I thought Gong Hyo Jin played her role well too, and loved the chemistry between Na Bori & Tae In, but I didn't exactly love her character. Na Bori was frustrating to watch at times, often silly, and towards the end I found her actions to be almost mean. I also wasn't impressed by the chemistry between her and Ji Hyun Woo. Kim Da Hyun was so passive that he was boring, and they never had any great romantic moments together. There's one scene that I think was supposed to be touching, but I think he came across more as a creepy stalker.
Another thing that I didn't particularly like were all the class subplots. Their stories were sometimes sweet, but usually corny, and often felt like time fillers. I can't say that I honestly cared about any of those characters except for Choi Yeo Jin, who was a more interesting rival than Kim Da Hyun.
In spite of the slightly taboo topic, this is a very basic romance, with family disapproval, and love squares that you've very likely have seen before. There are many Tae in scenes that I could see myself watching again, but not much else. Gong Yoo is the main reason I would ever recommend this drama. His transformation from a troubled and rebellious teen to a maturing young man, and his struggle to deal with his forbidden love, was truly an impressive performance.
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His relationship with Ankh is stunning. It doesn't follow any rule and since the beginning we face the nature of their friendship. There's also Hina's point of view. She's constantly learning during the whole serie, and we see a great development of her, as well as Gotou. We understand every character as a human being, not always perfect.
Kamen Rider OOO was my first KR series, and I really liked it, 'cause it changes so much about my ways of thinking. It's a truly challenge to understand their emotions and internal conflicts. People are just the transformation they endure in life; their ambitions and how do deal with the desire, something we ignore and think it's all ok just because it's an expression of ourselves.
The comic side is also wonderful. You'll be really satisfied.
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This review may contain spoilers
A fake competition
What did I just watch?After the worldwide success that "KinnPorsche" was for Be On Cloud, someone inside the company... mainly CEO Pond, decided to create a "reality" competition between aspiring actors with zero or very little experience in order to find the "new" couple to be the leads in the next Be On Cloud series... and let me tell you, this competition was a complete and utter disaster and here's why:
1. What was the point of dividing the show in different chapters? If they are looking for actors, shouldn't they be training with the acting coach like they did in the final episodes or at least doing acting workshops with different scenarios to see if they can act? The answer of course is a NO because CEO Pond decided to craft this mess of a show with the first episodes dedicated to the "The Hidden Story" where one character did something wrong in their past and the others had to guess who it was. Of course, we found out very questionable behavior from some of them like being homophobic or hitting their father (albeit it was apparently in self-defense). We also got the usual sad stories to bring tears to our eyes about a sick family member, a family having economic issues, etc. These episodes were a waste of time as we couldn't see any acting skills at all. Maybe they were preparing for a future scandal like the accusations against Build and his resignation from the company by revealing all the issues from most of the cast members of this show.
2. I know Be On Cloud is riding the "KinnPorsche" success train as much as they can but the whole show centered around it. Having Mile as host was fine (more on him later) but bringing nearly the entire cast to play silly games in the second part of the show was another waste of time. Perth, Us, Bas, Nodt, Barcode, and the others, appeared to play dumb games and provide nothing useful. Bible was a mentor alongside Apo in episode 9 and Bas, Nodt and Tong came in for episode 10 but they barely had an interesting or helpful comment to give. Apo was the exception as he either was in a really bad mood or was told to play the strict judge as his comments were sometimes too harsh and picky in some of the re-enacted scenes. And, speaking of those scenes... more "KinnPorsche" as all the cast members had to re-enact scenes from the series in another mistake. Why not have them act their own scenes? That will show adaptability, creativity and flexibility... but instead, we had awkward moments like Apo stopping a scene because it was so bad (in his opinion) or New looking like a crazy man imitating Bible's character Vegas, but doing it wrong.
3. The final portion had the real acting part that should have been the center of the show. The re-enacted scenes were not properly executed but some were nice surprises like the chemistry between Mio and Bump and JJ and Fuaiz acting skills (with JJ being a complete rookie). However, episode 11 was a mess as it was done live and apparently very difficult to watch on IQIYI for international viewers. Plus, it was incredibly rushed as the episode was probably the shortest with around 45 minutes compared to the others that had between 65 and 70 minutes... So, we saw poor Barcode singing his new (and self-composed) song only for him to be nearly kicked out of the stage at the end without even saying thank you so Mile could read the final results. The judges gave a few comments after each of the final scenes were shown but they were also rushed as time was ticking. We knew 1 couple was going to be eliminated before the episode even began and New and Jet were left out of the episode entirely as they had the lowest votes and didn't even get the chance to appear on screen and look sad for being eliminated. In addition, the voting system was a confusing and a questionable one... the explanation on how to vote and the charges for voting were explained in a super long on-screen segment that aired once on every episode starting from episode 7. Mile looked completely lost during some of the episodes as he looked like he was forced to read a script and tried to find dramatic moments to make it more interesting and his personality was not exactly one cut to the show's MC as he was not really energetic or engaged. He didn't vote in the final episodes so he was just there to tell us the results and look handsome on TV.
4. The final decision of who was going to win was most likely made when Ta appeared as a guest in episode 2 and then was added as a cast member soon after. He already had the "KinnPorsche" fame and a steady fanbase, so this show was almost meant to find him a suitable BL partner for the next series as if he was taking the baton from Mile and Apo. Copper selected Ta in a clever strategy as Copper seemed to be such a fake character who was only interested in winning and could not stop smiling all the time. Him and Ta were definitely the WORST acting couple of the remaining three but were chosen as the winners with a ridiculous number of votes because of Ta's huge fanbase and, apparently, all of Copper's family and friends who spent millions of Baht voting for him. In a weird moment of the voting system, Mile said the votes will reset to zero after eliminating New and Jet... which was fine. However, during the 1st couple's re-enactment, the number of votes were put on-screen and Copper had already over 19,000 votes and Ta had over 2,000 votes, compared to JJ who only had around 200 in similar trend with the others... so, no idea how someone got so many votes so fast. The fact that they won 500,000 Baht, a cover in a Thai magazine and the right to star in the next BOC series seems a bit unfair when Ta was already part of "KinnPorsche" and BOC and Copper felt so fake during the whole show.
5. That was the same fake perception I got from other cast members... Jet had already been part of several BLs in another company but for some reason decided to join this project and he was shown as being on his last chance to succeed in the industry along with the fact that his mother is (or was) very sick and he needed/wanted to help.
Mio and Bump (and even Ta during episode 10) said they were more interested in singing than acting so I had no idea why they were there. I know other musicians like Jeff Satur has done the same and Mio apparently worships Jeff, but if you are going to start a career that you don't seem to want, why bother and why bother us?
CEO Pond got his dramatic TV moment when he got super angry at Mio during episode 7 for him supposedly being late and not practicing one day. I mean, he clearly overreacted for dramatic purposes but Mio's heart seemed to be in his music and not in acting from the first place... even if he was good during some of the scenes they had to act.
Other characters like New, Perth and Copper seemed fake from the get go and I was never able to decide if they were lying or telling the truth. Max was cute but super green, Fuaiz apparently was a child actor, Woody was openly gay so, of course, the show had to showcase that before he was eliminated.
In the end, this "show" was a sad attempt to find Ta a partner and to keep riding the success of "KinnPorsche"... the results seemed fixed, the show was not that entertaining and the cast members really didn't showcase their acting skills until the final episodes and, when they did, it was by being forced to re-enact scenes from BOC's only successful show so far. Hopefully, possible talents like JJ and Fuaiz and possible future singers like Mio and Bump don't go to waste and find success somewhere else because I'm sure BOC is not the answer for them.
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This review may contain spoilers
An average drama, with a frustrating story-line.
Don't let that synopsis fool you - About as close as this gets to a female powerhouse is only as long as it takes for the female lead to toss away 8 years of free-will just by landing in Thailand. Because, the writer has abandoned the story they started, going for a well-traveled 18-episode road to the finale.That opening sequence with the umbrella and note, a unicorn moment. Not even worth mentioning after a certain point. An average drama, that didn't deliver on most of it's original promises. That created frustrating characters; villains with no teeth; male lead with no backbone; side characters with no purpose; and family with far to many childish expectations. The story begins to meander from episode thirteen on, and just when you thought it may go full-on mystery reveal, it didn't. The final stumble, the female lead mom's secret - Proving the patriarch's words: women are to emotional, to lead. A final stray thought from a writer who wanted to do everything, and nothing, all at the same time. An average drama, with a frustrating story-line, that forgot it had purpose.
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This was the Soul Repairman, with you just now!
"Is there no full recovery? "Just how healing begins when you acknowledge your illness, the moment of full recovery... definitely exists.
There is a condition to full recovery. It's that you must not try to forcefully erase your wounds. You must embrace, accept and love them. Each of our wounds become a map for each of our own lives. So, rather than trying to overcome the wounds, how about trying to embrace them? Because our scars are like a GPS to our lives.
Someone told me that... every human being is a universe. today I'll close with that quote. This is the Soul Repairman.
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Soul Mechanic was a such a stellar portrayal of people who were in much pain! It had lots of heartbreaks, many thoughtful surprises and so many awe-inspiring & healing moments!
My absolute favorite moments from this drama could be the podcasts Lee Si Joon was presenting! it could as well be the crazy laughs, dance and singing moments when the main leads were acting in them! Such healing and heartwarming scenes together!
The character development is one aspect this drama excels at! from the main leads to Woo Joo's best friend, the hospital director, the head nurse, Si Joon's father, Dr. In Dong Hyuk, Cha Dong Il (the fake police officer) and 'Resident' Neu Ri. the supporting cast were just as amazing and surely will be remembered for a long time.
The OST is warm and beautiful! I adore the song "Confuse" by SURAN and I really loved the song "Lean on me" by Ha Hyunsang. It fits so perfectly with the sweet moments. The calm nature of the rest of the songs too makes them healing and soul touching!
As for re-watching, I already did once and I think I'll re-watch it yet again very soon!
Hope many of you reading this review are already convinced enough to watch this drama! It's gonna be such a shame if you decided otherwise! Since SOUL MECHANIC is such a unique experience that words alone can't ever do justice to it!
Thank you very much for reading this to the end!
Written by one of the Soul Repairman's biggest fans.
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Love transcends deaths
There have been a lot of superlatives being used to describe this drama : amazing, perfect, awesome! There are also some critics who constantly find faults with this drama just because of certain actor or actress. Personally for me, this drama is the epitome of a xianxia done well. If you are able to watch it with an open heart, unbiased and uncluttered with prejudiced opinions from others who may not have completed the drama, you will be in for a pleasant surprise. If you are a lover of xianxia genre, you should not miss this drama.Ancient love poetry brings a new concept where there is a separation between the God realm and immortals realm, the former being the more powerful and higher in ranking than the Immortal realm. The third realm, the demon realm is depicted as able to cohabit peacefully with the Gods and Immortals. I find these three realms living peacefully a refreshing change from the normal heavenly gods battle with the demons. This lasted in the first arch of the story. There are altogether three arches in the story which brings a roller coaster ride of emotions. And yes this a love story that stands the tribulation of times and deaths (yes, multiple deaths). The story is fresh, with plots that make sense. It keeps you guessing, while dropping hints and nuances along the way. I find myself rooting for all the characters in the drama, (well, except the villain). I should say that the actress playing the villain is excellent. Zhou Dong Yu and Xu Kai gave one of the best performance, with their facial expressions exuding their character’s inner feelings. This is my first time watching ZDY and I have high respect for her after watching ALP. The supporting cast, in particular Liu Xue Yi is convincing as one of their best friend ever. Even the child actor who appears at the last arch of the story is very talented. The relationships in this drama are varied: we have the lovers relationship, father-daughter relationship, father-son relationship and friends relationship. Each of these are very endearing. There are moments that make you squeal in delight and there are moments that make you bawl your eyes out. My trash can was full of tissue papers during the last three episodes. CGI and action sequence are top notch, realistic and done in perfect taste.
This was even better than L&R or AOL for me. Watch it and let love permeates your soul.
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IGNORE THE NEGATIVE REVIEWS, AND TAKE MY REVIEW AS A +VE SIGN TO WATCH THIS SERIES!
First of all, let me congratulate my dear Saint for building his own production house Idolfactory after all the hardships and criticisms he faced. He is giving a tough competition to all those big production houses.So, let me talk about the premises: The story is set in a special forces academy at first, which is a very rare scenario in a Thai series. It showed the intensive training of the cops. Next, the characters become cops and are a part of an investigative defense force, so they deal with the cases. Their analytical thinking and problem-solving skills outshines here. The main base for the series is the Hindu mythological story of Naga(snake) and Garuda(eagle). As an Hindu, I knew all about the rivalry between Naga and Garuda and I really thank Idolfactory for spreading our culture and stories through this series. It was so fun to watch the stories I only heard of.
Billy and Babe did an incredible job as the main leads. Billy had improved his acting skills so much and Babe was a rookie but still slayed the role. Heng as the villain rocked....he needs to win the best villain award. Gap as the brother Yai won my heart. All the side characters and guest roles did their jobs perfectly...that's why the series is so flawless. I love how along with each case we came to know more about art, drugs, sexual abuse and so on. The series dealt with numerous social issues with each episode. What astonishes me the most this series has every genre in it - crime, thriller, mystery, romance, comedy, myth, suspense, but yet everything is blended properly. Most of the series fail when it comes to plot execution because they tried to include more genres, but The Sign succeeded in doing so. You can literally feel the hard work that was put behind to create this show.
The visuals was such an eye-candy and all the aesthetics was so pleasing. The CGI team needs a raise, because that was Hollywood-level VFX. The flow of the story and editing was impressive. I have a ton of scenes that has beautiful shots and transitions. Every scene was unskippable and interesting. I loved the cliffhanger ending too.
The OST always sends shivers down my spine. I don't know why. It has some kind of power to it.
Overall a must watch. You are missing out on a great series if you haven't watched this yet. Even if you don't like BLs, trust me you should watch this series and you will never ever regret it. I WANT TO RATE THIS 1000/10.
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You should definitely watch this drama if you are a fan of the suspense genre. The story is UNIQUE and UNPREDICTABLE, and it kept me wondering what was going to happen next.
The cast is awesome. Nakama Yukie and Dan Rei have done great acting there. The supporting characters are also pretty good. Nakama Yukie, especially, impressed me. She literally gave me the creeps!
The music is decent and suits with the drama. The occasional 'tik-tok' of the clock gave it a 'horror movie' feel as if at the strike of 12, a ghost would pop out of somewhere!
The reason why I gave this story a 9 is because I was not quite satisfied with the ending. I won't say I was disappointed but it's just that several questions that I had in my mind were remain unanswered. Also, I gave rewatch value a 4 because although this is a good drama, you probably won't feel like watching it again as you will already know what's going to happen next, and it is no fun that way as the suspense won't be there.
Overall the drama is a good watch. The story doesn't drag and it keeps you hooked.
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Since it's 'cosmetology high', naturally the dramas' creativity revolves around it and morals are told along with it too. It's like a magic drama series, but the magic is quite unique. Its bitterness and tragedies would make you tear up, if you are lucky enough to have continued the series. Morals about beauty and ugliness are present in it, and it's so unpredictable that you would find yourself caught off guard many times. It has fanservice too, it's of such a high quality that people view it as a serious, big budget historical drama.
None of its jokes are cheap, and it's actually more like a melodrama than a romantic comedy. 90 percent of the humor comes only from the main leads' conversations; humour and serious scenes are very balanced. This is a fresh, unique show that I highly recommend.
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This review may contain spoilers
Had high expectations but did not understood the end
Didn't understand the end, im gonna need someone to explain to me.The beginning is pretty interesting but after a certain point it started to get confusing. After Miso's fiancee dies I started to get confused because closer to the end someone else also dies but at the very last scene, her best friend shows up again so for me it isnt clear if she died or not. Also it showed blood on a hospital bed, how did she end up there? was it after giving birth?
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The story was absolutely unlike anything I had watched before, and it was executed pretty well. My only problem with the story would be the antagonists' reasons for being evil weren't good enough in my opinion.
The Cast and the acting were absolutely spectacular and had terrific chemistry.
The music was also great and I still listen to the OST after the show has finished.
As for rewatch value, this drama simply has none. Once you take out the element of surprise and suspense, it will become boring.
Overall though, this drama is a great drama to watch and I loved every moment of it, other than how it ended.
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Good Enough
Korean Drama " Revenant" is a horror mystery thriller with some folklore elements.The movie is a psychological thriller with a mystery that is slowly unfold and an intriguing story. And though the start of the drama is slow and kind of boring, the drama picks up later on and the story gets more and more dark as it progress.
The performances were pretty great and the chemistry between the three main ones was enjoyable. The characters were pretty intriguing as well and kept things interesting even when the main plot got druggy.
Finally, the CGI was pretty great and enjoyable enough. The ending was also masterfully handled and just right for the story.
So, overall, seven out of ten.
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2Winning hearts and minds.
Amidst the economic hardship and political upheaval of 1930s Shanghai, War of Faith explores the financial underpinnings of the Communist Party of China's (CPC) eventual military victory over the Kuomintang. This story unfolds from the perspective of Wei Ruolai, a young financial prodigy who becomes entangled in the ideological struggle that defined that era. The narrative deftly avoids lengthy ideological discourse by framing the struggle as largely an economic one. It was a time of economic hardship for the common working class people from the cities to the countryside. While politically aware, most of them were were not conversant in the finer points of the political and ideological debate. Their needs were basic and winning hearts and minds came down to being responsible fiduciaries of their hard earned savings and livelihoods.Shen Tunan is a savvy central banker with grand plans to reform and strengthen the local banks and loosen the grip of foreign banks to unleash China's economic potential. A true believer in the Kuomintang's Three Principles of the People, he is nonetheless a pragmatist is willing to compromise and look the other way in order to achieve his objectives. The evolving mentee-mentor relationship between Shen Tunan and Wei Ruolai is compellingly articulated by Wang Yang and Wang Yibo and bolstered by good chemistry between the actors. Their mutual respect did not waver even as it became evident that their bottom lines diverge. Wang Yibo surprised and delighted me with his portrayal of a quietly clever young man's coming of age. His Wei Ruolai is idealistic but not naïve, can be ruthless but is not cruel and is loyal but not unquestioning.
All three main protagonists in this drama have a shared vision of the kind of future they want for their country but there are deep divisions between them on how to get there. Shen Tunan understands there is rot in the system but is willing to compromise and work within in; to try to fix it. Shen Jinzhen thinks it is not fixable and wants to tear it all down and start over. She is radical to the point of being almost fanatical and shockingly bold and ruthless in how she executes her vision. I have even greater respect for Li Qin, who also elevates her repertoire as an actor in this role. The relationship between the Shen siblings and their painful conflict is a highlight of this drama. They are both so strong willed and their conviction in their opposing beliefs is as strong as their love and respect for each other. The narrative does a fantastic job illustrating that the country is an extension of the family so when the rubber meets the road, they are first loyal to each other. As the newcomer without any particular ideology, Wei Ruolai is caught between them and ultimately in his choice, becomes the de factor arbiter of the better path forward.
The darkest, most complicated, ultimately despicable and yet oddly empathetic character in this drama is Lin Qiaosong, arrestingly portrayed by Zhang Tianyang. Even though he is not the smartest villain, he has great instincts and a healthy though grudging respect for his enemies He is brutal and incredibly hard to kill yet has a moving and tender side for his lover. I haven't enjoyed a villain so much in a long time. The other notable performance in this all round standout cast is newbie actor Lan Xiya's Niu Chunmiao. This smart, audacious and plucky character added some much needed levity to this story and saves the day a few times as well.
I enjoyed this drama quite a bit but I wouldn't really call it a spy drama. It is more of a business story with some ideology and some action mixed in. The writers do a terrific job making the rather dry financial aspects of banking and finance accessible and movingly relate it to how the lives of the common people are disproportionately impacted by malfeasance and corruption in the financial system. Overall a very interesting and somewhat educational slice of life from an era of profound change that I am happy rate 8/10.
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Everything about it marks a shift from the usual Korean pattern: plot, lines, direction, editing, photography, ending.
I was hesitant at first because I read too many compare it to Sex & The City - not my cup of tea. But I soon found out that, although the premises are similar - three friends experiencing and openly discussing their love and sexual lives - the general feel of it is completely different. Less stress on glamour and a lot more on internal struggles and doubts, all spiced up with a clever sense of humour and surprisingly GOOD kisses.
I watched the whole show with a big grin on my face. It felt so much like my real friends and I meeting at a bar and talking about ourselves, gossiping about men and their idiosincracy, it was amazing. I love Korean dramas for their exotic touch, situations I would never experience myself because they are culturally too different from my reality; but this drama managed to depict "universal" characters and situations. It felt real, albeit comedic, and as a woman I identified with all of them, on one level or another.
And it's impossible to watch it without talking about it. "What would you do?", "who would you chose?", "did she make the right decision?". All questions one is almost compelled to discuss with someone.
Direction is refreshing too. I thought the use of captures, or episode stills was a very clever choice: expressions are encapsulated in a moment in time and stored away, like a photo album.
The pace is fast and the music soundtracks it with hilarious cohesion.
Overall, a funny, realistic, well characterized drama, which I recommend to every adult. It may not appeal to younger viewers; as for inappropriate scenes, I saw none, but keep in mind I speak as a European.
The final message of this drama is: cherish yourself and your true friends, they won't let you down.
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Not Good Enough
Korean Drama " Kokdu: Season of Deity " is a fantasy drama about a grim ripper god and the girl he is attracted to.The drama has some nice premises, with Kokdu having to adapt to the modern world and learn how to not be, well, that much selfish and his over-the-top self. The doctor theme was another nice touch, as it, theoretically, would have offered some solid subplots. However, neither was used to its fullest.
Hence, the drama ended up being a dated reincarnation love story that had no pace, with random scenes and events happening and the whole story being the two main leads bickering.
The main characters, moreover, were somehow not enjoyable, and, especially, the girl was annoying and inconsistent with what she wanted.
So, overall, three out of ten.
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