Reviews

Roundabout plot, weak acting. Last few episodes were way better.

The drama started out intriguing for me, especially first 14 episodes. It seemed mysterious, like a solid story is about to be told. However thereafter, it was very drawn-out and constant repetition of certain scenes: the love story between FL and ML, the side view of the ML's face, the FL being strong-headed and suddenly acting weak, the ML always knowing where and when to rescue the FL and the FL/ML who are the only know-it-all.' After 20 episodes or so, I've been skipping the scenes involving the ML due to his mediocre and boring acting and chemistry with the FL.

I would like to compare this drama to Ashes of Love and Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms. All three have great costumes and amazing filming location. However, both AoL and TMPB went on to develop the roles of all the supporting roles instead of killing them off. The part whereby PS lacked is the development, it seems that PS is advancing based on the aesthetic value of the ML, as the ML's acting ability in this show is rather weak. If Fu Chou had more scenes, he will overpower the ML for sure. FL and ML's love story does not seem realistic, as they constantly hid secrets from each other at the start and remained inseparable. FL is supposedly skilled in martial arts, but does not exhibit her ability when ML is around. Their love story is very forced upon the audience, whereby we have to accept that those two come as a whole. Then, why do we even have two separate characters if they appear to have the same mind? I find that as a watcher, I could not empathize with their relationship and when they break up I just go 'oh lol, there they go again'. This is unlike in AoL and TMPB, whereby in AoL, when the ML left the FL, it made me so upset since their love was very real.

The FL in PS acts more like a man than woman, and the ML acts like a wimp, especially when he revealed to the public that he had sex with the FL when the FL was about to marry Fu Chou. He is not a gentleman at all. The things the FL and ML are incomprehensible, mostly because they always do things to the extreme ie the FL for her own selfishness caused her servants to die and FL/ML ganging up to kill Fu Chou who showed real love for the FL. These make the audience unable to understand their harsh actions. In fact, this is the drama whereby I wished for the ML to die and for someone to teach the FL some manners. In short, apart from the lovey-dovey and sex scenes, as well as the ML showing his side view of his face and always appearing out of nowhere, the FL/ML roles remained sorely under-developed.

Moving on, Fu Chou acted brilliantly in showing a conflicted person who was hurt by his past and yet tries to love someone. The character development for his role is rather good and FC has got amazing acting skills. When he caught FL and ML together in the bath while the FL was married to him, his expression caused me to really cry. He is a good-hearted and loyal man who constantly endures betrayal from people around him and tries to put up a brave front. In my opinion, he deserves more screen time and can even be the ML. The ratio of screen time the ML has is 8:10, meaning that whenever other supporting roles are kissing/hugging, he strolls right into the scene. (Like, wait what? What does it have to do with the ML even.) As such, many scenes involving the supporting roles are cut out. That was what made me give this drama a low rating. As I continue watching, the disappointment increases.

In fact, I watched this drama for Leo Luo aka Emperor Qi. Leo never disappoints with his acting even though he seldom appear. Makes me wonder why since the production team is always using his fame and face for advertisements on Weibo (even Leo himself is helping to promote). This is so unfair since he had very little screen time and almost no character development. It feels like this drama is just riding on his Ashes of Love fame instead of giving Leo the recognition he deserves. (He acted brilliantly in AoL and I watched AoL twice.)

Conclusion: I will not watch this drama again as I am watching it for Leo, but now I have a new bias which is Fu Chou. Previously I have watched Leo's drama the Fox in the Screen, and even though the production wasn't as good, they gave all the roles equal screen time. I find that if PS cut down on showing off the ML's long face (I don't appreciate his face since I am seeing it so regularly it annoys me), it is likely PS will just go down to 30 episodes, though I think with a story like this, 20 episodes is good enough to make a strong plot. There is nothing memorable about this drama as the twists are too many in certain episodes and it is plain confusing. The music is nothing special unlike those in AoL and TMPB. I find the acting of the ML is boring enough and a major turn-off while the FL is too bratty. Wonder why is this drama called White Hair though. It seems like a clickbait...

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This was way and far better than the first part. The anticipation and thrill is way too REAL!!
The casts 100% relayed their emotions, i could totally feel each and every one of their emotions. I fell in love with every one of them LOL. Let's quickly give a shout out to son joong ki especially.
About eun seom, it was kind of annoying the way he admitted defeat and lost all hope and didn't even try to fight back.
I also feel like the writers did not really give a strong enough reason for why he suddenly jut gained back all the hope he lost. However, the scene of eun seom and others in the pit was really moving at the last episode. How they all starved together and accepted each other as brothers. I loved that they said their names and tribes with pride and without discrimination.
The Music was perfect and on point!!
Don't even get me started at when tanya found the star bell!!! That was the ultimate trump card in this second part. I LOVED IT!! Y'all deserve several accolades.
I CAN'T WAIT TO WATCH THE THIRD PART!!!!!!!

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Astonishing -maybe in another space and time !!!

I think a recreation of this drama in another space and time would be amazing and that c-censor board is the reason for most of things that went downhill !
That being said ...it was surely an interesting watch a lot of cliche's served but also carefully garnished by time and space twists this wasn't a drama I was anticipating to be this enjoyable !

I love space and time interventions and time travel stories and I have had a fair share of them this year -- this drama is nothing fresh out of the oven pie -- but it's surely delicious !

→ STORY -- The lead ziqi crosses path with a girl at his lowest point and every day is a story of keeping her safe and revealing the secrets wrapped around his father's death with carefully entangled past and present the narrative is a space and time mystery of survival among the forces who's greed knows no bounds!

The leads have amazing chemistry and screen presence and tho initially unlikable they have a way to grab you in ...the second couple do not bother you with their not required screen time and the cliche's keep you giggling!

Every episode ends on a high note to make sure you stick around for the next one at the edge of your seats -- and best of it all ..people here know about "communication" !!! they actually tell each other things.

Tho a lot of things come across as brainless --in the spoilers-- but they are needed for the story to progress and your blood pressure to fluctuate -- i mean that's the thing you need to be pissed at times with the characters too lol !

the villains tho disappointingly handled but don't get to a point you start questioning why you even bothered to watch it and least have valid motives for doing things !

For a short drama in the world of cdramas with 20+ hrs of run time ...this 8hr storytelling is pretty much what I needed and absolutely loved.
→The actors did such a great job and the FL wasn't some pathetic loser and did figure out a lot of things on her own with a pinch of damsel in distress but don't we all need her to faint in ml's arms atleast 1000 times lol !

→I hope more people watch it ...and i really look forward to any adaptations of it bec -- c-sensor board I AM ACTUALLY QUITE PISSED with the last ep !!!

---- spoilers ahead---

So anyone who want's to know if it was a dream -- yes bec c-sensor board wouldn't have approved otherwise !
I myself am confused about the end but what i think it was he handled everything by himself (i hate it tho and imma pretend I never saw the last ep) and then they get together and all of the side characters have their memories erased ...whereas FL vaguely remembers ML and then falls for him again --THE WORST WAY TO END !

but we know for the plot to progress we need people dying and more specifically FL dying
what i don't get is why the ML even after knowing he's in danger doesn't keep precautions like man if you are going to some xyz building that has people full of villain's gang then get a grip and take few men with you ...or buy his men ...i don't think you are short on cash

or if in the wedding you are to be stabbed most probably ...then wear something to prevent the damage ...get one for your girl as well ...all of that to collect evidence right so you do not have to necessarily shed blood for it ...call the cops or something !!
---------

My fav lines --

"If I am no longer around please find the courage to move on , don't live in the past for me !
The past was wonderful but we should leave it as that -- i always believe what you remember will surely return - we might meet again in another space and time "

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Unpopular opinion time.

It's cute and all but...I've seen better. It has nothing new but I already knew it when I decided to watch. What really attracted me were the ratings and many viewers saying "oh, it's like a better version of Itazura na Kiss". And I have to admit: I dislike Itazura na Kiss and all it's remakes. I tried to watch, many times, but dropped it. I just can't stand the main leads. Decided to give a chance on this because I thought it would be really different.

But I'm not here to talk about InK, but with so many comparisons here's my verdict: Is it that much different? No, not at all. The girl is still stupidly and desperately pursuing the guy, who in turn acts acts cold and dismissive towards her. The thing is this drama is a more toned down version. People were right, he's not as much of a jerk, but he's still rather unnecessarily cold and, at times, rude. And the girl is not that much "stronger" either. She takes a LOT of his crap and doesn't do anything. And when she actually does (like telling him how it is) it's in a rather childish and immature way. Even when she actualy glosses over "giving up on him" she acts like a child, running away.

Seriously, I'm all for women pursuing the ones they like, but there's a fine line between trying to woo someone and being pathetic. The female lead fell on the wrong side for me. Really girls, if he's not into you, then don't even bother much longer.

Also, I'll never understand one thing: why is the guy always the genius and the girl an "idiot"? Couldn't she be average or even good at studies? Why the huge contrast between the best and the worst? Maybe it's just me nitpicking or thinking too much into it.

Their romance was boring, the cute scenes were fluffy but it really annoyed me when the guy acted nicer only to later act like a dismissive ass. And even when he was being "nice", he still threw one-liners here and there, was distant and constantly ordered the girl around. And it wasn't cute! That's not a cute behaviour, that's plainly annoying to watch.

Luckily it gets better. But it takes a longer time than I expect (and wanted). Only on the last few episodes it really looks like there's a mutual relationship. Still, I found myself annoyed by some actions.

However, what I liked here were the side characters. I guess they are the sole reason I gave this a 7.

I liked the second couple more than I enjoyed the main one. And it's actually pretty funny because their relationship is basically like the main couple's but with genders reversed. Despite that though, Jing Xiao was never truly mean or dismissive of Lu Yang. She really regarded him as close friend, and often got out of her way to demonstrate it. Their relationship felt more developed, healthier if I may say so. And their wedding vows were actually the cutest ever.

Also, Wu Bo Song is one of the best second male leads out there. I think those kind of characters really highlight how different the male lead's treatment of the female lead is crappy, althought I admit that he was kinda exaggerated at times. But he's not just a second guy to fall for the girl, he actually has struggles of his own. The issues with his dad and grandmother actually managed to make me shed some tears.

Another strong point is that this drama is actually pretty accurate with studies and even touches on taboos. It wasn't entirely well developed, after all this is a romance focused story, but I liked to see how the increasingly high standards for students is slowly taking it's toll on them. And the way it was all handled was quite realistic.

All in all it was an interesting watch. Funny thing is that I'm watching a very similar chinese drama called "With You", which has surprisingly similar plot, however I just think that in that drama everything is handled much better. I recommend for you to take a look at those two pretty similar and take your own conclusions.

Now I'll get ready for the flack haha

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Awesome m/m couple 10/10 - need their own series!

Overall: I'll divide this up into three couples but keep things general to not spoil things. I didn't like the commercial breaks (without the commercials) in Viki and wish they would have edited those out. On the plus side, the styling was on point especially with Mark. And I liked that differences such as ages and income were addressed.

Content warnings: homophobia, fat shaming, bullying scene in a flashback, a few slaps, non con/dub con in one scene were a romantic partner is avoiding/said he did not want a kiss and the other person continued

M/M Couple - Best Boys (note: this official video is just their scenes ep 1-10 https://youtu.be/lIdngsUoa1M, but if you watch just the official cuts after that you'll miss out on important context/characterization, so watch the whole thing and fast forward parts you aren't interested in)
- character growth!!! Mark has some major character growth as he starts out as homophobic. He is impulsive but wears his heart on his sleeve.
- communication, it was great how especially Mark sought communication to resolve issues
- for the other half of this couple, loved defying stereotypes with the rescuing Mark scene and you can see the reason why he is really nervous/doubting their relationship
- favorite line "even though I like guys, I still have my standards"
- for the bad, this hovered very close to the "gay for you" trope
- their relationship was very rushed/not enough screen time (need their own series)

Older M/F Couple
- two sweeties, was a bit sad we didn't see any of them in the final episode other than a picture on the wall at the very end

Main M/F Couple
- started off really sweet and I was enjoying their story but then two unnecessary love triangles popped in and I became bored. Also the flashbacks weren't my thing. The age gap with the one set of flashbacks also disturbed me a bit as he was 10 and she was 18, granted she was thinking platonically, but he was thinking romantically. I disliked the overall fat shaming vibe. At one point the extremely thin FL steps on the scale and screams about too much bubble tea. Also the nickname little piggy when he is an adult seemed very condescending. Random pet peeve but I cringed every time I saw that self portrait.

Other characters that I enjoyed were the independent Joanna, the mom (who grew on me as she wanted the best for her daughter), Ou Wen's colleague Yan Wu Chun Feng and the married couple/daughter.

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Wonderful but my boredom when watching it is significant. Chang Hee is my favorite part.

My Liberation Notes is a slice-of-life drama about three siblings and their mysterious neighbors; who are dissatisfied with life in one way or another. They live in the countryside about an hour outside of Seoul. The show is showing the character's journey that was so refreshing and realistic. Liberation is a journey of identifying and persevering to keep working through it. Identifying your struggles and finding the root cause is a hard thing to do. Acceptance and taking action to make things better is even harder.

At first, I watch this because it has a similar premise because My Mister also followed the lives of three brothers. In My Mister, they come together to help each other heal along with the FL. Then also its' deep exploration of the character's mental states. But the main difference, at least this is my opinion, is while both shows are character-driven, My Mister has much stronger external plots and twists that make more eye-opening action scenes, much more than My Liberation Notes. In My Liberation Notes, the story progresses by following the daily lives, like the vlogs of these characters. So if you enjoyed My Mister, you may or may not enjoy My Liberation Notes. Don't expect the same exhilaration you get from My Mister here, but surely, both series present the same level of production quality and character arcs. I like My Mister better, but there were many good thought-provoking aspects of My Liberation Notes.

The first pro I want to mention is the comedy. I absolutely love how this series handles funny moments. It comes from a quiet moment, there's no dialogue happening and it's funny due to the previous or next scenes. For example, the part of Mi Jeon demanding Mr. Gu to worship her and the scene of Mr. Gu alone realizing the word worship means and seeing his reaction. My favorite one is when Chang Hee has done something to Mr. Gu's car and Chang He's about to confess but instead of wearing his slippers, he decides to wear his runners instead. It was so funny! Because you could see what the character was thinking without them saying it.

Regarding the plot, I thought the first four episodes were exciting. then it got super slow midway and then the last four episodes were so beautifully done. They give a very satisfying arc to every single character, and even if they didn't end on a completely happy note, I felt hopeful by the end. It is worth mentioning that the dialogue is so heavy all the time, the conversation these characters have is telling me some sort of message across. It's very tiring to pay attention all the time, so this show is not binge-able, but more of one episode a day watch.

Speaking of the characters, I was invested not so much in their character but more in their fantastic acting and their story and growth. Each character is carefully described and redeemed. I love how all the siblings would talk about things that most people I think would be ashamed and sometimes embarrassed to admit. I loved Mi Jung's inner strength and how she takes the initiative to liberate herself. I found her relationship with Mr. Gu is very unique and unconventional. I warm up to Mr. Gu throughout the story, but I am slightly disappointed that his alcoholism is not handled. But the best part for me is Chang Hee. Watching his scenes at first I feel already connected to him. Then I'm so happy that in the last four episodes or so, the story focuses a lot on him. I loved how his monologues came out and how he become more mature, his story was just beautiful. I'm thinking of rewatching the show only for his scenes.

I want to praise the OST and sound effects. There's a heavy focus on a lot of ASMR sounds, like people walking, eating, breathing, and sighing. Because this screenplay focuses so much on a character's introspection and how they're feeling emotionally, it's really really nice to have it paired with silence and ASMR sounds. OST was just so beautiful and peaceful. It fuels me to continue watching when I kinda doze off when watching too much heavy dialogue and mundane scenes.

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I watched this drama almost one year ago now and there\''s still a question lingering in my mind: what is it about?
Does it tell the story of a girl who needs to come out of her hidden sense of guilt and find the lost relation to her father? Or is it about this same girl seeking revenge against a cheating boyfriend?
Perhaps it tells the adventures of a young man who pretends he\''s gay, as the title seems to suggest. Or, again, it\''s the story of a house and how it influences the lives of those living in it.

In short: I could compare this drama to a pot-pourri. You know, those pretty little boxes or vases filled with all sorts of dry flowers, herbs and spices. You open it thinking it will smell of frangipani and your nostrils are assailed by a nondescript cocktail of perfumes, from cinnamon to roses.

The acting is not bad, although I maintain that Lee Min Ho is too preoccupied with his good looks to be a truly believable actor. I\''m ready to face the consequences of my statement.
And, to be honest till the end, I was slightly distracted throughout the whole show by the length - or lack thereof - of his trousers.

Overall, it starts in the best of ways, with elements of comedy and all the premises for a very sweet, passionate love story. It loses direction somewhere by the middle, and it doesn\''t find it back.

Disappointing.

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When it comes to write down a plot about struggling youth most of screenwriters tend to just talk about “young love” or “first love”.
Youth is not just that.
This movie it’s a slap in the face of the pretty rotten system called “mental health clinics”.
When you ask someone what “depression” or “mental diseases” are they just tell you “crazy people who are mad as hell.”
This movie portray all of this stereotypes and clean them up at the same time.
The two main characters are basically opposed to each other.
Lee Ming Ki play a pretty easy going boy who can be described as “eccentric” by society but, when it comes to a mental health institute, he’s portray as “a crazy arsonist”.
He was sent to a clinic just because he had some issues going on with his father’s inheritance so his brothers locked him there just to get all the money for themselves.
Jingoo character is a nice boy who suffers from a big trauma and now he can’t face a normal life. Not because he can’t but because he doesn’t want to.
The movie’s peace is really catching. You are tangled up with all the minor characters stories.
The main cast is superb.
Amazing actors with amazing acting skills, JinGoo is so young yet he’s basically the most talented young actor in Korea.
MingKi never fails to impress me.
He can act all different kind of roles and he never get boring.
Usually I think that Korean movies force you to cry even when the plot doesn’t need it.
They just make up some teary scenes just to make you sympathize with the characters and the story.
In this case it doesn’t happen.
When you cry you do it because the scenes are really touching and not exaggerated.
It might be a pretty simple plot but at the end it makes you realize that maybe we are all like JinGoo’s character.
Just young people afraid of built up something with our own straight because we fear adult life and the world itself.
Amazing movie, I would recommend it to everyone who like touching and simple stories.

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Story is nothing new, it's one of the most common clichés about bestfriends falling in love.
However, the story-telling is a bit new. I did not realize how a very short film without speaking parts can speak volumes with just their actions.

And here the acting comes in as natural as if the actors are living it. The small touches, the glances, the visible clearing of throats, all gestures
contribute to the beautiful and poignant telling of the story of requited or unrequited love. (depending on one's view).

The music brings attention to the flow and ebb of emotions and moves the story along.

Re-watch value: The need to play this movie over and over again is quite strong, and quite tempting as it is short.

Overall, a very short and sweet film.

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this drama starts off very promising for me, I was looking forward on how their relationship would progress, from the main characters to the supporting ones as well, the political part was also very interesting. I was curious on how the whole storyline will unfold. Well, sadly, it didn't live up to my expectations. After around the 6th or 7th episode, I lost my interest, the whole storyline became so slow, I feel like nothing happen in some episodes to the point that I wasn't focusing at least 60% of the time. the main leads relationship was cute, i like them, but not like superrrr simping over them. the whole political things gets boring, nothing big was happening to make me excited for the next episode. also, i don't get why this drama have 20 episodes yet the writings at the end wasn't well written. The ending was kinda idk missing some umph. but the acting was amazingggg and the osts were good too. well, it was a mediocre saeguk drama for me, nothing too good or too bad, i honestly can't remember the storyline :')

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~LONG REVIEW AHEAD~WARNING~
There are two different responses which came about after this drama aired and that is this (1) It's terrible. Way too melodramatic and the directing and writing was a mess and (2) It's unique, crazy, and fun. It doesn't follow the guidelines of your typical Romance drama.

Because of this, I feel it is very hard to review this drama. but I thought I would give it a try anyway.

So here I go....
As I said above, most people who have seen this drama either LOVE it or HATE it. It's one of the things which comes with the territory of completing a very unusual drama. You're either going to think "What is this?!" or "Wow, interesting!"

So I decided for this review I would give two different standpoints. (1) The negative aspects and (2) The positive aspects. Both will contradict each other at points siince it depends on the person themselves viewing the show. Some people may see a scene from this drama as not being well put together, while others might applaud how it fit well with the crazy story itself.

Story-
(1) (Negatives)
-The main couple is stressful to watch a times. You could even call them a "Bi-polar" type of couple.
-The stories pacing is always up in the air. At times everything is going really fast and at other times everything is going very slooooow.
-Some scenes don't always work well together. The directing isn't always there.
-At times you could consider the story melodramatic when it doesn't need to be.

(2) (Positives)
-The main couple doesn't live by your usual Korean drama couple. They shout at each other, and they fight each other You can always see them as real.
-The pacing is all over the place because the people themselves in this drama are all over the place.
-You won't expect what will happen next in a scene because you can't always expect how someone with "mental issues" will react.
-The story can be sad at times because we are following the daily lives of people with "mental issues"and life isn't always happy when you don't fit societies "normal person".

Acting/Cast-
This may be my own biased view on things, but I don't see any reason to dislike the cast. All of them played each role to the best of their ability.
The only reason why you may not like an actor or actress in this drama is if you went in not being a big fan of them already.

Music-
I didn't hear or feel any complaints about the OST. Personally, I loved it! One thing they definitely did well was the music.

Overall-
This drama is really all about your perception on thing and how you see things in your life. It can either be relatable or out of this world crazy!
It's not your usual Korean drama. So I suggest giving it a try. If you aren't really enjoying the drama midway then you probably won't enjoy the rest of drama.

Views on this drama definitely vary and I would say your view will vary too if you complete it. My rating mainly is how I felt about the drama.

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This drama is like candy: sweet and addictive, but nothing beyond that.  

The plot is rather simple and dare I say cliché in some aspects (boy meets girl, insta-love, CEO and employee, cold emotionless guy vs sweet shy girl). However, it adds original and rather fun things like the virtual world battles and interactions. Also, kudos for adding such a contemporary theme like games and gamers. It was really refreshing to see not only boys but also girls playing virtual games.

However, even if the plot is somewhat decent, I don't think the characters or even characterization was well done. I mean, let's admit it, the main couple was a bit...too perfect for my taste. Nothing wrong with having capable main leads, but the two seem more like Mary Sues than actual capable, independent characters. I would've liked it a lot more if their flaws and problems were highlighted more (or even there to begin with, I didn't see ANY major flaws from each character), because they didn't feel realistic to me. But I kind of liked the way they trusted and confided in each other, but still felt a tad bit unrealistic (really, every couple has problems).

Also, the acting was stiff to say the least. I didn't feel anything at all from both parts. Yang Yang is drop dead gorgeous and a hella of a kisser but nothing more than that. I know his character is supposed to be this distant, somewhat emotionless guy, but he could've given much more than just the same cool, cold guy that we are tired to see in dramas (at least I am tired).

Zheng Shuang has the same flaws: a pretty face (also justified since her character is supposed to be pretty) but nothing much more than that. She lacked emotions and expression, what was supposed to be quirky turned out to be just plainly awkward. I know that because I've read the novel this drama was based on, and let me say the novel's Wei Wei was a lot quickier/ funnier than ZS portrayal, which made me like her more than when I watched the drama (even if she was still a Mary Sue).

Side characters were well played, and actually more developed than the main ones. I liked the subtle bromance between two of Nai's life long partners, but it's so subtle and undeveloped that it made me wish to see more, luckily I read the novel and got what I wanted.

All in all it was addictive but turned out to be underdevoloped, which is sad given it's 30 episode lenght. Honestly, I've seen dramas with a lot less episodes but much more fulfilling in terms of acting/plot/development. Also, the episodes seemed draggy sometimes and pointless. I think it would be better if it was 16 episode kind of drama, since the lack of depth and not much to do with the plot could allow this one to be a sweet, funny journey. But what's done is already done anyway.

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