Reviews

Beautiful Story, Frustrating Execution — A Slow Burn That Waits Too Long

You Are My Faithful Love tells a genuinely beautiful story about fate, and at its core, it really does feel like a classic romcom. The premise is strong, the storyline is interesting, and there’s something very warm and enjoyable about the overall vibe of the show. It’s the kind of drama that should work perfectly—and in many ways, it almost does.

The cast is honestly one of its biggest strengths. The characters are lovable, the actors do a great job, and the chemistry is definitely there. I enjoyed all the dynamics, not just the main couple. The second leads were actually one of my favorite parts—they got together early, their relationship felt natural and electric, and they brought a fun energy that the main storyline sometimes lacked. The sister storyline and the best friend dynamics were also really enjoyable and added a lot of heart to the show.

But the biggest issue—and really the only major issue—is the writing.

This drama had so much potential to be amazing, but the writing just drags it down. The pacing is messy and frustrating. It starts off well, but then you hit the middle stretch and it just… stalls. By episode 15, barely anything has happened. By episode 20, you’re still waiting. For a 30-episode romantic drama, that’s a huge problem.

What makes it more frustrating is that the main conflict feels unnecessary. Both leads clearly like each other—they know they like each other—so why drag it out for over 20 episodes? It doesn’t feel like tension, it just feels repetitive. There was no real reason for the male lead to wait that long to confess, and when he finally gains the confidence, it almost feels random rather than earned.

And by the time they do get together… you’re kind of over it.

That’s honestly the biggest disappointment. After waiting for so long, you barely get to enjoy them as a couple. Instead of giving us proper romantic development, the show suddenly shifts tone—introducing more of a crime-solving/lawyer angle right when we should’ve been getting relationship payoff. It feels like a missed opportunity. I kept thinking how much better it would’ve been if they had gotten together earlier and faced everything together instead of separately. Watching them grow as a couple would’ve been far more satisfying than watching endless almost-confessions.

There are even moments that feel unnecessarily frustrating—like when you think they’re finally about to get together early on, only for a new female lead dynamic to interrupt things out of nowhere. It just adds to that “why are we still dragging this?” feeling.

That said, it’s not a bad drama—it just requires a lot of patience. It’s a very slow-burn romance, maybe too slow for its own good. But it still has charm. It’s heartwarming, it’s fun in parts, and it’s easy to like because of the characters.

Also, I really enjoyed seeing Miles Wei in this kind of role. He always does well as a CEO, but here it felt lighter and less heavy than usual, which was refreshing. He still shines, just in a more relaxed way.

For me, the show was sitting at around an 8/10 for most of its run—but the final episode, especially the wedding, bumped it up to an 8.5. It gave just enough emotional payoff to remind you why you stuck with it.

Overall, You Are My Faithful Love is a drama with great characters, strong chemistry, and a beautiful concept—but held back by frustrating pacing and writing choices. It’s comforting and heartwarming, but you’ll probably spend a good part of it wishing things had happened sooner.

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Yumi's Cells ✨

Vamos lá: Yumi sempre foi sobre ela certo? A gente já tá na segunda temporada e já entendemos sobre isso. E esses dois episódios finais só nos mostrou que os relacionamentos que ela teve (Woong e Babi) transformaram e moldaram ela para o que ela se tornou no final. Uma coisa das quais amo sobre Yumi é a realidade que ela passa sabe? Tudo que ela sofreu, passou, o desemprego, seguir atrás do sonho, namoros e etc. Nunca poderia me indentificar mais com a história dela porque é real. E essa conexão que ela fala foi só por conta dos relacionamentos saudáveis que ela teve com os dois e os manteve, tem muita gente que tem amizade com o(a) ex por aí (e por incrível que pareça as pessoas acham inacreditável isso) mas também foi por eles e pelas tubulações que passou no caminho que Yumi cresceu tanto e amadureceu! Eu amei o final, ele ficou bem fechadinho e apesar de querer uma terceira temporada, eu também penso eu deixar a agenda aberta pros atores fazerem outros projetos, mas acredito que falo em nome da maioria dos telespectadores que querem ver nossa Yumi feliz certo? Com alguém que ela mereça de todo o coração. Quero ver as portas abrirem involuntariamente e que o amor entre de uma vez. Kim go Eun interpreta tão bem, sempre fui admiradora do trabalho dela, mas Yumi é realmente incrível, todo o drama e a mistura com a animação deixa tudo de forma tão única. Tantas emoções e tantos pensamentos. Foi uma segunda temporada recheada de surpresas boas e ruins mas que no final trouxe a felicidade de volta pra a pessoa que mais importa nesse drama, Yumi.

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Rewriting fate with whips and chains

When I saw the chains and whip, I knew I had to watch it.

But seriously, the tension between the leads is *chef's kiss*. The lines were so hot for my liking, and it got my toes curling most of the time like HMMM too spicy~ While the whole reason why they had a BDSM relationship is kinda... questionable... the storyline is actually nice! The whole 'FML is reborn and changes her fate' is already predictable, but it was the complexities of her relationship with the MML that made it exciting to watch. Both of them had their vulnerable moments, but I love how they are each other's damsel in distress. FML is brave and wise just to protect her loved ones, and I love her for that. I also found it interesting that even the MML had to 'rewrite' their fate despite not being reborn. And of course, the real villain and their motivations were a surprise; however, I found their quest to defeat the villain lacking. I just hoped their supposed fate of not being together was highlighted more, so the fruits of their labor would be sweeter hehe.

It's also a jiejie romance—which I super, duper enjoy—but it is not highlighted as much. Still, the dynamics of the leads were really good. I just love to see a submissive, coquettish MML who has his own dark tendencies as well, and a dominant, strong FML ready to risk it all just so her unfortunate fate won't happen again.

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Wow... where to begin. First of all, if you have never watched a historical drama before, i suggest watching this. Why? Because i think this is the type of drama almost everyone will like, and has a happy, cute ending(one of the best endings for a drama I've seen).

Second, I absolutely loved the actors in this. They were all so amazing and into their parts, that you will feel the love for the good characters, and hate the bad ones.

However, I did have some problems with this drama. Although i gave it a rating of 9, I thought some parts in this drama were a little boring. Honestly, I think they could've made this a 16 episode drama. If you feel the same way though, I advise you to not skip over parts anyway because they could explain whats going on.

You wont regret watching this! :)

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Quand le Karma fait le show...

Le karma, c’est ma justice invisible préférée !!! 😈 Dès que j’ai vu ce drama sur Netflix, je savais que j’allais craquer et le regarder juste à cause de son titre. Le concept me parle à fond 🙃

C’est un petit format sympa de 6 épisodes, donc pas besoin de s'investir des heures pour voir si le karma fait bien son boulot 💥😜

Ce qui est cool, c’est que les histoires sont toutes liées à ce fameux karma, mais chacune aborde un sujet différent 👍🏻. C’est assez malin, ça évite de tomber dans le répétitif, et t’es toujours un peu sur le qui-vive pour voir comment tout ça va finir. Chaque personnage récolte ce qu’il a semé, et ça, c’est tellement satisfaisant à chaque fois !!! 😈😅

Mais voilà, le petit hic, car ce n'est pas un perfect pour moi 🤗 c’est que les liens entre les histoires arrivent un peu tardivement... Du coup, j'ai eu cette impression de flottement pendant un moment 🤔.

La rythmique manque un peu de punch au début, et je me suis retrouvée à attendre un peu trop longtemps pour voir comment tout aller se connecter... Mais bon, les épisodes sont courts, alors ça ne traîne pas trop et ça se regarde facilement 😅

Au final, Karma est un drama qui ne demande pas trop d’investissement mais qui t'emmène quand même dans son univers de "justice karmique". C’est pas un chef-d'œuvre, mais chaque histoire trouve sa fin grâce ou à cause du karma, et ça, c’est quand même super satisfaisant 👌🏻

Si tu veux un truc rapide à regarder, c’est parfait. Ça a ses défauts, mais ça reste bien cool à voir, histoire de voir si le karma te tombe dessus… ou non ! 😎

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STORY: Essentially it's about a dude cosplaying as a woman. He ends up helping his friend trick a rich guy but then more and more decides he likes dressing as a woman. The story is kinda boring though there are some funny scenes and the outtakes at the end of each episode is funny. This isn't a tragedy, but let's just say the ending was disappointingly dull just like most of this show. The English translation, which must have been Google, was very poor. It's too bad the story wasn't better; it's not good enough to merit retranslation.

ACTING/CAST: The cast are all very good looking. Also, they do a great job. I was quite impressed with their acting. It seemed to be the one thing this show had going for it.

MUSIC: I liked the intro/outro music. The budget probably didn't allow for much else so they used a lot of royalty free classical music. There was a real nice song that was obviously Pachelbel's Cannon in C but modernized which I really liked.

REWATCH VALUE: Nah. I was really hoping for something to happen between the leads, because there is great chemistry there, but since it didn't, I won't rewatch it.

OVERALL: I was bored before watching this, during, and after.

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Realistic Glimpse of Teenagers' sexuality!

As much as unrealistic and taboo, the theme of the drama (and their literature club) is, the drama remains realistic and true both to the character portrayal of the manga and thought workings of the budding teenagers.

Panning out on vast oceanic view, the drama begins with thoughts of both the girls and their teengirls-hating teacher. Though having an aversion of "ees-eee-eks", the club members enjoy reading the literature perspective of racy, erotic books aloud in the confines of their school club room. With the utterance of the bucket-list wish by a member, the lives and ideologies of the club members gets shattered leading to a sequence of new desires, self-discovery and personal growth. An eclectic ride for the open-minded souls which can be reminiscent of one's own youthful mistakes and fears and their vanquishments.

The visual imagery from start to end, ranging from trains and tunnels to colour theory is applaud worthy. The narration is fast-paced. The titular dancing number was cute. Music was nice but forgetful. The acting felt realistic.

The upsetting aspects were the scenes were the minors throwing themselves upon the adults for sexual gratification and the ambiguous sexual nature of the Saegusa Hisashi's character (Caution!). Fear not, for nothing was shown explicitly but may be implied.

Final note, this drama is only for those who are progressive and acknowledging the mishaps of the youth and definitely not morally agreeing to them.

Leggi di Più

Lets start of with that i will never ever watch reviews of other people anymore before i starting to watch it myself,The negative feedback made me almost decide not to watch it and im happy that i did!

Story: The story is pretty good and interesting and kept being fun to watch untill the end of the show.The maincharacters where acting good and funny at times.
If there is a negative in this show is that the story could have been more sepperated with mini storys inside with Oh Cho Rim solving some other cases with her special eye to see scents so they could save the Climax for more towards the end.It started way to soon from episode 6-7 till the end of the show which some people maybe hate,however it was still really fun to watch and i didnt really bother with it.
To sum it up it was a great ride of story and emotions.

The ending of the show is ammazing in my eyes! Since its very long and makes you feel completed when its over thats why i have to attack the negative feedback on this show and i feel that there are allot of trolls ammong them or just haters that wanna bash everything thats only a bit bad!.

Romance:This part was one of my favorites of the show since i think the couple was really cute together and made me laugh and love them at many times.

Music:The music is nice,especially the opening them of the show i loved.Also in the love monents and in the moments of action it gave a nice feeling.

Conclusion: Dont read the negativee feedback people give and watch this show! Its worth your time and its really fun!.Drama should be watched with a relaxed view and not only to try to find the minus points just becuz it became a bit draggy.The ending of the show made up for that and thats why its a great watch in overal!.If i had to give a comparrison to an other show it would be to You're all surrounded and that was a great show as well.

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Profoundly brilliant - what manner of man is this ɿ(･ه･)ɾ

WOW ... . this was a deep and mind blowingly good movie!! It reminded me a little of Blank 13. I thought I was going to watch a bit of a mystery but it turned out to be so much more than the mystery of a dead man's back story. It literally was an existential 'man hunt' ... a hunt for what it is that defines a man ... a person ... a hunt for identity.

This was not apparent to me at first. The movie moved slowly and I wondered why are they going so slow ... hurry up and get to the juicy mystery bits. Then it jumped some years ... and then there were flashbacks ... and I was wondering what the point of it all was ... and then it hit me ... this was not just about "a" man hunt ... but a multiple man hunt and not just for the men but for their identities, both from an external point of view and an internal point of view. The movie then became entirely fascinating for me ... nothing was irrelevant ... the script was so good it allowed a gloriously deep dive into the existential ﾟ:･*･:◝(ᵔ‿ᵔ)◜:*:･ﾟ.

"Identity' ... in one sense it is such a concrete thing and yet in another sense, it is elusive and ever evolving ... before we are even born we are automatically assigned an identity:
▪ identity from genetics of your biological parents
▪ identify from the time of your birth e.g. before/after marriage; the year / month / day
▪ identity from the order of your birth compared to your siblings ... even the order of birth of your parents in the broader family context
▪ identity from the geographical place of birth ... even the place of birth of your ancestors e.g. born in Japan but your great grandparents were Korean ...
▪ identity from race
▪ identify from culture
▪ identity from your gender
▪ identity from social institutions e.g. the school you went to, the religion you have, the occupation you have; the clubs you belong to; the music you listen to; the hobbies you have
▪ identity from your physical body - the 'perfectness' of it or the 'imperfectness' of it; who/what you look like ... I am the splitting image of my father ... you look like a Korean etc
▪ identity from your state of mind - sane / not sane; smart; stupid;
▪ identity from what your parents do/are - son of a murderer, daughter of a prostitute, son of a doctor etc
▪ identity from where you live, what you wear, the food you eat
▪ identity from your experiences - parenthood; singleness; military service etc
▪ the identity that others assign to you - "hurry up and go back to your 'old self'"
▪ the identity that you think you are ... or should be ... or want to be ...

"Identity" ... so abstract and yet it is such a very heavy thing ... a blessing in its inclusiveness and yet also a weapon of separation and destruction ... something innate and yet something thrust upon you without consent ... what choice do you have with it ... how much of it can you mold and how much of it do you just have to accept as is ... can you escape from it and thereby escape to a different way of life, a different way of being ... how many times have we modified our personality throughout our lives without even knowing ... how did we do that ... is it necessarily a bad thing (˙_˙)ゞ.

I loved the scripting ... as well as the symbolic imagery used throughout ... and the clues that were set up right from the beginning. I liked the different perspectives of a person's identity given from the children to the adults, to friends and family of the main characters ... even to that of strangers. It was very nicely done and the actors did it credit. The scripting was so loaded ... so mind blowingly good. For me this movie is definitely rewatchable. As for the score ... I got so consumed with the story line and all the thoughts that that generated in my mind, I don't even remember the score of the movie ... but I gave it a 10 anyway because whatever it was, it did not detract from the story line at all.

The final scene showing Kido's back as he looked at that painting ... profound. A brilliant movie ... I loved it.

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A muddled message weighed down by K-drama traps; yet, it still manages to stay strong

It seems the world of the anti-hero is here to stay. In K-dramas, 2021 has served up a cornucopia of Batmanesque stories with some of the big splashes being Vincenzo, Taxi Driver, and now The Devil Judge. Out of them, The Devil Judge is very much the winner, even if Vincenzo is more pure in its anti-heroism. Both Taxi Driver and The Devil Judge are honestly just revenge stories, which of course have been churned out non-stop by Hollywood lately. While Vincenzo is the story of a man who slowly gets pulled into other characters plights, until he takes up the mantle of responsibility, thus actually following the classic hero's journey. Oddly, The Devil Judge does have this same journey, it's just not the tale of whom the show calls the Devil.

Quickly, the BASIC synopsis of The Devil Judge:

A newly appointed judge ( attractive every-man Park Jin Young) is placed as one of a triumvirate panel on a live broadcast, viewers vote in, major crime trials television show in an alternate modern day Korea. Once there, he finds himself caught in a political cat and mouse game being played by the charismatic and enigmatic central judge (Ji Sung showing how to be thrilling in a role while not going overboard). As plots unfold and more light is shown on the world around our new appointee, he finds himself confronted with traumas from his past that threaten his ideologies on what makes one a good man and if the law is truly just.

Yet, even though this is the synopsis, it is the central judge character that leads the show as if he is Gatsby to our protagonists Nick. The revenge plot of TDJ begins with Ji Sung and only pulls Park Jin Young in later and, I argue, is what ultimately causes the story to come-up short. While some heavy themes are layered into the 16 episodes covering current day crises such as virus outbreaks, vaccine practices, isolationist political leaders, racism, ethnocentrism, government corruption, fearmongering and wealth elitism, the story only deals with these issues because they are perpetrated by the same group of evil doers that our judges are seeking revenge against.

That is, the show seems to want to cover lofty ideas like changing the system, cleaning house, and bettering the world. All things we can get behind as viewers. But, it only brings them up and uses them as means of blackmailing or trapping those that selfishly escaped a fire ten years prior. The fire being the true evil act and not the long list of atrocities above. It makes TDJ come off as small. While we are dealing with presidents, ministers, and conglomerate owning villains who align in an almost Illuminati type power group, we are only after them cause they hurt the judge's family.

Also, as the TDJ makes these societal moral judgements it does so while allowing homophobia. In a scene where a punishment is handed down to a sex offender, the society-which votes for castration (Yep), is appeased when our Judge instead shows video inside of a Texas Prison for sex offenders and slides down a cell block where all the men make sexually suggestive remarks, kisses, and say they can't wait for the convicted to come join them. The courtroom erupts with applause and you hear people shout they knew the court wouldn't let them down when it came to a punishment, and our criminal all but faints saying he won't go.

Because yes, going to a prison with gay people is as bad if not worse than being castrated. Really? Note it wasn't a South Korean Prison because Koreans don't do the gay stuff that's over in the west....it was quite distasteful and caused me to pause. Remember this was done by our heroes and not the villains.

As for these villains, for a K-Drama, most are actually well portrayed. The two female villains steal the evil throne. Both being vicious, powerful, and one of which is the only evil doer of the bunch who gets their hands dirty. The male villains are much more average and mostly forgettable. That is except our good o'l Mr. President played by Baek Hyun Jin. Mr. Baek ends up falling into cartoon over-the-top territory. He chews up every scene he is in with eye roll worthy antics, that yes are based on the USA 's Donald Trump, and are just as grating. While one could argue, that was what he was supposed to do, IF you have seen Taxi Driver, you will find this EXACT SAME VILLAIN there just as a CEO instead of a PRESIDENT. Range and nuance are not on display here, which is a true pity, considering The President's character is written in a way that could have made him a truly terrifying enemy. His lust for stardom and power sends us and him on a totalitarian power grab that includes a bit of genocide. But the show always turns him into a clown instead of letting us actually fear him.

Now as I have mentioned, two of the villains are women, and they make up half of the females on display that matter. Here the program, like most K-Dramas fails its females. While, yes the BEST of the evil doers are women, that is just it, powerful women have always been portrayed in media BUT always as the villains. When we move to our two counterparts on the good side, they fair little more than a sacrificial love interest and a sidelined judge who quickly becomes the "softer side of Sears" for the televised trial program. Her role is to cry, look pretty, and be liked. Something she is happy to do as long as she is a judge fighting along side the dreamy (picture on her desk) Ji Sung.

As for our love interest, she only shows up when she needs to be there for our main male lead. Her life has been about following him around and taking care of him and even asking him to be her guy 5 times over and all 5 times him turning her down. But she still always shows up vigilant as ever in waiting. She does get the most rewarding slap to someone's face and gets to utter "Don't ever show your face to me again," in one of the strongest scenes of the series, but this strength comes with a steep price paid very soon after.

As for our male leads, the show mostly shines. From the get go Ji Sung's Yo Han is mesmerizing and terrifying. Intense, forceful, relentless, and yes beautiful, the interest he shows in our protagonist is intoxicating. That is as long as he is not theatrically grand standing in the televised trail room. Yo Han quickly establishes that he is not a good guy, but he is fighting the good fight. Flat out stating he does and will continue to do illegal acts to get what he wants because he has a goal and plan and everyone is either part of his solution or part of his problem. The character is layered with his own childhood trauma, that is further exacerbated by the aforementioned Great Church fire of 10 years past, and then burned in his skin (crucifix style) by the hate of the only people today that he has any inkling of caring. Yet, the greatest side of his character is the relationship that blooms between Yo Han and Ga On.

This relationship quickly becomes a homoerotic bromance with brotherly trimmings. Any novice YouTuber could make one of those 2 min BL videos to music without even trying with the scenes the show delivers. From staring longingly out of windows as the other frolics in the sun, redressing of wounds as one cowers over being topless, intense stares and shoulder crumpling embraces...yeah its all there. Except its all because Ga On looks like his dead older brother, which is never explained except for mere coincidence. Remember the homophobia I talked about earlier, just bringing it up again cause the show has let us know where it stands here. So now lets go back and basically have these two fall in love with each other....no homo.

Park Jin Young's Ga On is a bit more to chew on. The character is written extremely flawed, and honestly if I were asked to pick which one is the Devil, I would actually pick Ga On. You see, the Devil thinks he is right, and righteous, and is actually liberating heaven and the world from a tyrannical God. The Devil doesn't see the evil in himself. This is Ga On.

Yo Han sees his evil and knows his evil but honestly believes the means justify the end. Ga On is given to the audience as a noble bright eyed moral judge, and he believes himself this. When he begins questioning the world and himself after he falls under the thrall of Yo Han, he always comes out on the pious end. Yet, as we go through the series we learn that as a teen he was troubled, attempting to kill a man. He attempts to kill that same man again within the first half the series. He also attempts to kill two others during the show and also attempts to kill himself. He commits crimes as a judge, but somehow remains morally superior to Yo Han, and is only brought back to earth by the earnestness of his lady love. He has remorse, but then turns right around and repeats his crimes. By the shows finale Ga On has done just as many criminal and heinous acts as Yo Han, but the show tells us hes the better man. He still believes he is the better man. We are supposed to accept him being the better man. But he isn't.

This brings us to final muddled message of the show. Society and justice are a game with no true good or evil and no true right or wrong. Whoever plays the game the best decides who and what was truly just. Wealth is all that matters as it has the most influence.

Now, this isn't wrong perse, its just isn't right either. A society cannot function and operate if this is honestly what the people think of their own world.

Yet, the ending of TDJ reinforces these ideas in a final show of anarchy and nihilism. Just like Vincenzo and Taxi Driver before it, the only place for true justice is at the end of your fist. What a sad world we live in that the public, as in the show, cheers this message forward. But there is a bit of light in all the dust, and I assure you that there is entertainment and fun to be had along the path to reaching this climax whether you agree with its message or not.

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An Underrated Gem

I love this drama. It is a gem under the radar. It has a great plot with unusual and interesting criminal cases filled with man-made supernatural phenomena, magic and mysteries. Each case is different with unpredictable outcomes. The main characters are intelligent and lovable. The pace is good, the story telling is excellent and logical. All these are built upon a real historical background which is authentic and fascinating, albeit violent and stormy. Most of all, it’s a page turner and very addictive.

Set in the Tang Dynasty during the tumultuous second reign of Emperor Ruizong (r. 684-690, 710-712) (not explicitly stated) who was one of the sons of the infamous female Emperor Wu Zetian, the era saw the Dynasty as the center of the world with exquisite material life and fusion of diverse cultures. Consistently behind the scene is the power struggle, which is historically recorded, between the Emperor’s younger sister, Princess Taiping (youngest daughter of Wu Zetian) and the Crown Prince, Li Longji. It was said the Princess was the real power behind the throne. Many court officials and military personnel flattered to join her camp, and her power exceeded even that of the emperor’s. In this drama, we see deadly political conflicts and manifestation of conspiracy between the Crown Prince and the Elder Princess. And both of our main leads are embroiled in the conflicts which are linked to the cases they have to solve.

Yang Xuwen as Lu Lingfeng is convincing as the proud general who is not too flexible but very good in martial art fighting especially with his long spear. He is upstanding and will do anything to uphold justice. He is loyal to the Crown Prince but is warned to hands off from his investigation of the Chang'an Tea mystery which he's deeply involved and couldn't withdraw himself. So after the mystery is being solved, Lu Lingfeng is stripped of his title and ordered to leave the capital. Behind his background, he has a secret which he doesn’t know himself. Yang Xuwen has a rather rigid look and his portrayal of Lu Lingfeng is very believable.

Su Wuming (Yang Zhigang) is a student of the genius investigative judge Di Renjie. He is humble and resourceful, and is appreciated by the Princess. Su Wuming doesn’t want to be involved in the royal court disputes and is sent away from the capital to the regional office. He is meticulous and observant of the tiniest details, and he is wise but often underestimated by his enemies. Yang Zhigang’s portrayal is very authentic with his suave demeanor, bringing the character alive and loved by viewers.

On their way out of Chang'an, Lu Lingfeng and Su Wuming meet again. Lu Lingfeng initially has a grudge against Su Wuming over some personal issues. After solving their first case together, they become rather fond of each other and the two become good partners, and from thereon, jointly solving cases after cases. Both characters have opposite personalities and strengths, complimenting each other in their investigative work. The bromance between the two is funny and lovable. Their formidable team later includes a talented artist who is in love with Lu Lingfeng, a brilliant doctor disguised as a beggar who loves to eat chicken, and a boy who is talented in martial arts and later becomes Lu Lingfeng’s disciple. I really enjoy watching all of them working together, fending off enemies and solving cases.

My Verdict

If you love The Imperial Coroner, The Detective, Ancient Detective, or Miss Truth, you may love this drama as well. Though with less romance than the other aforementioned, this drama has, among others, few plot holes, good storytelling, and high quality plops. The cases are intriguing and complicated, and the characters are equally lovable and intelligent.

The drama showcases phantoms, illusions, legendary beasts with the ample use of CGIs, some very good as (such as those with the giant crocodiles, phantoms), some less so (such as those with the giant bear). Every seemingly unimportant detail is a clue. Each case is different like an adventure. The case solving techniques involve new way of thinking, understanding of human psychology and most of all, common sense. The culprit in each case has compelling human reasons for committing crimes. A lot of the plots and dialogs are oxymoronic and comical without brazenly admitting so.

Romance is not the focus here as both men are tsunderes and practically run away from romantic relationships despite both men so have love interest with two women. For me, no romance is better than bad romance.

A great watch for thriller buffs.

TWO THUMBS UP! BRAVO!

Leggi di Più

A light hearted drama for in between with great cinematic elements and beautiful cast

Story/plot: ★★★
The drama is about a 4 people insurance investigation agency specializing in solving insurance fraud cases; eventually, the cases lead to revealing of the mastermind villain behind all the evil doings.
I must admit I was not a big fan of the story. Though the cases themselves did have interesting outcomes and twists in-between a lot of the details seem a bit out of this world and felt rather artificial in order to create the surprise effect. The cases also do not build well towards the climax so that even before the final reveal at the end, I did not have an urge to find out who was behind all this. The villain himself was also not big of a surprise to me. And worst of all, they left the ending sort of open but nowhere a second season was mentioned.
What I did like a lot is the relationship between the leads. First, their specialties and characters complement each other very well. The viewers can clearly see how all the main characters started off not trusting each other but solely worked together for their own benefits. But slowly through their teamwork and even life-death situations they grew trusting, caring for and relying on each other, eventually not wanting to continue without one another. This was well depicted in the final case. Though this drama is not at all a BL drama there are some really beautiful shot scenes between the two male leads which satisfy the female viewers’ craving.

Acting and cast: ★★★★
I really liked the cast and found their acting is pretty decent. Gao Ren playing the team lead Fang Yuan did a fantastic job. He is the more mature actor from the crew. Fang Yuan's character has a lot of depth as he went through a lot and this was well demonstrated by Gao Ren’s great acting skills.
The second lead Mi Ruo, played by Xiao Yu Liang, was younger and had still a bit more room to grow in terms of his acting. However, I think he was able to showcase good acting skills in quite a number of scenes (one of my favorite being the refrigerated truck scene in ep. 12). On top of that Xiao Yu Liang is sooo cute (which is one of the main reasons why this not so famous drama caught my attention). I think I haven’t seen such an angel-liked face in Chinese drama land for a while. My husband says that he even looked prettier than the female lead Fan Meng which I totally agree with. I would really love to see him appearing in more dramas going forward (my dream would him playing in a proper BL-adopted drama...he would be such a fit!!)
Fan Meng, playing Luo Xing, the computer geek did also a good job. I rate her in a similar stage as Xiao Yu Liang: a very talented young actress with room to grow. Her character is very like likable: an independent, smart girl who does not obey to anyone, a more refreshing type of character compared to a lot of “proper female lady type of lead characters” in C-drama land.

Cinematography and music: ★★★★★
This is the major selling point of this drama. Most scenes are beautifully shot; they use well-positioned perspectives and angels, zoom-in and outs and frame and rendering techniques. A lot of the scenes remind me of a movie rather than a drama. The drama has almost no action scenes but the dramatic scenes are well depicted. The music was also top-notch: a lot of various combinations that successfully created intended emotions with the viewer. Sometimes they could have turned it down a little bit as some scenes were accomplices by really dramatic music thought the scenes themselves were not all that dramatic; as if they were trying to compensate the missing suspense from the plot.

Summary: ★★★★
All in all, I would say that if you are into detective type of mysteries with a nice touch of brotherhood, you will like this drama. It would not blow your mind or deprive your sleep but it is nice in-between drama with beautiful cinematography and good looking and talented actors.

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A dark trip to nowhere

I am not going to give any spoilers -- just want to advise any watchers that this is a risky investment of viewer time. What starts out with potential quickly falls off the cliff in a fog of poor decisions by the writers. The word "Artificial" is the first clue to the problems with the direction this drama takes. Nothing seems real or feasible and the responses of so many people in positions of power seem a little "off the human chart." Korean dramas often portray a "slice of life" for the country -- this drama neither represents family, values, morals, accountability, normal human reactions, or consequential damage. It almost becomes a fairy tale fantasy drama when you compare it to the reality of many who hold positions of power or have star power popularity. The voices of social media and the netizen factor in this country reign supreme. So I am warning any potential viewer - the acting is good -- but just don't count on any feelings of satisfaction at the end. Just read most of the comments of those that have finished the drama. If I wanted to be in a hopeless dark place I would pick this drama to watch.

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I am little unhappy

awww.... the day I got the news there will be 2nd season for yumi's cells in 3 days I completed season 1 and started 2nd season. starting till they broke up I had so much fun. when they reunion I was so so happy but I am so sad they didn't ended up together. I loved their chemistry, the drama, the issues they both faced. I loved Ba Bi part, he was so so supportive in the end he lost because of 3rd person. when you love someone you should trust them that was missing in their relationship. If their is 3rd season please end them together and let them trust each other.

Good work Yumi's cells Team and all characters. Congratulations on completing Drama.

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Featured story

If elder abuse is a taboo subject that is rarely afforded the serious consideration and action that such horrors demand, then elder sexual abuse is even more so. Playing at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival as a Private Screening, with her film An Old Lady, South Korean filmmaker Lim Sun-ae tackles an extraordinarily challenging subject with such enormous grace, delicacy, compassion and thoughtfulness that it renders this close-to-perfect film as one of the year’s most easily missed cinema highlights.

The film follows Hyo-jeong (Ye Soo-jung), who we first meet in the film’s opening moments in total darkness. Over a black screen, we hear her politely chat to a male nurse during a physical therapy session, his flattery increasing until a narrative ellipses and a dramatic cut to the abstracted, empty hospital itself implies without relying on sensationalized explicitness that something has clearly happened. As the title suggests, Hyo-jeong is very much a “lady” in the most traditional sense of the word; she is polite, reserved, and clearly does not like to make a fuss. How a 69 year old woman who has been raped in a hospital by a care giver responds to this situation is largely the question around which An Old Lady spins.

While there are numerous factors that render An Old Lady such an important film, the combined performance of Ye Soo-jung with Lim Sun-ae – the latter of whom also wrote the screenplay – is very much the engine that drives the film to its gentle but authentic conclusion. Making a film about rape is already a ethically challenging terrain, but by so fearlessly deciding to add the element of elder abuse to the equation, Lim Sun-ae proves herself to be braver than most.

Even more importantly, of course, is how well she succeeds: Hyo-jeong is never reduced to a pathetic victim, but neither is she patronizingly rendered as an unbelievable superhero. Her challenges feel real and are handled with great sensitivity: was the encounter consensual and did Hyo-jeong merely forget, possibly suffering from the first stages of dementia? The questions Lim Sun-ae knows the audience are, in our most shameful moments, asking ourselves are made explicit in the film by Hyo-jeong herself as she struggles to deal not only with the trauma of what happened to her, but her lack of faith in her own capacity to remember it with clarity.

There’s a sense of sadness with a film this courageous and well executed about such a difficult subject that it will go largely unseen, the taboo nature of the subject matter alone turning an audience off. But that alone is precisely what makes this film so urgent; An Old Lady tells us something we don’t really want to hear in a way that makes us forget why we refused to listen for so long.

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