Reviews

A Very Compelling Historical Drama

I mainly watch modern cdramas, so for a historical drama this long to actually stick is a rare event.

The Long Ballad was not perfect, but it was pretty close to it. Each character has an enormous and very evident arc throughout the story, each one very different from the last. That kept me hooked even when the focus was away from the main characters.

The romance was not really a part of the story, and it didn't need to be. After doing some research on why the leads never kissed, I was more lenient about the directors choice to leave that out. Even so, the subtle interactions between couples were so precious and really helped move the story.

The plot was also an amazing addition to the drama. The several elements incorporated into the story really helped move it along. It was fast paced, but not enough for the viewer to fall behind. No storyline was continued for too long, and most loose ends were tied. I also loved to see a strong female lead and the other female lead become super strong over the course of her story arc. The male lead also did an amazing job. I loved Wu Lei's acting. Additionally, Liu Yu Ning's character (Hao Du) had an excellent story arc, his arguably being the most surprising. It was so exciting to see his character grow to care about more beyond his role in the palace. The writers really didn't fail to keep things interesting at all times!

I was constantly looking forward to the next episode. The production was a tiny, tiny bit below what it should have been at times, but not enough to be noticeable. I did see some editing discontinuities from time to time, and a few music issues as well. Aside from that, it was flawless.

This historical is definitely going down as a top 2021 drama, and everyone should definitely give it a watch!

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Mobsters are people too....

This is probably an 8,75 show... so I may or may not up it to a 9... why purely for entertainment value, the story itself is nothing remarkable it is just the typical cop investigates mob a little bit to closely... gets trapped here and there and falls in love... All with a bunch of slightly underdeveloped intrigues , misunderstanding and more or less predictable twist...

Showing us a lovely selection of types of assault (including sexual), gun shots, stabbing, kidnapping... you name it this drama has it.. However the main couple is actually pretty supportive and seem to listen in one another's needs odd but true this is actually possible even for a mobster...

The Mobster guy is an icicle combined with a huge sense of playfulness while the cop is mr thinking positive bubbly love boy... cute as a button and the two together are a blast to watch from start to finish... I love the way these two interact and even if there are some flags here and there it kind of works anyway...

The second couple is one part so naive I am impressed the guy is still alive with mysterious ether jacket! great combo, not so much consent... and a lot of flirting with food... again fun to watch indeed.

This drama may not have constantly kept me on my toes, but it was still a nice rom com without to overly annoying characters and a pretty consistent character and relationship development from the leads leaving most of the drama to the supporting cast... Which is what makes this a bit different than many other dramas.

Definitely too easy to binge, it latterly felt like i just started it when it suddenly said The End.

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Soft & Fluffy

This show have been one of my most anticipated shows in 2020. When I first read the book, I was amazed at how lowkey and unproblematic it was. I got curious and excited for the show. And I wasn't disappointed. I first held off from watching until we were two episodes from ending and now that I'm here, I'm glad I did held off from watching. It was a good, soft and fluffy show to binge-watch. I'll try my best to keep them spoiler-free but if a few slips out, I apologise in advance!

/May Contain Spoilers/

Story
The story is practically what I expected it to be except for the doctors and Linda. First of what I liked, the unproblematic relationship between Solo and Gui. They were soft and fluffy and there was no real fuss. I can definitely see how it would be boring to those who love drama, but to me, Oxygen was a show I'd watch when I want to relax my mind and experience the idea of a soft love. They were childish and young and it was a nice change of pace. And the secondary couple was amazing. Their storyline was beautifully written and it was really cute to see how they both came close together. I think if anything, I disliked the doctor's storyline. I didn't know what they were trying to do there but every time they appeared on screen, I didn't hesitate to skip them. Their storyline was just--weird.

Acting/Cast
I think the acting was alright. Solo and Gui were portrayed just like I imagined them to be and the softness between them is as expected. I think overall, given what the characters were, the actors did a great job. The same goes for Phu and Kao. I didn't read Nitrogen but I liked them acting the characters the way they did. There was some awkwardness here and there but that was to be expected. I also did raise my eyebrows at casting of the parent figures but I didn't really minded them much. Overall, it was a great acting performance to me.

Music
I loved it. I don't have much to say but I loved the OST of this series. I'll never get tired of it. It captures the sweetness of the show.

Rewatch Value
I would watch this again sometime in the future. I generally don't rewatch shows but this might be one that I'll come back to again someday.

Overall
A good show if you like fluffy, soft romances without too much drama and angst. And hoping for season 2!

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Not a rom-com just a bad story sold as romance

Honestly me giving this story a 2 star is a bit of an overstatement of how I feel about the movie. The only reason is because of the cast and the acting. I can't deny that the cast is great and their acting is just as great. HOWEVER, that is all. I really just watched it because a lot of actors I like are in it and the trailer looked cute.

The trailer is very misleading. It sells itself as a funny rom-com of a couple having light-hearted fights but, in reality, the things they fought over are verrry real and honestly disgusting. They tried to sell it as if both people in the relationship have done something wrong when, in reality, the man mainly did all the wrong. How is the wife at fault for telling her husband to do housework and share responsibilities? They made her look like an over bearing witch. On top of that, it became an excuse for him cheating and being an all around selfish asshole. That's not a light issue. It became increasingly frustrating when he got mad at her for allegedly cheating when he was the one doing the cheating. They tried to make it look like it was funny but it wasn't, it just left a sour taste in my mouth. Just a word of advice for anyone who has a partner like him: RUN. People like that don't change and take advantage of those around them. His friends were also terrible and if that isn't telling, I don't know what is.

They ended by "resolving" their issues and getting back together. If you could call it "resolved". In reality, she got slack for something she didn't deserve to get slack for and he didn't even properly apologize. I truly wish it ended with her leaving him. It's not like the movie was that romantic anyways. At the end of the day, the husband didn't deserve his wife and the movie was neither romantic nor funny. I really wanted something to wind me down after exams and well...this just made me mad and jaded about marriage. I hope anyone reading this (including myself) doesn't end up with such a partner.

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"My Strange Hero" is a drama with a great cast but the drama itself doesn't get stellar grades from me. It starts out as a really interesting love triangle set years after a tragic event changes the lives of three students who are now reunited as adults at the same school. What it then turns into is a drama about school corruption, which wasn't bad, but was much less interesting. The characters are still strong, so that's what kept me watching even when the episodes started to drag. My main reason for continuing to watch was Yoo Seung Ho anyway, and he does not disappoint.

Yoo Seung Ho is so charming that the role of Kang Bok Soo is perfect for him. He plays a warmhearted jock who has more common sense than book smarts. Throughout the show, he becomes the unexpected "Hero" in various situations, and he returns to HS as an adult to finally graduate and get "revenge" on those who ruined his life as a student. He is matched romantically with Jo Bo Ah as Son Soo Jung who's character annoyed me at first, but they had extremely cute chemistry and I grew to like their romantic storyline a lot, even during it's corniest moments. Who interested me even more than the female lead is Kwak Dong Yeon as Oh Se Ho. He was such an interesting rival for Kang Bok Soo, and so sympathetic, that I almost couldn't dislike him, even when he was at his creepiest. These three characters are what got me hooked on the show initially. I found their backstory interesting, and their reuniting intriguing. It's when the story focused less on their dynamic and more on the school that I lost some interest.

Don't get me wrong, I liked the student characters too, and even liked the sometimes heavyhanded lessons and themes in some of the school storylines (suicide & performance pressure specifically). The underdog students in the Wildflower class were cute, and I liked rooting for them, but the whole save our corrupted school storyline was just too corny for me. I also liked Chun Ho Jin as teacher Park Dong Jun and was very entertained by Kim Yeo Jin as Im Se Kyung (one of the worst Kdrama mom's ever), but their roles started to feel redundant after a while, which made the short episodes feel much longer than they were. I actually have no complaints about any of the supporting cast and liked them all. Most of the characters are written to be pretty one-note, and the actors managed to still make them feel real.

Would I watch this again? No. As cute as it was at moments, I could not see myself watching the whole story again now that I know how things end. However, I did love the ending, even if it was pretty predictable.

Overall, this is a cute feel-good drama, that's never too serious, despite a few serious subjects, with an inspiring message about not letting labels or the past define your future. Maybe a bigger fan of school themed dramas would like this more than I did. Romance may not always be the main focus, but it drives the story enough to appeal to romance fans, and the two leads really deliver on the romantic feels. Yoo Seung Ho fans shouldn't miss this one for sure (definitely include me as a member of his fan club, especially after "I am not a robot"). It also certainly has moments that are full of awkwardly cheesy smiles, corny jokes, and predictable clichés, but somehow still had enough charm to keep me from dropping it. So I would definitely give this drama a passing grade, and recommend it, though I wouldn't add it to the honor roll. One thing the drama teaches is that having the best grades isn't everything, and having a lower grade doesn't mean you lack worth, and this drama is a great example of that!

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This drama had a great story that went all wrong. The leading couple’s relationship was marred by the constant mistrust of the leading lady toward the male lead. What more did he have to do to prove himself? Also, the lead couple lacked chemistry and their romantic scenes were nothing spectacular. The second lead couple was so much better! The music is nice and the action scenes were well played. The drama’s way of getting the bad guys was great until the last villain, Duke An's, played his vengeful plot against the main lead. SPOILER ALERT: REALLY? Does it make sense that no one could make it clear that Duke An's mother didn’t die on the fire? If the viewer is looking for a nice romance, this drama is not it; if the viewer is looking for a well developed plot and a reasonable sense of revenge, this drama is not it either. This drama will not make the rewatch list; it is one of those to watch while waiting for a great one to come!

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Changes the Direction for the BL Genre

Nothing that I can say will mean anything as I sure everything has been sad and no doubt better. This is an exceptional series and changes, or at least should change, the direction of BL series. It is not filled with breakable characters holding stuffed animals and whining and pining for another for 10 episodes. This is a genuine GAY love story not filled with crap about loving the person not the gender nonsense. Surprise! They are both guys and they know it and are not ashamed of it. How refreshing! They totally nailed these characters to the point that there connection was palpably real. I think there are certain series that literally changes the course of a genre. SOTUS is certainly one and 2GETHER is another (it really did) and this is the third. This series made gay relationships look real, normal, and frankly nice. THANK YOU!
Read my full review at BLBliss.com/

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Nearly dropped it so many times!

Finished this kdrama last night and i got to say this was a sticky one, ESPECIALLY at the beginning of this drama. On the first ep I was fine with it and everything was going well. Until I watched ep2 and 3 and so on and felt like this drama was just being dragged and that I knew what was gonna happen by the end. Like the plot was good and but things were getting boring and it felt like they were taking too long to introduce 1 character after the other. Also I felt like both the lead male and female were not doing a good job with the acting. I felt like I was forcing myself to watch it and just left it at ep6 thinking ill come back to it after a few days with a fresh mind. After a couple of weeks I wasn't bothered to watch it so I even asked on MDL feeds if I should bother going back or just dropping it. Many were agreeing with me and said they already dropped it and some said to decide after watching 1 more ep. Anyways I went back to it and let me tell you it got better from ep7. Not better as in a 10/10, but just better. Anyways I finished it and it was okay. It had a lot of potentials though. If it had better male and female lead then I think it would have done way better. I gave it an 8.5/10. Have a watch.

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I Need Romance.... A World away from other Kdramas!
It's something completely new but just very very good! It makes you think about love and makes you feel in the Drama... I even ended up thinking: Will that happen to me, too
The characters are very individual and refreshing! Even though the characters were different they came along well.
The story has many turns and it's not the typical "the bad boy will win, I knew it from beginning" story! Till the end I didn't knew who would "win"- something new for me!
But caution: You should not watch this as a "young or a young minded person" because it's SEX and the City like :/ Don't know if it's something for younger ones :s The rest of Dramaland should definetly not miss the break from the old but gold "bad boy, good girl" story :))

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While I did enjoy Kingdom for the most part and I though it was shot and acted really well and the production value was excellent, I did find myself struggling a bit with connecting to it emotionally. I don’t think it was the story line, I don’t mind zombies at all and I often enjoy stories that involve them. I think it was more to do with the length of the show and the fact that no matter what the drama seamed to throw at the characters they didn’t really change in any way. The righteous prince was still the righteous prince six episodes later.

And in a story about survival, like Kingdom (or just any story for the matter) I need to be emotionally connected to the characters in order to root for them. I did not feel like any of the characters stood out to me, no matter how well acted they were.

The story line itself was cool and quite interesting. It was, for the most part, a well put-together show. I had been excited about it since it was announced so in a way it was a letdown that I did not find it binge watchable enough. I did have my doubts about the six episode format and that it seemed to want to expand the story to two seasons before the first season aired, like the just cut the story in half. So I only got one half of the story, which annoyed me a little.

My annoyance might come out because that isn’t how I am used to consuming my kdramas. It was interesting to see kdrama with perhaps a little more Netflix style. There are a lot of dramas on Netflix, but most were not made for Netflix and maybe not quite this binge formula in mind - although a lot of dramas are very good for such a binge. It might be that I am more used to the sixteen to twenty four episode dramas, so I did not feel like six episodes were enough to develop the story. Sometimes dramas don’t find their groove until episode six.

These six episodes delivered a pretty tight, exciting, actionpacked plot - and the action scenes were often great, but would have been greater if I cared more what happened to the characters - and for a zombie show I didn’t feel like the same story line was repeated over and over again, even if good number of the episodes were devoted to fighting or running away from zombies.

The politics of the palace and that whole story line mashed well with the action and the two plot did work quite well together. They did not feel like two completely different stories, which can sometimes happen when you mix genres together. Although most of the time, I enjoyed the politics and the scheming inside the palace more than the stuff that was happening outside the palace.

But because season one only had six episodes there was a lot that needed to be done and set up and I didn’t feel that the characters were getting enough of the time for us to get to know them properly, or develop too much. But we also have not gotten the complete story and in some way it seamed to have just gotten started when it ended. And in a way I feel like I can’t really judge it (too much) before I have seen the second half of this story. But this was the good spin on the zombie story

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Before I start, I just want to say that I am usually a person who is the first to criticize any series which are popular among the majority. In addition, I am the person who has never experienced that feeling you are just going to cry due to some movements or sounds coming from the TV series/movies which want to cause emotions to you. But this k-drama... DAMN... Up to now, I considered Game of thrones (seasons 2-5) and Mr. Sunshine objectively as the biggest masterpiece when it comes to series, but I guess, this k-drama totally overtook this position.

Firstly, all hail to the actors. I think, I have never been so hooked up into literally ALL of the characters. Each one of them (leads, seconds and supports) did an excellent job. I always take care of not doing any sounds when everyone around me sleeps and I am watching dramas, but they made me laugh as hell even at 2AM, made me cry (it is true that only for a few seconds, but I have not cried for 15 years) multiple times and made me totally fangirling over them.
Secondly, the story was really well written. Not even a single scene was a waste of time (what, in my opinion occurs quite often in other series), the story let you nervous almost whole the time and you never know what will happen next. The only one thing which was not perfect was the totally last scene (about the last one or two minutes). I think, the end without that scene would be much more satisfying in my opinion.
Lastly, I have never really been into re-watching any series (expect a few favourite moments), but I am definitely for watching this k-drama one day again.

And here, there is some final sum of the points.
Actors: 20 Hyun Bins from 10
Story: 9.99999999 flying tractors from 10 (sorry last scene)
Music: 10 downloaded albums from internet cafés from 10
Would I go through this emotional hell again? Definitely YES!
Overall score: 85648356187451 bugs from 100

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I really love this drama... I am not a person that would give full marks in any drama but this drama is really amazing... Right from the storyline to the performances of the actors it is spot on...I really like how all the stories of different people that they help coincide with the main story... If you haven't watched this drama yet I advise you to watch it now because it's really amazing.

Kitagawa Keiko has really impeccable acting skills, she has a way of portraying the main lead that captivates the viewers and get's them wanting to watch more until they finish the whole drama..
EVERYBODY PLEASE WATCH THANK'SSSS

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I've been trying to watch this series since 2018 and I kept putting it off. I watched the first two episodes and I dropped it because I was irritated with the female lead's acting. Then I decided to watch it again and finally finished it. I wouldn't recommend it but the plot is fantastic.

First off I like it that the creators chose this whole bunch of cast with the exception of Angelbaby. They all looked the part. What I meant is that they are not the usual teenagers or in their early twenties which seems to be the trend now a days in Chinese dramas. I noticed that even though the role calls for a mature actor instead its being portrayed by younger actors/actresses which makes the drama being farcical.

I don't find Wallace Cheung to be physically attractive but I find him to be good actor. I first noticed him on Too Late To Say I Love You and I fell in love with him. He did an excellent portrayal of his character. He is not so good here might be due to the bad script or story. However Wallace's acting craft enables you to charm and like him. He has a way of wanting you to follow him.

Now here comes the female lead. I don't understand how the creators decided to cast Angelbaby. Don't get me wrong I love to watch gorgeous faces on the screen but if that person can't deliver the goods forget it. She looked like a blank board all the time with her wide eyes and unnaturally perfect and surgically enhanced lips. I really did my best to disregard this but damn it's too distracting. Not all gorgeous face has the skill to act and I believe Angelbaby is one of those. They could have chosen Yang Mi or Cecilia Liu for this part. They have more gravitas.

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A Healthy Relationship between Main Leads

The story is quite common. Highschool girl chasing the popular boy and then them suddenly losing contacts. Meeting again after ten years and falling in love.
But i love how they executed the story. Watch this drama if you want to see a successful women.
For me, both main lead's acting is 10/10. Specially, male lead. I loved his subtle expressions in different situations.
Now if i talk about the story. Female lead is a strong independent women even tho she is a spoiled rich brat. She doesn’t give anyone chance to bully her. Sometimes in office dramas, the employee beefs kinda get boring. But it didn’t for me in this one. They solved every problem quickly and those corporate fights between higher up people were fun to watch.
About the chemistry, oh my god it was chef's kiss. I love how both the male leads know how to kiss. Also if you are finding a drama couple with a healthy relationship this drama is definitely for you. The osts were good too. Overall it was good. Loved an adult romance cdrama after so long.

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