Reviews

ANOTHER MISSION

If you like this drama on season 1, you would also like season 2. This is the conjunction of previous season, with the same main casts in different village and new stranded poor souls. Gongdan village where missing deceased people, including Kang Eun Sil and Oh Il Yong, stay. Meanwhile Kim Wook, Jang Pan Seok were able to see ghost again after 2 years inability seeing them after meeting Oh Il-Yong at the cafe, Il-Yong gave the address of abandon complex where they found the village was, full of children that's been died for years yearning to reconcile with their parents. A village managed by Captain Kang, as she took care of villagers and children's need, knowing the ins and outs, and has big heart to help everyone. Kim Wook and Pan Seok embrace their newly found role with expertise from previous experience. The concerned was on how many children were in the village, they obligated to find these children's body somewhere.

DRUGS (S1: HEIRESS)
The story behind these deceased people to this village was drug trafficking. Fearing drug lord and connection of their crime that would kidnap and has killed someone. Detective Shin Joon Ho try to find the bodies of the missing people and chase after the truth behind their deaths. The friendship between Kim Wook, Pan Seok, and detective Shin grew stronger, giving information missing person cases that lead detective Shin to discover bodies many days or years hidden.

CASTS
The same main casts Kim Wook (Ko Soo), Jang Pan-Seok (Heo Jun-Ho), Lee Jong-A (Ahn So-Hee), and Detective Shin Joon-Ho (Ha-Joon). New casts like Captain Kang Eun-Sil (Lee Jung-Eun) and Oh Il-Yong (Kim Dong-Hwi), Moon Bo-Ra (as Kim Wook's daughter) created new characters.

When one of the soul evaporated, they're witnessed in with the amazement and stillness between happy and sadness, as this soul won't be with them again but move on to their next unknown chapter which they're longing for. The mystery of Il-Yong free movement to the outside world while the rest couldn't, finally being solved on ep 12. Not all children's soul gone yet....there were still mystery surrounding some characters at the end of episodes. There was preview what would the next season be as they move on to the future journey. They're talking about another village on above the air, is there possibility of season 3?

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Family. This is what this drama is all about. The core of it, actually. Of course that I was the same like all those hard core fans of Nirvana in Fire, all scared and in hesitation and doubt whether to give a chance to sequel or not. We all know how sequels rather rare become good enough to justify all the glory of prequel. But if done right, yes it is possible. Like it’s the case with Nirvana 2. It really succeeded to give me the same vibe like Nirvana, to make me attach so much and care for the characters and their lives, to make me sit on the edge waiting what will happen next. The quality is high and you could easily see that it comes from the same director, the same production team, the same excellent writing and amazing cinematography. Whereas it’s less one character driven and concentrated on more characters and their lives, still it manages to make everything worth watching and full of greatly written characters. It’s important to not compare these two dramas because honestly they are very different, the whole story is different. So I decided to do that and found myself loving every episode, every scene spent with Xiao family.
Let me tell you something about Xiao family. They are certainly for me the best and most amazing family I have ever seen in dramaland. They way they care for each other, the way they protect and love each other, the way they talk and haven fun with each other, the way they deal with problems and the way they are loyal and honest, everything makes you admire them. And makes you love them all. I really like their interactions and how they were also close to the emperor and his son, they literally felt like one big happy family from the neighbourhood.
Drama actually has two parts, you could easily see how before one certain event things were and how they changed completely after that. I can’t say for sure which part was better but let’s say first part was more happy, blissful and joyful and the second more tragic, sad and bittersweet. I felt such huge pain, my heart hurt and I couldn’t stop sobbing while watching some scenes and if you watch the drama, I bet you’re gonna feel the same. I had to make pauses in watching until I got back being myself again.

As for the characters, I think I came to love too many of them. And hate too. If I were to pick one who stood out the most, I’d say it’s Tingsheng. His calm presence, his unwavering mind, his loyal soul, his wisdom out of this world and his unconditional love he had for his sons, everything he was and he felt and said was the core of this drama. I loved intelligent, clever tranquil Pingzhang; elegant supportive skillful Xiao Xue; impulsive, joyful smart fighter Pingjing; brave, loyal Feizhan; wise, amazing emperor, and many others but Tingsheng was the one who carried everything as he was the bond between this drama and original  he was the one who experienced everything. I found so emotional and beautiful each time they mentioned Mei Chang Su or Prince Jing or anyone from the original and it was done in such a wonderful way in many important moments.
I won’t talk about villains, there are lots of them too but sadly they didn’t leave some big effect on me, yes I hated them (specially the empress who was so stupid) but I couldn’t understand their actions and the reasons why they did everything they did. That was a bit let-down in this drama and how they ended with one of the characters- I get it was needed for the story to move on and for our lead guy to mature and take charge and grow up, but still it could have been done lot better. That was the weak part, it felt like a bit lazy writing so I couldn’t give the highest score. But everything else, from the characters, Xiao family, cinematography, music, battle and fighting scenes, I applaud for everything else. And most important, a great ending and closure of the whole story, its protagonists, antagonists and villains. I will leave it like this with my favourite sentence:

"I have seen the coldest aspects of this world. But in my life there are 3 things that I found fortunate to have experienced. First- I received teachings from my Master and that eliminated the grudges and hatred in my heart; Second- I got adopted by the former emperor and experienced two generations of wise emperors. I have never been doubted by anyone. The third thing was that I have a harmonious home- I was able to have good children like you and Pingzhang."
I will remember this for the rest of my life. Personally my favourite scene and moment where I gave all my heart to them, to that lovely and wonderful family, to that goodhearted amazing parent, who is so far, the best well written parent character ever existed in my opinion- papa Tingsheng.
So do not hesitate and give it a chance, do not think in advance how it will be bad, trust me it won’t. You will have your heart broken so many times, you will feel the characters so strong, you will cry with them, smile with them and care so much for their happiness, you will also hate some too and wanting to kill them so much, you will feel a need to grab your family so tight and wanting to protect them forever. All of this Nirvana 2 will give you. And more. Yes I say that prequel is better and nothing could ever beat that drama, that original Nirvana in Fire but if you watch this one and not compare, you’ll see that it’s also one phenomenal piece of art where family bond is everything, loyalty is real and existing, battle scenes executed in amazing way, breathtaking landscapes and where power and greed aren’t everything. Nirvana 2 definitely did become one my all time dearest dramas and I am glad that I gave it a chance and watched it while it aired. And now I don’t think I will be able to watch anything in the near future because of the amount of emotions I felt during the watch. Thank you for that, thank you drama for giving me such an amazing, heartwarming, heartbreaking, beautiful time, I will always cherish that and I am forever grateful to all the people who participated in making this drama come to life. I know I said too much and that my review is a very long one but that’s the case with Both Nirvana 1 and 2. It’s never too much. They are pure love. <3

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This series has a lot of great things to offer, but in my opinion also a few lowlights. Among the great things is especially the reprensation of intersexuality, but I do not know how correct the whole thing is, because I have no personal experience with it.
I also think it's great that a gay man is portrayed more flamboyant and extroverted than in the typical BLs, without being ridiculed.
But unfortunately the series suffers from too much slowburn in the middle and I was unsure where this was going.
Also, the possibilities with the stories around the temple were partly not used, which is a pity, because just the mysterious at the beginning I was very interested in the beginning.
Nevertheless, this series is more than worth watching and has a very emotional and sensitive effect, especially because of the great soundtrack.

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Script was written by a fire extinguisher. Everything’s hot, messy, and barely legal

This show is one trope away from being a dumpster fire. And it’s not the uncle-GIRL-nephew love triangle we are talking about, but apparently it’s a gaggle of geese falling for the girl that I’m amazed Li Chen had the stamina to swap all those pesky mosquitos away from his beloved.  

SPOILERS BELOW

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First, what this show did wrong is to make stalking look cool. Even if you have a man as hot as KeChun “following” you around, showing up wherever you are, to save you. This ain’t it. 

Second, what is the case with Ke Chun dramas and women cuffed in chains?? Is this a common occurrence or was beating somebody shitless not good enough for TV now?? 

Third, whatever happened to the safety protocols of the fire department, that they let people in a burning building, let them spend 10 minutes kissing while fumes are piling up everywhere? 

Fourth, where are the hell are the nurses when the Wan Zhi’s mother left the room? Nobody in the halls saw this lady limping her way up the stairs??? Apparently, the two nurses who saw her thought nothing of a crippled lady making her way out of the emergency exit. Did they assume she went out for a smoke? Back to common-sense training!

Fifth, racing a fancy car against a lunatic with your beloved inside is not the right way to de-escalate the situation. You are definitely just asking for a car accident, and pray to god that she doesn’t die, or at least get amnesia so you can throw in another trope and prolong the agony of spending years apart.  

I could go on and on with all the inconsistencies in plot and execution of this drama, that not even Ke Chun’s pretty face could save it.

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This is my very first LENG... Kidding! This is my first time to write a review, pardon my wordsmith hahaha!
~*~
• S TO R Y: Original plot and has its own good-cliff hanging ending.
The story is about a girl who has a Philophobia—the fear of falling in love or emotional attachment. The risk is usually when a person has confronted any emotional turmoil relating to love but also can be chronic phobia—and got rejected several times with different situations. In her second year college, entering the Faculty of Psychology, they need to join a club in order to graduate in time. Padlom seems to dislike every club they have encountered and with the support of her partner-in-crime, Spoil, they formed a new club that listens to 90s music in respect to Padlom’s parents. Having the smallest count of members, they need to share their club’s room with the student-model, Alan, who made the non-human photo club with all-male members. The story will focus on how Padlom search for his secret admirer known as the “Lovesick Bear”.

• A C T I N G | A N D | C A S T: Everything is perfect starting from the cast itself, characteristics, different persona and how they portray each roles.
1. Punpun Sutatta as PADLOM —Punpun is very simple and you will see how natural she pulls every role. As Punpun portrays Padlom, there’s no changes but a paradigm shifting of the characteristic of the main role. The way of how she acts is very constant. Anything else beside from that, HANDS DOWN. No words for Punpun. PS: PUPUN SUAY, MARRY ME <3
2. Kang Vorakorn as POK —As we can see, Kang and Punpun became a loveteam before in U-Prince The Series: The Gentle Vet. Picking Kang as one of the male lead makes the viewers harder to guess if who the secret admirer of Padlom is. Kang pulled-off the role greatly that he is not obvious as one of the secret seven men. PS: You will put a high expectation from him as the story goes on!
3. Tay Tawan as ALAN —This is the first main role given for Tay and it is great that every nerd role suits him (pertaining to his past role of Dew in Lovey Dovey) but in here, he has this nerd + manly + hot combination that makes women around him swooning (lmao). They don’t have that much chemistry but for plot twists, he really suits for it.
4. Oab Nithi as GENT —After Oab’s fine and epic role as Puen in Project S The Series: SPIKE, all of us (who were watching and see his growth as an actor) were expecting a run-off of another portrayal... and there he is! He went through from an orphan of SPIKE to a rich-youngman here in Secret Seven. He is rich but you can see how he handle his life and not to the extent that he is gambling and always using his money for vices. They also have a good chemistry and there’s something between them when they both smile together. PS: He’s my chicken hahaha I root for him. I also remember Nana and Ai from I Hate You, I Love You.
5. Lee Thanat as PLAY —The flirt! He really pulled-off the role of Play because of his smile. I like the way how he manipulate girls hahaha throw an oscar for him. Great ending for his role and this is a real shift from Survey of U-Prince to Play of Secret Seven. PS: You’ll miss the nostalgic “Hon” hahaha.
6. Mek Jirakit as ID —I don’t know how will I react because I recently watched U-Prince The Series: The Foxy Pilot and Mek’s persona in that series is very far from this obnoxious personality of Id. He is a good plot twist character for this series because everybody are rooting for him including me since day but yeah, the only constant in this world is change lol. They have a good chemistry in such a way that I shouted in Episode 8 when I saw the wall art of Id using airspray with the portait of Padlom. PS: I’ll miss Big Tits and Tiny Dick :<
7. Gun Atthaphan as LIFTOIL —To be honest, I wasn’t expecting that Gun will portray a heterosexual role in this series. I thought that he will be the gay bestfriend of Padlom and will turn into a plot twist. I wasnkt expecting much from him but yeah, he was the clown and center of fun in this series. You’ll enjoy watching his goofy side and how he turn every depressing situation into romantic excitement.
8. Captain Chonlathorn as NEO —Another cute act from Captain. He is always the classic Kiryu of U-Prince, very hyper and childish. Sometimes, you’ll find him annoying because of some desperate actions but you’ll find Neo and Padlom as so-so too. The way he cries is freaking dramatic and contagious.
9. Ampere Suttatip as SPOIL —HANDSDOWN. SPEECHLESS. EXCELLENT SUPPORTING ROLE. PS: More works to come and excited to see you in Sotus S!

• M U S I C: 90s music + thai melodies + indie-aesthetic-vibes = LIFE
So many music to enjoy and hear from. Every music were used as the best as it is! Nothing to ask for more. PS: Who knows about the playlist of every song that came out? Help a friend-in-need :’(

• R E W A T C H | V A L U E: HIGH PRIORITY
This series has its own plot and each frame is important. It is fun to watch and after you find out who will be the man of Padlom will make you watch the series again (just like I did) because you want to watch how everything start and I suggest that in rewatching, observe on how Padlom and the leading man progress their sweet scenes. You’ll like it!

• O V E R A L L: 11/10.
I liked how the story progress and who Padlom end with. The cancellation of characters are wisely projected and how rejection should occur. You can’t just fire the agreement just because you share a good moment with someone, but you should know your heart and consider your feelings too. This lakorn has so many moral stories to learn from and it will show too many situations in one story.
PS: Khob khun krap for another good lakorn GMM.

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i just loved this. a lot. a lot.

idk why the reviews are so on the fence about it--it's a sweet story with good acting
it's on the simpler side but i liked that, i think a lot of thai bl's have a plot that's all over the place but this one actually makes sense
also no cringe ad-type-scenes like in other bl ((guess they had enough budget to stick to more subtle product placement) and i already said it but the acting is good imo
ofc it has some unnecessary drama but not to the point it gets super frustrating, it's a lot less than other thai BLs i've seen and well, this IS a drama so it's part of the genre
also i really loved the friend group and other side characters, they had distinct personalities and felt rounded

i lowkey highkey want a drama abt Maithee, i think he is v fun and a sweet friend but also feels like the kinda character who's always joking around and bc he's scared of getting hurt/opening up and i'd love if that was explored in his own story--maybe with sean or phoon or someone else entirely ((ngl kinda shipped him with prince but that can't happen for obvious reasons))

anyway i highly recommend this drama

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I kind of am in a love/hate relationship with this show. I like how this is a show in which the main female lead can be considered "evil". You know why she's doing the things she does, you pity her for it, but also grow to hate her for it and keep saying "Haven't you had enough girl?". Which brings me to my second point. I love the acting, Lee Duk Hwa plays an excellent role as King Injo. He is portrayed very human, he has emotions too. He knows (in my opinion) very well what every one around him is thinking and planning, but he also wants to have someone around him and someone to love him, which makes him, to me, a very complicated and human character. Also Kim hyun Joo plays her role very very good. You pity her for being in her position and fully understand her reasons, but also hate her for her actions. There really is more to all the characters than meets the eye, if you're willing to look deeper and try to understand why they are doing this. If you're planning on watching this show, make sure to put yourself in to their shoes and try to understand their reasoning. Than this show is worth it.
One big problem I stepped on was the repetitiveness and slow progress of the story.

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Xue Tong, revealing her Love.

I thought it unnatural that Xue Tong became colder and even rude at times toward Mu Cheng since the day of the Voyager Presentation in Episode 24. Then. she seemed very amicable and even tender toward Mu Cheng as she read her coloring book story to him. She did seem to get a bit flustered when Mu Cheng asked about the Little Star's 'Friend' in the story. But she still maintained a friendly behavior. In the Special Episode, Xue Tong became more and more uneasy toward and around Mu Cheng. I suppose it's because her emotional barrier was crumbling down slowly and beginning to reveal her true inner feelings for Mu Cheng. And, there is Mu Cheng. Still he is always thoughtful, tender and so gentile toward Xue Tong. I'm still re-watching this and analyzing the story. I really enjoy this story and don't mind giving it more thought. Honestly, I'm nearly addicted to this special episode. I keep watching it over and over again. I truly enjoyed the sound track of the Xue Tong special episode. I wonder if the sound track is available? And, Wow! What a proposal of marriage. The location, the historical event, the reasoning, and the timing were so well thought out. Nearly had to hold back a tear. I was touched by this story as I too have experienced some moments myself as I am a real Physicist. Lastly, Li Ting Ting is such a beautiful and talented actress. I'm sure she will do very well in her career.

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I never wanted the evil to be good this badly

First of all: I started this drama in the evening, it is currently 1 am and I could not stop until now.

The acting is amazing, the characters are twisted and divers. This drama is sexy, evil and absolutely fantastic. There is also a lot of cursing, and explicit language, which makes it more relatable.

As other pointed out before, yes, there could be more depth when it comes to the history of the characters. But on the other hand I do like dramas to be a little open, so I do not only get entertained but involved.

It’s been a while since I was attached to a drama, nevertheless this one made me feel things. It makes you question yourself. Well, at least it did for me. How evil am I, emphasizing with human beings killing others? How can I stay so calm, engaged, because of two people connecting, even tho the outcome can not only be good.

I feel like the drama shows (myself) that all we want is to have a connection with others. In the end we are all lonely, pulling on the last string. And the loneliest, those who understand this the most, can take advantage of it. In the end, they still search for it to end. No matter what the price might be.

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Accidental kissing masterclass

I've wanted to watch this for so long because I liked the title! But I waited for it to finish airing in order to do so. In the meantime I halfheartedly kept up with the comments and realized that it was almost universally hated! And still, something kept drawing me to it. I don't know why I found the title so appealing. Maybe because a tuxedo is a symbol of wealth and utmost elegance? So when i saw this reedited version, I finally decided to give it a go. The worst that can happen, I said to myself, is for me not to like it and drop it halfway through the first episode (as I have already done so many times before: the quickest drop being My Only12% which I dropped after 5min as the cringe factor was to the maximum!)!
And I liked it a lot! It definitely had its flaws but still it was a good watch!

It is a story about two lonely man hurt by the same person finding comfort in each other!
The first is Nawee, a bastard son of an extremely wealthy father. He was bullied as a child and overprotected by his mother. Ever since she died he does not dare to go outside and suffers from agoraphobia. His greatest wish is to be accepted and cherished by his own father. Unfortunately the opposite happens.
Nawee needs a well tailored suit, the tuxedo from the title, to impress his father so he wants Aiaoon, a well known local tailor to make it for him. After the initial refusal (because Nawee's father ruined his own father's tailor business!), Aiaoon makes the suit, the two man get to know each other and fall for each other.

What I liked about the drama was first and foremost, the production and cinematography. Everything was filmed it muted colors giving it a feel of a drama taking place 50 years ago! Moreover since one of the characters seemed to be stuck in the eighties seeing how he looked (Aiaoon's brother!) Even the smartphones though present were not integral part of characters' hands as they usually seem to be!
Another good point this drama has is the skinship! The actors are obviously at ease with each other and it shows!The funniest scenes were those accidental kisses: bathtub version covered in rose petals and the more ordinary one on a sofa! Corny but cute! Once they realise their feelings, they start kissing for real and those are definitely NOT dead fish kisses we are so used to!

The main problem this drama has is the writing! In itself, the story is promising and has great potential. Unfortunately since the series is so short I guess, everything was just touched upon and not properly dealt with.
Nawee's agoraphobia disappears as soon as he falls in love and is happy! How likely is that in real life? I am not a psychiatrist but it does not seem realistic. Nawee's secretary hits him over the head unconscious in order to get him out of the house. I would have called the police and had him arrested for assault. No consequences for the secretary! Nawee copletely confused falls into a croweded pool: Aiaoon is the only one to come to help him! Aiaoon is a coward, he is dating a girl who has been pressuring him to het engaged. He just does not have enough courage to tell the truth so he keeps stalling until she figures out everything and tells him that the breakup had been acted! And so on and so on...the examples are many!


The main actors are just amazing: cute and handsome and hot and having great sizzling chemistry I have not seen the kind of in a long time! Chap sings the main theme of the drama which can be heard very often throughout the series but it fits it perfectly so the repetition is not annoying!

Frankly speaking, even though this drama had some major flaws, the good outweighs the bad! This is a short and steamy watch!

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It had so much of a potential but developed to a propoganda drama and a waste good talents.

Story: ★★
The story started extremely well. You are always worried about whether Chen Shan will expose himself and wonder how he will survive his next mission/test.
However, starting from the middle of the drama the cases became more illogical and less realistic. I just suspect that the Communists Party started to alter the script to fit their propaganda: The Japanese are pure evil and have invaded their homeland. Many brave Chinese revolutionists had to sacrifice to save the country. But they all died gloriously because a strong belief supports them to the very last minute. The Chinese who worked for Japanese are national traitors and deserve to die. The Nationalist party is also bad while the Communists party is the only right and good party.
While there were 3-dimensional characters are the beginning, they all became extremely 2-dimensional at the end. The story evolved to be very one-sided and predictable. The spy missions circled around the same three topics (the pilots, the factory map and the boxes of penicillin) and the logics are always the same: the Japanese started to suspect Chen Shan but he managed to deceive them and the cycle starts again.
Some plots were added intentionally to extend the number of episodes; I think they could have finished the whole drama in 20 episodes instead of 45.
And is such a shame! For example, the Japanese spy lead Huang Mu Wei is such an interesting character! They could have developed this character with so much depth but the writer just ruined it by making him a killing machine without any emotions. You can see this clearly at interactions he has for Chen Xia, the sister of Chen Shan. Similar goes for his subordinate Qian Tian Ying Zi. And also the story of the Qian Shan’s spy colleague Qiao Yu who also worked for the Japanese. At his last scenes, I felt nothing but sorry for him which I think should not be the intention of the writer.
In the end, the story became so ridiculous that I started to laugh at the development. Each character started to do things completely without any logic and out of their character just to create dramatic and underline the message of the Communists party I described earlier. (I had a bit of Deja Vue with the last season of Game of Thrones...)

I gave the story a two-star to pay tribute to the good start and some intriguing development of the missions. If only judging the middle and end of the drama I could have even given it a one-star.

Cast/Acting: ★★★★
I watched this drama because of Zhang Ruo Yun. I was not disappointed and his acting is amazing as always. Half of the supporting cast is the same as Joy of Life; they and most new casts also did a great job. I especially applaud Adi Kan who played Yu Xiao Wan, the wife of Xiao Zhen Guo. She did an amazing job depicting a rather selfish party girl at the beginning who then slowly grew up stronger and more independent after having developed affection to Chen Shan and the love for her country. I thought she was better than Angel Wang who played Zhang Li, the 1st female lead. I understand it was her character but I found her too stiff most of the time and there was not enough chemistry between her and the male lead as compared to Yu Xiao Wan.
I really liked Wang Long Zhen who played the main villain Huang Mu Wei. Hus character was interesting and multi-layered. I just wished the scriptlet would let him have played to out, which unfortunately did not happen.
Chen Shan’s three friends are the only ones who brought some laughter into this otherwise serious and gloomy drama. Esp. Dong Kei Feng who played Liu Fen Fang performed well.

Production and music: ★★★
The quality of the cinematography is really high and the shots well made. All shots are well framed, colors and lighting are executed to the spot. You can see that it must have had a big budget. There were many really good actions and shooting scenes. All explosions are real and well captured. - No wonder, it's the same director as Joy of Life. The BGM underscores the suspenseful scenes well. There are two reasons why I deducted the two stars: editing and the voices. There were a few scenes which you found illogical: important scenes were cut out or scenes that supposed to come later came earlier instead. I really don’t understand why they did this and actually believe the audience would not notice? Also although the drama uses the real voices instead of over-dubbing, they did not do it consequently. There were so many lines that were over-dubbed and they were so obvious! I was so annoyed by them switching back and forth.

Summary: ★★
All in all, I barely made it to the end and force myself through so I can give a full review. The same director and almost similar actors do not guarantee anything if you have a bad script. Joy of Life and Insects Awaken are just miles apart from each other.
If you are a fan of spy drama + good cinematography and love Zhang Ruo Yun you might want to give it a go and start to skip from the middle onwards. Otherwise, I would really not recommend this drama.

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The cycles of history

Set during the latter half of the chaotic Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, Swords into Plowshares endeavors to condense several decades of turmoil into a cohesive story. For the most part, it succeeds as a well-produced historical epic, anchoring the story around a few historical figures - Qian Chu of Wuyue, his wife Sun Taizhen, Zhao Kuangyin of Song and Guo Rong (Chai Rong) of Later Zhou.

The first 12 episodes or so are some of my favorite - bold, devastating and moving in its depiction of the wanton slaughter and abuse of the common people as the Central Plains exchanged one ruler for another. There are also moments of human triumph some to arise out of that destruction and usher in a semblance of peace and order. But mankind is fickle, and human nature is not easily overcome. Until the final frame, our main characters face struggle after another in order to bring about a "year of peace."

A few historical figures are unfortunately whitewashed to fit an overall narrative of unifying the lands for peace, but the drama is overall still a respectable attempt to faithfully depict an often overlooked period of Chinese history. The script at its best waxes philosophical regarding varying viewpoints regarding human governance, and its strong use of classical Chinese is a much needed breath of fresh air in this age of idol dramas. It may too dense for some, but the cast deftly bring their characters to life, and one can simply follow their emotional journey fairly well even if much of the detail in the dialogue escapes them.

As a longtime enjoyer of historical dramas - from any country or language - I hope to see more in this vein from C drama land.

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Initially, I spotted Sm:)e on YouTube but ignored it because the thumbnail made it seem like a fantasy drama (and the styling of the title looks so dumb), when it is actually a modern day drama set in the acting/movie business. I found it immediately enjoyable. The male lead, Shu Han, is cute and endearing but also sad and lonely due to his fear of skin contact with other people. The female lead, Xiao Xing, is someone you want to root for because she refuses to give up on her dream. I was laughing out loud, and before I knew it I was already almost done with the drama! A lot of Chinese dramas really drag on unnecessarily, so this was a nice change.

There are a lot of new faces in this drama, and I liked the cast and all the characters (except for one). I especially liked An Ge, and was glad that they made him so reasonable and kind. The manager, Jiang Ye, was awesome and she really stole every scene she was in. Despite a case of "everyone falls in love with the female lead," it was pretty obvious from the beginning how the characters were going to end up being paired off, except for Xin Yuanling, who happens to be the only character I didn't care for. The drama just never made me care about his character, so I never felt torn or felt bad for him.

There were a number of moments in the drama that seemed illogical or unrealistic (for example, minor spoiler: when everyone goes off to eat in the middle of shooting and they leave her tied up?) but I could overlook it until around episode 19. The plot escalates quickly in a very messy, convoluted way, and the drama didn't adequately convey how certain events affected various characters. The rest of the drama was pretty underwhelming.

Overall, watching Sm:)e was very entertaining and enjoyable - just don't expect too much from it. And it's *only* 24 episodes!

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