Everyone of us goes out everyday, carries the risk that we are unable to go back home. If you think of it that way, knowing you do not have much time left to live is a blessing, given you can overcome the fear of leaving your loved ones. Having a heavy philosophical content, the drama manages to deliver the growth of each characters and valuable lessons without preaching.
As everyone is connected, one's significant life event does not affect that person alone but everyone around them. The same thing happened to successful single mother Han Seung Hee. Her health situation urges her to reflect on her life and widen her social circle as she realises her old way of living cannot give her son another mother. As a consequences, She makes her choices that impacts all those around her. Whether her choices were right or wrong, I believe each one of us has their own judgements however it is undeniable that everything she did was out of love for her son. The most important thing is that she is a mother. She grows as a mother and everyone else also grows.
The beautiful thing about the drama is that it is realistic though the plot exaggerates at some parts to highlight the moral lessons to be learnt. Life goes on, everyone has to part and everything changes. That is the reality. As much as the story is about Han Seung Hee who is a dying mother, it is also about other people and how they prepare to move on with their life after she dies. I love the ending because it shows life continues and even though it may be incomplete, love and forgiveness fill up the space.
Overall the casts deliver solid and convincing acting, especially Song Yoon Ah. I truly lived in their world. Yoon Chang Young and Hong Jun Hyun did a great job as sons, gave audiences the alternatives and outcomes of different choices made by mothers. Other actors performed well though I believe there are room for improvements for supporting actors.
It was a fun rides with lessons to learn on the way. I recommend anyone who are looking for a slice a life kind of story. For people who are scared of the sadness, personally the reason I cried while watching was because it is touching, not because it is sad.
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Okay, admittedly I did go into this movie thinking that it was probably going to be a bit of a try hard movie and that the graphics wouldn't be that great – I’d just attempted watching Shark Boy and Lava Girl. But oh. How wrong I was.
After finishing to the end I could 86% believe that half of the monsters in this were real creatures, the special effects are sweet as pie. The smaller monsters were more realistic then the bigger ones, but even then they were cool! Heads up and applause to the graphics team cause you guys rock! I’m pretty sure the CGI was more realistic in this film then the stunts were... but then again they used the same kind of method they use in Wuxia films/dramas – lots of wires and stuff. Not that I’m complaining or that this wasn’t done well. I’m just not a massive fan of the unrealistic jumping. I’m writing about a film with monsters why am I complaining about unrealistic jumping omg *dies*
I feel that unlike a lot of monster and human movies this one is a little unique. As the previous reviewer said, the story plot is not the stereotypical story where the guy and the girl find a monster, rescue it and take it home to its mother. Not in the slightest. First of all the main female wants to sell the baby monster, bye bye small cute creature! Not to mention that this is a female lead with guts and point object to kill you with. I can not express how happy female leads in Asian films/dramas, who aren't pansies, make me feel. The role reversal of the leads was just perfect and slightly comedic, I love'd that they let the female have power over the male as it's not a common sight in Asian film. The idea that it's the guy who has to give birth and it's the woman who has to protect him and his child is the absolute bomb.
And then the monster child itself? I melted. I don't think it's legal to make a radish that cute... If any one can find a supply of these adorable monsters can you catch me one? I'm melting into a squishy goo just thinking about that little critter! Ahhhh!
In addition the sideline stories are also awesome, it's hard not to give these away sooo... the couple they meet in the inn are adorably stupid - the woman made my day. As well as the female leads rival monster hunter and his pursuit of the queens protectors. Ugh. It makes me so happy.
I don't know who the actors are so I feel like I can't compare them to previous roles or anything. However, whoever they were did pretty good jobs. Jing Boran was good at being pregnant and had a lot of comic relief. I think my only issue is that they sometimes seemed to forget that his character was meant to be disabled and use a leg brace thing... other then that he was pretty good. Bai Bai He, who was the female lead, was alright. Nothing really struck me as amazing about her acting but it wasn't bad. If that makes sense... However I think it may have been more to do with the scenes she was given then her acting skill. But I'm not sure, as I said I've not seen them act before.
The music was awesome~ From the ridiculous songs which the monsters sang to the actual soundtrack. I think that the music was just the icing on the cake. It made adorable perfect scenes even more perfect and adorable :3
This is definitely a film I recommend seeing! I don’t understand how there wasn't a bigger thing about this because it was pretty god damn awesome. The way it ended made me think that there could be a second film *crosses fingers*
So cute.
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This review may contain spoilers
the BEST cold duty bound high god male lead EVER!!!!!!
listen..... my xianxia hater street cred is going to be in a lot of trouble if they keep makin shows like this and canglanjue....another show that makes its mark with some fun and refreshing twists on tired old xianxia tropes! it's so fun that in the beginning I would say it felt very much like a parody. it's especially strong after shaodian youqin is unalived and yetan has to romance three completely different men who are all him. it's just SO fun and has such a sweet message too. generally the storytelling isn't anything reinventing the wheel, but it's quite consistent thematically and doesn't do anything too crazy. The last arc is definitely weakest and the most serious the show gets, which imo the plot dramatics just aren't done well and aren't particularly interesting
mainly i absolutely adore shaodian youqin and his relationship with yetan. even tho yetan is the main character i think youqin's character is the one that truly shines throughout the show and gets the most amount of love and character development from the writers. after all they literally put him through like 5 different character arcs as 5 different people and yet it's still all him!!!! like, wow, what a wonderful and fresh take on his character archetype!! i have HAD IT with the super powered, cold, unfeeling, 100% dedicated to his duty to the immortals war god/sect leader/crown prince who slowly warms up to innocent/kind/stupid fl but just Cant give up his duty because he is so Good and Filial and Just and can't put love above reasoning.... but it fills him with PAIN u see!!! he will take 50000 lighting bolts for his beloved but he won't tell her!!! and then he will still betray her so that he can fulfill his duty because he can't be w her!!! he is a MAN in PAIN... so beautiful... so cool... so tortured!!!🤮🤮🤮 and then the starry love comes around and is like, he is like that because he is Literally so abused and traumatized and he repressed all of his emotions and humanity in order to single mindedly devote himself to his suicide self sacrifice mission... it's not cool or good to be like that, it's literally BAD and INHUMAN. like the very first time we meet him, he's immediately shown to be awkward and rude, his cold proper stick in the mud ways are lame, rather than cool, and chen xingxu's actual voice is PERFECT for the role, thick and stuffy! the first arc is him learning to embrace his emotions and his fear, and he's rewarded because in this universe character growth actually correlates with a cultivation power up and the ability to then do the stupid fantasy thing. and then we MEET the parts of him that he repressed and they're all full and complete humans who are all flawed and deeply lovable. even though I missed the shards, esp xiao mei, it was such a joy to meet youqin 2.0- the sweet, fun and mischievous person he was always meant to be. they really had something to say, and it's directly opposed to what most xianxias have said. ugh the messaging is just truly so sweet and positive. i better literally never see a yehua or zhihua ever again because THIS is what you can do with the character type and now that we've done it we can never go back... give us more men who would actually turn their back on duty and responsibility to do the actual RIGHT thing and stand by their love!!!!!!
yetan i think is done well too, and she has more of a classic hero arc, starting out othered and outcasted and learning to use that villain persona as a shield to protect herself, but learning the value of the world over time from care, love and friendship. i have quite some affection for her but everything kind of pales in comparison to youqin for me lol but she is also very sweet and her relationship w qingkui is very sweet and pure, though pretty much devoid of complexity. i think the choice to remove any ill feelings between the sisters to be understandable, since the show clearly wants to go against the typical jealous, scheming fighting betrayal shit which is admirable. however this relationship is supposed to be central to the show, and taking out any negativity doesn't mean it's a stronger or more well written relationship. if the writers were more skilled they would be able to add depth and dimension to their relationship without resorting to overused cheap tropes. qingkui and chaofeng as characters are also pretty mid for me, with pretty straight forward arcs and little depth. They were the most fun in the beginning when he was still deceiving her, but after a while their story really couldn't match up to the main couple's imo. which sucks because i think they have a lot of potential to tell a really good and interesting story! just very straightforward bad guy falls for good girl and stops being bad eventually.
many plot points are just pretty weak, ESPECIALLY yetan and her dad's relationship which is done SO poorly, and i thought they were doing p well w youqin and his dad until the Last episode when they decided to make him redeem himself even though he's the WORST meanwhile the actual hottest character in the show void tyrant had to DIE. not a fan of many choices honestly, many of the side characters are just complete blank slates, totally boring, and don't even get me started on the dongqiu plot.... it's so bad, handled horribly, suzhi is so poorly written.... like if they truly wanted to talk about genocide it wouldve been woven into the story and felt from beginning to end, but it's literally all shoehorned into the last 4 episodes. to me the true end of the show is after they leave the tianzhu and the couples and their friends all live together happily and chaofeng has an armed guard business. that's the end. everything after that i do not accept- not because it's sad, but because it was poorly written and added very little to the characters who had pretty much all completed their arcs already.
honestly pretty mid show in many ways but it is extraordinary for shaodian youqin and his storyline which is very fresh, fun, and sweet!
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Im Su Jung plays a harried and hopeless stage director who is unable to forget her first love. She even has a suitor wanting to marry her and she can't seal the deal. She hides behind her work as an excuse to avoid him and turn him down, driving her father crazy in the process.
I like the antagonistic relationship between the two leads after the story of "Finding Mr. Destiny" gets going. I like the flashback sequences. Both for how the memories are portrayed and the beautiful shots of India. This film has elements of the unexpected that keep it from being a typical, by rote, romantic comedy.
It's a sweet story. Light but not fluffy, well acted and a great ending too.
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Taken, Joseon Style
Hollywood has Taken with Liam Neeson. South Korea’s answer is Jang Hyuk’s The Swordsman, with a dash of Joseon thrown in the mix. And what a fantastic version this is.This sageuk is about Tae Yul, Joseon’s arguably greatest living swordsman, who was formerly part of the royal retinue as the personal bodyguard of the previous King, who was subsequently overthrown in a bloody coup. Fast forward many years later after the revolt, Tae Yul is now retired from guard duty with a serious sight impairment, living off-grid in the mountain wilderness as the guardian of a young teenage girl. This is set against the backdrop of power transitioning from the Ming Dynasty to the Qing forces in Imperial China. The arrival of Qing emissaries to coerce the Joseon administration into offering money and female slaves sourced from the local populace, including the daughters of the nobles, as tribute to the new dynasty causes much consternation and dissatisfaction among the nobility and royalty.
All hell breaks loose when the young girl under Tae Yul’s care gets abducted and enslaved by the Qing slavers. This is when the “Taken plot” takes over with Tae Yul taking on all the villains and finally the showdown with not one but two major boss-fights, in a bid to rescue the girl.
This is a high quality production that’s quite decent in every aspect - direction, screenplay, cinematography, choreography, editing, and artistic set design - with many familiar faces, beautiful scenery of the countryside as well as the authentic setting of the era. The main characters and the central plot are well written but the major focus of the show is undoubtedly the action. The sword fighting choreography is absolutely outstanding and the action sequences are stunning to behold. The art of swordsmanship shown here is top tier and surpasses many other South Korean productions. Breathtaking, bloody, artistic, even poetic. Seeing is believing.
The character of Tae Yul is marvelously brought to life by Jang Hyuk. The expression, body language, dialogue…it feels as though this role was made exclusively for him that no one else could possibly portray. A man of few words where action speaks the loudest, this is a seasoned warrior who lets his uniquely-bladed sword do the talking.
The primary antagonist is played by the Indonesian martial arts actor, Joe Taslim, who injects a measure of sophisticated charm into the villainous and slightly psychopathic Gurutai, leader of the Qing envoy and cousin to the new Qing Emperor. His athleticism and way with the sword is fully displayed in the epic final showdown of the movie.
The supporting cast is a familiar one, with veterans Jung Man Shik, Choi Jin Ho, and Jang Hyun Sung portraying the nobleman, former King and chief of the King’s guard respectively. Kim Hyun Soo portrays the young girl Tae Ok and her experience shines through having started her career as a child actress over a decade prior.
The only criticism that I would level at this production would be the length - 1 hour and 40 minutes. The plot did get somewhat convoluted with certain flashbacks and side plots that could have potentially been fleshed out more, if the film had been slightly longer. The average K-drama episode is over an hour long so as a film it should have been made into at least 2 hours. As it was, the pace did feel rushed during the final arc, the conclusion of the story.
Overall, The Swordsman is one of the best action sageuk produced in recent memory that will, and should, serve as a benchmark for similar action-oriented films in the future for top quality sword fighting and action choreography, in the South Korean film and drama industry.
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L : The mirror of live and evil
Started this drama without any prior knowledge about the plot so I did not know what to expect. Mostly, trusted Shin Hakyun's acting as he always delivers the characters and so far, I really enjoyed watching his dramas ─ and Evilive was not an exception. So, I'm glad to not miss it as not only I enjoyed watching how the storyline and characters' developments unfold but also discovered new talented acting people.While I must admit the story is not completely new or unique, it surely delivered its own twists and perspectives. For me, what made it really good drama to watch was acting. Not only main roles but also side characters showed good acting skills and pulled you into the story. The portrayal of dynamics was phenomenal. However, I have to admit Shin Hakyun and Kim Youngkwang truly stole the spotlights with their portrayals of their characters.
Throughout the 10 episodes, we saw how human greed works through characters, how they change and how someone can welcome their inner demons with a tempting whisper from a criminal and suppressed anger. The shift in personality was too realistic and it was nice to watch the constant moving between the grey and dark area throughout character development.
Also wanted to point out how it took me a while to notice there is only one L in Evilive because the letter is acting as a mirror. Evil and Live spell each other backwards, and L is both the door and mirror ─ which is such a witty name. It perfectly represents the story and characters.
I'm glad I didn't miss this drama and gave it a chance ─ and I definitely recommend it.
link to edit : https://youtu.be/h6z05B475cI
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Acting/Cast: I thought everyone did a great job even the supporting character. In my opinion, there was no antagonist. Everyone did their role really well. I was able to relate to some of students and their struggle for school.
Music: The Ost was amazing! It suit the drama really well. Sometimes, I would search for the Ost and it would bring back so much memory.
Rewatch Value: I would watch it again if I have time. It was not boring at all and it was funny and cute at the same time.
Overall: I really enjoyed the the drama. I learned a lot from the drama and all the tips I have learn I am using it for school. This drama taught me that school is really important and that I have to study a lot if I want to be successful.
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This review may contain spoilers
2019 vs 2021
This review will be more of a comparison of the 2019 vs. 2021 version. There are going to be quite some biased comments as I enjoyed the 2019 version and I have already reviewed the 2019 ver based on the plot/generics itself. So, I didn't want to have to say the same things. I have not read the novel, but I probably will one of these days in my downtime. I tried to condense the review as much as possible; it was hard, as I made a lot of notes while I was watching. However, that doesn't mean I dislike this version any less as the storyline is still the same, and the characters were still true to how they were in the 2019 version. I did watch the last two episodes RAW, so I may have missed important dialogue as most of it was Luo Zhi narrating.STORY
I want to say that if you don't like watching storylines/characters with the following, this drama isn't for you:
- unrequited love
- girls getting treated like crap in a relationship
- girls giving their all to someone who doesn't care for them
- dragging storyline due to constant misunderstandings
Those may throw you off to want to watch it, but there's something about unrequited love that makes people intrigued. It's probably because we all have had an unrequited love in some way or another. The unrequited love storyline gets exhausting because, for once, the title is true to the storyline. The female lead has been in love with our male lead for over ten years and continues to love him. She gets hurt by him but still foolishly loves him. It's this never-ending loop, but it somehow keeps drawing me to see how their story will turn out.
MUSIC
Almost all of the songs are good to throw onto my playlist. I enjoyed the opening song and think it's quite catchy (in my playlist and stuck in my head). However, I feel like the music and editing within the drama weren't great for me. There were times where I felt like the music overpowered the voiceovers/dialogue. Other times, I felt like the music wasn't fitting to the mood of the scene. Especially when they play the opening song, the music sounds upbeat (even though the lyrics are about unrequited love). It just makes it seem less serious/more of this high school crush where we're supposed to feel bubbly. But this isn't supposed to be the case for this drama. We are supposed to feel the anguish of unrequited love that Luo Zhi feels.
One thing I dislike is dramas dragging out scenes with no dialogue and the song playing. I don't mind it, but it feels like we're listening to the whole song, and I always skip it. This drama had a good amount of those (in the beginning and end). The only scene that was correct, in my opinion, was later in the show, somewhere after episode 30, where Luo Zhi was napping in the library and Huainan was staring at her.
RE-WATCH VALUE
I wouldn't re-watch this drama or version in particular. So far, I have enjoyed all adaptations, though. There were some instances where I feel like this version was dragged out, and there weren't particular scenes that stood out to me about memorable. I am waiting for the movie version and probably will watch it when it has subtitles and is available to watch.
=================OVERALL/2019 COMPARISON (major spoilers) ================
WHAT I LIKED - I knew from the get-go that there should be more depth to the supporting characters and story than the 2019 version, with this ver being 38 episodes. I'll mention the things I appreciated in the 2021 version of Unrequited Love.
1. I appreciated more depth to Ge Bi and Baili's story, especially Ge Bi's character. Ge Bi's character still stood true to how he was in the 2019 version; however, he had more conscious in this version. We can tell how this drama was directed that Ge Bi actually somewhat cared for Baili and didn't just see her go through everything for him but not appreciate it. We see some regret in Ge Bi and him missing her, even if it was selfishly.
2. This version of Huainan was a more likable male lead because there was more depth to him. We see more of his backstory and his feelings, so we could empathize with him more. For example, we see his thought process so we understand why he would ignore her. The writers literally made a whole debate competition on love and selfishness with his stance to explain why he initially felt off about Luo Zhi. In contrast, the 2019 ver focused more on Luo Zhi and her feelings rather than Huainan.
3. What this version does right is that we see them build their connection. It feels a lot stronger this time around. For example, the mutual connection they had with their conversations/texts, without Luo Zhi having to lie/pretend. It was satisfying to see them build their connection with nerdy texts and audio conversations. Which made sense to these two characters as they're supposed to be top students.
4. Huainan's family situation didn't involve an outdated family revenge trope. The writers decided to get rid of that, and it flows a lot better in that aspect. Huainan was more mature in the situation, though I still believed he could have given Luo Zhi a better closure. There was less drama involved after Huainan left school, and that was much appreciated after all that has happened in the drama.
WHAT I DISLIKED - Some of the following things made the drama feel less serious and more like an idol drama. These new additions/changes feel even more like most of the other typical modern-day young adult dramas out there.
1. I'm not too fond of the daydream parts that keep getting thrown in. It makes it less serious. I would much rather prefer a voiceover of Luo Zhi saying what she should have done/her self-conflicting thoughts. This didn't last long, as it was more towards the first half of the drama/before she got acquainted with him. Those long gazes with the theme song getting played make me skip them. It's probably because her gaze doesn't read longing to me. It looks like she's just staring off into the distance.
2. I liked that the aunt only showed up to help Huainan because Luo Zhi begged her to in the 2019 ver. In this version, the aunt felt bad for Luo Zhi's puppy love and came to explain to Huainan. She even acted as a middleman between the two. This is fine, but I think little moments like the 2019 version made it feel a lot more impactful.
3. MOST IMPORTANT! The impactful windowpane scene was relatively lackluster in the 2021 version. They had one conversation, and that was it. While in the 2019 version, it was a build-up of conversations that led to Huainan feeling a connection to Luo Zhi.
4. So, in episode 30, they are still at a point of having misunderstandings. This was one of the things I disliked the most about this version. Sure, more episodes allow more depth in other aspects, but in the wrong area at the same time. I enjoyed seeing an expansion of the supporting character's stories and their character progression, but seeing the main characters not progress in their relationship is so hard to sit through. With this many episodes, it didn't have a better closure either.
5. Luo Zhi in the 2021 ver came off quite selfish to me. While she knew that Gu Zhi Ye was not a good guy, she didn't try to stop Baili or Gu Zhi Ye. In the other ver, she confronted him after she confirmed that Gu Zhi Ye was up to no good. In this version, she knew right from the beginning that Gu Zhi Ye was sleazy and fishy, but she didn't help Baili.
6. Luo Zhi's "restart" from Huainan was lackluster in this one. She cuts her hair and then ignored Huainan… meh. It felt like any other time they had a misunderstanding. Then she was purposely ignoring him to tease him as suggested by the guy who looks like their professor. Does anyone remember from the 2019 ver where she allowed the security to take Huainan away as the thief? That was memorable.
7. The supporting characters that are pursuing Huainan are more aggressive in this one. Probably for more drama, but I don't enjoy that aspect of it. That means the drama will get dragged out/shifts the attention away from the main issue. For example, Zheng Wenrui was really obnoxious in this version. She threw herself onto Huainan and was LOUD. I didn't understand why they made her character like this in this version.
WHAT I MISSED FROM 2019 VER
1. I enjoyed Baili's character in the 2019 version. I thought I would like the Baili in this version more, but so far, I don't. I actually disliked how much she clung to Ge Bi even though he straight up told her to back off. It didn't make me feel hurt for her; it made me feel quite annoyed since it was him continually telling her that it was over. In the 2019 ver, Baili had a bit more self-respect. She knew when to back off when she wasn't needed, which made us feel the pain of her unrequited love story. Like Luo Zhi, the 2019 Baili, silently did things for Ge Bi. The 2019 version did justice to Baili by really trying to make her move away from Ge Bi.
2. The moods of these two dramas are REALLY different. The 2019 version was about a girl who would silently do everything for a boy. She silently loves him and silently decided to let go of him until they fatefully met again. We felt her pain of him not knowing who she is because they showed us all the things she did for him... SILENTLY. And she continues to do things for him in college. That is why we understood why she felt hurt when she was so close to him yet so far. It was easy to empathize with her.
This version of Luo Zhi felt a bit more immature and lacked the same feeling that I enjoyed from the 2019 version. While this is probably truer to how a young adult would act, we didn't feel the same pain from this Luo Zhi. Without seeing what she has done for Huainan, it didn't feel as genuine? (not sure if that's the right word to use) It felt like it lacked why she was so hurt on why he should know/remember her. Like she cried right on the spot after reading Huainan's text and other times as well. This Luo Zhi would be upset and couldn't mask herself well in front of Ming Rui. So far, we're trying to build their love story on the fact that he was a boy from her childhood.
In the 2019 version, we know that they somehow know each other from their childhood, even though it wasn't well written. But the main part was during high school, where the bulk of Luo Zhi's unrequited love started and it was so well done as we get flashbacks to all of the things that she has done for him. So, we understand why Luo Zhi is so hurt/upset at Huainan. The 2019 Luo Zhi has already been disappointed so many times before that she could just back up silently again.
For the 2019 version, we were able to see a glimpse of characters moving on or doing things, mainly through leads and especially through Luo Zhi's interaction with them. For me, that was all it needed to get the right closure for most of the characters and see how Luo Zhi grows as a person. Luo Zhi seems like a love expert to everyone except for her situation. Her aloof character and personality were felt through her interaction with the supporting characters. Even though she came off as aloof, we know that she has a warm heart because she is always helping someone else out. She usually speaks her mind and never hesitates. Her aura felt a lot more mature than her actual age.
3. Another thing I missed was the roommate bond they had in the 2019 ver. It felt more genuine and real than this one. Huainan came off as this god that was on a pedestal and his roommates were literally using him as a study tool in the 2021 version. Also, I missed the silly Ming Rui and his friendship with Luo Zhi. Apart from Ming Rui falling for Luo Zhi later, they were good friends who confided in each other. This one lacked the interactions between Ming Rui and Luo Zhi. Like, we barely see scenes of them together. :'( Ming Rui even told Luo Zhi that he did everything for her because of Huainan. It made me sad that their friendship didn't seem genuine/as close.
4. Gu Zhi Ye came across as someone more genuine in the 2019 ver, even though we found out that he was using her.
5. The beauty of Luo Zhi writing, "Luo Zhi loves Shen Huainan and no one knows about it" was that it was her little secret before college. She wrote it before going to college as a last reminder. It was her finally being able to show it to the world without really telling anyone. Luo Zhi wrote it in college in this version, and Huainan discovered her engraving (coincidently right by his favorite spot). She even attempted to hide it behind the bushes.
6. One nice touch to the 2019 ver was their dorm walls and how it had pictures and posters of what each character likes. Luo Zhi had anime, Huainan had basketball, and Baili had popular stars on hers. This version was just super bright and pink in the girl's dorm.
If you made it to the end, thank you for reading! If you watched both versions, let me know what you thought of each one! I know comparing both may sound negative but I actually enjoyed it enough to watch to the end!
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1Truly Unique
Low Life is a truly unique drama in a time where uniqueness is hard to come by. I thoroughly enjoyed the first nine episodes of this drama, with the final two episodes still great, but the direction felt a little... off? Honestly, this drama could have at been at least 16 episodes, but by episode 10, it felt like the writers were told that they only had two more episodes left instead of seven, so they decided to cram seven episodes worth of story into the final two - this is the only reason why I haven't rated this drama a perfect ten!This is a highly addictive drama, nevertheless. The characters, honestly, spectacular. The supporting cast all felt like the main cast, and instead of two or three main characters, honestly, it felt like we had eight or nine, something so amazing and difficult to find (and executed superbly, I mean). I also really enjoyed the acting and everyone acted really well, and the chemistry between everyone felt amazing. Rivalries felt real, bromance felt genuinely special, and friendship felt golden.
The story, sensational. I have not watched a drama with this sub nautical/adventure/crime type of theme before, and it was really nice. I wish there were more. I loved the unpredictable story and some of the twists and turns were both predictable, and made logical sense! Even though relationships were complex alongside the story, I never felt confused and I could easily keep track of everyone and everything.
If you are not sure whether to watch this drama or not, I think you should definitely give it a try. Before watching, I also felt that way, but now I am so glad with myself that I made the decision to watch Low Life. Watch it!
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Seol Nan(Soo Baek Hyang) is my favorite heroine of all time. And that's saying something because I've seen a lot of kick-ass heroines. Her character growth was stunning and after I finished the drama, I was left sitting there, gaping at the screen, because I couldn't believe how much Seol Nan had grown. In the beginning, she was a kindhearted, carefree girl who was an angel. She doesn't take the easy way and act as a maid when she enters the palace. Oh, no. Instead, she joins the nation's most special elite military force. And no, she doesn't just walk in and demand she be part of it. She gets put through trial after trial, constantly kicked, punched, and doesn't receive special attention because she's a woman. She's not afraid of being dirty. She's always covered in her own blood and bruises. She's always tested, and almost dies in many of the tests. She hardens and learns that not everyone can be trusted. But, at the same time, she gains the respect of the men in the military force. She gains many life-long friends who are loyal to her. She's sent on numerous, highly dangerous, undercover missions because she's the only one who can do it. She's beaten, tortured, betrayed, and ridiculed, but she never gives up. Ever. She remains loyal to her nation. She is the reason why her nation has become so strong. She is the key person responsible for the success of the nation. She is a warrior princess. She fights in the front in wars, goes undercover, and not afraid of death. At the end, I can barely recognize her. The woman I see at the end is infinitely times more mature, strategic, calculating, but still kind. She's not afraid to get revenge, and to destroy anyone who threatens her country. As she says, "Don't push me. Otherwise, you won't even recognize me, as I will be a terrifying beast."
Seol Hee. I don't know how to describe the hate/love relationship I have with this girl. She's evil and manipulative but at the same time immature and ignorant. In the beginning, Seol Nan and Seol Hee have a sweet sisterly relationship but that relationship changes, drastically. By the end of the drama, I was crying for them because they once had the sweetest relationship in the world. But, everything changed. They can not go back to what they originally were like. You'll love her. You'll hate her. You'll want to strangle her. And you'll want to hug her. She's a character that makes the audience goes through a mix of emotions.
The romance: the romance was funny, sweet, emotional, and heart-breaking. It's a 108 episode drama so there's bound to be a lot of conflicts. In the beginning, they were mere acquaintances. That developed into friendship. Then, a budding romance. No instant love. They slowly trusted each other. Then lovers. I love their romance, a lot. There's a lot of heart-breaking towards the end as the truth is revealed.
The acting was amazing. Especially Seo Hyun Jin who acts as Seol Nan and Seo Woo as Seol Hee. Both of these two actresses made me cry, angry, and get extremely emotional. Seo Hyun Jin's portrayal of Seol Nan's growth was stunning. She can be extremely kind one second and turn into a cold, calculating woman the next (when necessary if she's threatened). Seo Woo gave an outstanding performance of Seol Hee. She understood her character completely and she was basically her character. I couldn't imagine anyone else playing Seol Hee.
This was an amazing drama and I encourage everyone who loves stunning character growth to watch it.
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Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty II To the West
17 people found this review helpful
Super Soild Mystery Drama
No matter what angles you're going for, be it storyline, acting, mystery, season 2 is much better in every way than season 1 and s1 is already a great drama. So, congratulations on the job well done to the SToTD team!I love how solid the relationship between the 5 leads are, there were some rocky moments but they were able to move past that & not let it drag any longer than it should. Some people are complaining about the lack of romance but for me, a mystery drama should never be side tracked by the romance. This drama & the little side romance it has is already perfect. For me, romance side plot will only hamper the pace and almost always introduce unnecessary drama. We don't need that here.
There are a total of eight cases in this series and I tell you, every single ones of them are great. They had me gripping my seat & forced my brain to think of the solutions. I love them all but my particular favourites are 'Drunk in Yunding' and 'Mo's Inn'. Drunk in Yunding case is such a great case. It has it all; wine, corrupt official, covert illegal operation, hunger games style hunting game, missing people. The fight scenes this season is also top notch and there are TONS of them.
Overall, a solid mystery movie with high rewatch value ☺️
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Lots Lots Lots of Angst!!
This drama is literally one of my very favourite dramas ever existed. I can’t believe how much I actually love it but this drama has everything that I ever wanted from a drama be it a great production, tight script, amazing acting, beautiful cinematography and most of all explosive chemistry from the leads. I basically break my own binge record with 14 hours straight without rest – this never happen to me before with any dramas so this record speaks to itself on how addicting the story was. This is the type of drama that is so great that you wonder how the actors will ever top this work with any of their future projects.I liked how fast paced is the story, so you don’t have to wait for everything to happen. It’s basically one adventure after one adventure so you will not have time to get bored since so many things happen at the same time. I also liked on how it took for a very long time for Thit to get over Tiw’s death and how Jee has never really getting over feeling guilty even though it was never really her fault in the first place. It made the story really realistic and you can somehow relate to the characters and their struggles.
I really thought Mark is great in this role. He does hating really well so all you can feel is his anger and hatred. He also nailed all those subtle expressions be it the embarrassed smiles, the slight happiness smiles, the surprised expressions, the sadness, the disappointments or how he tries to hold his tears when his heart was breaking without overdoing it. You can really see Thit as someone who is cold and rarely show his emotions unless to someone that he loves – those transitions are great to be witness one by one when he slowly warm up and falling for Jee. Yaya as Jee is absolutely wonderful. Aside being so stunningly pretty, she brought life to Jee and made her really stands out as a character. She was really fantastic and I’m just amazed to see all those tears coming from her. But most of all she nailed it as someone really yearns for love while at the same time ready to pour all her love to protects the ones that she loves – everything that she do, she do it because of love and purely that without asking anything in return. I love that she is a mixture of strong, sweet, lovely, kind-hearted, talented while at the same time vulnerable and broken – Jee is all of that and Yaya portrayed this character to perfection. Jee is not only beautiful but she probably one of the kindest soul that anyone can encounter in their lives – its perfectly understood why Thit falls for her despite how much he despise her.
And the most awesome thing about this drama is the chemistry between Mark and Yaya. They really the master the arts of chemistry in this drama – I finally understood that you cant fake chemistry no matter how good you are as an actor – you either have it or you don’t and they demonstrate it really well here. Their chemistry is so electrifying that you basically can’t focus on anything else when they’re both on screen – even when they’re screaming to each other, their chemistry was overflowing with passion. I realised it even more on how powerful is their chemistry when I do a rewatch since most of their scenes involves long stares with arrays of emotions. They did it so naturally that you didn’t feel awkward at all and I personally think had other actors required to do the exact same scenes, it would be resulted with an awkward scene instead.
And the OSTs! How perfect and how amazingly it matched the drama. I love it when the songs were played in the drama, it perfectly matched the scene to the core -- it just made each scene even more angsty or sad. The lyrics perfectly matched the characters – Thit for the theme song and Jee for the ending song. I couldn’t ask for more on how flawless is both the melody and lyrics.
Regarding the rewatch value, this drama is probably the most watched drama for any language for me. I lost count on how many times I rewatch this. It largely due to the tight script and the amazing performances but most of all, I think it got to do with how engaging is the chemistry between Mark & Yaya – you just cant turned away. And rewacthing them in 4k at Netflix is just like heaven. Everything is more colourful and vibrant – I can see all the tears, sweats and their facial expressions more clearly – its like rewatching a new drama all over again since all the new details keep surprising me. And Netflix’s sub is much better than the fansub I must say. I ended up loving the script even more since its more accurate, spicier, and pierced to your heart even more. Not to mention that the accurate script gives more context to the whole plot – it is also less ambiguous and clearer and most of all more satisfying. It seemed that the Netflix subs are closest to the original writing the writer intended in the first place.
Great drama through and through. Its gonna take a while for me to find other masterpieces like this again.
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Where is the acting FL?
Watching the female lead is like enduring a masterclass in monotony. Her acting was so flat that it makes a wooden plank look lively in comparison. Watching paint dry would be more thrilling an experience I think?But oh wait, watching a tree grow in slow motion might actually be more exciting too. Whenever she's on screen , the energy is so stagnant that you could use that time spent to literally do anything else—like counting the individual grains of sand on a beach or timing how long it takes for an ice cube to melt. It’s a truly special kind of boredom, one where every moment drags on like a never-ending lecture on the history of paint drying.
I can go on and on.. but I'll stop here.
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This review may contain spoilers
In The Dark Gray Box is a complex coming of age story worthy of an evening bindge watch.
Since no one has given this drama a review yet, I thought I'd give it a go. I hope this review helps you to decide if you want to give this drama a try. I gave it an 8 out of 10.The story complex and twisted in a way that the Japanese are so good at. I thought the acting was good for how the writer and director wanted to portray what these young adults were going through at this stage of their life. The music was good. I HAD to rewatch parts of it because it was so twisted I was like: "What the Fffff! Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing? and Where are they going with this?"! Luckily this drama is more like a three-hour movie so I was willing to go for the ride
Here is the set-up. The story is about the last year of high school for a group of 5 teens who grew up together in a large apartment complex. Like most kids, these teens all live in their own little bubbles but those bubbles are about ready to pop because they have to figure out what they are going after they graduate AND the apartment complex is up for sale so they aren't even sure they'll have "home" to come back to once they leave. To add to all this stress one of them, "Ritsu" has been damaged by his emotionally unstable mother who forced him to act like a girl until he finally rebelled when he was around 4 years old. He hates lies and especially hates it when people act in what he considers to be a "fake" manner. Misery loves company, and at this point, he's so unhappy and stressed that he's decided to "expose" all the secrets his friends have been keeping from each other.
I liked it while I was watching even though I wasn't sure what was happening, The episodes were short and I wanted to watch the next one right away. Once I "got" it, I really liked it and was left wanting more! Which in my book is the sign of a good drama.
If you can't handle "adult" themes, bi-curious characters, or if you hate open endings you probably will not like this drama. Because it's set as a "point of view" coming of age story there is no way for us to know what the future will hold for them unless someone writes more seasons. If they do I will be first in line to watch because by the time they graduated I ended up loving all of them as much as they loved each other.
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