Reviews

Melodramatic and cliché-ridden

It was honestly difficult to rate this drama. On the one hand acting performances were top tier and the cinematography was wonderful. On the other hand the script and plot devices were frustratingly poor and predictable. So, I'll start with recalling some of the positives about "First Love." I have to give credit to the amazing acting of the female lead actress Mitsushima Hikari. She plays the adult version of the character Yae and I thought her performance was very convincing and well done. She acted with her eyes and facial expressions without needing a word of dialogue to convey what her character was thinking and going through. A highlight is the scene where Yae gives her son away and is crying on the road. That scene broke me and felt so real. Another great acting performance was that of the young Harumichi played by Kido Taisei. I thought the actor stole every scene he was in. He was very charismatic and multifaceted. He brought a teen and young adult Harumichi to life. Another plus, was frankly how this drama was beautiful to look at. The way color, lighting, and scenic details were used made for a pleasing experience to the eyes.

Now on to the things that made me rate this drama a 6.5.
To start, I could understand that this drama is based on a ballad "First Love" from 1999 and is clearly inspired by the melodrama romances of that era including Majo no Jouken, which interestingly enough used the song First love as it's theme. Also, I see the Taiwanese drama Autumn's Concerto as a possible influence as well. That's all fine and good, except First love 2022 incorporates all the hair splitting frustrating cliches of that bygone time and combines it into a mess of inconsistencies and plot driven narratives. And like a lot of 90s-00s melodramas, First Love starts off with promise and leaves viewers hooked only to fall flat on its face midway through. Like some reviews already covered, the tired old amnesia cliche is used as a plot device to separate our main leads. We also have the villain parent(s) that purposely keeps the young lovebirds apart, ruining their lives in the process. Very annoying! Yae gets amnesia and conveniently doesn't remember Harumichi at all. Her friend visits and even mentions him to her yet Yae never looks him up or investigates further. Yae's mother sees how her daughter is suffering for years and never tells her the truth. There were several moments that the mom made me want to punch my fist in a wall. The perfect time for Yae's mom to tell her the truth was when Yae gave up her son to her divorced husband. At this point the marriage and rich lifestyle the mother wanted for her daughter had failed so why not confess to Yae about her lost first love? In fact why was anyone keeping Yae's past from her, including the adult Harumichi? All these poor writing choices found in the worst melodramas like this one is to keep the main couple apart for as long as possible and make unnecessary events come between them. It's supposed to make for a powerful epic reunion of the lovers, but often it just results in an anticlimactic ending where viewers like myself forget to care.

Some bonus nit picks and wtfs:
*5th episode sex scene. Graphic and ill fitting for a romantic love story. Ml has sex with a random, has another scene where he gets physical with a gf, and Yae gets no intimate scenes at all. Did she have an immaculate conception or what lol.
*Harumichi's sister randomly tells Yae that her brother breastfed until 3rd grade and was addicted to pornos spending a whopping amount on AV tapes. Later in the timeline, Harumichi offers some of these porno tapes to Yae's 14 yr old son, yikes!
*Episode 8 where Harumichi just up and leaves Yae permanently and moves out of the country. Yae confessed that she loved him and he had already broke up with his fiancee. So wtf. Again, the show threw sense out the window for an "epic" reunion.
*Adult Harumichi cheated with his fiancee by kissing and flirting with Yae. What a swell guy.
*The time line issue. The first past timeline is supposed to be in the late 90s but things don't add up, such as "First love" the album and song came out April 1999. The CD is seen on display at a music store at the end of the first episode as if it's just been released making the year 99. Yet, teen Yae and Harumichi go to the theater to watch Titanic, came out in 1997 or Armageddon, which came out in 1998. I doubt these movies were still playing in Japanese theaters in 1999. Also, the CD player and earbuds used in the show look like a later model than what existed in the late 90s. Several other time period inaccuracies are present if you notice them.

Leia Mais

Promising premise but struggles to deliver on its potential.

Marry My Husband tried to juggle three major themes: revenge, romance, and extramarital affairs.

It had a solid premise, with a compelling reason for revenge and an intriguing time-travel setup. Unfortunately, it was anchored by a protagonist who never truly embodied the weight of her second chance. After being cheated on, betrayed, and murdered, you'd expect her return to be driven by burning conviction, but that fire never really came through. There was very little conviction in her act. Her confrontations with the main antagonist lacked impact and often felt juvenile, stripping the narrative of the emotional tension needed for a good revenge arc. As a result, it was hard to empathise with her or feel genuinely invested in her journey. Her eventual "victory" felt more like a technicality than a satisfying payoff.

What's more telling is how Park Min Young’s character, despite enduring nearly every misfortune imaginable, seemed to lack the urgency and passion you would expect. Meanwhile, BoA’s character, who enters much later, reacted with extreme intensity over relatively smaller grievances, creating a jarring emotional imbalance. That contrast alone kind of sums up the show’s problem: strong concept, weak execution.

The romance… was dead. Dry. Lifeless. Bro, get this, our female lead had three love interests, and yet I felt zero chemistry. None. Nada. Missing in action. Both Park Min Young and Na In Woo came across like people who weren’t even interested in being in love for most of the show; which was fine at first, until the plot suddenly decided it wanted to focus on romance again.

The male lead just wasn’t it. His character was one-dimensional, sluggish, and painfully predictable every time he appeared. Watching him was a chore. His stoic demeanor, paired with the FL’s reserved personality, created no spark. Not even with time. If she had been laser-focused on revenge, I could’ve excused the lack of romance, but even that fire was missing.

When the drama suddenly pivoted to their “romance” in the second half, it felt like they were doing speed dating. Forced and sparkless. The one guy who looked like he could have been something, the charming chef, was friend-zoned almost immediately so she could go running back to her boring boss. Disappointing.

The affairs were probably the only aspect handled decently well, but even that, sadistically speaking, lacked the usual thrill the genre is known for. Most of the cheating happened out in the open or with full knowledge due to the plot structure, which seriously dulled the tension. But that’s exactly what makes an affair drama addictive. The secrecy, the sneaking around, the close calls, the mounting suspicions, and that delicious build-up to the inevitable “caught in the act” moment. Without that edge, it just felt tame and uninspired. Where was the scandalous thrill?

So what was Marry My Husband even trying to deliver? It felt frustratingly average across all three of its main themes: revenge, romance, and affairs. With so many lacklustre elements, I found it genuinely hard to stay engaged or emotionally invested. And then came episode 12… where everything truly unravelled. I’m serious... the truck didn’t just crash into Na In-woo. I was in that car too. The secondhand embarrassment I felt from watching that scene was unreal. From that point on, the drama went full cliche mode. Every single K-drama trope you can think of? It's there. Count them. Better yet, turn it into a bingo game, it might actually make those episodes bearable.

The show’s attempt to spice things up with a last-minute, cliche ridden final arc, led by a new but shallow antagonist, felt like a desperate move to create artificial stakes. All just to push the ML and FL through some "great adversity" and earn their fairytale ending. But it wasn’t earned. It was lazy, and it cheapened the entire show. Poor, poor writing there. Bleh.

I see a lot of viewers giving high scores for the music (ost)…what music bro..? Come on...

There’s been a lot of praise online for Park Min Young’s dedication to physically look the part in this drama, and sure, that effort is commendable. But for me, Marry My Husband only reinforced the fact that she’s still stuck in her typecast. This was supposed to be a revenge story about a woman given a second chance to rewrite her fate after being betrayed and murdered. But instead of embodying a revenger on a mission, PMY defaulted to the character she’s always played best: being that soft, delicate girlfriend that every guy wants to be overprotective of. Don’t get me wrong, she does that well, but this role demanded more. This could’ve been her "The Glory" moment, just like Song Hye Kyo, who shattered expectations and redefined her image with her performance. Sadly, PMY didn’t break out. She stayed safe, and the role suffered for it.

If we're talking true MVPs of Marry My Husband, look no further than Song Ha Yoon (the crazy BFF) and Lee Yi Kyung (the useless bum). Especially the former, she carried the show on her back. She was the only one who actually felt alive and kept the narrative moving. Her transformation throughout the drama was brilliantly executed, and she brought the intensity, suspense, and raw emotion that the lead sorely lacked. Song Ha Yoon absolutely ate that familiar toxic, gaslighting queen role; she delivered it with such conviction and chaos that I couldn’t look away. A truly 미친년 performance in the best way possible. She’s the main reason I stuck it out till the end.

Special shoutouts to Choi Gyu Ri (the sunshine sister), Gong Min Jung (quiet lady manager), and Ha Do Gwon (CEO's PA). Each of them brought something memorable and grounded to their roles. Minor characters done right.

All in all, Marry My Husband started with a promising premise but quickly fell into predictability. As the episodes went on, I found myself losing interest. It lacked the intensity, suspense, and emotional grip you'd expect from a revenge plot. While there were some solid individual performances, the overall lack of chemistry and emotional depth fell short, especially considering the heavy themes of grief, love, betrayal, and revenge. Nothing truly stood out or took command of the story. In the end, MMH felt average across the board. It became one of those dramas I continued watching simply to finish what I started, not because I was genuinely invested in where it was going.

Kudos to the final two episodes; they did have a tiny redemption arc by tying up loose ends neatly and giving what the viewers the closure they probably wanted. It was a somewhat decent finish, although it was predictable and felt cheap due to how the final arc played out.

(Writers, directors: for the love of God can we please stop it with the big truck/lorry crash into coma-will you wake up please I actually love you scenes anymore…..it’s 2024 there is more than 1 way to kill someone and send their other half into agony T.T)

Leia Mais

What happened to this drama?

I never really imagined I would drop a drama starring Shin Hae Sun, but I can’t keep watching this toxic show.

As if having to endure this “actor” wasn’t enough, we also have to see this kind of thing in 2024. A drama that was supposed to be about a woman healing from childhood trauma has turned into an abusive story, with a character who has spent all the episodes saying the worst things to her.

I did want Eun Ho with Joo Yeon, but even more, I wanted to see her healing and a decent conclusion for her sister who disappeared. This drama could be called "Dear HyuOh" because everything we've seen so far has been about him.

Leia Mais

Terrifyingly Real!

If this doesn't terrifies you, you have seen nothing of the world yet!

Unpopular opinion, but I think a lot of people are watching it wrong. Because what is depicted here is Real. Way Too Real.

I don't think the director set out to tell an entertaining story in the first place. With a plot like this, that would have been easy. Instead, he took a gamble. As someone who lives in a place that is slowly sinking into religious fascism, this was all too real. To see it being decipted with pinpoint accuracy was bone chilling. The Helplessness, the Fear and how some people are always ready to use it to their advantage. Once you realise that, you understand 2 things. First, why this series exists in the first place. And second, how close this world is to insanity. As someome who has experienced it all first hand, this could happen anywhere, anytime and to anyone.

A few unexplained things, and all that's all it takes for all hell to break loose.

Though not for everyone, Hellbound is a strong thriller with very powerful elements. The way human beings are potrayed is extremely realistic, and for anyone who has lived in a situation of religious fascism, extremely relatable. Among all the shows that has explored these themes, this was the best Korea or anyone in the world has produced yet (I have watched them all, even the ones with low ratings). Don't miss it if you are okay with dark heavy themes and are willing to look at Human Nature for what it is.

Few things definitely could have been better, like a more bare sound design to create regular tension. No doubt about that. Search (2020) is an excellent example of how to do that. At the same time though, I think it does what it set out to do brilliantly! Not all cinema is out there to entertain. Some can simply exists as an warning. And this is a strong one.

Leia Mais

Oh boy, I'm fucking mad.

This review is the ultimate shattering of pretty illusions caused by all the decietful 10 star rated reviews of this drama, provided by yours truly.

See I have no problem if you loved the show, if this kind of thing is your thing and you enjoyed watching it. Everybody is entitled to their own opinion and boos should do their yous.
But, if you're tryna sell me the fact that 'this drama is a beautiful redemption story filled with well-developed characters and a thoughtout plot-line', I'm going to have to tell you to sit the fuck down.
Because, that's not it at all. Objectively speaking, Sawang Biang is quite a simplistic story targeted to appeal to mankind's perverse pleasure. It's really not that deep. I personally like complex, wounded characters who're almost unforgivable but at the very least, I want them to be well written in order to understand their reasons.

Kawee, to put it simply, is a pathetic little bitch.

A child of abuse and neglect (both of which aren't properly explored) who's fundamentally broken but has very little reason to be. A spoiled brat with daddy issues- basically every rich kid's life story nowadays. Even if I don't bring out the 'kids in Africa with worse lives' argument, it's still safe to say that Kawee had no right or reason to act out the way he did. He pretended to be tough but was weak to his core. Someone deprived of love, affection and angry at the world. All these things should've amounted to him being quite an interesting and complex character but instead, the show made him fall flat. Which is why, though I liked the potential he had, I hated what he ended up being.

A lot of people described the show with flowery words like 'a beautiful story of a man's broken road to redemption' except that road broke and came to a dead end far before it could ever reach its goal.

Kawee's actions are surely unforgivable and the only way he could've been saved was if he had the brutal wake up call of self actualization. If he truly realized how horrible he had been. If his sins woke him up at night and tormented him. If he developed a deep rooted guilt and then travelled a slow journey towards being a somewhat better person; someone not fully redeemed but not the devil he was before either. Here, however Kawee changes like the whether. He wakes up one day, realizes he's gonna be a father and is all like 'Oh shit, time to be a saint now' and the next day we see him be the best person alive.

Like for fuck sake, we're talking about an extremely damaged person with deep rooted insecurities here. How the hell can a few sentimental speeches expressing regret and a few months of asskissing possibly erase all the destruction he wreaked in an innocent woman's life?
Let's not forget the fact that he constantly boasts about all the 'good' things he does being all like ' Isn't this enough, Narin? I'm trying so hard for you, can't you see?' Really bitch? Fite me.

Now for all those who say that the chemistry between the leads was great...
Are you out of your Goddamn mind?

Maybe I'm blind but where you saw chemistry I saw massive cruelty. This wasn't a case of dubious consent where the girl is half-willing and half not. No. This was an act of pure and unadulterated malice. He rapes her, beats her, manipulates and blackmails her to do his bidding and treats her like a dog on a collar. There is nothing remotely romantic about it. It's infuriating is what it is.

Almost as worse as the Main lead, were the side characters. I have never encountered a more ridiculous drama mom in my entire life. She's so nice, so kind, so lovely that her piety takes over all her brain cells. Even though she is clearly aware of what a douche bag Kawee is, she forces her abused daughter to constantly apologize to him and be nice to him.
I mean, how clueless can you be? However, when she finally gets a clue and makes this 'I'll never let him hurt my daughter again' declaration; she acts on this statement by acting all chummy with her daughter's rapist the next day by teaching him how to cook.
Bravo Mama, Bravo.

The rest of the meddling no-lifers known as the supporting cast were no good either. They constantly guilt tripped the heroine, making her believe as if she's the one in the wrong for not easily forgiving the man who destroyed her life. They consistently forced her to be with him and it's an all out classic case of victim blaming.

Even her pregnancy docter tells her to obey the man. Like bro? Y'all are acting like he stole her pup and she's mad. No, that asshat stole her life, her happiness and her virginity. Unfuckingbelievable.

To be real with you, I'm not a faint hearted or easily offended person. I've watched and read far brutal stories than this. A lot of people take up controversial topics and then proceed to effectively ruining it. Been there, seen that. The real reason why I'm so passionately angry about the show is how much it trivializes rape. It makes it appear as something that is normal. Nobody in the show properly adresses the issue or deals with the repercussions. Rape used to be a word bomb; an absolute taboo but here it's shown like an everyday thing. If you're not going to properly adress the subject and the aftermaths of it, why the hell are you putting it in your show in the first place? What's worse is that while I was watching this show even I, for a minute overlooked the whole rape thing with how normalized it was but later, when I thought about it and the scenes revolved around my head, I was deeply shook.

There is no way a victim and an assaulter can be together the way they are in Sawang Biang. Kawee has no reason to love Narin and it's obvious that what he feels, is this sick infatuation and ownership towards her because of how much he physically and mentally controls her. Narin, on the other hand has no other option but to accept him. She's forced into a situation where she has a kid to protect, humiliation to face and family and friends that think she's the villain. This is an unfortunate compromise of a union disguising itself as a love story and I call bullshit.

The only reason I even gave it a three stars was because of Ken and Anna. I liked both their acting. The way Ken twisted his pretty features into pure ugliness made Kawee an all the more deplorable character. Narin played by Anna was strong though out. She resisted the situation as best as she could and was someone whose will wasn't truly broken till the very end.

I don't recommend this drama to anybody so if you are someone who likes to venture in the realm of the dark, go read Six by K.I Lynn. It's far graphic than this show but has characters that stay true to themselves till the very end and find love in horrible circumstances.

Enjoy!

Leia Mais

Not Even The Right Shade of Song Ah’s Lipstick Could Save This Series...

As an eponymous novel adapted into a 16-part drama, it is always evident that there will be implausibilities with storytelling due to having cut certain material and storylines, however, the drama “ She Would Never Know”( or alternatively translated “Sunbae Don’t Put On The Lipstick”’s ) biggest inconsistency ultimately boils down to its inability to accurately create driving characters and storyline, as well as an intrinsically well-rounded relationship between our two main leads Song Ah ( Won Jin Ah) and Chae Hyun Seung ( Wo Roon).

Surprisingly the concept of the show wasn’t entirely “ terrible” in itself. Although not original or thoughtful by playing out its concept as an office romance drama , screenwriter Chae Yoon did seem to initially introduce interesting themes about South-Korean culture from the workplace, the beauty industry and the clear divide between respect of older colleagues as well as this posing an obstacle to seek out relationships ( as shown by Hyun Seung’s respectful term “ Sunbae” ). However, this show soon gave way to its own calamitous downfall by choosing rather than exploring these issues of social divide with respect and dignity, glossing them over in biased favour of the questionable relationship and characterisation between Song Ah and Hyun Seung over the course of the series.

Before continuing this review, it is important to advocate that the problems of the characters did not lie with either Jin Ah or Wo Roon as actual actors in the series . Although honestly both actors have had more beguiling performances in the past ( Jin Ah in “Steel Rain” and Wo Roon famously in “Extraordinary You”), there was nothing entirely unwatchable about either actor during their performance. At the same time, it is a fair conclusion that there was nothing intrinsically captivating about either performance , however, this may also be deduced as a consequence of the quality of screenwriting as well and the problems behind characterisation .

Before addressing possibly the biggest elephant in the room through the character of Hyun Seung, it is probably important to explain why Song Ah was an intrinsically poorly-written female lead upon certain grounds.

As a character, Song Ah was defined notably by her trope as the “ Sunbae” archetype; the “ slightly older female boss and crush ” of main lead Hye Seung, however, the “ age gap” between the characters never felt that strikingly important for the characters themselves . Although it is important to respect that a socio cultural age difference can be natural obstacle in relationships, even by South-Korean standards, a year difference between characters is nothing particularly shocking or controversial.

Beside her necessary drive as a plot mechanism for the affections and obstacles for Hye Seung within her relationship with the sociopathic Lee Jae Shin ( Lee Hyun Wook), it was hard to prominently define Song Ah as anything more than a complacent doormat for the male characters in the series to walk upon.

This is not advocating that Song Ah didn’t react emotionally to her circumstances and it did help to present a level of some humanity at times to her character, however, at the same time, viewers never really can intrinsically “get to know” Song Ah as anything more than the “ love interest” in the series; we do not get to see a lot about Song Ah’s background and wider interactions with friends and family to learn more intimately about Song Ah as a defined person, and her intrinsic reasonings towards even going out with Jae Shin ( despite his despicable personality) in the first place. Additionally what is also teeth-grinding about Song Ah as a character was falling hook, line and sinker again for the same and just as problematic relationship with Hye Seung. This is not stating that Song Ah shouldn’t have been with Hye Seung due to being the main pairing of the show, but the message put across by the screenwriter seemed to implicate that Song Ah had both little self-respect and dignity as an individual by allowing Hye Seung to continue on with his emotional manipulation without raising problems against this.

Naturally, this draws us onto the biggest elephant in the room; Hye-Seung. Introduced as the “hoobae” of Song Ah and a younger man at the company, and the “ hopeless romantic”, Hye-Seung’s feelings for Song Ah in the beginning of the series are fairly sweet and naturally act as the major driving force of the drama through trying to win the affections of Song Ah . However, only a couple of times in the series, are we actually exposed to Hye-Seung’s sense of identity outside of obsessions with Song Ah, and when we are shown this Hye-Seung’s flaws become strikingly prominent and unaddressed to audiences. The most notable weakness of Hye-Seung’s character can be sourced from his feelings towards Song-Ah growing to become a fairly self-absorbed and disenchanted obsession that he will win her over through meddling in her social life outside of work.

This is certainly most striking in the first episode with Hye-Seung’s direct words to Song Ah shown onscreen ‘ it doesn’t suit her’ by wiping away her lipstick. Although this can be initially taken on in a romantic light by Hye-Seung’s overt intimacy establishing the main pairing in the series, there was something a little unsettling by Hye Seung’s to control even Song Ah’s appearance in this scenario. To make matters worse for those unaware what was happening in the pretext of this scene, Hye Seung decides then to openly tell Song Ah of her boyfriend Jae Shin’s behaviour behind her back. Arguably, Hye Seung was open to Song Ah rather than leading her around in circles about Jae Shin’s behaviour, however, it seemed a symbol of repressive control by Hye Seung to suddenly start dictating Song Ah’s personal life in a form of emotional manipulation.

This often made it hard to truly romanticise or see both respect and dignity towards the relationship of Hye Seung and Song Ah, due to neither character being able to learn from past mistakes or addressing one another’s problems mutually in a health manner. The perfect example or the is seen in a later episode from the series when a drunk Hye Seung bumps into an emotionally unstable Song Ah and proceeds to proclaim that they should date. This is not just merely controlling, but emotionally manipulative upon Hye-Seung’s part as well.

Naturally, romantic relationships in real life are messy and complicated, and there was some elements of this transcending over into the relationship of Hye Seung and Song Ah in these scenes, however, it is important also to consider both Hye Seung’s past habit of emotionally gaslighting Song Ah, as well as Song Ah’s worrying complacency to these acts as well. . Rather than allowing Song Ah space and time away or approaching Hye Seung with good intentions as a friend before a lover due to her conflicted emotional state of being, he is too egotistical within his own selfish desires to date her, than to actually respect her feelings and psyche. This is not a healthy or symbiotic relationship of respect and dignity.

The pacing of the show oddly felt imbalanced as a consequence of the invest within Hye Seung and Song Ah’s lacklustre pairing often driving away a sense of overarching storyline and greater focus on other characters such as Jae Shin and more interestingly the chairman’s granddaughter Lee Hyo Joo (Lee Joo Bin) . Yet rather than allowing viewers to see intrinsic development and obstacles within the romantic pairings of the show, the drama rode too heavily upon cliches often resulting in the overall storyline feeling run-of-the-mill, than captivating or an intriguing love story. The ending is evidently sugary sweet, but perhaps delivered a less impactful result than viewers originally hoped.

Fundamentally it is probably fair to say that “ She Would Never Know” wasn’t terrible within acting or the premise itself, but it became its own worst enemy with poorly-tackled characterisation, a questionable portrayal of a relationship between our main leads, lacking overarching storyline and plot as well as pacing. This is a typical and cliche romantic drama perfect if you’re bored and have nothing else to do, but certainly not worth spending actual time watching.

Leia Mais

Well... I am writing this review completely depressed because I finished yet another amazing drama, and now it's going to be hard for me to find a new one...

Ok, I'll start with the small things first, but if you really want my actual opinion, just skip to the story part. Music. I thought it was pretty good, but then again, music is one of the small things I pay attention to... But, seeing how it didn't disturb the scenes in any way, but rather added more emotion into them, I give music a ten.

Acting/Cast. Oh gosh. What can I say? For me, I think all the actors were absolutely amazing. If I were to recast this, I couldn't imagine the story with any other actors. In fact, I'm sure the entire cast were all unfamiliar faces to me, but I thought they portrayed their characters wonderfully.

Rewatch Value. Hm... I usually give amazing dramas like this one (which have a huge impact on me) a rewatch value of 8. I really do want to watch it again, but I don't want to go through all the depressing moments again... I can't really give an accurate review for this one, so I'll just give it a 7...

Yay! Finally. The story. Just... wow. I really couldn't have expected anything better. I liked how the producers spaced the drama out. 29 episodes may seem like a lot for a drama, as most South Korean dramas usually have 16, 18, or 20 episodes. So, you're probably thinking that with lots of long dramas, there are going to be slow periods at the middle. However, that is not the case with this one. WBDS is almost like two series' combined into one. There are small climaxes in the story at around episode 5, and episode 23, and one huge climax at episode 14-16. In fact, After that climax, many new characters were introduced, and it seemed to me as though a new series was starting. Another thing about this drama that impressed me a lot were the bonds between friends and family. I was absolutely amazed with how much strength was shown in those bonds... Argh. I don't think I can give any more explanations without it resorting to spoilers... Also, I loved how the story not only told a story of a generation, but the story of many. The drama contained small parts which focused on each of the main characters, and with those tidbits, I realized that I could relate with them, and understand each character a little more. Throughout the drama, the main characters matured considerably (and a small thing I realized was that the producers changed the hairstyles of the main characters throughout the drama to reflect their personality). Ok, now for the negatives, and why I didn't give the story a ten. Well, there is really only one reason for this drama not to receive a ten. I actually thought the story was very well thought out and executed, but in truth, it was much too depressing. Too many great characters died (hope that's not a spoiler...) and while this happens with 98% of everything I watch, I still have not grown desensitized to my favourite characters dying. Also, Yeo Woon is one of the most pitiful characters I've ever seen, and I really don't like it when a character is too pitiful, especially when he looks like THAT. You know what I mean.

All in all, I loved everything about it except for the utterly depressing death scenes.

Leia Mais

A cute drama about family, love, friendship, and chasing after your dreams!

If you're in for a happy feels trip, this drama is the one.
It isn't very different or out of the ordinary
but it's the type of drama that will not fail to put a smile to your face through the whole thing

We have female lead Mashiba, who is an influencer on instagram and works hard to be a buyer
and male lead Fujino, who seeks a minimalist life while pursuing his chef dreams
Secondary characters in their shared house or Mashiba's workplace, who are also equally lovable...
And if you like seeing cute pets in dramas
they have a really cute dog that makes many appearances too ^o^

This drama is full of love and mutual support
and offers a breath of fresh air from the dark or scheme-y dramas out there :)

Highly recommend if you want something light and inspiring.

Leia Mais

A promising start that devolves into pure hot mess

I really wanted to like this one— but alas, it disappointed me. Knock Out starts out really strong. The set-up is done well, and the backdrop of the show is interesting. I even like the two main characters; Thun and Keen have an interesting dynamic.

HOWEVER, I think the biggest weakness of the show is that the leads get together way too soon. There's absolutely no courtship or flirting between them. They meet for the first time in the 1st episode and move on to having s** by the 4th episode. This makes everything that comes after very slow and repetitive. I wish they would have put in some amounts of push and pull between the leads. Because the romance plot wraps up so quickly, the rest of the show feels repetitive as well. Thun fights character 1, wins or loses, gets hurt, he and Keen do skinship. Thun fights character 2, wins or loses, gets hurt, he and Keen do skinship. On and on it goes. Oh, and there are WAY too many villains in the show. Basically, everybody besides Thun and Keen are bad/outright villanous in some way.

This is particularly disappointing because the actors definitely have a lot of physical chemistry. They give the NC scenes their all, and there are sparks. But a relationship is more than just physical sparks. There has to be something we feel when the two look at each other as well. And because the characters are not super deep and get together quickly, this aspect is entirely missing. I was just left feeling a major meh with this one.

Leia Mais

Cha Eun Woo nailed it but the directors and story writers didn't.

Started watching because of Cha Eun Woo. I thought I'll like the drama because that's what happened with all the other Cha Eun Woo drama like true beauty and gangnam ID
.
I was very excited to watch a supernatural drama after a long time.But I have to say the D
drama sucks. Its bad. Real bad.

the storylines are all mixed. There is 0 character development. I have no idea what the directors or story writers were thinking.

The acting of the casts was good. I can't start talking about Cha Eun Woo because I'll never stop. Just going to say he carried the drama. He made it possible to tolerate and keep watching. But I had a feeling that the Marketing team used him as a clout. I'm not sure. That's a different story. The acting of other actors were also good. But the drama gave them zero chances to truly show their potential. I hope to watch their performance in future dramas.

I was waiting for two years for this drama. But it was so disappointing and it's making me mad.If you're fan of any of the cast, then you should watch it but I'll definitely not recommend it to others.

Leia Mais

When I started watching this drama I had many prejudice, after seeing reply 1997 I was afraid to watch something that had pratically the same plot!

That is indeed true the plot is the flaw of this drama.. but at the end I was totally hooked by this drama.
The reason is that the actors are really amazing!
They are really able to make you feel the characters emotions! Amazingamazinamaaazing really, I never tought that Go Ah ra was such a great actress!

I'm not the type of person that would rewatch a drama, but in the case of reply 1994, I would make an exception!

So if you are afraid to start watching this drama, because you have probably alredy watched reply 1997, give it a try just watch the first 3 episodes and I'm pretty sure you will tottaly enjoy the rest of the drama ! (I say the first 3 episodes, since for getting rid of my prejudice towarad this drama, those were the amount of episodes I needed)

Leia Mais

Watch "Love Like the Galaxy" instead

The Long Ballad was too damn L-O-N-G!!! It clocked in at 49 episodes, which could have been easily condensed to half that amount. It dragged on unmercifully. There was zero chemistry between the FL and ML.

Zhao Lusi was the only good performer in this show, as she is great in practically every show she is in. I watched this show mainly for her and Leo Wu. Leo Wu's performance was mediocre, maybe because he was young at the time (20 yrs old) and had not yet perfected his acting skills (but see my next paragraph about Leo Wu).

If you want to see a better historical drama with both Zhao Lusi and Leo Wu, I recommend that you watch "Love Like the Galaxy" which was produced a year after this show. LLTG has an outstanding screenplay, costumes, set design and special effects, and all the actors/actresses displayed excellent acting skills. That show is superior to this Long Ballad show in all ways! Although LLTG has 56 episodes, it goes fast without any dragged-out scenarios.

I will not be rewatching this show in future or recommending it to anyone.

Leia Mais

A NOT SO HIDDEN HIDDEN GEM

LOVED THIS!!!!!!
This is definitely one of the better ones in 2024!!!
After LR ended this was the only thing i looked forward to every week....Everything here is so so good.
I am a sucker for pretty cinematography and the way they've captured all the scenes and emotions of each and every actor is the biggest reason i loved this. The best part of it is how they've given proper time for each characters personal life stories. which is oftentimes missing in some dramas (even if they're dragged to 16 episodes lol).
The actors are all amazing at their jobs...especially the little girl. The amount of emotions she has shown and the pure talent she has is clearly visible through the screen.
Another thing that I really liked was the bgm, specially the playful one at the end of each episode.
Also the pacing in this drama is soooo good, like you would not want to miss a single scene and everything holds some importance. I loved how in the start it was so sneaky and everything but as the show progressed things became much more serious.
Again, shoutout to the production team, they did an amazing job with everything as well as the writing, directing even the sets were so pretty.
All in all if ur reading this u need to watch it....it's more than just superpowers and the plot, it's also about how you grow as person, learn from your mistakes and just be a better person.
Tbh it just has so much content and quality that even without the superpower plot it would make a quite decent drama.
EVERYTHING'S GREAT ABOUT IT. GO WATCH IT. BYE.

Leia Mais

Solid entertainment with a few good laughs

I went into this drama with very few expectations as it pairs Jeremy Tsui with yet another, much younger actress with very little acting experience. The slapstick-type initial trailer didn’t help at all because in the meantime I had started reading the novel and I really hate it when scriptwriters change the whole tone of the source material.
I was therefore very pleasantly surprised by the first few episodes that were mostly serious and showed an FL whose acting wasn’t on par with everyone else, but at least tolerable. The heart-clutching and fainting spells were hilarious and just at the point when I thought that they were getting a bit too much, they stopped.

The pace was really good right from the start, getting the viewers into the mystery around the collapse of the West Canal and whatever wider conspiracy was brewing. The secondary couple looked charming and perfect for each other and for once, both Lu Yan’s attendant, Yang Zong and Shen Zhen’s maid were allowed to be clever servants. Although, poor Yang Zong had an unfortunate talent to show up at the wrong moment and disturb “couple time”. I was really impressed by the actor’s comedic talent!
Another support actor absolutely worth mentioning was the one playing Shen Zhen’s father who had impressive screen presence and made the most of his few short scenes.

The initial villain of the story, Li Di played by Liu Hai Kuan had the delightful intensity of a character that we all love to hate. Sadly, his plot line was just dropped in the middle of nowhere as the story moved towards the mastermind behind it all. All the villains had a proper motivation for what they were doing, other than just being evil because the script said so.

Compared to the novel, the conspiracy was one of the weakest points of the drama. It could have been so much more complex and intriguing if they had used some more material from the novel instead of giving wasting time on this totally nonsensical amnesia plot in the last episode. Although this plot gave us the opportunity to see a sterner version of Lu Yan which Jeremy Tsui portrayed in a very nuanced manner, it felt rather superfluous.

Another weak point were the dreams which never really served any purpose. While in the novel the ML uses these dreams to gain intel on what his enemies were plotting and to develop counter strategies, this role of the dreams probably fell victim to censorship rules. Therefore, if these dreams as memories of a past life had been replaced by some nightmares that showed the ML’s fear of losing the FL it would have caused far less confusion among the viewers.

I was pondering a long time how to rate this drama. It had solid acting overall with the FL being the weakest link by a mile (although she wasn’t terrible) and the story avoided many of the usual lame tropes, it made me laugh and kept me entertained. The many fight scenes were well choreographed and executed and the ending was decent as well. Normally, this would have been an 8.5 in my books. However, in light of recent events that offer us a glimpse into just how much Jeremy Tsui must have suffered, both emotionally and intellectually, at having to film yet another idol drama with a trainee actress (who got first billing just to add insult to injury) and to counterbalance the hate-rating of a few obvious non-viewers, I am going to rate this a solid 10.

Leia Mais