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This review may contain spoilers
It's not very good tbh
The story had a lot of potential to be romantic and fun. When I read the synonpsis I was imagining the FL to start out a spoiled rich brat and have beautiful character development with the support of ML beside her as they gradually fall in love. Although that's the story they followed, those points felt like they weren't hit at all?? The company politics, the girl boss energy, the cute romance and the character development were all missing. To be more frank, these plot points were so badly executed that there was no impact at all.I mainly wanted to watch for the romance and girl boss moments of the FL taking charge of her life. I feel like I got a watered down version of both. And my expectations for this drama and its quality was really low before I even started. I seriously was just expecting it to be a bit funny and cute. It didn't do anything for me unfortunately.
Their romance had no proper buil up/ progression in my opinion. It was just the ML being hesitant for 18 epsiodes. The FL sat on her ass for 18 episodes as well, just waiting for him to do something. I feel like I watched air for 18 episodes in terms of romance. I'm all for the man in dramas making the first move but FL seemed so detached from the romance plot at times it was baffling. After they got together, it was just ok. Nothing they did felt particularly romantic to me. I didn't even wait for last 2 episodes to get subbed. I just skipped through it raw. It's not unwatchable, but like I said the impact is so low after the first 4 epsiodes or so that it feels like watching air.
I'm very disappointed because this may be the worst chinese drama I've seen thus far ( for my tastes) and I've even watched those weird web chinese romcom dramas that don't even get registered on this website as dramas lmao.
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Best couple pairing award
A little late to the party for this review, but since I have rewatched this before Cha Eun woo's next Kdrama series True beauty starts, I figured adding a review/notefor one of my favorite drama pairings is the least that I could doThis pairing is up there for me along side the likes of deng lun and yang zi in ashes of love, xu kai and bai lu in the legends, yang yang and zheng shuang in love o2o.
Been taking note of Cha Eun woo since ID gangnam beauty, but in this series for this pairing it really caught my attention. Thou Shin Se-kyung does look older than Cha Eun woo, but its also what makes it work as she is assertive, bold, matured and direct in her approach.
Storyline and plot moves along fine and I have watched it more than once, the visuals are really captivating to me, and the OST are great too.
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This review may contain spoilers
Some dramas try to be a combination of everything and this one embodies that statement.
Ch3's newest airing drama, with the star James Jirayu who is a popular fan favorite that many people might want to watch this lakorn for. Yeena Salas who is a newcomer, but has captured a lot of fans as a young actress, is our nang ek.(This review wwas written at 16/18 episodes; new commentary; just don't watch LOL this is Meena's lakorn and if you like the actress watch the lakorn but if you came in for the synopsis don't watch do yourself a favor and watch Secret instead, or Jark Sadtroo Soo Hua Jai)
This pairing is already a visual pairing worth watching for. Their chemistry here does not disappoint either, it is James Ji's one of the rare firsts being paired with an actress who is younger and matches his baby face. (I love noona romances, but Karat Ruk was one of the firsts for me to be not able to digest). James JI and Gina are on fire here with their acting and their match, it seems that this pair really enjoyed working with each other and I loved many moments with them, and this might be their best acting so far according to me imho.
Although that is not enough for defending this lakorn, no matter how good their chemistry here is I will always wish for another lakorn of them because this LAKORN is not a romance, no it is not a romance, yes they are a couple, yes they do kiss but this lakorn is not focused on one genre, explaining my heading, this lakorn has tried to be a romance lakorn, revenge, action, thriller but in the end all it is a mix of these things but they do not coincide with each other to be called a genre, these elements are weird and the directors at some point messed up because in the start it was definitely more than a mess. Either because Ch3's repeated cutting of episodes or because of the script but since Meena has been introduced this lakorn is only compromised of plot twist's and although this lakorn as seen in the comment section has a lot of fan theories, if the directors had calculated their math seriously, or at least read fan's theories this lakorn would be a 10 already, since the fan's in MDL have better ideas than what the directors tried with the plot twists, definitely making this lakorn a twist up and pent up mess. At the start, this was very addicting and still is (at 16 episodes; still ongoing) but the problem is, the romance development which many people came for is still unfulfilled for, yes we might get more romance moments, but at this moment I feel pent up with the missed potential this lakorn has. Despite all of these, our characters do have some depth and I have to praise Yeena way too much, because she worked with crying, and not seeming like a baby, she had cried with depth she cried almost every episode, and her acting reminds me of Yaya in Kluen Cheewit, I love how Yeena depicted all of Jay with her heart and she was amazing for an actress working with this messy plot, her actions at the start might make you repulsed, or might make you dislike her ( I never did though) but as the lakorn goes on, you would realize she is one of the strongest, one of the rare nang ek's (FL) that make you like her more than the pra'ek (ML) since Jay is such a character with depth, she is a puff pastry and to uncover her you need to peel off all of her layers, and the result is Jay who is relatable, is she a pain in the ass? Yes, but is she likeable and badass? Also yes. I love how Yeena made her character relatable, I've not seen many actresses pulling of this role, and usually the pra'ek over power's them either way, but this was Yeena's show despite her screen time and I am officially a fan of her.
James Ji also did a great job, I've only seen him so far in Padiwaradda and Buang Hong but I feel like his acting that he did not showcase in those lakorns, he did here, he worked best with Ohm who at the start seems like a multi dimensional character, but due to missed opportunities turns to two dimensional, (Hey at least he has two sides to him compared to other Pra'eks) and despite his character taking turns he did truly amazing with what was given, and exceeded expectations which is a pity, but I am offically a fan and cannot wait for his next lakorn.
The supporting characters did a great job, and the actress for Meena did an amazing job, I wanted to kick her out of the screen and portrayed a woman with too many secrets that are despicable for her own self and the others around her perfectly. Gun reminded me of the secretary in Innocent Man who loves the female lead but get's kicked to the curb, although protecting her is his main goal not confessing his love, so he was very admirable I hope we get second male lead's like him more of them, although this time I did not feel much SLS because it was clear Jay and Gun have a brother and sister relationship in Jay's mind. He would have been a cute couple with Jee but now I don't think they will be paired together, maybe in the end implied as Jee is a cute girl and I hope in the end she is truly happy, same for Gun whether they will end up with each or not. As per comedic characters, Win and Viva were cute and I liked them. One character that should HAVE not given much thought or screen time to is Mr. Cannot keep it in his pant's (Suchart-Jay's Father who I don't like calling by his name because he should have been named Mr. Cannot Keep it in his Pant's but sadly he is not named as that.
If you want to watch this lakorn (I'm writing a CW Article on this do check it out when its out if you want for more depth, actually no this lakorn does not deserve it so this production is halted)
Positive Points
OST (It was Ch3's OST so it's great one of few things they can do well is this)
Mark (he is one of the cutest children in Lakorn Land even if his mom is a bitch he is well mannered and I don't know where he got those manners but he is the cutest pie ever, I want to boop his nose, ok sorry for ranting over the cuteness of Mark)
That's it
Also chemistry but we could explore that so no,
Final Verdict:
Do not watch your doing yourself a favor.
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This review may contain spoilers
Switch off your brain and enjoy.
This series is short and cute but you need to switch off your critical thinking brain to enjoy it. They took amnesia to a whole new level.The story wasn't anything original. It was pretty fast paced which i like. There were many inconsistencies but i choose to believe it's because of the length of the drama so no time to explain and flesh out plot points. The acting was decent, nothing special. The music did not leave an impression. It's an okay drama to watch while bored but i won't be rewatching this in a hurry.
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A Good Story With A Lot of Lost Potentials
One of the rare dramas where it solely focus on a female's strength and power -- the type of drama where the female lead is mostly got away from troubles or death situations by her own will power and capabilities.Zhao Liying did amazing in this role. Her zero regards to all the males around her was astounding as you can see from early one that her family has always been the priority for her and nothing else matters. I personally think Lin Gengxin is under used here considering his character could do so much more than what being given by the script. And Shawn Dou as Yun Xun is a treat to the eyes! From his dazzling smiles and personality to his broken and damaged self after the tragedy was a great transition and he did it believably.
I personally think Yan Xun is stupid despite how intelligent he is as an individual. The one he needs to take revenge on is the Wei Emperor and not the people. But his war affects the people more rather than the Emperor. He should have just kill the Emperor (and his whole family if he needs to see more blood :() and his revenge is over SMH. But his war killed more innocent people than the King did to his family back then. So overall, his revenge is just dumb and unnecessary.
Despite all the positive reviews that the drama got, as someone who is a bit picky, I found that many of the plots were never being explored to its full potential. The great premise was there, but the writer obviously lacked the capabilities to expand the script to be even greater. This mostly masked by the great portrayal of the characters but there are many instances on they just glared through the matter with no justification and explanation. The great offender would be the Kung Fu of Ice that Xing-er possessed which were never explored. To the mention of Leader of the Afterlife Camp which seemed to have no problem when Yuwen Yue destroying his agency and took away his spies (lol) to the Moustache Man who doesn’t seemed to have purpose but just love to create trouble and influencing the politic in Wei, Yan & Liang states. Not to mention the useless Liang spies that despite their great potential and capabilities -- never actually achieve anything despite being the real mastermind of the conflict between Yan & Wei. But despite that I'm was adamant to give the drama 6.5/10 for being entertaining but in the end, it deserved 7/10 because of the great ending and how heartbroken it made me feels.
THE ENDING
I think the great thing about the last episode is that how we finally understand the inner thoughts of Xing-er's mind and the position of Yuwen You & Yan Xun in her heart. Her character was consistent throughout the drama that she never put love an emphasis in her heart no matter how many guys were interested in her. Family has always been her priority and later the people of Yan.
And Yan Xun is exactly like that to her -- someone she cares deeply and share dreams with like a family -- the reason why she lives -- a broken child that she needs to protect. That’s why no matter what, she always chose him over Yuwen Yu over and over again. And Yan Xun finally get it at the end that despite the fact that she always chose him, someone else has her heart.
So on why the dying scene of Yuwen Yue was so heart wrenching is the fact is that when Xing'er finally understand her heart, it was already too late. It was already too late when she apologised and promised not to leave him ever again -- everything is just too late at that time. Then when she said to him to 'Hold on' and he nodded slowly, it was even more heart breaking -- as we all know, and he knew it as well that he's not gonna make it but he did anyway for her. But that whole dying scene was really amazing though. I lose count how many times I watch it. Definitely the best dying scene in my book -- the acting was A++ since Yuwen Yue literally looks like he was dying at that time. ;_;
What I find very interesting is that mostly Yuwen Yue's great love are done just for the fact that he loves Xing-er. He knew Xing-er will never reciprocate his feelings but it was just enough if he can see her and knew that she is alive and safe. That’s why, he never told her the countless of times he saves her without she her knowledge because his love was selfless where he didn’t expect anything in return. He could hold her back and ask her to stay, but to him, what makes her happier is much more important rather than her staying by his side. That is why his love, despite being great is very sad as well. And the fact that he only knew that she actually loves him too as well at that time just make everything just even sadder.
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The story is like a big WOW just incredible without anything wrong. The cast is just beautiful especially when the litte man joined in; he's so cute. Then the music is one of nicest chinese music that I've ever heard. I am not even into chinese language or music but I completely forgot about as I watched this dramas.
I finished it in three days non stop then I felt a blank when it ended because this drama was one of the fewest that kept me hooked up from the start until the end.
If you're looking for an outstanding story with great cast this is definitely what you've been looking for.
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STORY
The drama centers on five girls living together. It is comparable to other dramas that center on women and their problems. Here we talk about young adult problems (20s). Five girls, five different personalities, five different stories, one house. Each girl has a story; every girl has different fears, goals, problems that hold them back. The drama presents not only how they work through them but how they need each other to do that. This is why friends are important; they are there when the whole world is against you.
Each girl’s story is brilliant, touching, relatable and yet what makes this drama really a small hidden gem is that in all its simple nature all the stories feel so real, so natural, so unforced that make you not only invested in all the girls but make you feel like you are there with them sharing your life and troubles. Truly magical
Want to get to know them a little better already?
Meet Eun Jae, the youngest, maknae of the group. She is warm-hearted, (overly) polite completely shy and she believes the whole world is against her. Lesson learnt: Nobody wants to harm you, you just have to be a little stronger.
Ye Eun, she’s girly, bright, a little obnoxious and very self-conscious. Her low self-esteem doesn’t let her to properly recognize and appreciate herself which leads to boyfriend problems. Lesson learnt: Nobody will love you, if you don’t love yourself first.
Yi Na, she’s sexy, seemingly strong and hot headed but she’s remorseful and ashamed deep inside. Her questionable way of living is actually a way to punish herself for things that she had no control over. Lesson learnt: Punishing yourself won’t get you anywhere, forgive and move forward, you deserve it.
Ji Won is funny, pushy, a little over the top and quit desperate. Ji Won was mostly used as a comedic relief. I like to think of her as the magical friend who is always there when you have a difficult time, ready to drop their life and problems for you because she/he cares!
Jin Myung, the oldest and wisest of the quintet. She’s a fighter, and you’ll love her more than you expect. She’s living a hard life and she’s the borderline melodramatic plot of the story. Lesson learnt: Being happy is a choice, being happy is in our mind and we can choose that every day!
Believe me when I say you will feel very close to all of them, curse and hug your screen while watching. The first 4 episodes center on one character each while the other stories develop in the background. Starting from episode 5 all the stories develop simultaneously and all the girls get equal screen time.
The drama does a great job addressing problems of young adults in every aspect of their lives, family, romantic relationships, academic and/or job goals, friend and co-worker relationships, work ethics, personal issues ect. They all seem real, presented in a very genuine way without being boring, overdramatic or superficial. You will still get to have a good laugh and an even greater lesson from every story.
Romance is present here but it is not the main focus of the drama. You won’t miss your boys and ships but they’ll probably don’t get the screen time you expect and probably want.
ACTING
Acting was overall pretty solid. Each actress fits perfectly in their roles, from the girly Yeeun to the sad Jin Myung, the casting is brilliant. Honorable mention to Ryu Hwayoung who totally delivered in every section of her role, being sexy, being strong yet vulnerable, being a bitch and yet caring and special mention to Han Ye Ri for being absolutely impeccable in delivering every beautiful aspect of her wonderfully complicated character. Definitely an actress to have an eye out for!
RECOMMEND/REWATCH
I don’t rewatch dramas and yet I’ve rewatched the first 4 episodes. This is really so beautiful that it becomes rewatch-worthy. I’d recommend this everyone. Rom com lovers, melodrama lovers, slice of life lovers, this is a gem that is not to be missed. I doubt anyone could hate this, how can you hate real life itself?
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A drama ruined (again) by its ending (no spoilers)
I'll just be honest here. I hated this drama. The more I watched, the more I hated it. Then I started to despise it with some serious fire.And here's why:
1) I hated the rich, spoiled, entitled, and bitchy main character(s) - (one, mostly) - who were often bratty dicks to people they supposedly loved, but got all the props because they didn't have jobs or any responsibilities of any sort and could just show up everywhere at a moment's notice (unlike other characters who actually had to work and couldn't just ghost whenever they wanted to.)
2) The FL was stupid at times, and I wasn't expecting that. Like she would do really dumb stuff (like stupidly get into a stalker's car) and I found myself starting to dislike her. But it was her choice at the very freaking end that really made her dead to me. Like done.
3) THAT was one of the worst endings of any dramas I've seen in years. All that build-up, all that relationship work, all that fooling us that this wouldn't end up being a stupid drama with a shitty, cliched ending, but one that could actually make sense. But no. The writernims ruined it with the ultimate reward going to a wholly undeserving character in the end.
What I did like:
1) The music! The music was first-rate, all the way around.
2) The acting was generally good - a little overacted, but not the worst I've seen.
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Story: It was really nice to see SM show the singers their debut videos and to see their reactions to it. They are so humble even though they got famous. I loved every bit of this movie.
Acting/cast- Considering the idols played themselves, it was really good. In the beginning they introduced each idol by showing the idols saying how they felt about their stage name and compare how they actually are in real life. It really touched my heart when they showed Victoria from f(x) trying to learn Korean.
Music-They played the live versions of the songs they preformed in Madison Square Garden. I found myself dancing throughout the whole movie... ESPECIALLY when they played sorry sorry :P
Rewatch value- I would DEFINITELY rewatch it :) It was really good.
Overall-If you are a kpop fan, this is a MUST WATCH movie. :)
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Enjoyed it way more than I should
So there is nothing new in this drama... same tropes and troubles.BUT I really liked it!
The ML is really cold to everyone but the FL, which is actually really nice, because he just shutdowns the competition like a pro!
The FL is so good! She has this fussy bossy vibe, but she stands her ground, doesn't let people walk all over, but at the same time she is a really nice person.
The secondary couple was bad, I mean the girl has just so much baggage and inferiority complex that you just end up disliking her. The SLM could do so much better, but its a drama right?!
I absolutely, freaking LOVED the OST!! It was really nice, and the instrumental versions were also good! (The songs she plays on the piano are also nice).
It was a worth watch (but right now the subtitles are machine done, so expect frustration while reading them...)
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That is pretty much the only thing I can say after finishing this drama. This is a 'try to figure out who the culprit is' kind of drama and I can promise you (unless you're a genius) that you wont figure it out too easily or too early in the drama. That is one of the things that make this series so good and so worth watching; the suspense of not really knowing how it is going to end.
The music was good, the acting as well. I set the rewatch value low only because of the fact that once you have watched it, you will already know who the culprit is, which kills the suspense and joy of rewatching it.
Characters were interesting (though I feel as if they left one out, but my memory might be going bad). The ending leaves quite a few loose threads but is exciting enough to (somewhat) pull it off.
Overall, a must watch for those of you who enjoy crime/suspense/mystery shows that have you guessing for the cuprit.
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Is peace an excuse to hold on to imperial power?
If you want well-paced, fully realized world-building, well-written characters and relationships, intriguing political plotlines, and good action scenes, then this is the drama for you. It is the best chinese drama I have seen yet that fits my criteria neatly. It toes the line between classic chinese wuxia and the fantasy elements perfectly. The characters are all multi-dimensional and the plot is carried along through a fun-loving main character who doesn't lack any depth himself. Xu Fengnian is the most interesting main character I've seen in a long time. He tries to embrace both the meticulous scheming as well as the martial foolhardiness and the writers and ZRY are good enough to pull it offThe biggest plus point of this drama is the use of a rather slow plot advancement to build on intercharacter relationships. No character in this series is black and white, complete good or evil and it wrestles with the debate about what peace means in an exploitative imperialist state.
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Too Many Cooks Spoil the Broth
It fell short as an adaptation of a BL manhwa, and even its attempt at being a straight K-drama became nonsensical after the first five episodes.Great writing where? Chan Young's tennis storyline and the unresolved issues with his dad were never properly explored or explained, leaving viewers confused about his father's resentment. There was no closure.
Chan Young was so self-centered and annoying that he made the series unbearable. The straight couple were cute in the first few episodes till we realized they forgot the title of the series.
The dynamic between Heesu sisters and their lovers was explored but felt lackluster, mostly because it was hard to even understand what was going on.
Seungwon having two moms was brushed off far too easily, there was so much potential that just went down the drain. Too many open ended dynamics in the series.
Making Seungwon seem like a rebound was diabolical and insane. The queer storyline was dragged out unnecessarily.
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