Reviews

It's Fine - That's the Highest Compliment I can Give It

You ever watched a story and found yourself thinking, 'had this aired at a different time, or perhaps if I were a different personI'd have liked (tolerated) it better?' When this started airing, I thought I'd love it. I left myself a note at the end of episode 2 stating how much I enjoyed how the plot and setting both reminded me of 'Business Proposal' & 'Welcome to Samdal-ri'. Dramas that, while I thoroughly enjoyed, had (and still get) scathing reviews.

The scathing comments kept coming in, and for the initial 5 episodes, I tuned them out. The show worked for me, and I like what I like, so whatever. Screw what the naysayers were peddling. However, after episode 6, I started slowly siding with the masses.😭

Let's start with what I liked
🍄‍🟫The comedy - They did have some funny bits. Did I find myself laughing to the point I lost my breath or had tears running down my face? No. But they did manage to get several chuckles out of me.

🍄‍🟫References to previous dramas - They had Anh Hyo Seop on the team, and they decided to milk that for all it was worth. They had multiple references to 'Business Proposal' -some obvious, some not-, as well as K-pop Demon Hunters. I also believe that the sprinkler kiss in the mushroom greenhouse was a little nod to 'King the Land.' That's my kind of fanservice and I was very happy about it.

🍄‍🟫The live selling aspect - This is purely based on the fact that it's a niche interest of mine. I kept wishing (and still do wish) that they gave us a deeper look into that. Because 2 reasons
a. It serves a particular interest of mine.
b. It showcases a much different career path than what we're used to in dramas

🍄‍🟫The villagers and Dam Ye Jin's 2 coworkers - The villagers' r/ship with Mechoori was quite endearing to watch - you know, b4 they turned on him. I liked that tsundere r/ship he had with them. I loved how Dam Ye Jin and her coworkers remained friends, and they had her back despite her being kicked out after the scandal. They worked well together

My Frustrations
🍄‍🟫Noble Idiocy - Ah! The Achilles heel of many a Kdrama (Cdramas and Jdramas included).
So both characters are struggling with things in their past. Ordinarily, I would be empathetic; however, I found myself struggling in this case. If you look objectively at both their past traumas, any reasonable person would at least suspect a setup. Even without damning evidence against the other party.

Based on that, the burden they chose to carry (because, yes, this was very much a choice, and a bad one at that) really made no sense to me. I understand when authors and screenwriters wanna write green flag, pure characters, who feel deeply, but it comes to a point that..... Nah man.

🍄‍🟫The therapy debate (or, rather, the lack thereof)
Our mains needed some serious therapy to help deal with the issues of the past. But, despite being well off enough to afford it, no one suggests, considers, or seeks it. She, abuses sleeping pills to the point of detrimental side effects and is a workaholic. He, on the other hand, hides, becoming a corporate life recluse in an idyllic farming village.

I would want to yell at this drama for this one, but this is an overarching Kdrama issue - not one specifically tied to this one show. Therapy is for the birds in dramas. Depression, suppressed trauma, and other mental health issues are fixed by copious amounts of alcohol (I'm looking at you, Doctor Slump), comeuppance, and the amazing power of love... sigh

🍄‍🟫How do time and distance work in this world?
In the 1st (?) ep when she has to go to the village to meet him, it takes the better part of the morning. She also mentioned that she needed to leave the village early as she had a broadcast later that night. When they started meeting daily so he could give her the meds, they showed on the navigation that he'd have to drive about 2, maybe 2.5 hrs to get back to Seoul. This is at around 1/2 am, when one would assume there's no traffic.

Now, based on those instances, can someone tell me how this man got from the village to Seoul and managed to save her from almost getting run over that one night? Can he teleport? Could his car achieve speeds of light speeds and they never told us? I hate it when seemingly turn off your brains shows make me turn my brain back on. You need to find a balance with the absurd, unbelievable nonsense. I can only gaslight myself so much

🍄‍🟫The sleepwalking and the sleep phone calls - Went on for too damn long

🍄‍🟫 I wish we had gotten her mother's side of the story.
Something more than 'I will sabotage and be rude to my daughter for years after the tabloids said that she took a bribe to sabotage my career - and she said she did in a heated moment.' I think the story about a woman choosing a career over being a mother is such an interesting one.

We rarely see these types of stories. It sucks that they never explored it. I would've liked to see her internal battle/struggle with this vs the trauma on the child, coz both sides are valid. We only get to see how Dam Ye Jin was hurt, but never quite the mom's side. But perhaps this particular drama wasn't the best vessel for such a deep and nuanced conversation

🍄‍🟫The romance/chemistry - I didn't get butterflies or swoon. Were they cute? Sure. But while they told me they were in love and they acted as people in love, I didn't buy into it. Into their chemistry.

This is in comparison to dramas like 'Filling for Love' and 'My Royal Nemesis'.

As I type this, the former is 2 episodes from the finale, and so far, I have loved the chemistry between the main characters. I bought into their journey to each other and the romance. They are swoonworthy and spicy. In the latter drama, both of them are crazy. We are halfway through airing, so they have every chance to fuck it up (fingers crossed they don't), but their journey so far is more on the giggle, kick your feet side.

Now having this show air in tandem with the other two... yeah, not a fair fight. The romance and chemistry in this were certainly and glaringly lacking.

🍄‍🟫Final Thoughts🍄‍🟫
While it did start with the potential to be good in my eyes, the plot, pacing, and absurdity of some choices and sequences put me off the show. IMO, skip it. But if you wanna try it, perhaps watch it as a background noise drama. It has some good, but they are overshadowed by the bad.

Leia Mais

City Hunter is the bastard child of Healer and The K2; less developed than the former and more developed than the latter but unfortunately far less entertaining than both of them. It's one of those shows that start out with a bang and you expect them to incinerate everything in their vicinity with utmost badassery but regrettably, they choose to fizzle out into helpless ash instead.

I've never really understood the allure of Lee Min Ho before and admittedly, I sought great enlightenment in that regard with City Hunter, however, 20 episodes in and I'm still lost. It's safe to say that he is the namesake of Korean Entertainment Industry, internationally famous and even No#1 on the most popular list on our beloved MDL but for all that hype, there isn't much basis. To put it bluntly, he really isn't a very good actor. Sure, he's plenty cute but sadly his gorgeous looks can't save his acting from being plagued by redundancy and lack of versatility.

Lee Min Ho is like a bar of undiluted highly sweetened chocolate; eat one and you'll thoroughly enjoy the delectable sugar high but eat too many and it will turn from delicious to downright nauseous real quick. In other words, he's not the type of actor whose shows one can binge-watch because doing so will be akin to subjecting yourself to the monotony of a recycling machine.

For being an almost perfect hero with no flaws, his character "Lee Yoon Sung" is surprisingly not the sharpest knife in the cutlery and even though the writers created him to be very likeable, he is straight up annoying at times. The biggest example of that is probably when somebody close to him gets shot or severely injured in front of him. Instead of calling the ambulance like a normal person would, he absolutely has to act out the whole 15-minute-long over-emotional dramatic scene filled to the brim with hysterics where he clutches the dying person to his chest, looks deep into their eyes, cries tears of heartache and assures them that they will indeed not die, all the while sufficiently increasing their chances of said death.

I mean, how Kim Na Na survives after being shot is still an enigma to me because our dear Yoon Sung did try his level best to cause murder due to excessive blood loss because wallowing in misery and repeatedly asking your girlfriend why she'd take a bullet for him is oh so important than taking her to the nearest hospital. (Of course, he donates blood to her later and saves the day because we can't let our watchers forget who the true hero is, now can we?)

Park Min Young is a cute actress and Kim Na Na is essentially someone that I would really root for. Which is why, obviously, the creators had to abuse her character to the maximum. I mean if you're going to sell me the fact that a woman who can fight off eight thugs when her man is in trouble, walk right into the heart of danger without an ounce of fear, is an excellent shooter, a level four in Judo and just a badass in general can just as easily be kidnapped, drugged, taken hostage without so much as a mewl in defense by a single man, I'm sorry, but I'm just not going to buy that bullshit. The only thing that I despise more than spineless damsels in distress (without just cause) is a spineless damsel in distress disguised as a strong and highly intelligent heroine.
Na Na did not deserve to be used as a tool to highlight Yoon Sung's character just so he could appear to be the perfect knight in shining black mask, rather, she should've been an independent and resilient woman in her own right who could effectively save herself, but alas chivalry trumps all.

If that isn't enough, City Hunter gives a new meaning to the term "bad romance". It introduces two people who don't deserve to be together in any possible realm and force them to fall in love. As it happens with forceful collision, the result is destruction of both entities. Their affection for each other is completely unbelievable. No matter the martyr syndrome, noble causes and tortured hero bullshit- simply nobody should have to deal with Yoon Sung's horribly immature and selfish attitude. He's constantly pushing and pulling at her, switching gears and being cruel for no reason and Na Na's highly self-sacrificing, outrageously understanding, Mother Theresa level righteousness is frankly, pitiful. Add zero chemistry into the mix and you get a perfectly stiff romance that is difficult to swallow no matter how many justifications you provide to wash it down with.

To top it all off, both the actors have a very short emotional range and their crying scenes made me feel like the awkward back-patter who has to fake sympathy in order to not look like a douche-bag. Furthermore, you got to love how every single dirty politician is exposed with video recordings because it's absolutely 100% inevitable that sooner or later all corrupt criminals will announce the entirety of their sins word by word in thin air. You just have to conveniently be at the right place at the right time with a recording device at hand and you got yourself a wonderfully detailed confession. How exotic.

However, get depressed not, because the show does admittedly has its moments. The best thing about it is the fact that the few things it chooses to well develop are indeed, excellently executed. The injuries are very realistic and if our protagonists get hurt they actually suffer for a lengthy period of time instead of possessing magical healing powers. (Ahem, K2, ahem)

Kim Sang Joong is simply the star of the show. I mean, talk about charismatic villains. Not only is he extremely handsome for an ahjussi, he's also a brilliant actor and I think his cold-hearted glares ultimately made this show worth watching. Lee Jin Piyo is a ruthless mastermind, too cruel and extremely focused on his single-minded revenge. Anything that comes in his way is collateral and messing with him is synonymous for signing a death warrant. I'm not going to lie, I seriously shipped his and Yoon Sung's father-son relationship (as lacking and unhealthy as it may be) and one of the best moments of the show was their showdown in the last episode.

Prosecutor Kim with his holier than thou attitude, fierce determination and power walk (despite the fact that he in reality accomplishes nothing as a prosecutor and loses every time to the City Hunter) really grew on me over-time which was why it was really heartbreaking what the show did to him. I mean, if they were going for emotional impact they got it because honestly, I got very teary-eyed in that particular instance.

There's no denying that the story of City Hunter is very well thought out, the suspense element is nicely done and the interaction between the main characters and some of the supporting one's (Yoon Sung's mom, Bae Man Deok, Sung Chang Hoon and Jung Joon) were really touching to see. The music is good and even though City Hunter's strategies aren't exactly Sherlock-esque, I thoroughly enjoyed all of his exposés. There is a tiny idealist that resides in my heart that secretly loves the whole sentiment behind a masked hero saving the people in times of need and despite all of his flaws I was still sincerely rooting for Yoon Sung.

So, in conclusion I'm going to say that City Hunter is over-all a pleasurable drama, it makes you stick to it till the end and anticipate the incoming episodes with a fervor but when you sit back and ponder upon questions like; "What scene would I like to rewatch and put on replay?" "Which event was unforgettable?" "Which part got my heart racing?", nothing comes to mind. It is surely a good time-pass but not something that'll get you invested.

P.S: I hope all the Lee Min Hoes and City Hunter fanatics out there don't have a Cerci-mode walk of shame leading to execution-style murder in mind for me. Y'all are gorgeous human beings so please go easy on pelting the "This review ain't helpful" button.

Teehee ^~^

Leia Mais

A very nice and entertaining drama

1/ STORY

The story is well written. The beginning sets up the plot, installs the characters, make them discover each other and interact. They go through sub plots and sub stories which are cute and emotional. Then, the main story develops with the two leads and the evil. There is also the ghost employees’ stories which needs closure before the final showdown, between good and evil. All this is fast paced and fun.

Romance is developing in a very natural way. At the beginning FL is stuck with her one-sided love. Then the main leads develop feelings, under the table for one of them and unknowingly for the other. The events and truths unveiled slowly help them to grow more confident about their feelings...

2/ ACTORS/CHARACTER:

- Go Seul Hae: Nice unsophisticated young woman enthusiast cop dedicated to serve. She has a sad background but remains cheerful. Then she meets ML and his employees and everything changes. She fights villains, spirits, falls in love and become a pretty girlfriend etc... I only watched Jin Ki Joo in Come and Hug me that I dropped. She is doing great here. A very compelling performance.

- Cha Chawoon: A magician who employs ghosts he lives with, to enhance his magical shows. Soon, they are dragged into the civilian police to "serve and protect". From a selfish money grubber nagging boss, Cha Chawoon becomes a real savior and shows his goodhearted side. Park Hae Jin in a very good performance since Forest.

- Choi Gum: 2000 years spirit of the Cha house with a mysterious past who behaves like a silly guy but he has his importance at the key moments.

- Three ghost employees: They are the most fun part of the drama despite their individual sad story which stuck them in their ghost condition. They are fun and good employees. Even if they often complain they truly like their boss.

- Hee Soo: Seul Hae childhood friend and first crush. He is a decent man and a good cop but his timing for love is bad. The actor Kim Jong Hoon did very well in this double-faced role.

- Hae Chun Moo: Super bad guy became super evil spirit and a serial murderer. Scary and convincing enough.

- Ye Ji: young shaman apprentice who is less materialistic than she thought and a worthy pupil.

3/ OST

Good. Nothing cringe or annoying.

4/ REWATCH VALUE:

Very fun and emotional. It is rewatchable

5/ OVERALL:

One of the most fun and entertaining kdrama of this half year. This drama is a great mix of romance, action, fantasy, comedy. The ending is epic and delivers more than expected. Totally recommended. 10/10.

Leia Mais

Amazing Storyline and then went downhill in the Last 5 episodes

I know the storyline is gonna end up like this. Premonitions on certain characters and telling their ending before hand. But seriously, it looks like in lacks a 1 or 2 episodes to sum it fully up. Imagine solving a puzzle for 40 episodes and solving it in 30 seconds. That's it? That's the ending.

The storyline the build-up is good,but seriously you could've done it better. I had to log in and rate this because it disappointed me too much. I had to double check if that is the last episode. Such an amazing drama wasted because of the ending. If I were me I should've stopped watching at EP 35.

Leia Mais

Heart warming, touching, admirable.

Amidst a Snowstorm of Love ❄️❤️
I finished watching all 30 episodes, last watched ep 30 at 3:15 am and since that moment I've been feeling blank.

This drama made me feel a lot, and taught me quite some interesting points of life too. Their first giddy yet awkward love story may happen to anyone else too. The feelings of falling in love for the first time, the struggle to keep a conversation running, the unsaid thoughts, the sensational skin ship. Everything's relatable.

Not to mention how they portrayed the background stories of each characters and their growth. How they may be immature and hard headed at first but then learnt better of how to get a hold of themselves and think about others. Particular conservative Chinese identity that some character showcased, the importance of respecting others especially elderly, they showed great effort thru all of those. They also portrayed the sport amazingly well even tho there are some flaws still in the real sport terms. The dedication for the sport they love, their brotherhood and the bond they created while striving for a sport that they are proud of are so admirable. From coaches to the team and fans, they legit put on a great sportsmanship.

The actors and actresses blended well in their characters as if the directors hand picked them out from the novel. From main to side characters, they each have their ray of lights. The panoramic views from different location they shooted this, the soothing melodious music background and original song tracks they produced for the show were so brilliant and fit the concept exceptionally well.

Relationship, either with your family, friends or lover, relationship exists everywhere. There might be times where things won't go the way we wanted but surely, patience and tolerance will save us. There's more to relationship than just hugs, kisses, or compliments. Sometimes they can be words of comfort, acts of service, and even the presence alone, of both parties in well condition is enough to link up a relationship.

This drama is truly a relaxing healing drama. Worth the wait, worth the hype, worth the time watching. Surely gonna repeat watching this all over again anytime soon.

Kuddos to the author for writing such masterpiece and to the director, crews, actors and actresses for making such a beautiful series.

Amidst a Snowstorm of Love, after every snowstorm, there'll sunlight again, and then, you may feel the warmness again.

Leia Mais

A Screenwriting and Directing Masterpiece

It seems people want to criticize this series for being too honest. To me, it’s a depiction of the current social environment around us. Not the most appealing, but never the less, it’s there, and we’ve all seen it. Infidelity is a dirty word to one person and a taste of freedom to another. I think this series tells us that we all view relationships differently. Our thoughts, needs, and values are different. We even view love differently. The story I watched for sixteen episodes was a bitter look into the world of betrayal. It shows us how people justify their actions when faced with diversity in a relationship. It also shows us how fragile marriage can be when you don’t nurture it. It shows us how hateful and desperate people can be. It also shows us the ugly head of temptation. I think this series took a lot of thought and work to put together. It was a raw look at the emotional struggles of human beings trying to survive in a world that pulls them apart.

I thought the acting was perfect. There were two standouts for me. Lee Ga Ryong’s portrayal of Hye Ryung was just fantastic. Playing this type of character and making it seem real is not easy. Another one of my favorite parts was in episode 7 when Hyang Gi (Jeon Hye Won) told her dad what she thought about him divorcing her mom in no uncertain terms. She said everything her mom wanted to say, and it was priceless. Hye Won shined in this supporting role, and it left me with a favorable impression of her acting skills.

The music pulled everything together, and the subscripts were great. I enjoyed this because it was different. Is it worth watching? Cudos to Im Sung Han for her screenwriting and to Yoo Jung Joon for directing a masterpiece.

Leia Mais

Awesome series,worth watching,actors did great job

This needs to be recognised,actors earth and santha did a amazing job ,the storyline is good and i suggest everyone to watch this, light weight, feel good series.i would give 10/10 for such an amazing series,i would re-watch again once i complete this ,earth is my all time favourite actor,his acting took this drama to another level ,it really needs a huge recognition.i have watched 8 episodes so far can't wait for further episodes,i really goona miss this series once i complete,you can watch this series in you tube ..earth is such an cute actor❤️.. didn't expect this drama would make me fall in love with this

Leia Mais

Silly rom-com with bickering main leads & slow burn romance

The main leads Zhou Ye and Lin Yi definitely carried the drama. The script was lacking but their chemistry and strong on-screen presence made up for it. The drama is about the female lead who fakes her personality in order to catch the attention of the male lead. She confesses to him and he rejects her, only for him to find out that she is also the gaming girl he’s had a secret crush on. Their love story includes the gaming world, where they work together to create a new generation of gaming experience.

The start of the drama is not the strongest. The female lead spends the first few episodes chasing the male lead with a fake personality and pretty much becoming a doormat for him. As soon as he rejects her at episode 7, the drama begins to get real good, with now the male lead chasing her and trying to win her back. The main lead’s bickering dynamic is top-notch and the highlight of this drama, as well as the many cute and silly interactions between them.

The drama fell short for me in the final episodes (19-24) that focused on unnecessary work problems instead of seeing the main leads go on romantic dates. The romance is slow burn which I usually love, however I feel the script didn’t allow for the audience to truly experience their dating era as they only became a couple in the last few episodes. Even though the main leads had many cute and romantic interactions between them throughout the drama, when they became a couple we didn’t see them go on an actual date or see any grand romantic gestures.

POSITIVE:
- Silly and light-hearted vibes.
- Top-notch bickering dynamic and fun comedy moments between the main leads.
- Zhou Ye and Lin Yi had natural on-screen chemistry with fantastic acting. They were the star of the drama and carried the whole show.
- Good push and pull dynamic between the leads.
- Cute/romantic scenes.
- No love triangles. The main leads only have eyes for each other. (Note, there are two love rivals that try to get with the female lead).
- No annoying side characters.
- Female lead acting like a delulu girl in the first episodes.
- Male lead chasing her for the longest time in the best way possible.
- Fun gaming scenes that didn’t take too much screen time.
- Work scenes in the first half of the drama provided good character development for the female lead.
- Approving and supportive parents (that’s a huge plus for me).

NEGATIVE:
- First 6 episodes were not strong.
- Ordinary plot. The script doesn’t bring anything new to the table.
- Not enough spark. I felt something was always missing in this drama.
- Dating era didn’t fully deliver. There was a lot of build up and yet the execution was lacking. We don’t see the main leads go on an actual date or have any grand romantic gestures.
- Episodes 19-24 felt underwhelming, the plot was draggy and the romance didn’t fully deliver.

OVERALL:
This is a silly and light-hearted rom-com with cute, bickering main leads. It’s perfect for those who want to watch a fun and entertaining drama after a long day to unwind.

Leia Mais

Maybe the most underrated gem of the year

Writing this review after having posted many comments on this as i binged on this for 2 days. I kept off this as it aired for 2 reasons -1 )Didnt want to wait as it aired and 2) It was getting terrible comments as it progressed
The rating has reached 7.6 as of writing this review and it may dip further as this show seems a target of MDL commenters lately for negative comments.

Coming back, I found this incredibly entertaining,fast paced,emotional and topical hopeful drama.It deals with costs that come with time travel and is hence quite different than many fantasy dramas that promote this concept. Every episode starts with a quote on time and its importance for lives..

Am a fan of Joo Won esp in intense roles and his turn as Lieutenant Park was like a superb fit..As the show progresses you feel for him a lot..One of the most memorable Kdrama ML characters now for me.
Kim Hee sun ,esp the mom aced this one.I dont remember any other Kdrama showing a mother son bond so beautifully.She basically sacrificed her entire life for her son,had an utterly tough existence and the end she kept getting repeatedly was so unfair.. As Tae Yi,she was a diff character but her fondness for the Lieutenant was beautifully shown..Many people are disgusted with this Otp (Both Mom and Tae Yi have identical faces) but they are fine as per me..She is NOT his mom,period.
Kwak Si Yang as Min Hyeok was another tragic character and while he didnt get the end i felt he should have ,he was superb throughout
All other supporting characters were awesome..
Melodious OSTs,BGM, beautiful cinematography,production are all pluses for this drama.
The PD and writer really made a beautiful show..The ending has plotholes ,but is very serviceable..I was just happy to see Joo Won living a good life and with a hopeful romance to follow..
Maybe the MDL raters would rate this better if it ended with a sad ending ..I love happy endings though.

Leia Mais

Chicago Typewriter has a really promising and interesting story premise but unfortunately it was not executed very well.

The beginning is really good and you get hooked because you want to know what happened in the past. It is really lighthearted with a few good comedy scenes and the small dramatic scenes that are dropped in between prevent it from being boring.

But the series drops in quality after the exposition. It seems as if the creators had a really good idea but didn't expand it enough. After you have seen the idea the series has nothing more to offer. The whole middle of the series feels really stretched and filled with useless scenes that don't advance the story nor the characters very much. I have the feeling that the romance aspect of the show was supposed to be subtle and in the background but because the actual story wasn't really fleshed out they had to fill in the blanks with romance. This is not bad per se, but the relationship between the couple doesn't go anywhere. Their relationship doesn't get deeper and most of the time don't even feel like a couple.

The characters are not bad, but their characterisation is not very stable. When the creators of the show didn't know what to do, they just let characters act dumb and against their initial character traits just to advance the story and make it more dramatic. However this has the opposite effect and keeps you from being immersed in the story and empathizing with the characters.

For example, it is established that the characters in the present have the same traits as their past life counterparts. So Han Se Joo should be very clever because in his past life he was the head of the resistence, made perfect plans and was always cautious of the enemy. But when Baek Tae Min calls him and wants to trick him, he plays dumb goes to the place and then acts as if he knew that he was tricked all along. Then why go there in the first place and not call the police or something? That is just one example of accute dumbness.

Then it seems the writers just threw in things that don't make sense at all. When Se Joo falls down the roof the ghost Yoo Jin Oh possesses him, which isn't the problem, but why can he make Se Joo float and cushion his fall? Yoo Jin Oh can't even float by himself, so why can he float when inside another body? I hope you see what I mean.

And sometimes there are flashbacks, which are repeated throughout the series to waste time. All in all what I want to say is that the pacing of the series is really bad and you can clearly see where the writers put in extra stuff to stretch the runtime of the show. They should have made a mini series or fleshed out the story more, but in this state it feels like an unfinished prototype of a good show.

I really liked the part where they are sent back in the past by the ghost and explore the past. They should have told more of the past in this way or let the characters remember parts of their past after experiencing something emotional that triggers their memory. Instead almost all of the past story is told in episode 14 or 15 in one piece.

I really can't understand why it has such a high score here. I was really interested in this show after reading the summary and seeing that so many people liked it but unfortunately it really isn't all that great.

Leia Mais

A General Without Her Legend

This series had the potential to be a masterpiece, but it struggles with focus and execution. At times, the dialogue and scenes feel truly epic, yet they are quickly undercut by fluffy, love-bubble moments that seem more suited for early teens. With episodes running only 30–45 minutes, the show often downplays serious issues just to insert romance, and these lighter scenes end up taking even more screen time than the plot deserves.

What I had hoped to see was a story centered on He Yan—her legendary reputation as a general, her brilliance as a battlefield tactician, and her skill as a martial artist. Instead, the narrative leans heavily on a childish romance with the male lead, sprinkling in only a few fighting scenes in an unconvincing attempt to showcase her strength.

Despite this imbalance, I still watched through to the end, hoping for redemption. The core story is genuinely strong, but the forced romance, misplaced focus, and glossing over of critical issues hold it back. The true highlight remains He Yan’s fighting scenes, which revealed the kind of depth and power the series could have delivered if it had trusted its own potential.

Leia Mais

This is bigger than us

Who always expects a typical BL will probably be disappointed because this series is so much more. Instead of just giving us a series with a good plot, Not Me manages to combine sophistication and entertainment to create unique art.
This series breaks conventions on so many levels, be it visual, auditory (one of the best soundtracks!), or narrative, and ultimately sweeps you away with a storm of emotion.
It has a lot of epic scenes to offer when the sun shines through the palm of a hand and the words "Freedom is the oxygen of life" can be heard, it touches you just as much when a deaf-mute mother tells of her unemployment or when main character Gun dances under a rainbow flag and shouts loudly for equality and justice.
But Not Me is not a clean, beautiful series. It is a bloody and dirty ballad, told with rage, but also a vulnerability, as only the affected themselves can do.
To sum it up, Not Me is an exceptional show that breaks up multiple genres and takes you on a trip, that leaves you breathless and exhausted. But it’s also an important series, who dares to say true things in a world that is getting more and more out of joint.

Leia Mais