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I tried
Not sure what to like about the show. I started it with so much hope.Amazing scenery being set in Finland.
But I had trouble buying into the chemistry of the 2 leads. And when the drama is entirely about their relationship that is particularly troubling.
Pace of the drama was way too slow - each of them staring at each other, first awkwardly then lovey dovey. Same for the supporting cast looking at them. It's almost laughable. I bore with it will episode 25 and then started skipping the remaining 5.
Them playing snooker started of as a simple plot tool, but the shots/scenes of them playing got repetitive/same and I wasn't sure of what the point of the snooker was. It was always the on table camera shot of them hitting the ball and pocketing it. And they were either winners or runners up in All tournaments.
The last episode was to have been wildy romantic but I could not ignore the poor attempt dubbing the singing of Leo Wu and cue collage of all their scenes in the entire drama.
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Insanely Good
ATTENTION: There are so many people watching CUT versions on other platforms. If you want to watch the UNCUT version with amazing subs, Please check out Idol Factory Youtube Channel.=============
Not sure when I fell for this show, but it was early on the series. It has become a series I literally stop everything for to watch the CH3 version without subs; the Youtube Uncut and subbed version, then watch it again twice on Youtube because every scene is So freaking amazing! The actors, plot, director, Producer and all the staff involved did a wonderful job. If you dropped this series, thenYou're missing out on amazing series that has never been done before. Looking forward to upcoming episodes XD
Update: This series is literally a series that was created for LGBTQ+ that have not been represented in BL in the past. The actors are portraying the characters perfectly and with each cringe or 2nd hand embarrassment, there is a beautiful thing happening. I hope people give it a chance by watching episodes after Ep. 1. It has become my guilty pleasure and I can not wait for Friday to come quickly! I’m so proud of Saint for producing this series and for recruiting all these talented actors to his agency ???
UPDATE: Just watched Ep. 9 today... and I have to say... it was amazing! For those who dropped the show... you're honestly missing out on such a heart warming, Funny, Spicy, cringy, 2nd hand embarrassment giving show that has never bene seen before!
May 14th UPDATE: I finished the episode and I will say this again... 10/10 for EVERYTHING! There are some parts I would've liked to have been added from the novel but even without that, I still Love this series soooooo much! We definitely Need another series for TouchDaisy and SomTor/TorSom XD.
Thank you for producing this series IDF/Saint and to all the actors and actresses/ director/Staff and just everyone involved in this series.
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Fresh from seeing Episode 16 which I skipped a lot of scenes, I am still glad that I managed to finish this show. So let me get straight to my thoughts:
STORY
Nothing extraordinary. It is ok but the storyline is not something memorable or could be classified as classic that would tickle my memory in the coming years. The story is straightforward, light, and comical, sometimes raunchy due to the romantic scenes of the leads.
CHARACTERS
I have to say that my fave couple is the the second pair. They are really cute and funny together, especially their banters, misunderstandings, and the idioms!
I like the male lead gumiho in the first few episodes but his stalking tendency threw me off. It was a red flag. I am probably one of the viewers who do not feel comfortable or approve them dating secretly at the same time as they are student-professor. He should’ve not done that. After he became a professor, I lost interest. And even got away without any repercussions. He just quitted and she dropped out to date openly.
Lee Dam, there are times that I felt like watching Reply 1988 Deok Sun in this show. Nothing really new impressed me with her acting since I’ve seen Hyeri do these antics in her Reply role. Sometimes I even think she doesn’t act her age. I get confused if she’s really a university student or a high schooler by her behavior. Sometimes I don’t find it cute anymore. Her younger brother (the real high schooler in the show) is even more responsible and mature than her (academics, house work).
I like the friendship dynamics in this show. It was really funny and entertaining. One rant I’d say is how they cheapened the marble in the latter part of the show that could be tossed here and there. It was well presented in the earlier part, how it’s fragile and couldn’t be passed on easily. But it went meh later on that I lost interest.
OST
“Door (Your Moon)” by Jeong Sewoon should land in your playlist. It’s the best song of this show.
Overall, if you are looking for a light romantic comedy, sure watch this but don’t expect too much with the plot since it’s nothing that interesting. I enjoyed and stayed till the end because of the second lead couple, if it weren’t for them, I’d probably have dropped this. To be honest, I got roped in watching this after seeing Kang Ha Na and Kim Do Hwan’s chemistry in Start-up, and not really for JKY and Hyeri.
REWATCH VALUE
Will I rewatch this? Not even a hottie nine-tailed fox like Jang Ki Yong would make me. Moving on to other shows quickly. Or should I just wait on his possible next project with Song Hye Kyo?
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Really, you should watch me watch him.
I have a huge school-girl crush-y grin on my face, my heart starts palpitating and all the Aaahs and Ooohs on the spectrum emit from my mouth.
However, my personal bias aside, there is no denying that he is an excellent actor. No matter what role he's given, he puts in his 11O% and owns it. Unsurprisingly, he does the same in Suspicious Partner. I spent all my time swooning at his adorable actions, fawning at his beautiful face and admiring the way he is able to smoothly deliver so many expressions all at once.
My obsession with him is exactly the reason why I hate giving any drama JCW stars in, a rating less than 8. It makes me feel all sorts of 'disloyal', but unfortunately sometimes you just gotta tell it how it is.
And the 'it' here is the fact that aside from Ji Chang Wook, this show has little to nothing going on for it.
Suspicious Partner starts as a strong, romantic suspense drama but somewhere in between it loses its identity. So much so, that when we're done with it, it fails to properly execute either of the genres.
I want to give credit to the female lead, for she does try and do her best to be quirky but unfortunately, I don't feel much for her. She feels like a support role, at best. There's also the fact that I had to put a lot of effort in getting over her role as the annoying kid Queen Seon Duk, which was a feat in it self 'cause ten years later, her mannerisms are exactly the same as before.
While there is a good dynamic between Ji Wook's Law Team and some hilarious moments between them, nothing really stands out. The sisterhood and bromance has so much potential to be a golden point of the show but unfortunately, it is left untapped.
There is some majorly good acting put out by the antagonist but the show does not develop his character as much as it deserves to be.
The whole crime mystery is dead and very predictable. The second lead romance falls flat and more often than not, the drama stumbles into the realm of utter boredom.
There are some good OST songs here and there but again, there's nothing I would lose sleep over. A lot of questions are given unsatisfactory answers, plot-holes are abundant and so are convenient plot-devices.
The story-line is mediocre, if we're being kind. They use so many ideas from Ji Chang Wook's other shows. Some scenes are copy pasted from The K2, a whole plot-line regarding the heroine's father is taken from Healer and it is all just more of the same ol' same ol' bs.
If it wasn't for JCW, I'm sure I'd rate it even less. And even though I am an eternal fangirl; I love him to the moon and back and I think he is as perfect as always in this show, I will still say that I didn't see him go the extra mile here. This role couldn't have been a challenge for him and because I know that he's an incredibly versatile actor; I'm so ready for him to bring us something phenomenal and better than this.
So over-all I guess it's a good time-pass.
Not too bad, not too good but extremely forgettable.
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From the first airing, I'm already fall in love with it because of the light story
But after a few episodes, the story is not light like I think before
The plot is like make viewers guessing what happen here and make me really curious what happens next! I like the plot that make me curious
Amazing acting from the casts. Especially Choi Woo Sik and Lee Soo Kyung. Uee and Seulong acting is improved too here
And I love almost all of the soundtrack
Well, the drama is really worth to watch if you want a romance comedy although Do Do Hee character is a bit annoying at first. But I love it!
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Love between Fairy and Devil
75 people found this review helpful
2I'm not even trying to be reasonable about this.
This is the kind of show you get so addicted to you don't even realize hours have passed since you first hit play. While some of these types of dramas leave me feeling sticky like I just indulged on too much sugar, this is one of the few cases I did not regret a minute of the rush. While the romance is captivating, this show doesn't sacrifice its main storyline or logic to keep the tension. Instead, we got a well established conflict that's in line with the characters personalities as well as the world building. At every moment of this show, I understood the motivations of each character and could sympathize with them. Never did it feel like they were stalling or creating unnecessary drama to fill the episodes.Even though the story is your classic forbidden love tail, the way it was presented and how it incorporated its fantasy elements made it feel fresh and engaging. The world building is one of the things I really enjoyed about this show. Often Xianxias can feel overwhelming and incoherent since they just randomly dump information on you and don't even bother to explain the key points of the world they're set in. While it may not dive too deep into it's setting, it does utilize beautiful and detailed sets as well as costumes to highlight differences between the three realms and its respective residents. It creates an immersive experience which made it feel like these places were more than just pretty backdrops. Apart from the sets, I actually thought the visual effects were surprisingly good, resulting in exciting and impressive fight scenes. I've to quickly mention the OST at this point, which is hauntingly beautiful and still gives me goosebumps when I listen to it after finishing the drama.
Overall I enjoyed the performances of the cast and quite a few side characters won me over. They got developed enough to make me care about them, but I would not have minded if we got more of their stories as well. Fleshing out the other stories might have helped with some pacing issues and added more layers to the romance focused show. The selling point of this drama, though, are our two leads and their relationship. So let me highlight why I loved these two and what made their relationship so special for me.
"I'm a beautiful fairy with a good heart."
Well, if that isn't the most accurate self-description I've heard in a while. Orchid has to be one of my favorite female leads in recent Chinese dramas. She starts off as a bubbly and adorable fairy that is rather naive and timid. However, throughout the story she develops into a brave and determined person that never loses the essence of her character, which is her compassionate and selfless heart. She brings out the best in people with her unrelenting belief in them. I truly adored her, and Yu Shu Xin is one of those actresses that has something so likable about her, which was really fitting for this character. I know that some viewers were bothered by her voice, I was not one of them. In fact, she did a great job with the transition of her voice as the story progressed. At the begging of the story it's pretty high-pitched and childlike, which indicates Orchids innocence, however as she matures throughout the story her voice also changes and it was so nice to witness this change in her. She also uses a different voice during the body swap scenes, adding another layer to her performance. One of the things I loved the most about her journey was how she starts off seeing the world in black and white, but after meeting different people, she realizes the fairy realm might not be as perfect as it seems. She also learns there are more layers to a person than what you can see on the surface.
"No one ever taught me how to get close to others." This was my first Wang He Di drama, so I don't have anything to compare it to, however he embodied Dong Fang Qing Cang in a way that you can't even imagine anyone else playing this character. I was impressed by his nuanced portrayal, and I believed every gesture and every word he said. He was fierce and domineering as the Moon Supreme, while also showing subtle emotions and changes throughout the story without losing his personality in the process. His transformation felt authentic and genuine, and I especially enjoyed his performance in the more emotional later episodes. Moreover, he sold that body swap to me, which isn't something a lot of body swap shows manage to do. The way he adapted Yu Shu Xin´s body language and mannerism made me believe I was watching Orchid struggle in Dong Fang Qing Cang's body, which was amusing to watch. I also have to mention the voice actor here, because he was amazing and really helped bring this character to life. While watching Dong Fang Qing Cang slowly change and grow, you honestly can't help fall in love with him alongside Orchid. Wang He Di really went the extra mile in this one.
I often have this issue with romance dramas nowadays that I can't get invested in them because I feel somewhat disconnected to the characters and their relationship. This is mostly due to the fact that shows don't take their time establishing those first before they move on to the emotional scenes. Love Between Fairy and Devil does not have this issue. It managed to convincingly tell a romance where both parties felt equally strong about each other. This relationship evolved over time and helped both of them grow as characters. I truly appreciated that this show took the time to establish them individually while also developing their relationship before we got to the angst, since the emotional scenes had way more impact this way.
This show might not be for everyone, however I had a wonderful time watching it. The balance between romance, captivating story and fantastical elements just worked for me and had me hooked until the very last episode. It's one of those shows I'll get back to again and again.
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This movie is a masterpiece by the talented director Bong Joon-ho. The genre for this movie is a horror but this does not mean that it obeys every convention of a 'normal' horror movie.
Bong uses The Host to address the political relationship between America and South Korea. This movie is often seen as a very anti-America film BUT this is not what Bong intended. Bong does not paint the South Korean people featured within the film well either.
Bong addresses the issue of heroism in America; he addresses the Korean people's attachment to cellphones and technology; he addresses political relationships; family relationships; etc etc etc
This movie may NOT seem like a horror movie. It is but then it also is not. It is not a gruesome movie, it does not have much gore, and the moments of tension and anxiousness that the Host will inflict on the viewer is broken will moments of black humor. These inserts of humor is not to get 'cheap laughs' but to distance the viewer from what is being shown on screen. The humor that Bong uses makes the viewer remember that it is just a story, it is a movie and not real, then the viewer can watch and make a judgement on the relationships being shown on screen without leaving the theater jumpy and scared.
The monster within the Host was accidentally created by the American base dumping a toxic chemical into the Han River. This is very significant as a situation like this happened in reality. The American base's morgue dumped hundreds of liters of embalming fluid into the Han river in 2000. The Han river did become toxic because of this. (although some people claim that this is only a myth).
During the Host Bong addresses some of the political issues between South Korea and America that are present in reality.
This movie was so popular in South Korea that 20% of the total population of South Korea, even today, watched The Host at the cinema (this does not include people watching it more than one or home viewings). I highly recommend watching this movie as it is not only an enjoyable storyline but it gives insight into reality.
I live in New Zealand and in my University Cinema Studies course The Host was featured and analyzed. This movie is influential enough to have been recognized in such a small country as New Zealand. I high recommend watching this movie.
Also if you are put off by the genre Horror don't be, this is not a conventional horror movie, to the casual viewer it will seem more to be more like a Thriller than Horror. And if you are put off by my review please don't be. This movie is a great watch on the surface and very enjoyable to the casual viewer.
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To say I am disappointed is an understatement
I want to start this review by clarifying that I adore Suzy and Yang Se Jong is my beloved bias. I have anticipated the "comeback" of both actors with bated breath and when Doona! was pushed back, I started to worry.Finally Netflix dropped all episodes and I didnt have to pace myself. Although I'm not a fan of idol storylines, the visuals of Suzy and YSJ alone made it a breath taking first few episodes.
I think Suzy did a good job playing the damaged character as best as she could, there seemed to be a lack of true backstory. If the writers were going for mysterious, they failed miserably as it just seemed disjointed and incomplete.
Yang Se Jong who is normally know for his ability to express his complex characters with such nuance, was pretty flat. I again do not blame him for this. The writers gave his character only a perfunctory role (almost zero backstory, lines, growth or function outside of her storyline).
Yes, they had a sizzling kiss scene or two, but there was not any true chemistry (written) between the two and that is heartbreaking.
To say I am disappointed is an understatement
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Very surprising
This drama has a plot that is more and more surprising in each episode, it is very entertaining to watch how the characters' relationships are woven with all this atmosphere of mystery around. I really appreciate that they take moments to give us romantic or funny scenes too, since the plots of historical dramas are often difficult for the audience to digest. My expectations are high, the story has a lot of potential. As a fan it's nice to see Suho's performance. His eyes are very expressive and it make easy to empathize with the prince.Was this review helpful to you?
A Badminton Drama, Which Needs More Training…
Sports-related K-dramas are few and far between, and the delivered results of these dramas can often be hard to truly take seriously. ‘ Racket Boys’ is no exception. The drama has arisen to a lot of criticism respectfully for certain racial stereotyping, badminton stances and the exact depiction of the drama’s messages. However, it is wrong to entirely point out that “ Racket Boys” does keep the ball rolling with certain elements of the sport and screenwriting either.
Before delving into reasons behind more mixed-criticism for the drama, let’s start on a positive note with what kept viewers entertained . The drama is pretty lighthearted. Whilst it does delve a little beyond the surface into darker territory with Hae Kang's father Yoo Hyeon Jong (Kim Sang Kyung)’s struggles and his mountain of dept as well as more heartfelt moments , the comedy was pretty silly for the most part , the friendship factor for Hae Kang ( Tang Joon-sang) with captain Bang Yoon Dam (Son Sang Yeon), hipster wannabe Na Woo Chan (Choi Hyun Wook) and maknae Lee Yong Tae (Kim Kang Hoon) the good performances by the cast, the romantic elements of the storyline and even the occasional cameo appearances by actors ( such as Park Ho San, Park Hae Soo, Kim Sung Chul, Kang Seung Yoon and Lee Kyu Hyung) from screenwriter Jung Bo Hoon’s previously commercial and critically-acclaimed work ‘ Prison Playbook’ (2017) were surprisingly endearing touches.
Another thing which seemed pretty enticing for viewers was that director Jo Young Gwang had done some evident homework into Badminton terminology such as '4U' (to indicate racket weight) and even mentioning the ideal string tension for beginners to badminton of 26 pounds. Adding to this was the depiction of female players of the sport, with a girl’s team at the middle school, whose coach, Ra Yeong-ja (Oh Na-ra) is renowned for her fierce teaching methods shared some more diverse lighting on the game.
Less impressive was the drama being its own worst enemy at times. The camera work could often be dull when actually depicting the game being played, and the usage of badminton shot positions by Hae Kang's father Yoo Hyeon Jong (even as a disgraced player) was badly depicted at the best of times . Adding to this pile of problems was the episode lengths. Averaging around 90 mins, there’s a lot to cram into these episodes and the skip button can often look more appealing than actually watching the drama at times. The stereotypical cliches here also drag on when Yeong-Ja and her two players are forced to move in with the Yoons and the rest of the boys’ team as the “ will they?, Won’t they?” chemistry lingers between evident romantic setups here. Oh, boy. Then there’s the controversy with racial stereotyping here also with depictions of “ foreigners” being presented as flaky or fickle, such as the cameo appearance of Black exchange student Johnathan( himself) , the obvious “K-pop fan “ ( who disappears and is never mentioned again pretty much because he is no longer relevant to the plot), and then the questionable depiction of the Indonesian team also.
Controversy aside the comedy factor is dependent on personal taste, rather than being universal. It is silly, rather than cleverly written but some may enjoy the running gag of Oh Mae (Cha Mi-kyung), the village “grandma” and her antics, whilst others may view at as distasteful and a poor screenwriting excuse for Hae Kang to learn the value of the “ unique” personalities personalities of the countryfolk living there,and nothing else. Yet in between these more questionable screenwriting, the drama does have surprisingly heartfelt moments here also, like when Hae-kang realizes that neither Oh Mae or her husband are literate , and so he helps her with the remote to her TV and sets up a way she can video call her grandson.
Overall, “ Racket Boys” isn’t a bad show per say. The acting is pretty solid, the sport depiction isn’t bad and the lighthearted moments are fairly sweet but it is very much dependent on what you are looking for. The comedy really isn’t everyone’s taste with its goofy gags ,often stealing away from the more profound moments of the drama and the tropes can grow tiresome and predictable.There were times where it felt as though ‘ Racket Boys’ struggled with balancing out the comedy and drama factors due to episode lengths, and would’ve flourished more as two separate shows rather than as a K-dramedy . However if you’re just here for some laughs and a couple of “ aww” moments during a binge-watching session ( rather than the central storyline) in order to disengage your brain from more serious and complex storylines, then you’ll likely enjoy it.
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This review may contain spoilers
This was a weird one. Japan produces plenty of great BL/yaoi anime and manga, but their few live-action offerings are never quite right. There were some funny and cute moments, and I understand that the tone was meant to be lighthearted and over-the-top rather than subtle and realistic, but some things about it bothered me.Warning, spoilers below...
Ossan's Love employs the strange tactic of having a not-very-likeable lead character. Haruta is not a bad person, but he behaves more like a teenager than an adult man. His mannerisms are bizarre, he shouts a lot, he's always rolling around drunk, and he doesn't seem to have any self-awareness. I guess it's his good looks that draw people to him...?
More importantly, however, I didn't get the impression that Haruta had ever - at any point in his life - considered himself to be bi or gay, but when he found himself with two male suitors he gave both of them hope (by going with the flow and not giving any clear rejection) while simultaneously recoiling from any physical contact and seemingly just wanting to be friends. This kind of confused response might make sense in someone much younger, but it doesn't sit right coming from a 33-year-old man. Just what was he trying to do? What was he thinking? I'm still not sure. Even by the end of the show I wasn't convinced that Haruta genuinely had romantic feelings for anyone, which made the ending somehow unsatisfying. I would have liked it more if I had seen and believed in a real transformation in his feelings.
This show kept me watching to the end, mainly to see if Haruta would ever make a clear decision with conviction. On a positive note, the side-characters were kind of interesting and fun, especially Choko, even if her reaction to the situation was unrealistic.
In short, this show wasn't terrible, but there are much better BL offerings out there that have more emotional punch, more chemistry, and frankly...make more sense.
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This should have been a movie.
Fast-forwarded liberally through the last few episodes. I didn't hate it, just that it was heading toward an inevitable ending. The side stories weren't all that interesting to me. The ending was handled nicely and as others have mentioned was bittersweet. Although it was weird that she went so far away looking for a 4 leaf clover.Was this review helpful to you?
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