Reviews

An Underrated Gem

Personally, I decided to watch this because I'm a fan of Ma Ke or Kyle Ma from his Journey of Flower days. I personally think his character saved that show. But here I wanted to see him in something modern and more of a detective type series. All three of our leads did a fantastic job and the stooge detectives were funny and sincere in their practical adoption of ML. The ending was sad as our ML lost both his brother and father on the same day and just as he met/reconciled with them. I had expected it but the emotions were still very real. ML reminded me of the young version of Gil Grissom from the original CSI (for any Americans that may read this); first super awkward young scientist on bugs but gradually warms up to everyone and they all want to learn from him and protect him. Ma Ke plays SML with a dark secret that he keeps from his youth that he was basically used as a tool to kill someone when he was barely a small child. A lot of interesting twists and turns and feeling bad for SML because both brothers got the short end of the stick with all of the conspiracies swirling around them and people constantly wanting to harm them or blackmail them. This is a psychological show and a serious who-done-it. I really fell in love with all of the characters except that one woman doctor that did end up dying but I didn't feel sorry for her because she just stuck her nose into SML's business way too many times and it led to her undoing. Ultimately though, everyone behind all of the murders were either arrested or killed. I would highly recommend this because it just grabs you by the hooks and keeps you. Only real negative was the 5 versions of the same flashbacks. Very unnecessary. But do give it a go if you're into detective shows, with many winding parts, and secrets getting revealed.

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Good Lessons about Love and Life, if you have an open mind.

Both FL and ML did an excellent job acting; range of emotions. OST was good, but nothing stood out. Interesting story, which wasn't about normalizing pedophilia, but how to handle a young person being attracted to an adult, without belittling their feelings. The show reminded us that communication and trust are the most important factors in any relationship, and without that it will fail. It taught us about being honest with ourselves. There was decent character growth with Hijiri and Akira.

SPOILER ALERT:

What I REALLY didn't like was that they started the ML as a grade school/ middle school kid. He didn't even look close to that. It added a very weird element to the story. If they had started the ML as a high school guy, then as college/university, it would've been more believable. It was like the middle school portion became too long, with unnecessary drama moments, which would've been better used during the high school arc.

Meeting the Father of Akira moment, wasn't impactful at all. Akira's mother with her lies and suspicions didn't come across as a loving mother just looking out for her son. It seemed like she was more narcissistic and too controlling. The writers failed in this aspect, unless they were trying to paint Akira's mother as not a good person.

Overall it was a decent watch, no over the top sexual moments either. Re-watchable.

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On my first watch of the show I found that I was disappointed with how it had plateau'd off at the end, and I felt that the story ended very contrived. On a rewatch of the show a few months later I was able to work out that actually the story made even more sense knowing the end game plot.

What really brings this drama down is the following: The Lee Sung Hoon storyline, it honestly serves no purpose to the overall plot other than to give him a character twist. The dislikeability of Director Oh, he was a character that really needed more fleshing out so we could understand him it was very hard to see his motives to anything despite knowing he was meant to have them. The stupid scenes where in the middle of the operation they engage in long stare-offs and don't seem to mind the open heart surgery going on beneath them. The immortal survival rate of a good portion of the cast, I'm putting this down to drama-land though.

What makes it good? Everything else. The rest is all golden. But if you do pick it up, just keep in mind that the amazing high the first two episodes start off with isn't what you get for the rest of the series.

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I first interested to watch this drama because I thought the casts were great. Turned out, it was not only the cast, but the whole story is amazing. I'm not really into historical drama, but right after I watched this movie, I wanted to learn more about Japanese history.

I love the connection built between Saburo amd Kichou. It was not cheesy romantic but somehow it feels really deep. Every character plays as an important part and has his/her own story was well developed. Acting was magnificent, gave me chills at some point of the story.
and frankly speaking, I think this is my favourite Shun Oguri, Takayuki Yamada, Issei Takahashi and Mukai Osamu's performance by far.
Music was awesome, really brought the whole atmosphere to the story.

If you're looking for some comedy with a touch of warmth, then this is it.
Will definitely rewatch and recommend this drama.

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Personally, I found this drama very sweet, as I do quite like the Itazura Na Kiss story. I think it was done overall very well, and I enjoyed feel of the drama. I think, given it is a Japanese version of the story, it worked better then other versions because in Japan they seem to have a much larger sense of sweetness to them!

Story - 9
I have given the story 9 because I absolutely adore the Itazura Na Kiss story line. However, to follow a story line, it mustn't change drastically. For this reason it does not have a 10, because of course it cannot be original, but it was still a good take on the story! If you have already watched a version of this story (eg. Playful Kiss) then I wouldn't skip out on this drama, but I wouldn't expect too many differences. It is still a good watch in my opinion!

Acting/Cast - 7.5
My main critism about the casting is probably the difficulty of playing Irie Naoki. I think Furukawa Yuki is very good looking and good at pulling a straight face, which is mostly the character. Despite this, I think the character is too dull in that sense, as he only seemed to show emotion in the last episode. This may have been the characters or actors fault, but I can't be sure. I think Miki Honoka did an extremely good job, especially given the age she was when it was filmed. The character of Kotoko is very over the top, and I think she portrayed her very well. Personally, I think the version of Kinnosuke was better in the Korean version. Overall the acting is quite good, but could be better.

Music - 8
The music in this drama, when played, was catchy. The opening theme I enjoyed, and I thought was very good relating to the drama (although Kotoko's face when she is 'crying' is hillarious). However I didn't feel like music was played very often, especially compared to other dramas I've seen. Despite this, I like there being less music, but it may not fit everybodies tastes!

Rewatch Value - 7.5
I think I would enjoy rewatching it because, as I said previously, the Itazura Na Kiss story is great and I personally love it. However with there being several versions, I don't think I would rewatch it any time soon, because if I want to see the story again, I have a variety of choices to watch. However this is not the fault of this specific drama but of the fact that it is a widely popular storyline!

Overall, I think it is a good drama, and if you enjoy the Itazura Na Kiss story then you should certainly watch it!

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Sunny is an absolute delight to watch—it's the friendship film that we all need.

In the way, the film explores the power of friendship in the most non-dramatic way possible but still tries its best to be sentimental (in a good way) and to be connected.

The flashbacks are incorporated so well with the present that it moves the narrative along in such a smooth way. Even the way the past contrasts with the present fall into place so perfectly. There is so much anticipation to get to know each character, to explore them and to love them. Just when you think you know how they'd turn out—you're in for a surprise.

There is comedy, there is drama, there is dancing and singing and even a tadbit of romance. In a way, the Sunny gang brings you into their world and immerse you in it. Their differences, their style, their talking, their singing and their dancing—they want you to experience it too. So screw the world, these girls create their own sub-culture and not confirming to the reality by simply—being them. And of course, their friendship is a mirror of female bonding.

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Very very entertaining! If you are looking for something fun to watch, this it it! It contains friendships, slight romance (more like teasing the viewers with potential romances), family themes and just overall is a funny, creative, cute drama. I loved all the actors and felt they were perfect for this drama! The characters are the best part however, they're all written in such a unique, special way and after you finish this drama, you're guaranteed to miss them.

I myself am a huge romance fan and hence I was more or less disappointed DESPITE ALL THE WARNINGS GIVEN because I really really ship the main leads. But nonetheless, even a romance obsessed idiot like me could appreciate and was hooked to this drama and enjoyed it despite that factor.

The most important thing in this drama is friendship and it's very clear throughout the entire drama, I think everyone will enjoy watching it. Just don't expect or hold on to the romance factor too much and you'll see what a cute drama it is!

It has a lot of childish effects and I honestly found them so refreshing and loveable, given the ages of the characters I think this was suited and just overall, CUTE CUTE CUTE

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Warm on a cold night is a quirky murder mystery with a heavy dose of romance!

What’s to like about it… a smart female detective with a life threatening illness that only holding hands with our ML can cure. Our ML is a tad grumpy and dictatorial but after spending time with FL she softens him up. They’re the perfect yin yang.

The fight scenes and music perfectly compliment the story building, though there are a few areas where the plot lets it down. The rushed last two episodes - we find out that FL has the fire ember within her and in a blink of an eye she decides to sacrifice herself for the great good. She drugs the ML and swiftly proceeds with her plan only by him breaking his stone and giving it her does she return from the dead.

Whilst it may sound romantic that he would give up everything for her, he pretty much severed himself up on a platter. I would have prefer him to have retain some of his powers and because the King of Qi. The last episode showed him as a tired version of himself. For 36 episodes the ending could have been 100% better!

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This special, I believe, would not live to the expectation of the viewers of the drama.

It is quite annoying to find that the story of this particular special focuses on a story that is supposed to happen somewhere in the middle of the original-run, which further ruins some plot details of the original story. Though it is a good thing that it gave conclusion to some of the "unfinished" details in the drama, including Nakatsu's Love for Ashiya.

Seeing the whole Hana Kimi 'gang' on the screen, and seeing them act together, would surely put a smile on every viewers on this show. Somehow, it clearly manifests in their scenes that everyone is comfortable acting with everyone else, which further gives the drama an advantage.

Though this particular special, tries to close any loose end of the drama, which I believe it successfully did, watching it for the second one would be quite a challenge - taking into account that a 2-hour special can never reach the hype the whole series attained.

Nevertheless, this special would be like a "dessert" for all of the Hana Kimi Fans out there.

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I'm a sucker for romance and crime shows, so I am slightly biased :P

Okay, let's get this out of the way, i loved this show. The characters made it work, and is the reason why i fell for it. From our stern, clumsy prosecutor No Ji Wook, to our bubbly, kinda stupid but adorable badass Eun Bong Hee, to the absolutely adorable puppy lawyer Ji Eun Hyuk, the show has a lot of charm. I actually found the story really good, but i agree with a lot of reviewers that it probably would've suited a 16/32 episode length rather than 20/40. It was a bit sparce in the middle.

As written above, i am a damn sucker for romance, and our lovely No Ji Wook played by Ji Chang Wook was a marvel as always. His acting chops are incredible, and i find myself falling again and again for every character he plays. He is really just a great actor, and No Ji Wook was the perfect blend of handsome jerk and clumsy cutiepie.

Eun Bong Hee by Nam Ji Hyun is no different, and while i usually find myself hating the kind of character that is so ridiculously naive, i found her honestly refreshing. She was honest, and didn't get misled by the usual melodramatic misunderstandings of this genre. Their chemistry was great, and i love them. Period. Cuties the both of them.

And the supporting cast is no different. Ji Eun Hyuk is as adorable as can be. I love Choi Tae Joon, and once again he did not dissapoint. Also, i have to say, the fact that they managed to avoid making him a rival to No Ji Wook for Bong Hee's affections made the show so much better. That he could be a friend and consultant to Bong Hee without making him the typical "I'm happy for you two, now i can finally get over my feelings for you" second male lead made me so happy. He basically is Ji Wook & Bong Hee's big bro/little bro and we love him.

Then Chief Bang...
My boi Bang, i'd marry him in a heartbeat. We stan the group dad! Section Chief Bang was one of the best parts of the show. Our best childish dad, mr. Byun also made me smile every time he was on screen, and he played the role of the dissaproving mother in law perfectly. He really did become the mother of the office, while Bang is the dad.

Now to our secondary female leads, i honestly fell for our baby girl Na Ji Hae, and honestly was rooting for her in the end. I am a really strong advocate against cheating.. but i also believe in redemption, and our clumsy girl really pulled through! Now... onto our ML's ex Cha Yoo Jung. She was a cool character when introduced, but i never felt anything strong for her.. she was just the second FL. That's it. The actress was great, the character just didn't have much of an impact. The last few eps she was really cute tho.

NOW, our villain. I won't say anything that hasn't already been said. I loved the character, and the actor really did justice to a very very sad/infuriating past, that villains usually have. I thought honestly it was a good spin on the usual "psychopath" villain that can't feel anything and listens to classical music in a basement while torturing his victims. I liked him.

Other than it being a bit too long, i must say i really enjoyed it.

I really really enjoyed it, I really did.

Really really!

but,

BUT!

BUT!!!!! I HAVE ONE BIG GRIPE WITH THIS DAMN SHOW.

WHO THE HECK KEEPS MOVING A BIG SPOTLIGHT BEHIND OUR MAIN LEADS IN EVERY DAMN ROMANTIC MOMENT??? IS IT CHIEF BANG???? IS HE MAKING IT "MOODY"??? I'M CONVINCED SOME WEIRDO IS MOVING A SPOTLIGHT AROUND AND EVERYONE IS JUST PRETENDING IT'S NOT HAPPENING. IT'S SO STRANGE, AND SINCE IT'S ONLY WHEN IT GETS ROMANTIC IT SEEMS SO OUT OF PLACE!?

WHY? WHY DID THEY THINK EVERY KISS NEEDED A DAMN SPOTLIGHT????!!!!

a-ahem!
Anyways, good show, please watch!

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Started nice… but went downhill by becoming VERY frustrating ; a potential wrongfully exploited

Was nice… but the writing has some BIG flaws that make it not so great
The drama started off as a light romcom in a campus setup
But on the last 4 episodes, it suddenly turned very tragic and melodramatic.
I don’t have a problem with melodramatic. What I have a problem with is the sudden change of tone : if they wanted something melodramatic, they should have done it during the whole drama. Not first start as a nice romantic comedy and then with just one episode, turn it to tragedy with melodrama, deaths and angst. Us viewers were not prepared at all and that felt disagreeable
Another big flaw : this drama causes A LOT of frustration to the viewer, mostly due to the injustices that the female lead suffers. To summarize : the female lead is rich, beautiful, cheerful and beloved. But by her side, there’s a jealous character ready to ruin her happiness. Ruining, the female lead, who grew up with everything one could wish for, including a sparkling, attractive personality, grew up with Shen Zhen by her side. Shen Zhen is beautiful, smart and seemingly polite : but she’s the maid’s daughter, everything she owns has been paid by Ruining’s parents, the house where she lives is theirs and she has always been overshadowed by Ruining’s bright personality and popularity. So, obviously she strongly dislikes Ruining. Many viewers can understand that. What makes her eventually annoying is how far her jealousy and her inferiority complex go : at first, it starts off as her being so insecure in front of Ruining that she’s certain Ruining always does everything to bully her. No master how Ruining apologizes, explains or tries to make it up when she accidentally wrongs Shen Zhen, Shen Zhen won’t listen or believe and will only conclude Ruining deliberately bullied her. When Ruining tries to be nice or befriend her, Shen Zhen rudely rejects by always bringing up their « master-servant relationship » as if she’s somehow blaming Ruining. What makes her even more annoying is that she’s actually not so pitiful, she even has plenty of good things : her mom’s employers gave her mom not only a work but gave them a place to live, food and clothes but even paid for her studies, and all of that without asking anything in return : in short, if it weren’t for them, she’d know what is real poverty and would probably have to do part-time jobs. They also treat kindly, love her like a relative and have plenty of attentions for her. Their daughter tries to be friend with her, plenty of people actually admire her and want to befriend. So we don’t know why she’s so certain her life is a deep tragedy : she obviously thinks as some Cinderella, a female lead from some idol drama and thinks Ruining is the villain who steals everything from her. Eventually, her and Ruining’s rivalry takes a whole new turn when they fall for the same boy : although he first befriends Shen Zhen, he loves Ruining, which finally drives her to madness and darkness after having lost again to Ruining. Her actions not only lead her to harm to Ruining : this leads her to harm and threaten Ruining’s family, despite everything she owes to them. And her jealousy and bitterness turned her so dark that she doesn’t see how wrong this is or that this is totally uncalled for, unlike what she claims. Eventually, she also takes a part in destroying not only Ruining but her whole family, again without remorse, despite the fact that this family had done so much for her.
Shen Zhen is an amazing character, with an amazing actress : she exerts some fascination for me, a mix of hatred and love, because she’s not only a very realistic villain, but also someone who doesn’t look like a villain. She first appears as a pitiful Cinderella who just misunderstands the female lead. However, what makes me REALLY hate her is that the show often seems to present as someone who’s not so bad, who shouldn’t have been a villain, but who has a pitiful past and was led astray by heartbreak and jealousy : what comforted me in that particularly is the ending.
THAT F*** ENDING !!! The most freaking frustrating point of the story, especially on Shen Zhen’s side, and the thing that made me dislike this drama the most : basically, Shen Zhen and another character did terrible things, even committing crimes, which destroyed Ruining, but they get away. Let’s just say that after her most terrible sin was revealed, Shen Zhen was about to commit another : but in an unrealistic twist, that doesn’t correspond at all to the character, she retracts because she just heard the male lead say « I love you » to the female lead when saving her. And with just that, she just quietly leaves, with no punishment for her actions, even having a beautiful monologue, like she’s actually a tragic character not the worst kind of person.. Her accomplice is also no as punished as one should for one’s actions. She just spent 24 episodes trying to ruin the female lead, going as far as complicity of murder and attempt of murder… but suddenly stops when she’s about to lose everything ?! With the character’s personality, that’s not believable at all, and it is even less believable that what would bring her back to her senses is hearing the man she loves profess his love to her rival, when we know how jealous it made her in the past. And we don’t know what the lead couple become, if they even end up together, although it seems to imply they don’t.
What annoyed me most about this ending is that it’s not at all the novel’s but it also doesn’t make sense : yep, I’ve read the novel. A novel which gives an extremely different ending, an ending very satisfying, for every character. But it seemed like the screenwriter here was Shen Zhen’s diehard fan and would rather let her ruin lives and get away than punish her and give her an ending that makes sense
The ending isn’t the only frustrating point of the story ; like i said, there’s a lot. For example, i was kinda annoyed that Ruining’s mother never got to know or realize what kind of person Shen Zhen was. Basically, it became obvious Shen Zhen was very hostile towards her daughter and was bullying her : unfairly accusing her of an offense, slapping her in public, causing her suspension, being about to slap her in her own house, calling her « a heinous person » in front of them… even with all of that, Ruining’s mom kept believing that the Shen Zhen she watched grow up was a polite and kind kid and only had a few misunderstandings with Ruining (URGH). That was a bit annoying. This eventually turned VERY annoying in that scene when she found Ruining and Shen Zhen fighting (basically, after Shen Zhen had used a common past between Ruining’s and the male lead’s parents to blackmail and had even insulted her mom) : but Ruining is the one she slapped, and Shen Zhen is the one she hugged and trusted when Shen Zhen, without a bit of shame, played the grateful and polite girl in front of the woman she had just called a « whore ». Shen Zhen had obviously caused harm to her daughter in the past and her, when she found them fighting, it didn’t occur to her that maybe Ruining had been pushed and bullied too much but chose to believe Ruining was the unreasonable one. What felt most annoying is that Ruining’s mom never got to know about Shen Zhen’s actions, real nature, and personal feelings : until the end, she was left in the dark and us viewers would have liked her to know and realize how stupid she had been, that she owed her daughter an apology and that she had been feeding a snake all along.
it was also annoying that the male lead, of anyone else, never got to know all of the things that she did : after all, she had even used his family to threaten Ruining, even though she claimed to love him, had somehow also caused the ruin of his family but he never knew about it. I just wondered how he would have reacted if he knew how she blackmailed Ruining with both of their families.
The male lead was also a big frustration and deception at the end : he obviously still loved the female lead, but for some reasons, he chose to blame her, or to pretend to blame her, for what happened between both of their families. Many viewers kept rooting for him but I didn’t : i thought this made him immature, and dishonest about his own feelings. It was okay if he couldn’t love her but to pretend to hate and blame her… i just found him pathetic and unfair
Also, i wished we would have known what happened to his dad who was a big responsible for their misfortunes.
It would also have been nice if they had somehow used Shen Zhen’s mom for her karma : Shen Zhen’s mom, unlike her daughter, was extremely grateful to her employers, had a lot of respect for them and the female lead, and tried to teach these to Shen Zhen, but obtained the opposite. At some point of the story, she doesn’t hesitate to point out to Shen Zhen that she shouldn’t go after Ruining. I just think that with her gratefulness to the female lead’s family, it could have been a great turn to the story if she had learnt how her daughter had actually destroyed without remorse their benefactors.
But these last points are actually minor. Like I said, the biggest flaw of the drama is the ending that changed compared to the novel : they not only completely changed it but rushed it (there are a lot of other elements in the novel, including another suitor for the male lead), and made it the worst kind of open ending where the leads aren’t happily together and the villains get away, despite having done the worst kind of things. Moreover, the ending being « open », it doesn’t conclude anything, leaving the viewer frustrated, whether it is because the villains are spared or because we don’t even know if the leads end up together.
Honestly, when I think of that drama, I now have a ball of angst rolling in my throat because it is so sad, unfair and frustrating and it could have been so much better

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Cliché plot but still enjoyable

The story itself is very cliche. We got our two heroes who meet under the wrong circumstances and start with disliking each other which then turned into love. I was actually okay with this cliche since I found it enjoyable. Now I am kinda disappointed with what they did with some of the characters. It was filled with twists and turns and honestly, there were a few that I didn't expect. It had a happy ending for our leads so that was good.

What I liked-
Wadee wasn't a damsel in distress and although she got captured more than once she was able to hold her ground.
I loved the trio (Yai, kin and leng) they were the dumbest yet cutest "bad" people I have seen.
Many of the supporting characters were great like Rosemary and Michelle
I liked that women were portrayed as strong too and most of them could hold their ground in a fight.

What I disliked

Omg I was so upset when Fan Wan Bao died, although he was technically bad I felt like he had some redeeming qualities and I was hoping he would turn over a new leaf for Dao. They actually made a cute couple and although he was bad I liked him as a character. That's another thing he died and his sister acted as nothing had happened. It was not even mentioned by her. If you can't tell I am very upset that they killed his character.

Something that made no sense was that chang was portrayed as this super-strong character yet he couldn't even defeat lily same with Don and Wadee. They could fight multiple people yet every time he went against lily he somehow lost.

I can say all characters got what they deserved.
If you want to watch I say give it a try and you might enjoy it. Heads up the first 3 episodes are kinda annoying but it gets better.
Have fun watching and enjoy!!

P.s if anyone knows the actor who play Fan Wan Dao please let me know

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This show was cute enough, but...

This show was cute enough at the beginning but there was 0 plot to be found after about ep10 or so? After that, I skipped through tons of scenes. I enjoyed it but it would have been 1000x times better if the episodes were shorter or perhaps there were only 10-12 of them at this 1hr+ length.
The thing I did love about this show is that there were NO over the top evil chicks/bad guys (love interests or mothers/fathers) trying to keep any of the couples apart. However, that also was a part of the problem for me. Because there was NOTHING really keeping the ML & FL apart, the storyline of them not just getting together and the lack of conflict dragged on for no apparent reason for several hour-long episodes and watching became tedious.
STILL. It was cute and the acting was really very good, so that was a plus.

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Rewatching helps me get into more things on the table!

Well, Someday or One Day has become one of the biggest hit in Taiwanese TV dramas but not promoted widely as it deserves to be. However, I really empathize by seeing positive reviews really enjoy this drama and the plot was intriguing but not vague by its way following through the life of Zi Wei and Yu Xuan.

Now, I have rewatched for the third time and concentrating every scene as I am not getting bored at all because they are all the elements explaining the infinite loop. Rewatching it helps me to break everything down why and how Zi Wei and Yu Xuan meet each other both in the past and present.

I remembered my first time watching the first episode really bored the hell out of me by its slow pace and that's how other typical Taiwanese dramas begin. But from the third episode, everything starts to unveil and I extremely enjoy Yu Xuan becomes an energetic, outgoing, and headstrong Yun Ru who is attracted by Zi Wei. That's my most favourite part of the drama.

By the way, the soundtrack is awesome too not just including pop, ballad, and rock composition but also some iconic pieces from the 90's in Taiwan I guess and they sound so vintage yet trendy.

The casts are all well-depicted their character, and yes the main two are perfect and I strongly believe no such other actors can replace them. After that, I started to follow and notice them both in their other projects.

There's gonna be a Korean remake which is highly expected but I believe that it cannot describe completely the culture like the original has accomplish. Imagine that which soundtrack they gonna use, equivalent to Taiwanese's 'Last Dance'.

I think now we need to wait for the movie one to come so I hope that the story can be concise but has to extract the highlights of the main picture of Someday or One Day.

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