what, it works. I actually enjoyed the music a lot (if you are a fan of JJ Lin, a lot of his tracks are played on this show), and thought it added life and beat to the series.

RE-WATCH VALUE
I guess this is a love-it or hate-it kind of show so if you liked it, you probably would not mind re-watching some of the scenes over and over again, even if it was just for kicks, giggles and laughs.

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It's a precious little gem that went almost unnoticed in Korea and everywhere else. The premise itself is nothing new, but how the story unfolded and how the drama executed really makes difference. It's such a pity that Full Sun up against Empress Ki and God's Gift at the time because they're already lose from day 1. Still, it was much better show than most of drama's offerings in 2014 up until now. The acting from everyone, from the two leads, Yoon Kye Sang and Han Ji Hye, down to supporting casts are great.

Many viewers would want to avoid it as it is a formulaic melodramas. But believe me, even it has ingredients of every melodrama, it's never overwhelmingly sad or too dramatic. The feel and the story may look like That Winter The Wind Blows meets Nice Guy. But I like Full Sun better. It just has the feels that won't you get in those two previous show. Yoon Kye Sang as Jung Se Ro is a delight to watch and even it's my first time watching him and Han Ji Hye, both sold me with their romance and love story. Sure, it can get better if the villain is not boring and so predictable like in every drama ever. But it can be ignored if you watch this show for something else, for instance tragic bromance or romantic love story.

Overall, Full Sun is a very good drama. The acting, story, music and rewatch value for me are very good. It's criminally underrated maybe because people are not aware of this precious gem.

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2 words: Epic disappointment.

And it started so good too! Lets get to the pros and cons-

It was an awesome idea to start with a cold blooded woman being melted by a cheery, wanna-be chef. I loved the way that the drama started the story line was moving and developing, different situations occurring, it was exciting! But the story got boring, very predictable, slow and the idea went to crap. Although the concept was Yoo Hee's transformation into a kinder more presentable lady, it happened within the first 6 episodes. This drama focused more on Yoo Hee's love triangles and her naivety in love than her being a tsundere character.I am so frustrated because I didn't like the ending, and I feel like it was a waste of time.

The music is really catchy throughout the drama and for the most part its really well placed. I didn't like Ga In, maybe her acting skills were developing because I loved her in Bad Man. I did like Jae Hee, but his characters seem to be the same in EVERY drama. (although I absolutely hated what happened with his girlfriend in this drama) Dennis Oh and Kim Jeong Hoong were awful, as far as acting goes. The cast didn't seem to have much chemistry, none of the characters really seemed in love with the exception of Jun Hye Bin. Hye Bin was believable!

All in all, you really have to fight through to the end because its boring. However you want to see the characters develop because it begins really charming, funny and cute. My advice start and watch till the 11th episode at that point you can skip to the end. Trust me you wont miss much.

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Nice Witch has been a guilty pleasure of mine and I think once you've finished watching this, you'll understand why.
Right off the bat, I can already tell that this drama won't exactly deliver any groundbreaking twists or Oscar-worthy performances, but regardless, I still started this expecting that they'll give a refreshing version of twins switching places and fascinating execution of clichés—and fair enough, I could say I'M NOT DISAPPOINTED.

STORY:
This is a 40 episodes drama, but don't let this intimidate you because every episode is actually shorter (only 35 minutes each so almost similar to your 20 episodes drama) and unlike most dramas, I didn't find this dragging or boring at all and in fact surprisingly hilarious and fun (I even find myself looking forward for the next episodes, so it's a plus!). I do agree that its plot development may be unrealistic at times (especially its ending), but IT IS a drama and personally, I think it's what makes this very enjoyable. It's definitely obvious who the "good" and "bad" guys are, but I really commend how the writers managed to give a balanced screentime for both the main and supporting characters. As a viewer, this made me perceive their actions/motivations more believable and somehow empathized more with them, However, what significantly made me rate this higher was attributed to the seemingly natural and satisfying timing and unpredictability of their twists and the ability of the writers to craft a makjang packed with charm and good in its own right without the usual painful angst.

ACTING/CAST:
Most of the leads here are very experienced (some of them may even be familiar), so it's no surprise that they kind of know how to bring out certain emotions from their audience. Nonetheless, what stood out for me was Lee Da Hee. I haven't heard of her before this, but I came to like her because of this drama. Her portrayal of the twins with opposite personalities was so spot on that I could immediately tell which is which even before they speak. The other one was Ryu Soo Young, which oddly may it sounds, took me by surprise. Her portrayal of Song Woo Jin absolutely made the drama extra appealing and interesting. I don't know how, but he sure does look good here (compare to his other roles—looking at you, My Father Is Strange—and despite looking a bit mature now). Also, don't even get me started with the chemistry between them! They look so adorable together that I instantly want her to divorce his husband right after the first few episodes (oops!). Another worth mentioning here was Yoon Se Ah as Oh Tae Ri. It's true that the overall acting in this drama is a bit over the top and not really the type to be taken seriously but as for her, it's slightly different. You'll know from watching that she got skills and is an amazing actress despite following a different approach.
*Nevertheless, my favorite characters here are Oh Tae Yang and Bong Ch-rong. They are the cutest!!!

MUSIC:
Music-wise, this doesn't have any ten-years-from-now-I'll-still-remember-them kind of songs, but I consider them quite good! There aren't a lot of them compare to other dramas, but they did a good job especially in terms of highlighting the atmosphere and mood for a particular scene and evoking emotional response from their viewers.

REWATCH VALUE:
I don't really rewatch any drama fully, no matter how good they are, but for some reason, I could actually see myself rewatching this again. It might be because I find this more on the light-hearted makjang spectrum or that it didn't really felt tedious or long for me. It could get a bit dramatic and ridiculous, but it has enough sugar and spice to keep you from watching. Moreover, it has a bit of everything, clichés speaking of not. Plus, it has one of my favorite drama tropes, which is identity swap or having the main lead pretend to be someone else!

OVERALL:
I normally avoid makjangs and/or family dramas since more often than not I just end up dropping them halfway [out of boredom or for other reasons], but for this one, I unexpectedly didn't, so if you find this interesting, at least try to give this a chance and see what you think. I honestly began watching this because I'm interested with—besides twins and secret identities—anything related to flight attendants or pilots and I'm glad I did because not only did I learned something about them, I also got more of what I've asked for.

Like I said, Nice Witch is far from those dramas who aim to be a breakthrough or anything. In fact, if I could describe its vibe, it's more of a reminiscent of older dramas (think like the 2010s ones or earlier), but given all of these, I still came to like this drama SOOOOOO who knows, you might end up, if not liking, even loving it!!!

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You might think that I overrated the show a bit. I mean 9.5 is pretty high. I do feel like I may be a little biased because-
-This is my first thai drama ever.
-And I'm a sucker for this kind of storyline. Seriously, I love those stories where the MCs hate each other at first and then fall in love together.

As apparent from the synopsis above, Duang jai Akkanee is a modern day version of Romeo & Juliet.
The basic storyline of the show is that Fai (male MC) and Jeed (female MC) come from families that hate each other. And at first, they share that sentiment too. But overtime, they fall in love.
It might not be the first show to implement the 'enemies-to-lovers' storyline, but believe me, it plays it really well. The actors are really natural.

At first this seemed like a typical rom-com, and it is, no doubt about it. However it also shows serious obstacles that our MCs have to face. It features the terrible problems of gambling, fraud and it shows how much pride can affect our lives for the negative.This show features people with real problems and not just ones that never actually happen in real life. PLUS, the main couple are just sooo cute, both Jeed and Fai.

As to why I loved the show (aside from all the aforementioned reason) : I loved the fact that, even through all all of their bickering, the OTP still had so many cute moments and the fact that they were together for the majority of the drama. It was always them fighting against the world. And it's not the misunderstandings never occurred, but when they did, they were resolved very quickly. The other party was always open to reasoning and logics, and just listening to the person they loved

Only fact I was bothered by was the fact that everyone took the act of rape very lightly, joking abut it and all. Personally, I pretended it didn't happen (to that extent). It was for, like, a single episode anyway.

Just a note, THERE IS NO RAPE in this drama!

Happy watching! :)

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This documentary shows how Jung Hoseok proved to everyone what he can achieve as a solo artist. Being the first Korean to headline Lollapalooza. He is achieving goals he didn’t know he could achieve. This Documentary shows us fans what he can do on his own away from bangtan soyeondan. From before Jitb released to his listening party then to hobipalooza. Nobody ain’t doing it like Jhope. Always showing us what he can achieve on his own. Can’t wait to see what he shows us in the future as a solo artist. Give it up for Jung Hoseok!!!! ( also had many happy tears during this documentary )

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Beautiful Story and Beautifully Shot

First, this is not for everyone. If you're expecting a BL, you can stop expecting a BL - it's not one. There is an LGBT aspect of the story, and the male gaze is present as Atom wears very little thorughout which is a goldmine for shallow people like me, and when he is dressed up, he looks amazing.

Reading the comments section, there is a bit of overstatement of the theatricality of the series. It is intentionally play-like, but the purely visual elements are of equal importance to the dialogue, and I think that because this was deceptively marketed a BL, the audience was looking for BL and not seeing what was really there, and you can't blame the audience for that.

If you approach this as a straightforward story, you may hate it - it's an allegory, so it's important to think about what everyting symbolizes and what is metaphor, and what the message is.

There are many related themes, a couple of the more surfacy ones being the futility of second-guessing past decisions - and the utility of atonement in order to move on.

The structure of the story has Sunshine given the power to totally erase a person from the universe each night for 7 Days before Valentine('s - I wish these productions could get the grammar of the title correct), and the correct decision will bring love back to him. Each erasure has a lessson, but this causes the biggest problem with the series and what I think is the main reason so many people disliked it and/or dropped it:

it's too long, One of the erasures is a self-indulgent political statement by the writer, which didn't belong in here. What would have been more meaningful and universal would have been to erase the Conservative, ending up in a Stalinist far-left conformity, as without balance even the side you're on can become descend into oppression.

Another of the erasures just makes Sunshine evil and malicious and should not have been included, Some of his decisions are bad, but viewed through the lens of his heartbreak is understandable, but this one isn't - it's just awful of him.

The acting in this is fantastic - the series rests firmly on Atom's shoulders, and he carries it. His heartbreak is heartbreaking, his smile is even worse (so beautiful it hurts), and there's a scene with him on stage that's worth it in itself. Jet is good too, but he has a more limited range and I don't think he quite kept up with Atom. The small parts are all very well acted, even "annoying stock characters" that made them all compelling, like Jared the Flower Guy. who could have just been irritating, but it's hard not to fall in love with him.

I loved this series, but I did feel it bogged down in the middle. If you can put up with that, the end is worth it. But again, this is not a BL, so don't watch it expecting one.

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1-The reason I watched this : Basically because it's an idol film since I like to watch that genre every once in awhile.

2-Storyline/Plot : As the title say; this is an idol film about kpop groups and the struggle they have to go through in order to move from scratch to the top.
There were many good hard working moments and a very boring romance.
Overall, it wasn't that interesting or that boring.

3-Acting/Cast : Okay let me say this: I really dislike Park Ye Jin no matter what type of character she leads; here she was good as an actress but the character was annoyingly stiff.
On the other hand, I liked Ji Hyun Woo as an actor but he wasn't that special as a character.
Other actors and characters were really good especially the boys from the group.

4-Music : The strength point of this film was the music; "Summer Dream" was a great song that I still remember till now.

5-Rewatch value : It could've be rewatchable for some people who deeply fell for it.

6-The ending : It wasn't a bad ending but it was really predictable and cliche.

7-Overall : This film had too much potential to make it perfect as an idol story but the writers took the wrong turn while delivering it; it wasn't bad but I still feel like there's something missing.

P.S : If you're idol dramas/films lover than you may actually love this.

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machinery and the mob

9 / 10

Most dramas are made to help us escape for a bit. This one doesn’t let you do that. It doesn’t try to be clever or self-important. It just confronts you. It pulls a system we’re not supposed to see into the open and holds it there. What makes it uncomfortable is that it doesn’t stop at the industry. It makes room for the audience too, for the way attention, demand, and silence keep the whole thing running. This isn’t really entertainment. It’s a reckoning with an industry that only works because people stay quiet and pretend not to know.

The scandal at its core is not rumor or professional misconduct. It is the systematic suppression of rape and sexual assault. We see multiple victims erased through coordinated falsehoods. Of cousre, who knows how many victim stories never make it to the light. We see media manipulation and suppression deployed as a weapon. A culture so practiced in self-preservation that it pushes victims toward isolation, despair, and suicide. The series does not treat this as some sort provocation... it treats it as evidence that the whole thing needs a reboot or to be torn down.

Haruna's (oh how I love Haruna in everything she is in)character is personally implicated and ideologically committed. Her sister is also a victim, and that wound never closes. But she is not driven by solely by revenge. She is driven by belief. She believes truth matters. She believes journalism has an obligation beyond access, profit, and survival. That conviction is what makes her dangerous in a system designed to bury facts rather than surface them.

At first I was a little conflicted by the sister connection, but I think the writers did a good job of introducing it (I am just very wary of any previous connection trope.... but at least this one isn't that someone in the show crossed paths with someone 47 years ago and now everything is magically connected.)

The scenes with her and Ko hit me harder than anything else in the show. This isn’t some moral showdown. It’s two women who understand exactly how much power a narrative can hold and who gets to tell it. They know what silence protects and what truth can destroy, and neither of them looks away. Watching it, I kept holding my breath. Every word and every move matters. It’s tense, it’s exhausting, and it feels completely real.

What makes the drama so damning is that it doesn’t stop with the easy villains. It doesn’t let us blame just the agencies or point fingers at the media and feel clean about it. Yes, they’re guilty. But the show names the last accomplice too, and it’s the audiencee. Abuse keeps happening because attention keeps paying for it. Lies survive because they sell. People want the spectacle, then punish anyone who threatens to ruin it. So everyone quietly agrees to look away as long as the product stays untouched. Watching isn’t neutral. Consumption is participation. Every view, every click, every excuse keeps the machine alive. We are not standing outside of this.

The series really only slips once for me. The Editor-in-Chief, Kenjiro Goda, changes sides a little too smoothly. In a story where telling the truth always comes at a cost, that turn felt a bit rushed. There are a couple of other moments like that too. I get that with only six episodes there was never going to be time to sit with every character, and I don’t think the show is being lazy. I just kept feeling like a few of those shifts needed another scene, another beat, something to make the change feel heavier. When everything else in the show makes growth feel painful, the easier turns stand out.

For me, the ending doesn’t retreat into cynicism. It refuses the easy lie that nothing ever changes. The truth is dragged into the open, publicly and in a way that can’t be taken back. What happens in the final press conference isn’t abstract or symbolic. It closes the loop that was opened in the first episode, and what’s said there felt exactly right to me. Nothing padded. Nothing softened. I didn’t need to see every villain punished on screen to feel the weight of it. Their downfalls are clearly set in motion, and that’s enough.

The fact that everything isn’t wrapped up neatly didn’t feel like a flaw. It felt honest. This story was never about comfort or clean closure. It was about what happens after the truth is finally spoken, and how impossible it is to pretend nothing happened.

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I really can't see why no one has written a review of this movie!
I'm not very good with reviews but I thought I had to write one anyway 'cause this is the best movie I have ever seen!

Watched this movie 'cause it is directed by Kim Jewoon and I have always liked his movies.

The story might not be original, but who get's tired of revenge stories?
Really, who does?
For you who likes great action scenes, amazing fighting and bloody tourture scenes mixed with beautiful soundtracks, this is really something for you!

The acting is superb, with two of the best actors I know of. Lee Byung Hun and Kim Yeong Cheol. (Some of you might know the two of them from the IRIS Drama where they have a similar relationship.) They do not act, they ARE their characters in my point of view. That is how good their acting is.

The music is great and really thought trough. Not just some b-class composers work.

I have rewatched this movie four times now and it is still my favorite!

So all in all, it's a huge piece of fantastic art!

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This is not a formula drama. What I mean by that is that unlike traditional dramas where the story and characters rely on a set formula or trajectory to show them where to go, this drama does it a little differently. There are premises, possibilities, seeming drama conventions set up in the beginning, some of which end the way you expect and some of which do not end up where you think they will. The drama itself has been described as slice of life, and while I don’t know if I totally agree with that label as the drama contains a concise journey for each of the characters all of whom change in some way over the course of the story, the style of storytelling has a very slice-of-life feel to it, so I understand why people would think of it that way. The story has an easy, relaxed way about it, which is definitely one of it’s selling points.

Personally, I came to like this drama a lot more than I initially expected, especially after seeing the first couple weeks of episodes. The female leads, with the exception of the single mother, start out…rather unlikable. They’re selfish and difficult and frustrating, and while I definitely empathized with them both and their struggles, I didn’t relate to them at all. But over the course of the drama, I started to appreciate both of these women better. Neither of them changed drastically by the end, although they did both go through a level of growth as people, but I came to understand them better. They’re both still unlikable in their own ways. They both still have personality flaws, but I came to like them because of that, not despite it. On the other hand, the single mother has somewhat of an opposite trajectory. She starts out seemingly sweet and thoughtful and somewhat meek before revealing a more layered view of herself that I can appreciate from a storytelling point of view, but that left me unsatisfied from a viewership standpoint. I don’t know that this ever made me dislike her as it was intriguing and enjoyable watching her reveal a strong, subtle confidence that lay underneath that surface level demureness, but at the same time, there was this feeling of selfishness in her character that I didn’t like very much.

I was particularly disappointed by how the writers chose to end the potential budding romance between the single mother and her co-worker. In a drama like this, I guess I should have expected as much to happen, but the sting certainly could have been lessened if they hadn’t left me feeling like he had been left with the short end of the stick. Her words to him at the end felt…harsh and unfair and left a bad taste in my mouth.

Overall though, I really enjoyed this drama. I’m nothing like these women, and I don’t know that I would ever be friends with women like them in real life, but I came to love all of them, despite and even Because of their flaws. They felt like real people with real personalities and real struggles and real hopes and goals and dreams. They felt human, and I appreciated being the chance to glimpse into their world for just a moment.

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Typical misunderstandings......

I started off this series because i like the FL, but after awhile the ML kinda grew on me.

This story had so many misunderstandings and backwardness and forwards between the charterers it was like watching a tennis match, they just couldn't seem to figure each other out.

I enjoyed the second couple, and the friendship between the 3 main guys, they loyalty and misunderstandings were never taken to heart and were always there for each other,

The story line was your typical Palace story greedy empress and her subjects a blind emperor who refused to see the wrong right till the end.

The only sad and disappointing part was the end when the ML lost his true friend.

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I really appreciated the fact that the FL did her own acr. she had her own enemy, her own fight and she didn't need a guy to save the day or define her character. She was AWESOME!
Kim Nam Gil and the bandits were like the minions, they were loud funny and a whole mess xD

even though I loved the plot, it was kinda draggy and the cgi was horrible xD I wish they focused more on the 2 mains together.. they had sizzling chemistry~
overall the double villain thing was well done, it gave both mains their own identity; the bandits and the pirates fighting their own fights while coming together under one main objective~


the ost was nothing special and I'd just watch the sequel when it's out so there's no need for a rewatch ;p

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