Reviews

Murder is like potato chips: you can't stop with just one.

This drama is not for the faint hearted. It is a graphic and terrifying account of a gang of serial killers that preyed on drinking girls in Harbin, China from 2002 to 2012. Led by the cruel and depraved Deng Ligeng, they victimized women who were alone and would not be missed. A clogged pipe led to a grisly discovery that put them within a hairsbreadth of being captured. They go on the run across the country but murder is like potato chips: you can't stop with just one. With police chief Peng Zhaolin hot on their heels, this gang of four continues to stake out potential victims. Unfortunately this time they tangle with the wrong victim and barely pull off another audacious escape. They manage to disappear without a trace for a decade until a chance encounter sheds some light on their whereabouts.

This drama has been mired in controversy that unfortunately cast a shadow over what a well crafted police procedural it really is. The cinematography and storytelling approach is vividly gory, full of psychological tension and a menacing and increasing sense of dread and mortal peril. Zhao Jinmai truly impresses in her role as Zhen Zhen, a troubled, defiant teenager who discovers an inner strength she didn't know she possessed in her primal struggle for survival. I haven't felt such a raw combination of sheer terror, helplessness and rage in a very long time. Her desperate bid for freedom is the highlight of the story and where the dramatic tension in the plot peaks. While faithful to actual events, the storytelling deflates into another six episodes that are mundane by comparison. While the idea that serial killers can so easily assimilate back into society and walk among us is unspeakably chilling, it is a point that could have been made more succinctly. Even though I was rooting for Zhen Zhen and Peng Zhaolin to get justice, the way they went on with their lives wasn't interesting. The was also something lacking in Zhao Jinmai's portrayal of Zhen Zhen's nightmares and her PTSD as the dramatic tension in the narrative had abated by then. The final episodes linger too long on characters I didn't care about.

The most damning criticism of this drama is that it glorifies and humanizes serial killers. As someone who watches many similar Western dramas inspired by true crimes, that does not really seem to be a fair assessment. What is true is that the production could have been more sensitive to the feelings of survivors and families of their victims. And it is missing a "fictional events" disclaimer to make it clear that they took dramatic license with true events and characters. There is also an attempt at dark comedy in the beginning that just didn't land well. It is not advisable to eat or drink while watching this drama. All of the actors in villain roles delivered phenomenal performances that brought those fiends and their dark dynamic to life in a horrifying and fascinating way. Wang Qianyuan deserves a special mention as Deng Ligang, the mastermind who terrified the living daylights out of his own gang and Wang Jiajia as the no less perverted killer who dares to stand up to him. But make no mistake, Deng Ligang, Song Hongyu, Shi Bi and Ji Dashun were portrayed as they were; vile, cruel and cunning monsters who coldly and calculatedly lured their victims to a horrible end. Yet they must have had a certain amount of charm in order to persuade their victims to let them into their lives like that. Acknowledging that they were also bold, cunning and charismatic is not the same as glorifying or humanizing them and indeed I didn't feel one iota of sympathy for any one of them from start to finish.

This sinister and gripping story starts strongly and has some outstanding hair-rising moments but loses momentum after peaking too early. My biggest issue with it is at the end, I didn't care about any of the characters, including Zhen Zhen. I found Peng Zhaolin to be an exceptionally banal version of the doggedly persistent cop archetype. I rate the first eight episodes in the 8.0-8.5 range but the final six episodes barely a 7.0 for a 7.5/10.0 overall.

Leia Mais

An Absolute Mess

The more I think about it the more I'm convinced that the show that aired is not the show they intended to make. There are too many things that don't add up or that are disjointed to assume it was intentional.

I don't think the actors failed, necessarily. They didn't elevate poor material but I don't fault them for that. I know some of these actors are much better than what is seen in this series. The problem, as I can discern, falls entirely on the writing and editing (and possibly direction).

Trigger Warning: I will be discussing the suicide of one of the characters.

The first almost half of the series really builds up what happened to Blue. Him somehow holds some culpability in his fate, though only Te and Him seem to ascribe any blame to him. Chao and Dream, in fact, don't seem to know what happened to him at all. Early in the series there are comments made by various members of this group of friends that imply a) Blue is alive, b) something bad happened to him, c) not everyone knows what happened to him, d) but everyone DOES know Blue is still somewhere he can be reached.

I suspected early on that Blue attempted suicide at some point and that Him was somehow at fault for that. However I also assumed he failed in that attempt. A big reason for that was the way the characters who knew him spoke about him. The way Te spoke about whatever terrible thing Him did almost implied he was in contact with Blue at some point after the event, or even currently. Te had so much disdain for Him this entire series. Him had such deep guilt and shame this entire series. Until the last few episodes where Him was alleviated of wrong doing by the revelation that he didn't really do anything wrong (though he was kind of a dick to his very codependent boyfriend when his mom wound up in the hospital). And then Te just magically gets over his grudge. What?

My theory is that Blue was originally intended to survive his suicide attempt and come back later in the series. I also think Him was originally supposed to be more of a factor in why Blue made the attempt. However I think the plan changed at some point after the show began airing. Perhaps the original story for Him was too dark and someone felt he couldn't be redeemed properly for a happy ending. Perhaps they felt Blue returning made things too complicated to wrap up in the number of episodes they had. I don't know, I can only hypothesize unless someone involves in the production speaks about it and either confirms my theory or confirms this is what they intended to make.

We go from regularly getting 40ish minute episodes to getting 25-30 minute episodes. We get huge holes like the fight at the end of episode seven leading to an entirely different fight in the opening of episode eight and then everything being magically better later in that episode without explanation. The second half of the series requires you to assume a lot of things happen off screen and make up what exactly happens in those conversations. We also have the atrocity that was episode nine (I think it was nine), where the editing was clearly not completed and the audio is a disaster. Entire lines are missing from the dialogue track and you only know what was said because it was included in the English subtitles. I don't know what Thai speakers did to make sense of that episode. The plot very quickly runs out of plot around episode eight when things are magically reconciled and the entire show shifts to focusing more on Chao and Phai at that point. To me, all of this suggests they had to scramble to cut material that was already included in the final episodes and then had to shoot new material for the last few episodes. The finale was basically a throwaway episode for NC scenes.

Other than how very messy the plot was, my other problem with the series were the characters who made no sense and the terrible "relationship" between Chao and Phai.

Type was a caricature villain. What was his problem with Him? Was it really just an inferiority complex over his family having less money? Why was he so intent to fuck Him over and even hurt someone he didn't know at all to do it? Then we get the out-of-left-field plot of him trying to get back with Phai so he could sell a sex tape of him and him pulling a gun on Chao because he "thwarted" his plans by discovering them and telling Phai. What? This was cartoonish and poorly written, to say the least. Once again, I think there may have been a real reason Type hated his cousin that ultimately got cut from the series but I don't know.

Te. Just...what? I already covered how his hate of Him doesn't really make sense. Sure, he had a crush on his friend who he never confessed to and who ultimately dated his other friend. Blue was clingy and codependent and got overly emotional whenever he didn't have all of Him's attention. Because Blue got so upset Te got angry that Him was in a position to treat Blue poorly (in their eyes) in the first place while he, of course, would have taken better care of Blue. But this does not explain why he would doggedly pursue Nail. Sure, he's Blue's doppleganger and he resents Him because Blue chose Him and later took his own life for reasons that (from what we're shown) don't even really have anything to do with Him. Either there's way more substance to that grudge or he's way more unhinged and obsessed with Blue than we are ever shown.

Then we get a sudden alternate love interest for Te who just materializes out of thin air. This man has had no interest in anyone other than Blue or a Blue replacement for 10 episodes but here comes Piece and he's all for it. What? Piece didn't even appear in the credits until then, which reinforces my idea that he wasn't originally part of the series but someone added in later after airing had begun. We get an apology to Him that I don't think almost any of us would have accepted and then he goes off to flirt with Piece. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the dynamic between those two. They have good chemistry. But Te is a completely different person with Piece than he is at any other time in this series. It comes off as slapped on at the end to make Te palatable, to cover up rewriting the end of the series or to just fill time because they realized they didn't have enough material for twelve episodes.

Chao and Phai...dear gods, save me from obnoxious, intrusive puppies and people who can't reinforce their words. On the one hand, we have Phai constantly telling this kid he doesn't want to date anyone and they are just fucking, then on the other hand he also constantly allows Chao to run amuck all over that boundary. He tells him to sleep on the couch or leave but never makes him. In the last few episodes we see these secret little smiles implying Phai has finally succumbed to a form of Stockholm Syndrome and now finds Chao endearing.

Chao, however, knows how to do nothing other than doggedly pursue Phai, violate every boundary Phai attempts to place and just shove his way into a relationship. Phai says no so Chao whines and badgers until Phai gives in some small amount. Phai says he doesn't want a relationship so Chao repeatedly declares he wants to be in one with him. Phai doesn't want him showing up at various times or has plans with others so Chao shows up. If anyone is somehow unclear: THIS IS A RED FLAG PEOPLE! This guy is exactly the person you should never ever date and if they keep coming around you should report them to the police for harassment.

Did I eventually feel a little bad for Chao? Sure, I did. Phai very easily could have explained a number of things to Chao but chose not to. He even was willing to explain things (such as how he was definitely not getting back together with Type) to people who WEREN'T Chao. He brushes off Chao's emotions and requests for communication. He decides Chao doesn't need to be told anything even though they are in a sexual relationship with some elements of friendship. (This is also a red flag, people, it's just not one that requires police intervention.) He made things so much harder unnecessarily just because he didn't want to ever explain anything to Chao, as if letting him in at all would violate the boundaries of the relationship he was telling himself they had.

Don't get me started on Chao telling Phai in the finale that if he wanted to have sex they needed to be in a relationship and Phai suddenly just agrees after months of insisting it wasn't what he wanted.

Did we really need Pae and Somsom shoehorned in as a couple at the end? Did that couple even make sense?

This novel is long enough as it is and I think it says most of what needs to be said about this series. I would like to see the actors in other series with much, MUCH better writing. I think a lot of them could do really well with good material. I think there was some failing in direction here, but there was a much bigger failing in writing and editing.

It's a mess.
Do yourself a favor.
Skip it.
There is no rewatch value. It's a dumpster fire of confusion, loose threads and dots that don't connect the way they tell you they should.

Leia Mais

A perfect encounter with the imperfect Qiao children

Maybe the line above is the most suitable line to sum up what I’ve been through after 36 episodes of The Bond. This drama is not perfect. The characters are not perfect either. They are bloody annoying and manage to make my blood boil in every single episode.

But, I still finished this drama. I’m still able to find my strength to see how the ending is for the Qiao family, especially those unfortunate children. In those 36 episodes, I can’t help but think, how can people get through all of those events but still survive and always have each other back.

After the final episode, I give myself some time to think about it, and the answer is laid on the English title of this drama, The Bond.

The Bond that they have created since the day their mother died. The Bond which was glued by their eldest brother who carried them for decades. The Bond that makes them stronger to pursue their happy ending, tho life always throws them in the miserable place again and again.

Synopsis

The story began in 1977. In that year, the fifth and the last child of the Qiao family was born. But unfortunately, the mom passed away right after giving birth to Qiao Qiqi. She left her five children with their irresponsible and not capable dad, Qiao Zuwang. This dad loved to gamble and didn’t even care about his home or his children at all.

This left no choice for the eldest brother in this family, Qiao Yicheng who was only 12 years old at that time to step up and be the caretaker of the family. He suddenly became the mother and the father of them.

This kept going on until they were teenagers and adults. This eldest brother is always the one who cares and protects them. Even when they started to have their own romantic life, their bond was still as strong as ever.

Review

To be honest, I don’t know how to give this drama an objective review, because I’m so damn attached with it. I have followed this drama since it was airing on August 17th until September 8th. The Bond was airing 2 episodes everyday in Tencent Video, that’s why it ended pretty fast. And I’m very content with this kind of schedule, though it made me couldn’t watch the other dramas because my mind was full of these children.

This drama actually has shortcomings, especially towards the ending. It seems so rushed. If it really followed the original material (the novel), this drama should have more than 36 episodes. Some parts of the novel were changed to fit the TV drama schedule. So, it left me a little bit unsatisfied. I really want one or two extra episodes just to see them being happy, especially the eldest brother, Qiao Yicheng.

It doesn’t have to be exactly like the novel, but I do wish the part when the eldest brother was sick wasn’t changed that much or at least a little bit longer. If you watched this drama and saw with your own eyes what Qiao Yicheng has done to his family, you would also want this man to be pampered for a little bit longer. Especially when you have Bai Yu (Guardian, Suddenly This Summer, The Long Night) who pulled off the sick character so well.

I saw so many complains about the drama, which they think too miserable, too annoying, too *狗血 (gǒuxiě), etc. But when I read those comments, I realized they never really criticized the plot. What they actually criticized was the choice of the characters.

“Why the hell was he married to that woman?” “Why is he so stupid?” “This man is good for nothing.” “This woman is too blinded by love.” and so many other things.

I said those things too, but it didn’t make me leave the drama. Instead, this drama turned me into a noisy aunty who lived as their neighbor. I talked about them with the other aunties and was always curious what would happen with their life after they made a certain decision.

This drama would never work so well for me if it wasn’t because of the ensemble cast. We have Bai Yu as Qiao Yi Cheng, Zhang Wan Yi as Qiao Er Qiang, Mao Xiao Tong as Qiao San Li, Song Zu Er as Qiao Si Mei and Zhou Yi Ran as Qiao Qi Qi.

I will emphasize my compliment to Bai Yu. I don’t want to sound biased (since he’s indeed my favorite Chinese actor), but he’s indeed really that good. He can show the development of Qiao Yicheng in the span of 20 years in the drama. He can transform himself from the temperamental, awkward, naggy and full of energy young Qiao Yicheng to still naggy but relatively calm, insecure and tired older Qiao Yicheng. He can show the complicated emotions of Qiao Yicheng perfectly. When you watch this drama, you will see how wide the emotional range of Qiao Yicheng is. He is a completely different person depending on his opponent. His line delivery is so natural as if he isn’t acting. It makes the drama feel even more real.

What I like about this drama (it may be a minor reason and not necessarily important but I love it) is this drama never dubbed the inner thought with voice over nor did monologues. We can easily understand what they were thinking only by looking at their expressions. For me, it’s such praise worthy of the actors. It means, they succeed in giving us a narrative without too much dialogue. That’s what real actors should do.

Beside the main leads, we still have tons of supporting actors who also did extremely well to bring the story to life, such as Liu Jun as Qiao Zu Wang, Li Jia Hang as Qi Wei Min, and Zhao Fan as Ye Xiao Lang. All the child actors are also impressive.

So, in the acting department, I’m quite satisfied. There are some actors who didn’t meet my expectations but overall they are still watchable and didn’t ruin the flow.

Original soundtracks of The Bond are one of the best. The opening song, “Life Should Always Face the Light”, is sung by Zhou Sen and it is sooooo beautiful. The title is full of hope and the lyrics get me teared up every time I listen to it. I almost never skip the opening just to listen to this song.

The most important thing from these brilliant soundtracks is how well placed they are. The timing when the songs are played is never missed. It hits right in your heart at the perfect moment to add more emotion in this drama.

Last, I love the details for the setting and properties. Though I’m not Chinese and obviously I didn’t live there in that era, I feel very familiar with all the properties there. Especially when they enter the millennial year when the handphone was found. I’m like, “I recognize the ringtone!” “Ah, that was my first phone!”. Something like that.

The tone and color grading that they use from time to time is also distinctive. It looks like it’s the same, but it’s actually not. It follows the year the drama took place. It’s such a pleasing for my eyes.

In the end, I can say again, this drama is no where near perfect. But this drama teaches me so many thing about life and how we should handle it. That’s why, I can’t help but put this drama in a very high place in my heart.

This review is also posted at https://lalasalittleworld.wordpress.com/2021/09/10/review-the-bond-qiao-jia-de-er-nu/

Leia Mais

Untold theory of the last scene

Beautifully wicked drama that depicted tragic things happened to tragic people.
Great acting from all casts. All in all, there’s no good and bad people in this story. People did what they did out of spite and to redeem themselves.

For those who didn’t understand last ending scene between Mayuko and Naomi, this review will be mainly wrapped around that particular scene.

The Ending Scene (Episode 4):
Naomi asked Mayuko to watch him swims to the buoy. As he walked to the shore, Naomi turned around for one last look at Mayuko whilst pointing his finger into the distance before swimming into the ocean.
He was mimicking the same scene performed by Tadzio in a 1971 film “Death in Venice” directed by Luchino Visconti.
The significance of this film’s ending scene and the director himself are important to Mayuko later on.

To summarise this film, Tadzio had a pursuer called Aschenbach who secretly followed him around Venice as his obsession with Tadzio’s beauty grew stronger. Towards the film’s ending, Aschenbach was stuck in the same situation as Mayuko, because both were unwell due to health conditions.
In this same scene, Tadzio turned around looking at Aschenbach and pointing into the distance (the same way as Naomi did to Mayuko). Aschenbach who was dying, yearned for Tadzio and still mesmerised by the boy’s beauty before passing away while trying to reach out to Tadzio.
[Updated in 2024: abovementioned cinematic parallels - https://easterndelights.tumblr.com/post/759516469940879360/kna-div ]

Based on both scenes, Tadzio was a symbol of youth, innocence and adolescence beauty to Aschenbach; in the same way that Naomi symbolised as a perfect ideal man to Mayuko.

In episode 1, Mayuko’s father praised Mayuko for having a keen eye for something beautiful when he saw the necklace that Mayuko found from the beach. As Yuki took that necklace from her, Mayuko took something beautiful from Yuki 30 years later.

When Naomi was born, Mayuko held baby Naomi and saw the beauty in him. She told Yuki that she might take him away, but Yuki never took that matters seriously.
Over the course of 20 years, Mayuko moulded Naomi’s personality and groomed him into becoming her ideal man. Naomi would have knew everything about Mayuko at this point - like he knew her favourite french poets are Verlaine and Baudelaire, and her obsession with the novel of “Chijin no Ai”.
After Naomi was freed from both of his parents, his wish to always be together with Mayuko came true - albeit it came with a hefty price.

Back in episode 1, Mayuko brought up a film called “The Leopard”, into a conversation with her mother where she reminisced the beautiful castle scene. That particular film was directed by Luchino Visconti.
Naomi might have also learned about Mayuko’s love for Visconti’s films, although the viewers never get to witness this scene.

Back to the ending scene, Naomi dressed Mayuko in all-white before heading to the beach. It was coincidentally the same as how Aschenbach wore all-white to see Tadzio for the last time.
When Naomi was pointing into the distance mimicking Tadzio's scene, Naomi wanted to show Mayuko that he was never the Naomi from “Chijin no Ai” and Mayuko was not his captor.
Instead, he is the Naomi that always yearned for Mayuko and her affection, despite all tragic things happened to Mayuko because of Yuki.

Mayuko was conflicted with her feelings at first, but did reciprocated and gave in to the decision to be with Naomi.
With Yuki completely gone from both of their lives, there will be no more malice and destruction as peace ensured.
Despite being bedridden and in a vegetative state, Mayuko regained her long forgotten youth and innocence by starting anew with Naomi.

When Naomi was tributing his Tadzio to Mayuko, it was a sign to trigger Mayuko’s memory telling her to yearn for him, as he will always be waiting for her return.
In the end, Mayuko understood what Naomi was signalling to her (hence she smiled).

Leia Mais

An incredibly intelligent and cogent series that examines the enormous pressure that society places on women and that they place on themselves throughout their lives. Beautifully filmed, masterfully edited, with post-modern production that consistently breaks the fourth wall, this series is incredibly entertaining with equal measures of comedy and drama that examines the real flaws of the characters without being preachy but instead acknowledges that we are all human and is supportive of the life stages and experiences we all share. This is among the best series I have seen in our current Golden Age of Television - Amazon really did an amazing job with this!

Leia Mais

incredibly calming , very slow and relaxing ..lots of metaphors for growing up, a great coming of age movie displaying how two different people deal with becoming and adult
Calm and sweet soundtrack , not distracting and blends perfectly
Nice cinematography breathtaking yet very simple , captures the beauty of the place it was filmed in , the camera sticks to the scene for a long time but i don;t mind at all ..many beautiful shots of the sea and countryside
Actors did a great job ,the roles didn't require many complicated emotions but you could feel what they wanted to deliver through the screen
I recommend to watch if you aren't expecting action scenes and just want something sweet at the end of the day with a hot drink and cozy blanket
I would re-watch again but not too soon ..maybe in a year or two when i need something calming

Leia Mais

I watched Ajin live action when a cinema in my city screened this movie. As a fan of the original manga & anime, I was excited and worried at the same time for this movie. So I went to the cinema with a low expectation, because I don't want to be disappointed, but then I  left the cinema feeling satisfied and wanting to watch it again. In my opinion Ajin - Demi Human is one of the best live action movie honestly (maybe after RK). So I felt the need to post a review.

Story: 7,5
Ajin is a fast-paced movie. The main plot for this live action was the same as the manga & anime, but there were some minor and major differences too. Fortunately, those major changes actually made the movie focused more on the main plot. I think the scriptwriter did a good job, that's why even if you are a picky manga/anime fan like me, I think you'll still able to enjoy this movie.
Action scenes take a big part in this movie, which probably about 90% of this movie. The action choreography is amazing. I was really impressed the whole time. Since most of the movie is about fighting, there is no big character development, especially for the main character. Though it was expected, since movie has limited time. There are not enough scenes and dialogues for us to understand the characters' personality, except for Satou. Also, there is some plot-holes that left unanswered. This movie also ended in an open ending that probably make a chance for a sequel. But I still give 7.5, because I personally enjoyed this movie a lot, and I think the writers succeeded to keep the intense atmosphere from the beginning until near the end.

Acting/Cast: 10
One of the reason why I was excited for this movie was the cast. This movie has a star-studded cast. For me, all the actors and actresses did an incredible performance in this movie.  But the one that really stood out from the rest was Ayano Go. His portrayal of Satou was amazing. Every gesture, expression, and speech was perfect. I think he succeeded to bring Satou into life. His acting felt so real to the point that I forgot that Satou is just a fictional character.  Shirota Yu also did a great job as Tanaka. His sharp gaze was perfect. On the other hand, I think Sato Takeru under-performed in this. His acting was good but I think he could do better. I blame it to the script that made his character seems dull. Despite that, I'm still giving the perfect score because the other casts was amazing.

Music: 8
 I think the music was suitable for the movie. Especially on those fighting scenes, the background music actually made the scenes more intense. Also, I love the ending song.

Rewatch Value: 9.5
Yes, I would like to watch this movie again. The cinematography was great. The CGI was perfectly done, the IBM looks so good and real. The action choreography was really detailed, intense, and amazing. So I don't think I will get bored from watching this many times.

Overall: 9
As I stated above, Ajin - Demi Human was one of the best manga-to-live-action movie in my opinion. Even though some part were changed, the movie still followed the original story. The casts' acting was good. I love the action scenes. My only disappointment with this movie was the main character's lack of personality depth. I hope if a sequel is planned, they can explore his personality more. But overall  I really enjoyed this movie from the start until the end.

(sorry for my English)

Leia Mais

I wasn't planning to write a review but when I finished this drama and realised that so few people have watched this drama, I knew I definitely needed to write a review for this masterpiece.

To be honest, the only reason I picked up this drama was when I coincidentally saw the subtitles of this drama being updated on 27th July on Dramacool and came to mydramalist to find out that the drama had finished airing. The summary did not intrigue me, and the ratings didn't really interest me either since very few have rated this drama. But I decided to give it a try still as after some research, I found out that the anime version was really popular(I've never watched it though).

When I first started watching a few days ago, I had dropped this drama thrice in the first episode because it bored me so much. I kept moving onto other dramas and decided to come back to it today because most of the good dramas always pick up in the second episode, to name a few would be My Ahjussi, Strangers From Hell and much more. And I'm so glad that I came back, this drama completely caught my attention right at the very beginning of episode 2 and it just kept getting more and more intriguing. I finished bingeing the whole drama today, and am mindblown, it was that good.

I laughed, I smiled and I cried. I never cared nor knew what rakugo was about until I watched this drama. What first caught my attention was the mystery surrounding Konatsu's parents' death. I'm no newbie to mystery dramas but the way the story was told and shown left me wanting more. I also enjoyed watching all the rakugo scenes and even went to google some of the performances.

If I think back about it, the story itself wasn't that special except for the rakugo parts. But it was the way they told the story and it's characters which made a huge impression on me. And of course, the actors were amazing too, especially Okada Masaki. I've watched a lot of his dramas before but he never really caught my eye until this drama. My eyes followed him every time he was on screen. He's an actor I'm going to look out for in future dramas.

This is a severely underrated gem which I recommend everyone to give a try if you are looking for a unique story. If you are just here for the romance, then look elsewhere. Because here, you are going to learn about rakugo, friendship, what it means to be a family and different kinds of love.

Leia Mais

Charismatic Dynamic Duo solving common folks problems.

Completed: 10/9/2022 - 8.25

If I remember correctly, “Ishiko to Haneo: Sonna Koto de Uttaemasu?” is my first Japanese legal drama. I picked an easy and fun one to watch, which focuses on one case per episode. The cases here are all about the regular people. We can probably look around our own circles and find people who experience or know of someone who experiences similar legal issues. In that sense, this becomes an easy watch and most of the legal terms used can be understood by us regular folks without a legal background.

Even though the cases are simple, each has its own flavor and twists. I am not an expert in legal dramas, but I am always pleasantly surprised at the end of each episode when the truth is revealed. Sometimes the truth is heartbreaking, but oftentimes, it’s heartwarming. I am not usually a big fan of episodic dramas but this drama keeps me interested from start to finish.

The main attraction of this drama is our dynamic duo, Haneoka (ML/lawyer) and Ishida (FL/paralegal). I love their bantering and fun interactions. The chemistry is great and there’s good character development for both of them. They both appeared to be smart and capable, but deep down they are dealing with their own self-esteem issues. The way they work and complement each other is the best part of the show.

If you are a romance lover like me, you might be disappointed here. Yes, there is a side plot of romance, but it’s not really done very well. The ‘ship’ that I was rooting for didn’t set sail. I would say the romance is my biggest criticism of this drama. I would rather they take the whole romance plot out of the drama and just focus on the camaraderie and friendship of the three leads.

Acting is great all-around. I’ve seen all three leads in other dramas before and it’s nice to see them again in different roles. My last drama of Armura Kasamu (FL) was “Chugakusei Nikki” where she plays a high school teacher and is attracted to her student. These are two very different roles and she’s excellent in both. My last drama of Makamura Topoya (ML) was “Kono Koi Atatamemasu ka”, where he plays a cool CEO, very different than the flamboyant character in this drama. There are a few somewhat serious scenes in this drama and he did a fantastic job.

The regular supporting cast is small but mighty. It’s so good to watch a drama without any annoying characters. On another note, I don’t remember any songs from this drama. We also have some interesting fashion choices, especially the colorful shirts that ML wears in the beginning of the drama. You can see how his fashion sense changes as his character develops. FL has some nice outfits as well.

It seems like there will be a short spinoff season but the focus is on FL, the soba shop owner and the customers, and not the two MLs here. Speaking of the soba shop owner, what is up with the large quantity of food here? I’ve never seen such HUGE portions of food in a Japanese drama. Did you see the mountains of noodles and rice??

Leia Mais

Poor Editing, Poor Script Writing, Sub-standard Acting

As of the writing of this review, this drama scores a dismal 3.9 on Douban, a platform that reflects the sentiment of the viewers from China, which may not be 100% reliable as we well know how this score can be manipulated by fans and haters. I must admit I have not read the novel which this drama has adapted from, so cannot compare how it has deviated from the original story. According to many readers, the characters have almost gone through a total metamorphosis and thus has rendered a totally different experience for the readers.

This story is rather similar to the biblical Moses story whereby the Lord of the Sea (Li Yifeng) tries to bring his people (the fish people) back to the sea from the land where they are being persecuted. Another character, a crown prince (Zheng Yecheng), who vows to take back his kingdom so that his people can live openly in the warmth of the sun again. Between them, comes a woman with whom they both fall in love. So, in a gist, this is a love triangle and the actual plot from the original story where the characters try to save their people and bring them home, has become a background story. Both men are desirable and the female lead is torn (initially at least): to follow her heart or to fulfill her duty.

Many reviewers have provided in-depth description of the story, so I’m not going to repeat what they have written. Here, I’m pointing out what I like and dislike about this drama, so that viewers have better understanding and if they’d want to pursue this drama or not.

Most of the online criticisms I’ve read are about the poor editing. Rightly so. I find the joining of scenes poorly done with noticeably long pauses, making the overall pace excruciatingly slow. The long pauses between conversations also make it feel like the characters are hesitant or even calculative; there's too much waiting around with no one doing anything, just prolong staring at each other. As much as I want to like this story, I dozed off multiple times within one episode, like some old folks do.

The screen writing is terribly poor as it feels like haphazard and not being well thought out as it has changed so much of the personalities of the characters from their original version. This has also reflected badly on the acting which I don’t totally blame the actors; how can the actors perform if they are not provided proper direction how the characters are supposed to be? Had Su Mo been a cold and ruthless person as described in the novel, then maybe Li Yifeng’s acting fits the bill (not perfectly, but not as bad too). But here in the drama, Su Mo seems to be a compassionate and upstanding person who would go all the way out to help anyone in need, with or without the power himself. In this respect, Li Yifeng’s acting seems to be lacking as he is stiff and doesn’t carry any emotions on his face, and his shifting eyes make him even less believable. I do love the Su Mo character and Li Yifeng's physical portrayal of the character. With clear directing, Li Yifeng should have done better.

Chen Yuqi’s acting as Bai Ying is passable, but again, she has very limited facial expressions here. For both Chen Yuqi and Li Yifeng, they have not brought out the emotions that their characters are suffering from, especially in times of loss and regrets. Both actors have totally failed in this respect. Viewers also complain that the selection of the main couple pairing is poor as the two main leads’ chemistry is at rock bottom. They seem to be stiff and awkward; there’s no longing, no affection, no emotion that doesn’t seem forced. Despite these criticisms, I do at times sense some chemistry between the lovers, which unfortunately not frequent and consistent enough.

The sequence of some scenes seem to be repeatedly used, and this has made the whole thing rather dull at times. One such scene which is being repeated multiple times that I can predict what is to follow when that event happens: when Bai Ying is injured and unconscious, Su Mo would try to heal her, and in turn, he goes into a coma. This sequence is overdone and gets really boring to say the least.

Zheng Yecheng’s acting here is acceptable. Like in all his other dramas, he doesn’t get his girl in the end. For me, the most annoying character is probably Na Sheng (Yang Zhiwen) with her bubbly demeanor which doesn’t stop despite whatever predicament everyone is in. Her clinginess is even more irritating and hard to watch.

My Verdict
This is supposed to be a story about hatred between the conquered and the conqueror, and between the various races. Love is blind and love blossoms between the enemies; we have multiple cross racial romantic couples here, and the story is supposed to show their torn emotions and pains – choose love or loyalty/duty for one’s country/race. This emotion is totally lacking here. In its place, tropey romances reign. It would have been acceptable had the script writing not been this bad, making the whole story laden with plot holes, bad logic, and poor character development. The ending is probably inspired by the resurrection of Jesus Christ with Su Mo floating/walking on water shrouded in an halo, three years later (versus three days later for Jesus). It is so bizarre.

I am totally untouched by the supposedly heart wrenching story of forbidden love - love for an enemy or a different race in this case. This is rather unfortunate as the original novel is said to be very interesting and touching. It is also said that the animation that has come before this drama is more faithful to the original story and I’m off for it next.

Don’t be deceived by the big names. Unless you don’t have anything better to watch, you may be better off reading the original novel or watching the anime.

Leia Mais

✨Rebirth, Blood Magic & Vampire Aesthetics: A Love Letter to Peak C-Drama Chaos✨

Ok homies, this little chaos goblin of a mini-drama rolled up to my screen wearing a cloak of nostalgia, vampire cosplay, and the emotional bandwidth of a caffeinated squirrel… and somehow? It worked. It’s strangely familiar yet weirdly original, like the writers rummaged through a bargain bin of fantasy tropes, found pseudo-vampires, flower magic, and one extremely burgundy-flagged ML (that is secretly a devoted puppy), then said, “Yeah. This is dinner.”

It starts off with your classic “I died, now watch me destroy everyone with a polite smile” rebirth setup, but shortly it mutates — like a butterfly dipped in glitter and trauma—into something that absolutely insists on being its own category.

The writing? Surprisingly competent.
The pacing? Shockingly coherent… until it isn’t.
The vibes? A fever dream but make it premium.

But let’s get to the heart of the chaos:
The romance is not fluffy. Not cozy. Not even borderline cute. This is two unhinged intellectual gremlins flirting through warfare. It’s “I hate you, but also if you died I would demolish the entire kingdom” energy.
He’s openly not nice.
She matches his freak without even blinking.
Their interactions feel like a speed chess match where both players are cheating. Absolutely enthralling. Buuuut, to be fair… for all the knives, chaos, and emotional warfare, they do grow into a surprisingly wholesome, strangely tender duo in the latter part. And the ML? That man has been secretly in love with her since before the plot even woke up. Dreamy, chaotic sigh.

The trio of main characters is deliciously messy. No cardboard NPCs here. The 2ML walked in giving me “vanilla villain starter pack,” but he unfolded nicely into a morally-seasoned, jaded mess. Growth!

Now, because the drama gods enjoy mischief:
The editing sometimes snaps like a glowstick at a rave. The FL oscillates between “I’m a brilliant mastermind” and “Oopsie I tripped over my last neuron.”
They also styled her like a youthful auntie, which made both MLs look like they were her mischievous nephews auditioning for mischief scholarships.
Second half? The plot said, “Let’s soap opera this b*tch,” and suddenly everyone’s IQ took a lunch break. The FL stabs the ML a millions times and he behaves like durability is a hobby. At this point he should genuinely be classified as artisanal Swiss cheese.
And LET’S TALK about that same cabin by the waterfall. I swear that place needs its own IMDb page. It’s in EVERY drama. That place is the Eiffel Tower of dramaland at this point.

But listen: despite it all—
this SLAPS.
They knew their lane and sped down it with rhinestoned sunglasses and no seatbelt.

This drama is an enthusiastic little creature—messy, dramatic, self-aware, and fully committed to its vibe. With limited budget but boundless confidence, it gives you revenge, magic, morally injured men, funky editing, unhinged chemistry, and enough entertainment to keep you glued to the screen, as well as a well wrapped up happy ending for the leads.
Very much worth checking out—just bring an open mind, flexible expectations, and a sense of humor.

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