Reviews

Why you may want to watch this drama?



+ plot line is very sweet

+ ROSE IS AMAZING (You'll know when you watch)

+ BL

+ hot hot hot main male lead with amazing seduction/teasing skills

+ he also has great hair! (and a killer jaw)

+ even the second leads don't do much damage to the main leads' relationships

+ potential misunderstandings are discussed rather than acted harshly on.



What should you be cautious of?

+ the hero and heroine literally do the mating dance (per say) for a long long time before they finally end up finalizing their feelings.

+ the main male lead gives too much of his attention to his idiotic ex GF (aka second female lead)

+ the second male lead is an idiot. I repeat, an idiot.



SPOILER:

+ A happy ending.

Leia Mais

HPL is very special for me and it did teach me a lot. The main theme of a fangirl is something so close to many of our hearts. I especially loved how they chose an older heroine - this generation created the fan culture we know today, so that was a big bonus in my book. Also, I head no idea about the sasaeng world, that was a new experience.

The drama starts out very strongly. First couple of episodes are phenomenal, the first half of the third episode made me fall in love with the drama like nothing else. The tempo was there, there was also a lot hinted at and besides one of the best romcom couples on screen, it was interesting to unwrap all the mysteries. Unfortunately, the writing became a bit weak in the second half of the drama, notably after episode 10 or so. Writers used a couple of shortcuts that did a bit of harm to the drama in my opinion.

Also, HPL has some of the best developed relationships between all of the side characters out there. It was a shame, that one of the shortcuts was not exploring these further. in the later episodes. Mostly because in this drama, the minor characters don't feel like props at the beginning, as they mostly do in this genre in other dramas, they come off strong from the start. It is just a shame that they did not keep pace with main couple.

Now, Deok Mi and Ryan are strongest part of HPL. Their relationship is so well done and explored through patience, kindness and nurture. Also, the chemistry is just mad - I kept thinking that my screen is going to burst into flames. almost every episode.

The music, colours and overall playfulness are also a huge strong point of HPL. I was pleasantly surprised that both PMY and KJW went for it fully in this one - some of the humorous scenes got me by surprise. They both balanced the emotions so well, a joy to look at.

I think that I will come back to HPL to look at my favourite parts. However, I don't think that I will rewatch it as a whole. It is worth your time, though. I looked forward to it every week.

Leia Mais

"And then comes one Japanese slice of life and completely erases all the other movies she has seen in last couple of years..." Pretty much the first thought that came to my mind after watching this movie. It has blown me away. With every single thing in it. I had some idea about the plot and I knew it was gonna be some tragedy and illness thing but definitely haven't thought that it'd be such a gem, such a rare thing to watch, such phenomenal piece of art. Yes I think this movie is art. Poetic, artistic, so imaginative, full of parallels and metaphors, visually stunning, with excellent music and brilliant acting and writing. I seriously feel so weird now, I can not explain, I'm sad, I cried near the end like crazy, I'm devastated, I'm strong, I'm grateful and thankful and above all I am happy that I am alive. Description of the movie is already given on movie page so this won't be a spoiler for what I'm gonna say. Just imagine that you find that you're sick and that you're gonna die and suddenly you can extend your life in exchange for some things to disappear each day. I mean the sole idea is very original and interesting and from the first moment it caught my attention but with this pace and this excellent writing it really hit me hard. With each of those things that were disappearing, also memories with a certain person important in his life disappeared as well. With each day it was a new struggle, a new shock, a new fight in his mind and heart, terrifying knowledge that if you want to gain something, you must lose something, and when that biggest attack came, the most difficult thing he could ever lose, then it comes the final acceptance of his fate and his sickness. It was pretty hard to watch those scenes as they were very emotional and with pure rawness. I can't give enough credit to Sato's performance as he was simply incredible, his eyes, his smile, his way of talking, crying, yelling and dealing with everything, all of it was beautiful to watch. He really showed with this role that now there isn't anything he can't do and I'm glad cause of him. As most of the time he was the only one on the screen, I can't say that the others were in the same spot as he was but Miyazaki Aoi and Harada Mieko were amazing in their portrayals too, which was expected from such huge talents like they are. What amazed me the most is that by each encounter, by each of his choices we learn something new, new life lesson, new meaning of choices we make and consequences of that, we experience everything together with him and so easily imagine ourselves in his place, it was so easy to do that. And in the end what this movie really wants to say to us is what really counts -love, bonds and relationships we achieve in our lives. That even if you come to the most difficult and terrible point in your life, there will be always something, someone to make you feel good. To make you feel alive and realize why you're alive in the first place. That nothing can compare to the people you love and care about. That it is better to be loved, to love your family, friends, children and partners to the fullest even if it means that you'll live shorter, all that is better than being alone in the world without anyone to call to, to watch a movie with, to travel with but live a long life. I finally understand what 'If Cats Disappeared From the World" means. And it is something the most powerful. Go and watch this movie, either you're a slice of life fan or not, you won't be indifferent to this one. p.s. And watch movie till the very end so that you could hear the ending song and read the lyrics, it has such a deep meaning and perfectly goes with the whole movie progress.

Leia Mais

This drama is WORTH to watch!!!! Don't judge it by 1st ep

It's just a great one in the genre it includes anything!!! Full emotions , lessons , science, interesting stories and good casting with lovely chemistry also I couldn't have any imaginations about anything till the end!!
I don't know what do people want from a drama .... I just know if you don't watch it or drop in first episodes you don't have this right to share unrelated comments and give a shit ..... This drama is an on growing one
Abt the bromance it was something special among all bromance I mean it's really bromance like two brothers they came to each other like a healer and it was heart melting during all . I Loved all information about our brain all said had attracts and made you fall in love with learning also the fun side was something besssssst something like Waikiki the ideas were new and amazing
Whole the drama is very valuable and make everyone on a good mood you can enjoy it just don't judge it soon or by bad comments some of the (most of them) didn't watch at all . Start it I promise you like

Leia Mais

Let's just say, one of the best shows I've watched. There's no exaggeration in that statement. It is what it is. I wanted to talk about this show because is something I needed.

I'm gonna talk first about Kim Dong Hee. I'm very happy because it's his first main role, one of my favourite actors on the rise. He became popular through his participation in A-Teen, Sky Castle or Itaeweon Class. He's done a great job. I love his acting. The other actors done a great job too. I only knew Nam Yoon-soo. I've never seen any work of the main girls. But I love their acting. Really. All of them were great.

The other thing I wanna talk is about Jisoo. Everyone is debating whether is a victim and in a way he is but he's definitely not. Like sir, this whole sex trafficking side hustle you have is legit the not smartest thing you could do but considering his background and the struggles he's going trough, made me realize, people will do anything for some quick money. Especially if they are motivated to achieve a dream.

Dreams are expensive like Jisoo highlighted and made me think about how money hungry human beings actually are. Even the rich (Gyuri) can't get enough.
I don't wanna talk about Gyuri because oh my god... (SOMETIMES I HATE HER). Gyuri got Jisoo in some deeper things then anticipated and it's also bad on Jisoo's part because he listened to her. Which was because of him liking her a lot (ANOTHER THING I HATE BECAUSE REALLY JISOO IS TOO SUBMISSIVE).
Overall, I thought the drama was good. Every episode had me on the edge of my seat.

10/10 would recommend :)

Leia Mais

Story
WOW, what a journey! I dont get why it got such a low rating...
Its a family melo drama, which also included elements like friendship, success, violence, crime.
Its hard to tell, what the story is exactly about, because if I tried to explain the story, I would have to spoil you. Its so complicated, but in such a good way. I was really surpised, the story was so new, not like one of the 100 plots we´ve already seen. It was such (to me at least) new concept...
I loved that you never knew what was going to happen next. Unless like many other dramas, you can never tell how this episode or drama is going to end. Whenever you think you know, youll be surprised & shocked. Almost every episode has a cliffhanger, that will make you go crazy.
I started this drama crying and ended it crying. Im not lying, there was hardly an episode where I didnt have to cry. So be prepared...if you think youre mentally not strong enough to go through all this hardship, dont even start it! lol
But there will also be cute funny moments, especially between BaekWon&DoYoung;
Childhood episodes will go till episode 11. Im usually the kind of drama-watcher who gets bothered by childhoo eps and just want to skip to the adult-episodes.
But I dont know how the producer made it to completely got me hooked from the first episode, from now on I will never judge childhood-episodes of a drama. lol


Acting/Cast
Uee:
She was actually the reason I started this drama. After finishing Ojakgyo Brothers I thought I wouldnt love her more...but damn, she was even better in this one. Cant believe what a great actress she is! Whenever she cried (and she cried a lot! lol) it was so hard to believe that she was just acting. Her crying will tear your heart apart and make you cry, too.
Baek Woon is such a good hearted girl, who would do everything for her family and for those who need help. But still she manage it not to be that kind of puppy-main leads, we know from other dramas.

Jung Ill Woo:
Thats the first Ill Woo drama Ive ever watched. And I immediately fell in love with this guy. He made it to potray Do Young perfectly, who is a nice and cute guy, but going through hell because of some family matters. I cant imagine someone better than JIW for this role.
(Now i gotta marathone all his dramas!)

Kim Sang Joong:
WOW! That ahjussi is really daebak! I know him from City Hunter, where he played a kinda cold hearted father...but in this drama, he is the nicest and most warm-hearted dad youve ever seen in dramas. This will make you fall in love with him.

Jo Min Ki:
And that ahjussi is just a perfect villain. lol If you already know him from Two weeks and know how crazy and mad he was...youll be completly surpised. In this drama he is even worser...I mean of cours not the actor, but his role Jin Ki. He wouldnt be such a great actor, if he didnt scare me every episode.


Music
I didnt notec many songs in this drama...but there is one song, that got me goosebumps: The Vow by ALI.
This song was just played at the right moments and made you cry even more while the situation/scene was already so heartbroken.


Rewatch Value
Im not giging it 10/10 only because its so long to rewatch the whole drama...but Im 100% sure I will rewatch some of my favourit episodes. Im already missing it so much...(with 41 episodes you grow a lot with the main leads)


Overall
PERFECT DRAMA! GIVE IT A TRY! ITS WORTH!

Leia Mais

Scrumptious - the word I would describe this drama

I'm rating this drama high mainly because I have fond memories of it lol

From the posters, I could already tell this drama was going to have something special & I was not wrong.

PROS
1. THE MAIN LEADS
Yes the age gap is huge but somehow Jerry Yan and Xu Ruo Han was the main saving grace of this drama. Both of them did such a great job portraying their characters. XRH definitely surprised me here bc the character looked so natural on her. So proud to see her acting chops evolve every projects she does. She was able to keep up acting alongside an actor like Jerry Yan, imagine the pressure! Speaking of, Xiao Han IS Jerry Yan - so glad he chose this project as it definitely confirmed that yes he STILL got it. He still got the acting chops to make me cry & feel the sincerity of the character. Idk but I really support the guy & I'm glad this drama worked out for him. I can see this being one of his underrated classic works.

2. THE CHEMISTRY OF THE MAIN LEADS
I don't even know where to start because this casting seem to have come out of nowhere but it worked out SO WELL?? The chemistry was sizzling from the first few eps. Idk what magic they put in this but I sincerely believe if they changed any of the two leads, this wouldn't have worked out as well as it did. But I think it all boils down to their acting chops & love for their craft. Xu Ruohan's braveness to just go for it every scene & Jerry Yan's classic ability to look at his FL's eyes with such love & desire all at the same time. This was a pairing I never thought I'd see but I'm so glad I did. Pure magic.

3. THE CINEMATOGRAPHY
Every shot was worth paying for. This was the 2nd best thing from this drama. Enough said. You can tell they out so much effort in getting the best shot of EVERY SCENE. And with flowers involved (chinese drama name is summer flower)?? OH what a combination. Please, if you're gonna try watching this, watch it for the cinematography at the very least. I'm so glad to see these directors still exist in cdramas. I can only imagine how exciting it must be for them to be given the chance to create such magic in a modern cdrama series.

4. THE OST
The songs in this gave me the same feeling as the drama did. The sense of falling in love & just living the moment. So good.

5. THE SETTING
We are at the beach! We are at the house near the beach! We are in a mansion! We are in the flower shop! We are in the mountains! Summer and then snow! We are everywhere! It felt like we were really living in a world following these characters live their everyday lives. The locations never felt empty. It never felt like we were just jumping from one studio set to another. It felt so real and very immersive.

THE ONE AND ONLY CON
THE EDITING
Ah yes, the cuts. So awkward and definitely ruined the vibe of the whole show. I can't even say anything because I'm sure everyone share the same sentiments. I know the production hated it too but they have to do it for censorship. (I'm not even talking about the sexy scenes, ik they had to edit dialogues too to cater to the cut scenes and all that... just sucks.) I can only forgive them if they release a DVD or something. IM BEGGING.

God, how perfect it would've been if this was shown on Netflix. Let adults be adults and just love damn!!!

I wished this was a bigger success but considering the qualms about the age gap, this was pretty successful to me. So proud of my girl xu ruohan & happy for jerry yan for making a comeback. Everyone has put 100% of their efforts in this and you can tell. This was definitely a passion project for everyone involved & I'm a happy drama watcher as my eyes, ears and brain had a feast.

Leia Mais

Story: This is the story of Wu Xin - a man with many pasts, an immortal body but with no inkling of who or what he is. The story started off with Wu Xin wandering around as a poor, starving monk. Through an accident where he fell into a ravine, he met Yue Ya - a woman who was fleeing home in order to escape an arranged marriage to an old man. Out of the goodness of her heart, Yue Ya shared half of her bun with the starving Wu Xin. In order to repay her kindness, Wu Xin followed her around and created opportunities for the both of them to make money from fighting supernatural beings. Along the way, they became fast friends with a loud-mouthed, ambitious but well-meaning Lord Gu, and a cowardly and prideful Taoist priest. Wu Xin also makes an eternal enemy out of a powerful and immortal female demon, Yue Qi Ruo and her loyal partner-in-crime who loves her, Zhang Xian Zong. This drama aired two episodes per week and each week, Wu Xin and gang will be dealing with one case of a supernatural being while juggling harassments from Yue Qi Ruo and her cahoots. I enjoyed the 'fighting supernatural beings' premise of this drama and would have given the story a higher rating if not for the rather abrupt open ending. I felt that in the end, there are still many things about Wu Xin that were not explained. In one final episode, important characters were killed off and everything was essentially back to the starting point. The ending did leave a rather poignant feel, especially with the ending credits and OST running - you cannot help but sigh heavily, feel a little sad, cheated and a little stumped. Until episode 18, the story was going well and then suddenly, bam! it ends. It certainly felt as if the funding for this drama ran out and they absolutely have to end it at episode 20. A little more thought and a gradual entry into the end would have help improve the storyline and the overall rating of this drama. Maybe another 2-4 episodes more, definitely more revelation of what or who Wu Xin is and a more dramatic showdown with big bad girl Yue Qi Ruo would have been good. If you are after a romance drama, you will be disappointed as the romance is not the main focus of the drama. The main focus is the lead character himself: Wu Xin.

Acting/Cast: My favourite character besides Wu Xin is Lord Gu. The interactions between the two of them (aka Bromance) is downright funny. Lord Gu is a loveable character and I am sure many who had watched this drama would remember his character well above others. My least favourite character is ironically, the female lead, Yue Ya. This is purely personal preference as I don't quite like Yue Ya's practical, no nonsense, bickering, bossy and some what annoying character. Although I like dominant female characters, for reasons unknown, I dislike Yue Ya's character. I feel Yue Ya has a rather boring, flat and one-dimensional character and to build an epic romance story around such a character does not make sense nor did it appeal to me. Granted, she and Wu Xin do share some touching scenes together and some of their interaction is quite entertaining, the chemistry that I get from them is more of a long-time good friend rather than the passionate and hot attraction of lovers. In fact, the evil Yue Qi Ruo exhibits more passion and chemistry towards Wu Xin than Yue Ya. Too bad she's evil and suck people's spirits to maintain her youth and beauty or I'll be in camp Qi Ruo and Wu Xin. And to those of you who got suckered in by Mike D'Angelo's beautiful pose in the poster, Mike has a very small and minimal role in this drama - only appearing occasionally at the last 2.5 episodes of the drama. His appearance is so sudden that one could even call his character as an afterthought to prepare for the abrupt ending.

Music: Some people might like the slow and poignant music. I am impartial to it. As far as I'm concerned, it suited the feel of the drama.

Rewatch value: No hurry to re-watch. No unforgettable romantic scenes to re-wind to. Although the demon and monster fighting parts are nice, I do not know anyone who would re-wind back to those scenes unless they get their kicks out of watching supernatural beings running amok and people getting murdered?

Overall: Despite the weak ending and the lack of lovers' chemistry between Wu Xin and Yue Ya, I did enjoy this drama for the monster killing, the mystery and the investigative parts. And although the mystery of Wu Xin hangs in the air like an unsolved mystery even to the end, I liked the character Wu Xin and the potential for a Season 2 (if they want to continue with it). Otherwise, this is the end and life just continues to go on (forever) for our monster killing hero, Wu Xin.

Leia Mais

Is There A “Trace” Of Hope With Actually Trying To Watch ‘ Tracer’?

Procedural dramas, particularly ones revolving around mundane subject areas such as tax evasion or bureaucracy, can be a bore for viewers. However whilst ‘ Tracer’ is still not unable to evade its more tedious moments, under the directing reigns of Lee Seung Young ( ‘ Voice 2’, ‘ Missing Noir M’) and the writing tutorage of Kim Hyun Jung ( ‘ Who Are You: School 2015’), MBC’s ‘ Tracer’ possessed a surprisingly rigid plot motive from beginning to end.

The drama focused primarily upon male lead Hwang Dong-Joo ( Im Shi-wan). Formerly a disreputable accountant with his own personal vendetta , Dong-Joo ends up working as an investigator for the National Tax Service (NTS). However instead of ending up in a reputable and prestigious department of the NTS, Dong-Joo ends up being sent to division five; a dumping ground for undesirable and difficult cases by other departments.

Alongside the help of team investigator Seo Hye Young ( Go Ah-Sung), Chief Oh Young (Park Yong-woo) and his extensive knowledge into the field from his past , Dong-Joo is determined to stop at nothing in order to enact his own personal justice.

Kim Hyun Jung’s screenplay is notably dark in parts as well as primarily fixed upon the objective of the storyline. Whilst there are admittedly moments where certain overblown dialogue exchanges , Hyun Jung’s personal touch towards the series’ notably heartfelt plot moments and subject areas was surprisingly subtle, yet effective.

Arguably one of the star attractions of ‘ Tracer’ came through the casting choices. Im Si-Wan ( ‘ Misaeng: Incomplete Life’, ‘ Hell Is Other People’, ‘ Run On’) is particularly brilliant onscreen as main lead Hwang Dong-Joo;adding a surprising touch of charisma towards his role as the antiheroic main lead.

Costarring alongside Si-Wan was Go Ah-Sung ( ‘ The Host’, ‘ Snowpiercer’ and ‘ Samjin Company English Class’ ); a hesitant yet virtuous individual in the NTS, Park Young Woo (‘ Ditto’, ‘ My Scary Girl’ , ‘ Hwayi: A Monster Boy’ and ‘ Late Spring’) took on the part as the ridiculed yet talented Chief Oh Young, whilst Son Hyun-joo ( ‘ Tazza’, ‘ Secretly, Greatly’ and ‘ Empire Of Gold’) played antagonist and director of the Central Regional Tax Office, In Tae-Joon. All of the main cast were brilliant as our main leads; helping to flesh out and add a dynamic charm towards their onscreen personas.

However within the execution of ‘ Tracer’, the pacing could notably present a pitfall also. The drama’s attempt to stimulate the storyline’s narrative could often leads to the motives of characters, or the roles of key players rarely feeling elucidated. Perhaps this was also a consequence of a nonlinear narrative; rarely allowing certain moments for viewers to sit back and take in in the events of the storyline.

However perhaps one of the saving graces for ‘Tracer’ came through screenwriter Kim Hyun-jung’s ability to intertwine niche and predictable setups against moments which allowed opportunities to explore the wider scope of Dong-Joo. Whilst Hyun Jung could sometimes fall into a slightly cyclical pattern of a “ new dilemma” forcing Hyun Joo to keep on his toes, this did highlight diverging writing niches of characters being merely plot devices. Instead Hyun Joo and the supporting characters of the series were involved and attached towards the events and processes of the storyline; allowing opportunities in order to explore certain elements of character depth.

The dialogue is admittedly overblown in parts. However Hyun Jung did include some surprisingly witty and sardonic responses for Dong Joo, helping to personify his unpredictable nature to audiences throughout the series. The comic relief present in ‘ Tracer’ is notably an odd mixture between ferocious insults and name calling, as well as lighthearted and somewhat benign exchanges also.

‘ Tracer’ isn’t a series that will suit everyone’s personal tastes. However whilst ‘ Tracer’ focuses upon a notably mundane and simplistic formula, the execution of the narrative is surprisingly tactful. The acting performances are brilliant and solid throughout and whilst the finale helped to setup events for season two, ‘ Tracer’ is notably not without its more evident writing flaws here and there. Overall the first part of ‘ Tracer’ is notably a dynamic mixture of revenge, angst and wit in order to create a surprisingly entertaining drama along the way.

Leia Mais

Made in Korea felt like a high‑gloss promise that ultimately left me puzzled.

I really wanted to love this series. Everything about "Made in Korea" — the cast, the production design, the cool prestige look — suggested that this would be the next big thing. But while watching, I slowly got that familiar feeling I sometimes have with shows that seem a little too confident in their own importance. The series aims for “masterpiece” status, but never quite pulls me in on a narrative level.

For me, the six episodes felt like a structural dead end. They were too short to truly explore the characters as human beings trapped in a system, with all their contradictions and moral struggles. At the same time, they were too long to work as a lean, uncompromising espionage thriller. The show wants to be both — and ends up losing me somewhere in between.

What disappointed me most was how much is hinted at rather than actually told. Friendships feel more like setup than lived relationships, the Vietnam reference remains a decorative biographical backdrop, and the sibling dynamic feels like a dramatic premise rather than an emotionally grounded conflict. Many characters came across as symbols for power and betrayal rather than people I could really connect with. Everything feels like narrative furniture — present, but not truly inhabited.

My personal anchor was the prosecutor. Amid all the polished surfaces, he felt like the exception, and that’s exactly why he stood out to me. He didn’t feel like a plot device, but like someone who thinks, doubts, and hesitates. That some viewers felt he didn’t quite fit actually says more about the show than about the character. To me, he represented a version of Made in Korea that takes moral gray zones seriously — a glimpse of what the series could have been.

Hyun Bin and Jung Woo‑sung carry the show with their presence, but even they (and production design and camera and music) can’t make up for the lack of narrative depth. Especially Jung Woo‑sung often felt like he was acting in a much bigger, more complex project that never fully made it to the screen. Without the star power, I probably wouldn’t have finished the series.

In the end, Made in Korea feels like a “budget version of a blockbuster”: huge effort, but limited storytelling payoff. As a film, it might have been sharper. As a longer series, it could have allowed its themes to breathe.
As it is, it left me with the sense of a project that knows its own potential — and quietly avoids fully committing to it.

Not quite one thing or the other. For me a sort of aesthetic, but ultimately empty space.

Leia Mais

The drama is about a man who commits suicide...
Once you read this you'd think that it's a gloomy depressing drama...but it isn't!
As the name says "A Bittersweet Life" this drama might have a bitter sad moments but it's full of sweet moments too!
The main lead is a mysterious man...he could be sweet and cute as a little puppy in one sec...then he turns to a crazy maniac the following sec just as the other title indicates "Demons Living In My Body"....I think LDW did his best in this role...
his character is what ties the 3 other leads together!
the drama gives equal time to all the 4 characters to tell their story...
All the actors did great in portraying their characters!
The OST is amazing...all the parts are touching and fit with the drama!
I'll definitely re-watch my favorite scenes from time to time!
Finally: this is an unusual drama in all aspects...I highly recommend it for those bored with the normal cliches!

Leia Mais

Sweet boy love office romance

I really enjoyed this twosome. I loved their chemistry and the support and care shown by the junior office worker for the team leader, especially at the end. I just wish it were longer, but that's the problem with most underfunded Korean BL drams like this one. I don't fault the series for not having more time to pursue their relationship in more depth. It's a little overly dramatic at times, but not so much that it got in the way of me enjoying their cutesy "date mate" relationship.

I loved the photobox scene where they start far apart but are quickly side by side. Plus, the photoshoot and fainting scene were pretty cute too. I liked the scared penguin and relentless polar bear analogy, where normally, those two animals would never meet, one being in the Arctic and the other being in Antarctica.

I just found this series to be an enjoyable, if not at times mindless, couple of hours well spent.

Leia Mais

High quality, heavy load

Has this drama high quality? Absolutely yes.
Was acting good? Perfectly. I can give 100 out of 10 to everyone (idk why but maybe except Lee Min Ki)
Was the story interesting and unusual? YES!
Were the dialogues meaningful and thought-provoking? Definitely.
Did I enjoy watching this drama? No. A big no.
Did I finish it no matter what? Yes.
It was a heavy load on my shoulders which I am still feeling. Wasnt enjoyable for me at all except few scenes. Why? Cuz it was so relatable for me. Relatable much as giving pain to me. Some fears mentioned were my own fears that I am afraid to mention. Some frustrations were my own frustrations that I can't find any way out. Some weariness was my own weariness that I am struggling with for many years. This drama didn't do any good to me. At the beginning of the drama, we were all sad. All characters and me. And at the end, at least some of them are happy compared to the beginning, I am still sad. Nor their sadness neither their happiness made me happy.
I can see that why many people like this drama that much. It is in a different league compared to most of the dramas. But I prefer dramas with lower quality and higher pleasing level.
According to me who can enjoy this drama most? Adults who are satisfied with their lifes. They might have problems in their past, but now they should be happy about their life in general. I think for younger people like teenagers, it can be a boring drama with 'pessimistic adults', it can be seen as "unrealistically plaintive" even if it is totally real. And I think for the adults like me, adults who have big problems, who have big disappointments, who have to deal with things that they've never thought they are gonna deal with before, this drama is heavy load. I am happy to finish this drama finally. I would never start it at the beginning if i've known it is something like this.

Leia Mais

In the first part of the series I was delighted wth the characters, but soon it started to drag.

The main couple is cute, but that's it. The initial progression between the couple was nice and I enjoyed the (slow) pace the story set. But this show has one major flaw: There is no depth to this pair. They are just cute. So the story beats got repetitive very quickly and my frustration level rose, because even the actors didn't have chemestry which is a big problem for a romance drama. Besides the characters didn't really change beyond the ML in the beginning of the story opening up to the FL. After that it was just... the same. I don't really have more to say on this part of the show.

Initially I watched this because the story promised to show some E-Sports-Drama.
And the players are all great but ultimately not fleshed out characters. They are there just too squee when the main couple is together.
My favourite charcter is the team captain Wu Bai. He has few scenes and is overall silent which gives him an air of mystery. I wouldn't have minded more scenes with him, but this mysteriousness is probalby why he is so interesting so showing more of him would probably destroy that.
Boyond him all the other team members are all the same charcter. I mean that. Which annoyed me more than almost anything else on this show, because when these actors are given more to do I could tell that they can deliver, but there simply wasn't anything destinguishable in their characters.

For some reason I had the feeling they cut out all of the competition scenes in the later episodes and in hindsight probably in the beginning aswell although it is not as noticable there. I mean the players go on stage, start playing and then a winner is announced. All in less than a minute.

Leaving this aspect of the show severly lacking. Because the ML interest lies with his team and we never really get to 'see' the pay-off. This lead to me skipping most of this plotline (almost half is dedicated to this) even though it was what initially drew me to this drama. It left me rather unsatisfied with the whole drama.

Also too many flashbacks... seriously way too many. And to boot with little to no payoff. The ML backstory is 'explored' in these flashbacks but we never see anything beyond what we have been told or could tell from the character interacions in the present themselves. Thus making these very skippable aswell.

All in all I finished this drama because I wanted to know how all the plot points get resolved and the drama manages that, but it wasn't particularly unforseeable. All the actors are easy on the eye so that certailnly helped.

Whoever is short on time should watch roughly the first part of the show and know that this has a happy ending in all plots and then call it quits.

Leia Mais

Missed the pocket by a mile

There are mild spoilers in this review, but nothing that will spoil the story.

I promise, I gave up on watching romcoms. I really did. But this was a romance drama and I’ve seen some good ones of those. “Lighter and Princess” for instance wasn’t half bad (even though a friend of mine dubbed it lighter and ashtray— you know who you are…) but I’m afraid this one really didn’t make the cut. So if you are going to feel sensitive about a beloved actor, then this review will probably rile you up and is best passed over. Spend your day happily elsewhere. We all have different opinions and I’ve explained my serious reasons, albeit in a somewhat flippant tone.

I’m not a great fan of the standard tsundere type. “We can talk to each other any time if we have anything to say.” Actual quote from Ep 15, albeit in translation. I sort of hope that it lost something in the process there. To me, someone who can’t talk about what they feel is a bit of a red flag. And the way he stared at her at the start was really creepy stalker stuff. Later he makes life changing decisions which he doesn’t discusses with her and she’s the last to know. The character simply wasn’t my type. But putting that aside, Leo Wu did a good job with Lin Yi Yang, and the chemistry was visible in his face right from the start.

But out of what did all this romance spring? There was no witty dialogue going on, no flirtation to lighten the mood. Love seemed to conveniently blossom out of thin air. Followed by a lot on him chasing her, and her pushing him away whilst being pouty petulant. Did the writers actually know why they “fell in love”? It sort of didn’t seem like they did.

Ok, setting the why question aside, and to be fair, I’ve fallen in love for no reason I could explain to myself. To start off with, the romance was pretty cute. It ticked all the standard boxes, as well as all the cliché boxes and all the stating the obvious boxes and a whole bunch of the cringe boxes. It’s really the only reason to watch the drama at all, and you will just about get it in real time, inching inexorably forward, through every tiny nuance. But that’s Chinese romance drama so if I don’t like it, I should just stfu and not watch it! (There, said it for you.) There’s a lot of defensive play nestling up against the cushions and the occasional escaping from an impossible snooker, but they ping around the table and drop the 9-ball without going in off. After about eight episodes I’m kinda over it but I hung in there. Then they really start straying into a sort of toxic, sacrificial relationship dynamic where A (him) relentlessly does everything for B (her), and she takes it all and doesn’t seem to do anything much in return except sleep a lot and cry prettily. Romantic? More Red Flag waving as far as I was concerned.

Which leads me into Yin Guo’s character (Zhao Jin Mai). Take a pound of sugar, some marshmallows and a handful of pink and fluffy with a great big dollop of childish sulky, petulance and a large spoonful of wet weekend; stir constantly for 30 episodes and it should come out pretty much the same as it went in. Really, couldn’t they have written a little bit of an edge in there somewhere. She was supposed to be a competitive sportswoman with an ice queen attitude in her games. I’m afraid that was wishful thinking, ‘cause nowhere did I actually find any believable link between those two supposed sides of her. There’s an internal stillness and concentration that is present in any professional sportsperson, that is born of single-mindedness and dedication, and I just couldn’t see that in Zhao Jin Mai’s eyes or in her character. Leo Wu made a much more convincing job of lining himself up down the cue.

The thing that actually was pretty glacial was the pacing. If you remove the PP from each episode in Helsinki, you’re left with about 5 minutes of real action. I like slow paced dramas but you really have to plumb the character depth to make them work. Unfortunately, here, character exploration was limited to squirming, shyness and ludicrous amounts of hesitancy for at least the first eight episodes. They needed way more variations in dynamics in their relationship to make it interesting and engaging.

There were a lot of characters who just seemed to hang around like loose red balls after the break, getting in the way of a clear view of the black. Not at all enough plot to go round for sooooo many characters. They could have cut the acting budget by half with very little effort and no-one would have noticed. And what is that first rule of writing? — never introduce a character without a well defined and clear purpose. Take Meng Xiao Dong (Wang Xing Yue) for instance and his maybe/maybe-not relationship. It was hinted at and never really explored or resolved so why was it there at all? And it wasn’t like they were short of time.

The lack of any real plot or serious character development meant that the forward momentum was sadly lacking and it became tedious and boring, with each episode pretty much indistinguishable from the previous one.

My final beef is Lin Yi Yang crying poor and it turns out “all” he has is 55,000 US$ and ownership of a billiard hall. Give me strength, I’m lmao at this point. It’s like crying poor because you can’t afford your annual holiday in San Tropez. What planet are people on? Definitely not mine, I’m telling you that. It’s a complete misuse of the word and an absolute insult to a whole world of people who struggle to live their lives and support their families with three less noughts in their bank accounts.

If you enjoyed Road Home, then you will find this a slight step up. The production values in this one were actually reasonable. It was well lit and in focus!

Leia Mais