Reviews

A gem I picked up on the journey

I originally wasn’t familiar with this drama, nor had it been on my watchlist for the longest time. One fine day, I accidentally clicked on the ad when I launched my iQIYI app, and now here I am, writing this review after spending the entire night sorting out my thoughts after finished watching. It was quite the rollercoaster ride with this one. It felt like so much was happening simultaneously, and simply judging this drama as good or bad doesn’t quite capture its essence.

Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed every second of the journey. Here’s why:
The characters. While a few lack depth, the main characters served their purpose beautifully until the end. Wei Zhao, the poor guy who lost his parents and ran away from home with his sister, fought relentlessly for his family and his tribe. I’m not trying to ignore the bad deeds he committed, but he never wavered from his goal and was always clear about his intentions. Then there’s the happy-go-lucky girl, Jiang Ci. She found herself on the wrong tree at the wrong time, but somehow encountered the right person. Some may argue that Jiang Ci was foolish for caring about Wei Zhao and her Master the way she did, but it aligned perfectly with her personality. She also balanced the resolute and stern Wei Zhao with her own playfulness. And there's also the lovesick puppy, Pei Yan. Bro experienced love for the first time and lost himself for a moment—which honestly frustrated me. I’m glad he finally came to his senses and realized that forcing a marriage was never a good idea to begin with.

However, when it comes to characters like the Emperor, the Master, and Madam Rong, the writing was largely subpar. These characters seem completely disconnected from reality. It feels like there isn’t enough rationale behind their despicable actions. While it's true that the Emperor didn’t physically murder his brother, he undeniably played a significant role in pushing him to his death. The Master, on the other hand, was a source of frustration for me about 80% of the time she appeared on screen. For someone who is "supposed" to be an assassin, it’s baffling how she’s managed to survive this long given her sheer stupidity. As for Madam Rong, her character arc felt mired in petty grievances from two decades ago that she simply can’t seem to move past.

Another reason I enjoyed watching this drama is the acting. The actors and actresses did an outstanding job. Even with zero physical contact (yes, no kissing scenes) between Wei Zhao and Jiang Ci throughout all 40 episodes, their relationship still feels incredibly romantic. You can argue with the wall on this one, but the way they look at each other, their shared hugs, and the mutual pining are off the charts. Truly, you don’t need toe-curling kissing scenes to define a romance, do you? 😋

And, if we're discussing the ending, it would be a blatant lie to say I’m not the slightest bit sad or disappointed with how the story unfolded. However, upon reflection, Wei Zhao was doing what he believed was best for everyone involved. He single-handedly took the blame for the Emperor's death. If he had survived, there would still be people in the palace trying to pin the blame on him, which would only implicate his tribe further.

Well, I also couldn't stop myself from sobbing as I watched Wei Zhao prepare the 'gift' for Jiang Ci. Deep down, he knew he was embarking on a suicide mission, and there was no turning back for him. He was painfully aware of how slim his chances of surviving the poison were. And the way he decorated the house, incorporating the little details that Jiang Ci had shared during their time together, just made it all the more heartbreaking.

All in all, I’m really glad I stumbled upon this drama. While there were aspects I wasn't entirely satisfied with, it didn’t diminish my overall viewing experience. This drama has easily earned a spot on my favorites list.

And oh, extra credit goes to Wei Zhao's velvety robe when he entered the slave arena. That attire was pure elegance. He strutted in with such flair, fully confident that he would come out alive. 🥳

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This was one hilarious drama! The premise itself is unusual, and sometimes hard to swallow. A rigid woman who never fell in love wants to get married and a hikikomori is looking for another woman to leach off because his mother is getting older. The drama follows their story as they decided to date and if all goes well, then get married. Of course it never goes well and it is not an easily attainable goal. More than just the couple, their family and closest friends are all involved in the process. What we get here is a fun, endearing, entertaining, uncommon romantic comedy that brings you to unexpected places. We end up exploring a question that is strangely not that often explored: What is love. The drama doesn't leave us hanging and does show us it's own interpretation of it. Whether it is true or it is left up to each viewer and their experience with love.

What differentiated this rom-com from other is its characters. Starting with Higashide Anne as Yabushita Yoriko. She is a girl obsessed with numbers and with things being exact.She pre-schedules everything and always needs to plan ahead anything she needs to be done. She's already set with her life and is inflexible even with the most mundane things. I find that she has a big heart and emotions, she just deals with things practically so can easily be viewed as heartless. Then there is Hasegawa Hiroki as Taniguchi Takumi who's treated as a NEET by all though he prefers a different title on himself. He refuses to work and just want someone and his view of women and emotions is unrealistic and comes from books and movies. He can easily be perceived as a loser, but somehow we start to understand him and the reason behind him becoming a hikikomori. Despite such odd personalities they had such a great chemistry. I loved each and every scene they had, and their conversations are always most fun to watch. Seeing them go through each hurdle that may be normal for most people with their particular views is part of the fun.

Other than the leads, we have many secondary characters. Nakajima Yuto as the innocent Washio as a delight. He is a sensitive young lad who cannot accept our leads' point of view on love and marriage and wants to prove them differently. He also has ulterior motive, and has such a sweet heart. Kuninaka Ryoko playing the cool Kaori is my favourite role for her. She kicks ass, she's cute, and she talks like a yankee XD. Her brother Sotaro played by Matsuo Satoru is maybe the most hilarious of all. He also is the one that makes things move when people are being in denial and refuse to move forward. Then there's the parents.
I really love Takumi's mother with her nature of not taking anything seriously. She does hide her pain behind a façade but she is very strong and doens't deny neither her weaknesses nor her son's. Yoriko's dad is also a sweetheart. He only wants his daughter to be happy. It is heartwarming how he accepts her the way she is. Another highlight is Yoriko's mom. There are many ways we can interpret her character but she always says the most hurtful things everyone want to ignore. For sure her mother has a big impact on her life and has Yoriko constantly competing with her.

So overall it was a great drama. It has an unconventional romcom with many interesting chararters and excellent performance. It may not be for someone who expect a romantic story despite the title. If you like light comedies and different themes about love, then that is your drama.

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Such a huge waste of time...

There are so many things about this I didn’t like. It would probably shorter if I listed things I liked about it but nothing comes to mind. I felt there might have been a good story somewhere in the series, but it seems like most of it got left on the cutting room floor. Instead we have marginal acting at best, horrible editing and sound quality. The film itself seemed to vary in quality. I found myself not really caring about any of the characters or their motivations. I was rooting for Zach and Wolf and it seems like that nigh’ expectations happened in the last episode, but once again, the scenes seemed to be taken out of context. This felt like the director was trying to make a bold, artistic statement that ended up looking like a student project. I can’t think of one thing I liked about it, unless you count watching someone shoving food into her mouth for half an episode. Was that supposed to be funny? Because the tone seemed out of place in the series. Watch Gameboys or Hello Stranger for something uplifting and fun. Don’t waste your time on this.

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The Best Time Travel Mini Mini Drama Love Story You Will Ever Watch

This is my first and possibly last review. The only reason I am writing this is to persuade more people to watch this, in spite of it's low rating of 8, it really deserves 9.5 as a minimum!

I caveat it as a mini mini drama because each episode is on average 3-6 minutes long. There's not even an opening or ending song just a couple of repeated tracks. So you are totally focussed on the drama.

I really like this premise - Zhong Xiao Xiao goes back in time and actually gets to know the guy she has a crush on. She had a longstanding crush on Xu Yang who never knew anything, and I don't think she really knew him either just thought he was cute. Left school, that was it, all left behind.

Won't spoil it except to say she gets to know him and she gets to know other people along the way.

What stands out for this series is they manage to fit in a cohesive time travel story, relationship developments, comedy golden moments and even angst all in a matter of minutes in an episode. No fillers involved, and you truthfully just want more of their story.

Fine nuanced acting is in every second (we only have minutes to play with) here for all the key actors in their stories - you will feel the sadness/elation with the characters for the 4 minutes that the drama is on. I highlight episodes 9, 20 and 24 as great examples of these.

Many seem to think this would make great movie but I beg to differ - the way this was edited and shot was just excellent, drama series style - designed to give you that lingering cliffhanger feeling and wanting more with each episode closure. IN 4 MINUTES! And they achieved it with every episode.

Please, please watch this and give these 2 lead actors and the production crew the credit they deserve. And watch it without spoilers - I mean the drama is pretty short, no need to make it shorter by spoiling it 😆 The surprises/plot twists uncovered were all pretty good/unexpected, rest assured.

GO WATCH IT!

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I was highly anticipating this dorama because it sounded like the cliched rom-com one may want to watch to pass the time, and I wasn't wrong.

The plot is not original, it's something we might have seen a thousand times over. If I had to summarise it in under 50 words, this is what I'd say: ''Tsundere president of hotel company falls in love with pretty employee. He's the best at his job but sucks at love. Mayhem ensues.''
To be fair though, this rom-com may be something more than your usual tsundere rich guy/pretty and pure employee story, but don't expect to find out about what it is that makes it different until the very end.

Let's talk about the characters. We have Ohno Satoshi as Samejima Reji, the brattiest 2 years old in the body of a 30-something years old you'll ever meet. He'll make you root for him, love him, then despise him around the 5th episode's mark, and then kinda like him again in the end. It's seriously a roller-coaster.
Haru plays Shibayama Misaki, Samejima's love interest, and does so convincingly. Amazing at her job, she's capable of standing up for herself when needed, which is good, but her habits of speaking in keigo really gets to you after a while. Overall, a likeable character, though.
Let's move on to my favourite character: Muraoki, Samejima's secretary! She's sassy, independent, strong, amazing, and awesome. She tells it like it is and she's quite simply the best. A+.
Finally, I'm not going to mention the rest of the characters, but each and everyone of them was a nice addition. Shout-out to Miura for being the best clueless buffoon ever.

The acting was good, albeit a little over the top at times (but I kinda liked that because it was fitting.) I loved Samejima's facial expressions so much. They were the funniest hands down.
Also, having watched Haru in some interviews and programs and stuff, where she barely speaks or moves at all, I was pleasantly shocked to see she's a good actress. There's nothing, or little, of Haru in Misaki.

I loved the music! The ending theme is, of course, Arashi, and it's a very catchy song.

I'm not one for rewatching doramas, but this was so good, so I'm definitely gonna watch it again sometimes in the next few years.

All in all, this is a great dorama. Funny as heck. Made me go as far as watching it without subtitles because I couldn't wait - and my Japanese is basic at best! Also, I believe the ending is probably hinting to a second season or a SP (more probable), so I'm holding my breath for that.

Definitely recommended for those of you looking for:
-a (somehow different kind of) rom-com
-a tsundere main lead (it doesn't get any more tsundere than Reiji, istg)
-a funny dorama with typical Japanese over-the-top acting
-(kinda) realistic portrayal of some aspects of romantic relationships

Isanami suyao ;)

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This was an enjoyable movie. There are some cliches which you will recognize if you have seen movies with a roughly similar premise, but to a large extent the story remains unpredictable and full of tension. I particularly liked the first half of the movie, while the second half sort of dampened my interest. Since this is called 'Part I', I was reassured that the missing links in the movie would come. Personally, I think that one weakness in the movie is a strong motivation behind Koo Ja Yoon's actions. Why does she desperately want to live? Is there something she must necessarily do? What drives her?
If you've seen 'The Silenced' starring Park Bo Young, then you might find the synopsis similar, however this one is a more bloody, brutal version. If you don't like blood and gore, I suggest you don't watch it.
Kim Da Mi's acting in this movie was amazing, and I'm glad she's won so many awards for it.

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Do you know this feeling when you just finished watching something completely surprising, unique and brilliant? Right after experiencing something like that I’m always feeling empty inside, like I’ve poured all my emotions and thoughts into this particular movie/drama and it’s the only thing I can think about for days. Well, thanks to Love Exposure I feel like an empty shell again, but hell I don’t regret watching it at all.

This movie is something I would never ever imagine myself watching and liking. Why? First of all, it lasts nearly 4 hours (3h57 to be exact) – why would anybody release such a long movie? "There’s no way that it will keep me interested through the whole thing, it’s just too much!" I thought something along those lines. Now I can tell you all: this movie is not boring even for one second, on the contrary: I was surprised it ended so soon and wanted more! And guess what? The original movie lasted 6 hours (sic!) but the producers forced the director to shorten it so the audience wouldn’t be scared off by its length.

Another thing why I shouldn’t like this movie: it’s plot is completely and utterly ridiculous. How sick has a person be to write a story about a young catholic boy who wants to please his father so much that he becomes a king of perverts? Who would believe that a story about sick ways of loving would ever become popular or awarded? And what about this returning motive of a hard-on; how many scenes of the main guy struggling with an erection can one movie contain?! Also, this thing that it’s based on true story – so there really is a guy who roams around Tokio and takes “panty shots” using kung fu techniques?... You may think this sounds a lot like American Pie or any other movie for horny teenagers - well, you’re partly right, but apart from perverted stuff, this film has so much more to offer.

The acting is simply brilliant. I watched this movie because of Mitsushima Hikari – I’ve seen her in Soredemo, Ikite Yuki where she played a weird, soft-hearted girl and was really convincing as such, so when I saw a poster of Love Exposure with her showing a “fuck off” gesture I was immediately intrigued. Can she really play somebody like Yoko who’s crude, vulgar and provoking? Hell yes! I couldn’t believe she’s the same girl who played in Soredemo, she’s just a completely different person here, both in terms of character and looks. I am her die-hard fan now – she is for sure among the most talented Japanese young actresses.

As for a main male character in this drama I have a confession to make: I had no idea who Nishijima Takahiro was before today. I haven’t seen anything with him and his photo on MDL is not his best in my opinion – he looks too feminine for my taste, so I wasn’t too eager to see him in action. Well, another surprise: I simply love this guy! His smile melts my heart, every time he grins I want to hug him and never let go. He’s just too lovable for his own good, really! Plus he’s an amazing actor, he did a great job portraying Yu and that wasn’t easy, because this character was so exaggerated that if it would be any other actor I guess I would take this movie only as a disgusting comedy (eg. scenes with his countless hard-ons). Thanks to him I felt all kinds of emotions: from dying of laughter or shouting in frustration to holding back my tears; he made this strange king of perverts, Honda Yu, real. But I have one request to this guy: keep your hair black, you look so much better like that!

As for a rest of the cast, they were amazing too. Ando Sakura as a psychotic Koike was just terrifying, I felt sick whenever she was on screen – the things she does here are really disturbing sometimes (or nearly every time). Yu’s father, Yoko’s step mother and Yu’s friends – they all were strong points of this movie too; I especially loved this blond thug friend who was like a tag king or something, he was adorable.

As for a music I already downloaded main song from this movie on my mp3 – it’s really catchy and I swear I have already heard it somewhere before!

To sum this long review up, I really recommend you to watch this movie. Don’t be scared off by lots of weird perverted things that tend to go really overboard, they give this movie an air of originality and some of them are simply hilarious (kung-fu moves for panty-shooting are my favorite!). Also, watch making of Love Exposure on youtube, there are interviews with the movie’s director – this guy is really dedicated to his job, I have to watch other things made by him too!

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Trying to tell too many stories, but a VERY lovely main romance & First experience

Subjective Gut Rating: 8.25

Stumbled upon “Ripe for the Picking” on Netflix as it silently shows up without much fanfare. As I read the synopsis, I was expecting another over-the-top rom-com about a 30-year-old virgin and a socially awkward guy. But I was pleasantly surprised that this is lovely and heartfelt love story between two vastly different individuals.

This is a very short drama, only 9 episodes and less than 30 minutes each. I would say my biggest complaint would be too many side stories. As much as I enjoy learning each co-worker’s individual journey to love and finding themselves, they are too short and take away screen time from the leads. The leads’ love story has become an afterthought in the first few episodes, while the drama spends its precious limited time on:

A working mom trying to find work/life balance, and her own identity.
A career woman whose sole focus on work jeopardizes her personal relationships
A girl with low-esteem struggling to find love in all the wrong places and being shallow as hell.
A asexual co-worker whose story was mentioned in passing without much depth

These are all interesting stories individually, but with such limited time, they just seem to be stories that hit all the checkboxes. They are not given the proper time and effort in developing them into meaningful ones.

Having said all that, the main romance is lovely. The leads are both awkward but sweet individuals. Their encounters and subsequent development are lovely to see. Oh, and there are quite a few frustrating moments with communication, but I’ve learned to forgive them because they tug my heartstrings.

Female lead is pretty and quite successful at work, yet she hasn’t had a boyfriend since high school (hard to believe!). She’s embarrassed to be a virgin at 32 and is on a mission to sleep with someone. That drive and desire propelled her to take the initiative in approaching our socially awkward ML. I have to applaud FL’s shy forwardness because she is the one making all the moves and trying to clear all misunderstanding/miscommunication. My heart breaks for her when she was ‘rejected’ and was so confused about what happened.

But what I love best about this drama is how it gives us a sweet, awkward but very realistic portrayal of a first sexual experience. I’m glad so much care and thought are put into writing their intimate time together. It was beautiful to witness (and quite embarrassing as I feel like a voyeur). When they do open up to each other, no matter how weird and awkwardly frustrating it is, it feels honest and intimate. And special brownie points to great kisses that feel romantic, tender and a lot of desire.

This drama might not be for all, especially if you usually get upset with a lack of communication. We have some of those frustrating moments, but they get cleared up pretty fast. I had a lovely time watching this and shed some tears of (seemingly) heartbreaks for the leads.



Completed: 4/21/2024 - Review #431

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At first I really liked this drama. It was fast paced and had interesting plot. The casting is amazing and the acting is really good. I enjoyed the subtle humour and I loved the romance between two of the side characters.

But after a couple of episodes I started to feel bored. Na Yi Je (the main character) was just too smart and too prepared. It wasn't about what is going to happen next, it was about how he is going to outsmart everyone with his new magic trick. It took away some of the excitement. Also the characters were really one dimensional. I found the last two episodes absurd, it was absolute makjang lol.
I was also annoyed with the fact that no one view Lee Jae In as a heiress to the company although she was one of the smartest and most competent characters in the series (second only to Na Einstein - a god among humans).
Also the medical part of the drama was really bad but it probably won't bother too many people.

Overall it's a decent drama and I do recommend it if you have some time to kill and like the revenge genre.

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my interpretation

before i watched this film, i decided to look up the reviews and overall were mixed. this film has its flaws. yet, i don’t considered a bad film. the story to me was about someone’s personal struggles over sexuality, love, lust, & confusion. Shane, one of the main leads, he seems to be confused about his sexuality. not only that, he is in conflict with his feelings between his girlfriend and his best friend. Jonathan, Shane’s best friend, is secretly in love with Shane. He is always there for Shane and can be seen to be very valuable to Shane. I believed Jonathan played such a vital role in Shane’s life that when Shane saw himself losing Jonathan, he realized hidden feelings. I think Shane genuinely loved his girlfriend and Jonathan. he was in a battle with himself. He seemed he couldn’t make up his mind and didn’t want to lose either. Obviously, his girlfriend and Jonathan had to bring Shane to his senses and make him choose. which is where i found the biggest flaw of this film, the ending !! we get no closure or dropped hint of what comes next. we are left with such vague ending.

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Usually japanese dramas are better in the psychological genre, but wow, this drama definitely surprised me.

The story is engaging and fully thought out, every episode unveils its own mystery and sets fire to another. What i enjoyed about this drama especially is how it played with the viewer's mind. The story leads you in one direction until you realize you've been looking at it in an entirely wrong perspective.

The characters are well developed and the actresses/actors were well suited for their role. Angela Chang did a wonderful job playing the identical sisters and i definitely enjoyed Julian Yang's portrayal of Jia Wei.

I finished this drama within a day (watched it till 3am in the morning OTL) and highly recommend it to others. :D

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I personally think this is the best kdrama from first half of 2019 or at least in top 3.

If I was to compare out of the trilogy this would be my standing on it.
Voice 3> Voice> Voice 2

Story:
From start to finish, there was so much going on and nothing was slow. The antagonist was well written. Also Kouske! kouske, kouske. Boy did I love how he stayed true to his character! It took alot of things Voice 2 needed improvement and truly made it into a masterpiece. Also thank god there was no romance or else the whole show could have been ruined!

Acting/Cast: Amazing acting from Lee Jin Wook, Kang Center, and the antagonist. However, I think there could have been some improvements from the call center support cast such as Seo Eun Seo and Kim Woo Suk.

Music: it fitted well especially BLOO Open Your Eyes was such a good modern match! I wish they played it more in the show.

Ending: I liked the ending. It was great.

Hoping OCN create a season 4 plss ;) there is so many possibilities, it is a waste not to.

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