Reviews

“If such thing as a miracle exists, then it’s another name for hard work.” or "A miracle is just another name for hardwork." - Tae Joon / To The Beautiful You (Depending on who translated it.)

For a reincarnation of Hana-Kimi I have to admit I was worried about pacing. The manga was too long winded for me and I actually never bothered reading the final two or three volumes because I knew how it would end and I found the whole thing tiring. Ironically when I started To the Beautiful You I didn't even realize that it was Hana-Kimi. Which is a good thing because at 16 episodes it is the longest version of the tale yet! Immediately I was drawn into the story and by the time I realized what I was watching, I didn't care. Nope, I was having fun. And in the end the pacing worked out perfectly. Giving every storyline it's time to develop and not turning valuable viewing time into an endless repeat.

To the Beautiful You is for the most part a feel good rom-com. It's not deep. Again, for the most part. This is easy viewing that simply makes you smile. Mission accomplished! That said the writers truly delivered on Cha Eun Gyeol. The instant I met him, it was love! As the story progressed and he becomes conflicted over his love for Goo Jae Hee, my heart went crazy. And maybe melted in a few poignant moments. Actor Lee Hyun Woo was amazing, and made me a loyal fan. Especially the moment when he decides love concurs all, even the boundaries on what society–and himself–might still find as a forbidden love. These are the kind of romances I live for.

Viewers will either love this or dislike. If you can separate this as a new take on a "classic", you'll do fine. If not, you know you'll be angry because this is not faithful. There's plenty of fan service moments for Shinee fans as Choi Min Ho really separates himself as good eye candy away from the band. If nothing else watch this show for the most epic paint ball fight! Assassin Choi Min Ho anyone? The show is plenty of laughs and I'll probably be visiting it just for good times, and when I need to reexperience the epicness of Goo Jae Hee. (Goo Jae Hee, the other reason this show needs to be watched. Let's be honest.)

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A departure from the usual BL genre but badly executed

This thriller BL was a good idea on paper, with a set up quite different of the numerous school and office BL dramas existing in Dramaland.

However, even if I salute the idea to center the series around investigation and mystery, with a good amount of romance, I found the outcome of it super mid. At the end, both the thriller and the romance failed to convince me.

On the thriller side, the issue is that the resolution of the mystery and the reveals were very easy to guess, super clunky and badly articulated. Police work felt poor at best and it felt like the leads were just lucky rather than skilled and determined to find the truth. On the romance side, it also failed at being compelling enough to make the viewer understand why those guys are irrepressibly attracted to each other...

The fact that I actively strongly disliked the character of one of the leads for sure did not help. It is the kind of timid, wishy-washy character that need a solid growth arc to be likeable and I have to say that at no point his investigation skills impressed me. The character could barely stand on his two feets or get out of the bed without falling...And here, I must admit it irked me to no ends. The way the actor played the role, with big teary eyes and shy voice, felt very empty to me.

In terms of positives, I found the actor playing the other lead, the prosecutor, very hot with his domineering looks and the intimate scenes were believable, even if the feelings were less convincing. Unfortunately, that was not enough for me to forget the various flaws from the show.

I would not recommend this BL because it fails in holding up its interesting concept. Both the mystery and the romance were a disappointment to me...One was clunky and badly articulated, while the other was not compelling enough.

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I just finished watching and I just have no words to explain what I think of this.

This was a pure masterpiece! Full 10 out of 10 and I think this goes to my favorites here on MDL. If possible I'd give this 11/10.

I absolutely loved the acting in this one.

The actors may be young and yes, flower boys, but they are the kind of flower boys who knows how to act. At least that's what I think. In my opinion there are 2 kinds of flower boy actors: the ones who are there for eye-candy and just for that. And the ones who are there to act and offers some eye-candy too. This drama has the later.

There are few things in the drama that didn't make sense...
The ending was good but I don't quite understand the meaning of the ending... Maybe I need to sleep through the night and recap the drama on my head while sleeping and then I'll realize the meaning of the ending?

The music was really good and haunting. Except the Britney Spears song that was used as the ending song for some episodes... I skipped the ending song :D

I think Korea should make more dramas like this one.
It's a rare gem and I haven't stumbled upon Korean dramas like this one before.

My rewatch value for this one is really low because... You already know what's going to happen and how this is going to end.

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First of all this is my first time reviewing in MDL since i created an account a long time ago, hopefully with this review i expect to help someone out there who still as doubts to watch, (Love That Makes You Cry) in japanese,
(Itsuka Kono Koi wo Omoidashite Kitto Naite Shimau).

Story: In my opinion, the story was very consistent, well written, with a meaningful romance story and very well portrayed by the casting actors.
The main focus of the show is the romance story but this show can also offer a journey with hardships sorrounding love, happiness, work and life objectives.
All characters contribute to the storyline, and there's no character left behind without helping the story progress.
While i watched the story was depressing, dramatic, pleasing and very cute at times.
I experienced a lot of moments throught the show where I was frustrated how the story progressed in many ways that i can't spoil, but i can say the story was well told and the characters were very well portrayed with their own point of views, thoughts and emotions, so i had no choice to care for them, but that is just me enjoying the show in my own way.

Acting: I feel like in this case everyone's perspective on each character will be different based on your own morals, preferences, etc... So what i can say is that i loved the acting and the casting, i think everyone was outstanding in portraying their own role.

Music/Overall: Pretty decent OST so nothing to special about it.

Overall: I like every aspect in this show, also i gave it 9 out of 10, because i don't consider this to be a masterpiece, but it was very well done and very well portrayed. I recommend it to those looking for a deep story with Romance/Drama/Slice of life.

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There was a point during Misty's run that it was shaping up to be 2018's Forest of Secrets. An intelligent script, excellent acting, striking cinematography and a haunting, beautiful score all combine into a compelling piece of television about a powerful woman trying to attain her goals in a hyper-patriarchal society: all the while rocking awesome pantsuits and never letting the cracks in her life show in public. Dark, mature and atmospheric with a powerful female lead, this show was amazing until the inevitable Episode 15 slide in quality that condemns it to being ALMOST the best show of 2018.

Go Hye Ran has hit the glass ceiling but instead of quietly disappearing like older women are supposed to, she refuses to go anywhere. Fighting constantly against corruption, discrimination and vicious gossip, she has become cold, driven and untrusting but is fuelled by a strong desire for justice and a determination to win against all odds.

Kim Nam Joo puts in an exceptional performance as the complex, brilliant and uncompromising Go Hye Ran who is charged for a murder and represented by her lawyer husband, Kang Tae Wook (Ji Jin Hee). The rest of the cast also do superb jobs. Full of timeline holes, unreliable narrators, unlikeable characters and deliberate misdirections, this show will have you second-guessing everything you think you know about the characters to the last scene.

Which brings us to the ending...

Like a lot of people, I was very dissatisfied with the ending and found the finale overly-long and self-indulgent. As can sometimes happen, what I thought was the main point of the drama and what the writers thought was the main point of the drama diverged wildly around the end of episode 14. As such, I found the last episodes frustrating, watching time tick down to a finale that I knew wasn't going to contain resolution to the plotlines I cared about. The ending in particular I found depressing in a way the rest of the drama - however moody and dark - wasn't.

Textually, in terms of the shows themes, I personally found the ending contradicted what (I thought) was the point of the show as a whole. In that respect, it negated to an extent the show's message. It is this - the negation of the show's underlying point and a resolution that is ultimately depressing - that makes the ending so bad.

However despite my frustration with the ending, this was a very good piece of television overall.

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Amazing Drama to Start the 2024!

This is it! My most amazing drama to start the New Year of 2024!

Much has been written about this engaging drama that oftentimes, I am always at loss on what to write here.
People are giving their reviews on details; that I am always impressed of their skills in knowing everything about this drama.
As I still quite knew to C-dramas, I can only write a brief review here.

"Different Princess" is one such show which I am totally engaged in; this is my first time to watch a show on the so-called "transmigration" and I find it as an interesting story line; that I even want the episodes to be longer than episodes 36.
--- Song Yiren as Hua Qing Ge and Ding Zeren as Ji Chu; the leading leads nailed their role perfectly as much as the supporting casts. I give also full credit and to the crews, notably the director and the scriptwriter of this show.

--- As it is always said: "we came to watch a drama to be entertained and to enjoy it"; and this drama never disappoint me; it give us full enjoyment to watch and be totally engrossed on it.

We need Season 2 of this Lovable Drama!

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To be honest I am not a big fan of Taiwan dramas because they have great ideas about plot but most times they mess up the whole drama with dragging and by making the plot more and more complicated which ends up in being boring.

Gladly, this isn't the case here. This drama is sweet and not over dramatic. Some might find the push and pull game boring and think it's dragging too long but there is a reason for that. The cast are good and have chemistry. Maybe the best thing for me in this drama is the lead's smile. It's melting me.

In conclusion, the drama is not bad. It won't be the BEST drama you have even seen but it's sweet and if you have time, give it a try.

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When My Boss and Beliefs Collide

This drama brought a refreshing balance to slow burn romances. The FL was young but not weak. She might be naive in romance but not standards nor boundaries. The ML was brilliant in strength as a boss and mentor yet soft when important. The nuisances within office relations, social norms and relational hesitation were relatable and heartfelt. The SFL as an antagonist was short lived but handled awesomely by the ML and SML. The supporting cast was very good at keeping the flow of the storyline. The growth with the FL was conveyed well. Even when the leads had conflict, you could still feel the 'heart' in it all. The unveiling of the 'bad eggs' was right on time and a twist that was enjoyable. The ML continued to grow in emotional intelligence which made the ending scenes cheer worthy. This series has a slow pace but is solid and worth the watch.

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Melancholic Youth Drama

Based on a novel by Katsuse Masahiko, Matsumoto Hana's “The End of the Pale Hour” follows an unnamed protagonist that just graduated from college and is about to enter the workforce. He meets a young woman, and we follow him as he falls in love, makes friends and struggles with his monotonous life.

Kitamura Takumi perfectly portrays the young man's enthusiasm, growing disappointment and apathy over the years. His portrayal feels genuine, and the male lead's relatable struggles make it easy to connect with him, even if his character is quite the passive guy. Kuroshima Yuin is excellent as his love interest, and they both had very convincing chemistry. Inoue Yuki as the Naoko, our main lead's upbeat friend, was easily my favorite character. Their friendship made for some heartwarming moments.

The End of the Pale Hour is an empathic depiction of heartbreak, growing up, and a realistic portrayal of the struggles that come with working for a big corporation and finding your place in the world. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. While the first half was light and sweet, the later half shifts in tone as our male lead has to face reality. Personally, I thought the twist was well done and gave this movie another interesting layer. Apart from the wonderful performances of the cast, I also really enjoyed the soundtrack that matched the youth theme and melancholic atmosphere of the story.

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This One Won’t Blow Your Mind, But You Might Finish It Anyway

Plot Review
The plot isn’t bad… but let’s not pretend it’s groundbreaking either. It’s your classic mini drama storyline—predictable enough that I could mentally fill in the blanks while folding laundry. I gave it a shot anyway because I’m weak for anything that screams revenge, and to be fair, it wasn’t as bad as I feared.

At first, I panicked thinking the FL was going to end up with the 3rd prince (don’t act like you weren’t thinking the same!). I seriously thought Huai Jin was the one who slaughtered her family. Turns out—plot twist! Wait no, never mind. There was a twist, technically… involving a bodyguard… near the end… and that’s it. Don’t blink or you’ll miss the one exciting reveal.

Cast & Characters
The main leads? Strong. Capable. Not annoying. That alone deserves a medal in dramaland. But somehow, even with all their power poses and meaningful stares, none of them really grabbed my attention. It’s like ordering spicy noodles and getting... mildly seasoned rice. Fine, but not what I showed up for.

Supporting characters? Background wallpaper. No one really stood out, and I couldn’t even be bothered to remember their names. They were just there—like side dishes you didn’t ask for but eat anyway because… why not.

Villains? I’m so desensitized from years of cdrama watching that these villains felt like diet evil™. Not threatening, not hateable—just... meh. I think I was more irritated by a fly buzzing near me than anything they did.

Acting & Dubbing
No hate to the cast. They're clearly trying. But there were moments—especially when the FL kept smirking during emotionally intense scenes—where I genuinely wondered if her lips had a side quest of their own. Like, girl… someone just died. Why are we out here giving Mona Lisa with attitude?

And oh, the dubbing. Technically synced with their lips, yes. Emotionally synced with the actual scene? Not even close. It was like hearing someone read a recipe while acting out a breakup.

CGI & Final Thoughts
The CGI was decent! A little over-slid in places but nothing offensive. Honestly, it added some flair to a pretty standard story.

Would I recommend this? Yeah, weirdly… yes. If you're into light revenge, strong leads, and don’t mind plotlines you’ve probably seen in three other dramas last month, it’s a solid watch. Don’t go in expecting your next obsession, but it’s definitely not a waste of time either.

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