Reviews

This is such a sensational drama, that truly does stand out from the rest. Personally I loved it from the beginning and I was so invested by it that I even considered it as the most well done crime mystery drama at some point. It is really hard to objectively rate this drama as it takes some unexpected turn and I'm still not sure how to feel about it.

I originally started Misty because I read somewhere that there is a strong female lead in it. That was enough reason for me to watch at least the first episode. However, once you finish this very first episode, believe me, there is no way back.

Go Hye Ran is a strong ambitious woman who works as an anchor for a news station and is considered as the best in her field. She has set clear goals in her life and she is ready to do anything to reach them. However behind her success, there are a lot of sacrifices, hard made decisions and her personal life is a mess. One day, she becomes the prime suspect for a murder and her husband who works as a lawyer will try to clear her name. This is the initial situation, I really can’t say more without giving you some spoilers so I’ll stop here.

The storyline is perfection. From episode one to the very end, the suspense and mystery are present and you will struggle to restore the truth behind the appearance. Every time you think you have the right answer, new facts will arise and make you establish new theories and doubt new characters. Misty, indeed.

The actors were all great, especially Kim Nam Joo who is the highlight of this drama. She is so incredible that now I can not imagine someone else for this role. I believe that the most important thing in this drama are the characters and their development. The choices they have made through their lives and where those choices have brought them. Did they made the right decisions? How far did they go to reach happiness?

I have to say one word about the stunning camera work. The cinematography is truly beautiful, the camera captures the essence of the thematic through aesthetically pleasing angles, colors and framing.

But then I have to say a word about the fashion design as well. Go Hye Ran is one of the most well-dressed woman I’ve seen in kdramas. So many screenshots on my computer and how many times did I thought « I want to dress like her when I’m older ». Classy and elegant.

The music plays an important role in this drama and fits perfectly to each scene. While it adds more effect to the suspens and more impact to the action, it also manages to capture our hearts with the beautiful, nostalgic and calm soundtrack.

My only regret is the ending, as a twisted drama I was expecting something more till the very end. A lot of people say that the end is just fine for them and I tried to make up my mind as well but I can’t hide my disappointment. With another ending, I would give this a 10/10 for sure.

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Am I too much to give 10 to all? But I think the drama deserves it.

The storyline was perfect. It was simple but at the same time it is painful, very realistic. It was more than just a romance, it was also about family, friends and even self. Both the leads had gone through such a devastating incident and even after more than a decade, they are haunted. Two broken souls fixed each other. Even if it means lending broken parts to the each other. The story was sad, but that's the reality of life. People come and go, trauma happens, illness arrives.. and that's life. We may think we're at worst, but we have no idea others may have it worse.

The acting was superb! Especially the one who portrayed Lee Kang Doo! I heard he's an idol and he's underappreciated but I admit he's really good. I felt all the emotions, I felt the character. Lee Kang Doo's character was written perfectly. At first he was just a troublemaker, but as the story goes on he made me realized how good of a person he is. His life was never easy. He had gone through a lot. But despite the hardships, he was really strong, thoughtful, kind, loving and all the positive attitude I can elaborate! As for Ha Moon Soo's character, she was played really well by the actress. I also felt the pain and the emotion. I liked that her character is not fragile considering she's been through a lot. She never gave up despite everything.

I also liked all the supporting role. Jin Wan Unni, Jin Wan's boyfriend, Sang Man, Sang Man's mom, So Mi, Grandma, Mari, Team Leader and all the side casts I forgot to mention. I felt sad for the CEO (the 2nd lead guy) because hello second lead syndrome. Even for Jeong Yoo Jin, I taught she was going to be just a typical 2nd lead we all will hate but guess what, she's not. I liked her character so much and she was really outstanding, but sadly her lovestory didn't end well.

The music fits the drama really well! It was so good and it's perfect for the drama.

For rewatch, I will definitely watch it all again even if it means feeling the pain over again.

And.. am I the only one who cried the whole last episode? I don't usually cry but this drama hit me!

P.S. If you are considering watching this, get your tissues ready.

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It took only a half day to complete this drama. The drama is pretty light and cute. I found it's concept a bit new cause I've already seen dramas where writers get into their own writing and become evil second lead , which is totally opposite to their personality and you know then what happens but this one was a second lead of the story coming out to change his own fate, isn't it a bit interesting (at least it was for me). After reading this much you would've realized that the love story revolves around the novel character and the novelist. The novelist has "Androphobia" and if she gets in contact with any male like skin contact then in seconds hair grows on her body and she even gets a mustache (that's a bit unbelievable but you know you're watching drama so many nonsense things are accepted). What do you think of the 2 cohabiting, of course it's not easy but it's not difficult if you think that the guy is a gay XD. If you find it interesting after reading this much then you may give it a try cause I've already given you some spoilers at least for intro episodes. But yes it would've been more better if the ending wasn't that rushed :-(
Anyways, The story was good to give a try!
Hope the review was helpful. Thank you for reading^^
And Good Luck , if you're gonna try it ^^

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a series of gender discrimination was mentioned in the series

I missed this series 😭 I loved it so much, I thought it was just a cliche and nonsense series but no, it was very lovely 😭🥺 It was full of good feelings. And finally there is a series that will make you feel good every minute 😭 and the most interesting thing was the relationship of the main couple of the series, unlike the other couples of Kdrama, the couple of this series have a very healthy and mature relationship, they don't fight or break up over trivial things. They didn't get upset, their relationship surprised me a lot. Also, a series of gender discrimination was mentioned in the series. This is what makes this series special for me. It was great, I enjoyed watching it😭🥺❤️

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Development done right, despite being only 6 episodes

I personally started off as not enjoying the show at all. The two mains and how they acted was something that was hard for me to relate to.

By the end of the show I can say, not only I ended up liking both characters , I liked the story so much that I ended up reading the Drama CD.

I recommended watching the show until the end. If you are someone like me who didn't like the show at the beginning , there is a chance you might still end up loving the show after watching the second half.

Positives

1_ The Story: I admit that I do not know too many bls. In fact this was one of the first bls I've seen along with a few others but the fact that there are bls like this that can actually try to show human emotions and their flaws rather than just 2 guys being cute together surprised me.

This story deals with a few issues like lack of self esteem caused by constant bullying, miscommunication, pride and a few other things which makes it more interesting than some other shows I have seen.

If you are in to fluff with characters being completely nice and never do anything wrong , this isn't the show for you. If you prefer having characters who indeed have flaws and make mistakes, then maybe give this a go.

2_ Flawed Characters: While I admit, I didn't like either of these two at the start, I ended up really liking them at the end. Our main character, Hira , is a guy who has been bullied his entire life , as a result he doesn't have any self respect or self esteem and let's others take advantage of him without standing up for himself.

Enters Kiyoi. Our second lead. He at the beginning, seems to be quite the opposite of Hira. Handsome, proud, with a lot of friends but that's just how he seems on the outside. Delving deeper in to his character, he is both insecure and lonely and suffers from abandonment issues which causes him to not be able to communicate with people or show vulnerability in fear of being abandoned. His character comes off as aggressive and rude at the start but by the end you'll realize that it all comes from his insecurities.

3_ Developments done right:

The "friendship" netween the two starts off as attraction and curious. It's far from ideal or even a good friendship but it starts getting better with them spending more time with each other and getting to know one another. Hira shows Kiyoi that it's OK to be vulnerable , you are not going to be abandoned. Kiyoi (subconsciously) help Hira gain a little bit more confidence and stand up to others for once.

But since both of the leads are insecure , with one of them putting the other on a pedestal and the other , not being able to communicate due to fear . The problems that they both have , essentially ends up tearing them apart and they don't get together until Kiyoi ends up communicating and Hira becomes a lot more confident to the point of actually turning someone down. Their dynamic from High school , certainly doesn't stay that way at all.

Another good thing about this show is that , despite both of the leads clearly changing, they don't entirely turn in to another human being . Change is not easy and it certainly can not happen over night. Utsukushii kare does a great job showing that.

4_ This show does NOT romanticise toxicity: I have seen some people trying to call this show out for "romanticising toxicity " . That can not be further from the truth. In fact , Hira and Kiyoi couldn't be together until they both had developments which was necessary to both of their characters and their relationship.

Negatives:

This show is freaking short. 6 episodes is barely enough to show this type of story. They needed more time for each character. While I don't think there is anything wrong with the development of the characters, I do admit that they could've done a much better job with a few more episodes.
And maybe show their real relationship dynamic after they get together. Kiyoi in particular needed more time to show his feelings.

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Strong start, average finish

After seeing Perth and Chimon as a side couple in “Never Let Me Go” I didn’t expect much of “Dangerous Romance” – even though the trailer was doing a decent job at attracting attention. To my surprise the first few episodes were okay, even good at times; I enjoyed Sailom outwitting Khang and was kind of impressed with Perth pulling it off as a spoiled rich kid and nasty school bully. Unfortunately this promising start didn’t lead to a fully satisfying middle part of the series (although some attempts were made), while the last 2-3 episodes felt like the production team tried to make the show interesting again. The finale was a predictable, but still messy and rushed conclusion.

Usually I watch BL’s for chemistry, dynamics and tension between the male leads. “Dangerous Romance” has some of that, but not too much. Perth and Chimon are much better here than in NLMG (they actually have some chemistry) and I enjoyed most of what they had to offer. It’s not the level of EarthMix, OhmNanon, Gem4th nor 1stKhao, but it’s decent. Still, given a little more screen time or tweaking the script a bit Marc and Pawin could easily outshine the main couple. The show more than hints at two more couples (View+June and Papang+Pepper), but with 12 episodes they don’t get any development – and, as I often do, I wondered about the merits of including so many characters and couples into one series.

The enemies to lovers plot isn’t new, but it’s development into the script of this series wasn’t the best – mainly because the “enemies” part ends pretty quickly and we get a typical school BL. The other part I disliked about the story was that the bully didn’t have a character arc nor character development: Kang – rather unexpectedly – switched from being a spoiled rich brat who bullies schoolmates to a spoiled rich brat with daddy issues (honestly, judging by his actions, Name was a more interesting character than Kang). Furthermore, Kang did not atone for what he did and enemies turned into lovers in almost no time, with very little hesitation from Sailom and some self-discovery on Kang’s part. Despite them having less screen time, I got the impression that there was more development of Nawa’s character and his relation with Guy, than of Kang.

For a moment, writing this review, I imagined an alternative version of “Dangerous Romance”, with only two couples: Kang+Sailom and Name+Saifah, with both brothers going the enemies to lovers path; a darker story about violence, poverty, crime and love – possibly without a happy end. Now that would have been a dangerous romance. Shame we didn’t get that.

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Ordinary show about ordinary people suffering extraordinarily

Sea change and tree change are popular themes of recent dramas. Lying flat is now popular amongst the young as a way of escaping the rat race. I assume the writer-nim wanted to explore these themes and Summer Strike was born.

The combination of those two themes can lead to some interesting scenarios but the writer/director tried too hard to break from the clichés by making the Show gritty and true to life. It meant that we are presented with a parade of difficult, belligerent characters who lives in a dull and rundown seaside village. Add physical/domestic violence, bullying, murders and all manners of societal ills and we have a place that tourists will choose to avoid. Yes, as the show progresses, some of the locals will show their true colours and they are not a bad bunch but most of them are still taciturn.

So rather than the show hooking us with fun in the sun, we ended up with a morbid fascination on how low can the FL go. Of course, it will not hit rock bottom, this is not Eve after all, but the first few episodes are not recommended viewing for anyone suffering from depressions. Even after the FL’s life start to turn around and she made new friends in the village, the focus simply moved to the complicated lives of the villagers. There are not a lot of unicorns frolicking around that village, that's for sure. There are certainly progress amongst the melodramas, but it is a mixed bag of pros and cons.

Typical of this type of shows, there is a turning point where the writer-nim realised that they have gone far enough with the pain and suffering and needs a way out. While she did a decent job turning the ship around, the resolution seems contrived and expeditious. The FL is once again the key to unravelling a years old mystery.

The last episode is pure fan service with the writer-nim regaling us with the theme of the show. The unicorns are finally let out and they milled around uncertainly for quite awhile. This is because the way the Show handles relationship is very ambiguous. The OTP is obviously attracted to each other, but we get the BFF vibe most of the time. It was literally in the dying minute of the Show when we get the confirmation that they have finally move up a pay grade. Even then, there is next to no skinship. The relationship between the librarian and the shopkeeper with the cute son is even more muddled. The SFL pointedly asked him several times whether she should move to Seoul, and he kept deflecting it or resorted to the “Go! Go! See if I care” cliché replies. Why? It was painful to watch the poor man suffer. Surprisingly, it is the senior high schooler couple who is much more forthright with their relationship. It isn’t smooth sailing for them neither (nothing in this show is ever easy) but at least we know where they stand.

There are some high impact and emotional scenes which the actors did well enough. It is the more mundane scenes that I find lack energy. Both the leads are trying to keep a low profile in the community which didn’t help the energy level whatsoever. The ML is very handsome, and he can certainly act cute but I find him a bit stiff when it comes to really emotional scenes.
The OST is unobtrusive to the point that I can’t recall any of the tunes. It is a one-time watch for me.

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Surprised with the low rating

This is actually quite a fine drama, surprised of the score given.
The theme is quite mature, most people used to the standard Rom-com but this drama really delivers.
Experienced casts rarely get it wrong.

Story - I think quite entertaining, mainly about married life, divorce & kids, family orientated story.
Cast - Main & Supports all very very good.... characters all brought value to the plot.

Standout stars for me.... I wont lie, I started watching this show for Lin Peng (she is a gorgeous actress - watched 2 of her dramas last year 'Hello, the Sharpshooter' & 'Stealth Walker'.... seriously this actress is unique, amazing..... without her, this drama would of scored lower....

Standout actor for me.... of course my man 'Eden Zhao'.... This guy is really unique.... I know i said the same about 'Lin Peng' hence happy they got paired, how often do you see two of your favourites paired?.... We got to see the best of both worlds.... I am happy Eden got to develop alongside a great actress such as Lin Peng....

Honorable mention.... Huang Can Can.... this girl is excellent too, reminds me of a Zhou Yutong.... She has a drama airing soon 'First Love Again' and who is the Male Lead?.... Zhou Da Wei.... Seriously these producers sometimes just get the pairings right....
- Lin Peng & Eden Zhou
- Huang Can Can & Zhou Da Wei

Last thing will say, pacing of this drama actually quite good

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" Love the way you are " was good and yet it wasn't.

The main story about the cute couple was pretty good, although it started a bit oddly. The first few scenes as to how they met and how they grew up together was a bit off. However, the story started getting better after they went to college. Though the big transformation of the leading character was not well explained. So, overall, the love story was good and sweet. However, the rest wasn't. The rabbit thing was not well presented and it was only there to help the two characters have cute moments together.

So, six out of ten.

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A cute love story that starts with a fanletter

There's only 4 episodes but it tell so much story. I couldn't count how many times i laughed and cry while watching this.
Father and daughter bond are so heartwarming. The depiction of entertainment world was accurate.
If only there's more romantic scenes for the couple it'll be more perfect. There are some unanswered questions, but it still enjoyable.
The acting, OST, and cinematography was really well done. They really put effort into making it.

Recommended if you're looking for a short lighthearted watch.

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It's well done -- but like the other Yu Ha film I saw -- Once Upon a Time In High School -- it's not at all uplifting, and not really emotionally moving on the first viewing.

Its faults lie in the screenplay. It's long on fighting, and short on more intimate scenes. It would have been a much better film if there had been more balance. We aren't given much opportunity to connect to the characters. The connections we make are either peripheral or intellectual. The viewer pretty much remains an observer standing outside the frame throughout the film, but what we see in that frame is sometimes breathtaking.

The cinematography and score are both really good. And all the actors do a fine job, but I think are short-changed a bit by the script's shortcomings -- or at least this cut of the scenes from it. (I gather a lot more footage was shot than was used, and a number of more intimate scenes that developed character and relationships landed on the cutting room floor in the final editing process.)

I'm not sure why Yu Ha chose to go for an +18 rating. There are 3 explicit sex scenes. None are absolutely needful for the plot.. An argument could be made that the first scene partially functions as character development and exposition, but it could have been handled quite effectively in other ways. Nothing in the sex itself really matters. And unlike The Green Chair, The Housemaid, The Taste of Money, Naked Kitchen etc-- sex is not part of the subject matter of the film. The sex scenes in Gangnam 1970 are explicit in the same ways as in Outlander, (but there the explicit sex scenes are integral to plot and character development) -- lots of nakedness (except for full frontal) and nothing to guess about in the who is doing what, and how, and to whom part of the sex.

In spite of it's flaws, it's a film that's worth watching. And because of its strengths it remains of interest in subsequent viewings. And for me at least it was more powerful the second time around.

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Character developement sucked for Min Woo. He's pretty weak. And his father. Always clueless about everything but is the head boss of a $$$$$$$ company. Makes no sense.

This drama could have ended within the first 10 episodes if people would just speak up. It got pretty annoying at some point because it was just senseless drama being dragged on and on. Why would you keep trusting someone who shows you not to trust them? It got to the point where it felt like your intelligence was being insulted. Like it's obvious some people can't be trusted and it's obvious considering the truth was literally reiterated many times.

Although it was very unnecessarily dramatic in many areas, the end was worth it up until the VERY end where it just ended so abruptly (albeit answering any questions).

This drama is pretty good in terms of keeping you hooked, giving you something to watch but at times it got very disappointing.

In terms of music, it was nice in some areas but mainly it was just repetative. I found myself humming to the cues of the music as they would come because it got SO predictable.

This drama could have been a 10//10 due to strong antagonists and some character dynamics and certain plots. But mainly it both reminded me why i like specifically Korean dramas and why I equally hate them.

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YASSS I've been looking forward to this drama for so long. Super pretty costumes and a prophecy about a whole family ruling the world "Dugu Tian Xia" HOW DOES THAT NOT SOUND GOOD? :)

Story/ Plot: The drama was super interesting for the most part, but then it started going downhill. Don't get me wrong, the story line itself is pretty damn good, its just the acting that got me a little down. Nearing the last few episodes, Yang Jian beings to go power hungry after learning about the prophecy "Dugu Tian Xia". However, I feel like the way he became emperor happened way too fast, like it happened in around 2 episodes fast. The amount of deaths in the drama though (no worries I'm not gonna spoil it :) ) got me crying every time someone died.

Acting/ Cast: ADY AN I must say SHE WAS AMAZING PORTRAYING BAN ROU also JEREMY TSUI WHERE HAVE U BEEN ALL MY LIFE. The chemistry between Ady An and Jeremy Tsui was undeniable, I was more convinced they loved each other compared to Hu bing Qing and Andy Zhang. The chemistry between Jie luo ( Hu Bing Qing) and Yang Jian (Andy Zhang) seemed pretty one note, while Ban Rou (Ady An) and Yuwen Hu's ( Jeremy Tsui) love story will take you on one hell of an emotional rollercoaster ride, you'll cry when they cry too. And I must add Man Tou ( Li Yi Xiao) portrays one hell of an antagonist But one thing that I found quite annoying with Man Tou's character was her voice, it just sounds so fake.

Music: I put this in pretty much every since one of my reviews but here I go again! Usually with good dramas comes good OSTs.

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For the most part, this was nothing more than a goofy, honestly quite stupid, but still lighthearted and funny film with a delightful female lead and some great romantic chemistry.

That is until possibly the stupidest scene I have ever seen in all of Asian media happened.

We watch the female lead be lured to an empty building in the middle of the night where she is then bombarded by a group of dancers gyrating in a semi-choreographed fashion to a song about literal twerking while the male lead plays the drums (which is apparently a new skill he developed between this scene and the last one) and then when this mess of a non-sensical performance is over, he confesses his love to her complete with a flying drone.

Because what every woman wants is for the man she loves to confess his love while people twerk in the background to the equivalent of a bootycall song.

Yes. That is a sentence...that exists. And that is a Scene...that also exists. *metaphorical throwing my hands up in utter mystification*

The side of my brain that wants stories to be logical and well-thought out can't fathom why anyone would choose that song for such a moment or want twerking dancers involved in a love confession, but then the part of my brain that stores all of the information I've collected about Asia over the years through their dramas and films and music understands Exactly why that song was chosen. Because Someone on that production team heard it and liked it and didn't know what the Literal Hell it was about.

But I'm digressing at this point, so let's get back to the actual review.

Truthfully, I wanted to quit watching the movie after this scene (it's so cringeeeeeeeey), but I went ahead and finished it anyway for review purposes, and the story ends...pretty much how you would expect this type of movie to end. There's a tragic reveal, followed by a big romantic gesture, and finally, the leads accepting their feelings for one another. I will admit the reveal that Min's 'boyfriend' is actually dead and what happened to him made me very sad for her character. The accident is emotional to watch, and you definitely can understand why she's been so traumatized since. The big, romantic gesture, on the other hand, didn't do anything for me, most likely because 1/3 of the way through the movie I'd already stopped being invested in the male lead because he stopped being interesting.

If you take out the ridiculous love confession, this is a really fun, if pretty stupid, movie with charming leads, and it does some interesting things with it's premise, even if I didn't personally find all of those things all that enjoyable or interesting. (One of the better parts of the film were all the little animated sidebars. They go a long way in helping you connect with and like the characters.)

I think a lot of people will probably like this movie and how goofy it is. Heck, me from 5 to 10 years ago probably would have really liked this movie. But me today? I'm not ever gonna watch this again, because I refuse to give that stupid confession more of my screen time, lol.

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A bar-raiser for GMMTV BLs

Moonlight Chicken is one of those shows where you think that the trailer is giving away the story. But no, you will be proven wrong.

Moonlight Chicken is so unique because it tackles several topics spanning from social issues like poverty and disability, to relationships; one-night stands, status transitions and the idea of ‘home’.

A lot of Moonlight Chicken’s relatability comes from the fact that the characters are so damned lonely. Everyone is looking for a safe harbour where they can be at ease with themselves instead of worrying about the troubles that lay ahead.

I love that GMMTV was unafraid to dive into messy tangles that don’t have a clear villain. Here, Wen and Alan are neither good guys nor bad guys. Jim doesn’t want to be the bad guy, but ends up being dragged into this miserable predicament anyway (so much for an uncomplicated one-night-stand). And that’s just life sometimes.

Earth and Mix have managed to outdo themselves in Moonlight Chicken – after 2 full-fledged series (ATOTS and Cupid’s Last Wish), their acting chops have improved tremendously. Fourth and Gemini, while only a side couple, stole the show for me.
In MLC, they play two people whose homes don’t feel like ‘home’ (more on this later), and how home, to them, is not so much a place but other people. I was extremely invested in this couple and thought they deserved an entire series as Liming and Heart.

Imo, the director successfully balanced story substance (great storyline and plots that were far from empty fluff), aesthetics (beautiful scenes), and emotional connection (relatability/how invested you get in the characters).

Full review: https://asianblreviews.wordpress.com/2023/03/06/moonlight-chicken-review-bl/

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