Reviews

I have watched this drama a long time ago, but was too afraid to watch the ending!!! :(

So I decided to rewatch this drama from start & finished the ending! Yeah:)

Story: I haven't seen a lot of melodramas in Japan when I first watched it, so it was my first Japanese melodrama. The plot drove me to tears! Some parts of this dramas actually creeped me out(in a suspenseful way).

Acting: I loved the main leads together. They had pretty good chemistry together. I loved Narimiya Horiki in this drama. He was endearing to watch & so was Fukushi Seiji who plays Kanon's brother.

Music: Some were great. One song was played over & over during the drama. I like the main theme song & one other song that you have to listen to youself(watch the drama).

Rewatch: I put low because I was crying so much by the end of this drama & I don't want to have to cry all over again. But I'll rewatch it if I'm in for some melodrama

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This Drama is PERFECT. Their HARD WORK is WONDERFUL

I just finished watching the last episode of "a tale of thousand stars" and it left me with so many emotions that i decided to write a review in order to pour them all out.

For everyone who is still contemplating wether you should give this drama a try or not, i want to help you by saying "YES, you should definitly watch it". Without giving too much away, everything in this show is just so spot on. The story, the characters, the soundtrack, the cinematography, ... You can practically feel, how much work and thought were put into every single scene.

Everything makes sense. There's a read thread going through each episode, starting from the very first one to the finale. It never loses focus on the original plotpoint, still giving the characters and the storyline room for development.

What i personally loved most about the show, is the complexity of the different characters and their relationships towards each other. Their actions and feelings are not just black and white, right and wrong. There is so much going on on the inside and they were written so cleverly, that despite their complexity, they are still relatable and the viewer can empathize with them.

Last but surely not least, let's talk about he incredible chemistry between the two male protagonists. Every time Tian and Phupha interact with each other - heck, every time they even just look at each other - you can feel the tension and electricity going on between them. There are literal sparks flying around them. I salute to Earth and Mix for their fantastic performance.

In conclusion, I can nothing but recommend this show, It truly moved my heart and i am sure it will move yours as well.

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wasted potential

Story/Plot: One of the more rare serious time travel c-dramas. I think this is actually the segment, where the drama could have shine. It had an interesting and mysterious start, but unfortunately couldn't maintain it.

Acting/Cast: The cast was kinda average and bland acting wise. Especially the female lead was lacking with face expressions.

OP: For time travel or historical drama fans, it might be worth to have a look into it. The drama really had some potential, but too many weaknesses either in production or cast. So you might drop it after few episodes.

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WAIT! WHAT?????

One of the best ending in the cdrama world!!! If only I can like this drama a hundred times or more I will definitely do.

Story: From beginning to end there's no boring or filler moments for me. The execution and how this drama flows is so beautiful. The love of the ML is beyond perfect, it trancends time and space, suffered 10 tribulation just to "heal" the pain of the FML and be with her. Exchanged everything to be with her, guide her and protected her. I am shocked that the ending is not rushed and have a VERY happy ending, did I say, VERY?!?!? Yup definitely a very happy ending. I couldn't ask for more. There's no actual villain in the story, only characters with different perspective.

Acting/casts: The ML and FML have amazing chemistry! The side actors are good as well. All the casts did a pretty good job, so bravo to all of them. My first time watching Cheng Yi in a drama and I am not one bit disappointed! He's really good I say. Overall, all he casts fits perfectly to the characters they are portraying.

Music: One of the best ost's out there.

Rewatch value: Yup, gonna be rewatching this for sure.

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If i have to choose Top 3 Dramas in 2020, TKEM will be on my top list, of course.

If i have to choose Top 3 Dramas in 2020, TKEM will be on my top list, of course. I always adore Kim Eunsook writernim and her works. The idea of the plot is brilliant, i can guarantee that she totally did a great research before makin this drama. The casts selection is also good, i cant imagine another male actor taking this role as Lee Gon instead of Lee Minho (it applies to other roles too). It looks like they were born for those roles.
Well, for some people, the plot might be confusing. But if youre smart enough, i think it wont be a problem, you'll like it! Kim Eunsook wrapped this drama so neatly. She gives us the clear and clean closure (+ beautiful ending for everyone). Ah, and for some people the PPL (product placement for ads) are a bit annoying, but it's not a big deal for me since it doesnt affect the plot of the story. Overall, i really love this drama no matter what!! Great job, Kim Eunsook writernim!

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Very educational, relatable and relistic

I live in South East Asia. Online bet, illegal online loans, love scams you name it, is an occurring problems an epidemic that really wreck havoc in many household. Like in this movie they showed an guy from an upper middle class, very well educated but got an online gambling problem. Meanwhile in my country this online betting disease is targeting lower class, this movie trying to say that online gambling will targeting at everyone regardless their economic background or social background. What's insane is that, China have a very strict internet control and online betting, scamming is still happening in the country. Imagine where the internet is not so regulated. Boom an epidemic. Also some of the workers who went to work in those "factory" are also victims of human trafficking. Some were aware that they're going to work in that kind of place because they have no other choice for work. Very sad.
If you say this is a chinese propaganda kind of movie. I mean, the Chinese police really did and go to SEA to get these workers. It's all over the news.
The acting are sooo good.
Many people should watch this for educational purposes and awareness.

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Very Adorable and Heartwarming

From someone that doesn't often watch Kdramas, I thought this was fantastic short little series. I can't think of a single complaint to give. I wasn't bored, the pacing was good, and the ending satisfying and heartwarming.

I thought the story was very simple but effective. I can't relate to or say how accurate the bipolar disorder representation was, but the depression portrayal was much better than other ones I've seen. Of course depression looks different for everyone, but the way the ML expressed his was quite accurate and relatable. My heart hurt for him in a way that it usually doesn't when I watch TV and it pulled me back to the days I was going through mild depression. The hopelessness, the blank expressions, the foggy negative thoughts, and the constant feeling that nothing you or anyone else does or say will make anything better was well represented.

As far as Johui, I really liked her. I would have loved to see more of her array of emotions and how her condition made her act as a child, but seeing how short this was I really don't mind.

The actors and everyone involved did a fantastic job, I'm definitely rewatching soon.

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Love in BL finally done right

Instead of talking about the stellar acting, directing and even music, I am going to talk about a few personal observations that made this show one of my favorite shows of all time.

We see the couple get together and stay together. We see them do small things that couples do and simple things like talking feels special. I generally dread couples getting together early in a show as that means contrived conflicts and inevitable breakup. Instead, we get one of the healthiest couples onscreen.

The characters in relationship feel equal. There's no toxic power dynamic. Both characters have strong personalities and they are never afraid to speak their mind to each other.

The conflicts are solved quickly without being drawn out week after week.

Homosexuality is not treated as a fantasy. Talks about sexuality, cute coming out scenes, addressing harmful tropes and stereotypes are all present. This show feels like it was made for us, the LGBTQ+ community.

One of my favorite scenes of intimacy in a gay show is in SKAM season 3 when Isak and Even just lay in a bed fully clothed, smoking weed, talking about parallel universes and figuring out their kisses. Well, this show has several scenes like that, where you will feel the intimacy and the love. Smell is used as a great device to signify love, only ITSAY had done this well before. The characters also understand consent.

I had an emotional breakdown because of this show and in the end all the crying was worth it.

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Get Your Beautiful Leading Couple Here (aka They Have Killer Smiles)

Things I liked:
Beautiful leading couple with decent chemistry.
FL was mostly bad-ass.
ML was so cute and had a killer smile. (and he is so much better looking than the profile pic on MDL)
Beautiful beach scenes.
A couple of story twists to keep me guessing.
The ending for both couples.
The female lead's action scenes where she kicked backside.
I would definitely watch this MC pairing again.

Things I didn't like:
Story really dragged at points.
A bit cheesy at times.
Not enough romance for me.
FL was out of character for being a bad-ass at times. But, I could also see where she could be vulnerable.
Creepy male mafia character who stalked FL (actually, the actor did a great job making me not like this character, lol)
I would have liked main couple to have had more together time at the end.

Things I have come to expect in a Thai lakorn:
You have to ignore any plot gaps or inconsistencies
Karma for the bad guys
Morale of the story: greed & drugs are bad; forgiveness is good

Story: 7 nothing too unexpected if you've watched a lot of lakorns.
Acting/Cast: 9 for acting and 10 for beautiful cast!
Music: 6 – mostly seemed ok
Re-watch value: I probably would spend my time watching something else.

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I am very disappointed

I am very disappointed. It's so unfair why let Sun Oh take the lead in ss1 and push him to second place in ss2. He's like the 3rd person between Jojo and Hye Yonh's story ?? Losing herself and chasing after Jojo and ready to abandon literally everything for anything. He got crushed for 2 seasons so it's not fair .
The four characters are very ignorant of their own feelings. It's so frustrating watching this season. I will treat it as if this season never happened
You don't get the point. Hye Yeong deserves it, why? Because they try normal dating ways and don't rely on love alarms (apps). We can say other than Sun Oh deserves it but Yuk Jo is there for him

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This movie is way far from being a Tada Kimi wo Aishiteru's beautiful sceneries or a Taiyou no Uta's great sound track but it has its own unique story line to tell.

For a non-Masami fan like me, this movie changed my whole opinion of her. I'm still not a fan, but I loved the way she acted here. It was a very heartfelt one and moved me to tears. Takayuki Yamada who was her co-star in the film was good, although not good looking like some Japanese actors I know, he had the charisma or an actor to let his viewers make them watch more and not get bored. Also Takashi Tsukamoto showed up in this film. I was racking my brains what movie I've seen him before, then it dawned on to me that it was Taiyou no Uta. His character there was a high school kid and they made him look so young, while in this movie he was so mature looking and hotter nonetheless.

Well back to the movie, the plot line was very interesting and surprising even with its little flash backs it didn't sway away from the whole story. Although there's this one glitch that itched on me, it was the disease that the main character had. It was a made up disease. They didn't even name it, so it seemed so unrealistic. This didn't make me dislike the movie though, it was still a creative thinking in a way. That's why I wouldn't take that simple observation as a count out of the rating I made. It made me cry the whole time and how my heart felt after finishing the movie. My tears was all worth it because the ending was much to my likeness.

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Yamashita Tomohisa takes on the role as 15 year old Nagashima Ken in the drama special Shounen wa tori ni natta about the boy who made miracles happen time and time again. I will be writing a spoilerless review.

Ken is a 15 year old boy who was born with a unusual heartdisease. Ever since the day he was born, There has always been a little hole in his heart. The doctors all claimed he wouldn't be able to live to become even 1 year old, Miracles occured and to the doctors big surprise Ken is now a fifteen year old boy. Planning and studying for what he would like to become in the future, the disease worsens as heartattacks begin happening regularly. Ken is growing, and his heart is unable to keep up with the growth at this rate. His old lifestyle is forced into a drastic change as Ken will have to start using means for living he never before thought that he would ever need. Ken keep on staying true to his own self throughout the sufferings and hardships he takes on. The Heartwarming story of a boy who despite of his handicaps always put other people before himself. Eternally fascinated by the legendary mountain hawk who he has only seen once before in his life, And deciding that he will live to see it again.

There wasn't much of an ost for this drama special. It honestly didn't even have a themesong which is rare for dramas. Most of the music in the drama was pianomusic or just emotional instrumentals adapted into fitting in with the story. The music isn't really anything to brag about, But what was there to be found really was good.

Shounen wa tori ni natta is a special that doesn't have to much popularity out there. It deserves more than it got. Watching the special it felt like Ken motivated you throughout the story instead of you just feeling bad for him. Its not just another tearjerker, The drama special will have you angered, laughing and crying along with the characters.

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(spoiler parts of this review will be posted as a comment below)

It's not a plot we've never seen before but once you get to the end you realise that it's executed in a way that feels fresh and doesn't follow the usual introduction-climax-final showdown-resolution formula that's often rehashed in this kind of film. There were a few things that I wish were expanded on and explained further but the film progressed in a way that made sense and I found the ending to be well-executed and satisfying enough. I think it's worth watching as long as you're not deadset on looking for fast action-packed sequences.

It employs the trademark Japanese-style filmography in that sequences are slow and drawn out with ample silences filling in gaps. In my opinion though, this style aids in building up the suspense and your own sense of uneasiness while it slowly unravels details that make for several "oh shit" moments that begin to crawl under your skin. For this, I think the lack of music is employed as an audial effect in itself, with minimal atmospheric background noise adding to the sense of discomfort.

The cast was brilliant, all veteran actors who know exactly what they're doing and are clear with their characters' intentions. Even the younger actresses and the other neighbour were great in portraying strange and unsociable people. I wish the writing had added a little more depth and dimension to Takeuchi's character other than "standard housewife", but she was great with that she was given.

Because it's not particularly frustrating nor is it too emotionally draining, I'd probably watch it again because I found it the right amount of tense, gripping and enjoyable to follow along with, and I would probably recommend it to others.

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