At the beginning of the series, Lee Kang Hoon, the main character, is presented as a typical male lead. Cold and cruel, I was expecting that with the influence of Ji Hye, the female lead, his coldness would 'melt' as he fell in love. This usual formula for k-drama that I've grown so accustomed to turned out not to be the case in Brain. Rather than a romance of any description, the way I see this drama is that it's more of a character study of Kang Hoon, a deeply troubled and, quite bluntly, deeply unpleasant man than anything else. He's portrayed to absolute perfection by Shin Ha Kyun, who executes the many layers to his character flawlessly, yet I wouldn't say at any point his character becomes likeable. There are elements of pity and sympathy evoked by his character, but on the whole his character works to be so memorable and defining in this drama by how unswervingly calculating, vindictive and petty he is. This is actually one of the things I most admired overall. It's a bold move to have a lead character who simply isn't a 'good', kind person that's easy for an audience to root for. It sets Brain apart from a more typical series to have it lead by the kind of character who would be cast as an antagonist in most dramas.
With such a strong lead character as Kang Hoon, there's not a lot of room left for a convincing romance to be built up. As I've said, I was expecting this drama to orbit around the romance between Kang Hoon and Ji Hye, but this really wasn't the case at all. Their romance felt much more like an after dinner chocolate at the end of a meal than anything substantial. I'd have perhaps liked it to have had more resonance in the series as a whole (I'm so used to k-dramas being love and nothing else that I was disorientated...) especially in shaping Kang Hoon's character. The synopsis hints at this but it never really happened to any marked degree in my eyes.
I would say the driving plot behind this drama is the politics of the hospital and the battling of egos amongst the surgeons. This is part way facilitated by how Kang Hoon's unchanging motivation is to be recognized as the best neurosurgeon, regardless of who he has to step on to get there. While I found this whole theme fairly interesting from a character development point of view, it did get tiresome when other plot threads were overlooked in favour of yet another scene of arguments over who was going to get to do the next complex (and therefore prestigious) operation.
As I've hinted at, there are a large number of sub-plots to this drama, many of which had the potential to take this drama from being just good to really excellent. Unfortunately, I felt a lot of them weren't really filled out as far as they could have been. Some, for example the whole role of Seo Joon Suk in the dynamics of the drama, felt like they just fizzled out and I was left wondering why they'd even been introduced at all. It was as if the writers realized they'd added in too much for a span of only twenty episodes only after they'd piled the drama too high with potential plot threads. I wouldn't say this was a major hindrance, as the main plot remained strong as it was and didn't need a lot of back-up, but I still came away feeling a little disappointed that other elements hadn't really received much of a resolution.
With this drama, I think almost inarguably its strength lay in the quality of the cast. Superb performances all-round. This isn't just the main cast, but also the secondary characters who played an important role in giving colour and a sense of warmth to the hospital setting. I especially enjoyed the little romances hinted at and forming in the background throughout the whole drama, which were not a focus but were adorable nonetheless.
Overall, I was addicted to Brain while I was watching it, and got through it back-to-back over three days. Although it wasn't everything I hoped and thought it would be, it definitely had that je ne sais quoi that kept me watching fanatically, compelled to know what happens next. I'd definitely recommend people give it a try. If you're trying to find something a bit different from the usual formulaic Korean rom-com, this might be just what you're looking for.
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Boys are in love... and they actually "talk" talk!
This drama was peak serotonin for me. A sweet, high school coming-of-age romcom, full of puppy love and fluff with no melodrama or forced angst. Also, this is an example of what happens when actual teenagers play teenagers. It added a layer of authenticity that helped me root for the characters.What really stood out to me is how all the couples handled communication. Misunderstandings happen, but here they were not milked for the drama and dragged on forever. They actually talked, listened and sorted it out with no unnecessary angst, no soap opera twists, but just a bunch of teenagers who accepted and acknowledged their flaws and moved on happily.
Our two main couples :
Shane & Kit were giving the textbook opposites Attract. Shane was more of a dependable, observant and academically driven type who always had a plan in his head for his future. While Kit was spontaneous, flirty and more emotionally transparent than Shane.
They both balanced each other. Kit taught Shane to loosen up a bit and Kit discovers the comfort of being seen. They did argue and stumble but that is what made their dynamics feel real. It was just two flawed people trying to figure each other out and meet in the messy middle. These two absolutely have my heart! <3
Kim & Mon, on the other hand, felt like they were cut from the same cloth and got along well from the start. The romance between them felt sweet, soft and very gentle. Kim was such a spark with his earnestness and openness and while Mon, though initially a little reserved, gradually let down his guard. They were more fluffy and fairytale-ish compared to Kit and Shane.
All four of them have their own insecurities as they should and I think the drama did a good job of expressing that. It might not be the most mature way to handle things when I view it through an adult lens, but as teenagers, their small disagreements and emotional responses made sense.
While the drama gets a lot right, it’s not without flaws. Some of the conflict especially toward the later episodes started to feel a bit repetitive and recycled. They did quickly resolve the issues but it was always the same. If I had to give an example, it would be how Kim struggled to express his feelings or communicate his thoughts to Mon, which ended up causing tension and misunderstandings between them. If they wanted to me to root for them, I needed more.
Another issue I had was that we didn't need a fourth couple here. Tar and Per looked absolutely forced to me on the romantic front. I always saw them as best friends who teased and irritated each other but at no point did I look at them and think, “Ah yes, romance is brewing". It felt like the writers just threw them in like, “Why not? Everyone gets a love line!”
While I wasn't too sure about the teacher's romance, but they completely grew on me. They were surprisingly wholesome together. With Tan's awkwardness and Nat's understanding, their bond felt very sweet and you could see they respected each other a lot.
Acting-wise, I feel everyone did a good job across the board. The younger cast members in particular, were impressive and I really hope they’re given more substantial roles in the future to fully showcase their talents.
Overall, this was much better than I expected. It was like a sweet blueprint of teens navigating their life with love, dreams and changes around. While the script is nothing out of the ordinary and it does feel like it plays a little safe but the charm here is that it never loses its tone or tries to be something it's not.
I would definitely recommend it if you are looking for something angst-free and fluffy.
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Watch Lighter and Princess first!
Listen to me. Have you seen Lighter and Princess? No? Watch that first. You’ve seen L&P already? Then be prepared for a downgrade when watching this. These two shows are quite comparable. The setups are the same (a college romance in the beginning) and the basic structures are similar. Both include a breakup at the midpoint with a timeskip (not a spoiler), with a significant business focus sprinkled in between while ML desperately attempts to salvage whatever love they have for each other. It’s difficult not to compare them.The first 14 episodes or so are fairly standard. Nothing to write home about. A college romance. He’s a sneaker designer starting his own business, while she’s a struggling college student entering the world of business finance to support her mother. Slowly but surely, a romance develops, only for the show to break them up in the latter half of the story. Sound familiar? I told you it’s similar to Lighter and Princess. This is where the writing truly begins to test your patience.
I wouldn’t call it toxic per se but the “will they, won’t they” shtick was really annoying. The pushing each other away in order to protect the other person had my eyes rolling numerous times. ML is particularly guilty of this, and his decisions led to significant consequences.
There is a second couple, but many would find a professor-student relationship pairing weird, but I didn't think much of it. Their storyline was not particularly interesting by the end anyway.
For me the best thing about this show was the opening duet performed by Arthur Chen and Sabrina Zhuang. Really good.
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The actors were very believable, and the way the story was told made you cringe and yell at the screen because you just felt so attached.
Overall, (and since this is my first review and I'm not sure what else to write) this movie was great, and I would highly recommend it.
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Now, let’s leave my proud self aside and talk about the drama. This is the original root of both “Love Me Not” and “That Winter the Wind Blows”; the Korean film and drama are remade from this Ai Nante Iranai Yo Natsu. I always had this drama under my radar ever since I first saw the film few years back but the lack of subtitles pushed me away, luckily I had enough courage to pick it up lately.
If I compare versions; I would undeniably state that the original Japanese version is the most realistic one but not fast paced as I thought it would be. However, the flowing of events was quite smooth that the drama felt very addictive. Although I should’ve watched this drama slower, because after all, I had to be extra focused on what they say but I just couldn’t slow down. It didn’t even matter that I already knew what will happen next (except for the ending of course because I knew it would be dissimilar one way or the other).
What also lacked in the Japanese version is the skin ship; there was lots of skin ship in the Korean remakes especially the drama but in here, it was almost absent. Many people would consider that disappointing, as for me; I found nothing wrong with that because the genuine feelings spoke better than touches in here. Also, this drama’s ending is way better than the ending of Love Me Not and That Winter the Wind Blows combined.
For those who aren’t familiar with the plot, this drama had an enjoyable atypical story. It could have gone a little astray at some points but it always managed to come back to its usual pace in no time. What also catches the eye about this drama is the sincerity of emotions displayed even if some melodramatic moments were a bit too exaggerated.
The acting was pretty enjoyable and believable. I am somewhat having Watabe Atsuro’s phase and I am glad to see one of his older dramas where he did a great job with the role. As for Hirosue Ryoko, I really like to see that actress around; she always manages to attract me in. The rest of the cast did a respectable job.
The characters felt very real. For instance, the way Reiji was portrayed was straightforward in an almost perfect manner; the way he talks, smokes, acts around other people is the core of how that character should be like. As for Ako, she was also quite good and she didn’t show unbalanced contradictions which I truly appreciated. The side characters were also good but I am sure some of them could have been better than that.
It’s a given that the Korean remakes were more beautiful than this when it comes to visuals especially the drama because that’s what Koreans do best: their remakes are always glowing with dreamy cinematography and sceneries but you should keep in mind that this was produced back in 2002. I also should mention that this drama was set in the summer while the Korean film and drama took winter as their set. It’s a bit insignificant but I found the winter background way more appealing than the summer setting.
Watch if:
-You liked any of the Korean versions because this is what started it all.
-You like the Japanese way of making melodramas/Life productions.
-You want to watch something different and enjoyable.
Do not watch if:
-You dislike remakes; just stick with the version that you already watched.
-You dislike life and melodramatic dramas.
-You want to watch a vividly shot drama.
Ai Nante Iranai Yo Natsu is a well-made drama with a nice topic that deserves to be watched even if its Korean remakes got all the attention. It’s a loss that many are prevented from watching this drama due to the lack of subtitles.
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team Yuri ??
I like the story and I really love ashthin and andres pair and team work but I love Yuri aka Rabin look at him who says he is main villian i really attached with this caste and specially ci–n and Jayjay bond and others starting to ending this story is full of amazing suspense between them i really miss all the carecters i am very excited for session 2Was this review helpful to you?
And yet, I loved it! I marathoned through it in a couple of days, and enjoyed every episode. I laughed, smiled, grinned. One may object that a drama is either good and to our liking, or it isn't. But the reasons why I like watching something aren't always as clear-cut and defined as I would like to think: I can remain cold in front of a masterpiece, and be enthusiastic of a piece of trinkets.
Hence my tepid marks, which reflect what I hope is an unbiased estimation, not the degree of my liking it.
Fact is, I truly loved the characters. Kohei, the bodyguard played by Nishijima Hidetoshi, is incredibly endearing. I had never seen this actor on screen before and at first sight I thought he was the complete opposite of an eye-candy. But his character is so sweet and lovable, I ended up liking him a lot. Kim Tae Hee, whom I could barely tolerate in My Princess, is adorable here, contributing factor the Japanese language, which renders her voice deeper and more pleasant.
The great actor Takanabe is hilarious. He seems vain and utterly stupid, but we soon discover he hides his own complex, and from that moment on, I dare everyone not to root for him, if not as a lover, at least as a friend and professional actor.
All the other characters do a good job, including Taecyeon, who surprised me with his very good Japanese. The bad guys aren't given enough screen time to get on our nerves.
The music is fine, mostly in the second half of the drama.
Surprisingly, I think I'll rewatch this drama one day. It was a perky watch, which I recommend to whomever is in need of something light, funny, romantic without being melodramatic or mushy.
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Dating: What's It Like To Be In Love?
30 people found this review helpful
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This review may contain spoilers
Story: The plot in this story is pretty straightforward. It's all about love. How some people love but couldn't let go even when that love ended. How others love but for the sake of that person, had to let go. It's about love and how each of us love differently. There's the sort of love that transcends death. There's the sort of love that became stories of legend, but how much of it is true? There's the sort of love that thrives in simplicity - in the everyday life together, in the smiles of your loved ones, in the silly and petty arguments. There's the sort of love that forms from adversity -having faced life and death together. There's the sort of love that comes from familiarity - being comfortable with that person and having him or her beside you for the rest of your life. And there's the sort of love that stem from compassion, friendship and trust. The female lead in this story is married to a man who became a simpleton because of a poisoning episode. At first, she disliked her husband and the predicament she was in, but slowly came to appreciate the simple and innocent kind of love her husband has for her. Into this picture entered a young man who had loved her since childhood. He had always cherished the memories of their childhood and had always wanted to marry her. For her, he would do anything, including giving his life away for her - just to see her smile. Faced with the dilemma of an innocent love and a passionate love, our female lead is truly stuck in between these two men. There are also the love stories of side couples that will keep you rooting for them too. Even the evil mastermind in this story has a love story to tell - which is the reason why he became what he is. This drama tells a story about love from so many different perspectives. I like the 'maturity' in message about love in this drama. To those of you who is wondering if it's a happy ending - well, it depends who you are rooting for. The female lead has to choose between two perfectly good examples of men. It is no wonder she's confused and frustrated. I would be too! However, I do agree with her choice. Love is not about doing all sorts of things for that person, but to trust that what you and that person had experienced together is enough to secure his or her love for a lifetime. On another note, I love the comedy in this drama. It's not the at-your-face- type comedy. It's nicely weaved into the story and its characters. Cast/Acting: I do not know any of the actors and actresses in this drama. They are all newbies. However, they can act. At least sufficiently to bring the emotions across. What I find problematic is how the drama is edited in some parts - you can clearly see it's an edited part as it didn't flow as smoothly from the previous scene. This is no fault of the acting crew - it's the lack of experience of the editing and production crew. It's a waste but these odd parts of the drama are few - so it's tolerable. Another problem I noticed is how some of the fighting/action scenes came across as awkward and unpolished. Again - not the fault of the acting crew. This is the fault of the directing and production crew. Perhaps they lack the funding to employ a good and experienced action director - hence, had to rely on simple action scenes.
Music: Not much to comment here. Some people like the ending OST, but it's just average to me.
Re-watch value: There are many romantic and sad scenes between the female lead and the two men. I also like the scenes between her and her husband's second brother - who I believe, had a secret crush on her as well, but did not act on it. It's in his actions and the way he looked at her, but he had to stay away from her coz she's his sister-in-law. They ended up as besties, which I think is another good conclusion to love. I actually like their chemistry better and I think the second brother is actually the handsomest actor among all the actors in this drama. This drama has a strong re-watch value. With only 24 episodes and every episode has a sweet or sad love scene with no draggy story telling, it won't be long when I would re-watch this drama again.
Overall: I give this drama a 8.5 out of 10. It's a surprisingly good drama, despite the many directing and editing faults. The story and script writers are clearly the strength of this drama's crew. Witty conversations and comedy mixed well with some deep truths about relationships and love. I would recommend you to watch this drama. It may not be the excellent type drama or a big production, and has a rather weird and nonsensical title, but it is surprisingly good.
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Hirugao: Love Affairs in the Afternoon
30 people found this review helpful
The acting is exceptional and the plots twists will keep you on edge. I was quite shocked at how severe Japanese culture is towards divorce. This story would not play out the same way in the US.
In the end, truthfulness is the only way to conduct one's life. And if a woman chooses to have children, her only choice should be a life of sacrifice for her children. In conclusion, this drama is worthy of watching if you are in a relationship or are contemplating marriage. It will make you give pause to showing more appreciation to loved ones. I
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Absolutely stunning series! Get ready to laugh and cry during each episode. Best K-drama I've ever watched. It's very emotional, poignant, and hauntingly beautiful a Korean fairy tale of sorts mixed with an amalgamation of beliefs. Every lead performance and supporting performances are amazing.
I won't give any spoilers but enjoy the show for its perfect cast and their tailor made performances for their roles, the amazing ost and art work, VFX and more. This show would be a memorable experience for me to remember in my life.
Definitely go and watch this drama it's truly a work of art and perfection ❤ Must watch and highly recommendable!
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This is an intensely claustrophobic experience and I am not even a claustrophobic person. They really capture the emotion during the situation, the camera angle, the sounds from falling rocks and the dust particles are what makes it possible. I like the way they insert comedic moments in the situation, it’s hilarious but makes sense, they played it brilliantly. Aside from suspense, the drama is pretty heavy here as the dilemma falls to the people involved like the rescue leader and his wife, you will feel sympathy for them.
The CGI is brilliant, realistic, Hollywood level. The soundtrack will creep you as it brilliantly conveys that situation, lack of sound at some parts that suddenly broken by falling rocks or footsteps is brilliant, it added up to the horror element in the movie. Cinematography is insanely beautiful just made the acting better at some part.
Solid performance from the cast like Ha Jeong Woo, Oh Dal Su and Donna bae they are exceptionally brilliant but we need to commend Nam Ji Hyun for what she has done here because it’s her character that added up layer to the movie and she nailed it brilliantly.
That joke at the end is so good that it adds .5 to my score.
Check my Blog for other reviews & other JDramas stuffs. (｡◕‿‿◕｡)
https://thatjapanesedramaguy.blogspot.com/
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This was the first ever Taiwanese web series I've seen and let me just say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. The plot was a pretty basic one for the boys love genre, which was step brothers falling in love. Although the plot was quite basic, it sure as hell did entertain me. It just added so many cute elements that I had to keep watching and I'd scream every time a new episode was translated. The actors weren't bad at all for a web series. Their acting was very natural unlike some bl dramas where the acting would start off super awkward. The music was nice in my opinion and they did a great job with it fitting the mood of a certain scene. I would definitely watch this series again, especially as a pick me upper. My only complaint is that it was super short and I wish that they made these episodes a bit longer. Overall, this series made it on my favorites list and if you're a die hard fujoshi like me, I really recommend it.
P.S. I heard that the officials of the web series are going to try their best to have a second season for the series because they got so many requests from the fans. *crosses fingers*
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Naked Dining: Love, Life and Liberation
30 people found this review helpful
Plot set-piece driven rather than character-driven
Any story needs to be about characters, and the plot driven by the characters. What I mean by that is that a characters' nature or past trauma, etc. needs to drive how they behave and and react to things. For example, if a character was bitten by a dog as a child, he may have an irrational fear of dogs - and maybe falls in love with a vet. That's organic drama rather than artificial external crises or relying on very implausible misunderstandings, which is one of the laziest sins in writing.The way characters behave in this series make no emotional sense, because the author wants to get from point A to point B, and so that determines how the characters behave. Points A & B were almost always just tired cliches that were not integrated into the plot and did nothing to advance it but were rather just there to be there. A couple of examples:
- The Past Connection. This appears to be irresistable to BL writers (actually a lot of Asian drama genres) - a past connection between Souta and Mahiro serves no plot purpose - it's just there to be there, and as a result it leads to Souta implausibly not remembering Mahiro, because if he did remember him, that would complicate the plot. And so he doesn't.
- The Restraining Hug Fom Behind. Mahiro thinks Souta is leaving, but it turns out that instead he's staying forever. Does that make him happy? No, he gets upset and tries to leave. Why? Why would that upset him? It wouldn't. But then Souta wouldn't need to grab him from behind to prevent him from leaving.
- The Implausible Misunderstanding. Souta drives four hours from Tokyo and arrives at just the precise moment - it couldn't be one second earlier or one second later or the misunderstanding wouldn't have happened - to see Souta hug his boss, who Souta assumes is Mahiro's boyfriend, despite the fact that he knows them both, the boss has actively encouraged Souta to be with Mahiro, there is zero evidence that they're dating, and it was clear Mahiro was upset, so it is clearly a comforting hug, not a romantic one. But the writer needed to insert the next cliche, and so Souta has to misunderstand, and for no apparent reason decides to become the boyfriend of...
- The Interfering Woman. Ugh. I don't even want to dwell on this, but it chews up an enormous amount of runtime.
The end result is two unrelatable and unpleasant characters who behave inconsistently and are annoying.
The acting is OK. The Souta actor is pretty good, Yutaro is one-note and has no presence or charisma. There is almost no chemistry whatsoever. Mahiro behaves like the wife of an alcoholic in an abusive relationship - he actually recoils from Souta every time they're near each other, and he just looks afraid all the time. Souta manages to express some repressed longing, but it's still not convincing. There is no romantic chemistry between them, and certainly no romance. They barely even touch each other, at least not on purpose.
A positive is it's well-filmed and the setting in the countryside is lovely. Well, Souta gets naked sometimes, and he has a nice body, so there's that, I guess.
Another positive is the Taiwanese store owner, who is an appealing character and causes a plausible (!) misunderstanding when he reads a note that contains kanji characters that mean "former coworker" in Japanese, but mean "ex-lover" in Mandarin, which leads to the series' best comic moment.
Overall this was a total waste of time, and a disappointing squandering of an interesting premise and a strong start. But it goes nowhere, is frustrating to watch, and is way too long for the amount of "plot" in it. I would skip it.
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