Reviews

Spoiler free review!

I was really excited for this drama, I waited so long for this to air and I wasn't expecting anything amazing but I was hoping It would have been at least decent but what did we get? well.. uh.. this

characters:
Eh, main characters were pretty basic. Eun Sang was extremely boring to watch I'm pretty sure she is number 1 on my most boring characters list but just wow such a boring character, basically no personality at all whatsoever so I was really annoyed when watching her.. supporting characters were actually a lot better than the main characters I began to only watch this for the supporting characters because they had a lot more personality and were actually interesting to watch! So if you're expecting really well developed main characters then don't bother, BUT I did really like watching Kim Tans mom Eun Sangs mom, they were hilarious.

story:
It was decent I guess nothing amazing It' basically rich guy poor girl with a lot of drama I can't really say anything more because It would be a spoiler


overall:
I was really disappointed in this I would not rewatch or recommend this to anyone looking for something interesting to watch It's basically boys over flowers 2.. expect boys over flowers was actually better and I didn't really like that much at all! the main characters were really badly developed and It was just basically a cliche show with really cliche main characters .. But amazing eye candy and nice filming locations I'm pretty sure this had a high budget.


notes:
This is my personal opinion on the show
this is my first review so It's not great
My English is really bad please mind that

Leia Mais

After watching SOTUS, this seems to be a pale imitation. Literally everything pales in comparison, but everything seems SO similar. The characters fall flat - it's literally the most cliche school plot: hot/badass/popular dude finally (somehow) falling in love with that quiet, shy awkward girl that's been pining after him since forever...oh wait, I meant guy. Said shy awkward guy seems to have absolutely nothing better to do with his time other than look disgruntle and angst either. Among some uninteresting hobbies.

There's no.. -oomph- or manliness at all from Yo and frankly, I don't watch BL to see het. 

Okay. Other than how I don't like the character dynamics/story-line - The script is nothing special and there are absolutely no lines that hooked me. I honestly can not remember a single line any one said whereas, I can't forget at least half a dozen lines in SOTUS) I'm going to give the actors some kudos because they're just going off the script and they did well with what they had, but the main characters were nothing special and therefore I can only shrug.

I can only say, don't waste your time watching this.

Leia Mais

An epic, over-hyped as bl and undermined as an idol drama

It is hard to describe and review The Untamed.
- It is adapted from a danmei novel (mdzs), but it is not a bl drama per se.
- Its cast consists new young actors mostly in their 20s then, with no veteran actors, but it is not an idol drama.
- It is produced as a web series with a limited budget and web viewers in mind, but its popularity is at an unprecedented scale.
- It received rave critical reviews domestically and globally for its strong plot, well-developed characters, incorporation of Chinese cultural elements, but antis continue to bash the drama.
- Some people simply shun or dismiss this drama as only a bl idol drama with young candy eyed idol cast that simply can’t act.
- Some diehard novel fans find this drama a lousy adaptation because of the toned down bl and gore.

* Transcendence of danmei novel into a critical production *
While this drama is adapted from a danmei novel, the two male leads are portrayed as soulmates in the drama, and the "soul" of this drama is not on their relationship (more on the “soul” later). That said, the chemistry between the two male leads is top notch - strong brotherhood, with some queer subtle for the experienced bl enthusiasts. The toned down bl and gore is not just because of censorship but the difficulty of portraying some of those gore details in live action, compared to in the novel or anime. I would add that the censorship transcends the danmei novel into a critical production, that brought more people especially international viewers to read the novel and the writer’s other novels.

* Big story on ugliness of society *
Beyond the candy bl-idol outer layer, at its core (“soul”), this drama depicts the ugliness of society, the struggles to uphold justice and the growing up journey of the key characters. It delivers powerful messages and quotable lines on society norms, the oppression one faced in going against society, how people often surface judge, how hypocritical nobles manipulate society norms for selfish power hungry causes, good vs evil, weak vs strong.

* Well developed multi-dimensional characters *
As a drama with ensemble cast, The Untamed has many characters, each with his own distinct complex traits, story and purpose. While the evil deeds they did are unpardonable, the key antagonists didn’t do evil for evil sake. The mistreatments they experienced as kids shaped their values and they did show their compassionate sides to those who respect and care for them. While there is no female lead, there are two endearing female characters: the best martial sister (shijie) who may appear gentle, but can really go all out and fight back to protect her brother, and the no-nonsense, courageous and righteous Wen Qing who unconditionally care for her brother and help others within her means.

* Passionate, determined, youthful cast with empathy portrayal *
The actors were selected based on their fit for the characters and their performance did not disappoint. This bunch of passionate, determined youths put in their hearts and souls to bring to life the many iconic and complex characters and their heartbreaking stories. Unconstrained by professional technical acting methods which they lacked, and under the guidance of the directors, their empathy portrayals allow the viewers to resonate with their characters. Remember the Empathy technique used by Wei Ying to experience A-Qing’s and Nie Mingjue’s past encounters? The cast’s empathy portrayal of such complex multi-dimensional characters make this drama and its characters both iconic and endearing‬, so much so that there are still many memes on the characters circulating in social media.

* Music and Chinese cultural elements *
In this drama, music is not mere bgm. Besides intrinsic depiction of each character via the character songs (pay attention to the lyrics), music is also a powerful tool that can both kill (Chord Assassination) and heal (Song of Clarity, Unrestrained), and introduces Chinese musical instruments - guqin (7-stringed zither) and flute. Just recently, in Jan 2022, "Moscow Metro News” published an article about how The Untamed promotes Chinese "guqin" culture in Moscow. Besides music, there are also tons of Chinese cultural elements infused in the drama, from the invitation cards, maple, lotus, cranes to the Tiger Seal, masks etc.

* Other aesthetics *
The CGI is bad, but the actual location filming such as at the Cloud Recesses and Yunmeng Lake and the elaborate 3000+ custom-made costumes and accessories make up for those awful CGI.

* Rewarding rewatch(es) *
There are a lot of details in each scene, including background objects such as the maple tree, crane, moon etc, that convey deeper hidden messages and backstories of the plot and characters. See spoilers in comments. Each rewatch not only re-rips one apart but also rewards with new understanding of the details that went into the production.

* Overall verdict *
In short, there’s so much depth at its core, beneath its pleasing aesthetics (casts, costumes, sets, OSTs). Censorship transcends the mdzs novel into a critical drama on Chinese culture, martial arts, sorcery, mystery, adventure, clan rivalry, power manipulations, society norms, kinships, friendships, good vs evil, weak vs strong, music that heals and kills, laughters, tears, angsts. Thanks to censorship, the re-focus on the multi-dimensional characters, empathy portrayal, strong plot, quotable lines, music and Chinese cultural elements make The Untamed an epic drama, in a class of its own‬.

Put aside preconceptions of bl, novel adaptations, young inexperienced idol actors, and watch this sincere, compelling production with an open heart and mind, and be awesomely charmed by an epic masterpiece that unfolds, and that creeps and stays in your heart for a long time to come.

“At best, you’re the untamed hero; at worst, you offend people wherever you go.”
- by the novel MDZS writer

P/S: This is a drama that touched me immensely, and the only drama to-date i rated a perfect 10, as it got me so invested, surfing for analysis videos/articles related to the drama, noting down the quotable lines and set me thinking a lot.

Leia Mais

SAY HELLO TO THE REAL ME

Hey, everybody. Ji Woo here.

It's no secret that you loved me in "To My Star", because I've read the glowing reviews and comments here on MDL as well as every other social media platform. In that series I'm a grumpy chef with no patience for celebrities or celebrity culture, who ironically ends up having to live with a major movie star and falls in love. The series was one of the great romantic comedies of 2021, with amazing rewatchability.

I must confess, though, that I wasn't really cool with it. You see, while in that series I made deadpan wisecracks and rolled my eyes at the rascal behavior of my soon-to-be boyfriend, beneath the surface I was actually a seething cauldron of rage, further hobbled by a malignant case of low self-esteem.

I know, I know -- I did an amazing job hiding it. To watch me in "To My Star" you would never know how profoundly unhappy I was, or how much I resented the man you thought I loved.

But I have good news -- there's a Season Two now, and in that series I let it all hang out. For TMS2 I made it known I wanted my toxic antisocial side to be as front and center as possible, despite however much it might clash with the lovable grouch I was in Season One.

I asked the director if we could start out by brainstorming on how to debunk the me of TMS1. And she was up for it, let me tell you. By then she'd achieved tons of acclaim for the romantic comedies she'd directed. The notices about her were even better than mine or the ones for TMS1 itself -- they made out like she was the goddam Nora Ephron of Asian drama. But to her credit she wasn't satisfied with that and wanted to achieve a new level of creativity, kind of like Woody Allen did when he brought out "Interiors" after his own string of legendary romantic comedies. (Sorry -- I know it's probably not PC to mention the Woodster.)

So, she and I got to work, and since you've read this far I'll share some of what you can look forward to.

In TMS2, I:

1. Leave my boyfriend on his birthday after he doesn't show up on time for the birthday party I never told him about, and which I can't possibly postpone until the next day because, well, in Season One I'd also walked out on him on his birthday. The viewers who want an early start on talk of how deep this season is will love the parallels.

2. To signify that this series will be the cold winter that befalls the warm summer of Season One, leave my boyfriend a terse breakup note along with the box containing the uneaten birthday cake, placing the box where he'll be sure to find it when he returns to the darkened, silent house.

3. Disappear for a year while making no contact whatsoever. True -- it's risky to drag it out unrealistically, but it has to be a full year because a two or three month disappearance is for sissies. We're reaching for extremes here.

4. Start up an Italian restaurant in my bleak home town, opening for business every day for months without a single customer while still buying food and supplies that I prep in the kitchen each morning.

5. Bear the crushing weight of a dark scandal caused by a friend of my parents, that everyone in town takes out on me by not eating at my restaurant.

6. Have my obsessed ex-girlfriend show up all the way from the USA with one goal in mind: rekindling the relationship we had as teenagers. In a dramatic contrast to my horrible treatment of my boyfriend, make sure I treat her only with kindness and understanding.

7. Befriend a little moppet straight out of Central Casting: precocious and adorable, spouting lines of adult dialog like they were written by Neil Simon, but then hurt and vulnerable when we need to generate a crisis. Above all, make sure I always treat her with kindness and understanding as well. Heck, let's even have her start out by calling me "Dad".

7. Have my boyfriend show up after a year of desperate searching, begging to understand what has happened and with one goal in mind: bringing our relationship back from the brink. In contrast to my benevolent treatment of my ex and my friend's daughter, have me treat him like a piece of dogshit I thought I'd scraped off my shoe months ago.

8. Make sure this includes me telling my boyfriend repeatedly how I never actually loved him. I'll gaslight him by implying it must have been his imagination the whole time.

9. But, in a plot twist, have me give him a big sloppy kiss one night and then sleep with him ... only to revert back to the shit treatment the next morning.

10. After my boyfriend finally gives up and leaves, have me read about the relapse of his illness, which is almost certainly due to the stress I've put him through.

11. But then, before viewers can start to blame me, include a scene where I finally turn on the phone I've had switched off since the day I disappeared. Show me ugly-crying while I read the poignant messages from the man I abandoned.

12. Finally reveal the reason why I wanted my boyfriend to feel so much pain: I was lonely. He had a job that kept him busy, and while I certainly could have gone back to working in a restaurant or even opened one of my own, I stayed home and quietly seethed.

There's more, but I don't want to spoil it for you.

Tbh, there were moments when I worried we might go too far with all my terrible behavior. Fans of Season One would want to kick my ass over the 180 in my personality and the dark, angry tone of the whole enterprise. That's when the director reassured me that in the last two episodes we'd do another 180. My personality from Season One would miraculously reappear.

I worried that such a HEA ending might seem too fake and forced. After revealing my rotten core, how could even a wane smile from me ring true? But the director insisted. She felt that as much as she'd enjoyed the challenge of throwing Season One under the bus she had to reclaim her romantic creds. The final two episodes would be a return to the bright and easy comforts of Season One. After enduring so much sadness and frustration, viewers would be weeping for joy over the tsunamis of fluff suddenly crashing over them. Even better, the return of the Season One vibe would almost certainly silence the critics while making TMS2's defenders all the more adamant.

Still, I was skeptical, I'm telling you.

She reassured me, though. She said that this kind of crazy shit makes people go tribal. If anybody complains about the sudden happy ending, or about the whiplash plot points or the inexplicable disconnect between the grumpy but lovable me of Season One and the asshole I am in Season Two, it won't be a question of defending the show on its merits -- fans will just change the subject and say the complainers have no eye for genius. Season Two will be declared an absolute masterpiece no matter what. And if commenters dare to dissent they'll be told that all they want to watch is fluff, and they wouldn't know Great Art if a painting fell on them in The Louvre.

Finally, if you end up loving TMS2 as much as I do you'll be pleased to know that we're already thinking about a Season Three. It would feature even more crazy antics by yours truly, because, honestly, unless I get some serious therapy there's no telling when I'll relapse. The possibilities are endless!

Sincerely,
Han Ji Woo

Leia Mais

Not a 10/10 for me

If you’re wondering whether to start this drama, just know that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. And just because I expressed my different opinion about this drama, I received hate from those who loved it. But that’s ok, it’s contrary to popular opinion and I guess some just cannot have an open mind.

The pace and the storyline is quite fast and interesting. I did not really fancy the first 25 episodes. The general storyline of starting university, facing its ups and downs was fine. However I could not like the ML and the way he treated the people around him. And the way the FL just followed him like a puppy just didn’t sit right w me. Episodes 26-36 was much better as it showed more maturity and development in most of the characters.

The one I felt most sorry for was Lao Gao. Yes, what he did was terrible, very malicious and downright horrible. BUT… I do believe Li Xun had a part to play in how he turned out to be. And the fact that till the very end- Li Xun was not even a little bit remorseful of how he treated Lao Gao during the early days was truly sad.

Li Xun was the most disappointing character of all. At the start of uni, he was arrogant, tactless, self-absorbed and narcissistic. After going to prison for 3 years, you would have thought that he would change, be more humble, learn a tough lesson in life no? Truly.. no. He comes out of prison, he’s still the same incorrigible stubborn a**hole. He even admitted it himself. There were many many things he could have done better:
1) Treated his teammates in his IT club with more respect, more courtesy and be less condescending. That is a mark of a good leader.
2) He should have treated Zhu Yun with more dignity and respect. Instead of doing things his own way, he shld have been open and honest and letting her decide and make her own choices. Not manipulate the situation “for her own good”.
3) Zhu yun- in a way I respect her for sticking by his side. She could get past all his flaws and “help” him become a better man. But in that manner, I felt she lost her own self respect and what could have been a different future.
4) make more effort in trying to convince ZY parents. At least show them how much he loves her, that he will take care of her etc.. after all, that’s what most parents want for their children anyway. That assurance. nope nothing… didn’t even try. Or try harder. Ok the mum was over board and pretty much condescending (just like LX) and prejudiced towards him as well. But I did not agree with them getting married just like that behind the parents back.

The ML had a god-like complex, where he thinks he is the best and he is superior. If he had changed towards the end of the drama (which had some hints of it around Epi 30-34) but come 35/36 again he showed his superiority, I may have liked him more ;)

Anyhow, in conclusion: the drama itself is quite good. I just won’t glorify the ML’s character and behaviour or agree with his actions. So it’s not your typical hero/ fantastic/ romantic/ “perfect” ML, FL.. just watch with an open mind:)

Leia Mais

ABSOLUTE *CHEFS KISS* DRAMA!!!

yeah, you got it. This drama is a gem which is qualified to be called a *chefs kiss* drama atleast for me :3. It is one of those few dramas which has a special place in my heart. ITS A LITERAL PERFECTION. This drama is absolutely NOT one of those typical full of sufferings, infinite cycle of being together and seperating, reincarnating 100 times and full of useless side couples, shit CGI and useless villains kind of xianxia. It contains the elements of xianxia but the way it is done,placed and potrayed so uniqly is what surprises me. I used to drop alot of xianxias after watching like 10-15(sometimes even 35 EPS because of the totally UN-NEEDED draggyass plots and stupid asf fl) most of times, but this drama got me hooked RIGHT FROM EP 1 TBH (we'r talking about p2 so like HEHEH( i dont mean P1 is bad though (''Dont be Stubborn" (¬‿¬) go watch it )

back to the review.. This drama is a sequel to Immortal Samsara Part 1. Its ABSOLUTELY safe to say that this drama is THE BEST of 2022 in (angst :P)its genre.

The PLOT of the drama is very simple( ps very very little spoiler if you havent watched p1). Three teens(?lmfao)(2 spirit and one human to be specific) set on an adventure on finding out the 4th artifact for TangZhou(the mc) to take back his form as Lord Ying Yuan(god) and complete his mission of finding out the truth about the ''Celestial-Demon war''. Meanwhile, YanDan has regained her memories of Lord YY and herself in Heavenly Realm and starts becoming distant with TZ (although she still LOVES HIM T--T). However, TZ has no recollection of his past memories and has no interest in knowing so because it will only bring him pain ( he thinks YD loves ANOTHER PERSON when its HIM who she lovesಥ_ಥ). even so, TZ unknowing of the fact that Lord YY and him are the same person, keeps on following YanDan wherever she goes, silently protecting her whenever she is in danger (poor boy :( ) He even cosplays as Lord YY but..every effort was..all in vain.

Seeing TZ cry under the rain, (i wanted to hug him Every hardship, pain, struggles, sacrifices they made for eachother was worth it . YY upon returning and claiming his position of Soverign Lord, starts pursuing YD just like the way she pursued him b4 (man got rejected once but ITS ALL OKAY WE CAN GIVE IT ONE MORE TRY he thought aand BOOM THEY ARE BACK TOGEHTER (after some time but STILL THEYRE TOGETHER NOW SO IT DOESNT MATTER) asides from this, The Heavenly Emperor, has been acting strangely since Lord YYs arival in the heavenly realm and LuMing (YDs closest friend) has gone missing. LuMing, happened to drop few clues so They follow LuMing's given clues to discover the cause of these mysterious happenings. What happened to LuMing and What has caused the heavenly emperor to be this sus?. Lord YYs hidden identity as the Asura Clan's only descendant has been revealed to the whole heavenly clan. NOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN? WILL THE LOVEY DOVEY COUPLE GET THEIR DESERVED HAPPY ENDING? To find that out YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS. YOU MUST SEE THIS CUZ ISSA MUST WATCH DRAMA!!srsly how can you ignore the best xianxia of 2022

THE ACTING/CAST, OSTS/SONGS/MUSIC, CGI, SET DESIGNS, CHEMISTRY OF ML/FL, VFX, MAKEUP, COSTUME, DO I EVEN HAVE TO TALK ABOUT THAT? EVERYTHING IS TOP NOTCH HERE.

IN CONCLUSION: This drama is S tier drama ( S+ infact). It got me thinking HOW.COULD.SUCH.PURRFECT.DRAMA.EVEN.EXIST?
PROPS TO THE WHOLE CREW (CASTS) OF IMMORTAL SAMSARA. THE HONORS THEY'RE GETTING IS SO WELL DESERVED. THIS DRAMA IS A NEW GEM IN XIANXIA GENRE . I believe everyone who likes mystrey, god-demon story settings, awesome chemistry between leads, awesome SFL/SML, GREAT CGI, GREATT VILLIANS, adventures, DrEaMy lOvE(seriously), cute asf ml fl, fantasy, magics, xianxia & ANGST above all will LOVE this drama. So ''Don't be stubborn" (￢з￢)go watch it (friendly reminder to carry a bucket of tissues b4 watching the ep 59 :D also remember to watch ep 60 and 61 for happy ending ♡)

On a serious note, This drama left a deep impression on me. I may have been a lil biased here but its no lie that I learnt so much from this drama. The tears i cried, the happiness, pain, joy and a rollercoaster of emotions this drama brought in my life, the sleep deprivation this drama caused me, i will never forget that. It was worth sacrificing my sleep for this one though cuz its simply AMAZING, OUTSTANDING, MAGNIFICIENT, HEAVENLY, EXTRAORDINARY, MAJESTIC and ofcourse i'll say it again
"AN ABSOLUTE *CHEFS KISS* DRAMA"
PERIODT.

Leia Mais

Visuals and Vibes Only

So everyone gets a redemption apart from the evil incarnate assistant whose arc isn’t even properly closed. When does she appear in the story? Only when it seems like Cho Sam Dal is seemingly happy and not having a visible breakdown every single episode. The story focuses on the downfall and the eventual big comeback of a well know photographer, but everything feels so half done. Many times the plot and subplots felt so forced. The small town portrayal of the village folk didn’t really pass, the trauma arcs were dragged for too long throughout the story. Sometimes it made me wonder if they are actually almost in their mid-30s.

The humour was quite slapstick at times. The only positives for me were the scenic visuals and the leads who are amazing at what they do. The storyline is weak, and the execution is underwhelming. If I wasn’t watching as it aired, I would have probably dropped it.

Leia Mais

Dark Romance Comedy with very flawed ML.

The comedy aspect was good. Lots of hilarious scenes thru out the series.

The story was about ML who had lots of issues, parents issues, commitment issues. He met the FL when he at one of the low point at his life. They dated and even get rings together, but ML had commitment issues so as a jerk bastard he break up with FL with bunch of BS and insult the FL too.

Three years later, he find out he will had 3 months to live. By chance ( so many fate meeting in this series) he also find out that his ex (FL) will marry rich guy and she cannot carry a child.

He will.go road trip to try to find his real father (there are few candidates). So as a very selfish and narcissistic person, he go to the FL wedding, threatened her to come with him and then kidnapped her.

This when all hell loose break. They are being chased by a gang (from ML last job) and also the FL husband to be , SML.

Making it short, ML and FL deserved each other. Yes, ML is a HOT bastard . Who only thing what fun and best for him. What important for him. But even after being dumped by the ML years ago, although she had a very good fiancee, she crave the ML from head to toe. Even sometimes she beimg treated like crap again. But she willingly accepted the ML even she know he is so f-ing flaw and so selfish and will die soon. Yep, just because he is young and HOT and SML is not hot and young.

SML had to thank his lucky star he did not marry the FL. He deserved someone that truly love him and not abandoned him the very first chance she had.

The only character with real growth is SML. He was a Mama boy that obey his Mom before all this bride kidnapping happened. But because of his love for FL, he defied his Mom, runaway from home to save FL ( who does not wanted to be save in reality) At the end of the journey, he become more independent and more confident.

The story also show very long journey of ML try finding his real father with no avail. The writer should write more about the ML and the father that raise him till teenager relationship. But it never happen. They just getting back together as father and son just like that at end of ep 10.

The moral of the story: All people deserved love. Even with two flaw characters like ML and FL.

Lots of angsty and miscommunication and flaw plots. At least it was quick pace, good acting, quite funny here and there. The chemistry was good too with all actors.

Its entertaining watch because it only had 10 eps. Good but not my fav.

7 out of 10.

Leia Mais

Watch go ahead instead.

Our secret had so much potential to become a touching and emotional story that would have always remained in my heart (something like 'go ahead') but it really MAJORLY lacks in almost all aspects.
The first few episodes had me addicted! It was so beautiful and ugh the charecters were adorable.
But um i have alot of problems in the fundamental thoughts they tried to convey in this show:
- the portrayal of the arts stream is SO BAD. They treat it as though arts is something that people who want it easy take, conforming to the social norms. They state multiple times that "only few students take arts" " girls should only take arts" "science is too difficult for woman". This is in 2021, not 1800s.
- the female leads reason for choosing her stream is her ego. She wants to prove to everyone that she can do science. Even though it sounds so inspiring,it really isn't because shes literally not passionate about any science, nor does she have dreams to do science, she's not even good at science. She's literally an artist !!! Her other reason is all her friends took science.
- Male lead does everything in his power to "protect" the female lead even though she can literally do things herself. He puts his career at risk to do this too. The norms of men proposing, men buying the ring, men always paying, men not feeling cold at alllll is further amplified not in a subtle way.
- the female lead does CRAZY things for love. She literally does not care about her career for around 15 episodes and tries to do everything the male lead does(as he's the genius) by taking a break year to study in the same University and even join his research team???? When she finally realises her importance suddenly she's getting all these arts offers after doing a degree in computing. SO UNREALISTIC. Yll really think getting a job in an area that's not your major is easy? No matter how talented nobody hands out contracts to a fresh graduate from ANOTHER major. This is setting such crazy expectations that happens irl only in RARE cases.
- many scenes make no logical sense. He's poor but lives in such a huge apartment in the middle of the city? All three leads be crashing random meetings? A Start up working in so many industries? I could name so many things!
-the mom's charecter has SO MUCH EGO. Even though she's the adult, the female lead is expected to "not get mad at her" or be respectful because she "doesn't mean it". That's such a sick mindset because adults are the ones that need to be mature and not treat thier children like shit.
The leads were cute in the first few episodes but their chemistry gradually deteriorated. The show dragged the high school part quite alot. I skipped way too much even in the end of the show.
Another thing I thought could have been done better is at how they started the show with the fact that "shit happened", that made me wait for shit to happen because i knew it would and made me enjoy the show less.
The acting is pretty good, i don't have any complains in any other aspect except for the writing and the ideas presented in the drama which would leave the watchers with unrealistic expectations about life and career. Even thier relationship is low-key super unrealistic. I finished this show learning absolute nothing and gaining no insights on anything in life.
Highly not recommended.

Leia Mais

I thought we were moving past the era of male leads who are violent towards their partners

Watching how abusive he is is making me feel sick to my stomach. I don’t understand why it gets such high ratings. Is it supposed to be funny that he conks her on the head twice? I don’t blame the performers. I have no idea why the writers think we should want these people to be together. I want her to escape immediately and I’m frustrated that it’s supposed to be funny that no one will help her. I’m also frustrated that she gives up so quickly, when being around him is making my skin crawl.

The show gets such high reviews I thought he must redeem himself somehow and stuck with it until the end. I wish I had dropped it, there is no character growth. If you are like me and don’t like watching verbal, mental and emotional abuse, even from an exceptionally beautiful man, then you should skip it. Obviously, a lot of people feel differently, but I wish I had seen a review like this before I started.

Leia Mais

Beautiful yet Pretentious; Great character development but poor plot writing

“Fangs of Fortune” is no doubt the product of director Edward Guo. I enjoyed his other drama “My Journey to Love” so much that I wish I could feel the same about “Fangs of Fortune”. Unfortunately, just having a good-looking cast and beautiful cinematography are not enough for me.


What I Like:

1. Characters
The main reason I am not rating this drama lower than 8.0 is because of the characters. I like each of them, main cast, supporting cast and guest roles. Each character’s story is unique and I had a good time getting to know them and following their journey of growth. They are interesting individually and together as a group. “Fangs of Fortune” is able to make me care about each of them and their stories touched me.

2. Acting
I am happy to see a much-improved Neo Hou. He is able to convey more than just a blank pretty face. I am most impressed by Tian Jia Rui. This is only his second drama after “My Journey to You” and he has so much potential. Chen Du Ling is fine. Cheng Xiao improved from her blank look in “Falling into Your Smile”. The rest of the cast also did an admirable job and I don’t really dislike anyone’s acting.

3. Cinematography
Edward Guo’s signature beautiful cinematography and camera angles make every actor and actress look good. Screenshots of this drama flooded the Feeds with many posts throughout the airing and after the completion of the drama. But…..(to be continued below)

4. OST
This drama boasts a huge soundtrack of beautiful songs. I enjoy them all, especially ‘Spring Breeze Does Not Ask’ 春风不问 and ‘Broken-Tailed Bird’《斷尾鳥》. However…. (to be continued below)

5. Production Value
I love everyone’s creative, unique and beautiful hairstyles, costumes and accessories. I also like the use of natural lighting and the realistic sets in the indoor scenes. The fight choreography is unique and the actors did a great job with their wire work and moves. It does a great job in using Chen Xiao’s dance background in giving her excellent moves and she did not disappoint.


What I have Mixed Feelings and Don’t Like:

1. Slowness
This drama is SLLOOOWW. The characters talk slowly, they move slowly and the pace is slow. This could have been a 30-episode drama (instead of 34) if people would just walk and talk at normal speed. The last episode is a waste of time. Everything could be told in 15 minutes. What pisses me off the most (my personal pet peeve) is characters standing around during important battle scenes. The good guys would be talking amongst themselves or crying or staring at each other, and the villains just stood there waiting. I just want to shout at my screen for them to move or do something! So much time is wasted and it doesn’t make sense!

2. Plot Holes
There are so many plot holes in this drama. Actions that don’t always make sense. Why parade a suspected murderer in front of a crowd to be easily recognized and then humiliated? If you knew you were the cause of a pandemic, why not kill yourself sooner? You already knew the solution! There are powerful demons and genius human beings yet you can’t detect someone is hiding around the corner eavesdropping? I thought you could smell their scent from a mile away! Plot logic becomes secondary (or sacrificed) when the drama focuses so much on the characters and making them look good. A good drama must be able to balance both plot and character development. Even if you can’t balance it well, it can’t be so lopsided.

3. Close-up/Camera angles
I complimented on how beautiful this drama is. But if you repeatedly show me a close-up look of a pair of attractive eyes every 5 minutes, it becomes really pretentious and fake. The fight scenes are beautifully choreographed but if you give me the slow-mo version of it, it interrupts the flow and the excitement. I don’t need to see them posing when fighting. This drama also loves the fog and wind machines.

4. Non-stop Music
I also complimented the OST, but gosh, the music is overplayed. Song after song, music after music. It doesn’t allow the viewer to decide how to feel in silence, but manipulates my feelings with the non-stop music. I counted one scene (one conversation between the leads) when 2 songs + 2 more instrumental music were played non-stop! At times, the music is so loud that I could barely hear what the actors are saying. I really don’t need the fight song being played at every single battle, no matter how cool it is.

5. Romance
Disappointing main romance. I enjoy the initial bickering between Zhao Yuan Zhou and Wen Xiao. A battle of wits and sarcasm! But then, not much happened and not enough chemistry or longing looks. It was boring. I had more fun watching the guest roles suffer in their forbidden love than or sad romance than the main leads.


OK, if you are a fan, don’t hate me. Go back and read what I like before throwing stones at me. LOL🤣 I will still recommend "Fangs of Fortune" because it’s a well-acted darker story with a good-looking cast, beautiful cinematography and likable characters. If you are a big fan of character development, you will enjoy this. But if you are like me and can’t stop your brain from noticing plot holes and things you don’t like, you might have a harder time enjoying this.


Completed: 11/27/2024 - Review #521

Leia Mais

value to watch

VERY VERY different from Red moon.
Red moon very slow and bore ,I quiet at ep5.

this love in pavillian very good actor,actress ,value to watch ,strong recommend to watch.

strong costume ,music, stroy.
chemist between main role
and support role vety good.

Rating must 10 or more.
and i can't wait for next episode
and next trilogy.

I pay iqiyi vip member to wařch🐭🐭🐭.
***************************************************************************************************************************************************

Leia Mais

Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge is a drama with not a lot of sticking power. That does not mean I didn’t like it. It has some really good episodes but overall it didn’t leave me with that joyful feeling of watching something great. It didn’t leave me feeling a little sad it was over.

The writing was uneven. There was a fun supernatural element along with the premise of 4 flower boys living in a mansion and charged with turning a goth girl into a lady. The friendships were portrayed nicely and the love story was cute. Some episodes were good. But some were just bad. The last one left me cold, with a twist I did not like.

The acting was uneven. Some gave pretty good performances. Kamenashi Kazua was a standout. But he’s been pretty good in the three dramas I have seen. Oomasa Aya was good as the girl who loves blood and skulls and death. The others were a little choppy but I got passed it because I liked the friendship between the four boys.

I think I have seen too many really stellar dramas to fall in love with this one. But having mentioned the negative things let me mention a few things that I liked: I loved the relationship development between Kyohei and Sunako. They truly had some very funny moments together and some very touching and cute ones as well. I liked how fast he came to accept her even if he took a long time to sort out his feelings. Sunako truly had some fun/funny personality quirks. The dynamic of friendships in the house between everyone was enjoyable and kept me watching until the end. I loved that house! I want it!

The music was forgettable except for one little detail: The bar/café they frequent has a very fun detail, almost easter egg to watch for. I’m not going to spoil it here but watch closely. Once you figure it out…It’s very fun to keep your eye out for.

The rewatch value is low for me. I probably won’t watch this again.
This is a cute drama…it has it’s value and it’s place. If you like supernatural elements in dramas and a cute love story, this is one drama you may like.

Leia Mais

Love - CURSE or FATE ?

This review also contains the thoughts I had while watching since they were too precious to be removed !

Synopsis-
Story revolves around cupid who gets shot by his own arrow and the question that follows is ....will there be a chance for him at love ? Is this finally the end of all the lonely wandering .?
Cha Sang Hyuk or we may call cupid burns his wings after a fateful encounter and ever since then opening up to someone meant death of the person. With a heavy burden to carry he somehow manages till the time of his last metamorphosis ....but "LOVE" has other plans.
Cupid crosses path with Baek Ryun who has never had a shot at love - no strings of fate attached, a girl who falls for cupid himself ....will these star crossed lovers have a happily ever after ?

-- You can pick this up if you are in the mood of a Typical Kdrama with cliches pretty faces , gorgeous scenes and a serial killer background story, this makes a good Fantasy tale ! - do not have high expectations from any segment development and you'll have a good time !

Acting -
I expected so much more from Nana - like she does the comedic relief well enough for me to say she's a good actor but the scenes with emotional depth ..girl lift up your game pls - she did not ,sorry but you are too good for this mediocre acting in the portrayal of someone with zero survival skills lol !
Cupid - Jang dong yoon - IDK why people are saying he's not doing a good job ...or that he has a straight face all the time ...he's not yet at the point of flexing his emotions ...he needs to have a cover ...IDK but I really enjoy myself seeing him on screen to me he's doing quite a good job imo...
SML - I like him - tbh more than the acting I like his perspective towards FL ...that she's cool more than just being attracted to her beauty !
He's doing a great job but I don't feel Second lead syndrome just yet ....so it's cupid and nana ship ❤️ which I very much hope sails !

MY PERSPECTIVE - MILD SPOILERS (will avoid direct ones) --
To some FL's character seems desperate and childish - to me it's more like it's her very first shot at love, seeing the people you wished have the best of everything ,get hurt bec they are with you is really heartbreaking after that if she clings on to someone who doesn't , that's not very pathetic ...it's more human to me ! wanting the person all for herself and getting a bit jealous it's okay to me ...reasonable but debatable at the same time! tho I do not find it annoying !

I love the fact that she was given choices and she chose to fall for ML and not really bec he was able to live bec at the back of mind she always knew that someone would pop up on the 1000th time and she wanted it to be ML she prayed for him means she knew she had a choice. I really like that point.

I don't know why the god of fate (I assume )- is being such a meanie ...like come on lift that shot from ML if you can why just appear randomly and go - I won't set you up with anyone ...we already know that ...just leave cuz you annoying me ! or else atleast tell me what's the metamorphosis criteria ? when does it happen ? what are the rules ? and why are the other 3 being punished? why is that fairy converting into dog now and then ....tho it's kinda funny to me but yeah i have questions ...i can't just do with - I won't set you up ! (bec i know you will lol ) - and most annoyingly that's all we had to settle for !

Also I don't get why FL is being punished ...like cupid shot the arrow what did she do ? - except for being drunk all the time !
also what's with her acting all so brave - to me it's like so so dumb ...just hand out a message there are 2 people literally running all around to protect you and you just go around being ...no imma go alone ...like wth ?

The surgery scene was so not done well ...like don't they cut hairs or something before the surgery ? I am not a med student but I just thought that they do ...(ignore if I am dumb )

the second half has been a bit of disappointment with that dumb surgery, too much screen time for dumb side characters (yep i hate them ) and more than that I don't care what happens to them. EP 11 and still that side character fairy is making a fool outta himself and been given so much screen time ...aaahhhh !

My guesses - The other three fairies are allowed to date because they didn't shoot themselves like they did not have a cupid arrow. Now if the cupid's arrow was directed to himself bec of someone else it could be a punishment for maybe trying to set someone up who does not have a string of fate. - one of these was wrong and I seem to hate their explanation that it was just some random kid god fooling around for no reason. - I still don't know anything about metamorphosis and their past life memories are coming back without an explanation on top of everything is extremely annoying !
-- i feel sorry for myself for expecting so much from this show !

finally some development still they are hung up upon that dumb side character fairy but i liked this ep it had a scene where they show us not everyone can burn wings and they have finally mentioned metamorphosis tho I still don't know why he has to suffer that but okay atleast they talk about it ...now it's more like I have started to look for positives and I am enjoying less than I previously did !
-0.5 to reach 7 ! lets hope for a good season finale !

The season finale was a good closure with a lot of character development for everyone !! - including the god of fate lol
The mystery definitely fell flat, but then this isn't a police procedural anyway. I wanted to have some endings for the other fairies too. In the end, they played it a bit too much to the FL's remembering about past lives.
And why the fu*k did they not bother explaining any fairy insights like metamorphosis, dog conversion - does the writer think all the viewers are fairies ...awww that's too cute to be REAL !
-------------------------------------------------------

also for the people who are like ...there's a serial killer on the loose ....guys chill sit back it's not a thriller ...so they won't be going around all the time finding the killer ...like pls pls ...RELAX ! - also you must suffer from amnesia if you can't remember these things are common.!
PS. the crime part overstayed its welcome (by a lot).

Conclusion -
I am enjoying myself and I absolutely like to spend my time around dramas like this ....so yeah I would suggest you pick this up if in the mood for a light watch ! Fantasy with adorable leads and amazing cinematography are a must watch aren't they !

will edit once i've completed the show - till then
Let me enjoy these cuties on my screen ! and you guy's breathe !

Leia Mais