Reviews

First Love is to Die For!!!

As in the review is literally just like the title

anyone experience first love, during their younger years, don't lie,
some part of your conscience still cannot forget your first love.

Lets talk about the Story
12 episode is short but it conveys the directors and actors perception of the story, eerie questions fly into one's mind
Pre Mission
will this mission help me get close to my wife family?
will this mission benefit me?
will this mission help bring justice?
will this mission increase my net worth to provide for my wife?
During Mission
what's happening?
Am i going too far?
Protecting my wife is my priority?
what happened to me?
is this still part of the mission?
Post Mission
Will we be able to go back we were before?
Why are you on his side crying?
Is this the result of going to deep in the mission?
Do I still want to protect you?
questions asked by the ML is happening in today's environment, even in South Korea, a very realistic approach on the story. The 5 deadly sins is also heavily conveyed into one worst of somebody (you got envy, you got greed, you got wrath, you got gluttony, you got pride).

Lets talk about the Cast
a good cast, each character held its own, never new that the SFL is her first drama in south korea, and she got the lines and looks, now the about the title, FL and SML, they portrait that the first love is to die for really well, ML conveys the character pretty well, and its happening on all police officers. Chief and the Violent Crimes Detective, an example of do anything at all cost, supporting role cast filled in the shoes really well,.

Lets talk about OST
OST is not the strongest part of this series, the ending OST is intense, the good thing is they did not insert any cheesy ost here
all business,.

Rewatch Value
Yes, this is one of the top 20 pyschological thriller genre of all time, globally
for south korea, its top 3, number 1 and 2 for me is still "I saw the Devil" and "Through the Darkness"


now, does your wives, best friend, lover, have a first love from their past that you don't know about?
its gonna eat you and a good start of argument.

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Simple, sweet, and lighthearted

A simple story about a boy who had a crush on another and fell in love as they got closer and became friends. There's a little backstory about Amane as to why he acts like that. I understand Ryuji's struggle to express himself and how he feels.

I like how Ryuji handled Amane's confession. He takes the confession seriously and gives it a lot of careful consideration. He never ran away and always took Amane seriously and listened to him. They have good communication and no misunderstandings throughout the series. Their love story is so simple yet lovable.

The actors did a great job portraying their characters. I'll definitely be rewatching this.

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Hotel Del Luna started off as something dark, mysterious, fascinating and glamorous. Episode 1 was an amazing watch which got me hooked on this show. The music, fashion and acting were stellar. However as the story progresses, the first few episodes were mainly content with few scenes of romance, while towards the ending, we get many scenes of romance without much content. I find that it doesn't balance out too well for me.

I came from watching Absolute Boyfriend starring Yeo Jin Goo, and he was very well suited for that role. In HDL, his character doesn't have much progression, just mostly acting like a wimp and then being brave and manly (Yeo Jin Goo's acting is in fact really good, and it is somewhat a waste for him to portray Ku Chan Seong). IU's character on the other hand, had much more to portray, and I must say, she is the best person to act out Jang Man Weol. The small details such as eye contact and also the instances of being hilarious while putting on a straight face is something IU does very well.

Halfway through this series, I rated it a 9, and after completing it, dropped it to 8.5. There is much more to be developed, such as the backgrounds of the other hoteliers and how Hotel Del Luna came to be what it is today. All these were briefly explained, which I feel didn't make the cut, as some of them like Ji Hyun Joong and Kim Sunbae have interesting stories behind them which were poorly developed. There was a lack of romance/chemistry between the two main leads, such that my favorite couple has to go to Hyun Joong and Yoo Na.

The story is mostly simple, but at the start, there are many random introductions of ghosts with again, poorly developed storylines. The first 2 episodes were really solid, but somehow thereafter the series became lackluster. It was only with IU's acting, the OST and the cinematography that the drama was somewhat saved. On an overall, Hotel Del Luna is a breath of fresh air from mainstream K-dramas, intriguing and breathtaking at times. However, I give this a low rewatch value as it does not impress. Hotel Del Luna is something special and unique, only that if you are expecting a strong story plot, it might have fell short.

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Very Overrated

The story is extremely slow. Nothing actually happens. the length could be restricted to max 3 episodes even with fillers.
I think there was a vague concept of how unchecked human desires cause to become monsters (in various senses). But it was not touched upon, at all. There was close to no plot in the show. Everyone was just trying not to get killed. ML's backstory is touched upon a bit, we see the BEGINNING of a character arc towards the end of the show. The whole concept of why ML is special is because he literally has no thoughts, cause his mental health was already very bad, before the pandemic/acopolypse hit. So he doesnt have desires. So he cant turn into a monster. (like go crazy and kill other people)
And reading on the reviews of the following seasons, i gathered that s1 is actually one of the better seasons.
So im gonna stop here.
Theres nothing sweet about this home. It not even homely..
All the side characters (almost all) are killed. Even the ones with interesting backstories and possibilities of role in the story arc.

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Great concept but needs longer episodes

The whole storyline is honestly really unique, I already knew that I would like the show when I read the title. Everything hooked me in, but there was a huge problem due to the shortness of the episodes. There wasn’t enough time for it to develop the relationship properly and made the couple more revolved around the concept of them being a mono and a prove, or the plot of the missing mom. I also felt that the characters fell short for me, they could’ve had some more personality to them, but maybe that’s also because of the short episodes. Overall, great concept, amazing OST (plus where the heck is the music for the color rushes,) cool visual effects, and pretty good acting.

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My FIRST Kdrama let down!

I wasn't going to write a review of Start Up because I felt that I might be too negative. After reading some reviews, it appears that others saw the same flaws that I did.
Start Up started strong and looked great for first 2 / 3s of drama. Then started a downward spiral that left me totally baffled. It that surrounded the relationship development of main characters. By last few episodes I found it painful to watch. At the end, I was totally disappointed. For me, that was mainly around the final development of the main character relationship.
The problem? Bae Suzy's character degenerates into a helpless school girl character and ends up with the wrong guy. It's a matter of opinion; however, the 'other' love option was much more sincere and dedicated in his love FOR Base Suzy.
Bae Suzy was great; however, the writing for her character was awful.
I would be remiss if I did not mention that Stephanie Lee was great in her role. Beautiful, fun, and funny.
If there was a season 2 of Start Up??? Personally, I wouldn't waste one minute on it.
Absolutely my FIRST Kdrama let down.

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Friendship, Love, misunderstanding

This drama flow through Friendship, Love, misunderstanding
If we cut the misunderstand portions from this drama this drama finished under 24 episodes
Main strength of this drama is multi star casting most of the actor and actors are well familiar
I like all the actor and actors in this drama
Dylan Wang ----he delivers mass and stylish acting in this drama
Bai Lu-- As usual she delivers very cute and promising acting
Wei Zhe Ming----he also As usual acting in medium screen time [ in meantime i'm watching I MAY LOVE YOU Its excellent ]
Jiang Pei Yao----she no words to describe outstanding
All the leads and their actings in love scenes chemistry is woww
Overall i love this drama i hope you are all also enjoy it thanking you
If you like---- Wei Zhe Ming ----you can watch this drama I MAY LOVE YOU it's really superb

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2gther folllws Tine who is being approached romantically by Green, and to get rid of him he ends up asking Sarawat to fake date him. A pretty simple plot, which is not a bad thing when is done well and this series does it. The main reason this series shines is because of the spectacular work of the cast, from the leads to the supporting cast. The supporting cast was excellent throughout the series, they were really a joy to see even when the leads weren't on screen.

Still it is the leads who really make this show shine, both are so good in their roles. Even with the lack of experience acting they did great. This lack of experience you could tell in scenes that required more emotion, bit that's just being nitpicky since there was not an explicit scene where you could say there was bad acting involved.

The one thing that did bother me were the last couple of episodes, it really felt like the series was 2 episodes too long. The last 3 episodes compared to earlier episodes weren't as good, and the last episode also felt a bit dissapointing. Overall this was such a fun and cute story to watch that I really would reccomend to anyone. With the popularity of the show it wouldn't surprise me that fans will wish for a second season, but the reality is most times the sequel to a really excellent series is as good. Instead it wishing a second season I would just wish to see both actors get even more acting projects in the future.

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I didn't expect that I really liked this drama.

I watched this drama when it was on-going until episode 15 and then I stopped because it was a little boring, BUT after the drama finished I just continued watching again AND IT WAS VERY GOOD!!!!

In my opinion, the cgi and editing are not too bad for a xianxia drama which only took about 8 months to air since the last shooting. Again and again, there is no need to doubt Zhao Lusi's chemistry with his co-stars, I fell in love at first sight with Wang Anyu's good looks and acting here. I love the music, some of it is sung live by Lusi and Anyu, they are very talented!

I won't talk too much about the plot, there are too many painful things that ultimately lead to death because this is xianxia drama. I like their acting which can bring the audience's feelings into the storyline.

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Story

Something About 1 Percent (also known as 1% of Anything) is a 2016 South Korean romantic comedy that takes a classic "fake relationship" trope and injects it with a healthy dose of humor, family drama, and heartwarming moments. Buckle up for a review of this charming series!

The Plot:

Lee Jae-in, the arrogant grandson of a wealthy conglomerate, needs to get married to inherit his grandfather's fortune. Enter Kim Da-hyun, a kind-hearted elementary school teacher who becomes the unlikely candidate for a six-month contract marriage. As they navigate their pretend romance, sparks fly, secrets unfold, and both must confront their true feelings.

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- First thing first... the Bonnie and Clyde vibe got me entirely hooked up. PERFECT...
- The theme song became my ringtone and alarm too. <3
+ + +
- Episode 1 & 2 was perfect according to me, to build up the adrenaline rush among the viewers. These two episodes made me realize that I am way too punctual and responsible to live a life like them but thb Oh Jisoo inspired me a lot to............ study... :-)
- Episode 3 through 7-8 ... it was meeehhh for me.
- Episode 9 gave me all the gore that I wanted and expected (I expected a lot more thought). And also gave me a good laugh and fair share of pain too.
- Episode 10 ... the BEST. In short, perfectly satisfied with the ending.
+ + +
- I adored the 'Grandfather'. He was my fave. Both in action and mystery department.
- Loathed Minhee. She was too weak, cute and annoying for her own good.
- Wanted to beautifully punch the 'smiling b*tch'
+ + +
I think that's all... But trust me YOU MUST WATCH THIS DRAMA.
And in the future I wish to get a partner like either Oh Jisoo or Bae Gyuri.

Thank you,
Maaya

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Xu Kai's main character Li Xuan, I can't say enough about Xu Kai, I have already said a lot in his previous dramas. I just love him! Wu Jia Yi's main character Su You Lian is Not my first time seeing her either. I love how Su You Lian caused so much trouble and fell in love at the same time. I love the strong woman character she played. I love seeing this actress. Zhou Jun Chao support plays the character, Xiao Feng Ming, wow did he play one heck of a mean demon for being a puppet? I was impressed. Li Jun Chen who played Yu Feng Mu Lord have mercy, I couldn't keep my eyes off his eyes. What beautiful eyes! wow. His acting was very good and calm.

The storyline was awesome. The visuals were phenomenal! I love the underwater storyline. I love the martial arts and the fight scenes with all the fantasies of magic. Sometimes I wish we lived in that type of world. The story writer to great in this storyline. All the actresses/actors, stand-ins, and extras made this story happen. Thanks to all the production team, makeup, costumes, and structure sets... THANK YOU!

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VERY short of...........everything

Story
The story was...there. I only wish they had more episodes and it would have been a lot better. Like I wish there was more with Gun and the Pamrak. I don't know if I spelled his name right. Anyway I understand that they were struggling because of Covid but I wish they would have just posted it later. Mostly because I am a quality over quantity person.

Acting/Cast
The chemistry like most of the En of Love series was just there. It wasn't fantastic but it wasn't horrible. Both of the leads definitely have potential and I hope to see them in another show soon. They did seem a little awkward with each other at first but that did change.

Music
Personally the music for the En of Love series just didn't do it for me. I don't know it didn't give me the feels like others do.

Overall
This show gets a lot of hate and of course I nitpicked the hell out of it but overall it was fantastic. Please watch it and support Studio Wabi Sabi.

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