Reviews

Not Perfect But It'll Have A Special Place in Your Heart!

I genuinely enjoyed this show. It's not perfect and it may not be the best drama you'll ever watch but it'll have a special place in your heart. Cinematography was well done. Filming locations were beautiful. There are some things that are different from the other versions of Meteor Garden and that makes it really exciting because it keeps you guessing what was changed in this version. The story is still the good old Meteor Garden tale that we all loved. As someone who grew up watching Asian dramas, this particular story (Meteor Garden, Boys Over Flowers, Hana Yori Dango) is a classic and timeless tale. It's always fun to watch the modern remakes of this story and I'm glad this one didn't disappoint me. Everything cliche in an Asian drama is in this drama lol but I mean, it IS Meteor Garden, so it's expected. This story is basically the foundation of all Asian drama cliches lmao. But it's always so refreshing to go back to this story again in a different setting & with a different cast. If you truly want to enjoy this show, I highly recommend NOT to compare it with the other versions and nitpick on the inexplainable and ridiculous things that happen in this show. Just take it lightheartedly and you'll be able to truly enjoy it. It has 50 episodes (49 on Netflix idk why lol) but it never felt like it was a task for me to finish it because it was so much fun to watch (besides the side story that dragged on for too long *cough cough*). Just don't have extremely high expectations or else... that'll ruin it for you. Other than that, it's really enjoyable to watch. There is a lot of comedy, romance, and it shows the value of friendship and family.

ACTING
Acting was just okay, nothing too spectacular. Most of the cast members are new to acting so I wasn't surprised that they were somewhat lacking. It didn't bother or annoy me, though, because the characters were still very likable and cute. It's so fascinating how much Dylan Wang suits playing as Dao Ming Si. I'm so glad he was chosen to play as DMS because I honestly can't imagine anyone else playing it. Dao Ming Si is such a difficult character to pull off, so I give props to Dylan for doing a great job, despite this being his first drama ever. Out of the 5 main characters (F4 & Shan Cai), only Shen Yue and Darren Chen had some experience acting in dramas prior to Meteor Garden. Shen Yue is an excellent actress (became a fan of her during her previous drama!) but for some reason, her acting here felt a bit unnatural sometimes? But she is amazing in dramatic scenes. Her tears fall down so quickly and she makes me wanna cry too ;___; I liked all the F4 members but my fav was Darren Chen/Kuan Hong. I fell in love with him while watching this show. His smile and dimple is to die for!

MUSIC
I LOOOOOOVEEEE THE OST OF THIS DRAMA. I love how they included old songs from the original Meteor Garden. It brought back a lot of memories of my childhood so I was really pleased to hear them again. They included old songs like Qing Fei De Yi by Harlem Yu, Liu Xing Yu by the original F4, and the new version of Ni Yao De Ai, which was still sung by Penny Tai. The songs that the 2018 F4 sang were lowkey cheesy lol but they're really catchy and I found myself listening to them a lot! Honestly, most of F4 can't really sing besides Caesar Wu (Ximen) lol but they're super cute so it's okay hahahaha. There are two English songs that was played throughout the show: Say Something by A Great Big World, which really set the mood, and Anyone of Us (Stupid Mistake), which really ruined MY mood bc it's such a terrible song lol.

OVERALL, this wasn't such a bad show at all. I would wait for the new episodes every week and had so much fun watching it. It kind of became my stress reliever since I enjoyed it so much. A lot of my friends enjoyed it as much as I did too.

So now... the final verdict: SHOULD YOU WATCH IT? YES. Absolutely. Go for it. It's funny. It's cute. It's romantic. It's dramatic. F4 members are eye candies. What else could you ask for in a drama? I highly recommend it. Like I said before, it may not be the best drama you'll ever watch, but it'll have a special place in your heart. PLUS, it's on Netflix so it should be easy to watch for a lot of people!


(don't read past this if you don't wanna get spoiled lol but I just wanted to share my personal thoughts)


SPOILERS/MY THOUGHTS
- Shancai and Dao Ming Si's relationship is bipolar and cyclic af lol the same shit kept happening over and over again, just with some minor changes lol BUT THAT DIDN'T KEEP ME FROM LOVING THEM. THEY ARE WAY TOO CUTE.
- JING AND LEI'S STORY OMG idk why but it had so much impact on me in this version. Darren and Sun Yi Han are so shippable! Til the end of the show, I still kept waiting for Jing to come back to Lei so that he wouldn't be alone... at least in this version... ;____;
- Xiao You and Ximen deserved so much more screen time ;___; I'm literally craving for more of them ;___; they're so adorable
- Cai Na and Terrence, a.k.a, the most irrelevant characters and have contributed NOTHING to the show, had so much screen time, I almost went insane. SAVE YOUR SOUL AND SKIP THEIR SCENES.
- the last ep was a big wtf lol but it's weirdly NOT disappointing?? lmao

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they had potential

they just lost it somewhere in the start, the writing was chaotic and it felt all over the place and the editing wasn't good either, the music was a bit weird I’m ngl because why are yall singing about a boy huh, anyways it's worth a watch overall !
like there was too much to work with and instead of solving current issues they just present new ones and forget about the latter lmao.
I think the actors did their best for what they were given, and I enjoyed watching it every week, the chemistry between naow and gyo was wonderful, and I love them sm, the side characters weren’t that bad either, especially my girl luktarn.
I might be a little biased in my opinion because it is gl series and I ate it up just because of that bUT and it was good for a light cheesy romance, a good watch when you’re bored :) .

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The first half is fun and enjoyable and I loved it, but the latter half is an emotional roller coaster where the dramatic storylines that have been building up unfold. By the end, I was just exhausted.

The two leads play their characters with intensity and spot-on humor, and have excellent chemistry. The premise of this drama isn't anything new: the rebellious male lead is a contender for successor of his father's company, the female lead is hardworking, kindhearted, with an exuberant personality. (Give her a chance, in the first episode she does seem a little over-the-top.) For the supporting characters, the Li family and Si Yu's dad were great.

This drama includes shady characters, scheming, family turmoil, revenge, unrequited crushes, etc. I can enjoy these sort of ~dramatic~ storylines when they aren't too frustrating or ridiculous. Some aspects of the latter half had plot holes or lack of believability in certain settings, especially the hospital scenes, and there were an excessive number of flashback sequences. Unfortunately, character development in the latter half is pretty much cast aside, which was unfortunate since many characters had a lot of potential.

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more than spoilt milk....

OMG was that bad.
Hunter Entertainment should strike the entertainment part from their name because this was painful to watch and no wonder that some of my friends dropped this show. Because I can endure I watched it to it's bitter end.

It started bad with the first episode and there was no chance of redemption. The Milk Boy was dull beyond my imagination and his partner had the worst fake beard ever seen in BL history. The side couple is a tad better, but too cliché as well. And of course the story is just boring, the acting is bad, the music is bad, the cinematography is ok but that's the best part of this show.

There is not much more to say, because it's a waste of time. Why this still has a rating of 6.5 is beyond me. It's a very bad show barely watchable. Even if you have time, avoid it like the pest and watch something else!

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Yet another masterpiece from Hirokazu Koreeda

For those who are already familiar with Hirokazu Koreeda will know what they are getting themselves into before watching this film.

If you go in to the cinemas expecting this to be fast pace action or suspense blockbuster film, than you will be disappointed. This is an art house film that is very much driven by the characters.

Each of the casts deliver outstanding performances. Song Kang-ho rightly deserve winning the Best Actor award for his starring turn in Broker at 75th Cannes Film Festival 2022. Lee Ji-eun (aka IU) is the heart and soul of this film as we watch her character change as she journey with the brokers.

Just go to the cinemas with the right expectation and this film will not disappoint while enjoy the empathetic road trip odyssey reflecting on the family we choose.

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This story was 85% wonderful, and then 15% fell just south of that in the last couple of episodes. It wasn't perfect, but I still think it was worth a watch and is a super cute office romance comedy. If nothing else, do it for Choi Daniel! :) But I have to say that Baek Jin Hee was bringing the cute in spades! I was anticipating a much higher score for this, if the ending hadn't fallen just a little flat for me. Like the writers got close to the end and then just weren't quite sure how to wrap everything up. I did enjoy the epilogues of the characters even if it wasn't *quite* what I was hoping for or expecting for our main characters.

The office hijinks played a large part in this show, as the description indicates. However, the office stuff was also kind of where its weak point lay as well. I enjoyed the burgeoning relationship between our leads, Chi Won and Yoon Yi, and the antics of their office department. They had a great supporting cast there. Lee Won Keun as Hwangbo Yul, although mostly a character I sympathized with, also had quite silly and annoying moments of aegyo because he's basically a man-child. Kang Hye Jung as his assistant Wang Jung Ae was just the mothering, loyal assistant he needed. I think they did a pretty decent job with the comedy parts of the show as well as the romance parts. There were lots of laughs and a few swoon-y moments as well. :)

The theme song was catchy - I caught myself singing it a few times.

I would say that this is a fairly decent romantic comedy as long as you don't set your expectations too high. It's cute and fun as long as that's all you are asking from it because the plot is a bit thin. I was just able to overlook that until it got down to the final episodes, and I realized that I wasn't going to get all the answers I was looking for. I would still recommend this to rom-com fans.
As far as re-watches go...I'd say there are several episodes and scenes that I'd watch again, but I don't know if I would do a complete run through again.

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Teen Spirit With A Shaman Twist…

Let’s be honest. The Great Shaman Ga Doo Shim’ is a verbatim title. ( As there’s not a lot left to the imagination to work out what this drama is about.) Admittedly Park Ho Jin’s drama doesn’t try to brand itself as “ the next Goblin ” or a “ new fantasy phenomenon”. It is a teen “ cutesy” fantasy tale about the supernatural, but often leans more into the realm of “teen angst” with main leads Ga Doo Shim ( Kim Sae Ron) and fellow classmate Na Woo Soo( Nam Da Reum) ‘s journey through high school also. (At the time of writing director Park’s wish for a sequel season to explore more about the characters was confirmed also .)

As a consequence the drama featured an array of intriguing characters. However their ultimate contribution to the storyline and depth admittedly does vary dependent on screen time and the screenwriting also. Kim Sae Ron was fairly dynamic as quiet and mysterious high-schooler Ga Doo Shim. The former child actress carried an ambience of perfect angst, suaveness and longing which was perfectly matched for her role . As a character it was evident that Doo Shim could’ve gone down two possible routes; one-dimensional and unlikeable by being egotistical , or a more well-rounded heroine who has a likeable charm by struggling with her emotions and carrying empathy. ( Fortunately with our female lead it was the former case. )

Doo Shim’s character development was arguably the most pivotal from begrudgingly accepting that she can see ghosts and trying to be “ normal” , to opening up to new friends ( particularly Na Woo Soo) , feelings and understanding that she can use her powers for the greater good. Yet whilst her setbacks do help to make her feel realistically flawed, there are moments surrounding Doo Shim which felt like more of an excuse to “ heighten dramatic tension ” rather develop her character gradually or focus more time upon making Doo Shim feel realistic.

For example whilst Doo Shim’s relationship with her mother Hyo Shim( Bae Hae Seon) did see the typical rocky road between a parent and a daughter, there was a lot of missed opportunities to explore more about their complex bond . It was evident how much Hyo Shim genuinely cared for her daughter, however, Doo Shim and Hyo Shim rarely had opportunities outside of necessary plot to talk about their shared bereavement , feelings or emotions without queuing into comic relief or angst. Perhaps with a sequel season it is wrong to condemn a final verdict over this relationship as “ poorly-written” overall, however, hopefully season two will give more chances to covering this relationship rather than putting it on the back burner.

Then of course there’s our main male lead Na Woo Soo. Nam Da Reum did a great job as the plucky prodigy with a heart of gold . Initially starting off as a plot device in order to awaken Doo Shim’s “ character growth and feelings”, it was refreshing to see Woo Soo leave the realm as the prosaic potential “love interest” and the “ sidekick who is new to this world” to having more complex depth . One particular focal point to exploring Da Reum’s greater sense of altruism as a character came through his unusual friendship with underdog and best friend Kim Il Nam ( Yoon Jung Hoon). However this is also where we hit a major rut with Woo Soo as a character; he displays emotions, but he rarely acts out upon them unless they’re necessary to the storyline.

There was brimming potential to explore a lot more about Woo Soo’s darker side which he did display at points in the drama such as his silent threat to Jo Soo Jung ( Lee Ji Won) after her potential blackmail, as well as his anger at Kim II Nam during the main events of the storyline. When the story covered the major events surrounding Kim II Nam it seemed odd the drama switched Woo Soo’s personality towards being “ mopey yet calm” rather than using this as a golden opportunity to explore more about Woo Soo’s own negative feelings or hero complex, as well as heal the wound between Woo Soo and Doo Shim helping one another through these events.

Yoo Sun Ho’s performance as witty dead high schooler Hyun Soo was pretty delightful. As a character Hyun Soo serves both as an example of surprising comical foil as well as wasted potential also. On one side whilst Hyun Soo does have his more brief yet bittersweet moments surrounding his death and his search for his mother, he did often cool down more heavy scenes with deadpan expressions or annoying Doo Shim. However there was a lot of unexplored ground with Hyun Soo’s sentience in the series such as being a ghost, never being able to physically age( unlike Doo Shim or Woo Soo), his search for his mother as well as a lack of deep connection between himself and Doo Shim ( who she seems to have grown up with pretty much ) which were never explored and left anticlimactic with the way the drama abruptly ended l his character arc early on .

This moves us onto the antagonistic force of the drama. Now officially there are two antagonists in the drama; the malevolent sprit, and of course an “ unforeseen” antagonist ( until they were revealed after a major incident). Positively this did present more multi-layered complexity than the entity merely being the “ big bad”, as well as pointing out a clear sociocultural criticism towards the cruel “ dog eat dog” hierarchy in the South-Korean education system . On the other whilst their motive was clear and had the potential to be realistically intriguing , their actual reason covered textbook moustache-villainy rather than being given more intrinsic depth. The ending was ( unsurprisingly) fairly anti climatic- not bad per say and certainly helping to add a more conclusive ending for our antagonists, as well as a. interpretative finale for our main leads but nevertheless slightly rushed with the climax coming to a halt early on, rather than being built up or allowing time for rising tension.

So is ‘ The Great Shaman Ga Doo Shim’ actually worth watching? Park Ho Jin does a good job at building up our main characters as endearing and likeable leads which are further sold by dynamic performances with Kim Sae Ron and of course Hyun Soo, as well as the mystical and supernatural lore of the drama. On the other hand whilst Ho Jin’s potential sequel season could give room for tying up loose ends and problems ( including exploring character depth and relationships which sometimes felt disregarded), there were several inconclusive screenwriting moments which often felt rushed, cliche, one-dimensional or anticlimactic . Overall ‘ The Great Shaman Ga Doo Shim’ certainly remains one of the stronger fantasy drama contenders for 2021 - it is not flawless from a screenwriting perspective and there’s a lot of ground that Ho Jin needs to cover going on forward, but a fairly easygoing watch.

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AWESOMENESS AWESOME!! Heart...stop it!! That was GOOD!! I don't know where to begin because I am not going to give anything away. I must say, this is not for the faint of heart. Within the first 10 minutes, you'll be jumping out your skin. As I was watching it, it reminded me so much of Silent Hill (no, I never finished that) but story was reminiscent of it. Lee Si Young was AWESOME in this role as Ji Hyun. I already have mad respect for her but now..She will creep up as being one of my top 10 favorite actresses. Uhm Ki Joon as the Det. Ki Cheol was so brass as the cop who basically continued my negative opinion on Korean police. But his acting was definitely stellar. Give it up to Hyun Woo as Young Soo. As Ki Cheol partner, he handled the role well. But again, not everyone can watch this. There is some seriously twisted and scary scenes in this. From start to finish, you didn't really know where the story was going to take you but that ending. Loved it! I still have goose bumps!

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Wahh...i gave it a full 10 since this was the best drama i`ve watched till now. Story - was great, i loved it how it went from the beginning to end, through sillines, anger, happiness, sadness, friendship, love and family bonds. it didn`t focused only on the main couple but more characters and that`s why it didn`t bring boredness. Acting/Cast - what more can i say? since it was the trio Mike - Rainie - Kingone i just fell in love with their acting. It was way better than "Devil Beside You". Mike and Rainie have the best chemistry going on ever, i never liked 2 lead characters so much, even though i saw other dramas with Rainie in main role if not with Mike it doesn`t fell right (i really wish to see more dramas with those 2 in main roles). One of the best parts of this drama was after the ending of more than a half of episodes there was making the scene, and got to see how they filmed some of the scenes and had fun together. What really surprised me was how Kingone was acting silly and had fun, i thought that he is more of a serious person but this part was better. Seeing them like that was very refreshing. So i`m going to stop now. I really love them so i still have more to say but i`ll dare you to watch it so you`ll see what i mean. Music - i liked it too and it fit in well. If you like this kind of dramas you better watch it if not you don`t know what you`ll miss.

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Story: Nothing fancy about the story. Just your typical high school fun light drama. What i love most about this is that Zuo An like Xiaoman just as much as she like her. He liked her from the very start. Although the FL goes into the university just for him. It is the ML who helps after her the entire drama. He adores her.

Casting: The cast did pretty great throughout the entire drama. Even the silly scenes doesn't look cringy because the cast did great portraying it.

Music: Cute music just like “A Love so Beautiful”

Rewatch: Probability will rewatch some scenes soon.

The only thing i dislike about this drama is. They cut too many kiss scenes. ???? Wetv is unfair. XD

If you want a fun light campus drama. Try this.

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Fun, warm, enjoyable drama with lovely characters and scenery

This is my first time writing a review on MDL but this drama deserves that I make this effort (I say that because english is not my first language, so please excuse the mistakes I’ll make writing this review).

You might see the ratings and think : « Hmm, I’ll pass ». And you’ll miss an opportunity to watch a great drama.

Why ? It’s a charming, enjoyable and fun light rom-com. It was shot somewhere in a place located near the Laos and Thailand’s border, where the Dai people live (from what someone told me). So visually, the drama is stunning : the scenery is very green, luxuriant, the landscapes are beautiful, and so are the houses, streets, buildings. It’s really a beautiful architecture.

The characters, after a rough (and in my opinion, funny) beginning, shine. We have less than ordinary main leads for a rom-com : instead of having a cold CEO and an innocent young FL who freeze every time they touch each other’s hands, we have an ex-CEO who was a playboy who decides to go back to his mother’s village to plant tea and to live a more monk like life.

We have a FL who is a young entrepreneur struggling to get her company off the ground. She ends up being brave, adorable and kind. The kind of lovely FL who is joyful without ending up being a childish Pollyanna. She will end up living the village life to the fullest.

Both ML and FL are affectionate and tactile with each other, which I loved seeing. There are misunderstandings and problems standing in their way but they manage to do something rare : they talk about their problems and solve them quickly.

There are antagonists, down to earth twists (without being a slice of life, too realistic and dreary drama to watch) SML and SFL on the way (but they are more on the funny side, although sometimes annoying) a bit of mystery and most of all, the villagers who are definitely an important part of the drama.

So in the end, it might be on the cheap side, and with less dramatic twists than people are used to but the end result is a charming, warm, lovely drama that certainly doesn’t deserve the 7.8 ratings it has as I’m writing this review.

But then, I started watching this drama before the ratings came in and I’m sad thinking that had I waited a few weeks to watch it, the ratings would have definitely prevented me from watching it. And now I’m wondering how many great dramas I skipped because I trusted the below 8 ratings on MDL.

So if you’re in for a fun, charming, light rom-com with main leads who act their age and solve their problems by talking, then this is the drama for you.

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Is the drama doing something wrong or right when I start actively disliking the Detective for investigating so deeply even though I know she's the one whose clearly in the right?
Which is to say I loved this drama and a big part of that is because it did a good job you getting you deeply invested and rooting for our protagonists even though you know they're doing some seriously illegal, unethical stuff. Oh Jisoo is the clever underdog who dreams of an average life that his circumstances might never get him and you can't help but get attached immediately. Kim Donghee is a really great actor, I hope his star only rises from here. Bae Gyuri meanwhile is privileged but trapped and definitely sociopaths on some level. I'm pretty certain her connection with Jisoo is the first genuine one she's had which makes their story so much sadder. She was the clear highlight for me, even though she's manipulative and unlikable she's undeniably clever and quick on her feet and just so enjoyable to watch. I wanted her happiness as much as Jisoo's! I'll be keeping an eye out for Park Joo Hyun's future projects!

The drama is graphic and drops in heavy topics when it comes to sex work and the criminal underworld so I'd avoid if those topics are uncomfortable for you. But otherwise I highly recommend! It's a rollercoaster with our teen leads as all of them navigate a dangerous world none of them are fully equipped for and attempt to somehow come out the other end unscathed. It's definitely dark and angsty but like watching a crash you can't tear your eyes from!
P.S. No spoilers but the ending is slightly open-ended if that's also something you avoid.

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Song Yoon Ah (Choi Yoo Jin) was the only reason why I finished watching this drama. She had one of the best female character roles especially as an antagonist. The overall show went downhill midway though and the only reason why I finished it was because of her again. The show had soo much potential but was ruined again by including unnecessary romance. I personally think Anna's character should have stayed as a minor role because it just got plain annoying seeing her character. I know many people mentioned the same thing as well and it is honestly such a shame because this show had soo much potential to be even better. The bright side is I discovered Song Yoon Ah's masterpiece acting! She is awesome!!

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