So where do I get a meat pillow? This is what I want to know....
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A Deep & Real Look Into the Heart of Cardiology Doctors
First things first, I have to say that I had my doubts when I first heard about this medical drama but that all went away the moment I watched the first episode. I thought it would be another rom-com disguised as a medical drama but it truly is a real medical drama focused on the doctors' and patients' stories and personal growth, while also focusing on the journey of healing. The romance is not a large part of the drama and doesn't overshadow the important story about all the medical staff and patients. It really is what the drama promotes itself as and I really love that. It is no wonder why this drama has such a high rating on China's Douban drama rating site but it is a shame that not more international audiences are watching. It is really a hidden gem!More detail on why this drama is such a great watch:
First, the story! The script was thoroughly written and you can tell that the writers put effort into making sure all the medical procedures and terminology are correctly portrayed. I also saw online and in interviews that the writers spent 2 years working on this script and the main cast spent a month learning relevant cardiology information at a real hospital. The writers also regularly consulted real cardiologists to write the different scenarios with the patients so that they are medically correct and not some plot device. The patient's stories are dramatic but feels like it could happen in real life. As you watch all the surgery and hospital scenes (which is almost 90% of the drama), you can immediately tell that a lot of time was spent on getting everything accurate, whether it is the actors or the set. It is very obvious in every scene in the hospital that there was a good effort put into everything, and that is why the story is even more engaging and real. Even without knowing all that, the patients' stories themselves were heartwarming and touching as well. They manage to make you connect with each patient and get you emotionally attached to them so you can't help but feel anxious, worried, and engaged in each episode. That is how I ended up binging almost 10 episodes in a day because I just couldn't help myself. Not only that, but be prepared to shed tears (lots of tears) as medical dramas always involve talking about life and death :(( I cried multiple times throughout the drama and it still hurts to think about it. Get tissues ready and be prepared to love these patients! However, also be ready to enjoy a good dose of humor at just the right moments! The writers did not forget to add some sunshine in the middle of the heavier topics. Moreover, the story also includes the hospital politics between doctors and also makes you ask questions about a doctor's motivations. The drama really covers all topics related to the doctors and patients in a very fluid and
Next, the actors! I haven't watched Mark Chao since Ten Miles or Mao Xiao Tong since Princess WeiYoung but I know their acting skills so I knew that they would be pretty good. But Jin Shi Jia was a pleasant surprise to see. All three had amazing chemistry together and I really enjoyed all the scenes they had together. I really love the Xiao Feng x Xiao Ran x Lin Yi combo. I could not get enough of their scenes. Whether it is bromance or romance, they pulled it off incredibly! Xiao Feng and Xiao Ran are very cute siblings while Xiao Ran and Lin Yi are adorable bickering. All three actors were convincing in their roles and performed above and beyond in conveying the complex emotions of being a doctor and their character's struggles and backgrounds. I really felt for each of their personal stories, particularly Xiao Feng and Lin Yi. The writers did amazing and fleshing out each character so that you can relate to their decisions and dilemmas. You will find yourself loving each character. The love lines were also nicely done! The coupling between Xiao Ran and Lin Yi felt natural and they are just too shippable. I wish they could have had more sweet scenes. However, I didn't enjoy Xiao Feng and Chen Yue love line as much but it wasn't too bad. I just loved seeing the personal growth of Xiao Feng, Xiao Ran, and Lin Yi in the episodes and I miss them already. The supporting roles all did great as well. They are not well-known actors but they really brought their characters to life, whether they had a lot of screen time or not.
Another thing is the OST, filmography, and sets. The bgm and OST were written beautifully and with deep and relatable lyrics. My heart hurts each time I listen to it yet I can't stop playing it on repeat. The bgm was also nicely composed and played at all the right moments to pull on your heartstrings and make you bawl. It hurts.. :( The director also did great in building the sets and filming the surgeries and hospital. I saw a behind the scene and some of the drama was filmed at a real hospital to make it look more real. I really appreciate the crew's hard work in making every little detail as real as possible. It really made everything feel more real and pull you into the story.
Overall, this drama is a great way to learn more about the cardiology department and about doctors' struggles. For example, I had no idea there were two different departments within cardiology- cardiac and cardiology. So, it was an eye-opening experience to learn about how those two departments work together. The drama does an excellent job at talking about the relationship between doctors and patients, and doctors with doctors themselves. It touches on doctors' career prospects on top of all this as well. Basically, this drama covers so many different aspects in a very real and grounded way. It really makes you ask your heart, or wen xin like the Chinese title says. Please give it a try if you like medical dramas!
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The movie starts out with 54 school girls gleefully jumping in front of a train. This sets the tone for the type of campy gore that is featured throughout the movie. I don't particularly like gore, but I like movies that make me think, and the plot definitely kept me thinking/scratching my head in confusion.
The story is set up as a mystery involving a website, a pop group, and a bag, that are linked to a wave of seemingly random mass suicides. The story is really much bigger than a simple mystery plot. There are a lot of esoteric scenes that turn this movie into an unapologetically ambiguous social commentary (If all of your friends jumped off of a bridge, would you???). The mystery does eventually get solved, but the resolution just leads to more questions. My rewatch value score is high, because my confusion over parts of the story was so high. I honestly think the concept was much stronger than the actual story, and individual scenes were stronger than the plot as a whole. I usually hate movies that put metaphor before plot, but this movie still manages to be so entertaining. The subject matter is serious, but many of the scenes have more of a dark comedy feel, and did I mention it's sort of a musical?
I had to give the soundtrack a 10 because it left such an impression. I love how disturbingly catchy Dessert's songs were, and I still want the "mail me" ringtone. I have no idea why the Genesis' character starts randomly singing, but his song was also stuck in my head afterwards. I admit that a couple of the songs made it onto my iPod.
This movie is a hard one to recommend. It took a second viewing for me to realize that I actually liked it, and I do now own it. If you can handle a little gore, and and feel like watching something unconventional, I'd say give it a try. Join the club ; )
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A must for fans of PP Krit
I must admit that I was sad when it looked like PP Krit - after the sensational success of his collaboration with Billkin in ”My Ambulance”, ”I Told Sunset About You”, which is my favourite BL series of all times, and ”I Promised You the Moon” - was going to focus on his career as a singer. When I heard that he would be starring in the short film ”Rerun”, I was so happy, and I wasn't disappointed.PP Krit plays Kit, the curator of arts exhibitions, who falls for Chou (Napat Siangsomboon), an artist. They find out that they have a lot in common, and Chou promises to have Kit curate his first solo exhibition. However, when he actually has his first exhibition, he has someone else curate it, and subsequently he breaks up with Kit. When they meet again, Kit pretends that he is okay, whereas Chou says that he isn't okay without Kit. This is where the movie ends, so we don't know whether the two of them get back together or not.
The entire movie breathes a mood of angst and sadness, and somehow the viewer senses that this relationship isn't going to last. The cinematography – semi-darkness in many scenes, with an indistinct sound - underlines the fragility of the leads' relationship. The production quality of this short film is very good, without even minor flaws. The movie was produced by PP Krit's company, "PP Krit Entertainment".
As a fan of PP Krit, who is my favourite BL actor, and who I would always want to protect, because he appears to be so vulnerable, I was tempted to hate Chou for dumping Kit, prioritizing his career over his love, but then Kit doesn't even try to fight for his love, and so it would seem unfair to blame everything on Chou.
Napat Siangsomboon is an experienced actor, and he displays Chou's attraction to Kit, but also his ambition as an artist, and finally his yearning for his ex-lover convincingly. PP Krit avoids being over-dramatic which the plot may have tempted a lesser talented actor to do. Whereas in the break-up scene Kit seems to be more hurt than Chou, PP Krit manages to convey in the final scene that Kit in fact is stronger than Chou. I always found it hard to imagine PP Krit being paired with another actor than Billkin, but he has obviously matured enough to move on.
This movie isn't a feelgood comedy – in fact, it's sad and angsty as I mentioned before, but it's a beautiful little piece of art that no one should miss, and of course it's a must for everyone who loves PP Krit as much as I do. The fact that the short film was watched on youtube by 200,000 viewers within 24 hours proves that it was not only me who was longing to see PP Krit again.
You find all my reviews, including those of series from countries not covered by mydramalist like Vietnam, Singapore, and Myanmar, here: https://www.wattpad.com/user/DominicKebre
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Bittersweet-romance type (tissues!)
'On Your Wedding Day', 'Classic Again', and a little bit of 'Twenty-five, Twenty-one'. This film gave me all of that. It has that same bittersweet taste of love that just lingers around as we hope and pray for a happy end.STORY: The writing was great. I was expecting a lot of clichés and twists, but instead, the movie felt like a pure piece, like it was written off experience. The realism in how the story developed felt oddly satisfying and simply left me awestruck. Of course, I know for a fact that tons of people head to watch movies and shows for comfort (and not to be disappointed) and I, too, watched this for that. Instead, it left me hanging. Watching Zhou Can text Jiaoyang he was getting married felt like a blow to the face. Until the end I wanted to deny it, hope it wasn't real and that they were going to end up together. After so many years? I wanted to get angry, cry, and protest but then realized that Jiaoyang must have felt the same inside. But that's life. And it just goes on. Wanting to stay frozen in sadness will only make you lag behind, and before you know it, you'll be left alone.
>>(SPOILER ALERT!! EDIT: I personally think the ending wasn't Can's choice. During the wedding, we could see both his parents at the front seats, and his mom cheering for them excitedly while Can doesn't look as happy as he would if it was with Jiaoyang. From the beginning, Can's mom didn't approve of Jiaoyang, even just as Can's friend, so what more could it have been when they were dating? I don't know, it just feels unreal that Can would have moved on so quickly in a span of two years after what happened last with them. And the fact that he let her know about it low-key gave me a feeling that he was hesitant. From the get-go, I think the wedding was his mother's decision. Just my opinion though, or I could still be in denial of the sad ending. 🥹💔)
ACTING/CAST: Prior to watching this, I've never seen a film or show with neither of the leads, so this is a first for me. At the beginning of the film, I thought that the acting performance would just be so-so, but as the story progressed, the chemistry grew to be something I admire them for (it actually felt like it was THEIR story, not them ACTING a random story). The casting was just superb -- sometimes it's obvious and clear that the actors are 'acting', but this is one of the rare ones where the actors are 'living and embodying' their characters. Both of them, especially as they processed Jiaoyang's grandmother's passing, showed emotions that were so real and hurting. Props to them, really.
MUSIC: Hands down, the music was unbelievably made the scenes come to life. Especially the scene where Jiaoyang and Can meet again after Jiaoyang moved away, when she ran to hug him in the middle of the highway overpass -- that scene was heart-shattering. The music just made it worse (in a good way).
REWATCH VALUE: Personally, I wouldn't want to watch this film again because of its ending. But truthfully, I would, for how their relationship went before they decided to give it up. But I wouldn't want to get hurt again by watching it, so I guess I'll watch it every year on Valentines. (😭💀)
OVERALL: It's a wonderful film. Some people say its similar to 20th Century Girl, but I think this is quite different, on its own. None of the leads passed away mysteriously, nor did they disappear without saying. Instead they were there, but denied their feelings and gave in to their pent-up emotions instead of dealing with it -- leading to their fall. Ugh, I should watch this movie again right now 🥹!
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Just finished this and honestly, i don't regret watching this. I'm a fan of the original novel, i've read the manhua and watched both the drama and movie version of this. I wouldn't say this remake was amazing, but imo it did pretty well.
watch this if you like- alpha males, possessives male leads, love triangles, melodrama, boys over flowers+ soap opera feel
don't watch if you don't like- fake angle kisses& dead fish kisses (this irked me the most , melancholic female expressions, miscommunications, lack of trust
Story-
This started off really well, with a few scenes here and there changed, it stuck to the original story line; although they also added a business element to it.
Summer's Desire is a drama centred around its title- whata summer (XiaMo) wants. There are 3 main leads - XiaMo, Ouchen and Luoxi; you can't be certain of who she ends up with until the very end. For me, i rooted for her and Ouchen through all versions of this novel so this wasn't any different- despite the fact that watching this, realistically- i'd rather she not end up with anyone.
Anyway, back to the story. XiaMo and Ouchen are highschool sweethearts,dating, and Luoxi is someone who later ends up staying with her family. Ouchen is manipulative and alpha male possessive, while Luoxi is supposed to be secretive& bad boy dangerous. Luoxi then ends up falling for XiaMo so you can imagine the amount of melodramatic scenes in this.
With 36 episodes, a lot of details were included, and i particularly love the addition of the 2 brother-like friends they had added next to Ouchen. What i did not like about this story-line was the fact that they did not include much scenes of her and ouchen in their earlier years, nor the fact of how they met, that was pretty disappointing. I wanted so much more of her and Ouchen, as the later scene were so Luoxi infested. This also could have done away with some of the things that happened later in the epsiodes. The one scene that made me cry the most was the last episode when her brother was talking to her. I cried buckets.
Acting
Ouchen did not look like what i had expected but his acting made up for it. Qin Jun Jie really made the character Ouchen his own- out of all the versions ive watched, this is my favourite one. When he was happy, angry, mad, jealous, pained, etc. they were wonderfully executed out and that is one of the main reasons i rooted for him no matter what. As for XiaMo's character, there were times her acting was well done, then there were times when it was really plain, stoic and so melancholic. then we have luoxi, the fake and playful vibe were acted out really good, so were the pained expressions. i just didn't know how to feel when he really smiled lol.
Anyways, the acting for the rest of the casts are well done.
The music for this gets stuck the more you listen to it. I loved the opening songs, and they matched the songs well with happy/sad scenes.
Rewatch? Only for ouchen and xiamo parts;_;
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Lighthearted and fun fantasy story
This is a funny and enjoyable mini-show. The storyline is simple but there are different layers to the story if you watch carefully.I love ML who has been alienated all his childhood. Watching him open up and fall in love with FL is so heartwarming and touching.
FL is bubbly and kind. Even if she is a bit oblivious when it comes to her own feelings, once she realizes she’s in love, she goes all in.
Acting wise this was an ok show. It is kind of hard to say much more than that because the show was very lighthearted and borderline silly. That might be the reason there was sometimes dialogue and behavior that was silly.
Well, if you like something lighthearted and fun - with a little bit of food for thought and a happy ending - this is actually worth watching.
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A true masterpiece
This is one of those BL's that you recommend to everyone, no matter what BL's that person usually watches this is a MUST watch..So lets get into it !
Firstly: Chemistry
the chemistry here is pure perfection, the longing stares and little glances the characters share, the NC scenes are done really well. You can feel the yearning for each-other's body trough the screen.
Even the side couple is pure perfection !
The second couple goes trough so much mental health topics its amazing to watch. The scene where one draws the others naked body holds a special place in my heart. The character feeling comfortable enough to portray their helpless naked body and all the emotions you can feel trough their eyes is ... PERFECTION
The story: 9.5/10
I would give it a 10/10 but it got really confusing at some point.
The actual story is so well done, all the twists and action scenes are amazing,
I really liked watching characters develop into their own person, with their own story and life
The little parts in the story that say so little but show so much, if you watch it again you will realize that some parts are planed to not make sense, thats its charm !
Every part of the story will get resolved, you just need to wait !
Is this worth watching ? YES, absolutely
Is it in any part boring? NO
Is re-watching it better than watching it for the first time? Maybe, maybe not? It depends. I would sell my soul to watch it for the first time but I really enjoyed watching it again. You just realize more and understand better.
Will this stay (for me) as one of the best BL's ever made? YES!
Can I watch it even tho I don't usually watch action BL's ? YES, its a must watch !
If you want a fluffy story, with no action this might not be for you, but I think every BL watcher should watch this, this is and will forever stay as one of the best BL's ever made and if you don't watch this you will miss out on such a great BL - a literal piece of art
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Club Friday Season 8: True Love… or Confusion
19 people found this review helpful
TONI STOLE MY HEART
This is a telenovela for mature audiences.Right off the bat, I immediately loved the fast pacing and the backstory. In all four episodes you wont feel like shortcuts are taken and that they really gave a lot of thought into developing the total flow of the series and divided ithem perfectly nto these episodes.
The story is somewhat of a mixed bag for me, not because it doesnt happen in real life but because it is too melodramatic. This is the only short series that I couldnt watch in one seating. Each episode is a little bit too long it felt like i needed to take a bit of rest after each episode.
The cast is amazing, phenomenal even. Toni and Tao were just perfect for the roles - cute, masculine and both were just gorgeous. Special shoutout to the locker room scene when Toni slid into his undies - this man is just BEAUTIFUL. Even Bebe gave a good performance.
I want to give credit to the production design team for creating the spaces that doesnt look temporarily made for 4 episodes. The wedding and the housewarming are both believeable.
Overall this short series deserves an 8. Attention all other tv content creators - this is how you do a short series.
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Surely Not Together
This was pretty bad and the only redeeming quality it had was the acting, that's about it. I started watching it mostly because I like Park Seo Joon and he has done stuff I enjoyed but I think this might be the weakest kdrama of his I've seen (not in his acting but overall).Maybe it's because I've watched my fair share of kdramas at this point or maybe because I've actually never been into it, but I'm getting at my limit of CEO's, rich and other chaebol people as main characters or romantic interests, it makes it very difficult for me to sympathise with their supposed struggles when they're crying while holding a Louis Vuitton bag in their hands, even more so when their sorrows are self inflicted, like in here.
I think their claims of this kdrama to be more realistic than others end with their separate personalities and the portrayal on the difficulties of getting divorced due to patriarchal systems. Yes, people like the main characters exist, but it's not like characters in other kdramas are unrealistic, there are plenty at the same level and way better too.
Their relationship? sure, it can be realistic, it can happen. Problem is when they're trying for me to root for them when clearly they're in a toxic dynamic that they should have already broken up for good a long time ago. ML should have moved on already when she just left him without explaining herself, her excuses are as weak as their relationship.
We're seeing here a woman that conveniently remembers the guy when she's in need of him, that is entitled and egotistical, and a guy that is a hopeless romantic and gets easily manipulated. Realistic? Sure! but not exactly a relationship I personally like to watch, less idiolise or think that it's nice and beautiful. If I was his friend I would be telling him to move on and go to therapy because he has clearly a bad case of dependency and unhealthy idealisation. If I was her friend, I would no longer be because I would have told her I'm not a fan of how she's using the guy and dropping him when convenient and making him do whatever she wants. All their breakups are pretty stupid and nonsensical, for people that technically wants to stay together that is. Realistic because she's not going to blow up her entire career for him? sure, realistic because he leaves his life and goes one year abroad to get space? not so much. All people around them also enable their relationship and no one seems to see the problems, not even their closest friends....okeeey.
In the constraints of ML character's portrayal is kinda realistic he didn't have any other partner because he was that obsessed with FL, but realistically in the real world? no. In real life if he had been that level obsessed to not get with anyone else probably he would have become a stalker or would have tried to end his life. Harsh, but let's be honest, his dependency of her passed as love is not exactly healthy. But anyway, this is kind of contradictory because it was not realistic in the drama that he would only obsess about her when she was around but seemingly he was capable and ok of letting her live her life when she was not around. Both of them use this IN-OUT in the relationship all the time, but it's not very realistic (especially on his side) with that level of dependency.
They have good times together, but they're very ready (when I say "they" here I mean mostly her though) to drop the other at the minimal inconvenience instead of talking to one another and deciding things together. Realistic? maybe in some doomed relationships, but either way not exactly a portrayal of a long lasting or meant-to-be relationship.
So overall, I think their portrayal of the relationship is ok on trying to show nuanced characters and a non healthy relationship, but again, the problem is when it's spoon fed to the audience as a healthy or fated relationship and trying for you to sympathise with their struggles (that they inflected on themselves), then I do have a problem with it. It's almost like they're trying to say that because they have been together and broken up so many times that that makes them fated lovers. I don't personally like it.
The plot is very thin and drags a lot. It's curious that I found the last episode of the series a lot more entertaining than any other in the series, mostly because it was more dynamic with seeing more of his work as a reporter, because let's be honest, the rest of the series he's pretty much just sat at this office table for a few scenes more than doing his job (and doesn't change the fact that most of the work he does is to help FL).
Meanwhile we get an FL that gets a position thanks to nepotism and we're told that she's good at it, even though she was not previously even interested. I guess the nepotism had to be excused in some manner.
Plot wise, FL's sister is more interesting, but even this plot was a bit dragged (paused at times for other subplots) and the resolution was not bad but not great, it felt a bit underwhelming because of how long it took to solve and how fast it was in the end.
FL's mother was presented as a conflict point at the beginning but then it was dropped and I guess the mother is amazing after all, a couple of words solved years of trauma of FL. Other than the plot with the sister, anything that came up plot wise on the side of the FL was kind of chaebol cliché and boring.
The last episode also has way more longing and feels than the rest of the series did for me, and it would have worked if the rest of the series had been different. One second you're feeling that longing, the rest you remember they're who they're and the history they have and you're like "I hope they actually don't find each other". But funny enough, them finding each other at that point would have actually have been better than what we got.
"Kids, your mother and I rekindled our relationship because our mutual best friend died and we met again at his funeral". Who thought this was a good idea? why did they kill that character anyway in the last episode? what was that??????? Bad writing!
Sorry to say at that point I started laughing at the sheer level of bad taste, it felt like a joke (this actually made me take half a point in my score of the series, you don't pull stupid moves like this 10 minutes to the end of the series). No, this specific move with the funeral doesn't make this more realistic. Them not meeting in Málaga? sure, although it wouldn't have been super unrealistic them finding each other there when she's actively looking for him, but it's ok.
Not like they could have made a million other reasons why ML would go back to Korea and meet her...
But I guess that since they couldn't just straight up start it and talk during the funeral (although technically she tried and it was not a cute move), they had to move the scene to the airport. Realistic? no, but cliché yes. Even ignoring the airport as a setting, realistic would be the guy saying "ok, yeah, let's talk when I come back maybe, as I said I came in a rush and I have things to wrap up back in Málaga. Plus I'm not going to waste the ticket I paid for, it was not cheap" (I mean, I imagine money doesn't matter in their case since she's loaded).
I guess this had the vibes of inverse Cinderella too in that sense.
Product placement is often and very on the face, I found it annoying.
Flashbacks with that blurry effect were terrible!!! It was...well... blurry, and very annoying to the eyes. They could have used a colour filter, a frame, grain , anything other than blurring the picture. I disliked every time there was a flashback because of this.
Overall I can't recommend, acting is good, there are a couple of cute moments if you forget the character's personalities and history but otherwise the writing/plot is boring, dragged, uninspired and their relationship is not healthy but presented as somehow fated.
I guess if you enjoy dramas like Lovestruck in the City you might like this too.
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Sea of Wasted Potential with Weak Story and Fragmented Chemistry!
I had expectations from this drama but was ultimately disappointed! We had 10 episodes and such a weak narrative throughout!When they were on the beach , it at least provided the visual appeal and was at least enough to keep me engaged in the story but as soon the story shifted to the city , it went downhill !
It felt one dimensional and boring!
Nothing substantial happened and the things that did happen didn't contribute to a positive development nor seemed necessary.
Coming to acting, Fort as Mut carried the whole show single handedly. His acting has improved and felt natural but in the case of Peat , the whole cold ML role was very unconvincing often coming off as overreaction.
Yes , the chemistry between them was there and was good but was very fragmented and inconsistent.
The tantrum that Rak threw in the last episode shows he literally had no to zero character development. And his sudden epiphany in the last 10 minutes felt rushed and unnatural. It might be impressive if the realisation came a few episodes earlier to make it more sincere.
And the other GL couple, they felt too forced. Vivi's treatment of Khaimuk didn't look like playful teasing to me. Treating the one you like as a slave and troubling them is not funny in my books! We are not in kindergarten where we tease the one we love to get their attention!
Even the friendship between all the characters felt utterly superficial, and I felt no emotional connection whatsoever!
Overall , I see only a sea of wasted potential with a weak story , underdeveloped characters with fragmented chemistry!
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Light, Light-Hearted, and Intriguing to Watch!
Overall + Plot:Douluo Continent was a pleasant drama to watch. It's perfect if you're looking for an interesting enough and light-hearted drama that's NOT packed with gruesome violence, deaths, and betrayals.
The plot was generally easy to follow — and not sure if this was just me lol, but it sometimes reminded me of Pokemon with all the battles, Soul Creature hunting, Soul Rings acquirement (these are for leveling up of power - similar Pokemons evolving), and ultimate tournament for the strongest Soul Master. There was just enough plot, mystery, and adventure to keep you intrigued, and not too much to confuse you. And a side note: I didn't find MyDramaList's plot summary for this drama to be entirely accurate because there was definitely not a lot of emphasis on imperial struggles in the drama, as the summary sort of implied. It was mostly just a journey of gaining strength for the main 7 characters.
I have seen some comments critiquing the romance between the main leads (that the romance wasn't enough or not well-developed), but I actually thought it was a refreshing take. From my understanding, this drama is only the beginning of Douluo Continent's novel and animation storyline. For this reason, the romance may start off slow, and the leads call each other "brother" and "sister" (these terms are pretty common in Cdramas of these genres and are rather indications of their closeness to each other, and not that they're actually siblings). On that note, their relationship with each other is strong and the romance was slow, but it felt more natural to watch.
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Acting/Cast:
Douluo Continent has a wonderful mix of good-natured, determined, and funny characters. The “7 Devils” (main group) all experienced personal growth and development. It was a rough start for them at first because each one of them had different personalities and backgrounds, but their team chemistry gradually solidified throughout the drama. For me, character growth and friendships are just so sweet to watch.
Their acting did not disappoint and the entire cast was very well-assimilated with their characters. I found it quite amusing how physically alike all the characters were to their Martial Souls (kind of like their animal spirits?). So whether it was the makeup team or cast, they did a great job of mimicking these Martial Souls, adding to the coherency of this drama. And for those of you who watched Arsenal Military Academy, I found it hilarious to see Li WenZhong here again. He really added a handful amount of humor and silliness to the drama!
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Other (tiny spoiler alert in the second paragraph of this section ):
The visual effects were so pretty and the computer-generated imagery was smoothly integrated with the scenes. I'm not an expert on music, but the music was always comfortable and suitable for the scenes.
Tiny spoiler alert ahead if you want to know the ending: Yes, the drama does end on a cliffhanger sort of thing, but as I mentioned before, Douluo Continent is only the beginning of the original storyline from the novel and animation, so the ending made sense. It wasn't a sad ending or one that would leave you grieving and miserable, it just keeps you hanging so you'll want to know what happens next.
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Last comments:
The lightness of the drama and its plot charmed me and I definitely would recommend it — especially if you want to take a break from heavy dramas with angst and misunderstandings and betrayals. I'm glad I watched this drama and did not regret watching it at all! It brought me a healthy amount of laughs and was aesthetic to watch too :)
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In a circle we run, away from a cheeky teenager.
If you are ready for a whole lot of frustration, running in a circle, kids being scary straightforward and adults acting like shy teenagers - this is a perfect watch for you.Here’s the thing - it was so exciting, fun and enjoyable at first. Being more or less the same age as Minato, I could easily understand his panic about starting to have feelings for a high schooler. Even the idea is scary. That said, I feel like they failed with Minato writing wise, since he just... existed and everything was happening around him. The guy did not try to process it at all and it left the viewers with repetitive scenes and plots, since nothing was changing character wise.
Shin was saving grace with his pro flirting, honesty and undying motivation to make Minato his. He was far more dynamic of a character, actually showing some change in his behavior depending on the situation and the circumstances.
There were also a few nice side characters like Sakurako and Asuka who added some wholesome platonic moments to this romance driven show.
Plot wise, we've got whole side plot of Sakuma Takayuki which was stretched so bad, taking too much screen time and becoming quite an annoying addition to the drama. The teacher might have been the sweetest dude ever, but that plot should have been resolved in 2 episodes max.
Performance wise I do not have any complaints. Kusakawa Takuya did his best with Akira - the character was just not it writing wise. Nishigaki Sho truly impressed me. He did quite well with some more subtle emotions and perfectly presented the angst related to the first big teenage love.
Production wise, it gave a high budget since of life webdrama vibes - which personally I truly love.
Overall, I am honestly not sure how I feel about it. On paper it works, but when I watched it, I was getting either frustrated or bored, and I was wishing for the show to finally end. I don’t regret watching, but I’m also not sure if I would recommend it for others to check out. I also crave second season or at least a special episode, because the payoff after all the running away was quite short-lived.
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All about second chances.
Even with my excitement for Lee Joon Gi's comeback, due to recent trend in dramas, I wasn't really expecting too much and came here to only check out, thanking at least an average drama will be resulted. However, by the interval of the show, I found myself captivated and occupied by the entire thing and the pace with which everything was going on. It was difficult to get bored in any single instance and I was constantly absorbed by the quality of the show.Created by 'Studio S' & 'Viu' and produced by 'Samhwa Networks' & 'Kross Pictures', "Again My Life (어게인 마이 라이프)" is the 16 episodes live-action adaptation of the Kakao web novel with the same title authored by Lee Hae Nal, which was also turned into a webtoon, as well. Both written and directed by 2 pool persons each, the show is 5% fantasy, 80% politico-legal and 15% action thriller, which was originally broadcasted on SBS.
Kim Hee Woo (Lee Joon Gi), a rightful & passionate prosecutor gets murdered for trying to bring down a popular yet corrupted assemblyman, Cho Tae Sub (Lee Kyung Young), who with the facade of being a stain-free personality, controls the entire nation. Miraculously, Hee Woo gets resurrected into his past life with a second chance to prepare himself well in order to showcase the power of truth and laws to those who abuse it for their gains. The story follows the journey of him strategizing a revenge for years, along with people who have come to believe him in the course of time.
I must inform you that the show is not an "one man army" plot-device, rather, a "together we can" spirit, that makes it unique. There are plenty of supporting characters, each given a fair share of emphasis in the story with perfect screen share. The other familiar faces in the drama playing major characters are Kim Ji Eun, Kim Jae Kyung Jung Sang Hoon, Choi Kwang Il, Hong Bi Ra, Kim Hyung Mook, Kim Jin Woo, Ji Chan, Cha Joo Young, etc. Lee Soon Jae, Jeon Gook Hwan, Yoo Dong Geun, Lee Kyung Min, Kim Chul Ki, Kim Young Jo, Hyun Bong Sik, Hyun Woo Sang, Joo Woo, Park Chul Min, Kim Hee Chul, etc.are more like guest characters but appeared frequently in the show.
Not like the first time Lee Joon Gi went for a legal thriller but what makes this particular drama stand out is better performance, the revenge plot, the execution and not to forget his action scenes and sense of humour.
Plot development was amazing. The pilot episode wasn't very impressive and felt like it'll be another politico-legal thriller with cliché elements. However the next few episodes turned out to ve good, as the writer attempts to incorporate base-level strategy making skilla into the character. The accumulation of power and will by Hee Woo was constantly alleviating to watch. His initial efforts to save things dear to him, followed by his endeavour to prepare himself bettee with a goal in mind, everything was awfully alleviating. As the real fight begins from the 2nd quarter of the show, it starts to become ingesting. Every time, the viewers feel like Hee Woo would go for his main target, he surprises by trying to weaken another angle of the villain, thus moving one step closer towards his quarry. It became even more compelling in the last 6 episodes as we knew what's coming soon. The last 2 episodes were the real game and the ending sequences was as enthralling, however, that's where they messed up. It definitely became rushed towards the ending of 15th episode and the entire 16th episode was on some other level, which was the biggest flaw. I must admit the very ending left us confused hinting the possibility of another season, but I guess we can assume the aftermath and let it go. Finally, I didn't like the sacrifice part bcs that's what I had correctly guess and I think that could have been easily avoided by the writer.
Lee Byung Hun jakkanim with the experience of working as both the director and screenwriter in both K movies and dramas is assisted by two debutant writers J & Kim Yool, for this drama. Focusing on the national politics, the show has been a constant reminder that, no matter how crazy the headlines might seem, things could always get worse, especially beyond the surface. The utilization of elements like, corruption, bribery, power struggle, etc. throughout was congenial and appealing. The base establishment, the furtherance, the unveiling of facts, the flashback to future (you know why 'future' 😂), the character arcs and most importantly the way of making strategy have been very well drawn.
Han Chul Jin PDnim with more than 2 decades experience and the number of contemporary hits works here the debutant Kim Young Min PDnim, and the both have been able to pull off such a stupendous urban thriller story with nonexistent flaws. The direction radiates the scope for several subplots and maintains the quality of the show throughout. The art of criticizing politics directly is overt in influence and the messages and takeaway notes are more palatable through the lens of entertainment. The screenplay management, scenario setup, screen-editing, choice of location, etc. have been well handled. With less utilization of vfx and editing, the modern urban vistas of Seoul are mostly eye-pleasing and maintains dark era for most of the parts.
Composed by Kim Jong Chun (Philstring), the drama has a total of 7 OSTs, but honestly, some are good and proved suitable for the show's essence, while others weren't. "What the Ggang?" By Yoon Do Hyun ia a impulsive hardcore track depicting open challenge to the evil. "Bring It On" is an adrenaline-inducing track reminding one of it's strength, fiercely sung by Sonnet and has an amazing chorus. "Burn" by Park Do Joon is a jolly track aspiring for a better day and a good life through self-determination. In the mesmerizing vocals of Yu Sang Eun, is "Till The End" which is a quest for truth. Other tracks were "Alone" by GB9, "Shadow" by Hanhae & Kissxs and "Tragedy" by Sondia; I didn't really like these.
What I liked...
# The plot development is beyond likable. The viewers receive intrigue, excitement, action and danger, all wrapped in, and intertwined with, a political plot, accompanied with legal components.
# Performance from all the casts, particularly from Joon Gi and Kyung Young-nim has been highly pleasing. KY-nim's dialogue delivery and way of phrasing sentences is always amazing but here we get to watch a more refined vocabs of him; his character was intriguing despite being the antagonist, ngl.
# Action scenes, mostly involving modern self-defense as well as professional ring techniques were quite agreeable, particular the ones when Hee Woo clashed with Doctor K.
# Even though the drama feels like an "one man army" show, it's a matter of time to realise that Hee Woo is always at the centre of everything, controlling, regulating and manipulating the scenarios, but he had to benefit from a number of people, whom he loved, cherished and cared for, and was the recieved the same from others as well.
# Pacing and progression of the show is worthy of your time as it doesn't really have a mysterious plotz rather goal towards bringing down a particular being, and elimination of their strength one by one in the due course. It's again isn't a head-to-head clash between the prota- and anta- gonist, rather a mind game. Personally, I wasn't able to skip or fast forward at all and was constantly engaged.
# I am so happy there was no romance, really. From the beginning, it felt like the ML will have to go through the push & pull among multiple girls and possible admirations were hinted off initially as well, but everything boiled down to friendship though there is an indication of coupling at the end, as the original work.
# There is no definite bromance either, but Hee was admired by many men in the show, from old to young, because of his kindness and deeds, which was also good to see.
# Finally, i must inform that there is no ML FL here, there are only main characters, supported by others, that's it.
What I didn't like...
Not just the writer, everyone in the team of makers are at equal fault. Even if there were no original novel, this show actually had to be of 20 episodes or at least 2 more episodes were a must. But for the sake of meeting the standard 16 episode quota, they messed up things a bit. So, for the drama writer, it would have been wise to develope plot in a way that the events from the beginning were a lil faster hence minimizing the rush that we saw in the last episode.
Final Remarks... What a show! What a show! What a show about legal battle between the righteous and the corrupted plus powerful. The show was able to give away insights about one's greed and it's impact on the powerless and common man.The show is highly entertaining, engaging and enjoyable which allows you to stick to it throughout the end. I am not able to find a particular flaw tbh. So my overall ratings are based on the levels of uniqueness, execution and the final experiences about the outcomes, which has led me to give it a fair 8.0. We all must realize it was not the best or something very mind-blowing, but very good per se with high production and entertainment value. Must recommended, please watch.
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1Remarkable drama
I can honestly say this is one of the most powerful, well written poignant dramas i have ever watched on Asian or british websites. I binge watched the complete series and it was the quickest 4 hours of my life.the young actors were just jaw-droppingly good, the music was perfection and for the first time ever watching an Asian drama i am going to read the webtoon this drama was based upon.I cannot praise this piece of work highly enough, the storyline fast fast paced, my attention didn’t waver for a single moment, i am just awestruck at the quality of the acting, the writing, the music, i just hope everyone “gets it” the way i did.
You have a rare treat in store my fellow viewers
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