Reviews

I'm a firm believer in the fact that if you expect too much you can easily be disappointed. So in this light, I write this review... Please finish reading so you don't get the wrong idea.

The beginning of the first episode was a little sloppy and the characters were not at all endearing or interesting so I actually stopped watching this a long time ago then recently gave it another chance. I'm glad I did. Just push through... the story is worth it.

As many others have written... The child and teen actors REALLY nailed it! The casting for the most important adult roles was quite disappointing with the exception of Kim Min-Seo and Yoon Seung-Ah. I also felt that the chemistry that was SO present in the teen characters was lacking in the adults. Try not to be too disappointed. I wish they could have just tried to age the teens as they were amazing. I feel that Yoon Seung-Ah would have been a better choice for the adult female lead and Lee Min Ho would have ROCKED as the adult male lead. Their looks are also closer to the teen leads.

So all in all great story but because of the lack of careful casting I felt that this drama could have been better. This is the MAIN reason for the lower score. The soundtrack was also not as good as most dramas I have seen. Not HORRIBLE, just lacking passion.

I would definitely consider it better than most, but SHOULD have been GREAT. Keeping my first sentence in mind ... hopefully you'll enjoy!

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Kingdom meshes together the political corruption and power struggles of historical k-dramas with the thrills and gore of good zombie flick. It will be fun for fans of shows like Walking Dead, Game of Thrones or Train to Busan. Have to note that those shows I just mentioned have considerably more depth in their story themes, characters and relationships, but there's enough here to keep viewers invested and entertained.

The GOOD: It's well-produced gore and action- both gross and engrossing. The plot moves at a good pace and keeps you pushing the play button to find out what happens next.

The NOT AS GOOD: The characters are all stereotypical. The heroes are likable but not lovable. The noblemen are aggravatingly corrupt and lame. The peasants are all just one generic group of people that stand for the weak and oppressed. There isn't really any depth to the characters or their relationships with each other.

The BAD: The ending was not satisfying, but that's all I'll say. You're going to have to wait months for Season 2 to get any sense of closure.

But it's a fun watch if you like zombie thrillers.

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Overrated drama

I was constantly putting off watching this drama as I am not a fan of ML. Having nothing better to do, finally found time to watch. This drama is so overrated.

There is absolutely no respect for any of the female characters. FL's character - she was so pathetic, lacking in self-confidence, had a huge inferiority complex, and was so desperate to get into a relationship - it was embarrassing to watch. When FL came to know the real reason why her fiancé dumped her, her reaction was cringeworthy - she ran straight to her parents and started crying loudly. She is supposed to be a 32-year-old woman, but that scene made me wince because she was acting like a teenager going through her first heartbreak.

Pray, does life really end for a woman if she does not have a partner?? I DO NOT think so!

The amount of alcohol that these ladies are shown to be drinking throughout the drama, it is a wonder that they still have a liver.

The ML had no interest in the FL in the first instance - he mistook her for his ex-GF and carried out revenge that ruined FL's happily ever after love life. Apart from his work, the ML was neither physically good-looking nor had any remarkable character that could attract a normal female. I am still wondering what made the FL fall in love with him so that she makes a fool out of herself again and again.

All said, the worst drama of all times. If I could rate it zero or negative, I would.

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Unlike my fellow reviewers so far I happened to like this drama. Although it is very slow at the beginning and it is not Matsumoto best drama. They rest of the cast makes up for this. You can relate to Shiori's struggling with the loss of her husband and being a single parent but also with her developing feelings for Taiga against her better judgement. Not to mention the kids who play in this completely steal the scene and you can't help but love them. I would recommend you atleast give it a try. It's only 10 episodes sometimes the things people say are the worst end up being the best thing you've ever seen. It's all a matter of opinion. Best of luck! Have fun watching!

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I'm just speechless. It's so hard to tell you guys how much I loved this. I mean it was so different than I thought it was going to be! The first time I ever heard of this drama I was thinking ehhh I'm not too sure about this at all, I mean it's called coffee prince, I mean what?? That's a weird name.. Sure there are plenty of other weird names but still! It may seem like a chick drama. But, my own brother liked this! And he hates all the Asian stuff because it's apparently "stupid and pointless" to watch. So that really has to mean something! Anyways I really enjoyed this and may see it again one day.

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It's was the first drama I've ever seen. I even don't remember why I started to watch it but I fell in love with it after only 15 minutes! It's just the best ever!

First thing- story: When I was watching the drama, I was so excited! It really keeps in suspense. I must admit I rather don't like anything what is connected to politics but this time it didn't annoy me. It even makes me want to watch more. What was very important for me was that there was no character in this drama who was only good or only bad. The advantage and faults was mixed in every single character so it made them more human.

Acting/cast: I can't imagine anyone else than Lee Min Ho as the City Hunter. Since I watched the drama, he's my favourite actor. He was totally amazing! Park Min Young was also good- she could make Kim Na Na very positive and strong character. I liked also the rest of the cast- they're really good actors.


Next thing is music: I must admit I rather don't pay attention to music in films and dramas but music in City Hunter was 'jinjja' cool, especially when City Hunter stared to fight haha

Re-watch value: I'm not a type who re-watches films or dramas but City Hunter is not a common drama for me and I'm sure I'll watch it at least once again.

Overall: 10!!! This drama is really worth to watch! I can highly recommend it. Everything in this drama was perfect for me :D

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"If the husband is the sun, the wife is the brilliant galaxy. We create the world by coexisting."

PLOT & CHARACTERS:

This is a coming-of-age story that's like no other. It's an emotional yet enlightening journey into love, parent-child conflict, loyalty and female empowerment as Cheng Shao Shang (CSS) goes through the turbulences in her journey to self discovery and growth. 

Her relationship with Ling Buyi has grown a great deal. I truly love how she's grown from a young lady who knows nothing about love to one that capable of caring for her beloved while still remaining true to herself. She learns how to love, empathise and compromise. She's just as intelligent and headstrong as any man, which is especially rare in such a patriarchal society, but can also be loving and caring towards those who are close to her. 

What surprised me the most is the transition from Part 1 to 2. In Part 1, CSS let her entire existence centred around her mother's neglect and biases, as well as others' condescending attitudes towards her "unconventional" upbringing. However, as we transition to Part 2, she's gained a new confidante and mother figure, Empress Xuan, who gives her the affirmation she needs to keep being herself but also the etiquette and knowledge to survive the dangers in the Palace. The bickering and conflicts in Part 1 now seem so trivial as CSS becomes more mature and determined with her goals to follow and serve the Empress. While Empress Xuan is composed, benevolent and dutiful, which are the social expectations of women in Ancient China, she admires CSS's free spirit and bravery. The two see their desired self and aspirations in each other, creating a very insightful and touching relationship. Consort Yue, Shao Shang's mother and third aunt are also very powerful female characters that are way ahead of their time in different ways. 

Ling Buyi (LBY) is a complex character that really draws you in. He's extremely devoted to CSS and would readily sacrifice his life for her. But when it comes to acting in the nation's interest and his own quest for vengeance, he can't help but forsake CSS's love. Being the Emperor's adopted son and commanding general, he's almost untouchable yet also helpless at bringing justice to his family's massacre. Personally, I love seeing how the rigid general becomes all goofy in front of CSS. And sometimes, their PDA makes me swoon and feel envious at the same time. Emperor Wen is such a good father figure for LBY, more than just out of his brotherhood with the former General Huo. I would say he's the biggest source of comedic relief in the drama. The way he shamelessly dotes on LBY and ships LBY with CSS is hilarious.

CAST & PRODUCTION:

Despite their young age, Zhao Lusi and Wu Lei approach their roles with overwhelming maturity and depth. We used to know Lusi as the playful and funny actress that can liven up any drama she's in, especially rom-coms. Here, she's able to incorporate some of that comedic touch with more articulations. She’s very playful and jovial in beginning, but becomes much more calm and refined towards the end of Part 2. On the other hand, Wu Lei carries out the duality of LBY very well. His stare can be serious in one moment, then melt and become hopelessly smitten with CSS. Wu Lei has the gravitas that gives complexity and charm to his character's portrayal. He’s also extremely skilled in horse riding and action scenes, adding even more intensity to the drama.

When it comes to cinematography, every scene in this drama is truly like a painting that speaks a thousand words. It's majestic but still very much the embodiment of elegance and grace. The costume and hairstyle for each character are vibrant and unique in their own way. I particularly love the layered dresses designed with a trailing tail, lowly tied hair and long earrings which add a certain sense of fluidity and feminity when the characters walk. Ling Buyi's armor is also a glory in itself, imposing and dominating like his own personality. And the "mandarin duck wings" make him look even more dashing. I love how the director is not only very masterful in his craft but also an avid WuLu couple shipper. From the behind-the-scenes, he’s very hands-on in helping the actors bring out the full sensitivity of their characters, ahem… especially the bashful and sweet romance between the 2 leads.

The soundtracks are so beautiful and fitting of the historical period. Splendid Star (星汉灿烂) by Shan Yi Chun is soft and smooth but still carries some intensity and momentum. Star River Sigh (星河叹) by Isabelle Huang is definitely my favourite with its heartbreaking nostalgia and poetic sensibility.

FAVOURITE QUOTES:

“When I’m with you [CSS], I feel human.” Ling Buyi

“Maybe Shao Shang is not the gentle lady who others prefer. But in my heart, she’s the best woman… in the whole wide world. She is innocent and courageous…. She’s the only one who can walk by my side. I will only marry her in this life.” Ling Buyi

“Although she [CSS] appears cold on the outside, she has always been a very caring person. She can only put her mind at ease, when those she cares about are doing well. That’s why I make sure all of you [CSS’s families and friends] are doing well.” Ling Buyi

"I can brew wine... build a water wheel... build kilns and fire tiles... Whether Ling Buyi is around or not, I'm a lady who lives well... Ling Buyi is the person I love most in this world. But I am nobody but myself." Cheng Shao Shang

“I told Her Majesty that since I engaged to you [LBY], everyone saw me as your fiancee. No one saw me as Cheng Shao Shang anymore. Her Majesty said that I was brought up as an independent lady. I only cared about myself, my personal gains and losses. She said I should try to be more amenable… more flexible." Cheng Shao Shang

"I'm proficient in poetry and classics. You're [CSS] good at building mechanisms. Everyone has something they're good at. You know what others don't. I'll slowly teach you what others know... There's no need to feel inferior. You can lift your head high." Empress Xuan

“When she [CSS] was young and needed to be loved most, she wasn’t loved by her family. If you [LBY] want to love her, you have to make up for her grief. Don’t always make her understand your choice. Only by discussing can you keep walking side-by-side.” Empress Xuan

"Back then, I always hoped she could be more mature. Until today, she has become so composed, as if she was a different person. Recalling old times, she behaved aggressively, always romped around. But it put my mind at ease... Was I mistaken since the beginning?" Cheng Shao Shang's mother

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Don’t be a sleeper on a very good story

I totally base my reviews on my likes. I also like to point out that I have no credibility for being a writer. Okay, now that’s out of the way, let me speak on this wonderful drama. Warning ⚠️ I really don’t mean to give spoilers so my intent isn’t to. If it comes out that way, I apologize. I really hope though that I put it in a way that will make you want to find out for yourself.

So the plot line is nothing new. Two lovebirds break up because of ambitions. Three years later they meet up. In the course of the story there is competition in office, business building, it’s ups and downs. At the same time, complications in human relationships play out, among lovers, peers. The crux of it all is the realness of how it portrays life. To me, the writing is really good, especially the way the relationships of the three main characters panned out. There was no cheesiness in the relations, but rather, a good look at how decisions shaped based on past hurts, fear of unknown, but most importantly, recognizing and honoring the value of each persons decision. Seriously, there are so many life lessons to learn from this story, from these characters.

The cast are good. These are more mature casts. I really enjoyed the cast who played the family members of the couples. Maybe because I’m so relieved none were hateful, screamers, or slappers. The dramas with these types of parents (too many for my likes) is so cringey I loathe it. Its ending was simple but poignantly happy.

On the last note, subtitles weren’t super good ( not dissing on subbers work as I appreciate the work and time) so hopefully you can find a site that may have a better one. I watched on DC, but maybe you’ll be lucky and find it adjusted. Give it a try. No matter your take, I really enjoyed it and feel you will too. Thanks

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Initially the story was interesting and some subtle comedy was involved.  Hence decided to continue watching the movie. However as it goes on it starts to get boring as the story is like a merry go round with "pei le ye" keep coming back. The whole story then gets in circle and more ridiculousness creeps in. I think yhr writer must be out of good idea to drag the story. Overall the story is just average but the acting by Sun Li good. Seriously a total of 74 episodes is just too long. In my opinion, 50 episode is more realistic as many irrelevant story can be just removed.

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A wasted potential

Okay so, I just finished watching this show and, I had some things that I wanted to share.

I'll start with my rating and how i felt about it then i'll explain why
To me, this show was a 7/10. It started well, the premise was interesting, the settings were too, actors were great, I liked how they made us hear inner thoughts of 3rd floor and made him the narrator of the show, I liked the dark tone of the series, the dark humour etc...
Until, I think it was episode 7th or 6th, I don't remember which one, after that, it went downhill. I didn't like were the show went.
In case you just clicked to see my review despite still not having seen the show, i'll not go into more details, but if you watched it, you know what i'm referring to.

Anyways, to me, the ending wasn't good. And usually i'd say that I didnt like it, not that it wasn't good, but here, I think it's just wasn't good. Hear me out

This show is pretty much a human study made into a drama, or the other way around it, you know what i mean.
It's meant to show us that people would literally do anything for money and honestly, I think it's true, to a certain extent.
But the show failed there and let me explain why. SPOILERS AHEAD DO NOT KEEP READING IF YOU HAVENT SEEN THE SHOW YET!!

Like I said, if we go from "people will do anything for money" we shouldnt have good or bad guys, but just people trying to make money and be done with it. And if the show actually had done that, I wouldn't have had any issues with the ending.
But clearly, there was good and bad guys here.

I'm sorry but 8, 6, 4 were clearly bad guys. If i wasn't writing a review, i'd use more rash terms, trust me.
Those people were straight up enjoying the mess that was happening, they were enjoying making other people suffer, show little to no remorse except for maybe 4.

3rd and 2nd floors were the good guys. They had many opportunities to take revenge but didn't. 3rd refused everytime to do harm whenever possible, didnt even grope 5th in the challenge and got tazed instead.

7th was a more nuanced character, I think his character was really realistic, he was just trying to get by I think, he wanted to survive and that's why he allianced with the top floors but you clearly could see he had remorses and wasn't feeling good about it.
So not a "good guy" per say, not a bad one either, just a realistic dude, I mean being put in his shoes, i'll probably have acted like he has.
He was the best character to me.

So, we have good and bad guys, but the show want us to make us think that people would be willing to do anything for money, but clearly, it's not the case, 2/3rd floors had clear limits and principles.

Now that we've etablished that, let's talk about the ending.
I don't have an issue with 1st floor's death. I think it makes sense.
I like the fact that 7th floor gave money to 1st floor family, that was touching.
But that's it? 8 is not going to get punished beside the fact that she went to jail for what she did to a gallery art?
6 sent flowers and now is piss chilling being rich?

Not a semblance of happy ending?
Since we had good guys and no happy ending, it left a bad taste in my mouth.

I guess that, is very realistic, in real life, things rarely ends up happily. And I hate that. I just do.

I think it's cope to say that the ending wasn't bad.
They wanted to be original with that bittersweet ending but honestly, it felt very weak.

You can agree with me or not, I just wanted to share my opinion about the show.

I hope that you'll like it though :D
Thanks for reading this. Have a good one.

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a once in a lifetime drama!

i never expected myself to be as invested in a drama as it happened with mouse. Maybe it helped that i started watching it with zero spoiler and zero expectations when only few episodes aired. Thus i could enjoy the drama at the fullest, Now its being really hard for me to move on!
From the very first scene from the very first episode, i was hooked and very much ready to sign up for the whole journey that was coming.And yes it did not dissapoint and went far far beyond my expectations.I was in complete awe of the brillance of this show,its writing,its acting and everything in between!A special shutout to the the writer, Choi Ran for coming up with such an unique,unprecedented concept which was able to be executed to the utter level of briliance thanks to the showrunners.
No word are enough to praise Lee seung gi,undoubtedly the captain of the ship! When his peers are busy being typecast in repetitive roles,he took a risk at the peak of his career and turned it into the performance of a lifetime! I hope he achieves unparalleled success in the coming days and without any doubt,he will.The other cast- Lee hee joon, Park ju hyun,Kyung sujin were brilliant as well.A+performance from each of the cast members and they deserve every praise in the world!
In conclusion, MOUSE is a drama that comes once in a while and should be celebrated with pomp and grandeur every once in a while!

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I started this drama without reading any of its reviews, since I noticed there was big fuss in the mismatch of its regarding opinions, so I wanted a clear head in order to make my own.

The story is very complex; it's a lovely, bittersweet, bloody tale that makes you experience wide range of emotions during it's progress (I went from being downright furious at one character's behaviour to loving him)! As such, it will not be very easy to watch, and at times, it'll maybe make you question watching the rest, but I would recommend holding on, because this is a drama that everyone should see.

Actors are great, I like the supporting cast, the main villan is a well-written character (for a change) and even Lee Yong Suk, whom I have never seen in a drama before, has done a pretty damn good job and his acting is very believable. Loved Yoon Sang Hyun in this one, partly because of his wonderful character, but even more so for the life he gave to him.

I like the main OST, it fits the drama well, and the overall music was not that bothersome, not even in saddest scenes.

Also, this is one of the rare dramas I would recommend watching again, because there is much to be reminded of when seeing it; this special set of humane values that we may often misplace when throwing a fit in anger or being disheartened by daily happenings.

I think the biggest proof of a good drama or simply, a well-executed story, is when it just makes you feel so much; regardless of it being bit too long, having a few fillers (1-2 episodes), or giving a somewhat naive plot (there were plot holes which did NOT have justification)...But, the overall carried me into this world that I am glad I've met, and though there is a significent age difference between Lee Boo Young and Lee Yong Suk, hell, I didn't even care. This just serves as an example that some other dramas and movies with this kind of couple could've done a lot better.

Recommended.

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The drama Listening Snow Tower (2019) is a good Wuxia, Martial Arts, Fantasy show, but it really lacks on the romance department, especially from the leading couple, unless the viewer is looking for a couple that sustained a non-existent romantic relationship marred by the constant mistrust from the female lead towards her “lover” and protector. There are constant explanations from the supporting characters about the actions from the leading couple towards each other and constant afterthoughts and flashbacks. The story and action elements of this drama are solid, engaging, and very entertaining, but the writer plagued the story with unnecessary death of central characters. Wanting to portray the pugilistic theme as a breeder of cold, conning, and unwavering characters that keep backstabbing the Listening Snow Tower Master, the drama missed the opportunity to create a great love story, since he fell in love with the leading lady at first sight. The leading lady spent most of the drama being stubborn, undermining, and willfully misunderstanding the person that she was supposed to love. Not until the end, you get a short reprieve that allows the viewer to enjoy a nice ending. Overall, if the viewer is looking for a good action show and great supporting actors, this drama is quite entertaining. Enjoy it!

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