As I like to do with my reviews, I'll start off with the main characters.
We have Jin Pal Gang. She starts off as a frivolous woman who works only to buy designer bags and clothing. To be frank, she just doesn't care about anything else and has been fixated on a man named Won Kang Ha (our male lead) for the past 5 years. Her home life is rowdy as she lives with her parents and FIVE adoptive siblings. Each of them, starting with Pal Gang, is named after a color. Pal Gang (Red), Ju Hwang (Orange), Norang (Yellow), Cho Rok (Green), Parang (Blue), and the baby Nami (Indigo).
Pal Gang is an insurance agent and is the lowest performer in the nation... I wonder why? As was stated above she doesn't really care much about improving herself and only goes to work to pick up a paycheck and spend it all in one day. But here is where her character changes for the better. After her parents tragically die in a car accident, Pal Gang is forced to grow up and mature REAL fast. After being forced out of her home with her five siblings, their only choice is to roam the streets and search for places to stay with the little money they have left.
Pal Gang, to me, is probably one of the most admirable characters in the drama. She could have dumped all of her siblings in an orphanage and live her life however she wanted. But she doesn't. Probably one of the most touching scenes in the drama is when she starts to cut off her hair in a public bathroom and says to herself "You're no longer a woman. You're a mother now." And she sticks to that and becomes a real elder sister/mother to the five kids.
Here we go to Won Kang Ha. You're not gonna like him at all in the beginning. He's a jerk. Kang Ha works in the same company as Pal Gang as an insurance lawyer. One thing you'll notice right away is that he's very cold hearted towards women and you'll see the reason why later on in the drama. The only person he loves and cares for is his younger brother Joon Ha even though he doesn't show it and seems distant towards him. Kang Ha is a man with many past emotional scars he keeps hidden. He puts up a barrier in front of everyone he comes across which pretty much says "Leave me alone".
Kang Ha is forced to be social and accepting when Pal Gang comes along to work as a maid in his house along with her five siblings. At first, they are hidden from him but of course he finds out. At first, he's ready to throw them out of his house believing that he is actually doing them a service by not giving Pal Gang and the others false hope. Kang Ha does grow a lot as a character and the tension in the atmosphere he gives off eventually goes away.
The real highlight of the drama, at least for myself, was the unexpected friendship between Kang Ha and the little boy Parang. I found Parang to be quite a nuisance in the beginning with his bathroom issues and sleepwalking problems but the kid grew on me and maybe he'll grow on you too. Out of the five siblings, Parang is the only one that calls out Kang Ha on his BS. He tears down the man's anti-social, emotionally scarred barriers. Most people like to dismiss young kids as being naive and dumb. But just like elder people, kids can tell when someone is hiding their true feelings and being stubborn about it.
The supporting characters were somewhat interesting. Joon Ha will have you confused about his true feelings. Tae Gyu (the nephew of Kang Ha and Joon Ha) will offer a lot of laughs with his antics but nevertheless he's a guy with a pure heart. And then Jae Young will have you frustrated and annoyed with her obsession/infatuation with Kang Ha.
The romance between Kang Ha and Pal Gang, I hate to say, was disappointing. Even though the two did share some hostile, funny, and touching moments, I was left disappointed. Why? Because of the many subplots that were honestly unnecessary. A murder mystery, hitman, gangsters... why? The drama would've been a thousand times better if it stuck to developing the romance more and the whole family dynamic that was going on. Also, because of those unnecessary subplots there were some characters that were not given proper closure and left you wondering what happened to them.
Then comes the cliche ending. You know that cliche ending, right? The one where the writers believe that jumping ahead 500 years later will solve all of the problems within the story instead of changing certain situations within the plot or just not adding those situations to begin with.
Overall, I'd say the drama suffered with the writers trying to cram in too many situations in 20 episodes. There were at least 3-5 different ways this drama could've been written but its water under the bridge. To be fair, I did enjoy the friendship between Kang Ha and Parang as well as Pal Gang's change from a frivolous woman to assuming the role of an elder sister/mother.
Give the drama a shot if you wish. Maybe you'll find something you liked about it that I didn't. Hope you enjoyed this review!
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This review may contain spoilers
WOW....The last few episodes were excruciatingly painful. At some point this drama became monotonous. At first I thought that the story was fresh and exciting. The "good guy" was smart and seemed to have the "bad guys" on the run. Then the same scenario happened over and over. I can't write spoilers so I can't go into it, but be prepared to watch the same thing happen numerous times. The character Dong Ha was just annoying after a while. How can the "bad guy" really not understand why the "good guy" wants revenge??? Are you kidding me??? His character was certifiably crazy. I was sick of the sound of his voice. If that is what the writer wanted, then mission successful. It was really hard for me to rate this drama, because I liked some of it. I think that it should have been less episodes and it would have been better. Plus, the ending was semi-satisfying. OH...and there isn't much of a love story. So, if you are looking for that, then you aren't going to find it here.On the upside, the acting was really good. I HATED Seo Dong Ha played by Jung Bo Suk which is definitely the emotion that he is supposed to elicit. So good for him. Kim Gyu Chul as Park Hee Seo was also good. He is really good at playing the part of someone that you love to hate.
I loved Han Eun Jeong as Hong So Ra. Her character was a breath of fresh air to the drama. I also think that Lee Si Young as the conflicted Seo Yi Re was good. Her character was on the line the entire drama. Uhm Ki Joon was excellent as the mentally unstable Micheal. Were all the characters in the drama mentally unstable???
Last but not least is Kim Kang Woo as Kang Do Yoon. The actor had to process a gamut of emotions and he did it exceptionally well. I love the sound of his voice and his manner of speaking. He has a way of pulling the emotions out of me. I think he is a great actor.
The music was ok.
I won't ever rewatch this.
As far as revenge/melo dramas go, it isn't the best. I don't necessarily recommend it, but it isn't the worst I have seen.
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The word "romantic" I think it suits the drama, the story is about the romantic ideas of what it is to be a doctor vs the reality, all this sounded very good and would have been better if the story had been better written, the Drama is full of clichés and inconsistencies and doesn’t go deep enough in all these emergency cases in which there are important issues like life and death as well as the ethics of a doctor that might have been important if it would have been treated in a more realistic way, it only mentioned these issues superficially and worse still ends up giving moral lessons, "family is the most thing important even if they despise you" "If you are ambitious, you have a very pure motivation or a very perverse one "and so many more lessons taken from makjang dramas. The romance in this story wasn’t really necessary, and it was only interesting in the first episode, the drama about Professor Kim’s past and the rivalry for power with Do Yoon Wan it was interesting at times but it was exactly the same as in other korean medical dramas. The best part was the medical part, really well done but it was a bit unrealistic since at one moment they had 2 patients and little staff and 5 episodes later they had 3 more doctors and 20 patients with very specific diagnoses (I mean…. How?)
I saw that everyone liked the performance of Han Seok Kyu as Professor Kim, but I was more surprised by Yoo Yeon Seok as Dr.Kang the only character I found to be more realistic who faces his ambition, his romantic ideas every now and then And his ethics during almost all the drama, the only character with a real development. Jin Kyung as the nurse Oh, Seo Eun Soo as the resident as well as Han Seok Kyu I thought their performances were good, the other supporting actors I think they also did a good role, my only problem was Seo Hyun Jin with her exaggerated acting in almost all episodes, her character had nothing interesting except her past but she could have done much better, the drama could have been better with another actress or without this character, I don’t know how she went from Another Miss Oh to this Lousy performance.
Kim Hye Soo was definitely the greatest actress of this drama, she only appears in the last episode, I don’t know how the producers didn’t hired her for the entire drama, she was the best thing that this drama had and o she only was in a few scenes, if you haven’t seen the special episode I recommend you to see it only for her.
Honestly, I don’t remember the music. I would rewatch this drama although maybe not all episodes, and just because I enjoyed almost all the medical stories.
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Looks perfect except that all the female characters dont even play roles that qualify as supporting.
The best is extended cameo. It looks like the female characters are being hurried off the screen.
The strong strength is that it is separated into arcs that are resolved satisfactorily without letting the story get convoluted, but even arcs in which females play important they seemed hurried off (Banruo from the Hua tribe). She is the ever present female character but her story was too rushed.
I skipped over 25 episodes to verify that I would be satisfied at the end and I was.
Its a satisfying story and being wuxia it promotes morals. It very realistic even with the wuxia element, historically accurate too in depictions, sadly it didnt do the women more justice.
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This review may contain spoilers
Better than Where Your Eyes Linger
As this was by the same director of Where Your Eyes Linger and To My Star, I was excited and had high expectations for it. I really enjoyed the cinematography here especially at that beach kissing scene and bed scene though I was like "Ms. Hwang Daseul please turn on the light a little I wanna see the action?!") It was still shot so beautifully and artistically that you could still see and imagine what was happening! Really liked the shots at the end too where they came back to the hotel. I'm impressed with how Kang Eunbin who played Cha Siwon is a rookie actor, yet he made me cry so much along with him (maybe it's because I could somehow relate to his story? yup probably) because you could really see and feel his hurt and trauma from the divorce of his parents and how he was pressured to lose weight by his mother so no one could judge him. Not a good thing even though she was "doing it for his own good" but I appreciate how they somehow forgave each other. Jo Hyuk Joon who played Hyeong Daun was really charming when he smiled too, and his voice is really nice to listen to. There was no internalized homophobia from both leads so that's refreshing. Also, anyone notice the guitar has the initials D.B.W on it? I feel like that was a clue that it was that guy who Do Banwoo liked playing the guitar. Overall an 8.5 for me because it's not that much of a unique plot and I felt a little cliff hanger from the ending. Compared to Where Your Eyes Linger, this had a better cinematography but To My Star is still the best story wise for me for sure.Was this review helpful to you?
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The first part of the movie was relatively charming, as we were introduced to the main flower boy trio, and the mundanity and charming qualities of rural village life. But the movie took a very strange and unexpected turn into rather dark territory, some of which touched on themes like loyalty, and I just didn't understand why the characters took the actions they did.
There were a number of themes that were so underdeveloped that could have made the movie more whole - the spies' relationships with the villagers, Sohn Hyun Joo's commander character, who I was expecting to have more significant screen time, but again, a waste.
You can call me a bitterly disappointed viewer.
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The actors were cute and finally at least good to look at, BUT the acting was so stiff. I don't like the exaggerated behavior in the film. In the manga, it makes sense since you can do whatever in the manga, and it would still look cool. Again real life is different so some behavior shouldn't be excessively shown.
I'm sure the story was probably good in manga.
Really violin?? That's so cliche on representing perfection.
In my opinion, I really want a bit more love between the characters. I just feel that third character was a bit sudden towards the end of the movie. Woah....and also I didn't understand why there is an unexpected bath scene (not with the duo). Relationship did not resolve early enough. The guy in the black suit was dumb. (sorry -- fans??--, but lol)
As for music, I didn't hear very much about the music so meh for that.
For the whole movie, it was rushed and not well played. It was disappointing. Hope they can try again.
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Story: This drama centers around Sales people - (now I can't relate to them at all as I don't work in an office building or anything like that but while watching this drama I know that I never could or would even want to - way too stressful - I totally understand why they said they all walk around with a resignation paper in their pocket everyday - I would have quit on day 1!) I can't deal with that much stress in my life - Besides the fact that I personally would never be able to "sell" anything to anyone lol
Cast: Suk Yool - he was my favorite, he kept things lighthearted and interesting - he was a joy to have around, he's very entertaining^^ If not for him this drama wouldn't have been bearable to watch (for me anyways). Baek Ki - Handsome, ambitious, nice, cold, distant but yet somehow close. He's a really difficult character to figure out completely - I did like him especially more towards the end. Geu Rae - our "star" of the show, he's innocent and naïve and I could relate to him the most - as he was 26 & basically did nothing w/his life and well I am kind of in the same boat (I'm 26 now too)...Young Yi - I honestly found her a bit boring and hard to read - she was nice I'll give her that & I pitied her character a lot during the drama...but I didn't connect with her. Dong Shik - he's likeable like a good friend or mentor and a great co-worker. Gwan Woong - he comes later on in the drama but I liked it when he appeared, he's nice and considerate & also handsome^^ Oh Sang Shik - the boss of team 3 - he was basically the "father" of the team who really cared for his "kids" as he'd call them. Suk Yool's superior is a real jerk. Ass.Manager Kang - (a.k.a Baek Ki's superior) another handsome dude but I found him to be hard to understand.
Music: Fly by Lee Seung Yeol - I really liked this song.
Re-watch Value: 4.5 - I don't think I'll be re-watching this one as it was too realistic but if ever I end up in a situation with a job similar to theirs or need a little insight - I may pop back in to take a peak ;)
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romcom drama that appears once a decade
Deciding to watch this drama on-going was the right decision. I started this drama because of THE Kim Hyeyoon and time travel is one of my favorite genres. The first ten minutes of the pilot episode managed to take me into a deep emotion when Im Sol lost her willing for life and then she got a glimmer of hope from Ryu Sunjae and it became the turn point of her life. Im Sol's life as a fangirl also makes me feel very familiar and relatable. The development of the story then made me feel like I was riding a roller coaster of emotions and the experience of watching this was like taking a trip to somewhere for the first time and I couldn't guess what they would give me next.Time travel back to school plot and first love stories are nothing new in East Asian dramas and I have watched quite a lot of similar stories before. However, this drama is able to give me all new feelings that I have never felt before from the same genre. This drama succeeds in presenting elements of comedy and also romance very well. The romance was conveyed so beautifully and it succeeded in making my heart flutters so many times, while the comedy succeeded in making me laugh out loud. Other elements, such as angst and the mixture of various existing tropes, are also mixed well which makes this drama so rich with flavors.
The two main leads have very strong chemistry and each complements the other. Kim Hyeyoon is an actress with wide-range acting skill. She previously proved her ability in several roles. Here, she plays a quite complex role. From just one drama, she is able to convey various emotions in an extraordinary way. Kim Hyeyoon's strength in my opinion is that she can make her co-stars follow the same rhythm as her. Even though Byeon Wooseok is an actor who has previously shown his abilities in several roles, but perhaps this is his best role so far, especially in the romance genre. I also need to praise the director, because of his excellent works he's able to present Byeon Wooseok's microexpression so well. To play the main role in the romance genre, good synergy between the two main leads is very necessary. Kim Hyeyoon and Byeon Wooseok are a very matched couple that this drama successfully presents to the audience, so that we can feel what a romantic comedy should convey through the screen.
Cannot be avoided, in the time travel genre it is difficult to avoid plot holes, especially if the episode length is limited. Actually, I hope there are several things that are explained more in this drama, but I don't think this is crucial because this genre is fantasy romcom, not a sci-fi. For me, that is not a weakness of this drama, because the main message this drama wants to convey is already delivered.
When watching this drama on-going, I was very excited and also worried about the development of the plot, but thankfully until the latest episodes I was still able to really enjoy it, as I enjoyed it at the beginning. I am currently so grateful because I have found a good romcom drama again after a long time, but this also has a negative effect on me because after this it will be difficult to enjoy a similar genre for quite some time. Up until now, I have rewatched it for so many times, because rewatching this after the story develops further gives a stronger feeling.
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This review may contain spoilers
The Blue Flame, aka The Blue Light is a movie starring Arashi's Ninomiya Kazunari in the main role as the young boy named Shuichi Kushimori who himself has taken on the task of protecting his family against his abusive stepfather.. Shuichi Kushimori goes through a lots of lifequestioning trials withinn this movie. I'll be writing a spoilerless review.Curled up withinn his room he is living life wondering what he should do about Sone, His abusive stepfather. Shuichi lives his life in school and in public like any other high-schooler would, But in reality his life is far from that of a normal student. His memories doesn't reach beyond a few years back without the real reason for this really being known by him, And his mother is uncapable of letting go of her abusive x-husband. He decides to take on the trial of getting rid of Sone himself. What started as nothing but a selfish wish to protect his family and himself, Will eventually turn out to be the downfall of Shuichi. From here on starts a story about Love, Hate, Cruelty and Selftorture you'd never be able to see coming. Love can be too cruel, If you do something who you'd think was for the better of your family, Reality always has a way of catching up to you in some ways.
The soundtrack for this movie was pretty good.. The instrumental melodies in the shows score made you want to cry at some points, Aswell as the songs from the original soundtrack fit into the story.
In overall I don't think I have anything to complain about regarding this movie. It is doubtlessly a movie everyone should watch as it gives you a new perspective on life itself.
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I would have given this an overall 10 but because the music didn't get to me like the OST of the recent dramas did, I thought it needed improvement in that area.
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Good ending, but overall boring.
Another drama with high ratings, but I just can’t figure out why. I guess it must be me… kind of like how I found Hospital Playlist and Decedents Of The Sun, again both highly rated, but I found them boring too. I fast forwarded through almost every episode except 1 and 16. I couldn’t wait to finish. I thought it dragged on and on, repeating the same scenario over and over. I think the acting was good, and the basic idea of the story was good, but 16 episodes was way too long. It should have been made into a 2 hour movie instead. I probably should have dropped it, but I suffered through it. If you like very slow paced dramas, with a simple plot, that repeats things over and over, you’ll like this. The ML Choi Woong’s character, was unemotional through most of it, except for a few scenes, and the FL was very annoyingly arrogant. I gave it a 7, because like I said, the plot was good, and the acting was ok, but it was just too long for what the writers wanted to tell. Could have made the story half as long, if not less.Was this review helpful to you?
Story: Six Flying Dragons is about all the founders of the New Joseon - this drama takes us step by step into each characters life, experiences and personalities - we get deep into who they are and what they hold dear. They each have dreams, when your dealing with politics your dreams can get a bit mired in the process. That's what politics is - it's dirty business - no matter how clean a person is - a person is still just a human and all humans have greed - and greed can come upon you and overshadow your once beautiful dream. It's a sad reality.
Cast: There is always going to be at least one character that you hold dear above all the rest - for me that character was Bang Won <3 No matter his flaws, his crazy plans, or the cruel things he does could cut me away from the tender & fragile man that lies beneath. He was a lonely soul desperate to do something with his life. Along his path to finding a dream he could hold onto he encounters the other dragons & the forge ahead together. This character is brilliantly portrayed by Yoo Ah In!!! He deserves an award for his performance! You could see the desperation, the pain, the loneliness, the desire to do good, and his dream (that some call greed) for power, and his ardent love for one special person all captivating-ly shown through his eyes. When he hurt I hurt, when he cried, I cried, when his loneliness overwhelmed him I wanted to comfort him - I cheered him on throughout this long journey - My absolute favorite character in this drama hands down! *from a non-avid fan of Yoo Ah In* <though I might become one now lol - anything that came in his way I was ready to jump into the screen and fight for him - sword in hand - give me your order & I'll do it!!! <3
My second favorite character would have to be Bang Ji (Byun Yo Han) - his hurt, pain & guilt run deep - he goes from a coward to a great swordsman in order to protect the ones he loves. I LOVE his voice when he sings!!! My gosh it sends me to heaven ^_^ There is a song he sings somewhere in the drama that isn't *yet* released in the ost and man when he opened his mouth and those beautiful sad lyrics started to pour out, I sat here in awe with tears streaming down my face - it's hard to express all the emotion that was displayed in that voice <3 There was only one flaw with him for me and that was the girl he liked - I didn't like her at all lol - sad truth. *the actress is fine mind you, it was the character I disliked*
Then we have all our other brilliantly portrayed characters: Mu Hyul (Yoon Kyung Sang) I like to say he was the comedic element of the show early on - such a simple good hearted person who you couldn't help but like ^^ Yeong Gyu (Min Seung Wook) man I loved this character - he goes hand in hand with Bang Won throughout the drama - they were closer than brothers - a perfect hurting pair. Boon Yi (Shin Se Kyung) is Bang Ji's sister and also a love interest of Bang Won - I thought she did a pretty good job - historicals suit her ;) I enjoyed all the moments between Bang Won & Boon Yi - though I felt that Bang Won loved deeper. I couldn't help but like them together. Jeong Do Jeon (Kim Myung Min) I liked this man early on but in the latter half of the drama my like turned to dislike *I was prepared for it though* Although I thought Sam Bong's ideas and plans were good and should be done - there were a few flaws that I couldn't look past (3 to be exact) - the main one being how he refused to "acknowledge" (can't think of the word I want to use...) Bang Won in the latter half of the drama. *I'll let you figure out what I mean by this*. I can't name more because this review would get way to long - but the rest of the cast did a brilliant job portraying the characters they played.
Music: Favorite song? 'The song of the green mountains" a,k.a the song Bang Ji sang in the drama <3 I love it SOOOOOO much, I really hope they release it as an ost - so I can listen to it without all the drama talking interruptions! "Muiiya" by Byun Yo Han & the other singer too - the lyrics just cut through you. and I LOVED that instrumental piece the had the pansori singer on it - whenever they would play that one I would get both nervous and excited!!! :D
Rewatch value? Definitely a YES!!! I love dramas with great action and sword fights!!! (the only thing I didn't like about some of the fight scenes is the little pieces of "flying" crap I'd see - I hate unrealistic fighting. lol
I would recommend this to both Saeguk lovers and non saeguk lovers - it's truly an awesome drama!
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This review may contain spoilers
Wow, where to begin? This is what I would call a "once in a lifetime" drama. Some dramas just cut deeper than others. My Mister left me laughing and crying, all at once, and the slow pacing never bothered me – in fact, it just drew me in even more. This drama is so exquisitely written, from how tightly the plot is drawn together, to the perfectly uplifting yet melancholy dialogue. I love how carefully this drama redefines what an "ahjussi" is and what a meaningful relationship looks like. This drama has so much pain in it, but it heals you through that pain.
While the plot wandered, it came back to center, and the character development really shined. Every single character had a duality that made them so empathetic. The main cast is written with dimension and duality; we see them in moments both problematic and progressive, pathetic and admirable, weak and strong. I think that while it's easy to admire a perfect hero, it's the characters that invoke both pity and joy that we can relate to the most. The only thing I would ask for if anything, was for Dong Hoon's relationship with his son to be more clearly written, but this show wasn't about parenthood really, so it's understandable.
The filming itself was done very well — you could tell that the crew put in the time to make it quality. The editing was a little bit awkward for some episodes, likely due to time crunch, but these are minor issues.
The best part about this drama was probably the casting/acting. Lee Sun Kyun just has a look that breaks your heart and warms it at any given moment. His empty stare and heavy sighs echo louder than any of his yells, and each tear he sheds feels like a waterfall. Less is more in his case, and I bought into every moment of his performance. IU really surprised me this time around with Ji An. Ji An is already such a mysterious and complex woman, and IU really gave this abstract character grit and darkness. Seeing her with Son Sook as her grandmother was also so sweet – they had great chemistry.
As for the soundtrack, they absolutely nailed it, 10/10.
I loved this drama. It taught me two things: good storytelling and how to cope with the traumas of life.
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