The scripts were fantastically written. So many babies!! Each episode has a new storyline (a birth) as its central theme, so you get a complete "story" in each episode. Then, there is the cast. Such great acting! As the drama unfolded, I got to learn about many of the characters' back stories, so, over time, I started to care about them. The actors themselves did an amazing job and complemented each other well. What can I say about the main actor, Ayano Go? Not enough good things! I didn't know much about this actor (apparently, he's had small parts in some of my other dramas), but his acting in this drama was superb! As Dr. Kounodori/Baby, he was believable, and I developed a lot of empathy for him as a person...not to mention the way he treated his patients--like I said this character was very real, and very approachable. I look forward to watching more of his dramas, and those of other cast members.
The music was another wonderful aspect of this drama. Not only was the drama music soothing, the piano playing was amazing as well. This is one of those dramas where I would really like to own the OST--it'd be worth it.
Very important: There is a bit of a mystery in the last episode...something where I needed to do a bit of research. A cute piece of information I was able to discern by having eagle eyes. Good luck!
Lastly, and this is a biggie, be prepared to shed tears. This is a drama in a true sense of the word, with so many heart-breaking and heart-warming moments--sometimes both in each episode! I needed tissues for all 10 episodes! Really, this drama brings up so many emotions; it's just an overall feel-good series.
Keeping my fingers crossed for a second season!!!!
Was this review helpful to you?
My dark horse thriller of 2025
In the last days of 2025, three different thrillers aired, and after a rough personal year in the genre, I wasn’t craving anything extraordinary - just good dramas. And, as with many things in life, the positive surprise came from the least expected. That’s how **The Truth Within** turned out to be my dark horse thriller of 2025 - *The Hunt* remains my favourite.Without diving too much to avoid spoilers, this is a five-case thriller with an underlying mystery (the sixth case), where case-solving and criminal procedures, with a strong emphasis on the forensic aspect, take center stage, very much in the vein of the best era of CSI: Las Vegas. Here, there’s no room for cops’ family affairs, personal life matters, the old master-apprentice trope, or the social commentary we usually see in the genre.
It’s a stylized tense drama, far away from a gritty vibe but also from the overly artistic aesthetic that’s becoming the opposite trend in the Chinese entertainment landscape since last year.
The two Taiwanese directors - there’s also a third, Chinese one who collaborates with them - have a renowned portfolio in thrillers, and you can tell. I love the storytelling here and how they enhance a solid script. The lighting, the overall cinematography, where the framing and the use of the camera help create the atmosphere, together with neat and efficient dialogue, give this project a distinctive and fresh personality that I deeply appreciate. Silence and unsaid words are also protagonists, but again, used with precision.
The straight, clean, and plain focus on the case-solving process feels refreshing. Although short cases aren’t my preferred jam in any genre or format - and that was one of my two main gripes about it - they have the right amount of length and flow, are interesting, and even tackle a theme I never expected to see in C-dramaland. The underlying mystery is well interconnected too, and the viewer accompanies the investigation team as the clues unfold. Overall, the pace feels right: neither slow nor rushed.
Production is excellent despite it not being a super-budget drama, and my other gripe with this type of series luckily didn’t become a nightmare: procedures don’t have major flaws that make you roll your eyes, and they managed to introduce the main role of the forensic doctor quite logically within the team dynamics and stories, resulting in balanced and fair screen time among the main team, as it should be.
I liked how they presented the dynamics between the characters. I appreciate that every team member has a distinct personality, and that they didn’t go over the top or force comic relief with any of them. Despite the precise approach to cases, you find yourself getting attached to all of them when danger arises - proof of a good script, solid execution, and good acting from the entire cast, not only the main leads (by the way, not the usual suspects in these dramas either).
If I have to remark on the things that bothered me, the one that sticks out the most is the three or four images that were unnecessarily censored around the middle of the drama, once it gained more views.
There were other minor issues that didn’t ruin the overall tone of the show: a subtle (edit: perhaps more than subtle for the trained eye) drop in quality in episodes 14 and 15 - I guess they left the direction to a director’s assistant/apprentice? - and a few inconsistencies toward the last two episodes, where the story changes the vibe a little due to the logical progression of it. Luckily, the uniqueness returns in the last 15 minutes in all its glory, and the show ends on a high note.
**The Truth Within** is not a gritty drama, nor one that delves deeply into social topics and leaves you ruminating after it ends, but rather one that keeps you on the edge of your seat, eager to press play on the next episode.
For those who like this type of thriller and want a project with personality, it’s a very tight drama.
Was this review helpful to you?
Decent script but still lacked in many ways…
The drama goes through 3 stages —
✦ the silly, funny and fluffy stage
✦ the main magical politics & the love triangles and squares…
✦ the finale full of politics and melodrama…
In the beginning, all I saw was a silly innocent girl approaching an idle Lord and he doesn't seem like avoiding her either… there's still much politics going on but what catches the right attention was the fluff. The female lead turning into a rabbit and male lead becoming a white little fox were the cutest parts… first half was Great, at least better than the later half…
And then comes the Mystery stage, when politics and magic finally comes into light. That's when you realize you're in a "Xuanhuan" drama after all. The drama features two areas, one is where the main city palace exists and which is the centre for all the politics, known as Qiyuan Continent and the other is No Magic Valley where people with no magical powers i.e. simple human beings live… Now that I think more, the concept of "No Magic Valley" & "Magic girl" was actually pretty interesting… I should have taken the politics more seriously from the start lol…
Lu Qingqing ( Cheng Xiao ) — she's just Naive Af, like the queen of naive characters. But how do you expect a girl who has never gone out of the house to be clever or learn rules of society, etiquettes etc… So, her stupidity or silliness do not annoys us. Infact, it's very cute to see that she is so simple-minded. The only thing she wishes for is freedom. So, she wishes to get magical powers to go out. I loved her innocence. She got some character development thankfully…
Nangong Yixin ( Jason Gu ) — Nangong is an idle Lord who is very carefree and kinda like a rich, spoiled prince who wanders and travels around the world. Though he has great magical powers, he stays away from official matters of palace. He plays the cool guy outside but is actually a very warm and shy man. It's very funny when Qingqing approaches him by many ways and he can't help but fall for her innocence.
Now, some CONS which took away 2.5★ from it ⸺
➤ from technical point of view, the editing and CGI was kinda messed up in some scenes… like the monster that was meant to be scary was so funny, behaving like a pet dog… but considering it's a low budget production, so that's all we get…
➤ Then, acting was not special… no matter how good a script is, it requires actors who can portray those emotions especially towards the finale when there were more intense scenes (from crying to big revelations), I am not saying they are all bad actors but I think maybe these characters don't suit them and there are some other actors more suitable for it… In the whole drama, Lady Yunxi acted by Wang Yi Fei was the only role that felt real and I could connect to it… all in all, I wanted a better cast here…
➤ then, this drama is indeed little slow paced…
➤ they missed out some great scenes where they can show more fantasy but they completed those scenes in one go…
➤ Since, I was not convinced with the acting, I cannot feel the main lead's chemistry either…
Despite these lackings, I loved the last two episodes, they were perfect.
Rewatch value… I am not the type to rewatch things easily… so obviously not rewatching it.
Overall, a decent historical Rom-Com which comes along with a mix of Xuanhuan and magic. I would rather say, that it tried to deliver something different.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
objectively, this isn't a masterpiece... but the chemistry, editing and direction would make you fall in love with it!Story :
the movie is cut down in various time leaps where you get to see these two characters meet and depart numerous times, because of unavoidable circumstances. even though this could have gotten repetitive and tiring, it doesn't. it's quite believable and it really rises your anticipation for them to finally get together for good. except for the last time they "broke up" but i'll get to it later in the spoilers section.
however, it isn't a unique story. this isn't something that has never been done before, especially in korean cinema. we have seen multiple such stories where a couple makes up and breaks up in span of years. so that's why i wouldn't rate it very high on story.
Acting/Cast :
This. This is what made the movie special. at least, for me. The cast is wonderful. The chemistry between the leads is so amazing you'll giggle along with their cute moments, their shy glances and their subtle and slow advances. It's so beautiful to watch and it's so well done. They feel so natural that you wouldn't for a second think you're watching two actors act.
shout out to their first kiss (if you can even call it that lmao) — it was SOOO PRECIOUS!
jung hae in is such a comfort for eyes. and, no i'm not talking about his visuals. any drama, any scene, any character he is in, you just get enchanted by his performance. and i believe he has literally mastered the art of the sub-genre that is 'slow burns'. his performance was beautiful, but then i expect nothing less from him.
kim go eun was a SURPRISE! i have only watched her in Goblin and then now in The King : Eternal Monarch. both shows that i don't really like, in fact i dropped the latter. so to see her here was refreshing. she was very natural and believable in her performance.
Also, special mention to the direction and editing of this movie. the way it was done, this felt so much more personal instead of watching a movie. it felt like i'm taking a small dive into the personal lives of these two characters and i'm there with them, seeing them experience these emotions and conflicts. so kudos to that!
Issues (spoilers) :
Now to the negatives. I'll just point them out in a list, cuz i'm tired of typing and this already feels TOOOOOOO long!
— the last break up felt so unnecessary. there was no reason why the FL would leave him out of the blue when literally a scene ago she wanted him to stay with her and not visit that family anymore. it felt like this was done just to create drama for the final climax.
— the villainization in the last twenty minutes felt really out of the blue. served literally zero purpose to the story and also ruined the beautiful friendship the FL had with him.
— i wished they had explained more about what the friend meant when he said "only the ML was forgiven" for the mistake.
so, all in all, i am giving it a nine, even after all these issues, because this really was my cup of tea. i loved it bc i'm a very character-driven stories lover. it had the characters, it had the chemistry. i was sold!
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Overall it’s a decent drama that wraps up everything decently well. To me, the drama happened in three arc: 1. Beginning - hired as a stay-home pretend girlfriend, 2. Middle - her becoming lead actress at his company, 3: End - romance and their wrap up. Honestlys, I think the first half is more interesting than the second half. I think I enjoyed the stay-at-home nurse/maid/pretend girlfriend portion of the drama more. The biggest problem with the drama is its overuse of tropes and cliches. It’s not just a few sprinkled here and there, it’s literally the whole story. The entire story is build on tropes and cliches. I mean I can stomach quite a few of them but at a certain point it became tiresome. What I like
- Actually I like a lot of the couples in the show. I thought most of the are adorable and had pretty decent chemistry
-A lot of likeable supporting characters: ML’s mom, FL’s manager, ML’s cousin, director,
-A lot of nice feel good moments
-It wrapped things up decently I guess
What I don’t like:
-Some terrible characters: rapey director, terrible manager, annoying exes everywhere…lol. I’m fine with good well developed antagonists…but most of them are just shallow and one-dimensional
-Tons of cliches and tropes. I actually like a decent dose of cliches…but only in moderation and only if it adds entertainment value to the storyline. However, it’s just a little to much here and I feel like it takes away from the drama and sometimes just unnecessary
-Some over the top scenario and weird unnatural behavior from characters. Like you can't be a competent CEO of a media and hired a random girl who's acting you're not familiar to become a top star.
-There's so much repeated exposition, my god. Exposition is fine and use a lot times in detective drama. Here let me give you an example. At one point the evil ex who was a big star finally realize her behavior and thinking was wrong. It goes like this, she has a dialogue with her assistant/manager explaining why her behavior is wrong. She then had a scene with the ML's mom explaining why what she's doing is wrong. Then next episode, she had another monologue explaining why what she's doing is wrong (as a self-reflection) I guess. Look I get...she finally realized her behavior was wrong...but do we need to spend so much time and scenes on this?
Couples:
-Main couple - like the female lead and she’s a pretty good character overall. I liked how she handle her situation from the beginning to the end and how she handled her romance and life. Though she is Mary-sue-ish at times but it’s not overbearing. The male is decent most of the time but sometimes borderline annoying but overall I thought he’s tolerable. Their romance is sometimes cutes, sometimes romantic, and mostly reasonable. The biggest problem with them there constant pull and push on whether they like each other or not. It’s ok to have a bit of that but sometimes it’s just too much.
The secondary couple between ML’s friend and FL’s friend. They’re a very sweet and cute couple together and they’re both very likable character. The biggest problem I have with them is their story. There are constant overused cliches employed in their story: bad romantic history, bad rapey producer, misunderstanding…again and again, random fiance, disapproval mother, different class and social status. Imagine if you brainstorm a bunch of romantic couple cliches…that’s literally their entire story. Otherwise they’re extremely cute together, moreso than the lead.
The third couple is the director and the FL’s manager. Not a lot of screen time but I find their romance but be more subtle, simple, and cuter.
The ex boyfriend and his gf/fiancee. They play thei
Just some thoughts:
I’m on a modern Chinese drama binging run. Most of these light hearted romantic comedy drama is full of cheese, over-the-top behavior, and weird scenario so for most part I’m ok with it as long is it blends well together in a decent package. For this drama the two random ML and FL throw together in a fake relationship is a standard trope. One that I enjoy for most part, it’s ok here but not as well developed as it could’ve been. That there pretty much sums up what I feel about this drama by the end. It’s all just a bunch of popular tropes thrown together. If you wanna focus on standard tropes, I think the best is to have an interesting take on it. However, this drama seem to written by a committee of people brainstorming popular trope and using everything they can think of in it.
I love the characters but the story just isn’t there. And when the story is not well developed, 36 episode seems like a slog. Would I recommend it? Only if you’re a fan of these type of drama.
Some rant I have [MAJOR SPOILERS]
- That whole ML's obsession with finding out the girl with butterfly tattoo who I think he mistaken as a birthmark is just borderline weird. It's fine to try to find the person who saves your life and thank her. But to hinge that as the pivotal drive to your lovelife...is just weird. I mean the guy clearly never know her since he didn't even know how she actually looks like. This is one of the most important point that drove the entire drama. It's what led him to his ex and it's what caught the ML's attention on the female lead. And here's the twist, which is clear even since the beginning. Let me just spoiled it for you. Turns out, the FL is the women who saved him. That tattoo/birthmark was a temporary tattoo she had drawn on her based on a picture of the his ex (cause I guess she was a big fan of her....who at the time should have been a totally unknown...but let's not get too caught up on that). It's just thats such a weird crucial plot point.
- Is that cancer fakeout really necessary? It was just so abrupt and random.
- The way they wrap up all the antagonist is just weird. Pretty much they all come to the realization that they've been acting like jerks. It's find but the way they did it is so abrupt...AND it happened all at the same time. It's like the writers suddenly realized we're near time end so abruptly make sure the character repent and apologize for their behavior. They did that and gave all them all that and their personality just changed completely. Note that this all happened back to back to back. First, ML's ex realize she's wrong...and then FL's ex realized he was wrong...and then FL's exes fiancee realized shes wrong...:/
Was this review helpful to you?
No sunshine and No Rainbows. Pure love with emotions.
A coming of age story that follows LGBT+ characters. This film is set in 1988 just after martial law has ended in Taiwan and follows the story of Han & Birdy throughout their self discovery and dealing with all that entails, both for themselves and the society they live in. One of the best Taiwanese film to be ever made. So beautiful! It's no sunshine and no rainbows, It was a rollercoaster ride of emotions. There were few references of "Happy Together", a classic Hong Kong movie. I cannot stress on how much I cried.Was this review helpful to you?
Okay, so this is one of those drama which could be thoroughly enjoyed when you're binge watching it. As it was aired only once a week, the story may seem a little dragy if you were following it from start. But as a binge watcher I immensely enjoyed the straight 15 hours of this little slow placed but a fairly written drama. The setting was lovable, story was good enough to keep the interest on, character developments were good and man do i love the inner monologue of the main female protagonist? The way she expressed the growth of her first love through her thoughts with such subtlety was nicely written. The story may seem to go around the circle when it comes to male protagonist, but you would forgive the writers by the end for it. Over all i think it was surprisingly well written drama, given I was not planning to watch it at all in the beginning.
Acting/Cast:
I personally think that all the main characters except for few minor ones did a very good job with their roles. Kudos to Joanne Tang and Prince Chiu for amazing performance. I really enjoyed Shao Xi's character. She calmed down alot in the later part of the drama, her expressions were on point, initially I thought that I would be annoyed by her but then I really ended up rooting for her love for Yen Li Zheng. Li Zheng on the other hand killed it at his role. His trauma, insecurity, confusion, jealousy and acceptance- everything was portrayed well by Prince Chiu. One could really see his struggle for the quest of love and the pain of not being able to accept his own feelings. He also turned into Yoo Jung from 'Cheese in thr Trap" from time to time. I swear he gives me such chilly Yoo Jung vibes. The second leads were really nice too. I found the second lead guy very annoying at first but the curse got me at the end and i even shed a tear or two for him. On the other habd Angelina or the second lead girl was a gem. She might annoy the hell out of you at first but then you would grow to love her character. She was the real QUEEN!
Music:
I loved the music. All the songs were really really nice specially the intro and the ending themes. And ofcourse the special mention goes to the song "Close to you". It was soo catchy and pleasing to hear.
Re-watch value:
I would really like to see it again in future when i am bored or if i am missing few characters. This drama was really the character's show.
Ovwrall:
Overall I think it was a really nice drama. I never expected to watch it. I only started watching it because there was nothing else to watch and soon I was on episode 10. It literally took me only one and a half day to fish it. Go watch it guys, you won't regret it!
Was this review helpful to you?
Healthy relationships and communication all around!
This drama is very cute. One thing I especially love is how it evolves around the two main characters' relationship - even after they got together! I really missed a drama where the actual realtionship had screen time, since many dramas end at the getting-together part, so thank you for that.Also, the mc's relationship is so pure and supportive, they respect each other, listen, talk honestly. Although the story may build on many clichés, I don't mind, as all the characters were so nice and wholesome and amazing. The story has many hidden gems in the characters' backstories, and it all comes together in the end. Truly a happy ending for all.
Was this review helpful to you?
If you have lots of patience then you should watch it.
It was good but just good for me cause I'm not fan of slow paced dramas they quite a lot irritate me sometimes and I hate misunderstandings and miscommunication I guess that's why I didn't liked this drama that much.But I do loved the friendship between them! I felt that it could have been executed in the better way, I liked FL's character she was independent and hard working but I didn't liked some of her decisions that's why I was annoyed by it sometimes. But I felt it was kind of realistic that we all do some mistakes in life and we should know when to backoff and correct them .... even if it's late. Aww and I really liked ML I mean he was such a gem and did many things without any expectations.
It's not normal length jdrama it's quite long... but you'll enjoy journey even sometimes it's get irritating but you'll like it's ending... sometimes ending is memorable than the journey itself.
Was this review helpful to you?
The drama changed the characters to be more lovable, relatable, and endearing and the plot was not slow or draggy at all to me. Yankee to Megane is one of those dramas that has a manga/anime-esque feel to it, and by that I mean that the whole story revolves around small events, like Hana Kimi. It's not going to be a show with a gripping plot that'll keep you at the edge of your chair or anything because it has a different style. So I disagree with the previous reviewer that the events are out of place, because that's how these dramas are stylized to be and the way the drama portrays it is actually a lot more coherent then the manga.
The drama is a great light and funny story, but also has heart and good points of friendship. The acting is also great. The main leads were fantastic and I love how the actors portrayed the characters. The supporting cast, was average, but unimportant to the focus of the main characters.
As I am stil reading the manga currently, it makes me miss the slight differences in the characters and even though I just finished watching this drama a couple days ago, i already feel like watching it again.
Was this review helpful to you?
The drama centers around a group of friends, struggling with the pressures of adulthood, but not quite ready to give up on the dreams of their youth. The four leads have great chemistry from the start, and I really felt like I was watching real friendships. I think that's this dramas appeal. Of course, it's also a romantic comedy. The rom com elements center mostly around close friends who begin to realize/admit they have feelings for each other, but there is also a complimenting storyline of a longtime couple who's relationship gets tested. Both couples are really realistic, even dealing with some super corny and cliché moments.
I've seen Park Seo Joon in quite a few dramas now, where he definitely knows how to turn on the charm, and this role is no different. He plays fighter Dong Man, who leaves the sport behind after a fight leads to controversy, and is just making ends meet with an annoying job and without any passion. Kim Ji Won plays Choi Ae Ra, his girl bff, who has a natural talent for public speaking, but can't seem to find a way to make her announcer dream come true. Before watching I heard a lot about their chemistry, so I was excited to watch, but in the beginning I wasn't impressed. I thought she was annoyingly bossy, and he was so dopey, that their moments together seemed more childish than romantic in any way. Eventually, as their silliness grew on me, so did their romantic chemistry, and I was suddenly completely invested in their relationship. I also loved that they were so comfortable with each other. As their passion for each other develops, so does their passion for following their dreams, and both were inspiring to watch.
Song Ha Yoon and Ahn Jae Hong were endearing, and sometimes heartbreaking, as Seol Hee and Joo Man. There were times when I cared more about their storyline than the main couple, and they definitely made me much more emotional. I laughed, cried, and yelled at the screen over their relationship. I will say that I think Jae Hong is the MVP of this whole cast. She has a seemingly simple, and passive role, but she brought so much depth to the character that she brought me to tears.
The supporting cast was great. I adored the kid versions of the main characters, and thought the supporting cast had some pretty memorable characters (I loved the coach). Even when the writing was lacking, the characters pulled it off and made me keep caring. I do wish that Kim Sung Oh and Jin Hee Kyung had stronger storylines, and think that some talents were wasted by bad writing.
The writing is my biggest problem with this drama, especially towards the end. The most frustrating for me was that Jin Hee Kyung's Landlady character deserved a much better storyline, and they took too long to get into it, so the ending felt way too rushed. The land lady's son also wasn't given enough time to develop into someone I cared about at all. The Fight story was completely predictable, even if the fight scenes were entertaining, and hearing Ae Ra complain, and Tak Soo scheme started to get way too repetitive for me. The ex girlfriend seemed almost forgotten about completely at one point. The sister looked like she had the potential to be interesting, but was more like a glorified extra. I do have to give the writer some credit, because with each episode I was still entertained, and couldn't wait to watch the next episode... for the most part. The last two episodes, however, were pretty disappointing, and although it was a satisfying ending from the character's standpoint, I was more aware of how many loose ends or weak stories there were. The last scene was cute, but ridiculous, and felt like they just didn't know how to end it and gave up. I almost think that the drama could have used an extra 2 or 4 episodes to tell all the stories well, or cut the extra stories out completely and maybe make the whole thing shorter.
Overall, this is a fun drama, with a good soundtrack, and likable characters, so it's hard to complain too much. Also, I wish I had that secret rooftop bar in my life. That may be my favorite thing about the whole drama! I could watch "Fight for my Way" again, just for the interactions alone, but it's not high on my rewatch list. I think it's easy to relate to, so I understand why it has such high ratings from viewers, and I definitely recommend watching it if your expectations aren't too high. This is definitely the kind of cast you will want to cheer for as they fight through quarter-life-crisis feels, and support each other along the way.
Was this review helpful to you?
A Better Tomorrow was the film that launched John Woo reputation as an action director after few failures in other genres. Through this film, Woo broke the usual Hong Kong ways of making action films that should always be either Kung Fu or Wuxia; he made a gangster film that became an absolute classic.
The film itself has a deep involving plot. It’s true that I admire John Woo films because I am an action junkie and I am forever in love with violent films but that’s not everything that I love about Woo’s films. What I also appreciate is his ways of making us feel the characters and care for their destinies as well as the relationships between them. The story within A Better Tomorrow is not some shallow action telling; there is the suffering of characters, the angst, the friendship, the brotherhood, the loyalty, the sacrifice and the rest of John Woo favorite themes that he never fails to make them shine.
If we leave the drama behind, we get an amazing action film with well-choreographed gunfights even if they were in a lesser amount than John Woo’s later films “The Killer” and “Hard Boiled”. You see, the usual John Woo pie of making action (heroic-bloodshed genre) is: guns, lots of guns, many people (preferably dead more than alive), two (or sometimes three) heroes who kill and kill then kill again, explosions, crazy gunplay and bullets flying everywhere. A Better Tomorrow was the film that started it all.
The acting was great, this was also the film that launched Chow Yun Fat’s stardom and made him take a big leap of success as a films’ actor. After this, he took the main role in almost all John Woo Hong Kong films. Then there’s Ti Lung and Leslie Cheng as a somewhat third lead; the three of them had a great combination but Chow Yun Fat had the strongest performance.
The characters weren’t always cool; they had their own pathetic pitiful moments which help the audience relate to them. And let’s not forget that their development was quite wonderful.
The cinematography was nice; I recently re-watched this film and it wasn’t even obvious that this was made in the 80’s. Needless to say, this is a great re-watching material especially after a long time of first viewing.
Watch if:
- You like John Woo action films because this is the one that started it all.
- You enjoy gangster films with brotherhood and friendship themes.
- You’re in the mood for a great action film.
Do not watch if:
- You dislike Action or violent films.
- You dislike John Woo’s work.
A Better Tomorrow is a classic out of its genre and a deep action film that still feels so good even after 30 years.
Was this review helpful to you?
The story started out strong and there is good development throughout up until episode 8. There were less noticable cliches than other Thai BL dramas like too much unnecessary 'classmates seating together in the bench with irrelevant conversations' scenes. This is not a teenybopper show and the sexiness has even surpassed the first season.
The cast also did a good job, especially Boat and Ryu (Em and Pun). Tar also did good with the little time he was given. The weakest of the bunch is the main lead Net (Sib)- his character and his acting was annoying as hell and that says a lot considering the one supposed to be annoying is the female lead, but still, even with that mentioned, I enjoyed their delivery overall.
Just like in some of my other reviews and as a decorator in real life, id specially like to mention the good quality of the sets. The one thing i hate is that eventhough the homes were all beautifully decorated, it was too obvious that they were using the model units and all of them were in the same condominium (the logo of which appears so prominently throughout the show - this is not how you do product placement).
But like I said in the beginning and unfortunately, for me, the last 2 episodes were a mess - some of the characters were making questionable decisions while the main actor was stucked in indecisiveness. That time jump in the end was also arguably unnecessary - they cant even bother to change the looks (at least a haircut) of the 3 characters just to show that 3 years has really passed. Also, it feels like the writers cant decide who is the best match and totally blotched the ending making me feel so sorry for Em and Tar cause they totally deserved better.
I gave it an overall score of 7 stars out of 10. Would I rewatch, i dont think so, unless Pun somehow magically chooses Em.
Was this review helpful to you?
Interesting, but could have benefited from character development
First, how depressing is this show?Human trafficking is a heavy topic for sure. And they wanted to focus on the victims and their families, so a large portion is devoted to telling their stories. The first child abduction story in particular goes in depth in showing how a family can fall apart after something like this, and is rather heartbreaking to watch.
That said, it IS a story about the police catching criminals and bringing them to justice, which is a good thing. And these police are remarkably successful. Their success snowballs and they catch criminal after criminal, saving victim after victim. They end up solving every case that’s introduced, even decades-old cold cases.
It doesn’t seem that realistic to me. All the outcomes seem a little too good; somehow everyone gets saved in the nick of time. Some victims, of course, have PTSD, but they are shown to be healing and/or their stories get dropped.
It bothered me a little that everything goes well, because real life isn’t like that. But at the same time, the show became much less stressful after I picked up on this pattern that things usually end up working out. It’s not all fun and games, for sure- I still cried a lot- and not everything is casualty-free. But considering its subject matter, it’s nowhere near as dark as it could be.
That aside, I was initially very interested in this show because it has a strong female lead with no romance. This means the story is actually about her as her own person (think about how rare this is in Cdramaland).
However, it ends up being not really about her at all. Deng Yan has her backstory, but it doesn’t factor too differently than any of the other cases; it’s just the biggest and most central one. There isn’t much focus on developing her character or showing her personal journey. She does seem a bit out of her depth at first, but there’s no real transition from that to being incredibly capable. At some point you just realize that she’s quite good at knowing what to do next and assigning responsibilities.
The other members of the team are all very likable, and we see them a lot, but we don’t actually get to know them that well. They’re just doing business. Chang Rui is listed as a lead, but he’s honestly just another team member- a very capable one who does some undercover work at the beginning, and gets maybe half an episode’s worth of character development, but by the middle of the show he’s already not that important.
There is no drama between team members. They’re coworkers who get along. There are some meaningful and supportive conversations between them, which I liked, but they are few. As mentioned before, no romance- which I found to be a good thing.
Although it was a conscious choice not to focus on the team’s personal stories, I think the show would have benefited from at least a little development. That would have given me something to emotionally invest in. We’re probably supposed to get an emotional hit from the victim stories, but I personally couldn’t feel too attached to any one, because there are so many. One story ends and it’s onto the next, rapid fire with little follow-up. It almost gets repetitive (they are very successful!), which might be why they stop showing the rescues after awhile. Instead, we are simply informed that so and so was found.
The other part of the plot is police solving crimes. It’s rather procedural, eg lots of interrogations at the police station, or team meetings showing their train of thought. I thought it was interesting but sometimes a little repetitive. For example, they use each captured perpetrator to find the next, and we hear over and over again the same arguments to make them talk. I agree the interrogations need these exchanges, but there are perhaps one too many layers in the web of criminals.
Eventually, the story settles down to just a few big fish. So there is a little more focus towards the end. The show does a good job hinting at the mastermind, keeping us in suspense before the reveal.
I’m not sure how many of the cases are based on true stories (all?)- maybe there are so many because, that way, more peoples’ stories are told. The lack of follow-up mirrors the police’s perspective in that, when one victim is recovered, it’s onto the next. The multitude of victims and criminals gives us an idea of the scope of the problem.
Still, from a narrative perspective, I would have preferred fewer stories and more in depth for each. I think it makes a better story when we can emotionally invest in characters who reappear throughout the show- whether those are the police or the victims- and follow their journeys all the way through. The Ranran case is the only one that achieves that in this show.
Acting-wise, I found Dilraba’s acting to be very natural here, I thought she did a good job. The other actors all did well too, for example the rest of the police team, the victims and their families that had to do so much crying, and especially the criminals who had to act all shifty and seedy. Imagine landing that kind of role!
Production-wise, this show seems nowhere near as polished as the dramas I’m used to. I guess it was rather low budget. I actually really liked all their clothing, very sensible. They don’t use background music that often, but it was nice when they did; I think the show would have benefited from more.
There was something weird with the sound mixing. Music would start and stop abruptly, and the sound effects, voices, background static, etc had inconsistent volume. An unverified online source said that this show uses on-set recorded sound, except for some dubbing they had to do to pass censorship. I wonder if censorship explains why everything goes so well for these police.
Overall, although this show didn't have me as emotionally invested as I would have liked, I still found it to be interesting and informative. It highlights an issue I wasn’t all that familiar with, and made me only slightly more scared to walk outside alone at night.
ENDING – READ AHEAD ONLY IF YOU WANT TO KNOW, CONTAINS SPOILERS
I found the ending really disappointing.
They do catch the final criminal (still confused how they sniped him without killing him) and everyone makes it out alive. The only notable death in this show is Officer Yin, who dies somewhere in the second half. Chang Rui’s story, which I had almost forgotten about, gets a little wrapup. And they do finally find Ranran, working in the fields of a remote village.
However, they only really show us a brief glimpse of Ranran. After that we get a bunch of pretty propaganda words and random flashbacks. A quick montage shows us that some of the victims seem to be doing well.
Ranran’s story is the central case of the show, and the lack of further detail or follow-up is a glaring omission that probably leaves every viewer staring blankly at their screen with a “wtf” look on their face. I don’t know who thought this was a good idea. If you look online you can probably find somebody justifying it as bittersweet artistic or something. But after so much emotional investment in this case, such an ending definitely left me feeling empty and unsatisfied.
Was this review helpful to you?
