Reviews

Bad Writing Failed The Actors

LIKE:
Boun & Prem’s chemistry
Waan & Tul story
Manow & Phruek
Location shots (the resorts)
Boun riding motorcycle
FX: blood injury looked real

DISLIKE:
WRITING:
Making Team so childish and whinny, got annoying fast.
Flashbacks used too often and the same ones over and over.
No in-depth back story to explain Win’s fear of commitment. He’s a peace keeper in his family, he’s rich…. AND?
Too many side stories & characters, when focus should’ve been on Team & Win, Manow and Phruek.
No character development for anyone.
Pacing issues caused by repetition and dragged out moments, making it boring without the intimate scenes.
Badly handled mental health issues; once again writer/production team carelessly approached the mental health problems of the characters.

PRODUCTION: Shaking camera moments, please don’t get the k-drama syndrome and use your film stabilizer. Sound editing was not good (either a mic issue or something else).

MUSIC: over powered actors voices too often and certain songs overplayed.

OVERALL:
The actors did well with what they were given. No excuse for bad or lazy writing with characters and zero plot dimension. They had 2 years during the pandemic to focus on what the fans wanted story wise, but failed in so many ways [see all the negative reviews for in-depth analysis of plot/story/writing issues]. (I like Boun and Prem, I want to see them working with other writers and production companies. If Boun won’t do BL without Prem, how about give him a female love interest?)
I will watch certain moments again, or just wait for someone to do a scene compilation on Youtube. I would recommend it to someone who is just starting to watch the BL (Boy Love) genre.

Read More

I was very much surprised with this drama. I started watching it because I liked the cast and the story sounded interesting enough, and I'm so happy I did, because it has found it's place to my heart in a way.

I ended up with a lot of questions in my head like: Can a person ignore its old dreams to create new ones? Can we be happy if we grab to the little things and ignore the rest? Is a short life worth living? Is love enough to support a family? Can we smile when everything is falling apart?

The story is simple but touching, and kept me wanting to see the next episode. Often I laughed and often tears came into my eyes. It mixes a lot of subjects like work, dreams, raising children, animals, society, life and death.

I already knew a lot of the actors, but not the children, all of them were simply great, even the dog! Nishikido Ryo and Mizukawa Asami make an excelente pair. And even though the drama is not a romance drama, you can capture in the little gestures and words, the love they have for each other, even if they don't say it, you can almost feel it. It gives a sense of reality to the all story.

The music was good, and fited the moments well, but it was nothing out of the ordinary.

As for watching this drama again, I will definitly re-watch some of my favorite scenes.

This is not a "five stars" drama, but for a family drama it is very good and I surely recommend it within the gender.

Read More

Good Enough

Korean Drama " Hello, Me! " had an interesting story that is not encountered often. The fantasy- time travel element was handled nicely, the family drama was quite impactful and the character development on point. However, the drama didn't manage to leave a mark and it's quite forgettable.

The story, first of all, centers around Ha Ni, who's the complete opposite of who she was when she was a teenager. And, even though the reasons why she turned out to be this way were there, the drama failed to explore them properly, though her family drama was strong and supported masterfully by everyone in the cast. The romance, moreover, was slow, a bit silly at first, and was often left out, set aside so that the slice of life will be more on focus. Also, the love triangle was more enjoyable for the bromance rather than the romantic vibes.

In addition, the relationship between 17-year-old Ha Ni and 37-year-old Ha Ni was more like a mother-daughter than between two people of the same person. But that can be easily overlooked, as the slice of life genre often took the lead, with some heartwarming stories added here and there to enhance the main story and older Ha Ni's character. Also, the character development was just perfect, smoothly done and excellently handled. But, the ending was predictable and felt lukewarm.

So, overall, six out of ten.

Read More

A fun drama to watch !

True beauty was just a fun drama to watch during your downtime or if you need a break from any action pack dramas. I think this is a show that is not for everyone. True beauty is a fun and endearing show, also really tropey but it was really silly, But I would recommend this if you just need a calm drama with not that much thinking.

Okay for that acting I enjoyed their acting it was not the best but it was still amazing.
Ju Kyung is a bit ditzy and clumsy, she grew a bit better as a character which was great. Moon Ga Young did a great job at portraying this character and made you feel sympathy towards Ju Kyung. I defiantly wanted her to have a better future.
Soo Ho was one of the love interests of Ju Kyung, he was like the tsundere type coming off as cold at first and then slowly you get to know him more. Cha Eun Woo did a great job at playing Soo Ho since he did play a similar character in My ID is Gangnam Beauty so I believe he took some elements from that character due to similarities.
Ju Kyung and Soo Ho relationship were super cute and just fun to watch. One of my favorite things about this couple is that Soo Ho falls in love with Ju Kyung first.
Seo Joon !! I loved him !! Seo Joon grew on me during the show and I was kinda rooting for him a bit at the end. He was a bad boy and Hwang In Yeop played him so well probably one of my newest favorite actors.
For Seo Joon and Ju Kyung's relationship, I found it so cute. They had a playful and tease relationship which I'm a sucker for Lol.
Soo Ho and Seo Joon's relationship were honestly one of the most heartbreaking things to watch in this show, there was just a lot of misunderstanding between them. I just wanted them to just sit and talk and when they finally did it was so heartwarming seeing their friendship come back. I love this bromance

OST not one of my favorites but did enjoy all the songs. My favorites were "Love So Fine" by Cha Eunwoo and "How Do You Do?" by Chani

Read More

painting together is more romantic than flirting will ever be!

before i start i want to mention i have watched the movie version of this drama although i have heard that the scenes were the same and obviously people will read the reviews for the series rather than on the movie version so i will be writing my review here.

first off, as this is a 2021 kbl, dont expect a very high budget or show stopping cinematography. with the budget they had (which i assume isnt very big) they did a wonderful job. effects didnt look low quality enough to ruin any of the scenes, the drama was filmed nicely and i found the drama to be overall visually pleasing. the plot felt very new to me and i found it to be unique, though this was my first historical drama so there might be a bias here. the pacing and the development of their relationship felt a bit rushed/out of nowhere, but i cant complain too much since i absolutely adored them. in my completely honest opinion, the chemistry wasnt anything crazy at first and i was actually quite lost as to who the love interest is, but once it hit a certain point, i found their chemistry to be very good and i got very attached to them!

another thing is a lot of people say this drama is boring, which sure, it can be a bit boring or slow if ur looking for a lot of action or strong romance in the whole series. but i personally adored how light and cute this drama was and i didnt mind that not much was going on. especially in the second half of the show, i feel like their relationship was just so beautiful it totally made me forget about anything else happening. so yes, this might be a very light drama with not much going on, but their relationship, their words, and everything about them makes up for it!! and to me the drama was very interesting in the second half especially near the end but to avoid spoilers im gonna leave it at that!

if youre not looking for lot of action but a light romance with a very beautiful relationship between the characters this show is perfect for you!! it took me a while to get to it due to negative reviews, but now i regret not watching it earlier. genuinely a hidden gem!

tldr: real romance. super pretty. got me smiling. painting together is more romantic than flirting!

Read More

Don't worry about the trashy Chinese version because this Thai remake is made with care and love!

This Thai version really deserved the praise and it's really one of the best versions that I've seen! I really respect the production crew's effort and all the hard work to make the original manga version closer towards the Thai culture and their environment. This version definitely has the best mix of all the versions adapted, they really made good use of the iconic/significant scenes and removed the unnecessary ones.

At first, when I saw the casts I was honestly quite scared it will turned like the recent Chinese remake with only empty shell good looks but amateurish/bad acting... But this version really didn't disappoint me and in fact it has became one of the dramas I will rewatch again!

To be very honest, this version found the perfect actress as the FL. Her acting wasn't annoying at all and it's a very fortunate thing since this female character does has a lot of arguments and frustration scenes to deliver which the FL in the Korean and Chinese adaptation definitely failed to deliver the correct way of expressing emotions...

IF I really need to nitpick, I would say the plot for the fiancée part could have been better in terms of the process. To which my favourite version for this part is still the Korean one where the fiancee is very clear minded and didn't go all blinded by love like this version.

Overall, I urge everyone who are into the F4 story please watch because you won't regret it! Really the best and I'm not over exaggerating just cuz of good looks but because they really made the effort to make a good story and also a good closure for the ending!

Read More

What I enjoyed:
• Themes: good vs evil, loyalty, selfishness vs selflessness, mob mentality and group think, justice vs revenge, exploitation and corruption of power, privilege, justice, forgiveness, relationships (familial, romantic, friendship, brotherhood, siblings, parent/child)
• Music: I loved the soundtrack. I enjoyed the instrumental soundtrack more than the character songs
• Locations and sets: I loved the whole aesthetic behind different sect/clan principal residences. Especially Cloud Recesses and Lotus Pier
• Love story: It was a joy to watch their beautiful, but tragic love story unfold
• LWJ looked fresh, beautiful, and ethereal during second half of the drama
• Costumes: The different colors made it easier to tell the different clans apart

What I didn’t enjoy:
• Majority of the female characters were killed off and there weren’t many to begin with. I think only 3 female characters with lines survived
• WWX looked terrible in the second half. I’m not sure if it was a director’s choice, but he looked sickly, unwell, and deathly pale
• LWJ becoming chief cultivator. This just doesn’t make any sense. LWJ has shown zero interest in leadership roles. He outright ignores the other cultivators so it’s unbelievable that he’d have any capital to procure the chief cultivator position.
• It took forever to wrap up the JGY arc. Seriously, just kill him already. I totally agreed with WWX when he blurted, “Can we stop talking and just start fighting?”
• Plot: plot was confusing for the first two episodes
• Extra long flashback: When the flashback ended, I couldn’t recall what happened in episode 1 and 2
• JGY has the most punchable face and his dimples did nothing for me. He was also hammy in several scenes
• Wang Yibo looked dazed, sleepy, and unfocused in early flashback scenes episodes. It was a bit distracting
• Styling: I wished the director would have styled WWX differently after his resurrection. But he essentially had the same hairstyle, same look, same feel
• LWJ appearance: He looked ethereal and beautiful, but I felt that Wang Yibo should have bulked up for the role. His character is supposed to be more muscular and stronger than WWX.
• Noticeable continuity/editing errors. On repeated watch, the errors will become more noticeable
• The Ending: Initially, I was so confused by the ending. Did they end up together? Did they go their separate way? After doing a bit of research, I came to the conclusion that they did spend some time apart, but reunited after some time.

Overall, I LOVED The Untamed. After watching the drama, I read the novel, watched the Special Edition, watched BTS videos, watched interviews with the actors, read up on all The Untamed content I could find, and watched fan made music videos. This is the only drama that has captivated me (I've seen several dramas)

Read More

Never again!

Okay I saw the description of this drama and thought it was gonna be great cause it’s a plot that I love personally (contract marriage dramas etc…) but boy oh boy was I wrong!! The beginning was cool, nothing too special about it but as I keep watching I start to get more and more irritated and frustrated with everything!! Starting off with the FL’s AWFUL “friends” they literally screwed her life over and she didn’t send them to prison!?! They also made a credit card in HER name and she didn’t do anything about it!? Anyway that’s when I started to get mad but since it was only the beginning I decided to just keep watching. Now the ML and FL are living together and “married” but all they do is yell, and scream, and shout at each other!! But the most frustrating part was how they should have been in a real relationship by like episode 11 AT LEAST! but their ego’s and their pride got in the way every time one of them tried to confess!! At this point I can’t stop watching cause I spent wayyyy too much time invested in this and it would have been a waste to stop watching now. I have NEVER been soooo disappointed in a drama ending before in my life!! All that for the ML to confess in a tent in their backyard while he’s sick btw! And then the kiss was horrid! We only see the two mains as a couple on screen for about 7 minutes in total and then the last 8 minutes of the drama is a recap of the ENTIRE drama like we didn’t just watch the whole thing!! I REFUSE to watch this drama again!! I’m gonna see if Full House 2 is any good but based on the first one I don’t have high hopes!!

Read More

This drama really caught me by surprise. I read so many great reviews, but based on the synopsis, and the length, I honestly expected to drop it. Instead, I couldn't stop watching. I had no idea what I was getting myself into watching the first episode, but I felt like I blinked and I was suddenly laughing and crying through episode 30. I avoided this drama in the past, because of the amount of episodes, but It felt shorter than some dramas with almost half the amount of episodes. I guess this qualifies as a textbook "makjang" drama, so yes the plot gets pretty unbelievable. What made even the most ridiculous parts of the plot work for me was that I genuinely cared about the characters.

The cast really was amazing... mostly. The chemistry between all the characters kept me engaged, even when the plot was a little wtf. There were some moments when the acting was so over the top that it was comical, which probably has a lot to do with the style of drama, so that's the only reason I didn't give the acting/cast a 10.

Hwang Jung Eum's spunk in other dramas makes sense to me now. Even though Kill Me, Heal Me is one of my drama favorites, this is definitely a close second for my favorite role I've seen her in. Honestly, her perky personality can be a little annoying, but it was perfect for portraying Woo Ri. Then there's Kim Jae Won, with that cute smile - the kind of smile that makes me smile involuntarily. I adored the way he played Dong Joo without milking the role for sympathy. I also have to applaud the writers for making him a strong character, and not just a victim. In fact, neither were victims, which was refreshing. I couldn't get enough of their chemistry too. They had so many instant rewind-worthy cute scenes. They really were a great, and believable, match.

It would take too long to sing the whole cast's praises, but honorable mentions to Nam Gung Min as moody Ma Roo, Lee Hye Young as "Mommy Dearest" Tae Hyun Sook, forever friendzoned Lee Kyu Han as Seung Chul (will he ever get the girl?), Yoon Yeo Jeong as potty mouth halmeoni, and the perfectly cast younger versions... The only cast member I didn't like was Kang Moon Young, who's face was honestly distracting, and her character Shin Ae was one note until the very end. The True MVP of the cast is Jeong Bo Seok as Bong Young Kyu. I wasn't sure what to make of the character at first, but by the end he was the character that made me cry, and laugh, and showed unexpected depth. I would rate his acting well above a 10.

The writers did a great job keeping the show entertaining from start to finish. The drama itself is part love story and part corporate family drama. The love story, from the very beginning, had me hooked because it was so sweet. It had the obvious obstacles that happen in most kdrama romances, but the real focus was on their connection, and support for each other, which made me love their relationship more. The corporate drama, which normally I start to zone out on, actually kept me engaged too, because of Cha Dong Joo and Jang Joon Ha's bromance. Backstabbing, jealousy, and revenge can get pretty boring when the characters are shallow, but because the relationships were so strong, I was totally engaged. That's why I gave this drama a high rewatch value. I could definitely see myself watching this again.

I will also give music a 10 because it plays such a huge part in the story. Music brings Dong Joo and Woo Ri together. Music is how the family gets through hard times. It's not that the soundtrack is exceptional as much as how much the music connected me more to the drama. One scene where Dong Joo sings is a perfect example of how a song doesn't have to be beautiful to convey a beautiful moment.

Overall, the theme of this drama is family, the kind of family that goes far beyond blood relationships. It conveys that in beautiful, touching, and bizarre ways (Kim Yeo Jin, I'm looking at you). With that theme in mind, there were no lost moments in this drama for me, and even the ridiculous started to make sense. The final episode is where the theme really hit home for me, and the ending was absolutely perfect.

This drama is probably not for everyone, and is a pretty big commitment, but I would recommend people giving it a try. I know I am now no longer going to avoid a drama based simply on episode count, because time flies when you're having fun (even when "fun" means crying your eyes out, or yelling at the screen).

This is the kind of drama that you can't enjoy if you watch it with a logical brain, you have to watch it with an open heart to really enjoy it.

Read More

A Korean Waste of Space

I was really loving this but by episode 8 or so I started to notice the dramas flaw.

Honestly I just ship the heck out of PK and our cutest zombie girl. Their interactions sincerely added 50 years to my life. They are just so darn cute.

I also have to admit that while at first I thought the Devil King's tantrums were funny, they kind of have become really repetitive. I mean c'mon can't you think of something better to do with this epic character?

Somehow this kdrama went from a 9 to a 7, and ultimately a 6.

I was also starting to ship the heck out of Son O-Gong and Seon Mi but honestly that bracelet is stopping me from fully shipping them. In all honesty, if Seon Mi really loved him she would have removed the bracelet by now since it's only hurting the person she loves. But does she remove it? NO! And there's honestly no reason for her to keep it on Son O-Gong. Like if you want to be in a healthy relationship you need to remove that bracelet and you need to trust him. I get that she still needs him but he probably would still help her because he obviously loves her too and he still has the deal with her which they made years ago. I'm really getting annoyed, well I'm actually fucking pissed off, that the bracelet is still there. For fuck's sake it is currently hurting him even more as in he literally threw up blood because of that fucking bracelet but she still didn't take it off him. I mean how is all of this healthy and how can this ever result in a supportive, trusthwortgy, healthy and swoon worthy relationship if she never takes the braces off him? I really REALLY fucking hate this. I DON'T GET IT, I DON'T UNDERSTAND. SERIOUSLY TELL ME WHY

Also, this didn't really need to have 20 episodes of seventy minutes long. 

However, I do like the mix of the past and the present & I especially loved the episode when they went into a film set in the time when Korea was occupied by Japan. I sincerely need more dramas about that time period.

The side characters also made this show. I truly loved PK, Richie, Ms Ma, Seon Mi's employee, the fancy CEO and maid to Son O-Gong, and the octopus. I also really liked Son O-Gong, he was pretty epic too.

I'm fucking mad about the ending that my babies PK and Richie got. They deserved so much better!

To be honest, this show could have been so much better and really good, amazing if it had better writers. I'm not really a fan of the Hong Sisters. I don't think they're that great. The concept and idea were really cool but the execution of the story itself really lacked. Once again better writers could have solved this and saved this kdrama that never fulfilled its potential.

The ending was just straight up bad. I honestly regret waisting my time on this kdrama.

Read More

They really outdid themselves

Trust me, I used to think korean BLs have always been disappointing since I have watched enough of them. Watched To my star season 1 and that time it was one my most liked korean BL but after seeing the season two which aired today (3rd June) and I just watched it, I'm spellbounded.

The best thing about this story was the duration. It was just perfect and the last episode being over 43 mins just made it hella satisfying. The pace was really good but can be a little slow for some. They added alot of new characters which made it confusing at first but then it felt they're a family. Also, almost all Korean bl have a really weird plot (if ukwim) but the plot here was really good and was portrayed really well. Though I was confused as to why the plot at the beginning turned out to be like that. I'm not gonna spoil anything hence even the smallest spoiler will just ruin the fun.

Ik we all want to see the erotic scenes (lol) u might not like it cause they won't kiss in many episodes cause the plot is like that but whenever they'll kiss it will just give you the butterflies. Also this drama has the most crazy kisses I've ever seen in Korean BLs, I wanted to scream whenever they went crazyy :p
It's literally my first time rating a kdrama ITS THAT GOOD.

I'm more into dark and gruesome genre but this has to be an exception. Really want this drama to be a hit and loved by everyone. Hats off to the main leads for leaving me shooked with their emotionsss. Loved the ost and acting. EVERYONE SLAYED. The emotions felt soo realll.
Daebak!

Read More

Dull story about unrequited love?

If you want to know what this drama is about read the name ... literally the male lead is a wood ( which means he's kinda dull, nerdy, and boring) . This drama has barely any romance! just to warn you guys. I was not a fan of this drama.


1) male lead is boring, dull, nerdy and did not stand out too much. He was just too much of a goody two shoe. He just tried to prove himself going from the lower test score and worked his way up. He liked the female lead but was way too shy/ focused on school to even tell her.
2) Female lead didn't stand out too much. She was your average pretty girl in school, popular, class monitor, also some what smart.
3) there is a bad boy character and he likes the female lead. To me he almost felt like the male lead.... Part of the story were heavily focused on him. His character was not developed well, just portrayed as a bad boy, cutting class, always tries to "bully " the female lead to get her attention.
4) No romance... Some stories focus is not romance, this is the story. The only little romance is actually between the female lead and bad boy aka second male lead, for like couple episodes. At first everything was kinda cute then it just suddenly turned to this weird direction. Basically the bad boy didnt part from his ways of playing video games, going to play pool with strangers and then not spending time with the female lead. I hoped to like his character more but i couldn't . I thought he would be the type that has the baddie image but is a softy, but no... He does something to attract the female lead, they get together, at first he's caring but then he stops and gets back to his own world. What a ass....
5) the baddie character in the end kind of just fades away.... like where did he go ?
6) Storyline- was not developed very smooth . Good thing it was only 24 eps so i got through them. I thought the female lead would like the male lead but she doesnt... The male lead's development is lacking.

I wouldnt recommend this school drama, there are way better ones out there. If you want to watch a cute school drama watch lovely us :)

Read More

put your brain away when watching

Everyone would know that this show is gonna be comedic through the poster.. The FL is not drop dead gorgeous like your typical FL and the show revolve around how she wins the heart of people in the palace & ofcourse the ML (aka. the emperor). I truly enjoyed the first half of the show, it really made me laughed out loud. Li Hong Yi is also one of the main reasons why I started this show and given that he chose this kind of script/storyplot i was really looking forward to it (and c'mon, i can look at his face everyday!) .

THE GOOD:
1. ML is very good looking
2. Not a stressful show ( no villians in this show and even the most 'evil' person if not exactly a bad person too.)
3. Funny plot and FL (FL does not try hard to make people like her which i like)

THE NORMAL:
1. illogical plot (and given FL's behavior she would not have survived or atleast gained 10x more enemies.)
2. Their intimacy scenes are very sweet although the chemistry isn't there completely

THE BAD:
1. Lack of chemistry between FL and ML maybe because i don't get to see how ML fall in love with her also.. it came rather randomly.
2. Show does get draggy towards the end .. could have ended at 20 episodes
3. Plot is about how the FL made the palace more lively but i don't think it was portrayed well enough. it felt like people gave in to her eventually only.

FINAL VERDICT: recommended if you want a good laugh, can fast forward most of it after 20 episodes. brainless show, good if u don't want to stress yourself out.

Read More