Reviews

More than meets the eye

I have never really written a review of a drama before, I didn't even have an account on this website but created one only just so I could leave a review of this incredible drama.

In the beginning I didn't have too high expectations. I never watched "My Ambulance", but I heard so much buzz about BKPP and it made me interested.
To start off, the whole drama is so aesthetically pleasing! It has this very gorgeous yellow filter throughout the episodes and it makes it feel so much more dreamier. I'm a big fan of cinematography and I ended up LOVING the cinematography in this specific drama. Another thing that made me adore this drama was that it uses a lot of symbolism/metaphors and I really like knowing things can have a deeper meaning that just what meets the eye.

The storylines were so well-thought and executed in such a gorgeous way. I also watched the documentary to this drama and you can see how talented Billkin and PP are in terms of shooting emotional scenes. This is honestly the first Thai BL that I've been so in love with when it comes to the script and production. I also love the fact that this show was recorded in Phuket. FINALLY A CHANGE OF SCENERY!

In the drama they portray Teh as someone who might be a bit selfish when it comes to love, but through out the drama you start to notice Teh's storyline is more complex than that. They don't use dialogue when they portray these type of struggles, they usually use metaphors, facial expressions or the cinematography as a way to show how the characters are feeling. For example, I know someone pointed out that Teh was wearing a blue shirt throughout a bunch of scenes, and that was solely because he was feeling sad. Blue represents sadness.

I like that in this drama they didn't try to make it that simple as you can see in most Thai BLs. Not that is has to be hard, but they actually portrayed the emotions in such a powerful way and I personally think other Thai BLs miss out on this.

I have so much more to say about this drama, but I don't want to spoil it all too much for people that have yet to watch it. I really recommend this drama if you're into metaphors, cinematography, a beautiful storyline and if you like to get emotional almost every episode.
I'm excited for part 2 next year!

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It's 4 episodes if you skip all the walking.

This show left me in a state of complete confusion. What happened? How did it happen? Who approved it? At some point, I was 5 episodes in and I could not comprehend how there are 3 episodes left. How dumb will they make the characters to fill that screen time?

I’m not kidding when I say nothing made sense. The investigation was laughable - the worst I have ever seen in any drama. The killer was just mediocre and was able to kill for so long only because everyone else was so dumb. The male lead… I don’t even want to talk about him. Each and every choice he made was making me question my sanity. Not to mention Bae Tae Jin who was there to add “spice” to the typical story, but failed to do so.

I am honestly impressed by how bad this show was. It can fool you during the first 2 episodes - they are generic, but not tragic. How fast it changes though. The longer you watch, the dumber it gets. Protect your brain, don’t watch it. And if you like to suffer like me, at least don’t binge watch it. Your brain could fry.

The characters don’t even share one brain cell. There are no brain cells being used by anyone in this show. Zero brain cells. Negative brain cells energy. Basically a black hole for brain cells.

Sure, the acting was goodish, the production itself was not bad. But no amount of technical aspects being done well can save this project.

Overall, why does it exist?

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At first, i thought it was just some kind of drama that is focused on humor, humor, and humor. Because you will always find yourself laughing in their very effortless comedy-act, and the master-disciple relationship. Those scenes are really epic for me! HAHA!
But then, as I continue watching the entire series, I never thought it is very unpredictable and satisfying at the same time. XU KAI is the best for me. Not only he is handsome; but he really did a great job in here. He made the drama a whole lot better. And also kudos to other actors and actresses. WELL DONE! :)

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Okay,so when i first started this drama i instantly fell in love. The plot was funny and the characters were absolutely brilliant. The cast really fit like a glove so i thought this was going to be one of my fav dramas of 2018. But as the story progressed,things got slower?
I don't really know how to describe the feeling. But it was like the writers were just writing episodes because they had to. Certain plot developments were extremely frustrating.
And one character in particular got me ANNOYED from the first episode to the last. The mother acted like a spoiled child and i wasn't really having it. She treated everyone like a slave. SO ANNOYING. It really made me give this drama a lower rating just because of that. I don't think the writers could've done a worst job with her,she had too much screen time.

BUT i still finished the drama with a big smile on my face. I can't give it a bad rating because the chemistry between Junho and Ryeo Won was flawless and the rest of the characters made my heart jump. Also,the bromance,OH MAN,the bromance was so cute. Perhaps the ending was a bit incomplete but i didn't really mind it. I was expecting that to happen when i realised they had to cut 2 episodes because of the world cup.

Overall,it has a lot of food porn for you to feast your eyes on and the relationships are hella cute.

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Pesky Details That Ruin It All

This drama had the potential to be so much more than it turned out to be, and I am highly annoyed about it...but it's still a good drama.

The first quarter of the drama was great. The world-building and tension between the characters paid off in every scene. Plus they had good pacing. The episodes were designed in a "problem of the week" format which helped with the pacing. This was done masterfully. It was engaging and kept the audience on their toes. We got exposed to all of the characters and events in a very natural easy flowing way. From start, I was enamored with the ML and FL. The two had a funny and entertaining love-hate (or more like love-annoyed by) romantic vibe and it drove the plot along. They both had an amazing background story way before it got revealed later that they were a prince and a princess of their own respective feudal kingdoms. I must say, I was very surprised by Yang Yang and Zhao Lusi's chemistry. It wasn't on the same level as the chemistry between Yang Yang and Dilraba in "You are my glory", but I think it's because that's how the script was written (historical romance can sometimes come off as stiff because of PDA restrictions but the actors made do with what they got). He does "distracted puppy lover" really well. The way he is both highly annoyed by her and in love with her, and would just follow her everywhere hearts shooting out of his eyes. Everyone could see that he was so in love with her because he would act so out of character when she is in question, except for him. Meanwhile, she is totally oblivious. Ugh...so good!

Then we start getting issues with repetitions. It's not that the plot dragged but more like it started to feel formulaic. It wasn't the worst, to be honest, because we still got exposed to new plot points that pushed the plotline along. It's just that it started to feel like ML and FL were invincible and there were no issues that they could not solve...and like...how realistic is that? ML did get knocked down real badly at some point. But then the script demanded that he regain all of his power in the most convenient way possible (he ate some magical flower that was growing in some old dude's sleeves for decades or something). So a few scenes like those did not pay off because of how easy the solutions were. Still, stellar acting, thus, the "really?!" moments were tolerable.

My two biggest issues with this drama reside in the way ML learns that FL was a "princess" in disguise...don't hold your breath, because we never get to learn how or when he "guessed" it. He just tells us and her "yeah I know" aaaaand that was it. That was so very frustrating because it felt like such a cop-out. One of the reasons we respect and love this dude is because he is so devoted to the FL despite not knowing that she is from a certain pedigree. He chose her over everything and everyone every single time. Even when everything and everyone in his life was pressuring him to pick someone who could be more beneficial for his goal to "Rule the world." So that was an important distinction between him and two other characters. BUT!!!...but they ruined that lovely feeling because we the audience and the FL will never really know if he actually "picked her" over the others despite her being a martial art vagabond or did he guess much earlier on than we thought and he was just being conniving as usually? Well, We will never know.

The second issue I had is with the ending...which also feels like a cop-out. So, we as the audience, spend 39 episodes and a half being told that ML is the rightful ruler. No one else would do and it had to be him. That's why so many people were so willing to sacrifice so much and die for him (shit, I sacrificed 40 hours of my life for him). And to be fair, unlike other dramas they gave him a good enough character development and arc to prove why he was the fittest for the throne. He truly cared for "the people" unlike all the other nefarious people from the other kingdoms. It wasn't a case of "Well he is the protagonist and he is handsome." There were other smart, if not smarter people around for the job, but he was the only one who actually cared about the people and wanted to rule with kindness. Like, one of the princes literally killed half of the court and their families because they "talked bad" about him. Like bro...? So you can imagine how frustrating it is when at the last minute THAT PRINCE and his greedy ass wife (and by proxy her crazy-ass dad) get to be the new rulers? Like WHAT?! And it's not like the ending couldn't work, but they spent the whole time proving to us one thing and then suddenly...not?! It feels so hollow. Had they at least spent more time on developing the other dude's character and showing his arc...maaaaaybe it would have worked. Because the way, I see it he is still not fit. Give my man's Yang Yang some Qi from somebody somewhere or some miracle drugs or something because that ish doesn't work bro. I GET why ML decided to drop out of the race, but I don't see why the new emperor deserves to be the one.

But that aside it was a good drama that got bugged down by weird details. Also, I must say, one thing they did very very well, was the dynamic between the kings and their potential heirs. Although the court drama was...typical, I love how they showcased and berated the ML's father at some point for his hubris and jealousy. Like this man was jealous of his own sons. He convinced himself and the audience (to a certain degree) that everything that he did was to keep the peace but really he kept pitting his sons against each other and used them for his own agenda and to keep himself in power. Especially the ML because he felt so inferior to him because unlike ML he is the son of a palace servant and he is not as brilliant. And ultimately that became his biggest mistake and stumbling block. The contrast between that royal family dynamic and FL family dynamic is so striking. It shows why FL turned out to be so well-rounded. She was raised in a kind and loving family. And therefore, she was able to serve as a guide to ML and a lot of people just by being herself...which is why in my opinion she would have made the best emperor even though the ML couldn't rule himself. They built us up for it. Whole-time they kept telling us that there as been female rulers before and they were actually better than their male counterparts...but oh well.

In conclusion, this is not a bad drama to watch if you have 40 hours to spare.

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I will be completely honest and say outright that I watched this drama only because it started Lee Dong Wook. However, this drama is much more than just an actor I love. In fact, several of the other actors have actually done a much better job than him although to be fair, his character was not as nuanced as the others so it wasn't really his fault.
The things I liked about the show was firstly the very realistic plot in a medical drama. Being a medical student myself, it is very difficult to be able to identify with medical dramas in general because there are a lot of inaccuracies and overreactions. But this drama has stayed as close as possible to real life situations in a hospital and the struggles and dilemmas of the medical profession have been portrayed wonderfully. A very important and burning question of privatisation of healthcare has been dealt with in an interesting and realistic way. Another good thing was that they have revealed good and bad people on both sides which is exactly how it works in the world. Nothing is all black or white. That is why it seems so relatable.
However there are some things I did not like in the story plot and this is very important because I haven't found mention of this in any if the reviews. The brother of the lead is paraplegic and his story has been shown in a very depressing light. There is too much pity and sympathy from every person around him as well as a lot of self pity. One one hand it is shown he has worked very hard to overcome his challenges and on the other he is shown to be mentally completely limited by his disability. It doesn't ring true for the character.
Secondly, being a doctor myself, I found it extremely objectionable that both the doctors whose story was focussed on fell in love with people outside their profession. In one scene, LDW's character tells his mother that there is no one in the hospital to date.. all the girls are like Lee No Eul(his best friend for last 15 years) who is a pretty amazing woman actually.
However, notwithstanding a few things I didn't like in the plot, overall it is a good show. Initially it is a little slow paced but after 2 or 3 episodes, interest soon kicks in. Soundtrack is nothing special. The best thing was the acting of the cast. All have done an impeccable job.
Rewatch value is very less. Why would someone want to watch such a heavy drama twice. The most important thing about this is the story, which you will know in one watch itself. However it is a great drama for a one time watch. I came only for my favourite actor but I wasn't disappointed. Stream it.

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HAD Potential

This series HAD the potential to be something so unique and great, but ultimately ends up being confusing and half the time a very boring time to watch through. Good acting, good premise, but ended up being a whole lot of nothing. I feel like if it had more of a time for the stories to develop (e.g 60 minutes long for each) then it could have been a more positive experience.
I'm glad I tried this, as I did like the fresh approach, but I just feel like it could have been better. Although the 6/10 overall rating, I still think everyone should approach this series with an open mind as there is a definite chance that you can love this!

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Profoundly brilliant - what manner of man is this ɿ(･ه･)ɾ

WOW ... . this was a deep and mind blowingly good movie!! It reminded me a little of Blank 13. I thought I was going to watch a bit of a mystery but it turned out to be so much more than the mystery of a dead man's back story. It literally was an existential 'man hunt' ... a hunt for what it is that defines a man ... a person ... a hunt for identity.

This was not apparent to me at first. The movie moved slowly and I wondered why are they going so slow ... hurry up and get to the juicy mystery bits. Then it jumped some years ... and then there were flashbacks ... and I was wondering what the point of it all was ... and then it hit me ... this was not just about "a" man hunt ... but a multiple man hunt and not just for the men but for their identities, both from an external point of view and an internal point of view. The movie then became entirely fascinating for me ... nothing was irrelevant ... the script was so good it allowed a gloriously deep dive into the existential ﾟ:･*･:◝(ᵔ‿ᵔ)◜:*:･ﾟ.

"Identity' ... in one sense it is such a concrete thing and yet in another sense, it is elusive and ever evolving ... before we are even born we are automatically assigned an identity:
▪ identity from genetics of your biological parents
▪ identify from the time of your birth e.g. before/after marriage; the year / month / day
▪ identity from the order of your birth compared to your siblings ... even the order of birth of your parents in the broader family context
▪ identity from the geographical place of birth ... even the place of birth of your ancestors e.g. born in Japan but your great grandparents were Korean ...
▪ identity from race
▪ identify from culture
▪ identity from your gender
▪ identity from social institutions e.g. the school you went to, the religion you have, the occupation you have; the clubs you belong to; the music you listen to; the hobbies you have
▪ identity from your physical body - the 'perfectness' of it or the 'imperfectness' of it; who/what you look like ... I am the splitting image of my father ... you look like a Korean etc
▪ identity from your state of mind - sane / not sane; smart; stupid;
▪ identity from what your parents do/are - son of a murderer, daughter of a prostitute, son of a doctor etc
▪ identity from where you live, what you wear, the food you eat
▪ identity from your experiences - parenthood; singleness; military service etc
▪ the identity that others assign to you - "hurry up and go back to your 'old self'"
▪ the identity that you think you are ... or should be ... or want to be ...

"Identity" ... so abstract and yet it is such a very heavy thing ... a blessing in its inclusiveness and yet also a weapon of separation and destruction ... something innate and yet something thrust upon you without consent ... what choice do you have with it ... how much of it can you mold and how much of it do you just have to accept as is ... can you escape from it and thereby escape to a different way of life, a different way of being ... how many times have we modified our personality throughout our lives without even knowing ... how did we do that ... is it necessarily a bad thing (˙_˙)ゞ.

I loved the scripting ... as well as the symbolic imagery used throughout ... and the clues that were set up right from the beginning. I liked the different perspectives of a person's identity given from the children to the adults, to friends and family of the main characters ... even to that of strangers. It was very nicely done and the actors did it credit. The scripting was so loaded ... so mind blowingly good. For me this movie is definitely rewatchable. As for the score ... I got so consumed with the story line and all the thoughts that that generated in my mind, I don't even remember the score of the movie ... but I gave it a 10 anyway because whatever it was, it did not detract from the story line at all.

The final scene showing Kido's back as he looked at that painting ... profound. A brilliant movie ... I loved it.

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A story filled with running & much more.

If I could pick one word to describe this drama, I would choose wholesome.

It’s a wonderful story about a group of boys who take on the world of running and make a name for themselves. There isn’t any excessive enemies or characters that standout to be an obstacle. It seemed as if every character had their story to tell and I really think each story was developed at a nice and steady pace. The drama itself is mainly healing.

If I could say one thing as a negative, I would probably say the episode length. It’s a great plot that deserved longer episodes.

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An amalgamation of almost anything

Well, i was glad i have found a drama with short episodes (unlike many, I appreciate shorter productions)
It's technically a low-budget drama, so don't get your hopes up.
Each episode is only less than 10 minutes.
The ML is hot (yeah I might be biased)
The FL is not that bad, but the writers decided to treat her like shit the whole time. I think the writer decided to go deep inside being abusive and degrading, to the point that it's unbelievable.
There is not much side story going on. The story had potential in my opinion, but it wasn't depicted decently.

If you're looking for a drama to pass time, This if for you, yet beware. *SPOILER* : The ending sucks big time. More than that, the story doesn't even seem finished to me.

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A very intersting story of power, deceit, family, and love.

I approached with series with a little bit of apprehension about the story line. I tooka few episodes to get into it; however, once I did it was gripping. It was an interesting story and you hold on right to the last half hour to see how everything turns out. But, well worth the watch.
Particular credit must be given to Kim Hye Soo for her excellent protrayal of a Queen who values and protects her family, her hisband (the King), the people she comes in contact with, and the country. Kim Hye Soo was excellent in this role.
Also worthy of mention is Oh Ye-ju as Yoon Cheong Ha. As a relatively new actress, she was excellent in her part. Bubbly, energetic, empathetic, and in-love she brought light and energy to every scene she was in. I suspect we will see much more of her.
And, this a bit of a spoiler, the cameo appearance by Jung Ji-hoon (Rain) in a scene with Yoon Cheong Ha was entertaining and fun. Oh Ye-ju is an actress under Rain's agency and it is said that his cameo was in support of his actress.

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You have to be in the right mood to enjoy this

If you're in the mood for something cosy and comforting, then you'll love this. It's ideal if you just want to relax and watch an easy slice-of-life show with delicious without worrying about any drama. The costumes, food and setting in general all look amazing.

However, there's also a risk that you'll be completely bored. There is essentially no plot in the show, over the course of nine episodes almost nothing happens. There is also no tension or conflict in the show, everyone is friends and they always agree with each other. There's never any barriers in their way or difficulties to be overcome. There's no suggestion that cooking for a large household is difficult or that you might ever have frustrations with your job or housemates (or even how Kiyo became as good as a professional chef). Instead, there's a level of constant smiling and laughing that you normally only see in propaganda.

Oddly enough, it doesn't show much about the life of a maiko, so it's vague about how they actually earn a living. How do they entertain these much older men? What if they have a difficult client or someone they don't enjoy talking to? Are there challenges with maintaining such a traditional lifestyle in the modern age?

The show would be much more interesting had it grappled with these questions instead of presenting it as an almost perfect world where everyone is always happy and nothing ever goes wrong. Success is most enjoyable when it feels earned.

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Went in with no expectations, thank goodness!

So, I've been watching so many crappy shows with little plot, bad acting and lacklustre endings so having stumbled upon this show was a blessing.

The story starts off really well with an intriguing mystery. The way the mystery was handled was well-done. It wasn't that hard to guess the murderer, but the flow of the story was really good. I liked a lot of characters in the show, especially the FL. She carried this show for me. She was strong, had principles and wasn't afraid of anything! The ML was also well written. I liked that he was more of a supporting presence (minus episode 14/15 where he did a 180 that seemed really out of character for him). It's so unique to see a ML who isn't dominating the story progression as is the case with so many lakorns, and the females just enduring through the story. The FL/ML also had amazing chemistry. I was rooting for them the whole show and I would have liked to see way more of their interactions.

My only gripes with this show is the ending kind of was very mellow. We have everyone forgiving everyone and a little bit of a reconciliation between leads in the last few moments of the show. i would've liked to see more of the main couple. Also, episodes 14/15 were horrible. I really didn't like the u-turn the ML did and how the FL was fighting an uphill battle even when evidence was presented to the police. I get that the caption had a bias, but it was really annoying to see him talk down to the FL like he had some sort of moral high ground to judge her as a murderer when she's been cooperating with the police (with a lot of attitude, which was well deserved due to the police bias), isn't a fly risk, and the only thing pointing to her as a murderer is her own admission which was done under extenuating circumstances where she was kidnapped and was about to be killed. How could that be admissible as evidence?!

Lastly, I think the overarching theme of women being devalued and their misery being overlooked by society in general and not being believed by people was a really hard-hitting point. The fact that everyone ignored all the warning signs of abuse, which led to the death of the sister shows that our society has a long way to go. More shows need to shed light on this topic, especially in lakorns where we see so much abuse to women that it's become trivialized. I've been guilty of watching slap/kisses, but I've realized that I enjoy shows with intimacy. The reason slap/kisses are so appealing to me is because they get really intimate scenes between leads and it creates more dynamic stories as apposed to vanilla shows. it's sad that so many of these slap/kisses can be turned into willing and still get the point across instead of having to reset to physical assault to show intimacy between main leads.

All in all, this was a delightful drama, one which I'll probably be visiting again in a few years time for a rewatch since Ioved the chemistry and the mystery unfolding in the show. I would be really intrigued if the main couple has another show. I've never watched either of them as main leads and I've grown to really like both their acting.

Bonus points: the SFL wasn't a complete b*tch and was actually supportive of the FL once the truth came to light! I hate shows that have females fighting over men like they're b*tches in heat and their only value is through the men in their life. Both Fl/SFL cared about their careers and valued their work and friendship. Kudos to the writers for letting women have discussions that aren't only about men!

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When you get down to it, this movie is pretty predictable even if you haven't read the manga. It has its share (probably more so) of Important Life Lessons. The acting is a bit over the top, and this movie is a bit on the crazy side.
But it was pretty entertaining.
Story: At the end of the Ouran drama, we were left with the cliffhanger of Haruhi and Tamaki's romantic feelings for each other. Therefore, I expected this movie to focus on that. That's why I was surprised when I was wrong. The Ouran Movie had less to do with Tamaki and Haruhi's relationship and more to do with family and the friendships you form. I really enjoyed how all the characters became much more developed in this movie than in the drama. In the drama, it felt like the writers were rushing past all the characterization just to get into the story. Here, it felt like the writers took a step back and let the characters lead them. I loved how they were all so different but united by the fact that they created *this* family for themselves, and would do anything to protect it. The first half of this movie has a similar mood to the drama. It's over-the-top humorous and light. The second half deals more with the aforementioned Important Life Lessons, but still manages to retain its charm. Overall, the story is predictable, but it's a nice sort of predictable.
Acting: I mentioned this in my review of the drama, but I am *really* glad that Yamamoto Yusuke isn't afraid to look ridiculous. Because let's face it, his character is pretty much the epitome of all thing crazy. I felt that Kawaguchi Haruna was a nice fit for her role as Haruhi. She had the clueless look down pat and was really good at portraying the straightforward yet dense character we all know and love. Her stellar performance grounded the rest of the crazy characters, acting as an anchor for all their personalities. Haruhi is the most down-to-earth member of the host club, and I was glad that she pulled it off. Daito Shunsuke was pretty awesome as Kyoya, with his evil laugh and poker face. However, I really loved Ryusei Ryo as he played Nekozawa. It was hilarious every time Nekozawa popped up with his cat-puppet... thing. Not to mention the way Ryo spoke. That itself got a smile from me.
Music: Meh. I don't pay attention to music unless I want it on my iPod. I barely noticed the music in Ouran, so take that as you will.
Rewatch Value: This movie was hilarious. Who wouldn't rewatch it simply for all the times Tamaki is thrown against the wall by kanji letters?
Overall: I feel a little sad that this will be the last we'll see of this cast portraying all the host club members, but at the same time I'm glad that this movie successfully tied everything together. True, the end was a little open, but I think that was the point. It was to show us that the host club members still weren't done with their lives, and that they still had so much more to accomplish.

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